In the Spring of 1998, The Insyderz had no idea that they were on the fringe of the biggest trends of the late '90s - alternative worship music. At a time when the critics were already saying that ska was dead, The Insyderz Present Skalleluia! released to much fanfare spending more than 25 weeks in the SoundScan Top 10 Christian album chart and spawning the Dove Award-winning hit "Awesome God."

Now they're back with The Insyderz Present Skalleluia Too! This new album features 14 tracks including two originals, popular praise and worship songs, and traditional hymns - all recorded with the flair of one of Christian music's most popular bands.

Produced by The Insyderz with Dan Garcia (The Waterboy Soundtrack, Wow 99) and Gene Eugene (Plankeye, One Eighty, Lost Dogs), The Insyderz Present Skalleluia Too! will satisfy their most critical fans as well as inspire many newcomers.

"Skalleluia Too! has a little more musical rock and roll to it," assures lead singer Joe Yerke. "I don't want to say we're not a ska band, we still are, but we've gotten to the point where we just want to make good music. Everybody just kind of throws in their own influences and it just comes out sounding the way we sound. Skalleluia Too! is a perfect example of that because we cover everything from 'Old Rugged Cross,' which we do kind of dixieland meets Elvis, all the way to 'These Things Are True of You' which is flat out hard core. We just wanted to have fun on this album and just totally praise God in a way that everybody can enjoy, not just the ska fans. I think we accomplished that."

"For Skalleluia Too! we tried to pick a wide range of songs that meant something to us but also songs that we've heard in a lot of youth groups as we've traveled the country the last three years," adds drummer Nate Sjogren. "Another thing that we tried to do was bring back some of the classics that we grew up singing. Some of the songs on Skalleluia Too! are songs that we've written. Joe was inspired to write a song about the sanctuary of God and how your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And I wrote a song inspired by Psalm 139 talking about the promise that the Lord has made to us that he can carry us through and that he is our strength."

They were a little more critical in their song selection for Skalleluia Too! "Last time we went more off the idea that 'Hey that song might sound cool with a ska rhythm' whereas this time we looked more at the lyrics and would think 'Wow, those words are intense, let's see if we can work with it,'" Sjogren says.

The band even experienced times of personal testimonies where the individual songs were affecting those working on the recordings. "It was an incredible testimony that the Lord had really been anointing the selections of the songs and he was leading us to each one," confirms Yerke.

Along with guest artists Kip Skeletone (BGVs and sax) and Chris Colonnier (trombone) and Chris Rush (trumpet) of Jeffries Fan Club, Insyderz Bram Roberts and Sang Kim recorded live in the studio to create a fatter brass sound in true ska fashion.

"On Skalleluia Too! a lot of funny things happened in the studio," Wasil reminisces. "On 'I Could Sing of Your Love Forever' we started tracking the bass and Beau's bass was vibrating in the studio so much that lights were falling out of the fixtures. At the end of the song, the light right over his mic fell and shattered on the ground in perfect timing, so you can hear it in the mix."

Joe notes that one of his favorites on this album is "Shout to the Lord." "When I think of 'Shout to the Lord,' I think of our friend Ben West who plays the organ to sound like strings and you get hit with this incredible sound. It's like Neil Diamond's 'They're Coming to America.' It just gives you goose bumps when you sing it because it's just so awesome."

One of the most obscure cuts on the album is their version of "Old Rugged Cross" sang by Kim. "We were messing around in rehearsals one day and Joe asked me to sing it," Kim says. "I sang it really low, like Elvis, and Joe told me 'You know, you're singing that song on the album.' My father passed away while we were working on the album, and I would think about that with lyrics of 'Old Rugged Cross.' He went through a lot of difficulties in his life and now he's sitting there with God."

Playing more than 150 shows a year in front of more than 300,000 fans, The Insyderz have become one of the most popular bands in Christian music. The band debuted with Motor City Ska (1997), followed by Skalleluia in February 1998 and Fight of My Life on KMG Records in November 1998. The Insyderz Present Skalleluia Too! is the latest addition to their discography and continues the band's commitment to bringing worship to a younger crowd. Where they once performed a brief segment of praise music within the scope of a concert, they will now be able to perform entire concerts in worship.

"There's nothing more incredible to me than to look out into a crowd and see the audience worshipping," says Sjogren. "It moves me all the time because I think if I'd had alternative worship music when I was 14 or 15, my take on Christianity and my take on the church might be different. I think it's an incredible responsibility that we have as The Insyderz to facilitate that worship, and Skalleluia Too! takes us to the next level of worship."

"I think that Skalleluia Too! represents the growth in worship that we've experienced," Sjogren concludes. "With this album we tried to keep tracks that were the most worshipful - maybe they weren't the best tracks - but I know that when I recorded this album, I was worshipping. We wanted to make Skalleluia Too! more worshipful to us personally, and I believe we did."

Jeff Irizarry is filling in on drums for the Holy Roller Tour.