After several attempts and a lot of phone tag, I had the pleasure of talking with Gary Casto, manager of Tribute Quartet this evening. If I had to pick one word that would best describe Mr. Casto it would be dedicated; dedicated to the Lord, dedicated to singing the best music there is and dedicated to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We talked about Tribute’s current album, The Waiting is Over, produced by Roger Talley, of the Talley Trio on the Sonlite label. When I asked Gary to talk about the new album he said “I’ve been travelling almost 27 years full time and I have to say this has probably been my favorite album to date that I’ve ever been a part of Jeff, for a lot of reasons.” Gary explained some of the reasons, first because of the material it’s some of the greatest material but also because in the midst of this project was the bus fire. When a group begins a project they have so many days allotted for recording and so much time for the process. Because of the fire Waiting had to be “pieced” together a few hours here and there. Several of the guys had inhaled a lot of smoke it had to be worked out so everyone was healthy enough to record. During all this Gary had wondered if it was ever going to come together, but in Gary’s words, “when it’s all said and done the Lord truly, truly just blessed in that avenue.” Gary went on to share that’s one reason why the album is titled The Waiting Is Over. There was a new member that came in in the midst of everything and that was the bass singer, Anthony Davis. It is our first national recording with tenor singer Riley Harrison Clark, who has been with the group a year as of this past June. So with the new members, the new project that everyone was waiting for and the life changing events that Tribute was going through because of the bus fire just, “the waiting was over when it finally came out.” Additionally the title came from the song, "Homecoming Day" written by Melissa Brady. “So we just threw them all together and came up with that title.” Gary has always liked to have a “story” behind the album title, rather than just naming the album after one of the songs, it’s important to him to come up with something different to have a reasoning of why it’s titled a certain way.
The album is doing great. The first release "Bring On The Joy", written by Darrel Williams and Ann Downing, is charting at number 28 nationally and has charted quite a bit with Absolutely Gospel. Gary shared with me the story behind "Bring On The Joy" and how it came to be on the album. They were actually down to choosing the last song for the album and had narrowed it down to three songs. The night before leaving to head for the Crossroads studios, Gary ran in to Ann Downing at the post office. Ann asked Gary if they were recording and if they had all their songs. They were trying to find an 11th song for the album. Ann offered the song and Gary agreed to listen to it. “Everyone listened to it in the studio and we knew right then that was a song for Tribute Quartet.”
For the song selection process, Tribute finds songs that minister to them. “I’m a firm believer that if a song can minister to us, then we can take that song and we can minister to the people; but if a song doesn’t minister to the artist there’s no way that they can take that song and give it 110% and do what the Lord’s called them to do if it doesn’t minister to them first.” Singing in services where they can hear the word is dear to the hearts of Tribute. “We like to hear the word! If we’re not fed we cannot feed the people.”
What’s going on with Tribute now? I asked just that question. The Lord has blessed a lot this year with national television. Tribute has done a lot with Daystar Inspirational Network and had the privilege to be a part of The Delta Call, an event that was held in Birmingham, Alabama to raise funds for the tornado and flood stricken areas in the Delta States. They have also appeared on the Praise The Lord show and are tentatively scheduled to appear on more of those programs. A West Coast trip is planned again this coming year and possibly a couple different countries such as Ireland and Norway in the fall of 2012 if it all works out. Many don’t realize what is involved when a group travels to a foreign country to minister. It’s not a simple matter of hopping on a plane. They have to get permission from the foreign government to come and perform; there are work visas that have to be purchased and all of their product has to be declared and shipped over months ahead of time. A great deal of time and effort goes in to planning such an endeavor.
Tribute does several 10 day trips and a three and half week trip to California, Washington and Oregon each year. In 2012 Tribute will spend the entire month of February in Florida. They will return to Nashville for a couple days then take off for their three and a half week tour, so they’re gone for all of February and most of March 2012. Also in the midst of February they will be doing the Singing At Sea Cruise and also an Alaska Cruise in August. The quartet is looking at doing over 200 dates in 2012. In the five years that Tribute has been together God has truly blessed their ministry and opened many doors.
I enjoyed the few moments I spent talking with Gary and not all of the conversation centered on this article, he is easy to talk to and we had a good time in fellowship. I can honestly say I look forward to meeting Gary Casto and all of Tribute Quartet in person.
In closing, I think Gary said it best when he said, “Tribute is truly blessed and I can’t complain whatsoever.”
For more information on Tribute Quartet, visit them online at http://www.tributequartet.com!
Author: Jeff Lowe
| Author's Website: http://www.mercyriverqt.com
Written: 11/15/2011
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Comments: 1
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I have known Tribute Quartet ever since their start, actually knew Gary Castos and Josh Singletary when they traveled with The Wilburns several years ago. Thay my FAVORITE Southern Gospel quartet for a lot of reasons. They are exactly the same off stage as they are on stage. They are not afraid to genuinely praise and worship the Savior they sing about. And you know when you are privileged to be in a service or concert with them, that they KNOW the Savior that they sing about. If you get the chance to hear them or have them sing in your church, I highly recommend them. They are the best!
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