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Well summer is definitely upon us and although its been really rainy in VA now its really hot! We are having a great year and we have really been enjoying the last few weeks. We were really glad to be a part of the fund raising concert for Larry Dean of the Dean Family. They are one of our favorite groups, and people in Central VA and all over really love them. The last that I heard they had raised more then $50,000 to help him with his battle with Spinal Cancer. Other than struggling with his walking, Larry was looking good and upbeat as always! We are looking for God to do great things and to bring Larry through this. Another highlight of that day certainly was having the opportunity to spend some time with one of our heroes - Jimmy Fortune. Jimmy is a great talent and we have always loved his singing. The songs that he has written and sang have been a great blessing. It was really cool when we had the opportunity to sing "Elizabeth" with the person who wrote and made that song famous! It was also nice to share some time with Jimmy while visiting on our bus. He said that it brought back a lot of memories to be back on the bus where he spent so much time while traveling with The Statler Brothers.

We have also played a lot of great places this year so far. We really enjoyed the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival. It was our first time there, - it's a top notch venue and a great crowd. The Festival in The Pines, Pungo Strawberry Festival, The Rex Theater. Shenandoah Valley Sing, and our recent tour of Illinois and Indiana (just to mention a few) were all great and lots of fun. I got a tour of the lake front in Chicago and that was a blast. The Lord certainly has blessed us. The guys are really playing great. Tim and David are really fitting in with us very well and they are certainly a couple of the best players that we have had the privilege to be around. Jerry Haga is one of the best sound men in the business and its unbelievable the difference he has made in our sound.

A couple more things that I want to mention. We want to say congratulations again to David and his lovely wife Angela on the newest addition to their family. Eric Sheldon Guthrie was born on April 19, weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces. David has a beautiful family and is a great guy.

The other thing is I want to say thanks so much to Tina Hogan for creating our my space page and maintaining it for us. Tina loves The Lord and loves Bluegrass and Gospel music, and wants to promote it and promote The Churchmen. Tina is a great friend to have and again many thanks go out to her. This site is really taking off and we are adding new friends daily. It's exciting! Well that does it for right now except for saying hope to see all of you soon. Please come out and see us if we're in your area. We look forward to talking to you all. This is our 20th (yeah I said 20th) year in Bluegrass Gospel and we want to keep on keeping on. With your help we can do that.
www.myspace.com/thechurchmen

Congratulations to David and Angela Again!

Churchmen Win Honors from Powergrass Radio

Bluegrass Gospel group "The Churchmen" has been recognized by the popular web based radio dedicated to Bluegrass Gospel Music 24 hours a day. The web site named them as the 2008 Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year and their latest release "I'll be Long Gone" as Album of the Year. The Churchmen record for Pinecastle records and their latest release is the 3rd project since joining with Pinecastle. The CD was released in mid-summer to radio with the retail release on November 4, 2008. Highlighted on the album is the song writing talents and voice of David Guthrie who joined the group January of 2007 and fiddle veteran Tim Smith joining September 2007.

The Churchmen are closing in on twenty years of performing and recording bluegrass gospel music.

New CD Getting Airplay

We are really thrilled about the airplay and attention that the new CD, "I'LL Be Long Gone", is getting. Several cuts from the project are showing up on playlists across the country. The CD has also showed up in the top 50 on the Roots Music Report for Bluegrass! Thanks to all of the DJ's and friends who are playing the songs and requesting them! Please call or e-mail your local DJ, XM, and Sirius to request Churchmen tunes. Thanks again!

"I'll Be Long Gone" in Stores!

We stated already we are really excited about our new CD, "I'LL Be Long Gone" that was released to retail on November 4th and seems to be doing really great. The project features 7 original tunes written by our own David Guthrie, along with Jason Barie, Rick Pardue, and Josh Manning. David penned 4 of the originals with Jason, Rick, and Josh each contributing one song each. The remaining songs are Bluegrass Gospel standards or re-makes with a new twist. We are truly thrilled to get the new band configuration recorded. David's lead vocals and Tim's fiddle playing certainly blended well with the Churchmen sound. This project features some contemporary tunes combined with the straight ahead Bluegrass that is a Churchmen trademark .We recorded the project again with Dale Perry producing at Lakeside studios and we believe is definitely our best effort to date. The CD is available now at Churchmen shows, on this website, The Music Shed, County Sales and in your favorite retail outlets.

