Pat Jobe
Thursday, November 14, 2019 7:51 am
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There is a unifying name at the heart of their music.
The Piney Mountain Boys are professional performers at 13 and 11. They've been paid for a number of their performances and often play and sing for free in churches, rest homes and at community gatherings. Carter and Chase McGinnis do traditional bluegrass Gospel and other bluegrass standards.
Josiah McDowell, at seven, dreams of playing music, cooking as a master chef; and maybe even serving in some military organization as a ninja. Big dreams are a part of this dancing, singing second grader.
What do they have in common? They love Jesus.
"I want to get closer to God," Carter said of his passion for playing.
Josiah answers "Jesus," when asked for whom he sings a Teen Titan song he learned from watching television.
He sings, "You can't fade away. The way I feel for you there ain't no word I can say for what I'd do for you."
But he also agrees the song is about the devotion of Jesus for his followers, too. It's not a particularly religious song until Josiah belts it out.
Chase is equally enthusiastic about the mutual devotion. His for Jesus and the love that comes back.
"I love the Lord and he's been the guiding light in our musical career," Chase said. The young musicians are regulars at the Powerhouse Ministries at the Alexander Mills flea market and spend every other Sunday morning helping with worship at Colonial Manor Rest Home where Brenda Yelton is a big promoter of their music.
Josiah was interviewed at a local fast food restaurant where he danced away and back during the talk engaging a couple of young women who were also there for an early supper. He holds nothing back as he works arms and legs into his routine.
While all three of these young men are enthusiastic about music and their love for Jesus, they have other interests, too.
Carter likes history. Chase likes math; and Josiah likes songwriting, although at seven, his talents are just budding.
When he was asked to sing one of his originals, he sang, "Rocking now. Rocking now. Rock on. I'll be you and you'll be me." He stopped and smiled, "That's all I've got right now."
He enjoys singing at home; and even sings with his sisters, Makayla who is 11 and Amiyah, 9. But he only sings with them, "if they are singing songs from The Greatest Showman."
The Piney Mountain Boys have been playing together for five years, and the older Carter began learning a year before that. Their older brother, Bailey, used to play and sing with them but he quit to play baseball.
At 17, he is playing for Chase High. Their eldest brother, Chipper, has a full baseball scholarship at Lenoir Rhyne College.
They do a mean workout on the Orange Blossom Special, one of the most difficult fiddle tunes in the American Songbook. Carter's fingers fly across the strings on that tune. Chase works the neck on his mandolin when it's his turn. "It's a lot of fun," Chase said.
He also likes to tell jokes like, "How does the ocean say goodbye? It waves."
They're the sons of Star and Andy McGinnis and attend Chase Middle School. Carter plays drums in the band. Their great granddaddy, Kenneth McGinnis inspired their love of music. Their biggest crowd was at the Ellenboro Fiddlers Convention. They look forward to bigger crowds and better skills.
Josiah's parents are Adrian and Kisha McDowell and he's in Ms. Boling's class at Forest City-Dunbar.
The McDowells attend Element Church, also in the Alexander community.
Young people in these parts play lots of sports; and plenty of newsprint is dedicated each week to the exploits of young athletes, but Rutherford Weekly also wants to highlight young musicians and singer/songwriters. If you know of others who are performing and offering musical talents or dancing across the floor of fast food restaurants, email Pat Jobe at patjobe13@gmail.com. Look for future stories full of musical notes.