Monday, January 26, 2009
New Album Info!!
What's up my people?!? I have some great news for ya!! Earlier today I wrapped up recording for my brand new album entitled "No Place Left to Hide"!! The new material is sounding really great and I can't wait for you all to hear it. In fact, I'm so anxious to share some of it with you that I have posted a little sample of a new song called "Change In Me" on my profile. It's just a little one minute teaser, since it hasn't gone through all the finishing touches yet, but it should give you a pretty good idea of what I have been up to these past few months. Drop me a line and let me know what you think!!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Best of 2008!!
So 2009 is upon us now, and 2008 is nothing more than a fading memory in the rearview mirror. A lot of people I know couldn’t be happier to say goodbye to 2008 for good. Well those people are whiners!! Come on!! 2008 was pretty rad too if you were out there grabbing life by the throat and shaking it for all it was worth. So today I have decided to compile a list of ten of my favorite shows/events I was blessed to be a part of this past year. These are listed out chronologically (that means by date) rather than in order of importance, so enjoy!!
January 18th – The Ward Theater (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
This was the very first time I had ever played my material with a full band. It was also the first show that I had my demo CD available for sale. It was just a straight up awesome night of coffee and tunes. You can check out video clips from this show on my page.
March 22nd – The Olde Jamestowne Hall (Saginaw, MI)
What a wild show this was!! I was sandwiched between two extremely heavy bands (Desiring Dead Flesh and the Grave Robbers). I was kind of expecting everything to be a complete disaster, especially when I found myself standing in a sticky pool of pineapple juice thanks to the antics of one of the earlier acts. Despite all that I went up there and gave em everything I had and they gave it right back to me. The kids at this show were amazing!!! Definitely one of the coolest memories I have of 2008.
June 13-16 – Summer Mini Tour (South Dakota)
On tour with the fabulous John Denley Band, what a riot. Eight people, tons of gear, two relatively small rental cars, what could possibly go wrong? Feel free to read all about our antics in my earlier blogs titled “The South Dakota Diaries”. The best part of the trip for me was hanging with the folks in the JDB, especially the long drives with my buddy Josh Thompson (wood!!). There are so many great stories from this trip and I’m sure I will always remember it.
June 26th – JTV (Jackson, MI)
I got to play my songs on live TV!! How rad is that?!?!
July 18th – Main Street Live (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
Another full band show, this time a little more rehearsed than the first one. The band sounded really great, I got to hang out in the park with my family and friends, what’s not to love? Huge thanks to Tim, Adam, Vanessa, BJ and Josh…you guys are amazing!!
July 26th – Thrivent Rocks the Park (Midland, MI)
This was one of those days you wish you could just relive over and over! The weather was perfect, the sound system was huge, the people were terrific, and I got to open for Caedmon’s Call!! From the moment I arrived at the show I was treated like a rockstar, which is something a dude could get used to. There were tons of people in the park that day, over 8,000 by final count. It was just an awesome day. Best of all was that a lot of my friends and family were there to share it with me, including a lot of friends that had never had a chance to hear me play before. What a great day!!
August 22nd – Fuse FM (Coleman, MI)
On this day I got to co-host the “Get Up and Go Show” on Fuse FM with my friend Sara Thompson. We had a total blast laughing and playing silly songs on the air. I believe this is where the idea for the “Skittle Sandwich” podcast that Sara and I do with our friend Aaron first came about (www.skittlesandwich.com). And on top of all that, I even got to play a few of my original songs live on the air with my bro Josh playing percussion for me. The only thing that wasn’t a lot of fun was waking up at 4AM. Yikes!
August 29th – 211 Club (Saginaw, MI)
There weren’t a ton of people at this show, but the other acts on the bill were incredible. From the incredible Ben Nolan to John Vasquez and the Behringer Boys and others, the quality of music was outstanding and I was blessed to be a part of it. Not even totally sure what it was about this show, but it was just one of those nights where you drive home feeling really good about what you’re doing.
September 12th – Northwood University (Midland, MI)
We had a couple of weather scares early in the evening, but in the end it turned out to be a beautiful evening on the campus of NU. This was one of those nights on stage where you just feel like everything is going your way. I can remember looking over at Josh during the show, who was playing djembe for me, and saying “ya know, this pretty much beats doing anything doesn’t it?!” It feels really good in those moments when you know you’re right where you belong.
November 14th – The State Theater (Bay City, MI)
What a cool venue!! And what an awesome crowd!!!! For this event I got the chance to open for the band Newworldson as part of the Hope Rising Tour. I had been in the studio all the previous week and it really felt great to get out there and light it up live again. I have heard that this show was recorded and played on some local public access channels in the Midland area. I’m working to get my hands on a copy of it so I can post some clips up here for ya’ll to check out.
