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A Clear Case of Necktie Negligence

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Joey wasn’t able to get a minivan with Stow-and-Go seats this weekend so he had to rent a Chevy Traverse. Since the seats didn’t go all the way down, there was no way to fit in all of our gear, especially now that we have the huge gig rig. So we had to make the painful decision to leave one of our subwoofers and one of our stage monitors behind. We decided that we could huddle close around one stage monitor and position a subwoofer strategically so that we’d still have a big sound. It wouldn’t be a problem at Tullahoma since it was a smaller church, but Joey knew he’d have to adjust the system at the Madison Campus church since it would be considerably larger.

When we got to the hotel, I began to unpack and iron my clothes but I couldn’t find my tie. With a stomach-lurching feeling, I realized that I’d left the tie on my ironing board at home because my hands were full when I was packing and I couldn’t pick it up. I could still see it sitting there and I remembered saying to myself, “Don’t forget to get your tie.” I told Tim and then called Joey’s and Ryan’s room and told them the problem. Our only solution was to wear our black shirts and suits without ties for the church service, which is something we don’t normally like to do. But we had no choice and I bravely accepted The Gourd Award for the weekend.

The Gourd Award is an actual smiling pumpkin trophy that Joey had made several years ago after an off-hand remark one day in which he had meant to say something like “goof” and “nerd” in the same breath and it came out “gourd.” The term quickly became part of Emmanuel Quartet pop culture, typically in reference to someone doing something stupid, i.e., “Phil forgot his tie. What a gourd!” So my punishment is to carry The Gourd Award around until one of the other guys does something foolish, then I pass it off to him in a grand ceremony involving flashing cameras and laughter from the other two who managed to scrape by without receiving the dreaded symbol of shame.

Sabbath morning we woke after getting an extra hour of sleep due to Tullahoma being on Central Time. Since we’d set up our equipment at the church the night before, it was nice to have an extra hour of sleep. Although we were close to the church, we had to be there very early because of their order of service. The members at Tullahoma prefer to have their church service before their Sabbath School classes, so we were there at about 8:30 AM to prep our equipment and sing for the 9:00 AM service. It went well even though we were missing some speakers, and we adjusted quickly to singing around one monitor.

Since the church preferred that we not conduct honor sales, we went ahead and took down our equipment and packed up the van. But before we left, one of the children’s Sabbath School teachers caught us in the lobby and asked if we’d like to come sing for the kids in her room. We had plenty of time so we said we’d do it. We had so much fun leading the kids in songs, and when Joey found a guitar he taught us all some songs that he does for the kids at his church. Somehow the other teachers got word of what we were doing and they ushered us off to their rooms too. We had a lot of fun laughing at ourselves mixing up the words on “Peace Like a River!

When we got to the Madison Campus church, Joey asked the man who let us in if we could use their stage monitors. He said we could, and it really made a difference. Since the church was large and circular, we were able to use our third stage monitor as a house speaker and fill in some of the gaps. And we were able to hear ourselves quite well using their monitors. After sound check we saw some people making their way in and we recognized the Carney family, old friends from years back. We also got acquainted with a family who were fans of our album “The Hand of Mercy” and had been listening to it for years after hearing us sing in the Nashville area in our younger days. They were anxious to get some new music after the concert and I chatted with them in the lobby for a long time about “The Hand of Mercy” and what makes it such a special album. There was a very good turnout for the concert and we had a wonderful time praising the Lord with our church family and speaking about the ministry of Adventist World Radio.

After packing up and conducting our sales, we were all starving so we went to the nearest Pizza Hut. We were all in the mood for pizza, and while we waited for our order, we had the Gourd Award Ceremony. Ryan had held on to the award for several months for various incidents, like bringing the wrong suit, losing one of his shirts, and almost running over Tim with a car (don’t ask), so he was very relieved and excited to pass on the award to me. Although I was less than cheerful, I received the award without complaint because it was obvious I deserved it. Inwardly I vowed to never forget my tie again.

A Lost Phone and a Gig Rig

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

We’ve been very fortunate to have a wonderful partnership with RTZ Audio Visual, a company which Joey uses in his job at the GC. They’ve provided us with a lot of sound equipment at cost or less, which has been a tremendous blessing to us out on the road.

We’d been using a brand new Allen & Heath mixer from RTZ for several months and during that whole time we’d been transporting it loose and unprotected except for one of my towels wrapped around it. Fortunately, a couple of weeks before our February tour Joey had gotten an SKB Gig Rig road case to transport the mixer, microphone receivers, amp and effects mixer. RTZ shipped it to my house since I keep our equipment there, and I was in charge of figuring out how to install everything into the Gig Rig.

When the Gig Rig came via FedEx, it took both me and the driver to get it off the truck and onto my porch. I was expecting a smaller case, but it was fun taking an afternoon to set it up and install the equipment. After I’d installed everything, I sent pictures to Joey showing the rig in its closed and open positions. We were both skeptical that it would fit in our rental vehicles!

When the tour date came I struggled to get the rig in my truck along with everything else, and we had similar problems organizing the jigsaw puzzle in our rental van. Joey had also recently purchased a small 25-key synthesizer for us to bring on stage so that Ryan can play an entire chord for our starting note instead of relying on one note from the pitch pipe. Finding a place for the keyboard was easy, but the ungainly metal stand it came with was a different story. But the Lord was good and everything fit well enough for us to get underway to Huntsville, Alabama. We got to the church at about 8:30 PM and someone was there to let us in. Since we had to set up new equipment, it took a little longer than usual. Then we ran into technical difficulties.

Everything in the new road case worked fine, but no matter what we tried, the new synthesizer wouldn’t work. We could get it to power up and it was obviously working, but no sound came through the mixer to the speakers. Joey called the tech support number for the company, we all took turns reading the manual and after an hour of no results, we decided to pray. Almost immediately afterward, Joey had an epiphany and pushed a button on the mixer and we heard glorious sound coming from the speakers! If only we’d prayed an hour earlier, we wouldn’t have lost an hour of sleep that night. Fortunately we’d traveled into the Central time zone, so it didn’t make us too terribly tired the next day.

The concert went well the next day, but it was strange getting our notes from the keyboard. It’ll take some time to get ourselves used to it, but I think it’ll be much easier once we do. We had a couple of false starts, but fortunately they weren’t catastrophic! We took down the equipment after the concert and headed to Lawrenceburg for an evening concert there.

After driving for about half an hour, Ryan started looking all around his seat for his cell phone. After a fruitless search of the van, we decided to stop somewhere and have a more thorough look. None of us could find it so we tried calling it, to no avail. He couldn’t remember where he’d last seen it, so the only option was to go back to the church at Huntsville and have a look. Joey called the church on our way back and he got hold of someone who was just leaving. He said that he’d call a man named Jack who lived closer to the church. Jack would be there waiting for us when we got back. Having learned our lesson about prayer the night before, we asked the Lord to help us find Ryan’s phone. As we pulled in, a very elderly man was there and he was very hard of hearing. It made explaining things difficult, but we managed to get through to him what we needed. He let us in and we spent another twenty minutes thoroughly searching the sanctuary and all the other rooms that weren’t locked.

