WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION: Part 3

We left Searcy the third time and headed back to Tennessee. It was a grewat opportunity to spend some quality time with the in-laws ... except for the fact that we were in preparation for ACAFEST, so I didn't get much face time with the fam for a little while. However, the end result was memorable and meaningful for me as well as the rest of the Aca-fellas. We were blessed to perform with Acappella Classic!

It was, to say the least, a fantastic experience. I learn so much every time I get a chance to sing with Acappella alumni. I feel like I grow as a musician and as a Christian when I'm around those guys. So, if you are an Acappella alumni and you're reading this, thank you for giving yourselves to God and His work. You are an inspiration to me!

After ACAFEST, we traveled to Houston and Lufkin, TX for a couple of concerts at a couple of amazing churches. I hope to write more about them later, but I really need to move forward before winter gets here!

Next up, Brasil!!!

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION: Part 1

To say it's been a busy summer would likely contend for the "Most Understated Phrase of the Year" award.

It's been so busy, I haven't blogged for about three months.
It's been so busy, I haven't read any blogs for possibly more than three months.
It's been so busy, I forgot how to blog! (Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration.)

Either way, I've had a remarkable summer, to say the least. It all started with a trip to Kentucky that went horribly awry.

It was the first weekend of May. The Aca-fellas and I were scheduled to perform at a youth rally in Glasgow, KY that Saturday, then near Gulfport, MS the next day. As we drove toward Glasgow that Friday evening, the weather started getting pretty rough (cue the "Gilligan's Island" theme). Our plan was to drive to Jackson, TN, spend the night there, and go the final five-or-so hours to Glasgow the following morning. Well, we made it to Jackson, but not without some near misses.

As we got into Arkansas, we turned on the radio to hear whether we should be concerned about the weather or not. As it turned out, we should have been concerned. The weather man was talking about a tornado touching down and causing quite a bit of damage about an hour ahead of us. We decided to keep going. We figured if the tornado had already hit, it wouldn't come back there. A little while later, we found out there was a tornado touching down about an hour behind us. That's when we got a little nervous. We were surrounded by tornados!

By God's grace, we made it to a small motel in Jackson. It was raining pretty hard and steadily. The tornado sirens were going off ... all night long. People who know me know I don't sleep all that well on a regular basis. Heavy rain and sirens certainly didn't help matters much. The next morning we loaded up the van and started out of the parking lot. That's about as far as we got. We didn't realize how high the water in the parking lot was until we were wading through it from the van that had just been baptized (It was waist-deep.).  

After some phone calls and frustrations (and a ride on the back of a tow-truck ... inside the van), Wes got us up and running in a rental van. We made it to Glasgow about 30 minutes before we were to sing. Some of the guys had wet clothes. Some had really wet clothes. Either way, we got through the concert and loaded out when we found out that we wouldn't be going to Mississippi after all. A massive flood had struck Nashville - we had just driven through there a few hours before and were supposed to drive through there again - and we were stranded. Thanks to the kindness of Dale and Brenda Clark, we were put up for the night, worshiped with the Impact Church in Glasgow the next morning, and got on the road in the Clark's family vehicle on a northwestern route through Louisville, KY and St. Louis, MO on our way home. We made it home around 3:00 AM.

Looking back, it was only by the grace of God we made it anywhere that weekend. Interestingly enough, that was just the beginning of summer break!

How was your summer?

Next, more adventures in Arkansas.

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

AND WE'RE BACK!

I now deem Spring Break officially over! We had a great trip to Tennessee to visit friends and family, and to rehearse with the boys in preparation for our new and improved concert program, which debuts in less than a week. I hope to see some of you at an upcoming concert. Here's a short list of dates:

March

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Date: Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Time: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00p.m.

Location: Tulsa Fairgrounds (Central Park)

Event: Free Concert as a part of the Tulsa Workshop.

Contact: Shane Coffman (918) 520-6959

Web site: http://www.tulsaisww.com/

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 

Date: Sunday, March 28th, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Location: Oklahoma City Ford Center

Event: We will be performing the National Anthem at the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers NBA game (how cool is that?!)

Contact: http://www.oc.edu/thunder.aspx

April

North Richland Hills, Texas

Date: Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Location: Legacy Church of Christ

Event: Private concert for Oklahoma Christian University's North Texas Alumni Dinner Auction.