Here are a couple of early quotes from DJ’s.

Whoa! Real Bluegrass Gospel ... old time, new time, anytime. Soul-stirring vocals and ultimate instrumentation. No doubt, many of these powerful songs will be chart-toppers. Bluegrass gospel at its best! - David M. Bissell www.PowerGrassRadio.com Salem, WV

This is our third project with Pinecastle Records and we want to thank Col. Riggs and his staff for their continued support. Please call or e-mail your local DJ’s, Sirius Radio, and XM Radio to request songs off of the new project.

Thanks again to everyone who has voted for us in the past, and a big vote of appreciation to Chuck Stearman and his staff for the first class operation of SPBGMA and all of their events. We have been nominated for 16 years in at least one of the Gospel categories and that's very flattering and encouraging to us. Please visit the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America website at www.spbgma.com.

Spotlight on Jerry Haga - Sound Technician

The Churchmen have had a band for 19 years. Boy that’s a long time isn’t it? During those years we have ran our own sound or depended on the sound-men and sound-women at the concerts. Although that has worked out ok we are proud, and very excited to say that finally in 2008 those days are over! We have been greatly blessed with the addition of sound technician Jerry Haga. Jerry hails from the community of Horsepasture, VA. Jerry is a fellow member with band mate Gerald Harbour at Horsepasture Christian Church. He has been a great friend to the band for several years and the time was right for Jerry to join the band. Thanks to The Lord for bringing such great people our way! Jerry’s addition has allowed us to go back to using individual mics and this has been a real help to The Churchmen sound. Here is a biography on Jerry.

Jerry was born on May 08, 1951 in Clintwood, VA. He is an excellent musician in his own right and plays all woodwind instruments, specializing on the Saxophone. He started playing professionally in 1970 and took on a dual roll in 1973 to become Sax player and sound technician. Jerry played full time from ’73 until ’77. Jerry re-dedicated his life to The Lord 17 years ago and now plays primarily in church and uses his talents with The Churchmen.

Jerry has been married to his lovely wife Glennette for 29 years. They are the proud parents of 2 sons - Johnathon and Andrew.

Thanks again to Jerry and welcome on board to one of the finest guys that you would ever want to meet. Jerry is well known in the community for his charitable spirit and is a real team player for the band.

We want to thank The Lord for continuing to bless The Churchmen! Tim Smith joined the band in August of 2007 and has certainly been an amazing addition. The longer he is a member of the group the more he continues to amaze us all. David Guthrie is also playing his second year in the band after joining in January of 2007. David’s lead vocal has gained attention for the band across the country. David is a rare talent and is another example of God’s hand working for our band. We thank Him for sending these talented young men to be part of our ministry. We have been so fortunate over the years to have talented guys to join Freddy, Keith, and Gerald in the band. This configuration is special and we feel that it is the best ever by far! Here is some more information on Tim and David.

Tim Smith lived in Essex, MD until age 13. During those years he learned to love and play the fiddle from his Grandfather, Kilby Reeves, and two uncles, Tom and Bert Reeves. Tim played classical music and was a first chair violinist during his school years. In the late '60's Tim moved with his family back to his Mother and Father's hometown of Sparta, NC. Tim soon began performing at local functions and became a well known fiddler in the local community.

In 1977 Tim won 1st place fiddle prize at the well known "Galax Fiddlers Convention" in Galax, VA, and in 1978 he won the world championship fiddle prize at the famed "Union Grove Fiddlers Convention" at Union Grove, NC. Tim then worked with the legendary Bluegrass Cardinals and performed as a Bluegrass Boy with Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys. Tim has performed or recorded with a virtual "who's who" of bluegrass music including Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass, Jim and Jesse and The Virginia Boys, Jim Eanes, Roy Acuff, Mac Wiseman, Charlie Waller and The Country Gentlemen, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Del McCoury, Vassar Clements, Chubby Wise, Jerry Douglas, Bill Emerson, Bobby Hicks, Kenny Baker, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, The Shenandoah Cut-ups, Tony Rice, The Blue River Boys, John Starling, The Lost and Found, Craig Smith, George and John Shuffler, Blue Ridge, Lou Reid, Larry Stephenson, Ronnie Simpkins, Ricky Simpkins, Terry Baucum, Wayne Benson, Clay Jones, Wes Golding, Hershel Sizemore and numerous others.

