Worth Knowing

• New Legacy Five bass singer Matt Fouch has recorded three Christmas tracks; they’re available for digital download here.
• Darrell Freeman’s mother, Wilma Freeman, passed away last Saturday at age 81.
• At a concert this week, Ernie Haase announced that Beyond the Ashes will release their next album with the Ernie Haase/Wayne Haun-led Stow Town label. Beyond the Ashes had previously recorded with the Wayne Haun/Kevin Ward-led Vine Records label.
• At the same concert, Haase announced that Devin McGlamery would be recording a solo album with StowTown.

Worth Watching

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Worth Knowing

• HisSong manager Dennis Humphries mentioned on Facebook that his fianceé, Angel, is now singing with the group. (HisSong recently lost founding member and long-time tenor singer Adam Elrod.) This apparently indicates that HisSong will be moving from a male trio to a mixed group configuration.
• Former HisSong tenor Adam Elrod is launching his own male trio, Adam’s Call (website, Facebook), with lead singer Bobby Davenport and baritone Sam Fisher.
• Beyond the Ashes, formerly with Wayne Haun’s and Kevin Ward’s Vine Records, has signed with Ernie Haase’s and Wayne Haun’s Stow Town Records.
• The Lesters have found a new tenor, Justin Wells, making them an all-male group for the first time in their history.

Worth Watching

This song, sung by this combination of voices, never gets old:

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

A recent commenter noted that by their very nature as fan-voted awards, the Singing News Fan Awards aren’t a particularly objective measure of success. He was right, as are other readers who make the same observation every year. This is a genre in which people pick favorites and then stay loyal to them for a long, long time. If we ask loyal fans their favorites, that’s probably not the most objective measure of success.

If we seek greater objectivity, perhaps we should follow the lead of other genres and institute peer-voted industry awards. Problem is, peers can also be and often are subjective and vote for people whom they personally like. So that also is probably not the most objective measure of success.

We could get even greater objectivity if we determine awards the way that NQC determined this year’s Songwriter award—based on the Singing News Radio Airplay charts. Problem is, there’s still some level of subjectivity there; no matter how good a song is, Southern Gospel radio DJs are also humans and prone to subjectively vote for songs from artists (and radio promoters) that they personally like.

(Of course, far be it from me to say that DJs don’t give the next “Canaanland is Just in Sight” a fair shot, too. Those exceptions happen, but most songs on the charts are from established artists or at least established promoters.)

So let’s say that fan votes, peer votes, and DJ votes are all too subjective. We could get even greater objectivity if we could obtain actual airplay reports from performance rights agencies (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, and SoundExchange). Since those reflect actual airplay across thousands if not tens of thousands of venues, they are more objective. But, even here, there is some level of subjectivity: To this day, most airplay decisions are made by human beings capable of subjective opinions—with the program directors at a few large stations sometimes having a substantial impact on the end result.

Perhaps we could base a truly objective awards ceremony on actual sales reports from Nielsen SoundScan, tracking as fans vote with their wallets. There’s only one problem: Many if not most Southern Gospel groups don’t bother reporting their sales through SoundScan, and a very significant percentage of Southern Gospel album sales are at concert tables.

(And while those numbers are quite objective, many would argue that they aren’t the only valid indicator of success. Legend has it that the Blackwood Brothers outsold the Statesmen by 3-1 or more back in the groups’ glory days, but nobody would claim the Blackwood Brothers were three times more successful.)

In the end, then, it seems that the relentless pursuit of objectivity rapidly leads us into absurdity.

So let’s take a step back. Of course, as another reader will invariably point out every year, none of this matters from the vantage point of eternity. Go ahead and throw up an online poll here or there, and let an accounting firm certify that there aren’t duplicate votes if you like. Cheer on Southern Gospel’s finest once or twice a year, as they thank fans for their support and recognition. But let’s not take any of this too seriously.

(It’s not like most groups, especially the ones at the top, take it all that seriously themselves.)

Worth Knowing

• Fairfield Four bass singer Isaac Freeman, a delight to watch on early Gaither Homecoming videos, passed away. [EDIT, 3/16/13: Broken link removed.]
• Retired Florida Boys baritone singer Glen Allred had triple-bypass open heart surgery yesterday and is recovering.
• You know it’s been a big week for Ian Owens when joining Soul’d Out isn’t his biggest news of the week! Ian and his wife Megan found out that they are expecting their third child, due next May.
• The Martins are working on a new recording with Lari Goss. Jonathan Martin posted a video of an arrangement session on Socialcam.
• Ryan Seaton’s Union Street has posted several clips on SoundCloud from their upcoming debut project.
• Worth Reading: Don’t miss The View from The Pew’s Mark Trammell Quartet concert review—especially the part about Eric Phillips’ surprising testimony.

Worth Watching

This is not a political statement. I promise. This has nothing to do with the politician who happens to be in the video. This is merely a look at what it looks like when an impromptu quartet of four secular stars, mostly from country music, try to sing together.

