Volume2Issue02 (PDF)

THE PROTEST
READY TO CHANGE THE GAME

In May of 2011, some of our A1M staff went to Indianapolis to see a show. We were
there, primarily for 2 reasons...1-to support our friends the Blank Pages, and 2– to
meet the band, face to face, that was going to headline KCF 2011, The Letter Black.
We had no idea when we went in that God was going to put us in contact with so
many people that night, who would become massively important to us. That night,
we did what we sat out to do, but we also met some other bands, ForeverAtLast, a
little band called Icon For Hire, and then there was this other band that night...The
Protest (then called Protest for Pluto)...but holy cow what a show that was. Those
five bands put on an epic performance , and changed our lives forever.
We met Josh Bramlett, the band’s lead singer, as soon as we got the building that
night. It only took an instant before you could sense how special this man (and his
band) was. Before we finished making introductions, his brother (band’s drummer) Jarob came up and joined the conversation. These two
charismatic young men are on fire for Christ, and you could just feel His love coming out of them. Long before they played a single note,
we knew they were a band that A1M was in love with. A bit later, after we were able to witness the full onslaught of their high energy stage performance we knew this band was special and destined for huge things.
Just over one year later, we are proudly watching them as things are set to explode. We had a chance to sit
and talk to the band and ask them a whole lot of questions. (The entire transcript of the questions and answers will be available on the A1M facebook page in our NOTE section) but in the interest of time and space I
will condense their answers.
The first question I asked them was simply ...how did they get together? “Jarob, T.J., and I had formed a
band in 2004 called Feedback,” Josh informed us. “We could barely play, but we kept at it,” Jarob added.
After a couple of years a fiend of the family, Chase came up from Tennessee to live with his father and was
planning to be a fill-in bass player, until they could find a permanent one. Chase however after 5 months became the permanent bass player . Josh had been learning guitar from a friend of his named Adam. Adam was
getting set to head off to L.A. to study guitar, but “right before he left we asked him to join the band. He accepted. When he came home he officially joined the band,” Josh remembered. T.J. adds, “and thus our band
became awesome.”
How long has The Protest been together? Feedback (Josh, Jarob, and T.J.) had been together for about 7-8 years, “but with the awesome
lineup we have now it’s been about 3 years of awesome rockin,” T.J. said.
Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations? The whole spectrum of music may best describe it. Adam
lists “Disciple, Sevendust, Avenge Sevenfold, with a dash of Red,” Josh says, “we like everything now, from Savage
Garden to Demon Hunter, of course we’re big fans of Christian Rock, but also like classic rock, eighties metal,
pop, easy listening, instrumental, classical, hardcore, boy bands...lol, we pretty much like it all.” T.J. notes that
“Def Leppard is the band that got me into rock, Disciple is my favorite band of all time, Avenged Sevenfold, August Burns Red, and Of Mice & Men” as some of his influences. Jarob claims that his 2 major influences were
“KISS and The Beatles. The theatrics of and excitement of KISS and the songwriting and hooks of the Beatles really
drew me in.”
What has been your favorite moments as a band? Chase tells us that his favorite moment is “ongoing at the
moment and is hearing about how The Protest is helping lives.” Adam claims that his favorite moments “ have
been when we are playing a smaller venue and everything is crammed on the stage, but the crowd is super into it
and everybody is giving everything they have got.” T.J. thinks his moment happened just recently. “We were playing Hope Fest in Michigan, and were on stage rocking out and the crowd was loving it. We were at the end of “We Will Rise”
where Josh starts screaming. Just looking at the guys on stage and the crowd in front of us, it brought
tears to my eyes just thinking about the journey God has put us through. It is awesome to think that we
have come this far and it’s a blessing to use that for the glory of God.
The tour with Nine Lashes and Sent by Ravens was awesome. Having the opportunity to play with Break
the Grey ministries and seeing thousands of kids give their live's to Christ is another great blessing.
Meeting amazing people and amazing ministries such as A1M:) has been awesome. Being on the road

