Not many bands could play a rousing live show and then hand out pointers on contracting and home construction. New INO Records band Echoing Angels knows such ins and outs though, as band members maintain full-time jobs in the field (along with one professional golf instructor) while also managing a full touring schedule and recording their debut album "You Alone".
Growing up in small Georgia towns set the stage for these down-home boys and best friends to enjoy their camaraderie come-what-may in the music world. Band founder and drummer Jon Poole set aside collegiate baseball for music ministry and teamed up with bass player Josh Armour over pizza. Poole and Armour met their new frontman Chris Peevy and immediately connected before any music was played. "When Josh and I met Chris one evening at dinner, we hadn't even played music together," remembers Poole. "But as we were sitting there, we just started talking about how we could serve God and how he could be glorified through us. We knew we were to serve Him through music, whatever capacity that was, we wanted to be obedient and if that meant southern gospel, praise and worship, or rock, we wanted His will to be done."
"When we started, we didn't do it with the intent of getting a record deal," Peevy says. "We did this on the principle of serving Jesus. We view our ministry as if we are Sunday school teacher`s. This band is focused on reaching out." Shortly after meeting Peevy, the band added guitarists Shannon Cochran and Jared Lee to round out the five-piece.
Quite possibly the moment in Echoing Angels' history came in 2004 at the band's first festival. "It was a wild day for us. We finished our five-song EP and meant to have it on hand to sell," Peevy recalls. "We were literally standing off-stage, waiting to perform for 7,000 people, and the EPs hadn't arrived yet. They came right before we went on. I remember laying my hands and eyes on it, and it hit me. I realized that this was so much bigger than just five guys and some responsibility through guitars and a mic. This was more than music; it was a journey. I realized that this is what God called us to do."
