September I, 1999
Page B2
2Hfe IJortlanb ©baeruer
Sudden Death Of 5 Year Old Daughter Further
Illuminates Poignancy And Pain Of Vocalist
L ife h as d e a lt so u l sin g e r
M ontrel D arrett an o th er harsh
blow. The singer w atched both o f
his p aren ts die o f cancer. He
w atched his b ro th er go to prison.
He w atched crim e take place in
N a sh v ille ’s notorious crim e-rid ­
den Jo h n H enry H ill housing
project where he grew up. He even
w atched his life flash by him as
he served his own priso n sen ­
tence for som e m isdem eanors.
M o n trel’s m usic reflects the hard
tim es h e ’s faced. But, the hardest
scene for him to w atch was the
sudden death o f his five year old
daughter, C harissa on Saturday,
July 24, 1999. M ontrel and his
w ife, Felicia w ere traveling on I-
65 outside o f N ashville, TN when
their car careened o ff the side o f
the road during a thunderstorm .
M ontrel sustained only m inor in ­
ju ries and was released from the
hospital later that same afternoon.
O ver that w eekend, F elicia u n ­
derw ent surgery for h er injuries
and was later released from the
hospital, but their daug h ter died
in the crash.
T his la te st d e v e lo p m e n t in
M o n trel’s life ju st sheds more
light on the h u rt, happiness and
hope that has m arked his so u l’s
jou rn ey thus far. B uoyed by a
G eorge C linton style o f funk and
a Bob D ylan style o f w riting,
M o n trel’s m usic b ristles w ith an
iconoclasm that is unknow n in
the gospel m usic industry. ” I ’m
not a gospel sin g er.” M ontrel in­
terjects. “ I’m an artist who loves
m an and a black man k illin g a
G od.” His honest devotion to God
w hite man, it’s still a killing. K ill­
may put som e o f the se lf-rig h ­
ing is killing* Just because w e ’re
teous m em bers o f the c o n g reg a­
d iffe re n t d o e sn ’t m ean we c a n ’t
tion at u n ease though. His songs
liv e to g e th e r.”
are b ased on such salacious to p ­
T h e r e v e la tio n s d o n ’t en d
ics as his ad d ictio n to sex from
th e re eith er. “ My w ife and 1 was
the age o f seven, his suicide a t­
about to get a d iv o rc e ,” M ontrel
tem pt, his b ro th e r’s incarceration,
c o n fe sse s ab o u t the song “ I ’m
his stint in the G u lf W ar and his
S o rry .” “ I w as being tau g h t by
extrem e co n tem p t for the gospel
peo p le in the in dustry that in o r­
m usic in d u stry itself. T his isn ’t
der to have sex appeal I c a n ’t be
ex actly “ A m azin g G race” and
m arried. P eople told me w om en
“ How G reat T hou A rt.”
buy records and if you are m ar­
M usic c ritic s have com pared
ried, they w o n ’t buy them . So, we
M o n tre l’s m usic to the social
se p a ra te d , but then I said. I ’ve
com m en tary o f M arvin G a y e ’s
got w ho I w ant and I d o n ’t care
“ W h at’s G oing O n?” and "B all o f
ab o u t no sex a p p e a l.’ 1 was sorry
C o n fu sio n ” by the T em ptations.
fo r som e o f the dirt I did to my
“ S o ciety plays a big role in the
w ife F e lic ia and I w rote that
c o n d itio n in g o f a m a n ’s h e a rt,”
s o n g .”
M o n trel say s, “ W h a t’s in the
T h a t sa m e m u sic in d u s try
h e a rt w ill p ro c e e d from your
h
e
a
v ily im pacts our cultu re and
m outh. M y m usic is real authen­
i
t
’s
for the industry that M ontrel
tic. I t’s p a rto fw h o I am inm y life.
reserves
his m ost stinging venom.
