According to a Greater Vision newsletter sent yesterday, the male trio is in the studio putting the finishing touches on a new album (the name escapes me; I guess this is what I get for deleting emails like that without thinking about if they should be blogged or not). It said that many of the songs on this new project were written by baritone Rodney Griffin, who always writes GREAT songs on Greater Vision projects and for other groups, too. Other songs come from the likes of Dianne Wilkinson, another great songwriter, and others that I once again fail to remember.
Greater Vision always puts forth great efforts, be it major albums, table projects, or otherwise, and I expect nothing less from them on this one. Be looking for it sometime in the near future.

http://www.greatervisionmusic.com/

The realm of SG news isn’t really producing much this week, so I thought I’d tell yall about something of interest…

Many people have probably been wondering what Brian Free & Assurance’s next project will sound like. After all, their It’s So God project (IMO their best project to date) was on the Progressive side of the SG spectrum.

Well, I might have your answer:

As mentioned in the last post, I went to a BFA concert and they did some songs from the upcoming project, Real Faith. From the sound of things, it’s gonna lean to the Progressive direction.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that’s bad. I’ll listen to both the Traditional and Progressive SG. If you’ve been listening to any SG radio stations recently, then no doubt you’ve heard their new single (released last Monday) called “Prayin’ Man.” That, my friends, is a taste of what the new album will sound like, at least the upbeat, fast songs. True to BFA style, though, there are some “big ballads” on this project. Couldn’t tell ya the names of the songs, though, but I can tell ya that if they are half as good on the CD as they sound live, then this album will be a HIT.

Look for the project to be released to Christian bookstores and other music stores in September. The guys should also have it at NQC this year.

www.brianfreeandassurance.com (The pics are outdated, since they show the bass as Keith Plott, who left to start a solo career earlier this year. With the release of Real Faith, the website should be updated.)

Absolutely incredible. That is all I can say about the performance from these guys last nite, even though it was incredibly humid at this outdoor event and looked like it was gonna storm. The guys didn’t dress up (Brian Free stated that they “woulda passed out after the 3rd or 4th song” if they had), but that didn’t stop the message from getting out!

Ricky Free was with them for this date. I wonder if he’s still planning to come off the road, because Brian never mentioned anything about it…

I don’t remember most of the songs (it was a bunch) but let me give you a rough outline…
1. What A Lovely Name (great classic with some high tenor from Brian)
2. Deep Deep Sea (new bass Jeremy Lile tore this one up!)
3. In My Robe Of White (awesome rendition of the Gold City classic)
4. Only By The Blood (lead Bill Shivers did a great job on this slow song)
5. When The Lord Says Go (once again featured Shivers)
6. Prayin’ Man (great new song about Daniel and The Lions’ Den that features, you guessed it, Shivers. This will be the first single from their new project Real Faith. While the album isn’t due out until September, the single is going to radio today.)
7. Jesus Will Pick You Up with encore (Lile does this one great!)
*Intermission and Love Offering, offeratory by pianist Scott McDowell, a very underrated pianist IMO*
The guys proceeded to do many songs from the upcoming project. They all sounded great! Brian also mentioned that some people requested that he do For God So Loved, so he did it (this got a standing ovation. Man, what a song!) And if course, to finish the night, what Assurance concert would be complete without Long As I Got King Jesus!

Let me take a moment to comment on the sound. I thought that this was the best sound I’d heard at an outdoor event. The tracks, live instruments, and singers all blended together superbly. And Jeremy Lile is a great young bass that I look forward to hearing more from in the future!

Well, as always, I forget to include my commentary about major news stories and remember to do so a couple of days later…

The press release mentioned that the Boys will be joined by past members in their performances. I hope that means that the final performance will include Gene McDonald on bass and either Allen Cox or Harold Reed on tenor (I’d prefer Reed. Cox had some pitch issues live.) Their last good lineup (Gene McDonald at bass, Harold Reed at tenor, Josh Garner at lead, and Glen Allred at baritone) was phenomenal, even though they only released two albums in that duration, which, IMO, were their best.

