Thirty Days with Third Day

The DVD of the year!!

2009-03-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of the coolest events of the year so far! Third day had a preview party of their new Revelations DVD. Hosted by Third Day and concerts by fellow present and previous tour mates Revive, Brandon Heath, and Jars of Clay! All of the concerts rocked! Revive brought their energy and opened up bringing everyone to their feet playing a mix of old and new songs. Brandon Heath got us all to sing along to "Open My Eyes" and Jars gave us all a taste of what to expect on their new album playing only new songs - really good new songs! If you haven't already, you need to get all of these albums. These concerts were followed up with a 30 minute meet'n'greet of all the artists, and then the grand finale. The DVD preview on the big screen. This was a phenomenal insight into the Third Day life on stage, behind the scenes, and into their family life. You meet everyone from their wives, Mac's parents, and the tour crew. Also included was what went into and lead up to the Music Re-builds concert event. I am not ashamed to say that being a part of making that happen, and then seeing it on the big screen made me cry. An entire city saw what God can do through the hearts of everyone that was on that tour.

Jars of Clay

Brandon Heath

Revive

Revive with Mac Powell

Third Day emceeing

Also included on the DVD - me 4 times! Me and my wife couldn't help but cheer all four times. One shot of me in a hall, one shot of just my torso during the meet'n'greet in the ATL, one shot of me walking quickly out of cameras site as the band walked down the hall, and one shot of me behind Switchfoot during the Music Re-builds promotional interviews. Woohoo!!!

NKOTB

2008-10-30T05:29:00.000-07:00

I am still debating: are these driving directions? Or a request by a crazed soccer mom trying to regain her youth?
My friends hanging tough!

OK, so I stopped blogging since the tour ended. But this needed to be said! I went to the NKOTB concert last night. They did a great job (guilty pleasure). Natasha Beddingfield was phenomenal! and Lady Gaga...well, I cannot describe what happened and keep things to a PG-13 rating - ugh...I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit watching that. And needless to say I could have done without an entire arena of high pitched screaming, but I guess I should have expected that.

more pics 2...

2008-10-14T17:47:00.001-07:00

For Those About To Rock!!!
Where there's Will...
I'll Fly Away
Scotty joined a boyband?!?!? Those Scottys...
Check out Sean rocking between Dan and Mac. Good Stuff. That's actual size too, no editing...

More pics...

2008-10-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Andy Conered!
Bartleys a spy!
Finale
I think the shirt stands for Dr.Phil
I saw red...

About Last Night...

2008-10-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I didn't get the chance to go on stage exactly. I guess they were all looking for me so I could Heely across the stage with guitar in hand. Nobody let me know though. Oh well. I did get to watch the encore from the pit and get several pictures of the other guys up on stage for the encore. There was about 20 people on stage at one time, and only a few of them not armed with a guitar. Oh yeah, and did I mention one of them in an angel outfit? It gave new visuals to "I'll Fly Away". We also had an aftershow pizza party. We all hung out into the wee hours of the night talking, celebrating and saying our goodbyes.

It's Closing Time

2008-10-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

We are in the final hours of the tour and a lot has happened today. Several goodbyes, some tears shed, and lots of pictures (to be posted later). We took a group picture also. I was able to attend devotions today for the first time - because I actually had time. Jenn and I used our passes to take pictures during Jars, Switchfoot, and Third Day's sets. The Jars guys made a Kodak moment with their white outfits. We had pasta for dinner. We cleaned out the road cases. "Switchfoot loves New Kids on the Block. Nuclear Hoedown made a slight comeback. I broke the doorhandle off a door and got trapped in the production office. I broke a candle on the floor by accidentally bumping up against a trash can with my booty. I had BBQ for breakfast. I got to Heely across the stage. And I think I get to go on stage during the encore tonight!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2008-10-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Switchfoot signing Christmas cards. Yes! They really hand sign all 2000 of them!

This is just a funny box I saw this morning when we stopped for gas. "Guaranteed to keep you from gelling!"

Original Prankster

2008-10-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

We are down to the second to last show. The pranks have begun. Silly string,
sign changes, fees for free comp tickets, etc...I had what I thought to be a great idea, but little did I know that Ike had already beat me to the punch and concocted new dressing room signs for the bands and crewmen. So here I share with you, loyal reader, my ideas:

Third Day: The Day After Tomorrow
Switchfoot: Footloose
Robert Randolph: The Family Guy
Jars of Clay: Our Name is Mudd
Tour Crew: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Production Office: Pinky and the Brain
Artist Management: The Secret of My Success
Females: Little Women

Friday I'm In Love or TGIF

2008-10-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

A show in Minneapolis! It was never a childhood dream to play at the Target center (it wasn't even around 10 years ago) but was really cool to play a hometown venue. Several of my friends came. I was glad so many people came out to support me. The show went off without any major problems. Smooth sailing all day! Only 2 shows left. :( Only 3 days until I see Elizabeth again. :)

My wednesday and Thursday in MN...