I t’s not m ade up. I t’s been a part
“
I
h
ate
the
in d u stry ,” he snarls.
o f me all my life. The o th er thing
“
I
hate
the
sp irit behind the in­
that se p a ra te s my m usic is that
du stry . Jokers are gonna be jo k ­
it’s live m usic w ith live in stru ­
e rs, but be real w ith me! I saw
m ents. T here are no punchins,
peo p le sm ile in my face, but then
it’s not stu d io m ade. A lot o f
th ey dog m e.”
m usic to d a y is p ro c e sse d and
T he album epilogue is “ The
reg u rg itated . T his is n o t me try ­
p
a
rty
is O v e r.” M ontrel m uses
ing to be som ebody else. Y o u ’ve
“
T
h
a
t
’s m e lo o k in g a t my
got a lot o f record com pany-m ade
b
ro
th
e
r’s
life. He got caught up
a rtists, b u t this is M o n trel.”
in
that
drug
thang. W hen you
The a lb u m ’s first R&B single
gonna
get
tired
o f this gam e? This
and video, “ F ree” is a cry for help.
life
you
living?
Y o u ’ve lost ev ­
“ O ur governm ent is perverse and
erything,
but
th
a
t’s
w hen you can
w ic k e d ,” M o n tre l c o m p la in s.
gain
the
m
ost
by
com
ing to God
“ It’s like c a n ’t we come together?
because
you
d
o
n
’t
have
anything
W e have to put our heads to ­
else. A fter all, all I am is a sinner
gether. A w hite man killing a black
starts at 7:00 PM.
This is the first event being spon­
sored by the new label Prayze Gos­
pel Music. This label is sure to be a
national contender in the gospel
music industry with its fresh new
sounds and new ministry formats. It
was founded in 1999, and is under
the supervision o f President/CEO
Robert Thomas. It’s goal is to pro­
mote gospel music through its’ art­
ists and gospel music events. This is
ju st one o f the many events that it is
planning, and will soon be coming
out with a new release in the upcom­
ing months.
SOUL is a group comprised of
nine members, which was formed
from a Pacific Northwest talent search
that was done by Trinity Records.
One o f Portland’s own, Nehemiah
Booker, is a member o f the group.
They have performed all over the
country, including gospel music’s
most prestigious event, the gospel
Music Workshop of America. They
have a fresh, new sound and are sure
to rock the house in Portland.
Tickets are available at the follow­
ing locations:
HouseofSound * 3620N. Williams
Pearl’s Music * 3969 NE Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Reflection’s Coffee * 446 NE
Killingsowrth
One Stop Record Shop * 1615 NE
Killings worth
Please contact us if you have any
further questions at 503-289-0642 *
prayzegospel@hotmail.com
Churches Offer Assistance to
Turkey
“ O u r c o lle c tiv e g r i e f an d
pray ers are w ith the p eo p le o f
T u rk e y ,” said D avid L eslie, ex ­
ecu tiv e d ire c to r o f E cum enical
M in istries o f O regon. “ W e are
sp read in g the w ord about the h u ­
man needs and are c ertain that
churches w ill respond generously
to a ssist in the reco v ery p ro ­
c e s s .” E M O ’s ecum enical p a rt­
ner, C hurch W orld S ervice, has
alread y co m m itted $250,000 to ­
w ard re lie f for people affected by
th e e a r th q u a k e in T u rk e y .
$ 100,000 w ill go tow ard the pur­
chase o f blankets, bedding, tents
and traps. Cash donations to
CW S can be m ade to Turkey
E arthquake, c/o Ecum enical M in­
istries o f O regon, interchurch
C e n te r , S u ite B, 0 2 4 5 SW
B a n c r o f t, P o r tla n d , O re g o n
97201. People may also contact
C S W d ire c tly a t 1-800-297-1516
or P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, Indiana
46516. EMO is a statew ide asso-
ciation o f 15 C hristian denom ina­
tio n s in c lu d in g P r o t e s t a n t ,
C atholic and O rthodox bodies
w orking to g eth er for ju s tic e and
unity through theo lo g ical ed u ca­
tion and dialo g u e, p u blic ad v o ­
cacy and com m unity m inistry pro­
grams. EMO partners with Church
W orld S ervice to aid in its m is­
sion o f serving more than 80 coun­
tries around the w orld in disaster
re lie f, hum an d evelopm ent and
refugee assistance.
