The period of time surrounding the signing of a record deal can be a whirlwind of rumors and speculation. Think back to local band 35″ Mudder or even more recently to the courting of Mr. Plow. Both fans and haters alike are eager to spread the latest news tidbit they may have heard from a friend who knows somebody in the band. Both bands were extremely hyped by fans and media before ultimately falling short.

Oddly enough, the signing of Ames rap/rock group 38th Parallel has gone virtually unnoticed in Ames and the rest of central Iowa. At the end of October and the beginning of November, the quartet inked a deal with Squint Entertainment, a division of Warner Music Group. But despite signing with an affiliate of one of the biggest contemporary Christian labels in the country, Word Records, the band has received little to no attention at home.

This doesn’t really bother the band though. In fact, the guys even take blame for the lack of publicity dealing with its signing.

“We didn’t want to say anything at first because if it doesn’t happen or something falls through we are going to look stupid,” vocalist Nathan Rippke says. “And once it did happen we thought maybe the word would get out. I guess it’s pretty much our fault for not calling anybody.”

When the band was originally approached by Word, the label wanted to start another smaller label and use 38th Parallel as its banner rap/rock act. But Rippke says Squint, who had been in a period of disarray, revamped itself with a whole new staff. Word then decided the best move was to put the band on Squint Records because the label had always been the home of the more rock-oriented bands. The Nashville-based company’s lineup also includes Sixpence None The Richer and L.A. Symphony.

“With musical influences by well-established acts like Project 86, Linkin Park and Incubus, 38th Parallel adds a more hard-edged sound to the progressive label,” says Squint General Manager Hugh Robertson.

Squint wasted no time in sending 38th Parallel to the studio. Just weeks after signing, the band went to work with producer Tony McAnany, who has worked with P.O.D. and Missy Elliott. But the group was only given two weeks to record the full-length album. Things got more nerve-wracking when McAnany decided some song changes were needed.

“We went in with ten songs that we wanted to do, and the producer was just like `OK, half these songs . we’re not going to do them,'” bassist Jeff Barton explains.

This wasn’t at all what the group had in mind. Here they were, a freshly signed band with two weeks to record an album, and forced to rewrite half of it.

“One night in the studio, [McAnany] told us to spend the night in the studio and write a song,” says Barton. “We’re use to writing songs, maybe taking one or two months, so it was unreal. But the best songs came in those nights.”

The album, titled “Turn the Tides,” is scheduled for an April 30 release. Barton and Rippke say it is also a musical evolution for the band, continuously mentioning melody.

Barton describes the album as a big step forward for the band and cites songs on the new record that contain all singing instead of rapping; Rippke says it might not even be possible for the group to fit into the genre of “rap-core” anymore.

But Rippke insists the band is not trying to stray from the music that got them signed; 38th Parallel is just expanding within the genre. And don’t try telling Rippke or Barton rap/rock is a dying genre either.

“I don’t think it has any foundation; it’s just become cool to hate rap-core all of the sudden,” Rippke says. “Obviously for a while some parts of rap-core weren’t cool anymore, but it’s been around for so long; I don’t think it’s going to go away.”

“Just the whole Linkin Park phenomenon, 9 million records sold, you know? Of course it’s evolving; you need to add melody with rap-core or else it’s not going to go anywhere,” Barton adds. “But to say it’s totally dead, they’re just . Honestly, they’re wrong.”

Evidence shows rap/rock doesn’t seem to be dying. Billboard.com says the No. 5 and 6 best selling albums of the year were by rap-rockers Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. And just as Barton says, if anything shows this music is still going strong, it’s the strength of Linkin Park whose album “Hybrid Theory” was actually released in 2000, but has remained on the Billboard charts for 64 weeks and just this week peaked at No. 2.

Before signing, Parallel was already experiencing success with the song “3 Times Denied,” which reached the No. 3 position behind P.O.D. and Lifehouse on some Christian rock stations’ Top 20 Countdowns.

Bands such as Lifehouse and P.O.D. enjoy success and carry strong Christian beliefs, but their music isn’t so blatantly Christian that it turns off mainstream secular fans.

Both 38th Parallel an Squint say the band and the label have the ability to capitalize on this crossover success enjoyed by other groups.

“Obviously we have a Christian perspective in our songs,” Rippke says. “But we want to do it a different way and not be cheesy about it. Everyone thinks that Christian music is going to be really cheesy, and a lot of it is, but Squint is trying really hard to be relevant to everybody else.”

How long the partnership between 38th Parallel and Squint lasts, however, is anybody’s guess right now. Rippke says the band’s contract only guarantees them one album, and then Squint has an option to pick them up for six more. So it’s either a flash in the pan or a chance to become grizzled veterans of the industry. Barton believes they are destined for the latter.

“The main reason I think we can stick around is that we are willing to evolve, music will change and I think we will change along with it. I think we could go for five plus . . . maybe ten years.”