Doug Van Pelt

Dios te bendiga

Wow. Spent most of the day as part of a medical clinic at a soup kitchen in Saltillo. It was in a poor neighborhood and it was housed in a really nice guy's house. They host a church service there on Saturday nights (and feed people on that night, too ... thus, the "soup kitchen" ID).

We met up with one of the groups from McAllen, TX and caravaned over to this place. We set up stations inside where locals could come and get their blood pressure checked, get their cholesterol checked, their hair cut, get some safety and health counseling ( for children, mothers, as well as those with blood pressure), get some vitamins and other medicine, and kids got flouride applied to their teeth and gums. It was awesome to see such comprehensive services made available to these people for free.

It was a joy to see my daughter and her new friend don rubber gloves and using q-tips to apply the flouride to the kids. They were very reliable and took on that responsibility all by themselves. My wife, who is a registered nurse, was at one of the two blood pressure stations. I helped with some of the setup and was just there to do various favors and meet some random needs as they came up. One of those needs was to man the gift bags, which had band-aids, tooth paste, toothbrushes, shampoo, shaving creme, dental floss, soap, and other such toiletries (some were adult-oriented and some were for kids, including some toys). The locals know what a handout is and many kids tried to get multiple handouts with or without going through the various stations for help and education. I was mobbed several times and had to learn how to say things, like "No toca" (which means "no touch," if I'm remembering correctly) and "primero, aqui" ("first, here," as in "first go through here, and then you'll get this"). It wasn't a fun job, but somebody had to do it. The best part was when we communicated between stations which people had been through the stations and seen the safety/health discussion at the end. Young kids and parents were very grateful for these hand-packed packages of goods.

I got to talk to Sergio a little bit and told him that I appreciated what he said the other day about how we can't say we love God and then ignore our neighbors. I tried to let him know that I blogged about it, but wasn't confident that I was able to convey that clearly. I just learned some blog techniques from some friends from the Uganda trip -- Randy Elrod's "Watercooler Wednesday" blog, which has a "Blogging Basics 101" page referenced, which reads like it might've been penned by the mighty Shannon. One of the tips was a helpful understanding of what a "permalink" is, which now allows me to send links of a single post on my blog, instead of just the main blog link. Nice!

It's relaxing to be back here at Damon's house, with their family and all their animals. Besides 5 dogs and a cat, I noticed a hamster roll by in its own little crawling ball. How fun!

Max is getting on my nerves

(not really ... that's just an inside joke).
This Pastor Max guy is just outta control down here.

Today started in a cool way. After breakfast we had a little time, as one of the "other" groups hadn't coordinated with us exactly when we'd leave, so the family here had a little devotional time. They read out of a family-type devotional book, with some talk about bravery. There was a cool story about how young Native American Indians were called "braves." At one point a young man was led outside the camp blindfolded at night, deep into the woods, where he had the blindfold taken off and then he had to stay there all night. When daylight started to break, he saw light around him and then he noticed a man there with a bow and arrow. He didn't know who it was at first, but it was his father, who had been there the whole night, protecting him. I like the implications of that story. Anyway, it made me want to be consistent about making that sort of thing being a regular routine as a family.

We met up with the other group from the Dallas area, and we went to downtown Saltillo to do some souvenir shopping. We stopped at a bank and converted some US dollars into pesos. A crude and basic way to understand prices is to move the decimal point in pesos over to the left one space. For example, an item that sells for 100 pesos is about 10 dollars. When I went to the bank, though, we converted $100 into 850 something pesos. The dollar's value has gone down even more in recent days. Bummer.

I didn't find anything, but my daughters did. It was wild to see some giant pieces of meat on the ground in a hallway of this one big shopping building/center. Oh, I did buy a pair of cheap sunglasses for 20 pesos. Of course, I had a couple more Cokes today. We ate at a really nice restaurant. They served up some tasty tacos in various flavors. The multiple tortillas on each plate, though, were slightly larger than the palm of your hand. Kind of like little handheld tacos. I split an order of 5 small flautas with my wife. Two and a half wasn't enough, but luckily my daughters shared their uneaten portions with us. I tried breaking a 200 pesos bill to buy a few ice creams at a farmacia after ("antes de" in Spanish), but it was large enough to slow down the process and make the van of people have to wait for me.

Later we went to the children's home, which is way outside the city of Saltillo, about 30 minutes. It really reminded me of Soledad Canyon outside of Los Angeles. Lots of mountains and chapparel-like or high desert type scenery... This Children's Home is an amazing complex. There's a cool story about how the current governor of this state (Coahuilla) came to this center and was so impressed that he pledged tons of government support for what they're doing. I'm not sure I have the energy tonight to tell that story, but I might try.

Okay, so this children's home houses a set of house parents, who are like real parents for 12 kids that will live permanently in this house (with a master bedroom and four bedrooms (with 3 kids in each). The house gives the kids a sense of family and permanence. They don't have parents rotate in and out. It's one set of parents; and the kids stay here. There's a place for workers / missionaries to stay, work places, a place for meals, playground equipment, and lots of other details. So, when the local governer came out to innaugurate the place, they figured he'd be in and out, maybe give them some playground equipment and be done with it. Instead he engaged the leaders in conversation, cancelled a luncheon planned somewhere else (he called the food to come there) and he spent about another three hours talking with these leaders about the work they do here, helping children, as well as discussing Christianity. He found out how much it cost to run one of the homes and pledged government financial support to roughly pay that each month (or very close to it). He also pledged to build "peso for peso" whatever the children's home builds. For example, we saw the newest home today that they built, but the other ones are supposed to be built by the government. Whenever they build one, the government will build another. That is pretty darn cool.

