I got to sit down at GMA Week 2005 and talk to the Imperials. They are a great bunch of guys and you'll enjoy reading what they had to say.

Kim ? Hi guys. You have a lot going on. You?ve got the Southern Gospel News Awards, where you?re up for the best Industry and Artist web site, a first baby on the way for Ian and Megan, lots of big stuff. When is the baby due?

Ian ? September 25th and we?re going to have a little baby!


Kim ? So what else is going on?

Shannon ? Well, we?re working on a record deal and that?s been a kind of an interesting process just finding the right situation that works for us. We thought we had that nailed down just a couple of weeks ago, but it fell through. We?re not back to the drawing board though. We?ve got some really great guys on our production team that are working with us and putting some things together. It?s exciting. We just found out this week that we?re going to be appearing at the GMA Festival at Estes Park in August. That?s an exciting thing. And really, probably, for this group of Imperials, it?s probably our first GMA industry event. We just recently signed with a booking agency named the R. Bowles Group here in Nashville. This past year has been a year of transition from Armond Morales, who was with the group for 40 years and owned the group, turning it over to us. So we?re in transition from being hired singers to actually running, managing and owning a group. We?ve spent the past year really working on those things and getting our foundational things put together with a board of directors that we?ve put together for our ministry.

Kim ? A lot more work now than just going out and singing isn?t it?

Shannon ? It?s a lot more than just showing up to sing.

Kim ? Out of your two singles, ?It?s A Beautiful Day? and ?Holy and Acceptable?, which is your favorite?

Jason ? My favorite would be ?Beautiful Day?.

Ian ? I think Shannon likes ?Holy? better.

Shannon ? I can?t choose. They?re very different songs. ?Beautiful? is more contemporary and it really appeals to the youth.

Kim ? Since you?re the new generation of the Imperials, how daunting is it to look at the footsteps that you?re following in?

Jason ? It?s more an honor than nerve-wracking. We look at it like we have these huge giants that blazed a way for all of Christian music, period, and we get to follow in their footsteps. We get to, hopefully, blaze a new trail again and try to keep it going for another 40 years.

Shannon ? And not trying to sound arrogant, but we feel like we?re up to the task. We want to do and we feel like God has put us here at this time and has a job for us to do. We?re excited about it.

Ian ? I don?t think that any of us are trying to necessarily fill the shoes of the person that came before us. Shannon isn?t trying to be Russ Taff. Jason?s not trying to be Sherman Andrus. I?m not trying to be Armond and Jeremy?s not trying to be Jim Murray. We?re all just trying to bring a new pair of shoes into the picture. You know, just give a new face to the group.

Kim ? That?s a good way to look at it. You guys bring so much more into this than just great music.

Shannon ? You know, people wonder where have the Imperials been for the last decade. And some people say, ?Oh, it?s really cool that you guys started this up again?. It never stopped. Three of us, other than Ian, sang with Armond. Basically as people left the group, Armond would replace them with a new face. Of course, Jason is Armond?s son and I suppose he had a special ?in? there but he still had to interview and audition for it. He never really wanted to sing. One day they were looking for a baritone and he said ?Dad, I can sing. I know all of the parts. Why don?t you let me try?? And he did and Armond was like ?Wow, this is great!? So they sang together, father and son, for a few years. Then when Armond stepped aside about 18 months ago we were like, man, how are we ever going to find anybody to fill this guy's shoes. Ian was the first guy that we called. He was the only person that we auditioned. We heard him sing and we loved him as a person. We loved his wife and figured that if he could find a wife that nice then he must be a good person (laughs), so we hired him!

Ian ? She?s actually the reason that I got the job.