The Omnibus

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Gallery

Media Credit: Zach Henderson Derek Webb, formerly of Caedmon's Call, performed Wednesday, March 28 in Pike Auditorium. Webb mixes well-written music with spiritually-grounded lyrics.

The stage in Pike Auditorium is definitely not new to the concept of hosting acoustic artists. However, not often has Mabee Chapel been graced with two performers who possess the performer / audience connectivity such as Alli Rogers and Derek Webb.
March 28 at 7 p.m., Rogers and Webb invited the audience of close to 300 people into an experience in both musicality and spirituality that left most spectators humming their tunes all over campus.
Both hailing from Nashville, Tenn., Rogers and Webb have been touring together for just over a month now, sporting their acoustic / folk brand of music from town to town across the United States.
Webb has been known in Christian circles mostly for his 10 years as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, in which he played guitar and sang secondary vocals. Webb left Caedmon's Call in 2002 and began to pursue a solo career in music, for which he is henceforth less known for his catchy folk guitar parts and breathy vocals and more for the controversy initiated by his provocative lyrics.
"I think if I was from a different part of the country singing these songs, it probably would be pretty nerve wracking," admitted Webb. "But I feel like I know something about the South. I grew up in the South. I tour mostly in the South. So [in that] I almost consider it part of my job to, kind of, agitate."
Although no one voiced their concerns with Webb's lyrics publicly, given the let's-sit-down-and-have-a-conversation style of audience interaction Webb operates with, some onlookers squirmed in their seats a little when Webb addressed issues such as the political aspects of Christianity, the ethicality of war, abortion, suicide and the metaphorical relation between unauthentic Christianity and prostitution.
Luckily for Southwest Baptist University, Webb has done his homework on where to draw the line as far as lyrical content is concerned, and is well grounded in his reasons for exploring such lyrically gray areas.
"There were moments after my first record when I was getting such a warm reception from certain place I would go that I was kind of worried that maybe I had watered it down a little too much," explained Webb.
"A really smart person once told me that if you're telling someone the truth and they love you for it, then you're probably not telling people the truth."
The truth is present in all of Webb's songs and in those performed by Rogers, who opened the set.
Both performers matched their musicianship with biblically-rooted lyrics that were insightful, philosophical, yet, at times, poignant and narrative.
Rogers and Webb will continue touring together throughout the next few weeks until Webb's new album debuts May 1.
A pre-sale of Webb's new album, "The Ringing Bell," along with a graphic novel, will soon be available from his web site www.derekwebb.com.

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