NQC Report Day 2
David Bruce Murray
In light of the day's tragedies, as you'd expect, many references were made
to freedom and patriotism today. Many groups changed the programs they had
planned in order to do something that related. Jeff Steele even went so far
as to re-write his song "We Want America Back," calling it "We Want America
Free." That was probably the "event of the evening" in terms of what I will
remember about this night.
But back to earlier in the day. There was an afternoon showcase of a variety
of artists from 1-4 PM. Some I had heard before. Others I had heard in
different contexts. And of course, I heard many groups that I'd never heard
before. Lordsong was the only major label group to perform, and they did a
great job. They stayed for the first hour and introduced all the groups.
The two groups on the showcase that stood out the most to me were the
Journeymen Quartet and Ken Turner's new group called New Millennium. The
Journeymen have a solid quartet sound and they are pretty energetic. New
Millennium has the sound of a group that's seasoned and polished, and well
it should. Ken Turner has been singing for years and he's joined by Roger
Burnette, Derrick Boyd, and Wayne Little. They came out with an a cappella
version of "Sweet Sweet Spirit" that was very slick.
Others that I enjoyed included the Diplomats out of Georgia, who sound a
LOT, and I mean a LOT, like the Happy Goodmans. Paid In Full is a good trio
that I also enjoyed.
There were three soloists on the showcase, and I enjoyed every one of them,
particularly Stephen Hill and David Patillo. Patillo is refreshing because
he's so laid back. I've always admired Hill's voice on the Gaither videos,
but it was great to see him interact with the crowd. I didn't know how good
he would be at that, but he had us laughing right away. The other soloist
was Don Degrate, who did a good job as well.
After the showcases, I browsed thru the exhibit hall for an hour and then
went to meet Clarence Grigsby and Paul Slopak of this group at 5PM. We
probably talked for an hour or so. For everyone's information, they both
said they enjoyed Legacy Five's performance on Monday night. I'm sure you
were all wondering about that!
In the evening concerts, I saw Karen Peck, the Nelons, Crabb Family, Talley
Trio, McKameys (don't faint, Carol!), Old Friends, Greater Vision, Steeles,
Jeff and Sheri Easter, Tony Gore and Majesty, Kevin Spencer and Friends, and
the Wilburns. I missed about eight other groups.
Gore did all new stuff. Most of the rest did a mix of their standard fare
with at least one special song in memory/honor of the tragedy. Greater
Vision did "Redemption Draweth Nigh," which was particularly powerful. The
Wilburns had a choir join them for their final number, which was very moving
as well.
The Steeles pretty much "ruled" the evening in terms of memorable stuff,
though. In addition to what I've already mentioned, they resurrected the "Go
Out To The Program" imitations, done originally by the Oak Ridge Boys and
later by the Kings' Boys. Their 7 year old kid did imitations of Michael
Combs, Tony Gore, and McCray Dove that brought down the house. I was LOL
when he did the Gore walk around the room while shaking hands with folks and
singing "I'll Put On A Crown." The Dove Brothers joined them (with McCray
running the kid off stage) at the end for "Get Away, Jordan," but I thought
the Gore routine was funnier.
Later,
--
David Bruce Murray / dbmu...@rfci.net
Articles: www.rfci.net/dbmurray and www.musicforce.com
Transcriptions: www.musicscribe.com
Classical Piano: www.mp3.com/virtualvirtuoso
Southern Sounds Quartet: www.mp3.com/ssq
---Making Hay While The Sun Shines---