2008-10-10T14:55:00.001-07:00

Wednesday I awoke and after preparing for the day, I went to breakfast at Denny's with my father. We then trekked to WalMart and Target for a few gifts for some friends of mine. It took 2 WalMarts and a Target to find gifts that I felt satisfied with - and to find glow-in-the-dark silly string (more pics of that to come) I then napped for a couple hours before joining The Pond family for dinner at Cici's pizza. I was not welcome there as I am in the south. I was greeted with a nice polite, "Welcome to Cici's." Where as in Georgia, we are welcomed with a shouting, "WELCOME TO CICI's!!!"
After dinner we spent an hour with the Ponds at the park. I then continued to church and saw several of my old church friends.
THURSDAY
I rolled out of bed and got ready to see the grandparents. Dad wanted to leave by 8:00am, so the day came no earlier than any other day I have to get up. I slept for the most of the 2 hour drive there. As we arrived both my grandparents were found alive and doing fine. Grandma was strong enough to cook up the sides as Grandpa grilled away some brauts and hamburgers. MMM MMM GOOD! Lunch was followed by a friendly game of hand and foot (cards for you deprived folk who may not recognize that name). Once again followed by a 2 hour nap as we drove back home.
I spent Thursday with my Grandparents out in Grove City. Grove city is within minutes of the largest ball of twine in the world.
Dad dropped me off at our hotel (bus) for the night. He was able to meet Jenn there. That was nice since he was not coming to the concert Friday. After the crew made it, we all gathered and shuttled off to the Mall of America. We wandered for a few and then settled in at a Tony Roma's. I was finally treated with a birthday dessert at a restaurant for free this year! I am glad I asked! Dave J ate the ice cream half and I ate the chocolate molten lava cake drizzled in hot chocolate sauce.

It's Tuuuuueeeesdayyyyy.....

2008-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

I got a wake up call this morning from Aaron Wagner (A friend of mine for over 15 years). We went out to breakfast at this place that had some of the best waffles ever - too close to call in comparison with Waffle House. At the restaurant we were also joined by David, a friend of Aaron's. Really good conversations on private 109 and what we have all been up to. I then saw Appaloosa with Aaron, which was a good western flick. We need more westerns. We then journeyed to Northwestern Bookstore. That is the local Christian bookstore. We browsed around a bit, and then Aaron headed to work. I dropped him off and took his car home. I then had an hour nap. Tom and his family joined us for dinner with special guest Brandie Nelson (my cousin) who brought great tidings and great joy with a bag full of her uncle's beef jerky! MMMMMM Goooood! I am now at Starbucks waiting for Aaron to complete his shift and little did I know that Heather Meyen works with him. For the last five years apparently. I miss out on everything when I am gone...

Sweet Home Minnesota

2008-10-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

I am in Minnesota once again. I flew in this morning and thank goodness I didn't drive. I took a nap on each flight (2) and napped for 2 hours once I got home. I landed around 1:00pm and Aaron Wagner picked me up from the airport. To my dismay not only was Camp Snoopy closed now, but Joey's Seafood was also closed. No Joe shirts for me. :( Last night I watched a show with Michael in our hotel room about what rednecks like. They covered Duct Tape, Dueling Banjos, and Tonya Harding amongst other things. Good Stuff! I am very excited to see everyone this week - family and friends.

It's my party, and I will steal a golf cart if I want to

2008-10-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Birthday! I am now 33. That is old in dog years. Highlights of my birthday include:
1-Balloons in the office
2-Special day of Joe's Playlist on the Ipod most of the day
3-A present from Jars of Clay! Completely unexpected.
4-A toast from David Carr and Nigel James (Third Day road pastor)

5-2 bottles of Sparkling Apple Cider that several of us shared
Scotty
Jenn
6-A mission with Jenn to steal a golf cart and go on a joyride. Explanation: Jenn has started a list of things to do before the tour ends. One was steal a golf cart from the venue and go on a joyride. So we snuck out and found a golf cart parked in front of their production trailer. So we ran to it, jumped in and tore off at a whopping 5mph with apple ciders in hand. It was dark outside and I did not realize until afterwards that no one could have been able to tell what we were drinking. We drove all the way out front to the parking lot cruising through the isles until we found orange police cones. Then we slalomed down them until we were 100 feet from the police officers where I decided to u-turn. Upon doing so, I noticed an empty gravel parking lot to our left. I found the entrance and proceeded at break-toothpick speed. Fishtailing through the empty parking lot was a blast - especially with no doors or seat belts. Safety Second! Then we headed back to the office and as we passed people, Jenn would yell, "Joe is 33!!" and I would follow with a "Woohooo!"
7-The Count spent the day in the refrigerator. He was purple by the end of the night
8-Michael was at a wedding leaving us to do all his work. That made things busy.
9-And the best for last: I got several e-cards from Elizabeth. They made me laugh.

