September is Gospel Music Heritage Month!

To celebrate, this site will… well, there’s going to be a conference on… wait, no… an awards show will honor…

Nevermind. September is Gospel Music Heritage Month and, every year, very little is done to celebrate it. I’m chiefly guilty of it– I think I may have attempted to begin thinking about doing something a couple of years back.

A bit of background… the country has been celebrating Gospel Music Heritage Month since 2008, after Congress passed legislation acknowledging September as the month to honor gospel music. The initiative was spearheaded by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and the National Recording Academy for Arts & Sciences, Gospel Music Channel (now known as gmc) and the Gospel Music Association.

But did you even know it was Heritage Month? Do you support or celebrate it?

I bet you’re not among the 864 people who “like” its official Facebook fan page, nor are you among the 37 people who follow its official Twitter profile (don’t feel bad, I just learned of it as I wrote this). And I know you don’t visit the GospelMusicHeritage.com website, which now simply redirects to the homepage of gmc, the organization that hosted the web address as the movement grew.

Ok, it’s not completely as desolate as I’m making it seem.

At the top of this month, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted its 3rd annual “Evolution of Gospel” celebration in honor of Heritage Month. With a “Kennedy Center Honors…” type of vibe, the night honored the contributions of Dr. Bobby Jones, Cathy Hughes and First Lady Michelle Obama, who was unable to attend. The evening featured performances by Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Marvin Sapp and more.

And Heritage Month’s social media properties are hinting at some OFFICIAL event taking place in Houston, TX this month, though they haven’t announced a date or location.

My thought is that, because the gospel music community does not have an official, unified trade organization representing it, there is no group charged with really celebrating anything in it, including Heritage Month. Plenty of organizations– from SAGMA to GMWA, GMA to BMI, NARAS to various acronyms in between– have done their part to honor the music and culture, but these groups are often overworked and understaffed, with other primary corporate objectives. Their celebrations are splintered across the country and across the calendar year. Who can plan a month’s worth of unified gospel music activities?!

Again, this is not a knock against anyone– GospelPundit.com hasn’t exactly been the hub of Heritage Month features, trivia and giveaways. I tend to tell myself “ahhh, next year!”

But my observations do raise the question– we don’t really celebrate Gospel Music Heritage Month, do we?

If you agree, fine. If you disagree, tell me where the party is and let’s have at it.

Either way, I think we all need to do a bit more.

If you’re in Tampa for GMWA, or planning to get there soon, make sure you get to this star-studded concert!

The annual ‘Tribute to the King’ concert (referring to the late Rev. James Cleveland) is always well-attended and full of great performances.  This year will be no different, featuring Kirk Franklin, Dorinda Clark Cole, Rance Allen, James Fortune & FIYA, Jessica Reedy, Myron Butler and more!

The show starts at 11pm (doors at 10pm) on Wednesday, August 17th. Check out the flyer below for details.  Anyone going???

I took a minute before writing my thoughts about this year’s Stellar Awards, held in Nashville, TN this past Saturday.  Aside from being utterly exhausted by Monday morning, I also wanted to reflect a bit before I penned my thoughts. Having so reflected, here we go…

The 26th Annual Stellar Awards program was hosted by Donnie McClurkin– the first time that only one person has had hosting duties.  It had to be a bit exhausting for him, but he’s a great host who keeps the energy high both on and off-camera.

For me, one major highlight of the show was that newer artists (or those that we don’t see often on national TV) were given performance slots– the Soul Seekers, forever Jones, the Nevels Sisters, Joshua’s Troop… I think the overwhelming consensus has been that the “same people” get booked for the Stellars, the Celebration of Gospel, etc.  This year, I feel like the mold was broken a bit.  And that’s good.

Similarly, some non-”regulars” won in a few categories– Lucinda Moore for Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year, Darwin Hobbs for Praise & Worship CD of the Year… it seemed like, for a lot of categories, one could not predict the winner. That’s fine, until one also cannot explain the winner, and there were quite a few head-scratching moments as it relates to the winner’s list.

I’m not going to dig too deeply into how I feel about who won an award and who didn’t– what’s done is done.  But I will say that the Just James from J Moss was career-defining and one of the only albums in the past decade that I have allowed to play without skipping a track.  That he didn’t win one of the many awards for which he was nominated is more than unfortunate.  I also think that forever Jones had the greatest eligible song of last year with “He Wants It All,” but the family band wasn’t even nominated in the “Best Song” category.

