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 october 22, 1996
Notes from the Road almost home. the tour isn't over, but we have 5 or 6 days off in houston before we leave for another 2 1/2 weeks. the last three shows were in virginia, one at a frat house on uva campus, one at an outdoors amphitheater, and one in richmond. the first show really wasn't a show at all. there was a huge (huge) young life fund raising bash at a frat house, and we were invited to come by and play. we got there, and there were about 300 people packed into this little room. there was a little stage, and a lot of enthusiasm. there were a few other bands playing that night (all of the bands rocked!). by the time we played, we had to climb into the window behind the stage in order to get in. we ended leaving the same way. we played three or four songs, and couldn't hear a thing. if you were there, and we sounded awful, i apologize. even still, we had such a blast out there. the second show was outdoors at an amphitheater on campus at uva, and it was stinking cold. when we were playing the outdoor show at duke we thought that we were cold. even the virginia locals were cold at the uva show. i'm not sure what the temperature was, but i would guess that it was about 40 degrees where i was, and i was standing right beneath the lights. i'll tell you what though, even in the cold, we had a great time. the folks came out and stood out in the cold with us, and even hung out for hours afterwards. some guy even let me wear his big fur hat between songs. if you ever get up that way, try and eat at 'little john's' sandwich shop. it rocks. you'd better know just what you want before you get to the counter though. i have to tell you that the biggest highlight of the first two shows was that a friend of mine from kentucky, named kevin schuer, drove down to hang out and see the shows. he brought a friend of his named andrea thomas, and the three of us got to go to taco bell and eat, and just hang out and talk. kevin is one of the funniest and most talented guys that i know. when i grow up i want to sing just like him. just being with he and andrea was such a blessing. i so needed to see a familiar face, and i rarely catch up with kevin other than via email, so it was a real treat. andrea and i had a chance to talk theology for a while, and the whole thing was just amazing. thanks you guys. the last show was in richmond, and it was great, but a bit of a surprise. most of the people there were more jr. high and high school age, rather than college age, but they were a total blast. from the minute we got there, everyone was so anxious to help, and so excited that we were there. i believe that we were kind of an experiment for them, seeing as we were their first concert they'd ever had there. everyone up front was dancing the whole time, starting when ridgely got up there, right up until our last song. we're not really used to signing autographs, but that night we signed everything from cds, to picks, to empty arizona ginseng ice tea bottles. it was such a great ending to a long trip. we swung through atlanta to drop off don 'big audio dynamite' mccollister, and then headed here, to baton rouge, in order to drop off the ridgely boys. we got here this afternoon, and the peter's (eric's mom and dad) had some incredible food ready for us, as usual. we all ate our weight in gumbo and jambalaya, and are now sitting around on couches, smiling. we're leaving here at about 1 am tonight and making the final trek to houston. please be in prayer for mike, our amazing and fashionable bus driver, that he gets his rest. we have grown so close to everyone on this trip. we've all become a great big happy family. we'll miss playing for a few days, but it'll be good to get some rest. while i'm home on my days off, i'm going to continue to journal, so don't you take days off from stopping by. i'm going to try and get to some songs that i've written that we don't play, and talk about a few other things that have been on my mind. you don't know what it means to me that this journal is getting read. to everyone that has read any of these entries, emailed, prayed, or come out to any of these shows: you'll never know the huge part that you've played in keeping us on the road, and keeping us encouraged. thank you so much. i pray that God will bless you back 10 fold. i look forward to seeing you whenever we get out your way. i'll write next from houston.
take care- ps- i'm not sure if any of you have visited the chat room that is located on this page, but i plan on getting on there and talking to whoever i can find as soon as i get home. i'll try and let you know when i plan on being there, and we can all talk live. hopefully i'll be able to set a weekly time that i'll be able to get on for an hour or so. i'll let you know on the journal once a time gets nailed down. i hope to run into you out there... |
