Band Bio
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
2006
Adam’s Road is a Christian band and ministry committed to conveying the message of the Cross—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—through music and testimony. The ministry began in the summer of 2006 after Jesus unshackled five religious men and filled them with the knowledge of God’s Grace.
Micah Wilder, the first of the five band members to be liberated, encountered the Biblical Jesus as an LDS (Mormon) missionary through the Grace of God. Having asserted the Biblical Jesus, professed the Biblical Gospel of Grace, and proclaimed an assurance of salvation secure in Jesus alone, he was then disgraced, sent home, maligned, and released early from his LDS mission by church authorities.
Micah’s former religious zeal—infused with knowledge leading to salvation—was redirected into a passion for preaching Biblical Christianity and the Grace of God. And this, through the grace of God, led to the eventual salvation of the other four band members—all of whom left the Mormon religion for a personal relationship with Jesus established in His Word.
Because the ministry esteems the Holy Bible as God’s complete and infallible Word, putting the Bible to song is at the heart of what they do. Familiar with the musty “leavened bread” of religion and sensitive to its potent effects, they make proclaiming God’s true and “unleavened” Word their primary ambition. Their songs proclaim the Grace of God that comes through Jesus Christ and the blood He shed on the Cross; the salvation that comes by accepting that free gift by faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Because they focus the lyrics of their songs on the Gospel as taught in the Bible, they give their music away for free—distributing CDs and digital music freely throughout the world. To date the band has given out thousands of CDs to people in over 25 countries.
The band resides in Winter Garden, Florida, in proximity to where three of the members—Micah, Joseph, and Steve—had served LDS missions, and hometown of native Floridian and band member Jay Graham. They own and operate a historic Bed and Breakfast called the Edgewater Hotel, which has become the home base for the ministry, supplying the housing and food needs of the band members and their families.
In the fall of 2006 Adam’s Road, still in the infancy stages of being a ministry, began production on their first and self-titled album, “Adam’s Road”. Seasoned musician and audio expert Jim Durbin, who is now a great friend and supporter of the ministry, owns a recording studio in town—Durbin Audio Designs—just down the street from the Edgewater Hotel. The band met Jim that fall. He was immediately helpful and resourceful; recording, engineering, tweaking, and sharing his experience and knowledge with the band members as they were getting their feet wet as recording musicians. And for this, they thank God.
The production of the “Adam’s Road” self-titled album was a year-and-a-half process. The band, along with Jim Durbin, chiseled away at the album as time, money, and other resources allowed. In the meantime, the members of the ministry needed to mature and grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ.
2007
2007 became a year of growth and preparation (both musically and spiritually) for the band members to be made ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was like they had a brand-new, extremely fast bullet bike, but they still needed to learn how to ride it without killing themselves. The members of the ministry had powerful stories that witnessed of the marvelous Grace of God, and were excited for and zealous about sharing them. And through the grace of God, time was allowed to channel that excitement and zeal into a more mature understanding and application of the Word of God.
They got their first taste for ministering as a band at a weekly “Celebrate Recovery” program hosted at Real Life Christian Church in Clermont, FL. Throughout the 2007 year, the band was encouraged by the “Celebrate Recovery” attendees, who demonstrated love and excitement for their new brothers in Christ. Both the band and the attendees were mutually built up and refreshed through the grace of God at these weekly events.
The band, in the beginning stages of discovering the Lord’s will for them, considered various possible means through which the ministry could potentially grow in order for their message and stories to be heard. In doing so they dabbed at the Christian music industry by competing in some regional competitions. The band had their share of success, including scoring the highest out of more than 20 bands at the 2007 regional “Band with a Mission” contest. As a result, they had the honor of playing at the national finals in Nashville in November of that same year. It was in this time that the Lord presented a unique blessing for Adam’s Road: a tour bus. Through a miracle of God and some generous donations and financing, the band was able to purchase a tour bus in late 2007, opening up the door for them to tour across the nation, sharing their testimonies of God’s Grace to people everywhere.
As 2007 came to an end and the excitement of the “Band with a Mission” experience began to dissipate, work on the self-titled album “Adam’s Road” began to accelerate. Some of the final stages of the recording process included the group’s decision to add solo violin to the mix. God blessed the band with a talented young Christian musician named Nathanael Stone from Arkansas, who offered his time and talents free of charge. He visited and recorded parts for the “Adam’s Road” album and the “Adam’s Road Instrumental” album which was also well underway in Dec. of 2007.
