Day Six / April Tour

Paralytic / Dead Poetic

Paint the lines on perfect eyes that circle the object of
My sincere affection, my undivided attention.

Lie where you won’t see yourself in that way.
And we’ll ride to somewhere.

All we are is paralyzed from the face down.
We’re still alive with our fake smiles.
When the camera’s away.

Don’t remember this. No, don’t remember this.
We are losing it all, but we are gaining the world with our hands tied.
Your arms placed upon mine.
And the sky looks so right, and you’re mine tonight.

Lie where you won’t see yourself in that way.
And we’ll ride...

All we are is paralyzed from the face down.
We’re still alive with our fake smiles.
When the camera’s away

-

I haven't written in a couple days. I apologize.

To be honest... we were in Tacoma the other day and I had written up a whole new post but then suddenly lost internet connection. It was pretty lame.

Well, as of now, we are near Portland, Oregon, at our friends in Brightwood's house. If you have never given them a listen, I urge you now to head over to their myspace page. The songs structures, melodies, and lyrics are beautiful. Never have I been so proud to be on the road. It has been an honor to share the stage with them on this tour thus far.

Last night's show has been the best experience by far on this tour. There was a great crowd and we had the chance to see some familiar faces. When people drive hours to see you, the feeling is unexplainable. Thank you to all our friends and family that continue to come out to our shows and support us. We would have been done the day we started this band if it wasn't for you. Thank you.

Today, I am oblivious as to what we are doing. Some of the dudes in Brightwood are cooking us some breakfast/lunch as of now, so we will be spending as much time with them as possible, then probably heading out to Corvallis and Eugene to be with some good old friends.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! And if you haven't noticed, each day I listen to so much music, but I like to post the lyrics to the songs that impacted me the most on that day. If you haven't heard of any of these bands, then please, check them out. Give them a listen. They make what we are doing currently worth it. 

I hope you are all well...

Day Three / April Tour

I Woke Up Near The Sea / Lydia

So it's another night in my bed
'Cause I can't sleep
And oh, it wears on your shoulders
Just please don't ever leave
Me here, don't ever leave
Don't you leave

Start out like a sailor
And bring back all you need
So everyone else can
Try and get some sleep

It turns out you were into yourself
It turns out you could find your way out
Just once more for my baby girl

It turns out you were into yourself
It turns out you could find your way out

And so I woke up near the sea,
Sailing in my dreams
You are already falling back in love with me
Just fall back in love, yeah
Just fall back in love

It's just the season on your back
It's just the way we know to act

It turns out you were into yourself
It turns out you could find your way out
Just once more for my baby girl

And no one ever knew...

-

Thirteen hours. Sacramento to Seattle. We had one night/morning to complete this. We arrived in Seattle around seven this morning. I ended up driving eight of the hours voluntarily because of how peaceful the outlines of trees and interstates seemed to flow together with the moon quietly existing in the background. We passed Weed, which is located about an hour or so below the Oregon borderline, and honestly, it has to be one of my favorite places that we pass through every time on the west coast.

Ben thought it would be a good idea to locate a church in the area to pull the van into and sleep. When I awoke, I found donuts on my lap. Seeing as it was Sunday, there were people walking around outside, and to my knowledge, Ben and Zack were out and about talking to people in the parking lot, and someone decided to buy us some breakfast with how low our budget for food is. Praise the Lord.

When I got out of the van, I saw a man getting out of his car with his wife. They quickly approached me and starting conversing with me. We were already planning on attending a service, but they invited us to come in and sit with them. After the service, they invited us to their house, which is where I am currently typing this... Honestly, I have nothing to complain about whatsoever. These people have been so gracious to us, and immediately opened their home to us. We now have food in our bellies and have clean hair on our heads.

Wade and Stacy Olinger.... thank you so much for blessing us. We will never forget this moment.

As of yesterdays show went, it was pretty cool. We always enjoy playing in Orangevale due to the reaction we get from kids. But as of now, this seems to be the highlight of yesterday/this morning. I cannot express the gratitude and feelings that are running through my body right now.

Lord, thank you for taking care of us...

Day Two / April Tour

Somewhere North / Caedmon's Call

It's a muggy night in Houston
And all the intersections are like full service stations
I'm on my way to a familiar place
It's cold in Kansas City
And you can no more hear me than I can see your face
How I wish it was just you and me

We wouldn't have to talk above the crowd
We wouldn't have to talk so loud

I give you my life and all I am
But what I have to give
So I hand you a candid photograph of this little boy
'Cause I have nothing to my name
But I can give you that

I don't miss the driving
Seems like forever 
And I'm always driving in my mind
And wearing out the road that gets me there

And I'm driving till my eyes just can't see straight
But I suppose that it's getting late

I may never find the sleep 
I've lost all feeling in my hands and
Feet may touch the ground but
My mind's somewhere north of here

-

We woke up in a Walmart around eleven this morning after a long nights drive to Sacramento city. The drive was a total of seven hours. Chris had the idea of getting some Taco Bell for lunch... two dollars each. While there, I made a fool of myself in attempting to promote our show tonight to a bunch of high school students. It had to have been the most awkward situation so far on this tour. As I'm looking around the venue right now, none of those kids are to be seen. Sweet.

After that incident, we decided to finally get to the venue (One Eighty Teen Center). The guys in the office there handed us some fliers to pass out around town which we took full advantage of. As we walked out of the office we saw a girl walking with a backpack on and asked her where the nearest high school was. After getting directions, we set out to promote the show. Ben was driving. I was in the passenger seat. In the distance, I saw a couple kids getting into their car which was right off the street we were driving on, so we sped up to catch them before they got into the car. As we approached them, I flung my body outside the window to get their attention. I asked them if they wanted to come to a show, but the only response I got from one of the kids was, "No, I don't like your music." What? "You haven't even heard of us... we sound like Creed... do you like Creed?" Of course... he didn't like Creed either. What a tool.

Despite that incident, there is a good turnout here tonight. I feel like we did the best we could with the sound system and all. But, I must say, the best part of tonight had to be some fans of ours who brought us some gatorade and a huge cookie with "Sleep For Sleepers" written with icing on it. So awesome! So you can consider that dinner for tonight! Though, as this tour goes on, not only would we appreciate prayer for the kids we run into, but I would also like to be praying for any of you who read this. Even if no one reads it, that is still fine. This is just a chance for me to journal my thoughts and views of the events on this tour. 

Tonight, we drive to our manger Travis Waugh's house which is about forty minutes away. Tomorrow we play a festival in Orangevale, CA. Pray for the show tomorrow, and also with whoever we come into contact tonight as the show comes to an end...

Day One / April Tour

Eustace / This Day & Age

Who am I without this hope? 

You're holding on, I'm letting go. 

And so I drift out of control; a tragedy without your hope. 

(Who am I without this hope?)

Progress is getting away, but I still see it, and I will follow. 

What would become of me if I stayed here? 

I'd rather not know

Knock me down, please knock me down; 

I'm better off when I'm on the ground. 

You say so much without a sound; I'd hear you more if I'd just slow down.

-

I woke up at nine to call the auto shop to check on the current situation of our van. The plan was to leave before lunch today in hopes to reach Sacramento. Instead, we owe five hundred and eighty dollars to the shop to fix the problems with the vehicle. With all sarcastic intentions aside, this is a great start to our tour. This trip would be pointless without these early challenges.

Lord, continue to stretch us...