What’s up folks!! First…for those watching the National News and wondering about our hometown of Nashville, TN…it is not completely underwater…it just looks that way! We in the quartet are all fine, but all know of folks who have been displaced by the flood. Gave me just a slight taste of what the townspeople around Noah must have been thinking as the rains came in the very beginning. Of course 2 days worth of non-stop rain is a far cry from 40 days…but I can see how the despair probably started early and worked on them for days before they realized truly what was to come. As in any disaster situation, pray for the affected and be thankful for those who were unscathed. Lisa, Savannah, and I were talking yesterday (Sunday May 2) how truly blessed we were. The flood waters are all around, but our neighborhood was just wet. God’s good….and He is good all the time. And how is this for weird timing…last week our dear friend Eddie Crook, who recently started a new record label, sent out a radio disk that included a song of ours from a previous CD…you guessed it…”And The Rains Came”…

So….what’s been going on with Called Out Quartet?? Plenty! The 5 of us have been diligently working in the studio on our Christmas CD (as of yet untitled) that we plan to have out sometime in August. I know…August?? Well…here’s the deal. Christmas CD’s are just as expensive to produce as any other CD and we are hoping that by “releasing it” early we can quickly offset the expenses incurred to produce it. There are some folks out there I have to thank…but I can’t tell you who they are…but they know. Without their “involvement” the dream of a Christmas CD would never have been possible. We have wanted to do this since the beginning, but it’s just never been the right time. It’s finally here and we are loving the process…hope you guys enjoy it half as much as we have putting it together. Will get you a list of songs soon. Still got a few more sessions in the studio to wrap it up and we want to make sure we’ve got the right songs when it is all said and done.

Now…speaking of Christmas songs…we are in the process of getting some dates together after the 1st of November where we plan to sing mainly Christmas songs. Call it a “Christmas Tour” if you like (though Southern Gospel groups typically don’t call what they do a “tour”). We have some holes we will be trying to fill as we go from place to place on Saturdays and Sundays in November and December so if anyone is interested let us know. Can’t make any promises because lots of churches got the word through the grapevine and have already stepped up to the plate for dates…but some of those will need to be “filled in” around and others will undoubtedly fall through for one reason or another. So if you’d like us to come sing some Christmas stuff…let us know by email ( calledout@calledoutquartet.com ) or phone (615/332-5500). Will be putting some of those dates up on the schedule very soon.

And speaking of Christmas…we have the one weekend in November already booked that everyone is invited to come to…our Gatlinburg thing! I guess I should call it by its official name, if only I could remember it. We’ve called it a “Harvest Celebration” a time or two (we quit decorating the stage area with dried corn stalks and hay bales when my allergies went ballistic the first year…so the “harvest” theme kind of tapered off). I think we’ve also called it “Christmas in the Smokies” some…but for sure….this year will be VERY much Christmas with the release of our new Christmas CD. Last year we did a Christmas set, but this year I think we will be doing more of a Christmas night on Saturday. Oh sure…we might sample some Christmas Friday night, but will mainly focus on Southern Gospel stuff. Same deal as always…Friday night singing, Saturday morning breakfast, Saturday night singing, and Sunday morning devotional (come as you are before you head out as always). Still very much in the planning stage…but be looking for details on changes to the way we will book it. We are going to be giving folks more options this year for ways to come and enjoy and stay at other places if you like. More to come soon on that…but please make plans to be there November 19th, 20th, and 21st.

Earlier I mentioned going into the studio with five folks…I guess it’s about time I made it “official”. Though we have been traveling with the same 5 people since August of 2009…we haven’t really made any announcements as to how we plan to travel from here on out. Well Darrell Collier (baritone) and Marty Harris (previously our tenor, now our piano player and part-time vocalist) have returned to the group full time. I can’t tell you what a prayer answered that was for all of us. We enjoyed getting to know the other guys who helped us out during the transition period and could never have made it without them…but having the original members of Called Out Quartet back is just…well… awesome. The rest are the same as always…me (Von, bass), Jess (lead), and Scott (tenor). Oh…and one more exciting addition…for those who have seen us in 2010 you might be asking where the 6th guy fits into the equation you’ve seen on stage here and there. For years we have wanted to get a bass guitar guy back (we had one briefly in Brandon before he got hitched and moved to South Carolina) and now have done so…on a part-time, will-see-how-my-schedule-goes basis. Kent Collier (Darrell’s brother) has been going with us as his schedule allows since January…and I have to brag on him. Kent can play bass…that’s great, but there has been a side benefit I didn’t see coming. When we got started 7 years ago we were all so excited at everything that happened. Each weekend was like a new adventure and we were as green as the day is long at everything we tried to do….but had fun trying to do it. Kent has brought that back to the van as we travel and it is such a blast to relive. The places are all new…the services are all exciting…it’s just neat to experience again. Another thing Kent brings is his spirituality. For years we have enjoyed talking with each other about “all things God” as the tires rolled for hours and hours. We’ve discussed current stuff, heavy stuff, light stuff, and everything in between for hours and sometimes days on end. With Kent we are getting to go back and talk about allot of that stuff again…breaking our Bibles out and sharing thoughts and opinions. Blesses us all and makes the miles go by like lightning. Anyway…enjoying whatever time God has given us together and look forward to all the travels we have left together for 2010…hope to see all you out there somewhere!

And speaking of seeing all you guys…let’s not forget another of our favorite dates each year…the Called Out Quartet Homecoming! This year it will be Saturday August 7th at 7:00pm at McFerrin Missionary Baptist Church in Madison, TN (same location as last year). This year we don’t plan to record it…so we will likely be a bit more relaxed and loose with our song selections. Last year was awesome (which even if you weren’t there you can experience some of it with the “Live in Nashville” CD….and yes, we know we were in Madison…but Madison is a suburb of Nashville, so technically it’s right). Please make plans to be there…the first year was great, but we want this year to be incredible…and it will only be that way if you come. Yes…I’m talking about you…the one reading your email, and you too visiting the website…and hey, I’m also talking to you in the back there looking at this on your Crackberry…

Hope you all have an awesome week…we’ll be drying out here as best as the area can. Will be home this weekend (happy Mother’s day to all the wonderful mom’s out there…including mine of course), but will be traveling to Indianapolis and Louisville the next weekend (May 15th and 16th). Hope to see some of you guys there!!

Von and all the guys at CO4