The Choir is an atmospheric alternative rock band currently comprising Derri Daugherty on guitar and lead vocals, Steve Hindalong on drums and percussion, and Dan Michaels on saxophone and Lyricon. Long-time bass guitarist Tim Chandler died in 2018, and guitarist Marc Byrd was the fifth member of the band between 2005–2014. The Choir's industry accolades include a GMA Dove Award for Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year in 1996 and a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002.
As of 2026, the band has commercially released 23 full-length studio albums, three EPs, eight live albums, one single-disc compilation album, one retrospective box set, and is still actively recording new material.
Contents
History
Southern California period (1983–1993)
The Choir was originally formed as Youth Choir in the early 1980s by Daugherty and Hindalong. Chandler, who was also the bass guitarist for Daniel Amos, introduced Hindalong to Daugherty, who was the band's roadie and sound man. The two quickly became friends, and Youth Choir got its start within the Calvary Chapel Christian punk and alternative music scene, which also included the bands Undercover, Crumbächer, Altar Boys and 4-4-1.
The band's first official recording was the track "It's So Wonderful," released in 1983 on the compilation album What's Shakin', which also included early work from Undercover, Altar Boys and The Lifters. This song was one of the few times that Daugherty wrote both lyrics and music; as the band developed, the majority of the Choir's lyrical output would come from Hindalong. As Youth Choir, they released their debut album Voices in Shadows in 1985, with Mike Sauerbrey on bass; their first EP Shades of Gray followed a year later, when Dan Michaels joined the band.
The Choir made a high-profile move to Myrrh Records in 1986 with their next release, Diamonds and Rain. Dropping the "Youth" from their moniker, they would be known as "The Choir" from that point forward. This was followed by three more albums for Myrrh, which featured musical contributions from an array of performers, including Charlie Peacock, Mark Heard, Steve Griffith of Vector and Gene Eugene and Riki Michele from Adam Again. The Choir's lineup also changed. Chandler was the primary bass player through the recording sessions for Chase the Kangaroo, released in 1988; however, Robin Spurs replaced him on the tour for that album, as well as the recording sessions and tour for the band's follow-up, Wide-Eyed Wonder, in 1989. When Spurs quit the band during the recording sessions for 1990's Circle Slide, Sauerbrey returned for the remainder of those sessions, and toured with the Choir for two more years. Chandler then rejoined the lineup for the recording of Kissers and Killers, which was later independently released in 1993. Sauerbrey would not play with the band again; Spurs would rejoin the Choir briefly in 2017, when she performed on the Wide-Eyed Wonder reunion tour.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Choir toured extensively within the United States, and was most notably the first band on stage at the inaugural Cornerstone Festival in Chicago in 1984. They also preceded Bruce Cockburn on stage at the Greenbelt Festival in England in 1986, and opened for Russ Taff on his nationwide tour in 1990. References to the band's tour experiences would remain an ongoing source of lyrical inspiration. During their Southern California period, the Choir's music was described by the Los Angeles Times as "magical songs that combine strains of murky psychedelia with pure pop." Billboard praised the band for its "dark poetic leanings, effects-laden guitars and strong melodic hooks." Hindalong's lyrics became known for their vulnerability and honesty, particularly about the challenges inherent in romantic relationships and the simple joys of family life.
Initial Nashville period (1994–2000)
With much of the contemporary Christian music, or CCM, industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee, the band opted to make a permanent move there. Daugherty and Hindalong were both married with children, and the Christian alternative music scene in Southern California was no longer as active as it was in its mid-‘80s heyday. By contrast, the CCM industry had begun flourishing in Nashville in the early 1990s. Soon after the band's arrival, Michaels went into artist management, becoming a successful A&R man in the Christian music industry, eventually serving as the Choir's manager as well. Daugherty and Hindalong would musically contribute to, and produce, numerous projects, including the Lost Dogs, and most notably, the City on a Hill worship music series.
