Churchgoers at the St. Marcus Sunday worship are throwing their hands up and saying "halleluiah" in thanks to the newfound success of contemporary Christian band, Koine (pronounced Coin-'A'), that just released its debut album.

This Riverwest five-piece that plays the St. Marcus Sunday worship at 6:30 p.m. formed a year and a half ago and features a carpenter, a couple of teachers, a professional piano player and a church employee.

"We play around with a lot of different sounds," says lead guitarist Brian Davison. "We're all over the board from rockabilly to Caribbean music. There's even some Led Zeppelin influence as well. We just take our influential styles and apply it to church styles."

Koine didn't expect its self-titled album, officially released April 3, to make a lot of waves. But the band was pleasantly surprised.

"I didn't know it would be this interesting," Davison adds.

And interesting it is, as Koine already sold about 600 of their 1,000 albums since the release party last week.

The 11 tracks are an array of church songs taken right out of the St. Marcus hymnal with a modern flair added. The variety throughout the album makes for an easy listening experience.

Koine is happy with its early success and plans to keep the music rolling, adding to an already busy schedule.

And optimism, a key trait for the group, is what keeps them rolling.

"We'll see what happens," Davison says. "We'll keep playing, and who knows!"

Koine performs at St. Marcus' Sunday worship at 6:30 p.m. on the corner of Palmer Street and North Avenue. For more information, contact Davison via e-mail at brian.davison@stmarcus.com.