In the player right now....

When I'm at work, I find it very relaxing (and somewhat uplifting) to listen to some gospel music in one ear (thanks to some earbud headphones). Granted, unless you're listening to some of the heavily-stacked recordings of the 80's Cathedrals & Gold City, you usually miss out on the tenor part thanks to stereo mixing, but that's beside the point.

Luckily, I have all of my music loaded onto my PC at work in MP3 form so it's easy to pull up and mix. Since it's kind of slow right now, I thought I'd post what I've got going right now....

Just to give you an idea, as I type this, I have "Calvary Answers For Me," as sung by the original Signature Sound Quartet, from their debut "Stand By Me" project...

Anyway, on the mix today is (in order that I happen to look at the list):

Mark Lowry - Be The Miracle, Some Things Never Change

Gold City - Pillars Of Faith, Heaven, Revival

Jimmy Fortune - I Believe

The Oak Ridge Boys - Favorite Songs, From The Heart, Common Thread, Collection: Gospel Favorites 2-disc Set

Chronicle - Live

Signature Sound - Stand By Me, Get Away Jordan

Mercy's Mark - Southern Selections Volume 2

Gaither Vocal Band - Testify, Give It Away

Smoking in SG

An interesting post on another forum led me to a topic that I don't think I've seen discussed before....smoking and SG.

Now, before I start getting bombarded with nasty e-mails, let me just say that I know many God-fearing Christians, die-hard in their faith, who either currently smoke, or have smoked in the past. I am not condemning or condoning the habit. I am merely observing it.

I remember going to see a certain group in Indiana once, and as we checked into the hotel, their bus was outside, and standing at the door were two or three group members outside enjoying a smoke. Later that night, there was no smoke odor (probably cologne and some mints or gum). Until I saw them outside, the thought never crossed my mind that they might be smokers.

The more I thought about it, at least from a bass-singing perspective, it made sense. Smoking does seem to have a habit of affecting vocal cords, causing the voice to sound lower. But what about other singers, such as lead or tenor singers? I've seen at least one tenor who smokes, and could still belt out those high notes....

One poster even went as far as to mention brand names that seem to work better for bass singers (non-filters seem to be best). I have no idea what other members would smoke that wouldn't have some sort of effect on their voice.

I refuse to believe that smoking does not affect one's vocal quality. I know of several singers (gospel and otherwise) whose voice has been visibly affected by smoking. Outside SG, Val Kilmer state, when he was preparing to play Jim Morrison, he started smoking so his voice would take on the same qualities as Morrison's (a heavy smoker).

Again, not condoning or condemning, merely observing.

Roger Bennett Passes Away

Roger, like many artists, had the uncanny ability to make anyone feel like they'd known him all their life, and in a way, I have. I have grown up watching the Cathedrals, and Roger's down-home southern humor and humility have always stood out.

I got to speak to Roger a couple times at the National Quartet Convention. Both time, he was incredibly kind, personable, and gave of his time very genrously (for an awe-struck kid who'd never been to the NQC before, getting a chance to talk to some of my heroes, he is the one that always sticks out as being the kindest and most sincere).

I had asked him once about his song, "When The World Looks At Me," and told him that I was considering recording it. He told me how flattered and honored he was that I would even consider recording it. He even offered to send me the soundtrack for it from the original recording.

He was truly a class act who knew exactly how to read and respond to an audience, both on stage and in person.

Roger, you will be missed....