While we were at the Children's Home (chmmexico.com), we exchanged money for "vales," which were vouchers that the poor local villagers could use for staples and goods. The woman who heads up the children's home has reached out to the local village nearby and has connected with the women. If they just gave them money, that would not empower them; but what Rebecca does is she helps the women make crafts and sell them to visitors (mostly church and short-term missions groups that come in) for these "vales." If they gave the women cash, their husbands would just take it and buy alcohol with it. But by using vouchers that the women can come to them and buy staples for their family, it goes to necessities like bread, milk, etc. They are also required to buy more craft materials to keep the system going for themselves, so they can make more to sell. It's quite an empowering and effective ministry.

When we took our "vales" down into the village, visiting individual homes, I was transported back to Africa. The poverty was real. The little homes are tiny shacks barely held together and not really closed and sealed shelter. The people, though, were bright and full of joy.

Back at the eating place, we sat at long tables and awaited for everyone else to gather and for Jeffrey to cook tons of hamburgers. They tasted fantastic. One thing I realized as I saw all these believers interacting, eating and fellowshipping with one another was this:

People who are helping others and/or are about helping others are some of the most awesome people around.

There's just a joy and an appreciation for people that is found in the common mindset of doing something to help others. It's really neat to be able to say: Yes, that is the church.

I think that is why so many people are connecting on "cause" and service levels these days. Even people that don't share a faith community embrace and enjoy this very real principle that is very much was Christ was preaching and leading by example. In an environment like that you can get beyond the differences that we all have as people. You can start to sense and feel how special our fellow human beings are.

Man, if I ever found myself in despair and deep depression, I think I'd prescribe the following: "Get involved with some community of people that are helping others." Just being about that kind of work has some great by-products that probably manifest themselves in all kinds of good ways.

Mexico Blog.3

It is interesting to see freeway signs that show the way to Mexico. 'That's odd,' I think, 'I thought we were already in the country of Mexico.' But here in Mexico they refer to Mexico City as simply "Mexico." The population in that city is 32 million! Oh my gosh! I cannot believe that. When I was at the Austin airport, my family checked in at the gate, but I was turned away due to ticket name not matching my passport name. Seems Doug does not equal Douglas. I had to pay $38 for that little infraction and change to my ticket. That's long gone now, though. I'm loving it here in Mexico.

Pastor Damon and I left first thing in the morning to meet another group from the US, who came down from the McAllen, Texas area. One good thing for an organization like this is lots of Christians in the US (and especially from nearby Texas) will enjoy coming down for short-term missions trips to help out what they're doing here. We met this group (10 people) at a Home Depot to buy paint, some rollers/brushes and headed to the medical clinic. Damon bought me a Coke. It was a Mexican Coke, and they sweeten the soft drink here differently than in the USA. I think they use real sugar (uh, I talked about this yesterday)... I looked around a convenience store we stopped at and checked out the candy, sweets, drinks, and magazines. I always like to jump into a retail shop in other cultures or places just to see what's different. The Coke was really good.

When we arrived at the clinic, we milled around awhile figuring out what was where, etc. I didn't like standing around, so I assigned myself to trash detail and started picking up paper, cups, cans, butts, wrappers, etc. Once we were ready to start, a guy (I think it was the clinic administrator, Sergio Rodriguez) explained to us what the clinic was about, how it started, who supports it, how the building was provided for, and what he wanted us to do. Part of his description included a beautiful statement that I liked. He spoke in Spanish and used his hands a lot. Damon translated for most of us English speakers. He said something like,

"We cannot love God (as he lifted his hands up as in worship) and ignore our neighbor."

He really drove home the point that we are to serve others and love others here on earth. I knew I wanted to share that in my blog today as soon as I heard it.

I met a family from McAllen whose daughter went to the University of Texas. I had met her in the store earlier, as she was looking at local candy, too. She was a journalism student and just got a job at the State Capital, doing communications for a State Representative. Her parents were asking me about cool churches in Austin, of which there are many (Hope Chapel, Calvary Chapel, Stone Church, Gateway, Westlake Bible, Hope in the City, and several others).

I helped paint at the clinic. They painted the exterior and were going to do some trim in the inside hallways. One guy decided to buy a new weed eater when he saw the loose wires wrapped around the weed eater they had there. They were using two wires that I imagine they would jam into the two ports of the power socket. "Life is short, but not that short."

After leaving the crew working at the Bethesda Clinic, I went with Damon to the church, where we were able to finish the tinting of the windows high near the ceiling of the sanctuary. They finished installing a light fixture in the youth room, and we enjoyed quite a nice spread of sandwiches and fruit for lunch. My eyes got real big when I saw a giant plate/bowl of guacamole. I feel a little bit like toast now, as we've been going for most of the day and we've got dust on us.

The women at the church gave each other pedicures today. They had a hot wax machine, and they put warm wax on their hands to soften their skin up. An old friend that used to work as our Managing Editor at HM, David Allen, used to use one of those machines, because it would encase your hands and wrist in hot wax, which would warm the hands and joints up well, bringing relief to carpel tunnel and other such computer workstation ailments. It feels kinda cool (warm, actually), and it's fun to peel off the wax later. I played a little ping pong with my daughter Rachel in between cutting pieces of window tinting material. It was fun to see her improve her serve so quickly. We moved around the scaffolding and a giant carpet with a drumset on it.

