The Innocence Mission

Thirteen years after recording their debut, The Innocence Mission remains an island of calm, a beacon of hope in a post-Littleton world. From the quiet city of Lancaster PA, the three members of The Innocence Mission make their music, all of it exalting love and friendship, peace and joy. Now, group founders and songwriters Don and Karen Peris (guitarist/vocalist and singer/guitarist/pianist respectively), along with bassist Mike Bitts, have hand-crafted their fourth album, Birds Of My Neighborhood.

Musically, the songs on Birds Of My Neighborhood reflect the main influences on Don and Karen, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and other pioneers of 60's folk rock. In 1987 The Innocence Mission signed with A&M Records. Between 1989 and 1995 the band released three acclaimed albums, a 1989 self-titled debut, Umbrella (1991), and Glow (1995) which garnered their greatest critical and commercial success to date. The Innocence Mission returned home in the spring of 1996, and that summer began to make recordings of new songs, working at the Keppel Building, a retired candy factory in downtown Lancaster, and at home. Now it's time for Birds Of My Neighborhood to take wing.

Centered around the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Don Peris (vocals, guitar) and Karen Peris (vocals, guitar, piano), Lancaster, PA, natives the Innocence Mission crafted a tasteful, politically correct brand of collegiate folk-pop similar to Sarah McLachlan or 10,000 Maniacs (in fact, the Perises appeared on Natalie Merchant's 1998 album Ophelia). With a rhythm section composed of bassist Mike Bitts and drummer Steve Brown, the Innocence Mission released their eponymous debut album in 1989; Umbrella followed in 1991. Thanks to the advent of the adult alternative radio format, the Innocence Mission were able to break out to a wider audience with the release of their third album, 1995's Glow; material from the album appeared on the soundtrack of the film Empire Records and on the television show Party of Five. The Innocence Mission remained quiet for several years, as the Perises made guest appearances on albums by Merchant, John Hiatt, and Joni Mitchell, in addition to having their first child. The latter experience greatly informed the group's fourth album, 1999's Birds of My Neighborhood, which witnessed the departure of drummer Brown, leaving the group officially a three-piece. The following year, the Innocence Mission released a limited-edition devotional album, Christ is My Hope, on their own Innocence imprint; in 2001, the group moved to What Are Records for Small Planes, which featured some songs from the Birds of My Neighborhood sessions that didn't make it onto that album. Befriended arrived in 2003 on the Badman label. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide