Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Catching Up with Mr. Thomas

Four-time San Diego Music Award winner Earl Thomas started singing in a Pentecostal church while growing up in Pikeville, Tennessee.

"They spoke in tongues and rolled on the floor," says Thomas. "We didn't handle snakes, but we did everything else.... I used to love going to church. I loved everything about it -- the music, the fellowship, hanging out with my relatives and friends, the food after church."

Yet, Thomas balked last year when his friend asked him to sing at a Lutheran church in Minnesota.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"I refused to go into a building where people are going to call me names," says Thomas (who is gay). "Their opinion of what God wanted didn't work for me.... I grew up knowing that I was equal to everyone except when I went to church."

Thomas eventually agreed to sing at the Lutheran church.

"It was a paying gig. When I got there and actually sang, I got this tremendous feeling of joy; everything that Christians are always telling you you can get, like joy and peace -- I got it. I really got it. People started crying and so did I."

The experience moved Thomas to record Plantation Gospel, a 17-song collection of 300-year-old spirituals.

"We only used instruments that would have been found on the plantation, like violin, banjo, piano, acoustic guitar, and human voices....

"The only sadness I have is that my mom and grandma never got to hear me sing this music. My grandmother wanted me to be a gospel singer. I hadn't sung in church since 1985, at my grandma's funeral. This music has brought me peace. I made peace with my whole life. It's not about religion; it's about peace."

Earl Thomas, who divides his time between San Diego and Northern California, appears at his CD-release concert at the Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre on Saturday. He'll perform blues and gospel songs.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Four-time San Diego Music Award winner Earl Thomas started singing in a Pentecostal church while growing up in Pikeville, Tennessee.

"They spoke in tongues and rolled on the floor," says Thomas. "We didn't handle snakes, but we did everything else.... I used to love going to church. I loved everything about it -- the music, the fellowship, hanging out with my relatives and friends, the food after church."

Yet, Thomas balked last year when his friend asked him to sing at a Lutheran church in Minnesota.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"I refused to go into a building where people are going to call me names," says Thomas (who is gay). "Their opinion of what God wanted didn't work for me.... I grew up knowing that I was equal to everyone except when I went to church."

Thomas eventually agreed to sing at the Lutheran church.

"It was a paying gig. When I got there and actually sang, I got this tremendous feeling of joy; everything that Christians are always telling you you can get, like joy and peace -- I got it. I really got it. People started crying and so did I."

The experience moved Thomas to record Plantation Gospel, a 17-song collection of 300-year-old spirituals.

"We only used instruments that would have been found on the plantation, like violin, banjo, piano, acoustic guitar, and human voices....

"The only sadness I have is that my mom and grandma never got to hear me sing this music. My grandmother wanted me to be a gospel singer. I hadn't sung in church since 1985, at my grandma's funeral. This music has brought me peace. I made peace with my whole life. It's not about religion; it's about peace."

Earl Thomas, who divides his time between San Diego and Northern California, appears at his CD-release concert at the Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre on Saturday. He'll perform blues and gospel songs.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.