Bad Day

Just remember this guy, when you think your having a bad day.

Gordon Mote

Gordon Mote can't see into a person's eyes, but that doesn't affect his insight.

Born blind, the Gadsden native shares what he perceives through his music.

"On the other side of time broken things are healed; empty things are filled as we stand in heaven's light," he wrote and sings in one of his newest songs.

"The Other Side of Time" speaks of hope that especially parents of children with disabilities need, he said.

Mote, 36, said the song addresses for the first time feelings about handicaps like his. He said it is bold and encouraging without dismissing the struggles. Mote said he wants his music to "hit home where people are."

Mote will be in concert at Central United Methodist Church on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

A veteran keyboardist and singer, he performs with popular gospel artists like Bill Gaither and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. Mote also shared concert stages with Lee Greenwood, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and many others.

He also has played on many CDs, gospel and otherwise, as a recording studio session player. His work is on albums by Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flats, Randy Travis and others. Among his many honors was the Academy of Country Music's fourth consecutive nomination this year as Top Piano/Keyboard Player.

Mote said he often hears from people going through heartache. After one recent concert, a woman confided that her brother was having mental problems, he said. Mote said he knew he was delaying a long line of people waiting to speak with him.

"I took time to pray with her ... It's what I'm out here to do," he said.

He said he's learned to give people his full attention, even if it is just for 45 seconds.

Fans 'crazy'

On the lighter side, Mote called gospel music fans crazy, crazier even than ones he's come across in his secular music work.

"A lady came up to me and said, 'Is the music on this CD as loud as it was at the concert tonight?' "

He said he just told her no.

Another fan asked him if the sunglasses he wears are prescription, and still another wanted him to point out section 116, he said.

"I always thought life was funny. I try to remember all this stuff," he said.

Mote said he's learned his sense of humor can help put people at ease. Many are uncomfortable around someone with a disability, he said.

Pianist at 3

Mote is developing his own musical career while continuing relationships with other artists. Southern Gospel News called his debut album "an excellent piece of work and an outstanding introduction to the singing of Gordon Mote."

His gospel album "Don't Miss the Glory," which came out this week, has bluegrass star Allison Krauss singing with him on a song about a praying church janitor. The Issacs and the Gaither Vocal Band also are featured artists.

Mote, who also lived in Talladega, said he was 3 when he surprised his parents by playing a piano like a seasoned musician. He graduated from Emma Sansom High School in Gadsden. He attended Jacksonville State University on a full scholarship and graduated from Belmont University in Nashville with honors. Two days later, he began playing keyboard and singing background for Lee Greenwood.

"I have the greatest life in the whole world," he said.

Geoff Moore

Signature Sound

Also, Now this sounds like a promotion and it should ..... our own David Griffith is now officially the EH&SS Production Manager!"

This is nothing you may need to know but I feel we owe it to Gritt to give him his props!

David has been working so hard behind the scenes learning on the fly how to run sound, interacting with promoters and venues, fronting dates and a lot of things that make it all work that he has earned this position. David is still driving the bus but with all these duties we are now looking for a "Full Time" driver to relieve David of this important task.

Spread the word ...... anyone who might be interested in the new opening can inquire by contacting us at eteam@erniesigsound.com.

To all our friends who ask how to pray keep praying for the right MAN to drive (no ladies.... sorry) and to be apart of our team. In time it will all work out I am sure.

Micheal English

Singer Michael English says his greatest fear is not that he'll yield to temptation and once again get hooked on painkilling prescription drugs.

"I believe God has done a number on me and taken away the desire for those things," English, 45, said in a phone interview from his home near Nashville, Tenn.

"But the problem for me is, if I ever get into an accident or need surgery, I won't be able to take the stuff," he said.

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The North Carolina native is five years into recovery in his battle to stay drug-free. Not coincidentally, in the past half-decade English has remarried, celebrated the birth of a child and is working on a new CD.

The chapters of English's life and career reveal a bumpy ride spelled out in his new autobiography "The Prodigal Comes Home" written with Lynn Vincent.

The North Carolina native was raised on Southern gospel music and is blessed with a natural tenor voice. He sang his way through several gospel groups, including the Grammy-winning Gaither Vocal Band from 1985 to 1991.

His experience led him to a burgeoning solo career that peaked in 1994 with a handful of top Christian radio hits and multiple Dove Awards. His song "In Christ Alone" won Song of the Year.

But an affair with another Christian music artist that hit newsstands with a thud threw his personal life into turmoil and crippled his career. A stab at pop music showed some promise, but a deepening addiction to prescription pain killers such as Loritab and Oxycontin hammered his health and ability to perform, and took him on a downward spiral.

"You can function to a point, but your body is craving and you can only handle so much," he said.

Stints in detox and rehab programs in 2000 came just before his sentence on a guilty plea to 12 counts of prescription drug fraud. Even though English fell back into addiction, a methodone program finally helped get his life back on track. He has slowly built a renewed concert schedule, but currently performs without a backup band, doing "track" dates such as the one scheduled Sunday at Sandy Pines in Hopkins.

Nearly five years ago, he married the former Marcie Stambaugh, who has some family roots in the Grand Rapids area. Their daughter, Isabella, just turned 3.

English said he is very excited about his upcoming CD, produced by Mark Miller of the country band Sawyer Brown.

"This is the first record I've done with a pure and clean heart that feels good about the future," he said. "It's a Christian music album, kind of an alternative pop style."

The working title is the same as his book: "The Prodigal Comes Home."

These days, English performs songs from throughout his career, including several from a greatest hits collection released last year.

He said his musical and spiritual lives have been renewed.

"I used to have a resume that was impeccable, but now it's a rotten one," he said. "But I'm more equipped now for the job than I've ever been."

Mercy's Well

Mercy's Well Completes New Recording

Mercy's Well - Talented vocal group, Mercy's Well has completed work on their brand new recording, SKYWRITING. The new recording, produced by Donna Beauvais (Hope's Call), includes 11 moving songs, many featuring a live orchestra.SKYWRITING is expected to be released later this summer; this recording will no doubt prove to be a benchmark for the talented vocal group

Gold City Concert

We gave you a great concert in May with Lynda Randle and Andrew Martin Martin and know we are about to do it again with Gold City and Crimson River. On Aug 25, 2007 at 7 pm @ Trenton High School Auditorium, Trenton, Ontario Letus Productions and Mortgage Intelligence presences Gold City with special guest Crimson River.

Tickets Available Online www.ticketwindow.ca
by phone 1-888-700-3130

For poster information click here.