The Paschall Brothers—Podcast Transcript

 (Paschall Brothers singing...)

Jo Reed: You're listening to 2012 National Heritage Fellows the Paschall Brothers singing the traditional gospel hymn, "Jonah".

Welcome to Art Works, the program that goes behind the scenes with some of the nation's great artists to explore how Art Works.

I'm your host Josephine Reed.

For 31 years, the Paschall Brothers have been singing the a cappella gospel music of Tidewater Virginia. The group's four-part harmony owes much to its founder  Patriarch Rev Frank Paschall Sr. Born in 1923, Rev Frank had been a seasoned performer with quartets when he first moved to Tidewater at the age of 19. Local quartets were thriving in the area during the 1940s. Since their repertoire drew almost exclusively from spirituals and as well as more contemporary gospel hymns, it's not surprising that this singing would most frequently find a home in the church. But because it was voice-only without any musical accompaniment, it was  also easily transferable to house parties and street corners. it added and drew from the rich African-American culture in the area. The Rev Frank Paschall Sr  was quite well-known in the region, and sang with several of the quartets, including the Keys of Harmony. 

But he was also teaching his sons four-part harmony and in 1981, the family formed the quartet the Paschall Brothers.   The group is known for taking traditional gospel songs and adding their own distinctive arrangements to them as well as writing their own gospel tunes.

Although, the group almost disbanded when Rev Frank Paschall Sr passed away in 1999, they paused, re-formed and continued to sing:  preserving and expanding the tradition of four-part a cappella gospel. Rev Tarrence Paschall now leads the quartet which now includes the third generation of Paschalls as well as the great Tidewater singers from outside the family, Johnny Lewis. I spoke with Tarrance Paschall and  Johnny Lewis soon after it was announced they were named National Heritage Fellows. Here's our conversation

Jo Reed: You've been at this for 31 years. I’d like a little history. Tell me how you began.

Tarrence Paschall: This is Tarrence Paschall. I went in the army after high school, and I honestly didn't like it. We did three years, and my father told me, well, you know, you signed the contract, so do your three years, and so I came out because I was honorably discharged, and I did what I was supposed to do, like he said, but I just had an urgency to just come out. I wasn't thinking about singing either, come to think of it, to be honest with you, but we came out, and to celebrate me coming out, my brothers and I, we just went to his house and we just celebrated. And an album called, The Persuasions, the "Street Corner Symphony." And on that album was a song called, "The Lord's Prayer," that they did in perfect four part harmony. And we, on a dare, learned that song in about 20 minutes. And we went and showed our father what we had learned. He said, man, that thing is right. But were just enjoying ourselves, so he said, why don't you all back me up? So we said we would be honored to, because he sung solo, so that was in February, I never forget it, February 28th, 1981, that next week, which was the first Sunday in March, we sang at Mount Moriah RZUA Church. As a matter of fact, that's the church I'm now pastoring, for a deacon anniversary and the rest been history ever since then. He sent us-- he taught us a song, "I'm Going on with Jesus Just The Same," and the "Lord's Prayer," and we sung them two songs, that was our repertoire. We would go all over Newport News and Hampton singing them two songs. And then we learned another song, "Don't Forget to Pray." And no one has been measuring or gauging anything, but the Lord has been with us ever since.

Jo Reed: Your father was a remarkable man. He was a singer himself, born in North Carolina, and sang in quartets there, and then moved to the Tidewater area when he was 19, correct?

Tarrence Paschall: Yes, Ma'am.

Jo Reed: And you're one of 11?

Tarrence Paschall: Ten.

Jo Reed: Ten, one of ten children. And your father, unfortunately, was a widower, so he raised you all on his own.

Tarrence Paschall: Yes he did. I think that's one of the rewards of his diligence and his faithfulness to his children. I believe, this is just me talking, an investment gains a profit. He invested in us, he did. He raised us all by hisself, too, and to this day, I don't know how he did that.

Jo Reed: Now, did you sing when you were kids at home, did you hear him sing? Would he sing?

Tarrence Paschall: Yes, he had a group. I never knew the name of the group, but Frank said it was, The Kings of Harmony, later on. Them was some singing guys. There was a man-- now these names, now, a man named Mr. Roach, a man named Balimey, a man named Goose...they would rehearse at the house, and we sung in the choir, you know, these little choirs at the church, and things of that nature, you know, but we never even imagined even coming to a point such as this.

