Why I NEED Pulse 99.5!

So often it’s in the hard times that we finally realize what is truly important in life… what keeps us going… what makes an impact on who we are and what we do.

I have found one of the reasons as to why I can keep my head up everyday and know that there is still hope in these ever-darkening times. That is with Pulse 99.5! It’s nearly impossible to find another source of positive music that relates to me, that makes me crank up the volume, and that has me going from head-bobbing and fist-rocking moments to times of reflection, of a passionate connection through this blessing between me and a relevant, all-knowing and powerful Creator. There is NOT another station like this in the area that can reach my generation and me in a way that leads us to Him. So many in my generation are getting swept away by the deceivingly catchy hits of secular stations that encourage getting smashed, having sex, living for the fame and the pleasure, etc. These songs are impacting our community and leading people, even in the church, towards a road of brokenness.

Pulse 99.5FM is going against the grain, taking a stand, and reaching my generation in a positive way no other station can. This is why I NEED Pulse 99.5. I need lyrics and songs that are catchy, that relate to me, and that point me to something so much better… to a road that, though may still be difficult, is worth something so much more. My generation needs this station, and if you’re anything like me, then YOU need this station as well.

This is why I give to Pulse 99.5. To reach this world in a way few others can. Join me with your pledge to help Pulse 99.5FM keep playing great music AND keep reaching out to our community through CityStops, local events, AfterDark and more! Thank you!

-Echo

Album Review: Lecrae- Rehab Deluxe Edition

We’ve been “Checked in,” we’ve been on that “Overdose,” and now Lecrae is ready to come back with a package of both that fans won’t forget… and newly tuned-in listeners will wonder why they had waited so long to do so.

Welcome to Rehab: Deluxe Edition, a three-disc package of the Rehab album, the Rehab: Overdose album, and also a DVD packed full of his awesome music videos, live footage, behind the scenes shots, and some commentary. Lets dig right in.

The first album released last year by Lecrae, entitled Rehab, made a huge impact on the charts, setting record numbers and almost beating Lil’ Wayne for the top spot in the Hip Hop/Rap section on iTunes. This album is filled with hits, first by drawing us into the intro song “Check In.” Like a heartbeat this song begins the consistent pace for this stellar album. The ones that take the spotlight on this album (which was hard to narrow down, honestly) were: Killa, Just Like You, Gotta Know, God is Enough, Boasting (which you can hear now on Pulse 99.5FM!), and Background. One of the most diverse, and truly epic albums I’ve heard yet for sure.

But he’s not done there, no, it’s time for that Overdose.

The title track of this album starts it off with a bang, with lyrics punching out like, “..Boy that word of God get at you like a twitter name…” You can tell Lecrae truly desires for more of this relationship with Christ, and doesn’t back down in the anthem “Battle Song.” The ones that seemed to really stand out on this one were: Overdose, Battle Song, Blow Your High, Strung out, Chase That, and Like That. A great follow-up, especially releasing just a couple months after the original album was put out.

Three bonus songs were added to this second disc, which had all of the songs off the Overdose album on it as well. ”Hallelujah,” the single recently released on iTunes, gets your fists pumping and your yell louder, and I have this odd desire to see it in a worship set. I’m sure many would go crazy! The next one is “Wish It Wasn’t True,” and Lecrae sets it straight from the beginning of this song, “…I know I’ve been in Rehab, but I need to be checked in again…”. A very moving song that keeps raw honesty streaming throughout – definitely going to be in a constant rotation on my shuffle. The final new song is a Dubstep Remix done by Karac to ‘Crae’s past hit “Jesus Muzik.” This is one to put in your dance mix, because until the music stops your head will be bobbing, your feet will be moving, and you will want to dance.

This is an awesome Deluxe Edition, and you can tell Lecrae wanted to put as much as he could into this. If you already have the previous albums, I would highly encourage buying this not only for the new songs, but to also pass it onto someone who hasn’t heard these incredible albums yet.

Get into the Rehab, on that Overdose, and just hope that Lecrae doesn’t wait too long until he releases another epic project.

-Echo

Sidenote: Some of your favorite Pulse AfterDark artists like PRo, Tedashii, Trip Lee, and Lecrae came together to make a short film called “Man Up” also with a soundtrack. You can get this in stores wherever Rehab Deluxe Edition is also sold!

Last Day of Sonshine Festival 2011

Minnesota has caught onto Iowa’s seemingly bi-polar weather the last couple of days at Sonshine. Yesterday more chilly and wet with pouring rain, today, a few clouds but mostly sunshine and a heap of humidity! Though I felt a little warmer than I’d care for, it sure did make the last day of Sonshine a great one.