Finally Ryan suggested that the phone may have gotten packed up in some of our equipment cases accidentally and that we should just head back toward Lawrenceburg. He later confessed that his phone was getting old and that he’s been wanting an iPhone for a long time anyway so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we never found the old one! Un/fortunately, when we got to Lawrenceburg and started unpacking, I found his phone at the bottom of one of the speaker bags and I thought it would be smashed. When I looked at it, it was still on and working! The reason we never heard it ring when we called it was because it was on vibrate. When I showed it to Ryan, there was a mixture of relief and disappointment in his voice as he said, “Thanks for finding my phone, Phil.”

Right before the concert we saw some familiar faces in the lobby. Melvin Christiansen and his wife Elizabeth, along with their five children had heard we were going to be in Lawrenceburg and had come to hear us sing. Back in their academy days at Highland, Melvin had sung tenor briefly with Joey and Tim in the Highland Academy Men’s Quartet (HAMQ). The roots of The Emmanuel Quartet go back to those early days of HAMQ singing on campus, nursing homes and local churches. It was good to see Melvin again and to see how his family has grown.

After the concert we talked with the church members at the sales table and when we were done we talked with Melvin and Elizabeth for a while. We even convinced them and their kids to take some silly photos with us and we all laughed at how they turned out. I couldn’t get Melvin to take a stab at singing tenor on a song with the guys and he kept saying that he couldn’t remember any of the notes or words!

Heading home that night we were thankful for a weekend of answered prayer and for the ability to continue doing what we love by spreading the news about Adventist World Radio.

Coming of Age

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Our schedule this month led us to Franklin, North Carolina and Waynesville, Tennessee, two churches we hadn’t visited in a long time. Since it was the middle of winter, it was only natural that at least one of us would be under the weather. When Joey arrived in Collegedale he told us that he’d been battling a sore throat the week before and that he wasn’t sure how his voice would sound. Tim and I admitted that we’d been under the weather too. Then Ryan said that he wasn’t feeling well either, so we said a prayer before we left that the Lord would bless all of our voices and especially make Ryan and Joey feel better. We didn’t feel like practicing on the way to Franklin, so we just listened to music and talked after stopping for supper.

Sabbath morning Joey felt better, but his throat was still scratchy. Ryan, however, felt worse than the day before and we were all praying for healing. The Franklin church was friendly, and, despite our illnesses, the people seemed to enjoy our music and the concert. After our honor sales and a fellowship dinner, we headed over to Waynesville. Ryan was feeling a little better by the time we arrived and after setting up he found a quiet room to rest for a while.

Right before concert time I was in the lobby of the church and a young lady approached me. She told me her name was Danielle Holcomb and that she’d attended Heritage Academy in the late ‘90s. She’d remembered us coming there to sing while she was a student there and said she was very happy to find out that we were still together as a group. She introduced us to her daughter Jade who wasn’t even born when we last saw Danielle, but she’d grown up on our music and knew all of the songs from our album “The Hand of Mercy!” Danielle was happy that Jade would get to see us perform live and that they’d get to hear some new music from “A New Day.”

The concert was fun and we were able to share with the congregation the fantastic work that Adventist World Radio is doing all over the globe, and how lives are being changed through their broadcasts. I noticed Danielle and Jade singing along with every song we sang from “The Hand of Mercy” and it put a smile on my face. After the concert and sales, Danielle wanted to take some photos with us to go with the ones in her collection from the last time she saw us. This time she added Jade and we had fun goofing around with them taking pictures and making silly faces.

On the way home we mused about how many young adults in the past two or three years have told us things like “I grew up listening to your music” or “I heard you guys in a concert when I was a kid.” We never used to hear those types of comments until recently and it was a bittersweet event for us. It made us all feel old to be reminded that many years have passed since the quartet began and that we were those kids’ ages when we started. At the same time, we were flattered to realize that it’s a type of “coming of age” for any music group when a fan tells you that they grew up on your music. It means that we’re maturing and becoming more recognized for our music and, in the final analysis, those thoughts outweighed the reminders of age.

As we drove home, we imagined ourselves singing until we’re 90 years old and then hoping that the Lord will return before then so we can sing in the heavenly choir. We’ve got many years of singing and praising God ahead of us and we’ll keep going until He returns!

A Class Reunion, Part II

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

December tours are always special because we’ve usually worked up one or two Christmas songs to sing for the concerts. This year we planned on singing one or two songs from years past, in addition to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” which we’d worked on before but never quite perfected enough to perform. We had a two-hour drive to Kingsport, so we knew we could work on it in the van.

When Joey arrived at the music building, he commented that it seemed colder in Southeastern Tennessee than it did in Maryland where he’d just left that morning. It did seem pretty cold as we said our hellos and loaded the van, but our spirits are almost always high these days when we go on tour so the cold didn’t bother us much. On the way to Kingsport, Joey reminded me that our old Laurelbrook classmate and friend Steve Cohen attends the Greeneville SDA Church and that we’d probably see him at the Saturday night concert. I hadn’t seen Steve since graduation day in 1991, so I was looking forward to the concert at Greeneville.

The trip wasn’t long but we had enough time to practice “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and Joey added some interesting ideas to what we’d already worked on. We only had time to work on one verse and chorus, but we thought that with two other songs, it would be enough for a Christmas segment in the concert. We went over “Light of the Stable,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” which are two of our favorites and two of which we’ve done for several years now.

Between the rehearsal and stopping for supper, the time flew by and we were at Kingsport before we knew it. We were let in to the church and started the process of unloading and setting up the equipment. When we were all set up, we practiced “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” with the system and it sounded very good. Later at the hotel that night, we rehearsed a few more times until we felt comfortable with the changes and then called it a night.

When we got up the next day the sky was gray and it looked very cold outside. After breakfast we made our way back over to the church, and by then some light snow had begun to fall. It was beautiful and didn’t seem to be causing any hazards on the road, but we were a little worried that people wouldn’t come to church if the snow kept up. Over the years we’ve discovered that the Lord will always send the people who need to be there and all we need to do is get up front and sing. So with that in mind, we enjoyed watching the snow come down inside the cozy, beautifully decorated church while we waited for the service to start.

Ryan had the children’s story for only four kids, but they were enthralled with his tales of the larger-than-life squirrels that inhabit the Wisconsin woods. By the time the story was over, there were quite a few people filling the pews. The concert went well and we even pulled off our first performance of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” with only a few minor glitches. During our rendition of “Great Gettin’ Up Morning,” Joey surprised us all with a change of lyrics right in the middle of the song! During his solo he’s supposed to say, “When you see the stars a-fallin’” but instead he pointed to the window and sang, “When you see the snow a-fallin’” and everyone in the congregation smiled, including me, Tim and Ryan! When Tim’s solo came, he changed the words to match Joey’s!