You’ll see the edited show in various markets beginning this weekend (check your local listings) and on gmc on March 5th at 8pm.  But I’ll tell you my fave moments now–

Key performances for me came from JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise, who opened the show with “Lord, You’re Mighty,” as well as Beverly Crawford who simply does not disappoint on stage, and VaShawn Mitchell with his unstoppable hit “Nobody Greater.”  I also loved the Nevels Sisters (they whipped their “hair back and forth”) and the quartet moment, which featured INCREDIBLE vocals from The Rance Allen Group, the Soul Seekers and the Williams Brothers. Deitrick Haddon commanded the stage like few can on his set.  But at the end, it was Marvin Sapp, in a moving tribute to his wife MaLinda, who had the entire audience on their feet (and nearly in tears) before Donnie McClurkin had us all pray for Pastor Sapp– hope they show that on TV.

Fairly or unfairly, the Stellar Awards really needed to meet or exceed the performance success of last year’s 25th Anniversary Stellar Awards.  While this year’s show was not bad, it’s hard not to knock it down a few pegs in comparison to the incredible show from last year, with its once-in-a-lifetime collaborative performances.

But then the question becomes “should they be considered ‘once-in-a-lifetime’?”  As the show did this year with the quartet collabo, is there not a way to creatively combine performances each year in such a way that the Stellar Awards consistently features unique performances that you cannot see elsewhere?

If I’ve seen an artist perform his or her song at the Gospel Heritage Conference, then GMWA, then COGIC Convocation and, finally, Celebration of Gospel over the past year, what’s so special about seeing them do it again on the Stellar Awards?  The suits and dresses?  The lights and house band? The audience?  It’s not enough.  We need more than a performance of the song– we need a moment.  Last year, the Stellars gave us hours of moments. This year, we also got a couple. But we need more. I get that last year’s show was special– but I do believe that the gospel community wants it to be the norm.

In any case, kudos to Central City Productions and the Stellar Awards– it’s not an easy task and, for all the commentary I’m giving, I still wouldn’t miss a taping for the world. Here’s to a good 26th, and a great 27th.

Omgeeeeeeeee… Tobbi & Tommi SING.  They are probably best known in the gospel biz for their vocals in Donald Lawrence’s phenomenal group of singers, The Company, but the sister duo has been ministering together for quite some time.

I randomly stumbled upon this YouTube clip of the two of them singing D. Lawrence’s “Prayer of Jabez (Bless Me Indeed)”… word has it that the two of them just recorded a remake of Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire,” a duet to be featured on Donald’s upcoming album, YRM (Your Righteous Mind), in stores January 25th.  If you’ve heard them do the song over the summer (particularly at the Brat Pack Reunion Concert at GMWA this year), you know it’s going to be INCREDIBLE.

In the meantime, check ‘em out–

Whatd’ya think???

We’re still rolling with our weekly series– The Prayer List– in which we pray for one member of the gospel community each week.

This week, I’m adding Gerard Bonner to The Prayer List.

As one of the co-founders of GospelFlava.com, you’ve probably read dozens of Gerard’s articles and reviews, as well as benefitted from his photography skills for a decade. But, for nearly a year now, the gospel community has also been blessed BIG time by his innovative internet radio show– Bonnerfide Radio.

Gerard Bonner has gained the recognition and support of artists, labels and consumers alike. He was nominated for Internet Radio Show of the Year at the 2010 Stellar Awards and was recently awarded Internet Radio Station of the Year at GMWA’s Crystal Mic Media Awards.

But the enemy is mad. In January during Stellar Awards weekend, after throwing a landmark launch party that is STILL being talked about, Gerard and two associates were in a collision with an 18-wheeler, totaling the car he was in.  They all walked away bruised, but alright. Then, this past week, his tire blew out on the highway en route to Bobby Jones Gospel tapings– again, safe and spared from a MAJOR accident that happened just a mile ahead of him, around the time he would have arrived there, had his tire not blown out.

All that to say– we’ve gotta lift up our brother.

Father, thank You for the life, gifts and calling of Gerard Bonner.  Thank You for orchestrating so many aspects of his life– the good and the bad– to be for his ultimate well-being, and Your ultimate glory.  Thank You for being faithful to him, even in times when it felt like You were missing in action.  Thank You for having more plans for Gerard than he could have dreamt for himself.

Lord, I pray for protection for Gerard.  I pray for physical protection, but also for spiritual protection and emotional protection.  I pray that all of the things You’ve placed in him would be guarded for Your glory.  I pray that he would dive deeper into relationship with You, pursuing You more, craving time with You more.  And I pray that when he comes to You, that You would hide him in the safety of Your wings.  God, please cover him.

God, thank You for Gerard’s humility and his passion for the gospel music industry.  Thank You for his heart of servanthood.  I pray that it would grow even larger.  I  pray that Your Kingdom would be blessed by this one man, that testimonies will continue to be told of Your goodness and Your grace, and how his trusting in You was rewarded openly.

