October - December 2006 FREE The Lord’s Notes Lord Before Us Productions Quarterly Newsletter In Your Interest From The Back Pew… There was a preacher whose wife was expecting a baby, so he went before the congregation and asked for a raise. After much discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the preacher’s family expanded, so would his paycheck. After 6 children, this started to get expensive and the congregation decided to hold another meeting to discuss the preacher’s salary. There was much yelling and bickering about how much the clergyman’s additional children were costing the church. Finally, the preacher got up and spoke to the crowd, “Children are a gift from God” he said. Silence fell on the congregation. In the back pew, a little old lady stood up and in her frail voice said, “Rain is also a gift from God, but when we get too much of it; we wear rubbers” and the congregation said “Amen!” (Geee888sus@aol.com) Just a little something to lighten your Holiday season – be Thankful for what you got… lb Upcoming Events Oct. 21-24 Heritage Music Foundation, Annual Conference, Greater New Bethel, Inglewood, CA 28 14th Anniversary Celebration – Sweet Voices of Soul Chorale, 16th St. SDA Church, Free Nov. 2 – 12 UniverSoul Circus, Hollywood Park/Casino grounds, www.Ticketmaster.com 4 46th Anniversary Celebration – The Clara Ward Singers, First New Christian Church, Free 10 B Moore Books presents Believer’s Night Out, Bakersfield, CA, call 661-324-2897 for Info. 11 L.A. Young Adult Choir’s 5th Annual Concert “It’s Good To Know”, Israel B.C., Free 40th Birthday Celebration for Min. Karen Thompson, Faithful Central B.C. – Living Room 18 Lord Before Us Productions – 14th Annual Pre-Winter Workshop/Musical, Free!!! 23 THANKSGIVING DAY!!! 24-26 Pastoral Installation Service for Min. Theo ”Ta Ta” Wilkins, Heavenly Vision B.C., Free 24 New Liberty Music Ministry presents Karen Clark-Sheard in Concert, $20 / $30 Donation Dec. 2 LAVA Ministries (Alto/Tenor Sections) presents A Night of Praise, First Goodwill B.C., Free 9 Three Oaks B.C. Music Ministry Dept. presents A Candlelight Experience, Free… 16 Stevie Wonder’s 11th Annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert – Gibson Amphitheater 25 CHRISTMAS DAY!!!! Jesus Is The Reason For The Season… Jan.: Stellar Awards Feb.: Grammy Awards Mar.: GMWA Board Meeting – Brooklyn, NY Event Reviews GMWA 39th Annual Convention, Dallas, TX – 8/12-19/06: Over 40,000 Gospel Music lovers made there way to “The Big D” Dallas, TX. They were greeted with a moderate Welcome Concert, but the Come As You Are Musical made up for the lack of Talent – who was the group from Ohio? Consecration Service saw Bishop Kenneth Moales preach like never before, but of course he had too – after Yolanda Adams presented a Sermonic Solo that would make even Bishop Noel Jones stop in his tracks… The corporate kickoff concert was good (The Caravans, DeWayne Woods, and Patti LaBelle). The Nightly Services were OK – but could have had more talent, standouts included: LaShun Pace, Charles Fold Singers, Citadel of Praise – Voices of Citadel, Stephen Hurd, The Caravans, Northern CA Chapter, L.A. Chapter, Cinncinati Chapter, L.A. Young Adult Choir, Lighthouse Singers, and Kelly Price. Showcase highlights included: Darrell Petties & SIP, Vickie Winans, Lucinda Moore, Zie’L, Coko, Anointed Pace Sisters, Smokie Norful, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Myron Butler & Levi, Carolyn Traylor, Amy Rushes, Onitsha, and Marcus Cole. The recordings featured minimal material, but the classes were informative. GMWA heads to Brooklyn, NY for the Board Meeting (Mar. 13-16, 2007), and Orlando, FL (Walt Disney World) for the 40th Annual Convention (Aug. 11-17, 2007). Stop The Violence / Think Education, City of Refuge – 9/30/06: Started almost like clockwork, and after a brief Praise & Worship session by Sherri Demby & Co., guest speakers came one by one to encourage kids to stay in school and to do the right thing. Takim Brown, Kierra “KiKi” Sheard, Zie’L, Keyo, and Show-Stopper Tonex all gave Stellar performances. Despite a little disorganization and the absence of Fantasia – the event was good to the last note. L.A. Inner-City Mass Choir, Live Recording – 10/7/06: Started a little late, but when it did – the choir’s energy level was high enough to make the crowd forget about the wait. Opening song “Lord I’m On My Way” rang in the ears of everyone in the packed church, as the saints grooved to the sure to be a hit song. Other highlights included songs by Nysa Shenay, Pastor Calvin Rhone, and several Members of the choir. The hit for the night had to be a song about “God’s Grace”, it had the saints ready for praise, and Jeffrey and LAIC stopped the tapes and let the praise takeover. Overall L.A. Inner City will be a breath of Fresh Air to the Gospel Industry – which is starting to lack the Choir Sound we all grew up loving. We wish them and Producer – Eric Carrington, all the best with this Spring 2007 release. Event Reviews (In Short...) The Tasia Woods Project, Debut Concert – 9/1/06: Despite a few technical flaws, Tasia and the crew shined… Believer’s Night Out w/Lee Williams & the Spiritual QC’s, Bakersfield, CA – 9/15/06: Good crowd, opening acts were good – Miracle Mass was ok, and Lee & the boyz gave the crowd what they came for… L.A. Black Business Expo – 9/22-24/06: Small crowds, nice