Mexico Blog.2

Woke up early and enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked breakfast of French Toast and then headed to Saltillo International Church, where we worked all day, painting, cleaning, painting and cleaning the church building. Charlotta joined the ladies for a service, where they gave each other pedicures and washed each other's feet. Us guys prepped a youth room for painting, by clearing it out and lining the floor with plastic drop cloth and then using rollers to paint the ceiling and the walls. The ceiling and walls got a nice gray color, while the lower walls got a really dark black that had a red trim in the middle between the two sections. I got lots of paint on my face and body painting the ceiling. We painted a rot iron door and then the pastor and I cleaned all the windows in prep for window tinting. We had to erect some fairly tall scaffolding (just two stories' tall) and climb up there to razor blade and windex the glass. We had hoped to get the tinting done today, as well, but our lunch break to Los Pioneros, which served some delicious soft tacos. I think it was a pretty affordable place, as they were like 9.00 pesos apiece, which was roughly a dollar. I had a Coke Zero for my refresco. Our daughters, who had spent the day at the children's home, joined us for lunch and were having a good time making friends.

After cleaning the windows in the sanctuary, Pastor Damon and I went next door for a drink. That Coca-Cola Light was delicious. We stood on the corner sidewalk of their church building, tilting back the cold glass bottles. I tell ya, after a hard day's work in the heat, that Coca-Cola Light never tasted so good. I need to remember to have a Coke while I'm here, because I forgot that they sweeten the drink here differently. I guess they use a real sugar instead of a fructose or some sort of corn syrup.

We cleaned the outside of the back windows that were near the rooftop of the building, which had a lot of spray from the acoustic babble-type spray that they insulated the ceilings with for sound. There was also some chalk writing on them, which came off easy with Windex and a razorblade and paper towel.

The other people down here are really neat. Scott and Gayle help Damon and Delight run the Children's Home, and there's two families down from the Dallas area helping out this week (maybe more -- but I just met about 8-10 people from those families). One of the guys (Max) is a pastor of a church in Sachse, Texas (right next to Garland). He owns a coffee plantation that uses all their money roasting beans to support missions work. Very cool. Missionary Coffee. I have been very impressed with all the people here and am enjoying their company. One of Delight/Damon's children, Elam, is celebrating his 9th birthday.

You might want to start following me at twitter.com/dooglar

Estamos en Saltillo

Hey
We made it to our destination. We had a nice uneventful flight to Monterrey (unless you count having to pay $38 to change my plane ticket name to match the name -- Douglas) and a great drive from the airport to our host's house. It's a beautiful country. Reminds me a lot of Southern California. It was great to hear Damon talk about the country and clue me in one our new surroundings.

Here is our prayer:

Lord,
Just use us. We're here for You this week. Please use us to bless the people that are working and living down here. We want to be available to You.
Amen.

Va a Mexico

Yo y mi familia vamos a Mexico este dia.
We should be leaving in less than 30 minutes to the airport. Should be fun. I hope to blog every day while there.

It's a Sam Phillips blog

Sam Phillips
How does she do it?
With a sultry voice that seems to capture a grin, she emotes so eloquenty what she writes. Don't DO Anything gets my early vote for one of my top five albums of the year. The songs seem pretty personal and relational, but then again, almost all of her lyrics do. She is one witty writer.

Other new albums I just heard about:

Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider
My Epic - I Am Undone
Wrench In The Works - Lost Art Of Heaping Coal
Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal

The above four are albums that arrived right during deadline and, try as I may, I could not get them covered in the Sep/Oct issue. Of this I am extremely bummed -- especially for the great Austrian Death Machine (a concept album and fun side project by Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying ... he played all the instruments. It's totally rad ... and a riot) and the new Alice Cooper album (oh my gosh, I'm bummed about not being able to cover this one yet. It releases next Tuesday, July 29).

Phil Keaggy - Phantasmagorical (releases August 19 through Infinity)
It's called Master & The Musician 2. This could be really good.

They're also distributing the latest Larry Norman anthology album into the Christian Bookstore market (aka CBA) - Rebel Poet, Jukebox Balladeer: The Anthology.

Infinity is also distributing the reggae music from Lion of Zion Entertainment (Christafari and other cool reggae artists).

And just this morning I picked up the mail, which had a new Chris Tomlin album in it. Jamming to Stryper at the moment (loud in the office, like it should be). Stryper, it seems, has a new album in the can ... but a release is delayed until things get worked out (like a good promotional campaign, finishing up this Boston tour, etc), apparently.

My Rock Star Moment

I just got off the phone with Kemper Crabb. Yeah, he asked me to sing on his album. Couldn't make our schedules work. Bummer.

Yes! I was just able to say that. Wow, someone asked me to sing on their album -- and this someone has actually heard me sing before -- in a studio! I guess it's true what all those people say that read his column (The Christian & Art): the guy is crazy! Well, I can mark that life goal off my list:

X-Be asked to sing on someone's album.

There, it's checked off. What else is on my "bucket list?"
Hmmm.
-I'd really like to pray for someone to be healed and see blind eyes opened; or an amputated limb grow; or a paralyzed person walk.
-I'd love to swim with dolphins.
-I'd like to buy a motorcycle and build some jumps out here on the HM Ranch.
-I'd like to publish a novel.
-I'd like to publish another magazine (secret idea, under wraps for 11 years now).
-I'd like to see my birthplace (Japan) again.
I can think of a few other things...

