I had the pleasure a couple nights ago of hearing the New Florida Boys in concert. First off Charlie Waller is a great emcee. I have grown to love his dry humor in the years I have known him. He does a masterful job in that position. And even though he maybe more well known as promoter of the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion, or president of the SGMA, he does a good job holding down the lead position with the group. Buddy Burton sings the baritone and I would surmise, is likely responsible for the arranging duties. Buddy is a solid singer and musician and does his usual good job singing the position he is given. This was my first opportunity to hear their bass singer, Chip Cooper, although I have known his Dad, Miles for a number of years. Chip sang a couple of solos and did very well. Dustin Bearden is a young tenor I recommended for the position. Dustin has an unbelieveable range and I would have loved to have heard him featured a bit more, but as time goes on, I am sure the New Florida Boys will feature him even more. The amazing, and totally annoying young whippersnapper, Joshua Pope plays the piano as if he was a seasoned veteran. Now I say totally annoying, not because of Joshua, but because of me! It ain’t right for a 15 year old to be that talented. He is very accomplished, and his keen timing in moving the program right along is what you would expect from a man far older. He is the obvious behind the scenes quarterback. Keep a close watch on this young man, he is destined to become a star. The guys sang some old gems I had not heard in many a moon as they say. The Master Locksmith was my favorite of the evening, and it was very well arranged and performed. By the way, they used two microphones and no monitors that I could see. Part of the excitement of hearing those great quartets of the 50’s and 60’s was to see their interplay around those two big microphones. It brought a sense of togetherness within the group I think individual mics tends to sterilize a bit. Don’t get me wrong I would not trade the individual mics for two, but there are benefits of the two mic system we have lost. All in all....no this is not the original Florida Boys, but it is the New Florida Boys, and what was said about the original group from stage was both touching and funny at the same time. They sincerely pay tribute to the originals while at the same time, making their own mark. Joshua even pays tribute to Darrell Stewart right down to the infamous red socks, which I thought were perfect! As we were leaving I got an opportunity to talk with the guys a bit, and tried to play one upmanship with Charlie. With him it is stand your ground or perish, for he is hard to catch. I ran the old gag “You would have a great quartet if only you had a good lead singer”, thinking I had nailed him sufficiently to win this battle. He came back with “Yeah, I have heard the same thing about Southern Sound.” We both laughed and I knew I had been beat once more by DaMan. Charlie is quick and difficult to get one over on. But I will keep trying as it is this little game we play with each other, and come to think of it, I always seem to lose! All in all, I think they did a great job. Their sound is unique and far from a cookie cutter presentation. The last song of the evening was a huge surprise, but I will not give it away here, for it is a funny, if not in your face comment, on all these guys have endured since obtaining this very established name. But lets face it, whats in a name?