Jo Reed: Now when you first started, and your father formed, officially, the Paschall Brothers there were how many of you singing?

Tarrence Paschall: Five brothers and one father.

Jo Reed: Five brothers and your father. So here's my question, because this is what had confused me, and I had to learn about this, even though it’s called a quartet, there can be more than four members because the quartet signifies the number of voices and harmonies?

Tarrence Paschall: Yes, ma'am. Now I never got into the formality aspect of it. My daddy told us, it was always four part harmony. I'm thinking that that would be the only case, because regardless of how many people in the equation, there will always be four voices. Which were four parts. The lead singer, usually, the lead background is singing his pitch, it was always four voices from what I understood, regardless of how many men it were, it was four voices.

Jo Reed: Well I think we should hear a song, because and I would love it if we could hear, "Don't Forget to Pray." And this is from your CD, "Songs Our Father."

Tarrence Paschall: Yes.

<Paschall Brothers singing>

Jo Reed: That is some fantastic singing.

Johnny Lewis: That sounds good to Johnny, too, I tell you. You hear that bass that you hear there, that's Tarrence's baby brother. That's Bill. He got ill a few years back, and it sort of broke our heart. Mine, anyway, because, you didn't hear my story, but they sort of adopted me.

Jo Reed: Yeah, tell me about it, Johnny, because you're on the CD.

Johnny Lewis: Right, right. That was one of the proudest moments I've ever had. My story is, I was raised by my mother, single parent. We had a group, there was four boys in my family as well. And we were known as, The Lewis Brothers. And we started out pretty much the same as Tarrence and his brothers. His father sang, my father sang in a group. His group was from Lambert's Point, not far from here, and he used to sing on TV early Sunday mornings on television, and we all get up in the morning, and stand around and watch him sing. And we used to pantomime everything he did, the four boys did. You know, we'd get up and we'd be right there in the morning, just watching him sing on Sunday mornings. Later on in life, say, when I turned, like, five, I was five, my baby brother was about three. And my oldest brother was seven. There was four of us, and we all decided that we were going to sing, so my mom one morning, one Sunday morning, made us stand up in front of the church, and we sang in front of a whole congregation, and I cried that day, I think I boo-hooed, through a whole song. But once the crying was over, I felt pretty good, you know, because it's almost like relief. Now I can do this, you know. And again, I was like five years old when we first did that, and it's been history. Later on in life, I went into the army, and as you can tell, this story is pretty much compatible with Terrance's family. Raised by a single parent, and raised in church. You know, how I got in the group was, Terrance father passed, and I used to go to Tarrence's church.And his pastor was a young man that joined our group. And he invited me to come to the church and I came over to his church I didn't know Tarrence was a member there, and I walked in, and there's Tarrence Paschall, and Frank Paschall, and Billy Paschall...

Tarrence Paschall: Everybody.

Johnny Lewis: Everybody was there. And it's been history ever since. When his father passed, I think in '99?

Tarrence Paschall: Ninety-nine.

Johnny Lewis: Tarrence asked me, how would I like to join the group, and sing with the group. And I told him, man, you're kidding, because to me, it's an honor to sing with the Paschall Brothers. And I've been with them off and on, ever since 2000.

Jo Reed: Obviously I'm not a singer, and if you heard me sing, you'd really know I'm not a singer. But it would seem that staying in pitch when singing a cappella would be very, very hard.

Johnny Lewis: It's a gift, believe me, and I say that with all honesty. If you're born with this gift, and which is what we were, we were born with this gift, but actually trained and tutored by our parents. And it has been something that we've always felt that, you know, because it's a gift from God, it should be easy to do. And it's definitely an ear thing for me. I hear it. If it sounds good, I try it. Now Tarrence has a-- I guess he has a version of it that I'd like for you to get into.

Tarrence Paschall: No, I agree. It's not a-- something that you go out to obtain. If that make any sense to you. It's like my father used to say, if you're doing something that you enjoy, the benefits will come. You don't ask for anything, they just come to you. Like my daddy used to say, you can get the scholarship, but you've got to earn the degree.

Jo Reed: I like that saying.

Tarrence Paschall: That's the truth.

Jo Reed: Tell me, what is distinctive about gospel singing in the Tidewater area?

