And home, sweet home!

Tour with Deas Vail is over. Those guys are awesome and it was awesome to share the stage with them and hang out as well. Met some AMAZING people. Some of my favorite cities became Plano, TX, Denton, TX and Tuscaloosa, AL. Will, John, and Adam in Tuscaloosa are awesome dudes and they have a great band worth, checking out, "The Classic Fame".

Did a TV interview/performance in Macon, GA and then went to BMI in Atlanta and met with Dave Claasen, an amazing BMI rep who we are exciting about working with!

After our last tour date, in Athens, GA, at the 40 Watt with Wild Sweet Orange, I drove to Atlanta to catch a flight to Ft. Lauderdale to be with my good friends at Church By the Glades. Led worship for 5 services down there. 2 yesterday and 3 this morning.

Had a great time down there and some amazing conversations as well. I always learn a lot from the people down there.

Flew back to Atlanta last night and headed back to South Carolina now. I miss home. I miss my family and friends. Home for 4 days before we start our tour with Baumer. One solo show while home to make a little spending money for tour and to promote my new solo acoustic album, the Friends EP.

The road this time was a learning experience, a stretching experience, a great bonding time with the band.

Exciting about seeing mum and dad tomorrow, and hopefully catching a meal with my brother this week.

Gonna catch up on some reading this week as well.

Until next time...



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Oh God, don't you hear them? Their lips are burning!

These are lyrics from some friends of ours, Dignan. They are amazing, by the way. You should check them out.

Got to see them play last night in Houston. It was soooo good for my soul.

Those words summate the past week of tour, though. I noticed that in this last week of tour I was coming across so many interesting people, mostly in the state of Texas. I met people whose lives are crying out to something bigger than themselves.

The one that probably sticks out the most, was a guy that I met at our show in Ft. Worth. He invited our band to stay at his house, which was comfortably convenient after staying hotels every night. Some sense of home was much appreciated.

The next night, we played in Plano and he was at that show as well. After our set, he and I stood outside at our van and trailer and talked for about half an hour. He began to share a bit of his life story.

He told me about how he is only 18, but had been in and out of jail, how his mom disowned him when he was 15, how his mom's boyfriend abused him and how his parents turned their backs on him. Consequently, he's been an alcoholic and drug addict for some time.

And then he said a few things that I haven't been able to forget. One of the things he said was, "I have a pretty fucked up life, but I'm one of the happiest people you will ever meet, because I have my health, I'm a decently good looking guy and I have a place to live."

The day before this, my computer was stolen along with my bookbag containing a bunch of my personal belongings and I was totally bent out of shape about it. His statement put so many things in perspective.

He then told me, "I think I'm going to start going back to church, man. I mean, I think it's the least I can do for someone who's blessed me with all of this. And it's not even so much that I owe it to Him, but it's a privilege for me to be able to do this."

I was blown away. Now, many fully devoted followers of Christ would argue that God deserves more than an hour a week. And I would agree. But, man, if a kid is willing to start with an hour a week, we'll take that. That's a step in the right direction. And maybe 6 months from now, he'll be up to two hours a week. And who knows after that.

This kid is one representative of people I've met on the road. And those people are representatives of large numbers of people all over the world.

"Oh God, don't you hear them? Their lips are burning!"

Tulsa.vinyl.zoo.oil change.laundry

Day off today in Tulsa. Shows the past couple of days have been great. Fort Smith, Arkansas had a great turn out and gained some new fans. Scenic drive to Tulsa and a killer show along with meeting some killer people. I almost fell off the stage 4 times last night. That was beyond scary.

Made an amazing discovery last night: the state of Oklahoma has QuickTrip (QT) gas stations which serve only the best energy drink/frozen energy drink known to man, Rooster Booster. Shocked and amazed. Stocked up on some last night.

Got to sleep in today and get some laundry done. Sent Mike to get the oil changed in the van. And the plan was to go to the zoo. But then, received a phone call from Mike informing me that the van has to go into the shop, because it is "spitting smoke" out of the exhaust pipe.

So, now, no trip to the zoo, no transportation, and no rooster booster (cuz its all in the van with Mike). So, we resort to watching movies and listening to vinyl, but I'm glad this happened on a day off and the fact that I'm with people I love.

~m



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nas.texas.laundry.deas vail.delirious

Been a few days since I've written.

Tour has been good.  Tuscaloosa was amazing.  Had a great show at a weird venue and had a great time hanging with our friend, Will, who was gracious enough to let us crash at his house that night.  Loved his southern accent and how every "i" was long". So instead of saying "nice", he said, "nas".  That was awesome!

Drove to Port Arthur and played a show and got to hang out with some cool guys/gals at IHOP afterwards.  Crashed and burned at the hotel that night.  Played in a middle-of-nowhere town the next night called Silsbee, TX.  Hotel we stayed in that night was definitely in the middle of the ghetto and we saw tons of drug deals, prostitution deals, etc. right in front of us.

Next morning, played at an awesome church in Beaumont, TX.  On our way to the church, 9 a.m., we saw a woman running in the middle of the road, screaming, with her right breast hanging out and flopping around.  Weird start to an awesome day.

Sold out of download cards at the church (that's a great problem to have - though, a problem none the least).

Got to revisit an amazing restaurant called Cheddars!  Had the hugest hot fudge brownie Sunday one could indulge in. 