Info: http://www.oc.edu/auction

North Richland Hills, Texas

Date: Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Time: 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Location: Legacy Church of Christ

Event: Free Concert

Contact: http://www.legacycoc.org/ or call (817) 485-6749

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Date: Friday, April 16th, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00p.m.

Location: Riverside Church of Christ

Event: Free Concert

Contact: Kent Hall (505) 898-2627 or www.klajhall@aol.com

Web Site: http://www.minuteswithmessiah.com/church/rside.html

Amarillo, Texas

Date: Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Location: Central Church of Christ

Event: Concert - Tickets $10.00 adults, $7.00 children under 10 Groups of 10 or more $7.00 each.

Contact: (806) 373-4389 or http://www.amarillocentral.org/

Garland, Texas

Date: Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Saturn Road Church of Christ

Event: Free Concert
Contact: (972) 271-2444 or http://www.saturnroad.org/

May

Glasgow, Kentucky

Date: Saturday, May 1st, 2010

Time: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Location: Plaza Theater

Event: Free Concert for the IMPACT Youth Rally

Contact: Refuge Church of Christ (207) 678-4366

Picayune, Mississippi
Date: Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Location: First Baptist Church of Picayune

Event: Free Concert

Contact: Josh Spears (601) 337-0236

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Date: Friday, May 21st, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Location: TBA

Cincinnati, Ohio

Date: Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Location: Cincinnati Christian University

Event: Concert festival

Contact: http://www.acapellacinnati.eventbright.com/

Which concert will you attend?

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

GETTING THE ITCH

I'm so eager to get back on stage, I just don't think I can stand it! I'm also getting excited about the upcoming drum corps season, even though I won't get to see any live shows because of the touring schedule. I'm hoping to get a gig somewhere writing/teaching for a high school drum line in the upcoming season. If anyone knows of an OKC area line that needs some assistance, throw in a good word for me, and then let me know so I can pursue it, would ya?

Back to my original statement - getting back on stage. We have less than one month until our first full concert since November! For those of you who aren't counting, that's more than four months!! I can't put into words my level of excitement for the possibilities of what is ahead. We are working on new music, new "old" music, new not-quite-so-"old" music, and of course, some "old" music (gotta keep it all fresh). Some of you who are facebook fans of Acappella, or friends of mine, have seen some rehearsal videos of a few "old" tunes we are freshening up. That's not really even the tip of the iceberg. We are working on some major upgrades that will take our shows to the "next level" and beyond!

Hope to see some of you readers soon at a concert near you. If you find out we're going to be where you are, drop us a line and let us know. We could always use the encouragement!

In the meantime, we prepare for the Tulsa Workshop on March 27.

Hang on tight... it's gonna be a great trip!!

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE

When I tell you of true love will you listen?

If I sing of wondrous love will you hear?

Will you open up your heart

Be responsive from the start

to the love we'd love to share?

It's very near

Chorus:

Love, there's a special kind of love

That defines the human soul

Everyone should know

This special kind of love

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Love, there's a special kind of love

That will really see the best survive

Bringing a feeling so alive

This special kind of love

This special kind of love

For this special kind of love cannot be hidden

It's a power that cannot be overcome

Changing everything, it knows no other equal

And was shown to us through Jesus Christ His Son

(God's own Son)

Repeat Chorus

And this special kind of love will last forever

It will bring the promised land within our view

Meeting all our hearts' desires and true fulfillings

With transforming power to heal and make us new

Repeat Chorus

Special kind of love

This special kind of love

Special kind of love

This special kind of love

When I tell you of true love will you listen?

Scriptural Reference:

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. . . In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. . ."

1 John 4:7-9,17-18

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

TWO GUYS, ONE BIG DEAL

 This guy likes cows...

  

So does this guy...

This guy likes to hang around with this kid named Schad...

So does this guy...

This guy likes to sing...

So does this guy...

So what's the big deal about these two guys?

THEY'RE BOTH A YEAR OLDER!!!

Anthony Lancaster

Birthdate: January 29, 1988

Wes McKinzie

Birthdate: January 6, 1970

Happy Birthday, Boys!!!!

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again

On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again





On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way and our way

Is on the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
And I can't wait to get on the road again



© 1980; Full Nelson Music

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

SEE YOU IN SAGINAW!