Tim married his beautiful wife, Anita in 1982. They have two wonderful children, Melissa 22 and Andrew 15, and reside in Kernersville, NC. He was employed by a major airline for 23 years and recently accepted early retirement. He has his own record label, "TRS Records, Inc.", and a publishing company "Big Baby Boy Music-BMI". He has recorded and released his most recent CD's "Plain and Simple" and "The Lonesome Blueridge" on his label. Tim devotes his time to playing and teaching music, church, and his family. Tim is very passionate about all of this and says "I thank God for giving me the opportunity to do something I enjoy. I am a family man, I love spending time with my family and the love and support I receive from them is simply wonderful"

David Guthrie sings lead and harmony vocals along with handling the guitar duties for the band. David has quickly become a fan favorite. His high lead and great tenor voice, along with his hard driving rock solid guitar is a great addition to The Churchmen sound. David has the rare ability to sing with great feeling along with having amazing vocal range. David has been nominated as "Male Vocalist of the Year / Traditional" by the SPBGMA organization.

David amazingly has been playing music only about six years. Three of these spent with Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road. His musical influences are The Louvin Brothers. (mainly Ira Louvin), and Bill Monroe. He lives in Parkton N.C. with his lovely wife Angela, daughters Briana and Alayna, and son David Andrew Guthrie, Jr. "Andy" arrived on May 22, 2007 and is growing fast! David says "I feel led to this band at this exact point in my life. How the Lord has opened up doors, I know it isn't without a real purpose. I am really excited to become a Churchmen member".

We again want to thank God for his blessings on the band. Keith, Freddy, and Gerald have been together since the group began, and it is truly a blessing to travel with such great people. We believe that we get along better and are closer than any other group on the road and that is great to be able to say. We have been really fortunate to have had only a few band member changes in our 19 year history. God is certainly great and worthy of our praise!

Please read more about the band in the bio section.

God again blessed us with a busy year in 2008. We would like to thank our booking agents for their hard work! Keith Clark books the Bluegrass and Church venues, and Lisa Couch at Applause Central in Nashville, TN takes care of a lot of the other Gospel venues for us. We are still booking for the 2009 seasons. We are looking forward to playing a lot of the shows that we do on an annual basis. Please contact Keith Clark at 276-340-5209 or e-mail dkeithclark@yahoo.com. or contact Lisa Couch at Applause Central at 931-487-9835 or applausecentral@charter.net.

We would like to mention again that although we enjoy playing festivals and other venues, that our hearts are still in ministering in churches. This has always been, and will continue to be, a priority for our group. If your church would like to have a Churchmen concert during a regular service or special event, please contact us! Thanks for your support.

Pinecastle Marketing and Tour Support

We have been in touch with the Marketing department at Pinecastle Records quite a bit lately and we are really pleased with some of the recent new touches. New marketing director Ethan Burkhart is doing a great job and we are enjoying working with him. Sara Bailey is handling the tour support duties now and Matt Hood is Radio Promotions director. Col. Riggs has assembled a great team and they are really working hard to support the Tours of all of the Pinecastle artists. We will be working on a promotional CD and they are sending out new posters to advertise events that we are involved in. They are also setting up a lot of nice promotional avenues for us to get the word out about The Churchmen, and about our personal appearances. Please contact them at www.pinecastle.com. or 1-828-894-0322. Great job folks!