Father, expand the reach of Gerard Bonner.  Let his faithful devotion to You be announced and noticed.  Let opportunities open up for him and shut doors that he ought not enter.  Surround him with people who are good for him, not opportunists looking to latch on to his calling.  Help him to have brothers and sisters in Christ who will challenge, edify and hold him accountable.

Finally, Lord, bless his daughter and bless him as father, to model the fathering that You do for Your children every day.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Okay, fam… let’s hear what you’re asking God for as it relates to our brother, Gerard Bonner.  Post your prayers in the comment section!

Word has it that GMWA will be streaming live this week, from July 25-30, 2010.

For just $24.99 (I feel like an infomercial), you’ll receive unlimited access to classes, workshops and training sessions from the comfort of your own home, for your entire week.

Visit http://www.lifestream.tv/eb/sightandsound/sands_web_audio.html for more info and to register.

Who’s gonna pay $25 to be a part of the action?

Word has it that the Gospel Music Workshop of America is putting on some great finishing touches for this year’s annual convention, taking place in Cincinnati, OH from July 24-30, 2010.

In addition to all of the musical festivities, there’s the GMWA Serves day of community service event, which was REALLY successful last year and promises to be so again. On Friday, July 23rd at 2pm, in the Duke Energy Center, the GMWA Board will announce its selected service project for the city this year.

At GMWA, there are classes, worship sessions and musicals GALORE, until all hours of the night. Last year, I vividly remember having to take a nap at around 9pm each night JUST to make it through the midnight concerts.

Peep the video below–

Who’s planning to attend any or all of the GMWA events???

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Ted Winn.  In addition to being a gifted vocalist and songwriter, he’s intelligent, which always makes for fun conversation.  At a certain point, I wanted to just keep chattin’, but he’s a busy guy and had to step back into the studio where he was working.

You’ve seen Ted Winn in every form of artistry possible in our industry– from choir (Kevin Davidson & The Voices of Binghamton) to ensemble (Richard Smallwood & Vision) to duo (Ted & Sheri).  With the recent release of his anticipated solo project, Ted seems well-positioned for a long and successful career in the industry.

In our chat, Ted talks about his new project, his musical experiences and influences, his passion for empowering aspiring artists and educating current ones, and his thriving publishing venture, Veracity Entertainment.  He even weighs in on why he chose to cut off his signature locs.

I think you’ll enjoy it… here’s my talk with the impressive Ted Winn.

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey man, how are you?

TW:  I’m doing well, thank you.

EJ:  Great.  Well, thanks for taking a quick moment to chat with me.

TW:  No problem.

EJ:  Let’s get right to it.  Your debut solo project, Balance, was released in September, but it seems like rumblings about it were going on for years.

TW:  *laughing*

EJ:  Did it take some time to finish it and get it out there?

TW:  Now, that is funny.  *laughing*  You know, the first single, “God Believes In You,” I recorded it at the end of ’07 and I went on a tour in ’08, so I was performing it around that time.  But, it was a while… probably took a year and a half to finish the project.

EJ:  Well, regardless of when it came out, I’m glad it did.  I think it’s a really great piece of work.

TW:  Thank you.

EJ:  No problem.  Now, it’s been released on Shanachie, which is not necessarily a “gospel” label, but they’ve done three major gospel releases this year alone– yours, Vicki Yohe’s and Kim Burrell’s.  How did that relationship come about?

TW:  It came about through my publicist, Bill Carpenter, and through my radio promotions guys at that time, Kendall Duffie.  Each of them had relationships with Randall Grass, over at Shanachie, and they talked to him.  He heard the music and he said that he thought it was good, that there was a novelty about what I did… we started conversations and that’s where I ended up doing the deal.

EJ:  Cool.  Now, lemme ask you about the direction of Balance, because there’s something about the style that surprised me a bit.  I was expecting a studio joint, with some background vocals and that would just be it.  But you really kinda have a live praise & worship vibe on this project, with the band and singers being just as vital as your lead on many of the songs.  Why did you choose that route for this album?

TW:  Honestly, that is… well, most people who know me in a professional sense know me from Ted & Sheri.  That’s how they heard me, which is a duet and, obviously, the focal point was the duet.

But my background, my history, my PASSION, has always been choir music.  I started directing choirs when I was 13 and I grew up listening to Hawkins, Whitfield… the Thompson Community Singers is my favorite choir.  My influences are Ed[win] & Walter Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Richard [Smallwood] and Donald Lawrence.  Those 5 people helped to shape my musical tastes.

EJ:  Yeah.

TW:  So,  I think that the BGV part being so intricate– and it’s great that you paid attention to that, because that was intentional– I kinda wanted a group, but was told “don’t do that.” *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs*

TW:  But I always wanted a choir or group– I love that whole thing… sharing the stage or the choir stand with another group of singers.  I think it makes for a great opportunity to share in ministry with somebody else.  So, that’s why I went in that direction and this project, sonically and stylistically, is really who “Ted Winn” is.

