Bio -- Clear
When asked to explain or define the image of new Ardent Records band Clear, Ali Ogren, the quintet's lead singer ponders the question for a moment, before replying, "Well, we're all pretty wholesome kids." Though part of a generation...
Updated Aug 09, 2001
To understand why the group seems almost completely unaffected by the attention it has garnered, one must understand that Clear,in its present form, didn't even exist two years ago. As Matt Berry explains, the band never intended to pursue a recording career."Alison, Nate and myself started playing together in the Fall of 1995. Our trio played local coffeehouses for about a year andallowed us to have a laid back, pressure-free, creative outlet."
Nate picks up the story. "In January of 1997, we signed up as a trio for The New Artist Competition at the New Union in Minneapolis. We thought if we were going to compete, we should fill out the sound a bit, so we called on Pete, who was Matt's roommate at Bethel College, and David, who also went to Bethel.The five of us started playing, and things just clicked."
Helping judge the semi-final round of the competition were Ardent Records' Director of A&R, Dana Key, and President, Pat Scholes, who had actually gone to Minneapolis to scout one of the other artists. Scholes says, "From the beginning, I saw the passion that Clear has for Christ. It wasn't about 'I want to be a music star,' it was more about 'I want to serve God with whatever I do.' It all seemed very natural to me. A lot of that had to do with Ali, and the fact that there are a lot of female artists in Christian music, but few who are confident and poised in front of a band. Even though Ali has a slightly higher profile as lead singer, Clear really stood out to us as a fully integrated band."
David says Clear's tournament results (the band placed second in the finals) and Ardent's enthusiastic input helped the band see that there was a possible future for the group. "What the competition really helped us do was to focus and take what we do more seriously," he explains. "Ali was probably the only one who originally wanted to pursue music professionally. I was a music education major, Nate was studying towards a Bible major, and Pete and Matt were Biology/Pre-Med majors. We were just four Bethel College undergrads and one high schooler, so we felt really good about this mainly because we didn't plan it; we really believed it was an opportunity to step out in faith. The tournament helped us see what a powerful ministry tool this could be if we pushed ourselves in that direction."
Although the members of Clear constantly refer to the strength they've gained from the foundational truths taught in their homes when they were children, Matt Berry says each of them has had to examine different ways to make his or her faith more personal and real. "I wasn't challenged to make my faith my own until I left home and went to college. There I definitely grew spiritually and found Christ in a new way." Ali remembers, "In high school, I thought being a Christian was a lot about what things looked like. I was so focused on the external that I forgot to love those who-didn't 'act' as Christians and forgot that God loves them too. I didn't even want to appear I was hanging out with any 'bad people' in high school, but I'm not afraid of that now. It's what we've been called to do as Christians."
Nate continues, "When I was younger, living the Christian life to me was not smoking, not drinking, and not having sex. I managed to achieve those goals, but I found that being a true believer went so much deeper. I hope God will use our group to touch people and give them courage to be real about their faith. We want our music to inspire them live Christianity out."
Matt says he feels the diversity in the lyrics (Matt, Ali, Nate and David all contributed songs to the album) is what keeps Clear's music interesting, but he feels there's definitely a common thread between the four writers. "We're not "topical" writers-we mostly write about things that are going on in our lives. It often always has to be something that's touched one of us or affected one of us in a very direct and personal way to draw the kind of response that turns into a song."
"I really like Matt's recent songs," Nate offers. "But one of my favorite songs is one Ali wrote called 'Chasing After the Wind.' It's based on some verses from Ecclesiastes, about vanity, and the futility of striving after things that will pass away. It reduces things to this: either you have the Lord in your life or you don't."
"I love David's song, 'Through My Window,' Ali enthuses. " It's about getting outside the comfort zones we build around ourselves as Christians, stepping out in faith more."
"Matt's song 'Tidal Wave' sticks out with me," says David. "There's a lot of cool imagery, especially Jesus' love carrying the force of a tidal wave, and how that's often necessary to erase our sin." Pete concurs, " 'Tidal Wave' gives the root of the salvation message, that there's no wrong you've done so great that it can't be erased by Christ's love. That's certainly a message that bears repeating to a lot of people we play for, kids dealing with issues of self-esteem and feeling as though they've fallen so far from a relationship with God that He can't or won't restore them to fellowship. People can never be reminded enough that if they just commit themselves to Christ, their slate is wiped clean."
Matt says he can listen to every song and be moved, and see a specific purpose for that song being on the album. "But there's a song that Nate primarily wrote called 'Why,' that touches on the way I think everyone in the band has felt, looking back at our younger years, as Nate was saying before, and asking ourselves 'Why am I afraid of living out the truth?' The type of persecution that most Christians face in America is so minor. People may be making fun of us at work or school, or not inviting us to parties or whatever. What is that compared to Christ dying for us? We all have eternity waiting for us. So this song is a challenge to believers to really act out their faith. That's something I hope we as a band can pursue."