Today was filled with many bands not well known, and they gave us some great performances. Finding Favour, Bright Light Parade, Fades Away, and LightSwitch did a fantastic job. Bands more well known such as Silverline and Matt Maher also were quite good!

But the first Pulse artist to hit the stage was Disciple, and they sure got the crowd awake and rocking! With your favorite Disciple hits on Pulse (Dear X, Invisible), they were an energetic band feeding an enthusiastic crowd. Not to mention the crowd was recorded and will be put in a music video! Not sure what song yet, but be on the lookout, you might just see me in there!!

After another well done set by City Harmonic and a rousing talk from Nick Hall, Francesca Battistelli was the next Pulse Artist to hit the stage, and she gave a very enjoyable performance. I have never seen her live, but my respect for her, which was high already might I add, went up even more. She truly is a genuine artist and puts on a great show!

During this whole week of Sonshine, bands competed to try and win a spot to be on the main stage and play a 10-15 minute set on the last day of the Festival. The band to win this was The Lost Colors. First, congratulations to them, I hope as they go on that they keep doing well, they put on a very good performance, but what boldly stuck out to me was that the lead singer truly sounded like Paramore! It was impressive.

Next up were The Almost, and with former Underoath member Aaron Gillespie leading this band you know it was going to be highly energetic and a very epic time of music and rocking out. Though the heat was starting to get to the crowd and seemingly even the band, they played through and did a very good job.

Second to last was Anberlin, and I must say the crowd really ate up all that the band gave to them. I was truly impressed by how much the crowd participated and how well the band did considering how hot it was getting. Great endurance, and great show!

To wrap up Sonshine 2011, there are few more experienced and more capable of finishing a show with a bang than the Newsboys. And that they did. Pulse favorites and even some older 99.5 songs. I’ve always enjoyed the swag of Michael Tait, and he and the Newsboys band really do bring a great show, at least every time I’ve seen them. What a great way to end an awesome few days.

It’s been an awesome week here at Sonshine Festival 2011, I hope you all have enjoyed reading the daily blog posts, have checked out the photos, and plan to join me next year!

3rd Day at Sonshine Festival!

The third day at this rockin’ Sonshine Festival 2011 was filled with a bunch of great performances, even though at the beginning of the day things weren’t looking very promising. Rain was pouring down, and the areas where most people would walk on normally dry grass was covered in muddy puddles. It was a great day for someone who didn’t care about getting wet, but a horrible one for any divas or dudes trying to keep up their image!

First to kick the day off was K-Jay, a freshman, if you will, to the rap scene and trying to start the day off partying. It was a nice performance, but sadly very few attended.

The first Pulse artist to hit the stage was the Letter Black. A wake-up call to many weary and drenched fans. It was a well done set!

After them was a New Zealand band called Rapture Ruckus, with a good mix of party/rock hits this band did a great job, really got the crowd moving more.

But not many things can beat the sheer craziness of a Remedy Drive performance. If you were there, you would no what I mean, but since you weren’t, I’ll try and do my best to reiterate it. Playing some of your favorite Pulse hits and others off their new EP “Light Makes a Way,” these guys know how to rock out. The lead singer was all over the place, literally jumping on and rolling over his own piano a couple times! I enjoyed the energy of this set a lot.

After them was Stellar Kart, they performed one of their older songs that was played on 99.5 “Me and Jesus”, they did a great job on it. With some great humor, and playing some Disney movie songs, (Which was also announced, Stellar Kart is coming out with an EP on iTunes and their website, July 26th , with songs from Disney Movies on it!) these guys really energized the crowd. Not to mention the bass player, who was making a lot of the jokes, is from Iowa!

Up next were The Afters, and I must say they were very impressive. With some of your favorite Pulse Hits and Top 20 Hits, these guys really did put on an amazing show, rocking out even after the stage/concert director was trying to cut them off to end it! (Don’t worry they stopped shortly after!).

After a two hour break, The City Harmonic came back and played a small set before Bob Lenz, a Compassion International speaker and spokesperson, came on and talked for a while.

After a moving talk, it was time to get back to rocking, and Lincoln Brewster did a very well done worship set. I must also add that this dude’s shredding skills are absolutely incredible, even better seemingly in concert!!

After him was Tenth Avenue North, and I must say they captured the crowd in a way that only could be done if God is moving through the hearts of those listening, and that they were. Very passionate, and a very incredible performance I was impressed to the max by these guys and loved how much the crowd got into it! Great time of worship!

