 Chonda Pierce, who got her start imitating Minnie Pearl and recently appeared on ABC's The View, has been making audiences laugh for a while now. She has a voice like no other-- imagine a cartoon character with a Southern accent saying "Isn't that precious?" and you've got an idea of what she sounds like. Interestingly, she's also a singer, and can belt out tunes with the best of singers-- she's got powerful pipes that could handle country, jazz, or Gospel music.
As a performer, she often makes audiences laugh for over an hour and then at the end, she'll sing a poignant, inspirational tune with that strong voice of hers, and it's almost like getting two shows for the price of one. On her latest DVD, "Did I Say That Out Loud," she sticks to this winning formula, and the show is very entertaining, even when she's singing at the end.
Chonda starts the new DVD off by relating to her Tennessee audience how she has an apartment in West Hollywood, and how people in California are quite different than people in the Bible Belt. She could totally make a TV series out of this material, a kind of "fish out of water" comedy where the country gal moves to the big city, and it would probably do well.
Some of you might know Chonda from her comedy special "This Ain't Prettyville," which has aired on CMT multiple times. Chonda's comedy appeals to middle-aged women who love the Lord, and in America, that's a huge market. She regularly tours, playing churches rather than bars or nightclubs, and makes a good living entertaining church crowds. She gets away with a lot, saying things you'd never normally hear in church, and that's why people love her. She manages to walk the fine line between evangelical Christianity and secular worldliness with her comedy-- while she's firmly planted in the church world, it seems she'd like to expand to Hollywood and expand her audience. This would be a good thing. She could bring to the world her unique Christian worldview, and help show non-believers that while some Christians are indeed "weird," they're human, too, and can laugh at themselves and the world around them.
If you want to laugh, "Did I Say That Out Loud" will indeed get you laughing out loud a couple times, and get you smiling. Visit chonda.org for info. |
 Legendary recording artist John Schlitt — solo artist and former lead singer for Grammy Award-winning Christian band Petra and mainstream rock band Head East — was the keynote speaker at the Russian Gospel Music Association conference (EMA). The EMA ran from May 12-15, 2010.
During the conference, Schlitt performed at various locations throughout the city of Moscow, including an open air concert in Gorky Park, the prestigious "Radio City Moscow" night club and the closing EMA ceremonies.
In addition to performing, Schlitt also conducted master classes for aspiring Russian musicians, designed to stimulate professional growth and personal development.
"I am so glad that American musicians who heard of our plight for years are lending a helping hand in bringing their expertise to Russian musicians," says EMA founder Nikolai Pankratz, formerly of the Christian band Ruscha.
With the demise of Communism, a new era of music — and Christianity — in the former Soviet Union is being ushered in. "I was very excited about being a part of EMA and sharing my knowledge and experience with the people of Russia," says Schlitt. "Nikolai, having grown up in the former Soviet Union, told me about the times the secret police would storm into a meeting, confiscate Bibles and break musical instruments. Pastors were taken to jail, and his grandfather was arrested and killed for believing in God," Schlitt continues. "It's amazing how times have changed; I feel that the Lord had major plans for the week and I'm very honored to have been a part of it all." |
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According to Clay Crosse, Dana Key, whom many of you remember from the duo DeGarmo & Key, passed away June 6th. Key had been serving as a pastor at a church in Tennessee.
Key was born in 1953, and became known in the Christian music world as a guitarist, singer and producer. His work with Eddie DeGarmo was highly respected, and he also released two solo albums. Over the years, Key shared stages with artists like Petra, Amy Grant, Jesse Dixon, and Resurrection Band, among others. Eventually, he headed Ardent Records, hosted a TV show, and pastored The Love of Christ Church in Cordova, Tennessee.
Be sure and follow http://www.twitter.com/christianmusik for the latest news regarding Christian music artists.
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