Michigan Christian Artists Join Forces For Tsunami Relief Benefit

NEW YORK (www.sojournband.com) - Local Christian musician, Tim Hamm (of the group Sojourn), is heading up a CD compilation to raise money for the Tsunami relief effort in Asia. The compilation will feature independent Michigan Christian artists and 80% of all sales will be going directly to the organization World Vision and their Tsunami relief efforts.

The compilation CD will be titled "Artists For Hope � A Compilation of Michigan Independent Christian Artists To Benefit The Tsunami Relief Effort In Asia." Artists involved include:
Marty Miller (Belmont, MI)
Sojourn (Grand Rapids, MI)
CrossWise (Grand Rapids, MI)
Michael D (Grand Rapids, MI)
Crisi (Grand Rapids, MI)
UN1ON (Grand Rapids, MI)
J3 (East Lansing, MI)
Ed Englerth (Hastings, MI)
Orson (Grand Rapids, MI)
H.L Tapley (Romeo, MI)
Sam Dougherty (Colon, MI)
Dete Tilma (Byron Center, MI)
No Band Required (Kalamazoo, MI)

The compilation is being mastered by Ty Tabor (King's X guitarist/co-vocalist as well as solo artist and producer). Musical styles represented will include rock, pop, adult contemporary, country, hip-hop, and even techno.

Tim says "I believe this is an opportunity for the local Christian music community to unify, and to support the relief efforts for those in the Tsunami affected regions. This is a great chance for us to show Christian love and charity to those who are in a seemingly hopeless situation. World Vision is a fantastic organization that has been actively involved in the relief effort within hours of the wave. I am excited to have these great local artists involved with this project. "

Release date for the compilation will be mid-March 2005. Many of the participating artists will have the CD available directly, as well as the disc being available online at www.artistsforhope.org.

Tim Hamm is coordinator of the Christian Artists of West Michigan meeting group, as well as running Hammster Wheel (a music production and promotion studio � www.hammsterwheel.com). Tim has been playing bass guitar with local band Sojourn (www.sojournband.com) for over 10 years.

World Vision (www.worldvision.org) is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. World Vision teams are distributing survival packs of food, bottled water, medicine, sleeping mats, clothing, and household items to tens of thousands of people after tsunamis swept the coasts of 12 countries on December 26, 2004.