I recently had the opportunity to “get to know” the 3rd Row Boys. Many thanks to Brandon Tiek, Manager of the group for the taking time to answer questions so that I could share with you about them.
CL: What is the background of 3rd Row Boys, where from, how started, how long together, where name came from?
BT: We started in 2008 as 3 men who sat on the 3rd row of the church choir. Our church would regularly host gospel concerts, and they wanted to have a local group to open some of those concerts, so we did! We knew we needed a name, and our worship pastor at the time mentioned “why not just call yourselves the 3rd row boys?” Made perfect sense, and it stuck! Very soon after, God decided to bless us with opportunities to sing outside the walls of the church, and now 11 years later, here we are. We’ve had a few personnel changes over the years.
CL: Current members of the group? Name of a person who influenced you or your favorite singer/group?
BT: Currently the group consists of Brandon Tiek singing baritone, Sean Barber singing tenor, and our brand new member, Jon Hopkins singing lead. Individually, we have many different musical influences from The Cathedrals, to Carman, all the way to Petra. We like to think that our diverse influences help shape our unique style.
CL: What should people expect when they come to see 3rd Row Boys in concert?
BT: You will hear some great music. You will also hear our stories of what God has done and is doing in our lives. Most importantly, we hope you encounter Jesus! We strive to do everything to the very best of our ability from our stage presentation, all the way to how we set up our product table, because we feel God demands excellence from us! You took time out of your day to see us, so we will make sure it was worth it.
CL: What do you want people to leave the concert with?
BT: We want everyone who sees us in person to be uplifted, encouraged, and inspired to go and use what God has given them to make a difference in the lives of the people around them. We want them to be Jesus to the world!
CL: Latest project / Chart song?
BT: Our current single is “I’ll Meet You At The Gate” from our latest project entitled One More Thing. It was written by our tenor singer Sean Barber and his wife Tanessa.
CL: Favorite road stories or most embarrassing moment on stage?
BT: Considering the fact that we are all certifiably crazy, there are almost too many embarrassing stories to pick from. Some of them are actually too embarrassing to even tell. A funny thing that happened to us, and something that happens quite often to many groups, is trouble with the sound system. One time we were singing at a pretty good sized revival, and we truly had church. We ended the concert with a powerful song and a time of prayer and reflection. Then as we dismissed from the prayer, one of the wireless microphone batteries went dead. Normally that wouldn’t be a big problem, but for some reason our mic was on a frequency very close to another mic in the room and it immediately caused feedback and screeched so loud, little kids started crying. Not the concert ending we were hoping for, but at least now we can laugh about it!
CL: What is something fun that the group does to pass time on the road?
BT: We are a part time group, so we don’t have too much time together on the road, but one thing we love to do is eat. We love to find a local Cracker Barrel and just sit and talk about life. We enjoy that time together learning from each other.
CL: Do you have a website? How do people get your product and booking information? Social media?
BT: We do! Everything you need to know is at www.3rdrowboys.com We are also very active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
CL: Anything else you want people to know about 3rd Row Boys?
BT: We love meeting new people! Over the last few years, God has truly opened some amazing doors for us to sing in places we’ve never been before, from Tennessee all the way to Canada. We also had our very first Top 40 radio single in January of 2019. It was a song entitled “Grace, Love and Mercy” written by our very own Sean and Tanessa Barber.
Thanks again Brandon for sharing with me about 3rd Row Boys. I pray that God will continue to bless your ministry and that people will be blessed through your music.
