Casting Crowns Lead Singer, Mark Hall Adds New Custom-Designed “Star Wars” Desk to Office: Aside from fronting GRAMMY-winning band Casting Crowns and his full-time post as Youth Pastor in Atlanta, Mark Hall is a mega “Star Wars” fan. This rings true with the latest, one-of-a-kind desk recently added to his famously-photographed, Star Wars themed church office. Mark commissioned New York Designers Tom Spina and Richard Riley of Tom Spina Designs to custom design and build this desk according to his specifications, needs and interests. The desk, which is being described as “functional art”, includes licensed “Star Wars” props from the 90s. Immediately following its debut on the Tom Spina Designs website, the desk generated incredible interest on the internet. Within 24 hours, countless blogs and tech sites ran stories about the art piece and its “geek chic” appeal. Within 5 days, the company web site had over 70,000 page requests and over 3.25 million individual image requests.
Matt Maher’s Empty & Beautiful Soon to be Heard in Space: Singer/songwriter/worship leader Matt Maher is performing this week at the University of Dallas at an event called “TGIT” (Thank God It’s Thursday) as a part of their Alcohol Awareness week, as well as a benefit concert that will aid St. Ann’s church in Dallas in their efforts for their youth group’s summer missions trip. Matt ties up these dates with Jeremy Camp in Houston on Saturday, and is getting a VIP tour of the NASA facilities from the same astronaut who will be taking his Empty & Beautiful release into space on the next Space Shuttle mission. Matt’s release tour for Empty & Beautiful, which releases this Tuesday, April 8, starts in Atlanta the day after his release and will hit markets like Charlotte, NC, Pittsburgh, PA, and Washington, DC, in support of Pope Benedict XIV’s visit to the nation’s capital. Keep up with Matt Maher’s extensive touring at www.mattmahermusic.com.
Red’s brand-new music video, “Already Over,” Premiered on FUSE.TV, Today at 4 PM ET: GRAMMY-nominated, modern rock band, Red has a brand-new music video, “Already Over,” which premiered on FUSE.TV, today (April 4, 2008), at 4 PM ET. Additionally, Red’s “Let Go” has been selected by ActiVision to be used in the video game, “Baja 1000.” Red hits the road with 3 Doors Down this month, then is out with Seether and Flyleaf, in May.
Fireflight’s New Online Community sees Impact; Hit Song “Unbreakable” Jumps to No. 4 at CHR This Week: As Fireflight's No. 1 Rock song Unbreakable seizes the CHR chart this week-leaping to No. 4, the band continues to reach out to fans with its web site Iamunbreakable.com. Since the site’s launch on March 13, Iamunbreakable.com has been visited 9,000 times with an average of 300 viewers per day from Fireflight fans in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Romania, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia and China. Hundreds of people are sharing their stories about what the concept of “Unbreakable” means to them. From depression, suicide, and cutting to eating disorders, divorce, and drugs, Fireflight’s powerful anthem has undoubtedly opened the eyes of audiences to the triumph found through faith. Fireflight lead singer Dawn Richardson has been touched by the outpouring of fans and recently posted a comment saying: “This site is unique in that it gives you an opportunity to really live with not only the imagery of this song, but also the very heart of its narrative. We all have our own story, and so often we can hear it playing in the words and melodies of a song. In the end, it is our greatest hope that you will use this site as a pathway to find not only a piece of yourself, but also a greater courage than you have ever known.”
Along with the success of Iamunbreakable.com, Fireflight’s Myspace page currently has 1.4 million song plays. Visit here: www.Iamunbreakable.com.