The big 5-0

Well, it's finally here: Royce's 50th birthday! As you can tell from the picture above, aging has taken it's toll. The arthritic hands, the bird legs, the protruding hip all point to the fact that he doesn't have that 21-year-old body anymore. We often find him wandering the bus looking for his Metamucil or at least some granola. It's actually kind of sad. He doesn't remember our names anymore, can't hear when we talk about him, and can't see that the GPS is taking him in the totally wrong direction. But, he's our Royce and we love him!

OK, ok. Enough with the schtick. Yes, he is 50, but he can probably still outrun me. Royce is a former Oregon state champion in track and field. At the expense of sounding like I'm delivering a eulogy, let me say a few things about our fearless leader. I've never worked with a man or woman who had more faith in God than Royce. I have seen Royce operate in the worst of times, literally. Times like when the bus has a major emergency and the funds aren't there to pay salaries and the mechanic. He'd call all of us and tell us that it was time to go to prayer. We would, and miraculously God would provide. This has happened time and time again. It has strengthened my faith in the process. Royce is passionate about his calling. If there was ever a person called to Southern Gospel music, it's Royce. People travel in this industry for a variety of reasons. Royce travels because this is what God wants him to do. He loves this music and can sing it as well as anyone. He has the smoothest bass voice in Southern Gospel. I'm proud of this guy and the accolades he's finally starting to receive from the broader Southern Gospel community. But, that's not what it's about. When I had my first interview with Royce, he shared with me his passion for the quartet to be more than just another performing group. While there are few emcees who can come close to Royce's comedic delivery, he has made sure that our concerts are more than just a laugh-fest, and always builds to an invitation. This isn't just something to make us feel good about ourselves and allow us to pat ourselves on the back; it's the real thing. And as a result, we've seen hundreds of people saved. One of the coolest things that we experience as a group is coming back to a church and having someone tell us how they gave their heart to Christ at one of our concerts, sharing with us the difference that Christ has made in their life. That's awesome! And, this all is part of Royce's heart for ministry. I know that people are often skeptical of Southern Gospel quartets and often for good reasons. Let me assure you that Royce is all about traveling for the right reasons. This is his calling and he is passionately pursuing it.

There are a few things I've learned about Royce in the last 3 years:

• His mind works in ways simply unexplainable.
• If you tell him that you absolutely can't sing a song, he'll cue it up.

• If you put a gun to his head, he still couldn't figure out how to save an emailed picture.
• Somewhere inside of him, there's a 7-year-old struggling to get out (the first trip I took with the guys, he took off running, skipping, and jumping through a mall shouting "whoo-hoo, look at me guys!"; I spent some time asking God if I'd made the right choice).
• He hates the GPS but can't bring himself to drive in an opposite direction.
• His political views are strong and will not be shaken.
• He bleeds blue and orange.
• If the bus stops so we can get to sleep, he'll wake up and start driving at a high rate of speed (ensuring that we can't sleep).
• He absolutely hates to be late to anything.
• He'd give you the shirt off his back, which Dan has often taken due to forgetting his own T-shirts on a trip. Dan has more of Royce's clothes than Royce does.
• He hates to be left out of anything exciting or fun (this goes back to the 7-year-old kid).
• His heroes are George Younce and Glen Payne.
• He can't help but sing bass along with a praise and worship team. Think "Better Is One Day" with a booming bass.
• He isn't at all inhibited when meeting new people. The jokes start immediately.
• And, just because I could keep this going for a while, let me end with...he's a friend. One of the best friends I have.

I'm pretty sure he has another 50 in him.

Traveling Live

***If you get the Liberty Quartet newsletter, just ignore the text and skip to the pictures. I'm using some of the same material...

Liberty's last trip out was special, no doubt about it. We kicked off the tour at Post Falls Nazarene on Thursday. Lonnie and Melanie Capps (along with the rest of their hard workin' crew) did a fantastic job on the concert promotion. We had a phenomenal evening of worship. And, each of us ended up with a copy of Lonnie's cookbook, chock-full of delicious recipes culled from his years in the Marines. Visit out his website to get your own copy.