For those of you who didn't know, or haven't been paying attention to the calendar, or don't really care either way, I wanted to let you know that the group of knuckleheads (and the 2 old guys) pictured above will be performing for the last time this year on Saturday and Sunday. This Saturday, we'll be at the Saginaw Church of Christ in Saginaw, TX. This will be a unique day for us. We're doing two concerts that day: at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

Then, on Sunday, we'll be heading down to Riesel, TX for a 7:00 PM concert. This concert was recently added as a community concert, so it's not on the Acappella website event calendar, but I'm sure people could find out where the concert will be if you ask around. The town is just the right size to find these types of things out easily!

If you live anywhere near either of those places and would like to see us (and meet Roo & Goo), this is a great opportunity!

Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate

Then And Now

Acappella twenty years ago...



Acappella ten years ago...



Acappella three months ago...



Isn't nostalgia fun?!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Mi Vida Loca!

Life is crazy right now! I've been on the road for the past couple of weeks (and my body aches because of it!), so I'm just now getting back to blog world. I posted what I could when I could and now I'm back for a few days, gearing up for the next series of events and packing up the house. Keep praying for my family and me as we take this great leap of faith! We are confident that God will take care of us, but there's always that pesky fear of the unknown.

(Yes, that is a skunk on my head)

Anyway, I wanted to post our concert schedule for the next few months as we know it now. I hope to see some of you at a concert sometime soon, especially if you're able to meet the Princess and the Sweet Pea!



Acappella
8/15/2009: Neosho, MO
Venue: Rocketdyne Road Church of Christ
1111 Rocketdyne Road
Time: 7:00:00 PM

8/22/2009: Plainview, TX
Venue: Fair Theater
717 Broadway St
Time: 7:00:00 PM

9/12/2009: Edmond, OK
Venue: Hardeman Theatre (OC)
2501 E. Memorial Road
Time: 7:30:00 PM

9/19/2009: Raleigh, NC
Time: 7:00:00 PM

11/21/2009: Saginaw, TX
Venue: Saginaw Church of Christ
201 Western Avenue
Time: 7:00:00 PM

11/29/2009: Danville, VA
Time: 7:00:00 PM

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

A Little Left Coast Flavor

We had a great time in San Diego this weekend. Met some great people. Saw some great sites. Ate some great food! Had a couple of great concerts. All in all, it was a good weekend. It would've been promoted to great if our wives had been there, but it was still good. I took some pics. Some were better than others, but they are pics anyway. Enjoy!


David Bates is the man! He took us to the beach and hung out with all day Sunday. We sure do love him and his family. Pray for his daughter, Suzanne, who is marrying an awesome dude, Jason Godfrey, on August 1.



They put us up in a very nice hotel resort, complete with multiple swimming pools (that we didn't visit), restaurants, and a health spa! Thank you, Town & Country Resort.



You know we always love performing for any sized audience. It was especially nice to perform for nearly 2000 people at the Convention Center!



Even better than performing big concerts is witnessing souls, like Verna, being given completely to Christ!



And then we put Allen to work at the airport!









Keep praying for my family and me in our new endeavors. Anyone wanna buy our house? Seriously. It's really a nice house. Anyone?

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Getting Back On The Road

So, we're finally traveling again. We will be in San Diego this weekend, then here in Nashville for ACAFEST next week. After that, we'll be in Rockford, IL on July 12 and then it's off to Brasil for 2 weeks! We're gearing up for an unforgettable summer. Hope to see you at a concert soon!

Also, keep us in your prayers as we go through this life change. There are obstacles and challenges we have to face in order to answer God's call. Pray that we will overcome any and every hurdle placed in our path as we reach for the goal set before us. Remember James 5:16 and remember us when you're before the Father.

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

A Big Ol' Double-Shot, part 1

Hey Kids! I know it's been a while, so here are a pair of blogs to kinda play catch-up for the last few weeks.

We got to visit northeastern Pennsylvania a couple weekends ago which landed us in Scranton, PA, home of Dunder and Mifflin Paper Company. Of course, “The Office” is filmed in California, but the city of Scranton is still capitalizing from the show’s success. So, for all you fans of “The Office,” we (Mark “Kix-in-the-Mix” Hixson and I) took a couple of pics that I thought would be fun to share. Most of them are kinda tough to see, so I’m posting some of the better ones. Hope you enjoy!

Kix wanted some pics with some of the characters from the show. 