2008
Despite opportunities and options, their consideration of the traditional route to Christian music ministry through the industry came to a halt at the turn of that year. They felt God leading them in the direction of an independent artist. As they considered their options, they thought it best—in preparation for the release of their first album—to start an independent record label in early 2008, naming it “Book of Life Records.”
Now equipped with a tour bus and the ability to travel and live on the road for weeks at a time, Adam’s Road began preparing for their first national tour, with marketing expert and friend Dave Rick. They worked full-time over a six-month period to book the first tour in anticipation of the release of their upcoming first album. The “Adam’s Road” and “Adam’s Road Instrumental” albums were finally completed in the spring of 2008 and released as a double CD on June 3, 2008. The content of the “Adam’s Road” album depicts the band members’ recent journeys from Mormonism into Biblical Christianity. It is a reflection of their new faith in Jesus and the Bible, and an illustration of the cost of following Jesus. The music displays their newfound excitement and gratitude in discovering the endless depth of God’s grace and love. The Instrumental CD featured with the first album contains original music tracks, some of which were intended to portray through music the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the same month the album was released, Adam’s Road hit the road for what would become a ten-week tour of the eastern US, their longest tour to date. In that time the band ministered at dozens of churches and played shows in eleven states; from Oklahoma, to Indiana, to Vermont and North Carolina. In addition to the joy of ministering to congregations, the band was met with excitement and challenges as they toured for the first time on the road. They discovered that their bus was a bit too whopping for an elfin New Jersey toll-booth. Its rear-view mirror shattered the toll-booth window to pieces, causing quite a spectacle. In the mysterious backcountry of Pennsylvania, they appreciated the protective nerve of 80-year-old bus chef and apparent security guard “Mama Jane,” who put a drunk, menacing man to shame that entered the bus ranting threats. Most memorable, however, may have been an unplanned and unexpected visit to Vermont, where the band played a charity benefit concert in honor of parents who had—just days prior—lost their kidnapped daughter in a murderous incident.
Upon return from their eastern tour, Adam’s Road was invited to go to Utah for two weeks to minister to the LDS community. In August of 2008, they headed out to Utah for the first time as a band, several of them returning to the place they had once called home. In that short two-week period, the band played ten shows, appeared on a local TV show, and was interviewed for an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. The band’s debut appearance in the state was controversial for many, but for the band it was a glimpse into what would become an important part of their ministry; reaching out to the Mormon people.
In the fall of 2008, Adam’s Road began writing and rehearsing for their second studio album, “Band Of Prophets". Understanding that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, Adam’s Road was determined to put the Word of God to music more so than ever before. And in doing so, they stayed true to the New Testament pattern for examining truth: the prophetic process of testing with the Word for accountability and assessment. After heavy study, compilation, and reconciliation of God’s Word for the album’s song lyrics was completed, the rest of the fall was busy with heavy rehearsal and initial recording for the album, as well as local events. In October, the band played at the Winter Garden Music Fest for the third straight year.
The album was a step up for the band, both musically and lyrically. It was this album that began to define Adam’s Road and their ministry as they used the Bible as their complete and only source for the lyrics. During that time, the band built their own recording studio, “Book of Life Studios” and did most of the production of the second album in their new facility. The band recorded full time for the next six months.
2009
As a result of their newfound zeal for Biblical lyrics in their songs, the ministry decided to stop selling their CDs in January of 2009. They followed the example of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:18 that says “What then is my reward? That I may offer the Gospel free of charge.” They wanted to offer God’s Word free of charge, so that money—or lack thereof—would not be a hindrance to individuals receiving the Gospel through music. They wanted to make it clear that their motivation in being a band and ministry was not to make money, but to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. They were inspired to “live by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7), trusting that God would provide them the means to do so.
Adam’s Road, at this time, had a desire to work together with other parts of the Body of Christ in their ministerial labors. God gave them their first major opportunity during the production of “Band Of Prophets": they were able to work with and feature the talented “Dominion” choir from Faith and Power Worship Center in Apopka, FL on the album. Micah, through the grace of God, was re-introduced to one of the Pastors who had witnessed to him while he was still an LDS missionary in Florida. Through this man, Pastor Matthew Shaw, the band was introduced to the Faith and Power Church and worship team. Adam’s Road is blessed to have had their talent showcased on the album.
In addition to album recording and production, throughout the winter and spring of 2009 Adam’s Road played at many local events and churches, including the Central Florida Fair and a number of Relay For Life cancer fundraising events.
