Testing A New Theme

Let me know what you think!

 

How To Properly Change Group Personnel

Roughly three weeks ago, Wes Burke wrote about Group Change Philosophy 101. In his post, he outlined two paths a group can take when deciding who to hire as the next singer: singer-centric and music-centric. Burke made the point that he felt Ernie Haase hiring Devin McGlamery was a music-centered move, meaning that he was hired as the best fit for the group dynamics rather than being the most talented singer available.

I agreed with Wes then, and I agree with him now even more after watching an interview Ernie Haase and the other Signature Sound guys did with Ken Grady of Gospel Music Today during the National Quartet Convention. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here is the interview footage:

A lot of different topics are covered in the interview, but I really enjoyed when Ernie was explaining what he was looking for when he was putting the group together.

1. Have a walk with the Lord.
2. They want to be in SG music, and not trying to get to another kind of music
3. Treating people kindly off-stage.
4. Ability to sing.

As Ernie says in the interview, “that’s hard to find.” But it certainly gives us insight into how he operates his group. Ernie gets a lot of criticism for straying away from SG music, so I find it interesting that a love for this music is one of his own main criteria when assembling the members of the group.

 

9/11/2001: May We Never Forget

I know the song to follow is not talking about the events from nine years ago. However, many of the lyrics still apply.

As I was thinking about this blog post, and thinking back to that day, this song performed by Benjy Gaither and Marshall Hall came to mind:

As the lyrics say:

Give us the strength to move on when our strength is gone. Holy Father, carry us on!

May we never forget! Holy Father, carry us on!

 

EHSS Meets NASCAR

Ernie Haase, Wayne Haun, Devin McGlamery, Doug Anderson, and Tim Duncan had the incredible opportunity to sing the national anthem at Atlanta Motor Speedway before tonights race. To make things even better, their singing was also broadcast live across the country on ESPN. If going by recent history of television viewing, that means almost 6 million people watched them on television Sunday night. And then there are the people who filled the 90,000 seats at Atlanta Motor Speedway

EHSS even got to sign their names on the finish line!

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound could be considered a polarizing group, even in the Southern Gospel industry. However, no matter what your opinions are of the group or its members, you have to admit that this was an incredible opportunity for EHSS to introduce America to Southern Gospel music in under three minutes.

For those of you who missed the live broadcast of EHSS singing the National Anthem, someone has uploaded it on YouTube. (Note: It’s not the best audio quality, but it’s better than nothing.)

EHSS also performed “I Pledge My Allegiance,” but it was not included in the ESPN broadcast.

 

So Much Good Music, So Little Money

Such is the life of a college student. Right now, I’m pretty strapped for cash. At the same time, there are so many projects out there already or coming soon that I reeeeeally want to buy. Here are a few near the top of my list:

• EHSS: A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet (DVD & CD)
• Gaither Homecoming: Count Your Blessings / Giving Thanks (DVD & CD)
• Collingsworth Family: Fear Not Tomorrow / Decade of Memories (DVD & CD)

Those are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many choices. Now I just have to try not to splurge too much on other things.

 

Welcome to my new(ish) blog

Welcome to the new site. I haven’t taken time yet to tweak things yet. Maybe soon! In the meantime, stick around and check out some of my old posts.

 

CD or Digital Download?

It seems like the technology around us never stops changing. I remember when one of the first radios I ever had in my bedroom had an 8-track deck…We never used it, because we had cassette tapes. Cassettes eventually went out of fashion, and CDs replaced them.

CDs have lasted a long time. They are still fairly popular. However, a new technology has started to surface the past year or so that might be soon replacing CDs for good. I’ve tried it a few times now, and it is my preference buying a digital download.

I’m not a big CD guy. When I do buy a CD, I usually just rip it onto my laptop and listen to it there anyways. So the digital download saves me from not having to shelf the CD, and digital downloads are roughly 4 dollars cheaper than buying the CD. Plus, when ordering online, you can listen to the tracks instantly rather than waiting for the CD to arrive in the mail. I’m just about ready to listen to Ryan Seaton’s debut album now, when all you can do with the CD is pre-order it.

My preferred way to purchase my SG music is digital download —- how about you?

 

I’ve Got a Feeling

Has that ever happened to you? You are listening to a song on the radio, CD, iPod, or other electronic device, when a song starts playing and you just get a feeling. A feeling that’s hard to describe, but you know it’s good. A feeling so good that you start smiling……and you absolutely cannot stop. Have you ever gotten that kind of feeling? Have you ever seen another person when they get that feeling?

I know that feeling, and it has happened to me numerous times recently. Ironically, they’ve all been southern gospel songs that have given me that feeling. I don’t know what it is about this genre that just makes people so……happy. Nothing against other Christian genres or even other secular genres, but none of them ever impacted me in the way that southern gospel music has impacted me. I can listen to almost any genre out there stylistically. For a long period of time, I was even listening to quite a bit of secular hip hop and rap music. But secular or Christian, no other genre has affected my soul the way southern gospel music has.

Once I begin to listen to this wonderful style of music, it’s like all of my problems go away. I’m no longer worrying about how I’m going to pay my school loans, and I stop worrying about the surgery I’ll be having next month. Once I turn on the music, all of that goes away, and I can’t help but…smile!

I’ve also begun to notice an expanding of my love for SG music…and it goes back to my love for it and how it makes me feel. For the longest time, there were only a few groups I would listen to, and I would only listen to certain songs. If I was watching a Homecoming DVD, I would usually skip many of the songs because I didn’t care for them.

Now, I’ve founding myself developing a greater appreciation for all things Southern Gospel. It’s not only about a few select groups and soloists that make Southern Gospel music great. It’s the history, it’s the legacy, and it’s the pure beauty of the songs that make it great. I’ve also seen myself expanding my artist selections. I listen to so many more SG artists than I did at this time last year.

Before I end this blog post, I want to extend a special thanks to a few people. It was these select few who helped kindle the fire in me for this music, and helped my passion to stay burning. I want to thank Daniel Mount, Diana Brantley, and all others at SouthernGospelForums.com for helping me bring my passion for this music alive. It was these people and this message board that showed me there’s more southern gospel artists than just those who appear on the Homecoming DVDs, and there’s more to southern gospel than just the artists singing up on stage trying to earn a living for their families (because I’m pretty sure a lot of these artists aren’t in the music ministry for the money). It’s about the relationships built, whether artist-to-fan, fan-to-fan, or even artist-to-artist. THAT is what makes southern gospel music so special to me.

And that is a little bit behind why I get that feeling…how about you?

 

Honoring Those Who’ve Risked Their Lives for Our Freedoms

I’M BAAACK!!!!!!! I scribbled this last night on a small note card at about midnight, so if it doesn’t make sense, I apologize:

As we take this day as a nation to honor our veterans and those who’ve risked their lives for this country, I think it is important to also remember the one who went to war roughly 2,000 years ago, giving his life for the entire human race.

 

Don’t Just Sing the Words, Think About Them

“I think about every word that comes out, and that makes a difference in what I do today.” –Michael English

That was a quote from this interview Russ Taff did with Michael English this past December. I just recently found this interview, and just had to post it here.

To me, this is the biggest change in the Vocal Band members from when each one was last with the group. Especially Michael. It is obvious that that the group members think about and mean every word that comes out of their mouth. They aren’t just singing the words to the song anymore. They add so much meaning to what they are singing that you cannot help but feel the Spirit moving.

Its no longer about the individual members and how they each are performing individually. It is about letting the Spirit move, and how they are as a group. It looks like they’ve built some solid camaraderie with one another.