The Choir's first release after arriving in Nashville was Speckled Bird, a reworked version of 1993's independent Kissers and Killers, with five additional songs recorded in Nashville. Their next album, Free Flying Soul, released in 1996, would bring the band their most notable industry recognition to that point, as they were awarded a GMA Dove Award for Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year. Five years later, the Choir received a nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards for their album, Flap Your Wings, released in 2000. The album's closing song, "Beautiful Scandalous Night," would subsequently be listed at #100 in the 2006 book CCM Magazine Presents: CCM Top 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music.
Journey to independent status (2000-present)
Despite the belated awards attention, both Hindalong and Daugherty have gone on record numerous times over the years about the limitations of the CCM distribution model, the musical and lyrical expectations from record labels, and their rejection of the term "Christian band" to describe the Choir, as the band never fit the "Christian music" mold, according to Hindalong. "You were either one of two things: you were evangelization or edification,” he explained. “You're either edifying the Body, or getting people saved—one of these two functions. To us, music is not a means to an end. It's not a tool. We're not going to meet your expectations.”
Instead, the band soon realized they were primarily interested in writing music about their everyday life experience, inspired by the music of bands such as Romeo Void, the Church, and My Bloody Valentine. As a result, "we couldn't be sold," Hindalong said. "Whoever promoted the show was not happy with what we did." Daugherty was more measured in his assessment. "In the early days, we did have some promoters that really liked us," he clarified. "They just couldn't make any money off of us. If they can't make a living promoting our show, then they're not going to book us.” This led to the band traveling extensively outside of Southern California, playing anywhere they could be booked, whether a bar, a club, a high school auditorium, a coffeehouse, or a state fairground.
Even when the Choir directly addressed matters of faith in their lyrics, the band's music rarely gained airplay on mainstream Christian radio. Instead, their music was limited to the small number of Christian radio shows that played a mix of alternative, rock and metal music for only a few hours a week, often after midnight. "How would you care about radio success on a radio station that you, yourself, would not listen to?" Hindalong asked. "We had no chance succeeding commercially, plus we didn't want to say what we were expected to say, at least at that point."
In an attempt to broaden the Choir's appeal to Christian audiences, Myrrh had the band open for Russ Taff on his high-profile The Way Home tour in 1990. “It was a disaster," Hindalong said. "The audience overwhelmingly hated us. You could feel the disdain, you know?" Daugherty agreed, and added that, "people would come out and lecture us at our merchandise booth: 'We didn't preach enough.' There would be a couple of nights where people would get up and literally take their youth group out." At the end of the tour, the Choir announced that this would be their last time opening for a mainstream CCM artist. This negative experience coupled with the Choir's continued dissatisfaction with the CCM industry in which their music could only get limited exposure led band manager Paul Emery to issue a press release saying, "The band has grown frustrated with the constraints of a marketplace that values spiritual slogans over musical creativity."
Other projects
Solo works and collaborations
Each band member has worked on numerous projects outside the Choir. Daugherty, Hindalong and Michaels have all released solo works, with Daugherty also releasing an instrumental ambient project under the name Clouds Echo in Blue in 2011. Daugherty is also one-half of Kerosene Halo, a duo project with 77s frontman Roe; they have released three albums to date. Since 1991, Daugherty has also been a member of the alternative rock supergroup Lost Dogs, led by Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos and including the 77s' Roe and Adam Again's Eugene; Hindalong would join the group after Eugene's death. In 2023, Hindalong would also join with Slocum, Madeira, Jimmy Abegg and Ben Pearson to form The Ascendants and use Kickstarter to launch their debut album, The Fellowship of the Broken. The following year, Hindalong performed live with Sixpence None the Richer, providing percussion on the band's We Are Love tour to support their Rosemary Hill EP, which Hindalong produced. In 2024, Hindalong joined with Dan Haseltine, Billy Smiley, Ron Hemby and Matt Nelson to form The River Cryers, and they released two singles to streaming music and social media platforms: "Cry Me a River" and "Lost Art of Losing." In 2026, they used Kickstarter to fund their self-titled debut.