But of course the party doesn’t end there, oh no, it just had begun because to finish the night off was TobyMac and his DiverseCity Band! I had seen Toby and his crew when they came to WinterJam a couple years back, and since then, they haven’t stopped being one of the most enjoyable performance sets! Many of your favorite Pulse hits were played and I must say it’s hard to find a group so talented. Very impressed, a great way to end the shows for the day!

Also a sidenote, in DiverseCity Band is another Pulse Artist named Shonlock, he was there as well and had some sweet features on some of Toby’s songs!

Keep checking back on our Facebook and Twitter pages daily to see photos and catch up on the latest at the Sonshine Festival 2011!!

2nd Day of Sonshine Festival!

Today was the 2nd day of a huge Sonshine Festival 2011 with Pulse Artists such as: Hyland, Me In Motion, Chasen, Manafest, Fireflight, Family Force 5, and Skillet!

Many of Sonshine-goers experienced a very WET night. With over 2 inches sogging their tents, clothes, etc., the only thing dry were the clothes they were wearing! Luckily I’ve been blessed to be in a hotel–expecting some jabs from that, whoops– so I didn’t have to endure that, but it was impressive to see everyone maintain such a great spirit anyway!

First to start off the day was Hyland, belting the Pulse Top 20 hit “This Love Is Free.” They were a good start to the day, and I really enjoyed the genuine heart they seemed to have in their music. Very passionate!

Second was Me In Motion, and again, another Pulse Top 20 hit “Eye of the Hurricane” was performed and enjoyed, but towards the end of their show they changed up styles a little bit and played some worship songs. It was a nice switch-up.

Chasen was up next, and after a few tech difficulties they finally got underway and gave a great performance! “On and On” was well performed, as were many of their songs.

Chris August was after, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed his humor, and not to mention his “Candy Wrap…” rapping all about his funny enjoyment of candy (Trust me, he brought up everything from a tootsie pop to double stuffed oreos!).

But the next Pulse artist was Manafest, and he gave a rockin’ performance! Your favorite Pulse hits were well-played and loved by the crowd. I admit, the guitarist noticed us Iowans enjoying the show to the fullest and threw us his pick… we’re some of their biggest fans!

After a couple of hours of awesome performances I didn’t expect the level at which Fireflight would raise the bar! And raise it they did. Highly energetic, with great crowd participation, it was one of the most enjoyable sets of the day.

Do not be fooled though, after a couple good performances by The City Harmonics, a great painting by Eric Samuel Timm, and a wonderful worship set by Aaron Gilliespie of The Almost, the night was far from over.

Get your rock fist up and your swagger walk out, because next up was Family Force 5. It quickly became evident that this was the turning point of the night… where the partying/ rocking out was going to be taken to a whole new level. With great props such as the balloons with each of the band members faces on it attached to their backs, the FF5 2,000 (A giant drum beat machine, truly awesome!!), and a giant “bubble” that the lead rapper/singer of FF5 rolled out in, FF5 did an awesome job of getting the crowd ready for the showcase band of the night.

I have to be honest, I’ve seen Skillet in the past year or two in Ames, and I didn’t think there was much else they could do considering they have yet to put out a new album since that concert, but I was quickly proven WRONG! Right from the beginning, the intensity and sheer awesomeness of their performance took my breath away. They truly know how to rock a crowd, and that they did!! It was a great way to end the second night.

Be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages daily to follow all the latest photos and happenings at Sonshine Festival!

First Day at Sonshine Festival

Tonight kicked off the epic 2011 Sonshine Festival, with big hits such as Family Force 5, Lecrae, and Switchfoot!

Love Out Loud, an up-and-coming band, started the night off and did a great job of getting us all pumped up for the greatness to follow! Family Force 5 seemed to approach the set with a chill feeling. Then they went acoustic, followed by a heavy drum kick with the bass loud, giving the usual crunk/rock feel. The crowd responded enthusiastically!

Up next was Lecrae. As I try to stay unbiased, I must say he stole the show, performing most of his most popular songs! Security even had to come in and make sure that the crowd stayed in their shoes and didn’t get too crazy. But nothing could stop the energy… the fans were bouncing and jumping.

Switchfoot ended the night with a bang, playing many of your favorite Pulse 99.5 hits as well some new songs off their upcoming album, Vice Versus. The crowd was ready. They rocked out all night. The energy even carried to the outskirts of the people in the crowd. A great way to end the first day of Sonshine for sure!

Keep checking back for a daily update on some of your favorite Pulse artists and others who perform at this awesome festival. Also, visit our Facebook and Twitter pages to see photos of some of your favorite bands!