And Now A Word From Andy Shernoff...

Finally a punk rock album about religion! (No facepalm required.)

Andy Shernoff has released his new solo EP, On The First Day, Man Created God, which he considers his first concept record. (Although he says many think the first Dictators album is a teenage rock opera). He says that this EP is not for children. 

In his own words, from his website, he discusses each track:

Are You Ready To Rapture?

I’m from New York City where nobody actually believes Jesus will return to earth so I grew up completely unaware of the Rapture. As a kid I saw a few nut jobs in Times Square screaming about the end of the world but it’s different today. It’s not just the ranting of religious fanatics anymore, we have powerful people in government who gleefully anticipate the apocalypse …. and some want to be President. I find that very scary.

I had the phrase Jewish zombie rolling around my brain and wanted to incorporate it into a song, so I researched Christian eschatology extensively. It was very important to me that every line in the song reflected what these knuckleheads actually believe. I probably wrote 25 verses until I found the right combination of drama, truth and sarcasm.

… enjoy my video for the song as well.




Skeptical

What happens when lovers have different views on religion? … I conceived this song as a conversation between a couple where one is a skeptic and the other a believer. I imagine this would be awfully difficult to maneuver in real life so in a rare move, I dropped the sarcasm.

Fisher Of Men

I loved the phrase Fisher Of Men and thought it would be a good starting point for an empathetic song about an evangelical with doubts. The phrase comes from the New Testament (Matthew 4:19) and is a call for evangelicals to convert non-believers. If you sincerely believe in a literal bible I understand why you would want to convert your friends and family to save them from an eternity of torture. The question then arises, what would happen if you couldn’t “save” your brother? Is it possible to be happy in heaven if you know a loved one is burning in hell? …. If that was the case heaven would not paradise.

Get On Your Knees For Jesus

We’re back to sarcastic Andy on this one but delve beneath the surface and I think you will find serious lyrics about original sin, one of the most preposterous religious concepts I have ever heard …. Let me get this straight, we are all sinners because a talking snake convinced Adam and Eve to taste an apple from the tree of knowledge? I deserve punishment for the sins of someone else? Sorry I’m not buying.

But you totally should... Go to his website and buy this EP.