Angelene and Jonny (but mostly Scooter): August 2006

IT'S BEEN AWHILE...

Well, we haven't posted anything in a little while- not to say that nothing has happened... It's actually because a LOT has happened. Including our 1 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!! Wow. What a great year! Our best year ever.
So I'll start this off by telling you what we did. For our anniversary we pretty much had a week in California booked, including staying at a house on the beach, Disenyland, etc... But we pulled out at the last minute because we thought we should stay home, relax a little, do mostly nothing, but also take care of some more important business. But we'll get to that later. (we bought a house) What? I didn't hear that.... Ok, so we did go to a lake house on Ft. Gibson Lake for a couple days. It was relaxing & fun. I did a little fishing, almost caught about a 5 pounder.

So it was the best first wedding anniversary we could have asked for. It was fun, relaxing & productive. (we bought a house)
Huh? Uhh... ok, so first let's catch up quickly on some blogs we never got around to.

Oh, Scooter got a rad haircut & we never showed you guys. Including a killer mohawk.

Also, there was the time I gave him an apple. It was after Ja'Marc told me about how Zeus eats apples practically whole, so I thought I'd give one to Scooter to see what would happen. Well, he could hardly get his teeth into it. He put a lot of effort into it, but never got anywhere. Finally, I peeled the skin off & gave it back to him, but then he just licked it.

He just prefers a good cigar.

The last two weekends the band spent at The Church Studio (THANKS STEVE!) (p.s. - check the new Rolling Stone cover story on Bob Dylan & look for Steve...) Anyway, we tracked the drums for 12 songs & also did some guitars & vocals. Very exciting!

Ok, so that's about all for now... there's more to come though. Big news. But I'm not going to give it away. Just stay tuned!!

BIG BLOG

I guess it's about time for a new blog...
So I'm writing about one of the coolest things that has happened in a long time.
My bros Jacob, Joe & I are playing music together again. But I gotta back up- give the full history on this one. So get ready:

When I was a kid, there was always music around- my dad had a record collection I was actively obsessed with, I had a toy guitar, my best friends parents had a band that rehearsed in our house. I did take piano lessons- however, that wasn't what I was really interested in- I wanted to learn the guitar. My mom had a small upright piano & a classical guitar from her days as a music major in college. I used to love to get out the guitar & try to write songs (even though I had no idea how to play). So at about 11 or 12yrs old I decided to take the next step & try to learn. I acquired a 12-string Takamine acoustic guitar, took 6 of the tuners off, fitted it with 6 strings, got some guitar books (Mel Bay- that's right) & some instructional videos. I sat in front of the TV with my guitar & (honestly) didn't really get anywhere. But while I was doing that, Jacob would always get out the classical guitar & sit next to me- it was pretty cute, he always wanted to do whatever I was doing (as much as he might deny).

It wasn't til about a year later, when my sister Heather (a guitar player & singer) inspired me to try again. I asked her to teach me chords- she gave me a sheet of chords (similar to those posters you can get) & I immediately ran up to my bedroom, learned all the major chords & wrote a song. From there I figured out many other guitar basics (such as barre chords, etc) by ear. For the next few years, I taught myself how to play by ear by playing along with my favorite records: all the Beatles & Moody Blues records, Pink Floyd's "The Wall" & "Dark Side of the Moon", "Appetite for Destruction" & "Lies" by Guns N' Roses, Nirvana's "Nevermind", "Gish" & "Siamese Dream" by Smashing Pumpkins & Radiohead's "Pablo Honey" to name a few. I had a lot of other musical buddies then- we would play our guitars together from time to time (Eric Arndt & Ike Hanson being among them) but I never played in a band.

So then, when I guess I was about 17 & Jacob was 13, we decided to start a band. Of course, he needed to learn an instrument, so we decided to start with the bass. We went out pawn-shopping & scored an aqua blue flying-v bass for about $90. We played around mostly playing other bands songs & writing a few of our own for about a year, until Jacob decided he wanted to learn the guitar. So my dad & I went out pawn shopping & got him a cheap Strat knock-off & gave it to him for Christmas. I taught him power chords & I swear for maybe almost a year, he thought that was all he needed to know (he was into punk rock). I finally convinced him to let me teach him open chords, majors, minors, etc, etc. We started writing songs & really had a cool sound going on. Then, for some odd reason, I took a fascination with the drums (now I know why that was supposed to happen) & after buying a drum kit, was sidetracked from playing the guitar for almost a year. Jacob & I would jam for hours every day, him on guitar, me on drums.

That's when Joseph, (about 9 years old & all of 4 1/2 feet tall) started going in my bedroom & playing on the drums (I swear, the drumsticks were as long as his arms & you couldn't even see him back there). He was a natural. He could play any beat he heard almost immediately- something I was quite proud of (almost) being able to do myself- but he could do something I couldn't do very well. Drum fills. And he was FAST. I couldn't believe it. I would take him to music stores & he would get on the drums & proceed to draw a crowd. I loved it. It became an everyday thing for the three of us to rock out in our bedroom. (There are tapes of home videos to prove this).

Then, Jacob & I decided to try to start a real band, so we recruited John Van Patton, (now former member of the band Utica & current member of the band Black Swan) who was then our neighbor from one street over. We started rehearsing over 15 new songs that we had written. Never played a show. Not long after that, the lineup changed to our friend Mark Kuykendall (now 1/2 of the band The Doldrums) on the drums & another buddy Jesse Aycock (now a solo artist & older brother of Dylan, the other half of The Doldrums) on the bass. (Joseph was too young to be in our band then- that just wasnt cool). We rehearsed a lot & sounded great. Very original music. Cool song names like Moonflower, Wisteria, and The Space Cadet but never did have a band name (lots of ideas but never settled on one). Then, practically overnight- it fell apart, due to personal spiritual experiences Jacob was going through. If you want that entirely different story, go read Jacobs bio at jacobwright.net. That was 1997-98. WOW. Almost 10 years. (That lineup did play a few gigs of different, more worship themed music under the moniker New Day Sonshine).

The next 8 years were years of growth, maturity & experience gained by the 3 of us. We played in various bands, churches, projects & sessions (separately & together). Jammed, advised, bickered, wrote songs together, supported other musicians as well as each other. So now here we are. Not to sound too romantic about it, but I can say in all confidence that doing music together was the reason we were born into the same family. Everything weve done in the past has prepared us & brought us together at this point in history. Ive never been a part of something until now where I know there is so much potential & REAL purpose. Ive never been so excited (& anxious). Not just another band. Not just music. This is WAY bigger than the band, WAY bigger than the music. I have no idea what God has planned, but if I am confident in one thing, its the potential. I just hope we can live up to it. That we never forget why were really here, why God put us together. Im done trying to do what I want to do, Im ready to do what He intended for me (us) to do. Which is way bigger than I could ever dream. GloSoul

Jonny & baby Joe