Gaither to produce Oaks special

I am going through the roof right now thanks to some news posted on SouthernGospelReporter.com (see below)....

GAITHER PRODUCING OAK RIDGE BOYS SPECIAL
The Oak Ridge Boys are scheduled to video tape with Bill Gaither next month. Sources say the sessions will most likely result in a Gaither Gospel Series release.. featuring the country/gospel quartet. Our reporter caught up with the Oaks, enroute to Coachella, Ca., lead singer.. Duane Allen says: "The show taping is July 22nd. We are still working out lots of details in the planning stages. At this point, we have submitted songs, from which to pick.. and decide how the flow of the show will go."

Duane adds that the finished product will mainly feature Bill and the Oak Ridge Boys, with some Homecoming Friends gathered around as well.

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I have been a HUGE fan of The Oaks for years (and have gotten to know them very well). It sounds like Gaither may do something similar to what was done with the Gatlin Brothers back in the late 90's, where some gospel artists gather together to watch the Oaks put on a gospel concert, but I hope that Bill also goes into the history and background of the group, since the only other release so far to detail the Oaks' history has been William Lee Golden's DVD, My Life's Work, which was released in 2000; other than that, there has been no definitive historical documentary dedicated exclusively to the Oaks.

Either way, this is gonna be a GOOD ONE!!

Ernie or Danny??

I know I've been MIA somewhat lately, with working in a vacation and studio planning all at once, and with Gold City's new project coming out tomorrow, I figured I'd give readers this comparison, courtesy of Gary Byrd.

Dream On

Via Wes Burke (and YouTube), a trailer for the new Signature Sound Dream On DVD is available. The set design looks amazingly similar to the Gaither Vocal Band's 2002 Austrailian Homecoming DVD, only this time, Russ Taff isn't the only one dancing.

Buried in a studio

Starting next week, I'll be spending whatever spare time I have buried in various studios working on a new solo project for the next few months. I am particularly excited about this one, as I have spent a year working on just song selection alone, and this promises to be a very different project compared to my previous efforts, both in style and quality. It will also be the first full project produced by Wavemakers Media, the audio/visual company that I am co-founder of, so it is a double-whammy!!

As work progresses, I'll post samples, photos, and such online at my music MySpace site for everyone to see and hear.

Yes, this is a shameless plug, but that's the joy of having my own blog!! HA HA!!

It's not just SG....

It appears that lawsuits and legal matters between band members is not strictly an SG thing recently. According to the Associate Press....

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) -- The drummer for the country group Alabama has been sued by his fellow band members, who say he was overpaid $202,670.

Alabama was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

The lawsuit filed May 9 in the Circuit Court of DeKalb County, Alabama, claims that in 2003, Mark Herndon was paid for his share of net merchandise sales during the band's American Farewell Tour before a final accounting was done.

The final accounting, the suit claims, found that "there were no net merchandise revenues as defined by the contract."

The lawsuit seeks to recover the money.

The four members of Alabama -- Teddy Gentry, Randy Owen, Jeff Cook and Herndon -- have not performed together live since the 2003 farewell tour. Band members did gather Saturday for the unveiling of a group of bronze statues in their honor in Fort Payne, Alabama.

The lawsuit, which names the Group Alabama Inc. as the plaintiff, also states that Herndon has demanded a payment of $65,047. That represents his share of an advance against anticipated sales of the "The Last Stand" CD, which was recorded live during the farewell tour and is being sold by Cracker Barrel restaurants.

Alabama contends in the lawsuit that this amount and Herndon's share of any future earnings should be withheld until the full amount Herndon was overpaid for merchandise sales is repaid.

Attorney Robert G. Wilson, who filed the lawsuit, said he could not comment.

Members of the band and Herndon's attorney were not immediately available for comment.

Alabama was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Their hits include "Tennessee River," "The Closer You Get" and "Song of the South."

First of all, I would say the ball was dropped when an employee was paid more than they should have been paid. If I got extra payment in my check and was later told I had to give it back, odds are I probably wouldn't have it, especially if it was over the course of 5 years. Even if I DID have it, they'd be hard pressed to get it back from me.

Second, according to what I've been hearing around the industry, it's been common knowledge that Herndon and the "three cousins" (Randy, Teddy, and Jeff) had their fair share of "moments." It is my understanding that Herndon was never a full partner in the band (at least that's the impression I get), and as a result, kinda got the shaft at times. Some may view this situation as Mark saying, "Screw you guys!!"

Either way, it is another sad chapter in the music industry when legendary acts like this have to resort to legal proceedings....

What's in a name?

First it was the Imperials, now it's The Segos....

According to some investigative reporting on several parts (I found out about it on David Bruce Murray's site), it appears that two most recent members of "Naomi and The Segos" recently gave their notice of resignation (and a "please believe us when we say...." e-mail) to supposedly "lift the weight" financially from Naomi Sego.

According to former members Judson Horner and Kasey Kemp, following ongoing financial stress, the two decided to supplement their Segos income by starting their own CD/DVD duplication business (The JK Company). That's fine; SG singers often have an alternate source of income. They say their hope was to finish out the year with Naomi, then settle into their company, allowing Naomi to retire. The problem arose when the money simply was not coming in to make ends meet, at which time made the decision to help lift the financial burden by giving their resignation and a five week notice in mid-April. Their first two weeks were worked as usual. The following two weeks were special dates scheduled with Dottie Rambo and Lulu Roman, so they were not scheduled to work. They were reportedly planning to join Naomi for their fifth and final weekend when they learned that Naomi would be working the dates solo. No full explanation was given for this (or at least if it was, I haven't seen it). Kasey and Judson were then free to pursue their own business venture.

What Chuck Peters found, however, is that a week after giving their notice, Judson and Kasey filed a registration for a new limited liability company in the name of (drum roll please).....THE SEGOS, LLC!! This is the SECOND time I have seen that a group with literally DECADES spent on the gospel circuit never thought (or never bothered) to register the name. Even when it's a family name, it would be WISE to register the name to avoid a situation like this. In this case, the name started out as "The Sego Brothers and Naomi," which may or may not have been registered/trademarked, and as time went on (and Naomi Sego remained the only original member), the name was adjusted to "Naomi and The Segos." In this case, both names should have been registered, or at least trademarked, to avoid use by someone else.

From what I can tell, the name was only APPLIED for; there is no indication as of yet that the application was APPROVED, which means there is still a possibility that the name was indeed trademarked (and might also explain why there was no announcement of The Segos continuing on following Naomi's retirement).

Perhaps everyone involved can learn a lesson from The Imperials.....

UPDATE: It appears that they HAVE been approved for the name "The Segos, LLC," and have now ordered Naomi Sego to quit using the professional name she was used for decades. I guess, technically, she could always go by Naomi Reader, but does anyone really know or recognize the name "Naomi Reader"?

LATER UPDATE: In all the confusion of trying to track who found what, it was indeed Christian Voice Magazine that had of the details. My apologies.

It seems that several parties involved in the issue have posted their comments over at SoGospelNews.com. According to Kasey Kemp AND Naomi Sego's new manager, Terry Dorsey, all is well in the Sego camp. It also appears that some not-so-complimentary comments have been cleaned up, one of which was from Judson Horner....

EVEN LATER UPDATE: Naomi Sego has rebuked the statements made by Kasey Kemp. This just keeps getting uglier and uglier. This is gonna be my last update on the issue. I have addressed the topic, offered my one and a half cents worth, and will now retire to my ring-side seat to observe the rest of the melee....if anyone needs me, I'll be buying popcorn....