{Edit. All right, I give in. The first paragraph is gone.}

Shane Duncan will be filling in for Mercy’s Mark while they look for a permanent replacement. An email blast from the group early this morning says:

So the big question we are getting is “who is going to sing lead for Mercy’s Mark right now?”

We are thrilled to let everyone know that Shane Dunlap has agreed to step into the position while we are in the audition process. You may recognize Shane’s name from his many years in Southern Gospel. He became a favorite while traveling with his group N’Harmony. He later joined me in the original line-up of Signature Sound. He is a dynamic lead singer and a wonderful Christian man. It has been several years since Shane and I have traveled together and we are all excited that he will be joining us. Shane’s first date with Mercy’s Mark will be this Thursday, July 26th at SoGospelNews Fan Festival in Smyrna, Tennessee. If you live around Nashville we would love to see you. If not, check out the website, we will be posting pictures of the concert.

Wow…the Prophets making their debut concert and Mercy’s Mark debuting either a new or fill-in lead vocalist. If Nashville wasn’t a 7+-hour drive, I’d give that some serious thought. That is a concert worth seeing.

As to the move itself, I don’t really have any thoughts other than that I think Dunlap’s voice would be a better fit than Josh Garner’s. Garner has a powerful voice, and was great with the Florida Boys, and would be a great addition to many groups. But–though I could be wrong, and I have been proven wrong before–I think his voice would clash with Mercy’s Mark tenor Brent Mitchell’s power-tenor voice. So I’m happy to see Shane Dunlap stepping into the slot for now, and here’s hoping that Garner will find another high-profile opening at the level he deserves.

Josh Feemster is leaving Mercy’s Mark. This would be a big blow to the group, since he was the singer they relied on to come through when it counted and provide the big finish to their live programs (with “Something’s Happening” and “Midnight Cry.”)

But there is an upside: Apparently he is going to be reunited with Chris West in a quartet. Very interesting. Plus, a certain young tenor is rumored to be on the move to a “supergroup” composed of young members of different groups ready to get a bus and see if they can make it on their own. I don’t know if this is the group, but certainly interesting things could be on the Southern Gospel horizon.

SoGospelNews has a press release posted announcing that Jeremy Peace has joined the Old Paths Quartet. [EDIT, 2/22/13: Broken link removed.] Incidentally, he explained in a post here why he left the Kingsmen, and expressed his confidence in Harold Reed’s abilities to fill his shoes. [EDIT, 11/6/10: Regrettably, the link seems to be broken, so it has been removed.]

After my recent post about Lucas Case playing piano for the Kingdom Heirs, a reader of this blog checked with Steve French and found out that Case was filling in, and that 14-year-old piano prodigy Joshua Pope will be filling in for the summer while the Kingdom Heirs seek a permanent pianist.

If Roy Webb desires to stay in Southern Gospel but needs a few months off the road to deal with his father, this could be his chance. Of course, any of numerous other pianists would jump at the chance for this position, so chances are the Kingdom Heirs will come up with someone very good.

It’s being reported on the Singing News forums that Lucas Case (until recently of the Monument Quartet) is currently playing piano for the Kingdom Heirs. No official press release has gone out yet, but I post that link for whatever it’s worth. [EDIT, 11/7/10: Regrettably, the link is broken, so it has been removed.]

EDIT: For whatever it was worth, the thought occurred to me that Steve French has gone on record in the past saying that he does not take group members from other full-time professional groups. So perhaps Case is just filling in.

According to Ernie Haase, Signature Sound will not be hiring a full-time replacement for Roy Webb. In an email today, he explained: “I like to build my future on the four faces of the singers like the Oak ridge boys and the GVB.”

For the time being, he’s hired Gordon Mote to play piano for Signature Sound during this group’s Summer Tour.

From the perspective of a quartet fan, I like the practice of having the pianist as the member of a group. But I can see the wisdom in Haase’s course. As Greater Vision knows well, the fewer faces you keep before the public, the easier of a time you have keeping the same lineup together. As most any group manager does, Haase will try to maintain a stable lineup with the same four singers. If he succeeds, Signature Sound’s best days are yet to come.

UPDATE: A question some might ask is if Haase is keeping the spot open for Webb to return. In response, Haase says: “Roy was a fine addition to our group for the time he was here, but my decision has nothing to do with him coming back.”

Ed O’Neal announced today that Andrew King is leaving the Dixie Melody Boys to continue his education at Texas A&M University. I understand, but he is someone I really hate to see leave the Southern Gospel scene. He is a great vocalist and has a great stage presence. Perhaps someday he will return.

Last week, I reported here and here on Roy Webb’s absence from the Signature Sound live DVD taping. Today, Ernie Haase announces that Webb has left the group.

I’ll probably be posting further reflections tomorrow, but suffice for now to say that my thoughts and prayers are with Webb as he deals with his father’s health issues, and with Ernie Haase as he seeks a replacement.

One of the readers on my blog commented that after I stopped by the Signature Sound message boards, an explanation was posted as to why Roy Webb could not make the DVD taping: [EDIT, 11/8/10: The link is broken and has been removed.]

An on going bad situation worsened this weekend….. Roy’s estranged father has been fighting cancer and is right at deaths door. Roy said it is very VERY bad! In the light of the situation and the fact that there are years and years of “issues” between them that need to somehow come to a close “Real Fast” He (Roy) felt the right thing to do was come off the road and “Deal” with these “Real Issues” of life, death, family and healing.

All the guys and the families of EHSS support Him and request prayer for Roy and his family as they wade through these uncharted waters.

Ernie

There we have it.

Though I was aware of the fact that Ernie Haase and Signature Sound and the Gaither Vocal Band were taping a live joint DVD on Wednesday, I didn’t watch it online since I’m not a $65-a-year member of the website.

But I did just go over to the Signature Sound message boards to gauge fan reactions. It seems that the general feel over there is that it was a nice concert but more subdued than they expected.
The big news of the evening is that pianist Roy Webb was absent. There were several different rumors about health problems, but no official word as to what caused the absence.

Given the importance Signature Sound places on their live videos, the health issues (or whatever it was) must have been pretty serious for Roy to skip.

Story developing…