Steamboat Pilot & Today

An online review of one of Spoken's concerts described an unassuming guy walking through the crowd with a Bible.

The guy is Spoken frontman Matt Baird. He makes it through the crowd, takes the stage, approaches the microphone and starts screaming. The band jumps right in, and if you didn't know this hard rock band was a Christian band, you wouldn't know.

Their lyrics don't preach, and they don't preach between songs. They just rock out.

Spoken plays at least 180 shows a year. About one-third of those are in churches, but the rest are in bars and club.

"We play our songs, and right before the last song, we usually say, 'We believe Jesus loves you,' and that's it," Baird said. "We're not there to change anyone. We do nothing different at a bar than we do at a church. We don't do altar calls."

The band members wear jeans and T-shirts, and their shows involve "lots of flailing of our bodies," Baird said.

Spoken will play tonight as part of the Log Jam, a rock concert for teens at the Steamboat Christian Center. The concert is part of new pastor Troy Lewis' attempt to provide a place for teens to hang out.

If this concert goes well, he plans to host regular concerts at the church for teens.

"Kids might be struggling with their faith or thinking church is the cheesiest, dumbest thing in the world, and we offer them songs of love and hope," Baird said. "Churches are going about (attracting youths) with what I call the turn or burn method.

"You have to love people to Jesus. That's all we are trying to do."