Transcription funnies:

Boulder Jackson Love Bites is what a former editorial team member thought Doug Pinnick was saying when he was transcribing Doug talking about the Jimi Hendrix album, "Axis: Bold As Love."

Well, we can add one more to that list now:

[Here's what Ville Vale of H.I.M. really said:

"So, that's where I draw my inspiration from and, you know, life doesn't suck, but I consider melancholy to be a beautiful and uplifting thing." ]

What an editorial team member thought he was saying in the middle there was:

"...life's devils suck."

I think that's funny. It reminds me of that website that specializes in misquoted song lyrics. Almost done with deadline. Lord willing and barring any unforeseen events, this deadline is going to be defeated by DVP. The score is about to change. Deadline 07 - DVP 03 is about to change to Deadline 07 - DVP 04. I love the opportunity. Here's hoping I'll be in victory lane by end of the week.

mission trip to mexico

"Mission trip to Mexico...
Spreading the Word, come on let's go
On a mission trip to Mexico...

And if I may say so
This salvation is totally free
It won't even cost you a peso..."

(a song by b.o.b.)*

This weekend will be a wild transition for me. Lord willing, I'll have finished the Sep/Oct issue by Friday, including proofing and approving all the 88 pages for this one. Then we will fly to Saltillo, Mexico on Sunday for a weeklong missions trip with our family. I'm excited. Here's some of the things we'll find ourselves doing: During the week we will be working all over Saltillo -- from the Children's home to a clinic in a soup kitchen. Here are some of the things going on while we are there: Youth meeting Sunday night, ladies ministry at Saltillo International Church (ladies only ... I wonder if I dressed up in drag like those Bud Lite girls...? Nah.) Monday and Tuesday, construction at the children's home, painting at christian clinic, medical evangelism... at clinic; medical, dental, hygiene, vacation Bible school etc at a soup kitchen, construction/remodeling at Saltillo International Church, ETC... Charlotta, who's a nurse, will probably find some cool medical stuff to do.
This is exciting.

* I know the secret identity of the B.O.B. band that did that "Mission Trip To Mexico" ska song. I'm not telling, though.

Jesus as time traveler?

I finished reading a book that I'm reviewing for the magazine (The Trouble With Paris), which makes an allusion to Jesus being a type of time traveler. As God with skin on, He stepped out of eternity and into time. When he cast out demons, it was like He was telling us there would be a future time when there would be no more evil. When He healed, it was like He was telling folks that there would be a time when there would be no more sickness.

The Great Exodus.34

Check this out: the link to HM Spot.3
What this is is a sneak peek at the unfinished product. It's still going to get audio treatment, color treatment, and some fine-tune editing. I don't think you'll see the time code on the final product, if you know what I mean.
:)

I think it's fun to share what's going on "behind the curtain" when possible. Please compare this version to the final when it appears. We are talking to Fuse TV about airing this. Crazy question (ignore afterward if you don't like how it sits), but if you're interested in helping fund this commercial marketing campaign, let me know. I'm kind of stepping out in faith here with this campaign and some neat things have happened along the way. I'm certainly not opposed to having help in seeing this commercial get on tv. The original plan was to air this on Headbanger's Ball, but our original estimates and then later estimates were both paled by the actual prices quoted (and this from an insider who should've gotten the sweetest deal), which were TWICE what they were a few months ago. I guess they like their airtime there at MTV2. Anyway, those spot opportunities are just too expensive to consider right now. But airing our spots 15 times on Fuse TV is not. I'll share more later.

I've been jamming lately to the new Guitar Hero game -- Aerosmith. It's very good addition to the family.

Okay (finally) on to the Bible. In this 34th chapter of Exodus, God tactfully tells Moses to replace the two tablets that he broke. I wish I could've heard that sentence spoken: "...which you broke." I bet Moses swallowed hard and you'd be able to hear an audible gulp.

God gave him the rest of the day to accomplish this, I'm thinking (because He told Moses to meet Him in the morning with the tablets). Up on the mountain God reminds Moses of His character:

"The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

He also reveals one of His names -- Jealous.

When Moses comes down, and even later after talking with God, his face radiates God's glory. This freaked out many of the Israelites and even some of Moses' friends were afraid to approach him. He was glowing. Wow.

The lost episode of my Cornerstone blog

... or Cornerstone.6

The final day of Cornerstone (and for that matter, the entire experience) seems to go by faster and get less stressful for us over time. Having to break down the merch booth, gather up banners, review final shows and say goodbye to friends gets a little more streamlined and less pressure-filled the more you do it, I guess.

This last day of the fest had a cool "Goth/Industrial" theme at the HM Magazine stage, but I stole away as much as I could for the metal on the Main Stage. First off was Still Remains, who were performing their very last show ever. It was a melancholy moment, because it was sad to realize that this would be the last time that you'd probably ever see them on stage together, but it was hard to revel in a depressed state simply because they were rocking so well and so hard. Loyal fans were singing along to older and more recent tunes, like "The Worst Is Yet To Come" and "White Walls" from Of Love And Lunacy and especially "The Wax Walls Of An Empty Room." Both guitarists and even the bassist joined frontman TJ Miller at the very front of the catwalk that jutted out into the middle of the crowd. The energy stayed high for a good 45 minutes, which passed like seconds ... and then it was over.

