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Crafting an impact in hymnland
By MOLLY MOORHEAD BLANTON -- Hymnland is no place for teenagers. Pipe organs and droning voices can hardly compete with howling guitars and throbbing bass for young people's interest. So 17-year-old Evan Alston, who gave his church, Blanton Baptist, the affectionate moniker, introduced the hymns to the guitars. The result is Blanton Impact, a five-member rock band of teenagers who sing contemporary Christian music and hymns they have "grungified." "We've got to have music that gets us going and brings us closer to Christ," said Alston, who plays lead guitar. "But also to bring in others to witness to them." The church's youth pastor, Davy Singleton, says that's exactly the band's mission: to get the kids fired up about worshiping God, and to minister to people who don't believe. "Music is the generation that we live. If you're going to reach people, it is going to be through music, not talking," said Singleton, 32. The band members are on board with that philosophy. As evangelical Christians, they frequently try to reach out to other kids at school and talk to them about religion. They know it can be a tough sell. "When you just talk, it goes in one ear and out the other," said Kristy Hicks, 16, one of the two singers. "Maybe this will be different." Blanton Impact (which stands for Impacting My Planet According to Christ's Teachings) began rehearsing in November. Alston had the original idea to form the band. It didn't take long to find others in the youth group who were hungry for some edgier music. "Borrrrr-ing" is how Whitney Forrester, the other singer, described the church hymns. "We needed something to get us going," Alston said. They began with the song I Want to Know You and rehearsed it over and over until they began to hate it. Since then, they've learned some more contemporary Christian songs, such as Jesus Is and Trading My Sorrows. But they're at their best when they dust off songs from the church hymnal and let the guitars loose on them. "This is the most awesome song when it's 'grungified,' " Alston said as the group launched into a gritty version of Nothing But the Blood. To craft arrangements, Alston plots out the bar chords, and Hicks and Forrester start singing how they think the song should sound. Chris Stallings, on bass, follows Alston's lead, and drummer Adam Hicks sets the tempo. "Adam just does his own thing," Alston said. "He knows what he's doing so he can come up with a beat." Adam Hicks, 15, Kristy's cousin, joined the group most recently. Before that, they had to use a keyboard synthesizer for drums. They rehearse for two hours every week, usually in a small classroom at the church with several couches and religious banners. Singleton, the youth pastor, continually adjusts the equipment while the kids push through each song, making subtle changes and striving for a smooth sound. But like most teenagers, they are easily distracted. They joke around between songs and lose their focus. They're constantly checking their cell phones, and they have other things on their minds, such as taking the FCAT. "They have their off moments, but I hammer them," Singleton said. The group performed for the first time publicly at the Feb. 17 parade in Dade City. They piled onto a float and cruised down Seventh Avenue, banging drums, working the crowd and rotating through a few different songs. Forrester said the reaction was mixed. The older people loved them, she said, but the young ones didn't know what to think. They next perform April 5 at the Edwinola to raise money for a mission trip to Mexico. And this month, the five will head into a studio to record a CD. Singleton hopes to line up some performances on the street, where people can hear the group's message and get a copy of the free CD. The five teens were friends before forming the band, but they're closer now. Forrester, 15, said she's also grown in her faith. "I've been so much closer to God now that I sing to him," she said. For the two girls in particular, the glamor of the spotlight has them giddy with excitement. They hope to one day hear themselves on Christian radio, at least locally. But the group never seems to lose focus on what Blanton Impact is about: helping people come to know Jesus. "They're lost and we want to find them," Kristy Hicks said.
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