We keep on runnin'

We have put on many miles and spent many hours in a vehicle over the last week. We drove from Nashville to Fresno non-stop, except for gas, restroom and food. We had 3 shows opening up for Casting Crowns. The shows went well. Daniel blogged about some of it and will be blogging about some of our misfortunes and how we had to rely on God to physically step in and take care of certain issues.

I did get the chance to see my aunt and uncle on my dad's side of the family. It has been a few years. I want to tell them thanks for coming out. It meant a lot.

Here is a pic of us with Casting Crowns (minus Andy, he was breaking down his drums)

This is a picture of Crowns from backstage

Peace

First show with Casting Crowns

There was a little trouble with the electricity. That put the day about 2 hours behind from a technical standpoint. We ended up getting a sound check in about 20-23 minutes. It was just enough to get through a show.

The actual set went well. We added "Lord Reign" for this weekend. We had not performed that one in front of anyone before (except for the CD release). I really love the message and the feel in that song.

Casting Crowns did a great job tonight. The people who showed up loved it too. They got some new lights and a backdrop that they did not have on their recent tour. Tonight was the first night they had used it. It was all new LEDs. They we VERY cool.

Big thanks to Adventure Christian Church for the hospitality.

We have to get up early to get down the road tomorrow. Gotta run.

Peace

West Coast Run

DDB is headed out west for 2 weeks. We got a late start the first day in so we have been paying for that trying to get caught up. We left Clarksville around 10:30 am instead of 9. Traffic in Memphis was the worst I have ever seen. Emily was driving then and her 3 hour shift started right before Memphis and 3 hours later we were just on the other side of Memphis. That should have been a 30 minute drive.

We were cycling through all 5 of us driving. By the time it was my turn to drive we were just getting to our 1st planned destination, Amarillo , TX. We planned on being there around 10 pm and it was now 2 am. Since it was so late and we were running behind we decided that rather than sleeping in a hotel for 4 hours we would just keep driving. My shift was about to start anyway. I drove from 3 am to 5 am. Towards 5 it was getting harder to stay awake. We switched out and then Daniel, and then Emily got us to about 8:30 am. At this point we had been on the road for 23 hours. Then in Holbrook, AZ a gas station attendant told us we were headed in to a wind storm with 25-35 mph winds and gusts up to 60 mph. Derek drove us in to Flagstaff and the wind started picking up.

We stopped in Flagstaff for lunch. When we got off the interstate we ended up in the historic part of town. We parked and found a good Mexican food place. There were some cool shops in the area. We even saw a few posters up for our show coming up in Flagstaff in a few days.

Joe drove for a few hours and the wind picked up even more. The rest of the day was wind, mountains, and slow driving. We were getting about 8 miles per gallon with all of that. We normally get about 12.

So now we are in Fresno, CA. We slept, showered, charged up our phones, trying to feel human again. We drove 40 hours straight. Yummy.

Peace

Tracks and schedules

That has been my life for the last few days. I have been working on some backing tracks, been at a friends studio for some programming insights, and also making sure that all of our bases are covered for our 2 week trip to the west coast. I am the acting road manager for DDB and this trip is really the first time I have had to do more than just show up and play my parts.

We are playing 3 shows with Casting Crowns on this trip, then playing at a camp, and then stopping in at a church to lead worship on the way home.

Pray for Cassi's sanity as we are gone for 13 days on this run.

Peace

You have one life. Do something. Seriously.

Our country is influenced by society. Society is made up of people groups. People groups are comprised of families. Families are made up of persons.

The only thing wrong with our country is the way people act on their human nature. I have decided to work on my human NURTURE and see what we can actually change.

If we can change or influence people we can ultimately influence or change society and our country. We can do this one life at a time. If you find it in yourself to show love and kindness today it would really help. We also need to hold each other to a higher moral standard. There was a time in our countries existence that we did a better job of this. Corruption, greed, refusal of responsibility have all attributed to every scandal, crime, and not-so-moral decision we have seen.

Hey, you gotta realize, these are people breaking the law. That seems ridiculous to say that but if we had good, law abiding citizens then we would be a very different country. I will make a pledge to love, enrich, invest in and hold accountable those in my circle. If everyone does it we will change the world. I will make mistakes but I will have those that love and invest in me too, so I plan on growing myself.

Peace

Synthesize this!

I am a bit of a slacker. No new blogs in 6 days. I do have about 3 I am working on in my head. This first one is going to be light hearted and fun.

Derek, Joe, and I went on a "spot" date with Avalon to a suburb of Chicago. At the church we played at I saw this:

This real synthesizer was designed by Serge Tcherepnin and was built and hand soldered by Walter, the "worship dude" at the church, in 1974. Walter spent about an hour total with me and some of the other guys showing us the workings of this really cool synth. The modules alone cost about $4000 in 1974. Then he had to build it from the schematic, hand solder the points, and mount it in a custom case. Walter also wrote a symphony based on classical forms in the style of house music and even integrated the Serge throughout the 4 different movements. I want one now. Thanks Walter!

Peace

Cast and Crew

This was our entire cast and crew on the We Will Stand Tour. This picture was taken after the last show in McDonough, GA. What a motley bunch huh?

I just started reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity yesterday. My worship pastor, Ron Alley, and I got in to a discussion about it. Seems pretty good. I am a VERY slow reader and have read 5 chapters since starting the book yesterday. That is some kind of record for me. I am sure it will create all kinds of blog "goo" for me to talk about.

Peace

PS here is a pic of everyone's real personality! ;-)

I am on the road with a bunch of idiots

Man the last few days have been pretty fun. With the end of touring getting close there are plenty of shenanagins going on. Practical jokes are starting up. Everyone is trying to get everyone else to have a good time and laugh.

The culprits are Heath Hollensbe, Steve Hartley, Adam Brake, Joe Stevens, Derek Williams, Jeremi Richardson, Jana Long, Greg Long, Daniel Doss, and many others with an honorable mention.

Now, before I get fired 2 days before tour is over for insunuating that anyone from Avalon is and "idiot" I do apologize, that comment does not apply to you. :) Seriously though, we are all having a great time and enjoying each others company.

Here are some pics from today. Joe lost a game. The picture was shows what his penance was.

Pics from the road

On tour you make your own rules

I am not sure if you can readily see the irony in this picture. The sign says "NO VEHICLES BEYOND THIS POINT". Our bus was parked there ALL DAY. The crazy thing is that no one said anything. It is funny how a bus lets you make your own rules. There are times when we go to the hotel after the show and we just park on the road with the hazard lights on. We are blocking a lane of traffic usually. No one says anything. There are areas in the venues and churches that say "DO NOT ENTER" or "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". If you are wearing a tour pass people think that you are allowed to pretty much do anything, or they are too "scared" to say anything

People are funny.

Peace