Only Seconds (ep)
Artist: Northern Room
©2007 independent
 
Last Embrace (ep)
Artist: Northern Room
©2006 independent
 
The last Cornerstone Festival I was able to attend was in 2003.  At that point, I got to see the band Jacobstone perform on the Gallery Stage.  I was impressed with their sound and the visual experience of that actual concert, as loops of old movies played in a projection backdrop.  Fast forward.  The band broke up, meaning another blip on the ever-growing history of  “Christian” rock.  A couple of years ago, I was missing the band and wanted to know if there might be some remnant floating around the net.  Much to my overjoyed surprise, there was a link to a Northern Room website.  Needless to say, I was stoked! 
 
The two things that drew me to the former band were the vocals of Andrew Jonathan and the intelligent songwriting.  Northern Room hits both cylinders again.  Andrew Jonathan has a set of modern rock ‘pipes’ that are pleasant to the ears, reminding me of Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls or Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, the later of whom they’ve played with in the past.  Tony Olla is the other former Jacobstone member.  The sound is college radio meets solid modern rock radio.  It is very accessible with catchy melodies and strong hooks.  He strives to write songs that will speak to people, as stated in his latest blog on their myspace page: “…I struggle as a songwriter, always questioning if I am writing songs that will connect with people, that will change a moment in someone's day, that will feed my family and, honestly, that will sell (not millions...just enough to pay the rent ;).  It is a very fine line writing songs that connect with the indie kids, the gen x-er's, the baby boomers and everyone in between.  It is a difficult balance to keep.  I am in a constant rush to write those brilliant tunes when, really, I need to let the songs happen when "they" want to be written.” You cannot argue with sensibility and patience to bring about something great.
 
Northern Room is a breath of fresh air.  Listening to these guys, you get a strong sense of hope for the future, at least the future of rock music.  God has definitely breathed the heart of creativity into this band.  Now, I only wish they did some extensive touring outside of their home state of Wisconsin.  I’m just hoping they play next summer at Cornerstone.  These guys need to be heard.
 
thecannyshark

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