Greg
Walton left his teaching position at
Proviso West High School to
go into full-time music ministry in
1998. He moved from Chicago to Nashville
and soon found himself performing 150
events a year throughout the United
States and making guest appearances in
Canada and Europe as well. He has been
featured at some of the world’s largest
Christian music festivals and has shared
the stage with top Christian and secular
musicians from the Newsboys to Audio
Adrenalin,
George
Jones, Mark Collie and T-Graham Brown.
7-Ball Magazine chose Greg as one of the
top new artists of Christian music. His
freshman release, Stealing Moment, was
recently named 2001 Modern
Rock/Alternative Album of the Year by
the UCMVA at their 2nd annual Unity
Awards. Like wise, Stealing Moment’s
first track, Leanin’ On, was given a
2001 Unity Award for Modern Rock
Alternative Song of the Year.
Greg has just released his third CD,
I Won’t Back Down, on Back
Door Records. I Won’t Back Down
is an eleven-song modern rock project
aimed at encouraging youth to stand
strong in the Christian life. The title
track is Greg’s heartfelt cover of
the Tom Petty hit and the song has taken
on even more meaning with
recent events in our
history. It has been the dominant theme
of Greg’s message to young
and old alike since entering full-time
ministry: “Holiness of life is not just
for your pastor and your grandma. It’s
for
everybody. Its only limit should be that
of having none. As little as I am, that
is the word that God has given me, so
that is what I proclaim.”
In
addition to the Petty cover, I Won’t
Back Down features nine new Walton
originals. As a songwriter’s journey
never ends, Walton sought the coaching
of professional song crafters, among
them master songwriter Bob Halligan Jr.
(Ceili Rain, Rebecca St. James...the
list goes on). Together with his first
two albums, Greg has a wide musical
repertoire and tailors each performance
to the audience at hand, from modern
rock youth concerts to family-friendly
nights of worship.
The entire CD has an alternative rock
sound that any fan of Train, Collective
Soul, or Green Day
would
love to have. I had a real hard time
reviewing this CD, because I would find
myself getting so much into the guitar,
the vocal mixes, and the lyrics that I
would forget to take notes. I Won’t
Back Down is an enjoyable CD, with
great songs and great messages. The end
result is edgy rock ‘n roll with a
message. Take the song
“Dear Dorothy” as an example. It’s a
fantastic marriage of vocals and music
in a song about our favorite Oz
temporary resident. “...We’re not in
Kansas anymore, clickin’ your heels
won’t fix the deal, get with the Word of
Life.” It’s a great song for letting us
know that Jesus has to be our yellow
brick road. “Despite” is a true love
song for Jesus. Greg makes it clear that
he doesn’t want to live or breathe
without Him. Greg said about the CD,
“This one is meant for the youth and all
those who are into modern rock. The
title track is the Tom Petty song and it
really smokes. It's a great song. It's
inspiring and it carries a message of
importance to all Christians...stand up
for what you believe and don't let the
world intimidate you.”
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