Daywind Recording artists, The Perrys, have announced that Bryan Walker will be joining the award-winning group effective October 22, 2010. Bryan will be singing baritone, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Troy Peach. Bryan is no stranger to Southern Gospel music as he has been a member of Safe Harbor and the Dixie Melody Boys. Most recently, he has served as a police officer for the city of Sevierville, Tennessee.

“Troy feels that his work with the Perrys is done, so we want to offer our appreciation for all of the hard work and effort that he gave to our group during the past two and a half years,” says Tracy Stuffle of the Perrys. “We love Troy and we wish him nothing but God’s blessings for all of his future plans.

“At the same time,” continues Tracy, “we’re excited about welcoming Bryan Walker to our group. He’s a great young man and a fine singer. So make sure you say hello to him at a concert soon!”

I share the same reaction that many have had: this was not a move I expected. Peach brought a solid sound and energetic stage presence to the group, and did an excellent job on their new project, Blue Skies (the review of which will be posted on this blog tomorrow.) However, Walker brings a great voice to the table as well, and he has good stage presence from what I remember of his DMB days. It will be interesting to hear how the new voice will change the dynamic of the group.

During the week of the National Quartet Convention, Gold City announced that Bryan Elliott has been named as the new pianist for the quartet. Bryan has a long history in Southern Gospel music, with tenures with the Anchormen, the Palmetto State Quartet and most recently, the Perrys.

“Bryan is a fine young man,” says Tracy Stuffle of the Perrys. “We have enjoyed having him as a part of our group and all of us in the Perrys sincerely wish him the absolute best as he joins Gold City. He will always be a member of our family and this group.”

“We’ve known Bryan for many years,” adds Gold City’s Daniel Riley, “so this is more than bringing a pianist on board – we’re adding a long-time friend. Bryan will be with us as we head out for this weekend.”

I had heard about this change near the end of NQC week; glad to see that the rumors did indeed pan out.

Hiring Elliott was a smart move on the part of Gold City; he’s a young guy with the stage presence to fit the group’s current image, but also has a piano style that will fit their sound. The fact that, as Daniel stated, they are adding a “long-time friend” will help the transition go smoothly as well.

The concert started at 5:00, with close to an hour of musical groups affiliated with the local church that puts on the event. I took this opportunity to chat with some of the singers, and enjoyed talking with Troy Peach, Joseph Habedank, and Tracy and Libbi Stuffle.

At about 5:30, the first headliner group, Greater Love, took the stage. Subscribers to the Singing News may remember this Orange, VA based group getting a feature article in the May 2010 edition. I couldn’t name any of the songs they did, as this was my first time ever hearing them, but I was told that most of their songs were from their newest release. The group has a good sound and blend. One particular interesting note is that their bass singer, Don Leake, had open-heart surgery months ago, and it had not looked like he would be able to make the event. However, he was in good health, and did very well in the group’s set.

After an offering being taken up, The Perrys launched into their set. They started off with “I Love To Tell Of His Love,” “I Know It Was The Blood,” and “Still Blessed,” one right after the other. Other songs of the night included “Prior To A Prayer,” “This Old Sinner Testifies,” “Did I Mention?” “I Wish I Could Have Been There,” and “If You Knew Him.” Bryan Elliot did a remarkably fast piano solo, and Tracy Stuffle also did his chainsaw impersonation.

This particular lineup has really gelled well. The voices play really well off of each other, and an A Capella encore of “Did I Mention” really highlighted that fact. Tracy Stuffle’s style of MC work connects with the audience really well. He injects a good dose of humor throughout the program, but also builds up to songs very well, as he did with the closer, “If You Knew Him.” That particular song led into an altar call that had many going forward, and was twice encored with just piano.

If you have the chance to see either of these groups, this blogger highly recommends them. Although the sets were not as long as a regular event might be, I was still impressed with both.

1. Maybe The Perrys just “make you feel” when they sing, but no one can deny that The Perrys singing “If You Knew Him” was probably the most powerful moment of the night. The place was on its feet at the end of the second verse and it never let up after that.

2. The Isaacs should have done their “almost a cappella” thing a long time ago. The a cappella tune they did tonight brought the house down.

3. More sound issues, unfortunately. Instead of turned off mics, tonight it was mics that popped, sizzled. and screeched all over the place. Can we go a night without issue?

Anything else? Feel free to comment.

As an added bonus, here’s the first song of Gold City’s set last night.

Update: Well, never mind about the video. The user pulled them off of Youtube.

As many of you know, Nick Trammell our baritone resigned this past weekend from the group. He has been a part of our group for two and a half years. We love Nick and Jessica and we wish them all the best in their future plans. We have watched Nick grow up from a baby into a fine young man over the years and we love him just like a son. We will miss him, but we know God will bless him for his faithfulness. Please pray for Nick and Jessica that God will lead them in the direction He wants them to go.

