In the Oklahoma City metro area, there is a buzz floating around about an incredible band called Prophecy.

The popular rock group has already released three albums and has been featured on several popular samplers, including the Southwest Sampler, Sparkler, and Mindy’s Revenge. Not too shabby for a band that has yet to sign on with a major label. And as Todd Moulton (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jason Velasquez (lead guitar, BGV), Matt Fine (drums), and Jesse Fine (bass) gain more and more airplay on their local Christian radio station (KOKF 91FM), and more and more new fans with each indie release, the Oklahoma crowd (and the ever-expanding Prophecy fanbase) has to wonder, why hasn’t this band been signed?!

So in search of the elusive answer as to why Prophecy still resides in the land of indie rockers, I journeyed to the far east side of Oklahoma City, and caught the notorious live wire of a bassist, Jesse Fine on his lunch hour. I hoped to get an insight on the Prophecy past and the direction they’re heading in the future.

After we had taken care of the important things (like ordering our double cheeseburgers and fries), we sat down to visit over lunch. I began by asking Jesse how he first got into music. His musical journey began in the fourth grade when he was given the choice of soccer or guitar lessons. Later in high school, his musical horizons expanded when he played trumpet, and in college, he played bass for several different bands. It was during his time in college at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) that Jesse first became involved with Prophecy.

"Todd and Jason were playing as Prophecy since the 7th grade. When I went to college, I met my roommate, Aaron Young, and he went to church with Jason and Todd. Aaron had been telling me about these two guys who played guitar at his church, and they were looking for a drummer. So my brother called and asked if he could audition or whatever, and it so happened that they needed a bass player as well.

"At the first practice, we clicked and we knew that we were supposed to be together . . . and you know man, the rest is history."

And history plays another big part in the Prophecy musical story. After hearing the new album, Stranded in Coolsville, even the most casual of listeners will easily detect in Prophecy’s music a major nod to the music of the past. Jesse says that while the music of Prophecy is a combination of styles, more and more a 50’s style is coming out. And though he cites a wide variety of modern bands such as the Foo Fighters and Aerosmith as musical influences, he says the primary influence is the music that the band members listened to as kids. "As kids, we all listened to Elvis, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and stuff like that."

So how does one classify the melting pot of musical styles? Jesse says to just call it "rock ‘n roll."

But unlike the rock and roll of days of yore, an elemental part of Prophecy-brand rock is a distinct focus on God. "Todd writes all of the (song) lyrics, and he doesn’t write a lyric until he prays about it and knows that it’s God’s will. On the new record coming out Stranded in Coolsville we have topics that range from the wages of sin and sexual temptation to just about everything. There are always little things that we come across in our life that will influence a song (Our songs become) like little photographic biographies."

So when will the Christian market outside Oklahoma get to see and hear these musical biographies? And why hasn’t there been a major label deal yet? "I really couldn’t tell you," Jesse says. "I would just say that it must not be God’s will right now. We didn’t really need to be signed when Supernatural (the second album) first came out. We could have been, but I think God wanted us to release something that is really, really, really super good."