About Doxa
DOXA started in 1988, the brainchild of Gene Reynolds. He didn't know it then, but he was about to start something that would change our lives forever.
To get to the roots of the band, you need to go back to the late 1970's. Gene started playing in his first band with friend Shawn Anderson, whom he had know and been friends with since kindergarden. In 1979 while the pair were in 8th grade, they started playing together in their first band, Galaxy. After a couple years and a few name changes later, Gene met guitarist Joel Hollingsworth who was already in a band called Nitro with drummer Shawn Driscoll. Eventually, with drummer Neil Huntley, the two groups merged into a new band (Shawn Driscoll moved to bass guitar for a while). Once, they were submitting a song for a song-writing contest. The entry papers asked for "Entry Name". The band wrote "Main Entry" in the space provided and the name stuck. Gene, Joel, Shawn and Shawn became lifetime friends. Though many others came and went from the band, the four were known, at least to each other, as "the nucleus". From 1980 through 1987 Main Entry played as much as possible and anywhere they could. Dances, proms, wedding receptions, parties, and in the last couple of years, rock-n-roll clubs. It was the mid and late 80's, and rock clubs were everywhere. Main Entry even released a 45LP record. (One song on that album, "Catch Me" eventually was re-written as "Eternally" on the 1992 "Send Me" album.) In 1986 Gene started hanging around with some guy named Jesus (more about that here) and left the band. A year later, Shawn Anderson and Shawn Driscoll also quit Main Entry to join Gene in the band that eventually would become DOXA. Joel went on to finish college and eventually law school.
So there they were. Three guys coming from playing paying gigs every night with PA systems and concert lighting, to almost nothing. They had no gear besides their personal gear. They had no PA, lights, equipment trucks, songs, or most importantly, gigs. So, Gene started to write some songs. His first were "Saving Light" and "Follow Your Heart". Both of these ended up on the 1988 release "DOXA". He was a writing machine and wrote much of the material for the first two albums. DOXA had a guitar player, drummer, and keyboard player. It was decided that they needed a bass player. Gene met bassist Bernie Calkins who played with the band until 1991. The band kicked around having a lead singer, but after several auditions it was decided that Gene and Shawn would handle most of the vocals. In 1991 during the recording of "Send Me", Bernie left the band. To save money, instead of hiring another bass player, the band bought a laptop and used midi to sequence all the bass lines. This was cutting edge in 1991! The band became a 3-piece with bass tracks. It was an incredibly creative time for the band. Having more time than money, they wrote many of the bands staple songs during this period. Shawn Driscoll took over the 3rd harmony part, and the group was complete. In 1992 "Send Me" was released and the band hit the road. Through a mutual friend, they hooked up with two young guys who agreed to live with and work for the band as road crew for nothing more than food and shelter. Tony Forst and Tom Tilkens moved to Illinois from Green Bay to live on a bus. What an experience!
For the next two years, DOXA played all over the Midwest. Their ballad "Eternally" got some decent airplay and was even the #1 song in several markets including Little Rock AR, Cleveland OH and Ontario Canada as well as their home town radio. The band also started playing a lot of "unplugged" gigs, which were also very popular. They played at festivals and colleges, churches and parks, outreaches and openeded for just about every major recording artist of the period. There was a decision not to persue a recording label, but to remain independant in order to stay as pure as possible.
It was an incredible seasoning for the band, but also stressfull because it isn't easy to live on the road. In 1993 Gene left the band and Shawn Driscoll followed a few months later. Shawn Anderson decided to keep the band going. He auditioned and hired guitarist Sean McCombs, bassist Chad Doran, and drummer Pat Driscoll (no relation to Shawn). Pat left after about 3 months and was replaced by Mike Bell. For the next several years they continued to tour part time, record, and play everywhere! This lineup was a good fit. The new guys brought some refreshing and interesting musical insight while being true to the original sound of DOXA. Shawn Anderson's main goal was to get another album out. This band needed to have a recording to call its own. There were many false starts, re-recordings, and pauses over the next 3 years. Fianlly in 1996 they released "The Story of Our Lives". For 5 years after that, the band played regularly but stopped extensive traveling. In 2001 Chad moved away and in 2002 Mike Bell went on a two year tour with a missionary group. Still, Shawn Anderson and Sean McCombs plugged on for at least another year with fill-in players.
The band is now on semi-permanent hiatus. In 2005 a compilation CD was released that includes one never before released song as well as 2 "bootleg style" live tracks. In 2005 the 1992 album "Send Me" was re-mastered and re-released. As of February 2009, a re-release of "Story" is in the works.
On June 13th of 2005, Shawn Driscoll, Shawn Anderson, Chad Doran and Gene Reynolds got together for a one-night reunion gig. Boy was it fun!
Is there more to come DOXA? Stay tuned to find out!