After a stay in the beautiful Coeur d' Alene Resort we left for Kimberly, British Columbia Friday morning. It's been a while since we've taken a trip featuring so much gorgeous scenery. Since moving to Idaho I have missed the changing of the leaves that I so often took for granted while living back east. There was plenty of leaf-changing to be seen on this trip. I spent good portions of the trip with my nose pressed up the window looking out over God's incredible handiwork. Awesome! And that was just a precursor to the Nazarene Laymen's Retreat up in Kimberly. This had to be one of the most relaxing weekends I've had since joining Liberty. The location coupled with the wonderful people we were with made for a fun three days. Kudos go out to retreat director Carrie Hoogstad and her wonderful committee. They ensured that the retreat came off without a hitch. It was a privilege to be with Pastor Kent Conrad, pastor of Nampa, ID First Nazarene. His challenges were insightful, direct, and inspiring. He had us memorize Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and leave me in the way everlasting." This should the prayer of every person who is continually pursuing holiness. Kent and his wife Kay are some of God's finest and we enjoyed our time together. I am just a little jealous of that big ol' Harley-Davidson that he rides. Kent's one wild hog! I'm more like Dudley.

We left the retreat Sunday morning after the closing service with 300 miles to drive. The destination was Clarkston, WA and the Living Heritage Methodist Church. This long trip was an aberration from our normal Sunday afternoon traveling schedule, but we made it with time to spare. We had a phenomenal concert! And, of course, our friends from Kings Heirs showed up. They even sang a couple of songs with us, much to the crowd's delight. After the concert we went over to Ernie Haverman's house for a mouthwatering meal of shepherd's pie, salad, bread, and rum cake. Of course, Ernie, Bob, Bill, and Pinky had to tell their stories from the road. And they have plenty after 30 years of traveling: the same 4 guys all 30 years.

After that, we hopped on the bus for what we assumed was going to be a fairly short trip home. Those of you who have kept up with my blog for a while know that Royce hates our Garmin GPS (the Garminator) with a passion, while Dan believes that it's almost infallible. There's some enjoyable irony to be found in the fact that it was Royce who followed the GPS on a course over some of the worst terrain ever. As we were heading out of town, I was sitting up in the shotgun seat and saw a sign that said next fuel station 77 miles. I looked at the guage, then at Royce and asked if he thought this was a good idea. "Oh yeah, we can get to LaGrande if we have too", he replied with all the confidence he could muster. I don't know what was going on in that little GPS brain, but we went over one of the craziest mountain passes it could have chosen. I'm not sure what kind of fuel mileage we got, but it couldn't have been that great. By the time we got over the mountain our fuel was almost gone. Royce finally saw a gas station that sold diesel, but when we pulled up it was closed. So, we shut 'er down and spent the night waiting for the station to open. When Dan walked in after fueling up the next morning the clerk said, "You came over that?", pointing in the direction of the mountain pass. When Dan nodded in affirmation she said, "I know a lot of people who won't go over that pass in cars!" Oh well, all's well that ends well. Royce has threatened various acts of violence against the Garminator. I'm pretty sure we're going to get on the bus one weekend and stumble over a crime of passion.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Royce tried to remember all of the songs that the current version of Liberty Quartet (6.1, I believe) knows. It's somewhere around a hundred or so. The rest of the weekend we kept adding songs to the list. He wrote out the list with a Sharpie and lays it on the floor in front of the monitor. He pulls out a fresh lineup every night. We have no clue what's coming next. Who does he think he is? Hamill?

Doran was trying to practice during soundcheck. He has this weird idea that if he has headphones on and can't hear us, then we can't hear him. We had to get him to shut up so we could set vocals. He's over there humming away...loudly!

Diane went with us on this trip. Unfortunately, her presence did little to alter Doran's hyperactive state of being. She helped Doran lead the worship at the retreat and then sang a song at each of the other concerts.

Dan calling the front desk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort...just because he could. This was the nicest place that we've stayed. At least, since I've been with Liberty. On Friday morning, I had already showered and was doing a little reading with Dan came bursting into the room with his morning cup of coffee (the man has a terrible addiction). He said that they had an awesome pool/sauna/hot tub area downstairs. Well, it sounded good to me so I changed into a Tshirt and swimming trunks and headed off. Dan told me that he had found a shortcut we could take. Well, following Dan is somewhat like trusting the GPS. He headed out a door and I walked right out behind him...into the freezing cold of the outside. It was below 32 degrees outside and by the time it hit me and I reached for the door it had shut and automatically locked. It was one of those doors that doesn't allow you to go back in. So, Dan puts on a confident face and says, "I think it's just around the corner." We end up walking down by the docks, all around the hotel in the frigid weather. People were bundled up in heavy coats, hats, and gloves and they looked at us like we were insane walking around in shorts and T-shirts. We walked for about 8-10 minutes before we got around to the resort's main entrance. Dan's laughing like a hyena and I'm in the introductory stages of hypothermia by the time we get inside. It was one of those moments. I will say that hot tub never felt so good.