About Last Night

2008-10-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Encore Jam last night. It's cool to see the show from the audience point of view again.

The Sunday Funnies

2008-10-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Check out the look Jenn is giving to the camera guys.

counting on the count

2008-10-04T17:24:00.001-07:00

slick pix

2008-10-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mike our Wired rep
Rick the merch guy
crew 1 bus & friends

Three musketeers or stooges - still up for debate...

It’s A Wonderful Life

2008-10-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

People have been asking what a typical day for me is on tour.
So here it is, typically:

7:30am Wake up
7:45-8:30am Hang directional signs, schedules and room signs
8:30-8:45am Distribute towels, soap and shampoo to all the rooms
8:45-9:15am Change our forwarding phone number and get office set up
9:15-9:30am Breakfast
9:30-10:00am Make sure all of the above is done and verify tonight’s hotel
10:00-4:00pm Ticketing, stuffing envelopes, anything else that may come up
2:50pm Lunch
3:30pm-ish Restock the food on the buses
4:00-5:00pm Tickets to box office, prepare for meet’n’greet
5:30-6:30pm Supervise meet’n’greet with Jenn and security
6:30-8:30pm Prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the week if possible
7:50pm Dinner
8:30-9:05pm Make sure Third Day is ready to go on stage
9:05-10:00pm Check ice on buses and room towels. Hang tomorrow’s schedules.
10:00-1:30am Clean-up, repack equipment, shower, verify everyone is on bus

After the west (coast) was won.

2008-10-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Things that happened after the California show (in order of random thoughts):

1. Was bet $10 to eat an entire side container of guacamole. About a handful of guacamole. I don’t like guacamole. Guacamole, I found out doesn’t really like me either. So the feelings are mutual. Only guacamole fights back more than I can- I did eat it. I have still not been awarded the monies.
2. Watched “Back To The Future” with Elizabeth and Chelsea. Chelsea had never seen it before. So young…
3. Played pinball after the Sacramento show. It was “Spiderman”. If you hit the right places Doctor Octopus, Sandman, or Venom will move up and down revealing bonus point areas. I got 12,000,000ish in my high score, but the high score on the game was like 300,000,000ish. So close!
4. I packed everything I needed into 2 carry-on bags. In doing so, I did not have to check any bags. How did I do this, you ask? I packed all of my clothes (almost all – I packed enough clothes in an “outfits to underwear” ratio) and brought them last week. So All the clothes I will need are already on the bus! That’s using the old kidney!
5. I saw a guy get on the MARTA and pay with 13 coins. The fare is $1.75.
6. I saw a woman get on the same bus with a grocery cart.
7. I pulled a piece of glass out of my foot from a glass that Chelsea broke on the kitchen floor from the night before.
8. I changed shampoos from Head’n’Shoulders to Herbal Essences. So if I smell better than normal, well - better than I normally do because I know I already smell spectacular, than it may be from the shampoo. But then again maybe not – could be last night’s dinner rolling through.
9. On the flight from Houston to Dallas there were only about 25 people on the flight. Everyone got their very own row of seats! I also got the entire can of Coke, two packs of pretzels, and a pack of nuts! All on a 40 minute flight. The sunset was also a beautiful orangey-red.
10. I have also packed my 80’s arcade TV video game system. It’s a joystick that plays Pac Man, Dig Dug, Space Invaders and Xenophobe all with the same controller. I am hoping to hook it up to the bus TV.

Oh what a relief it is...

2008-09-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Finally a day that wasn't a crazy whirlwind at any point of the day. It was nice, calm and relaxing. Of course there were points when things became urgent and needed to get done, but the fires were put out rather quickly and painlessly. I also got to have a taste of Jamba Juice. I am still not exactly sure what it is, but it tasted good! It was like an orangey smoothy frozen drinky thingy. Sounds good, huh? Tim Taber also noticed yesterday that I have been wearing all "Joe" shirts. He was the second person to notice and say something. Sean the drum tech for Robert Randolph was the first. I cannot wait to have these next 3 days off. Even if 2 of them are travel days.

You Can Count On Me!

2008-09-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

The Count has been travelling with us. He appears randomly and people enjoy his presence as he "counts" on us to get things done! He has counted spiders on the wall. He has counted cobwebs in the hall. He has counted candlesticks on the shelf. And when left alone - he counts himself!

