About the Band
In early 2006 the band with no name was only an idea in the mind of Dave. He
believed that God had placed that idea in his mind and after much prayer decided
to act on this dream. His first thought was to contact a youth pastor named
Kevin Hornsby, whom he had briefly met a couple of months before. Dave and
Kevin talked, basically as two perfect strangers talk, but Dave asked Kevin to
pray about starting a music ministry and traveling around where God leads to
tell people about the love and grace of Jesus through music. Kevin was very
hesitant, after all, he had a life of ministry already, a wife and three
children of his own, with very little time. Besides Kevin did not know Dave
very well at all. Kevin did say that he would seek God in this matter but was
probably not interested.
After two more phone conversations over the next
couple of weeks Kevin was interested enough in finding out more about what might
become a band that he decided to have dinner with his wife, Dave, and Dave's
wife. The four of them met and had an enjoyable dinner with music conversation
dominating the topic of the evening. After another two weeks in prayer God had
made it clear to Kevin that Dave's dream needed to become a reality and that he
needed to share in that dream. That next week these two guys met at Kevin's
church with their sound man, Glen, and went through some songs on the piano and
on the guitar. The first ever duo service was at Community Christian School
where Kevin played the guitar and Dave sang a few worship songs. Kevin also
introduced one of his original songs and gave a great message from God's Word.
It wasn't but a week and a half after that that Kevin ran into some musicians
that were hungry to follow God's plan for their lives and were looking for a
band of this style and with this purpose to join. So the band with no name
begins to grow by adding Sean as the drummer, Tony at acoustic rhythm guitar,
and Darren as lead electric guitar player. By this time Kevin, who can play a
ton of instruments, sing wonderfully, write music, preach and a whole lot more
had switched to singing backup, playing keyboard, and playing bass guitar.
Practices were going very well and we knew that God's hand was already on this
group.
About a month later Dave received a phone call from Kevin letting him
know that he would rather not play the bass guitar and that God had already
provided a bass player for the band. So at the next rehearsal Marty joined in
and started on Bass. Rehearsals continued to go very well and new music was
being learned at them all. Some of the guys were able to play at a Luella High
Football rally, but the entire band was not able to make it. The next weekend
the band with no name was asked to sing at the Locust Grove days. This went
well except for the heat. The people who listened seemed to enjoy
themselves and
liked the music. The feedback was very positive even from people that they did
not know. This was the first and last time that the band with no name actually
played with full band in public. The next time this group of guys played
together -- they had a name!
On the evening before Memorial Day, Dave and his
wife were at a friends house by the names of Jim and Trixy and they were talking
about a name for this nameless band. After several hours of discussion, Jim
says "I got it!" and was excited about it. He wrote out the name exit 417 on a
scratch piece of paper and explained the meaning to Dave. Dave liked it and
thought the band would like to have it as a name. This name stuck and the band
was so thankful to finally be called exit 417. The name makes reference to the
final exit of believers from this earth which is talked about in the Bible in I
Thessalonians 4:17. This name is a perfect fit for this group of guys because
their primary reason for having a band is to share Christ with those who do not
know them.
Mid 2007 Tony had resigned from the band
due to some personal related issues. In October of 2007, Sean
had fallen off a ladder, hurt his shoulder, and could not play
the drums for at least 2 weeks. The band had a very important
event coming up and needed an emergency drummer fill-in to keep
the show scheduled. Darren called upon one of his best friends –
Greg Santangelo to fulfill this required task. Greg came in and
learned 10 songs in a week and Exit 417 successfully performed
the show. After the show the original band members called a
meeting and decided to offer Greg the drummer/percussionist slot
within the band. They also asked if Sean and Marty were willing
to swap their instruments and talents around by putting Marty on
acoustic guitar and Sean on bass so that all existing band
member’s talents were utilized. Everyone accepted the offer and
changes. Things happen for a reason and Exit 417 believes that
GOD has truly made these band member changes for a positive
purpose.
Just recently (July 08’), a new
member was added to Exit 417. His name is Scott Campbell. Scott
has performed with us in the past on large events such as the
“New Year’s Nugget Drop” and also as a sub for existing members
in the band. He is a very talented rhythm acoustic guitar player
and back-up harmony vocalist. After several meetings with the
band and prayers to our “Savior” above, we decided to add Scott
to the band to make us even more well-rounded and talented.
The talent within the band is remarkable and each
person is where they need to be. The sound and message they
produce is outstanding and memorable.
Exit 417 has sung several places since then including Truetts
Grill on Jonesboro Road, Jonesboro First Baptist Church,
Eagles Landing Christian Academy, Mt. Vernon Baptist Church,
Salem Baptist Church, and others. The band looks forward to
God leading them on a long path of honoring Him through music for
years to come! God is continuing to open doors for the band.
Many opportunities have come their way from meeting different people
on their Christian journey. God has just allowed them to finish a 12 song CD that
was released on September 27th, 2008. The CD is available at
all upcoming concerts and
via internet. Also you may call Greg at 678-859-6976 to order one.
The cost is $15.00. Please visit their myspace web page (myspace.com/exit417)
to listen to some of the songs on the new CD.
Thank you for your interest in the Birth of the band - now known as
EXIT417.
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