Tarrence Paschall: Well everybody's doing it, so I-- you know, I think what's distinctive as far as we're concerned,is not too many people are singing without music. We always say, in a society where everything is technically driven, digitally correct, singing without any music whatsoever. We would go to places where choirs sing, I mean, you've got the keyboards and everything, and they had even amped things up now, to the point where, I seen a boy the other day, playing electric drums. I ain't never seen nothing like that.

Johnny Lewis: Our music is in our voices. I mean, we hear the beats in our head that actually help us keep our rhythms, and it's something that you just do for so long, that it becomes second hat. You know when the other person is going to change, you change with them.Tarrence and I, we have this-- it's like a basketball rhythm, it's just like two guys playing two-and-two basketball. I played with Tarrence for so long, I know when he's going to go to the left, I know when he's going to go to the right. Well, our a cappella music is similar to that. Just singing a song along with him, him singing his key, and me singing mine, I know when he's going to change, so when he's ready to do that, I'm right there with him. We fine tune each other.

Jo Reed: So listening has to be so important.

Johnny Lewis: So important, yes it is.

Jo Reed: With your group, with the Paschall Brothers, do you remember the first time you sang outside the church in a performance?

Tarrence Paschall: I think the first thing that we did outside the church, was, I believe, at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Foundation. It was in Williamsburg.

Jo Reed: Was that different for you, than singing in the church?

Tarrence Paschall: No, because my dad always said, a note is a note. That's the way we were taught. I found this out. The atmosphere was different, you see, but what you had to do was the same thing. Because of the atmosphere, sometimes you would think that people aren't receiving you. I think if that was any different, you would think that the people are not receiving you, because the activity, the active response is-- Lord, is different, you know. People literally are not moving. When you're singing your heart out, and you know you're singing, but you're doing your part, you did what you did at church. But the people are not moving. However, the evidence of them enjoying it was when all the CDs were sold. When you sing outside the church, I think it's a more, I would say, conservative, if that's a good word.They ain't jumping and shouting.

Johnny Lewis: They're paying more attention, they're nodding, studying and paying attention to you.

Tarrence Paschall: Because a lot of people are amazed you're doing that.

Jo Reed: But in the church, people are just responding, and they're being carried away by it.

Tarrence Paschall: Oh yeah.

Johnny Lewis: Oh yeah. Verbally, and with the hands, and...

Tarrence Paschall: You react towards that, you know what I'm saying? Like they say, the song might be a little longer in the church, if you know what I mean.

Jo Reed: Now, what's so interesting about you as a group, is that you have traditional songs, but at the same time, you do original music as well.

Tarrence Paschall: Yes.

Jo Reed: And in fact, your father did a lot of arrangements, even of traditional songs.

Tarrence Paschall: My father was a-- I'd say he was a genius, because he would do things, the audiences vary, and the people vary, no matter where he went, he always had-- sung a song a way to gather the crowd that was there, you know what I'm saying? He had songs that he never penned, but we sang them. But he never penned them. You know, we'd be on the road sometimes, traveling. He'd say, look hit this, hit this pitch. And he'd give you that pitch and say, you do this. We'd learn a song on the way to the program. We miss him, that guy -- we didn't have a manager, all we had to do was sing.

Johnny Lewis: They had a boss.

Tarrence Paschall: We had a father.

Johnny Lewis: He was a special person, believe me, a very special person.

Tarrence Paschall: He was that, and the Lord blessed us with him, and I think his arrangements were from the heart. That guy experienced a lot of things. I'm telling you, and a lot of things that he experienced, I think, he sung with that deep experience, and things that he experienced, he didn't really express hisself. His motto was, everything going to be all right.

Jo Reed: I want to hear another song, and this is one that he arranged, a traditional song. You're singing the lead on it Tarrence, called, "Get On Board."

<Paschall Brothers singing>

Tarrence Paschall: That's a favorite. That's a favorite.

Jo Reed: It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful, and again, that's from the CD, "Songs For Our Father." Now Tarrence, Johnny, tell me how did that CD come to be? How did you come to record it?