This is Ike in his bunk on the bus. Switchfoot has their manager sleep under the bus to keep their creativity level at it's highest and as secretive as possible.
Just Kidding. He's just resting.

Biff Tannen and Mike Sever

2008-09-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today i got to meet 2 celebs in one day! Tom Wilson (who played Biff in "Back to the Future") and Kirk Cameron (who played Mike Sever in "Growing Pains"). Things also got a little rough today for an hour or so, but we pulled through it.

More Fame Knows My Name

2008-09-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

I met yet another famous person today! Dave Ellefson of Megadeth. Although I was not ever a fan of Megadeth, it was still really cool to meet him. He was a really nice guy and is now a Christian with a band called Megalife (from what I was told second-hand, I cannot verify this to be true). Either was it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we have more stars to meet than any other show from what I was told. Biff from back to the future and Mike Seaver. Or Tom Wilson and Kirk Cameron if you like to use peoples real names.

See Titles Below...

2008-09-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

I have so much to talk about and so many working titles in my head, but I am only doing one post of everything instead of several in an hour.

Lights! No More Cameras! Action!
For the last four shows we have had a camera crew following everyone (mostly the band) around taping for what is hopefully to be a video available at a bookstore near you. The cameras were...interesting...I don't know how Gene Simmons does it. They were there pretty much 24-7 following people to see what they are doing and how everything fits together to pull off the best show in Christian Music. It was interesting just to see how they do things from the backside of the camera, to get our side of the camera to look and sound great. Who knows, maybe I will be in the background looking pretty for the camera...please, no autographs or pictures...

"Feeling Blue" or "All is Fair" or "Fair/UnFair"
I finally did it! I won a Blue Ribbon at the fair! That's the good news. Bad news is that is wasn't for photography (I am still striving for that next year). I won for a t-shirt that I designed and created myself. There are some pictures from the fair below...

Gnash-ville

2008-09-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Gnash-ville: to have the sound of gnashing ringing in your ears from running around non-stop in the midst of way too many people in one place at one time, specifically Nashville. The beginning of the day started out slow as I tried to wake up, and just could not. Juice did not help. Snickers did nothing. Amp energy drink was futile. Only the rush of 5:30pm on show day could get me going again. Once 5:30pm hit it was every man for himself. Or in my case every man for Third Day and Switchfoot in the meet'n'greet. And then things kept going in the office for a while as they had interviews to do and we had the box office having issues with someone else's tickets but only had our number so we couldn't help them. I also was able to meet Tim Taber (for the second time. I did not realize it was him the first time.) Tim Taber was the lead singer of The Prayer Chain in the 90's. Their song "Worm" is still one of my favorite songs of all time. I also now realize first hand what Elizabeth means when she adds on "...and the whole school has tiles..." when she talks about how bad her feet hurt at the end of the day. My feet hurt. I cannot wait for a day of relaxation.

Ice, Ice Baby

2008-09-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ice Ice
Stop. Collaborate. And listen. Here is my frustrating story of the day. I have to ice buses as one of my chores. That just means I make sure the built in coolers are full of drinks and ice. I got all the buses iced other than Third Day's. And today was a day when instead of having the 20lb bags, they had the 40lb bags of ice. I carry the bag of ice on my shoulder to Third Day's bus and enter as usual. I set the ice down to check the drinks to make sure they were stocked before I did the ice. I stocked the drinks, iced the cooler and then grabbed the ice to continue to the back of the bus to check the drinks of the second cooler and ice that one. As soon as I got past the carpeted area and onto the tile, the bottom of the bag dropped out and a third of the remaining ice fell out onto the tiles. So I grab the bottom of the bag and flip it over (the top was still closed). But then the top of the bag gave way releasing another third of the bag between all of the bunks. The remaining third of ice I put into the back cooler. I then spent the next 15 minutes collecting ice off the floor of Third Day's bus. And the next 15 minutes cleaning the other pile of ice and wiping the floor by hand with paper towels.

Baby
On the bright side of things Elizabeth came to the show and spent some time backstage with me and my peoples. We got to sit down and have dinner together. And while having dinner, she and Christina (from our small group) got to meet the guys from Jars of Clay. It was so nice to be able to sit and enjoy a meal for once.

Ahoy Matey!

2008-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Arggggg! Today be talk like a pirate day. We all be speaking like the seaferin' swabbies our ancestors once were. Aye, it be a booty full of fun!
*Squak! Booty full of fun! Squak!*
Me parrot likes to speak smartly too! He don't like the landlubber speak.

That was the fun for the day. Hope tomorrow goes well - it's gonna be a busy day. Atlanta is our busiest show!

