Shane & Shane Enjoy New Success

Shane & Shane has cemented its status as one of contemporary Christian music’s most consistent, compelling, and successful artists for nearly a decade.

A staple on the fickle college circuit, the acoustic guitar-wielding duo has averaged 250-300 shows per year for most of its career. Between independent recordings, six studio releases, and a combo CD/DVD live project, its tally hovers around a half-million records sold. It would be easy to let these statistics overshadow the essential reason Shane & Shane has come so far in the first place. “The ministry of Shane & Shane is to just tell people about Jesus,” explains Shane Barnard with his characteristic Texan candor.

Among the most devotionally focused singer/songwriters of this generation, for Shane Barnard and Shane Everett, it all comes back to the creative source. “We always have a tendency to bring the scriptures into our songs,” Barnard explains. “It happens naturally for us. It’s not like we have a game plan, but we’ve always spent a lot of time in the Word of God. The Word of God is just so good – if you don’t mess with it – it’s hard to mess it up. I think this album, probably more than any other album we’ve done, is the Word of God set to music.”

Forged in the creatively charged atmosphere of musician feeding off musician Everything Is Different emerged as perhaps the most musically diverse album of Shane & Shane’s career. But lyrically, with a focus on teaching, training, and discipling students in the area of worship ministry, the duo believes it contains more word for word scripture than any album it has ever done.

Primary songsmith, Shane Barnard drew on Hebrews 1 and Psalm 40 for inspiration in the gorgeous corporate worship hymn, “Worthy of Affection.” The album’s sweet yet pulsating musical version of “The Lord’s Prayer” is taken word for word from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Shane Everett lends his rare songwriting talent on “Rain Down,” a song that reflects Psalm 27. The CD’s first radio cut, a creative re-imaging of the beloved hymn, “My Hope Is Built,” is based on Jesus’ parable of the wise man who built his house on solid rock, found in Matthew, chapter seven. Reflecting on the emotional and spiritual impact its music has had on a generation of emerging worshippers, Shane Barnard declares, “Every song on this album hinges on scripture. The chorus may be scripture, or the first verse may be scripture, then we will expound on that as the song progresses. We have found that, as we walk through life, it is imperative to have the scriptures before us. For me, personally, Psalms 73 has become a staple in my life. It is the summary of my heart, and where I want my heart to be. You’ll find themes from that Psalm in several songs on this CD - ‘Who have I in heaven but you?’ I want to live a life that shows Him off as my reward.”

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