简介：Ernie Haase & Signature Sound is a Southern Gospel vocal quartet founded in 2002 by Ernie Haase, former Cathedral Quartet tenor, and Garry Jones, former Gold City pianist. Musical career The Cathedral Quartet announced their farewell tour in 1999. Lead singer Glen Payne died on October 15, 1999 before the end of the tour. Upon request of Glen Payne, the remaining members finished the tour with pianist Roger Bennett performing Payne's vocals. Following the tour Bennett and baritone Scott Fowler formed Legacy Five[1] while Ernie Haase continued his solo career.[2] After a time former Cathedrals bass George Younce and the legendary Jake Hess along with Bill Gaither formed The Old Friends Quartet with Ernie Haase, Wesley Pritchard, and Garry Jones. The Old Friends Quartet disbanded after about two years on the road, as Hess and Younce's ill health prevented them from doing much traveling. Haase, along with Jones, still had a love for quartet singing and wished to create a quartet that was 21st Century in image and attitude, but traditional in sound, emulating the great Southern Gospel groups of the 20th Century, including the legendary Statesmen Quartet, the Stamps Quartet, the Blackwood Brothers and of course, the Cathedral Quartet. Haase and Jones gathered three other young men (lead singer Shane Dunlap, baritone Doug Anderson, and bass singer Tim Duncan) with similar love and respect for Gospel music, and the Signature Sound Quartet was born. Jones and Haase dissolved their business relationship after the first year and Roy Webb was chosen as pianist. Haase's father-in-law George Younce became co-owner of the quartet and was instrumental in getting the group an affiliation with the Gaither Music Group. From the group's inception their name was heard everywhere, and when audiences saw the fun and energy that the group gave at their concerts, they responded enthusiastically, rocketing the Signature Sound Quartet to instant stardom. With the fame came some controversy, as some Gospel music lovers objected to the "outlandish" look of the group, which included short ties and oddly-colored suits. Still later, the group began styling their hair in "modern" stand-up spiked style, which further added to their controversy. The fan reaction, however, was far more positive than negative, and trade magazines began referring to them as "the next Statesmen", implying that the mold-breaking style they created brought to mind the similarly outside-the-box thinking of the classic group. In 2004, the group changed its name to Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, reportedly in order to avoid confusion with other similarly-titled regional groups. They signed with the Gaither Music Group and became regular performers with the Gaither Homecoming tours and videos. Like-minded legendary singer/producer Bill Gaither eventually began scheduling a second series of concerts with only Signature Sound and the Gaither Vocal Band appearing together. Due in part to the popularity of these concerts, the two groups decided to record a single album together,appropriately titled "Together", which debuted in October 2007. On the DVD, it was hinted that future collaborations between Signature Sound and the Vocal Band were upcoming. In May 2007, pianist Roy Webb came off the road to be with his dad, who was dying of cancer. On May 29, 2007, it was announced that Webb had resigned from the group. Later, it was announced that Gordon Mote would be the group's piano player during their Get Away Jordan summer tour. Producer and songwriter Wayne Haun is serving as their pianist for the 2008 Summer tour. The groups next project was entitled, "Dream On". This was released in late October 2008 and was filmed in Chicago, at the Navy Ballroom Pier. In October 2009 a new Christmas album, the group's second such album, was released entitled "Every light that shines at Christmas ". The group won two GMA Dove Awards in 2008 (both for Get Away, Jordan) and one in 2009 for their song Reason Enough. In September 2009, following a three year hiatus from the National Quartet Convention, southern gospel's premier annual event, Haase and Signature Sound returned to the NQC main stage along with the rest of the Gaither Homecoming performers. The group was greeted with great fanfare and adulation by the thousands in attendance. Many longtime Cathedral Quartet fans however were greatly disappointed when Haase failed to appear with former Cathedrals members Scott Fowler, Gerald Wolfe, Mark Trammell and Danny Funderburk for a NQC special showcase presentation called "The Cathedrals Remembered", a tribute concert at the convention in which the former Cathedral members joined forces to sing many old Cathedral songs and to honor George Younce and Glen Payne. Haase was the only former Cathedral at the convention who failed to appear in the Cathedral's tribute, causing many fans to speculate why. In January 2009, Ernie Haase announced a The Cathedrals tribute tour was next on the quartet's agenda. The CD and DVD are due out in Spring 2010. On December 28, 2009, Ernie announced that Ryan Seaton was leaving the quartet to pursue other interests and that former Karen Peck and New River lead/tenor Devin McGlamery would be joining as the new lead singer. As of Haase's announcement, there was no word given on how Seaton's abrupt departure would affect the Cathedral Tribute projects and tour. The group is currently composed of Ernie Haase, Devin McGlamery, Doug Anderson and Tim Duncan with noted Southern Gospel songwriter and producer Wayne Haun serving as the group's pianist a good deal of the time.