Pa-rum-pum-pum-puum...

2008-09-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Story of the day:

One of the guys on our tour entered the office around 7:30pm (The show was already well under way and Robert Randolph was rocking the stage). He begins to tell us of an unhappy man in the audience. The man stated that he cannot see the stage while sitting down because everyone in front of him is standing up. He complain to this guy for several minutes because our guy is wearing a laminate which means he obviously works there at the venue and can do something about this atrocity. Our guy keeps apologizing while the unhappy audience member keeps telling him how horrible the situation is. The man's daughter finally interrupts her father to let him know that he is not talking to an usher at all, but to David Carr, the drummer for Third Day. The man stops dead sentence, and begins to apologize to David.

Chattanooga Rock City!

2008-09-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

I took a little pit stop on the way to Nashville. I swung into Rock City Georgia and did a little tourisming. Here are some pics:

Now the creepy part! Whoever thought this was a good idea for a grand finale is twisted. I literally got scared half-way through this cave of fairytales for children. They were playing songs sung by children's choirs while you look at all of these fairy tale characters including wolves, dwarfs, mice being chased by a woman shaking a farmer's knife at three blind mice - all under blacklight. And the sign at the entrance says, "no smoking". How ironic, cuz I think that's what the artist was doing when she built this creep show. BTW - I am afraid of dolls, so the tiny little miscolored people and animals didn't help.

Mission: Possible...hopefully...

2008-09-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

We are about to start the hardest part of the tour. This week we are in the south going from Birmingham to NC (which we lose about 4 hours of set-up time because of the drive and the time change) then to ATL (home of Third Day and our Sponsors) and then to Nashville (where everyone else will be). Then the following week is in CA which is Switchfoot's stomping grounds. Busy Busy Busy!

Also on the tour several of the radio stations have been giving away "jam with the band" passes. Which gives you a chance to play on stage with the bands during the encore. The first guy played some pots and pans. The second guy got a cowbell. The third guy could not figure out why we would not let him play David Carr's drum set during the song, and the fourth guy, which played on Sunday, played the PVC pipes. I was hoping he would dye himself blue too, but the mohawk was just as cool!

Also during the tour, we have all been blessed by the video on youtube of Sonseed! I am not sure about you, but I have always wondered what it would be like if Jesus was a Canadian Mountee - this video answers that question!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8

I Now Have Two Legs!

2008-09-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the end of the second leg of the tour and things have gone fairly smoothly. Not perfect, but I have caught on enough to be able to do what I need to do before being asked and can anticipate things going wrong and fix them because I have a clue of what things are supposed to be like. I also received a few non-direct compliments today so I am grateful of that. We are also having either calzones or stromboli tonight - either one will be VERY good!! I also get to come home tomorrow, so I am also excited about that.
Elizabeth - I'm comin' home! (Redd Foxx)

White Power!!!

2008-09-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

I finally saw Jars of Clay perform a song! Here is a pic of them all in white. They dress this way for every show...

For Jackie!!

2008-09-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

We watched a TV show last night called the 723lb woman. It was a bout a woman who broke her ankle, which caused her to gain 600 lbs (the short version of the story). She underwent stomach stapling and lost about 300lbs. It was good for her, but while we were watching the surgery, Jenn was getting a little disturbed by the images and so I offered her a meatball Hot Pocket. She refused. We all laughed. There have been several comments on Jackie since then. There is also a T-shirt we saw while watching TV that said "I have no idea what your talking about", I am thinking about getting one.
I have worn Joe shirts the entire tour without repeating a shirt yet. Nobody has noticed the reference. Bummer...

Prank of the day: The hazer set in Switchfoot's dressing room. The hazer is the fog machine. The stage crew set off the fire alarm and had to find fans to air it all out of the room before the firemen showed up.

my head hurts...

2008-09-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

I write this with a headache, so if it sound like I am moaning between words - I may very well be moaning. I think it's a sinus headache and took some stuff for it in hopes of relief. I even got to sleep in until 9:00 today. But we didn't even get to the venue until 11:00am. with 3 less hours than normal, we still got everything we needed to get done completed on time other than hanging schedules for the day which was only mid-afternoon when we got them all up. (moan) We also listened to 80's today. I love me some 80's music! Duran Duran, Bangles, Wang Chung...and the beat goes on...

Like the first day of school...for the second time this year...on the Third Day tour...on our fourth show...

