The Omnibus

Issue date: 5/6/04 Section: The Gallery

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Taylor Sorensen is partnering with Pura Vida Coffee in a promotional tour across the Midwest in support of his full-length March 23 CD debut, "The Overflow." The 23-year-old rock singer has also celebrated his first No. 1 radio hit with the single "Love Somebody Else," which is the first track on his debut CD.

"The Overflow" is an impressive 11-song display of love. "My music is about love, the love that let the nails go through the hands of Jesus," Sorensen said. "That love applies to a kiss or to serving in an AIDS-stricken country or to playing music. It's love that makes these things holy, that makes them sacred, that makes them the gospel. It's a love that's revolutionary because the gospel is revolutionary."

Sorensen refers to common themes like love and revolution, but his lyrics cut through the surface of common definitions to find the true significance of often cheapened words. With influences like U2, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay, Sorensen's music is best described as "reformed American rock with a European soul."

The title for "The Overflow" comes from a statement by John Piper in his book, "Desiring God." "Love is the overflow of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others," Piper wrote.

"That kind of love is an active love, a love in motion. (...) The most popular verse in the world is John 3:16: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,'" Sorensen said. "He did something about it - he gave. He bent over backwards to meet our needs, and that's doing love."

The anthem-like "Love Somebody Else" opens the album by emphasizing its overall message. "[This song] is my song to tell the world what I'm about. We've got to get active, especially the church, or there's a whole world that's going down the drain," Sorensen said.

"What Love Is" deals with dark situations encountered in life and how love is not based on good or bad circumstances. The catchy love song, "Upside" is a simple display of how things look up when a person is loved.

"Gloria 34" is a nice spin off of David's Psalm. "He has a heart that I want," Sorensen said.

Sixpence none the Richer's Leigh Nash also provides guest vocals, adding a nice touch to "World Keeps on Spinning," a song that encourages the beat-up and downtrodden to keep going because home is just around the corner.

Keeping with his firm belief that love needs to be about action, Sorensen spent the latter half of last March visiting radio, retail and media gatekeepers along with stopping at several college campuses to play concerts and speak on behalf of Pura Vida Coffee, a Seattle-based, charitably-owned specialty coffee company.

Pure Vida uses all of its resources to benefit at-risk children and their families in coffee-growing countries. The company is committed to carry only certified Fair Trade, organic, shade-grown coffee which helps to raise living standards for farmers and their communities and protect the environment. Sorensen played songs from "The Overflow" and talked about Pure Vida's mission at nearly a dozen campuses across the Midwest including Notre Dame, Bethel College, Trinity International and Calvin College.

Sorensen is a recent Belmont University graduate with a degree in Religious Studies. He has spent the past several years playing in clubs and colleges tacross the Midwest with his band, The Free Doves. He has also opened concerts for a wide range of artists including dc Talk, Eddie Money and Asleep at the Wheel.

Sorensen is serious about motivating others to love one another. "More than anything, I hope 'The Overflow' spurs anyone who hears it go do something," Sorensen said. "I'm not naive enough to believe that's going to happen with everyone. But if this record causes just one person to go shovel the driveway of a disabled neighbor - to go do love - then it's not in vain."

Sorensen's CD is a beautiful display of love in motion. Its lyrics are uplifting but challenging to the one who answers the call to go and "Love Somebody Else."

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