“Band Of Prophets" was released on June 20, 2009. That same month Adam’s Road headed out on the road for their second national tour, this time for six weeks in the eastern states and six weeks in the state of Utah alone. Their time in Utah opened up many doors to partner with a number of ministries who specifically minister to the Mormon people (see partner ministries). During those six weeks out west, the band did over twenty-five shows, gave out over 3,000 CDs, and saw many people come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adam’s Road returned home from Utah on September 30th, 2009. They immediately began writing songs and rehearsing for their third studio album, “Enemy of the Cross”, which focuses on their conversions from enemies of the message of salvation through the Cross to ministers of the message of the Cross. They also began production of a full-length documentary about the Adam’s Road ministry, “Life on Adam’s Road”. They entered the recording studio in November 2009 and began production on their third full-length album. The drums, as has become tradition, were recorded at Durbin Audio Designs. The rest of the album was recorded and engineered at the band’s own studio in Winter Garden.
Fall of 2009 was a busy yet productive time. In addition to the album, another Winter Garden Music Fest, and the usual responsibilities associated with the bed and breakfast for the ministry, Adam’s Road was knee deep in a restoration effort. The Edgewater Hotel—the historic building in which the band made its home—was still only partially restored by the fall of 2009. The guys rolled up their sleeves and got to work priming, painting, plastering, and polishing up the third floor. The renovation was completed in Dec. of 2009—resulting in relief, joy, and anticipation for a new life on the third floor. This meant more room and privacy for the Adam’s Road families. Praise God!
Adam’s Road also got into the Christmas spirit as December rolled along. They put together an instrumental CD titled “Adam's Road Christmas Instrumental.” It features traditional Christmas carols as well as Christmas originals. Unique to this CD is that each track begins with a verse of scripture being read that correlates to the song. The band was fortunate to have Steve Kay—a bass player and vocalist for the group—utilize his booming low bass voice to narrate the track introductions.
2010
After recovering from all the good 2009 Christmas eats and treats, the band began shaping up for a two-week mini-tour. In the end of January, they visited south Florida for two weeks, during which they played eight shows in the Ft. Myers area before returning home. Unique to the 2010 winter was a weekly game of Adam’s Road ultimate Frisbee at the local park. This was a great stress reliever and time of fellowship and fun—even for the losing team and the clumsy ones.
The album work progressed. The band spent nearly 8 months on the production of the new album in the band’s own studio, “Book of Life Studios”. The CD/DVD documentary was released on July 1st, 2010. The DVD was premiered at the local First Baptist Church of Winter Garden, which hosted a pre-tour CD/DVD release party in support of the ministry. Despite the torrential downpour of rain before the event, it was a success—though a wet one for many.
Shortly after the release party, Adam’s Road headed out on their two national tours for the year that took them from as far east as North Carolina to as far west as Utah, between the months of July and October. The six week eastern US tour included over fifteen shows and two radio interviews: one in Kentucky and another in New York. The six weeks in Utah included twenty-five shows, appearances on two local TV shows and resulted in many leaving religion and entering personal relationships with Christ.
Shortly after returning home in early October, the band headed out for some more ministering. They enjoyed a visit to the drummer’s and pianist’s home state—Indiana—where they ministered at a Christian high school. Touring up north late into the fall meant absence of the familiar Florida heat for the guys. Beating the bone-chilling cold with hoodies and jackets, Adam’s Road went on to Pennsylvania where they attended and played at an Ex-Jehovah’s Witness/Ex-Mormon Christian conference. The band’s testimonies of leaving religion for relationship was very relevant and rang true to the conference attendees. Having then returned home to Florida, the band was shocked to hear that the building they attended the conference in had burnt down shortly after the event.
December 2010 brought with it another Adam’s Road Christmas surprise. After thawing out from the northern cold, the band mustered up the time and strength to put together an eight-song traditional Christmas carol demo. They hope at some point in the future to build on this foundation and release a full-length Christmas song album.
2011
A new year came, and the "month of love” soon followed. But February Valentine’s Day dates had to be postponed for the band members and their wives as God’s call to a South Florida two-week mini-tour took priority. Though the wives may have been temporarily saddened, the guys at least appreciated the fact they were heading south instead of north during that winter month.