When the concert was over and we finished the honor sales, we shared a fellowship meal with the congregation. Then we packed up and made our way over to Greeneville. The snow had stopped, but it was still pretty cold while we loaded and it was nice to get settled into the warm van. As we drove, we went over the rough spots in “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and rehearsed our other Christmas songs. It was getting dark when we arrived at the church and the wind was cold as we unpacked. The church was warm and nicely decorated for Christmas with poinsettias, wreaths and beautifully lit trees.

As we set up, Joey and I heard a familiar voice up in the balcony. I looked up and saw Steve Cohen turning on the stage lights for us. He came down and talked for a while and it was nice to reconnect with him after not seeing him for 20 years. He hadn’t changed much and I found out he still enjoys running sound and lighting, which is something he’s remembered for at Laurelbrook. With Steve’s help we got everything up and running very quickly and ran over our newer songs again. The church had great acoustics and we were very happy with the sound.

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” went even better at this concert and the natural echo in the church made the “drone” sound from Tim and Ryan during the verse even more powerful. I enjoyed going into the chorus and the way the song evokes the hope that resulted from Jesus’ birth. I can’t wait to finish learning the rest of the song and eventually put it on a Christmas album.

When sales were over in the foyer, Joey and I posed with Steve for some “class reunion” photos. We told him that we were singing at Laurelbrook’s alumni weekend in April and that we hoped he’d be there. It was really nice to reconnect with him after so many years. I’m looking forward to April and to seeing some classmates I hadn’t seen since graduation and reconnecting with those I see often. It always reminds me of the reunion we’ll all have in heaven some day.

Two Groups, Nine Singers, One Voice

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

To get the most value from Joey’s trips down from Maryland we always try to schedule two or three concerts each weekend. And even though this was the weekend of our big joint concert with Message of Mercy, we still needed a Sabbath morning concert, so Joey had been working with Pastor Wendt from the Pikeville SDA Church to have us sing for their morning service on November 20. It was going to be a tight schedule driving from Pikeville in time to set up at Collegedale Community, but Joey planned for the time change, so he knew we’d be OK.

Pikeville is close to Laurelbrook Academy and Joey had advertised in many of the local churches, so we weren’t surprised to see some of our Laurelbrook friends in the pews when the concert started. John and Barbara Ellis, and Rodney and Brenda Herra were all staff at Laurelbrook when Joey and I were there and they’ve been supporters of the quartet for years. The Ellises’ daughter Carolyn and the Herra’s son Rodney Jr. (a.k.a. Bubba) were married not long ago and also attend my home church of Bowman Hills.

After the concert we set up a table on the church’s porch for our honor sales and it was a beautiful day to be outside. We got a chance to talk to the Ellises and Herras for a while and take some pictures with them. Since we were in a hurry, the pastor and wife had arranged for us to take some sack lunches that church members had prepared so we could eat on our way back to Collegedale. It was very helpful and we appreciated their thoughtfulness.

Despite our best efforts, it took a while to take down our equipment and get away from the church. The Collegedale concert was at 6:00 and we were wanting to be there at 4:00 to set up and rehearse a few songs with the ladies. We lost an hour due to the time change and didn’t arrive at the church until about 5:00, but we set everything up in record time and Kim’s son Caleb helped me and Jaclynn set up the product tables.

As 6:00 came closer, we were all nervous and excited because the church was filling up fast! We knew we had promoted the concert with posters all over the area and bulletin inserts, but you can never tell how many people will come to a concert. So many factors can change (like weather) at the last moment and there’s no way to predict attendance unless you sell tickets. We’d thought about tickets, but in the end we decided to plaster the area with posters and pray that God would bring the people who needed to be there.

When we stepped out on stage after our introduction, it was a bit overwhelming to see that most of the seats were filled and more people were coming in. We opened with our new nine-voice version of “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot” which went very well and got a great response. After that, most of the anxiety we may have had faded away and we enjoyed ministering to the audience. We alternated sets of Emmanuel Quartet music and Message of Mercy music, and between sets we sang together as one big group. One of the highlights of the concert for me was when the ladies performed their own acappella version of “Can He, Could He, Would He.” At our last rehearsal they’d told us they had a surprise for the concert, and that we’d have to wait until then to hear it. Needless to say, we were both surprised and impressed with their rendition! Another highlight of the concert was “I’ll Fly Away.” The quartet had planned on ending one of our sets with that song, but we’d all decided in rehearsals that it would be fun to have sort of a “sing-off” between the groups, so right in the middle of the song, the ladies jumped up from their seats on the front row, marched on stage, stood in front of us and took over the song! We pretended to look surprised and affronted, then upstaged them and took over another verse. Then we decided to play nice and finish the song together. It was lot of fun and the audience really loved it!

Other songs that we performed together included the acappella numbers, “Steppin’ On the Clouds,” and “Riverside Medley” which was a favorite of mine. Both of these songs were fun because there were moments where two or three of us would step out front and have a duet or trio. Another highlight was calling up on stage our former bass, Danny Anderson, to sing “Job” an old favorite of ours. We learned “Job” many years ago and won a national talent competition singing it back in 1997, so it’s been a special song for us over the years. It was great to have Danny’s voice filling in the bass line just like on the recording of “The Hand of Mercy.” Before the song, Danny joked that the last time he sang with us, he and I both had more hair, and that got a big laugh from the audience. Even though we hadn’t sung with Danny in a while, the song went well and we all really enjoyed it.

Toward the end of the concert the quartet sang a beautiful song from Message of Mercy called “Endless Hope.” We’d been working on it for a long time and Joey mentioned to the audience that this would be the first time that The Emmanuel Quartet had ever sung with a soundtrack. During all of our rehearsals we’d had a difficult time adjusting to the track after singing for so many years with only four voices. It was challenging, but we pulled it off and got a good response.

As a grand finale to the concert, we’d worked up a big arrangement of “Sail On” from the Heritage Singers. Joey sang the lead for most of the song and then he and Darlene did a duet toward the middle. We even threw in a little choreography at the end with all of us moving across the stage like we were in rowboats. It was a lot of fun!

After the concert we all made our way to the front of the church where our product tables were set up. There were a lot of people who wanted our newest CDs “Hymns By the Book II” and “A New Day” since we hadn’t toured much in the Collegedale area since those albums had come out. Sales were good for both groups and about half of us stayed at the tables while the others started taking down the equipment.

For several days afterward, we were all on a high about the concert and were all looking forward to doing it again in the future, with perhaps less nervous feelings and a few less bumpy spots. We found out after the concert that when we’d asked the congregation to sing along with us on the song “God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens” from our new hymns CD, that there were no hymnals out in the church pews! We’d asked them to turn to the hymn and sing along and we were wondering why no one was singing! When we found out, it all made sense. Plus, when one of the ladies from Message of Mercy told Joey that they couldn’t hear me in the house mix, he kept turning me up but it didn’t help. When he was taking down the system later, he found out that he’d been turning up Tim’s volume instead of mine because our cables were reversed in the mixer!