East-West Spiritual Practices at
Interfaith Spiritual Center
Portland, OR. Free classes on
spiritual practices from the w orld’s
religions are offered at the Inter­
faith Spiritual C enter, located at
391 OSE 1 1 in Portland. The classes
will be held on first W ednesdays
from 6:00p m. -7 :3 0 p .m .O c to b e r
through December. The calendar
currently includes:
“ Spiritual Practices for D aily
L ife” led by Ashley M cCormack
and Dale Rhodes on O ctober 6 1*.
[G o d 's] nam e w hen yo u r road is
at its end, a hand to lend. I'm ju st
a frie n d ." For those w an tin g to
m ake friendly g estu res, in lieu o f
flow ers, the fam ily re q u e sts d o ­
nations be sent to the C harissa
D arrett F oundation c/o N /T ym ze
at PMB 304 115 Penn W arren
D rive; Suite 300; B rentw ood, TN
37027.
HAPPY 84th BIRTHDAY
August 31st
Prayze Gospel Music
Presents Soul In Concert
Prayze Gospel Music, a new gos­
pel music label and production com­
pany in the Portland area, will be
presenting a concert featuring the
group SOUL from the Seattle, WA
area. They are national recording
artists and are currently signed to
Trinity Records, which is a division
o f Hendrix Records. In addition to
the concert, there will be a pre-event
party where people will get the
chance to meet with the group and
other performers for the evening.
The event will be taking place on
Friday, September 3rd, 1999. Itwillbe
held at the Albina Christian Life
Center, which is located at 5522 N.
Albina in Portland, OR. The pre­
event party starts at 5:00 PM and will
lead directly into the concert, which
sav ed by g ra c e .” M ontrel can
pro b ab ly use som e o f that divine
grace rig h t now as he com es to
term s w ith his b a b y ’s death. P er­
haps the w ords to his song “ H old
O n” w ill bring som e com fort. As
he s in g s o f G o d ’s c o n c e r n ,
M o n trel sin g s " Ju st call My
“W alking M ediation" led by Rich­
ard Eaton and Dales Rhodes on
N ovem ber 3rd. “ Buddhist M edia­
tion T echniques” led by Karin
M iles and Richard Eaton on De­
cem ber 1 “ For a brochure on these
or other program s, call the Inter­
faith Spiritual Center at (503) 233-
2026.The Interfaith Spiritual C en­
ter (ISC) offers a wide variety o f
resources for Spiritual develop­
m en t and g ro w th .
S p iritu a l
m entor’s form various w orld reli­
gious traditions offer individual di­
rection and m entoring, as well as
retreats and workshops on spiritual
life and practices o f m ajcr world
religions. All services and resources
are provided on a sliding fee scale
that is based on income and ability
to pay. The ISC offices are located
at3$10S.E. 1 l'h in Portland, Oregon.
Free parking is ample and the build­
ing is wheel chair accessible.
You are in vite d
to a free
seminar,
“ H ow to Have
Financial
S ecurity and
Live Debt Free"
at M aranatha
on Sunday,
S eptem ber 5,
2 :30 to 4 :3 0 PM
Presenter is
Sharman Lawson
o f Financial
Freedom
Concepts
Call J e ff Parker,
5 0 3 /4 4 9 -6 1 9 7
fo r m o re
in form a tion .
NAYMOSi SCARBOROUGH
Founder of Scarborough Oil
NKA: Dad's Oil
We love you dad. May God continue to keep you in
his loving care. Love, yourwife Zelma
Your kids & family
Phyllis & John
Edward & Katye
Talk about looking good!
Have you seen the Fall schedule for
NORTH PORTLAND BIBLE COLLEGE?
A community Bible College for local community concerns
More classes - more variety - new teachers - practical help
Who goes to Bible college?
Preachers9 Yes but also teachers, social w orkers, office personnel, community activists
child-care providers, church leadership at all levels, parents looking for answ ers to give their
children, searchers for the meaning o f life, discoverers o f the jo y o f know ing G od better....
the list goes on.
Is college for you? Many have found the answer to that question by
attending classes at NPBC. Begin your college career while still working.
NPBC classes are mostly in the evening.
Affordable - only $25 per credit hour
______________
Call the NPBC office for a free copy of the entire Fall 1999 Schedule
(503)288-2919
North Portland Bible C ollege
4905 N. Vancouver Ave., 97217, at Humboldt