James, Johnny & Bryan

The Lott brothers were raised in a musically gifted family.  Their mother and father were talented singers and instrumental in introducing music to the brothers.  Bryan began playing with his fathers group, "The Joy Bell Singers," at the age of nine.  The other brothers later began teaching themselves to play the guitar and to this day James plays the guitar upside-down.

In 1985, after the passing of their mother, the brothers moved to Austin, TX and formed "The Gospel Stars" with the leadership and support of their Uncle, Rev. James Guyton. They became members of the St. Johns College Heights Missionary Baptist Church where they rehearse every Friday night. They worked side by side with their sister's group, "The Voices of Faith."

A long list of local, state, and national singing engagements are a part of the group's history. Stage appearances with the Canton Spirituals, the Williams Brothers, and Shirley Caesar are also a part of their singing history. This group has traveled coast to coast. In 2000, the Gospel Stars received "The Best Male Quartet of the Decade in Texas" award, and just recently the group was praised in Texas Monthly Magazine as one of the hottest upcoming gospel groups. They've done performances at Stubb's "Gospel Brunch" in downtown Austin and perform annually at the "Austin City Limits" Festival.

The Gospel Stars recorded their first tape in 1994, entitled "Lord I Need You." In 1996, they released their first CD, "Thank You Lord for Sending Mama This Way," in memory of the Lott brothers' mother. They released their second CD in 2000 entitled "Please Forgive Me." In 2002, they released their fourth project entitled "Help Somebody." The Gospel Stars were instrumental in the release of "Open the Door" which was released by Nyudow Productions in Japan, and instrumental in the release of Stubb's Gospel Brunch album.

The Gospel stars recently purchased a bus which they use everywhere they perform. Currently, the group performs regularly in the House of Blues on Sundays at their legendary "Gospel Brunch." They are now working on a new album which they plan to release next year.

The Band Members

From left to right: David Ellis - Lead Guitar AKA Loud man has been with the gospel stars for over 7 years. Proud father of one son. David lives in Temple, TX and is our bus driver. Yionnel Augustine - Congas One of the newest editions to the band. He has two children and a native of Haiti but has lived in Austin for over 10 years. Tim Smith - Drums Been with the gospel stars for over 15 years. He's married and has two children. Tim lives in Austin. Tyrone Sutton - piano/keyboards A music major at Texas state University has been with the group for three years. He lives in Austin and is pianist at the Wesley United Methodist church. Demetrius Collins - Keyboards/synth A recent edition to the group. He's married and has 2 children and lives in Waco, Texas and is the minister of music at his church in Waco. ** Note: Johnny Lott is the bass player but is not shown in band picture.