Left to Right: Jaymes Felix, Greg Eckler, Bob Anglin

Psalm 150 began in Palm Springs, California in early 1971. It was during this time that some close friends and other musicians in particular began to go heavier into drug use. The party palliative of pot, pills and pilsner of a few years earlier was giving way to Cannabinol, THC, Cocaine and Heroin. I tried THC a few times and found it to be way too much. I needed a change in my life, a complete turnaround from the life I was caught up in. My grandma always told me, 'If things get too rough out there just go have a talk with the Lord'. After much soul searching and lengthy walks on the desert, a decision was made. I quit working bar gigs and started going to an Assembly of God church right off the downtown area. Eventually the entire band followed suit and the 'Saturday Night Owls' became 'Sunday Morning Doves'.


The band name, 'Psalm 150', came from the Bible. It's the last Psalm and speaks of praising God with every kind of musical instrument in all places, the sanctuary and beyond. When I first read that Psalm I thought, 'That's what we want to do - that should be our name'. Soon we played our first gig in April of '71, during the notorious Easter Week spring break in Palm Springs. Many party people heard Psalm 150 play at the Ark coffee house on Palm Canyon drive. The band cautiously entered the ministry following in the stylistic footsteps of 'Tower of Power', 'Sly & the Family Stone', and the 'Buddy Miles Express'. (Although upbeat, rhythmical gospel music had been around for years in the Black church, that style being introduced in 1971 in White Christian churches met with 'mixed reviews' and much reservation.)


Undaunted, the band later relocated to Community Church in San Bernardino where we added Mike Escalante and Jimmy Erickson to the lineup. We also began to work with pastor Vince Neypes and together, started the successful Saturday night, 'Koinonia' concert series. In mid 1974, the band and family moved to Orange County and began working with The Hotline Center and Teen Challenge.


These agencies sponsored the band in a series of prison tours on the west coast for the next couple of years. Performing in prisons worked well because the inmates were grateful and non-threatened by funky music. Once, while performing at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, we met Tex Watson, the man who committed murders for Charles Manson. In his book, 'Will You Die For Me', Tex mentions his first contact with Psalm 150 at a chapel service which was pivotal in his Christian conversion.


Psalm 150 recorded two albums, 'Make Up Your Mind' in 1974, received a Grammy nomination for best Soul Gospel. The second album, 'Chasing the Wind', produced by Andrae Crouch, remains unfinished to this day. In 1975, Jaymes Felix, Mike Escalante, Glen Myerscough and Allen Gregory began to tour and record with Andrae Crouch & the Disciples. During that period Bob Carlisle and Beau MacDougall joined Psalm 150. In 1976 the band, with Randy Thomas, Sam Scott, (Allies), Joel Madden, bass, and David Romero (Earth, Wind & Fire) percussion, continued the hectic schedule. Allen and Glen played horns with both PS150 and Andrae.


After five years of recording, concerts and preaching the Gospel at prisons, churches, campuses, parks and arenas, Psalm 150 moved on to the history books and websites. Beyond the tours, tears, laughter, nearly sixty musicians, and a million lasting memories, plus a reunion or two, the bond has remained. Road manager Steve Eckwall passed away in 1980, Bobby Felix in 1995, Mike Escalante in 2001. Jaymes, Glen, Allen, Jimmy, Bob Anglin, Bob Carlisle, Beau McDougall, Randy, Sam and I remain in touch to this day.

Project Freedom

"He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains". (Psalm 107:14)

As bar musicians, music and money were always prime concerns. In 1971, as brand new Christians in pursuit of spiritual growth as well, the way forward was quite a charge and sometimes we just had to stop and consider where we were going. Good bible studies were abundant and there were many places to set up and play music, but bookings that generated cash flow were sparse. Though the 'Jesus Movement' of the late 60's - early 70's had gained media attention, Churches in general were still straining to accept the electric 'folk-pop', style of guitar strummed God songs. By contrast, Psalm 150 was an ultra rhythmical, Funk-Rock horn band, which most tradition bound believers found not only unorthodox, but also unpalatable, too 'earthy'. Then, 'miraculously', in the midst of what seemed like directional closure, a door opened - wide. We met Ralph Coker from Teen Challenge and Tom Favreau from the Hotline Center in Orange County. Through their combined connections and efforts, we began to do outreach concerts in prisons. For about the next three years, on a regular basis, we played at numerous federal and state facilities up and down the west coast and proclaimed the 'Good News'.


It was a definite win-win. Prisons offered gymnasium assemblies or multiple chapel services for the inmate population. Turnout was good and the band, up to the task and free to use its 'full tilt' brand of music, was well received by grateful men who were literally a captive audience, ready for anything. Even if they shunned the message initially, the music was a powerful lure and held their interest long enough for us to explain how it was possible for them to become a new creation, even behind bars and walls. We were sometimes the butt-end of numerous jokes, insults, and occasional empty threats but the Lord truly watched over us during those times and no one was ever harmed by an inmate. Our assurance was twofold; we knew God had sent us and He was in charge of our well-being and at the end of the day, we could walk out of the place and they could not!


Respectfully, that was the essence of the Psalm 150 prison ministry; Pull open their ears with music, pour in the gospel, pray together with them at the conclusion and move on. Repeated visits during those years allowed us to remain in touch with and encourage many men who had made decisions for Christ.


More recently, commencing in the early 90s, I kept my involvement with prison ministry active by becoming a volunteer chaplain at Pelican Bay state prison in northern California through the year 2000. Beginning in 2001 and for the next five years through 2005, I was involved in missions and church planting work in Africa and Europe, namely; Burkina Faso, Africa, Vienna, Austria, and Lisbon Portugal as well as the Algarve region of Portugal to the south. During that time I was able to visit many prisons and through music and interpreters, spread the gospel to many incarcerated men.