Although Clear has quickly grown from a group of students entering a contest on a whim to a band of Christians with a serious commitment to ministry, Matt says the group remains level headed about achieving success of the type measured by the world's standards. "I think a lot of people have a pretty twisted view of what succeeding is. Sure, we want to reach as many people as possible, whether it's Christians, non-Christians, 10-year-old kids, young adults or grandparents. But if we sold a lot of albums or drew a lot of people to concerts, I don't know if that would necessarily make us 'successful.' The only way we'll feel successful is if God remains the focus and at the center of what we do."
Nate picks up the story. "In January of 1997, we signed up as a trio for The New Artist Competition at the New Union in Minneapolis. We thought if we were going to compete, we should fill out the sound a bit, so we called on Pete, who was Matt's roommate at Bethel College, and David, who also went to Bethel.The five of us started playing, and things just clicked."
Helping judge the semi-final round of the competition were Ardent Records' Director of A&R, Dana Key, and President, Pat Scholes, who had actually gone to Minneapolis to scout one of the other artists. Scholes says, "From the beginning, I saw the passion that Clear has for Christ. It wasn't about 'I want to be a music star,' it was more about 'I want to serve God with whatever I do.' It all seemed very natural to me. A lot of that had to do with Ali, and the fact that there are a lot of female artists in Christian music, but few who are confident and poised in front of a band. Even though Ali has a slightly higher profile as lead singer, Clear really stood out to us as a fully integrated band."
David says Clear's tournament results (the band placed second in the finals) and Ardent's enthusiastic input helped the band see that there was a possible future for the group. "What the competition really helped us do was to focus and take what we do more seriously," he explains. "Ali was probably the only one who originally wanted to pursue music professionally. I was a music education major, Nate was studying towards a Bible major, and Pete and Matt were Biology/Pre-Med majors. We were just four Bethel College undergrads and one high schooler, so we felt really good about this mainly because we didn't plan it; we really believed it was an opportunity to step out in faith. The tournament helped us see what a powerful ministry tool this could be if we pushed ourselves in that direction."
Although the members of Clear constantly refer to the strength they've gained from the foundational truths taught in their homes when they were children, Matt Berry says each of them has had to examine different ways to make his or her faith more personal and real. "I wasn't challenged to make my faith my own until I left home and went to college. There I definitely grew spiritually and found Christ in a new way." Ali remembers, "In high school, I thought being a Christian was a lot about what things looked like. I was so focused on the external that I forgot to love those who-didn't 'act' as Christians and forgot that God loves them too. I didn't even want to appear I was hanging out with any 'bad people' in high school, but I'm not afraid of that now. It's what we've been called to do as Christians."
Nate continues, "When I was younger, living the Christian life to me was not smoking, not drinking, and not having sex. I managed to achieve those goals, but I found that being a true believer went so much deeper. I hope God will use our group to touch people and give them courage to be real about their faith. We want our music to inspire them live Christianity out."
Matt says he feels the diversity in the lyrics (Matt, Ali, Nate and David all contributed songs to the album) is what keeps Clear's music interesting, but he feels there's definitely a common thread between the four writers. "We're not "topical" writers-we mostly write about things that are going on in our lives. It often always has to be something that's touched one of us or affected one of us in a very direct and personal way to draw the kind of response that turns into a song."
"I really like Matt's recent songs," Nate offers. "But one of my favorite songs is one Ali wrote called 'Chasing After the Wind.' It's based on some verses from Ecclesiastes, about vanity, and the futility of striving after things that will pass away. It reduces things to this: either you have the Lord in your life or you don't."
"I love David's song, 'Through My Window,' Ali enthuses. " It's about getting outside the comfort zones we build around ourselves as Christians, stepping out in faith more."
"Matt's song 'Tidal Wave' sticks out with me," says David. "There's a lot of cool imagery, especially Jesus' love carrying the force of a tidal wave, and how that's often necessary to erase our sin." Pete concurs, " 'Tidal Wave' gives the root of the salvation message, that there's no wrong you've done so great that it can't be erased by Christ's love. That's certainly a message that bears repeating to a lot of people we play for, kids dealing with issues of self-esteem and feeling as though they've fallen so far from a relationship with God that He can't or won't restore them to fellowship. People can never be reminded enough that if they just commit themselves to Christ, their slate is wiped clean."
Matt says he can listen to every song and be moved, and see a specific purpose for that song being on the album. "But there's a song that Nate primarily wrote called 'Why,' that touches on the way I think everyone in the band has felt, looking back at our younger years, as Nate was saying before, and asking ourselves 'Why am I afraid of living out the truth?' The type of persecution that most Christians face in America is so minor. People may be making fun of us at work or school, or not inviting us to parties or whatever. What is that compared to Christ dying for us? We all have eternity waiting for us. So this song is a challenge to believers to really act out their faith. That's something I hope we as a band can pursue."
Although Clear has quickly grown from a group of students entering a contest on a whim to a band of Christians with a serious commitment to ministry, Matt says the group remains level headed about achieving success of the type measured by the world's standards. "I think a lot of people have a pretty twisted view of what succeeding is. Sure, we want to reach as many people as possible, whether it's Christians, non-Christians, 10-year-old kids, young adults or grandparents. But if we sold a lot of albums or drew a lot of people to concerts, I don't know if that would necessarily make us 'successful.' The only way we'll feel successful is if God remains the focus and at the center of what we do."
Originally published August 09, 2001.
