What up peeps? Hope everyone had a great weekend…we are awash in rain in these here parts. Wouldn’t you know it…for two years here in the south just about every state has suffered through a drought, severe even in some places like Georgia. Well I am here to report the drought appears to be officially over! Good Lord knows what we need… and even though we all had our concerns when we passed reservoirs on a weekly basis all over the area that were extremely low, He provided all we need (and then some) right on time.
Had a great week at the National Quartet Convention last week. Appreciate all you guys who came by our booth to say “howdy”, and especially those who stuck it out for several days and showed up Friday to our showcase. We got to sing “God Wrote My Name” (still one of my favorites we have ever had the honor to sing) and a new one for us “I Told Everybody”. Which reminds me…the new Live CD is here!!! Will be shipping several out today and hand delivering others as soon as we see folks. Will also soon have a link to purchase the CD and will update the songs that play on the website to showcase this one. For those who are unfamiliar with it, here’s a little background. We have always wanted to try our hand at capturing a live concert and decided this was the year to give it a shot. Back in August we had our very first Homecoming in Nashville and everything worked out for us to record it. Jimmy Tarbutton drug out all his recording equipment and Eddie Crook (our producer, manager, and friend) offered to produce it and play piano. He brought along a couple of “Nashville players” (code name for studio musicians who are in high demand) and the stage was set. All the guys were there for the night and we got it all recorded…now we have the finished product named (aptly I might add) “Called Out Quartet Live in Nashville“. Our thought was to go back and grab some songs we never recorded, but sang in the early days of the group…and do some of our favorites from recent days as well. Here’s a list….see what you think: Wait Upon The Lord, Happy Rhythm, Because He Lives, I Know What Lies Ahead, John The Revelator, God Wrote My Name, He Chose This Valley, I Told Everybody, I Can’t Even Walk, I’ll Be Waiting At The River For You, In Just A Little While, and finally, Getting Ready To Go. Also there is a segment, hard to call it a “song” per se, where we do a little “skit” that we occasionally do while on the road. If you’ve heard it, you know what I mean…if you haven’t…well, you’ll just have to wait until you get the CD to hear. It’s the theme from “All In The Family” and Jess has Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker down to a “t”. Email or call and order your copy and we’ll get it out right away. Will have that link up on the website mucho pronto.
Wanted to thank all the folks at Emmanuel Missionary Baptist up in Portland, TN for hosting us for their Homecoming two Sundays ago (weekend before the convention) and Dean and all the people at Pleasant Grove Baptist in Shepherdsville, KY for having us that Sunday night as well. Dean Antle (their music guy) was in the Journeymen Quartet for years and knows all about traveling and planning trips and has been a Godsend these last two years. His church is like 20 minutes from the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville (where the Quartet Convention is held), so when we wrapped up singing there we were setting up our booth that same night in very short order. On Monday we talked to many of our friends in other groups and heard horror stories of getting there at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, or even later in the morning to set up and be ready for the convention to open on Monday. Dean…thanks so much, you’re awesome and your church is awesome. We also sang that night with some friends of the church called the Straightway Quartet. Great bunch of guys…saw a few that week at NQC wandering around. Appreciate their ministry and look forward to seeing them again. One in particular (Garrett I believe is his name) stood out, not as a singer, but as a college senior preparing to graduate and start his life as a missionary. He asked for our prayers as he prepares for that life and talked with a smile of going to places like Africa and China…incredible. The task is big, but he serves a BIG God. Help me lift this young man up and let’s pray God’s secure arms around him as he does the Lord’s work overseas.
This weekend is a special one….we will be singing once again at our dear friends Jerry and Phyllis White’s church on Sunday morning….Kellytown Baptist in Oliver Springs. All the guys will be there….me, Jess, Scott, Darrell, and Marty. Should be very special…and we thank JW for working it all out for us to return. How about this too…we will be back at Mt. Pisgah Baptist church between Oliver Springs and Harriman, TN on Sunday evening at 6:30pm (Eastern Time) as well. Last (and only time) we sang at Mt. Pisgah Jess got VERY sick and couldn’t sing, so we struggles through our songs and did our best….very sure we would never get the chance to go back. Appreciate JW talking to them and for their understanding of our previous circumstances. Should be an incredible day. Looks like most, if not all, of our families will be there as well. Another rare treat.
Don’t forget to call or email Jess with your Gatlinburg reservations. He’s making preparations now to send out confirmations to those who have their room(s) confirmed. If you’d like to go…you aren’t too late, just let us know as soon as you can and we will get things taken care of. If you aren’t familiar with it…we sing Friday night, have a catered breakfast on Saturday morning at the hotel, sing Saturday night, then have a devotional on Sunday morning before everyone heads back home. All of this takes place at one spot…the Riverside Motor Lodge, and your room reservation is all that is needed for the whole weekend. It’s on the main strip in downtown Gatlinburg and last year we never even started our van…we walked everywhere we wanted or needed to go. Make plans to come out and enjoy a fun weekend with all of us in Gatlinburg. Oh…the dates….November 20th, 21st, and 22nd.
One more quick thing I forgot to mention above when talking about the Quartet Convention…thanks to all the promoters and churches who booked us while you were there. Thanks especially to Joe Fitzgerald and his crew from Meetinghouse Concerts up in the Boston, MA area. Will be getting the dates up on the website soon, but next August (2010) we will be going back to Coventry, RI, Brewster, MA (Cape Cod), and Sharon, MA (basically Boston). Could not be more happy that we got that worked out…plus all the other dates we will be announcing soon. Love and appreciate all of you who stick your necks out and book us!
Have a great remainder of the week and look for a guest appearance here by Jess pretty soon. He has some thoughts he talked about sharing and I think we should all get on here from time to time and share. Oh…one last thing, our pal Marty Harris (you know….founding member, former tenor, current piano player and sometimes vocalist) has a new business he launched back in the summer and I think it could be a HUGE help to all of you out there who have to prepare media stuff for your church or business. Marty’s new company is Sound Media Source and he is taking the talents he has used for years in various places (including here at Called Out Quartet) and focusing them into one spot. He is providing website design and hosting packages, logo and banner design, CD covers, posters, and all that kind of stuff. Do me a favor and go visit his website at www.soundmediasource.com and see what you think. Even better…shoot him an email at marty@soundmediasource.com and let him tailor something super cool for your needs…
Von and all the guys at CO4
