No matter whether they win or not, making the finale will bring them so many more opportunities than they had before they did the show. Not only do they have the talent, they have the look. I've been quietly watching them during the competition. They are certainly an extremely talented group!
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
One of my favorite songs of theirs is Still the Night, by the Bodeans. The video I have is of them, at their parents house, just KILLING it. Dad, Chris, was on the drums, just nailing it. Sadly, his cancer has .........well, he's terminal - he doesn't do a whole lot anymore.
But, last spring, at a local winery, GNT was playing. Of course I was there, front and center. As the show was winding down, I went in to pay (out door show - 150 or so people there) When I walked out, with a drink and having paid, people yelled "There he is!" Caleb, Josh And Bekah turned to look at me, as were most of the other people.
I simply said "What did I do wrong?" Caleb replied "We're actually doing your favorite song, dedicated to you, but we couldn't find you." "I was paying".
And they proceeded to knock it out of the field, albeit, without their dad on the drums. I wish I could share the video of them and their dad, at their house, but it would open to my facebook page, and I'm not doing that.
I don't blame you. That's a really cool story. I can't blame you for being proud of them. Even though I'm not a dedicated fan of theirs over time, I've become a casual fan of theirs from watching the show. I think they will go far.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Fast forward to about 1 hour and 5 minutes. they sing Still the Night, with their dad, albeit with him not on the drums. The last song is the kids, espcecially Bekah, just killing an ABBA song. This is from just over a year ago.
How one Ohio town is living vicariously through 3 homegrown siblings
PETTISVILLE, Ohio — Girl Named Tom is the biggest thing to happen to the small town of Pettisville.
Just a few months ago, not much changed in the daily routine of the tiny, no-stoplight Fulton County town, except for the buffet menu at Das Essen Haus, the main mom-and-pop restaurant in town.
But suddenly the 683 or so citizens of Pettisville and the surrounding communities of Archbold and Wauseon find themselves touched by the sparkle of Hollywood, as Girl Named Tom — the vocal group comprising local siblings Josh, Caleb, and Bekah Liechty — competes on one of television’s top talent shows, The Voice.
It’s a cold, gray Monday outside Pettisville Schools, but there’s a level of excitement in the air. Girl Named Tom has broken through the Top 8 on The Voice and this particular evening there will once again be a viewing party at the school to root them on, for this is their alma mater.
School Principal Michael Lane and Superintendent Josh Clark couldn’t be prouder of the trio. Each is seated with a plate of school lunch – today it’s Coney dogs – in an office conference room where they’ve gathered to talk about Girl Named Tom, who got their start right here at Pettisville Schools.
Lane lives in Maumee but commutes to Pettisville every day (“It’s worth the drive because I want to be a part of how cool this school really is”).
“I think what makes this community so special is the people,” said Clark. “They rally around their own and there’s a faith-based concept of community at this school that’s second to none. Growing up in Archbold, I knew this place was special, and now getting to be a part of it as superintendent is just great.”
“We have good kids supported by good parents,” added Lane. “The various churches and youth groups spill into the school community and the relationships that have been established create that supportive, nurturing cooperative environment. Kids aren’t at each other; they’re supportive of each other. In a K-12 building you have a senior walking down the hall next to a kindergartener. We try to do activities that foster working together.”
That spirit of working and coming together is apparent when you walk or drive through Pettisville. At Das Essen Haus, there’s a big banner in the lobby featuring Girl Named Tom with “Pettisville’s Hometown Talent” written in big bold black letters. The servers at the restaurant all wear Girl Named Tom shirts, which are for sale for $10 and if they don’t have your size on the shelf, all you have to do is ask someone and they’ll get you your size from the back.
Indeed, the entire community has rallied around the Liechty siblings, who were homeschooled by their parents Chris and Holly until Caleb, the oldest, came into Pettisville Schools as a seventh grader. Josh, the middle child, came in at fifth grade, as did Bekah, the youngest.
