We recently had the good fortune to ask a few questions of True Witness lyricist/musician Chris Bowen. Why not read on and get to know more about True Witness? J

When did you begin performing professionally?

We began performing professionally in December of 2007. Prior to that (2004-2007) we were writing music, and performing locally. With the release of our first CD, ORIGINS, we took a professional turn to our music. We have donated the net profits of the ORIGINS CD to The Walter Hoving Home in Garrison, NY. This is a Christ-centered rehab, rebuilding the lives of women addicted to drugs, alcohol, prostitution, etc. We have come to love the women of strength who come to The Walter Hoving Home, and with courage conquer their addictions in Christ. It pays forward. Healthy mom, healthy children. In March of 2008, we released ONCE IN TIME, our second CD. And we have been going strong ever since. The LOVE IS ENOUGH tour is our first tour, and it kicked off with the release of ONCE IN TIME. We have had a great response with the tour. Over 40 dates have been scheduled on this tour, including The SoulFest and Utical Music Fest, and BeachFest in Ocean City, NJ, along with the many incredible churches and coffeehouse that we have played, and will be playing. We are touring Ohio in June, and throughout the Northeast and New England into the end of the year. We are performing in 11 states in the next months. 2009 brings a new tour, and new dates. Coming soon..

What’s the largest venue you’ve ever played? What was it like?

BeachFest was the largest venue we have ever played. It was held at the Ocean City Music Pier in New Jersey. It was amazing. We had a great time. There were many bands there playing also. We met some wonderful people. Our goal was to honor the Lord with our music set, and blessed those who were attending. The largest venue that we will play in the next months will be The SoulFest on The Deeper Well Stage. The SoulFest is at Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, NH. www.thesoulfest.com. The SoulFest is the largest Christian festival in New England. They draw a very large audience each year. The SoulFest runs from July 30 to Aug. 2. True Witness is performing on Aug. 2 at 6:20PM on The Deeper Well Stage.

What song/lyric has a special significance for you?

The ORIGINS CD is a blessing to us, and definitely significant, as it is our debut album, and the music was years in the making, and from our hearts. But, the entire ONCE IN TIME CD has tremendous significance to us. That album was written from the personal experiences and struggles of our lives. The CD is our heart. It is a journey into Christ's love. Beginning with Love Lit The Full Moon, and ending in Sunrise. Each song explains where God's love takes us. "If you could see just Once in Time" ... "Who will come? Who will see?". As for one song, A Child To Hold, was written about the loss of a child in ones life. It was a request from someone we didn't even know. They asked if we could write a song about their pain in losing a child. They had experienced 2 miscarriages, one child born, and died soon after, and then adopted a child, who was taken from them by the birth family. We wrote the song, added it to the ONCE IN TIME CD, and as of June 25, the baby is back with this adoptive family, and the adoption is now final. God's blessings for faithfulness are amazing. Within You, is a love song. It is about coming into the presence of the Lord. It is definitely very significant to us.

What instruments do you play?

Tom on lead guitar and background vocals, Tim on guitar, piano and lead vocals, Dan on bass and background vocals, Chris writes the lyrics and plays clarinet and percussion, Kim on flute and piano, Heather on keyboard, Bill on drums.

When did you start your journey of faith?

Individually, our journey of faith would be different. But, we came together and began to study Scriptures in 1999. That was before True Witness. Individually speaking, our journey of faith began through our own experiences of suffering in knowledge of who Christ is, and His love. We all attended church at young ages, but didn't really come to fully comprehend who Christ is until later in life.

Do you have any pastimes/interests?

The band consumes much of our time, and when we are not performing or touring, we are writing new music. But, we do love THE YANKEES, and watching baseball, even driving down to the Bronx to catch a game here and there. We also love football, mixed group on team favorites. We love our puppy BOSCO, and have fun spending time playing with him. And we enjoy catching a concert from other fantastic artists when we can. We also love family time (the best). We love the ocean, and beach football (gets wild). And catching a good movie from time to time is great.

When/How did you meet?

We met in 1999 in ministries of bible studies. We knew each other years before, but we got together when we realized we had a commonness in music for the Lord. Thus built a great relationship, as we began to write the music and put it all together. Bill, our drummer, we met two years ago. He has been a great addition to the band.

Any albums in the works?

Definitely. We have a new album in the works as we speak. The album will be called SEND ME. Keep an eye out for it in 2009.

Our thanks go out to Chris for her time, and we hope you'll come see True Witness live at Holy Grounds on July 19th!