your best friends is always awesome. I get to travel in a van with my best friends and play music that glorifies God. Whats better?” Josh
said.
What are some of your favorite shows that you’ve been part of? “The last time we played it Icthus was awesome, the last night of the sent by ravens tour, any Break the Grey event with Bill Ballenger, Hopefest in Michigan,
those are just a few. We have been blessed with a lot of great of great shows,” Josh said. T.J. added that he “loved
playing the Hope Fest, Sancrosanct Stage at Ichthus was a blast, the Hoosier Dome with Icon For Hire was amazing.” Chase indicated that his favorite was “the Letter Black run we did and the entire Words and Worlds Tour
with Sent By Ravens and Nine Lashes.”
What was the writing process for this new CD “Game Changer” like? The process of writing their upcoming CD
“Game Changer” was a lengthy one. Josh tells us, “Writing the record started over a year ago. We wrote most the
songs and then took them to Travis's (Wyrick the CD producer) and he really helped us make the songs into something really special. For the new five songs on the album the band went to PA to write with Mark Anthony of The
Letter Black. Writing with Mark was an honor. Collaborating with someone who has had more experience in the industry was amazing. We
would bounce ideas off one another and had a great time doing so.”
Chase adds, “We wrote it in two parts. I guess you could call then The Beginning and The End of our current journey. The beginning was
wrote with such enthusiasm and passion. We started writing some great songs and decided to go down to Travis Wyricks and he helped
kick us into shape and take the first set of songs for the record and make them amazing. The End we wrote with new knowledge, and much
much more straight fire intensity. We met up with Mark Anthony of The Letter Black and co wrote the latter part of the project. We then
took those back to Travis Wyrick and finished the record.”
What was the recording process for “Game Changer” like? “The recording process was different for me at least. It was a very intense
process for everyone. Travis, our producer is a very intense person and he pushed us to and beyond our limits and brought the absolute
best out of us! And Mike D. Did the same for me, he worked with the guitars a ton and really helped refine and pushed two-step and I to
get out of the box!,” Adam tells us.
Chase added, “Oh simple. “That was perfect now do it again.” That sums it up. Travis broke us and rebuilt us in the studio. He taught us our
craft. He pushed us beyond our limits to new boundaries that we didn't know we had. Recording with him is truly amazing and we will do it
again. The process is much like any studio. Track the drums first, then move to guitars, then start vocals, work the bass in, more vocals, and
add some production along the way. It all depends who is in the captains chair and Travis Wyrick is the man to have.” Josh recalled the
process was interesting. “Travis really knows how to get the best of you. It takes so very intense and emotional sessions and hours of hard
work, but the end product is something we could not have accomplished without Travis.”
Is there on overlying theme for “Game Changer”? “I think that a theme would be that there is a fight that is fought and needs to be
fought everyday. People are broken down in everyway shape or form and we sing about these things and we have an answer that is
God....that if we call apon him and cast our anxieties on him he will care for us and help us! There is evil in this world and these songs are
to combat evil and to help and inspire people,” Adam told us.
T.J. agrees, “I would say there is definitely an overall theme with Game Changer. All the songs have their own identity and place on the
album. But I'm general it's about how Satan is constantly trying to attack us and how as Christians it's time for us to rise up and fight back.
It's time for us to reach people that are lost and show them the freedom they get through Jesus.”
Chase claims that “the name says it. Time to be a Game Changer for Christ. This world is getting bad and going to hell in a hand basket.
Someone needs to step up from the rubble of our society and stand up for what is right. To step up and Change The Game.”

Finally, Josh had this to say, “the name Game Changer is associated with anyone or anything that changes everything. God, being
the ultimate Game Changer was the inspiration for the record. God has the ability to change our lives, as well as our hearts towards
him. Game Changer also means a lot to us as well. We hope this album and our band through God can shake up this industry. We
want this album to be a Game Changer in our lives and the lives of our fans.”
What is in the immediate future for The Protest? “to keep doing what we are doing! Playing shows and meeting new people and
helping people where ever we can, sharing the gospel when we have the opportunity. ” Adam tells us. T.J. added to that by saying,
“The Protest is gonna continue to do what we do. We are gonna keep rocking out wherever God leads us and praising no matter
where we go. We are definitely busy with shows in the near future. God has some big things lined up for us. Ultimately the goal for
The Protest is to reach people on a national level and we are very close to accomplishing that goal.”
Josh wrapped it up by telling us, “We have a lot of exciting things on the horizon. We are very excited. We do plan on filming a music video for our new single "Throw the Roses" very soon. Really we just plan to get out there play as many shows as possible and
reach as many people as we can with the Message.”

