I didn’t plan on going to the Gospel Music Awards last night. Honestly it didn’t really cross my mind. I assumed I wouldn’t go and just hear about it later.  As it turned out I ended up going obviously and was pretty impressed.  In years past I had heard a bunch of negative stuff surrounding the Doves.  I had heard that it was long and boring and self-absorbed and all that.  Maybe it has been, but this year was pretty impressive.  I got to the Grand Ole Opry House a little early because Phil was performing during the pre-show.  We hung out backstage with a the guys from Switchfoot, and a bunch of folks that were running in and out like maniacs.  Phil performed “True Love” and blew the place up.  I have seen him perform this song probably fifty times and this time was easily one of the best times I had heard it.  If there was ever a time to nail the sing like he did it was then.  He did a great job and had a great response.

Once the show started Phil, Evan and I made our way to our seats for the part of the show that was actually televised.  We were upstairs in the balcony next to the Tenth Avenue North guys, which by the way have an amazing record coming out May 20th.  Great guys and a brilliant record.  But I will talk about that later.

Once of the first awards given out was Female Vocalist Of The Year and Natalie won that right after she performed with Wynonna to open the show.  Natalie did a great job and it was cool to see her and her husband, Bernie, collectively win three Doves.  It was also cool to each of their responses when the other one won.

A little later the guys in the Crowder Band played.  They had a pretty cool stage set up with fake grass and growing flowers.  Very Sufjan. They did a great job, and it was cool to run into them at dinner before the show.  I don’t remember what awards David and the guys took home, but it was cool to see them play again.

Later in the show Switchfoot performed a new song of theirs that was written for the new Narnia movie.  They had a small string section with them and nailed an amazing song.  I was pretty blown away by it.  I don’t know how they do it but they come up with so many great songs, and this one is no exception.  It’s one I almost wish I could have heard as it was being broadcast on TV simply so I could hear a really good mix and hear all the parts.  Either way I was really impressed and it was cool to see them again.  

Another highlight of the night was the closing song where Mac performed with Charlie Daniels.  It was pretty unbelievable and everyone on stage looked like they were having a great time.  

Once the show ended we hung out a bit on the floor talking to people and figuring out who was going and how we were all getting to the after show party.  Then we all drove to some hotel where there was food, music and lots of tired artists.  I had no intention of staying late but ended up leaving about midnight.  

All in all it was a really cool night.  It was fun to hang out with everyone in a completely different environment.  Not to mention it was a cool experience for me to be able to be a part of.  I have grown up hearing about and watching these types of award show things, so it was cool to be a part of one.  And say what you want about the industry, self-glorification, and all that.  I say last night was a fun party and a celebration for a bunch of crazy talented people.  I don’t know much about the politics of it, but I know I personally had a great time.  I just hope Kristin can go with me next year. 

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Yesterday I think I saw more performances than any one person should be allow in one day. The day started meeting up with Phil and hanging out with him and his brother.  After a while Phil needed to sound check so I left and wandered around until I found myself at the venue where Jars, Third Day and Switchfoot were going to play later in the night.  I said hi, sat there a while watching my phone battery die and then left.  

INO Records was hosting (I don’t know if that is what it’s called but it sounds good) a showcase with a handful of their artists, including Phil so I went that way to catch that.  I think these little showcase things are fun simply because the artists played two or three songs each and then there was another one.  Addison Road, Phil, Sara Groves, Caedmon’s Call, Derek Webb, and The Afters.  It was awesome to see some of those folks play and hang out a bit.  

After that ended Wes and I walked a few blocks over just in time to catch the beginning of Swithfoot’s set.  Now I have see a lot of shows in my day, and I have even seen Switchfoot a few times, but last night they put on, what could quite possibly be, the best live rock show I have ever seen.  They blew me away.  They have come a long way from Chem 6A that’s for sure.  Unbelievable entertainers and if you haven’t seen them, now is the time.  They are about to head out on tour with Jars, and Third Day and the show is pretty amazing.  

It had also been a while since I had seen Third Day so it was cool to see them play some new stuff.  And by the way, Mr. Mark Lee, brought his “A-Game” last night.  A genuine rock and roller that guy is.  There were even some new things he was doing on old songs that blew me away.  They put on a great show as always.

About half-way through Third Days set I walked back out to the back of the room and saw a group of the cool-kid bloggers.  Randy and his wife were there, along with Anne and her husband, Chris and Heather but no Carlos.  They had all come over from the Compassion Dinner and stopped in to see the show.  I felt like the geek in high school that was waved over to the nice popular kids table.  Come on, we all know the feeling.  It was cool to hang out with them for a bit and talk loudly about blogs.  All very, very cool folks.  When that ended it was about time to head home, but I ended up talking to Anne and Chris in street about blogs, and “the industry”, and books and critics.  We talked way past our bed times and then I headed home, but it was cool to get to know them a little better.

