Spock: “On the bright side, it appears that the hand-holding team-building exercise we did at the retreat last month is now becoming quite useful.” Read more
Spock: “On the bright side, it appears that the hand-holding team-building exercise we did at the retreat last month is now becoming quite useful.” Read more
It’s been too long since we had some new pure acappella music from the Martins. Now, perfectly timed in the year that I plan to see them live for the first time, this album grants all our wishes! With Lari Goss, Michael English, and David Phelps all sticking their fingers in the pie, it’s a glorious return to the sound that first put the Martins on the map. (more…) Read more
When I noticed Mark Bishop had a new project out, I thought it might be a good idea to run a little interview with him. After reading through a couple other interviews he’d done, I knew it would be a good idea. As a singer-songwriter who found solo success after his family group broke up at the turn of the millenium, Mark has filled an important niche in a genre traditionally dominated by quartets, trios, and mixed ensembles. I’ll call it “the James Taylor... Read more
This stuff is gold. Like a mini-epic. What married couple can’t relate? “Drop it!” “You drop it!” “We’ll both drop it at the same time! 1..2..3..” Read more
To show that there are no hard feelings between myself and Chris Unthank, with whom I’ve had a little vigorous banter on some recent posts about songwriting, I’m spotlighting an article of his for Absolutely Gospel called “Record Label Woes.” Chris offers four simple tips for how record labels can interact better with the promotional arm of this industry: Be proactive. Be current. Be available. Be courteous. I lack Chris’s wide experience with labels across genres of Christian music, so I... Read more
A while back, I ran across some new hymns by progressive southern gospel songwriting regular Lee Black. He commented that it was hard to get them cut, but he saw no harm in performing them himself and putting them out there on Youtube. The first two were co-written with Gina Boe, another sought-after contributor to your favorite artists’ catalogues: The Light and the Glory That Death May Die: All Glory To You, Jesus Any of these new songs would be a classy and welcome addition to a... Read more
So Darth Vader, Lord Voldemort, Bane, and Mahatma Gandhi walk into an interrogation room… “The villain is probably bald. [bing, bing, bing, bing]” Read more
The other day, I discovered that someone has put all of EHSS’s vintage albums with Shane Dunlap and Ryan Seaton on Youtube. I’m very happy about this, because I think they made some fine music in this era, even though I can understand the economics of letting old material go out of print. These albums include Stand By Me, Stand By Me Live, Glory to His Name, Building a Bridge, The Ground is Level, and Great Love. Ernie Haase’s OOP solo albums Amen, Journey On, and Celebration Time have also been made available by... Read more
Measure of Grace is young family group The Taylors’ debut release on Ernie Haase and Wayne Haun’s label Stowtown Records. The fresh-faced foursome is continuing Stowtown’s recent trend of putting family groups on their roster. From left to right, they are Suzanne, Christopher, Leslie and Jonathan. Stylistically, they can evoke the Collingsworth Family, the Easters, or the Hoppers while still retaining their own identity. Now they’ve enlisted the talents of some of the best songwriters in the business (Haun, Lindsey, Jim &... Read more
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Questions and Answers, Father’s Day Edition: “My Son, My Son”
In honor of Father’s Day, here’s a special entry in my too-long-neglected “Questions and Answers” series, where we examine two songs that address the human condition from two perspectives—the one without, the other with hope. Today’s topic is fatherhood. To those whose earthly fathers have brought them only pain and fear, what do we as Christians have to offer? What can we say to the person who says “Everyone I ever trusted has let me down”? The answer is that... Read more