The Liechtys live just outside of Pettisville in Archbold, on a long, lonely county road. Their house is a veritable shrine to music creation, with a piano, drums, and other instruments all set up and ready to be played. Patriarch Chris owns a John Deere dealership while mother Holly is a former French teacher.
As they sit down to talk about their children, who will be seen by millions of people this night, they are happy, joyful, and excited for their kids’ performance. But they also know their family has been just plain blessed by the opportunities their kids have had.
“They’re talented yes, and we recognized that at an early age,” said Holly, seated on a couch. “Caleb could pick up a saxophone and play ‘Amazing Grace’ without ever having touched a saxophone before. When they would play at their piano recitals or at church, people would notice there was something special about these kids. It just moved them. It went deeper than nice music. It touched their soul. Many many people are gifted but if you don’t have an excellent teacher, you can’t develop that gift.”
Holly and Chris give a lot of credit for their children’s success to their teachers, including the choir instructor at Pettisville Schools Duane Beck. As Girl Named Tom progressed on the show, The Voice producers made the Liechtys sign several documents and release forms and they came in and filmed in their house, an experience Chris described as “crazy.”
“They made us sign all kinds of different releases, including a non-disclosure agreement, and they didn’t tell us much in the beginning. They just told us, ‘Your kids are great and we might need all this B-roll,’ ” said Chris, who is currently battling cancer. “Little by little people were starting to find out how amazing the kids are. We’d see their names pop up on Entertainment Tonight, but we couldn’t say anything because we were signed to a non-disclosure agreement not to say anything.”
But that was then and this is now and Girl Named Tom is currently in the Top 5 of The Voice. On Monday night citizens of Pettisville and the surrounding neighborhoods will once more assemble in the auditorium of the school to root for their hometown heroes. Girl Named Tom is currently the first trio in the history of The Voice to make it to a season finale. But to the residents of this small Ohio town, Girl Named Tom is already a local hero, no matter the outcome.
“Girl Named Tom exemplifies the very best of what makes the Pettisville community so special,” said Clark. “The incredible journey they’re taking us all on is one for the history books. Not only do they exemplify class, poise, and character, but they have become role models for our students here at Pettisville.
“Their journey is only beginning."
“The Voice” can be seen at 8 p.m. ET Monday and Tuesday on NBC.
I'd love to give an update on Chris, the dad, but I don't feel it is appropriate for me to do so.
Oh, the school also announced a 2 hour delay Wed, due to the show on Tuesday night going to 11 p.m. Super basically said "we know everyone will be watching.....all the kids."
Nailed that first song. And to think, behind the scenes it's been mentioned that "if we don't win, that could be good, cause we can go back and spend time with our dad."
I thought both were excellent song choices and gave a perfect example of their musical versatility. They certainly have some tough competition but no matter the shows results my guess is this exposure wiill help them go far.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Just caught the finals performance. The Chain is one of my all time favorite songs, and they just nailed it. Awsome for them, their dad and all of NW Ohio.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Got on facebook this morning and...............every post was GNT.
It was, and has been, awesome to watch. To watch your cousins nail it every night.
I do believe they are headed back here. Probably back here already. As I congratulated them last night, I made sure to tell the each "don't even bother replying to me. I know you have so many people to get back with, congrats, hanger ons, etc."
Just so happy for them, and hoping their dad could see it.......
I could come in here and trash your thread by attacking you the same way you go around stalking and doing it to me. But unlike yourself, I won't stoop to that. Carry on.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I could come in here and trash your thread by attacking you the same way you go around stalking and doing it to me. But unlike yourself, I won't stoop to that. Carry on.
Actually, you could. It would be laughed at, though.
I won't. Not for the reason you claim however. It's because I'm not a stalker.
Nice addition to the thread. Off topic, and yes, stalker comes to my mind about you as well. You can't let anything go, you break your own "rules" for how other people post, and you can't tolerate someone that posts as you do.
I won't. Not for the reason you claim however. It's because I'm not a stalker.
Nice addition to the thread. Off topic, and yes, stalker comes to my mind about you as well. You can't let anything go, you break your own "rules" for how other people post, and you can't tolerate someone that posts as you do.
