Barnabas (band)
| Barnabas | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Christian rock, Christian metal, hard rock, blues, punk rock |
| Years active | 1977–1986 |
| Past members |
Nancy Jo Mann |
Nancy Jo Mann
Brian Belew
Gary Mann
Kris Klingensmith
Monte Cooley
Lance Johnson
Carolyn Joy
Rojelio
Mick Donner
Barnabas was a Christian hard rock band that was active from 1977 through 1986. The name of the band was in honor of the New Testament disciple Barnabas. Originating out of the Jesus movement of the 1970s, they are considered one of the pioneers of Christian hard rock and heavy metal, along with Agape, Daniel Band, Jerusalem, and Resurrection Band.
Over their career as a band, Barnabas was based in Los Angeles, Schaumburg, Illinois, Des Moines, Iowa, and Edmond, Oklahoma. Barnabas recorded five studio albums and played a relatively small number of concerts. Throughout their career, the band suffered from attacks by prominent Christian lecturers, which ultimately contributed to their break-up in 1986.
Monte Cooley founded the band in southern California in 1977 as according to him he was unaware of Resurrection Band and therefore did not know of any Christian groups playing hard rock or heavy metal at the time. Cooley placed an ad in Guitar Center that he wanted to form a Christian heavy metal band, and soon bassist Gary Mann and drummer Lance Johnson joined the band. Cooley originally wanted Darrell Mansfield as a vocalist, but Mansfield turned down the offer so Carolyn Joy was recruited instead. Lance Johnson and Carolyn Joy performed live with the band for a short time, and second guitarist David Storrs was also involved with the band during this period. However, all three left within the first year. The band briefly had a drummer known as Roy, but he was soon replaced by Kris Klingensmith (Kris k.) who took over on drums.Nancy Jo Mann (later Nancyjo or NJo) then joined the band on vocals after being discovered through an ad in a local paper. The band recorded their first album, Hear the Light, in 1980 in a Los Angeles studio. After this, the band briefly visited Highway Missionary Society in Rogue River, Oregon before moving to Jesus People USA in Chicago for an equally short stay. Next, they moved to nearby Schaumburg, Illinois.
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