When I posted this on Facebook, I got this comment from the band:

Thanks Dan. It’s very kind of you to write about us. Sorry that you don’t listen to much of our music.
But glad you’ve found something you like.

Arabic is definitely one of our faves after 3 decades, 12 (soon to be 16) albums, 2 live albums, countless EPs/demos… Arabic is definitely one of our favorite songs about love and longing and leaving.

Just a couple insights to clarify the history and claims you’re mentioning or maybe just sharing from the internet.

1. The band began in 1988. We only played in the nightclubs of our local music scene in LA and OC. We never played a single church nor were we or have we ever been a “christian” band or a “worship” band. Though we know that people of different faiths, denominations, and also those who don’t like church at all, enjoy our music.
2. In 1989 after a gig at Bogart’s bar and nightclub in Long Beach we met a gentleman who would become one of our early mentors, Randy Rigby. At the time Randy ran Vineyard music. Our bass player Kirt went to church there and invited Randy to come out.

   That same night, oddly, a few “pastors” from Calvary Chapel came out to see us and later sent word that our band was “leading people into darkness by playing in places that had smoking and alcohol”.

   We thought it was weird that they even came to see us. “Why are these people coming to see us?”
   I mean we are in a smoke filled, hot, sweaty room. The band and the people are drenched from the SoCal heat in the middle of the summer and Michael is on the Bogart’s stage, dressed in white, shirt off with paint spilled all over him… why are Calvary chapel “pastors” coming to see this?

   Meanwhile as those “pastors” were busy criticizing us, Randy was saying, “I love what you’re doing, never stop playing where you wanna play…” and asking “can I help record demos for you?”

   Gratefully, Randy recorded our first demos for us at the studios he ran, Vineyard studios. Vineyard Music Grouo (vmg) because of Randy and John Wimber offered to manufacture some product so we could have music to sell at our shows. They later asked if they could release those recordings through their distribution at the time.

   Sorry, not a “worship” band, nor a “Vineyard” band and I can see how folks could confuse that since VMG had never released music from a band like ours before. Also, it was shortly after that where we saw no harm in playing gigs wherever; clubs, schools, coffee shops, churches, street corners, festivals, etc. Thankfully, that’s how we continued to grow our fanbase.

3. Randy was soon forced out of Vineyard Music before the release of the first recordings and once we learned the truth of what happened to him about a year later, and learned how VMG was trying to make us into something we weren’t, we followed Randy to his new label in Denver for our second album, Strength. We also did many of our demos that would become our 3rd album, the self titled, with Randy and John Macy there in Denver.
   Crush, Low, Feel, Sun and the Sky, Cinnamon Girl, etc.

   Randy and John, along with Gene and Joe from Brainstorm helped us a lot during those early years. Losing Randy and Gene along the way was devastating, and we carry their friendship and love for music with us.

Another fun fact about self titled: in 1995 a pastor (Ed P) from the Vineyard actually called Michael Pritzl to tell him that he was “handed over to Satan” unless M blocked the release of the self titled album. Apparently worried that we were going to release in his words, “a very dark album”. When asked if they had heard this “dark album” (knowing full well nobody had heard the final album except Michael as the producer who was working with George Marino on the final masters at the time), the pastor admitted he hadn’t but had heard rumors about how dark an album it was.
Churches can be strange places.

4 years after the self titled release VMG and Vineyard apologized to Michael for how horribly they treated him (and so many others) during that time and asked if they could record more of Michael’s songs, as many of their churches sang them in their churches around the world.

The world and the internet is a strange place full of misinformation at times.

Just wanted to correct some of the points you mentioned.

We continue to write and release songs about love and loss, hope and devastation, faith and loss of faith, and hopefully all things common to the human experience. Perhaps that is “christian” in the truest sense of the word.

But definitely not under the banner of “christian music” or of anything as silly as that narrow world of “christian business” setup by evangelical America.

I’ll just add that some would say the beauty of songs and poems is that they mean different things to different people. A lyric can strike each one of us uniquely depending on our background and where we are at in this journey of life. We find what we need inside of them. What a writer finds and what a reader finds can be totally different.

Lastly, we are deeply grateful that so many kind folks have welcomed our music and songs into their lives. Thousands of friends and fans who’ve supported our shows and albums after all this time.

Thanks for mentioning us, Dan.

“I’m not asking for much to believe in.
You’re not leaving, but I’m not staying.”
-Arabic Tremolo Radio