EJ:  And do you think you’ll ever go that route?  You know, with a group of singers that are set as the people who sing with Ted Winn and kinda have that vibe?

TW:  You know, I definitely won’t rule it out.  It’s something I’ve thought about and would love to be able to create that sort of platform, not just for me, but for other people.

I think there are so many singers out there who are great, but need mentoring.  They need someone to help them develop in terms of their talent and in terms of the focus of ministry, what’s important, how you nuance what you do and say as you move through this industry.  I would love to be a conduit for that for people, so it’s definitely a possibility.

EJ:  Sure.  I wanna ask you– and I hope you understand it and that the readers understand it– I’ll ask the question, then expound.  The question is “how did you make it out of Memphis?”

TW:  *laughs*

EJ:  *laughing* And when I say that, I mean that there are some AMAZING singers in Memphis.  I’ve been over there a few times in the past couple of months and my wife, who’s originally from there, will point out people that she used to sing with years ago.  And these people can SING.  Almost everyone.

But it’s becoming clear to me that, unfortunately, not everyone gets to “get out.”  So, I’m curious to know how people like you, like Sheri, people like Kevin Davidson or Darrel Petties, how you managed to not get caught up in what seems like a cycle there… how did you manage to stand out among all of the great talent there?

TW:  I’ll answer that in two ways.  One– probably the main thing was the push that Sheri and I, in particular, had from O’landa Draper.  Because he was the first breakout artist in gospel to really do what he did, it inspired us (and we aspired) to do something bigger than what we saw.  It was stuff like going to GMWA at that time, maybe mid to late-90′s, and singing.  He introduced us to Donald Lawrence, we started meeting people.  And as we started to travel outside of the city, we started to realize “wow… there’s a whole world of people out here and things to do.”

Unfortunately, and I want to say this in a way that’s not offensive, but there seems to be a mentality in Memphis that is pervasive, and it’s one that causes people, in some instances, to not maximize their potential.

EJ:  Yeah.  And I’ve heard that from people there.

TW:  And I think it has all to do with exposure.  It’s the headquarters of the Church Of God In Christ, it’s a very churched city.  Church is everything.  EVERYBODY goes to church.  And I think that it becomes some people’s microcosm– that’s it.  They don’t go outside of that.

And so I think that, for those of us who were able to make it to a larger stage, or have a larger platform, it had all to do with people outside of Memphis who saw something in us and pushed us to the next place.

Like I said, with Richard Smallwood.  I was in Memphis and O’landa Draper introduced me to Richard.  I moved to DC after I left Morehouse College, he started asking me to sing with Vision, and it went on from there.  Donald met Sheri, heard Sheri sing, asked her to start singing with Tri-City.

So, it really was people and players outside of the city that gave us the platform.

EJ:  Right.

TW:  Now, Memphis has some amazing talent.  And I endeavor to do some things there.  I was talking to some people recently about doing some type of symposium because I want to go back and do some things that give people an opportunity.

EJ:  That would be awesome.

TW:  You know, O’landa Draper used to have a music lover’s conference.  And he would bring in people– that’s where we FIRST heard Melonie Daniels, that’s where I met Richard Smallwood.  He would bring all these people in– Kim Burrell– and they would pour into those of us in the city.  And it would be great if we could get that to happen again.  There’s a talent there, but it needs to be nurtured and corraled.

EJ:  Absolutely.  It’s funny– you and Sheri aren’t recording together right now, but both of you created albums that speak life to, and encourage, your listeners.  Is that a personal passion of yours, or do you just feel that the gospel industry is in that season right now?

TW:  It’s definitely a personal passion of mine.  I have always aspired to push people into a better place.  My friends tell me that I always try to fix everybody. *laughing*

And I think that there’s an anointing that I have that lends itself to healing and to restoration, to give people hope and, hopefully, change their perspective about themselves.  That has a lot to do with why the content of my record is what it is, and moves people to what I feel is a more balanced position.

EJ:  Right.

TW:  And it’s not always easy to do that.  Sometimes you have your own days, you know, where you’re not feeling it.  You get bogged down dealing with the dynamics of the industry– radio, retail and awards shows and all that’s going on.  And you have to stop, take a reprieve, and say “okay, Lord, I need you to refuel me because it’s getting a little crazy.”

But, it’s definitely a passion of mine to see people have peace.  So I want to do whatever I can to help facilitate that.

EJ:  Amen.  That’s a good segue to my next question… what would you say has been the hardest part of launching your solo artistry?  And I don’t mean logistically, I mean at a deeper level.  Was there fear in striking out on your own, or has there been judgment and criticism that you’ve had to rise above… things like that?  What’s been tough for Ted to do?

