See or hear a simple three words and a select group of people across the country will probably think of one person. The words are “Praise King Jesus!” The person, besides Jesus Himself, is Chris Bernstorf.

The spoken word poet I first met a few summers ago at Alliance Festival in Pennsylvania, and later followed up with at a house show hosted by my friend Jeff Stuckel (Keyoung). Who can forget this dude’s earnestly heartfelt, fun poems, and moshing with several other sweaty, grown people while yelling the words to “This Little Light of Mine” at the top of our lungs?

You can expect all this and more at a Chris Bernstorf set.

By the way, when you hear “Praise King Jesus” from anybody, you SHOULD listen to them and actually give the Big Man Upstairs His due, not just think, “oh, its that thing that Chris Bernstorf always says.” Anyway… get to know him a bit more below:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojvavUwDvgg[/youtube]

Tuned Up: Who would play your ideal festival and where would it be?

Chris: Tough, so tough. Id say any and all of my friends and then whatever my favorite music at the time was and then my kind of permanent heroes haha! Levi the Poet, Propaganda, Beartooth, Gideon, Mouth of the South-Rival Choir dual set, Tiny Moving Parts, Relient K, The Story So Far, listener, the Chariot (who cares if theyre not a band anymore).

What is your favorite music released this year thus far?

Keyoung, Andrew Warner, and Everett all put out such sick EPs. The new Tiny Moving Parts is so awesome so far. Been jamming it as much as possible! Christian Welch also started performing a new poem–I dont know when it’s coming out, but it’s so good I want to die.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m excited for the new Hotel Books and Furnace Creek records that just came out, and then, off the top of my head, I know there’s new Kevin Schlereth and new Vagabonds coming this year.

What summer movie are you most looking forward to?

Captain America and X-Men are both out and on the list, and Im out-of-my-mind excited for Independence Day. So stoked. Welcome to Earth.

Assume I know NOTHING about your band. In one sentence, why should I listen to you?

Because it’s possible you’ll really like it. It’s poetry, but here poetry includes, but is not limited to, singing, shouting, crowd-surfing, and maybe a little mosh, all done in as close of physical proximity to one another as God made physics to allow and with all of the heart and love and honesty I can pour out.

That’s a sentence fragment, a compound sentence, and this explanatory bit–didn’t follow the rules exactly. I talk a lot.

Who on the Audiofeed lineup are you most stoked about this year and why?

I can’t even–too many bands to even begin to list. I am a huge Humble Beast guy, and I’ve never seen any of them, so Im so hyped for their artists to have a whole night! And Destroy Nate Allen is one of my favorite live experiences/bands ever, so no one should miss out on that! It’s SO wildly outside the box and pure fun.

If your band had a mission statement, what would it say?

Jesus Only.

What band from your area do more people need to hear? That most Audiofeed attendees (and beyond) would not have heard of.

Ooo. I literally just left home three days ago. Where Im originally from, Ruin, Suffer Through, and Wither are three big ones. Where Im staying now (Taylor, MI), Kept On Hold, Tirades of a Timid Tongue, and Amessa. From my friend/frequent tour group, Christian Welch, Brettan Cox, and Furnace Creek.

What song do you hear and you immediately think “Summer!”?

The middle of the Relient K discography (The Anatomy of through Mmhmm) is sick summer (and any time) music. And I was really, really, really into Forever the Sickest Kids in high school and early college.

What is something you’ve been learning on your life or faith journey lately?

Faithfulness–God’s really, really, really so lovingly been impressing upon me and showing me His faithfulness, how good and faithful He is, regardless of if I am perfectly good and faithful back to Him all the time. He’s been showing me He is trustworthy–my girlfriend, who is so much wiser than me so much of the time, used that word, and the Holy Spirit really spoke to me with it. God is trustworthy–worthy of being trusted with all of our heart, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, our possessions, our family members and loved ones, what we value, our thought processes, everything. So thankful for that!