So we played Columbia again tonight. Really I guess it was the first time. We opened for Winston Audio about a month ago and it was awesome. Tonight was the new music night and we got on the bill and killed it. Kent and I may have been a bit tipsy. It is not confirmed yet but either way it was a blast. We made some new friends and hopefully got the opportunity to book more shows. The last time we played it was pouring and the venue had multiple leaks with one right over the stage. Not just the general stage but the exact place I was standing. If i moved the water would drop right on my pedal board or worse right on my Tele pickups. Not awesome was the feeling of the chance of electrocution but I played and survived. Tonight we pulled up to the venue and guess what, rain. It was raining again but not as bad. After talking to the sound guy I felt much better when he told me they had fixed a lot of the leaks and the stage no longer was a sieve but an actual roof. Anyway I guess good things come to those who wait, so columbia we’re coming back and we are going to rock it over and over again. Hope you are ready because we are. See you soon!

Steven

So for the past few months… actually it has been longer than that I would think, my wife and I bought Regina Spektor’s new album “Far”.  I listened to her older album “Begin to Hope” but it was really my wife who listened to it the most.  There are a few songs I would listen to on my own but mostly the songs I heard off that album were because of Jen playing it or Tim and Meagan playing it.  It wasn’t that I did not like it, it was that I just would not ever think of playing it.  Of course on the way home from Asheville after buying the new album Jen played it without stopping and then loaded it on to her ipod immediately after getting home.  Since she had it on her ipod I decided to take the cd for my truck.  For weeks it stayed in my cd player and I listened to it for a long time.  Actually Tim made a joke to me about it still playing in my cd player.  I LOVE IT!  I have listened to it over and over and I still love it.  The songs themselves are really good and simple, even the production is really simple and not overbearing.  It is not trying to be the most complicated or the most artistic and for me it makes it more interesting and gives it more re-listen value.  Her voice is also insanely creative and beautiful.  It kind of reminds me of music that would of been released years ago instead of last year.  Seems that today music is more about how many instruments you can record together to create a song that can never be reproduced live or that has no dynamic because the song is not good enough by itself to begin with.  Yes, in case you are wondering, I am not a huge fan of some of the music that is released today but this cd is extremely worth buying and listening to.  The songs are great, her voice is great, her piano playing is great, the production is great, really it is all great.  There are great upbeat songs and very emotional songs.  I guess something for everyone.

steven.

Did you ever see Field of Dreams?  I just watched it again recently and how amazing is that movie?!  I feel like it is a perfect example of our lives.  First off, we may not all hear voices although to a degree they usually try and hospitalize you for that but we all have something we want to do.  Something either we are doing, want to do, or forgot that we want to do it.  Either way it is there but it is very frightening to go after it.  Sometimes we get so used to continuing on day after day in a job that was never supposed to be a career just something to pay the bills until whatever it was you really wanted to do could pay the bills that now it is so routine our “Field of Dreams” gets long forgotten.  On the other hand sometimes we went after our “Field of Dreams” for so long but it never panned out and the misery of never truly doing what we really wanted to do forces us into a routine of just paying bills.  There is so many reasons to give up on your dreams or what you really want to do and take on the “make money to spend money” perspective.  I am also not just talking about sports or music or acting, I am talking about anything.  Dreams don’t have to be artsy or involve being famous.  I am talking about doing whatever makes you lay down at night and think, I love my life!

No doubt if you have tried or are trying or want to try and live your dreams, you will start with an amazing feeling of excitement mixed with “nothing will go wrong” and it will last for a while, but at some point the reality sets in.  I am not against the reality but it can be a huge buzz kill at some times.  In the movie after he follows the voice or his metaphoric dream he lives for a while in the excitement of the new and then nothing happens.  To me this was such a true part of the movie for me.  I have tried time and again to live out my dream and after the excitement wears off and it feels like it is going nowhere, give up.  It seems a lot of the time I have given up.  Not necessarily because it was too hard, maybe more of the reason was because I thought it was not panning out.  I thought it was the door shutting in my face.  Maybe some of the time it was but everything is a chain reaction.  Most of the time living out your dream is birthed out of what seems mundane and boring and sometimes just normal.  It is all a road to get you to the point where your dreams are becoming a reality.

I don’t want to give away the movie if you haven’t seen it but go watch it, especially if you desire to live out your dreams and are in need of inspiration. There are always storms, there are always times of misunderstanding but don’t quit.  Don’t give up.  Most likely you are right on the verge of what you have wanted for a long time.

At least that is how it has been for me…

steven.

So it is Wednesday… yes we are supposed to be in the studio for another two days as well as today but we are not.  Unfortunately we had some issues that arose with our producer and evidently they were not able to be worked out.  This is a sad but exciting turn of events after the initial shock.  We arrived home this morning around 12:30 with a mix of emotions swirling around in our hearts.  To think of not using our producer anymore is really sad due to a relationship that we had built from the last EP and B-sides as well as Light Up.  As goes with any true relationships there are things that will not be fully agreed upon which I believe is not a bad thing, actually I think it is the complete opposite.  I think a true relationship should have disagreements and if there are none than maybe it is more of an acquaintance than a relationship.  Either way there were evidently irreconcilable issues that he had with us therefore leading him to withdraw from being our producer anymore.  So Day 3 resulted in losing our producer.

But when hard times come I think we have an opportunity to continue down a path that we did not know was there and see where it leads.  I, for one, am extremely excited about this.  We obviously are still a band, we still write music, we still play shows, and we’ll still record.  It will just be different than the last time, which can be a breeding place for creativity.  If there is one thing I love it’s creativity.  We are looking now for a new producer and we still plan on taking this band and doing great things.  I have no idea what the end of this path will be, but I do believe it is where we are supposed to be.  There is a push that needs to happen when you get too comfortable in the way you “always” do it, and a lot of times without this push you can end up with the same result as all the other times.  That is why I am excited.  This whole thing came as a “shock” that is pushing us out of our comfort zone.  ALWAYS a good thing!

I hope all of you are as excited as we are?  If you aren’t, then get excited!

Steven.

I so love Thanksgiving… actually I love any holiday that gets family together.  I have a blast with my family and with my wife’s family.  There were a lot of games that were had and a few games of Shang Hai that I forced myself to finish, but we had fun.  We made fun of each other and laughed with each other.  I am very thankful for both of my families.  Now we get to do it all again for Christmas, which is one of my favorite holidays.

steven