John's Jottings

2006-01-01T23:44:00.000-05:00

Jaydon Audrey Rulapaugh was born Thursday night December 29, 2005 at 9:31 P.M.. More information and pictures can be viewed by clicking this link: http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/jaydonaudrey/

More to come later on Monday....

John Rulapaugh

Any Day Now...

2005-12-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

Jennifer and I have been to her doctor several times since I last wrote here. We're told to expect the arrival of our baby girl any time now. Her official due date is January 4th but things have been progressing a little ahead of schedule I guess. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and gifts. I can truly say that our friends on the road are really more like family. Your generosity and love are always evident but in special times like these y'all just go way above what any of us ever could ever dream. It means so much to us that you would take the time to pick something out or make something special for our little girl. We're blessed by your friendship.

I'll do my best to keep you all updated! In the mean time y'all pray for me...I've never even held a baby!!!

John Rulapaugh

December 12, 2005

2005-12-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

Normally this time of year things slow down for me, but as you can imagine things have been quite busy as we prepare for the arrival of the baby. We’re now making weekly appearances at the doctors office for check-ups and with only a few weeks to go it seems that time is both crawling and racing all at the same time. I had hoped to make some progress on website updates and the likes over these weeks that the group has off, but it would appear that I’m going to have to do these things just as time permits.

Today my parents and grandfather are here in East Tennessee. I’ll be glad when their move is completed so that they won’t have to do so much traveling. Their house is finished and just waiting for them to move in. Anyway, we’re celebrating Christmas with them today so I had better move on. I’ll get back here as soon as possible.

2005-11-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven’t said much about what I’m about to announce for a number of reasons. Jennifer and I both had reservations about making an early announcement again, and as a result it seems I’ve waited about as long as I could…but here it is…We’re having a baby! Well, actually, Jennifer is having a baby, but you know what I mean. The doctor says it’s a little girl and that she is due January 4^th. As you can imagine we’re really excited and anxiously awaiting her arrival. Everything has gone very well this time around, so we’re very thankful for that. Please remember us in your prayers, and pray for a New Years Eve baby! I don’t think I have to explain that do I? LOL

Anyway, as a result of the aforementioned news I am in the midst of ridding myself of a few un-necessary items that you may or may not be interested in. Last year I bought a Honda Shadow Aero motorcycle that I’d like to off load. If you would at all be interested in buying it for a loved one as a REALLY nice Christmas gift drop me an email and I’ll fill you in on all the particulars. I’d really like to keep it but this year I would guess I’ve put less than 200 miles on it. In fact, Jennifer and I would both really like to overhaul our automobile “inventory.” I say that because we’ve got more vehicles than any young family needs or ought to have. We pretty well have a choice of what we want to drive, a truck, a van, a sports car, a sedan, and a motorcycle. Now, granted, probably the only one you’d want to start out on a 500 mile trip in is Jennifer’s Pontiac Grand Prix. The rest of them have well over 100,000 miles on them, with the exception of the motorcycle of course. At any rate, we’ve got one of everything except an SUV so it seems we’re in the market. LOL I think if I can find anyone who will take them that I’ll trade or sell the van, truck, and motorcycle. My neighbors must already think I run a used car lot so I might as well take advantage of the situation!

I don’t really know why I went into all of that, but hey, maybe someone will get a kick out of it. We’re leaving Thursday night heading for West Virginia for concerts Friday and Saturday, and then it’s on to North Carolina for Sunday. After this weekend we’re off the road until the New Years weekend, which brings another concern since our baby is due right about then. Please keep that situation in prayer. At any rate, hope you have a good weekend. Thanks for taking the time to read my writings here. I’ll be back next week to bring you up to date on the happenings of the weekend.

John Rulapaugh

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I pray that you all find plenty to be thankful for on this most reflective holiday. I’m blessed and thankful for my friends and family most of all, but I have so much to be thankful for that it would take me all day and night to try to write it all down. I’m thankful too that you take time out of your busy schedules to visit here and read what I have written. Have a wonderful holiday. I’ll be back here next week to update you on all the happenings of Palmetto State Quartet.

November 15, 2005

2005-11-15T12:21:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Palmetto State Quartet was blessed once again in our bus situation. Those of you who have kept up with my writings here know that we’re working on a major engine overhaul on the bus that the group has been traveling on for about five years. We’ve been trying to sell or trade that bus for a good while now with no luck at all and were becoming a little frustrated with the situation. Before heading out to the west coast for our annual tour we decided to lease a coach for the trip because we knew the engine was not up to par. With the added expense of leasing we were greatly concerned with the financial outcome of the trip. Usually it is a profitable venture and sets the group up financially to face the coming winter months which are always slow for PSQ. That leasing endeavor turned out to be a blessing, as you’ve already read; we were able to send our bus out on short run leases which really offset the cost of our trip. We’ve decided to buy a bus for the quartet to travel in and continue leasing our older bus out after the engine is rebuilt.

While we were in Pennsylvania last weekend we performed with The Perry’s and McKamey’s. We had a great concert with them at Yoders Restaurant in New Holland, PA. The Perry’s were riding in style in a newer bus since the last time we sang with them. We learned that their other bus is for sale and we’ve become quite interested in that particular unit considering it’s a later model and is in great condition. In the mean time we’re still leasing from week to week which can be a little nerve racking.

This past weekend we were planning to use the 1997 Prevost that we have been leasing since the west coast tour. Unfortunately the leasing agent found a lessee who would take the bus long term so we basically got the boot. So again, at the last minute, there we were scrambling to find a bus to use for the weekend. Kerry made a few calls and really got us into some trouble. Marshall Pugh of Monument Quartet has been in the bus leasing business for a while and has three later model Prevost coaches that he is currently leasing out. He offered to let us use his 2002 Prevost XL2 for the weekend at the same rate we have been paying for that ’97 which is really a blessing considering that he can get nearly $1000 a day for that bus with a driver. That sounds like a lot of money but if you consider the expenses involved in buying and maintaining a coach like that one it’s really a deal….so I guess that makes us a bunch of thieves! Anyway, Marshall really blessed us. He knows our situation and our needs and was willing to go far above anyone’s expectations to help us. It’s a gesture that won’t be forgotten by PSQ. It’s also a gesture that really spoiled us rotten. Until this weekend I had never ridden on a bus with less than half a million miles on it, that bus had far less than half of that. Everything was tight and right. It has to be one of the most well laid out interiors that I’ve seen and is certainly one of the best maintained busses on the road. So I don’t know who to thank more, Kerry or Marshall, but I’m officially ruined on typical quartet busses.

This weekend has PSQ traveling to AL and KY. If all goes well we’re going to be taking that Perry’s bus I told you about earlier. Thanks for your continued prayers and support! We hope to see you somewhere on the road!

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Bus Stories continued

2005-11-07T16:32:00.000-05:00

In my last update from the road I mentioned that I would elaborate on the bus situation when I had time. Unfortunately this is the first opportunity I’ve had to sit down since then. I stopped using a laptop about a year ago, not for any particular reason except that I just got sick of being in front of the thing all the time. Now I just spend every moment that I’m at home trying to catch up on the things I could have done on the road if I still had it!

Anyway, when we left out on our west coast trip we decided it would be best to lease a bus. We’ve known the engine in ours was nearing time for an overhaul and have been putting it off as long as possible. Anyone who has any experience with a Detroit diesel knows that we’re talking a minimum of $6000 for an in frame rebuild and at least 2 weeks down time. You want to put a new engine in the bus, right out of the factory crate you’re talking $20,000 plus. I’ll let all the experts hash out the best option, but more often than not it comes down to finances at decision time.

The first idea was to get our bus leased to the Fed for the hurricane relief effort, mainly because those busses are being taken to a big parking lot and used as bunk houses for the aid workers. We figured with the engine trouble this would be an ideal situation since only the generator would be getting a work out, the main engine wouldn’t be run much at all. But, by the time we were ready to leave on the trip this situation had not worked itself out and we were not comfortable with the idea of starting an 8000 mile trip with a bus that was having obvious engine trouble. The relief effort has really sapped the supply of lease coaches and we had one heck of a time finding a bus that fit our needs. By Friday Kerry had been able to find one bus that would suit us, but we had dates to fill Sunday and Monday in Texas and the bus wouldn’t be available until Monday afternoon in Nashville. We left Saturday night and headed for Texas in our bus, filled the two dates, and met up with the lease coach in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area early Tuesday morning. Kerry’s dad, Woody Beatty, and his singing compatriot Ben Harris were kind enough to drive the lease to us and take our bus back to Nashville; I think they spent about 26 hours driving round trip just to help us out.

Tuesday night we were scheduled to appear in Lamesa, TX. Yes, it is about as big as it sounds. The motel where we had stopped to clean up had a little family restaurant out front where Kerry, Rick, and I had decided to have lunch. (Now, to understand this story you’ll have to understand that the bus business works much like big business rental properties in that the investors hire a leasing agent and have very little at all to do with the actual operation of their investment.) Right in the middle of our lunch this guy walks into the restaurant and wants to know who’s on the bus. Well, now, there’s a real surprise. Anybody who’s traveled a mile on a bus has had to answer that question 1500 times. So we told him it was just us, no one he knows, to which he replied “Well, I own that bus.” OK, so now we actually are surprised. After talking to him for a few minutes we realized that he wasn’t giving us some line but that he was the investor who leased his buses through a leasing agent in Nashville. So, here we are in some little tiny West Texas town on the first day of a 23 day lease and we run into the guy that owns the bus. In conversation with the owner (Chance Britt is his name) we mentioned that our plans for getting our bus leased out had not come through. Now, it may just be a coincidence but within the hour we received a phone call from the leasing agent who had brokered the deal asking us if our bus was available for lease. After explaining the engine situation to him we agreed to let him lease it out on short runs while we were out on that long trip hoping that would defray the cost of leasing his bus that whole time. Well, as it worked out we’ve been back from the west coast trip for a couple weeks now and we’ve yet to see our bus! The leasing agent has kept our bus on the road just about EVERY day since we sent it back to Nashville and it looks like ALL of our leasing costs will have been covered as a result. In fact, we may actually come out ahead by the time all is said and done!

So, the birth of a new PSQ enterprise has come of all of this. For the foreseeable future, once the repairs are made, we’re going to make our 1994 45’ Silver Eagle bus available for lease. We’re putting her in the shop today to have the engine repairs made and we’re told that it will be about two weeks before she’ll be ready to hit the road again. We’re in the market to buy another coach for the quartet to travel in and Kerry and Tex have been out looking at the various bus lots in Nashville today. The Eagle is still for sale, but the sale is not as urgent a matter as it once seemed to us, which is good considering that we’ve had it listed for sale for quite some time now. Having the engine rebuilt should make it a little more attractive to potential buyers too, so we’ll just have to see what happens.

OK, so that’s a long story but it just seemed worth telling. What do you suppose are the chances that happening again though? Leasing a bus in Nashville through a broker and then playing a date in the home town of the bus owner some 1200 miles from Nashville in some little obscure town…There’s a little more to the story though… The father of the guy who owns that bus has a very large trucking company that operates out of Lamesa and Chance took the bus over to the truck shop and filled us up with Diesel before we left town (didn’t charge us a dime for it either). Rick rode over to the shop with him and this turned out to be an invaluable decision. That night after leaving Lamesa we experienced some trouble with the bus. The transmission wasn’t shifting right and there was a battery light shining on the dash. When we pulled over to investigate the problem we started the generator so that the air conditioning would run and immediately the generator ran hot and shut off. When we opened the generator bay all of the coolant ran out of the thing. We called Chance to see what he would suggest we do but we were only able to get his voicemail. Since Rick knew where the truck shop was we decided to go back there and wait till the mechanics came in the next morning to see if they knew what to do with it. By the time any of us woke up the next morning they had already repaired the generator and made arrangements for us to have the other repairs made in the next town over, all of which worked out good for the owner because he has service agreements with all of the trucking/diesel companies in the area. By early the next afternoon we were back on the road with the entire problem worked out.

We missed an appearance opportunity in Albuquerque, NM that morning, but it’s the only appearance that we had booked for the whole trip that was “pro bono.” It was to be a television taping of 6 songs and honestly it was a little out of our way to the next paid date we had so financially it worked out better for us to not have to go there.

Quite an interesting course of events if you ask me. We’re certainly able to say that we’ve seen the Lord work in our lives lately. It’s just what we needed at the beginning of this trip too, because when you’re going to be on the road that long it just seems so daunting at the beginning of the trip. To have this story to tell and to have had these experiences made each of us feel like the Lord was saying, “Hey boys, I’m in control here. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” I can truly say that it was the best West Coast trip that I’ve been on. We had a great time visiting with friends in the area and we even had the opportunity to do a little sight seeing! But, I must say, as beautiful as the sights are to see and as friendly as the folks are there, there’s no place like home! It was certainly good to get back home after all those days on the road, and even better to come home to my beautiful wife!

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Update from Watsonville, CA

2005-10-09T23:48:00.000-04:00

Well, we made it! And boy do we have a story to tell. It's amazing how God works sometimes and how that he makes himself known. I think that every once in a while he just sits back and watched until he knows that we have exhausted all of our means and then steps in to let us know that he still reigns from on high. When I've more time to share all of the details I'll be sure to let everyone know just how The Lord worked all this out, but for now, let me tell you that we're doing well. The bus situation has worked out as well as we could have ever hoped and we're traveling comfortably in a leased coach for this tour. Like I said, more details to come. Keep praying that God will continue to use PSQ as we travel out here on the west coast!

John Rulapaugh

West Coast Tour 2005

2005-09-30T20:12:00.000-04:00

Please be in prayer for Palmetto State Quartet as we begin our 2005 West Coast Tour. We’re leaving tomorrow (Saturday October 1) and heading for the Dallas, TX area. After spending a few days in Texas we’re headed to Albuquerque, NM to record a few songs for the TBN network before moving on to Phoenix, AR for Thursday night’s concert. Then it’s on to California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington before we head back east. I’ve included a full listing of our appearances below for your information. If you happen to live in one of these areas we certainly hope that you will come out to see us!

A little while back I wrote a blog about how much I hate busses. Well, some things never change and the nature of a bus is one of those things. Just as we’re preparing for this long trip we’ve learned that the engine in our bus has finally met the end of its journey. While it’s not a great big surprise to any one of us the timing is just much less than desirable. We just learned of the severity of the problem yesterday so we’ve all been scrambling and trying to come up with options for transportation. Normally, this would not be that big of a deal. Busses are a dime a dozen in Nashville. (OK, so not exactly that inexpensive, but at least they’re easy to find.) Unfortunately it seems that our need for a bus has hit just at the time that every bus in town has been picked up by the Federal Government for use in the Hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf States. So, here it is Friday night, we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon, and no clear path has presented itself. Obviously we’re all a little frazzled but we trust the Lord to provide as he always does. We do have a few options, none of them easy to swallow financially, but we’re weighing them to see just what is best for the group. Please pray that we make the right decision in this area.