Freddy and Glen Keep Coach Running Well

Well it's been almost seven years since we got our new coach and we want to thank God for the worry free travel that we have had with it! The bus has a great history as it was custom built for The Statler Brothers and it served them the last few years of their stellar career. This is the third bus that The Churchmen have owned and it's the first Eagle. We have always heard about that famous Eagle ride but now we have experienced it for ourselves, and it's true an Eagle does make it easier to sleep. It was a good time to upgrade our travel means since the years since we purchased it have been the busiest ever. As you know if you have been keeping up with the website for a while, that we have certainly covered a lot of ground. We have been able to see a lot of the country including Niagara Falls, the upper Mississippi River basin in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Florida Everglades, the beautiful forests of Alabama and about everything in between, and we couldn't have made it without good transportation. We would also like to thank Easter's Coach Sales in Bassett, VA for helping us get our new bus. We have purchased all three coaches from Bobby and Karen and Junior Roberts and thank them for their help.

Thanks also to Freddy and Glen Clark (Keith's dad) for all of the great maintenance work that they do. They do a great job in keeping the coach maintained and on the road. Recently they installed a new radiator to keep the engine cool and running great! Thanks again guys and great work!

What people are saying.......

"The Churchmen are a fine group of entertainers, whose talents are indeed unique, whether in performance in ensemble or solo. It is always a pleasure to work with them."
The Lewis Family

"The Churchmen are a very talented group who play and sing with the kind of harmony that keeps you listening for more. I have known them since they started their group and I highly recommend them to anyone who loves good bluegrass gospel music."
Russell Easter, Sr.

"We have had the pleasure of performing with the Churchmen on several occasions, and it is always enjoyable. They have a fine group and are fine people."
Doyle Lawson

"The Churchmen are one of the fastest growing, hottest new sounds in Bluegrass Gospel Music today. We have worked with these guys a lot, and they really live what they sing. We highly recommend them to any- one for concerts."
Jeff and Sheri Easter

The Churchmen have been recognized with several honors over the years
• Multiple nominations for "Gospel Group of the Year" by The Society of Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) spanning 15 years!
• Performance at the Ryman Theater for the Bluegrass Now Fan's Choice Awards
• Performance at multiple International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) show cases, and the IBMA Bluegrass Fan Fest
• Nominated for 2 Dove Awards, Gospel Music's most prestigious award, for Bluegrass Gospel album of the Year (2005) and Bluegrass Gospel Song of the Year (2007).
• Churchmen song "Get Onboard" was #1 on Bluegrass Now Magazine's Gospel Truths chart and remained on the chart for 3 ½ years.

About the Churchmen.......