I headed back to get the night rolling over at the HM Magazine Stage. JPUSA's own Leper launched the evening with some doomy heaviness. It was fun to see the lead vocalist perform most of the set with a large scarf obscuring his face. Paris Oroborus (who originally had talked to us about a touring package with Rackets & Drapes, who dropped out due to Kandy Kane's son participating in a hockey playoff final) went on next, which featured a husband and wife duo that were decked out in lots of black leather. It looked great. The energy would've risen quicker had it been a darkened and smaller room inside a club, but it still conveyed a little bit of the groove-laden and almost spoken-word vibe.

Sanctum performed to a much smaller crowd than the last time they played one of these nights, but perhaps it was the mainstage or some of the generator stages that kept people from reveling in the danceable yet heavy tunes.

Brian "Head" Welch spoke on the Main Stage before Demon Hunter came out. It was a thrill to catch these guys on such a big stage with the giant video screen at stage left. I had missed the gargantuan co-headlining tour with Living Sacrifice, The Famine and Advent that was ending on this night. Demon Hunter's melodic and dynamic heaviness filled the night air with the kind of majestic power that you'd kind of expect from this band. Not everyone can hold their own on a giant outdoor stage, but these guys made it look easy.

As I Lay Dying finished out the night on Main Stage, which more than likely poured out some of the over-the-top intensity that their most recent headlining tour had showcased a couple months prior. I wish I could've seen it, but I also couldn't miss a rare US performance by South Africa's import The Awakening. Ashton Nyte and company (now basically a power trio thanks to Ashton's Stateside move to the St. Louis area) showed off a performer's aura that was good to see. With quite a lengthy catalog of songs to cull from, it seemed that not a dull song was played. Strong tunes like "Arrow" displayed his fantastic vocals and the big hooks in "Dark Romantics" showed he was good at composing. Good natured humor laced the performance between songs, which kept the frustration of blown-out monitors from effecting the show.

YOU'VE GOTTA FIGHT | FOR YOUR RIGHT | TO DREAM

I have been fighting against the plain jane everyday forces that seem to battle my desires and dreams to finish my novel. You hear stories about people that struggle with their art ... and sometimes I think, 'That won't happen to me. I'll just do it and it'll be done.' I had some great starts on my novel. I used to take my Managing Editor with me to a coffee shop and sit for 3 hours and force myself to write. The words would flow at high speeds. Sometimes "forced creativity" really works. Lately it's been a case of: "I'll work on it some more as soon as the next deadline is done..." and that keeps repeating itself with no progress on the story. This past pre-deadline (the last two weeks of production is what we call "deadline" around here) period I have forced myself to steal time away. Sometimes I will get started earlier and put an hour in. Even just a little bit here and there helps.

So, anyway, that's kind of one of my lame excuses for not blogging in a while. Being gone at a week-long festival puts a kink in the day-to-day routine, too. I hope to get back on track soon here.

In the meantime, if you are in a band or know someone who is (and this band is unsigned), be sure to enter the Independent Music Awards.

Melvin Noble for President

White House press conferences would never be the same.

Have been listening to the new Anberlin album. Wow. I'm so glad they delivered a solid album. I was actually quite concerned and doubtful that they could deliver another high quality release so soon after Cities (which was amazing). This album (New Surrender) is very, very good.

Governor Rick Perry

Listening to the radio on the way to work today, because my Griffin autoscan iTrip pooped out on me. The dj mentioned that Governor Rick Perry had told him that he was going to announce something very important today at 3:40 pm. What could that be? I predict he'll announce his addition to the McCain ticket. Could it be? Probably not, but at least I'm posting my prediction 2 hours before the announcement, so I'll look like a genius if that's it.

Lord willing, I'll get out from under the 2,000+ emails from Cornerstone today and post my last blog on the festival later today.

Cornerstone.5

Started my Fourth of July Independence Day celebration by catching my first show at 3pm. It was the bouncing, raw, melodic and poppy metal sounds of Main Line Riders (Cliffy Huntington's new band). They sound bratty, on, and energetic. A nice start to the day. Half an hour later it was the crazy experience known as a Grave Robber show. Clad in Creep Show style dripping flesh and skull masks and rag-tag black outfits, the band made the entire show a themed experience, with the frontman spouting quotes about dying to self, putting off sin, destroying Satan, complacency, and the choice of death now or death forever. The band was a tight metal band that didn't let the visual show overpower its performance. Fans of The Misfits would love this band, I think, due to its true blue inspired show and quality songs. Many of them were sing-along-able, including a Misfits cover with a guest vocalist. Then there was the chainsaw and then the giant squirt gun filled with fake blood. Most of us got pretty soaked with the sticky red substance. These guys simply ruled. A must-have experience, to be sure.

After a myriad of daytime and generator stage performances, the entire festival pretty much shut down to focus on the Main Stage celebration of the festival's 25th anniversary. I was hoping to see lots of vintage footage on the giant video screens, like the 20th Anniversary (but seeing the HM Spot several times was a joy), but this celebration was pretty much performance only. Flatfoot 56 started things off and their loyal crowd was there en masse to help party. A giant moshpit featuring flagholders and lots of energy was unleashed. The next act was one not to be overlooked -- The Lee Boys rocked the joint a la lap pedal steel style. Robert Randolph and his family band would've been proud the way this band rocked. Mike Farris took the stage next for his 3-song set. He would have ratched things much further and ripped away any ceilings of restraint had he had his whole band rocking with him. Alas, he was doing it solo. The life of the songs shone through and it was good, but those of us that've seen his whole band before know what was missing.

