THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510060206
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER SUFFOLK
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
IF YOU DON'T know whether to attend Peanut Fest, or go to church today, you can do both - sort of.
The Peanut Stage will serve as the choir area during the day. God's message in song will be delivered by The Open Door Church Choir, ReNewed, Londonairs, The Messengers and the Old Time Gospel Singers.
Open Door Church Choir
The only local group is offering Gospel Fest at Peanut Fest.
That is how the Open Door Church Choir is referring to their presentation.
It will be the third public appearance by the three-month-old group organized, according to Joan Gray, ``because we saw a need for a different type of musical exposure for the church.''
They perform monthly at Open Door, during Sunday services.
``We do black gospel. Choir members are black and white,'' Gray said. ``I asked a few people in church if they felt the need, as I did, to have a variety of music.''
Other music at Open Door is supplied by a Praise in Worship team and, of course, the church choir.
It is not just a case of getting together, hoping for the best.
``We have to go through a training period with any kind of church ministry,'' Gray said, ``so we can all be on the same wavelength.''
ReNewed
This is a husband-wife-friend trio from Portsmouth.
Anne and Bob Pickrell have been a duo for 20 years under the name, Charity.
``We changed the name when Sandy Woodard joined us,'' Anne said. ``We went from duo to trio to get more harmony.''
ReNewed performs standard and original Southern and country gospel, a switch from a few years ago.
``We started out doing mild contemporary Christian,'' Pickrell said, ``but the trend in Hampton Roads is more toward Southern gospel.''
The styles can be heard on record - five albums as Charity with plans for a first as ReNewed.
The Pickrell duo performed at the Peanut, Pine, Pork Festival in Surry County for 12 years, and has been heard at Gospelrama in Portsmouth.
``We also do churches and banquets,'' Pickrell said. ``The first Saturday night of each month we're at the Pinecrest Baptist Church social hall in Portsmouth.
Londonairs
Talk about longevity - this group has been together 35 years.
``I'm 72 and still singing bass,'' said Bob Triplett, whose 35-year-old son, Jeff, sings lead.
Another father-son Londonair pair is lead singer, Jim Mann, and his drum-playing son, Jerry.
Sonny Morgan and Neil Smith are the other group members.
When they get together they sing ``strictly Southern gospel,'' Bob Triplett said. ``We're primarily a weekend group.''
Those are busy weekends. The Londonairs have brought their message to Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.
And, they've been to prison.
``Mom and dad sang in prison camps back around 1929-30. Our group got going because we grew up with singing. Mom tied me to her apron strings and took me along,'' Triplett said. ``I remember going from one church to another - getting together - singing. Those were the Model-T days.''
These days, tastes vary.
``I came out of the North Carolina mountains where people were more receptive to our kind of music,'' Triplett said. ``Today, there's so much Bach, Chopin and all that kind of stuff. Larger churches usually go for contemporary Christian.
``Hampton Roads is probably the worst for attendance at Southern Gospel concerts,'' he said. ``This area is country-western.''
Triplett, who talks like a tenor but sings bass, said the audience will hear such inspirational pieces as ``I Go To the Rock'' ``Stand By Me'' and ``I Will Rise Up From the Grave.''
The Messengers
This is a Chesapeake-based Southern Gospel group featuring a quartet, some strings and an accordion.
``I had a band in 1948,'' said Milton Hauser, 64. ``I was playing guitar then. The accordion player left, we had contracts, so I took it up. In three weeks, I was playing.''
He is playing for the Lord, working with four friends, entertaining at churches and in retirement homes, mostly in and around Chesapeake.
Audiences can look for the familiar plus such originals as ``Looking For the Day'' and ``God's Only Son.''
``When I wrote the words and music to ``God's Only Son,'' I was thinking of my son,'' Hauser said. ``God gave His son for our salvation. What a sacrifice.''
Hauser's son, Ronald, is an American Airlines pilot and a Texas rancher.
All The Messengers are ``saved Christians. We're singing because of our love of the Lord,'' Hauser said. ``This isn't for profit, that's for sure. But the Lord takes care of our needs for our equipment - got no complaints.''
Old Time Gospel Singers
This Virginia Beach-based group also features an accordion, plus bass guitar and a drum machine.
``We've been together 13 years,'' said Martha Hollinger. ``We formed the group to further the gospel through song, and to minister to people who are more vulnerable to music than sermons.
``Sometimes, we soften the heart for sermons,'' she said. ``We also have a strong ministry in nursing and retirement homes - taking the music to people who have a difficult time.
``We enjoy getting out and meeting people from all walks of life,'' Hollinger said. ``Our favorite places are the nursing homes.''
Sometimes, the Old Time Gospel Singers take their music far afield.
``We travel quite a bit on weekends,'' Hollinger said - ``Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina.'' MEMO: Gospel Fest by the Open Door Church Choir will be on stage at 10:30 a.m.
ReNewed will perform at noon.Londonairs will perform at 1:30 p.m. The
Messengers will perform at 3 p.m. The Old Time Gospel Singers perform at
4:30 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
The Londonairs will perform at 1:30 p.m. today at the Peanut Fest.
by CNB