AHQ Tour '03 Update #3
3/17/03
Written by Tom Troyer
Picking up where the last update left off, Friday 3-7: We got to Russellville, KY, kind of on time and went to Dave and Rhoda Zimmerman's, our hosts for the night. We quickly got ready for the service and were hurriedly getting in the car at about 6 pm when Dave called out from across the yard, "You do know it's only 5 o'clock, don't you?"
No, we didn't. A sneaky time change had snuck up on us! So we
relaxed a little bit.
We had a good service that night. There were several people there who knew people from our area and home church, it's always fun and interesting to make those connections. Say, do you know so-and-so out in Oregon? Yep, they live just down the road from me! They had a bunch of good food for us after the service, and then By and David went and played volleyball with some of their youth group. Me and Kon went home and prepared ourselves for the next day, getting business done and such.
I'm trying to remember what we did that next day, Saturday. We drove,
we didn't have a service that night. . . .the only significant thing I can
remember from that day is that we ate at Shoney's for the first time in our
career, yea, even our lives. For years I've wanted to eat at Shoney's and
I finally got the opportunity. I was very impressed, too! I wish we
had Shoney's on the west coast. I saw fried green tomatoes on the menu,
and realized that that must really be something people actually do eat! I
never had been quite sure. I was on the phone with Jewel at the time, and
she said she really liked them, so I tried some. Not too bad.
The Editor, leaning on a granite pillar.
Sunday afternoon we arrived in Bryson City, NC, the home of the Inspirations
quartet! We sang about a half-hour during the evening service at Victory
Baptist Church, then they had a fellowship meal afterwards and we sang a little
more. It was a great privilege that night to meet Archie Watkins and
Ronnie Hutchins, both were founding members of the Inspirations at the age of
15!
AHQ with Archie Watkins (l) and Ronnie Hutchins (r) of the Inspirations.
Archie and Ronnie talked with us a while, and were a great encouragement. We were singing after the meal, as I mentioned, and Ronnie had requested that we sing Beulah Land (having heard our CD's, he knew we did the song). Before we did, he told the crowd the following story:
Years ago (before David and By were even born!), Squire Parsons was meeting with the Inspirations to pitch them some of his new songs. They took one that he brought and worked it up and did it with Archie singing the melody, thus recording the now-classic Beulah Land for the very first time. Soon after, I believe Squire and the Kingsmen also recorded it, and very soon it was a monster smash hit in gospel music. Ronnie just wanted us to know before we sang it that the original singer of the song was sitting there listening to us!!
We also sang I'll Live Again, and we introduced it as a straight-up Southern Gospel song that the Kingsmen did just recently. After we finished it, Ronnie told us the Inspirations did that one years and years ago!! Oooops! I know my Southern Gospel history, but I missed that one!
Later, Archie and Ronnie joined us and we sang Amazing Grace together.
The whole evening was a great experience, and certainly one we'll treasure for a
long time.
Two lead singers!
After we left the church, Ronnie took us to the Inspirations office to show us around. We talked again for some time, and he was a real encouragement to us. Before we left he gave us 2 CD's, several tapes from the early years of the Inspirations, a songbook (with I'll Live Again in it!), and the Inspirations new book. Truly a generous man.
Monday we met with a long-time friend of ours, Eddy Flick. He took us
to the Golden Corral for lunch (I remember what we do on our trips by what
restaurants we go to and when!), then we went to a radio station for an
interview he had set up for us.
AHQ in front of the WJOC studio.
The interview was a lot of fun! We told Tina (the show host) a little about our group, and then she asked us to sing. So we sang a few songs live on the air. That was a new experience for us, but it went well. She also took some calls from listeners and we sang some more.
Konrad answering some questions in the studio. Tina is on the right.
A number of you emailed and said you listened to the show on the internet, thanks for tuning in! By the way, I've had a request or two for a recording of it, if someone could help me out with that I'd appreciate it.
That afternoon, Eddy took us up to a park in the mountains overlooking
Chattanooga. We did a little hiking around and sightseeing.
It was time for us to get some exercise.
We had a great view of the city and valley below.
That night we sang at Eddy's church, Chattanooga Primitive Baptist. We had a good service there with them. Eddy has followed us and corresponded with us ever since we recorded our first album back in '96, so it was good to be in his home area.
Here in the South, we've noticed something. There are a lot of Baptist
churches, but they're not called Baptist like they would be at home.
They're "Babdist." We've been assimilating the dialect! We've
said "y'all" from the stage, and the other day I said I was tired and By said
"You said tar'd!"