2008-09-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today was fun. At least this morning was funny. Jenn tells me last night we are going to wake up before everyone and get all the directional signs hung up before anyone awakes. So I set my alarm for 6:45am (usually we start at 8:00am) and I get up and ready and off the bus by 7:00am. Then I get a text from Jenn stating our plans were "foiled again!" I was confused because as I look around nobody is moving within site of me. Then I realize she was talking about me, but by this time signs are already being hung by yours truly! She told me later she kept creeping around saying "Joe, Joe" looking for me to get up and start moving (it is dark in the sleeping area of the bus). I was already half done by the time I saw Jenn departing from the bus after trying to track me down.
Third Day also had to make interview calls to Australia today. We used phone cards and trying to use a phone card is a bit more difficult than you would think if you are calling internationally. It took me 30 minutes to finally get a phone to ring in Australia! And Outback doesn't even open there until 5pm! Last time I call for take-out.
Jenn and Joe vs. The World results:
The World only scored on us 3 times. So we stayed on top of everything but 3 things. Not bad for a day full of a thousand things to do and a thousand other things that could go wrong.

On The Road Again...

2008-09-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

I am presently at Taco Bell in Nashville awaiting the bus. I got a ten pack of soft shells - I am hoping to finish them all off myself for a new self-record. I am excited to get going again. I am confident that the next couple months hold a lot more in store than just making concerts happen. I am not sure beyond that, but it is all in God's hands. I just hope I'm staying within the fingers...
I also made my first investment this week that was by my own choice. I have put some money into a new record that some friends of mine have recorded. I know they will do well cuz they just plain rock! Their name is "The Media Says" you can check them out on myspace.com/themediasays lots of good music posted there.
Time to get back to tacos...

UPDATE - only 8

All is "FAIR"

2008-09-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

More pictures for the fair...

Lil' Anna
Salamander

I just liked this one, but it didn't make the cut...

Two Weeks Noticed

2008-09-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a wonderful two weeks off. Elizabeth has been working as hard as humanly possible and loving every minute of it. Chelsea had mono and got good news from Oglethorpe. And I have been working on the house and my art for the fair (posted at the end of this entry). I still have a few pictures to work out, and I may work on a few more pieces...I haven't decided yet if I want to start something new. We'll see...

Mono Y Mono

2008-08-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today was interesting. I got relatively nothing done that I wanted to. Luckily I got a lot done yesterday. I woke up this morning and found Chelsea's car parked outside. I went upstairs only to find out that she was still in bed. So I texted around and got a doctors appointment set up. We then went to the Dr. and found out that she has mononucleosis. Which explains why she has been tired on and off lately. So we spent the Am at the doctor. I did pick up a new book from the Library in the process. Watchemn - the best selling graphic novel ever! Or so the cover tells me. I did get a drawing done this afternoon for the fair. It turned out pretty well. I just need to frame it.

Monday...

2008-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would add a few more pictures from the tour.

This is Michael the intern. We were all wishing his name was Ryan (like from The Office). He has done so much to help us all out. We really could not imagine what it would have been like had he not been available or able to go.

Robert Randolph and Family Band jammin' to a tune...

...and Switchfoot, "frozen" on stage.

Home is where the heart is...

2008-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

I got home today, and I am exhausted. I came home, unpacked, took a shower and then a nap. What a wonderful nap it was! Yesterday was...let's say..."interesting". Jenn and I decided to try and be proactive instead of reactive and see if we can stay on top of our game for the day. We were doing good at the beginning and I started a list on a sheet of paper. It was like a pros-cons list but it was a Jenn & Joe vs. The World list. We were beating the world by about 5 points when Mac walks into the trailer and was the first snowflake in our avalanche of reactive actions and not the proactive we were striving for. He was asking for some papers to be printed. Because they were not ready we had to give a point to the world. Which then prompted him to inquire about our game. We explained it and then his reply was along the lines of, "Well, I have about 3000 people on the other side of the stage I could get to help "the world" out. In which Jenn graciously declined his generous offer.
Also yesterday, Barclay (Robert Randolph's manager), was looking for a runner to use. At one point (after the other dozen runner issues we had) saw the runner that was supposed to drive for him. He came to me seconds later as I crossed the parking lot, "There she is! That was my runner, right?! I needed her to stop! I kept jumping up and down waving my arms and she just kept driving! Where did she go?..." A few minutes later, he found her vehicle and had me go with him to the vehicle to get her to drive his people to the hotel. I walked up to the vehicle and it was empty...I never did see her the rest of the night...
I got to watch a few minutes of RR and SF tonight so that was cool. I still need to get in on some Jars at some point. They go on first and the meet and greet overlaps it most of the time. i am hoping though - this years outfits rock!! I will have to HAVE TO get a picture to post of them.

