Meet a Riv Band: Ish

[intro]Riv features a crazy number of talented bands across all three venues. This time, we’re introducing you to Ish.[/intro]

Who all is in Ish?

• Clayton Ballreich–trumpet
• Kristen Cambern–vocals
• Jen Craft–Vocals, tambourine
• Jake Cleeves–Electric Guitar
• Anthony Donofrio–Bass
• Kyle Kranzo–Drums
• Zach Nachazel–Viola, Banjo
• Dan Price–Vocals, guitars, keys

What’s your primary venue?

Holt

How would you describe your musical style?

Eclectic/soul/sufjan?/roots/rock/unhipster

What led you to come together as a band?

Dan has been here for ten years and most of the band members have been around for several years. Jen and Kristen have sung in the band for several years. Kyle played drums, moved away and came back. Our old guitarist Jake moved back to town and rejoined our band this past fall. And Zach, Clayton and Anthony have played the last couple of years with us. Interesting stat: we’ve had seven lead guitarists in the last eight years (don’t move away again, Jake).

How have you seen God working, either in yourselves as a band overall, or through leading worship on a Sunday morning?

Having some continuity over the years as a band, we’ve built a relationship with each other and the congregation on the weekends. There’s a maturity there with this group who have weathered the good and the bad in their lives and are still singing faithfully about God’s grace.

Do you have any particular hopes for Riv members as you lead them in worship?

We want them to sing of God’s mercies freely and loudly. We are really trying to focus on things like melody, rhythm and key ranges in order to make it easy for people to sing with us. The louder we sing as a congregation, the more encouraged we are about the truth we are singing about.

What’s your favorite song to lead?

“The Wonderful Grace of Jesus” by Nathan Partain is my favorite worship song ever. It explains the simple freedom of God’s grace. (You can listen to his version here.)

Can we listen to your music anywhere else?

Yep. rivchurch.bandcamp.com. We also have an EP for sale at the info center in the lobby.

Anything else you want the people of Riv to know about your band and/or music?

Everyone, except for me (Dan), here is a volunteer, and even though they all enjoy serving in this way, it’s a huge sacrifice of time because it takes several hours a week of practice, and giving up two days on the weekends you are playing. But even so these people have servants hearts and want to see the church grow in our response to who God is and what he’s done. And man, they want to see people connect with Jesus. I just really appreciate how much goes into this behind the scenes with so many volunteers who have stellar attitudes.

 

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