Excitement Builds

So, last week I talked about how excited I was for the new album “Back In Town” to be finished.  Finally getting the record done eliminated a huge stress for me.  Then there’s the immediate stress of getting it pressed, as well as making it available for online purchase.  But this is a huge week for us: 2 nights ago “Back In Town” became available on I-Tunes (and however many other online avenues), and I have confirmed that the hard copies have been delivered and will be available at our shows starting TOMORROW!  I guess my one last point of anxiety about this remains until I open one up and check to make sure it actually plays.  After that, everything will be smooth.  Wait, then the real work starts: promotion!  Crap.  Oh well, so much for taking it easy for a while.  But for now I am able to relax for just a moment and can say I’m so happy that the new music is finally out on I-Tunes and at all our shows from this point forward.  It has been great to see how excited the other guys are about this album too.  You can feel it within the group; all of us discussing the possibilities of where we can go with this band and the music.  It is refreshing to have a group of guys that all stand behind the music we’ve put out, and believe in it.  I hope as you hear the songs that you will be as pleased with them as we are.  

Since “Back In Town” was released on I-Tunes a few days ago, we have already received some incredible feedback about the album.  Please continue to let us know what you think.  I enjoy hearing your thoughts about our music.  I was really moved to read a post that one of our fans put on Facebook after listening to our album; she wrote about how she was able to relate to “The Memory” b/c she had also lost some friends in a car wreck several years ago but still misses them like crazy.  It was just so touching for me that someone was moved in some way by lyrics that I had written.  As a songwriter, that’s really what is important to me – for my lyrics to bring out some sort of emotion in people; to have an impact (however small it may be).  For a song of mine to have any significance in someone else’s life; wow.  It really humbles me.   Side note: the other thing that blows me away as a song writer is to see people actually sing along to our music.  Again, I’m just really humbled at those moments; knowing that people like a song enough to want to learn and memorize the lyrics. 

Part of the purpose of these writings has been to talk about some of the stuff we do off stage.  I really didn’t want to discuss it, but a lot of people have been asking about what happened the other night.  So here it is.  We were traveling at night to the next town on some snowing winding and hilly highway out in the middle of nowhere and came upon an accident.  A mini-van had run off the road down a hill and flipped over.  We were pretty much the first ones there, so we pulled over, and Josh and I got out to see if we could help while Kevin and Steve called 911.  Josh and I were able to help the lady and her 8 year old daughter out of the over-turned vehicle and up the hill to our van, where they waited with us for about 20 minutes until the paramedics arrived.  There were no major injuries, and we were so thankful that we were passing by at that moment.  I would have hated to think about how much worse it could have been for them in -15 degree weather if no one would have been there.  (And by the way, the mother did contact us the next day and let us know that both she and the daughter were safe and doing well.)

As much as I didn’t want to talk about what happened the other night, I do think it can serve as a platform to say this: HELP EACH OTHER!  There are so many tiny things that we can do that have such an enormous impact on other people’s lives.  Take an afternoon to volunteer at a homeless shelter; shovel the elderly neighbor’s driveway; donate to a charity; help someone with their bags at the grocery.   However small the act, it could mean the world of difference to someone.  And be kind to each other out there.  I’m sure we could all use a little compassion this winter. 

And now I will step down off of my soapbox for the evening. 

Since we officially have our album with us starting tomorrow, I wanted to quickly let everyone know where we are going to be in the next few months.  This weekend we are in Nebraska - Grand Island, Ord, and Lincoln.  Then we head up to North Dakota, with stops in Beulah, Williston, Minot, Bottineau and Bismarck/Mandan.  After that we bounce around from Minnesota (Proctor) to Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison, Superior and Chippewa Falls) with a few shows in Illinois (Savanna, Chicago, and Sterling).  I think we even have a gig coming up in Sanborn, Iowa at some point.   Oh, and we also finally get back down to Mississippi this spring as well.   If you’re near any of these areas, we really hope you’re able to make it out to the show.  For a more complete tour schedule, check out our WEBSITE. 

Well, I think that is all I have for today.  Again, thanks to everyone who has already downloaded our new album on I-Tunes.  And make sure you pick up a copy while you’re at the next show.  As always, make sure you check out our FACEBOOK fan page, and be sure to follow us on TWITTER.  If you like our band and our music, share us with all your friends too; spread the good word!  And keep letting us know what you want to read about on here.  Be safe.