Rush of Fools - ChristianMusic.com

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About Rush of Fools

Emphasis on the "rush" in Rush of Fools, considering the Birmingham, Alabama band only started performing together in October 2005. Six months later, they won the first annual Band with a Mission competition, drawing the attention of several record labels. A year after that and they're one of 2007's buzz artists, having scored their first #1 single with "Undo" before their self-titled debut has even released. Talk about overnight success.

In fact, the band is so green that, according to their liner notes, Rush of Fools didn't even record their debut. Wes Willis and Kevin Huguley sang their vocals, but producers and studio musicians handled all the music—two of the members were finishing high school during the recording process. At least they write their own material, and of course, they do perform live.

Each member of Rush Of Fools has known since an early age they wanted to serve God with their lives and their music. “Since high school, I just always had a passion for ministry and in recent years, a passion for church planting. I thought that what God was wiring me for before he slapped us in the face with all of this stuff that we weren’t really expecting,” says guitarist and vocalist Kevin Huguley with a big smile.

The band takes its name from 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. In the scripture the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in an effort to humble them. “Paul tells the church to remember that there was nothing special about them before Christ,” says Huguley. “None of them were smart. None of them were from rich, wealthy families. None of them were huge political leaders.

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Rush of Fools released their self-titled debut album in 2007.  It's not hard to hear why listeners quickly embraced the band's worshipful pop approach. "Undo" ( ASCAP’s most-played Christian song of 2007) has a refreshing openness in its prayerful confession of sinful nature, and this straightforward look at grace carries into other tracks like "Fame" and the ambient ballad "Your Love." Though it relies on the familiar "every knee will bow" worship theme, "We All" benefits from a strong melodic hook in its shout along chorus. And simplicity works in favor of the ballad "Already," centering on how we can do nothing to earn God's love - we have it.

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That fusion carries over into the band’s second full-length release, Wonder Of The World (2008), a record crafted simultaneously on the run and yet with purpose and progress in mind.

“It’s funny to think about the course of events that have taken place,” says Kevin Huguley, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for breakthrough Midas Records band Rush of Fools. “And all that time, God’s still kept us on that path we feel He’s called us to be on. It feels like the fast-forward button’s been pressed on our lives this whole time.”

“I think that compared to the last record, we actually had time to breathe,”  lead vocalist/songwriter Wes Willis says. “We played hundreds of shows and wrote and sat and played together and worshipped together. All those things fed into this album, and I think we were able to write songs the same way we did last time and yet we found a new voice, a growth in ourselves and in our collaborations with our producers. We’re still a worship band, and we still love writing those kinds of songs.

The expansion of Rush of Fools’ musical vocabulary is evident throughout Wonder Of The World, with the pogoready rocker “Lose It All” lining up right alongside the hypnotic “Escape,” contrasting with the lullaby feel of “Tonight” and the piano ballad “The Only Thing that’s Beautiful in Me.”

“This has been a dramatic lifestyle change,” Willis admits. “Being sucked out of your homes and stuck out on the road playing all over. But when you’re in the same little van, driving around with the same guys, you get to grow together. You have to stick to those things God is calling you to do. We’re a worship band; let’s continue to write worship songs.

“It should impact you, and in a way that should cause you to seek the Lord more,” Willis continues. “I think it has, for us, whether it’s been good times or bad. I think He blesses those moments when you do.” The reciprocal result has fostered a set of worship songs on Wonder Of The World, such as “Holy One,” “Freedom Begins Here,” and “You Are Glory.” Each are shaped differently from a musical perspective, but keep that aforementioned focus on the force carrying the band and the listeners through life’s difficult circumstances.

“As we’ve been playing the title song already, we’ll usually stop in the middle of it and talk about the lines ‘Father, how can it be that you are Father to me?’ as well as all the other things mentioned: Savior, Healer, one who shows favor on me,” Willis says. “I think back to all that time on the road and all the things that have happened over the past year, and I’m still amazed by those facts, that He is Father and Savior and Healer. He’s been so faithful to us, and at the very least, we should be that back to Him.”

Lyrically engaging and musically inventive, the Rush Of Fools Sound is being tagged by some as “progressive worship.” Though they are young, they aren’t the least bit hesitant to be bold about their faith. “People want to know the truth. Reality TV is the biggest thing right now,” says Huguley. “Everyone wants to know what’s real and what’s real is that we are tainted. For far too long now, Christians have been scared to say that because we’ve got to put on our armor and look great in front of everybody. It just doesn’t work because it’s not real and honest. Our message is to tell the truth.”

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