Despite all the complications, we’ve heard nothing but positive comments about the event, and it encouraged us to make another attempt in the future, possibly next November in the Atlanta area. God has proven to us that He can bring the people in when we take a leap of faith and trust Him.

The “Billy Bob” Phenomenon

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

We were slated to perform at two churches in Georgia this weekend so there wasn’t a great deal of travel involved once Joey arrived in town. We headed for the Statesboro, Georgia Friday evening to set up at the SDA church.

This was the first weekend that the guys would see me after I’d decided to shave my head and I told them I did it so I’d look more like Ryan and Vin Diesel. Since Ryan gets all the attention, and Vin Diesel is a superstar, I thought maybe it was the shaved head that was the secret. Turns out there’s more to it than that, because somehow Ryan still gets more attention than me. I think maybe it could be his bass voice...

I’d actually been thinking of shaving my head for a while, and without thinking what time of year it was, I did it in mid-Fall with Winter around the corner. Now I know why Ryan wears a hat when it’s cold. Even a little hair is some insulation against the cold wind, but when you have none, a hat is your only defense. Fortunately it was still the dog days of summer, so I didn’t need a hat just yet.

The next day, Pastor Murdock and the congregation at Statesboro were friendly and appreciative of our concert. Joey and I got to see a friend from our college days, Lowell Hanson, and as we packed up our gear we chatted with him and got caught up on the missing years.

Our next appointment was at the Wimbish Rd. SDA Church in Macon. Joey had worked with Pastor Maurice Witt for this concert and we had a good turnout for a Saturday night. We’re still getting used to our new pre-amp and subwoofer, but we’re happy with the sound and how much fuller our music feels.

Ever since our concert in August at Carrollton when we sang with the group Message of Mercy, Joey and Kim had been coordinating together on a possible date for us to perform a full joint concert. We wanted it to be around Chattanooga since both our groups are well-known in the area, and we wanted a big enough venue to house a good-sized crowd. Joey and Kim thought that the best choice would be Collegedale Community Church. After talking with the church’s music coordinator, the date was set for November 20.

After our Carrollton weekend, we’d gotten together as a group at Jaclynn’s house to rehearse again and choose some more songs. At that rehearsal the guys and I had gotten to meet Jessica Perry and her newest bundle of joy, Jack. It made our sound even fuller to have all nine voices coming together during rehearsal.

Since Joey was in town for our tour, we’d decided to get together at Collegedale Community for another big practice session. We all met at the church and Joey integrated the two sound systems together so that we could hear how it would sound the night of the concert. Kim’s mom Carol usually runs their sound system, and when Joey realized he needed a special adapter, Carol volunteered to run over to Guitar Center and pick it up. I think she was happy to have Joey set up and run the system so she could concentrate on listening to us sing.

Jessica’s husband Ryan was there with their three children, and while we practiced he made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us and them. He’d brought the stuff for the kids, but I think he overheard some of us talking about being hungry so he asked any of us if we’d like one too. He and Jessica have three beautiful and well-behaved kids. It was nice to get to know the Perrys and to finally get to practice with Jessica on stage with us.

We found out today that the ladies of Message of Mercy have a unique sense of humor when somehow in the conversation it came up that Jessica works in a dental hygienist’s office and suddenly they whipped out four sets of those fake “bubba” or “billy bob” teeth, put them in and posed for pictures! They told us they used them as an illustration in their concerts, but I think they just enjoy being silly now and then, just like we do. It was Halloween, after all.

Adventures In Stain Removal

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Earlier this year Adventist World Radio had asked if we could schedule more tours in North and South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia since those areas don’t get covered by many of their field representatives. Since we don’t tour in those areas often either, Joey booked concerts at the Roanoke SDA Church in Virginia and the Valley View SDA Church in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Joey and Tim both flew in from Atlanta and met me and Ryan at the University. I think Tim had been visiting relatives and had arranged to fly to Chattanooga with Joey on the same plane. They told us that they’d had to wait half an hour at Avis for a Grand Caravan. Since we really can’t tour without a vehicle with stow-and-go seats, they had no choice but to wait.

When the guys got to Southern, we had to go over to Ryan’s office and make up some self-addressed, stamped envelopes for our honor sales system. Joey hadn’t had time during the week to get it done and he hadn’t expected the delay at Avis. So we set up an assembly line in which we each had a job to do when the envelopes came out of the printer. Even though we knew we were running late, we had fun harassing each other when one of us couldn’t keep up and slowed down the whole works.

By the time we left Collegedale it was about 4:00 and we still had a five-hour drive. We managed to get to the Roanoke church at 8:53 after stopping only once to get some food to go. At the church we met the wonderful folks who had arranged to meet us so we could set up. Carol Doudiken, whom Joey worked with to arrange the concert, her husband Tim and their grandkids Hunter and Hannah were all there waiting patiently. When we got set up they requested that we do a sound check with our song “Mighty Is the Word” which had become one of their favorite songs after getting a copy of our CD “A New Day.” We obliged them since they’d waited so patiently, and they really enjoyed it, especially the kids. In the past months we’d been recording our new album “Hymns By the Book II” so we also sang “Lord Who Dost Give to Thy Church” and “God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens” for our sound check, two of our favorite obscure hymns we’d chosen for that album.

The next morning we got to meet Roanoke’s pastor, Eugene Kitney, a very tall and imposing-looking man who was very friendly and had a great sense of humor. We tried to pinpoint his accent later at the potluck dinner and Ryan guessed correctly that he was originally from South Africa. He’s also the Director and Senior Instructor at the Kaizen Gojukan Karate Dojo in Roanoke. I think he’s the first pastor I’ve ever met who is trained in the martial arts.

The concert was good and we even sang “Mighty Is the Word” for the Doudikens and Joey thanked Carol for helping him arrange the concert and the whole family for waiting up for us. We had a nice fellowship dinner afterward and it was too bad that we had to leave so soon. But we had to get on the road to Valley View which was almost two hours away.

When we arrived, there was a couple there to greet us, Jonathan and Rosalie Stockil, whom we also found out were originally from South Africa and knew Pastor Kitney very well. As we set up our stuff, Jonathan worked on getting the projector to turn on. It refused to turn on and we all took turns working on it. We tried changing the remote batteries and even used a long pole to see if we could manually push the “on” switch, but all to no avail. Jonathan called one of the sound guys to see if he could come and figure out what the problem was. The Stockils were very helpful and made sure we had everything we needed. We’re always thankful to have such gracious people available to help us get ready for a concert.

While we waited, I wandered around outside in the parking lot and came across an orange-and-white tomcat. He was battle-scarred but very friendly and came up to me meowing and rubbing on my leg. He was so friendly that I had to keep him from going inside the open church door! Jonathan saw me out there with the cat and told me that he was a stray that had been hanging around the neighborhood for a long time. He said he keeps getting into fights and won’t let anyone keep him, but he gladly accepts food and affection. He also said that the whole congregation likes him and helps take care of him.