vendors, cool fashions (show), and OK (Gospel) Talent… Errol Gillett & Zyon’s Debut Concert – 9/30/06: OK crowd, and Errol & Zyon presented some of their best material to date… Love In All The Wrong Faces – 10/14/06: Nice crowd, and the cast was good too (Andre Washington is a fool), LaShun Pace was good too… CD / DVD Reviews Dave Hollister “The Book of David, Vol. 1: The Transition” Dave returns to the scene with Gospel flare, and the Vocals we have all come to Love over the years; as he was in the R & B scene. This GospoCentric release comes out strong, some of the hits includes: Nothing But God, The Settlement, I Let Heaven Down, Pray (Til I Get An Answer), Help Me, My Pain, The Potter, I’ve Changed, and What Do You Do. After a longtime on the R & B scene, Dave has come to realize that Gospel is where he belongs, and this release is just the beginning for him…. 7/10 Smokie Norful “Life Changing” Is there anything Pastor Smokie Norful can’t do, yes that’s right – not only is he an Anointed Singer; but now a Pastor as well. This project is a reflection of Smokie’s walk with God and the Direction he is headed in… Selections include: Celebrate, Um Good (a hit with the Church folks), Run Til I Finish, In Time, Where Would I Be, Right Now, and Run To You . This just may be the best project by Norful since his Debut, it seems to cover all aspects – Traditional, Contemporary, Soul, and Jazz… But Run and get this one Today and you be the judge!!! 8/10 A Mary Mary Christmas Ring in the Holidays with this project, as the girls Sang you to death and then some. Their Spin on some the most notable Holiday favorites are a welcome delight, and some of the new tracks are good too. Hits include: ‘Tis The Season, Merry Little Christmas, O Come All Ye Faithful, Call Him Jesus, The Real Thing, Hark The Herald Angels Sings, Still The Lamb, and California Christmas Remix is just off the chain... Rock in the Holidays with these Soulful Sisters…7/10 Tye Tribbett & G.A. “Victory - LIVE” (DVD) A visional delight is this release, and a great companion to the previously released CD of the same name. Tye & G.A. hit the stage with such force – and strong vocals, only to be matched by the beats/sound of the Live Band. Everyone was on their feet from beginning to the end on this one. Songs include: Victory (of course), I Want It All Back, Everything Will Be Alright (w/Kim Burrell), Sinking, Still Have Joy (Dance broke out…), and the favorite – Everything (Bow Before The King). G.A. are so energetic and their vocals blend so nicely… Tye and the group take you on visional journey, and drop you off on another level of Praise… View it for yourself… 8/10 Worth A Spin: Fred Hammond “Free To Worship” 7/10, Coko “Grateful” 7/10, Stephen Hurd “My Destiny” 8/10 Israel & New Breed “A Timeless Christmas” 7/10, Fred Martin & The Levite Camp “Some Bridges” 6/10 Worth A View: Israel & New Breed “Alive in South Africa” 7/10, Preaching To The Choir 8/10 FOOTNOTES LAVA Ministries presents A Night of Praise. Saturday, December 2, 2006 at 7PM, held at First Goodwill B.C. 6900 So. Compton Ave., Los Angeles, CA. Invited guests include: Comely Praise, Min. William Johnson, GLACC, Erroll Gillett & Zyon, Elder Steven Massey, LHP Mass Choir, Sheree Scott, Voices of Praise (Three Oaks B.C.), and many More... Surprise Guest MC, and the Admission Is Free!!! For more information and/or to Participate, please call LAVA Ministries – 323-993-8581 / LAVAMin@aol.com / www.LAVAMin.com. Stevie Wonder & KJLH Radio (102.3FM) presents the 11th Annual House Full of Toys Benefit Concert, held at the Gibson Amphitheater (at Universal CityWalk) on December 16 at 7:30PM. Although at press time – the celebrity guests list had not been made available, it is rumored that Donald Lawrence, Fantasia, Patti LaBelle, John Legend, and Chaka Khan may be in the house. This is one event that is worth Every Dollar you pay for a ticket. For more information, Please Call 310-330-2200 / www.TicketMaster.com. The Stellar Awards heads to Nashville, TN – January 13, 2007, the 22nd annual event will be hosted by Tye Tribbett & Kirk Franklin, and will feature performances by some of your Favorites in Gospel. Some of the Nominees include: Donald Lawrence (8), Myron Butler (7), Kirk Franklin (7), Ce Ce Winans (6), Israel Houghton (6), and many Bishops (Morton, Trotter, Patterson) ended up with nods as well. This year a New Category – Praise & Worship CD of the Year will be introduced. For more information and/or Tickets, please call Central City Productions at 312-321-9491. Lord Before Us Productions would like to thank you for your Support, and remind you that our Bi-Monthly publication is now QUARTERLY. Because of the great demand that is on our Ministry, we decided to Extend the time for you our Advertisers and Readers to be a part of our International Publication. With the Installation of Lord Before Us Records in Spring of 2007, and the April release of our First Artists – LAVA Ministries “This Is My Story”, you can expect nothing but the best from Us in the Future. Join us on November 18 at 7:30PM, for our 14th Annual Pre-Winter Workshop/Musical, held at the First Goodwill B.C. 6900 So. Compton Ave., Los Angeles, CA. This year will feature some of your Favorite local artists, New Talent, and out of town guests as well. Admission Is Free, but please bring a non-perishable item to Benefit various Homeless/AID Organizations…