Mercy’s Mark disbands…for now?
Earlier today, it was reported that Mercy’s Mark was disbanding. Their bass singer, Christian Davis, left last week, and their booking agent, the Dominion Agency, pulled all Mercy’s Mark concert dates and any other mention of the group from their website (hat tip, Coomer Cove).
This afternoon, group frontman Garry Jones sent an open letter to the Singing News stating that the group was “temporarily unavailable” to fulfill their remaining 2007 commitments. He added:
In the last few days I have been presented with many exciting possibilities for the future of Mercy’s Mark and am prayerfully weighing each one. I ask that you would please continue to pray for the future of this group and I will keep you informed as things develop.
So the group may be disbanding, and may be staying on the road. At any rate, their future is officially…up in the air. One thing is for sure: Jones has assembled some strong lineups in the past, and certainly stands a change of doing the same again.
My commentary from earlier this morning still mostly holds true:
I was very impressed by the original Mercy’s Mark lineup. Pairing Anthony Facello, Josh Feemster, and Chris West was a move of genius that had supergroup potential. While it took a little longer for me to warm up to the second lineup, with Brent Mitchell, Josh Feemster, and Christian Davis, after hearing them live twice I became convinced that they had one of the best live presentations in Southern Gospel.
It can be hard to keep a group on the road today, and while Jones was producing a quality product, evidently there just wasn’t the demand to meet the supply. Here’s hoping that the talented members of this group will land on their feet in other positions, perhaps with other Southern Gospel groups currently seeking members.
EDIT: 11/14, 4:48 P.M. Updated post with Garry Jones’ open letter.
Comment by Paul (November 14, 2007, 11:18 am)
Wow! We had them at our church, and they were good! Surprising news!
Comment by Eric Kaunitz (November 14, 2007, 12:35 pm)
This saddens me. Mercy’s Mark was my second favorite group, behind Legacy Five. I wish them all the best.
Comment by John (November 14, 2007, 3:40 pm)
Is Michael Davis related to Christian Davis?
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (November 14, 2007, 3:42 pm)
Yes, Michael is Christian’s father.
Comment by John (November 14, 2007, 4:28 pm)
Thought so. Thanks, Daniel. Makes things a little clearer . . . or not.
Comment by natesings (November 14, 2007, 5:17 pm)
Not sure if this is the case in this situation or not but The Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet was at one time represented by Dominion when Christian was on board before being represented by BSA. Christian was no longer with the group either just before or after the change in booking agents, I forget. Not to speculate but if Christian left on bad terms (press release verbage was “Effective immediately, Christian Davis is no longer the bass vocalist for Mercy’s Mark”) it would only make sense to not have his father doing the dates for the group anymore.
Comment by Paul (November 14, 2007, 5:51 pm)
I feel if the group had dates booked they (or someone) should fulfill the contracted engagements.
Comment by Daniel J. Mount (November 14, 2007, 5:53 pm)
Obviously, though, that is impossible if the group indeed disbands.
The weird thing is that they have gone for months at a time as a trio in between bass singers, so that would seem possible.
Comment by Aaron Swain (November 14, 2007, 5:57 pm)
Christian Davis’ departure, I believe, had to do with his wife’s pregnancy.
After reading Garry Jones’ open letter, it looks as if God may still have a plan for Mercy’s Mark!
Comment by Adam Wallace (November 15, 2007, 12:07 am)
I hope they get back together.
Comment by MMFAN (November 15, 2007, 4:53 pm)
It is important for everyone to remember there are two sides to every story, so be careful of the conclusions you draw from what you may hear or read. Because things aren’t always what they seem.
Sometimes certain individuals look like the villians and others come out looking like a rose, and that can be decieving!
Unfortunatly this is an all too common tale amoung gospel quartets.
When one takes into consideration the sacrifices they must make that alot of us don’t see, like the amount of time these individuals must spend on the road and away from thier families, or the stress of driving all night to make it to an appointment, booking dates or maintaining a reliable sorce of transportation….ect. or just the fact that they have to spend so much time together in such close quarters it’s a wonder that this doesn’t happen more often than it does.
Sometimes these things can end on a peacful note where everyone comes to an agreement, and other times, saddly this is not the case.
In either situation those who minister all need our prayers and support, that includes those who minister in song.
This is indeed a minstry, and it’s the enemy’s job to make sure things like this happen, as with any relationship.
Sometimes people may act hastily because of this or that, and say or do things that aren’t so easy to take back….. It’s hard to find the humilty to say I’m sorry, I was wrong, or lets try to work thru this.
Sometimes, it’s easier just to start all over. That’s why there are so many marriages that end in divorce. I think that just might be what happens alot of times in gospel music as well.
But rest assured what ever information we receive, we will never know all the details involved in each situation.
That is why we should all be encouraged to continue to lift each other up in prayer, because as fellow christians, sometimes this is the most important, yet most often neglected thing we can do for each other.
We would all do well to take into consideration the words of the song “WE WILL STAND” performed by Russ Taff, I think that says it all!
Comment by Aaron Swain (November 16, 2007, 6:02 pm)
I have heard the side that has come to the public eye, and I have heard another side from the very front-lines of this thing. I will not pass judgement on anyone (it’s not our place anyway), and I won’t come to any conclusions until I see what 2008 brings.