When the sound guy arrived he was able to get the projector to work in about 30 seconds, but don’t ask me how he did it. I still don’t know.

It wasn’t long until the concert, so we found a room to get changed into our AWR shirts. As I took mine out of my bag, I noticed a big circular white blob on the top left side. As I examined it, I knew immediately what it was. Three months before, at the General Conference Session in Atlanta, we’d worn those shirts with big “AWR is Here” stickers plastered on the front. Apparently I had washed and dried it when I’d gotten home and had left the sticker on. When I’d hung it up I never even noticed the sticker residue. But there it was, and, try as I might, it would not come off. We ran over to the closest store and I bought some Goo Gone, hoping it would do the trick.

Time was running out before the concert was supposed to start, so I frantically applied the Goo Gone while the guys teased me mercilessly and simultaneously gave me advice on how to get the glue off. Fortunately the glue came off easily after a little Goo Gone, but then I became worried about the big wet spot where the glue had been. By concert time it was hardly noticeable, but the whole time we were singing, there was an overpowering scent of orange rind that managed to waft all the way over to Ryan’s side of the stage.

The pastor of Valley View is Ron Patterson, whom both Joey and I knew from our college days. Ron and I had many theology classes together, and it was nice to see him again after so many years. When the concert and sales were over, we made our way downstairs where the church had prepared a very nice supper for us, including hot soup, muffins and fruit. It gave us some time to relax and catch up with Ron before heading home. He told us about the history of his time there and many of the miracles that had been happening among the members. It’s wonderful to hear and see God’s hand moving through His church body. We left West Virginia having been fed physically and spiritually.

Joey had accidentally booked his flight home for very early Sunday morning, so instead of staying at a Hampton Inn on Saturday night, which we normally would do if we were that far from home, we had to drive back almost five hours that night. On the way home we debated whose mistake was more noteworthy, my laundry goof or Joey’s flight booking blunder. Five hours later, we really didn’t care anymore and were just glad to be home!

The Night the Lights Went Out in Pikeville

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

For several months, we’d been tossing around the idea of singing with some good friends of ours, the ladies from the group “Message of Mercy.” Both of our groups were known to each other, and both have been around for a long time, so it only made sense that we should sing together. We wanted to sing together on at least two songs, and since MoM (as they’re affectionately called ) sings a few acappella songs, Joey started working on a quartet arrangement of one song the ladies do called “Steppin’ On the Clouds.” Meanwhile, the ladies would learn our version of “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot.”

Kim Neal, who is a charter member of MoM, coordinated with Joey and they’d decided that since both groups were going to be singing at the Carrollton SDA Church this weekend, we should get together and sing our joint songs there. So we met with the ladies at the Collegedale Community Church to rehearse on Friday evening before heading down to Decatur, Georgia for our Sabbath morning concert at the Belvedere church.

I knew Kim from when she attended my home church, Bowman Hills, and I’d heard MoM sing many times over the years, but I’d never really gotten to know Kim or her family very well. They now attend the Collegedale Community Church, along with several other members of MoM. As we all started to trickle in for rehearsal, introductions were made and we started getting to know each other. The other members of Message of Mercy are Joey Tolbert, Darlene Hubbart and the newest member, Jaclynn Huse. When they’re available, Jessica Perry, Christina Romero and Erika Anderson also sing and play piano for the group, but unfortunately they wouldn’t be able to join us for our grand venture this weekend.

We’d all been practicing the new songs individually or as separate groups, but this was the first time we’d be practicing as a “mega-group” with all eight of us. It was a lot of fun, and as we rehearsed we fine-tuned parts and added notes here and there. It was so much fun that during each pause in singing, little groups of us would break off and start talking about how much fun it was! But after a while we buckled down and really got to it. Since both groups have a member named “Joey,” there was a bit of confusion for a while until we decided to call ours “Joe” or “Joey D” when addressing him. We thought about calling him “Joseph” but it just sounded weird. We kept plugging along with rehearsal and by the end of a couple of hours, we were all getting excited to perform the next day at Carrollton.

The guys and I left and headed over to the music building at Southern to load up the Grand Caravan that Joey had rented for the weekend. We like Grand Caravans because they have Stow-and-Go seats in the back and plenty of room for all of our equipment. Joey was trying out National as our new rental company and we were glad they had a Grand Caravan in stock. As we were leaving, Joey realized that he’d left his backpack over at the church. It holds his laptop which has all of our multimedia for our concert presentation of Adventist World Radio, so we had to make another trip over there to get it. Fortunately some of the MoM ladies were there to let us in.

When we got to the Atlanta Belvedere church that night, a man named Tony was there to let us in so we could set up. We had some new equipment we were trying out, including a tube pre-amp that Joey wanted to test out on Ryan’s channel. We also brought a new subwoofer which added a layer of complexity to our wiring, but when combined with the pre-amp, it made a big difference in the warmth and depth of Ryan’s bass. When we started our sound check I noticed that Tony was in the back singing along and I could hear that he was trying out different parts. As we left, I mentioned it to him and he said that he sings in a church quartet there at Belvedere. It’s always nice to meet a fellow quartet singer, and there seems to be an immediate connection when you meet one. We got to the Hampton Inn at about 11:30 and we were all probably asleep within half an hour.

Next day as we were preparing for the concert at Belvedere we wondered how the ladies were doing over at Carrollton. Our concert went well and the congregation at Belvedere was very appreciative and friendly. Later we found out that MoM’s concert went well too and that the people there were intrigued to hear that we’d all be singing together at the program that evening. Our friend Sam Ball pastors the Carrollton church and his wife Traci had set up this event with Joey back in April when we were at their other church in Douglasville.

We arrived at the Carrollton church in the mid-afternoon and set up our sound system. The ladies were there relaxing after their concert. Joey and Kim had decided that we’d try to integrate their sound system into ours so that we’d have enough mics for everyone. During the sound check it seemed to work well, even though there were a few bugs to be worked out. After we practiced our joint songs, the girls ran through a couple of songs that they were going to do during the concert. During one of their songs they play a video of clips from the film “The Gospel of John” and it was a nice touch. It brought home the lyrics of the song and made me think about its meaning.

The concert started, and when it came time for “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot” and “Steppin’ On the Clouds,” I’ll admit I was nervous, and I’m sure the others were too, but both songs went very well and it was awesome to perform with eight mixed voices on such fast-paced acappella songs! After “Swing Down” was over, I could feel our confidence building and “Steppin’” was much easier. The congregation seemed to really like it too, and Traci mentioned afterward that we should’ve done more songs together. I could see the wheels turning in Kim’s and Joe’s heads as they thought about how we could work up another joint venture in the future.

When we packed up the equipment and said our goodbyes to Sam and Traci, we were all ready for a late supper, so someone suggested we go to Moe’s. Sam and Traci told us where there was one close by and we headed out. When we got there, Darlene and Joey (Tolbert) wanted tofu dishes (which I was surprised find out that Moe’s serves) so their meals took a little longer than the rest of ours. They were standing in line for a while after we were all sitting down and they joked that the staff of Moe’s had to go out back and “kill the fatted soybean!”