TW:  It definitely was, first and foremost, the phobia of going it alone.  And it took me a year to even decide to do a solo project.  And it was after I felt like God gave me the title, Balance, and I started writing songs that I halfway liked, after trashing many many songs. *laughing*

EJ: *laughs*

TW:  That was when I said “ok, this is what I’m supposed to do.”  So, it was dealing with that.  And, of course, dealing with the obvious… some of the Ted & Sheri fans’ immediate response was “umm… we want a Ted & Sheri record.”  So, you’re also thinking about how people are going to receive solo projects when they liked what they had with the group.

EJ:  Absolutely.

TW:  So, that was definitely the biggest challenge to overcome– to even get to the place to decide if I wanted to do one.

EJ:  While I have you, I wanna know about Ted, the businessman.  We’ve got several mutual friends and they all sing your praises as an astute businessman.  What do you do, business-wise, in the industry and how do you juggle between that work and your artistry?

TW:  Wow.  Well, I have a company called Veracity Entertainment.  And it’s a publishing administration company that I started almost 3 1/2 years ago.  I started out with one client– Patrick Love, a songwriter.  We represent songwriters, we collect their money, we do their licenses, we argue their splits, the whole nine.

And it was through me having some bad situations in the past that I, basically, became a student of the business.  I started to pick the brains of my attorneys and going to lunch with them.  I had a lot of conversations with Donald Lawrence and with another record executive, Jimmy Maynes, who was at Jive [Records] at the time.  They all were saying “this is something that you can do.”

So, it started with Patrick Love, then, by word of mouth, went to two writers, then three to four to five, and now I’m at about 30.

EJ:  WOW.

TW:  And I represent writers on T-Pain’s latest album– one of my writers did 11 songs on the last T-Pain record… Akon, Ciara, two of my writers just collaborated on the new Toni Braxton single, “Yesterday.”  I was representing Elvin Ross, who scored Madea’s Family Reunion and did the cues for House of Payne… the list goes on and on.  It’s been an amazing run as it relates to that piece.

It’s a very interesting situation and God blessed me to do some amazing things… I was even able to do my deal with David Balfour, who did the T-Pain tracks, in such a way that I now own publishing on those T-Pain records.

EJ:  Wow, Ted!

TW:  And that’s part of the reason that I was able to do my own record and pay for it.  I do believe that the wealth of the world– I don’t say “wicked,” but people can say it how they want to…

EJ:  *laughing*

TW:  The wealth of the world, or of the world system, is laid up for the just.  And I think that means, at least to me, that there’s a system out there in place– we don’t live on it, we live on a Kingdom system– but we definitely can, if we learn it and are able to walk through it, we can definitely benefit from it.  I believe that God wants us to have influence in EVERY area of the world, so that we can influence things in a better direction.

So, it’s great for me to be able to have conversations with the top executives in the music business.  Sometimes I’m sitting talking to these people and I’m like “man, here I am, the dude from Memphis with nobody musical in my family– nobody sings, nobody plays, nothing.”  And to go from that, to Voices of Binghamton, to Ted & Sheri, to Vision, then to be sitting in the office across from people who orchestrate the careers of people who sell MILLIONS of records… it’s phenomenal.

EJ:  It absolutely is.  Absolutely.

TW:  I didn’t mean to give you such a long answer. *laughing*  But that’s Veracity, man.  That’s my baby, that’s my passion right there.  And I love what I do.

EJ:  I’m glad that you have something else because one thing that bugs me– and it’s probably because I love this industry and the artists in it– I hate to see when artists get older and have to struggle.  Here we are, singing your songs at the midnight musicals, and they’re on the compilation albums, and we call it one of the greatest songs of the decade, but the writers and artists can’t pay their medical bills when they have an issue, or what have you.

TW:  Right.

EJ:  So, it’s great to see artists who are not so wrapped up in the music of it that they don’t take time to understand the business of it.

TW:  Yeah.  And I feel it incumbent upon people like myself to not only get this money to help Ted Winn, but also to equip other people.  There have been instances where I’ve found money for Richard Smallwood, for Kim Burrell, Edwin Hawkins… I just found some money for the Clark Sisters and talked to Karen last week about it.

It is my mission to help empower our people and to spread the knowledge and information.  We have so much value in the gospel music industry, we just have to get the information to learn how to make it lucrative for us.

EJ:  Absolutely.

TW:  It’s part of my frustration when I go to different conferences… we have seminars on how to lead worship and 10 ways to grow your praise team… I think that’s fine.  But I really wish I could go to some of these conferences and teach people about handling their songs and their publishing.

EJ:  Sure.

TW:  And, I mean, I never even get invited to them.

EJ:  *laughing*

TW:  But here I am representing people who sell millions of albums.  *laughing*  Maybe people don’t know that I do it, or whatever.  But I’m not asking people to pay me or anything– I just want to be able to go in and empower the Kingdom with this information because I think that they really need it.

