A Beautiful Oblivion

A Beautiful Oblivion, (ABO) is a group of four Guys who have a passion for music and strong desire to share the hope they have found in Jesus Christ. Their faith is shown very strongly in the name of the band. The definition of Oblivion is this: The official overlooking of offenses, or pardon. In the bands name, this is referring to the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice for us through the pardoning of all our past offenses. He knows who we are, and everything we have done, good and bad. While knowing this, He still loves us and died for our sins. This act is truly , “A Beautiful Oblivion”! ABO started 4 years ago and since then has gone through changes to make it the band it is today. The band consists of Cody DeGraff on keys, synth, and clean vocals / John Edwards on lead vocals and bass / Justin Hausman on lead guitar and clean vocals vocals / and Gabe Klingman on drums. As a band, they are always writing new music and pushing their musical talents to the limits and are not happy to just stay the same. In their live performances this shines through with the level of energy and passion that is displayed. The band also has a mission with the lyrics written to sing of God’s grace and how they constantly fall short of His glory; but though His love it empowers them with the motivation to be good and faithful servants to Him. While at the same time showing His love to everyone whom they come in contact with. This is the core of who they are as a band, and what they hope to represent to others. They live this mission out, at shows or anywhere else you might see the guys, taking time to just chat and get to know different people and stories they may have. This is how they connect and stay grounded. The guys’ mission as a band is to reach out to listeners using their music as a tool to minister the teaching and love of Jesus Christ. Just recently they recorded and released an EP “Secrets She Wrote” which tells of the story of a girl who goes through many trials in life. She struggles with various circumstances and tragedy, she even contemplates suicide. In the end though, after all she thought she had is completely stripped away, she hears God call her name. She listens to the voice of Grace, and in the end finds she has been given more than she could ever dream. ~Meeting the Band~ Cody- Cody was born in Warsaw Indiana and raised in a Christian family. He grew up going to church but says, “My family had always made the Gospel central in the home, but I did not understand the importance of it until later in life as I grew up.” He moved to Maine at 15 with his family and then started to became involved in his new church community. Shortly after arriving, he started a band that would later turn into ABO. In conjunction, he serves leading a praise and worship musical team in the youth ministry at his church. He says “leading worship has greatly influenced my musical journey and growth to where I am today.” Over the past 5 years this has helped him to develop and grow in his understanding of the Word, and learn who God is calling him to become. John- The oldest out of five, he grew up in a Christian family and was home-schooled. Growing up, John identifies that he was a Christian from a very young age, but it really did not become his own until he was a teen. At that point it became more real, and not just something to sing about. He also made it mandatory to live his faith out in his actions. John started learning bass to join a band with Cody and Justin that later evolved into ABO. Over time, he started to become more involved in the writing process. John said, “ I always liked writing and poetry growing up and writing lyrics allowed me to share my faith.”. He then moved from writing to becoming the lead unclean vocalist of the band. When asked how he started screaming, he said with a laugh, “I started screaming because no one else could and I thought it sounded easy, so I learned.” As with the rest of the band, he can’t wait to see where God will take them! Justin - Justin was raised in a Christian family and says he has been Christian since age 4. But his relationship with God and family in Christ has only come into its own in that past few years. He has been involved in music since age 8 when he went to a worship practice with his dad. From that point on he has been involved with music. The first instrument he learned was drums and then from there he learned guitar. He said, “ I remember my dad bringing home a video from the library on how to play guitar and I watched it over and over to learn everything I could.” He hopes that through his music God can use him as an example to show Christ’s love. Gabe- Like the rest of the band, Gabe grew up in a Christian home and was home-schooled with his siblings. He started playing drums at age 5 when he received his first hand drum and he used that until he was 13 when he started on conga's. At 15 he graduated to a real drum set when he joined the youth worship team that the rest of the band attended and served on. That was the turning point from drums just being a hobby to something serious. After that, he became involved with ABO. Gabe said, “I hope that with our music we can reach out to teens that are depressed, cutting, or just hurting and show them the hope we have in Jesus Christ.” Mason- Mason Grew up in a loving Christian home as well. Though he always felt like the odd one out, because he was the only guy who listened to and played Screamo. He got a guitar for Christmas when he was 13, and hasn't stopped playing since. He wasn't 100% set in what he wanted to do until he played his first show in 2010; and he's been pursuing music ever since. He has a habit of randomly screaming/yelling at people - for entertainment. And he hopes to glorify God through the music, while sharing the love of Christ with those people who normally won't hear it. We're just a group of guys, trying to show the love of Jesus to a hurting world.