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Mike Johnson is not in the habit of following paths already mapped out for him. Bulldozing new, fresh musical ground is more his style. And he's been doing just that since the late '60s when he launched The Exkursions, one of the first jazz/rock Christian groups when that brand of music was still considered blasphemous and irreverent.

But that didn't stop the 31 year old Chicago native from using whatever musical vehicle available to him. From brave, new lyrics to bold, honest rock sounds he used music to propel the message of Christ and its influence in his life. "My music has to relate to life in Christ without using the old clichés and I want the opportunity to define the Gospel in my music and raps," he says.

Not a newcomer to the entertainment business or to the Christian faith Johnson began his musical career recording and touring with the Mike Bloomfield Blues Band. " I went the typical musicians route of booze, drugs, mysticism and sexual freedom. I was surprised to find that a relationship with God gave me fulfillment and a new purpose in life."

The question then was how to relate his new life to his young audiences. Contemporary Christian music was foreign to the young people inside and outside the Church. So he decided to try something totally different. The result was the Exkursions.

For two and a half years the Exkursions performed and communicated through their music in concerts on every major college campus in the east. They also including side trips such as Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship beach concerts in Florida, coffee houses and a Pittsburgh ghetto exposure with Young Life. The music related to people. The message changed their lives.

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e-mail:  Mike Johnson
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