As odd as it might seem for a pop/rock artist with such a formidable singing voice, Dave Pettigrew didn't spend his teen years before a full-length mirror learning to emulate powerhouse vocalists like Robert Plant, Luther Vandross or even Steve Perry. On the contrary, it was at the tender young age of five that Pettigrew's unlikely musical education began in earnest as he stationed himself in front of the family TV each week to catch a glimpse of Lennie Baker playing saxophone for doo wop revivalists Sha Na Na on the group's musically-based late `70s sitcom. Sufficiently impressed, he not only took up the instrument but continued playing it all the way up to the time of his entrance into the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. In fact, it wasn't until after he'd already been accepted to Berklee that Pettigrew first discovered, and subsequently decided to hone, his latent vocal talent.

KOCH Records’ Seattle-based alternative rock band and winner of the 2007 “MTV2 Dew Circuit Breakout,” The Myriad, is scheduled to release their highly anticipated sophomore project With Arrows, With Poise on May 13, 2008. In anticipation of the release, we asked the guys some questions about the album, MTV, and touring. Step inside to read more.

Steven Tracy: guitars, keys, programming

inR: We last sat down together at the Purple Door festival in August of 2005. Give me a short summary of some things that have happened with The Myriad since then.

Steven: Well, that's a big window of time, and it’s certainly been busy! With the exception of recording the album, we've been on the road. So nothing's really new there. Lots of miles, lots of interstate, and lots of clubs. Last year however was pretty special for us. We had a bit of a lineup change in who worked on the business stuff with us, so we felt this intense drive to write and record something really special. It was the first time in a while where it was really on our shoulders. We essentially locked ourselves up in the studio and just went out to make the record of our lives.

Here at inReview (and previously at cMusicWeb) we have been expressing our own blend of the typical annual "Best of" albums for several years. To fit our motto, "A Different Approach to Music," the best albums have transformed to most spun rather than the best new records. The choices expand to any music in any genre from any time. After all, do our staff and readers only listen only to new releases? I hope not!

About an hour before Switchfoot hit the stage in Ocean City, New Jersey on May 1st, they first heard the news that "This is Home" is going to be performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 13th. While announcing the song during their set, Jon Foreman told the crowd this "hot off the press" news.

"This is Home" was written for the upcoming Disney movie Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. A video for "This is Home" premiered on May 2nd on the Disney website. Jon Foreman shared the following on Switchfoot's website:

Earlier this year, Delirious? frontman Martin Smith gathered 12 of his singer/songwriter friends to pen a dozen or so songs for Compassionart, a charity that seeks to use music to generate income for the world's poorest citizens. Altogether, 22 songs were written, the first just released April 8 on Wow Hits 1. Some notable artists involved on the project included Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, and Steven Curtis Chapman as well as fellow Delirious? band member Stu Garrard.

Submitted by Dan Ficker - inReview.net webmaster

1. Mute Math Mute Math
There's no doubt - much like 2006, Mute Math's full-length album was my most spun of 2007. Actually, most of 2006's list was also tops of 2007. But, hey, I can't feature the exact same list every year, so we're just gonna skip The Elms and Mat Kearney. These are all great, but there's no doubt that Mute Math is still #1 in my book.

The Gospel Music Association held their 39th Annual Dove Awards Wednesday night at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.

Chris Tomlin won for "Male vocalist of the year"

The two have an eight-year history together that dates to a performance McCracken made at a Nashville coffee shop, according to Webb's e-mail newsletter. Webb was on a coffee run that day and became enamored of McCracken's voice and songwriting, the newsletter states. McCracken was eventually asked to join Webb's then-bandmates in Caedmon's Call on tour, and the seeds for a deeper relationship were sown.

Our Tuesday in Music City started with some Artist interviews. We here at InReview researched some fresh tunes and will be bringing you exclusive one-on-one interviews with emerging bands such as After Edmund, The Washington Projects, and Article One in the coming days. Here's a quick photo of Kim and "The Washington Projects" after our interview this afternoon:

Over the course of the afternoon the usual celebrity sightings continued with cameo appearances by Kirk Cameron, Skillet, Project86's Andrew Schwab, and more. One great place to meet and interview artists is the lobby of the Nashville Hilton on Broadway. The vast atrium and lush furnishing give it a pretty impressive look.

You may not be aware that anyone could place votes for the GMA awards each year - anyone who is a member of the Gospel Music Association, that is. As I voted this year, I took down notes on the reason behind my decision in certain categories. I also pondered how many of the artists whom I cast a vote would make it to the second round as the nominee list shrunk. Read on to see how I voted. Then watch the awards ceremony on the Gospel Music Channel on April 23rd live from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, TN. But don't forget to come back here to see photos from Luke, our guest reporter for the week. The winners will be listed after the awards here.