ZOEgirl

How the Band Began:  

Alisa Girard says:

"A couple of years after high school, I moved to New York to run a youth center in the lower east side of Manhattan. It was one of the most significant experiences of my life. I'll never forget how grown up I felt after taking the Subway by myself for the first time. During my time in New York, I led worship in church, ran the center, and helped with the youth group. It was awesome, but God was calling me back to California.

Once back in California, I received a call from an old family friend named Norman Miller, about a group he wanted to put together. After praying for God's will, I had a peace in my heart to pursue this. A couple of months later, Norman introduced me to Kristin. We clicked instantly. I felt like I had known her for years, and we began to write together. The chemistry was undeniable. A few months went by, and we were frustrated that we hadn't found a third member, when a mutual friend mentioned Chrissy to Kristin. We met Chrissy and immediately realized that she was the missing link to round out our group. The three of us, ZOEgirl, went immediately into the studio to write and record our first record. Since then, we have had some profound experiences together. One of my favorite moments was when we went on our first mission trip and got to know so many of the young girls that we are doing this for!"

 Chrissy Conway says:

I did well in school. Of course I talked a lot. All of my report cards had the comment on them "Christine loves to talk." Fortunately, my schools had amazing theater arts programs, and I dove in! I remember my first school play in 3rd grade. I had one line, but boy, did I ever say that line with PASSION! I knew my line and everyone else's, for that matter. My music teacher took notice of my passion for music and acting. The next year, I got the lead in our 4th grade play. From then on, all I wanted to do was be on stage. I begged my mom to take me to voice lessons and acting classes. I spent all of my summers in theater camps and all of my school years in after-school music and theater programs. I just couldn't get enough of it.

I took every opportunity that was placed in front of me as an opportunity to improve. When I was 14, I was placed with a talent agency and I started auditioning for movies and commercials. I performed on local TV talent shows and I even got to be an extra in a movie once.

Eventually, I heard about an R&B group that needed a member. I auditioned and made it. The name of the group was CHOICE and the members were Sharon, Alecia (the artist now known as Pink) and I. The three of us moved to Atlanta, GA where I was introduced to the record industry. We signed a deal with LaFace records and made an album. It was an experience I will never forget. After a few years, the label realized they wanted to take Pink solo and they dropped our group. MY WORLD WAS SHATTERED!! I had a really hard time accepting it, thinking all of my hard work over the years was for nothing.

Despite my disappointment, I wasn't about to give up. I moved back to New Jersey and started writing and recording my own demos. Before long, I found myself in a meeting with Def Jam Records in New York to discuss a possible record deal.

In the middle of all of this, I became a Christian. I had never really understood who God was until a friend took me to a crusade in Philadelphia where I heard the gospel for the first time. I gave my life to Jesus that night, found a home church and started reading the Bible. Committing to Christ was a defining moment in my life. The more I got to know who Jesus was, the more began to realize that my life wasn't necessarily about what I wanted, but more about what God wanted to do through me.

Days before I was about to sign a record deal with Def Jam Records, I started feeling unsettled about things. I had never felt conviction like that before, so I prayed to God. For the first time I asked him to show me His will for my life. I didn't want to sing for my own glory anymore, but for His.

I got my answer the very next day, when Kristin called me out of the blue, asking me if I wanted to join a Christian pop group. I had never even met her before. I knew it was my answer to prayer. I said yes and immediately moved to Nashville. Alisa, Kristin and I made an immediate connection and we began working together, calling our group ZOEgirl.

Kristin Swinford says:

Growing up, I think I was a pretty normal kid. I didn't have brothers and sisters, but we always had cats, and they kept me quite entertained. From an early age I had two loves, God and music. When I was five, I was baptized with my dad and I began my new life. I feel so blessed to have had that experience with my dad, and I remember having such a clear understanding of the significance of that moment.

As for my love of music, apparently you couldn't get me to shut up when I was in the mood to sing. I still love to talk, no question. Just ask my husband or Alisa and Chrissy, as they've been the reluctant recipients of the early morning realizations; thoughts that I absolutely must express. Funny thing is that I'm shy about singing!

I started piano lessons in second grade, and I didn't like it at first. My mom would set the egg timer for thirty minutes every day, just to make sure that I practiced. I had to sit there and play until I heard that precious, freeing "DING"! Eventually, I began to really enjoy playing piano, and as I got better I began to absolutely love it. Now, it's the only thing that I can completely loose myself in. I started voice lessons in sixth grade and decided to play the alto saxophone in the seventh grade. By ninth grade I had become really serious about my musical pursuits, and was balancing choir, band, piano, various competitions and basketball!

The summer before my senior year of high school, God showed me His purpose for this "music thing" I had been working so hard on. I was attending a convention with my youth group and thousands of other teens. One evening during a Crystal Lewis concert, I felt the Holy Spirit so strongly. I felt like God was telling me "This is why you have such great love and passion for music. I gave this gift to you to use to reach people for Me. One day that will be you." I returned home absolutely on fire, filled with passion, drive and purpose. That year, I wrote my first song. Ironically, a few years ago, while ZOEgirl was on the Carman tour we played in that same arena where I had seen Crystal Lewis minister and felt God speak to me. It just goes to show you that when you surrender to God's will for your life, in His timing, He will make things happen.

The summer after high school, with the help and support of my parents, I started recording my first album. I went away to college and became totally immersed in classical music, but I began to feel myself drifting from what I knew God had called me to, and felt I had to do something about it. I had friends from high school who were attending Missouri Baptist College in St. Louis and singing in a traveling musical ministry group called Spirit Wing. I auditioned, was accepted and soon transferred to Missouri Baptist. I had an incredible year with the group and its clear that God was preparing me in ministry.

I had stayed in touch over the years with a songwriter friend living in Nashville who recommended that I move to Nashville and "go for it." Once again, I packed and moved to the next stop on my journey. I attended Belmont University to continue studying classical music, and I threw myself into songwriting. I just couldn't stop writing, and I found a release and expression that I had never known. That fall, while singing with a Christian trip-hop band called Fleau, someone from the record company heard me singing at a showcase, and I received a phone call from manager Norman Miller. He contacted me about a group he was in the process of forming with a singer/songwriter named Alisa Girard. I wasn't sure at first, considering the fact that I was committed to the band. However, the moment I met Alisa I knew God was in it, and it was something that I couldn't ignore. We met Chrissy a few months later and immediately began writing and recording our first album. Meanwhile, I was finishing the fall semester at Belmont University. It was a busy time as I was juggling the studio with my classes and opera rehearsals! Things have hardly slowed down since.