Jonathan David Brown
Encyclopedia
Jonathan David Brown is an American
record producer
and audio engineer known for his work on albums released in the Contemporary Christian music
industry
. Brown served federal prison time as an accessory after the fact
for helping a friend evade authorities.
Brown's production work started with several Maranatha! Music
artists in the 1970s and continued through the 1980s, working with such artists as Petra
, Twila Paris
, Steve Taylor
, Daniel Amos
, Glen Campbell
, Bob Bennett
and David Meece
. His work as a recording engineer includes albums for Mark Heard
, Daniel Amos, Gentle Faith
, and Tom Howard
.
group in the 1970s, playing keyboards and writing many of their songs. Other members included Kelly Willard
, who went on to a solo career in worship music; Keith Edwards, who later was drummer with Amy Grant
and Rich Mullins
; and his sister Rhenda Edwards Tull, who later sang on Parable's first album. The band released two albums, a self-titled debut in 1974 and Psalms in 1975. The 1980 collection, Keep the Fire Burning, drew songs from both albums, adding a new title track.
from 1976. One of his first production credits was for their second album Shotgun Angel
. Other Maranantha! production projects from the late 1970s included Sweet Comfort Band
's self-titled debut, First Things First by Bob Bennett, and Blame It On The One I Love! by his former Seth bandmate Kelly Willard.
Brown's production work with Petra (five albums from 1981 to 1986) helped establish StarSong
, a pioneering Christian rock label. When lead singer Greg X. Volz
left the band, Brown produced several of his solo albums as well. Brown mentored the new band Farewell June and produced their debut album 1939, and the band was chosen as the opening act for Petra's farewell tour in 2005.
Brown continued to work with Bob Bennett (five albums from 1979 to 1991), and also produced albums by Twila Paris and David Meece through the 1980s. He produced Glen Campbell's 1991 gospel album Show Me Your Way
, and Steve Taylor's debut EP and LP, I Want To Be A Clone
and Meltdown
. In a 1994 interview, Taylor mentioned that Brown had sung backing vocals on the anti-racism song "We Don't Need No Colour Code." In reference to remastering songs produced by Brown for a box set, Taylor said "the stuff that Jonathan produced and engineered, sonically and everything like that, he was a genius. And you won't hear me use that very often, but he was really a genius. It's like, we put that stuff up, and we didn't have to EQ it because whether you like the sound of it or not, sonically, it was really brilliant."
Since his return to the Christian music industry in 2000, he has recorded a CD with Karen Lafferty (songwriter of "Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God") and mixed the album PAGA for Kelly Willard, released in 2007. Brown also produced and performed on recordings by a folk artist from Upstate New York, Lisa Dudley. Most recently, he developed and produced August Rain, a band from Georgia which has had some radio success with the song "Wonderful Savior."
The album was named for the 1741 Jonathan Edwards sermon from the Great Awakening
. The lyrics of the songs and Brown's editorial notes reflect his affinity for One Law Theology. The album track, "O House of Israel" has been used prominently as the theme song for Eliyahu ben David's radio show, "On The Road to Tsiyon".
term and fined $10,000 for accessory
after the fact to a conspiracy to violate civil rights under 18 U.S.C. 3 and 241 (two of the hate crime laws in the United States), and for perjury
under 18 U.S.C. 1623a. The court established that Brown helped Damion Patton, described by Nashville police as a juvenile "skinhead", hide from authorities and disguise his car after Patton and Leonard William Armstrong, the Grand Dragon of the Tennessee White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
, carried out a pre-dawn drive-by shooting of a Jewish synagogue in Nashville, Tennessee
on June 10, 1990.
The court case revealed that in the evening of June 9, 1990, Brown attended a meeting of white supremacists
known for their hatred of Jewish people. Patton and Armstrong were there as well. At 1:00 a.m. on June 10, Patton drove past the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Armstrong fired several shots through its windows with a TEC-9 assault pistol, injuring none as the building was unoccupied. On June 15, Brown's apartment was searched under warrant, with police looking for Patton. There, they seized articles belonging to Brown which, according to the court record, "indicat[ed] membership in the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups." In the days following the shooting incident, Brown helped Patton evade authorities by lying to police regarding Patton's whereabouts, by hiding him at his farm in Pleasantville, and by helping Patton change the color of his car from white to black with spray paint. Brown gave Patton a license plate from one of his trucks and supplied Patton with enough money to drive to Las Vegas
and stay there. Some five months later, Brown allowed Patton to live again on his farm for a month. In September 1991, the FBI arrested Patton who plead guilty to his part in the synagogue shooting.
In front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
in 1994, Brown sought to overturn his convictions based on his contention that the synagogue was owned by a corporation and not by citizens, and thus could not be covered by 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1982 (1988) which he argued applied solely to the property rights of citizens. Brown challenged as unwarranted the seizure of his personal property. The three-judge court upheld the convictions on March 21, 1995, with Circuit Judge Alice M. Batchelder
dissenting from the main opinion of Boyce F. Martin, Jr.
and Richard Alan Enslen
. Batchelder held that the search warrants against Brown were invalid, and that, though the action of shooting at a synagogue should have been criminalized by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 247, the wording of that law was insufficient to give protection to people who utilize property such as a synagogue but who do not own a share of it. Batchelder wrote that Congress
should amend the law to widen its coverage. Batchelder agreed with the court opinion that Brown's conviction of perjury should stand.
Brown refers to his incarceration as his "Federal Sabbatical".
, Armstrong
/Worldwide Church of God and Christian Identity
movements.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and audio engineer known for his work on albums released in the Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
. Brown served federal prison time as an accessory after the fact
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
for helping a friend evade authorities.
Brown's production work started with several Maranatha! Music
Maranatha! Music
Maranatha! Music began as a non-profit outreach of Calvary Chapel in 1971. The Jesus People of the late 1960s and early 1970s began to write new hymns and worship songs with a folk-rock style. Maranatha! Music was founded at this time in order to publish and promote this new type of Christian...
artists in the 1970s and continued through the 1980s, working with such artists as Petra
Petra (band)
Petra is a music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres. Formed in 1972, the band took its name from the Greek word for "rock"...
, Twila Paris
Twila Paris
Twila Paris Wright is a Contemporary Christian Music songwriter, author, vocalist and pianist.-Musical career:Since 1980, Twila Paris has released 22 albums, amassed 33 number one Christian Radio singles, and was named the Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year three years in a row...
, Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor
Roland Stephen Taylor , is an American Christian singer, songwriter, record producer and film director.-Early life:Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in Brawley, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to...
, Daniel Amos
Daniel Amos
Daniel Amos is a rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. Current members include bassist Tim Chandler, guitarist Greg Flesch and drummer Ed McTaggart...
, Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, Bob Bennett
Bob Bennett (singer-songwriter)
Bob Bennett is an American Christian singer, guitarist and songwriter from Downey, California. Bennett is known for his distinctive baritone voice, Christian lyrics and folk-inspired guitar playing.-Career:...
and David Meece
David Meece
David Meece is a Contemporary Christian musician who enjoyed success in the mid 80s throughout the early 2000s with more than 30 Top 10 hits ....
. His work as a recording engineer includes albums for Mark Heard
Mark Heard
John Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
, Daniel Amos, Gentle Faith
Gentle Faith
Gentle Faith was a Christian country rock band in the 1970s, during the Jesus Music era, before the rise of the CCM industry. The group formed in 1974 and released one self-titled album in 1976 under the Maranatha! label....
, and Tom Howard
Tom Howard (musician)
Tom Howard was an American pianist, musical arranger and orchestral conductor.In 1983, Howard helped the rock band Daniel Amos form the Alarma! Records label....
.
Seth
Brown was a member of Seth, a Jesus musicJesus music
Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music which originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement...
group in the 1970s, playing keyboards and writing many of their songs. Other members included Kelly Willard
Kelly Willard
Kelly Willard is a Contemporary Christian Musician best known for her praise and worship recordings. She was featured as a soloist on projects from Integrity, Vineyard Music, and Maranatha! Music...
, who went on to a solo career in worship music; Keith Edwards, who later was drummer with Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
and Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins
Richard Wayne "Rich" Mullins was an American Contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter born in Richmond, Indiana. He had two sisters and two brothers....
; and his sister Rhenda Edwards Tull, who later sang on Parable's first album. The band released two albums, a self-titled debut in 1974 and Psalms in 1975. The 1980 collection, Keep the Fire Burning, drew songs from both albums, adding a new title track.
