North Point has worked hard to create a
welcoming environment for their guitarists.
As a matter of fact, North Point’s technologically advanced setup
would put some large
performing venues to
shame. Professional
staff members manage
an automated front-of-house digital console.
Rehearsals are recorded
on Pro Tools and given to
each musician afterwards
to aid practicing. Players perform with wireless setups and use custom-molded in-ears
systems for monitoring. Amps are isolated
and mic’ed in a back room, allowing the
guitarists to operate their rigs at full, tube-saturating volume without ruining the overall
mix. The players are free to dial in their own
tones for each song, and have an impressive
level of autonomy, considering the church’s
meticulous production.
Steve Tomason, a professional guitarist
at North Point who has been playing for
over 20 years, performs weekly through his
Marshall JCM2000 head and a Bogner 2x12
cab, and is quick to emphasize how supportive North Point has been. “The church has
just been great; they really understand what
we’ve been talking about in emphasizing
quality. They don’t mind spending money to
do things right,” he says. “I’ve played in so
many places and I’ve never played around as
many pros as this. We are a community.”
In fact, the integration of guitar into worship services has been so successful for
North Point that two years ago the music
department held open auditions for guitarists. Although they weren’t looking for any
musicians at the time, Reid says they were
trying to deal with the constant deluge of
JOYFUL
NOISE
calls from area guitarists, inquiring about
open positions with the band. “We just
wanted to know who was out there, if there
was anybody we should
be using,” Reid recalls.
“It was a real eye-open-
ing experience for us.”
Over the course of two
nights, over 150 players
auditioned – with over 80
percent of them being
primarily electric players –
and North Point brought
four aboard. Only one is still actively playing
with the church.
An Industry Looking Up
It may be an extreme understatement to
say that Christian music has become big
business. According to the Gospel Music
Association, the unifying organization for
modern Christian music, Christian/gospel
(a distinction that is subtle and shifting at
best) music sales have increased from $188
million in 1990 to almost $700 million annually. Over 54. 2 million units of Christian CDs,
digital albums and digital tracks were sold in
Boutique gear has not been excluded from the church. Here, Matt Adkins plays his
American Deluxe Tele with noiseless pickups through a Bad Cat Black Cat 30.