Bus trouble or not, we’re going to have a fantastic trip and we’re looking forward to what The Lord has in store for us. I’ll try to keep you all updated as often as possible from the road. Below are all the dates that we’ll cover before heading for home. Take a look and see if we’ll be in your area!

10/02/05 SUN 06:00PM TX DENTON           FIRST ASSENBLY OF GOD             2227 NORTH CARROLL BLVD

10/03/05 MON 07:30PM TX BORGER           BORGER HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM     WEST FIRST STREET

10/04/05 TUE 07:00PM TX LA MESA          SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH             1705 NORTH BRYAN STREET

10/06/05 THR 06:30PM AZ PHEONIX          PHOENIX CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY        2030 N 36TH STREET

10/07/05 FRI 07:00PM CA BAKERSFIELD      VICTORY CHAPEL                    800 AIRPORT DRIVE

10/09/05 SUN 06:00PM CA WATSONVILLE      CORRALITOS COMMUNITY CHURCH       26 BROWNS VALLEY ROAD

10/11/05 TUE 07:00PM CA MODESTO          CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH            1732 MILLER AVENUE

10/12/05 WED 07:00PM NV CARSON CITY      GOOD SHEPHERD WESLEYAN CHURCH     1505 RAILROAD DR

10/13/05 THR 07:00PM OR TANGENT          GRACE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP            MCFARLAND ROAD

10/14/05 FRI 07:00PM WA LYNNWOOD         OPEN DOOR BAPTIST CHURCH          17014 44TH AVE WEST

10/15/05 SAT 06:30PM WA YAKIMA           CENTRAL ASSEMBLY OF GOD           701 SOUTH 3RD AVENUE

10/18/05 TUE 07:00PM MT KALISPELL        KALLISPELL NAZARENE CHURCH        1295 WHITEFISH STAGE ROAD

10/19/05 WED 06:30PM CO GREELY           FIRST CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE      2515 WEST 16TH STREET

10/20/05 THR 07:00PM MO KEARNEY          FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF KEARNEY 2151 SOUTH JEFFERSON STREET

10/21/05 FRI 07:00PM IA MASON CITY       FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH              125 EAST STATE STREET

10/22/05 SAT 07:00PM MO STANTON          MERAMEC CAVERNS                   I-44 EXIT 230 STANTON

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Reflections on NQC and DollyWood's Harvest and Music Festival

2005-09-28T22:41:00.000-04:00

I know it’s been a long time since my last posting here and I figured I had better get back at it. All of you know that we just returned from the National Quartet Convention which is held in Louisville, KY every September. Dates are already posted for next years NQC at www.natqc.com. If you plan to attend next year I would certainly advise you to start making your arrangements NOW because hotels fill up really early. This year’s convention went quite well for Palmetto State Quartet and I believe it was the busiest convention I have ever experienced personally. Most of you know by now that this event is the “Showcase” for everything Southern Gospel. It is, in effect, our annual trade show. There is a lot of business and politicking going on throughout the week, just like any other trade convention that you might attend.

Palmetto State sang Monday night at about 7:30 PM. To be perfectly honest with you from a technical stand point I feel that this was our best performance through the week. Everyone was fresh and alert and excited about singing. We sang Wednesday afternoon at the Vintage Quartet Showcase and really had a great time with it, though it’s hard to get comfortable on stage when you have only three songs to do it in. We’ve recently started staging the old classic “Unworthy” and we did it that afternoon for the folks assembled there. Our next performance as a group was Saturday afternoon for another Vintage Quartet Showcase. By the time Saturday rolls around we’re generally completely worn out and it shows physically and vocally. All things considered I feel we had another strong stand during the showcase. Now, like I said, by the time Saturday rolls in we’re exhausted, and by the time midnight Saturday rolls around I am just about numb. I don’t think we actually went on until about 12:15 AM and if everyone in the group felt like I did, then we all did good just to get up the stairs to the stage! I honestly can’t tell you anything about that performance because I honestly think I slept through it myself. I hope it wasn’t because we were just that boring, but that I was just that exhausted.

Saturday was a full day for most of us. I woke up just in time to head over to Cardinals Stadium and make a fool of myself trying to play softball. I am told that it was for a good cause though I didn’t feel it when I woke up Sunday. I mostly felt sorry that I had ever decided to try to catch that fly ball that made its way to right center field where I was supposed to be keeping the store. Thankfully, Astroturf is a little softer than concrete so I made it through without breaking anything. I did make it all the way around the bases, though I was looking for a medic by the time home plate came into view.

About an hour after the ball game Andrew, Tex, and I were honored to be featured at the “Leaders of Tomorrow” showcase. This was a showcase spectacular which featured artists 30 years old and younger who have made an impact on Gospel Music. There was a choir of other young artists there as well, many of whom you’ll soon become familiar with. There were a lot of very talented young artists on hand. Directly following this showcase was the Vintage showcase that I mentioned above.

Overall, I would have to say that the 2005 National Quartet Convention was the most productive of my Southern Gospel Music career. Professional alliances were established that I believe will last a lifetime and likely will lead to great life long friendships. It was good to see so many avid fans and supporters of Southern Gospel Music gathered together in one place. The evening concerts were filled with the sounds of Southern Gospel Music like no other full week throughout the year. If you’ve never attended NQC you should certainly consider making plans to attend next years event.

By the way, the cause I mentioned above when talking about the ball game was the SGMA. The Southern Gospel Music Association sold the autographed jerseys of all the players for $50 each. I’m told that between the signed baseballs and jerseys the association raised over $4000 to support the museum and hall of fame which is located at DollyWood in Pigeon Forge, TN. If you’re not already a member of the SGMA you should certainly consider joining. It costs only $20 per year and your membership gives you voting rights toward selecting Hall of Fame inductees. This year’s induction ceremony will be held October 13^th. Information about this and other SGMA sponsored events can be found here. You can sign up for membership through Palmetto State Quartet here!

Speaking of DollyWood, Palmetto State Quartet performed two concerts at Dollywood’s Show Street Palace Theater to capacity crowds on Tuesday September 27^th at 3:30 and 5:30 PM. The people at the park are always very good to work with, and this year was no exception. Jeff (sound engineer) and Chad (lighting technician) really went out of their way to make things easy for us and accommodated every request with a smile. Those guys and all of the “techies” at the theater were great hosts. We’re grateful that the folks at DollyWood chose to bring Palmetto State Quartet back this year. They really cut back on the amount of gospel music talent that they booked into the park this October so we’re thankful to have been on the list. I’ll be adding some pictures from our performances to the website sometime soon. Be sure to check our photo galleries sometime later this week.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll try to post updates from the road over the next three weeks as we travel to the “left coast.” Be sure to check back often or join our E-Team for email updates and special offers!

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Pennsylvania Conquered!

2005-08-01T15:33:00.000-04:00

Seeing as we’ve spent so much time in the beautiful State of Pennsylvania lately it seems that we’ve been on some sort of conquest. In the last two months we’ve spent five weekends in PA singing and visiting with our friends there. Our next engagement there doesn’t come until September 3, 2005 when we’ll return to The Blue Mountain Gospel Festival which is held at Kempton, PA annually. “Kempton,” as the concert series has come to be known, is one of our favorite concerts of the season and we’re certainly looking forward to working with the Garden Spot Promotions folks again. If you live in the area or are thinking about visiting, we certainly encourage you to attend this concert as it is jam packed with top notch Southern Gospel talent and is one of the most professionally promoted events of the year.

It seems we are right in the middle of Southern Gospel Music “Event Season.” The next month or two will keep Palmetto State Quartet very busy traveling the “circuit.” This coming weekend is the annual “Albert E. Brumley Memorial Sing” in Fayetteville, AR (this is the concert formerly referred to as ‘Springdale’), next weekend we’ll be in Greenville, SC (home of the original Palmetto State Quartet) for The Grand Ole Gospel Reunion, August 17^th we’re at “Seminole,” 19^th at what is certain to become a fan favorite event in Chattanooga, 20^th in Boaz, and 27^th in Terrell, TX. Of course there are some great concerts in between at which Palmetto State will appear, but these are the larger annual events that I’m listing. That’s the extent of it for August, and then September brings on Kempton, NQC, and Dollywood before heading off to the “Left” Coast for about three weeks.

For the first time ever, Palmetto State Quartet is gearing up early for December and the Christmas season. If you would be interested in hosting Palmetto State Quartet in your church for a very special Christmas Celebration please contact BSA for scheduling and booking information. You can call them at 615-595-7500. We’ll post a listing of these special event concerts when the time draws nearer.

I hope that this summer heat isn’t getting to you too much. At present it is a cool 87 degrees here in the Knoxville, TN area. I say cool because it is a nice break from the upper 90’s that we’ve recently experienced, much like many of you. Thanks for your interest in Palmetto State Quartet. We look forward to visiting with you at a concert sometime soon.

Upcoming PSQ Dates:

08/04/05 THR 07:00PM MO WEST PLAINS            WEST PLAINS CIVIC CENTER          BUSINESS 63

08/06/05 SAT 07:00PM AR FAYETTEVILLE           RANDAL TYSON TRACK CENTER         1380 SOUTH BEECHWOOD

08/07/05 SUN 06:30PM MO SAINT CHARLES          GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH              3601 EHLMANN ROAD

08/11/05 THR 07:00PM SC GREENVILLE             FURMAN UNIVERSITY                 HWY 25 NORTH

08/12/05 FRI   -                      - - - applies to line above - - -

08/13/05 SAT   -                      - - - applies to line above - - -

08/17/05 WED 07:30PM OK SEMINOLE               SEMINOLE MUSIC PARK               HWY 377

08/18/05 THR 07:00PM TN JACKSON                NORTH JACKSON BAPTIST CHURCH      N JACKSON BAPTIST CHURCH ROAD

08/19/05 FRI 06:00PM TN CHATTANOOGA            CHATTANOOGA CONVENTION CENTER     ONE CARTER PLAZA

08/20/05 SAT 07:30PM AL BOAZ                   BEVIL CENTER                      KING STREET

08/21/05 SUN 06:00PM SC FORT MILL              SISK MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH      115 MASSEY STREET

08/22/05 MON 01:00PM TN PIGEON FORGE           GRAND CONVENTION CENTER           3171 PARKWAY

08/25/05 THR 07:30PM LA BATON ROUGE            STEVENDALE BAPTIST CHURCH         STEVENDALE HWY AND OLD HAMMOND ROAD

08/26/05 FRI 07:00PM LA SULPHUR                FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH              401 S HUNTINGTON

08/27/05 SAT 06:30PM TX TERRELL                TERRELL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER    400 POETRY ROAD

09/03/05 SAT 12:00PM PA KEMPTON                KEMPTON COMMUNITY GROUNDS         ROUTE 737 NORTH

   -         07:00PM                  - - - applies to line above - - -

09/04/05 SUN 08:00PM OH FINDLAY                HANCOCK COUNTY FAIR               1017 EAST SANDUSKY STREET

09/05/05 MON         IN PLYMOUTH               CENTENNIAL PARK - AMPITHEATER     CORNER OF BAKER & RANDOLF STREETS

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Buses are of the Devil!

2005-07-19T15:22:00.000-04:00

At least that’s how I feel about it right now! On our way into Nashville Sunday night we became quite intimate with the emergency lane on I-65. I don’t care if the bus is a 1950’s model or a 2006 right off the assembly line, at some point they’ll all surprise you. Our bus is a 1994 Silver Eagle and for all the scheduled maintenance and preventative care that we do on her she rarely causes us any real headaches. There’s not a gospel singer that has spent any amount of time on the road that hasn’t spent at least a small portion of that time on the side of the road. Nevertheless, about twenty minutes from The Eagle Nest (that’s where we park the bus) we encountered a minor problem that cost us about 3 hours. Not so bad really, but when you’re that close to being able to go home after being on the road for a full weekend it’s a little frustrating. I guess now isn’t really the right time to tell you that we’re still interested in selling our bus LOL…Anyway, we got the Eagle back to the Nest and the problem has already been fixed by the capable mechanics there.

Now that I’m done complaining… We had a GREAT weekend! Our friend Mike Helwig of The Stamps Quartet spent the weekend with us. Mike and I met while he was singing with The Wilburns. When Jackie and Elaine decided to take the group off the road Mike was faced with somewhat of a dilemma. He had just moved his family to Tennessee from Canada and was suddenly faced with the possibility of not having a job. I can’t imagine being put in that situation. At any rate, the timing of The Wilburns retirement and that of Ed Hill practically coincided and Mike was able to secure the position with The Stamps. When you see someone at five or six different events throughout the year you manage to gain a respect for each other, maybe an admiration for some, but it’s hard to have a real friendship. Most of us out here on the road consider each other friends, but the truth is that many of us hardly know each other. So, to have the opportunity to get to know a colleague a little better is something of a rarity. I’m glad to say that as a result of recent happenings Mike is no less a colleague now, and much more a friend.

Speaking of colleagues and friends, I’m glad to see Kenny Bishop beginning to make little stir again. I’m not privy to any kind of “inside” information but I’ve noticed a few message boards talking about his website (www.kennybishop.com). Kenny is a great guy, and a great singer. I hope to see him return to Southern Gospel in some form or fashion. I’ve always had somewhat of an admiration for him and all of his singing family. When he made the move into politics I guess that admiration ran a little deeper. At any rate, I’m going to be keeping an eye out to see what he’s up to.

Well, it looks like President Bush has made a decision on his Supreme Court Nominee. Fox News is reporting that he will announce the decision tonight at 9 PM. I’m anxious to see who it will be. This is certainly one of the farthest reaching decisions that a President can make and it seems that this President has taken his time with the decision. I know how doubtful it would be that such a thing could ever happen, but, I’d love to see Roy Moore nominated to join “The Supremes.” Judge Moore is better known as “The Ten Commandments Judge” from Alabama. I recently read his book “So Help Me God.”. In the book Judge Moore tells the story of his life, including his years defending freedom in The United States Military, practicing law, becoming a judge, his election as Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of Alabama, and his subsequent removal from office for upholding the oath that he swore to keep “So Help Me God.” It’s a good read and I heartily recommend it.

This coming weekend has Palmetto State Quartet headed back north. Thursday we’re in Roanoke, VA, Friday in Delmar, MD, Saturday in Ft. Plain, NY, and we end the trip in Lebanon, PA on Sunday. We look forward to seeing you at one of these concerts.