A cool fact you may not have known is that back in June of 2010, these guys (who were Protest For Pluto at the time) emailed us
about playing in our first Kingdom Come Festival. We had unfortunately just filled out the lineup and had no more room for them,
but they asked us to consider them for a future event, or future Kingdom Come Festivals. So with that, the Protest ultimately became the very first band we ever had on our waiting list. It took us 2 years to finally make it happen, but I was so thankful that we
finally got them on for this year’s KCF.
The Protest guys have come, not once..but twice to help us raise money for Always One Ministries at Buffalo Wild Wings in Carmel.
That shows us so much about how much they care about us, and we cannot put our gratitude into words for all they do for the
Kingdom, to spread the love of Christ, and to make a huge impact on the world.
On a personal note, these guys have come so far in the past year. We loved them from the moment we met them, but I cannot
begin to put into words how much they have elevated their playing, their show, and their talents. There is no telling where this
band is going to end up. Nationally, Christian radio have been awakened to this amazing band, and Christian labels have also taken
notice. They have finally realized that thanks to The Protest, the time has come to CHANGE THE GAME.

Thanks to LJ Hillman Photography and Earl Huddleston and others for the use of these photos.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR PAGE: www.facebook.com/the.pit.kokomo

WWJJT?

Written by Chris Bousum

There are lots of styles of music out there. There's rock, pop, blues, country, and hip-hop. Then there's
metal, folk, jazz, bluegrass, swing, new age, rap, classical, ambient, experimental, and ska. And of course
hardcore, post-hardcore, death metal, punk, grunge, indie, industrial, goth, glam, progressive, and thrash.
Not to forget dub, soul, techno, reggae, doo wop, gangsta, crunk, bossa nova, psychedelic, rockabilly, salsa,
and disco...whew. This is just a small portion of the genres in music. But what we really want to know is
What Would Jesus Jam To?
When I was young that was an easy question. Jesus' record collection was filled with quartet music. The
Blackwood Brothers, The Cathedrals, and the like. He’d definitely listen to southern gospel. Those great,
last name bands of yore: The Speers, Rambos, Gaithers, Goodmans, and LeFevres. Throw in every hymn
ever recorded and Jimmy Swaggart. That was it.
Then I discovered something amazing. The Jesus People movement and Jesus Music, aka Jesus Rock. Love
Song, Phil Keaggy, Larry Norman, Selah (Ohio not the trio), and The Second Chapter Of Acts. Could Jesus
really like that kind of music? I sure did! I was told by those who know that Jesus did NOT like that music. It
was hard. It was loud. The beat was over powering. And, “You can't understand the words!” Yet the rebel,
I listened anyway. And the music spoke to me. It became my expression and my experience.
That opened the flood gates to hard rock like Resurrection Band, punk-Daniel Amos (circa Alarma and after),
folk-Mark Heard, fusion-James Vincent, and messianic-Lamb. Now I was clearly outside the limits of good
Christian boundaries. And in that day there was quite a controversy: Is christian rock sin? How dare we Jesus People nonconformists listen to, and yet worse, sing and worship with christian rock. “You know this
was the same beat that the voodoo doers did when they did their voodoo,” it was said.
Yet, contemporary christian music grew and so did the number of lives that were touched. You know, I think
that when Bach was writing Where Sheep May Safely Graze or Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring he probably
would have thought the same about The Happy Goodmans. On that thought, my guess would be that the
Apostles of Christ Himself would have gagged at Bach. King David, centuries before Christ, might have
thought the music of Christ's time was crass, noisy, and...”you can't understand the words!”
So if you don't like rock, rap, ska, hardcore, metal, or punk remember, the people before your time thought
your music stank too. Jesus is far beyond our experience, comfort zones, and perspectives. If you can feel it,
He can dig it. Jesus jams to The Protest, The Rose Hill, and Grave Robber on His Ipod. “God is Spirit, and
those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24. And if you don't get that then “You
can't understand the words!”
Chris is the co-founder of Always One Ministries. He
ia also our primary booker and the event director for
all of our PIT shows.
YOU CAN FIND CHRIS BOUSUM ON FACEBOOK AND
FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER NOW TOO. @CBousum

A1M CONGRATULATES MR. & MRS. JACOB RUSH
One band that has been very instrumental in A1M’s beginnings is the upstart poppunk band from Indianapolis, the Blank Pages. Just a week ago, some members of
A1M’s staff made the journey down to celebrate the wedding of Blank Pages guitarist
Jacob Rush, and the love of his life, Bekah Hodnett. His three band mates were all
groomsmen, and A1M staffer, Philecia Allen was one of the bridesmaids. We at A1M
would like to publically congratulate Jacob & Bekah Rush, and wish them a lifetime of
love, and happiness.