Tarrence Paschall: Well, Dr. Jon Lohman, from the Virginia Folklife Humanities, he came up and said, you know what would be a good idea? He said, we want to do something for you guys, because we had helped them out with the Virginia Folklife Humanities. They started an apprenticeship program and we were so successful with that, that they wanted to do something for us. And he decided, look, let us do that for you. And he said, we'll name it, "Songs For Our Father." He just wanted to do that for us, for my father. We met Dr. Lohman about in 2000, 2001, somewhere after my father had passed. We had literally almost-- I think we quit the group, to be honest with you, and it's always when somebody pass, it's always a lull, and sometimes you start evaluating and examining, should you go on farther? But it's always something that seems to bring us back out into the light, to just let people know. As if, we don't suppose to stop. Dr. Lohman did it this particular time, and with this song, we went to Bias Studio in Springfield, Virginia...God, we had a blast.

Johnny Lewis: Couldn't have been a better title.

Tarrence Paschall: Couldn't have been, and they named that.

Johnny Lewis: Yes, that came from Jon Lohman, and his colleagues.

Tarrence Paschall: Jon Lohman.

Johnny Lewis: They were fantastic. They have always been great people to us. And he's a dependable person, he's a caring guy, and we've always, you know, we appreciate him so much.

Tarrence Paschall: Yeah, Jon Lohman, I just-- I'm saying that name in out of respect and an appreciation to him. He's probably going to fuss at us.

Jo Reed: Yeah, he probably will.

Johnny Lewis: Yeah, he's one of those modest guys, he don't really want credit for anything.

Tarrence Paschall: But that's all right, too.

Johnny Lewis: That's one of his projects that was really, really a great thing for us. He showed us how much he really cared for us when he did that. We appreciate him more than he'll ever know.

Jo Reed: 2003 was a pretty big year for you guys. That was also the year you were singing in the festival in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Tarrence Paschall: Yes.

Johnny Lewis: Lowell was outstanding

Tarrence Paschall: I think that was our first one with the National-- NCTA, National Council for the Traditional Arts. Joe Wilson, I think was his name.

Johnny Lewis: Yes, Mr. Wilson.

Tarrence Paschall: And they got us there, and it was like, send you a technical rider and all of that. We didn't know anything about all that stuff. You know, they treated us well, and we had different representations at different times, you know, stage this-- and they had us on big stages, too, and we just were tickled pink. But we enjoyed ourself, the people, the camaraderie.What got me, if I may say, the lady came and bought a CD, and asked me to sign the CD. And they say, you all got CD signings, and I'm like, what in the world is a CD signing?

Johnny Lewis: Yeah, see, we were very inexperienced.

Tarrence Paschall: Well, you sit down and sign the CD. I said, if the fool buy the CD, I'll sign it twice. You know, but they-- and it was like, it was-- that was like a tour, about a two or three day tour. But we did things, and we hobnobbed with the people, we ate funnel cakes and hot dogs.

Johnny Lewis: And we visited the city. It was so different, I mean--

Tarrence Paschall: Oh man.

Johnny Lewis: The atmosphere, I mean, it's a great thing when people have no idea who you are, but still have the heart to treat you as if they know you very well. And that's what they gave us. I mean, they made us at home, it's like giving us the key to the city that particular weekend.

Tarrence Paschall: Really.

Johnny Lewis: And we accepted it, and we look forward to seeing them again, and that, Lowell was one of the best experiences I've ever had. They didn't want us to stop singing.

Tarrence Paschall: We thank God for that experience.

Johnny Lewis: We had a ball.

Jo Reed: But don't you think by singing the way you sing, when you said they didn't know us, but by singing the way you sing, there's a way you open your heart and they do know you.
Jon Lewis: Oh yes. Oh yes.

Tarrence Paschall: Yes, and see, love is a universal language. I saw folk dancing, loving -- they called it, what did they call it? I think it was a folk art festival, and there were various art forms, and our art form was singing a cappella music. They had people dancing, but you know, what amazed me, was these were folk from all over the world.

Johnny Lewis: All over the place, yeah, they were from everywhere.

Tarrence Paschall: I'm like, folk from China...

Johnny Lewis: Haiti.Oh, yes.

Terrance Paschall: All this, but, you know, that's what I'm saying, I never really knew that folk art extended so far out. I think of folk art as, you know, banjos and Blue Ridge, but there's all kinds of folk art, and for us to be even mentioned, that really introduced us to folk art in its real sense when we got Dr. Lohman.

Johnny Lewis: Oh, it's an honor, it's a great honor.

Tarrence Paschall: And I asked him, how did you get into folk art? He say, I don't know, but I think it's a calling. I think, NCTA, Folklife, folk art have been good to the Paschall Brothers.

