Luminate lights up lives with lyrics

Luminate, Christian rock band tours the country inspiring fans with the message of Jesus Christ.

A Christian's goal is to live his/her life for Christ, whether that's preaching at a church, working with missions in a third world country or performing live for thousands in cities across America.

Local Tyler band, Luminate, who formed in 2005, strives to inspire fans with the message of Jesus Christ.

"We got an e-mail from a guy who went to a camp that we played. Before he was really anti-church, and then he just connected with the band and with us, and he got saved," lead guitarist Cody Clark said. "It was really huge because it was how much different is this life going to be now."

Lead singer Samuel Hancock and bass player Dusty Jakubik met in the fall of 2005, at Visible School Music and Worships Arts College in Memphis.

"I was playing in a band with Cody, and I just really wanted to be in a band with him, and then Sam moved to Tyler, and that's how it started," Jakubik said.

Luminate performs at Breakaway 2010

Luminate won Band With a Mission, a national competition in Nashville. Aaron Mathew, Luminate's drummer, joined the band through the suggestion of a mutual friend before the contest. Shortly after, Dustin DeLong joined on keyboard and vocals, completing the band.

"Life in a band tends to be an extreme," Hancock said. "It's either really awesome or really down."

The band described life on the road as a major Catch-22.

"You're on the road, and you want to be home," Mathew said. "You're home and you want to be on the road. It's like the musicians curse."

Being away from home is tough on the members and their families since the band has been home only four weeks since January.

"It's really hard to keep in touch," DeLong said. "You're home, but you're only there for a couple of days. Then you leave again. It almost gets annoying."

While on the road, the band works on concerts, writing, recording and promotions.

Hancock describes the ultimate purpose of the band as helping "people to find Jesus."

"The way that I tell people about Jesus is realizing that you have a destiny, and you are created for a reason, and that reason can only be found by chasing after Jesus," Hancock said.

The band promotes Christianity through their music that is inspired by personal testimonies.

"When people see that we are honest about it and that we are willing to get into a vehicle and travel around the nation and sacrifice all this stuff because we believe it that much, that's when you see lives get changed. They see it as genuine and not just some thing to make money from," Hancock said.

The band's newest single, "Come Home," can be found on their upcoming album due out in late January or early February. While working on the new album, the band balanced the record companies requirements with what they believed their fans needed to hear.

"We've had to find that balance of 'that was the lyric that really jumped at me when I was writing it so I think I should keep it' and what the record wants," Hancock said. "We've been blessed to have a record that let us have complete control and rein over who we work with and what we do. We haven't had to quote unquote sell out."

Mathew said the album is raw and really challenging. The lyrics address personal issues and the band believes that it will inspire people to get out of where they are and grow as Christians, he said.

"Lyrically it's about what I'm dealing with myself," Hancock said. "I know that I'm not the only one struggling with these things: the thoughts, fears, and issues."

Songs on the upcoming album are inspired by life experiences from members of the band and a few of their fans' life experiences. One song is inspired by a Twitter conversation between a fan and DeLong in which the fan explained a problem in her life.

"We all know how to write something people want to hear," Hancock said. "This goes for all artists lyrically.

"This record is about real life experiences, personal struggles, stuff that I'm really nervous about putting on the record, because it will show how we really struggle and deal with and takes always the façade of everything is cool. That's what I think will make this record impacting and really inspire people," Hancock said.

Luminate is a product of Sparrow Records, a division of EMI.

For more information about Luminate:

Facebook.com/Luminate

Twitter.com/Luminateband

Myspace.com/Luminate

For booking contact Jeff Roberts and Associates at JeffRoberts.com.