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The ¡Alarma! Chronicles Years
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October 1983-November 1984
- Rob Watson goes on tour with Petra for their Not of this World tour.
1984
(Rob & Terry Demo)
- Terry and Rob record three demos - "I Can't Resist You," "The Man That Can't Be Mentioned," and "Do Anything For You." All three can be found on the Deluxe Edition of Vox Humana as bonus tracks.
Terry: "Rob had a couple of song sketches which I enlarged upon and wrote lyrics for, all for the fun of it. We thought at some point we might potentially turn it into a project and release it under a 'to be determined' group name with the goal of shopping it to a secular label. Obviously this didn't happen."
- 4●4●1's self-titled album is released on Blue Collar Records. Rob Watson played keyboards on "Show Me."
- Rock Around the World is released on Refuge Records. The compilation featured the first opportunity for the public to hear a new track from DA's upcoming Vox Humana album, "Home Permanent." Interestingly, this is an early rough mix of the track that was created prior to Greg Flesch's guitar contributions to the album. The compilation also includes tracks by Jerusalem, Marloe Scott Wilson, the Daniel Band, Dave Eastman and others.
- Terry produced Shelter's Prophets And Clowns.
- Jerry Chamberlain and Sharon McCall's band Boy-O-Boy records "That's What You Get" at Poeima Studios in Camarillo, CA., which was later released on "No Sense of History". Other songs are recorded at this time as well.
- Cornerstone Magazine Publishes an interview with Terry Taylor.
Daniel Amos Interview
- Isaac Air Freight's Freight's Designer Album is released. Ed McTaggart played drums on the album.
- Broken Records is created out of Maranatha's A&S and MRC labels.
(1984 Doppelganger Tour Poster)
January 1984
- Doppelganger is reviewed by Christian Herald Magazine.
View Album Reviews
January-April 1984
- The Doppelganger Tour finds DA performing concerts in front of nearly 100,000 people across 60 cities in the United States and Canada.
February 14, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at the Fort Walton Beach Municipal Civic Auditorium in Fort Walton Beach, FL at 7:30 p.m.
February 16, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Clearwater, Florida.
February 18, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at the Fine Arts Auditorium at Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida at 7:30 p.m. Local newspapers advertised the show by stating that the "Alarma Chronicles is a musical expression of a Christian's frustrations, disgusts, joys and wisdom found in living as a dual or double being - existing in this physical world and as a citizen of heaven. Daniel Amos will impress you with their own unique nu-rock sound that is fresh and vibrant, Bowie-like vocals take you through a variety of rock styles and a special stage set-up will stimulate your eyes with double images and glimpses of the future music as rock video is brought to the stage."
February 20, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at Florida Christian Center in Odessa, FL at 7:30 p.m.
February 21, 1984
- Steve Taylor's Meltdown is released. The idea had been tossed around of having Terry produce the album for Steve, although it ended up being produced by Shotgun Angel producer Jonathan David Brown instead.
Steve: "...there was a time during the Meltdown album where I kicked around the idea of working with him. It just never came together... I admire Terry a lot."
Terry: "At one time, Street Level productions was sent a tape. The question was asked would I produce the person that was on the tape. Of course it was Steve Taylor. But that never happened. I don't know why it never happened. I thought that was interesting that we could have worked together. I hope sometime that it will happen."
- Jacob's Trouble's Jerry Davidson first heard Daniel Amos' Horrendous Disc while still in high school. Several years later, Terry would be producing multiple albums for Jerry and his band Jacob's Trouble.
Jerry: "It just blew me away. It had a tremendous impact on my songwriting as a Christian, helping me to see how I could keep my artistic standards and still say something."
February 23, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Philadelphia, PA.
February 24, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Boston, MA.
February 25, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Houghton, NY.
Real Girls T-Shirt
April 1984
- Rob Watson (keyboards) joins DA.
April 5, 1984
John Mehler and Kenneth Nash's Light the Night is released. Alex MacDougall handled the art direction for the album.