Day Two-zay is a doo-zay

2008-08-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

I got the hang of a lot of things. Being only day two and all Isn't too shabby (at least that's what I keep telling myself). I got a head start on things yesterday which helped out a lot. I had about 1/4 of my work prepared. The rest of the day was spent just trying to keep up. We are all trying to keep our sanity getting into the swing of things and the weird hours. Showers are a fleeting luxury. Lunch seems to be a fable only our grandmothers might remember. And touring still rocks! One thing that I thought was funny/interesting that happened today was during the meet and greet we ran out of posters to get signed. Because of that, one of the boys that was there (maybe 13-ish) waited to see if more posters were coming. Posters were nowhere to be found, so David had me fetch some souvenir drumstix earlier and I still had a spare pair that Jenn said to give to the kid. I did and when I was handing them over, he almost fell over. He literally looked like he was about to pass out. I asked if he was OK, and he couldn't answer. I just know I helped to make that kids day with such a simple gesture. THAT is what it is all about!

...and here is Jenn, Third Day's tour manager. Being the silly wacky sleep deprived hungry people we are...

It's the end of the day as we know it...and I feel fine...

2008-08-21T18:27:00.001-07:00

Twas a busy busy day! I got everything I was supposed to get done on time! Downside: I only had to do half the work I would normally do because half was done yesterday. That was the perk of having two days in the same city. Tomorrow will be more challenging I think. I am still having lots of fun and missing Elizabeth so so much. I keep wishing she was here just to smile and say, "Good job sweetie!"

It's Showtime!!

2008-08-21T05:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the first actual concert date of the tour in Detroit MI. Prep/practice day was fun and was over by 11:00pm. So I got a good nights sleep getting to stay in bed until 8:00am! Every 30 minutes counts! I am presently eating my free breakfast at the Holiday Inn (bagel with butter cuz they are out of cream cheese, a cinnamon roll, and a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. I guess it all comes down today! Good Luck Me!!
Oh yeah - and half of the band members remember me, so that was cool too...from both bands (TD & SF)

Rehearsals...

2008-08-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today is prep day for everyone on the tour. The bands are practicing and the tour crew are setting up and I have been making copies for the last 4 hours. Copies of signs. Copies of directions. Copies of envelopes. Copies of copies of copies. I am still having so much fun! Mac remembered me, so that was pretty cool. Breakfast and Lunch were really good too - got to have white country gravy for both! Also did grocery shopping with Jenn (tour mgr) last night. We bought a lot of snacks and junk food for the buses. I am so happy I will not go hungry. Although lunch did have fried chicken on the bone - I passed that up for extra rolls, extra mac'n'cheese, and extra tater tots (gotta love carbs).

Off to see the Wizard...

2008-08-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

I am 2 hours from when I am scheduling myself to leave Atlanta. I am in the process of cooking up dinners for the rest of the week for Elizabeth and Chelsea. I made Meatloaf Muffins, Scalloped Potatoes, and a bucket of cooked ground turkey for whatever they want to make it (tacos, pasta, sloppy Joes (all sloppy and No Joe!). I am packed up and just waiting out time watching Spin City. I also have prepared my glow-in-the-dark shoes that are killer and will be wearing my "Wicked Awesome!" t-shirt. Keaton is sleeping beside me as I type. I think he knows I am leaving since the suitcase is out. I will be missed...since I am the hand that feeds them a lot. I already miss everybody (including you, the reader) but I am also excited for this wicked awesome opportunity!

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

2008-08-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

It is Monday. Yesterday, lights went very well in Extreme. I had Zaxby's with Chelsea, came home and read more of my book, and then worked at the Boston/Styx concert. I worked away from the show for the first half (Styx). They sounded pretty good. Then Boston came on. It took me a few minutes to recognize the voice which was not the original Boston voice, but that of Michael Sweet - lead singer of Stryper! Once I realized that every song sounded like a Stryper cover of a Boston tune. Still a good show, just a little different. I have worked all day on the house cleaning and organizing and the finishing touches on my packing. I think I am 90% ready. The other 10% I cannot pack until tomorrow, so i am pretty much done for the day other than some more TV watching and reading more of my book. I cannot wait until tomorrow! Work starts promptly at 7pm! Do not be late! :)

Three Days (Grace) to Third Day!

2008-08-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Charlie Daniels had his concert last night which I worked at. He did really well, but I wasn't much for the other acts. During the day yesterday though, I did absolutely nothing other than watch movies On-Demand and make lunch. Very productive on the "not being productive" front. Today was very similar. Except I went out with Elizabeth to the Waffle House and watched Tropic Thunder. We also went to The Counter (a new burger joint in town) which was unique and worth at least a one time visit. Also did a Wal-mart run. For me it was mostly for a bag of chips and dip, but E needed some other stuff too. I also got a few remaining questions answered about the tour so now I know everything there is to know about the tour! j/k I wish I knew everything. I am hoping to learn it all though from Jenn. She is a powerhouse of information and I hope to be a vacuum of learning. That sounded so cheesy. I think I will end on that note.