In addition to the South Florida tour, Adam’s Road was also involved in a number of radio and television projects, as well as the production of a brand new DVD titled “Unveiling Grace”, which focuses on their conversions from a religion bound by the Law to the freedom that is in the Grace of Christ Jesus. The video was produced by Main Street Church of Brigham City and has been distributed worldwide with an overwhelmingly positive response. The video can be ordered at no cost by sending your name and address to freecdrequest@adamsroadband.com. The video can also be viewed on the home page of the Adam's Road website or at the Sacred Groves website (www.sacredgrovesonline.org). As well as the “Unveiling Grace” DVD, Adam’s Road was interviewed for a number of radio interviews around the country, including the Concerned Christians’ “Out of Mormonism” podcast, which features testimonials of former Mormons who have discovered the Grace of Christ.
In June of 2011, Adam’s Road completed their fourth full-length studio album, “Book Of Life”. The idea behind the title and the title track of the album is to provoke the listeners to consider whether his/her own name is written in the Book of Life, and proclaim the simplicity and beauty of the Good News: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Their fourth album once again showed a significant step forward in scriptural maturity for the band, and is considered their most scriptural and Gospel-based album to date.
This year the band has spent over sixteen weeks on the road, performing over eighty shows in twenty states, ministering the Good News that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and through faith in Him we are reconciled to God. The Eastern tour was again six weeks in length and included five new states: Alabama, Michigan, Massachusetts, Virginia and South Carolina. In August, shortly after coming home from the Eastern tour, Adam’s Road flew out to the Concerned Christians National Conference in Mesa, Arizona, and then flew back to Florida. After a short two-week break at home, the band headed out west for nearly two months. The 2011 western tour was an eight-week tour that covered four states, and in Utah alone they did twenty-eight ministry events in thirty days. The band appeared on two TV shows, participated in two radio interviews, and ministered at dozens of churches. After a month in Utah, the band spent the last nine days of the tour in Arizona, where they played for the first time in a public high school. This event came about as the result of a massive community outreach by Calvary Baptist of Show Low, who distributed over 5,000 DVDs and 5,000 cards throughout the predominately LDS community. The concert was a success, with over 500 people in attendance, including many Mormons in the audience.
Having arrived safely home, the band immediately began gearing up for local shows, the next studio album, another instrumental album, and growing the ministry according to God’s will and grace. During the fall of 2011, Adam’s Road began a massive campaign to partner with ministries and churches all over the country to more effectively minister the Gospel of Grace, so that the Good News of the saving Grace of Jesus Christ can be preached to all the world.
2012
By the time 2011 ended, Adam’s Road had launched a brand new website in hopes of more effectively reaching the lost as well as promoting the ministry. With this new tool at their disposal, 2012 began with a heavy campaign reaching out to the Body of Christ. The ministry, with the vision of continually expanding and maturing in Christ, established relationships with numerous Christian congregations throughout the year with which they formerly were not acquainted. In fact, most of the ministry’s host churches for the year were new for them. Many of these relationships were first introduced throughout the winter of 2011 and spring of 2012, when more members of the group took an active role in the booking and promotional process.
As the years had gone by, the ministry and the Adam’s Road family had grown. Being confined to the Edgewater Hotel space for all ministry and family endeavors had created somewhat of a challenge in previous years. The ministry envisioned providing a solid educational foundation for the Adam’s Road younglings, some of whom had approached the age to be schooled. A large undertaking for the year was leasing and renovating a building down the street from the Edgewater Hotel. The goal in mind with the lease was to provide an appropriate environment for Christian schooling as well as some extra space for the band and ministry. The initial interior renovation of the building was completed in the spring.
In March, the group taught their first course comparing Mormonism to Biblical Christianity. The class consisted of four 75 minute sessions. Each session included a slideshow presentation. Over the course of the month, the guys presented elements of Mormon history and doctrine in comparison to and in light of Biblical doctrine and warnings. The class was the result of a request from a local Christian congregation. The very next month the group presented a portion of this course to a second congregation, this time in South Florida.
In March and April of 2012, Adam’s Road was back and forth from south and central Florida, ministering at various new host churches.
The band finished their fifth full-length studio album titled “Great Commission” in the spring and it was released on June 15th. The group continued to produce songs containing lyrics that represent the Biblical Word, as was evident in this album. Guest vocalists Katie Warren, Dominick Shaw, and Jonathan Shaw (featured also in “You Have a Home” from our Band Of Prophets album) made a powerful imprint on this album. The band thanks the Lord Jesus for them.
