Before he began preaching the Bible, Josh White (vocals, acoustic guitar) took a walk on the dark side. The leader of the Christian alternative band Telecast was an unfortunate victim of Seattle's early post-grunge years, the creative lull between the demise of hard rock heavyweights Soundgarden and Alice in Chains and the rise of indie princes Modest Mouse. White was the singer for Man Ray, a stylishly black power combo that wrapped goth gloom around thunderous yet melodic modern rock. The band's stainless debut album, Casual Thinking (the group's only record, as it turned out), was greeted with high expectations in 1997. However, Man Ray's label, Mercury Records, rewarded it with nonexistent promotion, the album stiffed, and the group split up as a result. White then formed the short-lived glam rock band Medicate with members of Super Deluxe before releasing a hard to find solo effort. Disturbed by what he saw happening to his friends in the rock community, White found solace in the Bible, renewing his Christian faith. White then left Medicate and the entire Seattle music scene. He moved to Spokane and led worship at Calvary Church. While there, he met guitarist Brian Ortize. The two started jamming together, creating a sound that would be developed further with the arrival of Adam Breeden (guitar), Marquis Ashley (bass), and Nick Tibbetts (drums). After being crushed by the Seattle grunge implosion, White's spiritual reawakening was embodied in Telecast. Wanting a group that would enable him to express his Christian beliefs while being accessible to a secular crowd, White took worship music into a new arena, sounding more like bands on commercial alternative radio than anything on Christian stations. With a pretty, atmospheric style inspired by David Bowie, the Verve, and Coldplay, Telecast released its debut album, The Beauty of Simplicity, on White's own BEC Records label in 2003. ~ Michael Sutton