A Finger For Each Day Left (counting on one hand only - I do have all ten of my fingers still)

2008-08-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

It is Thursday, and I was determined this morning to do nothing getting ready wise for the day (like getting dressed, putting in contacts, shower, etc...) So I awoke this morning to a big glass of lactose free chocolate milk. I am still loving my chocolate! I immediately got started on my cleaning for the day. I started in the main bedroom, got about half of that done, then went downstairs and worked on the foyer area and got half of that done. Then I gave up for the day. It was about noon and time for lunch. I had some left over chicken fried rice. I make some gooooood fried rice. Secret ingredient: egg. It's not so much the secret ingredient, but when to add the secret ingredient. It makes a world of difference when added at the right time. After lunch I read two more chapters of Twilight. Nothing new in the book worth blogging, but still a good book so far. Then it happened. :( Chelsea came home and needed to go shopping which meant my plan was ruined. I needed to put on pants and put my contacts in. But on the bright side I got to Heely today. I love my Heelys. And I bought a new lamp for my bedroom. $7.99!!! Most of the lamps were between $15.99-$60.00. Came home and had burgers for dinner, had a little ice cream, and took a nap. I woke up when Elizabeth got home from school around 8:00pm. I should be in bed by 11:00pm. What an old fogey I have become...

Under a week until the first roll!

2008-08-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday and marks less than one week until I leave for the first leg of the tour. I got a lot accomplished today. All the laundry is caught up and I am packed for the most part (not including toiletries). I got the brakes and an oil change done on the Pilot (3 hrs!), I got some packages mailed off (40 minutes), and I got to try out the new Pollo Loco in Roswell (Timeless). The food was ok there and service a little slow. It was nothing to blog home about other than the fact that I am presently blogging about it. I only went because I had a coupon for $5 off of a big burrito which only cost me $2. What a deal! It was worth the two bucks. Not worth seven if I was forced to pay full price. I also started reading Twilight. A vampire book - that's all I know so far. It's late now, so I am off to bed. G'nite.

Down to 7 days!

2008-08-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

I finally got a lot accomplished! I got Lil' Anna groomed, and some mail ready to be sent, I got my checklists laminated, and made a few T-shirts - some of which I have been wanting to make now for months. One says, "Wicked Awesome!" (that one is my favorite). Another says, "Everyone needs some Mo-Joe" and the third one says "Joes Taco Bano" with the tagline "For when you need "to-go". There is also another one that says "Un-Average Joe" that I didn't post a picture of.

No cleaning was accomplished, but I did make dinner! Bourbon chicken was tonight and the leftovers will be made into a chicken fried rice tomorrow. And I also got an oil change on my mother-in-laws Altima. $18.00! It was the cheapest I could find in Roswell/Alpharetta.

I leave 8 days from today

2008-08-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a doozie! I did not get a lot done other than cleaning and printing my w-4, 1-9 and Direct Deposit Form. I am also still recovering from my weekend of "manstrating". I didn't watch anything Dakota Fanning, so that was an improvement, but I watched the Larry King interview with the Chapman family who recently lost their daughter in an accident. I cried through the whole thing. I then met with my wife and niece at the Golden Corral for a dinner of carbs compounded with comfort food after comfort food. The next day (saturday) was spent craving chocolate and had to make a Publix run for Snickers, chocolate covered raisons, frosted animal cookies and other sugar packed snacks. Sunday I spent sleeping and catching back up on my cleaning. Things were caught up as of this morning when I woke up, but now I am behind unless I get in gear and start working instead of going to the movies and watching The Dark Knight. Which was really good by the way. A little long, but really good.

2 Weeks Before

2008-08-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Things are finally coming together. I am no longer an employee at Blue Ridge Mountain Waters, or anywhere full-time for that matter. I still have the job with Encore Park though - and we have shows with Charlie Daniels and a Boston/Styx concert coming up next week. But what I am most excited about is that I received my paperwork and calendar for the Music Builds Tour. I will be with the Third Day camp, but also on tour will be Switchfoot, Robert Randolph and Jars of Clay. I intend to try to keep this blog up throughout the tour with updates no less frequently than once a week. I know the next upcoming week will be busy just getting ready for I am going to attempt getting everything I wanted to get done in the last 6 months done in 10 days (oil changes, yard work, house cleaning, packing, cat grooming...) while still squeezing in working two concerts and running the lights at church. Luckily, I can put some of the stuff off until after the first leg of the tour when there will be a two week vacation/break/cram-whatever-I-didn't-get-done-before-the-tour-started session. That will be nice.

Get your tickets now while they are still available!!