John Tesh joins up with Kelloggs   Tesh shares his passions on new CD and promotes healthy living for Heart Association.   by Steve Redmond     People could soon be waking up to breakfast and a little John Tesh.     His face, already familiar to many as the former co- host of Entertainment Tonight, will appear on the back of 12 million boxes of Kellogg’s cereal in the United States during the month of September.     It’s all part of a campaign with the American Heart Association to encourage healthy eating, a cause that Tesh feels strongly about. Both of his parents were affected by heart disease because of poor diets and heavy smoking.     But cereal is not the only thing on Tesh’s plate right now. He recently put out a new album called Grand Passion, featuring 13 elegant grand piano compositions all written at least in part by Tesh.     Though he’s generally considered to be a “New Age” musician, Tesh doesn’t buy it. In an interview with CCM Update Tesh called the label a “joke.”     “To anyone who asks, ‘Are you a New Age musician?’ I reply, ‘No, I am not. ‘ I don’t even know what that means. I happen to be a piano player who writes songs and I happened to believe in Jesus Christ. I don’t believe in raising my hands and saying, ‘Hey, I’m a Christian. ‘ But I’m also trying to do what my pastor has told me: ‘When you step out on stage before 20,000 people, you have an opportunity. Don’t be a closet Christian.’ That’s what they taught me at Promise Keepers, as well.”     Last year Tesh had an instrumental single called “Avalon” that charted on a few Christian radio stations. In April, he co-hosted the Dove Awards, Christian music’s equivalent to the Grammys.     Tesh told CCM Update that his being a Christian comes as a surprise to some. “We have people come to our concerts and say, ‘I didn’t know you were a believer. I think Christian radio should hear these songs.’ ”     “So we really wanted to have this music heard there, as well. It’s not one of those things where you think, ‘This is a good marketing ploy to go after Christian radio.’ ”     Eleven of the 13 tracks on Grand Passion are instrumentals. The exceptions include Grammy-winnings mainstream artist James Ingram, singing the A/C hit “Give Me Forever (I Do),”a song he and Tesh performed together at the Dove Awards. The other is “Mother I Miss You, “a tribute to Tesh’s late mother, sung by a new female artist named Dalia, who sounds a bit like Christian artist Kathy Troccoli.     On the album’s liner notes Tesh refers to God several times. In particular he says, “Thank you Jesus for always sitting on that bench beside me.” [LLN-Online] [Adopt-a-Block] [Newsbriefs][Event Calendar] [Lifestyles] [Juke Box] [Cover to Cover] [Movieguide][Casting the Net] [Viewpoints] [General Info] [Rates & Sizes][Marketplace/Classifieds] [Volunteer Ops] [Writing Guidelines] [Contact Us] [Subscribe][Archives][Good News] [About Us][Links]