New Tenor For Gold City

Dearest readers, I promise you this is not a repost! Yesterday the news broke that Dan Keeton would be taking on the Gold City tenor mantle, from Brent Mitchell, on a permanent basis.

Dan Keeton said, “When I was 16 years old, I began singing with my first Gospel Quartet. I had already been through a childhood of pain and heartache. I had to grow up really fast. But, Grandma’s box of Gospel Music and the music I heard on the radio, gave me some real heroes to look up to. I heard on the radio that the Gold City Quartet was coming to Beaver Dam, KY. That was only 25 minutes away! I got to the church 4 hours early! I waited in the parking lot for Gold City to arrive in the bus. I waited but, when they had not arrived after 30 minutes, I decided I needed a Coke. I started driving down the road toward the corner store and coming toward the church was the big bus. I whipped her around, pulled in behind the bus and jumped out to meet The Gold City Quartet. Off they came; Brian Free, Ivan Parker, Gary Jones, Mike LeFevre and the man, Tim Riley! The music, the band, the voices and the message I heard that very night removed all doubt. I prayed all the way home that God would allow me to sing with a quartet “just like” that one. It might take 26 years, or it might not be exactly what you asked for but, God does answer your prayers”

Brent Mitchell has had to leave the road for family reasons which i would urge you to pray for. Brent and his wife had a little baby girl, Paislee, three months ago and she has been very sick. Keep the entire Mitchell Family in your prayers at this difficult time.

Brent stated, “My 3 month old daughter, Paislee, has been very sick for the past few weeks and I feel I need to be with my family at this time. Family has always come first in my life, but I am so sad to leave my dream job. I did not think it was fair to Gold City for me to hold them back not knowing the future health of my little girl. Please pray for my family and for Paislee, that she will get through whatever her little body is going through right now. I will miss GC and cherish the little time I had there!“

I think it goes without saying that a little stability would be just what this group needs. Hopefully Gold City can regroup, take a breath and come back with a new sound that will move them forward and write a new chapter in the illustrious history that has sustained them for so long.

You can read the Singing News article in full here.

Ian Owens With EHSS

January 21st saw the debut of Ian Owens as the new bass singer for Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. Fellow blogger Daniel Mount has this topic well covered, so I would recommend heading over and checking out his post. There is little point in me simply rewording his post and posting the same videos here!

For fans based in Northern Ireland, I am very much looking forward to hearing this group in person. YouTube provides a decent reference, but it can in no way compare to the real thing. Once Ian Owens has a chance to gel and learn the subtle choreography of the group, it will be a fantastic line-up!

Tim Duncan Departs Ernie Haase & Signature Sound

In a surprising move, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound announced yesterday that Tim Duncan, who had been with Signature Sound for eight years, had decided to leave the group. Tim Duncan was easily one of my favourite bass singers in southern gospel music today. I have seen EHSS live four times and I can honestly say, I don’t think Tim missed a note. Tim was solid, dependable and very consistent. Best wishes to Tim Duncan and his family.

This is one of the clips which i always enjoyed the most by Tim Duncan.

The bass position is filled by Ian Owens formerly of the Imperials and the Cumberland Quartet. I have watched several YouTube videos of Ian singing a variety of styles and whilst I think Ian is used to singing in a more contemporary group, he more than has a voice and the ability to do a fantastic job with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.

I have the opportunity to see EHSS on February 12th in Northern Ireland, so you all can expect a concert review. The new sound will be interesting, I have high hopes for this new line-up.  Congratulations to Ian on his appointment.

From Singing News,

Tim Duncan, bass vocalist of Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, is stepping down after eight years with the quartet.

 

 

Tim states: “After 8 years of service to Ernie Haase & Signature Sound I have been feeling in my heart that my time has come to an end. I’m sad on one hand yet excited on the other hand. Ernie & the boys are like brothers and always will be. I covet your prayers.” 