The Glorious Unseen played some melodic and raw worship songs at the end of the catwalk that jutted out from the Main Stage. The 77s came on next and played one new song, their mega-indentifiable number "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and the Pride of Life," followed by their Zeppified version of the Blind Willie Johnson cover, "Nobody's Fault But Mine." It sounded nostalgic, but would've ripped if the stage volume would've been screaming those riffs through the twilight sky.

Michael Gungor Band shared their hip, politically-fused and acoustic-based rock worship with the crowd. Josh Garrels followed with some of the same, but slightly more soulful. The Lost Dogs shared some fun old tunes after a respectful introduction by John Thompson, which broke down the numbers in the collective musical experience inside this outfit. Fest director John Herrin introduced his longtime friend and bandmate, Glenn Kaiser, whose band rocked hard yet laid back and bluesy.

Over The Rhine was rightfully introduced as an incredible gem with Cornerstone roots (alongside such greats as P.O.D., Sixpence None The Richer, and Mute Math). The band brought their distinctive and beautiful sound with another one of those "crowd the entire band at the end of the catwalk" sets. Robbie Seay Band got to experience his first Cornerstone as part of a nice big celebration. This was more than just a birthday bash for the festival; as it was obvious that worshipping the Lord was an important goal. Charlie Peacock came on next and offered some praise tunes of his while he and others implemented communion with the crowd (with thousands of tiny cups with grapce juice and a wafer inside were dispensed). It was a solemn and joyous event. It was dark by this time and there was also tons of candles in the crowd that highlighted the grass bowl natural amphitheater.

David Crowder Band came on last to close out the night's big event. He romped through about a full set of songs from Remedy and many of his other well-known worship songs. The bluegrass-like "hoedown" version of "I Saw The Light" kept the crowd light-hearted, as did the Guitar Hero controller song introduction and jam. A full-blown fireworks display from the lake's peninsula followed, which was so cool it might've caused more than a few people like myself to miss the very first song from the reunited Living Sacrifice "Evening Encore" performance. They had a tent bursting from the sides as they blazed through a furious set of tunes that sounded as tight and brutal as the last time they played (about five years ago). They really sounded on and as if they just stepped right back into their roles as if it were only yesterday. Bruce Fitzhugh made it a point to clarify the permanent basis of the band. "This isn't a one-off," he proclaimed. When they played "Enthroned," the amazingly fast fret fingering between Fitzhugh and Rocky Gray was amazing. Lance Garvin's thunderous drumming was incredible. Wow. Having missed the tour with Demon Hunter, I now felt almost completely absolved for missing that show by seeing this longer one. Living Sacrifice exceeded my very high expectations.

After Living Sacrifice finished with an encore, there was still noise coming from the Encore II Tent that housed mewithoutYou cutting loose. Their tent was packed like sardines all the way to the back -- packing in more people than had witnessed the Living Sacrifice show. After the fading lines about a "brownish spider" they launched into my favorite tune of theirs -- "Feed The Goats." It's always a high point of their show and many were singing along to the repeating line of: "...the trap I've set for you has caught my leg instead." They performed not just one encore, which was sweet. The second was "February 1979," which Aaron Weiss coaxed the audience to start with a faux feedback sound to mimic the feeling of "watching something (spontaneously) happen" inside the studio. He even sang a few verses with his shirt over the top of his head, like a gradeschool kid imitating Cornholio or something. Quite funny to see him having fun up there, even at the end of an energy-draining show. There was a bunch of people on stage for the final number, and lots of onstage hugging and friendly audience salutations followed. This band always seems to bring it. If someone's keeping a written record of "magical" or "great shows" by this band, their fingers are probably cramped from logging in so many show entries.

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Yesterday at Cornerstone was a blast. After trying unsuccessfully to get online to post the day before's blog, I just chilled and talked with friends until the early afternoon. I took my daughter to see the band we had met in Austin by chance outside Emo's at a double six-band bill on both their indoor and outdoor stages. We had gone to see PlayRadioPlay! and met the guys in Kiros outside the club about to load in. Turns out they were a Christian band from Canada touring the States. Nice guys, crazy pants. This is documented in a blog from that time, as well as in the new issue's Kiros story. Because of the article, friends of the band told them, "You have to wear the pants now." Ha ha. We were able to hear that Austin show from outside the club, but this time we were front and center in the Indie Community generator stage tent and were able to tak e in the spectacle that is Kiros live. They started with flaming cymbals to instill that "what will they do next?" vibe in the air ... and they put out constant energy for a solid 30-minute set. Their tunes translate really well in a live setting -- melodic, full of hooks, and a tight rock sound. Guitarist Ryan used the bounce in his legs to stay airborn much of the time, kicking and jumping and always wearing a big smile. The drummer was like a monster back there, pounding away on a drumkit that his tall body dwarfed. One can't help but be impressed by the non-stop and all-out effort these guys deliver.