Another shot with more “people” 


Kix at the “Crystal Club“


The famed “Farley’s Pub,” complete with Bouncer


We also had a great time in concert at the Spruce Lake Retreat in Canadensis, PA. We spent the day with a
great bunch of people celebrating Labor Day weekend. 


We had a total blast on this trip. We hope to see more of our Aca-friends soon at a concert near you!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Whirlwind Weekend

I'm recovering from a whirlwind of a weekend. Lots of stuff can go down in four days, and did it ever! I have to take this opportunity to thank Rhonda Coleson, our booking agent, for all of her help and support. She's been awesome and we couldn't have made it through this weekend without her. So, the ten peso version of the story is: we went to Little Rock, Dallas, and Searcy, AR, leaving on Friday and returning yesterday. It was a fun trip and we are glad to be back in Nashville.

Now here's the million dollar version!

Friday, June 13th
Zach Wilson and I drive the Acappella van and trailer to Little Rock. The original plan was for us to get there around 6:00 PM and get settled into our housing for the night. Arrangements had been made for our van and trailer to be cleaned and detailed in Little Rock on Saturday while we flew to Dallas. Most of that plan happened the way it was supposed to...except for the van. It broke down again. We were driving down I-40 toward Memphis, not quite an hour out of Nashville, and it just quit running. We had to pull onto the side of the road and start making phone calls. Somehow, the van started again and we got back on the road. There were lots of prayers going up on our behalf, and they worked! We eventually made it to Little Rock around 8:00 and got the van where it needed to be. Zach stayed with our booking agent's sister and her husband, and I stayed with my best friend's brother and his wife. It was great to see them and spend a little time with them. It was a long day, but we got through it and prepared ourselves for Saturday. (by the way, it was also my late brother, Ron's, birthday. He would have been 42.)


Saturday, June 14th
Zach and I flew from Little Rock while Zac George, Allen Brantley, and our newest member, Anthony Lancaster (if that name sounds familiar, it's because he's our boss' son) flew from Nashville to Dallas. We all met there to be inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame. That's an experience I won't forget. We were inducted along with the likes of the Jordanaires (featuring one of my heroes, Ray Walker) who sang for a time with Elvis Presley, the Cathedrals, Lulu Roman from Hee-Haw, songwriter David Meece, the Imperials, Jessy Dixon, the Florida Boys, and many other pioneers in the Christian music world. There were also tributes to Larry Norman (Bebo Norman's dad and the "father of Christian rock music")and Dottie Rambo, one of the greatest gospel music songwriter who ever lived. Both Larry and Dottie died earlier this year, so it was a great night. We were honored and humbled to have been a part of it.

Sunday, June 15th
We flew back to Little Rock and were met at the airport by our freshly cleaned van and trailer, courtesy of Kevin, another brother-in-law of our booking agent. We drove our nice clean van an hour away to Searcy for the first of three concerts at Harding University for Uplift. After we checked into the hotel, Jacob and Laura, who both work for Harding, took us to lunch at the Rib Crib. That's good eatin' right there! We headed back to the auditorium and got our lights and sound set up. It was the first time we had set up lights since October, so the process was a little slower than normal, but we got it done in time. We had some dinner (Brick Oven Pizza) and went to the hotel to get ready for the concert. I finally got to call my dad and wish him a happy father's day. I hope you did too! Anyway, we had our devo time and then a 10:00 PM concert that was electric! The crowd was hyped and we just had a blast. Anthony did great, too, for his first Acappella concert. We took our equipment down and moved it to the back of the stage (because we'll be back again) and went to bed.

Monday, June 16th
We left the hotel at 7:00 AM so we could get Zac back to Nashville for work before 2:00. We got fuel and breakfast and drove about 15 miles down the road to Bald Knob (yes, that is the name of the town) and the van broke down again. This time, it didn't start again. To make a long story short(er), we had the van towed back to Searcy to be repaired, the trailer was towed to an impound lot for safe keeping, we rented a van that was a little bit too small for us and our equipment and luggage, and drove back to Nashville. I managed to get only one speeding ticket, even though I was going the same speed as everybody else. Yeah, that happened. Anyway, we got back to Nashville around 5:30 (no, Zac didn't get to work) and had just enough time to get the van unloaded and take it to the rental place five minutes before it closed (now you understand that if I hadn't been speeding, I wouldn't have gotten the van to the rental place in time and would've been charged over $300 extra. I saved the company some major money!). It was nice, though, because Anthony took me to Stephanie's parents' house just in time for my birthday party! That's what you call a happy birthday!!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

Oh Canada!

