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The Westerly Sun

Ellen Santiago - Special to The Westerly Sun

The Light is on a mission.

The Westerly-based Christian rock band does more than lay down rhythm-packed guitar tracks topped with throaty vocals. The band, which has recorded four CDs, has a singular purpose — to spread the word of God. The name of its latest disc, “Magnify,” is indicative of that mission, according to vocalist and guitarist Frank Vitale of Westerly.

“We want to make God bigger,” Vitale said as he sipped coffee and munched his daughter Maria's peanut butter cookies. “We're saying magnify the Lord, get the message. That's what we're here to say. And maybe with an edge.”

The edge he's referring to comes in the form of rock-guitar licks under faith-based lyrics. Less hymns than rock and roll, the music is a contemporary medium for the message. Imagine, for example, “How Great Thou Art” with a slightly plucked bass on the downbeat.

“The world, the entire world is looking for something, just look around,” said Vitale, 46, assistant principal at Westerly's Babcock Middle School. “We think — no, we know — we've found it.”

Formed out of a Christian camp experience in 1995, the band plays before New England audiences numbering from 12 to 1,200. All of the band members worship at the Groton Bible Chapel where they play bi-weekly (the Groton Bible congregation often numbers 1,000). They have regular gigs at area churches and coffeehouses as well as at Christian retreats and summer camps.

The Light does not write its own tunes, but performs songs in its own style, a style echoing the rock and roll of several decades, from the Three Dog Night sound of the '70s to the Metallica sound of the early '90s and then on to the more indie sound of the late '90s. From church standards with a Black Sabbath sound to sleepy, dream-like ballads with soft vocals, The Light plays a wide mix of music.

In addition to Vitale, The Light consists of Jane Kortweg, 39, a Ledyard homemaker, who provides vocals; Todd Poquette, 30, of Westerly, a CPA, on bass guitar; Mike Davies on drums; and Ron Reid, 35, of Westerly, on guitar. Reid is also the recording engineer behind each of the band's CDs.

“They are professional, well known and have a sound that crosses generations,” according to Dorothy Schrage of CareNet, a pregnancy support organization active in New England. “And for us, religiously, they reach many different people with their music.” For those reasons, The Light was an obvious choice to perform last year at a CareNet benefit attended by more than 500 people.

On March29, The Light will deliver “a night of praise” at the First Baptist Church in Hope Valley, starting at 7 p.m. The band has concert dates set beyond that and hundreds of emails to answer, not to mention a rigorous practice schedule.

“We're busy and that's great," Vitale said.

Reid said that the response to their sound and message has been a surprise.

“We had no idea so many people would be interested in us,” he admitted.

The Light's discography, available through www.thelightband.com, includes “Delivered,” a live concert recorded at Camp Berea, a Christian camp in New Hampshire. The tracks include a cover of “Liquid,” a song popularized by the Christian band Jars of Clay. The cut is a favorite, said Poquette, because it “vividly describes the intense suffering that Jesus endured.”

“For us, the band happened because we met and loved music and loved God and wanted to say that,” Vitale said. “Really, God is putting things together for us in a cool way and we want to say, ‘Have a closer relationship with Jesus.’”