While we ate, Joey (Davis) and Kim started working on plans for us to do a full joint concert together in which each group would not only perform our own songs, but in which we would also sing more songs as a “mega-group.” We all really liked the notion and started brainstorming ideas for when and where.

When we finished supper, we took some funny pictures out in the parking lot and then parted ways. We needed to get back on the road since we had to sing the next day in Pikeville. It was such an awesome day hanging out with such talented and friendly fellow musicians!

Several months before, Pastor David Wendt from the Pikeville SDA Church had contacted Joey and asked if we’d like to join him and his church at the semi-annual “Sunday Sing” held at the Pikeville First Southern Baptist Church. Many churches in the area gather there several times a year to hear local groups, soloists, choirs and musicians perform two or three songs each. The organizers hold the event to unite the community and to remind everyone that despite religious and philosophical differences, we can still get together and enjoy good music.

The program was scheduled for 7:00, so we thought we’d arrive at around 5:00 even though we weren’t setting up our sound system. We’d been told that the church had microphones, and since we weren’t singing a full concert, we weren’t planning on using any of our stuff. So we headed for Pikeville in plenty of time and as we wound our way through the narrow mountain roads of Highway 30, we practiced new songs and discussed the future.

After an early supper we drove over to the church and waited around for someone to come and let us in. It was about 5:00, so we weren’t too worried yet. But at 5:45 the parking lot was still empty. Joey said, “Did I get the dates mixed up? There’s nobody here!” He started to call someone and when he looked at his phone he said, “Oh no..” He had completely forgotten that Pikeville was in the Central time zone and that it was only 4:45! Of course we teased him about it the rest of the day because he rarely makes mistakes like that.

At about 5:00 (Central Time) someone did come to let us in and after checking out the church’s sound system we decided that it would be fine for what we had to do. We found a room to rehearse and warm up a bit, and when we went back out into the sanctuary we found that Joey’s parents had arrived. They live at Laurelbrook, which isn’t very far from Pikeville, and since they rarely get to see Joey they took advantage of us being so close by.

There were many musicians ahead of us, so we just sat back and enjoyed the music for about an hour. There were several choirs, but there were also some duets and groups. At the halfway point, the pastor got up to thank everyone and to ask for an offering to be taken for their community food bank. He told about how many families had been helped last year by the generous donations. Just as the deacons were standing, the electricity flickered, then went out completely. When the chatter died down, the quick-witted pastor said, “Maybe we should take up an offering for the electric bill!” When everyone stopped laughing, he quickly amended that the bill had been paid and that he was only joking. There was still enough daylight filtering through the stained-glass windows, so once everyone’s eyes adjusted we could still see pretty well. The offering plates were passed and then it was our turn to sing.

The pastor announced us and asked if we wanted to continue. Tim jumped up and said “We don’t need no microphones!!” So we followed him up front and sang four or five songs in the semi-dark using our fortissimo voices so we could be heard in the back. It was fun because we rarely sing without mics unless we’re rehearsing, and it’s completely different to sing to an audience when you’re “unplugged.” During his introduction, Tim said, “It’s OK that the lights are out because we sound better than we look!” The crowd really enjoyed our set and started clapping along with our songs. Right before our last song, the power came back on and we finished just before it got so dark we couldn’t see. This weekend was the first time we’d ever sung in the dark, and the first time we’d ever sung with Message of Mercy...but it wouldn’t be the last!

“Proclaiming God’s Grace”

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Every five years the Seventh-day Adventist Church holds what is called a “General Conference Session,” which serves as a forum for electing world church officers and voting changes to the church's constitution. According to the minutes of the very first session, Seventh-day Adventist leaders met in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1863 "for the purpose of organizing a General Conference." Since then, the frequency, size and venues for the Session have changed, but the purpose has remained the same. The theme chosen for this 59th Session was “Proclaiming God’s Grace.”

The quartet had been asked to sing during the second weekend of the week-long session being held in Atlanta, Georgia. Adventist World Radio wanted us to sing at their booth and to sing during Jim Ayer’s presentations on the Adventist Mission stage. I was looking forward to the event since it would be the first time I’d ever been to a GC Session.

Ryan was scheduled to be at the session working at the booth for Southern Adventist University, so it was just me, Tim and Joey who drove down to Atlanta on Friday. Not long before, Ryan had been hired by Southern to work in their Marketing and University Relations department as the Graphics Design Manager, so he had helped design and put together their impressive booth. When we arrived we made our way to the Georgia World Congress Center. Joey’s wife, Reiko, was also already in Atlanta as part of her job with the Office of Archives and Statistics. So when we made our way through Atlanta and found the GWCC, our next order of business was to find Ryan and Reiko.

The GWCC is so large, that it took us quite a while to find everything and locate the booths. We found Ryan first since Southern’s booth was very large and easy to spot from a distance. He couldn’t leave, but we told him to call us when his shift was over so we could eat lunch together. It took a while to find Reiko in the main hall, but when we did, she said she’d come eat with us too. We touched base with the folks from AWR and then took a leisurely tour around the massive building.

After lunch we followed Ryan to the hotel room he’d been staying in all week, and where Tim and I would be staying as well. It was a suite with an extra room and sofa bed, so there was plenty of room for three of us. Joey stayed all weekend with Reiko at her hotel, despite our teasing about how he should stay with us for the sake of solidarity!

We sang on the Adventist Mission stage Friday evening, but it was very hard to hear ourselves. There was so much noise and the room was so large that we had to tell the sound guys to keep turning up the stage monitors. Despite that, we never could hear ourselves well and we felt like we were shouting into the microphones. We sang for about half an hour, and between sets of 2-3songs Jim Ayer told incredible stories from the show he hosts called “Making Waves.” He admitted later that he also had a very difficult time hearing himself and was a little hoarse afterward from all the shouting. Jim is the Vice President for Advancement and a good friend of the quartet. That night we slept well since we’d walked all over the GWCC, but we had no clue how much walking was in store for us over the next three days!

During Sabbath the next day we spent most of our time at the AWR booth and walking around the main exhibition hall. After lunch we gathered back at the booth and sang some songs at Jim’s request. Joey borrowed some mics from the Adventist Mission stage, and although the little speakers had a hard time overpowering the ambient noise, the people who gathered around seemed to be able to hear everything pretty well. We sang about five songs and then Ben Schoun, then President of AWR, spoke for about 15 minutes. Then we did another round of songs between stories from Jim.

Throughout the day, I saw lots of people I knew. I saw my Laurelbrook classmates Dan and Julie Graham, Ted Struntz and his family and even a co-worker from many years past. Joey’s parents were there too, and they’d brought some of Joey’s nieces and nephews along. They were happy to see Uncle Joe and to hear us sing a little.

