CARTHAGE, Mo. —
Nate Terry and his good friend, Adam Rasmussen, were having dinner together in September when Terry, from out of the blue, mentioned something about them striking up a band together.
Moments later, Rasmussen smiled at Terry and said, “I’ve felt the same way.”
And just like that, the Nate Terry Band was born.
“I’ve been involved in Christian and gospel music for 15 years or so,” Terry said. “I had a group before, but God kind of closed the door on that. I’ve sat idle for about a year, and I just felt the Lord leading me and telling me that I should be putting together a band.”
The two decided to network and look for musicians to flesh out the band.
“And the miracle part of it,” Terry said, “is everybody we found was the guy we ended up with. We didn’t have to audition anyone; we didn’t have to turn anyone down, which is always tough. Every guy that showed up was the guy. That was miraculous, really.
“I couldn’t have looked all around the country without finding as good as guys that we have in this band. All of them write amazing music. They are talented musicians and talented writers. I mean, you could be the greatest-playing band in the world, but without good material it’s not going to do you any good.”
Terry sings lead vocals for the band, which has a lineup that includes Randy Brooks (lead and rhythm guitar), J.R. Day (bass), Ryan Ferguson (drums), Jared Harder (guitar) and Rasmussen (keyboards).
The guys already have an agent and publicist, Rhonda Boudreaux, and their first live gig — a free one — was successfully staged inside Carthage’s Fairview Christian Church recently. The band will be one of the main acts at the National Religious Broadcast Conference on March 4 in Nashville, Tenn. — a rare honor, Terry said.
“It’s kind of strange,” he said. “They usually don’t take upstart bands; they usually have established groups. But Rhonda shopped us, they accepted and the next thing we knew, we’re going to Nashville.”
Perfect plan in place
One of the reasons the band has booked several big gigs right off the bat is because the members have a solid plan in place, in terms of who they are singing for and the purpose behind their singing.
“We feel like, in a crowded concert, there are many different things that people are going through — be it marital problems or money problems or whatever. And we feel like God can use us to speak to them,” said Terry.
“Much like a preacher or pastor uses the sermon, we use songs. And that’s why we do it. We’re not at all interested in (girls, money or the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle). Our first priority is to be the center of God’s will. We are followers of Jesus Christ first and then musicians second — or maybe even third.”
The Nate Terry Band’s music is very contemporary driven with a progressive sound that illustrates passion and faith in each song, though Terry admits the group is hard to pigeonhole.
“We have a pretty unique style,” he said. “I think it fits beneath the contemporary Christian (music) tent, but everybody I talk to has a different idea of what we sound like. I mean, I’ve heard people tell me we sound like a country band. Others say we sound like a Southern rock band. Others hear some blues influence in our music.
“Honestly, I don’t think we sound like any other band.”
Music roots
Terry grew up in a musical family.
“When I was a teenager growing up, everybody at school was listening to MC Hammer and Debbie Gibson, and I was at home listening to the Beatles on vinyl,” he said.
Terry’s grandmother used to make him sing in church, though it irritated him at the time. He didn’t do much singing until a fateful day in 1996, when he and his wife, Mandy, were driving home in their car and Terry began busting out some rhymes.
“I was singing, and I thought to myself, ‘Hey, that’s kind of neat.’”
Now he’s glad his grandmother prodded him to sing in church over those many years.
“I like a lot of different kinds of music, and I sometimes listen to different music, but Christian music has a message that I really like to communicate (to others),” he said. “I feel like the Lord can use the messages in Christian music to give people hope. Other kinds of music are good, but most of it is for entertainment only, whereas God can use song to change someone’s life. I’ve seen it many, many times. And that’s what we want to do.”
Want to listen?
For more information about the Nate Terry Band, visit www.thenateterryband.com.
Globe Life
Related Photos
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Formed in September and only recently staging its first live performance, the Nate Terry Band has been invited to perform at the National Religious Broadcast Conference in Nashville. Courtesy/Nate Terry
Discussion
Nate Terry Band shoots out of gate with original, faith-based sound
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