EJ:  I’m with you.  Absolutely.  Okay, last question.  I know tons of folks who have, or had, locs.  And they tend to get annoyed when people ask “when are you gonna cut them,” or, after they’ve done so, “why did you cut them,” but please indulge me cuz I think it’s the type of thing I’m supposed to ask in an interview.

TW: *laughing*

EJ:  What made you cut off your locs and what has the response been from folks?

TW:  Well, I grew my locs because I wanted to make a statement– that we can appreciate the natural texture of our hair, as people of color, the way that it grows.  When it came time to do the music, there were no other mainstream gospel artists that had locs.  There was no Stephen Hurd, Tye Tribbett, whoever else has them right now.  No one was doing it.

And I remember I was at [the] AIM [conference] with Sheri.  And we did “Come Ye Disconsolate” and the audience response was lukewarm.  And I’ll never forget it… I talked to Donnie McClurkin about it afterwards and he told me “you know, it’s gonna take people about a year to get used to your HAIR.”

EJ:  Really?

TW:  He said “after they get used to that, and realize that you can still be effective, they’ll be cool.”  And he was about right.  And I think that it kinda broke the stereotype of what people thought it was going to be.

One time, Sheri and I sang at a church and the pastor said “I’m gonna be honest, when you guys got up, I saw you with your hair and I thought ‘are they going to rap’?”  He thought I was going to rap and she was going to sing.  But he said “instead, you got up and you sang.  And not only did you sing, you sang a hymn.”  You cannot base that type of thing on aesthetics.

EJ:  Right.

TW:  So, I grew my locs and I cut them in June of this year.  It was 10 years– a decade, or an era– and I felt like, transitioning into a solo artist, and in this next phase of my life, even as a business person, I just felt like it was time for the next phase for me.

So, I ended it.  And it was a lot.  It took me a year to get prepped to cut my locs.  And the day I cut ‘em, I cried. *chuckles*

EJ:  Aww…

TW:  I did.  I had a moment… definitely had a moment because there were so many experiences I had with that hair, so many places I went around the world.  It had become a part of my I.D.  People knew me as the guy with the locs.

But, that’s why I cut them.  I’m appreciative of that time I had with them and I feel like, as I’ve heard from emails, I encouraged other people to loc their hair, you know?  People said that they can appreciate it because it made them not feel like an outcast or a misfit for having a similar type of expression.  But yeah, that phase is over for me now.

EJ:  That’s a lot deeper than I thought it was gonna be… I thought you might just say “it was hot” or something. *laughing*

TW: *laughs* Nah… it is for some people, but not for me.  I usually don’t do anything on a superficial level.  I’m too psychoanalytical of a person.

EJ:  I hear you, man.  Well, that’s about it from me.  I really appreciate you for chatting with me.

TW:  Thank you, man.  I really enjoyed the interview.

EJ:  No doubt.  And I’ll talk with you soon.

TW:  Okay.

EJ:  Bye.

*     *     *

And that was my chat with Ted.  He’s a really cool dude and he seems to mean what he says.  He’s passionate about the people of God.

AND, it helps that his album is REALLY REALLY good.  If you didn’t see my review of it, click here to check it out.

In the meantime, lemme know what you thought of the interview!

Chatted with MY DUDE, JJ Hairston.  Not only does he lead the dynamic choir, Youthful Praise, he’s a man who simply adores God and wants to serve Him through his gifts and calling.

Although I kinda wanted to cut up with him during the interview, we managed to keep it professional.  The result is a great interview in which JJ shares his heart for this current album, talks about how Youthful Praise has evolved, and tells us what’s next for him.

Without further delay, here’s JJ Hairston…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey!

JJ:  What’s up, dude?!

EJ:  *laughs* How are you?

JJ:  I’m good.  How are you doing?

EJ:  Good, good, good.  Let’s jump to it– you’ve got your fifth album coming out on September 1st, entitled Resting On His Promise.  Tell me about the vision of this particular project.

JJ:  Well, we usually praise and worship the Lord, which is what we’re called to do.  But for this album, we wanted to do something a little different– not only did we want to worship God, but we wanted to encourage His people.  So, we used some more thematic songs… songs that kind of speak for the day.  Normally, we sing all of our songs UP… this time, we’re singing to the people, encouraging them that, even in these times, God is still able to take them through anything.

EJ:  That’s needed, man.  Do you have a favorite track on the project?

JJ:  Umm… “Close To You” is my favorite track.  It’s a worship track, it’s intimate.  Everyone knows that I just love to worship Him– that’s just me.  I’m not saying it’s gonna be everybody’s favorite, but that’s mine.

