By Josh Eiserike

Published: May 8, 2008

Cover albums are nothing new in the secular world, but according to Janna Long, pianist and vocalist from Christian group Avalon, it's a fresh idea in Christian music. Avalon is touring behind "Another Time, Another Place: Timeless Christian Classics" and swings into Woodbridge Friday, as part of its 32-city tour with Michael English, Daniel Doss Band and a girl group called Cadia.

Each of the groups released their albums on the same day.

Long, 36 of Nashville, Tenn., took time from the tour to call The Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger from outside Charleston, S.C., to chat about the band and the new album.

Q: How would you describe the Avalon sound?

A: The group's been together for about 12 years now so I would say its slightly evolved some. It's definitely straight-up contemporary pop music that's definitely Christian. The last couple records we've done have been a bit more pop-rock, a little bit more organic.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself and how you got started in music?

A: I'm the only original member left in the band. I helped to form the group 12 years ago, was living in Nashville, kind of persuing music and got the call from a friend of a friend about the band forming. Nashville's kind of the common denominator. Our record label's there and our management company. One of the original guys (Jody McBrayer) that I sang with, he and I performed with a group before Avalon and that's how I knew him… In current line up, the other guy in the group is my husband, his name is Greg, Jeremy's the other guy and Melissa and the three of us actually went to the same college.

Q:Which college was that?

A: Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. It's a liberal arts Christian college.

Q: Why was there such a change-up in the band?

A: It's kind of like any other group. Groups are going to have more change than solo artists. People are going to want to do their own things and write solo music. I think it's just been various reasons.

Q: You guys have been nominated for three Grammys? What was that like? Would you say that's the highlight of your career?

A:It was definitely a dream come true and very exciting to get to go. It was something I watched on TV my whole life and to then become a reality was pretty awesome. Definitely a career dream.

Q:Can you tell me a little about your new album?

A: It's a little bit different for us in that it's a tribute record. It's a collection of some of Christian Music's biggest songs over the past 30 years. We've never done a record like this before but we covered songs by everyone from Stephen Curtis Chapman to Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith. It's kind of our take on the most popular songs over the last 30 years. It's a little different than a traditional Avalon record.

Q: Why did you guys decide to do a covers album?

A: Honestly, all of us cut our musical teeth on Christian music and some of the artists that are represented on the record we toured with early in our career. There was really nothing else like this in Christian music that had been done before. I think the concept has been very popular in mainstream music with Rod Stewart doing covers and Barry Manilow, we just thought it was a different type of record to make. Some of these artists become different early on in our career, so we thought it was a good idea. And it's a lot of great songs that haven't been heard in a while.

Q: Are there any songs in particular that you really changed up musically? Or is it all faithful covers?

A: You know what, there is obviously some variation. Some of these songs haven't been done in 20 or 30 years. I don't think any of them are unrecognizable and our producer did a great job of giving them a new sound but not making them so different that you couldn't tell what they are.

Q: Any highlights?

A: "God is in Control" which was our first single off the record. That song was origi-nally done by Twila Paris I just think it's such a timeless message, one that people don't get tired of hearing. The title is kind of the message. It's a song that talks about no matter what's going on in the world and how crazy things may get, we believe God is in control of things. The producer did a great job of giving it a new straight sound… That's by far one of my favorites.

Q: What do you hope people who come out to your show get out of the experience of seeing your band and the other bands?

A: I think more than anything we are Christian bands, and that makes our music very different. We sing about Christ and what we know that he's done in our lives, so ultimately that's our biggest goal. We want people to come and be entertained. We all like to think that we give our best to the craft… but we believe there's a bigger picture with the message going forward.

Q: Are there any specific instances that illustrate where your music had a positive affect on someone's life?

A: Oh, yeah. I can't count the letters and testimonies. Music is such a powerful thing. Peo-ple come up and share after a concert how a song has touched them. We've heard every-thing from 'I was on the verge of suicide' to 'My husband walked out on me with three kids.' The stories really run the gamut, but ultimately, that's what really makes it worthwhile… We've really been encouraged for years now to hear what our music means to people.

Staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072.

WANT TO GO?

What's up: We Will Stand Tour Avalon with Michael English, Cadia and Daniel Doss Band

When: Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Hylton Memorial Chapel, 1640 Potomac Mills Road, Woodbridge

Tickets: $25 Gold Circle, $20 individual, $15 for groups of 10 or more

Call: 800-861-0850

Visit: Avalonlive.com or Myspace.com/standtour