KEITH CLARK, was born in Martinsville, Virginia and was raised in Fieldale. His father taught him how to play guitar. "I can still picture how I used to sit on his knee and strum while he made the chords." Keith started playing the bass at age twelve and played the drums during high school, and he still enjoys playing. After working in some family bands, Keith gave his heart to the Lord when he was 17. Keith played with The Mill Creek Trio before being able to get back to his real love, bluegrass music, when they started their present band. "It's a real blessing to be able to adapt the kind of music that you love to share the gospel. I love how bluegrass can be so different. I love hard driving songs with a lot of banjo, and I love slow ballads with a lot of fiddle and Dobro. Bluegrass is so simple in some ways, but it can be played with so much complexity. I love acoustic music because it's so down to earth, and it's the way that music should be." Keith now resides in Collinsville, VA his personal goals revolve around his family and church.. "I have daughter and a wife who I love more than anything. I also love to fish and I am and very active in my church. My personal goal is to see my daughter graduate from high school and help get her through college. She is a 4.0 student, and I am going to do everything in my power to help and encourage her." Click Here to Email Keith
FREDDY RAKES, was born in Martinsville, Virginia and raised in rural Henry County, near Bassett, Virginia. He was also first exposed to gospel and bluegrass as a child. His father, mother and three sisters all sang and played. They traveled as a family band from 1968 to 1988, and Freddy then worked with the Easter Brothers in the mid 80s, playing pedal steel guitar, bass or banjo. Freddy has also done a fair amount of session work with southern gospel groups. "Bluegrass music is honest music," says Rakes, "I mean it's about everyday experiences, the ups and downs of life. It's all-acoustic, so it's clean music, also energetic. I play a Gibson Mastertone banjo, and I guess I like it so well because its sole purpose in life is to enhance the sound of bluegrass music." Freddy met his wife, Donna, while performing at her church, and Freddy says that she is a faithful supporter of their music. Click Here to Email Freddy
GERALD HARBOUR was born in Stuart and raised in Woolwine, Virginia. He began showing interest in music at an early age and made his first public performance at age 5. He often would perform with his Dad throughout his childhood. In later years he would make guest appearances with his life long friends The Lewis Family. Gerald credits his parents and Little Roy Lewis for being his inspiration to pursue his musical interests. Gerald joined the Churchmen in 1989 just a few months after the formation of the group. Gerald said, "I was looking for some guys who would take the music seriously and try to constantly take it to another level". Gerald found that in Freddy and Keith and several who have passed through the band in it's existence. "It's been fun to experience the ways that the Lord has blessed us and the doors that have been opened for us along the way". Gerald currently resides with his wife Lisa and their five children in Martinsville, VA. Click Here to Email Gerald
TIM SMITH Tim Smith lived in Essex, MD until age 13. During those years he learned to love and play the fiddle from his Grandfather, Kilby Reeves, and two uncles, Tom and Bert Reeves. Tim played classical music and was a first chair violinist during his school years. In the late '60's Tim moved with his family back to his Mother and Father's hometown of Sparta, NC. Tim soon began performing at local functions and became a well known fiddler in the local community. In 1977 Tim won 1st place fiddle prize at the well known "Galax Fiddlers Convention" in Galax, VA, and in 1978 he won the world championship fiddle prize at the famed "Union Grove Fiddlers Convention" at Union Grove, NC. Tim then worked with the legendary Bluegrass Cardinals and performed as a Bluegrass Boy with Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys. Tim has performed or recorded with a virtual "who's who" of bluegrass music including Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass, Jim and Jesse and The Virginia Boys, Jim Eanes, Roy Acuff, Mac Wiseman, Charlie Waller and The Country Gentlemen, The Johnson Mountain Boys, Del McCoury, Vassar Clements, Chubby Wise, Jerry Douglas, Bill Emerson, Bobby Hicks, Kenny Baker, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, The Shenandoah Cut-ups, Tony Rice, The Blue River Boys, John Starling, The Lost and Found, Craig Smith, George and John Shuffler, Blue Ridge, Lou Reid, Larry Stephenson, Ronnie Simpkins, Ricky Simpkins, Terry Baucum, Wayne Benson, Clay Jones, Wes Golding, Hershel Sizemore and numerous others. Tim married his beautiful wife, Anita in 1982. They have two wonderful children, Melissa 22 and Andrew 15, and reside in Kernersville, NC. He was employed by a major airline for 23 years and recently accepted early retirement. He has his own record label, "TRS Records, Inc.", and a publishing company "Big Baby Boy Music-BMI". He has recorded and released his most recent CD's "Plain and Simple" and "The Lonesome Blueridge" on his label. Tim devotes his time to playing and teaching music, church, and his family. Tim is very passionate about all of this and says "I thank God for giving me the opportunity to do something I enjoy. I am a family man, I love spending time with my family and the love and support I receive from them is simply wonderful"
DAVID GUTHRIE is the new guy on the block and rounds out the band singing lead and harmony vocals along with handling the guitar duties. David has learned The Churchmen material quickly, and his high lead and great tenor voice, along with his hard driving rock solid guitar is another great addition to The Churchmen sound. David has the rare ability to sing with great feeling along with having amazing vocal range. God continues to bless our group with great talent along with great people. David is a great guy, and certainly is no exception. David amazingly has been playing music only about five years, but he is no stranger to Bluegrass fans across the country. Three of these years were spent with Lorraine Jordan and Carolina Road. He has also garnered 2 SPBGMA "Male Vocalist of the Year" nominations. His musical influences are The Louvin Brothers. (mainly Ira Louvin), and Bill Monroe. He lives in Parkton N.C. with his lovely wife Angela, and daughters Briana and Alayna. They are also expecting a baby boy this May. David says "I feel led to this band at this exact point in my life. How the Lord has opened up doors, I know it isn't without a real purpose. I am really excited to become a Churchmen member".