Lost and found.
It's been a while.
I've been in Nashville since Tuesday of last week. It has been a dizzy cycle of rehearsing, driving, and performing, but God has given us strength and joy in serving Him. It has been a good week.
My drive to Nashville was good. I had to first drive to Douglasville to get a van (which belongs to The Chariot, but they're not using it becuase they're using a tour bus... touring with P.O.D.), and then drive about 4 hours to Nashvegas. While driving, I listened to my favorite new band, As Cities Burn. The lyrics of this band have steadily amazed me. I seriously listened to this band almost the whole 4 hours of my trip. So good.
When I arrived in Nashville, the drummer that's playing this weekend and in California with us had to leave, so I needed to quickly unload all my gear, set up, and play 3 songs. I didn't even have a chance to pee. It was literally, "Cool. You're here. Let's practice." But, it was okay. We had a few days of rehearsal, and decided we would leave Thursday evening (around 6:00) for Atlanta. Upon our arrival in ATL, we would stay the night at our friends' house and leave for Orlando the next morning. But, life striked and we didn't even leave until 11:30 that (Thursday) night... which would've put us in Atlanta by 3:30 AM. But, our friends still insisted we stay with them. We got to Atlanta, and Casey said, "Do you guys just want to drive all the way to Orlando?" All of us kind of thought about it, and we all agreed, "Sure."
We made the 10-hour drive to Orlando and ended up at our friends' apartment. Everyone showered/slept/ate/caught up on Lost/etc. There was a time that I was hanging out in the living room by myself, and this girl walked in. She was one of the tenants at the apartment, but I didn't know her.
"Hey, I'm Lindsey."
"Cool, hey, I'm Joey."
That was that... or so I thought. A few minutes later, the group (band and friends) ended up going to Chipotle to eat lunch. I met up with my friends who play in Monochromatic (Cole and Dustin). It was really great to see them. So, we're eating a bit, and then more friends join us. Lastly, Lindsey (the girl I met earlier) walks up. I didn't know she was coming, and it was a pleasant surprise. Pleasant because I have a crush on this girl. I got her phone number, but I'm too much of a weenie to call her. Lindsey, if you're reading this, will you be my girlfriend? I think you're really beautiful and have an awesome personality. Call me. We'll have lunch.
The band ended up at Cornerstone Orlando on Friday afternoon around 5:00. If you've never been to Cornerstone, the layout is something like this: A big space with a bunch of stages. There were two main stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2), a showcase stage (side stage), and an indoor stage. Cool Hand Luke played at Stage 2. The set times were all staggered, so technically you had a chance to catch a little bit of every bands' set. Pretty cool.
Mark's fiancee's parents rented us a really awesome suite. Three bedrooms. 2 bathrooms. Washer and dryer. Big kitchen. BIG living room. What? Yea, it was insane. But, we got it and we were blessed. They even ordered us pizza, made us a big breakfast on Saturday morning, and took us to brunch on Sunday morning at Macaroni Grill. Seriously... this family was awesome. Back to Saturday.
We got to Cornerstone around 12:00 on Saturday afternoon. Cool Hand Luke was scheduled to perform at 6:05. We hung out for a while, cuaght up with friends, and watched bands. Nathan played drums for us for our set. He also drums for a band called Forever Change (who, by the way, are awesome and put on a great show). Get this -- we all never even rehearsed together! So, I was kind of nervous about that, but oh well. We set up quickly, and got Ronnie (who does sound for Underoath) to do our sound. Before we went on, Mark (keys/vocals) got up on the microphone and said, "We are not cool. If you're looking for something cool and a nice show, look somewhere else. Jesus Christ is our one and only good, true thing." Pretty much, it ruled. It set a nice tone for our set.
1,500 people. Watching us. My first time ever playing with Cool Hand Luke. My first time ever playing in front of that many people. What a show. Other than my guitar cutting out every now and again and my guitar's tone, the show went well. I had fun. I'm excited about this weekend and also the weekend after. If you've ever seen the TV show 8th and Ocean, we're playing with the band that does their theme song (The Afters). We're also playing with The Myriad, and that should be awesome.
Since, I've been on this trip, I've made a few new friends, and have grown closer to friends I've already known. I've been hanging out with basically 4 people. First, there's Mark. I've known him for ages. Second, there's Casey (who plays bass). I've only known him for about 3 months, but he's an awesome dude. Third, there's Amy, who is Mark's fiancee. Lastly, there's Maggie, who lives with Amy.
I like how Amy makes Mark excited and happy. I like how Mark is excited and happy about Amy. I like how Maggie laughs and how she genuinely feels like a happy person. I like how Casey makes Maggie laugh, and also makes others laugh. I like my friends in Nashville.
This week we've basically just rehearsed a lot. If we haven't been rehearsing, we've been hanging out with friends. Monday night we got to see Anathallo play at Rocket Town. Bottom line, I think Anathallo is the best band in the world. I'm lucky to be friends with them. Also, I've been watching the entire first episode of Lost. I'm a little over halfway, and am excited about season two. In fact, the reason I'm typing this is so that I can stay away from the TV (which is playing the ALL NEW episode of Lost). I'm not there yet, so I don't want to spoil anything. Lost is good.
This weekend we play Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Next weekend we play Del Mar and Anaheim. I don't know if I'll be playing with this band anymore after this month, but I think right now, my heart feels like I want to stay. But, my heart has always been a liar.
My times with the Lord have been a strong highlight of my week. He is showing me a lot of things that I can't really explain on a computer, but if you'd like to know, feel free to call me and ask about it. Actually, feel free to ask God about it. I'm sure He'll show you the same things.
I love you all. Be safe.