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

July 10, 2005

2005-07-10T13:29:00.000-04:00

For the first time in quite a while all of Palmetto State Quartet is enjoying a weekend at home with our families. We’ve been “hitting it pretty hard” lately and after this weekend at home we’ll be right back at it. From now through the end of the year it looks like we’ll be spending more time on the road than at home. I would encourage you to take a look at our appearance schedule to see just when we’ll be visiting your area. Chances are we’ll be in your neck of the woods within the next few months as our travels will range from north to south, east to west.

We’re certainly looking forward to this years edition of The Grand Ole Gospel Reunion in Greenville, SC. Greenville is the traditional home of The Palmetto State Quartet so we’re looking forward to seeing old friends and fans there as well as making some new ones along the way. The Grand Ole Gospel Reunion is certainly my favorite event on the Gospel Music Calendar. It has long been billed as the concert “Where the Legends Come Home” and has always lived up to that slogan. Charlie Waller puts on one classy show that will take you down memory lane to a time and place long gone from this earth. Classic harmonies, conservative appearance, exciting arrangements, and up close and personal contact with your favorite gospel music personalities are guaranteed. This is one concert event that goes far beyond the “concert.” For more information be sure to check out the website at www.grandolegospelreunion.com.

I’ve had a great time this week helping my old buddy Burman Porter prepare for his move to the East Tennessee area. Burman, his wife Robin, and their daughters Ashley and Jessica were in town preparing their new home with fresh paint and the likes. I’m looking forward to having them close by. I miss traveling with Burman, he’s a barrel of laughs and every day is an adventure when you’re with him. You never know what to expect.

Well, I must say that I am totally overwhelmed at the outpouring of love that all of you out there have shown to me concerning my appeal for donations to finish my driveway project. To date I have received nearly enough in monetary donations to make it possible for me to complete to project. Thus far $132,647 has been donated leaving only $17,353 needed to pay for the whole job. Next year I plan to build on, so y’all save up so you can help me with that project as well!

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

Ten Days in June

2005-06-14T19:15:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Green Forest, Arkansas! Palmetto State is on an extended tour this week. We spent the past weekend with our friends in the vast state of Texas. Friday night we sang at First Baptist Church in Woodville, TX. We were thrilled and surprised to be presented with keys to the city by the Mayor of The City of Woodville, and then presented with a proclamation which made June 10, 2005 Palmetto State Quartet Day in Tyler County, Texas. What an honor for each of us. The folks at the church, and indeed the entire county, made us feel so welcome and right at home. But the greatest blessing of the day came even before all the festivities of the concert when the fellows that promoted the concert brought over some of the finest barbeque a man ever prayed over and fed us like family. We certainly enjoyed ourselves in Woodville and look forward to future concerts there.

Saturday took us a few hundred miles north to Marshall, TX where we sang at the Marshall Civic Center with our friends The Calvary Boys, and The Southern Harmony Boys. Once again there was a great crowd to sing to in Marshall as the result of some hard work and great concert promoting by KMHT Radio under the direction of Mr. Jerry Hanszen. From the looks of things I would have to say that Jerry’s name will soon be added to the roster of who’s who in concert promoting. The concert was run quite well, the talent line up was great, the emcee work was handled well, and over all I feel like the crowd went away with exactly what they had come for, a great night of Southern Gospel Music.

Sunday took us to Arkadelphia, AR for a church service at Second Baptist (if you’re ever in the area be sure to visit this church, they’ll certainly make you feel welcome!), and then it was on to Benton, AR for a concert last night. We were surprised to see Mr. Gerald Williams of The Melody Boys at the concert. Gerald was kind enough to join us on stage for “He’s A Personal Savior” and joined as for a meal after the concert. Bro. Kevin and all of the folks at First Assembly of God in Benton took care of us quite well.

Tonight we’re singing in Green Forest, AR, which is about 17 miles east of Eureka Springs, AR. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t feel like you’re alone. I had never heard of the place until last week when I tried to find it on the map. Eureka Springs is quite a booming little tourist trap of a town. Certainly worth the drive if you live in this area of the country. It reminds me of the way Gatlinburg, TN was when I was a kid. Lots of storefronts and local craftsmen and artists, not the lights and sights that Gatlinburg has become these days. Nevertheless we’re looking forward to another great concert tonight before we head over the hills to Springtown for Cowboy Camp Meeting. I’ll have some pictures to share with you next week so be sure to come back and take a gander.

Till then,

New Blog Home

2005-06-08T13:19:00.000-04:00

If you haven’t noticed a change in the appearance of this page this must be your first visit to John’s Jottings. I’ve moved this blog so that it will be easier for me to update while at home and on the road. The new service also automatically archives my posts, which my regular readers will likely appreciate. If you know what XML is, you can sign up to have this page updated with your other subscriptions. If you don’t know what it is, just keep an eye on Palmetto State Quartet’s website for updates.

Thanks for visiting!

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

June 8, 2005

2005-06-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that we’re gearing up for a little more than a week long trip to Texas and Arkansas. I’m heading into this one with mixed feelings. I’m excited to have the opportunity to sing, meet new people, and visit with old friends, but I’m burdened by the number of days I’ll be spending away from home and my wife.

This morning I was honored to be a guest on The Talk of East Texas with Chris Paddie. I enjoyed the interview and appreciated the opportunity to promote our upcoming concert in their area. While we spoke Chris asked about the number of days that Palmetto State Quartet spends on the road each year. I had to think about it because it changes quite a bit from year to year. The first year that I was here I think we did about 150 dates. This year we’ll do somewhere in the neighborhood of 170. That’s quite a lot of traveling, but not near as much as some groups are doing, which really makes my heart go out to those group members and their families.

Quite often we hear people make statements about how much of a sacrifice we make to be on the road, away from home and family. To be completely honest with you, I’ve never looked at it so much as a sacrifice but a privilege. No, I don’t enjoy being away from my family which is why Jennifer travels with me as often as her responsibilities will allow. But this lifestyle is what I dreamed of living when I was a kid. There’s nothing in the world that I wanted to do as much as I wanted to travel and sing. Now that I’ve been afforded that opportunity how in the world could I complain about it or call it a sacrifice? The opportunities that I have been blessed with are innumerable, and I’m thankful for each of them.

Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking with Paul Burroughs Jr. who is the son of Palmetto State Quartet’s founding bass singer. He provided a treasure of information about the founding of our quartet and about his father. From our conversation I’ve learned that some of the information that I have posted about our history may be incorrect, or at least partially so. As soon as I can piece together a logical set of events I’ll post the updated information on our History 101 page. Paul is going to take a look at what I’ve posted thus far and let me know where I got it right, and where I got it wrong. I must say that I enjoyed our conversation quite a bit and I’m looking forward to meeting Paul sometime soon.

John Rulapaugh

Palmetto State Quartet

john@palmettostatequartet.com

June 2, 2005

2005-06-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

Things have been busy here at home for Jennifer and I these past few weeks. My grandfather and parents are having a house built a few miles down the road from us so I’ve spent quite a bit of time keeping an eye on the progress. While I was down there talking to the builder (Robert) I mentioned in conversation that I was thinking of widening my driveway. Well, the next thing I knew he pulled up outside my house with a skid steer and went to work removing the dirt and preparing the area. It was really quite a generous gesture ‘cause he didn’t charge me a dime. It would have cost me a few hundred dollars to rent a machine or hire someone else to come do it. The problem is that I wasn’t exactly financially prepared to do the job just yet, so for the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with this 8 foot wide hole next to my driveway. Robert gave me enough gravel to keep it from becoming a muddy mess so there’s another blessing, but my yard looks like the big dig!

If you’re one to keep up with current events in Gospel Music you have likely heard that Steve Warren recently experienced some major heart problems. He underwent triple bypass surgery last week and is now recovering at home. Steve is likely the most talented individual I know. He can play practically any instrument you hand him and is a great arranger and producer as well. He played piano and was the music director for The Wayne Newton Show in Las Vegas and sang tenor for The Stamps and The Masters Five at different times in his career. He is currently singing tenor for The Blackwood’s at their morning theater show in Pigeon Forge, TN and in his absence Ron Blackwood called me to do a little filling in for them. I don’t know how well I got the job done, but I had a great time doing it. Theater work is a totally different animal than road work. I could get used to it pretty easily, but I’d get real lazy real fast. I appreciate Ron having the confidence in me to call and ask me to fill in for them. It was certainly a learning experience on my part.

We’re off to Maryland and Pennsylvania this weekend. It’ll be a whirlwind tour with all of two dates on the books but we’re looking forward to being back out there on the road. May was a breather month for us. From now until the end of the year we’ll be pretty busy. Be sure to check our appearance schedule on a regular basis. It is updated daily from the agency so it’s entirely possible that a date will pop up overnight that is in your area.

Until next time, keep those cards and letters coming!

And make a donation to the Big Dig Driveway Fund! HA HA HA

May 6, 2005 The Passing of Avis Adkins

2005-05-06T11:43:00.000-04:00

Many people believe that Ed O’Neil is the original Dixie Melody Boy. I guess if you were talking about the group as we know it today that would be true. Ed’s been around longer than dirt. What few people know is that The Dixie Melody Boys were actually founded by Avis Adkins. I met Avis not long after The Dove Brothers formed. We sang at his church in North Carolina. Avis actually loaned McCray the first sound system that the group used to sing on. I don’t know for sure but I think he eventually even gave the set to McCray since we had used it for so long. I don’t know anything about the course of events that lead up to Ed taking over the DMB or even if I have this chronologically correct, but I believe that it was after Avis’ DMB days that he formed The Noblemen. I do know this for sure; Avis Adkins knew how to choose a bass singer. Ed O’Neil is one of the greatest of our time and will likely go down in history as having one of the smoothest bass voices in our business, but Avis also chose Burman Porter (formerly of The Dove Brothers) and later Aaron McCune to sing bass for The Noblemen. There’s no telling how many careers Avis Adkins jump started in Gospel Music. His assistance to McCray certainly helped The Dove Brothers as a whole and jump started my career as well. Although I didn’t know Avis very well, his passing, though seemingly unnoticed by the Southern Gospel community as a whole, struck a chord for me. Folks like him are hard to find. His generosity and kindness will certainly be remembered by all of those whose lives he touched, directly or indirectly.

2005-04-19T11:41:00.001-04:00

Order of Kentucky Colonels Commendation

2005-04-19T11:41:00.000-04:00

PSQ with Kentucky State Senator Vernie McGaha

April 19, 2005 Kentucky Colonels

2005-04-19T11:31:00.000-04:00

I hate computers. Normally I wouldn't say that but today, I hate computers. For the past two weeks I've had one problem after another which finally brought me to the point of having to do a complete system restore. If you've ever had to go through it you know how frustrated I am. If you haven't, you should sell your computer and go back to doing things the old way before it happens to you. I've been reloading software and trying to find back-up files for what seems like months. Just as I start to think I've covered all my bases I run into something else that I didn't think had been affected. Which brings me to the reason it has taken so long to update this website. I just found the CD with the software that I needed to get it done. I always say to myself, "self, you're gonna need that one day, so put it somewhere memorable." Yeah....right.

So... now it looks like it's business as usual. Whatever that is. I can tell you it's certainly not ordinary. Not by a long shot. It seems there's always something new going on in our business (new groups forming, artists making changes whether it be record companies, booking agencies, or personnel). It's easy to get wrapped up in the everyday business of things and miss out on a lot of important happenings. That's the case with me today. Once again I've let life get in the way of something very important. I had began making plans to travel to Stow, OH today to celebrate the life of George Younce and I just let "stuff" get in the way. I knew George only a short time before the Cathedrals retirement. We never had a "moment" that is particularly memorable, but he was always kind to me whenever we met. George would always take time to talk about most anything that I wanted to talk about. He'd answer questions till I'm sure he was sick of it, and he always did it with a smile. I could probably count the times that I've heard him sing live. They aren't that numerous. Since I haven't been out here that long, in my professional career I only met him about half a dozen times on the road. I can't say that I'll miss him like I know many of my colleagues will, but his professional influence will be sorely missed, by me and any other lover of good quartet music. George will live on in the hearts of his fans until they have all gone to meet him in the air, but his influence will continue to breath life into Southern Gospel Music for generations.

I told you two weeks ago that we'd have an interesting announcement to make. Finally I'm able to share the news with you! (Darn computer) At our appearance in Columbia, KY on April 9 each member of Palmetto State Quartet received their commission as Kentucky Colonels! We're thrilled to have been recognized in such a manner. It is truly an honor. State Senator Vernie McGaha presented the commissions on behalf of Governor Ernie Fletcher during the concert. Below is a description of the honor that accompanied the certificate we received. You can click on the description and the photo to enlarge them. Our sincere thanks to Senator McGaha for making this happen.

All of the guys are excited about the coming months. As you can see on our appearances page we're right in the midst of a busy spell. May will slow down a bit for us, just enough to fool us into thinking that we're going to have an easy summer. Our schedule for the rest of this year is shaping up quite well. Hopefully we'll be in your home town, or at least close enough for you to drive. Remember to always call BSA to confirm an appearance before traveling long distances. You can reach them at 615-595-7500.

We've changed our office telephone number. You can now reach the Palmetto State Quartet office by calling 615-469-0462.

All of the updates that I've promised over the last month or so were on hold due to my computer problems. I'll be working on a number of things for the coming weeks. Hopefully we'll have some major updates soon. If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to email john@palmettostatequartet.com. I appreciate any input that you have about our website.

2005-04-05T11:26:00.001-04:00

Inspirations Fill In Photos

2005-04-05T11:26:00.000-04:00

Inspirations Fill In Photos

April 5, 2005 Inspirations Fill In

2005-04-05T11:21:00.000-04:00

It has been too long since I've had the opportunity to give you a full update on PSQ and current happenings so I suppose now is as good a time as any. February and March were fairly slow months for us, as they usually are. Winter always brings a lull in activity pretty much across the board in Southern Gospel Music unless you do cruises or vacation trips. We're thinking about that for next year but decided to take this year off from doing them and spend some time at home. We've got several options for 2006 cruises and are in the process of making those plans. We'll update you on that soon so that you can make plans to go along with us!

The Singing News Fan Awards Nominations are in and Palmetto State Quartet has a fair representation in the top ten this year. Once again Andrew Ishee has been nominated as Favorite Pianist, Aaron McCune is nominated as Favorite Young Artist, our video "It Settled" is nominated for Favorite Video, Palmetto State Quartet is nominated for Favorite Male Quartet, and I am honored to once again be nominated as a Favorite Tenor. We appreciate everyone who took the time to write our names in and name us as their favorites. Don't forget to send in your top 5 ballot!

As I've mentioned before we're also exploring the possibilities of a Palmetto State Quartet Homecoming and Anniversary Celebration for the fall of 2006. Next year will mark the 60 year anniversary for Palmetto State Quartet, and we really want to do something special to honor "the two Jacks" and other past members of PSQ. There are a lot of ideas floating around out there and we have quite a bit to think about when making plans for this event. Again, we'll do our best to keep you informed.

