A request before my post: If Throne Together impacted you in some significant way, please post a comment below. I’d love to pass on some of your stories to the band. Now I’ll continue with my post.
I was at a wedding a little while back (Congrats Jon Eichler!) that made me start thinking about the band I used to play in – Throne Together. At the wedding Jon Godbold and I took a few pics in honor of the band – that’s probably what made me start remembering. Anyway, there’s no way to describe the impact that “Throne Together” had on me, so I figured I needed to write something to try to capture a part of it.
Story
A Start:
“Throne Together” was originally organized as the worship band for a Saturday Night service which Mike Mathews (Pastor @ TUMC) wanted to start. We got the band together and began practicing. Most of us had never played in a band before but we were having so much fun that we just kept working. Meanwhile the Saturday Night service start date kept getting pushed back so I talked Mike into letting us play one Sunday morning as a special event. Although it stirred up some trouble for him, Mike decided that he wanted us to begin playing every other Sunday morning and so we did.
Saturday Night:
When the service finally started we had grown into a full fledged band and adopted the name “Throne Together” from Jeremiah 3:17 “We come to the throne together for worship.” We rehearsed during the week, and played for the Saturday Night service as well as every other Sunday morning. It was during this time that the “Worship Wars” began at Tomball UMC. Although many loved the addition of the band to their traditional service, some church members weren’t too happy about it. Along with Mike Mathews, we became the target of much criticism. It was a tough time but it was also an incredible time. In spite of the critical people, we were also riding the waves of excitement among our supporters. The persecution only served to bind us together and solidify the sense of purpose we had in following the calling we felt to find new ways to express our own gratitude and relationship to God. Throne Together became a sort of family to one another. We took care of each other and supported each other. Our weekly rehearsals became a sort of small group. We studied all kinds of books (usually about worship) and together, we all grew closer to God. We hung out together outside of church. We were friends. (and still are)
Recording/Gigs
We tried to find places to play outside of church as much as possible. Each year we spent a full week playing for the Texas Conference NW District Camp for about 400 High School students. These times became important for us as they allowed for us to have extended practices and lots of shared time to hang out and simply grow together. There was also a young man named Charles Jones who would sit in with us on the piano. All he needed to know was the key we would play in and he’d just jam away. (Charles is now a professional musician living in LA. He was in the movie “Dreamgirls” and plays with John Mayer, Jonny Lang, Jennifer Hudson, etc.) Playing at “camp” also allowed us to bring a few extra people along. We always had someone to run sound/video (Evan Godbold, Zach McNair, Jon Eichler, Ryan Floro, Jarrod Ambrose) for us during our worship times. Many of these “extras” eventually became musicians themselves and ended up serving in other bands and ministries. We also played pretty regularly at “His Word” Christian Bookstore/Coffeehouse where our church members would come out to support us in great numbers. One of those nights a young man named “Todd Agnew” opened up for us. (He eventually went on to have quite a bit of success himself.) Another yearly gig we had was playing for the Susanna Wesley Day School Fall Festival. Those were great times ’cause we got to play outside and let our hair down a little bit. Things were very laid back and we could experiment a bit. One of our greatest compliments actually came from one of those gigs. One young boy told his mom that we weren’t really playing and it was a recording. Also by the way, we put together a group called the “Four Tune Hunters” to play for one of the first Fall Festivals which included Jon Godbold, myself, Terry Crump, and Kurt Narum. This may very well have been the beginning of Throne Together as it brought Jon and I together to collaborate.
We recorded two CDs during our time together. “Knock Just a Little” was released in 2000 and “The Return” in 2002. Although there were a few exceptions, Jon Godbold was our main songwriter. He would bring a song to the band and then we’d collaborate a bit to figure out song structure and add musical ideas to his foundation. The songs reflected many of the feelings and thoughts that we were experiencing together. Those were fun days. We recorded in a home studio with the leadership/production expertise of one of our great friends – Mike Briscoe. Kristy, his bride was also very gracious to allow us to invade her home so regularly during those times. Mike is an incredible musician himself. If you ever have an opportunity, check him out.