In late June, the group headed out again for the eastern leg of their fifth national tour. They played in Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina. Besides the regular ministry presentations given at churches, the 5-week tour also included a radio interview in Kentucky and a TV interview in North Carolina—and an early departure from band member Steve Kay, who flew home to attend the birth of his second child and first son. In the absence of Steve, another band member gave in to peer pressure while the group dined with some of the staff from a church in Michigan, who encouraged him to eat a 5-pound burger and fry challenge. And to the amusement of all around, he finished the “Max and Erma’s Landfill Burger Challenge” in record time. As filling as that was, the band was filling the ears of those among whom they ministered with music and testimony on nearly a daily basis. The 2012 eastern tour was arguably the most fruitful and efficient eastern tour the band had done up to that date. It was certainly the busiest.
After a short time home in August, Adam’s Road headed out west. Their 7-8 week western tour broke some new ground, as the band played shows in Oklahoma, Kansas, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It was their first time to minister in Kansas, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. The band’s eyes were opened the fact that—outside of Utah—there is also a high demand and use for such a ministry in heavily LDS populated areas. It was satisfying and encouraging to see the appreciation from the Body of Christ to have a ministry like Adam’s Road visit places like Idaho.
Aside from the ministry aspect of touring around the country, Adam’s Road was blessed to be able to visit Yellowstone while in Idaho and appreciate the beauty and magnificence of God’s creation. Also, on their way out of Arizona towards the end of tour, the group visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The desire to explore the unique Desert environment was perhaps motivated by the fact the some in the band have a passion for “herping” and catching scorpions. In fact, one the members—using a black light at night—caught the most venomous scorpion species in North America. But before realizing the danger of this, he took it onto the bus and was planning to keep it as a pet. Encouraged by the skepticism of other bus travelers, he researched the scorpion and then concluded that keeping it on the bus as a “pet” probably wasn’t the best idea. We thank the Lord Jesus no harm came from the naivety of Adam’s Road.
The group also played at some Christian Universities on this tour for the first time. In fact, the last concert of the tour was in a world-renown concert hall at Le Tourneau University. Adam’s Road sang and gave testimony for their Friday morning college devotional. Sinbad had just been on stage the night before, and Adam’s Road was pleased to discover Weird Al had also performed on that very same stage.
The western tour proved fruitful—glory be to God in Christ. More so than any other year, the band members were presented with opportunities to minster one-on-one with searching and open Mormons, many of whom attended the group’s concerts.
Throughout the year the band contributed to the TILM’s 2012 outreach and media campaign to Mormons—which hit the Provo, Utah area hard with media and door-to-door ministry in August and September. Truth in Love Ministry is a partner ministry of the group that collaborated with Adam’s Road in launching a couple of websites (www.hishealingnow.com and www.beyeperfect.org) geared towards reaching young to middle-aged LDS folk. The premise of the campaign was to offer the solution to the burden that the expectation of perfectionism places on many Mormons: which solution is to be perfected in Christ through faith in His name, and not by our works.
During the 2012 western tour, Adam’s Road encountered many people who had, were, or are in the process of giving up their false religion for the real Jesus. They had 45 ministry events over 7 weeks on the road, appeared on 3 TV shows (2 live and 1 pre-recorded), and had a radio interview as well. Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were first-time states.
The band just returned home from their western tour, and they are gearing up for whatever the Lord has in store for them next. Initial priorities upon returning to Florida include planting a Christian school, finishing an upcoming instrumental album, and beginning the process of planning and booking for 2013.
The members of Adam’s Road are non-denominational Christians. They follow the Bible as their only source of Truth, and everything they teach and believe has to go through the prophetic process outlined in the Bible. They have come to understand that salvation comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, by His Grace through faith, and not through any religion or organization. Their hope is that their music and lyrics will help those who are in darkness to come to the Light and Truth that are found in Jesus Christ alone.
The LDS church teaches that anything that opposes Mormon doctrine is “anti-mormon”, even if that includes the Bible itself. Although members of the LDS faith often accuse the Adam’s Road Ministry of being “anti-mormon”, the band is following the biblical instructions of holding one another in the Body of Christ accountable to the Word of God, and testing all things against the word given to us by Jesus and His Apostles. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Adam’s Road exposes those things in Mormonism and other religious systems that go against what the Bible teaches about salvation. The LDS Church claims that it is the “only true and living church” in the world and that salvation -- eternal life in the presence of God -- comes through its denomination and no other. This is the basis for Adam’s Road's mission to directly confront its doctrines.
Their love for the ministry and for God’s Word drives them to give away their music for free, as well as play shows for free. Adam’s Road follows the example of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:18 “What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my right in the Gospel.” They offer their music free of charge, and have made it available for free download on the “MUSIC” page. Also, you can order Adam's Road albums at freecdrequest@adamsroadband.com and they will ship them to you free of charge,, anywhere in the world.
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