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Here's my interview with The Down East Boys from the National Quartet Convention in September, 2006.

Labels: audio / podcasts

Here's my interview with The Perrys: Libbi, Joseph, Nick, and Matthew. This was recorded in September 2006 at the National Quartet Convention.

Labels: audio / podcasts

I was thinking and reading and formulating my thoughts recently on Christian artists/entertainers and their personal lives and struggles (read: sin). The biggest challenge to what I'm about to write is to not come across self righteous about self righteousness. And it's really hard. But here goes:

Fact 1: We all have sin in our lives. We all have secrets that would horrify us if word got out.

Fact 2: Your most favorite Gospel artist is a sinner. Regardless of how it is rated in our minds, he or she is still a sinner.

I believe that if you are going to be in the professional music scene, then you have to accept the “celebrity” baggage that comes with a successful career. That is, if you get divorced, people will find out about it and you can't hide it. If you cheat on your taxes, and get caught, the industry will know. If you abuse drugs and get caught, your fans will hear about it. I also believe there are some things even celebrities have the right to insist on being private -- some things are built in to "human decency" and should always remain private. (I don’t need to know which artist had a fight last night with their spouse and all the details therein. I don’t need to know what brand of underwear so-and-so wears or even how much money they really make. Those things are really, truly, none of my business).

But, at the same time, if I never knew one ounce of "dirt" on an artist and even though they may be the most "dirty" one of us all, if I'm not distracted by that, his or her music can still minister.

And some may be totally turned off to listening to anything a "known sinner" has to say or sing. I can understand that to a degree. (Sometimes I think it may be more of "our" problem with putting singers on a pedestal of holiness than anything else, although that's another topic for another day).

I hope, on the other hand, that we can be honest to know that we've got secrets just as bad as the artist has. Ours just may not have been "found out publicly" yet.

I like the advice of Spurgeon when presented the problem of a pastor who sinned publicly. The advice: Let him sit on the back row of the church until his repentance becomes as notorious as his sin.

Maybe we should look at the definition of "public sinning." I'm not sure what all would be included, although, in the case of Imus: that would be a "public" situation.

If a SG artist blatantly sinned in front of a crowd on stage, that would be a "public" situation.

And the time needed to sit on the back row certainly would vary. For some people, it may take longer to make the repentance known.

(And by the way, as a side note, I’ve been taught and believe the Greek word for repentance is metanoia which is not change but instead to change one's mind; knowing who you are, who God is, what you've done and going to him with it. God does the changing work.)

No matter how much some artists repent, they're still shunned from the larger Christian community.

So, the problem still is and probably always will be: God will forgive & forget, but his people don't always.

God doesn't put "level" on sin. We do and there are some things we're willing to put up with and “allow” more than others.

Christians are supposed to be accepting of sinners (we’re still beggars, we just found bread). We’re supposed to love to each other (again, even the really bad sinners). The church is to be a soft and safe place (it has drifted from that in many cases).

And the church is to apply discipline in the case of non-repentance.

I'm afraid it seems there is too much "discipline" being applied to those who have already repented.

And by the way, why are we so concerned with how much the singers are sinning anyway? I mean, if you really, really, really get down to the heart of the matter: not sinning isn't even the point.

Jesus is the point.

We can't even sit together at his feet 'cause we're too worried about who has disappointed us lately with their scandals.

The scandals aren't the "main attraction."

Jesus is.

Labels: commentary

Here is my radio interview with Mike Allen. Learn about his history with the Weatherfords and Poet Voices and how he got the gig with Bill Gaither's Homecoming Friends. Mike also tells us about his solo work and what "scares him" about it.

Labels: audio / podcasts

Bill Gaither missed the Memphis, TN "Jubilate' re-schedule" date on Thursday. Gloria went along to fill in for him. Word has it that he had some issue with the heart stint that was put in back during the Myrtle Beach "Gaither-Fest" when Mark Lowry had to fill-in.

But, Bill flew into Atlanta in time for Friday night's show and he honestly seemed fine. (Aside from Bill leaving the stage about a minute or two before the very end of the concert, he was there "all along.")

The concert was tremendous, as usual. I really didn't "notice" that the tour's artist roster had been cut. The music was still plentiful and there wasn't a boring part to the night.

I don't have a rundown of the songs... but I do have some pictures that I snapped of some backstage moments that I'll post soon.

