SouthernGospelBlog.com

It’s been a while since I posted an update on lineup changes and the like. So to catch up on some news:

1. It’s now official; Harold Reed is the new Kingsmen tenor. According to Lane Rainwater, the Kingsmen gig is bringing out parts of his range we’ve never heard before. I still think this will be a change from the typical Kingsmen sound, but we’ll see.

2. Chuck Wagon Gang alto (and last remaining family member) Shaye Truax is taking a leave of absence from the road starting June 1. Her position will be filled by Penny Greene. Since she’s the last link to the original group, she will still make selected appearances with the group.

3. It looks like the Jody Brown Indian Family has disbanded, or is at least taking a leave of absence. I haven’t yet heard a breakout JBIF radio single , a song that’s grabbed my attention the same way a “Calvary Answers for Me,”  “My Name is Lazarus,” or “Once Upon a Cross” does. In other words, I think that they never did break into Southern Gospel’s top tier of most popular artists. But time will tell, and they could always return.

A little bird tells me that neither the reigning trio of the year nor the reigning mixed group of the year will be in the top 5 for Group of the Year in the Singing News Fan Awards. If this is true, it is surprising, but stranger things have happened.

I think this will have one definite result: There will be increased fan demand for the group categories to return next year. But I could be surprised. As I said, stranger things have happened before.

Yes, I missed a day. That almost never happens. I think it’s the second time in eight months that I forgot to do my daily post. (Of course, that had its good side effects, because the last story stayed up long enough to catch the attention of a certain commenter who I was thrilled to see stop by.)

A word of explanation: As many of you know, I am a songwriter. I haven’t had anything recorded by any groups yet, but that day may be drawing a little nearer. Anyhow, I had an idea for a patriotic song that I spent all of yesterday afternoon working on, and became so absorbed in it that I forgot about the blog!

Sorry, folks!

I posted photos from last Saturday’s Ball Brothers concert here.

The Grand Rapids Daily Press has an interesting article on Guy Penrod’s solo album. Also, this Marysville Daily Times article on Fred Eaglesmith has an odd reference to Southern Gospel:

Fredheads concerned with Eaglesmith’s departures from the norm, however, should probably prepare themselves for his next album. Currently in the production stage, Eaglesmith said it veers away from his traditional Americana sound perhaps more sharply than ever.

“It’s more based on the Southern gospel culture, going all the way down to the snake churches,” he said. “I was raised in a real sort-of cultish religion, and it’s coming out. I’m into that, the black gospel stuff, right now, and it sure is fun.

“It feels like the right thing to be into for me. Every album these days seems to be an Americana album — everybody is playing our music now, and the more people who play it, the more it gets watered down.”

The Dixie Echoes and the Mark Trammell Trio both announced upcoming live DVD tapings within the past few days.

The Dixie Echoes will record theirs on June 2, 2007 at XM Radio’s Live Performance Theater in Washington, D.C. Attendance will be limited:

The seating for this special program is extremely limited and people will be chosen on a “first-come, first-served” basis determined by when their email is received at XM. If you are interested and are 100% confident that you can be in Washington, DC on the afternoon of June 2, 2007, please send an email complete with your full name and contact information to live@xmradio.com. Make sure to include “DIXIE ECHOES” in the subject line of your message to live@xmradio.com or your email will not be considered.

If you wish to come with a guest - one other person only - please include that person’s name and contact information (email and cell phone nos. are important in case there is a change in schedule) as well. If you are selected to attend, you will receive an email with the exact time and further instructions. Only people who have received this email will be put on the guest list and will be able to attend.

Also, the Mark Trammell Trio just announced that they will be taping a live DVD next Thursday, March 17, at Christ Church in Huntington, West Virginia. Those who seek more information can call  256-442-1621.

This DVD will be their first since bringing Steve and Dustin on board. I’m glad that this particular lineup will be captured on video, because it is their best yet and may be the best they will ever have.

The DVD will include songs from their last two projects (I’m assuming Once Upon a Cross and Journey Thus Far, though it may include some from This Time) and songs from their next CD project, which is evidently already under way.

This is probably the most personal post I’ve ever made on this blog. But there are days when that’s the only kind of post I can write.

“Tears Will Never Stain the Streets of That City,” an old Dottie Rambo classic, has been on my mind and heart a lot over the last few days.

A friend in my town, who attended my church periodically, shared my love of Southern Gospel music. Sometimes he’d bring his guitar and help lead worship while I played piano. He had some mental issues and may have been slightly retarded, but he was one of the sweetest older men (50s) I’ve met.

He was murdered on Monday.

I live in a little town, and murders here are shocking to start with. But to see a friend’s name in those headlines is a feeling I hope I never have again.

And so…

I have questioned the loss of a loved one
For the grave seems so final and cold.
But we’ll meet again in a land where death has no victory
In a land where we’ll never grow old.