Our brand new recording "When It Pours, God Reigns" is now shipping from our office. I'm told that the official release date is April 19th so as far as we know right now you can only get them at a concert or through our online store. The title cut is also our new radio single. You can download a preview of this song from our homepage in the Radio/Chart Action block. We've received some pretty good reviews already and we're looking forward to hearing your comments on the new material and sound. When I say "new sound" I'm referring to Rick Fair filling the baritone position. Speaking of Rick, there's finally a new biography on Rick here.

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor and horror of filling in for one of Southern Gospel Music's most prestigious quartets, The Inspirations. I say horror because of the size shoes Archie Watkins wears. Archie is the only tenor singer that they have ever had and therefore people have come to expect him to be on the stage when The Inspirations walk out. I'm sure there were quite a few disappointed people in the crowd when Martin Cook had me sing "Touring That City" but I certainly had a good time with it and enjoyed getting to know those guys better. They really are some of the finest individuals you'll ever meet and certainly some of the best friends that I have anywhere.

April is going to be a busy month for us. As it stands right now we're looking at spending nearly half of the month on the road. I hope that you will keep an eye on our appearance schedule and come see us when we are in your area. We're anticipating some interesting news next week so be sure check back here sometime Monday for an interesting announcement. In the mean time, I hope you can find something to watch on TV. I've been flipping the channels for the past few days trying to find something other than The Pope. I don't mean to be disrespectful at all, and certainly I understand that this is a life altering thing for quite a number of people but...

I received an email from Bob Vandegrift about whom I recently wrote "He recently ran for office again and had it not been for the fact that he's 81, hard of hearing, and wears glasses he might have won." Bob demands that I publish a retraction and add the following quote "I also have 2 stints, a knee replacement and a pacemaker. Old codgers never die , we just smell that way." He left out the part about being cantankerous...

March 23, 2005

2005-03-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

WOW, have we been busy. With winter finally winding down and a new recording ready for release Palmetto State Quartet is primed for a fresh season of singing. Everyone who pre-ordered our new recording "When It Pours, God Reigns" will be happy to hear that they are ready for shipment. We received a small shipment this past week and were able to fill a few of those orders; we anticipate complete order fulfillment this coming week. Thanks for your patience, we're sure you'll feel it was worth the wait.

There's a lot of stuff to fill you in on, but I've managed to run myself up against the wire again this week. I'll be back in the office Monday and plan to have a complete PSQ update for you then. In the mean time, look for my second installment on the PSQ Audio Blog from the road this Sunday . We'll be in Charleston and Crane, MO Friday and Saturday with an early morning appearance Sunday in Baxter Springs, KS. We hope to meet some of you out there on the road.
Jennifer and I wish each of you a Happy and Blessed Easter.

March 4, 2005

2005-03-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

Some of you might take exception with what I'm about to write here because it does not, and hopefully never will, have anything to do with Southern Gospel Music or Palmetto State Quartet. So, for those of you who are a little weak of heart or don’t like conservative political thinking I hope that you’ll not take great offense but will read with an open mind.

Those of you who keep up with current events will note that this past week marked an interesting moment in American History. The United States Supreme Court ruled that it is no longer lawful for the death penalty to be carried out on a minor, no matter how severe their crime(s). Now, I personally took offense with that ruling for several reasons, not the least of which is the weak ideals cited by the Justices who made up the majority in this decision. From what I’ve heard and read it sounds like the decision was based mostly upon world opinion and not the United States Constitution which the court is sworn to uphold. (Let’s not get into the whole legislating from the bench debate that could be rightfully inserted here.)

I won’t beat around the bush about my personal leanings on this issue. My opinion is that the death penalty serves us well. There are many arguments that can be made for and against this practice, but my personal belief is that this penalty is our most effective deterrent to violent crime. Not to mention that it completely removes the possibility of a paroled criminal becoming a repeat offender. I’m not advocating the putting to death of questionable individuals. Those who deserve this penalty, in my opinion, are those who are obviously guilty of first degree murder or other heinous crimes.

An interesting course of events took place the day following this court decision. Right here in Tennessee a young boy deliberately shot and killed his school bus driver. Thought it may never be known whether the boy made his deadly decision before or after the ruling was handed down, I can’t help but wonder if that bus driver would be alive today had the decision had gone the other way. I understand that most young kids don’t keep up with national news; however, considering the amount of national and local media coverage that was given to this ruling, it is entirely conceivable that this young man committed this crime based on the idea that he himself would not suffer the ultimate penalty. (This is assuming that he would have been eligible for such a penalty under Tennessee State Law which I, honestly, don't know and seriously doubt whether he did/does either.)

It is true that this young man likely does not understand the consequences of his actions even now. At his age, 14 if I’m not mistaken, I certainly did not understand the ultimate and lasting consequences of my actions and how they would affect the lives of others. Fortunately I was raised in a home where such (apparently far fetched) ideas as Thou Shalt Not Kill were taught and well understood beginning at very young age. I say “far fetched” because of the case currently pending before the same court. I am anxiously, if not nervously, awaiting their decision. I fear that the consequences of their latest decision bore fruit long before any of us would have hoped or expected.

February 21, 2005 Audio Blog Launched

2005-02-21T11:11:00.000-05:00

Here's something new for those of you who like to keep up with Palmetto State Quartet. Today we're adding an audio blog to our website. Those of you who frequent other quartet websites have likely noticed a similar feature on Gold City's site. Many of you know that the live sound engineer for Gold City, Josh Hoevelmann, is my brother in law. Jennifer's sister, Jody, celebrated her birthday this past week, so we met them for dinner in Chattanooga. Josh introduced me to the audio blog idea during our visit. I'll have to admit that I wish I had figured it out first! I'm not sure how well this is going to work for those of you with dial up connections, so you'll have to let me know.

Here's the plan, for now. Once a week someone from Palmetto State Quartet will post a message on the audio blog to let you know what's going on with the group, and in their personal lives. I'll post a schedule to let you know who you'll hear from each week so that you can be sure to "tune in" and listen to your favorite PSQ personality. We'll make every effort to post the updates each Sunday afternoon or early evening. Since this is new to all of us please let me know what you think of the new service. If you have any idea's or suggestions we're always listening!

So, for today, my blog will be posted in audio here!

Feb 11, 2005

2005-02-11T11:16:00.000-05:00

If you're a Palmetto State Quartet fan, and I assume you are or you wouldn't be here, you'll want to take a look at the new photos added to our History 101 section, especially the Past to Present page. While visiting with Jack Pittman and Jack Bagwell this past week I was able to talk them into allowing me to scan a few older photos of the group for use here on our website. I hope you enjoy the latest glimpse of PSQ History. A new history 101 biography is coming soon, as are those "At Home" features that I've promised for so long.

February 8, 2005

2005-02-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

It's been so long since Palmetto State spent more than 3 days on the road that I'd nearly forgotten what it was like to work for a living. We returned home yesterday after having spent nearly two full weeks on the road. Our first three days out were spent in Asheville, NC working on vocals for our new recording. After leaving Asheville we headed for Norfolk, VA for a concert at Norview Baptist Church with our good friends The Carlson Trio and The Galileans. We were scheduled to be in Greenville, SC the next day but the weather didn't cooperate so we headed to our next scheduled appearance in Fort Myers, FL. The next several days were spent in the sunshine as we bounced around between Lakeland, Clearwater, Bradenton, and Ruskin, FL before heading north to Morrow, GA. We finished the trip at our rescheduled Greenville, SC appearance. All in all it was a good trip but it sure feels good to be back home again.

Following our appearance in Fort Myers we were treated to dinner by our good friends Bob and Anita Vandegrift. They are good friends to Gospel Music and really know how to make a group of guys happy...feed them! Prior to their move to Florida Bob served as Mayor to their hometown in New Jersey. As you can imagine we are never at a loss for something to talk about. He recently ran for office again and had it not been for the fact that he's 81, hard of hearing, and wears glasses he might have won.

The Lakeland date was Bill Bailey's annual week long concert. Once again we had a great time and we're already looking forward to next year. We were blessed with the opportunity to work with Dave Edwards at The Breakfast Club the next two mornings in Clearwater and Bradenton where we performed in concert with Aaron Wilburn. I don't care how many times I see him perform he's always at the top of his game, even at 9AM. We had a great time and lots of laughs. You can visit Aaron's website at www.aaronwilburn.com. You should pick up a copy of his new book "You Might Be a Southern Gospel Fan if..." If you're really a SG Fan you'll see yourself in there several times.

After leaving Bradenton we were treated to a day of R&R at Hawaiian Isles Resort by our friends Jim and Sally McKeown. They've known me all my life so it was good to have some time to spend with them at their home away from home. For lunch they took us out to the middle of a strawberry patch to a little roadside stand. It didn't look like much when we pulled up and I know the rest of the guys were wondering what I'd gotten them into. This place had the biggest menu selection I've seen...hot dog, Cuban sandwich, or barbeque, and all the fresh strawberries, shortcake, and ice cream you could handle. Needless to say the diet was off. Sally prepared a wonderful home cooked meal that evening which was a welcome diversion from the road food that we've learned to live on. Prior to leaving on this trip we had not confirmed any plans but Jim was able to secure the activity building for a concert there on Friday afternoon. I think the whole community made it out for this last minute appearance. It really turned out to be one of the best of whole trip.

It was hard to leave Florida but the bill collectors were calling so we headed to Morrow, GA where we performed with The Jonesmen Quartet. Walter Sheppard and all of the guys really made us feel welcome there and we had a great time singing. We were treated to lunch again Saturday by some great friends. This was the first opportunity any of us had to meet Rick Fair's family. Rick's wife Connie and two sons were able to come to the concert. It was good visiting with them following the concert as well.

Sunday brought us back to our roots in Greenville, SC where we were treated to great food and fellowship at the home of "The Great White Father" of the Palmetto State Quartet, Jack Pittman. Jack's wife Dot really put on a spread and we were delighted to be guests in their home. Jack Bagwell and his wife joined us as well. The fellowship was very enjoyable. Pittman loaned me some photos of the group that I'm looking forward to sharing with everyone in our History 101 section. Both Jack's joined us on stage that night much to the delight of the crowd. And what a crowd it was, especially considering that the Super Bowl was on and the circus was in town! We discussed plans to bring Palmetto State Quartet back to Greenville for a homecoming concert. More information about those plans will be posted here when they are finalized.

Presidential Inauguration Photo

2005-01-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of Jennifer and I to prove that we actually made the trek. As you might imagine it was rather cold outside, which is why I'm wearing that ridiculous looking hat.

January 25, 2005 Presidential Inauguration

2005-01-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

Talk about a whirlwind tour! Jennifer and I took the first flight out of Knoxville to Washington/Dulles on Thursday morning (January 20) to attend the Presidential Inauguration. We arrived in Washington at 7:30AM where my parents were waiting to pick us up at the airport. We drove to the nearest Metro Station, which is the preferred means of transportation in The District, especially for events of this magnitude. I've been to several large events in Washington before, Forth of July Celebrations, Concerts, Parades, etc...but I've never seen so many people in one place. When the Metro train arrived into our station it was packed (so much so that we didn't know if we'd make it on). Now, that's not such a big deal until you consider that we were at the second stop of the route. We managed to squeeze into a rail car with a full compliment, including at least 50 high school students, and were on our way. I could go on about how busy Metro was that day, but I think you probably get the picture.

We arrived into the downtown area at about 9:30. The gates were to open at 9 and we tried our best to get there before the gates opened but it just didn't happen. As we emerged from the underground rail stop it became evident that we would be in for a long wait. There were thousands of people in line trying to get through the security checkpoint. Most of those we encountered prior to the checkpoint were protestors who seemed more intent on holding up the line than anything. To my surprise the security checkpoint, although guarded by military officials, were conducted by Transportation Security Administration screeners (just like at the airport). I guess that makes good sense considering that they are accustomed to this sort of thing these days. Once we were through security things seemed to settle as the number of protestors were fewer and the crowd thinned out, somewhat.

The exit from the security checkpoint dumped us out just north of Pennsylvania Avenue about 3 blocks from the US Capitol, which is where our tickets dictated that we enter the "Gold Standing Area." As we were about to cross the road barricades were placed into our path and we were told we'd have to wait for quite a while before proceeding. Knowing D.C. as I do, I knew this could only mean that it was likely the President would be passing through on his way to the Capitol. The wait was not so long for the motorcade to pass in front of us at what seemed like 200 miles per hour as we tried to catch a glimpse of the occupants. We were able to make out the likeness of The President and First Lady, and it turned out to be the best view we'd have all day.

Now, let me just tell you, Gold Passes to the Presidential Inaugural sound pretty prestigious. They're not. When we were finally able to cross the road we walked straight across to the Mall where we found an entrance labeled "Gold Passes Only." There were "jumbo tron" monitors for those less fortunate of us who were so far away that binoculars were useless. We searched till we found a very slight rise in the ground where we could almost see over the heads of those who had arrived before us. Honestly, it was quite disappointing to so close, yet so far away. If I'd thought ahead maybe I'd have had better tickets, but that's a lesson for next time I guess.

Following the ceremony, which most of you likely saw from a better vantage point than we did, we were faced with the decision of whether to wait 2 hours for the parade to start or try to get out of town ahead of the masses. We chose the later, considering we were listed for a 4:55 PM return flight. Same story as before on the Metro only the people were a little less frantic about getting on the next train. We got back to the airport in time to have lunch with my folks before heading off to the check in lines. Anyone who has ever traveled through Washington's Dulles airport knows what a mess it is. I think it's my least favorite airport in the country. The layout is such that you have to check in, go through security, and get on a "people mover" bus to take you to the terminal. If you're lucky you don't have to do as we did and get on yet another bus to take you to yet another terminal building to wait for your departing aircraft. It's really a mess.

In reflection I guess I have to say that I truly enjoyed having the opportunity to go. There's nothing like being present when history is made. Of all that took place that day I must say that seeing the Chief Justice administer the oath was most touching. He is certainly a "bigger than life" individual who will be extremely difficult to replace, as it appears the President will have to do at some point in this term. I am thankful that it's this President who'll likely make that decision.

Palmetto State is to be in the studio starting tomorrow. We'll be working on vocals for a new recording. That's what's on the plate for Wednesday through Friday, and then it's off to Norfolk, Va to start a week long trip on the road. We'll be visiting VA, SC, FL, and GA on this trip. Be sure to check our appearance schedule for more information. I look forward to telling you about the recording once we return. We'll be accepting advance orders for the new CD starting sometime in late February or early March.
Hope you have a great week!

January 19, 2005

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Malone Thomason joined Palmetto State Quartet not long after the group was formed. He served 5 years with the group and during his tenure here began a lifelong journey of successes. You can read more about Malone in our History 101 section. To our knowledge he is the last living member of the original group, it was a privilege to interview Malone. I'll be adding some more recent photos of him to that page soon.

