Bryan Carter, former lead guitarist for Jeff and Sheri Easter, and his wife & children, have formed a Southern Gospel band with a touch of bluegrass. We asked this wonderful family a few questions and here’s what they had to say.
1. Bryan, many people know you from your time with Jeff and Sheri Easter, give us an update of what you’ve been doing since your time on the “Gaither videos?â€
Working with Jeff and Sheri was such a great opportunity for me. They taught me so much during those five years. Also, if it wasn’t for Jeff giving me a call, I never would have met my lovely wife, Kristi. That was a good day for me. 🙂 Since then, raising seven kids has kept us incredibly busy, to say the least. But, it has been a rewarding journey that I wouldn’t take anything for. Musically, I’ve been working as a studio musician. For years, I owned and operated my own recording studio, but now I am excited to be able to focus more on our own music-writing songs with Kristi and several friends of ours, practicing music together as a family, and also teaching my kids how to play their individual instruments. Traveling around, singing at different churches, and meeting new people with my family has been an awesome experience!
2. Bryan, tell us a little bit about your family including the roles of each in the group.
Okay, here we go! 🙂 Grace, 17, is our oldest. She plays acoustic guitar and for now primarily sings harmony, but she does do some lead singing as well. Isaac, 16, has been playing bass guitar for us for a couple of years. John, 14, started playing drums at around ten years old. He was a big inspiration for us starting the band because he picked up on them so quickly. Lilly and Ella, 12, are our twins. Kristi thought it would be neat to have twin girls playing twin fiddles. Everybody loves fiddles. They also sing harmony, and Lilly plays keyboard on some songs. Owen, 3, does not play an instrument yet, but does dance on the stage sometimes and entertains everybody. Kara is one, and if you watch her real close, you will catch her bobbing her head to the music while strapped on Kristi’s back on stage. Kristi sings and plays mandolin, and I sing and play guitar. I’m very proud of all my kids. They’ve worked very hard and have accomplished so much in a short amount of time.
3. When the group has some free time from singing, what is your favorite family activity?
We love eating snacks and watching a movie or playing Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune together on the Xbox. Living in Alabama near Cheaha mountain, there are a lot of hiking trails nearby. We love it and try to take advantage of it when we have time! There’s nothing like packing a snack and having a picnic on the big rocks near the waterfalls. Although we aren’t what you would call outdoorsmen, we love to take a family day and drive to Bass Pro Shops. We just like the big store, the fish tank, and riding in the glass elevator…and we always buy salt water taffy.
4. Kristi, tell us how you and Bryan met.
I started babysitting Madison and Morgan for Jeff & Sheri Easter a few months after Bryan got the job as their guitar player. I got on the bus in Lincolnton, GA for my first weekend with them and I went to bed pretty early. Later, they picked him up in Alabama. The next morning, I was sitting up front when Bryan walked in. He jokes that we have no idea where we met…we just know it was on the bus somewhere in America!
5. How can we purchase your product or book you for a concert?