Drove to Houston and visited a friend of ours.  And then randomly decided that he should be on the road with us for the next week selling merch and goofing off.  Started a very long drive at about 10 or 11pm.  Drove 'til about 5am and got a hotel.  Woke up this morning and finished the drive to Fort Smith, AR.  No cell phone reception here.  That sucks.  Had an amazing awareness creep on me that I need to do laundry.  My clothes stink and my skinny jeans are no longer skinny.

Looking forward to playing the next few days with Deas Vail.  They are a great band, worthy of a listen.  

It's nearly 5am, central time, I've been sitting in my bed at our hotel for the last 3 hours catching up on emails that I refuse to read or reply to in the van from my blackberry.

But, I think sleep is in order for now.  Get up tomorrow, get the oil changed on the van and drive to Tulsa.  Never played that market before, so it should be fun.  Hopefully some kids will come out to hear us play and maybe take an album or a tshirt home with them.

Goodnight, world.  I'll write more tomorrow, when I can think straight and I'm not delirious.

vinyl

I have the most amazing privilege of sitting in my buddy John's house in Atlanta tonight, listening to some great 70-90s music on vinyl.

Played at the Masquerade tonight for day 2 of this tour.  

The rest of vacation was great.  Spent some great times with people I love.  A flat tire on the way to Charleston for a solo show sucked!  Next morning, though, my good friend, Dan was gracious enough to go and help me.  We discovered that the side step on my van doesn't support the full weight of the van, and that you shouldn't put the jack underneath it, or it might break.  Waited on the side of the road for 2 hours listening to Jay-Z, Brand New, Nas, Immortal Technique, and Manchester Orchestra, while AAA took their time getting to us.

Finally, got back on the road.  Made it home in time enough to say goodbye to my family and get on the road to Columbia, where we played last night.  Weird show, but had a good time.  

Got to spend some good time with my best friend, Josiah last night.  Gordon and I stayed at his house.  It was a lot of fun.  This morning, was able to see some good friends over in Lexington for breakfast before heading over to Atlanta.  Played a cool show, at a cool venue, for some cool kids.  

Some lunch with our friend, Matt, at RuSan's tomorrow, and then to a meeting at my favorite coffee shop, Octane, with Jeremiah and Brian.  After that, off to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play there tomorrow night.

I can already tell that this tour is going to be challenging.  It's only day 2, and I'm feeling it.  I hope I stay sane.

vacation.day.2

Slept 'til 2 today.  Lied in bed til 4.  Turned my phone on and got 93 emails.  Caught up on those for the most part.  Went to a chinese buffet....bad idea.  Went to a friend's house for a wee bit.  

Trip to Destin, FL got cancelled because of the weather.  Plane couldn't fly in the bad weather or something like that.

Today's been a challenging day emotionally for some reason.  But I'm inspired.  I had a conversation with a kid down in Florida a couple of days ago about how he moved away for the whole summer, worked and would send his mom his paycheck every week, just so they could keep his house.  I am coming in contact with more and more selfless people and it's inspiring, encouraging, and challenging to me.

I think Seth and I are either going either caving or to the mountains tomorrow.

Tonight's going to be good.  I'm currently sitting in the Huddle House parking lot stealing wireless.

I think I'm going to start blogging from my phone soon so I don't have to do sketchy things like this.

Columbia/Greenwood, here I come.

And its vacation time.  I've been waiting for this for so long.

I'm going to stop into Columbia and check in with a band that I manage.  They are recording vocals today for their new album.  And then I'm having coffee with some really cool people in Lexington.  From their I'll head to Greenwood.  Hang out with some people there.  Some plans to see Batman again tonight for the 3rd time.  I'm not even upset about that, though.  That movie is sick!  I can already tell this is going to be a great start to an amazing vacation.  I'm so overwhelmed with stress that I know it will be a challenge do emailing and calling about shows/tours/albums, etc., but I'm going to do my best to stay away from it. We'll see how disciplined I am.

Good, ummm, morning?

It's 6:19am and I haven't been to bed.  I did however get some photos uploaded to my computer from my camera, a great cup of coffee and a sandwich with Jess at Waffle House and got my FlickR account working.  So, I'm excited about all of those things.  Got some shows booked tonight/this morning as well.  Vacation starts today.  So, I'm going to start it by, sleeping for the next few hours.   Way after the sun comes out which will be here in about 10 minutes.

Goodnight, cyberspace.  Goodmorning, eyelids.

a.day.to.remember

Had a fairly good day. 

Woke up and hung out with my brother today.  We went to lunch.  Wild Wing Cafe's all you can eat chicken wing buffet is a black man's heaven!

Got to hang out with my mum for a few hours this afternoon.  

Coffee downtown with Sean.  Sat undernearth a staircase while it poured rain and hailed.  We watched MuteMath's DVD on my laptop during the hail storm.

Dinner with Jess, Laney, and Gordon.  AMAZING.  Ratituni pasta with in alfredo/pesto sauce with sauteed shrimp.  Sauteed vegetables (eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, squash) covered in parmesan cheese and then baked.

Took Jess to a friends restaurant to hang out for a bit after that and then we went to see "Pineapple Express".  Well, I feel asleep during the previews and then woke up during the credits.

I'm now sitting on this couch, wrapping up a few items of business and thinking about going to Waffle House.

Vacation starts tomorrow.  I'm stoked.

~m

And we'll go again!

I'm going to give this blogging thing yet ANOTHER go.  

Hopefully, I can write thoughts from every day here.