All in all, a good day.  Today I’m not sure what the plan is yet, but I’ve got some diapers to change, I do know that.

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I have had a lot of jobs in the past. I mean a lot. In fact since last night I have been trying to think of them all so I could make a list. I started working when I was about fifteen helping out at different construction sites and from then on it was several unbelievably random jobs. So I thought it would be fun to try to list all the jobs I have had since then. Here goes.

Keep in mind, I have an atrocious memory, and some of these may be out of order.

- Construction site cleaner upper guy (Northern California)
- Dairy Queen (Northern California)
- Paver (As in road paving, asphalt stuff for a Paving company)
- Bookstore Employee (Northern California)
- Graphic Design Intern (Portland, OR)
- JC Penny’s Warehouse Truck Loader (Southern California)
- Movie Prop Warehouse Truck Loader (Southern California)
- Borders Books (Southern California)
- Landscaper (Northern California)
- Natural Foods Warehouse Forklift Driver (Northern California)
- Mailman (Yes For the US Postal Service) (Northern California)
- Paint Store Employee (Northern California)
- 911 Dispatcher (Northern California)
- Assistant Road Manager (Third Day - Tennessee)
- Merchandise Seller (Audio Adrenaline - Tennessee)
- Assistant Road Manager (MercyMe - Tennessee)
- Road Manager (Shaun Groves - Tennessee)
- Road Manager (Phil Wickham - Tennessee)
- Some sort of blogging thing that’s hard to explain.

Okay, your turn. List every job you have had since you started working. Have fun.

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I’m not sure if any of you have heard, but Third Day as a band and their guitarist Brad Avery have decided to part ways.

Third Days site reads:

Third Day and Brad Avery have made the very difficult decision to part ways.

We appreciate Brad’s many contributions to the band’s career to date, including his work on our forthcoming album, but the time has come for us to follow our separate paths.

He has been an important part of Third Day for the last 13 years as we’ve traveled the world together and performed over 1,000 concerts. We will miss him as a band member but he will always remain our brother and our friend. Brad is a wonderful person, gifted songwriter and talented musician. We trust that God has amazing plans for his future.

Brad is a great guy and an amazing guitar player. We we able to hang out quite a bit a few years ago when I was out with them. Hopefully this means that he will be doing some solo stuff in the future. Best of luck to both him and the band as they are going through this change.

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Last night I met up with a great friend of mine at a little pub here in town to just talk for a few hours. We try to get together every few weeks or so if time permits, and after several weeks of trying to set something up we finally made it happen.

I’ve known Dale and his wife Jenn since I was literally about ten or so, maybe even younger. Eventually they got married and moved to Portland, Oregon, and I was the ring bearer in their wedding. After high school I went up to intern with Dale at an advertising firm for a brief time in Portland and a few years back I helped drive the moving truck from Portland to Nashville when they moved here, just weeks before we moved here. I know it’s a pretty quick history of our relationship but all that to say that sometimes something as simple as hanging out a a pub with a friend that’s known you forever is nice.

Dale is the mastermind behind IdeaDen, the web company designing websites for artists. You might know a few of the people he has worked with. Switchfoot, Third Day, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Afters, Mandy Moore, and Paul Brandt, and a several others. He’s a pretty rad photographer. And he even has a blog, make sure you drop in and say hi. All that keeps him a pretty busy guy, not to mention, his wife, Jenn is Third Days road manager, and they have three teenagers at home. So all of that makes it tough to meet up and that’s why its a cool, relaxing time when we are able to.

Last night we were able to talk about some ideas involving blogging, web stuff, music stuff, and more importantly how are families were doing. Dale’s got some crazy insight on how this web stuff works, so it was fun to bounce ideas off of him and see where we ended up. Last night we ended up with some empty pints and the realization that we needed to hang out more.

Head over to the Den Blog and check it out.

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If you haven’t been reading Mark Lee’s blog… well, that’s just silly. There’s no reason not to. And I’m not just saying that because he said nice things about me. Mark’s blogs was one of the first I started reading and he has kept it up pretty regularly even though he’s a huge rock star.

Mark and I have been talking about a super secret project for a long time and as soon as we are in the same area for more than an hour we will unveil it in all it’s glory. But for now it’s something we talk about once or twice a month.

So if you haven’t, check out Mark’s blog and make sure to say hi.

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