At the AWR booth we were introduced to a gentleman named Alphayo Laizer who is from a Massai tribe in Tanzania. His village had been introduced to the gospel message through AWR and he was there to represent the thousands of people who are being impacted by the power of radio in remote areas. We enjoyed talking with him throughout the weekend, and on Sunday he bought one of our CDs. He said that he was excited to share it with his friends back home because they all love acappella music!

Saturday night Reiko suggested that we go eat at the food court of the CNN Center. Ryan said he’d eaten there during the week and that we should go just to see how big the place is. We noticed that lots of restaurants had signs that said things like “We Serve Vegetarian Dishes!” and “Veggie Plates Here!” They were obviously trying to capitalize on the huge numbers of Adventists in Atlanta! The nice part was that we didn’t all have to eat at the same place. So we took off to different restaurants and met back at the common area tables with our food. While I was in line, I ran into my old college advisor and teacher, Ron du Preez and his wife Lynda. After a few minutes of chatting, he remembered me and we spent some time catching up.

Sunday morning we spent more time at the AWR booth and they were gracious enough to let us set up some of our CDs to sell to people passing by. That afternoon we were scheduled to sing at an AWR donor event for certain donors who were at the session. It was a long walk over to the hall where the event was taking place, so we left early and got there in time to check out the sound system. It wasn’t much of a system and definitely wasn’t designed for singing, but Joey adjusted it as much as he could to fit our voices. We sang a few songs as the event got started, then sang some more after lunch, which was provided to us and the donors courtesy of the GWCC. It was exciting to hear Ben, Jim and many others tell stories about the work the AWR is doing to finish God’s work all over the world. At the close of the event, AWR staff passed out copies of our album “Hymns By the Book” to all the donors. We even had a few ask us if they could purchase other CDs later on.

Definitely the highlight of the entire session for us was being able to sing in the Georgia Dome across from the GWCC. The Dome’s official website notes, “The Georgia Dome is the largest cable-supported domed stadium in the world and is the home venue for the Atlanta Falcons, host to Super Bowl XXVIII and XXXIV, host of the gymnastics and basketball events for the 1996 Olympic Games and host to both a Men's and Women's NCAA Final Four. The Dome is equipped to handle large non-sporting events which include everything from major trade shows to concerts by such entertainers as the Rolling Stones and U2 to religious events by such ministers as Billy Graham and T.D. Jakes.”

In preparation for the session, we had to submit some songs to the committee in charge of music selection many months in advance. Out of the songs we sent, two songs were chosen for us to sing at Monday’s session of meetings at the Georgia Dome; “Twenty-Three” and “The Ballad of Elisha’s Bones.” All of the voting and constitution changes took place each day at the Dome, and many musicians from all over the world had been asked to sing on different days throughout the session. Our turn came on Monday morning.

We got up very early so that we’d be sure to be at the Dome well ahead of our time to sing. We knew we’d probably have to go to makeup and get instructions. We also wanted lots of time to warm up and shake off the nerves. Not only would we be singing for hundreds, or maybe thousands of people at the stadium, but the meetings were also being televised on Hope TV and 3ABN. Needless to say, we were very nervous, but by the time we got there and talked to all the stage managers, got our makeup on and warmed up, we were ready to get out there and do it.

The Georgia Dome is huge. Its capacity is over 70,000, and even though there weren’t that many people there, it’s still daunting to sing in such a large acoustic area. When we started our song, we noticed quickly that we had to slow down so that we could adjust to the natural echo and reverb in such a large area. But to our ears it made “Twenty-Three” sound just that much better with all those tight minor chords bouncing around everywhere. The song went very well, but later when we sang “The Ballad of Elisha’s Bones” we were a little concerned because all day most of the music had been very somber and serious. “Elisha’s Bones” is a very up tempo and lively Southern Gospel type of song and we were afraid it would be too much of a contrast. But after it was over, the stage managers told us that it was exactly what the meeting needed to wake people up and change the pace. Many people told us afterward that it was the perfect choice!

While we were backstage we had the chance to hear many other musicians sing and get to know them a little. We met a duo of male Hispanic vocalists called “Hermanos Inoa” during our time backstage, and using my limited Spanish, we tried to communicate to them how much we liked their music. They spoke hardly any English, so it was up to me and my rusty vocabulary to convey to them our appreciation and to translate to the guys that the Inoa Brothers liked our music too. I managed to figure out that they also wanted to exchange CDs with us, and since we didn’t have any with us, we had to meet them later and get them one. It was a memorable experience meeting them and being reminded that music can transcend even difficult language barriers.

It was an amazing privilege for us to be able to be a part of a global church event like the GC Session and to represent Adventist World Radio. We walked many miles in the Georgia World Congress Center in the space of four days, but it was very well worth it. As wonderful as it was, I heard many people say that they pray for Jesus to come back before the next GC Session. And to that I say, “Amen!”

A Schnitzel Haus Birthday and The Father’s Day Blues

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Hot on the heels of a long trip to Pennsylvania to sing for camp meeting, we headed out the following weekend to sing at another camp meeting, this time in West Virginia. This was another tour that had come about during our trip to the General Conference last year to sing during Annual Council. After our concert, Larry Boggess, the president of the Mountain View conference in West Virginia approached us and asked if we’d like to come sing for their camp meeting in the summer of 2010. We agreed and Joey began to work out the details of the trip.

Since it made no sense for Joey to fly to Atlanta, then back north again to West Virginia, he decided to rent a car and drive from Maryland to Charleston, WV where he’d pick us up after our flight from Atlanta. Tim, Ryan and I left Chattanooga on Friday at 8:30 AM and after an hour and a half layover in Atlanta, we arrived in Charleston. While we were there waiting for Joey, a number of people who had just boarded a plane bound for Greensboro had to disembark because of problems with the air conditioning in the plane. Little did we know then that we would be in similar straits by the end of the weekend.

Ironically, when Joey arrived he said that the A/C in his vehicle had also stopped working on his way down. Even though we were north of Tennessee, the summer heat in the Northeast was still unbearable, so he’d switched out cars when he got to the airport. It was nice to drive to our destination in comfort and we were thankful for the A/C.

After driving for about two hours we found our motel in the town of Mill Creek. We knew we were out in the country when we found a sign on the motel lobby door that said, “For motel room key, see gas station attendant.” Needless to say, we thought this was unusual, but sure enough, when Joey talked to the man at the gas station next door he came over and checked us into two rooms and gave us a phone number in case we needed anything. It wasn’t a very big motel, so we thought that this was a very efficient use of personnel if the same person owned the motel and the gas station!

We unpacked and got settled into our rooms, then decided to make our way over to the meeting site. We drove through the beautiful West Virginia countryside toward our destination which was the Valley Vista Adventist Center in the town of Huttonsville. Valley Vista is 308 acres and doubles as a summer camp for kids and a camp meeting site. It’s nestled in a valley between rolling hills and can only be accessed by crossing Becky’s Creek, a beautiful mountain stream which called invitingly to Ryan as we drove over the bridge. He gazed longingly at the creek and dreamed of all the trout he could catch if he had more time and had brought his fly-fishing gear.