Well, we finally had our first concert of the year...with our new singer...in Canada. It was a lot of fun but a really quick trip. We left Saturday morning and got back Sunday evening. Good times, though.

Our direct flight to Toronto was quite bearable. Although it was a small plane, we toughed it out for the two-hour flight. Going through customs was a new experience for me. Of course, I'd been through customs several times before, but this was the first time I had this particular conversation in customs.

Customs Agent (CA): "What's your business here in Canada?"
Me: "Performing a concert tonight."
CA: "What do you do?"
Me: "I sing."
CA: "Should I know you?"
Me: "Probably not."
CA: "I had this same conversation with someone else recently. I asked the guy, 'Michael Bubble...should I know you?' and he said 'It's Buble (pronounced boo - blay) and I'm with the blah blah record label.' I still had no clue that I was supposed to know who he was."
Me: "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha..."
CA: "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha... Have a good show!"

Pure magic.

Mike, our promoter, met us after customs and drove us about 45 minutes to eat at a Mongolian grill in Waterloo, appropriately named "JB's Mongolian Grill." The food was really very good. After lunch, we drove a couple more blocks and arrived at the University of Waterloo campus. Our venue was a fairly small, intimate theatre that seated roughly 700 people. As we pulled up to the stage door, we saw the "sold out" signs and knew it was going to be a good night.

We did our set up and sound check, ran through some songs with JJ, the new guy, and chilled in the green room until devo time. Just before we started devo, one of our good friends from Camp Casowasco in upstate New York, Donnie Schussler, surprised us in the green room. He ended up spending devo time with us and praying for us before we got dressed and ready to rock.

And rock we did! It was a really fun concert. One of the most fun concerts I've been a part of in a long time. The only concert I've been a part of in a long time. It had been three months minus one day since our last concert. It felt great to be on stage again.

JJ did a great job. He knew his stuff and sang his face off. Nobody really knew it was his first concert until we said something about it...at the end of the concert! Good times.

After the concert was "meet 'n greet" which was an experience in itself. There were lots of people from foreign lands like Brazil and Africa. We even got to hear an African quartet sing a song for us. Beautiful!

We went to our housing site, the home of Dave and Patty Knutson (sp?) where we ate homemade chicken fetuccini alfredo and drank hot apple cider. Did I mention the temperature was below freezing the entire time we were there and snow and ice was all over the place? Yeah, that happened. So after we had eaten and warmed up a bit, it was time for bed. I don't know about the rest of the guys, but I slept great. We woke up Sunday morning to fresh biscuits and gravy, bacon, fruit, coffee, and juice. By the way, Patty is originally from Alabama. After breakfast, they took us to the Waterloo Church of Christ where we shared the Lord's Supper with that family and then headed back to Toronto to the airport...on icy roads most of the way.

Did you know there's a small patch of land in the Toronto airport that is "American soil?" We went through customs there, instead of Cincinatti where we changed flights, which was awesome because we only had an hour scheduled between flights and customs can take a while sometimes. It was very nice! We made it back to the great Nash Vegas safely. Now, we take the next step...whatever that is!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

BRASIL: day 1 - Vamos! (Let’s go!)

[October 29, 2007] Let the madness begin! We left Nashville today on a two-week tour of the beautiful land called Brasil. I'm a little skittish about this trip for some reason. Maybe it's because my roommate (Zac's wife) Lacey didn't get to come with us (please pray for her a lot). Maybe it's because I'm leaving all my friends and family behind for a couple weeks with very little, if any, contact with them. By the way, I really miss you guys way more than you know. Maybe it's because we've been on the road in Louisiana for most of the past week and we're not used to being gone so long, or to being so continually busy. Whatever the reason, it's gonna be a long, trying, fun trip. I know God has some amazing things in store for us this time around.
We have had a great trip so far. We got back from Monroe, LA around 9:30 last night and did a little last-minute laundry before sleeping in our own beds for the first time in six days. We got up this morning, re-packed, ran errands, and then met at the studio so we could all go to Chili's for a great lunch together. After lunch, it was off to the airport for the smoothest check-in we've had in the more-than-two years I've been with the group. We sat in the gate area for a couple hours before boarding our plane to Atlanta. To pass the time, Byron led a short "airport devo" to help us focus our minds on our goals for this trip. The rest of the time was spent on the phones or the iPods or the computers or whatever other fun stuff we could find to occupy our minds.
After our 35-minute flight to Atlanta, we grabbed a quick bite and got on our plane to Sao Paulo as we said our goodbyes to those closest to us. As I write, we are nearing the tenth and final hour of this overnight flight. We have a very busy day ahead of us full of meetings, interviews, driving, and no sleep. Since I don't sleep much on planes, this will be a tough day for me. I've already started taking pictures, though, and I hope to write daily to keep you informed about us.
I'm watching my first Brasilian sunrise and it's breathtaking! This is gonna be a great trip. Thank you, Jesus!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

