Danielson Famile — News

**AWARD-WINNING FILM ELECTRIC JESUS SOUNDTRACK**

OUT TODAY ON JOYFUL NOISE RECORDINGS

VIDEO FOR SINGLE "COMMANDO FOR CHRIST" HERE

VIDEO FOR SINGLE "GIRL (I LOVE JESUS TOO)" HERE

VIDEO FOR SINGLE "BARABBAS" HERE

While coming-of-age music-comedy Electric Jesus continues to charm audiences and critics at film festivals across the country, the soundtrack, Electric Jesus (Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture) is released digitally on Joyful Noise Recordings today.

Pre-orders for the physical product (vinyl packages) are available online at Joyful Noise Recordings.

Electric Jesus was written and directed by Chris White and features Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Brian Baumgartner (The Office), new/emerging stars Wyatt Lenhart (singer/guitarist), Will Oliver (lead guitar), Gunner Willis (bass) and Caleb Hoffmann (drums) as the fictional band 316, Andrew Eakle (sound man) and Shannon Hutchinson (the preacher's daughter).

Any decent fictional rock biopic requires a convincing soundtrack, and Electric Jesus' director Chris White found the perfect collaborator in Daniel Smith. Smith is a prolific figure in indie rock, having worked under the “Danielson” moniker (and Danielson Famile / Brother Danielson variations,) over the past two decades. He is also an accomplished producer, having helmed Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed Seven Swans album among many other projects. Smith is known for his highly unique vocal style, characterized by the frequent use of a screeching falsetto. Serendipitously, this sound overlaps perfectly with the screaming falsetto vocals of hair metal.

“In my humble opinion, Smith nails it.” – Columbus Alive

“Smith, an indie iconoclast whose music has always been informed by Christian faith, reportedly modeled the Electric Jesus music on the likes of Ratt, Poison, Twisted Sister, and Mötley Crüe — and presumably Stryper... Check out the trailer and those three [singles] 316 bangers…” – Stereogum

“This isn’t an actual ‘80s hair metal band but ‘Commando for Christ’ certainly sounds a lot like Stryper…” – Brooklyn Vegan

In addition to the music of 316, the Electric Jesus soundtrack features four new Danielson songs (including the fantastic sunshine pop of the Beach Boys-influenced "You Can Fly"), plus a track from Steve Taylor & the Danielson Foil, and an instrumental score by Smith's "Familyre Friends." The soundtrack also contains music Smith composed for 316's black metal rivals Satan's Clutch and Bloody Mass.

But it's the music of 316 that forms the centerpiece of this 21-track release. All of 316's songs are expertly voiced by actor Wyatt Lenhart, also the onscreen front-man of 316. The instrumentation for 316 is provided by guitarist John Montgomery, bassist John Mark Painter, and drummer Patrick Berkery. This ensemble's chemistry is evident on the album's lead single, 316's hilariously bombastic "Commando For Christ" — one of the most brilliant send-ups of metal music since This Is Spinal Tap. The song's ridiculous chorus will likely be stuck in your head for the next few days. "Let's all go commando for Christ!"

"Electric Jesus doesn't want to save you. But it does want to prove that Christian rock can have a soul." – Document Journal

"Take a screenwriter who is also a music fan and bring him together with a songwriter who's a movie fan and you have the main ingredients necessary to create the soundtrack for Electric Jesus…" – American Songwriter

"White understands that the best way to bring religious and non-religious people on the same plane is through music, and he gives Daniel Smith free rein to create some head-banging numbers. Since all of the song sequences are shot, edited, acted, and sung to perfection, you cannot help but enjoy it. That's religious propaganda done well and despite being an atheist, I respect that." – Mashable

"One of the best' band' movies I've ever seen—one, because the film is a bit of a love letter to Stryper and the whole 80's Christian rock scene, but also because it shows Christian characters in a way that doesn't hate on them OR turn them into fanatical, Jesus superheroes. It's just real, honest, true." – Michael Sweet (of Stryper)

KEEP UP WITH ELECTRIC JESUS

COMING-OF-AGE MUSIC-COMEDY FILM “ELECTRIC JESUS”

PREMIERES AT FILM FESTIVALS THIS FALL

Fictional band 316 Released First Single And Video “Commando For Christ”

With Distribution Through Joyful Noise Recordings

Original Score by Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile) and Original Songs by Smith and Director Chris White

Gunner Willis_Wyatt Lenhart_Will Oliver_ELECTRIC JESUS.jpg

WATCH VIDEO FOR “COMMANDO FOR CHRIST”: HERE

GREENVILLE, SC – “Electric Jesus” is a wistful coming-of-age music-comedy that follows the ill-fated journey of a never-famous 80’s Christian hair metal band who spends the summer of 1986 playing rock music meant to ‘make Jesus famous.’ The film will screen at film festivals all over the United States this fall - most notably competing for Best Narrative Feature at the 2020 Nashville Film Festival, October 1-7.

Written and directed by Chris White, the film features Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Brian Baumgartner (The Office), Shawn Parsons, Rhoda Griffis and Claire Bronson. The film is produced by Chris White and Emily Reach White with Emily Reach White, Ryan Bury and James Andrew Felts serving as Executive Producers. John J. Thompson, Christian Rock’s most noted historian, is music supervisor and historical advisor to the film.

With original score and music by Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile, Sufjan Stevens, Jad Fair, et al), fictitious band 316 plays an otherworldly mash-up of 80’s hair metal and vacation Bible school that wears its teenage protagonists’ hearts on its sleeve while rocking their socks off.

The first single from the film’s soundtrack, “Commando For Christ,” is a blistering Christian hair metal anthem co-written by film composer Daniel Smith and writer/director Chris White. It was released through Joyful Noise Recordings on June 26th with the official video featuring movie band 316 which is made up of four new/emerging stars: Wyatt Lenhart (singer/guitarist), Will Oliver (lead guitarist), Gunner Willis (bassist) and Caleb Hoffmann (drummer). Close watchers will glimpse star Brian Baumgartner as 316’s lovable but shady manager Skip Wick and newcomer Shannon Hutchinson who plays a preacher’s daughter who runs off with the band.

Featuring music that spans hard rock, metal, bluegrass, cow-punk, and pop, “Electric Jesus” transports its audience back to where we all want to be: young, free, on the road and alive with purpose and possibility.

As “Electric Jesus” looks to Fall 2020 film festivals and a worldwide release to follow, record label Joyful Noise Recordings will release several songs from the film over the course of the summer and fall — on limited edition, 7” vinyl, and on all major streaming platforms. These releases and the accompanying music videos will coincide with a crowdfunding campaign for the full movie soundtrack — to be released on streaming, vinyl, and CD in November.

KEEP UP WITH ELECTRIC JESUS

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || YouTube || Spotify