Ernie Haase states: “I realize changes are inevitable, it always brings a challenge as well as new opportunity. We will always be grateful for Tim’s contribution to the group over these past years. We love Tim and wish him and his family great success.”

Ian Owens will replace Tim Duncan. His first date with the group will be January 21 in Portland OR.

 

 

Tim Parton Resigns From Legacy Five

From the Legacy Five email,

“After serving as Legacy Five’s pianist for 5 years, Tim Parton is getting off the road and has accepted a position at 3ABN (3 Angels Broadcasting Network) in West Frankfort, Illinois. Tim’s new role at 3 ABN has already begun, but Tim has committed to “juggle his schedule” and remain with Legacy Five until his replacement can be found. Scott Fowler of Legacy Five states, “Scott, Glenn, Gus and I will certainly miss Tim. His professional contribution to Legacy Five has been extraordinary, but mostly we will miss him personally. Tim is one of my favorite people and I wish him and his family all the best.”

 

Tim Parton is a skilled musician, who brought more than just playing along with the group. What I liked most about Tim Parton and Wes Burke summed it up best when he said, “Parton never tried to become Bennett, but was simply himself.”

Tim Parton had abilities that stretched beyond the keyboard and is an extremely gifted producer and arranger. This is reflected in his new form of employment as a part of team to develop music for 3ABN. (3 Angels Broadcasting Network)

Tim Parton has a blog which you can read here, it gives lots of detail and more context to the story. All the best Tim, you will be missed in southern gospel!

 

Persons interested in applying for the position of pianist for Legacy Five should contact Scott Fowler by email at: scottfowler@legacyfive.com

Bruce Taliaferro Departs Gold City

Daniel Mount is reporting over at Southerngospelblog.com that Bruce Taliaferro has resigned from Gold City with immediate effect. I remember hearing about this potential move months ago, maybe even last summer, but coupled with the recent changes with Gold City, it was almost to be expected!

The replacement will be announced sometime within the next two weeks or so. When Bruce first came onboard with the group, I was skeptical. I was not sure how his voice would blend, he had a more dynamic style than previous Gold City lead singers. However, over the short time that Bruce was with the group, I began to seriously enjoy his vocal delivery.

It will interesting to watch who steps into the lead position, there are several suspects that jump to mind, I would enjoy Ryan Seaton back in a quartet context, I feel that is when he is most strong, vocally. Daniel Mount has ruled out this move in the comments under his post!

Best wishes for Bruce and his family in the path that God has chosen to lead them on.

Gold City Searching a For a New Pianist

When Gold City hired Josh Cobb & Roy Webb back in January 2010, I for one was extremely excited about the prospect of Roy and Josh adding to the dynamic of the quartet.

Roy has, however, always felt that his heart was in his solo efforts. Due to this Roy has decided to leave and continue with his solo career.

I had not realised that Roy had joined only in a temporary capacity. Roy certainly brought his humor to the group and most of all his extraordinary gift of playing the piano. (His solo projects are incredible!)

So far in his career Roy has played for arguably the two biggest groups in the industry, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and Gold City. His time with Gold City will have only improved his playing and gained him more respect and fans.

From SingingNews.com Daniel Riley commented that, “We wish for nothing but the best for Roy,” and that “Roy’s contributions to this group have been numerous and they are greatly appreciated.

It will be interesting to follow Roy in the coming years, hopefully someday we will see him on stage with another great group!

You can read more at SingingNews.com

CD Review: Greatly Blessed – Gaither Vocal Band

Track List:

1.      Better Day
2.     When He Blest My Soul
3.     Love Like I’m Leavin’
4.     You Are My All in All
5.     Please Forgive Me
6.     Greatly Blessed, Highly Favored
7.     He’s Alive
8.     Ain’t Nobody
9.     Clean
10.   Muddy Water
11.   That Sounds Like Home to Me
12.   I Know How to Say Thank You
13.   He is Here

“Greatly Blessed” was released on the 10th August 2010. I initially planned to release a review as soon as I could write one up! I decided to hold back on the review and listen to it for a few weeks and to get a better, more percolated flavor for the project.

