Singer/songwriter Rob Frazier has returned to his roots for his long-awaited Freedom Records release, The Things I Say. A veteran of the CCM scene, Frazier is back writing and singing with passion and intensity - a skill that has won him recognition as a songwriter but not the attention as a singer and artist ommensurate with his albums and live performances. That is changing with this project. The Things I Say is a culmination of ...

Singer/songwriter Rob Frazier has returned to his roots for his long-awaited Freedom Records release, The Things I Say. A veteran of the CCM scene, Frazier is back writing and singing with passion and intensity - a skill that has won him recognition as a songwriter but not the attention as a singer and artist ommensurate with his albums and live performances. That is changing with this project. The Things I Say is a culmination of two years writing and ruminating on issues near to his heart and experience. The title song reflects the anguish of honestly confronting the gap between what we say we believe and how we actually live. Frazier draws from the well of personal experience but also attacks topics often avoided by others including confronting a friend whose faith is slipping into apathy, the often fractious nature of theological debate and even the controversy over the violence at abortion clinics. Working with legendary producer and friend Dave Perkins (Newsboys, Chagall Guevera, Randy Stonehill), Frazier has created an album mature in nature, with Beatle-esque and retro stylings and perhaps a harder edge than his earlier releases, yet with a contemporary sound. He felt he had become a bit stagnant in the milieu of CCM radio regularity after his 15+ years in Christian music and needed a jolt back to his acoustic rock roots. Perkins was willing and able to provide such impetus. Heartfelt and intriguing ballads round out the musical offerings. This artistic rebirth coincides with new spiritual growth in Frazier's life and a realization over the last few years that God is leading him toward pastoral ministry. He has recently begun part-time seminary training toward that end. Giftings in the area of encouragement, exhortation and teaching are obvious components of his concert ministry and it's not hard to see the artist in the role of pastor with perhaps some combination of the the two. He has observed a growing openness in the church to including the arts as part of worship and Christian growth and is encouraged by that trend. The need to keep a Biblical base to artistic expression is something on his heart as well as recent exposure to the missions explosion in the worldwide church, the focus on the "10/40 window" of unreached people groups and the exciting possibility of completing the Great Commission in our generation. A veteran of the CCM scene, Frazier has been active as a solo artist for over a dozen years; from major tours to extensive work on the college circuit and now his new focus: ministering in and partnering with the local church. Always, he seems to focus on what his music has consistently conveyed; that the Christian life is not just one decision but constant growth and discovery - something that touches every area of life. Once again, it's obvious that this artist is capable of penetrating observations on the Christian experience even as his music is entertaining and real, finding great success within the sometimes narrow confines of Christian radio, often going right up the charts. "Forgiven," "We Are One," "A Place Called Heaven" and "Hole in My Heart," the first four singles from The Long Run, Frazier's previous effort from 1994, all neared or reached the top 10. Before that he released Retrospect, a "Best of, Volume 1" project plus three new songs, which yielded two top 10 songs, "Love is Sacrifice" and "Why Why Why," a punchy duet with Steve Camp. "Got Your Word on It" and "The Heartland" from the 1990 album of the same name both occupied the #2 spots on the national survey for several weeks and remain staples on Christian radio today. Meanwhile, Frazier began receiving heavy secular airplay in South Africa, beginning with the song "Go Through Fire," which led to a sold out tour there in 1993 and a return visit in November '94. Interestingly, it was during that most recent visit that the song "We Are One," which was inspired by his observation of the courageous role the church in South Africa has undertaken to lead the way toward true racial reconciliation, climbed the charts. This led to a first for many Christian radio stations which hosted Rob's interview special, "Live From South Africa." He also makes regular visits to the U.K. and undertook his first tour of Australia where he recorded the surprise blues band project with two popular Australian Christian artists called - "The Blues Farmers". That project is just out in North America and is lots of fun! Previous well-known songs include the standards "(Doesn't Anybody Pray in) This Town Anymore" and "Break My Heart" from 1987's This Town. In 1984 he released his solo debut, Cut It Away, including the hits "Come On Elaine," "Train Up a Child" and the classic "He is All You Need" recorded by Steve Camp and other artists. Frazier has enjoyed a close relationship with Camp for over a decade, co-writing many of the songs on his last 11 albums as well as songs for other artists including Margaret Becker, Rick Cua, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Kenny Marks, John Fischer, Dick Tunney, Vince Wilcox, Connie Scott and the super-group KANSAS. His songwriting skills have been widely recognized, including numerous Top 10 Songwriter of the Year citations by the Gospel Music Association as well as several Dove Award nominations for "Song of the Year." He was also a contributing member of the group PETRA for several years appearing on the albums 'Washes Whiter Than,' 'War and Remembrance' and "PETRA - The Early Years.' Prior to that he led a band in intensive evangelistic youth work throughout Britain and other parts of Europe. Raised the son of a pastor near Philadelphia, PA, he lives in Nashville with Carol, his wife of 18 years and their three children, ages 15, 10 and 8. He is a member of the Belmont Church, an interdenominational fellowship, where he and his wife are cell-group (home church) leaders. He is also involved with several para-church ministries including Compassion International.