This is the Part One of GospelFlava.com's exclusive interview with members participating in Commissioned's reunion October 26, 2001 live recording and concert (see Part Two).


The music of Commissioned is literally the soundtrack to my life.

It began back in '86 when I was in elementary school —okay, I was actually a senior in high school —when I first heard "I'm Going On". I was just really getting in to Gospel music outside of my church and choir, and had just discovered contemporary Gospel.

I didn't know it at the time but Commissioned would be the glue that would tie together my music, my ministry and my life.

Later on in the 80's I had moved on to college. I was singing here and there and every program I was on had a Commissioned-type male group that tried to kick all their songs. I even dated a guy who played for a Commissioned-inspired band.

Commissioned provided the background music for my time in college and the traumatic time during which things became confusing and I dropped out.

I entered the working world and really started to buy my own music (rather than copying it off of the radio). A short time later I moved to the other side of the country. I packed a bunch of stuff and had it shipped in advance of me. However, my Commissioned tapes (!!!) were in my bag with me on the plane. I remember listening to "Waiting to Hear From You" all the way —crying as I left one life and began another.

Commissioned Features

Commissioned Interview Part Two Commissioned Discography A Musical Analysis of Commissioned Commissioned Tribute 1 Commissioned Tribute 2 Commissioned Tribute 3 Related Interviews and Reviews

And now light years away, I'm here about to witness the reunion of some people who I basically don't know, but who were there at every phase of my life. The only other people I can say that about are my mama and daddy, and maybe Teena Marie —but that's another story.

For a long time I thought it was just me, but then I discovered that Commissioned was the Gospel Jackson 5 for masses of people.

James Robinson, one of my partners here on Gospelflava.com, has a similar story to tell. Those of you who know James, know he doesn't get excited about just anything. James is excited about this reunion project. Enough said.

James will tell you that Commissioned had a song for real life situations. In his words, "Shoot. 'Love Isn't Love" is universal. 'Running Back to You' is running back to you. And 'Waiting to Hear From You' meant waiting to hear from you."

Commissioned had a way with dealing with real life situations in and out of church, showing us the parallels between our earthly relationships and our relationship with God.

So it was complete euphoria when I was able to talk to the guys and about what this all means to them. We talked about what they've been up to, and what they've got brewing individually for the future. I even learned some things I didn't know. Let me share...

Mitchell Jones has been a part of Commissioned since the beginning.

"This is something we've been waiting for," he says. He then confesses that this reunion was a part of the vision all along, "A long time ago Fred was trying to get everyone to go out and do solo projects and then come back together as a group. So this was something we talked about years ago. I think it's good timing for Commissioned to finish some unfinished business —some unfinished ministry."

Keith Staten concurs and is glad to close the book on a longstanding question.

"I guess probably 98% of my interviews the question of a reunion was something that would be asked. I would always say I believed it was going to happen because it was something everyone wanted to see. Fred kind of spearheaded it and encouraged us to work our schedules and make it happen. Hooking up with the guys has been great. This has been a great opportunity for me to play catch up with some old friends."

One of those old friends goes further back than the even the group itself.

"I grew up with Keith," Karl Reid states. "As toddlers we went to church together. I was actually a member of his dad's church. We've known each other for years but I haven't seen him one-on-one for six or seven years. But I believe that this is a culmination of all things we've been looking forward to for the last seven years or so. Any time you spend this much time together with folks you've grown up with doing music, it's always something you look forward to doing again. The beauty is, any time you have old friends and somehow you don't get to talk to them over the years, it's like picking up a conversation right in the middle of the sentence. You just start where you ended. You can't do that with everyone, but we were more like family in Commissioned and this has been exactly what I expected."

Even relative newcomer Marcus Cole feels like a first cousin at the reunion.

"This has been phenomenal for me. I guess I am a benefactor of associations and I'm just privileged to be here."

As the only new member from the 90's that will actively participate in the reunion, Cole is glad his schedule permitted him to take part.

