Elgin band makes Christian radio debut

An Elgin-based Christian rock band is looking forward to its radio debut Sunday.

The band P.U.S.H. — an acronym for Pray Until Something Happens — will be playing live at 10 a.m. during a service at The Dwelling Place in Valparaiso, Ind., whose pastor, Jim Motshagen, runs Calvary Radio Network, a which consists of 31 stations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The service will be broadcast live.

“To have that opportunity to be part of the broadcast, it’s just a privilege,” said keyboard and trumpet player Fred Gomez of Elgin.

“It’s a big opportunity because (Motshagen) is pretty influential in the Calvary Chapel movement, so it’s an opportunity to be heard by other Calvary Chapels.”

P.U.S.H. formed in January 2011 under the guidance of Gomez and lead vocalist Oswald Mendez of Elgin. They have been friends for more than 20 years.

The other band members are guitarists Andrew Olson of St. Charles and Roger Alvarez of Elgin, base player Luis Baez of Elgin, and drummers William Rawlings of St. Charles and Giovanni Valdez of Elgin.

The band’s home church is Lighthouse Community Church in Elgin. The band has played throughout the suburbs, including Aurora, St. Charles and Berwyn, and as far as Madison, Wis., Gomez said.

P.U.S.H. is planning to record its first album this summer, but fame is not its main goal, Gomez said.

All the members have professional careers except for Gomez, a former high school marching band teacher now legally blind after suffering a retinal disorder.

“We do songs about being in God’s presence, learning to serve Him and giving Him honor, about the love of God. None of our material is about us, or furthering our career or meeting that perfect woman,” he said. “It’s about giving honor and adoration to God. That’s truly our motive.”

The service will be broadcast on 92.1 FM in Elgin. P.U.S.H. will play for the first 20 minutes, Gomez said.