Blue Heaven

When you get the blues, give them up to God
Justin A. Hinkley
The Enquirer



For the Enquirer

Blue Heaven is, from left, David Brummet, Bob Hunt, Lyn Meyers (seated), Vic Watkins and Bob Weis.
If you go

# WHAT: Blue Heaven performs at the Midnight on the Hill New Year's Eve party at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, 157 Chapel Hill Drive.

# WHEN: 8 p.m. Monday.

# COST: Tickets are $10 and are available at Godfrey Jewelers, 12 W. Michigan Ave., The Front Page Family Hair Care, 78 S. 20th St., and at Chapel Hill.

# INFO: For more information on Blue Heaven, visit www.blueheaven4god.com. For more information on the show, call Chapel Hill at 963-0231 or visit www.chapelhill-umc.org.


On the Net

# Network with local bands, hear local music and contact the Enquirer's music writers through WOW's MySpace page. Go to www.myspace.com/bcewow.


Members of Battle Creek's Blue Heaven don't only preach their message of revival, they live it.

The members of the blues quintet once were troubled men, living lives filled with drugs or booze and wayward intentions, who have since found what they believe is the healing grace of God. They now use their music to spread the word of faith and keep others from going down the paths they'd escaped.

"Our whole mission is to try to bring the message (of Christ) to people who haven't heard it," guitarist Vic Watkins said. "We wanna reach lost souls who need help in their lives."

To reach those souls, the musicians avoided traditional gospel music and went instead to the sounds of the broken-down and broken-hearted: the blues.

The band, rounded out by Dave Brummett on bass and vocals, Bob Weis on guitar and vocals, Lyn Myers on drums and Bob Hunt on synthophone, performs mostly traditional blues songs, guitar solos and all. The synthophone is an electronic saxophone that can uses a synthesizer to change its sound.

The message in Blue Heaven songs is different, however. Where traditional blues might be about breakups, being poor or drinking, Blue Heaven adds saving grace to its tomes of hardship.

"With our songs, you remind them of the bad and then tell them about the good," Myers said.

"It's about the turnaround," Brummett added.

The band formed in 2003 after Myers began hosting Christian blues jams at his Gig Studio on 20th Street. They found they'd each lived similar lives and each had similar goals.

Blue Heaven's members are all schooled musicians, each with decades of experience on his instrument and in hard lives. Each member played in various bands over the years, often taking them to seedy bars and into lives of excess, but found God led them into cleaner lives. Brummett found God in prison; Watkins found religion after attempting suicide.

They use that experience as examples to prove the theme of their songs —that Christianity can heal — is true.

The group performs often in area churches, but usually prefers to play at a club, festival or other secular venue.

"In churches, you're literally preaching to the choir," Weis said. "We like to play churches, but the message really needs to go to the people who haven't found God yet."

The band performs every three months at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, a homeless shelter and ministry program. There, the musicians said, is where they feel their talents are best put to use. Playing to crowds of 200 or more, the musicians said they believe some have found religion through their songs.

"We've seen and touched a lot of people with our work at the Mission," Watkins said. "To get them to pay attention, you've gotta be entertaining, not 'in your face.' Through our lyrics and our energy and passion for God, we put out the message. And people pick up on that."

Myers was quick to add that most of the responsibility in being saved falls on the listener.

"We can catch them, but we can't clean them," he said.

The musicians said some old-guard churchgoers have criticized their choice of music styles, saying the message gets lost in the guitar solos.

"People sometimes tell me I'm not being Christ-like, that I'm driven by music and not the message," Brummett said. "I tell them, 'God gave me my music. I'm using it the way he wants me to.'"

The band, currently unsigned, has one album titled "Blues No More," available at its Web site, www.blueheaven4god.com. It is working on a second album it expects to release midsummer.

The band tries not to set the bar too high; it takes its career one show at a time, promoting itself and its message where it can.

"You don't want to try to have an agenda with God," Brummett said. "He's gonna give you what he's gonna give you."

"We work on our career, we promote ourselves, we record," Hunt said. "But for the most part, we let God takes us where he wants us to go. We just try to do the right thing along the way."

Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 966-0698 or jhinkley@battlecr.gannett.com.



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- Justin Henkley

-Press Release-

Blue Heaven sings message of Hope

Don't miss the Blue Heaven Gospel Blues Band, appearing Sunday July 8th at Cornwell's Turkeyville USA from 2-5 pm. in the gazebo.

The group features Dave “Brummy” Brummett on bass and vocals, Bob Weis on guitar and vocals, Victor Watkins on lead guitar, and Lyndell Meyers on drums.

Blue Heaven provides an entertaining musical program, and powerful testimony which will be enjoyed by all ages.

The group will perform original songs from the CD “Blues No More”, as well as titles from a new CD “Tethered Heart”, and a few gospel favorites blues style.

Blue Heaven has appeared at Gary Fields Comedy Club, Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Fete' De La Musica, Grain Coffee House, Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, Christ's Bible Church, First Baptist Church, Cafe' Wes, J.W. Barleycorn's, Wonderful's, Crosspointe Church of Kendallville, and will be appearing at the Kalamazoo Blues Festival on July 14th.

Their gospel song “Church on the Hill” has been aired on WNWN Hymn Time, and WCSG Greenville.

For booking information contact Bob Weis 517 741 4037 or www.sonicbids.com/blueheaven for additional information. - Battle Creek Shopper