STELLAR KART from Phoenix, Arizona, are breaking through in the US Christian rock scene. Tony Cummings reports.

POP PUNK PERFORMERS: Stellar Kart

With pop punk music now making fresh inroads into the mainstream charts Christian record companies are, predictably, waking up to the style. Latest act to find space in the CD racks are four young men (ages ranging from 20 to 23 from Phoenix, Arizona) called Stellar Kart. Their 'All Gas. No Brake' album has been likened to bands such as CCM's Relient K and the mainstream's Greenday. The band, Adam Agee (vocals, guitar), Jordan Messer (drums), Cody Pellerin (guitar) and Tay Sitera (bass), grew up playing music. The four friends came together to form a worship band at Mt Ridge Baptist in Glendale, Arizona, which quickly developed into their now full time ministry. For the past two and a half years Stellar Kart have stayed busy performing close to 300 youth events, most of them on the West Coast. The foursome have toured alongside By The Tree, Jeremy Camp and Building 429, among others and recently completed a major US tour with Kutless.

In their early days Stellar Kart admit to being an Audio Adrenaline tribute band but say that when it wore out 'Bloom', members began writing their own material. "We got tired of playing the same Audio A songs," jokes Agee. "We were waiting for them to put out another CD, so we decided to write our own stuff." Actually, the band have always written their own music. Even now, Messer and Agee take on the lyrics while all four contribute to the music and arrangements. Before signing to Word Records the band recorded two independent albums. Their Word debut, the self-produced 'All Gas. No Brake' features only one worship song, while the other tracks capture Stellar Kart's unique blend of straight ahead pop punk. The band's affinity for camp settings is easily heard in "Gone Fishin'"; and "Student Driver". Songs written on location, they're full of catchy music with simple messages that are easily understood. In "Student Driver", Stellar Kart use a fun, rockin' tune to communicate the idea that so many Christians want to be in control, want to be in the driver's seat, but are really just along for the ride. Stellar Kart also address some serious issues. Superstar is actually a song about someone considering suicide. Says Messer, "I've had friends that died from suicide, so I felt it was an important issue to address in a song. So many people are not feeling the love of Christians around them. We wrote Superstar to stress how crucial it is for us as a family to reach out to others."

One of the surprising songs featured on 'All Gas. No Brake' is a careering version of Bon Jovi's hard rock anthem Livin' On A Prayer. Say the band, "Bon Jovi was one of our favourite artists and biggest musical influences growing up. We were thrilled to put our own spin on this classic tune."

'All Gas. No Brake' displays an infectious rock exuberance and also expresses Stellar Kart's heart - to talk to young people and encourage them to make right decisions in life. Says Cody Pellerin, "Junior high and high school were really difficult for me. Not being a Christian, those years were just a train wreck. I accepted Christ right before I turned 18. I went ot a camp two weeks later and it was life-changing. There are so many high school and junior high kids living a life with no direction. If we have the opportunity to help them, that's great. It fires me up, keeps me grounded to think about how God's using me to help other people."