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Painting Tradition
Why?
Adam Wager Tyler Bier Ryan Seelye Nate Turner
Lead Vocals Lead Guitar Bass Drums
Rhythm Guitar Backup Vocals
Band Bio
We are Painting Tradition, a band consisting of 4 members all from a little northern michigan town called Charlevoix. We work hard creating our music and hope people enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoy playing it. Before we were 'Painting Tradition', three of us and a different drummer were known as 'New Arrival', but differences arose between us and our music came to a hault. After that, we three kept playing, and in early 2006 a new drummer came around and we started playing together. Thats how we became 'Painting Tradition'.
Why Painting Tradition?
(Written by Nate Turner)
So what's up with our
band name? Like a lot of bands we wanted to have a name that has
meaning, that is catchy, thought provoking, but NOT cheesy! The idea of
painting tradition is borrowed from a book called Velvet Elvis by Rob
Bell. We hold to his metaphor and have adapted (painted) it to our own
taste. Perhaps the most important part of our name is the three letters
"ing" because it signifies an ongoing action. What do you think of when
you hear the word 'tradition'? Something old, boring, outdated...well
same here, but we want to think of tradition in a new way. So here's
the background of why we are Painting Tradition:
The running metaphor in
the introduction of Velvet Elvis is this painting, a
Velvet Elvis, that the author has had sitting in his basement for quite
sometime. It is quite an amazing painting, and in the bottom right hand
corner is the author's signature, "R." So Rob Bell poses this question:
"What if, when he was done with this masterpiece, R. had announced
there was no more need for anyone to paint, because he had just painted
the ultimate painting?...We would say that R. has lost his mind. WE say
this because we instinctively understand that art has to, in some way,
keep going." Bell goes on to relate this concept to the Christian faith
saying that "For thousands of years followers of Jesus, like artists,
have understood that we have to keep going, exploring what it means to
live in harmony with God and each other." So now we skip forward to the
Reformation and Martin Luther is "taking his place in a long line of
people who never stopped rethinking and repainting the faith." Now here
are some key quotes to why we are Painting Tradition, "And as part of
this tradition, I embrace the need to keep painting, to keep reforming"
"For many people the word Christian conjures up all sorts of images
that have nothing to do with Jesus is and how he taught us to live.
This must change." Here's the embodyment of the entire explanation:
"THE TRADITION THEN IS PAINTING, NOT MAKING COPIES OF THE SAME PAINTING OVER AND OVER. THE CHALLENGE OF THE ART IS TO TAKE WHAT WAS GREAT ABOUT THE PREVIOUS PAINTINGS AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO NEW PAINTINGS" (Velvet Elvis, 13)
Painting Tradition is a band that has come together to bring hope, faith, and joy to a society filled with discontent, bitterness, and hatred. Our tradition may consist of some things that are different than yours, but we're cool with that because we're all artists. We're committed to being relevant, innovative, and retrospective as Rob Bell says, "If it is true, then it isn't new." Each day you and i are painting our own traditions and the strokes you make will have an effect on the tradition of mankind. So here is our canvas: music.
your indebted artists: Adam, Tyler, Ryan, and Nate
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