Labels: news and updates

Averyfineline recently posted his thoughts on "Quality" in radio programming. (I am starting to enjoy reading the reader's comments just as much as I do Avery himself). A comment by Tim was posted, to which I had to respond. Here's what Tim said:

I program music across three formats and chart nationally for SG and AC. I find that SG music can me the easiest or the most difficult music to program.

The easy route is to take about 6 -7 of the comp discs that come in each month and throw them in the trash immediately, without even listening to them.

(Hey, make it really easy and stick with the Big Five Comps and chuck the rest. NO ONE WILL MISS IT, become better by omission. I'm all in favor of "Southern Gospel Hit Radio" for the musically challenged DJ/MD.)

You and your listeners will never miss the music. You will be able to establish "brand identity" in your market and with your listeners. You will have less of a chance to play a dud. Remember, it's not radio's primary goal to give exposure to unknown groups.

The more difficult path, which requires an ear for entertainment (not necessarily an ear for music - there is a difference, you can sing with perfect pitch and bore the socks off of people), is to give these lesser known groups 15 seconds of your time. That's all it takes to determine if a song has a chance - that's all the dial scanner listens to before deciding to stay or go. You might find something interesting. However, remember the words of Shrek, "better out than in, I always say".

The average listener doesn't need a huge playlist of 1000's of artists. They would rather listen to groups that they know - friends along the way. Too many "strangers" makes people uncomfortable. People like familiar faces.

Boy, I resonate with what Tim had to say. I agree that if you really have an ear for the "entertainment factor," then you can take more risks in that direction and break molds, get creative and do some really incredible things for your station.

However, If you don't have that ear of discernment, it would be best to stick to the stuff that will give you the brand identity and become a "top 40" SG station as opposed to another cheap sounding station.

Bottom line is to play better music, which is subjective I know. But at the most basic level, even if you aren't a good judge at what "good" is, then follow the known success stories in SG.

In time, you should recognize the patterns that create successful songs and you can recognize it in other, new, up-and-coming artists too. Don't try to scout out talent if you really aren't a good judge to begin with. (And I realize we all think we know best... this is where it's also very important to look at retail, the marketplace, and at solid research).

We certainly need more of a Simon mentality in what we allow on the air. Too many of us are sweet and insipid when it comes to giving unknowns a chance. Everything these days is so watered down, everybody wins, everybody does a good job and nobody is a loser.

And I've been so guilty of letting stuff slide through myself....

I repent.

It has been said that SG audiences are a weird bunch. I agree. The audiences demand a lot of low quality stuff at times. It boggles the mind at what people will buy and go crazy over. But what's the cause of that mentality? Could it be that if you're spoon fed stale rice cakes all your life, you may learn to love it so much to a fault where you become turned off and repulsed by the smell of prime rib and roasted potatoes?

Radio needs to lock up the rice cakes and save it for the times of famine and pestilence.

(And in the words of Chuck Peters, let me know if I can help!)

Labels: commentary

I'm honestly not doing anything here but having a good laugh. No hard feelings are meant by this post; please don't read that into this.

I opened a Press Release via email recently with this high-resolution, professionally photographed image of Eighth Day announcing a talent search to replace a member of their team. This image is what I saw:



A closer look, thanks to such high resolution, shows that Mr. D in the middle likes his chewing gum!

Labels: commentary

Here's my interview with the Crabb Family. This interview turned into almost a "staff meeting" for the family with our microphones catching it all!

Hear all about their decision to come off the road and about what the future may possibly hold for each member.

The mp3 can be downloaded here.

Labels: audio / podcasts

I recently talked to Bill Gaither, primarily about the upcoming Atlanta Homecoming concert on April 13, 2007 -- but also about some other various topics, such as Give It Away, Homecoming Concert evolution, and the new guy Wes Hampton. You can get the audio from this latest interview, plus clips of a previous Gaither interview, at this link.

Labels: audio / podcasts

Here's my radio interview with all the guys of Legacy Five. It was recorded in September 2006 -- just days after Roger Bennett had received another setback in his health situation. In this conversation, which turned out to be one of Roger's last interviews, he updates us on his then-current situation.

In addition, there's a lot of good material and history on the quartet and on the guys as individuals. You'll enjoy the laughter and friendship that was expressed while sitting around our table. Enjoy!

Labels: audio / podcasts