We’ve seen a couple of clips of Gold City floating around since Robert Fulton was named to the tenor position, but no high quality video has been available until now. These are from the beginning of April, but were just recently uploaded. Here’s one that I want to turn a spotlight on that I feel is a good representation of where the group is now:

Why this video in particular? For starters, it’s a song that has been absent from their set list for several years. I’m glad to see them start incorporating some songs that aren’t the same ones we’ve heard time and time again. Also, this is a good showcase of the new tenor’s range and stage presence. It certainly makes me want to see and hear more.

Here’s another clip that includes three songs: “I Cast My Bread Upon The Water,” “I Can Tell You The Time,” and “When He Blessed My Soul.” Following that is the Tim Riley standard, “Under Control.”

At long last, we have a Youtube clip of Gold City’s new lineup where the tenor can be heard. It’s a video from far away, but the audio quality is good. While it’s not a tenor feature, it does manage to show that the group has achieved a fine blend with Fulton. Hopefully, more will follow, but here is “I Can Tell You The Time.”

There have been several groups on the market for a new tenor singer, but one book seems to finally closed on that, as Tim Riley gave word in a recent radio interview that Robert Fulton, formerly of Palmetto State Quartet, is singing the high part for Gold City. Fulton has been filling in/auditioning for the past several weeks. Head over and check out the interview; the stuff concerning the tenor position comes at around 3:40.

Hopefully, there will be some video footage of Fulton that surfaces with the group around the time of an official press release (though I think that word from Tim Riley is official enough), but so far I haven’t found anything on Youtube that really showcases the new sound. For now, though, here’s a clip from a few weeks ago made available by Gospel Music Today on Facebook.

From what I have heard so far, Fulton brings a different sound to Gold City, but it is one that I believe will be a benefit. I will say that I was surprised at first when I heard him sing songs like “I’m Not Giving Up,” as Palmetto State’s material never really sent him into that range, but he pulled it off.

So far, 2013 has been a year of changes in Southern Gospel music, and the trend continued this evening when Dan Keeton posted this to his Facebook page:

An open letter to the friends and fans of the Gold City Quartet,

In march of 2011, I was afforded a dream come true, to sing tenor with Gold City. Most of you know my testimony of child abuse, the divorce of my parents and my daddy’s alcoholism. I have recently been given an opportunity to do something I have wanted to do for quite some time. I have wanted to start a non profit organization using music and the arts to inspire child victims of abuse. That opportunity has presented itself and I am so excited, but also heavy hearted. Opening this door means I will have to leave Gold City. I can honestly say, I love the Rileys so much. Tim and Danny are like family to me. Chuck, Bryan and Jerry are so easy going and fun to be around that I will dearly miss being on the bus with such fine Christian gentlemen. I will always be greatful for my time here.

As friends and fans of Gold City, please know, I love you all. I have never felt so much love as I have from you. Please pray that Gold City finds the best replacement and the transition is as smooth as possible.

Sincerely,
Dan Keeton

Daniel Riley later added:

“We support Dan 100 percent in this new chapter of his life. We believe God has given him this opportunity to go into this new ministry. Dan has personally dealt with child abuse, and we believe his passion is for helping others in this area. He has our blessing and prayers as he leaves to encourage and enrich the lives of others in this special calling. Dan has agreed to stay on with Gold City and continue his role as our tenor until a replacement can be found.”

For those interested in applying for the tenor position with Gold City, demos and resumes will be accepted via email form to tenorauditions@me.com.

While this news is a surprise, I can respect the reasoning behind it. It is certainly not a common reason given for departure, and I wish Dan the best of luck!

The tenor position for Gold City is a demanding role that requires an ability to consistently sing a part that often is pitched higher than many other groups. It will be interesting to see who the group gets, as it is a tough part to fill.

In tribute to Dan’s time with the group, here is one of my favorite clips of Gold City during his tenure:

A look at Gold City’s Facebook reveals that the group has clips of the new project up. Here’s the playlist from their Bandcamp page:

It seems that two songs that were on the original list have been cut. One, of course, is “I Stand Redeemed,” which was removed after Josh Cobb’s departure. The other song is “Heaven,” which was the Michael English hit from the 90s that was also to be a tenor feature. Other differences I noticed is a change in key and new instrumentation on “Peter, James, and John,” as well as a rearranging of the song order.

