Music
Press
elsewhere is a dream to work with. Their gifts mixed with a passion for Christ is an incredible avenue to lead people of all ages into a time totally focused on the bigness and greatness of the God we love and serve. I whole heartily recommend them!
Shari Hickom
Conference Coordinator
Ministries with Youth and Young Adults
North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church - Shari Hickom, Spiritual Life Retreat 2005
It is my honor to give the highest recommendation for elsewhere. These guys are the real deal. Not only are they great musicians, they are more importantly incredible ministers of the Gospel. They have a heart to connect on and off stage with everyone they come in contact with. There heart for worship is displayed in their everyday lives. Their desire is to lead people into the presence of God and communicate that worship is not just a song we sing, but a life we live. They would be a great addition in any ministry setting!
- Jason Britt, Speaker and Director for Impact Camps, Georgia Baptist Convention Youth Ministry Office
Your band is unlike any band I've ever known. You are people that have the ability to change people's lives. God works through you.
- Da Young - youth Porter Memorial Baptist Church
"If there is one group of guys that I want to worship with, it's these guys. I never have to worry about their leadership. They know how to lead a service without taking over the service, which is a very hard thing to find in worship bands."
- Steve Klaesius, Youth Minister and Group Camps Speaker
ELSEWHERE just rocked! Our youth and children really got something out of the night. Our children were so fortunate to have had you and Chad with them for those days in Pine Mountain. God certainly placed you in our path. I'm convinced that lives were touched over the last few days. - Kara Wheeler - Dir. of Youth and Children, Hawkinsville United Methodist Church, Hawkinsville, GA
It has been a thrill of mine to serve alongside Elsewhere! We worshipped together in Song and Word. We saw many come to Jesus for salvation! Authentic, God-ward and spirituality intoxicating sums up a persons experience with elsewhere.
Tony Nolan,
National Youth Communicator
President of TNT Ministries
- Tony Nolan
Stick Your Neck Out: Worshiping as a Guitar Band
by Kent Morris
The band is Elsewhere. Guitar driven toward worship, Jimmy Bell, Chad Elliott, Dan Brothers and Sam Darden deliver a string-laden sound reminiscent of guitar bands of the nineties, but with more clarity to the edge. Wielding an array of acoustic, electric and bass guitars, Elsewhere is the kind of band critics refer to as “authentic, real and genuine” and audiences describe simply as “right on.” Either way, the musical recipe relies heavily on strings of varying gauges for their sound.
Neck Pain
Tragedy and triumph tend to accompany each other. Shortly after Elsewhere’s calendar filled up, the guys ordered cases of T-shirts, CDs and POS (Point Of Sale) displays for the upcoming schedule. Once loaded into their trailer, the entire assemblage was parked alongside the offices of Morningstar Church. Jamie Powell, Morningstar’s pastor, allowed the band to secure the trailer in a fenced area behind the church in return for use of the trailer when the church needed to transport chairs and other items. Everything went well until someone broke into the secured area and stole the trailer and all its contents. Naturally, the theft occurred early on the Saturday morning before the church and band launched KidStuf, a new high-energy children’s program they had been promoting for months. With the help of their equipment supplier, enough substitute gear was rounded up to present the program on Sunday, but the arduous work of putting things back as they were was just beginning. Jimmy says of the ordeal, “We learned to always keep a record of every serial number for all our equipment and to have photos of it in use to speed the replacement process. It’s not something to relish, but the journey has matured us and made us appreciate the tools God has given us to accomplish our ministry.”
Break Your Heart
Jimmy’s losses included a marvelous 1979 Fender Stratocaster, a quilt-top Gibson Les Paul, along with a custom pedal rig and two amplifiers. Chad suffered the loss of his Taylor 514 acoustic and a classic Ernie Ball Axis SuperSport electric. Sam’s complete Ampeg bass rig was also taken along with Dan’s beautiful DW drum kit and the band’s entire PA system. Once all the paperwork was completed and the insurance checks began to arrive, the guys went shopping and came home with an all single-coil Fender Power Tele plus a Peavey Limited Custom and HP Signature electrics for Jimmy, a Peavey Generation Custom electric with ACM (ACoustic Modeling) and a sweetly-toned Martin 000-16 grand Auditorium acoustic for Chad. In the bass department, Sam chose a Warwick six string bass powered by a new Peavey Pro 500 bass head and 4/10 cabinet that Sam describes as, “the one amp setup that gets every tone I want instantly.” Dan was blessed with a custom Risen acoustic drum kit that is “everything I’ve dreamed a kit could be.” In all, the team is now blessed with excellent equipment and has returned to the task of improving their music.
