Paul O'Donnell: March 2008 Archives

Their music is ancient, their lifestyle medieval, but a group of Cistercian monks from Holy Cross Monastery near Vienna secured a recording contract with Universal Music using the latest craze on the Internet: YouTube. Their video audition came in response to an advertisement London-based Universal placed looking for new groups to feature in their line of Gregorian chant albums. "We're not Robbie Williams or Michael Jackson," said a monk identified only as Father Karl. "We're just a group of monks who sing every day because it's our prayer and it's our life." Father Karl may want to update his examples of hit pop acts to modern day; we suggest his new labelmate, Amy Winehouse.

Paul Scofield's passing today shows the depth of Britain's classical acting squad: he's perhaps one of the top actors of the 20th century, with enough gravitas, impeccable diction and nuance to rank with Sirs Gielgud, Olivier, or Richardson. Yet he has none of their household recognition—unless you're a faith-conscious person, in which case Scofield is as famous and beloved as the man he played in movie of Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons": Saint Thomas More, the 16th century philosopher, lawyer and Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII.

Britain's tightly-knit theater and film community has had a tough few days, with the deaths of actor Paul Scofield and film director and screenwriter Anthony Minghella in the same week. Scofield, who had suffered from leukemia and was 86, represented the passing of an august and much-garlanded generation. Minghella's departure left a legacy that was only unfulfilled in being too soon ended. Minghella was a popular and accomplished moviemaker, known for his literate and exacting scripts and glowing technique in movies like "Cold Mountain," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "The English Patient," the last of which won Best Picture in 1997.

The reverb from their 10th anniversary DVD/compilation album hasn't completely died down (in my car at least) when Third Day, one of the most successful Christian bands to come out of Nashville, announced that rhythm guitarist Brad Avery was quitting the band to pursue solo projects.

The band's press release was terse but seemingly supportive of Avery. Perhaps the best clue as to why he's leaving came late last year, when Avery told a crowd, a propos of the arrival of a yet another daughter, this one adopted from China, "I'm a lot older than you think I am." After a thousand shows from here to Australia, Avery might just need to get off the road.

Ricky McKinnie has been playing with the gospel legends The Blind Boys of Alabama for more than three decades, and that makes him one of the new guys. First recorded in the 1940s, the Blind Boys were known mostly to traditional gospel audiences until the early '80s, when they were cast in the Broadway show "The Gospel at Colonus." Their wider exposure led to invitations to play with some of the biggest names in mainstream rock, including a tour with Tom Petty. The Blind Boys have returned the favor, covering songs by the Rolling Stones and, of course, Eric Clapton's former group, Blind Faith.

For their latest collaboration, the Blind Boys teamed up with New Orleans mainstays like the Preservation Hall Jazz band and Alain Toussaint. We caught up with McKinnie at his home in Atlanta to talk about the album and its goals.