EJ:  Talk to me about some of the collaborations you’ve got on this album–guest spots from Shirley Caesar, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Deon Kipping, Myron Butler, Bishop McDaniel…  how did those come about?

JJ:  Well, the first one I knew I was doing was with Dorinda.  That was just something… I knew, for this record, I wanted to get my favorite female vocalist and she is still, by far, my favorite.  So that was something I knew I was doing.

Everything else kinda happened in the process.  Pastor Shirley Caesar, of course, is on the label.  That was something I really wanted to do.  The song was kinda traditional to me and I wanted to the “queen”of traditional gospel to sing it.

EJ:  That’s wise.

JJ:  Myron, that was something that James Robinson [of Evidence Gospel] and I were just talking through… it was like, “which one of your friends would you love to do a song with?”  Me and Myron are so cool, but we never really got to work together in that aspect, so we did that and it turned out great.

We actually weren’t in the same room– he was in a studio in Dallas, I was in a studio here, but we kinda compliment each other very well.

EJ:  Wow.  You’d never have known it.

JJ:  Yeah.  William Murphy was supposed to sing the song “Lord, You’re Mighty.”  The night before the recording, he wasn’t able to make it because of some vocal issues.  I called Deon [Kipping] and said “look, I need you to sing this song tomorrow!”  He was like “are you serious?” *laughs*

EJ:  For real?  Did he know it before that, or did he just learn it?

JJ:  No, we rehearsed it the night before, and then an hour before the recording.  And that song, we actually sang on the stage together.  It worked out very well.  Bishop McDaniel– he’s just a great singer and I just feel like he delivers a song so well, so I wanted to include him.  That’s pretty much how it all happened.

EJ:  That’s great stuff.  Talk with me about how Youthful Praise has evolved over the years.  You all started out a long time ago as a youth choir and, as you got older, your sound was similar to other New York-area choirs at the time– a heavy vibrato (like on “Awesome God,” for example) and a killer band.

You’ve still got a killer band, but less vibrato.  And the style of music is a bit different.  Why the shift?

JJ:  I think that as I changed, and as the music I was drawn to changed, the music I wrote changed as well.

EJ:  Yeah.

JJ:  When we did Thank You For The Change, everybody doesn’t know it, but Shawn Brown and I were both directing during that record.  But in the midst of production on that record, Shawn went on to pastor.  So, though I’m the only one on the cover, we did that record together.

Live… The Praise, The Worship was the first record that I had done by myself and it was what was in my heart as opposed to being two different aspects of music.

EJ:  Definitely.

JJ:  Of course, Shawn and I are both church choir dudes and we were doing that type of music, but when it came time for me to do my own type of record, I had to do what was closest and dearest to my heart.  And that’s why that change kinda happened.

Now, because we grew up singing that way, we still have the vibrato.  It’s not as heavily accented by the style of song, but it’s still there.  I heard one guy say that we worship with a squall. *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs* I think that’s accurate!

JJ:  Yeah!  But that’s how it evolved.  Then, the Exalted record really went ALL the way worship.  So what I did with this album, Resting On His Promise, was tried to bring it back to the middle where the live praise and worship was, where everyone that likes church choirs will be able to enjoy it, but people who like praise & worship will also be able to enjoy it.

EJ:  Sure.  And I think you did that well– it’s got variety, but it’s clearly ONE project.  While we’re talking about choirs, I’ve got a more philosophical question for you.

JJ:  Okay.

EJ:  It seems like fewer choirs are getting recognition these days in the gospel industry… almost as if there aren’t as many mainstay choirs.  Do you feel like the choir scene in gospel is changing?  If so, how are you working to remain relevant?

JJ:  Wow.  I think the choir scene has changed because the industry has changed.  And I don’t mean “industry” as far as what people want, I mean “industry” as far as money.  Just to keep it real.

EJ:  Mm-hmm.

JJ:  It’s harder to move a choir because you can only move up to a certain number of people.  So, if you have a concert, you can have someone like J Moss– you have his honorarium, plus one ticket for him and travel for his background singers.  Or, you can bring in Ricky Dillard, who has 50 people.  Even though the honorarium may be different, the cost to move the group is just so much higher.

EJ:  Wow.

JJ:  So, what has happened now is that people are scaling down everywhere they can.  One of those areas is travel.  And choirs are taking the brunt of that because we have the most people.

What I’ve been doing to compensate for that is that I travel with less people, but still maintain the choir sound.  So as opposed to carrying 20 to 30 people, we travel with between 9 and 12 singers and a band.  We still give you the choir sound that you’re accustomed to from us, but you won’t have to pay as much for travel.  Still, 9 to 12 is a lot sometimes, but we move as many as we can.  It’s just a strain financially.

EJ:  Absolutely.  Just getting to the gig.