Why do people keep requesting this song? The only standing ovation we got all weekend was for our bluegrass number, "The Gospel Plow".

Carrie Hoogstad was the director of the retreat and did a wonderful job of keeping it moving. She even joined Dan and I in a few dance moves on "Bus Driver".

It was a privilege to hang out with Kent and Kay Conrad. Kay is about as spunky a woman as you're going to find anywhere. She cracked me up. I enjoyed the time we spent bouncing ministry ideas/stories off of each other. She has a heart for outreach. It's pretty cool to see and hear what God is doing at Nampa First and to share what He's doing at Grace. All in all, a great weekend.

Another picture out of the archives

And, I found an even earlier photo of Royce preparing for his future in Southern Gospel music.

Open up the archives

I came across some album artwork for 1980's über-group, New Creation. Come to find out Liberty's very own Royce Mitchell was the frontman for this iconic CCM sensation. I think Royce still has those jeans.

The Early Years

There are times that I put my job at risk when blogging. Be that as it may, I feel that I have a journalistic responsibility, nay, an obligation to share these archived photos with my faithful readers. Just think, at one point Royce sang the soprano part.

The picture on the right shows Royce during his rebellious years. He was really into contemporary Christian music. Wild stuff like "Blessed Assurance", "Amazing Grace", and songs written during that era. I love to listen to him tell about the times he sang revivals with Ira Sankey and played trombone in the first Salvation Army Band with William and Catherine Booth. It really is amazing how far he has come!

Timeless Treasured Hymns, Vol. 2

Liberty has been in the studio nearly every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday since May. We are finally finishing up the vocals on our new hymns project. It's going to be good. Royce produced and arranged the entire album. Every vocal lick, every moving part, every breath (or lack thereof) has his fingerprints all over it. Every song on the CD is over 100 years old. We've put our own unique twist on each of them. A little country, a little 80s choral (nod to Royce), a little black Gospel, something for everyone. Here's the list:

1. Jesus Saves
2. Have Thine Own Way
3. My Savior’s Love / And Can It Be?
4. Crown Him with Many Crowns / Sevenfold Amen
5. I Will Praise Him / Doxology
6. When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder / Hallelujah! We Shall Rise
7. Blessed Assurance
8. Trust And Obey
9. Christ Arose / Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
10. Count Your Blessings
11. No Not One
12. Battle Hymn of the Republic
13. Soldier Medley (Leaning On the Everlasting Arms/Sound The Battle Cry/Onward Christian Soldiers )
14. Abide with Me

Dave Goetter, our engineer, is wondering how in the world he got stuck with a Southern Gospel quartet. He has almost pulled out every hair, of what once was a very full beard. This is what Dave looked like before working with us.

Dave's eyesight is also going. He's spent most of his time the last two months, squinting at Pro Tools squiggles. "How did Dan do THAT?"

THE producer, Royce Mitchell, critiques my heartfelt vocal deliveries. He's really wowed, as you can tell.

So Low

I have been working on a design for Royce's new solo album. What do you think?

Royce and Neva

Royce and his aunt Neva (a loyal keithinside reader). She came to a couple of our concerts this weekend. She insisted that Royce wear his new, bright, gaudy suit. For those of you who know Royce Mitchell, you know the last thing that comes to mind when describing him is flashy. However, Doran and I have made several snide comments about his, shall we say, 1980's sense of fashion. To prove that he was with it, Royce, with the help of his son Jeremiah, and a friendly African-American salesman in Nashville, TN, picked out what we have affectionately dubbed the "Jessy Dixon suit". The above picture had too much flash and I had to put a slight filter on it, so unfortunately you fail to be blinded by the flourescent green stripes, shirt, and tie that Royce is wearing. He is definitely "wid it".

Bassically Blind

Our very own Fanny Crosby.