Grammy-nominated artist Rob Beckley says he’s excited that his upcoming solo album will be the first release on new record label idefi Music.

“I am incredibly excited that idefi believes in me enough to be their initial launch artist. I believe in idefi and what it stands for and am incredibly honored,” he says. “An unknown future is as exciting as it gets in business, especially the music industry.”

For years Beckley served as lead vocalist for the nu-metal band Pillar and is scheduled to release his debut solo album in March through idefi. During his time with Pillar, the band sold over a million records worldwide and won three Dove awards. Their 2008 effort, “the Reckoning,” received a Grammy nod for “Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album.”

“The solo record is an opportunity to just be myself and not worry about sounding like what Pillar is supposed to sound like,” he said. “I love rock, I love worship, and I love anthemic songs. This will be a straightforward rock record with the same passionate lyrics people grew used to in Pillar.”

“I really cannot wait for people to hear the record Rob’s working on and see what an artist can do when they are not under the thumb of a traditional label,” says idefi CEO Brady Deaton.

idefi Music is a new record label model that puts control into the hands of the artists. It allows artists to set their own pricing and determine what, when and how their music is released. Payment to the artist is instant and does not revolve around recouping advances and exorbitant promotional fees as seen in the traditional model.

“We’ve scanned a million records but we really haven’t seen any royalties,” Beckley says. “They loan you all this money to do a record and you have to pay it back plus all the marketing before you get to any kind of return.”

Music from Rob’s new album will be released shortly after the launch of idefi Music on March 14. To learn more about idefi Music, visit http://www.idefimusic.com.

This just up on HawkNelson.com in response to the impending departure of vocalist Jason Dunn.

We want to officially announce that Jason Dunn will be leaving Hawk Nelson at the beginning of May to pursue his solo career.

“For 10 years we have climbed this mountain together. Hawk Nelson has gone through thick and thin, challenges and blessings. Jason is a brother, and we will miss everything he brings to the band. We know that God has a plan for him as well as for the future of Hawk Nelson. We’re excited to share about the future of Hawk Nelson very soon, and we constantly give God all the praise and glory.”

-Daniel Biro, Jonathan Steingard, and Justin Benner

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This week on the show we are honored to be joined by documentary director Tim Hudson. His upcoming film Bleed Into One takes a look at the history of Christian Rock and the perils that it has survived. They are currently raising funds to finished the film on kickstarter.com click here to pledge and learn more about the film.

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Look for the new poll to go live sometime on Wednesday!  : )

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After nearly a decade with Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, frontman and founding member Jason Dunn will depart the GRAMMY® and Dove Award nominated group on May 15th. Dunn plans to release his first solo project under the name Lights Go Down later this year.

Dunn spent the last few months recording at Profile Studios in Vancouver, B.C., with RIAA Gold-accredited record producer Steve Kravac (Blink 182, MxPx, Less Than Jake). Tentatively titled Abandon Progress, information about the album’s release date and label and distribution plans are forthcoming.

Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Hawk Nelson signed to Tooth and Nail Records in 2004, and to date have recorded 5 full-length albums selling in excess of 600,000 units. A compilation album, The Songs You’ve Already Heard: Best of Hawk Nelson, is scheduled for release on March 27, 2012.

“I will miss playing music on stage with my friends, but really looking forward to the future with Lights Go Down,” says Dunn. “I wish Hawk Nelson the very best with their future endeavors.”

For more information, follow Lights Go Down on Facebook and Twitter.

~ Brian Mayes, Nashville Publicity Group

New releases for January 31 , 2012 in the Christian Rock/Hip-Hop/Hard Music genres.

Click on any cover to purchase or preview an album.

(All albums purchased through these amazon.com links help support the work of The Christian Rock 20.)

	Abandon Control (Expanded Edition) {Forefront}
	The Sacrificed III {Roxx}
	Starfield The Kingdom {Independent}
	Thrice At Guitar Center (7″ Single) {Vagrant}

Get these albums and many more through our Amazon store. Click below to access.

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This week we are honored to have Karl Ney, the drummer for legendary rockers, Guardian! They have played for thousands over the years and Guardian is now active again having recently releasing a three song ep called 3 To Get Read. They are beginning work for their next full length album (their first since 1997). This is going to be an epic interview. Don’t miss it.

If you want to win a digital copy of 3 To Get Ready get signed up for the E-Newsletter and we’ll draw winners next week.

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This week’s guest on The Christian Rock 20 countdown is former guitarist for Korn, Brian “Head” Welch. We are going to be talking about the new ep that he has slatted for an April release, how life has been treating him, the departure from his label, being a father, and being a Christian. This is an interview that you will not want to miss.

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This week on the show we have Daniel Voris, drummer for Pioneer. Formerly known as News From Verona, Pioneer is coming out with their new album on January 24th. Their new name brings with it a new more mature rock n roll sound and their song Treason is already tearing up the charts. Don’t miss out on the interview, it will be quite fantastic.

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This week on the show we are joined by journalist, author, husband and Project 86 front man Andrew Schwab. Project 86 is nearing the end of their Kickstarter campaign to record their 8th album. We are going to talk about that as well as his upcoming book. It is always great to have Andrew on the show and this will be no exception. Catch it this week.

If you want to pledge to help Project 86 make their next album click here.

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