April 12, 1984
(DA at the Fox Theater in Redwood City. Photo courtesy of Brian Martin.)
- Daniel Amos performs in Redwood City, California at the Fox Theater. The Youth Choir opened the show.
(DA Fox Theater Ticket courtesy of Kevin Lynn Brown.)
- Following DA's performance in Redwood City, a listener of San Francisco's FM KQAK called into the station and got into a discussion with the Host Alex Bennett about Rock and Roll and New Wave bands with Christian Messages like U2, The Alarm and Daniel Amos. The listener also mentioned last night's DA concert in Redwood City. Bennett asked the listener to send in a copy of DA's album Doppelganger. KQAK programming personnel were impressed enough to add "Real Girls" to their regular playlist.
April 13, 1984
- Daniel Amos and Randy Stonehill perform at the Commodore Ballet Auditorium in Stockton, CA at 7:30 p.m.
April 14, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at the Hillcrest Theater in Pleasant Hill, CA. at 8:00 p.m.
April 25, 1984
- Randy Stonehill's Celebrate this Heartbeat is released on Myrrh Records. Tim Chandler plays bass on all songs except "Watcha Gonna Do About That" And "Stop The World."
April 27, 1984
- "What's Shakin'" is released on MRC, which includes a song by the Youth Choir and a song by Sharon McCall. Sharon's track includes husband Jerry Chamberlain on guitar, Tim Chandler on bass, Alex MacDougal on percussion, Randy Stonehill and Terry Taylor on background vocals.
June 1, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in the Contempo Pavilion at Six Flags Magic Mountain at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The event, which is called the Hallelujah Jubilee also features other performers including Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Farrell and Farrell.
- The Steve Carl Band's "Future Tense" is released on Message Records. Terry produced the album, which also featured background vocals by Terry, Randy Stonehill and Jerry Chamberlain; Rob Watson on keyboards. Thom Roy engineered the album, which was recorded at White Field Studios.
June 28-30, 1984
(Terry at Cornerstone, courtesy of theimagestudio.net)
- Daniel Amos (Terry, Ed, Tim & Rob Watson) performs in Grayslake, Illinois at the first ever Cornerstone festival.
Set List: I Didn't Build it For Me, Who Is It? (Talking Heads), Real Girls, As The World Turns, New Car!, Memory Lane, Mall (All Over the World), Endless Summer, Sanctuary
July 15, 1984
- Mark Heard's Ashes and Light is released on Home Sweet Home Records. Future Swirling Eddie Dave "Raven" McSparran played drums and Tom Howard played keyboards.
July 24, 1984
- Maranatha! Music releases Psalms Alive 2 by the Calvary Chapel Worship Community. Alex MacDougall played percussion and Tom Howard played keyboards.
August 1984
- A Daniel Amos concert from April in Redwood City, CA is reviewed in CCM Magazine.
"Pinocchio with a Punch"
Vox Humana
- Vox Humana is released.
View Album Reviews
Album Info & Lyrics
Terry: "A lot of people I talk to think this was our best record. It was an eight track recording. Some of our more popular live songs are on that record -- 'Dance Stop', 'Sanctuary'. It had a cheesy, outer-space, 'War of the Worlds' theme to it. Very new wavy. But it also has some songs on it that I think transcend that time, such as 'Sanctuary'. I wish we'd done 'Sanctuary' during the Doppelganger phase. I think it might have sounded better. But I enjoy Vox Humana a lot. It has catchy kind of pop songs. It's very listenable and enjoyable." (1996)
Terry: "In regard to the sonics of recording, the syn drum sound (love it or hate it!) was a conscious musical decision and was in keeping with our idea of a kind of subdued robotic soundscape. Lyrically and sonically this was a kind of retro sci-fi thing, hinted at by some of the titles based on old Sci Fi movies of the 1950's/ early sixties, i.e. 'Rocket Packs,' 'When Worlds Collide,' the reference to the "...these fifty foot women" in 'Incredible Shrinking Man' etc.