Members
Original Members were:
Steve Corn – guitar, vocals
John Creed – bass
Buck Miller – drums
Eric Courville – electric guitar
Sarah Rampy – keys
Janice Stump – vocals
Leslie Morgan (Banatwala) – vocals
Shana Googer (Gumienny) – vocals
It wasn’t long before John Creed moved away and so Jon Godbold reluctantly joined the “church band” as our new bass player. Shana Googer, Janice Stump, and Sarah Rampy also moved away. We chose not to replace them, but eventually found Chip Leitschuh to play keys. These changes brought us to what would become the backbone of the group.
Backbone Members
Steve Corn – guitar, vocals
Jon Godbold – bass, vocals
Buck Miller – drums
Eric Courville – electric guitar, vocals
Chip Leitschuh – keys
Leslie Morgan (Banatwala) – vocals, flute
Shana Googer (Gumienny) – vocals – always a part of the group when she was in town
Tragedy struck the band when Buck died of an accidental overdose with a bad combination of prescription drugs. Other than family, I was the first to arrive on the scene that night. Buck’s son, Dustan Thrift was in Hawaii working as a trainer for the SMU football team and his mom asked me to call to give him the bad news. It was a tough night to say the least.
Eric eventually stepped out and Leslie and I moved away.
Third generation of players
After Buck died and Eric left, we had a lot of instrumental shoes to fill. Luckily, many of our original fans had grown into musicians themselves and so Josh Cook and Dale Googer took on semi-permanent roles. We also discovered Chris Montes during this time and were trying to figure out why God would send us another acoustic guitar player/vocalist when we really needed an electric player?? Once God revealed his plan to move me, it all became clear. Chris took my place and was able to lead them to become much better musicians. Here’s the last line-up:
Chris Montes – guitar, vocals
Jon Godbold – bass, vocals
Dale Googer – drums
Josh Cook – electric guitar, vocals
Chip Leitschuh – keys
Shana Googer (Gumienny) – vocals
Other Short-Term or Guest Members include:
Ray Victor – soprano sax, drums
Patti Mathews – vocals
Dan Johnson – drums
Keith Cathcart – keys, vocals
Evan Godbold – vocals, bass, guitar
Hans Googer – guitar
Josh Gumienny – guitar, vocals
Zach Godbold – bass, vocals
Andrew Gay – electric guitar
Charles Jones – piano at church camp
According to Jon, one of the very last line-ups was what he called “Throne in the Greenhouse.” At their final District Camp the members of Throne Together (Chris, Jon, Chip, Shana) joined forces with those from “Greenhouse Effect” (Zach, Dale, Josh, Andrew Gay). Jon says it was “loud of full of energy.”
Impact
The impact of Throne Together is tough to describe. We were mentioned in the Cy Falls High School Yearbook as one of their students favorite bands. (That may be our highest official honor.) The entire community of believers at Tomball UMC was directly impacted each Sunday as they were led in worship. (Some would say it was a horrible impact.) Throne Together was also a part of a beautiful movement of the Spirit during those days. Quite possibly the greatest impact was eventually seen in the number of young people (once fans) who would go on to be involved in worship music themselves. There have been quite a few worship bands who were formed from the ranks of Throne Together fans. Even more interesting is to watch the 3rd Generation of bands – people who were impacted by people who were impacted by Throne Together. There’s no way to know how many people have been touched by all these musicians, but I feel confident in saying that God rejoices over them all. And I feel humbled and blessed to have been able to be a part of it.
If Throne Together impacted you in some significant way, please post a comment below.
CD downloads
Each download below includes entire CD. All songs + a Digital Booklet which was created from the original artwork. These files are large (high quality) and will take a while to download. Just right click and select “save as” to download.
