My friend Nate Gass and his band Ammi recently performed at the Beat Kitchen on West Belmont. They are a Christian band but they are 'loving Christians.' I know this to be true because when I came out to Nate as a lesbian he was very open and told me that he still loved me. He has been there for me and he listens as a friend would when I talk to him about my gay lifestyle. I want to dedicate this article to my friend Nate Gass.
I interviewed Nate about his band Ammi a few weeks ago, but more importantly about his Christianity and how it reflects on how he sees the gay community. Let me give you a bit of background info on the band first. Nate plays electric guitar, Phil Vickers does vocals and acoustic guitar, Marcus Anderson plays the Bass guitar, and Jason Alm is the drummer. Nate, Marcus, and Phil attend Trinity International University in Deerfield, a suburb of Chicago, and they all are Christian Ministries majors. Ammi started about two and a half years ago when Nate was a freshman at Trinity. 'I started jamming with Phil and Marcus. We eventually decided to pick up a drummer, but the drummer we picked couldn't really commit to the time we needed, so we replaced him with Jason and formed the official Ammi lineup around March 2002.'
Ammi is a Hebrew word which means 'my people.' The band has accomplished a lot. They have recorded an album, played in the city, and made lots of friends. 'Our goal is to make our message one of hope and love. There's only one place that we have found that, and I think it's pretty obvious in our music. When I hear people that say 'God hates fags,' it's very angering. It makes me angry because it simply isn't true. God loves gay people just as much as he loves everyone in the world,' said Nate.
When asked to describe Ammi's music, Nate replies with a smile of pride: 'It's pretty experimental. We try to write epic music with a pop sense, but for the most part we just write what we want to, which is pretty much just a collection of our musical influences.' Some of the band's influences are Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, The Flaming Lips, Deftones, U2, Elbow, At The Drive-In, Switchfoot, Pink Floyd, Wilco, and Led Zeppelin.
'We have a lot of support. Our parents have been great through all of this, especially Mrs. Alm and my parents. My brother Jesse has always helped us out when he could, he lends us his equipment when we need it and he gets us to play at St. Marks Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst. He's great. We also have several bands that are always there for us: Monday's Hero, Braille, D.E.M, Amined, The Softest Sound, and University,' said Nate.
If you want to check out more about Ammi and want to know when and where they will be playing, go to www.ammimusic.com . They are loving and friendly guys. I want to thank Nate for being a good friend and for being there for me—and for keeping his mind open about the gay community and the people within it.