The first three songs have already been recorded in a live context on the Gaither Vocal Band DVD, “Better Day”. The studio versions provide a richer feel and have a greater musical depth to them. The wonderful, “When He Blest My Soul” is a great example of how the sound can be thickened out, providing the listener with some exquisite moments. The harmonies are fully exploited by the five man line up, utilising all five parts is no easy task, but the Vocal Band make light work of it.

Anticipation of how the five voices would work together has been extremely high, lots of interesting chords are used, capturing the strengths of each member. After a long absence from front line of southern gospel music, Michael English steps up and delivers again. Whilst his voice has changed over the years (let’s face it, who doesn’t change a bit) he still can sing with a passion and conviction that no one else can do. “Please Forgive Me” is another favourite of mine, great lyrics with Michael English on the lead, there was no one better to feature on this song, pouring out his personal experience into the song makes it a stellar cut.

Initially I did not care much for, “You Are My All And All”, but after listening to it for several weeks, it truly is magnificent. It is virtually a David Phelps solo song, but when the other parts come into the mix, it becomes a Gaither Vocal Band song again.  I love David sings the majority of the song in his lower register and then hits the after burner and drives the song on. Epic stuff.  Contemporary christian music is not my cup of tea at all, but this is how it should be sung!

Mark Lowry features on “That Sounds Like Home To Me” and “I Know How To Say Thank You”. Experience has only benefited Mark and his delivery on both these songs are excellent. The harmony on “That Sounds Like Home To Me”, is arguably the best on the project, in my humble opinion!

Stylistically the new album is a step away from the Guy Penrod era that often had country elements woven into the songs and song selection. With the new line-up, the Vocal Band has experimented with different styles and pushed the envelope in other areas. It is a refreshing project, with new material and songs that have been reinvented by the Gaither Vocal Band’s interpretation.

It was a wise move for the Gaither Vocal Band to seek a new direction stylistically. With returning members that have their own unique styles, blending it together will always have been a challenge. This album, however, threads together each members experiences into a rich tapestry of vocal excellence and lyrical depth.

You can listen to a snippet of each song in the YouTube Clip below:

Available from Gaither.com

Selph Assurance?

According to Facebook, Brian Free and Assurance have experienced a membership change. Randy Crawford is departing the group. According to the Facebook update, “So that rumours won’t fly, let em let you all in on some news. It will take 2 or 3 postings to get all this in. Randy will no longer be singing with BFA as of May 16th. Sometimes things don’t work out. It was a tough decision for me. We wish him the best.”

Interesting choice of words, somehow i think that rumours will still fly after this! The good news for Brian Free and Assurance is that Derrick Selph, the former baritone for BFA, will be returning to the group. Randy Crawford’s last date will be 16th May, Derrick will start again on May 20th.

As Kyle pointed out earlier, this does render BFA’s latest album, a cappella, a tad pointless. It is also immediately out of date, but at least fans know what Derrick sounds like with the group, having been with them recently.

Singing News article here.

Catching Up!

I had the opportunity to go on a Mission trip to England last week. This trip involved building work at the headquarters of New Tribes Mission. The trip was organized by Friends In Action.  NTM are planting tribal churches to reach people who have never had a single opportunity to hear the Good News of the gospel. Their vision is for every tribe to hear and respond to the Gospel.  It was a great blessing, talking to missionaries was a humbling and inspirational experience.

Whilst I was away several big stories broke. Here are my thoughts!

• Sarah Palin to appear at the NQC as a keynote speaker

Commentary can be on lots of other Southern Gospel blogs on this subject. For me, living outside the American political bubble, I can only see this development as controversial. The issue of Southern Gospel music is likely to be trampled in favour of political point scoring. People will be focused on whether they support Palin and not focusing on the music. It is the National Quartet Convention. I was led to believe it was about music, but hey!  I feel that Southern Gospel should not be politicized in the way that the NQC seem to want.