I've been in Nashville since Tuesday of last week. It has been a dizzy cycle of rehearsing, driving, and performing, but God has given us strength and joy in serving Him. It has been a good week.
My drive to Nashville was good. I had to first drive to Douglasville to get a van (which belongs to The Chariot, but they're not using it becuase they're using a tour bus... touring with P.O.D.), and then drive about 4 hours to Nashvegas. While driving, I listened to my favorite new band, As Cities Burn. The lyrics of this band have steadily amazed me. I seriously listened to this band almost the whole 4 hours of my trip. So good.
When I arrived in Nashville, the drummer that's playing this weekend and in California with us had to leave, so I needed to quickly unload all my gear, set up, and play 3 songs. I didn't even have a chance to pee. It was literally, "Cool. You're here. Let's practice." But, it was okay. We had a few days of rehearsal, and decided we would leave Thursday evening (around 6:00) for Atlanta. Upon our arrival in ATL, we would stay the night at our friends' house and leave for Orlando the next morning. But, life striked and we didn't even leave until 11:30 that (Thursday) night... which would've put us in Atlanta by 3:30 AM. But, our friends still insisted we stay with them. We got to Atlanta, and Casey said, "Do you guys just want to drive all the way to Orlando?" All of us kind of thought about it, and we all agreed, "Sure."
We made the 10-hour drive to Orlando and ended up at our friends' apartment. Everyone showered/slept/ate/caught up on Lost/etc. There was a time that I was hanging out in the living room by myself, and this girl walked in. She was one of the tenants at the apartment, but I didn't know her.
"Hey, I'm Lindsey."
"Cool, hey, I'm Joey."
That was that... or so I thought. A few minutes later, the group (band and friends) ended up going to Chipotle to eat lunch. I met up with my friends who play in Monochromatic (Cole and Dustin). It was really great to see them. So, we're eating a bit, and then more friends join us. Lastly, Lindsey (the girl I met earlier) walks up. I didn't know she was coming, and it was a pleasant surprise. Pleasant because I have a crush on this girl. I got her phone number, but I'm too much of a weenie to call her. Lindsey, if you're reading this, will you be my girlfriend? I think you're really beautiful and have an awesome personality. Call me. We'll have lunch.
The band ended up at Cornerstone Orlando on Friday afternoon around 5:00. If you've never been to Cornerstone, the layout is something like this: A big space with a bunch of stages. There were two main stages (Stage 1 & Stage 2), a showcase stage (side stage), and an indoor stage. Cool Hand Luke played at Stage 2. The set times were all staggered, so technically you had a chance to catch a little bit of every bands' set. Pretty cool.
Mark's fiancee's parents rented us a really awesome suite. Three bedrooms. 2 bathrooms. Washer and dryer. Big kitchen. BIG living room. What? Yea, it was insane. But, we got it and we were blessed. They even ordered us pizza, made us a big breakfast on Saturday morning, and took us to brunch on Sunday morning at Macaroni Grill. Seriously... this family was awesome. Back to Saturday.
We got to Cornerstone around 12:00 on Saturday afternoon. Cool Hand Luke was scheduled to perform at 6:05. We hung out for a while, cuaght up with friends, and watched bands. Nathan played drums for us for our set. He also drums for a band called Forever Change (who, by the way, are awesome and put on a great show). Get this -- we all never even rehearsed together! So, I was kind of nervous about that, but oh well. We set up quickly, and got Ronnie (who does sound for Underoath) to do our sound. Before we went on, Mark (keys/vocals) got up on the microphone and said, "We are not cool. If you're looking for something cool and a nice show, look somewhere else. Jesus Christ is our one and only good, true thing." Pretty much, it ruled. It set a nice tone for our set.
1,500 people. Watching us. My first time ever playing with Cool Hand Luke. My first time ever playing in front of that many people. What a show. Other than my guitar cutting out every now and again and my guitar's tone, the show went well. I had fun. I'm excited about this weekend and also the weekend after. If you've ever seen the TV show 8th and Ocean, we're playing with the band that does their theme song (The Afters). We're also playing with The Myriad, and that should be awesome.
Since, I've been on this trip, I've made a few new friends, and have grown closer to friends I've already known. I've been hanging out with basically 4 people. First, there's Mark. I've known him for ages. Second, there's Casey (who plays bass). I've only known him for about 3 months, but he's an awesome dude. Third, there's Amy, who is Mark's fiancee. Lastly, there's Maggie, who lives with Amy.
I like how Amy makes Mark excited and happy. I like how Mark is excited and happy about Amy. I like how Maggie laughs and how she genuinely feels like a happy person. I like how Casey makes Maggie laugh, and also makes others laugh. I like my friends in Nashville.
This week we've basically just rehearsed a lot. If we haven't been rehearsing, we've been hanging out with friends. Monday night we got to see Anathallo play at Rocket Town. Bottom line, I think Anathallo is the best band in the world. I'm lucky to be friends with them. Also, I've been watching the entire first episode of Lost. I'm a little over halfway, and am excited about season two. In fact, the reason I'm typing this is so that I can stay away from the TV (which is playing the ALL NEW episode of Lost). I'm not there yet, so I don't want to spoil anything. Lost is good.
This weekend we play Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Next weekend we play Del Mar and Anaheim. I don't know if I'll be playing with this band anymore after this month, but I think right now, my heart feels like I want to stay. But, my heart has always been a liar.
My times with the Lord have been a strong highlight of my week. He is showing me a lot of things that I can't really explain on a computer, but if you'd like to know, feel free to call me and ask about it. Actually, feel free to ask God about it. I'm sure He'll show you the same things.
I love you all. Be safe.