The long-haired lead singer with the Gaither Vocal Band from 1994 to 2008, Penrod released his debut CD, Breathe Deep, in February and is heading to the Toledo area Nov. 6 with Jason Crabb on their “2 Voices – 1 Message” tour.
The two singers start their show together, performing several hymns, then do individual sets before getting back together for the finale, Penrod said this week in an interview from a tour stop in Tulsa, Okla.
Penrod, 47, said it was not an easy decision to leave the success and security he enjoyed as a member of the Gaither Vocal Band. During his 14 years with that group, he won a Grammy Award, toured the world, and performed for several presidents and more than 6 million people on the group’s U.S. tours.
“It was a very fearful moment to make a call like that, and then afterward you say, ‘Oh my goodness, what have I done?’ But while it was a bit scary, I feel providentially led and I thank God for providing a fabulous eight months so far,” Penrod said.
As to why – and why now – he said it was primarily for his children and other youngsters.
“Life has seasons, and my wife Angie and I have been married 25 years and we have three teenagers – boys age 18, 16, and 14 – and 12-year-old, 10-year-old, 8-year-old, and 6-year-old boys – seven boys, and then a little girl who’s now 4. And I did it for them, really,” he said.
Penrod said he was troubled by how children in today’s society are bombarded by “lifestyle temptations that are just so unhealthy, to put it mildly.” He wanted to do his part in “holding up some truth in the midst of what I perceive to be a very confused world we live in.”
That meant going on his own and recording an album of 13 songs about life that straddle the line between country and gospel music, with the goal of reaching young people as well as a broad demographic of music fans.
“A lot of bridges exist between gospel and country, and a lot of the fan base is one and the same,” Penrod said.
He and his family live in a log home on a farm near Nashville, where Penrod drives a tractor and a pickup.
But that’s not what qualifies him to sing country music, he said, saying it’s more a state of mind than a location or lifestyle.
“I think country denotes hard-working people with a good work ethic. I think it denotes honesty in our dealings with one another. Country people aren’t perfect but they are the salt of the Earth and they have been the backbone of American society.”
He said that when people ask him to describe his style, he came up with the label “life music.”
“Our music industry needs to kind of put it in a certain pot so they know what audience to target stylistically,” Penrod said. “But I like the ability to stretch stylistically. I’m not sure what type of record I’ll come out with next, but I know it will be about living life and it will be from a biblical or Christian world view. That’s why I call it ‘life music.’•”
As for his signature long hair, Penrod said grew up a preacher’s son and always kept it short until after getting married.
He let it grow a little and “the beautiful woman I married” approved.
“[She] said, ‘Hey, I like the way that looks.’ So it’s to please her, nothing else. I just want to keep my girl happy.”
Crabb was the longtime lead singer of the Crabb Family before releasing his self-titled, Grammy-winning solo debut last year.
Guy Penrod and Jason Crabb will be in concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the WPOS Christian Center, 7112 Angola Rd., Holland. Tickets are $20 in advance from trinitycommunications.org, or $25 at the door. Information: 419-865-9767