Tomorrow is the big day! Jennifer and I plan to fly to Washington in the morning to take in the Inaugural Ceremony and Parade. We're excited about the opportunity and hope to have some good photos to share with you when we return. I suppose it will be next week before I'll have the opportunity to post again as PSQ leaves for the road tomorrow evening. I'll likely fly to Nashville from Washington tomorrow night to catch the bus. Pray for us that the weather will not cause airline troubles.

Hope you have a great weekend.

January 7, 2005

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Those of you who keep up with all of our website updates likely have noticed that a couple of our promised features are a bit behind schedule. The At Home feature we had anticipated starting in December but has been delayed and will be posted as soon as possible. I anticipate posting something there within the next few weeks. The History 101 feature is still in the research process. It takes some time to find information on the past members because most of them have now passed away. It has been a real chore just to find the least tidbit of information on the last couple of guys. I really want the information that I post to be accurate and interesting to those of you who are Southern Gospel history buffs. Please continue to check back here on the website as we strive to keep it as up to date as possible with news and information as it becomes available.

Most of you know by now that I enjoy flying airplanes. Our little visit with Ron Vogelgesang this past weekend really renewed my desire to get up there again. The last time that piloted an airplane was in April 2004. That's the longest I've gone since I first started flying, and longer than I realized until I started thinking about it the other day. Airplanes are most often rented "wet," which means that the per hour cost of the airplane rental includes all of the avgas that you might use in that period of time. With the price of oil being so high it has caused those who have aircraft for rent to go up on their rental rates (they're adding a little more profit margin into the price too, I promise you). Every pilot that I know who is in a similar situation as I will tell you that once you've got your license to fly it's all about time and money. You've gotta have both, and rarely do I have either! Seriously though, it's something that I truly enjoy and I hope to share some photos with you here sometime soon.

There are a few other Southern Gospel pilots that I know of. John Pfiefer (The Pfiefers), Randy Shelnut (Dixie Echos), Mike Hopper (The Hoppers), Jim Wilburn (son of Aaron Wilburn), Bill Lawrence (Gold City), Glen Alred (Florida Boys), and Matt Dibler (The Inspirations) are all pilots and I'm sure there are a few others that I don't know about. Whenever I meet any of these guys on the road we each have a new story to tell about our most recent airborne adventure.

January 4, 2005

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Palmetto State Quartet helped bring in the New Year with a bang this past Friday night in New Holland, PA. We were there with our friends the Dixie Melody Boys who, if you haven't already heard, have hired Andrew King to sing baritone and moved Dustin Sweatman to lead. This makes for a great combination, and once again Ed Oneil has proven that The Dixie Melody Boys are here for the long haul. I love Ed, and all of the guys on his bus.

The New Years Eve concert at Yoders Restaurant is promoted by Twila Rohrer who has taken the reigns of Garden Spot Promotions. Garden Spot is the organization formerly owned and operated by Dick and Mary Carper who have recently retired from the promoting business. Twila continues the standard of excellence that was set by Dick and Mary so "Pennsylvania Dutch County" is certainly in good hands. We look forward to working with everyone at Garden Spot for many years to come.

New Years Day is always a tough date to book so once we realized that routing would be a nightmare if we booked any of the dates which were made available to us we decided to take the day off to rehearse and prepare for the recording that we have scheduled for the end of January. I can't wait for you to hear the songs that were chosen for this recording. I'm sure you're going to love them, I know I do already. One song in particular that ministers to me is entitled "What A Privilege" and speaks of the honor that it is to be called a friend of Jesus. This is going to be a ten song recording. As always there'll be some fast and some slow but overall this is going to be an upbeat album which is what most of you have asked for from Palmetto State.

We were honored at the hospitality shown us by The Vogelgesang's Saturday evening and Sunday morning. We were treated to a wonderful meal, soft beds, a hot shower, and breakfast in their home, and let me tell you it was fit for a king. Ron and I share our love of flying so we were never at a loss for something to talk about. The Vogelgesang's are long time friends of Rick Fair's family. We sang Sunday morning at their church (Calvary Chapel) in Massillon, OH.

Sunday evening we were scheduled at what has become an annual stop for Palmetto State Quartet in Galion, OH at Gospel Baptist Church. Pastor Monte Trammel, his congregation, and their guests are always gracious to us and we look forward to being with them again next year.

We have a couple of short notice dates that will be added to our appearances page sometime tomorrow so please be sure to check that page for updates regularly as we might just be coming to your area. New photos have been added to our Photo Gallery page, we hope that you'll go by and take a look. We just learned that We'll Meet Again has moved up on The Singing News Top 80 chart to #14 from #20 for February 2005. We're thankful that the song has done so well as a follow up to Knock, Knock, Knock, which topped the chart at #1 in August 2004. Please continue requesting We'll Meet Again!

December 27, 2004

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Several of you have written to express your concern that I have not taken the time to update this page for a couple of weeks. All of you know how busy the Christmas season can be for everyone. It's no different around my house. I've got to get back on the road so I can sit down and relax a little bit. Jennifer and I have celebrated with our respective families at their homes. The Vineyard's (Jennifer's folks) live near us here in East Tennessee, my parents still live in Maryland (at least for the time being, we're trying our best to get them to Tennessee). As you might have thought, I've got about as many miles under my belt since I've been home as I would have if we had never had a day off.

It was good to have a couple of days back home in Maryland. Though, once again, the old story rang true about home not being what it used to be. Of course my parents, grandfather, and other relatives were their usual selves and we had a great time together, but the rate of growth in that area is unbelievable and honestly a little disheartening. I'm only twenty seven years old and already I hear myself saying things my parents and grandparents have always said, like, "I remember when that highway was a two lane road," and such. There was a tornado in LaPlata, MD a couple years back that totally destroyed a good part of the "downtown" area. Since the rebuilding has progressed things have really changed around there. Some for the good, some not so good. But it's all "progress." I'm not sure you can plant a tree around there anymore without a permit and an inspection, nevertheless it's where I was raised, and as long as I have family there it will be one of the places I call home.

It's interesting to me how the meaning of "home" seems to shift over time. As more of my friends and family pass from this world to the next I guess a little part of me goes with them. This time of year is always a time of reflection for me. So far in my life the dearest person to me that has passed away is my grandmother. She died in a house fire in March 2002. Lots of things have happened in my life since her passing and from time to time I have to sit back and wonder just what she would think of it. Though it's never spoken, for fear of conjuring the related emotions, I keep her memory close during the Holidays. Those memories make the hope of Heaven much sweeter, and they make me homesick for a place to which I've never been.

Through all of the hustle and bustle of the Holidays it's easy to move our focus from the real reason for Christmas. I'm thankful for the Good News, The Gospel of Jesus Christ. He brought us news that if we would trust and believe on Him, no matter how things change here in this life, we will be with Him, and we will be like Him.

I hope that you all have had a very Merry Christmas and I pray God's blessings for us all in the coming year.

December 10, 2004

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Christmas time has come for Palmetto State Quartet and we are blessed. Today we announced our decision in the search for a new baritone singer. Rick Fair actually joined us on November 29, 2004 when we performed at TBN Studio's for the Southern Gospel Music Guild's Harmony Honors. Some of the details had to be finalized so we were not able to make a formal announcement until now. We are sure proud to have Rick as a member of the Palmetto State Quartet team and we're excited that we have the opportunity to bring his talent on board. Rick has a sound that is absolutely incredible. His voice is extremely broad, his style smooth, and he knows how to sing a song with the finesse of a true professional. I can't wait until you all have the opportunity to hear him. Be sure to check our schedule for an appearance in your area sometime in the coming months.

In the past Rick has had the opportunity to sing with some of the finest quartets in Southern Gospel Music history. He was the last person hired by Hovie Lister to sing with The Statesmen Quartet where he served for the last several years of the groups existence. He also performed with The Rebels and the Senators in his early days of quartet singing. Most recently Rick was the bus driver for Gold City. He recently left the drivers seat in search of a singing position. We're thankful for that timely move.

I'm about ready to announce my candidacy for public office after all the scrutiny I've come under in the online Southern Gospel community. It's quite interesting to read some of the answers to my postings here that are scattered across the internet. It's most interesting to find differing interpretations to what they think I meant. It's also most interesting to find people speculating about why this happened and why that happened, and my favorite one most recently had to do with why we are selling our bus. Those who know us know that our bus has been for sale for a little over a year. While we have not actively pursued a buyer until recently, we've had For Sale signage in the windows for quite some time. It's just a little business matter called depreciation.

December 6, 2004

2004-12-06T13:59:00.000-05:00

I've received quite a few email messages pertaining to my last few posts here. There are way too many of them to display here so I've set up a page where you can read them in their entirety. I've removed the name of the sender so as to respect their privacy.

Let me be crystal clear on something that has seemingly turned into somewhat of a fiasco. I've been accused of being "against" anything other than Southern Gospel Music. Some have gone as far as to say that I don't respect God's calling that has been placed on individuals who sing something other than Traditional Southern Gospel Quartet Music. This simply is not true. Truth be known I'm currently listening to a Martins CD. If you were to assess my CD collection most of you would be shocked to find that a good bit of what I buy and listen to is not Traditional Southern Gospel Quartet Music. You'd find artists such as Point of Grace, 4 Him, The Talley Trio, The Martins, Michael Bolton, Gaither Vocal Band, The Crabb Family, Ponder Sykes and Wright, Michael W Smith, and the list could go on for pages if I really got in there and listed them all. Of course there are also Southern Gospel staples like The Statesmen, Blackwood Brothers, Stamps, Goodmans, Hoppers, Perrys, Gold City, Florida Boys, Dixie Melody Boys, etc. My listening choice varies depending on what mood I'm in. More often than not it's something straight down the middle of the road Southern Gospel, but sometimes it's something as far off the wall as the soundtrack to Fiddler on The Roof.

The fact is that I love a lot of different styles of music, Christian and secular. I'm not trying to "put Southern Gospel in a box" as some have speculated. There's nothing that I'd like more than to see our music expand into arena's we've only dreamed of exploring. Palmetto State Quartet has, in the past, traveled to several foreign countries spreading The Gospel and singing about Jesus. I'd love to see Southern Gospel Music expand to the point that this became an annual event for most of the artists out there on the road. It would be good for our music, ministry, and business.

While I'm thinking of it, and I should have said it long before now, congratulations are in order to all recipients of the Harmony Honors. I'm especially proud for The Perry's for their two Honors as well as Danny Jones for his. No doubt all of the recipients do deserve Honors for their hard work and perseverance, but I feel these two were long overdue for some serious recognition from our industry. I'm proud to be named among them as a part of the Southern Gospel community.

To read the email posts that I mentioned earlier go here.

December 3, 2004

2004-12-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well, my last article stirred up a good bit of debate among some of those who do not read this column on a regular basis. Had they been regular readers they would have understood my sense of humor and not taken offense to some of the statements that I made in fun. Let me spell this out for those who don't know and understand what I'm getting at...

I don't give a rip about how you wear your hair. That's your business, and if you like "bead head" knock yourself out. It doesn't make any difference to me one way or the other. I was not in any way trying to demean the talent and sincerity of those who appeared at, worked on, or in any way had a part of the SGMG Harmony Honors show. Everyone who crossed that stage was extremely talented and I know that they all work equally as hard at honing their craft. I've noticed several comments on message boards across the internet that indicate that there was offense taken to some of the statements that I made. I want it to be clear that what I've said was not at all intended to be offensive to those within Southern Gospel Music who do not share the same convictions that I do about style of dress and musical expression.

My point was simply that Southern Gospel Music us going through the same changes that it has gone through for years, no matter what label we were known as then. Some people were upset that I have made such a big deal of how we are labeled, so let me explain my reasoning to those who don't understand. It's not about putting a label on someone or something for no reason. It's about identity. I know we should all be known as Christians first and foremost and I totally agree, but if you were told by a total stranger that they were a Christian would you know what they believed or by what standard they lived their lives? Christian could mean a host of things such as Orthodox, Charismatic, Baptist, Church of Christ, etc. That's why when you ask most people about their religion they are very specific so as to tell you in a single word or phrase what they believe and stand for. Most people know that when someone says they are Independent Baptist that most likely they believe in Eternal Security, Baptism by emersion, the Trinity, etc. Another denomination would indicate other beliefs. Similarly Southern Gospel used to indicate a specific style of music, now it's as vague as saying "Christian" when asked about your faith. This is the only point I was trying to make.

More about this on Monday, right now I've gotta go catch an Eagle.

December 1, 2004 Murder at NQC

2004-12-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Monday's Southern Gospel Music Guild Harmony Honors was an enlightening experience for me. I guess I've been cooped up in my Traditional Southern Gospel pen so much that I had not really noticed what is going on all around me. After watching all of the groups that crossed the stage throughout the evening I came to the stark realization that I was a stranger in a foreign land. I've always agreed with Southern Gospel "purists" or "traditionalists," but now I truly understand why they (or should I say we?) feel so strongly.

First let me say what a fantastic job everyone involved in the planning and preparation process did. The program was extremely well planned, and those plans were executed flawlessly. It may have been the best run program of its type that I've been a part of. I don't recall a single technical mishap throughout the night, which is rare for most any event like this. Kudos to everyone involved.

What concerns me is that as the night went on I began feeling as though I was at an awards show for some other style of music. I recall a country song that came out not long ago called "Murder on Music Row." The song doesn't necessarily speak out against the more "progressive" styles of music, but talks about the death of Traditional Country Music and how that no one has even noticed that it's gone. If we're not careful someone's going to have to write a similar song for our genre, something like "Murder at NQC."

At one point during the sound check I leaned over to Brittany Galloway (who was part of that great planning team by the way) and asked her, "Is that Southern Gospel?" To which she replied, "I don't know, but I like it." We agreed that it was good music, and that we liked it, but I couldn't get past the undeniable fact that it was not Southern Gospel Music. A few years ago they wouldn't have had a category for it in Contemporary Christian Music either. Later, during the nominees reception, when I looked around the room to try and find someone to sit and chew the fat with, I really felt quite alone until I spotted the guys from Gold City. We were definitely in the minority. There might have been a total of fifteen people in the room who own a hair brush or comb, five of them arrived on our bus that afternoon, most of the others on Gold City or Brian Free's bus. That, by the way, was the extent of the Southern Gospel Quartet presence, Gold City, Brian Free & Assurance, and Palmetto State Quartet.

I'm not complaining, it was certainly an honor to be nominated by those within our industry for Album of the Year. I am, however, quite concerned about the future of Southern Gospel Music. When Les Beasley, and everyone else involved, started The Dove Awards for the Gospel Music Association (GMA) I'm sure they had no idea that just a few short years later they wouldn't even be recognized by their own organization. Soon, everyone who once thought of themselves as Gospel Music fans realized that they were now "Southern" Gospel Music fans.

