THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607030073
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 71 lines
FRIDAY'S CONCERT at CBN is a homecoming in more ways than one for Vince Wilcox.
Back in the early '70s, when he was attending Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Wilcox and a circle of like-minded friends, members of the Jesus Movement, used to spend time over at Pat Robertson's garage.
They didn't get together to fix cars.
``A group of us met with Pat Robertson in a coffeehouse in his garage on weekends,'' Wilcox said. ``We called it the House of the Risen Son. The July 5 concert is like coming home again, from Pat in 1973 to Pat in 1996.''
That concert features Wilcox and Don Pardoe - Wilcox & Pardoe to those who have caught onto the duo's music. Billboard and The Baptist Standard have; both magazines raved about their album, ``Till They Know How Much You Care.'' Shout! gave it 4 1/2 stars out of five. Cashbox wrote that it ``contains plenty of potential hits.''
Wilcox, who was born in New Jersey, lived in Texas and Kentucky, but grew up mostly in the Brittany Woods section of Chesapeake, said their music doesn't go for the gut with doctrine. Instead, it ``challenges and inspires faithfulness in the listener.''
Since labels are ``in,'' tag their songs Positive Christian Country.
``That's a real need - be faithful to our Lord and to our families. This is a major theme, a national need,'' said Wilcox, who is married to the former Sharon Hickman of Kempsville in Virginia Beach. They have two children. So does his partner, Pardoe.
``A lot of groups we know are gone from 150 to 200 nights a week. It wreaks havoc on their important relationships,'' he said. ``Our music is about family, so we're home a lot. We can be gone Friday through Sunday - back Monday. We're always home during the week and once a month we make sure we're home on weekends.''
Wilcox credits his interest in music to his parents, Vera and Al Wilcox, both of Norfolk. Even though they aren't musical - ``Dad is a great whistler'' - they played ``Broadway show tunes and Sinatra, (Doris) Day and (Johnny) Mathis.
``What those people sang will be hits 100 years from now. I listened to those pop standards. It was an education.''
His parents wanted him to become interested in the piano or guitar.
``I thought guitar would be a lot cooler. I started playing at 13,'' he said. ``At first, it was Creedence Clearwater (Revival) and the Beatles.''
Now, Wilcox said, the themes are those issues facing most families - ``fidelity, finances and raising kids.''
The message was not there in his initial album. ``Reconciled,'' a 1993 solo offering, was about hard drinking and hard living. Wilcox knew something about the latter. When he arrived in Nashville, he landed a job in a warehouse at Benson Music.
He worked his way through the ranks, eventually managing some major Christian artists. In 1993, he was executive producer of ``Generation 2 Generation,'' which won the Dove Award for Best Inspirational Album. He and Pardoe, a native Texan, met through mutual friends the next year.
Wilcox earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from the University of Virginia in Char-lottesville.
In 1983, he received a master's degree in counseling from Old Dominion University. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Vince Wilcox once went to weekend coffeehouses in Pat Robertson's
garage.
[Box]
If you want to Go
[Information: 677-7087]
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB