Notes From The Bus (#309)

For the past few days, I've been riding the bus of the Mark Trammell Trio. After several months of having to schedule and re-schedule, it finally worked out and off we went to Bay Springs (Mississippi), Live Oak (Florida) and Villa Rica (Georgia). I jotted down a few notes along the way and hopefully, you might find some of this interesting.

First, there's the group's tenor Eric Phillips. Ever since he first arrived in Southern Gospel music, Eric has been a good tenor. But, like most things, age and experience (although not as much as many others) has seasoned Eric to a level that many tenors aspire to reach. This past weekend, Eric was solid as a rock with the high notes and he's starting to show stage presence that is sure to endear him to the "grandmas" in the audience. Unless something derails him, Eric will be a force to be reckoned with (is that a phrase that can be used in Southern Gospel?) soon...Very soon.

New lead singer Dustin Sweatman is settling into his role and adapting well to being a lead singer for a trio rather than a quartet (he spent quite a bit of time with the Dixie Melody Boys). Aside from his vocal abilities and musicianship, his desire to learn and to forever be a part of Southern Gospel music is going to carry this 23 year old a long, long way.

Then, there's Mark Trammell. He's definitely set in his ways (by his own admission), often opinionated (also by his own admission) and sometimes stubborn as a mule (again, by his own admission - but echoed by his wife LaResa). Fact remains, though, very few baritones have ever matched his abilities, nor will very few ever equal. Mark KNOWS Southern Gospel music, could safely be considered an expert on it and has been trained by some of the greatest who ever walked on a stage...after all, you can learn a lot from people like Glen Payne, Jim Hamill, George Younce, just to name a few.

He is also a first class sprinter. All you have to do is show him a snake. Real or fake. Naturally, Eric and Dustin have picked up on this. The duo has a fake one they keep on the bus and as many times they've used it, Mark still gets a little nervous.

'Course, Mark probably deserves it. He's carried out plenty of practical jokes himself. All you have to do is ask Michael Booth.

I'll be nice and give Michael plenty of opportunity to tell his side of the story FIRST before I share it here in Danny's Diary. But, Michael, the clock is ticking...

While in Bay Springs, we had the opportunity to spend time with Tim Shelby and his family. Tim traveled with the Dixie Echoes for a while, as well as sharing the stage with Mark as part of the Senators. Tim's doing great these days, enjoying life in South Mississippi.

After the concert, we were all sitting around a dining room table, enjoying homemade ice cream when Tim shared that one of his greatest moments in life occured one day long after his retirement from singing. It turns out that he was sitting on his porch when a young man walked up and asked, "Are you Tim Shelby?"

Not knowing what the man wanted, Tim responded cautiously. However, the young man told Tim that he was alive today because he heard Tim singing one night at a concert and because of that, he gave up his plans of suicide. That young man spent quite a bit of time tracking Tim, just so he could personally thank him. Just when you think you're not doing anything worthwhile...

In Live Oak, we went to the Suwannee River Jubilee that has for years been hosted by the Dixie Echoes and the Florida Boys - except this year, the Florida Boys were not there. They had sang on Thursday night and were scheduled for Saturday night, but on Friday, they had to be in Nashville. Talk about strange...Suwannee without the Florida Boys? Anyway, the Dixie Echoes did their usual fine job and to be honest about it, I think Randy Shelnut might have the best version of the Dixie Echoes since taking over the group after the death of his father. Dallas Rogers has developed into a fine quartet tenor and bass Tracy Crouch (who is getting married this weekend), just keeps getting better and better.

The Diplomats hosted their annual two-day homecoming event this past weekend and that's where we were on Saturday night. Now, for a long time, I've been hearing from fans and industry people alike that the Diplomats were one of the best groups most people have never seen. And they were right.

Maybe it was the live band. Maybe it was the selection of lyrically strong songs. Maybe it was the good vocals. More than likely, though, it was the entire package and the end result was nothing short of "WOW." Many people have compared the Diplomats' excitement level to that of the Happy Goodmans at their peak and while I'm not sure if that's an accurate match of apples to apples, I will say that the Diplomats will more than hold their own on any stage.

Jim Hamill was in Villa Rica, too. I know age is creeping up on him and his health is not the best in the world, but he's still one of the best stage generals in Gospel music. He's got a new solo recording coming out and he shared a few cuts from it with me. It's going to be one that's worth putting in the player - and leaving it in there for a long. He should have finished product in about two weeks.

In the coming weeks, I'll have the opportunity to hit the road with a few other groups and I'll be taking pictures for a future Singing News article. I hope to share a few of them here, as well. In the meantime, call Michael Booth and ask him about Mark Trammell and the bag.

And while you're talking to Michael about that, would you mind asking him if he knows what Mark did with my shoes?