A visit to the LeFevre Quartet website today yielded a pleasant surprise; the quartet has picked up Anchormen bass Paul Harkey after the departure of Brandon Barry last month. Harkey presumably starts singing with them this weekend, and will be the bass vocalist on the group’s upcoming mainline release, which is their debut release on the newly formed Activate Records.

This is a smart move on the part of Mike LeFevre; the new single from the project indicates that the group is striving for the progressive sound found on their last label effort, Nothin’ But Good, in 2008, and a young vocalist like Harkey fits that style perfectly. Since Canaan Records went belly-up shortly after Nothin’ But Good was released, the group has done nothing but table projects since, and has seen multiple lineup changes that eventually settled with the quartet being made up of tenor Harold Reed, lead Jordan LeFevre, baritone Mike LeFevre, and, up until recently, bass Brandon Barry, essentially making the vocal lineup an entirely different group from the one of 2008. It is wise to go for hiring an up-and-coming young talent to carry on in the bass slot, and Harkey’s work with The Anchormen has turned several heads, showing great potential.

The question now is, what is next for The Anchormen? The rumor mill has already strted turning, and I’ve heard some rumblings of who is stepping in. The group will be in my area this weekend, so be looking on this blog next week for a report and possibly some video footage.