InFocus: Casting Crowns History

Casting Crowns had its beginnings many years ago in one man: Mark Hall. Mark was a youth pastor in Florida who led youth in several different bands. Mark Hall was transferred to Atlanta, where the group now known as Casting Crowns formed. The group put out two independent albums, but hesitated to approach a major label wanting to keep their sound. Eventually, they were approached by Steven Curtis Chapman and others, and they released their first album, which was self-titled. Casting Crowns was the fastest selling debut release from a group Christian music has ever seen. The album, released October, 2003, went platinum in February of 2005 and remained on the Gospel Music Association’s top-ten list up until the beginning of this year. Their 2004 release of Live from Atlanta, including a DVD and CD, went gold. In 2005 the group garnered multiple GMA awards, including group of the year and song of the year for “Who am I.” Later in 2005, the group released their second studio album, Lifesong, which has already gone gold.
Perhaps the reason for the group’s appeal lies in their members, perhaps in their songs. The group is composed of:
Mark Hall - lead vocals
Juan DeVevo - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
Melodee DeVevo - violin, vocals
Hector Cervantes - electric guitar, vocals
Chris Huffman - bass guitar
Megan Garrett - keyboard, accordion, vocals
Andy Williams - drums

Mark Hall’s tremendous vocals are rivaled only by his incredible songwriting capabilities (named songwriter of the year in 2004 and 2005 by GMA). Songs such as “Who am I” and “If we are the body” not only received their fair share of radio play, but also are being sung in churches worldwide. Other songs, such as “Lifesong” and their latest single “Praise you in the storm” are being embraced in similar fashion. The group’s pop/rock style only complements their talent, making them this month’s InFocus group.

Info taken from Wikipedia.org and the group's website.