Nouveaux
's Back in the early 80's, Sheffield, England's very own Def Leppard exploded onto the music scene taking the world by storm with their high octane Arena Rock sound. With such an over the top sound, it wasn't long before other bands followed suit as Nouveaux quickly took to the stage. Nouveaux was the christian answer to Def Leppard- one of the Biggest Rock Band that the World has ever seen. With that said, Nouveaux isn't the first christian band to align themselves with the arrangements and sounds of secular artists. We have seen the same with such bands as Whitecross who sound similar to the band Ratt and then there's X-sinner who sounded a lot like the world famous Australian band AC/DC. Also, there's Oklahoma City Thrashers-Eternal Decision who sound similar to the band Metalica. However, by no means is Nouveaux an exact copy of said band because they also bring to the table some of their own original arrangements as well.
Nouveaux is an Arena Rock band from Nashville, TN who formed back in 1994 by Guitarist-Steve Ashley and Bassist-Kurt Lehman. Nouveaux is a derivative of the french word Nouveau which means something that's 'new' to someone. It wasn't long before Steve & Kurt added Vocalist/Keyboardist-Paul Alan to the group to make it a 3-piece band. With the addition of frontman Paul Alan, the band started playing gigs for the Breakout Drug Education Program at High Schools in the southern Michigan area. While performing these High School shows the band started building a fan base which moved them to start writing songs and putting together some new arrangements. This soon landed them a record deal in 1994 with Benson Records of Nashville,TN.
Nouveaux has shared the stage with many great artists including: Micheal Sweet (Stryper), East To West (Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts), Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline and many more...
The band toured for about 6 years making stops all over the United States, Canada, and Singapore. Nouveaux had two #1 singles on CCM Radio along with 4 top 10 singles on CCM as well.
Nouveaux is an Arena Rock band from Nashville, TN who formed back in 1994 by Guitarist-Steve Ashley and Bassist-Kurt Lehman. Nouveaux is a derivative of the french word Nouveau which means something that's 'new' to someone. It wasn't long before Steve & Kurt added Vocalist/Keyboardist-Paul Alan to the group to make it a 3-piece band. With the addition of frontman Paul Alan, the band started playing gigs for the Breakout Drug Education Program at High Schools in the southern Michigan area. While performing these High School shows the band started building a fan base which moved them to start writing songs and putting together some new arrangements. This soon landed them a record deal in 1994 with Benson Records of Nashville,TN.
Nouveaux has shared the stage with many great artists including: Micheal Sweet (Stryper), East To West (Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts), Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline and many more...
The band toured for about 6 years making stops all over the United States, Canada, and Singapore. Nouveaux had two #1 singles on CCM Radio along with 4 top 10 singles on CCM as well.
1994
In 1994, Nouveaux released their full-length debut album simply titled 'Beginnings'. This release finds the band in top form with Massive hooks and powerful choruses. With this release, we can see that the group has move from a 3-piece band to a 5-piece fully outfitted power house. Members include Vocalist-Paul Alan,
Lead Guitarist-KC Smothers, Guitarist-Steve Ashley, Bassist-Kurt Lehman, and Drummer-Jeff Ausdamore.
Lead Guitarist-KC Smothers, Guitarist-Steve Ashley, Bassist-Kurt Lehman, and Drummer-Jeff Ausdamore.
Vocalist Paul Alan's delivery quickly draws comparisons to well known Vocalist Joe Elliott(Def Leppard) with plenty of grit and an ability to reach higher ranges. Also, you will find that the harmonies between the lead and backing vocals will draw strong comparisons to that of the aforementioned band as well. The harmonies throughout this project are one of the highlights on this release.
Guitars are managed by KC Smothers & co-founder Steve Ashley and are in keeping with the 80's era guitar shredn' styles with driving riffs, uplifting accompaniment, general noodling, and bluesy style play.
Our percussion team is comprised of Bassist-Kurt Lehman & Drummer-Jeff Ausdamore who both add a strong punch to the mix. Jeff's kit work is in keeping with the 80's era drum styles as he rocks the house.