I guess it's time, once again, for us to move out and come up with yet another name for ourselves. Maybe I'm being a little arrogant, and I'm sure I'll read that in the email that'll be coming my way real soon, but from where I sit, this is just how it is. It seems that everyone who wants to be anything other than Southern Gospel uses Southern Gospel venues, agencies, record companies, events, and worst of all fans to get themselves to a certain level in their career, then they're gone. I don't know that it's always planned out this way, but it sure is suspect, and we're just passive enough to let it happen time and again.

I hadn't planned to go political on you here, but it just fits. The same type situation is happening within our country as a whole. Our forefathers set out some two hundred years ago with a certain purpose in mind. That of a free nation where men and women would have the right to worship God in their private and public lives. Now, here we are, all these years later, and everything that they set out to create has been distorted. America is not what she was invented to become. While she's still the greatest land on the face of the earth she's not what she used to be, and not what she should be.

Southern Gospel Music is, and always will be, the greatest music in the world. But it's not what it used to be, and in my opinion, not what it should be.

Now, let the email marathon begin.

November 30, 2004

2004-11-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't expect to be out until 4AM or I'd have put the sale off till tomorrow, so here's what I'll do. The voucher code posted below will be good Today through Thursday and will be worth 25% off of your total order through our online store. Just go through the store and pick out everything you want. When you get ready to check out you'll see a line where you can input the voucher code. Once you've entered the code you should recalculate the total to see your discount before continuing. Place your order before Friday to take advantage of this special savings. All orders placed before Friday will be shipped the same day unless we have a shortage of the item you've requested, currently we are out of the It's Settled soundtracks, they will arrive in the office and ship Tuesday.

November 25, 2004

2004-11-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

My next post here will be on Tuesday November 30, 2004. Have a safe and happy Holiday!

November 24, 2004

2004-11-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

I must apologize for not getting back here sooner. With Tony's resignation there has been a scramble among all of the members of the group to be sure that we're not leaving anything undone. Once all of this becomes routine I'm sure it won't be a big deal, but right now we're all playing catch up with things that should have been done a long time ago.

I've taken over the job of coordinating our appearances with our booking agency, Beckie Simmons Agency, and the concert promoters, churches, and other event coordinators across the country. This is a natural fit for me as I had the same responsibilities with The Proclaimers Quartet before my days with The Dove Brothers. Although it was not on this scale the work is the same, it just takes a while to get back into the routine.

Kerry, Andrew, and Tex have all taken on different portions of the responsibilities. It makes it so much easier on each of us individually to have certain responsibilities that we are accountable for; things that we can do well, and not have to take on the entire load. To me, there’s nothing like a good team working toward a common goal. I’m thankful that we have a good team, we’ve identified our common goal, and we’re working toward it together.

We’re privileged to have Rick Fair joining us this coming Monday and the first weekend in December to fill the baritone part. We’re really looking forward to singing with Rick. He has an incredible voice, those of you who have the opportunity to hear him during those performances will agree, I’m sure. Quartet fans will remember Rick for his days with Hovie Lister and The Statesmen Quartet.

The Monday performance listed on our tour schedule will be at the Harmony Honors at TBN Studios in Hendersonville, TN. This is the new Southern Gospel Music Guild awards program. We’ll be singing our number one song, “Knock, Knock, Knock,” from our nominated album “It’s Settled.” Cross your fingers, maybe we’ll win!

This Friday night we’ll be singing at South Cobb High School in Austell, GA. This is the annual Day after Thanksgiving Sing that Tony Peace promotes. We have 4 other area performances over the weekend culminating with our appearance at Central Baptist Church in Marietta, GA Sunday night. This will be Tony’s final performance with Palmetto State.

Thanks to all of you who have expressed your thoughts and prayers as we continue our search for a baritone singer. As I’ve said before, we’ve narrowed that search and feel that we have a good idea who will fill the position. A formal announcement will be made as soon as a final decision is reached.

Don't forget! Readers of John's Jottings will be treated to a one day sale here on www.PalmettoStateQuartet.com. Sometime close to midnight on November 29th I'll post a special voucher code here on this page that will entitle readers to 25% off of everything in our online catalog. That's the largest savings that we've ever offered, and likely the largest we'll ever offer except on certain special items. The voucher will only be good for full priced items, no other discounts will apply. The voucher will only be valid for purchases made on November 30, 2004.

November 17, 2004

2004-11-17T13:59:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how much junk can get piled up in just a short period of time. I've spent the morning cleaning my office, and I must say that it was LONG overdue. In fact, I think I cleared out just enough space to put all this stuff that's piled up on my desk. What a mess.

If anyone needs someone to help them keep organized it's me. Everything always starts out as neat little stacks of stuff that needs attention and winds up as messy stacks of stuff that needed attention a long time ago. And let's not even talk about the filing cabinet, ok?

When you spend as much time on the road as most of us who sing Southern Gospel Music things at home take on different priorities. Spending time with family and friends tops the list, because you can't do that on the road, and everything else just gets done whenever possible. It's definitely something that you have to be cut out for. In the short time that I've spent on the road I've seen new talent come and go like Liz Taylor's husbands.

We're looking forward to this coming weekends concerts. We're scheduled to be in Marion, KY with Southern Sound on Friday night (Southern Sound is the group that Kerry's dad, former PSQ pianist Woody Beatty, plays for). Those guys can really sing so we're looking forward to enjoying their singing as much as we're looking forward to singing ourselves. Then it's on to Friendsville, TN just outside of Knoxville (near Maryville) to sing at High Praises Church. The following morning we'll be in Lincolnton, NC at New Vision Ministries.

You may have already noticed that I've started archiving the old John's Jottings articles. It should make this page load much faster. If you have any trouble with the archives (or anything else on our website for that matter) please email me, john@palmettostatequartet.com and let me know what the problem is so that I can fix it. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to read these little blurbs from my life. I'm sure there are a lot more constructive things that you could be doing, LOL.

November 16, 2004

2004-11-16T13:59:00.000-05:00

What happened to autumn? Yesterday it was summer....now it's just down right cold! OK, I'll stop harping on this in a few days, but right now it's rather fresh to me. I just came in from walking the dogs and I had frost on my house shoes.
In other news...

Readers of John's Jottings will be treated to a one day sale here on www.PalmettoStateQuartet.com. Sometime close to midnight on November 29th I'll post a special voucher code here on this page that will entitle readers to 25% off of everything in our online catalog. That's the largest savings that we've ever offered, and likely the largest we'll ever offer except on certain special items. The voucher will only be good for full priced items, no other discounts will apply. I'll remind you once again a little closer to time. The voucher will only be valid for purchases made on November 30, 2004.

I've updated our Appearances page to import all of our scheduled appearances from the Beckie Simmons Agency website. This information is now updated directly from the agency as appearances are scheduled. You'll want to check this page for updates on a regular basis. Appearances are now listed up to 6 months in advance. Those wishing to schedule an appearance by Palmetto State Quartet should contact BSA.

I've got another full day scheduled for today. It's amazing how much "stuff" can accumulate over just a few days spent on the road. There are bills to pay, mail to sort and read, email to answer, phone calls to return, orders to ship, and a multitude of other things that will make themselves apparent as the day goes on. If I can get out from under this pile of "stuff" I'll see you here tomorrow!

November 15, 2004

2004-11-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

Another weekend has come and gone, and we're another week closer to Christmas. It's coming on pretty quick if you ask me. Of course we always enjoy the Christmas holiday and all of the festivities that go along with it, but this year it seems we're going straight from summer to Christmas overnight. Maybe it has to do with how busy things have gotten around here.

You may have noticed that Palmetto State is now with the Beckie Simmons Agency. BSA is now handling all of our booking and scheduling needs. If you should like to schedule Palmetto State into your church for a service or concert please call BSA and speak to Dixie McKeithen. If you have any further needs please don't hesitate to call our office at (615) 641-0235.

We're narrowing our search for a baritone singer. We have a few other guys to listen to this week, then we're planning to take a couple of the guys on the road with us for a weekend to see how it goes. As it stands right now we expect to make a formal announcement sometime between mid December and the first of the year. Please continue in prayer for us as we go through this process.

November 12, 2004

2004-11-12T13:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was an extremely productive day for Palmetto State Quartet. We held open auditions here in the Knoxville, TN area for our baritone position, and I must say that we heard a number of good singers. We have a few great prospects for the position now, and would be proud to introduce any one of them to our audiences across the world.

There are still a few guys who were not able to attend the audition that we want to hear. Several of them we will see this weekend somewhere on the road. Auditioning for any part is not exactly easy, but baritones are probably the most challenging to choose. There are so many different voice types. Some are boisterous, others mellow, and while both are fitting for different applications finding that one guy who "has it all" is sometimes a tedious task. Having said that, I must say that we were given plenty to work with yesterday. We heard every voice type known to God and man.

Something else that we have to ask ourselves is "what kind of quartet man will this guy be?" That's short form for "will he be easy to travel with? will he be able to handle to days and weeks away from home? will his voice hold out on a long trip? can he drive a bus? will he be willing to 'tote and load?' what will his family think of his newfound profession? will he stick to it or does he just want a taste of what it's like? will the people like him? will he represent the group well in public?" I don't have time to list it all here, but I think you get the point. There's a lot more that goes into it than just the singing. I've often told people that singing is about 10% of my job. Most of the rest is politics. Maybe that's why I'm so politically minded. I'm originally from the Washington, D.C. area, and when I'm done with my singing career I might be qualified to move back up there under different circumstances.

I hope that you all have a great weekend. We're certainly looking forward to our days on the road. Hopefully we'll see some of you. Our concerts start this week in Fries, VA then on to Lynchburg, VA (Home of Dr. Jerry Falwell, and our friends in the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet). We end the weekend in Calhoun, GA.

If you happen to come to one of these concerts be sure to introduce yourself. I love to put faces with the names of those who I know are reading.

November 10, 2004

2004-11-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

Dreary days are ahead here in East Tennessee. I always love to see the colors in the autumn but I hate to see them go as I know what follows. I'm not much on cold weather. In fact I hate it, which really makes me look forward to those dates in the "Great White Frozen North." That's why we always try to get ourselves booked on a cruise, or at least in the southern regions, during the winter months. Those who are lucky enough to be escaping reality this year on a Southern Gospel Cruise should remember us in prayer as you're sippin' whatever you're sippin' (better be iced tea) while sailing the high seas. We'll likely be booked in Alaska.

If you sense a little frustration, good. That means I'm doing a good job of hiding the extent of my emotions. HA! This is the first year in half a dozen that we've not booked a cruise for the winter months. I've noticed that Greater Vision has about 55 of them booked for the coming year. I'm thinking of petitioning Gerald for a job (I can run sound, sell product, drive a bus...) at least for the winter months.

Ok now, really, I'm just pouting a little. I sure hope that each of you are afforded the opportunity to see the world and enjoy Southern Gospel Music aboard a cruise ship sometime in your lifetime. There are few things that provide the enjoyment and value that a Southern Gospel Cruise provides.

I'd thought of putting a few links here to point you to some companies that book Southern Gospel Cruises, but I thought better of it. I'd rather wait till next year when, hopefully, we'll be booked on one ourselves. If you're going on a cruise this year, tell the folks that you signed up with that you really wish that they would bring us along next year. I'll owe you one.

November 9, 2004

2004-11-09T13:59:00.000-05:00

You can only imagine how busy things have been around here since we learned of Tony Peace's resignation. We're actively searching for a baritone singer as we tie up any loose ends there might be in the business. It's been a non stop week for Tex, Andrew, Kerry, and me.

As you have probably noticed, we're holding open auditions for the position this coming Thursday in Knoxville, TN. Valley Grove Baptist Church has graciously opened their doors to us for the day, and what a day it is shaping up to be. So far we have over 20 prospective baritone singers that have expressed their interest in attending the audition. About twice that number have inquired about the position and are not able to attend the audition on Thursday. We're anxious to find the right man for the job. One thing we know for sure is that it's fairly easy to find good singers, but quite difficult to find a person with the level of dedication and sacrifice that is required. Pray for us as we continue our search.

It was great to see our friends in Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana this past weekend. Mt. Vernon, IL is always a treat for us. Mike Warren and all of the folks who form the committee that promote the concert have become great friends on both a personal and professional level. Mike took us out for our traditional Cracker Barrel lunch prior to the concert. Then, as soon as we arrived at the church to begin setting up, Don and Barbara Cook drove up with a CAR LOAD of goodies for the bus. One thing is for sure, you can't go hungry singing in Central Illinois. Ruth Dalziel also brought along her traditional gift of Peanuts. You can never go wrong with peanuts, at least not around our guys. Someone else, I'm not sure who, brought a loaf of banana bread.

All this good stuff to eat and I'm on a diet. I don't know that I've mentioned that here before. I started on the LA Weight Loss program about 3 months ago. So far I've managed to trim off about 34 pounds. It's been long overdue but it sure feels good to be making some serious progress. If you're at all interested in the program send me an email, I've got coupons that will save you money on the program. Obviously it works and is pretty simple if I can do it. I told someone the other day that I think I'm an anorexic with Alzheimer’s; I binge and then forget to purge. Nevertheless, I feel much better and have more energy than I've had in a very long time. Now if we could just erase the ugly...

November 3, 2004

2004-11-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

(11:25AM) Stick a fork in'm ladies and gentlemen they're done, the fat lady just sang a tune to ole George over the phone and John Kerry has conceded defeat in the Presidential election. This is the information being reported by all of the major networks. Thank the Lord we don't have to go through all of that junk about recounts again.

Updated information has been added to the audition page. If you're interested in the position be sure to check it out. Hopefully we'll have a definite location sometime soon. (04:30AM) Shock cannot accurately describe the emotion felt by each member of Palmetto State Quartet following the announcement by Tony Peace that he would resign his position with the group. Obviously we support Tony in whatever decision that he makes for himself. While we would have preferred to not make a personnel change, we certainly wish him all the best in his future endeavors, whatever they may be. Tony will make his final appearance as a member of the group on November 28, 2004 in Marietta, GA.

As you have noticed, according to the postings on our website, we will hold open auditions for the available position on Thursday, November 11, 2004 in the Knoxville, TN area. Plans have not yet been finalized. Once they are final I'll post something here to keep you informed. It should come as no surprise that we do not expect to find a replacement for Tony, but someone who will make a name for themselves as a vocalist and individual. With that in mind, we do, of course, have a general idea of what we are looking for in a singer and performer. We'll make a decision based upon that set of ideals.

If you or anyone you know would like an opportunity to audition for Palmetto State, now is your chance. All of the information concerning the position is posted here for your convenience. Should you have any questions please hold your email until the final notice has been posted on our website. We will post as much information as is expedient under the circumstances.

