The Prayer Chain was a 1990s

Christian alternative rock Christian alternative rock is a form of alternative rock music that is lyrically grounded in a Christian worldview. Some critics have suggested that unlike CCM and older Christian rock, Christian alternative rock generally emphasizes musical ...

band. The band has been called "the epitome of the Christian underground". The Prayer Chain was known for producing moody, angst-ridden music which was, in turn, the result of creative differences within the band and with their record label.

History

The Prayer Chain formed in February 1990 when Campuzano & Prickett's band, Laughing Boy, broke up at the same time as Taber's band, Tapestry, broke up. Campuzano knew Taber through a Bible study group. Originally, Taber both sang and played drums, though drum machines were also used. The band auditioned Everett to play drums later that year after meeting at a Prayer Chain show in California. Their first album, ''The Neverland Sessions'' was recorded with

Steve Hindalong Steve Hindalong (born November 29, 1959) is an American drummer, percussionist, songwriter and producer best known for his work with the alternative rock band the Choir. Since 2006, Hindalong has also been an official member of the alternative ...

at Neverland Studios and was released independently. After signing to

Reunion Records Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. It was founded in 1982 by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton. History The label was formed by Amy Grant's manager ...

they put out the ''Whirlpool EP'' and started touring, while focusing on their first album, ''Shawl'', released in 1993. In 1993, The Prayer Chain released their first collection of all new material since 1990. In April 1994, the band released their first live recording toward the end of the tour for ''Shawl''. It included several bonus tracks from the ''Shawl'' era. After extensive national and international shows they started working on their album, ''Mercury'', which was released in 1995. Originally the band wanted to do a worship-based album.''HM Magazine'' issue No. 53 (May/June 1995), p. 11 Producer Steve Hindalong is credited by the band as helping bring the project together. Themes on the album include distance ("Mercury", "Creole", "Shiver", "Waterdogs") and disconnection ("Grylliade") as well as love ("Manta Rae" and "Bendy Line") and worship ("Humb", "Sky High" and "Sun Stoned"). After disbanding the band performed at a reunion show in Chicago in 1998, the

Gene Eugene Gene Andrusco (April 6, 1961 – March 20, 2000), better known as Gene Eugene, was a Canadian-born actor, record producer, engineer, composer, and musician. Andrusco was best known as the leader of the alternative rock band Adam Again, a member ...

tribute show in 2000, some local

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

shows, 2003 reunion shows at

Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...

, and the

Flevo Festival The Flevo Festival was an open air Christian music festival held each August in the Netherlands. The festival was first organized as the Kamperland Festival in 1978 by the Dutch arm of Youth for Christ and became a private foundation in 2002. T ...

in the Netherlands. They also released some of their work and rarities through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

website. In April 2015, the band announced they would be releasing ''Mercury'' on double vinyl through

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

to mark the 20th anniversary of the album. Funding for the album was achieved within three hours of the announcement. In early 2018, the band announced two reunion shows to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of ''Shawl''.

Members

* Tim Taber – vocals, founder of

Floodgate Records Floodgate Records was a part of the East West Records family of labels. It was founded in 2000 and managed by Tim Taber (formerly of The Prayer Chain). Distribution was through Word Records and marketing through Rocketown. Their first release w ...

(Cool Hand Luke, The Myriad) and Transparent Productions. * Andrew Prickett – guitar, now plays with CUSH and does extensive recording/producing/engineering, has also played with

The Violet Burning The Violet Burning is an independent American Christian alternative rock band based in Boston, Massachusetts. The band was formed in 1989 in Orange County, California by Michael J. Pritzl. The band is the project of singer, songwriter and guit ...

, My Brother's Mother,

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

and others. * Eric Campuzano – bass guitar, now plays guitar for

The Lassie Foundation ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

& Stranger Kings. He's also released two drone solo projects under the moniker ''Charity Empressa''. He also plays bass with CUSH, and has played with

Starflyer 59 Starflyer 59 is an American alternative rock band from Riverside, California, that was founded in 1993 by Jason Martin (musician), Jason Martin, brother of Ronnie Martin (musician), Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric. While Jason Martin has written ...

. * Wayne Everett – drums, now playing guitar and started

, has played in

and CUSH, has done some producing, also released a solo album titled ''KingsQueens'' in 2003 on

Northern Records Northern Records is an independent record label in California. It was founded in 1999 and is distributed in the United States and Canada by RED Distribution ( Sony BMG). Releases See also * List of record labels * RED Distribution RED ...

and a followup ''Two Ghosts'' in 2020.

Discography

Full-length albums

*''The Neverland Sessions'' (1992) *''Shawl'' (1993) *''Mercury'' (1995)

EPs

*''4 Song Demo'' (1990) *''Whirlpool'' (1992) *''Live'' (4-song version) (1994) *''Live'' (8-song version) (1994) *''Live at CBGB's'' (2005)

Singles (7-inch vinyl)

*''Shine'' (1992) *''Crawl/Like I Was'' (1993)

Two-disc sets

*''Mercury & Mercurios Tin: Limited Edition Collector's Set'' (1995) *''So Close...Yet So Far'' (Retrospective & B-sides) (1998)

Double vinyl

*''Mercury'' (20th anniversary re-release) (2015)

Compilations

*''Antarctica'' (1996) *''Live at the Strand'' (1997) *''A Live Tribute Recording for Gene Eugene'' (2000) *''Here Comes the Rust'' (retrospective) (2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prayer Chain, The Christian rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Alternative rock groups from California American Christian rock groups