The following article appeared in the January 11th, 2007 issue of Madison's Catholic Herald, Volume 137, No. 1:

Oremus: Local Catholic rock group releases first album
By Kathleen Bushman
Catholic Herald Staff

MADISON — With lyrics like “I put my trust in you, Lord,” Oremus is not the typical rock band.

But in their first, self-titled album of music, Catholic brothers Chris and Tom Reitz show how successful blending rock and faith can be.

Opening with a chant-like “Holy Mary” and including old, but “re”-arranged Catholic standards such as “Let All Mortal Flesh” in the song list, the Catholic faith plays a huge role in the two brothers’ music.

“The reason we started the band is we’ve got this message we’re trying to spread,” said Chris, who was at one time a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison.

Starting Oremus — Latin for “let us pray” — was a response to the late Pope John Paul the Great’s New Evangelization, Tom said. They even officially dedicated this first CD to that call.

The band’s message is the teaching of the Catholic Church, said Chris. “What we’re trying to show people is you can have fun music that’s uplifting and that inspires you to be closer to Christ and the church.”

The music

Chris and Tom are parishioners at Holy Redeemer Parish, Madison, and have been members in the choir for nearly 10 years. The two have been playing music since their childhood — Chris recalls performing for their grandmother while visiting on vacations. But the band didn’t officially start until 2004.

Chris is the guitarist in the group and Tom works the keyboard, but both do vocals.

The two got their first show at the Schoenstatt Heights festival, for which both said they were grateful. Since that first show, they have also done several other venues, including the Elizabeth House Walk for Life and the Fall Festival at St. Ann Parish in Stoughton.

The inspiration

The two brothers both compose and write lyrics for their songs. For several songs, it was a team effort.

“There’s a lot of inspiration that comes along with composing a song,” said Tom. “It’s not like you can sit down and say, ‘I’m going to write a song’ . . . and at the end of the day have one.

“The thing for me is coming up with meaningful, deep lyrics,” he said.

The band offers many of their songs, including several techno songs that are on the CD and a guitar solo that isn’t — free on the Oremus Web site, www.oremusmusic.net

“God gave it to us for free; we’ll hand it out for free, at least as much as we can,” Tom said.

But there are also bonus tracks on the CD, which is available for purchase through their Web site.

The message

The important quality about Oremus music is that it’s Catholic.

“One big difference is that in a lot of other Christian rock . . . the band will look secular,” said Chris. “And there’s a place for that. But the point is, especially for youth in the church today, it’s important to have Catholic music.

“We’re definitely trying to really show that we are a Catholic band versus a general Christian band,” he said. “I guess that shows through our CD.”

Tom said they don’t have a vision of where their music or this album will take them. It could be anywhere from “fizzling out” to “critical mass”, he said.

“We’re just trying to put the message of Christ out there,” Chris said. “If the Holy Spirit likes what we’re doing, he’ll take off with it.”