I have been praying for several months on a direction to take SG Critique and was shown not too long ago that I needed to add an additional contributor to the site. When I created the site, I had plenty of time for reviews and regular commentary on SG music and the happenings therein, but with the God expanding my family’s ministry and also some health issues, I quickly ran out of quality time to post regularly. After praying and researching forums and such, God led me to invite this young man to join the site.
Many of you will know him from Southern Gospel Forums as bravesfan513, but I asked Brian to give us a little more insight on himself:
I’m 25 years old, and just celebrated my first wedding anniversary. I was saved at the age of seven after a good old fire and brimstone message from an old-fashioned preacher. I was raised in two different independent, fundamental Baptist churches here in South Carolina, and was exposed to old-fashioned gospel music out of the red-back Church Hymnal from the time I was born. I was taught how to read music and hear harmony parts at a very young age. While I heard it and sang it all the time at church, I never had CDs by southern gospel groups growing up. So I was a lover of the music, but the only actual gospel group I knew about was the Inspirations, because they came to our church a few times.
When I went to college, I got into bluegrass gospel music and began to build a music collection, including the entire discography of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. About four years ago while still in college, I bought the Cathedrals’ Farewell Celebration CD at a Christian bookstore, and in a very short period of time, I was hooked back on to my “first love”. In those four years, my southern gospel music collection has grown from that one CD to well over 300 projects. I have no shame in admitting that I am heavily biased toward traditional, quartet-style gospel music.
My favorite groups of all time are the Cathedrals, Gold City, the Kingdom Heirs, Greater Vision, the Inspirations, and the Kingsmen. Besides those, my favorite groups traveling the roads today are the Mark Trammell Quartet (Mark is my personal SG hero), Legacy Five, the Perrys, the Collingsworth Family, and Triumphant Quartet. Bluegrass gospel is also still in my blood, including DL&Q of course, Dailey & Vincent, IIIrd Tyme Out, and the Rochesters.
On a personal note, I am a chemical engineering graduate of the University of South Carolina. I am currently the youth leader at my church, where I sing in the choir and in specials, and also play guitar, bass, piano, and organ as needed.
I hope that you join me in welcoming Brian to the site and that you will enjoy his insights to SG music as well.
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