JJ:  Yeah.  I remember hearing that one choir took a bus all the way from California to New York.  People aren’t doing that anymore.  So, it’s just different, financially, in this industry than it was 15 years ago.

EJ:  Sure.  You mention traveling with fewer members, but you have a large choir.  How do you choose who’s going where and how do you deal with choir members who say “Well, he didn’t pick ME to go, why should I still do it?”

JJ:  Even to this day, we still have the same issue.   There’s a certain sound that has to be produced, regardless of how many people we bring.  And what we try to do is rotate as much as possible because I’ve been blessed with a large group of singers that can really represent the choir well.

Of course, at the same time, we have certain lead singers that people look for when we go places and I can’t leave them home.

EJ:  Right.

JJ:  So, it’s always a hard balance, but we try to move them around as much as we can.  You know, I explain to the choir what the issues are and they seem to understand.  We just try to be as fair as possible when we move people around.

EJ:  That’s a good approach.  You mentioned some of those lead singers we expect to see and I’ve gotta tell you– at GMWA, I nearly lost my mind about David McClure.  I think everybody was like “who?!  WHAT?!” *laughs*

JJ:  *laughing*  You know, honestly, I’ve been blessed over the last year or year and a half with some GREAT lead singers– of course, David McClure… we have a lead singer from New Jersey named Melissa Bell, and another singer named Jennifer Johnson out of New Haven, CT.  I didn’t go out to search for singers, we just happened to go places and we ministered with them there.

David is actually a member of our church and it just felt so right at that point… the timing was right for him to start traveling with us.  He’s great and he’s really a humble guy.  It’s just been a blessing.

EJ:  That’s great to hear.  Now, you’re a husband, a father, an artist.  How do you manage it all?  We hear stories about artists falling prey to different situations– how are balancing your commitment to family and your commitment to ministry?

JJ:  Well, one of the blessings is that my wife sings in the group, so where the choir goes, she goes.  But even if I’m doing a workshop or make certain appearances by myself, I take her with me.  Not because I think I’m going to go out and make a mess if I’m not with her, but because there are so many things that happen today– I wanna make sure I’m covered and SHE covers me.

And with our kids, we try to be there for them as much as we can.  When we’re home, we are HOME.  And when time allows, we do bring them on the road with us, so we’re not away from them every weekend.  Otherwise, we’d never seem them on weekends.

EJ:  Right.

JJ:  It’s worked out well so far.  I was just looking at the schedule for the rest of the year and it’s crazy.  When we go to Italy, I’m taking my kids with me.

EJ:  Are you?

JJ:  I told the promoter, if you want us, you’ve gotta bring my kids.  It’s Christmas and they’re coming with me.

EJ:  You’re a good dad.  So, what’s next for you?  Of course, you’re about to be working this album, but down the line, what do you have in mind?

JJ:  Well, one thing that’s been a blessing is that some people have heard the record and they’ve started asking me to help them with their records.  So what I’m trying to do is– my musical director and I– we’re looking into starting to produce a little bit.

EJ:  That’s awesome, man!

JJ:  We praise God that people enjoy our sound and we wanna be able to place that sound in some other places, maybe even where it’s not a choir– groups and soloists… I’ve gotten a lot of flack from people who say “you turned the choir into a praise & worship group.”  Well, that’s what I enjoy.  But now, I may be able to deal with other groups and soloists that are geared more toward praise and worship, and help to accentuate that sound for them.

EJ:  Very good.  I think that’ll be hot and, of course, I’m looking forward to it! I really appreciate you for taking a minute to chat, man.

JJ:  This is so funny… you’re sounding so professional!

EJ:  *laughs* I’m trying to put on my professional voice!  It’s all I can do to be like “Hi there, JJ Hairston, how are you?”

JJ:  *laughing*  Well, I’ll be professional and say “thank you very much.”

EJ:  Yes. You do that! *laughing*  And may God continue to bless your many ministry endeavors. *laughs*

JJ:  *laughs* Alright, thanks man.

EJ:  Bye man.

*     *     *

That’s it, folks!  What did you think???

One thing that stood out to me is that, no matter how large or successful, the issues that are real for smaller choirs are the same issues that are real for major choirs.

Don’t forget that Resting On His Promise, the new album, is due in stores THIS TUESDAY.  Click here to read my review of the album.

And lemme know what you think!

Y’all remember me talking about how dope Bubby Fann & Praise Beyond were at one of the GMWA musicals a couple of weeks ago?

Found a video of that very performance on YouTube.  Warning: the quality is NOT the greatest, and there are a lot of shots of the band, but I NEEEEEEED you to listen to how awesome the song is and pay special attention to the soloist, who is a throwback to Vanessa Bell Armstrong ALL DAY LONG. Watch the whole thing… you shan’t be disappointed!

What do you think???