We are thrilled at the response by our record company to renew our contract in spite of the impending change. Chris White and Sonlite Records have stood by Palmetto State Quartet at times when it seemed everyone else had turned their back. We are forever indebted to the friendship they have shown us in times of adversity. One of the first tasks to be completed once the new baritone is in place will be completion of a recording which is already in its infancy.

Change is a way of life in Southern Gospel Music. It has been that way since I was a child and will likely continue to be that way for at least the foreseeable future. While it is seldom initially welcomed it is usually followed by excitement when everyone finally realizes that everything is “gonna by alright.” We look forward to introducing a new voice and face to our friends and fans across the country in the coming year.

As I write this, at 4:30AM, we are still awaiting the final counts in the Presidential election. It looks like this one might turn out to be another debacle at this point. I certainly would hope not, especially considering the margin by which President Bush has won the popular vote. Nevertheless, we’re waiting. Hopefully I’ll have better news to talk about once I drag myself back out of bed in a few hours. I’m hope the election will be old news by then, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

October 31, 2004

2004-10-31T13:00:00.000-05:00

Well, my DollyWood career has ended for another year. It was short lived but enjoyable. It always amuses me to watch people scramble for those seats when the auditorium doors open before the first show. You just thought we were the entertainment. You have no idea what degree of entertainment y'all provide for us in cases like that. HA!

Well, it would appear that our good buddy John Kerry has picked up the endorsement of Osama bin Laden. This just goes to prove what I've joked about all along, 10 out of 10 terrorists support John Kerry. It's going to be an anxious few days between now and the election. Especially following the events of Madrid, Spain, though I'm not so sure that events like those would have the same effect here in the United States. We might not like to think so, but we're a stubborn people. My guess is that if there were attacks in the U.S. prior to, or during, the election, it would seal the results strongly in favor of President Bush. Let's all pray that the outcome is the same, but the means are peaceful. We certainly don't want to see any more bloodshed anywhere, especially on American soil.

I've posted the latest edition of History 101. There was not much information available but what I could find about Jamie Dill has been posted there. If anyone has anything to add to this please email history@palmettostatequartet.com. Any photos you might have would be appreciated as well.

We're looking forward to our weekend on the road. We're heading out to Middle Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana this weekend. Check our appearance schedule for more information. Hopefully we'll see you somewhere on the road this weekend.

I'll be back here again as often as I can until then. Palmetto State is in the studio Monday and Tuesday over in Arden, NC with our friends at Crossroads Music. We'll be recording the band tracks for our new recording which is slated for a first quarter 2005 release. We'll have more information on that as soon as possible. Pray for us that we'll be well prepared. I always look forward to being in the studio, but the last few days before hand are usually a little intense as I prepare for the task mentally. Maybe they'll let me share the evolution of a song with you here on the website. I think you might enjoy hearing how it all comes together.

I doubt I'll get to post here tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have good election results to talk about on Tuesday night or Wednesday. Till then I pray that The Lord will keep you healthy and happy.

October 30, 2004

2004-10-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a fantastic day at DollyWood. I always have a good time when I go there, but having the opportunity to sing out there is a real treat. It's a welcome departure from loading in and out every night. We're singing in the same theater where the Kingdom Heirs sing every day, and boy do those guys have it good. You know, they show up for work every day, change into their suits, sing, change, and go home. At least that's what it looks like from where I sit. But just like everything else in Gospel Music I'm sure it's not as easy as it seems.

You know, when I was younger and just starting to think about a career in Gospel Music I had great aspirations of wealth and fame. I don't guess that's really all that bad a thing for a kid to aspire to. Everyone should have a dream of success, how you define that success is what's really important. What I didn't see was all the hard work that there is involved in reaching those goals. Along the way, of course, as I've gotten older my goals have changed. I'm sure it has to do with maturity and experience, but I've found that the things that once interested me aren't all that grand. I remember Jake Hess telling me once "All I ever wanted to do was sing a Gospel song." That kind of sums it up for me.

This is probably something I should save for another day, but while I've got it on my heart I might as well get it out:

Mom and Dad put in a lot of hard work over the last week or so preparing for a yard sale. They've cleaned out, not only their old things, but those of my grandparents as well, and gathered them all at their place for the sale. Several truck loads of stuff from Poppy's house, I'm sure (That's what we all call my grandfather on my mom's side). When they got up yesterday to put their stuff out to sell, after all that work, it was raining. Dad told me they had about 4 customers all day long and sold about $17 worth of stuff. BUT, as bad as the day turned out, they're were working on preparing for another day of it today.

That's something that I'm glad my parents passed on to me. Perseverance. All the hard work pays off, just like my folks said it would. Of course there are those days when it rains and nothing seems to be working. That's when you put your rain coat on and work through it, keep on climbing, and all of a sudden you're standing on the top of the heap wondering why everyone said you'd never make it.

It's easy to get bogged down in your own misery and not be able to see the blessings God is giving you along the way. I'm not very old, but I've had to deal with a lot of heavy stuff in my lifetime. My dad has been through more than just about anyone I know, health wise. Mom has had her fair share of health issues. We lost my grandmother to a house fire not too many years back. It seems sometimes that it's been one thing after another. It would be easy to get down in the dumps and say that God has turned his back. These things are supposed to happen to someone else, anyone else but us. When dad had his kidney transplant at Washington Hospital Center in D.C. I watched as several cars pulled up to the E.R. that night containing the victims of several different, unrelated shootings. All of a sudden the fear associated with dad being in the O.R. changed to thanks that we weren't one of those headed to the E.R. You might say that it changed my perspective in a hurry.

I've learned through all of these things that perspective and perception is everything. Those who have been through adversity will agree with me. Those who haven't better hold on. It's not reserved for a few. Someday, your day will come. You'll be faced with something so heavy you'll think you can't bear it. Just remember when everyone tries to tell you how hard it will be to handle your situation that the perspective is always better from the top of the heap.

October 29, 2004

2004-10-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm off to DollyWood once again for the Fall Festival and Southern Gospel Jubilee. Palmetto State will appear today and tomorrow at the Show Street Palace Theater for three shows each day. That's more singing than we normally do in a full weekend on the road. I guess we'll just be getting a little taste of what the Kingdom Heirs do year round.

It's really quite remarkable that DollyWood sets aside this month for Gospel Music every year. To my knowledge, Branson's Silver Dollar City is the only other amusement/theme park in the country which sponsors Gospel Music in their park. If I'm not mistaken the parks are operated by the same company. There are several other Gospel concerts which take place at venues like Carrowinds and Kings Dominion (both Paramount parks), but they are promoted by an outside concert promoter or group. The park doesn't actually sponsor the event, and I believe the promoter has to pay for the use of the theater or auditorium.

So, I guess you could say that DollyWood is a great friend to Southern Gospel Music. It's nice to have a place that we can really call our home. With the construction of the Southern Gospel Hall of Fame and Museum, DollyWood really became the home of Southern Gospel Music. It was a good business move for them, and it turned out to be even better for the SGMA with guaranteed walk through traffic. There's no other place in the world that a Gospel Singer can go any day of the week, any month out of the year, and be assured of meeting someone who knows them and their music. I don't recall ever going there without seeing some of my Gospel Music family.

I owe, I owe, so off to work I go. Hope you all have a great day, I'll see you back here soon.

October 28, 2004

2004-10-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to have to start archiving this page soon, it's getting way too long. When I do, you'll find links to the past articles listed according to what month they appeared here. Of course you'll always find the most recent edition right here.

I've worked pretty hard this month trying to find information about Jamie Dill, former pianist for Palmetto State Quartet. I've had quite a tough go at it, as I assumed I would. I'll post the information that I have found on our History 101 page sometime within the next couple of days. For the next couple months I guess it will be like that, especially when talking about the original group because most of them have passed away. If any of you have any information which I've missed or misrepresented please let me know. I'm hoping to build as good a history of the group as possible.

I'm looking for photos of past Palmetto State Quartet groups. What I have is very limited so anything that you might have would be of help. You can scan and email them to me at john@palmettostatequartet.com. I would greatly appreciate it. I will likely use many of those here on the website.

We've added a few dates to the calendar for November and December. Hopefully there will be a few more for December added soon. It's always a tough month with Christmas and New Years coming up. People always have family things to do, so promoting concerts is not at the top of the list. If you see that we'll be in your area please make an effort to come by and see us, if you don't nobody will be there!

The Singing News is reporting that Les Beasley has been hospitalized in Louisville, KY after having suffered a heart attack. He has also contracted Pneumonia which only adds to the misery. Remember to pray for Les as often as you pray. He also suffers from congestive heart failure and emphysema which the doctors feel they will be able to treat once the pneumonia is under control.

October 27, 2004

2004-10-27T13:00:00.000-04:00

I spoke with one of our former pastors today, Bro. Brian Mentzer of Riverdale Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, MD. It was the normal, cordial conversation. Nothing out the the ordinary. He always did have plenty of wisdom and insight to share and today was no exception. It's been so long since I've been able to attend church on a regular basis as I would like. I miss the personal friendship that I've shared with my pastors in the past. One thing that really goes unseen in Gospel Music is that the singers pretty much give up their church family when they take on the Southern Gospel family. We certainly did that when we moved here.

One thing he said really caught my attention. We spoke of the general lack of interest in people attending church, gatherings, concerts, etc and how that it doesn't seem to be the plight of just Christian events but of secular events as well. His comment was that people now seem to be more interested in watching "reality" on TV than in experiencing it for themselves. It seems that we would rather pay for a "pay per view" ticket than an actual event ticket. The seats are always better than even the front row and you don't have to deal with traffic, crowds, bad sound, etc.

I just thought that was an interesting take on the current climate of the "entertainment" industry. The industry as a whole has experienced a major shift in the enthusiasm shown toward touring artists and public exhibitions. That's what makes Southern Gospel Music so special. While we have concert attendees that we would consider fans, we have far more friends. As much as you look forward to seeing us in concert, we look forward to seeing you, our Southern Gospel family. You could never know how much your thoughtfulness means to us in times of joy and sorrow. Since many of us don't have that relationship with a "church family" it is especially meaningful.

I had the occasion to visit with Congressmen Bill Jenkins and Zach Wamp this morning along with Senator Lamar Alexander at the Sevier County Republican Party Headquarters. There was a "mini rally" in conjunction with the "Bush Victory Bus Tour." I had a great time, though I didn't have the foresight to take a camera along for the occasion. It looks like Tennessee is going to be a landslide victory for President Bush next week. We're certainly doing our part to ensure it. One of the major talking points this morning revolved around the idea of simply getting out the vote, especially in states where participation may be slack as a result of current polls (people generally don't go vote if they think their vote won't make much difference because the polls show either candidate ahead by a large margin). We've got to be sure to get out there and vote this year so that when President Bush claims victory on November 3rd it will not only be an electoral college win but a majority vote win by way of overall numbers as well. I for one don't want to listen to the other party whine for another 4 years about winning the popular vote.
Early voting here in Tennessee has been record setting. So far over 800,000 people have voted early in our state. That's compared to a little over 2 million total voters in the 2000 election. I would venture to say that the same is true in your state. I think we're going to see an incredible number of voters turn out this year.

October 26, 2004

2004-10-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Some of you know that my brother-in-law, Josh Hoevelmann, is the sound engineer for Gold City. Jody (Jennifer's sister) and Josh were married a little while before Jennifer and I. (I don't know what that has to do with anything, but there it is) So, needless to say whenever Gold City comes near our home, we're there. Normally it turns into a family reunion of sorts.

Anyway, Gold City sang at Dollywood Sunday and Monday this week so you can guess where I spent my days off. At a gospel concert! But I must say that I completely enjoyed my time there with those guys. Every time Gold City has had a personnel change it has been somewhat refreshing. Now, this is not to take away from Jay Parrack in any way. Jay is a good friend, and a great singer. No doubt Gold City misses him, I know I do, but Steve Ladd has brought something fresh to Gold City.

As you know, Bill Lawrence now sings bass for the group, and on the odd occasion Tim Riley still makes an appearance. Bill traveled with Palmetto State for a short time when we were between bass singers. It was during that stint that Bill and I discovered that we had something in common with our love of flying. Since then we've had no loss for something to talk about when we are together, and it has really grown into a great friendship. The bass part certainly isn't lacking. When Bill opens his mouth it's like a FOG HORN going off. He's got the heaviest bass voice I've ever heard. He was certainly the best choice for Gold City.

I guess I've said all that to say this, you need to hear Gold City. If you thought they would loose something when the changes took place you were right in some aspects, but they make up for it more than enough in other ways. Be sure to go see them soon and tell them I sent you! LOL

October 22, 2004

2004-10-22T01:00:00.000-04:00

Andrew and "Tex" are coming by to pick me up this morning and we're headed for Nashville to meet the bus. Palmetto State Quartet will be singing in Jackson, TN and Summit, MS this weekend before turning that old eagle around and heading for home. Hopefully we'll see you out there on the road somewhere, but if not this weekend be sure to check out our appearance schedule to see when we'll be in your area next. If you don't see any local appearance listed there, send us an email with the name(s) of your local concert promoter or favorite local venue for gospel concerts, maybe we'll be able to arrange something for the near future.
OK, gotta run. See ya soon.

October 19, 2004

2004-10-19T01:00:00.000-04:00

I've talked about how important I feel it is to vote your values here more than once, but I've become a little concerned about how some people misconstrue that idea. When we as Christians talk about voting values most everyone automatically assumes we're talking about a short list of ideals such as the protection of the traditional family, outlawing abortion, legalizing prayer in schools, etc. Now, don't get me wrong, I know and I believe that these issues are extremely important. These are ideals that most Evangelical Christians hope for.

What concerns me is that most Christians stop their interrogation of a candidate for office right there. If a candidate is an outspoken Pro-Lifer, all too often Christians will vote for and adamantly support that candidate without looking further into his/her agenda. The opposite is also true in most cases. If we know that a candidate is in favor of gay marriage we will adamantly oppose their election without looking further into their platform.
Now, before I get crucified, these issues should weigh heavy in your decision making. But so also should issues such as education (that one's loaded), tax policy, foreign policy, seniors benefits, veterans affairs, and the list could go on for pages. Now, it's up to you to decide what is most important to you as an individual. It is understandable that some issues will be heavyweights while others will fall below even the welterweight level, but it is of utmost importance that we be educated voters. We need to know where our candidate stands, before we vote for them, so that once they are in office, if they hold true to their positions, we will not wake up surprised to find out that our pro-life candidate just ordered that euthanasia be made legal.