BRASIL: day 2 - Oi! (Hey!)

[October 30, 2007] This day has been among the longest of my life. Once we landed at 6:45 AM (that's 3:45 AM CST), we breezed through customs and picked up our luggage from an uncomfortably busy conveyor belt. We met up with our contact people (Saulo, F.H., Simval, and a few others) and drove to our first of four radio and television interviews. It took nearly two hours to drive across this city of 14 million people, and we found out later that we only drove about 20 miles.
After sitting around for a long time and perfecting our game plan several times, we went in and hit a home run on Brasilian national tv. Keith even sang some with us. Post interview, we had the pleasure of meeting Anderson Ramos, our opening act and translator for each concert here. He's a great Brasilian Christian who now lives in Richmond, VA. He's a lot of fun so far.
We ate lunch and did a press conference at the restaurant where lunch was. We were scheduled for another interview on a tv show but there was some wait time. They took us to the top of the building where the restaurant was, maybe 20 stories high, and we took pictures of each other and the city. Sao Paulo is huge!
We finally got to our hotel for a little rest before going to dinner and our fourth tv show of the day. The show lasted somewhere around two hours and started around 10 PM. Since the majority of the show was a debate over taxes (something the people of Brasil don't have much of a say over) the audience was about as drained and tired as we were. We had been on a plane all night and only got a couple hours to rest after doing three interviews, lunch, pictures, and rode in a van...a lot! We were pretty much exhausted! God kept us awake and alert enough to finish the day, though.
It's very late now and I'm very tired. Tomorrow will be busy but not as taxing as today, or so we've been tole. Let's hope we were told right!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

BRASIL: day 3 - Churrascaria (Brasilian bar-be-que joint)

[October 31, 2007] Today started off with a bang...or some type of explosion any way! I am pretty sure I ate exactly the wrong thing yesterday because my stomach was not at all happy with me when I woke up. What `s worse is that I didn`t realize there was a problem until it was way too late. In order for me not to get graphic, let`s just say my tummy is not happy. No bueno!

We met in the lobby around 11:30 this morning and left for lunch around noon. Saulo and the crew took us to a churrascaria, a brasilian bar-be-que restaurant, and we ate our weight in meats (about 20 different cuts) and a monstrous salad / food bar. I have to say I was sad to have woken up sick, but that didn`t stop me from eating very, very well. After lunch, which ended with a beautiful dark chocolate mousse cake, we went to our first of two interviews for the day, stopping on the way to get me some indigestion meds. The hour-and-a-half-long drive took us away from metropolitan Sao Paulo to a biblical institute where we did both interviews for radio and tv. They took us on a tour of the building after the interviews and we sang a couple songs on the fly for the employees there. They prayed over us and we headed back to town so we could get to the airport for a flight to Campo Grande (pronounced Gran-je). We ate a quick bite and parted ways with Saulo and the crew until we return to Sao Paulo in a few days. We, including Anderson, boarded the plane and had a smooth flight to Campo Grande. Upon our arrival we were welcomed by a happy mob who gave us gifts of t-shirts and cds of themselves, Grupo Familia, and we did a quick interview followed by pictures. Once we finished up and loaded our luggage into the van, we went to our hotel. It`s 12:45 AM now and we have a pretty early morning ahead of us. More interviews before the first concert. It`s bedtime. I need my beauty sleep. Hello melatonin! Let`s make that happen. Nite, nite!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

BRASIL: day 4 - Concert no Campo Grande (Concert in Campo Grande)

[November 1, 2007] I`m feeling much better today. Thanks for asking. My tummy still cramps up a little but I`m okay. Good thing I feel better, too. Today was our first Brasilian concert.

