David Phelps: No More Night (in Romanian)

I found this special little item a good few days ago, but work commitments only allowed me too post it now!

How lovely and touching it must be for the Romanian fans to hear an artist take the time to learn part of a song in their own language.

Whilst David only sang the first chorus in Romanian, it still goes over extremely well with the audience. Top class David, top class.

“God Bless My Broken Toe” T-Shirt Available

According to Gold City’s Facebook page you now have the unique opportunity to purchase a T-Shirt commemorating the now infamous injury sustained by tenor, Josh Cobb. The cost is $10 dollars, they have a limited quantity available, so get yours while you can! I would love to purchase one, it could become a unique item of memorabilia.

Yesterday Gold City asked, over Facebook, who would be seriously interested in purchasing such a shirt, it seems the interest is sufficient to sell a few t-shirts!

From the Facebook post,

Okay, we have listened to you and decided to give the people what they want! Here is the brand new Broken Toe t-shirt! Order yours today for only $10. We only have a limited quantity, so don’t wait! http://www.goldcitystore.com

Ryan Seaton Recording First Solo Album

According to Facebook, Ryan Seaton is in Nashville, in the middle of recording his first solo album. A status update around three hours ago revealed that they, “….are at the studio… Working on my FIRST SOLO CD!!!! First track is complete!”

You can keep up to speed with Ryan’s progress throughout the day at his Facebook fan page here.

Other bloggers and commentators have made the point that we have only heard Ryan in a quartet context and have little material that presents us with an idea of his solo abilities. One thing is for sure, Ryan has a great voice, hopefully with a stellar song selection, the right producer and team around him, he can create a great debut project.

You can check out this brief video of a recent photo shoot, which one presumes will be part of the new project.

Dig A Little Deeper – Fairfield Four – YouTube Clip

I remember the first time I watched this clip, I watched with amazement. These guys are crazy, in a good sense of the word! The passion and delivery is unique and as the uploader put it, “funky”. What takes the biscuit for me is the reaction of the legendary George Younce. Watch his spontaneous reaction to the entertainment unfolding in front of him.

Simply classic!

Pray For Michael English

According to a Facebook post by Wes Hampton Fans,  “Michael has a bulging disc between his C3 and C4. He had a spinal tap as well. He’s having terrible headaches and severe neck pain. Please pray for relief and for healing. Thx!”

The first signs of pain were on the 25th February when Michael had to pull out of a concert with Wes Hampton, scheduled for the same date.

I don’t have a clue what a “bulging disc” is, or what a “spinal tap” is, but it sounds extremely painful. Please keep Michael in your prayers.

UPDATE: Again, via Facebook,  ”Michael goes in Thursday to have surgery on his neck (replacing a bulging disc). Praying everything goes smoothly and that he has a quick recovery.”

YouTube Video: I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary

I won’t hide my feelings for this song. It has to be one of my all time favourites.  To then have two of my favourite vocalists, David Phelps and Michael English absolutely nail it brought the shivers up and down my spine.

This is from the new Gaither Vocal Band DVD, Better Day. This DVD simply has to be purchased as soon as it hits these irish shores, i have waited a long time for such a product and the time is nearly here!

Potential Goldmine?

As has been very widely reported and broken by Brandon Coomer over at Coomer Cove, Gold City have announced a new tenor and part-time piano player. The Singing News article can be read here.

The appointment of Roy Webb caused me to smile. This is a great move. Roy injects a brilliance of dry wit, rarely seen on a Gold City stage these days. Roy Webb, of course, got his trade polished with arguably the most high-energy and brilliant quartet on the road today, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. In an age where soundtracks and “press play” have become all too common, its good to see Gold City incorporating a live piano player into at least some of their shows.

Joshua Cobb was a name i did not expect to see crop up. I had all but forgotten about him after he left Legacy Five. There has been rumblings about his comments in the past. I really think that 10 years is a long time to mature and grow in wisdom if he did say those things. If you believe it was a friend hacking the account and trying to be funny, well then so it is.  I hope Danny Riley has checked these things out before hiring Josh Cobb for the sake of the fans. Josh has a fabulous voice, which when blended with the other three voices should make for an interesting sound. Hopefully the YouTube videos will crop up soon.

For Gold City 2010 really does herald a new year and a new beginning. 2009 has been tough on the group, but now with the experience and integrity of Tim Riley returning on a permanent basis, they should be able to grow and develop. Perhaps develop is the wrong word, rather Gold City should be able to return to the top of the Southern Gospel genre where they truly belong. I think they had to be bold with their choices in filling the tenor, piano and bass slots. They have accomplished this with class and ability. There is no denying the talent now centered in this group, if they have the cohesive spirit they should be able to accomplish great things.

The two main videos of Josh Cobb (singing since his departure from Legacy Five) have been saturated on other Southern Gospel blogs so i thought i would post a video of Josh during his tenure with Legacy Five. The song is, “I Stand Redeemed”, the song which really made an impression on my life, not just because Josh can sing it so well, but the deep, underlying message within.

The Legacy Continues: Gus Gaches Named Tenor for L5

Gus Gaches is the new Legacy Five tenor. Broken by Nate over at Nate’s Southern Gospel Ponderings. From reading around it would appear that this man is more than a tenor singer, add in the sound engineer element and the writing element and you have quite a utility man in the quartet. I look forward to seeing what Gus brings to the table with Legacy Five. Scott Fowler will have made a great choice and let’s hope this line-up produce even better projects than in the past.

On a another point, i believe we should be congratulating Legacy Five on the very professional way in which they handled this transition phase. Fans were kept informed, up to date and clear on what was happening. A class act. Best wishes for the future Legacy Five and Gus!

Read Legacy Fives’s perspective and other details on the new Tenor at their blog , located here.

Legacy Five Launch New Blog

Via Scott Fowler on Facebook,  Legacy Five have a new blog. Check it out at…

www.legacyfive.wordpress.com

Blogging is a great way for the artist and fan to learn more about each other and to keep up to date. Head on over and welcome L5 to the Southern Gospel blogging world.

Aaron McCune Leaves Gold City

I guess the rumours regarding the personnel changes at Gold City were true. Southern Gospel has lost a fine young bass vocalist in the form of Aaron and i really enjoyed his voice, ministry and presence whilst with Gold City. Similar to Steve Ladd i felt that Aaron improved leaps and bounds during his tenure with GC. According to an email from Singing News,

“Gold City announced today that the award-winning quartet is looking for a new bass singer following the departure of Aaron McCune. “We’ve set up a special e-mail address for those interested singers to send in their resume and demos,” says group manager Daniel Riley. “We invite serious parties to send their information togoldcityauditions@me.com.”

“We’re looking forward to seeing all our friends at the upcoming NQC, and we hope to be able to introduce our new bass singer soon.”

I wish him all the best for the future.  I hope this will be the last of the turnover for GC, however somehow i feel that there could be more changes on the way. Interesting and challenging times ahead for GC and Danny Riley. Keep him in your prayers as he deals with the transition stage between singers.

In the mean time i wonder if Tim Riley will be back on the road in the meantime to plug the gap until a new bass is found? The press release appeared to stipulate that Aaron is “departed” as opposed to the Steve Ladd context whereby he stayed on until his replacement was sourced. Time will tell.

This YouTube Video showcases his lower range and is a fitting tribute to a man whose voice is arguably one of the best Bass voices to come along for a long, long time. He was an exemplary communicator and appeared to have a great, warm and genuine heart for those who love this music. God Bless, direct and guide you Aaron, you’re one of the best!