Palin could simply use the NQC as part of  a potential election campaign and to bolster her standing with the Christian right. Besides, it doesn’t matter what party you vote for, democrat or republican, they are both bought and paid for.  I know that it is impossible to completely erase politics from anything in life, let alone Southern Gospel, but you could at least try.  I’d better be careful. According to this article Sarah Palin doesn’t like critical bloggers.

• Chris Allman returns as tenor for Greater Vision

Kudos to GV for handling the departure of Jacob Kitson in a professional manner. I think it’s a good move, more a dream move for fans. Fans often lament when a member moves on and wishes they could slot back into the group when there is a vacancy. This is not the case for GV fans. It will be interesting to hear the new sound, whether Allman’s voice has matured or changed any with time. Singing News Press Release.

• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound on TV plus Cathedrals tribute project details

Daniel Mount has an audio interview with Ernie Haase where he reveals some details about the two disk set, due out in September this year. I really am looking forward to their take on classic Cathedral songs. If you trawl through YouTube enough, you can find some EHSS covers of Cathedrals material and of course, we have, “Then Came The Morning, Tryin’ To Get A Glimpse, Plan of Salvation, etc” to whet our appetites. Be sure to check out the mini interview!
EHSS appeared on WKYC the NBC affiliated TV station. Ernie Haase gave an interview, detailing how he got into gospel music, the Grammy experience and other interesting items. You can check it out here. It’s well worth the 8:25 minutes and includes a live performance of “That’s How Rhythm Was Born” from the new Influenced Vol.2 project.

Ryan Seaton To Launch Solo Career

Ryan Seaton, former lead singer with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, has announced today that he plans to embark upon a solo career. This is a move I had seen coming, whether Ryan had moved into another group, started a group or gone solo, I always felt Ryan Seaton would continue singing.

“Ryan Seaton Teams With Innovation Management & Consulting To Launch Solo Career Johnson City, TN – Anticipation has been building regarding the future plans of Ryan Seaton, who won the hearts of fans all over the world during his tenure with Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. For those who have been waiting to see what would be next for the popular singer, the wait is over, and the future looks very bright! Seaton has announced plans to embark upon a solo career. Innovative Management and Consulting (IMC) will team with Seaton in this new endeavor, providing management and tour promotion.

Both parties are excited about the future, which includes a solo recording, new website, special merchandise and concert touring. “I am thrilled and excited to be involved with Innovative Management, Seaton states. I believe their creative excellence in areas of marketing, production and concert promotion is the right fit for taking my music and heart to this new platform. I’ve been a quartet man for so long, but I am very excited to step out and take the lead as a solo artist.” Innovative co-owner, Landon Beene says the IMC team is thrilled to be a part of this venture. “We have put together a talented and creative team of people to assist Ryan, and we are excited to watch all of the elements come together to make a project that people will be talking about for a long time.

Ryan has all the right ingredients to be one of the top solo artists in Gospel music. Beyond talent, he has a heart for the people, a loyal fan base and a love for the message of the song. In addition to teaming with IMC, Seaton is working with several prominent Nashville-based producers on the production of his debut recording, which promises a new, fresh and exciting sound for Gospel music lovers to enjoy. A mid-summer release date is tentatively planned.

Seatons new website, www.ryanseaton.com , will launch later this month. Fall tour dates will be announced on the website, which will also include a complete list of merchandise and special apparel. Currently fans may communicate with the talented vocalist and stay up-to- date via his Facebook fan page and YouTube, where they can watch the progress of the recording and stay informed with the latest news, pictures and video.

I am looking forward to what the new project will have to offer. I wonder whether his material will be Southern Gospel or a mix of what Ryan wants us to hear. Regardless, with the quality of his vocals, it should be a stellar project. Ryan collected many fans and followers during his tenure with EHSS, i wish him all the best in this new stage of his career.