Roy Webb Departs Gold City

As was announced yesterday in a press release (read it here) and as I tweeted when I found out the news, Roy Webb is departing Gold City after roughly 8 months with the group.  The press release states that Roy’s tenure with the group was always known to be temporary, and if you will recall when the changes were announced, there was some confusion over Roy’s status at the time.  Specifically, it was mentioned that he would continue solo dates, and questions arose about whether he would be fully committed to Gold City’s schedule.  He put those questions to rest quickly, but somewhere along the way we all forgot about the “temporary” tag.

Roy’s departure will certainly be a blow to the group.  They’ve succeeded in recapturing a lot of momentum this year, and Roy by all accounts made a tremendous difference in the group’s stage presence.  Count me in with those whose pipe dream is for Garry Jones to return to the group.  While the group is holding open auditions, which would incline one to lean towards a current “unknown” as the replacement for Webb, I agree somewhat with Nate Stainbrook’s post that Gold City really needs a significant personality at the bench, and one that has some producing or arranging skills as well.  I also really like his suggestion of Greg Howlett, as Howlett’s work on the Daybreak Quartet’s Hymns CD was exceptional, both from a playing and arranging perspective.  So Greg, send in that audition tape!  I’ll also throw another name into the hat, former Kingdom Heirs piano player Jamie Graves.  Jamie is an excellent pianist, and has the on stage personality to really add to Gold City’s stage presence.  He’s a very funny guy!

Gold City has really recaptured some excitement since the first of the year and the new CD from the current vocal lineup is being eagerly anticipated across the SG world.  I think their choice of a replacement for Webb is vitally important to keep the good momentum going.

Best wishes to Roy and to Gold City as they embark in their new directions.

Catching Up Is Hard To Do

Wow, where to start.  I spend a little less than a week on vacation and everything goes to pot.  First off, thanks to Nate for doing the wonderful job of keeping things posted for me while I was gone.  I also want to thank DeeAnn for the report from the first concert with the new Gold City lineup.  I guess I’ll just jump right in:

• EHSS Changes. This came as quite a surprise.  EH&SS is riding high right now, so any changes are unexpected, but not too surprising.  Out of the four vocalists, I probably would have pegged Ryan Seaton as the first to leave, no real reason for that, just my hunch.  I think McGlamery is a great addition for the group.  Devin has been to my church with the Dixie Melody Boys a couple of times in the past, and he is a great quartet lead singer.  Even though KP&NR is a different dynamic as a mixed trio, traveling with Karen can only help one’s vocal ability and stage presence, as Karen is truly one of the greats.  Don’t expect EHSS to miss a beat (pun intended, of course) with the change.
• Gold City 2010. I really enjoyed DeeAnn’s report, and after watching the videos posted on various blogs, I am genuinely excited to see what is in store for this group.  For one three hour practice, Josh Cobb did rather well, he struggled with lyrics and his part in a couple of places, but did a great job considering.  I was also surprised at how clear and strong his upper register seemed to be, as Legacy Five didn’t really pitch their songs high enough for me to get a good handle on his range.  I also appreciated Daniel Riley’s candor in this interview when he states that he knew he had to make a big splash with this transition, as that he knew the fans were questioning the group’s viability.  I’m sure it wasn’t hard to see, but I appreciate his honesty instead of glossing over the concern.  This particular lineup has a world of potential, and I’m a bit eased by the fact that he specifically mentioned Roy Webb’s commitment to the quartet, and his comments to me sounded like Roy is fulfilling his previous engagements, and will schedule solo concerts around GC’s schedule, instead of making the GC dates around his solo schedule.  I’m looking for big things from these guys.
• Gus Gaches/Legacy Five. Brandon’s blog post is worth reading, and the videos on Daniel’s blog tell the story.  Gus will become one of the top tenors in SG with Legacy Five.  He already was with Priority, but with the increased exposure he will get with Legacy Five, he will cement himself in the top tier of tenors.  Yes, he’s that good.

That’s all I can think of for right now, but I’m sure I’ll come up with some more things that I missed while enjoying sunny and mild (if not warm) Florida.  By the way, Mickey said to tell all of you hello, and don’t look for Donald to hit the quartet ranks any time soon!

Concert Review- Josh Cobb and Roy Webb’s Debut with Gold City

A long time friend of ours, D. Ann Bailey, was in attendance at the debut of the new Gold City featuring Josh Cobb at tenor and Roy Webb behind the keys on New Year’s Eve.  She was kind enough to share this review for posting on the blog.  Thanks again D Ann!  I sure wish I was there.

As a Gold City fan, I attended the debut both hopeful and nervous, change is always hard and Gold City has had a lot of change lately. As they stepped up to do sound check everyone in the place stopped to listen, everyone was wondering ‘is it going to work’, ‘how will they sound’? I was standing by Karen Peck when they started and she was listening intently. As they finished Karen and several others broke into applause!

