For immediate Release: From Galaxy 21 Subject: Dead Artist Syndrome Saving Grace Contact Lisa Michaels lisa@galaxy21music.com Dead Artist Syndrome has unveiled Saving Grace, its long-awaited follow-up to 1995's heralded cult classic Happy Hour. The disc will be distributed to the CBA market by Galaxy 21 and is available through the DAS website (www.DeadArtistSyndrome.com). DAS is the brainchild of mastermind and raconteur Brian Healy, one of alternative Christian music's most respected and thought-provoking personalities. An ordained minister, Healy is thoughtful, provoking and genuinely funny, a rare combination for one considered the father of "Christian Goth" as well as a true artistic and thematic trailblazer. Once called by the Bookstore Journal "the best example of what Christian alternative music really is" DAS continues push the envelope with Saving Grace, showcasing both a heartbreaking honesty and not a small amount of righteous anger, addressing a wide variety of issues that Christian artists rarely touch—even to the point of brutal honesty. With delightful, and sometimes painful candor, the songs on this disc shine a spotlight on the foibles and failures of the church, the culture around it, and even Healy himself. In this, Saving Grace continues the legacy established by earlier DAS discs, pushing the envelope of Christian pop culture by juxtaposing a challenging, tongue-in-cheek view of the world and the church's place in it with clear expressions of Healy's deep personal faith in the power of God's saving grace. "We're exhilarated about Saving Grace," states Healy from his California Desert home. "The disc represents an admittedly twisted journey through the American evangelical subculture, and I insist we not blink at the paradoxes of our lives or faith. I'm striving to be a positive force for change in our religious culture, working from inside the church as a pastor, speaker, and artist, and encouraging those outside to reexamine God's Saving Grace in the light of the transcending power of God's love, peace, and mercy Let's face it: Christianity in America is really, really sick - especially allegedly conservative, evangelical Christianity. But even that is good news, since it's the sick that Jesus said he had come to seek and to save.? Saving Grace captures DAS at its most aggressive and straightforward, a sound nurtured by Healy with cohorts Jeff Elbel & Sam West. The new, harder DAS clearly revolves primarily around the core of Brian Healy and Jeff Elbel in a hard driving yet extremely melodic set of tracks guaranteed to raise the bar of post modern music to a higher level and to be a spring board not only for entertainment and ministry, but also evoke serious conversations about many of the issues affecting the church and the world we live in. Saving Grace features, along with Healy, Elbel and West, cameos by Mike Roe (77s), Derri Daugherty (Choir), Jimmy A and Dan Michaels (Choir). Finding inspiration in the Goth movement he helped nurture, the album also mines harder, more traditional rock landscapes, crafting a vibe that can find wide appeal in both the Christian and mainstream markets. Because of this accessibility, as well as its provocative subject matter, Healy will be taking DAS and Saving Grace to the mainstream market much more aggressively than in the past. Mainstream distribution in the U.S. and Europe is in the works, and touring general market venues will follow. Does this mean DAS is leaving the Christian music scene? "Actually, we have always moved in both Christian and mainstream circles, so it won't mean a whole lot will be different. DAS started in the mainstream and we are simply focusing on that a lot more and everybody is welcome to come along. We have a strong Christian fan base, but that marketplace can easily become simply a place where Christians talk to Christians. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, and we'll take advantage of it, hopefully provoking some thought about which is the noun and which is the adjective in the phrase 'American Christian.' But as an artist I feel compelled to take that basic question to the world as well, and to perhaps serve as a kind of apologist. There are a lot of folk out there who need to understand that Christianity is not the property of a few, loud, carping right wing despots. They really have little to do with historic Christianity. If our album helps people come to a more balanced view of Christianity, then I've done my job." DAS' focus on general market sales and gigs will not keep Saving Grace from the CBA market. Says Healy: "We care about all our friends in the radio and concert promotion community of CCM and our music will be there for them as long as that market wants it. We love playing for that community, but the truth is that we love doing shows everywhere for all people, Christian or otherwise. We still say the same thing, play the same songs and I believe what we have always believed. The room might be a bit smokier, that's all."