People should be careful of the seeds they decide to plant. It often bears fruit they do not like the taste of.
BTW- congrats on their win. they deserved it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I could come in here and trash your thread by attacking you the same way you go around stalking and doing it to me. But unlike yourself, I won't stoop to that. Carry on.
Originally Posted by PitDAWG
I won't. Not for the reason you claim however. It's because I'm not a stalker.
Is someone going to tell him?
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
So, we're going to see them live at the end of January. Just because. I may have said it before, but, like I told my wife "Gone are the days of seeing them in person at the local winery, or area churches." Good for them.
$115 a person, but we're going on a bus. It includes a meal as well, at a country club. Who knows what the food will be like.........but also, who knows the next time they'll be playing close to home?
I love all the songs.........but, in the vid I linked - at about the 13 minute mark: The drummers (4 of them) kettle drums Clem? Watching the drummers go wild was just awesome, as well as violinists. The Voice puts top notch musicians out there, and they take it serious. Guitar players in later songs.....etc.
Well, GNT's dad, Chris.......he's in an in patient hospice care facility right now. My last message to him was "I read the Caring Bridge" post, is there anything I can do for your family?" His reply was "I'm in Defiance (town/city - hospice facility) but, "I'm in Defiance. Done with it all."
I pray for God's comfort for his family and friends.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
So sorry to hear that. That family seems like such good people.
They are, trust me.
He was a wealthy man, but you'd never have guessed in talking to him/them, or in how they lived their lives.
He was an awesome cousin, with insights on much, things one wouldn't think of. He was a Christian to his core, and it showed in his life, as well as his wife, and kids, and his siblings, etc. Always looking to help, in some manner. I know, that gets said about everyone, almost, that dies. This guy LIVED it, daily.
The "best"? thing? He, and they all, knew he was terminal a while back.
It started with pain in his extremely lower back, way back - year and half, 2 years? Doctor. U of M in Ann Arbor for a while. Then the Cleveland Clinic. Then off on a clinical trial in Boston (where most of the people with the same issue died). He said numerous times "It's weird going to Boston monthly, for a week or so at a time, and each month, going back, 1 or 2 of the people I knew there (patients) weren't alive anymore." They "excused" him from the trial with "we can't do anything."
Home. Walking became an issue. Then he fell, broke his hip. Off for surgery to fix that at the local hospital. Then, back up to U of M to learn how to walk again, and radiation had been scheduled to give him a little more time. (prior to breaking his hip, that is).
He was in good spirits at U of M. They sent him home. He, and they, knew. They knew a year plus ago, what the end was. Right to an in patient hospice facility. Lasted about 5-6 days. As I stated earlier, his last reply to me was "Defiance, Done with it all." (hospice center in Def. Ohio). His wife was with him. He went to sleep, and didn't wake up.
The family is handling it very well - all things considered. His daughter posted about it - sad, yet happy for him. Sad for them, but happy for him.
He did get to see his 2 siblings and their spouses earlier in the week. And, his 95 year old mom - who still drives, and has all her faculties about her. Amazing, no dementia, no health issues, etc.
Hey, he knew he was dying. He made it long enough to see his kids win The Voice. Even in the early days at hospice, when they were on zoom chats with people in LA, and Nashville, he liked to listen in, ask questions, etc. Bekah, I think it was yesterday, said she played guitar for him for 5 hours. (they took turns being with him)
So, they're touring now. Just got done with 2 shows in Louisiana. Still working on their debut album. Here's a link to their current schedule. (shows get added all the time).
Sometime this summer they'll be the opening act for Kelsea Ballerini, a country performer.
And, Aug. 30th, they'll be at the Huntington Center in Toledo. Kind of a big venue. If it sells out, I'd be amazed, but 5,000-7,000 wouldn't surprise me one bit.
I can only hope so. If not, it's still a large venue for a group that last summer was playing at a local winery, and 2 years ago was having to call bars, restaurants, etc, asking them "Ever think about live entertainment??" And doing house parties for as few as 15 people sometimes....