We woke up pretty early after a late night and went to a tv studio near our hotel for the first of four interviews. This was a Seventh Day Adventist radio station and the people there were just as warm and friendly as ever. It seems that most of the people are working with are Seventh Day Adventists and are some of the sweetest people we have had the pleasure of working with. We took some pics after the interview and then went to a different studio where Grupo Familia records a lot of their music. We did a couple tv spots there, after which we got to hear an unfinished cut from their upcoming album. It rocked my face off! It had a little bit of a Blood, Sweat, and Tears sound to it. Great work!

From that studio, we went to a local tv station where we met up with Keith and Sharon. They got to sleep in a little bit. We knocked that interview out and went to another tv studio to put another one down. It was finally lunch time so we went to a restaurant that is owned by one of the people responsible for bringing us to Campo Grande. And it was good.

We had a few hours of down time at the hotel before heading to the venue for sound check. After working out a few tech kinks we retreated to the dressing room where we worked out a few song kinks with Keith and Cory Martin (who is doing an job, by the way). Zach Wilson led our minds in devotional and prayer and, after Anderson sang a few really nice songs, we took the stage. The crowd of about 1000 loved us...maybe a little too much!

After the concert, we were ambushed in the lobby for pics and autographs. Madness! Pure mayhem! We had to be herded out of the lobby like a flock of sheep. It was insane!

So we packed up and went back to Multiplus restaurant where we had lunch. Since the concert started at 9:00 PM, we didn't get to dinner until midnight or later. The best part about the whole day is that we get to meet in the hotel at 3:30 AM to leave for the airport to catch a 5:00 AM flight to Goiania. That gives us two whole hours to shower, pack, and nap (if we so choose), before we are to be downstairs ready to go. It's tough being a superstar...especially when your tummy hurts! Poor, poor, pitiful me!

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

BRASIL: day 5 - Bom Dia (Good day - pronounced bon jeeah)

[November 2, 2007] I guess today could be a continuation of yesterday. We left our hotel at about 4:00 this morning to head to the airport and it really wasn't a long flight. I think it only took an hour to get here, same as Sao Paulo to Campo Grande. Since we hadn't really slept yet, we were really not ready for the reception awaiting us as we arrived. At 7:00 AM local time (we changed times from Campo Grande) there was a gathering of about 20 - 30 "paparazzi" waiting to welcome us to their state and city. Those of you who know me and know how grumpy I am in the morning after a full night's sleep can imagine me dealing with a gang of strangers wanting pics with me after a 30-minute nap overnight. Really it wasn't so bad. I took the pictures, said hello, acted politely, and eventually got to the van. As we headed to our hotel we learned that we wouldn't have to do a morning full of interviews and such. Just rest, lunch, one short interview later, and dinner...with more rest.

We had a bit of a mob scene happening on the way to the hotel. As far as I could tell from the cramped van, there was at least one car full of people and a motorcycle with two people on it that followed us to the hotel taking pics and video the whole time. When we got there the rest of the mob had either met us there or followed us, but they managed to get a short interview out of us that went to 150 cities in the area. Then we slept. We slept until lunch (about four hours) which we ate in the hotel. Then we slept a couple hours more until our interview for the day (it was supposed to be two but one group never showed up). We had more down time and then it was dinner time. They took us to a brasilian pizza parlor where the pizza was delivered to each table by hand, a la churrascaria, and we took slices off the tray as they offered them to us.

They took us to a rehearsal of local gospel chorus Agape (emphasis on the first syllable, not the last like English). They sang a couple songs for us and we sang a little bit with them. They sounded incredible! I'm noticing how seriously people here take music. It's like it's a part of them. Sound familiar? After taking a few pics with them, we came back to the hotel for the night. Some of us went up to the roof for a few minutes to notice how big and beautiful this city is. I really love it here, but I'm definitely missing home...and you. Wish you were here!

This is craziness. We haven't even sang here yet and people are treating us like we hung the moon. I just want them to see Jesus in all we do, not us. Please pray for the people here more. Today was a good day. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better. Don't forget, it's "FREE HUGS FRIDAY!!!"

Peace, Love, and Chocolate