TENTH AVENUE NORTH
Best New Artist
Best New Artist Runners-up:
2. Addison Road3. Francesca Battistelli
Profile By Grace S. Cartwright
If you call the guys from Tenth Avenue North “rock stars,” they will laugh. Very down to earth, you’d never know they just snagged a Dove Award for “New Artist of the Year” or that their single, “Love is Here,” rounded out 2008 as one of the most played songs of the year. Their second single, “By Your Side,” powered through the charts all the way to No. 1, holding the coveted spot for three consecutive weeks. The band has packed out arenas across the nation, sharing stage time with bands like David Crowder Band, MercyMe and Rush of Fools. CCM readers caught the Tenth Ave. buzz as well and voted the foursome “Best New Artist” in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. We caught up with lead singer Mike Donehey en route to another show and caught a sneak peek into the lives of these very ordinary “rock-stars”…
BREAK ME DOWN
Caught between tour stops in South Carolina, Mike reflects on life on the road: “It’s really kind of exceptional when you realize something as arbitrary as a three minute song can really help people. It’s hearing all the different people’s stories, and hearing how the same song can hit all these people at the same spot. That’s been really amazing. The worst part is sleeping on the floor of the van!”
HOLD MY HEART
When asked what his ideal day
off the road would be, Mike says, “My wife and I just got scooters. I’d say my ideal day is taking my wife and going to a place called Radnor Lake in Nashville, going to get popsicles, and then maybe going to Ugly Mugs coffee shop. At night, it’s really up for grabs. We could sit on the porch and sip tea or go out to dinner; or we could make chicken dip! My wife makes a great chicken dip!”
TIMES
“I grew up under a long legacy of great heroes,” Mike laughs. “I grew up in Virginia. I
love Virginia!” He says if he could go back in time to any event in history, he would go back “to the Boston Tea Party.”
LET IT GO
Though the band is extremely busy, Mike still finds time to read. He says his favorite book is
Les Miserable. “There’s a great commentary,” he explains, “at the moment Jean Valjean was forced to [choose to] accept the grace that he was given. He knew that if he did, he would be changed forever. That profoundly changed the way I viewed God and mercy. That little story showed me how much grace can change someone’s heart.”
YOU ARE
Mike snickers at the thought of being recognized in public for being in Tenth, but says it has happened! “There was one time we were all driving along, and we decided to go to Starbucks for some caffeine. My wife had a Tenth Avenue North shirt on. (We can’t wear our band shirts, but our wives can.) And the guy behind the register at Starbucks says, ‘Dude, you know that band?’ and she said, ‘This
is that band!’ No one really recognizes us unless we were to tell them.”
LIFT US UP TO FALL
Mike says the funniest thing that has ever happened during a show is, “On the ‘Rock and Worship Tour,’ the last night of the tour, one of the techies thought it’d be funny to play a prank on us. So he changed the pitch of the keyboard. Scott [Sanders, bass] started on the piano, and he’s playing the right chords. I came in singing, and it was a total train wreck. I had to stop and tell the audience.”
LOVE IS HERE
As for Mike’s message to Tenth Avenue North Fans? “I would say, without sounding overly spiritual, believe the gospel. You don’t have to be ‘good enough’ for God. God was good enough for you. So live a life of obedience. A lot of people talk about how we need to love God, but we can only love God when we accept the fact that He loves us and accept what He’s done for us.”
For more information on Tenth Avenue North, visit tenthavenuenorth.com.
To listen to an exclusive Readers’ Choice podcast interview with Tenth Avenue North, visit our podcast page.
For a complete list of 2009 Readers’ Choice winners, log on to CCMmagazine.com/readerschoice09winners.
Photo Credit: Doug Leavy/Westone Music
