By Bobby Tanzilo   Published Oct 09, 2000 at 1:16 AM

Chicago-based singer/songwriter Jonathan Rundman has been touring regularly throughout the upper Midwest since he released his debut disc, "Wherever," in 1995. His rootsy rock and roll carries on a tradition of "heartland" rock that draws on themes of love, loss and family.

His newest project, "Sound Theology," finds the 29-year-old Rundman exploring his heritage as a Finnish-American and his Lutheran faith. "Sound Theology" is remarkable for more than the fact that it comprises two CDs and 52 tracks. It is also one of the most passionate records to emerge from a Midwest indie in a long time, free of the constraints of marketing concerns and, to some extent, ill-advised, as Rundman risks losing some fans who will be turned off by his deviation into what could be called "Christian rock."

But, while many of the songs on the two discs have outwardly Christian themes, many others do not and to peg "Sound Theology" as "Christian rock" would be to ignore its more wide-ranging appeal and the solid songwriting and performances that distinguish it.

We recently talked to Rundman about "Sound Theology," during a break in his annual autumn tour of the Upper Midwest, including Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.

OMC: "Sound Theology" is an ambitious project. How did you plan it out or did it just sort of happen as you amassed more and more songs?

JR: It was totally planned out before I recorded a note. I thought if I was gonna do a "church" album, I should take it to such an extreme that it would be interesting. I really value the flow of the Liturgical Year, and so it seemed like a good idea to have a song for each week. I blocked out both albums season by season, without even having all the songs written. I had to write and record songs to fill in the blanks.

OMC: So you went into it with a strong concept in mind.

JR: It was important to me to have each part of the album "sound" like each season. That was easy with Disc One, which covers the Winter/Spring seasons of Advent through Easter. Disc Two, which takes up the entire season of Pentecost (May through November) was more difficult, so I tried to make those songs correspond to the changes between Spring, Summer and Fall. Creating this recording was like "making an album in reverse." For most albums, the band writes a bunch of songs and then puts them into a logical order onto an album. For "Sound Theology" I began with the logical order, and then had to write songs that fit into the skeleton. I suppose it was more similar to writing music for a movie score or musical theater, where there are set parameters to stay within.

OMC: You've built a good reputation in the upper midwest with your rootsy Americana rock and roll. Do you have any fear that some folks will run the other way when they see you doing "Christian rock"?

JR: Yes, I'm terrified of that happening. I've never liked Christian Rock. It's always so cheesy and derivative and cliquey and slick and socially conservative. I'm interested in asking the question "Can I record a rock & roll album about my faith experience without being considered a Christian Rock singer?" A lot of my musical heroes -- T-Bone Burnett, Bruce Cockburn, Sam Phillips, Buddy & Julie Miller, King's X, Peter Case -- are able to express their faith in their songs without being pigeonholed, so I'm shooting for that as well.

Besides, I think anybody who really listens to my album will know it's nothing like a Christian Rock album. No Christian band would record songs like "Loneliness of Happiness," "We're Creating Monsters," "Xian Bookstore," "Failing Rockstar Attempt," "Easier" or "You Don't Speak for Me." I like to think of it this way: If a famous photographer wanted to publish a book of photos of church buildings, no one would say "He's a Christian Photographer." That's what I'm trying to do....I'm trying to take musical snapshots of the church. I think it's a legitimate subject for rock & roll songs.

OMC: I like the mix of sounds of the record. The instrumental acoustic guitar performances of hymns, the moodier songs with great drum loops. How did the songs grow sonically? What was your recording method I guess is the simpler version of the question.

JR: Thanks! I'm thrilled with how it turned out sonically. I recorded the whole album on a Sony Mini-disc four-track, did all the vocals and acoustic instruments through one mid-level AKG mic, mixed it down onto my computer hard-drive using 1996-era editing software, and burned discs of the final mixes.

It was a very primitive process compared with what's available now, but it turned out pretty cool. A lot of the drum loop stuff happened by necessity. Halfway through the album I moved all my recording gear into my apartment, which means I no longer could play drums or loud electric guitars 'cause it would've disturbed my neighbors. I had to dig through pre-recorded drum tracks of old demos, etc., and make digital loops out of those tracks so that I had the illusion of real drums on the songs. It forced me to be creative and I got some fun results.

OMC: What has the response been so far from fans? The press?

JR: Well, the album isn't officially released until Oct. 31, but a lot of folks have picked it up already by seeing me in person (at gigs), and I'm really happy with their feedback. I was pretty worried that the album was gonna be too weird and too vast for the average listener, but it's turning out that those are the qualities that people like about it.

Even folks who aren't active in any church seem to appreciate it, so I'm relieved. I'm just sending it out to press right now, so you're one of the first journalists to respond. I decided to release it to the press just like a normal rock record, and not try to push it as some "Christian project" or whatever. I'm curious if the press will be able to listen to it objectively or if they'll say stuff like "Local Rocker goes Christian" or something cheesy like that. We'll see how it goes.....

OMC: Although the music is rarely similar, the discs remind me a lot of The Clash's "Sandinista!" because you seem as willing as they were to take chances. The result is a wide-ranging project that still has an underlying theme and the diversity and ambition are threads that hold it all together. Are you familiar with that record? Are there others that served as a model?

JR: The only Clash record I have is "Combat Rock," but thanks for the cool comparison. I list some of the album's inspiration in the liner notes, but some of the bands that really shaped the sonic nature of the album were The Eels, who also do cool stuff with drum loops and vintage keyboards, and maybe the Wilco "Being There" album, although I'm kind of sick of that band. Other faves of mine include Aimee Mann, Lisa Germano, and the new record by Chuck Prophet. I just saw Joan Osborne in concert last night and she was very very good...Mitchell Froom produced her new album and I love what he does.

OMC: What will you to follow a two-disc, 52-song project? A three-disc, 75-song record?

JR: Actually, I think I'm gonna work on a 10-song old style rock & roll album with no songs about the church. I totally love this "Sound Theology" project, but it'll be fun to do a mindless pop record again!

You can see Jonathan Rundman live Sat., Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, W156N8131 Pilgrim Rd., in Menomonee Falls. Cover for the all ages show is $5. For more information, call the church, (262) 251-2740. "Sound Theology" can be purchased at the show or via Rundman's website, http://www.saltlady.com.