Valley Vista is a beautiful site for a camp meeting. After we found the main auditorium, which is actually a large open pavilion, we stood outside and enjoyed the view. About a half mile away we saw a doe running along the tree line. We speculated that there were lots of deer hidden in the woods since it was such a secluded place. Behind the auditorium were the campers and tents and further down were the lodge, pool and tennis court.

Before the evening meeting we met with Elder Boggess and talked over the details of the weekend. He was happy we were there and that we’d made it safely. He was very attentive to us all weekend and made sure we had everything we needed. In fact, everyone was extremely friendly and happy that we were there. Elder Boggess had tried to find someone to help us with a sound check, but no one was available, so we just did what we could. We weren’t sure at first how many people would be there since it was the second weekend of the camp meeting, but by the time the meeting started, the pavilion was pretty full.

We’d decided to sing “I’ll Fly Away” since it’s a great opener, but on the first few notes I noticed that it didn’t sound quite right. Then I realized that I couldn’t hear Ryan. Apparently his microphone wasn’t working at all. I think we all realized it at the same time because by the time we were halfway through the first verse, Joey had stepped over to share his mic with Ryan. People in the audience were grinning and chuckling as they realized what had happened, but we went on with the song and it turned out fine once Ryan’s bass was added. That’s what can happen when you don’t get a sound check!

After the meeting we headed back to the hotel and settled in for the night. Tim and I were sharing a room that was a few doors down from Joey and Ryan. In the middle of the night there was a terrible noise like something metal and heavy was being dragged across the floor of the room above us. Then there were loud footsteps and shouting accompanied by more scraping. Needless to say we were a little worried, but since the police didn’t show up and the noise subsided a little, we went back to sleep since we were so tired.

The next day we asked Ryan and Joey what they’d thought of the noise but it turned out they hadn’t heard a thing. As we left early Sabbath morning we saw two men sitting in metal chairs on the balcony in the room above mine and Tim’s and it appeared that they were drinking. And it appeared that they’d been drinking there since about 4:22 AM when they woke us up. I said a prayer for them as we left, both that they would stop drinking and that they wouldn’t wake us up again that night!

The day went well as we started off with a good breakfast over at the lodge. I saw a friend whom I knew from my college days, Linden St. Clair. He was there with his family and it was nice to see him again after so many years. I always enjoyed working with him and I appreciated his thoughtful manner. We also spent time at breakfast with Maury Bascom, an affable fellow from Maryland who was impressed with our sound and wanted us to come to Columbia later in the year for a special program. After breakfast we headed over to the pavilion for the morning service.

We sang “Give In To the Lord” for special music and after the church service was over, Ryan said he wasn’t feeling well, so we took him back to the hotel to rest. The three of us came back to the camp ground for lunch and then went to see what we could do about the sound system for the afternoon concert.

We sorted out the microphones and speakers as best we could and Joey went back to get Ryan for a sound check. As we waited for concert time, we stood right outside the side entrance of the building which led to the backstage area. We were enjoying the scenery and the light breeze that was cooling us off when we noticed some rain clouds. As it started to sprinkle we ducked back inside to let the shower pass. It cooled everything down and as we stepped back outside there was a beautiful double rainbow hanging right over the mountain closest to camp. Looking at the gorgeous colors of the rainbows against the bright green of the mountainside we all commented on how good God was to bring us there that weekend. It really put us in a good frame of mind for the concert.

After the concert we were all feeling a little hungry, especially Ryan, who had skipped lunch since he wasn’t feeling well. In the course of the conversation, I casually reminded the guys that it was my birthday so they asked me to pick what I wanted to do for supper. On the way in to Huttonsville the day before, we had spotted a German/Austrian restaurant called “The Schnitzel Haus” and I’d commented on how odd it was that there was such a place in the mountains of West Virginia. I asked Joey if it would be feasible to drive back out there and get back in time to sing for the evening meeting. He was doubtful, but he said that we could probably make it if we hurried. So we jumped in the car and took off, none of us really remembering how far The Schnitzel Haus really was!

We drove and drove, all the while Joey was looking at the time and getting more anxious. Just about the time we were ready to turn back, we saw the little building with all the international flags hanging from the roof. We went inside and noticed the down-to-earth feel of the decor. The people who were dining gave the impression that they were regulars, and they seemed to be enjoying their meal. It took a while for us to decide what we wanted since none of us had really ever sampled German cuisine, but while we waited, the owner of the restaurant, R.J. Kuen, came out to check on each table. He chatted with everyone and when he came to our table, I believe he thought we were businessmen or something since we were all dressed alike! I tried out my rusty German and he seemed pleased that I could converse a little with him.

The service was good and the food was even better and it was a shame we had to wolf it down. We jumped back in the car as soon as we finished and hurried back to the camp. Later that week when I got home I searched for any online information about the Schnitzel Haus and I found out that Mr. Kuen had traveled in various areas of the U.S. and decided to settle in West Virginia. He had visited there and enjoyed the scenery, which reminded him of Austria and Germany. When he decided to open a restaurant which had authentic food from his home country of Austria, he was surprised at the local response.

It was close getting back to the camp, but we made it in time for our song. After we sang for the meeting, we set up our product table by the back door of the pavilion. The ABC book store was in a room there, so it was easy for people to have us sign their CDs and then take them into the store to pay. We stayed for about an hour, then headed for the hotel after saying goodbye to Elder Boggess.

Our flight was very early the next morning, but it was Father’s Day and Tim and Ryan were happy with leaving early since it meant they’d be home by early afternoon to spend time with their families. We left around 4:30 AM and there was dense fog for miles. To make matters worse, we kept seeing deer on the sides of the road when we’d go around a corner. As the sun came up we could see that there were lots of deer lining the road. I think we counted over 100 in just a few miles. It made Joey a little nervous because he’s had several incidents with deer over the years. It was slow going, and we prayed the whole way to the airport!

We made it to the airport unscathed and said our goodbyes to Joey who would be driving on back to Maryland. The Charleston airport isn’t huge, so we milled around waiting for our flight to depart. As time went on, we heard an announcement that our plane was having some mechanical trouble, but that it was expected to be repaired in time for the flight. But it wasn’t meant to be. An hour after we were supposed to have left, we were still getting announcements of mechanical trouble. No other flights were leaving for Chattanooga or Atlanta any time that day. We were very frustrated, and decided that the only way we’d get home is to rent a car and drive. Ryan waited at the rental car booth for a long time and finally found out that there was only one car left that was within a price range we could afford. It seemed like a miracle, so we snapped up the car and headed for home.

The five-hour ride home was frustrating, but we had lots of good conversations and listened so some good music. It was about 6:00 PM when we got into Collegedale, which left Tim and Ryan very little time to spend with their families on Father’s Day. But we were thankful to be home safely after running the deer gauntlet and were glad our plane hadn’t had engine trouble while we were in the air! God is so good, and He reminds us of that fact every day.