Friday night with Mercy's Mark

Friday night, Acclaim did a show with Mercy's Mark. This was my second date on the same bill with the group, as I had done a show with them back in January as a soloist, so I was looking forward to working with them again. And as always, they are just a great bunch of guys to hang out with and work with.

It seems that Garry Jones has seen his fair share of turnaround since founding Mercy's Mark. Most recently, Josh Feemster left the group, leaving the lead spot vacant. I'd heard that Shane Dunlap had been filling in with them, but when I arrived, another person was walking in that I didn't recognize. He got a good laugh out of the group with his t-shirt - the words "fill in" with a big red slash through it. Come to find out, Garry had just officially hired Scott Allen (I hope I got that spelling right!) as their new lead singer.

Now, for those of you who have been naysayers toward Mercy's Mark, let me say this....the group as they are right now can flat out SING!!! Christian is sounding just a full and deep as ever; Brent's tenor is probably one of the smoothest and cleanest you'll find today, and Garry's piano playing, production, emceeing (not to mention his singing) are all top-quality, but as soon as you add Scott to the mix.....let's just say, my jaw hit the floor and stayed there.

Scott has a very modern sound to his voice. It's extremely smooth, blends wonderfully with Garry and Brent, and has a great resonance, but I dare you to listen to "Sheltered In The Arms Of God" and not shed a tear. He also does a DEAD ON impression of Guy Penrod (close your eyes and you wont' be able to tell the difference!).

With the addition of Scott to the lineup, I can see a lot of good things in the future for MM. They have the power and ability right now to take SG by storm.