- published: 11 Jan 2008
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East to West was a Contemporary Christian music duo from Cleveland, Tennessee formed in 1993.
Neal Coomer and Jay DeMarcus met in Cleveland, TN at Lee College, which is now Lee University and decided to form a Christian pop group along the lines of Level 42 or Go West. They released two albums, East to West in 1993 and North of the Sky, in 1995, which hit #16 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart that same year. The group toured in the United States with Al Denson and 4Him before breaking up in 1997. DeMarcus later went on to become a member of the group Rascal Flatts.
The group's Christian radio hits included "Welcome to the Next Level" (#3, 1994), "Prince of Peace" (#1, 1994), "Hungry for You" (#3, 1995), "Heart on the Line" (#16, 1995), "This Time Around" (#5, 1995), "Still in Love" (#9, 1995), "Live Like I'm Leaving" (#19, 1996), and "Talk to Me" (#15, 1996).
Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock band. Casting Crowns was started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida as part of a youth group. He now serves as a lead vocalist. Later they moved to Stockbridge, Georgia and more members joined creating the band now known as Casting Crowns. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in Stockbridge, Georgia.
Christian rock group Casting Crowns began as a student worship band in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1999. Led by singer, songwriter, and youth pastor Mark Hall, the group initially included guitarists Juan DeVevo and Hector Cervantes and violinist Melodee DeVevo. The group relocated to Stockbridge, GA, in 2001, adding Chris Huffman on bass, Megan Garrett on keyboards and accordion, and drummer Andy Williams. This augmented version of Casting Crowns released two independent albums on CD, both of which were well received in the Atlanta area. Both independent albums were efforts on the part of Mark Hall and the rest of the group as outreach projects for youth in the area. The group won the GMA regional songwriters competition at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida in both the "Best Song" and the "Best Artist" categories in 2004. Although the group was not searching for a record label, one of the group's albums found its way into the hands of Mark Miller, lead singer for country group Sawyer Brown, who was struck by Casting Crowns' driving pop/rock style and Hall's vocal delivery of his hard-hitting but devout songs. Miller signed Casting Crowns to his fledgling Beach Street Records, a division of Reunion Records with distribution by the Provident Label Group, making Casting Crowns the first artist signed to Beach Street Records.
Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up
Where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as
The east is from the west
And I stand before You now
As though I've never sinned
But today I feel like
I'm just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way
Jesus, can You show me just how far
The east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
You know just how far
The east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like
I'm just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way
Jesus, can You show me just how far
The east is from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far
The east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
I know You've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
About the truth Your word reveals
And I'm not holding onto You
But You're holding onto me, You're holding onto me
Jesus, You know just how far
The east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far
The east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
Just how far
The east is from the west
Just how far
From one scarred hand to the other
You know just how far
The east is from the west
Just how far