The one thing I DO NOT want is the current lineup (Garner at tenor, Les Beasley at lead, Allred at Baritone, and Butch Owens at bass) doing the final performance, because that was the worst. Garner is NOT a tenor, period. I do, hope, however, that he gets a position with a big group, because he’s a very underrated lead with a lot of mileage left (Dixie Melody Boys would be a good fit).

Come to think of it, I hope Gene McDonald gets with another group, but that looks highly unlikely in his current situation….

From a Myspace bulletin from the Rick Hendrix Company:

Rick Hendrix has been hospitalized. Please keep him in your thoughts. Rick developed chest pains late Tuesday night. Doctors found fluid on his lungs. More testing is to rule out anymore heart damage.

Read that Danny Funderburk has passed through surgery fine. He still has some blood pressure issues, but those are expected to be cleared up soon. Keep him in your prayers!

Just read on SGN that the Florida Boys, while still retiring in July, have agreed to perform all of their slots at NQC 2007. The Saturday evening concert block will be “a special segment… paying tribute to the Florida Boys’ 60-year career. The tribute will be followed by a very special, last performance by the Florida Boys.”

If you’re excited now, then listen to this! The Boys will be joined by former group members during the performances, as well as some by the current lineup!

I don’t like the current lineup, but former members?!?! YES!!!! We get to hear Gene McDonald sing one last time! I’m definitely planning to attend NQC 07 now!

I already posted this in the SN forums, but I want to post it here because it has bothered me SO MUCH!

I was looking up an SG topic when I stumbled across this “Christian” site proclaiming all of these “false prophets.” Well, I can maybe understand why some are listed, but to include people like Billy Graham, Rex Humbard, Tim LaHaye, and Jerry Falwell? My only reaction is WHAT?!?!?!?

Take a look at some of the reasons that Falwell is labeled a false prophet on this site:

1. When Falwell vowed to “tone down his rhetoric against gays,” the site says that he embraced them. But further in the article, Falwell says he did that to practice the “love the sinner, hate the sin” principle, stating that he still believed that homosexuality is wrong.
The message this site sends is that the principle is wrong! At least, that’s the vibe I’m getting..

2. This second and final reason has to be the most ridiculous, blown-out-of-proportion-Scripture using I have ever seen. These guys said that when Falwell died, he was close to 400 pounds, and therefore was a glutton, qualifying him for false prophet status.
That burns me up! I know that gluttony is a sin, and Falwell’s eating habits did him in, but a glutton? I can understand if his weight was far more, but that’s just being ridiculous…

Well, there’s my rant for the day..

Sorry yesterday’s post was so brief, but I did not have very many details… And now, from sogospelnews.com:

Jeremy Peace Joins Old Paths

Just a few short months from resigning his position with the Kingsmen, Jeremy Peace has joined the Old Paths as their new tenor. Peace left the road for personal reasons, many of which he openly talked about in a post on the SoGospelNews Message Boards.

Concerning his position with Old Paths Jeremy stated “Having a family while being on the road full-time can be strenuous, and can easily take it’s toll on someone who is not equipped with the tools necessary to survive while away from their loved ones. The road eventually took it’s toll upon my life, so with the Lord’s guidance, I made the decision to come off the road. I became an engineer at a studio in Rome Georgia, and began to work on my degree in business management. But shortly thereafter, I received a phone call from some friends of mine who were in need of a tenor. Of course, my first reaction was one of hesitance, but the more we began to talk and pray about this, the more I began to realize that it was okay to move forward and accept the position as tenor for The Old Paths.”

Peace begins his new position immediately.

http://www.theoldpathsonline.com/

Hmm.. looking forward to hearing Jeremy sing again…

http://www.theoldpathsonline.com/

Be warned though, the website has not updated accordingly yet…