"I was available and definitely willing. I mean I got in the group in 1996. I came on board at the end of Irreplaceable Love and I was really just beside myself, because this is the group that shaped the way I sing and write. My first gig was Marvin Sapp's last gig. But this reunion is really different because it's everybody and everybody I grew up listening to. These were the cats that shaped the way I sing."

Sapp, who came on board in 1991 and then left in 1996, is enjoying himself too.

"This is a ball. First of all I grew up listening to these guys. And the real fun thing for me is that we are singing songs we never sang when I was in the group, and a lot of them are my favorite songs. Commissioned actually started in 1982 and they did their first concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan at my home church. I opened up for them and have followed them ever since. It's so strange, because now I am literally a groupie in a group! I love everything we've ever done. I buy all the albums. Even when I left the group I bought the albums. I buy Fred's stuff and everything. I'm Commissioned's biggest fan and I mean that with all my heart."

Those of us who have grown up with Commissioned look back and see how far we've all come. Even spiritually, there has been growth in ourselves that we couldn't have imagined. So, how was it trying to study, show yourself approved and do it all in front of hundreds of thousands of people?

Mitchell Jones says that even as young men they were pretty focused.

"Spiritually we really were in our Word and that's the thing that kept us in line. When we were at home we were at church, and we had some great foundations in our pastors. We had some good backgrounds, and at that time we were really okay. We weren't the kind of guys who did too much hanging out after the concert. We believed in really holding up a standard. It was really a blessing to be in a group of young men that held up that standard. I was truly blessed by that."

"For awhile there though, I can remember when the album first came out in 1984," says Staten, "with that contemporary sound and look —we didn't have on tuxedos and that was already a problem. We would have people come up and confess and apologize after really listening and feeling the anointing. They would say after they really heard us, they knew it was God. So we had that to deal with. But I think that like any move, sometimes people just don't understand. That, to some extent, is actually what's happening with praise and worship now."

Commissioned Reunion

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Though the face of the personnel has changed frequently, Commissioned the group, has weathered the storm. Each member's story is a bit different as they came and went. For Reid, who is still a part of the present foursome, the steady hand and fiber of God and His steadfastness is evident.

"I've been there since day one. I believe in sticking with what God tells you to do and doing that until He tells you to do something else. Do a continuum of what He told you to do last time until you get new direction; that's what you call faithfulness. I felt that Commissioned was a part of the faithfulness that God had called me to, and so I stayed with it because I was called to do that."

It wasn't always easy though.

"There were several opportunities to be discouraged. It was tough when Keith went to do his solo project. And when Fred left it was tough because he did so much. He was lyricist, lead vocal, bass, background vocals and songwriting. It really was a time that we had to regroup. Mitchell and I had a gut check and then God allowed us bring in Montrell Darrett. And when Montrell felt it was time for him to move on, then God sent in Marcus Cole, and then Chris Poole God kept having people show up at the right time to keep it going until we got to this point so we could just put it back together and do the concert and the tour that folks were looking for."

Cole indeed had some big shoes to fill. Coming on board in 1996, after the likes of Michael Brooks, Hammond and Staten, Cole had to both fit in and make his own mark.

"It was initially intimidating because I know how fans are. They're like 'He ain't Fred!' That was tough, but now it's almost as if I was made for this moment because I was such a fan, I had learned everything Commissioned ever did —every song, every album. This is all pretty wild for me. Ironically enough when I was growing up, Commissioned's albums would drop at this time of year. I mean, I would walk in the rain two and three miles to go get, well, the tape at the time. It seems I was made for this."

Where Cole is sure and prepared, Sapp, just before him, for a minute felt he was out of his element.

"Oh this was a struggle for me at first, because I had never been in the studio. I was just a regular old church singer. I knew nothing about the studio, and honestly I wanted to quit because it was so very hard trying to sing on pitch and understand the whole studio thing."

"So after the first two or three weeks I came home and told my fiancé (at that point) that I was ready to quit because it was too hard. But she encouraged me and rode down here with me. Everyone was so patient with me, but I felt like I was holding them back. They didn't know I was thinking of quitting. This was just a conversation I was having with my [now] wife, Malinda. But she encouraged me and when we finished recording "King of Glory" I felt like I could handle it after that."