Caleb Weeks
Johnny Autumnal
April 28, 2008

Caleb Weeks is a member of the Knowthing collective and the lead singer/ pianist/guitarist in the band Medicine.

Biography

Weeks began playing piano at the age of 2 after being strongly encouraged by his father to learn the instrument. His father was a pastor in a Christian sect called the Harpists during Weeks' formative years. The fundamental belief of the Harpist organization is that music should be the primary field of study for humanity, because music will the means of glorifying God in the afterlife.

At the age of 5, Weeks learned to improvise on the piano, and he was writing songs for his Sunday school classes by 7. Weeks recently re-recorded some of these songs due to fan demand in 1999. In an interview, Weeks stated that "Harpist services would last about 12 hours on Sundays, with music as a constant centerpiece."

He continued his involvement in the Harpists organization until the age of 12, when a schism occurred in the church. The Harpists broke off into two segments over a theological argument concerning what instruments were permissible to be played during Harpist church services. One of the organization's main tenets involves a passage from Revelation 5:8: "When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (NAS)

Many members of the organization believed that instruments such as the harp and the lyre were the only permissible instruments to use based on the Old Testament, and they were incredibly reluctant to let new instruments into the church, even instruments such as the drums. Other members suggested that excerpts from Biblical passages such as Psalm 150, verses 3-4 proved the inclusivity of musical instruments:

"Praise him with psaltery and harp, praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and organs."

The Weeks family broke off from the organization with others and began referring to themselves as the Psalterions. Weeks began playing guitar at 16 and eventually became an accomplished musician.

At 18, he moved out of his house to attend North Park University Seminary in Chicago. After being there for a few years, he grew frustrated with would he saw as "increasing legalism in the church which failed to understand that Christ came as a fulfillment of the law, and that all was permissible under the New Covenant.amp;amp;amp;" He left seminary and founded a band called Medicine, which he claimed would "attempt to create a curative form of music, just as David's songs cured Saul's heart."

Musical Career

In 1992, Caleb met Lynn Johnson, a young girl living in Chicago at the time working as a photographer. They began playing music together and established an intense connection which would eventually turn into a marriage. Writing songs together, they eventually began performing at a local Christian coffee shop called Home Grounds where they met Zach Richter. Ironically, Richter had traveled to Home Grounds to heckle the acts playing that night and eventually joined the group in 1993.

In 1995, Medicine released their first album, "Alpha and Omega." The release was originally printed in only 500 copies but would go on to be widely distributed over a computer network called Usenet. It featured songs by the three band members with Weeks on piano, Lynn Johnson on bass, and Zach Richter on drums. Primarily, the album was devoted to praise songs with a liberal perspective on social issues.

Medicine released "Hem of the Garment" in 1997 to widespread acclaim among a small community. The song "The Amnion Will Coalesce" on the album is considered one of Medicine's greatest works, and a review is featured on the Knowthing Compendium.

Weeks has not released any recorded music since 1997, but he continues to play at his church and is intensely involved in the Knowthing collective's projects.