Before his death in 2018, Chandler was the bass player for both Daniel Amos and that band's side project, the Swirling Eddies, for many years, pre-dating his work with the Choir. Spurs later joined Rachel Rachel and toured with them in the early 1990s. Byrd was a member of Common Children, then later he and bandmate Andrew Thompson formed the post-rock band Hammock in 2005. Byrd has also recorded with his wife Christine Glass as Glassbyrd. Michaels has recorded saxophone for, and performed on tour with, a variety of other artists including Adam Again, Dighayzoose, Crystal Lewis and Bryan Duncan.
Worship albums
Daugherty and Hindalong have produced and recorded several worship albums featuring other CCM artists, including their own At the Foot of the Cross series. Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire was released in 1992, and the song "Beautiful Scandalous Night" would later be re-recorded by the Choir eight years later for their Grammy-nominated Flap Your Wings album. The follow-up, Volume Two: Seven Last Words of Christ, was released in 1995, along with a sacred Christmas album, Noel. Hindalong would then go on to produce the aforementioned City on a Hill series of worship albums in the early 2000s. The lead single from the initial album, Songs of Worship and Praise, was "God of Wonders," co-written by Hindalong and Marc Byrd; it held the #1 spot on the Christian adult contemporary charts for several weeks, became one of the most successful worship songs of the early 2000s, and was later listed at #11 in the 2006 book CCM Magazine Presents: CCM Top 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music. Songs of Worship and Praise would go on to receive a GMA Dove Award in 2001 for Special Event Album of the Year.
Personnel
Current members
Derri Daugherty – lead vocals, guitars
Steve Hindalong – drums, percussion, vocals
Dan Michaels – saxophone, lyricon
Former members
Tim Chandler – bass guitar, vocals
Mike Sauerbrey – bass guitar
Robin Spurs – bass guitar, vocals
Marc Byrd – guitars, vocals
Touring musicians
Billy Wilde (nee Bill Sammons) – guitar
Bill Campbell – guitar
Wayne Everett – percussion
Michael Roe – bass guitar, vocals
Matt Slocum – guitar
Justin Cary – bass guitar
Timeline
Discography
Crowdfunded bonus studio albums
2018 Kissers and Killers — The Acoustic Sessions
2023 Words Spoken and Floating on Clouds
2024 7 + 77s = 9: Reinterpretations
2024 Patreon Sessions (Unfinished Tracks)
2026 Benchwarmers
EPs
1986 Shades of Gray (as Youth Choir)
2013 Peace, Love & Light
2024 Reinterpretations
Compilations
1995 Love Songs and Prayers: A Retrospective
2001 Never Say Never: The First 20 Years (8-CD box set of first nine studio releases + unreleased tracks)
Non-album tracks
1984 "I Can't Take It (Live)" b/w "Here in the Night (Live)" (as Youth Choir)
2024 "Nowhere Else" (The Choir) b/w "To Cover You" (The 77s)
All songs initially released on a monthly basis to Patreon supporters only. In 2023, the Choir began slowly releasing some of these tracks one at a time under the banner The Patreon Sessions, either by digital download or on streaming platforms. These same tracks were later collected together for the 2024 digital release Patreon Sessions (Unfinished Tracks). Songs made available outside of Patreon are indicated.
Video releases
1989 Wide-Eyed Wonder Videos (VHS: music videos for "Someone To Hold On To" and "Robin Had a Dream"; 32-minute band documentary)
1996 "Sled Dog" music video (Enhanced CD: included with bonus content on Let It Fly)
1996 Tattoo Video Hoopla (VHS: live performance from Cornerstone '96)
2016 Live and on the Wing in Music City (DVD: 2014 live performance included in CD/DVD combo)