Jesus the 'Hero' of Multimedia Rock Opera

By Debra Akins, 9/26/2003

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Music industry veteran Eddie DeGarmo has always been a visionary and a risk taker, and those traits couldn't be more evident with the recent release of "Hero," the multifaceted music, stage and book concept DeGarmo has been developing for the past 10 years.

The "Hero" rock opera is what DeGarmo describes as "'Jesus Christ Superstar' for the MTV generation." It features the talents of Michael Tait (Tait, dc Talk), Rebecca St. James and Mark Stuart (Audio Adrenaline) in leading roles, with supporting performances by Grits, John Cooper (Skillet), Paul Wright, T-Bone, Nirva and others.

Produced by Pete Stewart, "Hero" is a 33-track double-CD on DeGarmo's Meaux Music imprint, distributed by EMI's Chordant Distribution Group. It is the core of a line of products that includes a trilogy of novels and a comic book series (all written by Stephen Lawhead and his son, Ross), along with dramatized audio books.

The 20-city Hero Rock Opera tour, featuring a 21-member cast, kicks off Nov. 1 in Wabash, Ind., and ends Nov. 23 in San Antonio.

DeGarmo's vision began 10 years ago when he wrestled with an intense desire to get people talking about Jesus. He collaborated with longtime friend and songwriter Bob Farrell.

"This started out as my mission, and it really became my obsession," DeGarmo says. "We found that the idea of a rock opera was a fresh, new concept to people under 30, and it was a warm and fuzzy feeling to people over 30. So we felt like it was something that would work well with a very broad audience."

"I loved the idea of this whole thing," says Tait, who plays the lead character and is heading out on the tour just as his own sophomore solo CD, "Lose This Life," hits stores Nov. 4. "I'm the kind of guy who jumps to get involved with something right away and asks questions later. I don't think anyone has ever really done anything like this before, and it has really stretched me as a performer."

"Hero" lands at a time when music sales are declining and the industry is scrambling to find more innovative ways to reach music lovers. But does DeGarmo think a concept like "Hero" can generate enough consumer interest to override the financial risks involved in launching such a massive campaign?

"It's a major risk for me, but I though it was a story worth telling," he says. "My whole career has been about impacting culture, and I just feel like this is a fresh way to do it. The live experience is something nobody's figured out how to reproduce, and 'Hero' is built around the live experience, so I hope that will be a major driving force."

Reuters/Billboard