Later when they stepped on the stage they opened with ‘One Scarred Hand’ and the harmony was great. By the end of the song most of the crowd was on their feet to welcome a new decade of continued gospel music excellence from Gold City. This was followed by rousing renditions of ‘Cast My Bread Upon The Water”, “When He Blessed My Soul’ and “I’m Not Giving Up’.

Next Danny ‘explained’ to the group and audience that his dad’s requirement for coming back was they had to go back and so some ‘old stuff’ and that they were going to do ‘Rainbow of Love’ with just the piano. The interaction between Roy and Tim here was perfect comedic timing along with an awesome rendering of the song.

Danny called Josh out front to do a solo on a song Josh knew well ‘Hallelujah I have Found Him’ and he showed the vocal abilities that made Danny and Tim sure he was the right man for the job. The crowd was again on their feet.

They closed out the first half with ‘Midnight Cry’ and ‘When He Calls Me’ and left the crowd clamoring for more.

In a 30 minute set they got 5 standing ovations! They demonstrated harmony, comic relief, enthusiasm, as well as how to have fun on stage and bring your audience with you!

Josh and Roy are awesome additions, Tim is still one of the best, if not the best, bass in the business and Bruce & Danny seemed to be having fun and nailing their parts with ease!

On the second half they sang ‘I’m Rich’ and ‘When the Glory Rolls’ before stepping back. Danny Jones quickly brought them back for a ‘by request song’ ‘Under Control’ and I’ll go on record again as say ‘no one can sing that song like Tim Riley’. It is his signature song and last night when it was called you could tell Josh had not practiced that one, not by his performance but by the look on his face.

All through the program Bruce and Danny make sure that Josh was queued if he seemed uncertain on a song and again the uncertainty showed on his face, not in his vocals. In 1980 I had the privilege of attending the first Gold City concert in Gainesville, GA and even with some rough edges I believed that group was going to a force to be ‘reckoned with’. As 2010 came rolling in, I had the privilege of hearing what I consider to be a group that SGM fans will be talking about and going to hear as this year progresses and a new decade proceeds!

Roy Webb And Josh Cobb Join Gold City, Tim Riley Staying On Full Time

The Singing News has just issued a press release from Gold City.  Josh Cobb (yes, THAT Josh Cobb!) has been named the new tenor for Gold City, and Roy Webb is joining the group as well.  Roy will still be performing his solo dates, but on weekends when he is not booked as a soloist, he will be traveling with Gold City.  Also included in the press release is the news that Tim Riley has committed to a full time return to the stage for the group.

Roy Webb is a terrific piano player, and his stage demeanor will instantly be an asset to Gold City’s overall stage presentation.  I’ll be looking forward to his wit and humor being incorporated into Gold City’s programs.

Josh Cobb is quite an interesting addition to the group as tenor vocalist.  Cobb, you will remember, was the original tenor for Legacy Five, but departed from the group at NQC literally right after winning the Horizon Individual award at the Singing News Fan Awards.  There have been some rumblings on various blogs over the years as to his whereabouts, but it seems that his journey has brought him back to Southern Gospel music.  Vocally Josh showed a lot of potential in his brief stint with Legacy Five and some incredible raw talent.  One of the more recent finds regarding Josh is the YouTube video below of him singing with a church ensemble.  He appears to have refined his talent over the last 10 years or so, and smoothed off some of the rough edges that he had during his Legacy Five tenure.  I’ll be anxiously awaiting the first glimpses of him with Gold City.  He definitely has the talent.

Tim’s return is not unexpected, and with the major transition that the group is in, I think will prove to be a very stabilizing force for however long he decides to stay on the road.  I think Tim’s leadership and stability will go a long way in “righting the ship” and seeing the group achieve the stability that they haven’t had since Jay and Tim left several years ago.

All in all, I’d say that this is the start of what is hopefully an exciting new era for Gold City, and definitely seems to be a fresh start with a renewed sense of purpose for the group.  Best wishes to Roy, Josh, Tim, and the rest of Gold City.  I am anxious to see what is next!

Gold City Thoughts

After seeing the videos for “In Time, On Time, Every Time” and “I’m Rich” that have already hit YouTube from NQC, and reading this very thought-provoking post from Brandon, here are my thoughts.  Tim Riley being back, even in a fill-in fashion, has brought excitement and that “Gold City sound” back to the group.  Roy Webb looks very good sitting in with the guys at NQC.  So, if Tim’s health permits, I would love to see Gold City bring him back, cut way back on their touring schedule, and offer the pianist job to Roy Webb.  If GC cut their appearances way back, that would still give Roy some time to work solo dates as well as GC dates.  The NQC clips are the best YouTube clips of Gold City in quite a while, and Chris Cooper is really impressing me with his solid tones and range.  I was thinking the other day that this year’s breakout NQC group could easily be Gold City, and currently they’ve created more buzz by far during the first two days of NQC than anyone else.