r.i.p. newsboys.

i know that i have mentioned my intense love for phil joel (multiple times) and the newsboys before but i thought i would just take a moment and delve into how deep my love for them really runs. i'm sure there are people out there who have seen them countless times more than i have but i do consider myself more than just your average fan. over the course of the last 12 years, I have seen them perform 18 times.
a fair number of those shows were at good ol' summer festivals. but also thrown in was the traveling air dome tour (sonicflood and bean bag opened for them), a random show in a random town (superchick and between the trees graced that stage), and even going so far as driving across international boarders (oh canada!) to see them. the canada show was an extra delight because thousand foot krutch was the opening band.
i followed them religiously. at one point i even knew all of their birthdays and the names of their wives. i was shocked when jody davis left, crushed when phil joel took his leave and absolutely devastated when, just over a year ago, it was announced that peter furler would be stepping down as lead singer.
i tried to be supportive, i really did. despite the fact that i think that michael tait is about the dumbest option to put in as lead vox. hello clash of my 90's christian music world. and he sounds nothing like my favorite bald, eyes lined, always-in-black aussie. but i really did try to be for about the whole changeover, i mean, peter practically handpicked michael. i even made an extra effort to see their show last summer at sonshine.
but i failed miserably in my attempt at optimism. when tait came out and started singing "shine" two giant tears rolled down my cheeks. i tried to blame it on lack of sleep and too much sun to my friends who gave me weird looks but it was honestly because my heart was breaking. there i was, a 23 year old girl, standing in the middle of the pit on a balmy july evening crying because my once favorite band would never be the same. oh to be young and in love.
xo