And tears will never stain the streets of that city
No wreath of death on my mansion door.
Teardrops aren’t welcome beyond the gates of Glory
And the heart will never break anymore

I recently joined a website for homeschool alumni. I noticed yesterday on one member’s profile page that she liked “Conservative Gospel Music,” naming artists from the Inspirations to Steve Green’s earlier work to (possibly?) Greater Vision.

When I read that, I thought her phrase captured well the answer to Averyfineline’s perennial question about how some Southern Gospel fans (me included!) could vote for the Inspirations in one category and Greater Vision in another. Both groups stay within their tradition, neither pushing the envelope, and the members of both live (to my knowledge, and to the public’s knowledge) lives off stage consistent with how they represent themselves on stage.

Conservative Gospel Music is something almost as undefinable as Southern Gospel Music. You just have to know what you’re looking for, and if you do, you intuitively know when you have found it. You come away from a Mark Trammell Trio concert or a Primitive Quartet concert with a whole different feeling than you do after hearing certain progressive groups, or than you would after hearing a singer who you knew was living a life offstage inconsistent with how they represent themselves on stage.

It’s the sort of thing that I can’t capture in words, but have been pondering anyhow ever since that phrase caught my attention.

I notice that Prophets Lead Singer Paul Jackson has started a new blog, here: http://pauljacksongroup.com/blog/.

I had opportunity to see the Ball Brothers for the second time on Sunday evening. This was the first full concert I’d seen by the group; I’d seen them on Signature Sound’s 2006 Summer Spectacular tour, but they only did four songs then.

The concert was hosted at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio. The church had brought in several soloists before for their yearly concert–Jonathan Martin and a former female member of Avalon whose name escapes my mind–but this was the first group they had brought in.

The Ball Brothers started with an acapella rendition of “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.” Other groups have done this arrangement before–the Couriers and, I think, Greater Vision come to mind–but I’m not sure that it has been as much a defining tune for either group to the extent it has been for the Ball Brothers.

The next three songs all came from their debut CD: “Peace of God,” “A Blessing Burden-Bearing God” (featuring tenor Andrew Ball), and their first single, “I’m Already Living Forever” (featuring lead singer Daniel Ball).

They sang “Home,” using the Gaither Vocal Band soundtrack. Stephen Ball (baritone) sang the first verse and Daniel sang the second.

Daniel Ball is the group’s emcee and sets a general tone of high-spirited repartee. After a few of his jokes, he said that he thought he’d gone too far, and I tended to agree when he said that, but most of his jokes and emcee work fit the group’s style and energy well.

That said, his finest emcee work of the night came when he transitioned from “Home” into “Sweet Beulah Land.” He talked about how he could not understand how people longed for Heaven, to see their loved ones again, until his grandfather passed away recently. He transitioned into introducing “Beulah Land” by saying that the last time he saw his grandfather alive, his grandfather was uncommunicative and did not recognize them or understand anything they said. But, he said, when they sang “Sweet Beulah Land” for him, they saw a spark of recognition in his face as they communicated with him for the last time.

They sang the first verse acapella. Then Daniel paused and introduced the second verse by saying that this was the part where their grandfather perked up and recognized the song. Then they stopped using the microphones and sang the last part acapella, without any microphones. It was touching and moving, the sort of moment that deserved a standing ovation.

(No, I did not start one, because I’m a little hesitant to start one since I tend to be more enthusiastic than most concert goers to start with, and I don’t want others to feel they have to join just because I thought it was a great moment.)

They sang two classic songs, “He Set Me Free” (featuring Stephen) and “Somebody Loves Me” (featuring Andrew) with piano-only soundtracks before the break.

There was no real intermission. The church choir sang one song before the Ball Brothers came back on stage. The choir joined the trio in singing “Mercy Said No.” The Ball Brothers’ rendition of the song is inspiring to start with, but the choir gave it a special quality that set it apart and made it another of the evening’s highlights.

They called their fourth brother Josh Ball, who runs the sound, to the stage fo sing “A Comfort to Know.” A friend, Andy Tharp, also came up on stage for a completely unrehearsed version of “When He Calls Me I’ll Fly Away” (with Daniel Ball doing a more than competent job of holding down Jonathan Wilburn’s part.)

They sang two more songs from their CD, “Alright” (featuring Andrew) and “I Wonder” (featuring Daniel and Andrew). They featured Stephen and Andrew on the only song I was completely unfamiliar with in their program, “His Blood was Precious Blood.”

They closed their program with Andrew singing “Oh What a Savior.” This was keyed in either D or E-flat. (I don’t have perfect pitch, so that’s as close as I’m comfortable saying. I did ask afterwards, and Stephen Ball agreed that it was either in D or E-flat, but he wasn’t sure which, either.) At any rate, the somewhat lower range allowed him to not only do the high part with confidence, but also to end the second verse by going to the octave interval (D/E-flat above high C), something that I have heard no other tenor do.

It was an enjoyable evening. It’s always nice to see the established groups, but there is something refreshing about watching a new group that has started on its way. Their program and vocals are of the quality that a few more years on the road and a few more good songs will put them in the top tier…where, I believe, they will belong.