Rich Brown: Joplin-based Missourians working on own compositions
4/18/09
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Since the Missourians began nearly 21 years ago, the multi-talented group has provided unparalleled excitement through their unique interpretations of gospel music. Now they are about to add another element.
The Joplin-based Missourians, who have recorded at least a dozen albums and two videos since their formation, will be turning to their own compositions for much of their next CD.
"We will have a mixture of six to eight original songs with the rest to be standards," said Tim Gould, lead singer from Arkansas City, Kan. "We have never done a CD with our original music."
In addition to Gould, members of the group are Troy Wade, baritone from Galena, Kan.; Stephen Gillmore, tenor from Webb City; David Markley, bass from Joplin; and Bob Durham, pianist from Joplin. Gould handles the booking for the group and may be reached at (417) 825-1202.
Whether performing standard or original songs, the Missourians average about 50 dates a year and will be showcasing their talents for the first time in July at the Gospel Music Convention in Branson.
"About 95 percent of our singing is in churches and we stay within a three- to four-hour radius of Joplin," Gould said. "Although most of our concerts are in churches, we do community events as well."
In addition, the Missourians hold a weekly radio show, "Make Mine Southern," from 6 to 8 a.m. Sunday on KKOW (860 AM).
All five members of the group, who get together for rehearsals once or twice a week, hold full-time jobs, thus limiting their singing to a regional basis.
"We were invited to go to New York, Virginia, Kentucky and California for concerts but didn't accept because they were too far away," Gould said. "We have had lots of requests but at this point our group wants to stay in the region."
The Missourians began in November of 1988 as a trio of Richard Crow, Jareld Burnside and current Harmony Heights Baptist Church pastor Charlie Burnett. Durham, a Carl Junction native, joined them six months later and has been playing piano with the Missourians ever since, making him the longest-running member of the talented group.
When Durham came on board, the trio was using soundtracks for background music.
Durham, whose lilting style enhances the wide repertoire of Missourians songs, is as much at home with fast or slow gospel tunes. And his keyboard expertise has been proven time and time again. He notes on the group's Web site: www.themissourians.com: "I have over 100 piano students that I teach each week. My job is music and my hobbies are music. Southern Gospel is my favorite but I also enjoy classical, jazz and Christmas music."
Three gospel favorites the Missourians excel in, adding their own unique blend of professionalism, are "Learning to Lean," "Thank God I'm Saved" and "He Touched Me."
The harmony in these three tunes is a prime example of what the five men are capable of singing. And it is nothing short of spectacular.
"We consider ourselves a gospel group," said Gould, who, during his college years, ran the show lights for country singer Ray Price in Branson. "But we sing everything from Cathedral style up to the Gaither Vocal Band and Brian Free and Assurance. We try to keep it mixed up a little bit but lean a little more to contemporary gospel music."
No one individual does the arrangements for the Missourians. It is truly a group effort.
"Once we decide on a song and know what we want to do, we sing it in the traditional style first," Gould said. "Then, when we know what we want to do, we pray about it. We pray about everything we do."
Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802.
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