Johnny Lewis: Yes, yes, I totally agree.

Jo Reed: Thirty-one years since The Paschall Brothers have begun. In all those years, we mentioned Lowell. Is there another performance that really stands out for you guys?

Tarrence Paschall: We did the Kennedy Center, that was amazing, because we were at the Millennium Stage, just looking out from that stage, was like, wow. The Kennedy Center - that was the one that really had me awestruck. Plus it was broadcast, what they call streaming, I had never heard of that. And our families got to watch that. The Kennedy Center was one of my pets.

Jo Reed: And what about for you, Johnny?

Johnny Lewis: Lowell. I still say Lowell was my joy, because you look out on the audience and you see everybody just amazed. I mean, they're sitting there like they're in awe, and everybody's-- you look for a reaction, like we were saying, the differences in church reaction is a whole different from a concert type atmosphere.

Tarrence Paschall: They're in awe, and you're in awe.

Johnny Lewis: I'm in awe. I'm sitting there, I'm singing, but my eyes are really, really--

Tarrence Paschall: He ain't telling it all.

Johnny Lewis: My eyes are all bucked and I'm really, really excited about what we're doing and where I am, so yes, I think Lowell, believe me, we appreciate everything. We've been honored in ways that we never thought that we would ever be. When you start out doing this, I know, me, myself personally, I didn't do it as a career type thing. I didn't do it because it was something that I thought I was going to profit from. I did it simply because my mother said, do it. I want you to sing for me. That's the way it started with me, sing for me. And we did it. And from that point on, it's been something that's been instilled, it's burned in, it's tattooed in my heart, and we've been doing it ever since.

Tarrence Paschall: Amen. Johnny getting ready to cry.

Jo Reed: Also, throughout these 31 years, you all have had day jobs.

Johnny Lewis: Yes, yes.

Tarrence Paschall: Oh yes.

Jo Reed: Tarrence, you're a reverend. Johnny, I'm not sure what you do.

Johnny Lewis: I'm retired now. I was an electronic technician. I used to do electrical-- electronic devices. I installed surveillance equipment, I've done it for the government, I've done it for, for a private owner. You know, I retired young, and I don't know if that's a good thing, because I've never stopped working.

Jo Reed: Well you've always had this.

Johnny Lewis: Well that, plus I mean, I'm constantly finding stuff to do, even more so. My dad told me, a long time ago, you retire, but you never stop.

Tarrence Paschall: You never do.

Johnny Lewis: And all I've done, was just made it a little easier on myself, to do what I like to do.

Jo Reed: But that also means that when there's a festival, for example, or a concert, there really is a kind of negotiation that I would imagine would have to go on with your work or with your church, to get some time to be able to go.

Tarrence Paschall: You've got to keep time on the books, Miss Reed.

Johnny Lewis: That's right, that's exactly right.

Tarrence Paschall: Keep time on the books.

Johnny Lewis: You've got to keep time.

Tarrence Paschall: I work for Chesapeake Public School system as well, and they enjoy it, because they reap the benefits of having you there. You always save your days up though. You don't want to do a leave without pay.

Johnny Lewis: Never. Those were the many times I tell you, we're blessed. We're blessed, because of what we do, the way that we do it, is appreciated even by our boss, and he really did, he made a way for me to go to every concert that I had to go on, and it didn't interfere with my job at all.

Tarrence Paschall: Amen.

Jo Reed: So 31 years have gone by since the group has formed, and obviously some things have shifted because people have come in and out, and passed on. What stayed the same?

Tarrence Paschall: We, we did.

Johnny Lewis: Our hearts are the same.

Tarrence Paschall: The thing I see as staying the same is the music. We don't sing the same songs, but we sing the same music. And to me, I think some things are-- the spiritual things are more eternal. It's a faith thing.

Johnny Lewis: You hold onto it.

Tarrence Paschall: Like a man's work, it keeps him alive. I found that out. Doing something, me and my wife, we done got old together, older together...the children gone on their own, the baby in college, but we are still the same. And I didn't see the time go by, I really didn't, other than, you know, the empty spots in my hairline.

Johnny Lewis: More room at the house.