Thank you to Giafoto Fine Art Photography and Philecia Allen for the photos.

ARIEL FROM ICON FOR HIRE HAS HER OWN CLOTHING LINE…. CHECK IT OUT!

7pm

TRINITY LIFE CENTER

PENDLETON, IN

TIX $10 & INCLUDES A COPY OF “GAME CHANGER” CD

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING BANDS THAT HAVE PERFORMED AT A1M EVENTS

A HERO REMAINS
AS THE FALLEN RISE
ATLAS
AWAKEN 0’ SLEEPER
AWAKEN THE DEAD
BLANK PAGES
COPERNICUS
DAY OF VENGEANCE
DIVIDE THE SEA
DYING TRUTH
F.B.S. (FIGHT BEFORE SURRENDER)
FAILED ESCAPE
FALLING HIGHER
FEINT
FLATFOOT 56
FOREVERATLAST
FROM AMONG THESE EYES
FROM THESE RUINS
GOODNIGHT WEDNESDAY
GRAVE ROBBER
HAYDON

ICON FOR HIRE
IRON MERCY
IRONSIDES
JACOB GENERATION
JOHN DAVEY
JULIE NICKELL
LOFTLAND
MADISYN
MANIC DRIVE
NEVER CEASE
NINE LASHES
OF SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
PIONEER (NEWS FROM VERONA)
PLEASE PROMISE
PRETENDING WERE MONSTERS
PURE STAR MOVEMENT
RONE
SAME AS SUNDAY
SENT BY RAVENS
SHINE BRIGHT BABY
SILVER FROM THE FLAMES

SILVERLINE
SKIES
SOULYPTIC
STRANGE REFLECTION
STRENGTHEN WHAT REMAINS
TAKE THE SKY
THE GREAT FLOOD CATASTROPHE
THE GREAT TRANSPARENCY
THE LETTER BLACK
THE PROTEST
THE RENDITION
THE ROSE HILL
THE SKIES REVOLT
THESE DROWNING TIDES
THOSE WHO FEAR
TREVOR HEYD
WHEN WE BECOME
WILLSTOMP
WITH WOLVES AT OUR HEELS
YOUR CHANCE TO DIE

We truly feel so blessed and humbled to have gotten to meet so many extraordinary & talented people by doing what we do at
A1M. The bands that have played for us have been incredibly talented, but more importantly have been the kind of people that
you just love to be around. We want to thank all of the members from these bands who have helped A1M to develop itself the
reputation of being a first class group that puts on awesome shows. We hear from bands all over the country and many of
those have told us that they have heard about A1M, our hospitality, and our shows are top notch. Thank you all. We love you.

ALBUM WE’RE ROCKING THIS WEEK

“FEBRUARY TO FEBRUARY”
-

“GET BACK”

Always One Ministries is a 501c3 non-profit ministry that is dedicated to
reaching the next generation for Jesus Christ, through a variety of Christian music concerts and events.
The ministry began officially in the spring of 2011, and has three main
branches of ministry. The annual Kingdom Come Festival, which is once a
year in the heart of downtown Kokomo, is the biggest of the three
branches. Additionally the ministry produces two concert “series” that
have completely different goals.
The Pit, is a hardcore, death-metal, hard-punk, screamo band event that is
held in venues across the area trying to reach out to those kids that society labels as “outcasts.” We know that Jesus Christ died for ALL of us, and
God loves all of us, just as we are, just where we are. To HIM we are perfect.
Revolution Next is designed to go into churches and youth groups and
inspire Christian youth to get involved and become much more active.
They need to understand that they are far more “influential” on each
other when they are young.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK

JUDE 1: 22-23
22

Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy,
mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

ALWAYS ONE MINISTRIES STAFF:
Send any staff member an email by just putting
their name in the subject line {ie, @Jay} sending
your email to:
Jay Karp
Chris Bousum
Angie Leyda
David Leyda
Brent Bousum
Chas Kidwell
Tammy King
Aimee Keiper
Andy Patmore
Liz Harrison
Marc Pemberton
Max Scott

Aaron Keiper
Matt Hardin
Scott Miller
Pedro Ramirez
David Bousum
Philecia Allen
Destiny Kidwell
Joy Ammerman
Bonnie Patmore
Cara Herron
Kailey King