Music to Raise the Dead: Glenn Kaiser on Resurrection Band, Jesus People USA and a Lifetime of Blues

Glenn Kaiser has spent more than five decades making music that refuses to fit neatly into a box. In this episode of Beyond the Chorus: Classic CCM Rewind, Shayne Brian sits down with the legendary Resurrection Band / REZ co-founder to revisit the beginnings of one of Christian rock’s most influential bands, the Jesus Movement, his lifelong love of the blues, and the faith and convictions that have shaped his music. Glenn takes us back to growing up in Milwaukee, discovering Elvis, rhythm and blues, soul, Hendrix, Cream, Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones, joining his first band at just 13, and moving through around 16 bands before the age of 18. He also speaks candidly about drug and alcohol addiction, the emptiness he experienced even as his musical ambitions began coming true, and the decision to surrender his life to Jesus. From there, we trace the beginnings of Charity, which became Resurrection Band, and Glenn explains why the band refused to accept the idea that rock music itself could somehow be inherently Christian or secular. We go Out of the Crate with the groundbreaking 1978 Resurrection Band album Awaiting Your Reply, including the story behind “Broken Promises”, before exploring how Rez continually reinvented its sound rather than making the same record twice. Glenn also reflects on Wendi Kaiser’s powerful contribution to the band, Resurrection Band’s brushes with MTV and mainstream rock, and why the group once turned down a more lucrative record deal rather than compromise its musical identity. The conversation goes far beyond Resurrection Band. Glenn explains why blues music remains so important to him, how cigar box guitars connect modern players to African and African American musical history, and how he has used simple handmade instruments in workshops, including work with inmates at Cook County Jail. He also discusses decades of writing about poverty, racism, addiction, justice and faith, and why music has always been a vehicle rather than the final destination. And in The Second Verse, Glenn talks about the completed prison-focused project Ain’t No Bars Around My Heart and previews another upcoming rock album exploring searching, struggle and redemption. For anyone interested in Resurrection Band, REZ, Jesus People USA, the Jesus Movement, classic Christian rock, CCM history, Glenn Kaiser, blues music or the roots of Christian alternative music, this is a journey right back to where much of it began. In This Episode • Glenn Kaiser’s early musical influences and joining his first band at 13 • Addiction, musical ambition and the conversion that changed his life • Jesus People USA and the birth of Charity and Resurrection Band • Why Glenn rejects the idea that musical genres can be inherently Christian or secular • Making Awaiting Your Reply and the story behind “Broken Promises” • Wendi Kaiser, MTV, artistic evolution and Resurrection Band’s refusal to conform • Why Rez turned down money rather than compromise its musical identity • Faith, politics, poverty, justice and decades of prison ministry • Glenn’s fascination with blues and the history of cigar box guitars • Ain’t No Bars Around My Heart, new music and what Glenn hopes survives after the records stop playing Timestamps 00:00 - Beyond the Chorus and the Glenn Kaiser story 02:18 - Early musical influences and joining his first band 06:27 - Addiction, success, surrender and finding Jesus 15:22 - Jesus People USA, Charity and the birth of Resurrection Band 22:18 - Christian rock, secular music and why genre doesn’t define faith 31:23 - Awaiting Your Reply and the story behind “Broken Promises” 36:18 - Wendi Kaiser, changing the Rez sound and refusing to repeat themselves 52:44 - Artistic integrity, justice, politics and prison ministry 66:25 - Blues, cigar box guitars and making music from almost nothing 77:33 - Ain’t No Bars Around My Heart, the upcoming album and the Resurrection Band legacy Follow Glenn Kaiser Grrr Records: https://grrrrecords.com/glenn-kaiser Glenn Kaiser Website: https://gkaisersoze.wixsite.com/kaiz Facebook:   / glennkaisersolo   Follow Beyond the Chorus: Classic CCM Rewind YouTube:    / @beyondthechorusclassicccmmusic   Facebook:   / beyondthechorus   Patreon:   / beyondthechorus   If you grew up with Resurrection Band, REZ, classic CCM or Christian rock from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, subscribe to Beyond the Chorus: Classic CCM Rewind and join us as we revisit the artists, the albums, the missing years and what came next. And if you know someone else who still has those records, cassettes and CDs sitting on the shelf, share the episode with them too. Drop the needle. Press play. We’re going back to where the music began.