These seem appropriate to post on a Sunday. This is the latest update from the Caring Bridge Journal as of yesterday morning:
ICP looks good being clamped. They clamped it at 7am. He has fever. Blood pressure is high. Heart rate is bouncing between 99 & 106. Doing a chest X-ray now.
Filed under Videos
Here’s a taste of what you can expect from a Perrys concert with its current lineup.
“Royal Descendant”:
“Blue Skies”:
Filed under Videos
So the other day I got this newsletter from Legacy Five with the subject header “L5′s New Band.” My heart leaped. Was it possible? Could Legacy Five have made the daring move to acquire a band of musicians? But no. They tricked me. Not cool, Legacy Five:
Here are some clips from the most recent Gaither DVD, the GVB’s Pure and Simple, live. I’ve been really enjoying these sneak peeks. I was especially glad to see “Road to Emmaus,” since I had not heard that song in the version of the album that I listened to:
Here’s one of my favorites, “Winds of This World”:
Here’s “The Love of God”:
Here’s “Cup of Sorrow,” for which I especially enjoyed seeing the live instrumentation:
I just uploaded some Signature Sound videos to Godtube for your viewing pleasure, captured from the livestream at FCC on Saturday. These are shared by permission from Ernie Haase. Happy viewing!
[Update: FCC has asked me to remove the videos from Godtube. I believe there's a misunderstanding about the arrangement I had with Ernie's team, but I've honored the request. FCC itself has uploaded "Glory to God in the Highest" on their channel.]
I think this clip is better than the other one I shared yesterday, plus this is a song EHSS is known for. Take a listen!
Filed under Videos
Courtesy of Swain’s Musings, here is some high definition footage of Gordon Mote’s last night on tour with the Gaithers. Bill gives a heartfelt sendoff and Gordon leaves us with a tasty piano solo. Enjoy!
Filed under Videos
*A real quartet convention is coming to Memphis this summer! (next summer—sorry, been getting less sleep lately from that 9:00 calculus class). Sadly, I’m nowhere near Memphis, or I’d be just as thrilled about it as some of my fellow bloggers. I wonder if there’ll be some sort of online option…?
*Speaking of fellow bloggers, I’m happy to report that both Southern Gospel Critique and Musicscribe are back up and running after recovering from various issues (the one was re-grouping after a virus attack, the other was re-locating). They both look pretty spiffy too. [UPDATE: As of late Saturday evening, Southern Gospel Critique once again appears to have a malware issue. I hope they're able to resolve it again as soon as possible.] [Further update: Adam and Brian have decided to delete the whole site and start from scratch. It's safe to click on the link again, but the site will look blank until they've imported all their old posts back. I'm sorry you guys! I feel for you!]
*Southern Gospel Blog has a new look as well. Maybe it’s just me but it seems a tad… white.
*George Bev Shea turned 103 this week! February 1st, to be exact. Via Minnesota SG Fan, here is a clip from early December of the legend singing “How Great Thou Art.” (The video was taken by popular Christian author Randy Alcorn.) I remember the shock my mom and dad had recently when they realized George Bev Shea was still around. “I mean, like, we remember him from HIGHSCHOOL.”
*Speaking of when mom and dad were in highschool (or at least college)… Ferris Bueller is BAAAAAACK. Why bother with multiple ads during the Super Bowl when they could just roll this one over and over? Even if the basic message seems to boil down to “You become Matthew Broderick if you buy a CR-V.” Results may vary there…
*Popular Christian author and speaker Eric Metaxas appeared at the National Prayer Breakfast this week and gave a speech laced with humor and some surprisingly direct proclamations of conservative ideals. Although it could have been strengthened in some places (he’s good, but he’s no Mother Theresa), I thought that overall it was a solid and impressive presentation. Watch and enjoy it via an embed on Denny Burk’s site here.
*So James MacDonald decided to film himself doing a post-mortem with some black pastor friends over the T. D. Jakes brou-ha-ha, apparently so they could pat him on the back. I was truly shocked by the blatant racism of some of their comments, and others are too. Watch the video here and read Carl Trueman’s appropriately unimpressed and acerbic recap here.
*A gold-mine of videos from a recent Mark Trammell Quartet concert with new/old tenor Eric Phillips was posted just a few days ago. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t as good as it could be, but video is great. Here’s “Wedding Music.” Watch others in related videos, including “Gloryroad.” I love Mark Trammell’s intro to Eric in “Gloryroad”: “This is one of the most requested songs he did when he was here, and I learned to despise it as much as any song I’ve ever sung. But somebody seems to like it, so we’re gonna do it, and if you don’t mind, just endure…”
*Speaking of tenors named Phillips, Ernie Phillips has been making a comeback filling in with the Kingsmen. We sure wouldn’t mind it if he decided to stick around. Here is the video that’s generated the most buzz over the week—a stunning performance of “God Saw a Cross.” I’ll be honest, I knew Ernie was a great singer, but I didn’t know he had this in him. Once again, you’ll have to put up with slightly muddy audio, particularly on the bridge, but it’s worth it. Man, I wish I could have been in the audience for this:
(I know most readers of this blog are already familiar with the song, but for the benefit of those reading who aren’t, the lyrics for the bridge say:
And when I finally gave my heart to Jesus
From that moment of time until forever
When God sees me He only sees the cross)
Filed under Faith and Culture, News, Singers, Videos
Hat tip to Josh for drawing my attention to the footage from this Portland, Oregon concert on the 20th. Video was captured of several songs from EHSS’s brand new project. First of all, here’s Ian’s version of “Stand By Me.” Even though he needs to spend a bit more time learning the words, he has a great sound. It’s awesome to see the guys breaking out those moves, just like old times. Even Ian joined in at the end… sort of. 
The progress Devin has made during his tenure with the group is also very impressive and is on full display with his power tag at the end.
Perhaps the thing that impresses me most about this performance is that it was done entirely live—no tracks, no stacks. In the past, they have always had a track and at least some stacks. But now, what you see is what you get. I appreciate this effort to hold themselves to a higher standard of musicianship:
Also, here is my favorite song from the new album, “Sometimes I Wonder.” It is already striking a chord with many listeners. Enjoy Doug’s signature heartfelt performance:
See also “Any Other Man,” “I’ve Been Here Before,” and “You Are Welcome Here.”
Filed under Videos
It’s Green and Greene, in Spanish! Ran across this gem a while back and wanted to share it. Buddy was doing the ethno-harmonica thing even way back then! My Spanish is severely limited, but I can make out “Buddy” and “harmonica” in Steve’s intro. 
Also, check out this quartet performance of “Leaning On the Everlasting Arms,” featuring Buddy on tenor, Steve on lead, his brother David on baritone, and a singer I don’t recognize named John G. Elliott on bass. Buddy proves quite dexterous on the guitar in this one.
I recommend browsing around and watching the other parts of the concert. Buddy Greene makes more guest appearances, and I think it’s fun to watch Steve Green perform his smash hits in Spanish. David appears again in a couple duets with Steve. He was a fine singer in his own right, and you can totally hear (and see) the family resemblance.
