By Tim Wood

The genre of Contemporary Christian music may seem too new to have a second generation of artists.

But it's not - and the Arkansas band Worthy Cause is living proof.

Half of Worthy Cause consists of Brandon and Derek Champagne, whose parents were in the group "Living Water." The group sold 30,000 albums during the 1970s - not an impressive figure, until you consider that they did without the benefit of promotion and radio airplay. They played at churches about once a month and word of mouth generated the album sales.

They were not able to do full time touring and promotion, but nonetheless made their mark.

Worthy Cause is taking a similar path, at least for now. The group all has jobs outside of the band. Work on their upcoming album release has consisted of many "all-nighters in the studio," according to Brandon, the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter.

The group tries to perform about once a week. They play for churches, youth camps, factory parties and "positive parties." They also go into churches and lead Sunday morning worship services.

But the Champagne brothers, along with bandmates Luke Kilpatrick and Eric Gustafson, are looking to make the transition to a full-time career. It's a move that they don't want to rush.

"We want to be patient on the next step," Brandon said in an interview.

Indeed, Worthy Cause could be compared to the the beverage champagne, although you'll probably not find any band members drinking it. The group has taken its time in coming together. The group has been together formally for 10 years, but they grew up playing music together, even getting their first instruments at about the same time.

Their next step is to get signed to a label. For now, they have an independent release available called "Letter to the World," released in March of 1997. It features their mix of alternative, acoustic and pop-rock music, as they describe it - although Brandon cautions that they don't to put their music in a box.

Their influences include Christian guitar legend Phil Keaggy, the Beatles and the Byrds. They have performed on shows with Big Tent Revival and The Waiting, and performed in a showcase in Columbia several months ago.

But regardless of the future of Worthy Cause, it's indeed a "worthy cause," according to Derek Champagne. "We're doing what we love to do, and have a purpose we feel strongly about."

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