Download “Knock Just a Little” here:
Track listing: |
Download “The Return” here: The Return.zip Track listing: |
Download some previously Unreleased Tracks here: Track listing: All for You (Cheesy Techno Mix) Happy Song (live @ His Word) All I Want (live @ His Word) Things I Prayed For (live @ His Word) |
The impact that Throne Together had is hard to pit into words. Having been blessed to get to know some of the band members during our times together at NW District Camp made worship and our time even more especial. The musical skill was awesome. However, it was their passion for God that our time together so especial. Throne Together is a blessing that can never be duplicated or replaced. Thank God for your service to God!
Thanks Pat. The people at camp (people like you) were truly a blessing too.
Wow, it’s hard to believe all this has gone by. Thanks for sharing. I remember almost 11 years ago when I was in Tomball helping the hospital there and I came by to visit you and you guys were laying down the drum tracks for Knock Just a Little at Mike’s house. I remember taking about 20 CD’s back to our home church in Crowley and easily sold them to some of your old friends. I still have that CD in my iPhone and listen to it from time to time. Thanks for sharing the other CD’s. Good stuff man!
I remember that night too. I was trying to get a guitar part down too and it wasn’t going so well. As I listen to the CD these days, I realize that I never did get it right.
Aww… thanks for that – such memories! Great remeberance and tribute to the motley crew. What wonderful friendships.
… I spelled rememberance wrong…
Thanks Steve … This made my day… I will blog once I get my thoughts throne together… Still love ya man!
Loved reading your blog, Steve, and remembering! Thanks for sharing your memories.
Wow, great memories. Proud to see my name on the original members list – those were fun times starting that!
It never would have happened without you John.
It was the efforts of Throne Together / Steve Corn that pushed me to serving in the technical aspect with the band and the church. I loved it, it grew me in ways I had no idea that I could. I learned so much and as a result created a passion and a desire to work in technology, and I went on and am doing just that. But even more than that it put me in relationships with some of the coolest guys and are my best friends still today. It also enabled me to pickup a guitar and learn how to play. This mainly served as “cool” element to counteract the computer nerd that was obviously flowing out of my very being. Throne Together served as an epicenter of an earth quake that would inspire many people. From “TT” other bands where formed such as the blake rampy band , 300 east, black instrument band, The Dale Googer experience which would later be renamed Greenhouse Effect. I got to serve with Greenhouse effect a lot and from there I helped start a lesser known band called the awakening where I got to serve God in a much different capacity.
The impact this band had on me was life changing.
Amazing Jon. I have watched your story from a bit of a distance but I guess I never realized that Throne Together played such an integral part. Throne Together = “Epicenter of an earthquake” = Ha ha ha!!! You’re very generous.
My 7 years as a member of Throne Together were definitely some of my best. I miss you guys so much now that I live in the northeast and don’t get to see any of you. I can at least follow most of you on FB. God blessed me in so many ways during our years together. I will never forget any of you or the way our journey impacted my life. I love you all! ?
Steve, this is awesome by the way…thanks for doing this! Are you aware that there are 2 other bands on FB named Throne Together??? Strange coincidence especially since I looked them up moments before seeing this note on the news feed. We are on the same brain wave or something! LOL
Thanks Leslie. I had no idea that there were other bands with that name. Are they any good??
Yeah – I’ve been thinking about those days a lot lately. Not sure why, but I definitely miss our little group….or should I say our big group??? There were so many great people involved over the years.
Hope your family is doing well.
Throne Together was simply awesome. One of those pivotal points in my life was during the time Throne Together was making music. It was such a pleasure to watch you guys worship God and to allow us to experience that special time with you. Thank you to each and everyone of you for allowing me (& TUMC) to be a part of your growth and worship.
