Nashville, Tenn. -"David and Goliath -The Musical," an audio musical from writers Steve Babb and Frederick Schendel and producer Robert Streets featuring the ultimate story of good and evil in a rock opera meets Broadway format, is set to release September 3, 2002 on Audio X with distribution through Diamante.
"In a valley of media Goliaths, more often than not we see ourselves as a little David," says Audio X president Brian Hardin. "With a bit of faith and God's blessing, this record will be the smooth stone that hits its mark. The timing is right for something creative and poignant and we're fortunate enough to be able to meet that need with this record."
If you've heard the story of David and Goliath, you may not have considered all the implications of this message for the world at large, but three men did. Babb, Schendel and Streets brought this story to life hoping that people will see compelling evidence of David's journey and the relevance it has on modern times. David and Goliath tells the narrative of a hero. David, the hero, relies on God's strength, not his own in times of need. Other issues addressed in this musical are sibling rivalry, overcoming fear and faith.
Faith is exactly what the actions of Diamante Distribution are demonstrating. The distributors are currently marketing this product to both the music and children's departments of Christian retail.
After an intense year of Biblical study, Babb penned the lyrics and script. His goal was to be Biblically accurate using artistic license only when necessary. The music was scored by Schendel in a unique way so that it would not be limited to the audience of children, but would have the quality to captivate the attention of adults as well. Streets drew from his musical experience to perform the all encompassing role of executive producer and lead vocalist, David.
Below are some quotes from a focus group survey conducted by Dr. Thomas Hammett of 75 students ages 11-18.
" Kids will listen to this..." Christina - age 11
"This puts across a solid Biblical message. It shows children that the power of prayer and believing in God will help them through the toughest of situations."
Heather - age 18
"The music caught my ear and I started mouthing the words." Tia -age 15
"[The story] kept moving in a way that got your attention and held it 'til the end.
...it is extremely funny and you can picture in your mind exactly how the characters look and what their personality is like. I would definitely say that I liked the story, characters, and humor of this story a significant amount better than Prince of Egypt, and this musical has SO much potential." Charity - age 15
Babb, Schendel and Streets have set the stage to share the musical message of faith, promise and victory to the audience of the world. It is their hope that as we face society's giants as well as our own, we will find, as David did, that the promise of victory is ours.
Audio X is an eclectic independent Christian label located in Nashville, Tenn. that was founded in 1999. Their goal is to integrate innovative musical forms and develop ministry driven pop artists, while never compromising the pressing charge to make good art.
Diamante is a tier-one distribution sales and marketing network with offices in Newport Beach, Calif. and Nashville, Tenn. and maintains a data base of over 6,000 religious retailers and direct selling relationships with well over 2,000 accounts nation wide. Diamante represents music labels to this market under exclusive contract. In addition Diamante services Canada's religious retail market through an exclusive agreement with Christian Marketing Canada, and represents its labels to the general market in the U.S. and Canada through an exclusive relationship with Navarre Corporation of Minneapolis Minnesota.