I don't think I watched anyone else for the next five hours, which means I missed about 150 sets (and that might be a way-short estimate). Prior to the HM Magazine Stage kicking off at 7pm, I stood behind the Gallery Stage and saw a little bit of the Resurrection Band reunion show. When I finally got in front of a stage and watched some more, it was to see Inhale Exhale. They made it clear from the very first burst of energy that they were all about assaulting the silence and empty air molecules around them. Screams and that dialed in chunky "true metal" sound were loud and clear. If a silver lining can be found in the dissolution of the great band Narcissus, it is the band Inhale Exhale. Good stuff. Too bad the geek that introduced them said something about inhaling (and pausing for a loud audible inhalation of breath), followed by a loud exhale. I'm not surprised that HM Magazine subscription sales did not spike last night (ha ha, I'm a total dork). I hopped back over to the Gallery to see some more Rez Band. I arrived at the tail ending notes of my favorite of theirs -- "Shadows," making me catalog my departure from the HM Stage to see if I could regret doing this or that and catch more of that great song. Nothing stood out, so I didn't stay mad at myself. Hopefully tonight on the Main Stage during the 25th Anniversary celebration they'll play that one again.

Drottnar took the stage at 8pm sharp, clad in their Russian* uniforms. My emcee skills were a little sharper this time, but no one seemed impressed by my Russian greetings. I guess my career dreams of stand-up comedy will never be realized. It is an energetic and visual delight to watch this band. They crank out some metallic sounds with a hardcore vocal delivery that's a tad higher in the soprano direction than most. The military outfits provide a startling impression. It seems to glue the five members together, even though the moves are often in opposite, groove-driven directions. It's just a trip to watch. The lead singer often casts an intimidating glare at the audience. I love the vibe.

Sophia played next on the HM Magazine stage and, unlike the one sloppy generator stage show I saw last year, this performance ruled, matching their well-crafted recorded music and then some. When they want to be heavy and intense, that's what they are. I really like the dynamics they swing into various songs, with keyboards, singing and cool samples. Now I feel even more confident about recommending them as an up and coming band to watch.

The Famine was a band I was dying to watch. I had to forsake seeing Impending Doom and Degarmo & Key (hey, I'm sentimental and nostalgic, too), but I was not disappointed about my decision in the least. In fact, seeing The Famine live exceeded my expectations. They were truly brutal, precise and full of energy. If music itself could be described as violent, their tunes might make a good wikipedia definition. I bet the lifeless, standing still in awe and rapt appreciation rattled frontman Kris McCadden a bit, because he kept requesting that the audience move around "and break some necks." They certainly provided enough massive breakdowns and galloping riffs to stir up a furious mosh pit, but this half-full crowd never seemed to get inspired to move much. Maybe they were tired, surprised, or perhaps like me -- able to pay more attention and absorb more of the experience by keeping still. Their set was absolutely fabulous. They totally killed.

It was about 11pm and D&K had probably started an hour ago, but I took a chance and went over to the Gallery Stage to see if I could catch any of their songs. Sure enough, I was able to hear quite a bit of material. Dana Key introduced a number as "a love song," which turned out to be "666." During "Destined To Win," which sounded slightly stripped down due to the lack of monster BGVs (maybe they were guilty in the 80s, like a lot of band, of using backing tracks for the giant choruses). It still sounded good and it brought a lot of older believers in the massive over-30 crowd to their feet, inspired by the rallying cry. I hope they played some of the great material from the Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band type album, Straight On, but I missed it if they did. Dana Key shared a little bit towards the very end. He told a story about this guy named Ed that led him to Christ, promising him that his life would be great all the time if he accepted Jesus. He then laughingly told the crowd not to give Ed DeGarmo too hard of a time for that piece of faulty advice and theology by revealing that young Eddie had only been a Christian for one day at that point ... "and it was a real good day for him," Key added. Then he challenged the crowd that had surely been through plenty of life's disappointments to covenant with him to live the rest of their life from here on out to make a difference for Christ.

The evening had just begun for me and I kinda felt like I was back in good old Austin, Texas, with the ability to "club hop" and see lots of great performances in close proximity. Such was the case. I was able to see The Chariot put on a whale of a show (at least wonderful and intense parts of it) and then see Bradley Hathaway put on a fabulous performance. Before Hathaway and his band of about 7 musicians took the stage Stand True spokesman and founder Bryan Kemper was giving a short talk about being pro-life. It was a great little message about not being offensive. He stated that being pro-life was more than just caring about the babies. It was about loving the abortion doctors, the women, and basically loving our neighbor. It was a very cool talk that dispelled some of the myths some people believe about pro-lifers. Bradley's show started off with lots of brand new material. While the last album was a shocker that transitioned him from slam poetry to music. This material is a great progression from simple songs about love to more complicated and story-telling tunes.

I popped back over to the Sanctuary Stage (passing the Underground Stage, where I heard the raging set by War of Ages) to see the face-painted set by Frost Like Ashes. They were totally tight, on, and very black metal. The lead singer sported forearm-length wristbands with extended spikes all over. At one point he tore up a Satanic Bible. Wow. Hopefully, I'll post some good photos of this set later. They were really good.

I went back to catch more of The Chariot, who were going all out with theatrics and intensity. At times they had changing backdrops and dynamic additives, like soundbytes from speakers, etc and even some meditative oriental instrumental interludes between the thrashing hardcore riffage. I twittered to the Cornerstone Festival twitter.com (you should check this social network thing out ... it's fun) the following post: "Who needs Norma Jean? We've got The Chariot. Just kidding." They were killing and there was tons of blip/counter blip riffing. They're so good.