WOW where do I even begin….Throne Together changed my life in so many ways. They introduced me to contemporary christian music, They helped me to fall in love with music, they made me excited to come to church but most of all there repre…sntation of worship in their music and in their individual lives planted a sead in my heart to know jesus. Throne Together put a desire in my heart it meet the jesus they were singing about. In many ways Throne Together played a big role in me seeking out Jesus to save my life. It was because of throne together that i learned how to truly worship. Throne Together gave me the freedom to lift my hands in worship Screem at the top of my lungs and even dance my heart out to a “Happy Song”!!! Some of my greatest child hood memories are at throne together functions and even today I compare a lot of music and worship in chruch to throne together. I can never thank throne together enough for their influence in my life. In many ways its because of them that I love and worship Jesus in the way that I do and that is a gift that I am forever greatful for. Thank you for changing my life!!!
It’s these kinds of stories that make me glad to have been a part of it all too. Thanks Deana. Love you!
What a fun post! Thanks for taking the time to put all this down in writing. Lots of good memories are coming to mind now! Most of my memories revolve around camp, particularly the year we had a week-long spade tournament going because it rained so much. Also, the year we took pics along the side of some country road in Palestine was a fun one. God used TT in my life to first off teach me about serving/worship,etc, bring great friendships in my life, and also allow me to get to know the youth, who I felt called to spend more time with. Even though I’ll always love music and worshipping through music, God hasn’t brought along another “band season” in my life yet, so I know he had specific purposes for those years.
Deana– I’m so glad you mentioned “Happy Song”! That was one of my favorites to sing/play. Remember when we pre-recorded it at camp and walked off the stage to dance with the campers? haha
Sarah – Yes!! That was one of my favorite moments too. So fun to lip-sync and then just jump in and join the crowd in worship. I also remember how you always had a huge supply of candy to share with all of us at camp.
Steve,
Thanks for posting this, man! So awesome to see the level of impact the band had on you. LORD knows that this band and that time in my life made a huge impact in mine. I’m so very thankful to know everyone that was involved. You guys are such a blessing to me and have definitely been used as an instrument to shape me into the man that I am today.
Again, thanks for posting this, brother.
I was up late praying and thinking about my journey with God and thought of a song I used to hear all the time at Tomball Methodist (one that is sincerely close to my heart). I went to google to search “Show me your face” and found this blog. I have no idea if anyone reads this or not, but I have to tell you how much your music and influence changed my life. You may not remember me, and honestly, that is okay. It may help to say that I am Tonya Walker’s neice and Candace and Karla Walker’s cousin. I went to the youth group and was about 14 years old. Anyway, I constantly think about the people at Tomball and really missed the church when I moved away. Steve, you especially, had a big impact on my life. Your encouragement and lessons were the foundations of building my faith in Jesus. I accepted Jesus into my heart by your prayer on a hill outside while at camp and am forever changed by your obedience and Jesus’ great love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for answering the call God placed on your life and for leading me and countless others to him. This is something I fondly remember you by. The band was integral in helping me to worship Jesus and to understand what it means to lay my everything down for him in surrender. It was evident that you all love Jesus and it poured out onto me and those around me during worship, allowing us to worship with abandon as well. Thank you all for that gift; it is treasured.
Wow Lauren! This is such an encouraging message. Thanks. I definitely remember Tonya and her girls and I even remember that they had someone who came with them sometimes. It’s so awesome to hear you call those times “foundations.” I always love hearing how God has grown people. It was also such a joy to work with those guys. I will always remember those days fondly as a time when God allowed to be a part of some incredible work He was doing. I’m grateful for those days as well.
Would you mind if I sent your note to the other guys in the band? I’m sure they’d love the encouragement as well.
I pray that God continues His work in and through you.
In Christ,
Steve
Oh, we’re you able to download the song? There’s a link at the bottom of the page for it.
Yes, I downloaded the song! 🙂 I actually went digging through my cd collection and found the throne together cd! Haha. I am going to listen to it in the car. Of course you can let the other band members know. Thanks again!