Production
Brown engineered several albums for Maranantha! Music starting in 1975, including Daniel Amos' debut self-titled albumDaniel Amos (album)
Daniel Amos released their self-titled debut album in 1976 on the Maranatha! Music label. This eponymous album was produced by Al Perkins....
from 1976. One of his first production credits was for their second album Shotgun Angel
Shotgun Angel
Shotgun Angel is the title of a 1977 album released by Daniel Amos. The album itself is named after a song written by Bill Sprouse Jr.. For additional information on the song itself, see "Shotgun Angel "....
. Other Maranantha! production projects from the late 1970s included Sweet Comfort Band
Sweet Comfort Band
Sweet Comfort Band was a Christian rock band that first performed in 1973 in Riverside, California, and were active until 1984. The band was initially composed of keyboardist/lead vocalist, Bryan Duncan, and brothers Kevin and Rick Thomson. The band was the brainchild of the Thomson brothers...
's self-titled debut, First Things First by Bob Bennett, and Blame It On The One I Love! by his former Seth bandmate Kelly Willard.
Brown's production work with Petra (five albums from 1981 to 1986) helped establish StarSong
Star Song Communications
Star Song Communications is a Christian record label that was started in 1976 by Darrell Harris. It gained notoriety when it issued Resurrection Band's ground-breaking debut album, Awaiting Your Reply in 1978. Originally a distribution deal was made with Benson Records. From 1983 until 1986...
, a pioneering Christian rock label. When lead singer Greg X. Volz
Greg X. Volz
Gregory Xavier Volz is a Christian singer. He is most noted for being the former lead singer of Christian rock band Petra from 1979 to 1985 and is currently the lead vocalist of the reunited lineup.-Biography:...
left the band, Brown produced several of his solo albums as well. Brown mentored the new band Farewell June and produced their debut album 1939, and the band was chosen as the opening act for Petra's farewell tour in 2005.
Brown continued to work with Bob Bennett (five albums from 1979 to 1991), and also produced albums by Twila Paris and David Meece through the 1980s. He produced Glen Campbell's 1991 gospel album Show Me Your Way
Show Me Your Way
Show Me Your Way is the 48th album by American singer/guitarist Glen Campbell, released in 1991 .-Track listing:# "The Greatest Gift Of All" Show Me Your Way is the 48th album by American singer/guitarist Glen Campbell, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music).-Track listing:# "The Greatest Gift Of...
, and Steve Taylor's debut EP and LP, I Want To Be A Clone
I Want To Be A Clone
I Want to Be a Clone is the title of the debut EP by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.After hearing this album, author Francis Schaeffer wrote the following to Steve; "The combination of music and lyrics really works on a very high level, and the message, therefore, comes across with real...
and Meltdown
Meltdown (Steve Taylor album)
Meltdown is the title of the second album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.This album was listed at #18 in the book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.-Side one:# "Meltdown " – 4:26...
. In a 1994 interview, Taylor mentioned that Brown had sung backing vocals on the anti-racism song "We Don't Need No Colour Code." In reference to remastering songs produced by Brown for a box set, Taylor said "the stuff that Jonathan produced and engineered, sonically and everything like that, he was a genius. And you won't hear me use that very often, but he was really a genius. It's like, we put that stuff up, and we didn't have to EQ it because whether you like the sound of it or not, sonically, it was really brilliant."
Since his return to the Christian music industry in 2000, he has recorded a CD with Karen Lafferty (songwriter of "Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God") and mixed the album PAGA for Kelly Willard, released in 2007. Brown also produced and performed on recordings by a folk artist from Upstate New York, Lisa Dudley. Most recently, he developed and produced August Rain, a band from Georgia which has had some radio success with the song "Wonderful Savior."
Solo album
Using the pseudonym The Nazarite, Brown released a solo album entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in 1997. Brown explained why he used the pseudonym:"I made the vow of the Nazarite for strength, spiritual and physical, in about 1989 [age 34]. The hair on my head is from then. When I went to prison, I understood why – I needed strength, lots of it. So I guess it's sort of like an enigma to some till they hear the explanation."
The album was named for the 1741 Jonathan Edwards sermon from the Great Awakening
Great Awakening
The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...
