See this article in the California (MO) Democrat to read about Maywood's appearance at First Baptist Church of Cali's Disciple Now weekend!
 
http://www.californiademocrat.com/articles/2009/11/19/news/043cal18maywood09.txt
 
The youth group of First Baptist Church, California, hosted their annual Disciple Now Nov. 6-8, and for the second consecutive year, brought in the Kansas-City-based band Maywood to lead worship for the event.From Friday evening through Sunday morning, California youth gathered to learn more about their faith and became "Consumed," which was the theme for the weekend.Main Street Baptist and Lebanon Baptist youth also participated in the event, which has been a staple at First Baptist Church for several years now.Maywood's first-ever concert was at Disciple Now in Jan., and the group was thrilled to return to the new facilities and familiar faces at the church."The kids were outstanding. Every time we're there, we feel like we're home," said Maywood bassist Aaron Lupo. "We have been here for Disciple Now twice and also for 30-Hour Famine last year, and it just gets better every time."After leading the youth in worship for a combined total of more than three hours over the course of the weekend, Maywood also contributed to the Sunday service, featuring their song, "Everything You Are."Maywood plans to release their first album in 2010, although band members admit live events are their lifeblood.

"We have always said we don't want to play our music, we want to play God's music," said pianist and singer Jared Prindle. "His songs are my favorite songs."Singer and guitarist Sarah Sheldon added, "Maywood plays a variety of venues. We love to play anywhere, from churches to colleges to Christian coffeehouses and nightclubs. We live all over the place, so we get to play all over the place, too."Sheldon resides in Omaha, Neb., four members live in the Kansas City area, and one lives in Central Missouri."Most people probably think our target audience is the younger crowd," Sheldon's brother and Maywood vocalist/guitarist Joel Driskell said. "But we don't ever want to lock in on one style of music. Every one of us is a songwriter and we love the fact that we don't have one specific sound."From deep rock tones to head-nodding reggae beats to contemplative acoustic melodies, Maywood takes the worship experience to great heights. They also love to have fun on stage and involve the crowd. At one point Saturday, the band recruited seventh grade audience members Jaden Barr, Allan Burger, Kyle Lee and Matt Oerly to come on stage and play a song on their instruments."It's so fulfilling to see the looks on their faces when they suddenly realize they're actually coming on stage to play with us," Sheldon said with a smile.Maywood got its start in Independence, at (not coincidentally) Maywood Baptist Church, where Joel and Sarah's dad, Gary Driskell, was the worship leader."We all played together in one lineup or another at church for a few years, but it was last year that Jared got a hold of all of us and said 'Guys, what are we doing? Let's make a band!' So we started working together on this project and eventually decided there was nothing else to call it other than Maywood," said singer and guitarist Scott Loring, who has since moved from Independence to Russellville with his wife, Heidi.Though he never lived to hear the band, Gary Driskell was vital in piecing together the members of Maywood. Driskell passed away suddenly in Feb. 2008, but his inspiration as a Christian, a songwriter and a worship leader has impacted every member of the band."Though only two of us were his real children, there's not one of us who wouldn't say 'Gary was like a father to me.' He was a great musician but he was even greater as a worship leader," said drummer Josh Foreman."Gary was my single greatest earthly influence in my walk as a Christian," agreed Loring.Maywood led another Disciple Now event Nov. 13-15 in Oak Grove, and is slated to headline at Club D-Mask-Us in Lee Summit in Jan.