Rick & Sarah have been married for six years, and enjoy being a part of CrossPoint. Not only do they add a lot to the group vocally and instrumentally, they have also recorded a couple cd's of their own.
Their latest cd, A Letter From the Captain, was released August 2009, and has had some awesome reviews, including one from Gracie Muldoon of World Wide Bluegrass...
"A Letter from the Captain" - The Vellas
(Gravity Boots Recording Studios/Nashville, Tennessee)
Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (Oops this time - it was Shelbyville Tennessee!) OH YEAH! This Gospel offering from The Vellas (husband Rick, and wife Sarah) is a well rounded professional quality project produced by Rick Vella and is a collection of his exceptional tunes of original material that were scratched out by his pen that produced some awesome inspiration for Bluegrass music lovers and beyond. To produce work this solid, it must come from personal experience with Christ, of Salvation and in living a good life daily. Kudos!
In Gospel music, especially Bluegrass music, it's important to bring the promise of the Gospel message in an entertaining format of Bluegrass, without being too heavy handed. That soul-saving message should enter one's ears and reach their heart by lyric or note. You can find that in this project. Rick along with his wife Sarah, (a match made in bluegrass heaven?!) belong to the CrossPoint String Band, but this Gospel project is more of a personal task. The Vellas have inspired this writer spiritually - which I believe was the intent of their undertaking with their inspirational songs. Just what the world needs now, more than ever - inspiration!! Bluegrass, even better!!
The title track, "A Letter From The Captain", is a story of a soldier writing a letter; and it ends up comparing that soldier's sacrifice to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and His own personal sacrifice. This is the top tune and a good choice for title of the project and undoubtedly my favorite of all the selections. It has been released as a single on the Prime Cuts label Volume 100, and I think it is a great song that will get lots of attention - especially from the Bluegrass Gospel crowd and that segment of the industry.
Terrific talent on the project not only with the vocals but the instrumentation of Nate Grower, Andrew Rigney, his brother, Grant Rigney, Andy Hall, David Mayfield and Becky Buller, all top performers and "names" we already know and love. This project follows the recent trend of bluegrass bands of late, to add the best performers possible to a band's mix, to present original material in the best light possible, to make it as attractive as possible for those who would/might want to re-record their material. However, The Vellas themselves have solid talent and a good Bluegrass ear, so the songs are good enough to stand on their own.
The vocals are provided by Sarah and Rick Vella and equate beautiful harmony. Sarah has a sweet, tender, sometimes even soft voice that can draw one's attention away from the instrumentation into the lyric with her emotion in each song she performs. She easily handles the chores of different tempos, arrangements, and moods of each. Along with Rick's complimentary harmony, they are quite adept in their vocal blend.
This collection is a great treasure of Bluegrass Gospel - for anyone who loves the Lord or those who need the Lord (which is everyone!) they should pick it up and take it home and listen to the great music here. Congratulations to The Vellas on an outstanding Gospel effort!
Gracie Muldoon
www.worldwidebluegrass.com
The Vellas' cd is available for purchase on the Music page.