Christian rocker sings from heart
Remember some of the actors that slimy red
creature devoured in the science fiction movie, “The
Blob"? Randy Stonehill was one and Cindy Williams,
at that time a rookie in the field, came close to being
another.
Together they memorized lines, sang Neil Young
Fsongs at Randy's place and ultimately survived the
Blob. The movie ended and they parted ways. Cindy
became Hollywood's “Shirley," of “Laverne and
Shirley," and Randy became well known in the Chris
tian rock music industry.
Story by Melissa Martin
Photos by Jeff Dreiling
He was in Eugene two weeks ago, playing the
fairgrounds pavilion before an audience of 3,500
mostly high school kids who knew every word to
every song on every album Randy has cut. Surprising
ly, Randy's music still reflects an early 70's influence.
Dressed in a black and white checkered shirt, a
white jacket with elbow-length sleeves, a black tie,
black pants and black and white saddle shoes, Randy
cranked out rock'n'roll rhythms with incredible bar
chord slides and added interesting harmonics for the
.Eugene audience.
He is 30 years old, left handed and plays a right
After the Eugene concert, Stonehill spent an hour
and a half signing autographs and giving advice to
young musicians.
handed guitar with a hole in the side like Willie
Nelson's. But he brings out tones from the acoustical
Martin — Randy calls it his "six string monster" — as
if it were Pete Townshend's electric.
Maybe Randy has such a following because of his
rapport with the audience. He spent an hour and a
half after the Eugene concert signing autographs and
giving advice to young musicians.
"Try not to take yourself too seriously," he said.
Humor is part of Randy's character on and off
stage, but he faces reality and handles pressure by
"trying to focus on priorities."
"I take my eyes off myself or my fatigue or the
potential for mass rejection, and try to keep my
sights on why I'm doing what I'm doing," Stonehill
said.
. Randy, who performed after former NFL
linebacker Bill Glass spoke for a crusade that was in
town in mid-October, is in the mainstream of Chris
tian music. Last April his latest album, "Equator,"
stayed number three for five months.
Does Randy get criticized by other Christians for
playing rock music? Yes, he said. "Some eye me
cautiously,” Stonehill conceded.
"The key for me is to just make sure that what I
say and sing on stage is genuine. People will respect
you and listen to you even if they might not agree
with you, if they feel you are talking from your heart.
I believe what I have to say really needs to be heard.
"I don't have all the answers and I'm no spiritual
giant, but I know who I am and I know who Jesus is
and I know where I'm headed.
"It's not just the dream of desperate men."
The Christian music industry has become a big
business over the last 15 years, Randy said.
"That's good because we are able to reach more
people with better quality. But it also has potential
for being dangerous if we start to be more concerned
about financial success and marketing than
spreading the gospel," he said.
For the past 12 years Randy has been doing Chris
tian music and writing his own songs, such as the
one his Eugene audience sang with him called, "Shut
de do', keep out de debil." He told everyone to pick
a jungle noise that would fit close to their per
sonalities, while he beat out a bongo-like rhythm on
his guitar for the "Jamaican Hymn."
"This is an informal concert. And I like that,"
Randy told the receptive crowd.
And that crowd loves his music — music he calls
"a combination of new wave and Christian rock."
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• Prizes for the best
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• Music starts at 9 p.m.
259 E. 5th Ave.
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