Tarrence Paschall: I didn't see, I don't feel any different, I look a little different, but as far as you know, I might have gained a pound or two, but, I've gained a lot, in these 31 years, a lot of wisdom. I enjoyed sitting with my father for most of those years, I'd go to his house. Our rehearsals every Tuesday, at seven o'clock. I would go to his house, five o'clock every Tuesday, set with him till the guys came. Then we rehearsed, nine o'clock we leave. Sometimes no one-- someone couldn't make it, so I'd just sit there and talk to him at nine. My wife know, from five to nine I'm with my father in whatever capacity, and a lot of those times I was just sitting there, we talking, and I think that's why I always say, my daddy used to say, my daddy used to say, my daddy used to say, but a lot of times, I pick up a lot of things. That he left. That's what it's about, leaving a legacy, and that's what I appreciate. My father ain't gone nowhere because he's in my heart, he's with us. Frank is with us, and every time we hear these songs, we center up their voice, and these songs, far as I'm concerned, were done in the 31 years, even though they're gone, those things that transpired in those 31 years, still exist today, and that's what I call eternity, that's just my opinion.

Johnny Lewis: And if I may add--

Jo Reed: Please.

Johnny Lewis: You know, when you're younger, and you do this, there are so many advantages that you miss because you don't take it as serious or you know, because as you grow older, you become wiser to your reasons for doing what we do. And understanding why we do, or why we've done, what we've done for so long. And you see the benefits from it, not in material things, but your heart grows fonder at it, because you understand when people say it when you're younger, oh, you did so good, you did so good. Now, they-- it's something that you understand when they say you did good. You don't take it, you know, with a big head, you take it with appreciation.

Tarrence Paschall: That's right.

Johnny Lewis: And it's so much gratifying, when it's appreciated. That's that scholarship again, alright, that earning that scholarship, because we put it to work. It's not going to disappear, because it's in the heart now.

Tarrence Paschall: You earned that.

Johnny Lewis: And you've earned that, and we, again, I can never say it enough, you know, how much we appreciate the way that people show that they appreciate us.

Jo Reed: Now how did you find out that you were going to receive a National Heritage Fellowship?

Tarrence Paschall: Well I was at work. I was not having a good day at work. I would not say that, but I'm saying this because you asked. The phone rang, we were doing some plumbing  and a guy named Bergey--

Jo Reed: Barry Bergey...

Tarrence Paschall: Barry -- there you go. He said, this is Barry Bergey, I'm from NEA. And he said that I'm calling to let you know that you have been awarded the 2012 National Heritage Fellowship Award. And I said, oh, hallelujah, you know what I mean. He said you talk-- he said, your response is as if you're not familiar with the award. I was like, I'm not. So he starts telling me, and I start sitting up, and I told the guy, go ahead, I'll be in there-- that's how I learned it, and he starts sharing some things with me, and then, as he went on, I'm saying, are you kidding me? I said, who is this?

Johnny Lewis: Tarrence thought that he was being punked.

Tarrence Paschall: At a folk festival, but he said, you were nominated by Jon Lohman. I said, I know him. Oh man, that was a blessing, and I start telling everybody, look, man, to me, this is calling us back into the forefront, and that's just my opinion, you know, God is not finished with us.

Jo Reed: Well, Reverend Paschall, Johnny Lewis, my hearty congratulations to you both. It's such a pleasure.

Tarrence Paschall: Thank you so much.

Johnny Lewis: We appreciate you. Thank you so much.

Jo Reed:  That was the Rev Tarrence Paschall and Johnny Lewis--two members of the a cappella gospel quartet, the Paschall Brothers.

Tonight, Oct 4. the Paschall Brothers and their fellow 2012 National Heritage Fellows take center stage at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC for an evening of song, dance, music, and lively discussion about traditional art.    That's the National Heritage Concert tonight at  7:30 pm. If you can't make it, remember -- we're webcasting it live! For more information about this free concert and the live webcast. Go to arts.gov and click on National Heritage Fellowships.
 
You’ve been listening to Art Works, produced at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Adam Kampe is the musical supervisor.

Excerpts from Jonah, You Better Pray and  Get on Board from Songs For Our Father by the Paschall Brothers, used courtesy of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. 

Special thanks to Jon Lohman

 You can subscribe to Art Works at iTunes U -- just click on the iTunes link on our podcast page.

Next week,  a chat with the artistic director of Carnegie Hall, Clive Gillinson

To find out how art works in communities across the country, keep checking the Art Works blog, or follow us @NEAARTS on Twitter. For the National Endowment for the Arts, I'm Josephine Reed. Thanks for listening.