Troy Peach will be filling the baritone position. Troy has been with our group for the past year as one of our sound techs and bus drivers. He also filled in for Nick back in December while Nick was off for his wedding and did a great job. Troy is no stranger to singing as you may remember him with Jeff and Sheri Steele and later his own group First Love. We have known Troy for years and have watched him develop into a hard working young man. With the economic situation right now going on in not only gospel music but the whole country, we feel like this is the thing to do, this is not taking away from the fact that Troy is a great singer and we have traveled with him and we know his life. He is so easy to get a long with and that counts for a lot when you travel on a 45 foot bus four days out of the week and sometimes more. Troy has a heart and passion for not only our music, but gospel music as a whole and he wants to do his part to make it all it can be. He is already a part of our “family” so now we have just tied him in even more! Troy is so excited about being able to sing again and we are excited to have him sing with us. Troy’s wife Katy is in full support of Troy and his new position with our group. Katy is enjoying being able to stay home with their 3 year old twin boys Clayton and Shelton while they are little. It has been over- whelming at the emails we have received from people all across the United States who love Troy and have ask us to please give him the position. This shows us that Troy has made a lot of friends during his time in gospel music that love him, his singing and his humble attitude. We feel God placed Troy under our noses for this purpose.

It was guessed on many of the other blogs that this would happen, and it seems that their hunches were correct. Everyone who heard Troy fill in with The Perrys has said that the group sounded great together. I am not too familar with Troy’s vocal work, so I am anticipating hearing him sing on the upcoming Perrys project, Almost Morning.

CHANGES FOR THE PERRYS

Nick Trammell has tenured his resignation to the Perrys. Trammell joined the group as baritone vocalist in August of 2006.

“I would like to thank all of those who have supported and loved me over the past two-and-a-half years,” says Nick. “I don’t feel that I am done in Southern Gospel music, nor in ministry. But for now, I feel God is moving me to a new chapter in my life. I don’t know what is to come but I believe stepping out in faith is what I need to do to be shown what is next.

“I would like to thank Tracy, Libbi and all of those on the Perrys’ bus for giving me a chance and taking me in as family. I wish them God’s best in the future. Please continue to pray for Jessica and I as we seek God’s will for whatever it is that God has in store for us. We love you all.”

“We certainly wish Nick God’s blessings on all of his endeavors,” adds Tracy Stuffle of the Perrys. “God rewards faith, and as such, we know that God can use Nick in ways that will honor Him.

“When personnel changes have come our way in the past, we’ve anxiously awaited to see the person God would put in our path. We hope to be able to announce the name of our new baritone soon.” Troy Peach will be filling in until a decision has been made.”

I must say this is another change I never saw coming. Certainly, Nick Trammell has been a tremendous asset to the group, and he is a fine young vocalist whom I hope to see traveling with a group again soon.

I’m curious to see who The Perrys will hire as their next baritone. The Perrys have never been slouches in who they hire, so it will be interesting to see. Their upcoming project hasn’t had vocals recorded yet, to the best of my knowledge, so the replacement should have no trouble leaving his own mark on it.

I remember back when Reed first joined The Kingsmen, many wondered if he would fit the “Kingsmen tenor” style. If you haven’t heard how fantastic he sounded on their latest recording, When God Ran, then this video will settle any doubts. I heard the group do this live at last NQC, but it was near the end of the week, the guys were probably tired, and it didn’t sound so good. This one is the best I’ve heard. Harold’s range has extended since joining The Kingsmen; he hits a B-natural, which Daniel Mount says is a half-step above Ernie Phillips’ famed sky-high ending on “Love Lifted Me”.

Members of the Perrys and the Dixie Echoes (Tracy Stuffle and Pat Barker help Ray Dean Reese out on the bass) join on the encore, making for a powerful ending.

On a side note, notice the young piano player with The Kingsmen. His name is Cody McVeigh (I hope I didn’t butcher that spelling!), he is 17 years old, and as far as I know has been filling in with the group for about three weeks. I watched the other clips of the same night to see how Cody sounded, and what little I heard tells me he’s very talented for his age. Keep an eye open; we may hopefully see an announcement soon!

Update: Here is the PR:

GALLATIN, TN (Press Release) – The Perrys have announced that Bryan Elliott, of the Anchormen (and formerly, the Palmetto State Quartet), will be their new pianist, effective Friday, August 8, when the group appears in Conway, Arkansas.

Tracy Stuffle says, “We’re thrilled to have Bryan on board. We’ve literally watched Bryan grow up in Southern Gospel music, and fans across the country know that he is one of finest pianists on the road today.”

The Anchormen’s Tim Bullins, says, “The Anchormen certainly wish the absolute best for Bryan and his family. This is a great opportunity for him, and I’m very happy for him – and the Perrys! Bryan’s a super pianist and a super young man!”

Bryan is a talented young pianist and I’m sure he’ll fit right in. I’m anxious to hear how he sounds with them!