JARTIFACTS - Human Fusion (Jars of Clay)

Human Fusion
By Jenni Isaac
Nov/Dec 2003

Individual creativity, spirituality and
personality collide to form Jars of Clay.

Charlie Lowell

Steve Mason

Dan Haseltine

Matt Odmark

"It was kind of like dating somebody," says lead singer Dan Haseltine of the early days, playing in the band. "It's really fun for a while and then it starts to get a little awkward. Then you have to make that decision: Are you going to hang around or are you going to throw in the towel?"

Though at times a struggle not to give up, Jars of Clay decided to stay together, creating some of the most rich and complex Christian rock ever to be produced. The last 10 years have been both rocky and rewarding—kind of like a marriage.

Though at times a struggle not to give up, Jars of Clay decided to stay together, creating some of the most rich and complex Christian rock ever to be produced. The last 10 years have been both rocky and rewarding—kind of like a marriage.

In the early 1990s, Jars of Clay was merely four individual students at Greenville College in Greenville, Ill. who occasionally wrote and played music for friends. With no band name at the time, no plans for albums and no idea what their future held, they were largely unconcerned with the direction in which their music would take them. In fact, when they first started out, they didn't really think they were going to be a band. They chose a name only when they happened to win a new Christian band competition and decided on a lead singer only when friends mentioned that they probably ought to. It was all very casual.

And then success came. When the group released their self-titled debut project in 1995, the song, "Flood," became a huge radio hit. The four friends, Dan Haseltine (lead vocals), Charlie Lowell (keyboards, piano, accordian, etc.), Steve Mason (guitar, bass) and Matt Odmark (guitar), were suddenly flung into the limelight. There they had to learn to live with fame, touring, a new career, fans and each other. What began as a hobby—singing Christian-themed songs to friends and classmates who were primarily Christian—started to evolve into a mission to reach people in places where almost no Christian bands had ever ventured.

Ten years later, they can attest to the fact that it's been tough. Melding four autonomous men into a unified music ministry is an occasionally exhausting and continuously ongoing process. Each member has his own agenda and ideas about how things should work. Each man has his own distinct personality and musical ability. And with that, the guys have spent the last decade focusing on defining their ministry, their vision and their relationships with one another.

Haseltine, Lowell, Mason and Odmark are separate individuals, but together they are Jars of Clay. Their unique chemistry lends to the creation of a beautifully intricate whole.

© 2003 Christian Music Planet

This article was provided courtesy of Christian Music Planet magazine. For more articles on Christian music visit christianmusicplanet.com.