Pedaling Worship
Contemporary worship music depends on keyboards for texture and mood. Pads of sustained chords are used between songs to create flow and within songs to envelop the music within context. String patches of violin, viola, and cello are elemental to many slower worship tunes and hold the key to invitation moments. So, then, how does a guitar-only band create the intimacy needed for worship? The secret for Elsewhere is to emulate the role keyboards play without resorting to keyboard synthesis. For instance, to model the ethereal tone of key pads, Jimmy uses a combination of guitar pedals. He contends the fluidity keyboard pads impart is less a function of tone and due primarily to broad dynamic ranges in volume. To that end, he uses his volume, swell and wah pedals in an endless cascade of ebb and flow running through sustained guitar notes. The effect is well received, with little audience awareness of any missing keyboards. Jimmy and Chad also use preprogrammed loops to develop continuity within a song and to signify the musical bedrock of more uptempo selections. With Chad churning rhythmic chords on the Martin acoustic, Jimmy will overlay countermelodies that paint a sonic landscape both deep and wide in scope. To solidify the low end, Sam uses all six of his Warwick bass guitar strings to emulate a keyboardist’s left hand work. Sam’s dexterity and musical sensitivity combine to produce a fullness to the band’s mix that belies its absence of keys.
Elsewhere is proof guitars can make it alone in a keyboard embedded world. With guitars in hand, they roam across the country leading youth in worship at retreats, conferences, festivals and church services. Their music is engaging, relevant and spiritually enriching. They have learned to be content and work with what they are given. Despite their equipment loss and journey of rebuilding, Jimmy, Chad, Sam and Dan are joyful the - Worship Leader Magizine
Discography
May 2007 - pending release of third cd to be titled "elsewhere". Project produced by Steve Thomason of 7:22.
February 2005 - "Songs Of A Generation", Mixed by Andy Highsmith @ Due South Studios and Mastered by the legendary Rodney Mills.
November 2003- Full Length CD "I Need You" recorded at Number 9 Studio.
Photos
Bio
News Update:
March 2007 - elsewhere ends 6 month break and prepares to release upcoming cd entitled "elsewhere".
November 2006 - After over 3 years of constant touring, elsewhere takes 6 month break following final 2006 dates in Seattle, Washington.
July 2006 - elsewhere completes studio recording of full length cd project to be released in Summer 2007.
June 2006- elsewhere featured in Worship Leader Magazine (see Press link above for copy of article).
April 2006 - elsewhere to lead Georgia YMCA State-wide Rally. This will be the first time in 18 years that all of the YMCA clubs across Georgia have come together. This was an awesome weekend @ Rock Eagle!
March 2006 - elsewhere completes 9 stop short tour over southern and north Georgia seeing many come to faith.
January 2006 - elsewhere attends the World Vision Artists' Retreat.
December 29, 2005 - elsewhere leads over 5,000 young and adult men during Rush Rally, Georgia Baptist Youth Evangelism Conference, in Macon, Georgia
elsewhere's collective style is fueled by deep and broad individual musical talents and their passion for God and His presence.
Seeking to glorify the name of Jesus through relevant worship, pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ. With these guys from Georgia, the "e" is lower case to remind us all that the focus is not on the music or a band, but God alone deserves our attention.
Chad Elliott- comes from a background of ministry, which spans from staff coordinator at Super Wow to working with youth in a small Baptist church. His musical influences include worship leaders such as David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, and Shane Barnard and so on... His love to see people worship drives him to minister through his musical talent. Chad is connected to the local church and is the Worship Leader for Morning Star Baptist Church in Canton, Georgia.
Jimmy Bell - began musical training on piano and trumpet at an early age. As a thirteen-year old, he picked up a guitar and life changed. From acoustic folk to rock and bluegrass gospel to R&B his musical preferences are diverse and unique. His musical influences include U2, Rush, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Four Tops, Willie Nelson and Caedmon's Call. His goal is, "for each person to seize the opportunities that God lays before them." Jimmy's previous church staff assignments include Youth Minister, Worship Leader and Director of Christian Education. Jimmy has served as a local area Young Life Leader and was a Co-Editor for the most recent musical songbook published by Young Life in 2002. Jimmy recently served as the Worship Arts Director at Lake Ridge Church in Cumming, Georgia. When not traveling with elsewhere, he assists area church worship teams on guitar and vocals.
In addition to traveling extensively as a band, each member is rooted in the local church for discipleship and accountability.
elsewhere is also part of the Independent Artist Associates program of World Vision, seeking to aid the world's poor and marginalized through relief efforts and child sponsorship.
Links