Now who was it again who said that Southern Gospel doesn’t have the best musical talent in the world, especially when it comes to harmony singing?

Speaking of good harmony singing, and on a more serious note: Aaron Swain has extensive footage from a recent Legacy Five concert.

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Ian Owens, who recently left Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, is the new bass singer for Soul’d Out Quartet. The press release states:

Since the departure of long time bass singer Matt Fouch, in mid August, Soul’d Out Quartet has been diligently seeking God and following his leading in the attempt to find the right person to be our bass singer. Despite having met many great people through the audition process, we (the men of Soul’d Out) had made the decision to remain a trio unless God provided the absolute right fit for our team and ministry.

Soul’d Out Quartet is thrilled to announce that God has provided us with the right bass singer!! We are so excited to have Ian Owens joining the Soul’d Out family! You may have heard Ian’s name before as the bass singer for Gospel Quartets such as “The Imperials” and “Ernie Haase and Signature Sound”. Ian has 12 years of full time ministry in gospel music and we are so pleased that this chapter of our lives brings us together to proclaim the Good News!! Ian’s first appearance with Soul’d Out will be on November 9th, 2012. We ask for your prayers for both Ian and the current Soul’d Out members as we transition into this new and very exciting time. God has great things in store for this ministry! Come and see us when we are in your area and welcome Ian aboard! Dusty, Michael, Bryan, Rick and Matt.

Ian Owens added:

After spending a weekend on the road with Soul’d Out Quartet, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that joining their team is God’s will for my life. I am very excited to have the opportunity to spread the Word of God with such strong men of faith and integrity! Matt, Bryan, Dusty, and Michael all have such a sincere and earnest desire to see souls won and lives changed. I absolutely can not wait to be “pounding the pavement” with these awesome men! However…..I’m scared I may not be much of a bass singer for them if I’m always hoarse from laughing at them! They’re funny!!

This is a significant hire for Soul’d Out, marking their increased national profile. They recently signed with Crossroads Music, and now, their last two hires have come to them off of stints with the Kingsmen and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound.

Several days ago, Squire Parsons suffered a mild heart attack. He is now in the hospital, recovering. Greg Bentley, who toured with Squire for around a decade, singing tenor and driving the bus, posted an update on Facebook:

I’ve had quite a few people sending me messages asking about things they have heard about Squire Parsons. Apparently the rumor mill is running crazy . So after making sure it was ok with Squire, let me help calm things. Squire is in the hospital for a mild heart attack suffered early in the week. They have been running test and will do a heart cath on Monday.

Greg added that he visited Squire at the hospital Saturday night; Squire is “counting the minutes till he can get back on the bus and head out and sing some more.”

Worth Knowing

• Musicscribe found several more details about NQC 2014: It will be a two-venue event, with off-site showcases, and all the seating will be on a flat floor. [EDIT, 3/16/13: Broken link removed.]
• Southern Sound has hired a new tenor, Will Shaw.
• Paul Harkey has made his public debut with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. Here’s a video (hat tip, Josh).
• Legacy Five has a post on “Getting to Know Matt Fouch” (among other things).

Worth Watching

David Crowder recently showed up at Gaither Studios to record “Because He Lives” with Bill Gaither. Here’s a video of Crowder doing the song live; beyond how cool his beard is, it’s also pretty cool to see his young audience get excited over the song.

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

The Old Paths announced on Facebook that their current radio single, “Battle Stand,” will be #1 on the Singing News December 2012 charts. [EDIT, 2/22/13: Broken link removed.] It’s encouraging to see them get this level of recognition; they are well-deserving of the honor. 

We’ve been talking them up for almost six years now, including working with them on an mp3 giveaway promotion to debut their 2008 album and including them in a 2008 list we published of Southern Gospel’s top five unsigned artists. (Since that post, of course, they have signed with Crossroads.)

Here’s a video of the group performing the song:

Worth Knowing

• Singing News/Solid Gospel staffer Les Butler’s mother passed away.
• Wes Burke of Burke’s Brainwork just celebrated his 1000th post.

Worth Watching

Ernie Haase, now in his 40s, can still sing a solid G above high C? Not bad at all! (Hat tip, Josh.)

Worth Discussing

It’s open thread Saturday—you decide!

Reader Donnie Ricks writes in to ask:

Good evening from the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex. Although we are one of the largest metro areas in the nation, there is not a radio station devoted to Southern Gospel music in this part of the State. I\’ve downloaded several Apps for my smart phone which allows me to listen to one of my favorite music genres. My question is, would you be interested in providing a section on Southerngospel Blog which would list those free apps?  This would allow others like myself who would otherwise not be able to listen to this timeless music to to have alternatives

Several years ago, I carried a smartphone for a while. But I decided I’d rather not be always connected, so now I only carry a turned-off, cheap Tracfone in case of emergency. I explained to Donnie that this made me somewhat less than an authority on the topic, but that I’d pass the question along to the readers.

How do you listen to Southern Gospel on your smartphones?