The music player states the release date to be November 15, and these clips have me excited to hear the full release.

At long last, Gold City is completely finished with the project that they have spent over a year and a half, and a couple of lineup changes, making. The announcement was made this morning on Gold City’s Facebook page:

It is finished!!!!!!!!!! Our new CD will be available the first week of November!!!!

There you have it. Now, maybe Gold City can get this behind them and look ahead to the future with this great new lineup.

Last night, I attended a Gold City concert about 45 minutes away from me, and took plenty of video of the event. Rather than write a review, I’ll let the videos speak for me.

This was my first time seeing them outside of NQC since Brent Mitchell and Craig West were still with the group. I was looking forward to hearing Dan Keeton with them, as well as hearing new lead singer Jerry Pelfrey. He has only been with them for a couple of weeks. Take a look at how the sound has come together:
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Youtube user bigdrummer21 has put up a couple of videos of one of Jerry Pelfrey’s first concerts as lead singer for Gold City (hat tip, jdsumner):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsnOJ1P6p4U

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIv5XV0Oa6E

Though the videos are certainly not pristine quality, these offer a glimpse into the potential of this lineup. I noticed that Pelfrey’s stage presence is already strong, and will only get better the longer he’s with the group. I can already hear the Ivan Parker similarity in his voice as well. I’m looking forward to hearing them for myself in a couple of weeks.

Jerry Pelfrey. He’s apparently sung in some regional groups, and he’s from Chattanooga, TN. He just put on his Facebook that he is the new lead. A press release should be forthcoming soon.

He should be appearing at NQC on Thursday (h/t, Brandon.) Brandon has some clips of Jerry’s singing, and he sounds like a young Ivan Parker. It appears Gold City will not be losing a thing in the lead department.

Nate Stainbrook has the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth at NQC: West is leaving because two days a week at home is not enough time to raise his son. The quote here:

“Well, you see I have never traveled with a Southern Gospel group before, and I have a ten year old at home that has been used to seeing his daddy home every day. At first it was fine as my son thought it was real cool that his dad was a singer; but after awhile it started getting to my son that he only gets to see me maybe two days a week. My wife told me one day that our son was not doing well at all without his dad at home. So I went and talked to my son about it, after some gentle prodding, he told me that really wants me to be home with him again. Well you see I myself had been feeling like I was not putting my family first and then when my son verbalized his feelings to me about the situation which convinced to start really seeking God’s will. One day while I was running some errands my old boss saw me, and said he wanted to talk to me about something. So we went to lunch where he asked me if I were interested in coming back to his company. After which he told me that God had been impressing it on his heart to talk to me about working for him again. Well I knew then what I had to do. I got ahold of Danny and let him know what was going on.”

Gold City has had a lot of changes take place over the past couple of hires, and I won’t go into the nature of all of them here, but this is probably one of the most clear-cut reasons out of the bunch. Family is important, and often, juggling family and work becomes a full-time gig in and of itself. Some artists (and their families as well) can handle Dad being out on the road so much better than other singers or their spouses/kids, and they make it work. Others don’t handle it quite so well, as is the case here. It is perfectly understandable why Craig is stepping down; there’s no hidden agenda here, and Stainbrook finally going and asking him about it can put the rumors to rest better than any press release about the departure. Yes, he’s leaving, and it is to spend more time at home. As disappointing as it may be to some, Craig is just doing the right thing, the honorable thing, and there’s no juicy story.

Craig West is a tremendous young talent, as I have said many times. His contributions to Gold City’s sound, though short-lived, was profound, and I will miss hearing what he brought to the table. Perhaps one of these days, we will see and hear him again with another big group.

I have been told that Gold City has already found a new lead singer from a regional group, but I will refrain from posting who it is until I get the green light. I wonder if he has already put his vocals on the upcoming project…