The Insyderz began as a project of Joe Yerke and Nate Sjogren, who led worship at their church at the time. The band found their break at the 1996 Cornerstone Festival. They began playing on their campsite, and wound up garnering the attention of Michael Sean Black and Gene Eugene, who signed them to his label Brainstorm Artists International. While that label folded soon after, the bands first album, Motor City Ska (1997), effectively established their presence in the Christian music marketplace and garnered the attention of Steve Taylor's Squint Entertainment.
Their subsequent release, Skalleluia, was probably their most widely known and successful album. The album, which was devoted to ska-based praise and worship, included an all-star lineup of Gene Eugene, Terry Scott Taylor, and Steve Taylor. Despite the backing of well-known artists the album faced criticism from the outset. Praise and worship music, heralded by artists such as Hillsong, Rich Mullins, and Matt Redman, was experiencing substantial growth as a genre at the time, and some accused the band of "jumping on the bandwagon". Skalleluia was extremely well received; Beyond charting on Billboard's "Hot 200", "Heatseekers", and "Top Contemporary Christian" charts, their rendition of Rich Mullins' song "Awesome God" won the band a Dove Award for "Hard Music Recorded Song Of The Year" in 1999. Part of the reason for its success was that most of the songs on the album were fairly recently written, and were widely known as contemporory worship songs. Covers included Twila Paris's "We will Glorfiy" and Keith Green's "Oh, Lord, You're Beautiful". Their manner of playing worship songs is still relatively unique.
While Skalleluia was an unexpected hit for the band, the sound of the band was significantly different than they had displayed on their first album. For their next album, Fight of My Life, the band returned to their previous sound. The band also made a point of returning to their ministry roots by turning down several major record deals and choosing to tour in secular clubs with ska bands such as The Skeletones and Jeffries Fan Club.
It was widely rumored for awhile that the Insyderz, who apparently recorded their first album in a garage (sounded like it, but not true), had in fact broken up. The truth be known they were sick of record label politics and decided to go "underground" until things got sorted out. Their webpage, rarely updated, had few changes for several years after the release of Skalleluia Too! in 1999. In 2001 a compilation CD entitled The Greatest & The Rarest (or alternately Tails of a Comet) was released. Many of the members of the band married including Nate Sjogren (drums), Bram Roberts (Trumpet), Beau McCarthy (Bass), Kyle Wasil (Guitar), and Joe Yerke whose gravelly vocals mark the band. The band decided to spend more time working and ministering in other locations, and other projects.
Most of their fan base dissolved during this absence, yet in 2003 they re-activated, appearing at Cornerstone, and releasing an album entitled Soundtrack to a Revolution. This album received little hype but is considered by most to be the best to date. After the release the Insyderz went through another lineup change adding Royce Nunley (Suicide Machines) and Dan Powers (Blueprint 76) on bass.
In the first half of 2005, the band announced on their website that they would be playing their last three shows in August and September of that year, which lead to confusion on whether they were the band's last three shows or the tour's last three. Later, in August of the same year, the site was updated to announce that the band would be breaking up after their final show on September 24, 2005, as a part of the I'll Fight Fest presented by The Salvation Army.
They later reformed in 2009 for a European tour with Good Weather Forecast.
In 2012, The Insyderz launched a kickstarter campaign to fund their next album, The Sinner's Songbook, and succeeded in raising the funds to do so, and was released on September 3, 2012 independently at http://theinsyderz.bandcamp.com
Discography:
1996: Rockin' the Hubcat (7")
1997: Motor City Ska
1998: Skalleluia!
1998: Paradise CD Single
1998: Fight of My Life
1999: Skalleluia Too!
2001: The Greatest & The Rarest
2003: Soundtrack to a Revolution
2012: The Sinner's Songbook
Current Members:
Joe Yerke - vocals
Nate Sjogren - drums
John Miller - bass
Matt Darcie - Guitar
Alan Brown - cornet
Tim Reynolds - trombone
Past Members:
Beau McCarthy - bass guitar
Bram Roberts - trumpet
Pedro Zapata Hernandez - trombone
Michael Lloyd - guitar
Kyle Wasil - guitar (until 2000)
Sang Kim - trombone (until 2004)
Mike Rowland - trombone (until 1998)
Todd Miesch - drums (until 1997)
Sacrifice
The Insyderz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He didn't even fight, no didn't even bother
Betrayed and denied by the ones He loved
But He knew this was the reason He was sent from above
He was the King, The Christ, the Spotless Lamb
But in our eyes He was nothing but a sham
His love, the drive -- His life, the price
To become the sinner's sacrifice Beaten and whipped, garments stained blood red
And the people all laughed as they mocked his name
But all that could be heard were his screams of pain
Brought before Pilate to receive his sentence
And to think this was all for my repentance
Pilate pointed to the people,"Let them decide!"
And we all screamed, "We want him crusified!"