The band's lyrics are bold for the Lord
which was often the case with christian Rock bands of the 80's as one can see here:
which was often the case with christian Rock bands of the 80's as one can see here:
"We Believe"
Lightning strikes in a distant sky
The thunder rolls so take the time and listen
A ball of fire lights the day
Burning the stormy night away
This ain't no mistake
There's a party going on under the stars You made
People everywhere join in to sing it
Whoa whoa we believe
Ohh hands are lifted high
Whoa whoa we believe
Ohh reaching for the Maker of the sky
Reaching philosophy of a modern age
Evolution of the human race
They're lying to your face a spoken word
The world conceived
By God above
We believe
Lightning strikes in a distant sky
The thunder rolls so take the time and listen
A ball of fire lights the day
Burning the stormy night away
This ain't no mistake
There's a party going on under the stars You made
People everywhere join in to sing it
Whoa whoa we believe
Ohh hands are lifted high
Whoa whoa we believe
Ohh reaching for the Maker of the sky
Reaching philosophy of a modern age
Evolution of the human race
They're lying to your face a spoken word
The world conceived
By God above
We believe
(See Site Info for Sword Scale meaning)
In 1996 the band released their followup sophomore full-length album titled 'And This Is How I Feel'. This release finds the band going in more of a mellow adult contemporary direction featuring acoustic guitars. It's also worth noting that in 1997 KC Smothers left the band to join the well known Metal band Whitecross.
As found on the band's facebook page:
"There have been a lot of people wondering if the band will ever reunite and record another CD. The answer is a resounding no but you will hear some new music from me (Steve Ashley) sometime this year....I co wrote and was largely responsible for the music for the songs: Through Heaven's Fields, If Only, Maybe Tomorrow, Wonder, Never See The Day, We Believe, All That Glitters. I saw in an article somewhere that Paul Alan took credit for penning If Only but that is not the case. That song was birthed on the front porch at my mom and dad's house in the fall by the lake while I was noodling on my acoustic guitar. Paul and I co wrote almost everything we recorded. Some reasons to why the band want reunite are that Jeff moved to Texas, Kurt lives in Grand Rapids, MI... Paul Alan has no interest in doing music anymore because he was burned by the Christian music industry in a lot of ways. It is still a passion of mine and I may end up doing some stuff with KC Smothers again. We shall see...."
"There have been a lot of people wondering if the band will ever reunite and record another CD. The answer is a resounding no but you will hear some new music from me (Steve Ashley) sometime this year....I co wrote and was largely responsible for the music for the songs: Through Heaven's Fields, If Only, Maybe Tomorrow, Wonder, Never See The Day, We Believe, All That Glitters. I saw in an article somewhere that Paul Alan took credit for penning If Only but that is not the case. That song was birthed on the front porch at my mom and dad's house in the fall by the lake while I was noodling on my acoustic guitar. Paul and I co wrote almost everything we recorded. Some reasons to why the band want reunite are that Jeff moved to Texas, Kurt lives in Grand Rapids, MI... Paul Alan has no interest in doing music anymore because he was burned by the Christian music industry in a lot of ways. It is still a passion of mine and I may end up doing some stuff with KC Smothers again. We shall see...."
Looking for more hard hitting music to add to your collection then one should consider what Nouveaux has offered up. What you have before you is, without doubt, a solid debut release to be had and played loud. If you are like me and can't get enough of that 80's era Arena Rock sound and are into bands like Idle Cure, Shout, or Def Leppard then you are in for a feast and are going to love Nouveaux. Procure your copy of the band's debut release 'Beginnings' and begin reliving the nostalgia of the golden years of Rock'n Roll.
'Beginnings' can be found at one of the following locations:
Musicians:
Paul Alan-Vocals/Keyboards
KC Smothers-Lead Guitars/Backing Vocals
Steve Ashley-Guitars/Backing Vocals
Kurt Lehman-Bass/Backing Vocals
Jeff Ausdamore-Drums/Backing Vocals
Paul Alan-Vocals/Keyboards
KC Smothers-Lead Guitars/Backing Vocals
Steve Ashley-Guitars/Backing Vocals
Kurt Lehman-Bass/Backing Vocals
Jeff Ausdamore-Drums/Backing Vocals