Maybe that’s a bit farfetched but I can image it’s a possibility in this world in which we live. Last night while surfing the internet I came across a website that you might be interested in. I especially enjoyed the little quiz on US History. I haven’t gone through all of the pages of this site so please don’t be offended if you come across something that is outlandish. You’ll find the site at www.ivotevalues.com. You’ll find a voters guide that lays out the agenda supported by the major candidates in this years election. And if you're interested in why I'm so worried about this all of a sudden check out this poll, it says it all.

Now, here’s the story I promised you yesterday. When Tony Peace first joined The Wilburns he was, like most new artists, eager to make a good impression. The group was singing at the Paramount Theater in Ashland, KY along with a few other mainline groups. Apparently the concert turned spiritual at some point and an altar call was given. The auditorium was packed; all of the artists were on the stage. Tony noticed that no one was moving toward the front of the auditorium to pray, so he decided, in his infinite wisdom, to get them started by going to the altar himself. In the middle of the prayer Tony looked up from his kneeling position to see Jonathan and Jackie Wilburn standing on the stage doing all they could to contain their laughter. Once he looked around he realized why, HE WAS THE ONLY ONE DOWN THERE!
When the prayer came to a close Tony says he bolted for the door and ran to the bus, got in his bunk, and proceeded to feel stupid. Not long afterward, he heard Jonathan and Jackie come onboard and then literally fall on the floor laughing. So much for making a good early impression, huh Tony?

October 18, 2004

2004-10-18T01:00:00.000-04:00

It's good to be home from an excruciatingly long weekend on the road. The bus left Nashville Friday morning for our date in Notre Dame, Indiana on Friday night. After we finished singing we headed home. I'm telling you it was a long weekend.

There's something that I've been dieing to tell you about since Friday night. You know quartets are prone to playing tricks on each other. Tony Peace is our resident prankster and was the instigator of one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed this past weekend. The Dove Brothers Quartet was on the program with us Friday night. We were all backstage cutting up while the promoter was on stage talking and getting ready to pray before the second half of the concert. Tony looked at David Hester (DBQ Bass singer) and told him that the promoter was calling him out there to pray. Well, when David got up and headed in that direction McCray started saying "No, No, No!" David later told us he thought McCray was saying "Go, Go, Go!" So he walked right out onto the stage and stood right beside the promoter for a good two or three minutes before he realized that we were all back stage laughing. The promoter had no idea what David was doing, and from where I stood I never even saw him acknowledge that David was standing there.

I've got to say that's about the funniest thing I've seen in a VERY long time. David's only response to Tony was "It's ON now boy!" I can't wait to see what that means.
We're heading out to Jackson, TN and Summit, MS this weekend. Hopefully those of you in the area are making plans to attend the concerts. If not, I hope that you will reconsider and come visit with us this weekend. We're looking forward to working a full weekend of concerts for once! We've had the past couple of weeks off and while it has been good to be home it's always good to get back on the road singing the music that we love.

I've got another funny story for you tomorrow. This one from a few years back, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

October 14, 2004 Perspective: America's Greatest Enemy Is Moral Decay

2004-10-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to lend my space here to a great friend of mine today. Many of you know, or know of, Jerry Kirksey, associate publisher and editor in chief of The Singing News Magazine. This is a recent editorial by Mr. Kirksey that I feel warrants a little extra attention. I hope you get as much from reading it as I did.
JR

Perspective: America's Greatest Enemy Is Moral Decay
by Jerry Kirksey

America is at a crossroads. I believe this November America's future will be decided. It is your responsibility to take part in this decision. From my "Prespective," I do not see war as the issue. America has been in many wars, survived them all, and is now the greatest super power militarily on earth. I do not see the economy as the issue. America has survived many recessions and the Great Depression only to come out economically stronger than ever with the highest standard of living in the world. I do not see health care as an issue. America, even with our health care problems, still leads the world with the highest standard of health care. I do not see Social Security (and a multitude of aid and assistance programs at all levels of governments) as an issue. Again, we lead the world in taking care of our sick and elderly. Are all of the above perfect? No!!! But they are head and shoulders above any other nation. The bottom line is, these issues have not, and will not, do America in. I do not believe America can afford to make decisions this election on material or worldly issues. We must concentrate on spiritual issues. What do we have to fear? It is no longer fear itself, or any material or worldly issues. It's the Devil, the personified supreme spirit of evil. My fellow Americans, the devil can and will destroy America if the Church does not stop him. We must remember the devil has a long list of nations and empires he has destroyed throughout history and don't you think for one minute it can't happen to America. Richer and more powerful nations and empires for their times have fallen to the devil's lies. We must have a leader who has a personal Savior. We must have leaders who do not look to themselves for wisdom, but leaders who depends on God for daily guidance. We need obedient leaders. This election, we can't afford to go with politicians. We must elect Christian Statesmen. We can't afford to vote for those who promise two chickens in every pot and a socialist system that takes care of everything and everybody. We must vote for those who, by their lifestyles and their proven positions on sin issues, have shown they know Jesus. I believe with all my heart that America is at a crossroads. I am not talking about political America. I am taking about Christian America. Parties and politicians talk about war, economy, jobs, etc, but these are not the issues - not at this point in American history. The issue is the sin issues.We can be at peace with the world, have the strongest economy in the world, have the greatest health care in the world, everyone can have a job, a nice home and a healthy retirement. These things cannot, and will not, save America. Only Jesus SAVES. We need revival. America must turn away from sin.These are the real issues. We as a nation must banish abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, substance abuse, pornography, adultery, and sex and violence as a form of entertainment and much more. Our Number One priority should be the restoration and protection of the FAMILY. It is upon this foundation - the Family - that America will solve its problems. I don't want to talk about what political party you belong to. I want to talk about what do you believe in. Military America, economic America, and social America are in fine shape. Christian America, however, is dying! For the first time in our history, "Protestant America" is falling below 50%. You think you re unhappy today? Just wait!In November 2004, Christian America has a choice and a chance. I beg you to listen to all the candidates. Don't concern yourself with the red herring issues. Listen for their stand on moral issues.God cares and is involved in all things, but sin and sin alone are the only issues in which a righteous God must judge. The "Sin Issues" are THE issues of this election for it is upon these issues that America will stand or fall. The world will not understand what we say here, but the saved select will. Therefore, the responsibility lies there. I don't fear terrorists or anything else as much as I fear the devil. The devil is going to use YOU. He's going to tell you that you the church should not get involved in politics. He's going to tell you that your one vote won't make a difference. He's going to tell you if you get involved, you're going to be just like them. He's going to tell you that you can't win. He's going to do everything in his power to keep you from voting. These are strong words, but I do believe them with all my heart. Christian Americans who don't vote are supporting the devil. Apathy leads to destruction. The devil is a liar. More than likely, right now he is telling you this perspective is a bunch of bunk, and stuff like this should not even be in Singing News. I know what some of you are thinking, and yes, I do believe in the principle of the separation of church and state. That separation, however, only lies in the area of a state-sponsored church. I also believe in the separation of the devil and state. However many of the devil's issues have already received state sponsorship in the form of laws written and put into force by the state. I speak of devilish laws that allow abortion and homosexuality, yet deny the "Free exercises" of our religious freedoms. Remember, the devil is the deceiver, and he is going to see to it that the issues you see on TV and read about in the papers and magazines are the irrelevant issues. This may be the single most important issue of the 2004 elections. The US Supreme Court has four members over seventy years old. If any or all retire in the next four years, who do you want sitting in the position to appoint new ones? Which candidate do you think would appoint Christian men and women? Ask yourself these two questions: Am I going to vote? Who am I going to Vote for? The future of America is dependent upon your decisions. Bad governments are put in place and bad people are elected to public office by good Christian Americans who don't vote! SN(Used by permission Jerry Kirksey author Copyright 2004 Singing News Magazine.)

October 12, 2004

2004-10-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that Jennifer and I live in East Tennessee now. We've moved three times since we married in July '00. We've actually lived here longer than any other place since we've been married. We both love Tennessee, in fact I doubt you could pay either of us enough to make us seriously consider moving from here permanently.

One of the many things that we've come to love about this area is the amount of Southern Gospel Music that we can find within just a short drive. We live about 30 minutes from Pigeon Forge, so a trip to DOLLYWOOD is a regular occurrence. Most avid SG fans know that this month is their annual Harvest Festival and Southern Gospel Music Jubilee. On the days that I'm home I usually try to get over there to see my friends, and to hear some good singing. Since we had this past weekend off it afforded me the opportunity to go see and hear my friends The Inspirations. Over the last couple years I've grown to really love these guys, their singing, and especially their spirit. Even if you're not a fan of "Appalachian" flavored Southern Gospel, you'd have to agree that they are undoubtedly masters of their craft. No one does it better than The Inspirations, and there are no better friends for a fellow to have than those guys.

I plan on heading out to the park again tomorrow to see The Florida Boys. Of course, they're another great bunch of guys and always more fun than a barrel of monkeys. When I first met Gene McDonald he was teaching voice at Ben Speer's Stamps Baxter School of Music; as far as I know he wasn't singing with anyone at that time. I was a student at the school that year, but the next time I saw Gene he was singing with The Florida Boys. I was with The Pigeon Sisters.

We're not heading out to sing until later this week so hopefully I'll get to post something else here before I go. Until then, I trust that you'll be well.

October 10, 2004

2004-10-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

When I decided to start this blog I had every intention of updating it at least once a week to keep you informed of what is going on with the group, and just to chat with my friends out there. I regret not getting to this sooner, but it has been a very trying week for Jennifer and I.
Many of your read that we recently learned we were to expect our first child in May. Of course we were both very excited. Unless you have been through it, you can't imagine how we felt when Jennifer's doctor told us that there were problems which would cause the termination of her pregnancy. Hurt, frustration, sorrow, and pain can't begin to describe the emotions that we have both been going through.

I questioned whether I should write about this considering the sensitivity of the subject but I decided to do so for a number of reasons. First because I didn't want to have to explain this to everyone individually at concerts, but also because I know that there are a lot of prayer warriors out there who will hold us up. Jennifer and I appreciate your thoughts and sympathy, but what we covet most of all is your prayer. I know how I feel right now, and I know that it cannot compare to what Jennifer must be going through, so I'll ask you to especially pray for her.

I want you to know that I'm not writing this in search for your sympathy. I get really tired of artists using their friends and fans for a crying post, so most likely this is the last you'll read about this subject from me. I just wanted to let you know what's going on in our life. We count you as part of our extended family and we appreciate your friendship and prayers.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called to His purpose. Holding this as truth, we look forward to the good that will come out of this situation. I must say that we've already seen God's handiwork. Long before we ever knew we were expecting, PSQ was having trouble filling dates for this particular weekend and decided to just take the weekend off. As J.D. might say, "I Can Feel The Touch of His Hand."

September 30, 2004

2004-09-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all of you who made "launch day" a success. We've been working diligently on the website for quite a while and nothing could please me more than the 900% increase in traffic that we saw yesterday. Remember that we will continue to update the site with new photos and features much more often than we have in the past, so be sure to bookmark us and visit us often.

To no surprise we've received quite a varied response from the Bush/Cheney endorsement on the homepage. I've received quite a number of emails on the subject. Of course the majority of the emails that I've received are from those wishing to voice their displeasure with us for posting a political endorsement. That's no surprise either. What's surprising is the tone which is conveyed in the majority of those messages. Only one of these messages had even a remotely "Christian" tone, whatever that means. I enjoy reading and responding to email from friends and fans alike, and I understand the point of view of many of those who have written, but I do take a little exception with the attitude of pure anger that has been portrayed by some.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people think their opinion is the only one that counts, and it seems, all too often they are, generally, the only ones found expressing their thoughts. It doesn't take much consideration on the subject to come to the conclusion that by not voting we're making the opinions of others much more powerful than our own. The fact is that everyone who expresses their opinion on November 2 will be heard. For quite some time now the "Christian Right" has made little impact on national elections. Not because we're a major minority in terms of numbers, but on election day we might as well be. We find no trouble expressing our opinions during the term of an elected official, but, somehow when election day comes around we're nowhere to be found. No matter who you vote for, get out there and vote. Our elected officials are held accountable by those who vote. While it is their job to represent our opinions, it is our job to present our opinions to them. Often the only place to get that message across is in the voting booth.

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that if you're a Christian and you vote for someone other than Bush that you are in the wrong. It is up to the conscience and opinion of the individual to determine whether they have cast a ballot for the right. Our endorsement of President Bush is not intended as an affront to those who have differing opinions. It is merely an expression of our opinion and we hope that no one is offended by it.
We're headed for Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama this weekend. Hopefully we'll see some of you out there on the road!

Innaugural Post

2004-09-29T15:00:00.000-04:00

Well, here we go again. As many of you know I am the webmaster for Palmetto State Quartet. It's taken me some time to get the wind in my sails about the site as I'm sure many of our regular visitors know. I guess you could say that I was a little burned out. I have recovered, however, and I'm excited about things to come.

If you've browsed through the new site, by now you know that we've added a few new things since the last re-design. I'm excited about the new articles and features that we'll be working on in the coming months. History 101 is of course a highlight for me. If you know me at all you know that I'm a little partial to the "old stuff." The October article is a complete overview of the Palmetto State Quartet, Past to Present. The plan is to update this section monthly until we have somewhat of a biography posted for every past member of the group. We're also excited to bring you PSQ At Home. This one is planned as a bi-monthly update bringing you photos and stories from the home life of each of our current members. Then of course there's John's Jottings. I'm not so sure about the name yet, maybe it will grow on me. I plan to discuss lots of stuff here, not necessarily related to Palmetto State Quartet. We'll see how this evolves over time, but for now I just plan to use it as a means of communication to all of my friends out there. You'll have to come here to get it though; I won't be using our email list as a means of communicating my thoughts.

That brings me to the new E-Team. Last month we were able to change over to a new email list server which is hopefully serving you better than the last one. I had lots of trouble with the old server requiring new members to sign up for lists other than the one they wanted to sign up for. They were slow too, sometimes it would take hours or even days for some of you to get the emails that I sent. If you're not already signed up on our list please do so. We will send you concert listing updates as well as news and events that we feel you will be interested in. Click here to sign up now!

Don't forget our online store! All of our current products are available through this website. If you don't see it listed for sale here, we don't have it, and we can't get it. I get a lot of requests for recordings with past members on them or for songs that we no longer sing. We don't inventory anything other than items which feature the current group. There's a new video available that was recorded just a few weeks before the National Quartet Convention this year. All of the songs contained on the It's Settled CD are also on this video, performed live at the Americana Theater in Branson.

That's all for now I guess. Please feel free to send your comments or suggestions to me at any time. The website is for you, not for us, so if we're not giving you what you want, you'll have to let us know. All of the members of the group have email and most of them will get it promptly. Some of us haven't moved out of the stone ages yet so it might take a while to get a response from some of the guys. Until next time, hope you enjoy the site, we'll see you somewhere on the road!