Tree on his back as he marched from the city
They yelle, they spat, the sight wasn't pretty
Led to the hill where His death He'd meet
Then they drove the nails into His hand and feet
Suffocating deat was now all he felt
While in the crowd some wept and knelt
It's our sin that this man dies
Jesus took a deep breath, and closed his eyes...
The Insyderz's song "Sacrifice" narrates the story of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and emphasizes on the sacrifice he made for humanity. The song starts by describing how Jesus was taken in the night from a prayer with his father, without resistance, as he knew it was his purpose. The betrayal and denial by his loved ones were not new, but he knew he needed to bear this as he was sent from above as the Christ and the Spotless Lamb. To become the sinner's sacrifice, he had to pay the ultimate price by enduring brutal physical torture, mockery, and humiliation.
The second stanza of the song narrates how Jesus was beaten, whipped, and had a crown of thorns pressed onto his head, draining him of every drop of blood. The people, instead of sympathizing, mocked him and laughed at his pain. The scenario gets worse as he was brought before Pilate to receive his sentence, and the people chose to set Barabbas free instead. The third and final stanza of the song describes how Jesus was forced to march out of the city with a tree on his back, while the crowd continued to ridicule him. Eventually, he was led to a hill where he was crucified. In his final moments, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sacrificed himself for humanity's sins.
Overall, the song "Sacrifice" captures the mood of mournfulness and grief, as it tells the story of Jesus's most significant sacrifice. It lays emphasis on the extent of physical and emotional torture he went through, making it resonate with its listeners and feel empathy towards his pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Taken in the night from a prayer with his father
Jesus was taken away from his prayer with his father during the night.
He didn't even fight, no didn't even bother
Jesus did not resist his capture and willingly surrendered.
Betrayed and denied by the ones He loved
Jesus was betrayed and denied by the ones who he loved and cared for.
But He knew this was the reason He was sent from above
Jesus was sent to suffer and die for the sins of humanity on earth.
He was the King, The Christ, the Spotless Lamb
Jesus was the King and Christ without any imperfections.
But in our eyes He was nothing but a sham
To some, Jesus was not considered a true savior and was dismissed as a fake.
His love, the drive -- His life, the price
Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross due to his love for humanity.
To become the sinner's sacrifice
Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins committed by humanity.
Beaten and whipped, garments stained blood red
Jesus was beaten, whipped, and bloodied before his crucifixion.
Had a crown of thorns pressed upon his head
Jesus wore a crown of thorns as a way to humiliate him before his crucifixion.
And the people all laughed as they mocked his name
People laughed and mocked Jesus despite his suffering and sacrifice.
But all that could be heard were his screams of pain
Despite the mockery, Jesus could only express his pain through screams.
Brought before Pilate to receive his sentence
Jesus was taken before Pilate to be sentenced before his crucifixion.
And to think this was all for my repentance
Jesus' crucifixion was to forgive the sins and grant repentance to humanity.
Pilate pointed to the people, 'Let them decide!'
Pilate gave the people the choice to decide Jesus' fate.
And we all screamed, 'We want him crucified!'
The people chose to have Jesus crucified despite his innocence.
Tree on his back as he marched from the city
Jesus carried a cross on his back while he was taken out of the city for his crucifixion.
They yelled, they spat, the sight wasn't pretty
People taunted and spat on Jesus as he carried the cross towards his death.
Led to the hill where His death He'd meet
Jesus was taken to a hill where he would eventually die.
Then they drove the nails into His hand and feet
Jesus was nailed to the cross through his hands and feet.
Suffocating death was now all he felt
Jesus eventually died through suffocation while he was on the cross.
While in the crowd some wept and knelt
Some people in the crowd wept and prayed for Jesus during his crucifixion.
It's our sin that this man dies
Jesus died to cleanse humanity's sins and pave the way for salvation.
Jesus took a deep breath, and closed his eyes...
Jesus eventually passed away on the cross with a final breath and closed eyes.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Carroll
I remember watching Insyderz and POD perform together at The Push all those years ago. Those were some good times.
123jesuschick
this song is awesome!
dm6565
My heart is pierced by this song and my faith renewed. My kids followed SKA back in the 90's and saw you guys in Portland. Shame it's not really around anymore.
Ronzie1321
Aww, classic. I saw them do this song at Cornerstone and Sonny from POD did this song with them.
SkaMasta097
@Joshua Peacock The drummer Nate Sjogren shares the vocals on this song. There is a live video of them performing it at I'll Fight Fest on Youtube. Nate also sings lead vocal on "Psalm 139" from Skalleluia Too!
Rawk4Life
@ronzie1321 No way, that is amazing!
Joshua Peacock
who did the cameo vocal on the album track?
Daniel Hayes
In Matthew Pharisees said "His blood be on us and our children." Acts 5 Pharisees are offended to be accused of murdering Jesus. What happened Pharisees?