As I look back on 2008 I realize that these are only a handful of great memories from the year! I could also talk about some of the shows at Mid Michigan Community College, Live 08, the Higher Rock Café, Frenz Coffee House, The Harvest, Tunes by the Tridge, Sonic Skate, Journey’s, Live Wired, the Midland Mall, the Interfaith homeless shelter, etc… Or maybe just a few of the other great artists that I haven’t mentioned yet including my bro Jayson Simonson, Brett Mitchell, Josh Keene, Michael Hernandez, Tylor Reed, Frokus, Crimson Tide, Lenae Hale, Tim Pepper, Derek Turcsanyi, the list goes on and on. I played over 150 shows this last year, moved over 1500 copies of my demo album, started work on my new album, met tons of amazing people, so many cool moments it’s impossible to list them all. I am truly living the dream, and I thank God every day for the opportunities that he has given me to get out there. I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love to do, and to share it with you guys. Can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store. Buckle up!!
January 18th – The Ward Theater (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
This was the very first time I had ever played my material with a full band. It was also the first show that I had my demo CD available for sale. It was just a straight up awesome night of coffee and tunes. You can check out video clips from this show on my page.
March 22nd – The Olde Jamestowne Hall (Saginaw, MI)
What a wild show this was!! I was sandwiched between two extremely heavy bands (Desiring Dead Flesh and the Grave Robbers). I was kind of expecting everything to be a complete disaster, especially when I found myself standing in a sticky pool of pineapple juice thanks to the antics of one of the earlier acts. Despite all that I went up there and gave em everything I had and they gave it right back to me. The kids at this show were amazing!!! Definitely one of the coolest memories I have of 2008.
June 13-16 – Summer Mini Tour (South Dakota)
On tour with the fabulous John Denley Band, what a riot. Eight people, tons of gear, two relatively small rental cars, what could possibly go wrong? Feel free to read all about our antics in my earlier blogs titled “The South Dakota Diaries”. The best part of the trip for me was hanging with the folks in the JDB, especially the long drives with my buddy Josh Thompson (wood!!). There are so many great stories from this trip and I’m sure I will always remember it.
June 26th – JTV (Jackson, MI)
I got to play my songs on live TV!! How rad is that?!?!
July 18th – Main Street Live (Mt. Pleasant, MI)
Another full band show, this time a little more rehearsed than the first one. The band sounded really great, I got to hang out in the park with my family and friends, what’s not to love? Huge thanks to Tim, Adam, Vanessa, BJ and Josh…you guys are amazing!!
July 26th – Thrivent Rocks the Park (Midland, MI)
This was one of those days you wish you could just relive over and over! The weather was perfect, the sound system was huge, the people were terrific, and I got to open for Caedmon’s Call!! From the moment I arrived at the show I was treated like a rockstar, which is something a dude could get used to. There were tons of people in the park that day, over 8,000 by final count. It was just an awesome day. Best of all was that a lot of my friends and family were there to share it with me, including a lot of friends that had never had a chance to hear me play before. What a great day!!
August 22nd – Fuse FM (Coleman, MI)
On this day I got to co-host the “Get Up and Go Show” on Fuse FM with my friend Sara Thompson. We had a total blast laughing and playing silly songs on the air. I believe this is where the idea for the “Skittle Sandwich” podcast that Sara and I do with our friend Aaron first came about (www.skittlesandwich.com). And on top of all that, I even got to play a few of my original songs live on the air with my bro Josh playing percussion for me. The only thing that wasn’t a lot of fun was waking up at 4AM. Yikes!
August 29th – 211 Club (Saginaw, MI)
There weren’t a ton of people at this show, but the other acts on the bill were incredible. From the incredible Ben Nolan to John Vasquez and the Behringer Boys and others, the quality of music was outstanding and I was blessed to be a part of it. Not even totally sure what it was about this show, but it was just one of those nights where you drive home feeling really good about what you’re doing.
September 12th – Northwood University (Midland, MI)
We had a couple of weather scares early in the evening, but in the end it turned out to be a beautiful evening on the campus of NU. This was one of those nights on stage where you just feel like everything is going your way. I can remember looking over at Josh during the show, who was playing djembe for me, and saying “ya know, this pretty much beats doing anything doesn’t it?!” It feels really good in those moments when you know you’re right where you belong.
November 14th – The State Theater (Bay City, MI)
What a cool venue!! And what an awesome crowd!!!! For this event I got the chance to open for the band Newworldson as part of the Hope Rising Tour. I had been in the studio all the previous week and it really felt great to get out there and light it up live again. I have heard that this show was recorded and played on some local public access channels in the Midland area. I’m working to get my hands on a copy of it so I can post some clips up here for ya’ll to check out.
As I look back on 2008 I realize that these are only a handful of great memories from the year! I could also talk about some of the shows at Mid Michigan Community College, Live 08, the Higher Rock Café, Frenz Coffee House, The Harvest, Tunes by the Tridge, Sonic Skate, Journey’s, Live Wired, the Midland Mall, the Interfaith homeless shelter, etc… Or maybe just a few of the other great artists that I haven’t mentioned yet including my bro Jayson Simonson, Brett Mitchell, Josh Keene, Michael Hernandez, Tylor Reed, Frokus, Crimson Tide, Lenae Hale, Tim Pepper, Derek Turcsanyi, the list goes on and on. I played over 150 shows this last year, moved over 1500 copies of my demo album, started work on my new album, met tons of amazing people, so many cool moments it’s impossible to list them all. I am truly living the dream, and I thank God every day for the opportunities that he has given me to get out there. I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love to do, and to share it with you guys. Can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store. Buckle up!!
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