The roots of Audio Adrenaline began in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University. 18-year-old Mark Stuart, Will McGinniss and Barry Blair, started a rock band called A-180 with a couple friends. They made two independent albums, You Turn in 1989 and Reaper’s Train in 1990.
Mark Stuart, the lead singer, took a semester off for a trip to Haiti. When he returned, songwriter Bob Herdman asked the guys if they would be interested in recording a couple of his songs. Herdman soon joined the band as songwriter and their music was playing on a few radio stations. Toby Mac heard the song and brought it to his record label.
A-180 was signed by ForeFront Records and changed their name to Audio Adrenaline. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1992. That was followed by Don’t Censor Me in 1993, which featured their first hit “Big House”.
Their next studio album was called Bloom, released in 1996, which went on to be certified Gold. Some Kind of Zombie came out the following year. That was followed by the album Underdog in 1999. Then the album Lift in 2001, which featured guitarist Tyler Burkum helping out on vocals as lead singer Mark Stuart had been experiencing vocal problems.
In 2003 Audio Adrenaline released the album Worldwide which won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album. More importantly, that year the band founded their own ministry called the Hands and Feet Project. They built an orphanage in Haiti. They won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album again for their 2005 album Until My Heart Caves In.
Audio Adrenaline was very successful, but all was not well. Mark Stuart’s vocal problems were getting worse. It became impossible for him to sing. In 2006 Audio Adrenaline announced that they were retiring. Their final tour was captured on a live CD and DVD called Live From Hawaii: The Farewell Concert.
Fast-farward to 2012. Audio Adrenaline officially announced they were reforming with a brand new lead singer, Kevin Max (formerly of dcTalk). The new Audio A includes bassist Will McGinniss (founding member), guitarist Dave Ghazarian (Superchick), drummer Jared Byers (Reliant K), and keyboardist Jason Walker (Know Hope Collective). Their first album with the rebooted band is called Kings and Queens (2013).
