Two friends.
Separate paths.
One ministry.
Meet David East and Paul Rigdon and learn about the ministry behind the music.
It started
at church.
David East and Paul Rigdon first met in the early 1970s at Christ Corner Church in Henderson, Kentucky. They played together in the church's praise and worship band, and before long, Paul formed a quartet with David playing bass guitar.
From the beginning, David and Paul were best friends.
But life has a way of taking people down different roads.
Over the years, the two drifted apart, each walking similar steps on separate paths. Eventually, their paths crossed again through the Original Gospel Sounds, a mixed quartet where David sang and played keyboards. David invited Paul to come play guitar, and Paul gladly accepted.
Sometimes the road
back is the beginning.
When the Original Gospel Sounds eventually disbanded, David began a solo ministry. Paul volunteered to travel with him and assist with the ministry, and the two spent the next three years traveling together.
Their story with Nailprint, however, actually began with four voices.
The Original Nailprint
Nailprint was originally formed as a quartet featuring David, Paul, Phil Culbertson and Kevin Kapler. The four men sang together until Kevin accepted a church position out of state, and the quartet eventually disbanded.
Then David and Paul
decided to continue.
In 2014, David and Paul decided to continue together as a ministry duo.
They kept the name Nailprint.
What began as a decision to continue ministering together quickly grew into something much bigger. Their schedule filled, churches began inviting them to minister, and the two began writing and performing original music together as well as individually.
Their first appearance as Nailprint was in 2014 at Worship Kentucky, a community church event.
And the journey was underway.
The music
matters.
Both David and Paul are accomplished musicians and songwriters, as well as ordained ministers. Music became an important part of their ministry, but it was never meant to be the destination.
In 2017, Nailprint released its first recording project, simply titled Nailprint.
Several songs from the project, including My Legacy, Broken Chains and Forever Young Again, received significant radio airplay. Broken Chains reached the Singing News Top 100 chart.
In 2025, Nailprint released its second album, Save Me!, featuring several new original songs along with two cover songs.
The album's first release, Paul Rigdon's Be Ready, reached No. 10 on the Singing News Faith & Country chart and remained on the chart for several weeks.
The second release, a cover of This Storm, reached No. 3 on the same chart and remained there for three months.
The third release, Paul Rigdon's Save Me!, followed as another new chapter in Nailprint's musical journey.
Honored for the work.
Grateful for the opportunity.
The recognition is appreciated. The radio airplay is appreciated. The opportunity to record and share their music is deeply appreciated.
But none of those things are the reason Nailprint exists.
It's about
ministry.
At the end of the day, Nailprint isn't about awards, charts, recordings or even the music itself.
It's about ministry.
Music is one of the ways David and Paul open the door. What happens after that is what matters most.
They've seen music encourage people, open hearts, create opportunities to share the Gospel and sometimes simply give someone hope when they need it most.
“We want to be entertaining enough to keep your attention so we can minister to you.”
That's Nailprint.
The goal isn't simply to put on a good concert.
The goal is to leave people encouraged, challenged, strengthened — and hopefully a little closer to God than they were when they walked through the door.
Music may be how we open the door.
Ministry is why we're there.