By the way, Greg Flesch joined the band in the middle of the project right after a 'Rocket Packs' 45rpm was issued to the Radio stations sans Gregs solo which obviously made it to the final recording."
Terry, on "Sanctuary": "This is a very personal song. The idea of refuge - a place of peace and tranquility in the midst of circumstantial tumult - is a comforting reality. I thought the best way to express this would be from the point of view of God himself - a kind of first person admonition that the peace that passes understanding can only be found in the arms of the Prince of Peace."
Rob Watson couldn't make it to the photo shoot for the cover of VH because he was on tour with Petra at the time, so they had a friend, Leo Sorentino (semi-pro basketball player and former road manager for the Choir... as in "Everybody in the band appreciated Leo.."), 'stand in' for him. The others on the cover are Terry, Ed, & Tim (Greg joined the band after the album was released). (Source: Terry Taylor)
An early title for the album was Vox Robotica.
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(Greg Flesch - Photo by Davo)
- Greg Flesch (Lead Guitar) joins DA in time for the Vox Humana Tour.
- Leo Sorrentino joins the team as road manager for the upcoming tour.
- Also, the band purchases a large yellow converted schoolbus for travling across the county.
Tim: "It was hollowed completely out so that you could load a few metric tons of crap in the back. As the tour went on, because we had to rip out one of the bench seats along a wall to make more room for crap, Leo and I had the habit of crawling up on top of the PA stack in the back of the bus, riding it as we hurtled at 80 MPR, lighting cigars, smoking and talking about women. Six inches between us and the roof. "
August 4, 1984
- The Times-Transcript in Moncton Parish, New Brunswick, Canada publishes an article talking about Christian themed events happening all over Los Angeles due to swarms of athletes and attendees for the Olympics. It is mentioned that a number of contemporary Christian artists are performing concerts including Randy Stonehill, Noel Paul Stookey, Terry Talbot, Daniel Amos and many others.
August 25, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs as part of Survival '84 at the Music Hall in Houston, TX. The festival took place between 2 and 10 PM. Other performers included Mylon LeFevew and Broken Heart, Daniel Band, Rick Cua and others.
September 7, 1984
(Terry at Jubilation 84, courtesy of Dean Kurtz)
- Daniel Amos performs at the Jubilation 84 Festival at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Other performers include Phil Keaggy Band, Randy Stonehill Band, Steve Taylor and Some Band, The Altar Boys and Bryan Duncan.
September 15, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Rochester, NY.
(1984 Vox Humana Button. A square album-cover button was also available.)
September 18, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY at 7:30 p.m.
Mid/Late September, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at Camden Catholic High School in Camden, NJ.
Set List (Partial): As the World Turns, Mall (All Over the World), Colored By, Faces to the Window, New Car!, The Double, Real Girls, Here I Am There You Are, My Room
Tim: "Ridiculously, we made a trip from Orange County to New Jersey in exactly 15 munites before sound check. Had we hit enough red lights, we miss the gig entirely."
September 20, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Greenville, Illinois.
September 21, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.
Tim: "The promoter, with a pronounced lisp, says to Leo 'You incited our children to DANCE! That is against our rules mister! We are NOT going to pay you!!' Leo looks him in the eye. A beat goes by. Leo: ;Oh, really? Huh. Well, tell you what chief. How 'bout this. I'm gonna drive six tons of yellow through those two doors, I'm gonna park it on your @%$#&^@*& gymnasium floor and then I'm gonna take the wheels off. It'll be here a solid week, how will that work for ya. Yeah, the game you think you're gonna have tomorrow? Not gonna happen. That make you happy little friend? Try me on.' Promoter, running away, shouting over his shoulder: 'Let me get you your check, sir!'"
September 22, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs at the Marion Civic Center in Marion, IL at 8:00 p.m.
September 24, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in the Girault Auditorium on the Belhaven College Campus in Jackson, MI at 7:30 p.m. Promoted as "a new wave Christian Band Multi Media Show -- 3D glasses provided at the door."
September 29, 1984
(Ticket courtesy of Dale Urevig)
- Daniel Amos performs at the Anwatin Auditorium in Minneapolis, MN.
Fall 1984
- While DA was heading back to the west coast after the Vox Humana Tour, DA's tour bus loses a wheel, nearly causing a potentially fatal accident.
Tim: Right before the Vox Humana tour, the band bought an old converted school bus. It had enough room in it that we could fit an entire PA, all the lighting, amps, guitars, etc., and still have enough room that the band and road crew could all ride in this one vehicle. It was still kind of a tight fit, and I would often climb up on top of the PA stacks and crawl to the mid-section of the bus where I could lie down, smoke a cigar and read a book. The stuff was packed high enough that as I lay there, my face would be about 8 inches from the ceiling of the bus. (yes, I had to smoke part of the cigar down before I could climb up there.) I would sometimes even sleep up there on an overnight drive. The band lineup was the Vox lineup with Rob Watson on keyboards and Greg on guitar. It was Greg's first tour with us. That ancient bus made it through the entire tour without too much trouble, (although I remember Greg, mr. fixit-scientist-type-guy, with the hood up and half his body submerged into the engine compartment with just his legs sticking up as he was fixing something.)
One afternoon on our way home, we were on that road that heads down into Las Vegas, from the east side of Las Vegas going West. I was laying up on top of the PA in the back when I heard this incredible metallic grinding sound and felt the bus shudder and start to swerve. I looked up to see our soundman, and the guy who usually drove the bus (and thank God he was driving this time!) Dave Hackbarth standing up out of the driver's seat, clutching the wheel with both hands and putting all his weight into it to keep the bus from veering off the road and flipping over. (Dave is a HUGE, strong man. If he hadn't been driving, we'd all be dead right now. I'm certain that I would've died because of where I was in the bus. If it'd rolled, that would have been it. I owe my life to Dave Hackbarth!) No one knew exactly what had happened. Dave wrestled the thing to a skidding stop on the side of the road and everybody filed out to take a look.
The right front wheel had come completely off as we were going about 50-55 mph down that road into Las Vegas. It was actually kind of funny; we looked at the part of the axle where the wheel attaches and it had been ground down into a half moon. It was smoking and on fire. We turned to see the loose wheel hauling @$$ across the desert at about 90 mph, kicking up a cloud of dust like in a road-runner cartoon. We owe our lives to Dave Hackbarth!!"
Tim: "Because the human mind processes things at lightning speed when in crisis, I watch Dave stand and save the day. At the exact same moment as I'm airborne, I look to my left at Leo, who's still clutching a lit cigar as he spins horizontally in the air six feet up. He looks me dead in the eye, lit cigar in hand and says: 'I hate my life.' Lit cigar, perfectly straight in the air, a slow spin, he says that. I started laughing before I landed somewhere underneath the dashboard. Comically, all of us pile out and stand, blinking at the half moon hub on fire. Greg grabs a blanket and puts it out. Comically, we all turn at once, look to our right and see the tire, a half mile away with a roadrunner cartoon cloud dust trail still doing 80. And the next thing just makes me very happy. We left that bus in the Nevada desert to rot. We grabbed our things, scattered, equipment truck, rental car, air flight, without a word, scattered towards home. We just left the bus. I don't like to brag or anything, but that's as rock and roll as it gets. A band that can't afford proper maintanance, let alone, the bus itself, just leaves it in the Nevada desert."
November 6, 1984
- Steve and Annie Chapman's Circle of Two is released on Star Song Records. Alex MacDougall played percussion on the album.
December 1984
- Vox Humana is reviewed by CCN Magazine.
View Album Reviews
December 28, 1984
- The Asheville Times in Asheville, NC publishes an article on Christian music entitled "Christian Rock on the Rise." While the majority of the article focuses on the recent success of Amy Grant and Stryper, Daniel Amos is mentioned briefly, along with Steve Taylor, Leslie Phillips, Undercover, the Resurrection Band, Petra and others.
December 31, 1984
- Daniel Amos performs in Denver, CO.
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