. The lyrics of the songs and Brown's editorial notes reflect his affinity for One Law Theology. The album track, "O House of Israel" has been used prominently as the theme song for Eliyahu ben David's radio show, "On The Road to Tsiyon".
Federal prison
In 1992, Brown was sentenced to a 27-month federal prisonFederal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
term and fined $10,000 for accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
after the fact to a conspiracy to violate civil rights under 18 U.S.C. 3 and 241 (two of the hate crime laws in the United States), and for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
under 18 U.S.C. 1623a. The court established that Brown helped Damion Patton, described by Nashville police as a juvenile "skinhead", hide from authorities and disguise his car after Patton and Leonard William Armstrong, the Grand Dragon of the Tennessee White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was considered the most militant as well as the most violent Ku Klux Klan in history. They originated in Mississippi in the early 1960s under the leadership of Samuel Bowers, its first Grand Wizard. The White Knights of Mississippi was formed in 1964, and it...
, carried out a pre-dawn drive-by shooting of a Jewish synagogue in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
on June 10, 1990.
The court case revealed that in the evening of June 9, 1990, Brown attended a meeting of white supremacists
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
known for their hatred of Jewish people. Patton and Armstrong were there as well. At 1:00 a.m. on June 10, Patton drove past the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Armstrong fired several shots through its windows with a TEC-9 assault pistol, injuring none as the building was unoccupied. On June 15, Brown's apartment was searched under warrant, with police looking for Patton. There, they seized articles belonging to Brown which, according to the court record, "indicat[ed] membership in the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups." In the days following the shooting incident, Brown helped Patton evade authorities by lying to police regarding Patton's whereabouts, by hiding him at his farm in Pleasantville, and by helping Patton change the color of his car from white to black with spray paint. Brown gave Patton a license plate from one of his trucks and supplied Patton with enough money to drive to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and stay there. Some five months later, Brown allowed Patton to live again on his farm for a month. In September 1991, the FBI arrested Patton who plead guilty to his part in the synagogue shooting.
In front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
in 1994, Brown sought to overturn his convictions based on his contention that the synagogue was owned by a corporation and not by citizens, and thus could not be covered by 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1982 (1988) which he argued applied solely to the property rights of citizens. Brown challenged as unwarranted the seizure of his personal property. The three-judge court upheld the convictions on March 21, 1995, with Circuit Judge Alice M. Batchelder
Alice M. Batchelder
Alice Moore Batchelder is an American attorney and jurist. She currently is chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and was considered by President George W. Bush as a potential nominee for a U.S. Supreme Court seat that ultimately went to Justice Samuel Alito. Her...
dissenting from the main opinion of Boyce F. Martin, Jr.
Boyce F. Martin, Jr.
Boyce Ficklen Martin Jr. is the most senior active judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Appointed by President Carter in 1979, Martin has served as Chief Judge of the circuit and has written more than 1100 opinions during his tenure...
and Richard Alan Enslen
Richard Alan Enslen
Richard Alan Enslen is a United States District Court Judge assigned to the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division. His Courtroom is located in the Federal Building in Kalamazoo, Michigan....
. Batchelder held that the search warrants against Brown were invalid, and that, though the action of shooting at a synagogue should have been criminalized by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 247, the wording of that law was insufficient to give protection to people who utilize property such as a synagogue but who do not own a share of it. Batchelder wrote that Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
should amend the law to widen its coverage. Batchelder agreed with the court opinion that Brown's conviction of perjury should stand.
Brown refers to his incarceration as his "Federal Sabbatical".
Lunar sabbath
Jonathan David Brown was the first sabbath keeper in the 20th century to begin the practice of counting the Sabbath from the New Moon day rather than using the modern seven day week. He published the book Keeping Yahweh's Appointments in 1998, which explained the practice. The Lunar Sabbath movement has grown among the Messianic JudaismMessianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism is a syncretic religious movement that arose in the 1960s and 70s. It blends evangelical Christian theology with elements of Jewish terminology and ritual....
, Armstrong
Armstrongism
Armstrongism refers to the teachings and doctrines of Herbert W. Armstrong while leader of the Worldwide Church of God , and is professed by him and his followers to be the restored true Gospel of the Bible. Armstrong said they were revealed to him by God during his study of the Bible....
/Worldwide Church of God and Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
movements.