I went back over to the Encore Two Stage to watch Bradley Hathaway. I was starting to get tired, so I figured I'd watch a few songs and then retire for the evening. I was too enthralled to do so, however, as Bradley and band were killing it. Bradley was often sashaying and swinging around on stage, playing his guitar (who knew he could play?), telling stories kinda like his older poetry. One new song was about a guy named Daniel that he met on campus. Engaging and thought-provoking stuff. It's a nice mix of old and new for him. It's amazing how he seems to be drawing from a deep well (both lyrically and musically) without tipping his hat to any obvious Christian music pioneers, yet creating strong art (and maybe that's why ... he might be going back to greats like Guthrie and Cash). His hand kept cramping, which he openly talked about, sharing his vulnerability with the audience in a way that really connected. The guy seems like a natural and almost a genius. I wonder how much of it's calculated and how much of it is fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants. It certainly seems totally off-the-cuff, but it hits a home run. Amazing. He explained that maybe his hand was cramping because he ate too much pork on the pig farm, explaining that he was no longer vegan. He was tired of feeling weak and such, and concluded that chicks didn't dig that. Speaking of girls, there were plenty of them in the audience. With his frank talk about his hand cramping and the late, late hour, one might figure the show would be over at any point. But the extended encore-like conclusion went on and on in a grand culmination. He played one last song "for the last time" and the band romped with him through "So Do I Love You," which tons of girls in the audience offered up the perfectly-timed and beautiful response verses of, "so do I love you" from the recording (since there was not a female vocalist in the band). Fantastic. Then he performed "for the very last time" the poem "That Annoying Hardcore Dude That Goes Too Far," speaking most of it, but offering the punchlines to the willing and loud audience. This was "spontaneously" broken up by the band launching back into song with the romping dance melody. Then back to poetry. He'd go off in the middle of a line with an announcement about his poetry class or some merch and then ask the audience, "Where were we?" And he'd start the band immediately back up into the dance ditty. Then back to poetry ... and so forth for an extended medley sort of thing that was just a great finale. Bravo, Bradley!

This kind of night, my friends, is what festivals should deliver. A mixture of great performances on multiple stages. What a great experience.

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It was fun seeing my friends Disciple on the main stage last night. They performed really well on the large stage, with Kevin Young using the catwalk to his advantage. I stayed for most of the set, which consisted mostly of newer songs. Young shared from his heart as I headed back to the HM Magazine Stage for the start of our night. It's always funny to "hear" the thoughts of wondering what people might think as you're walking away during a sermon.

Thieves & Liars put out a very full and big sound with three instruments. It was so refreshing and enjoyable to hear Corey Edelmann (former NIV and Project 86 guitarist) play guitar. He masterfully bent the strings to add much feeling and accents to many a note. It's a rare thing these days to see skills and emotion from a guitar player.

Gray Lines Of Perfection next brought crashing bursts of hardcore with an energetic fury. Like a machine, they're able to pull off their Reaching The Ends Of The Earth album with gusto and precision. Listening and singing/chanting along to their tunes easily cultivate a community atmosphere.

I caught the end of the Family Force 5 set on the Main Stage, which was as crazy, energetic and fun as their performances on much smaller stages/venues. They never pull any punches on bringing out the goofy penchant for fun that many of us bring to a concert experience. The camera operator with that big crane camera adds a great sweeping audience shot and nice zooms that make all the antics and show feel bigger. The Cornerstone Main Stage is quite the perfect venue for shows -- with its natural bowl shaped hills around the stage.

Showbread put on a very cool and theatrical show, attempting to visually and sonically portray their Anorexia and Nervosa album themes. In the end, the whole thing might've brought more questions than answers, but it was a very cool show that'll be remembered for a long time. The tent was packed, but I'm sure those that were there will be sure and explain how cool the show was to those that missed it.

Once Nothing took the stage after a chorus of "Here we go, Steelers -- Here we go!!" from a large contingent in the front at stage left. Either hometown friends of the band or educated fans that know about the band's Pittsburgh roots. While they don't fit nice and neatly into the "Southern Metal" category we put them in with our similarly-titled article in the May/June issue, they had plenty of groove and heavy slabs of rock.

I rode a bike down to the Main Stage again to see Flyleaf's set. There's something really special about this band that makes me want to keep an eye on them. I was real curious to see what their shock-absorber-for-legs bassist would do with this enormous stage and catwalk. He launched himself over the corner gap between catwalk and stage several times, and he spent some time surfing on his back over the crowd and on the ground with the crowd as well. Lacey spoke very humbly and sincerely about how special it was for them to play to an audience that related with their spiritual identity. It was awesome to see the same kind of this-is-who-we-are humility here as I saw at every other (mostly mainstream) shows I've seen them at. They played a couple of new songs, giving us a taste of their new album. One was about a girl named Tina that had tried to kill herself by setting herself on fire, but had a revelation of the Lord when He rescued her from death. This little evangelist wanted to make sure Lacey knew about this God and so impressed Lacey with her inner beauty that she wanted to write this song. Another new one feature dynamics of soft vocals and their trademark screams. Pretty cool sounds.

I took in a few sights and sounds after midnight -- including the controlled fury of Becoming The Archetype, who also crafted some sweeping dynamics between hard and gentle sounds. It was a little melancholy to realize that this was Alec's last show with the band. The Myriad was rocking and mesmerizing the Encore Two Stage. Frontman Jeremy asked how many people were at Cornerstone for the first time. They'd been the past six years in a row and wanted to offer an apology for anyone that spilled mud on in a previous year. Their trailer was stuck in the mud and the driver hit the accelerator and sent lots of mud flying on anyone nearby. That was funny.

Right before retiring "early" for the night (about 1am) I popped into the Sanctuary Tent after catching a glimpse of four or five guys in military officer outfits. They (Drottnar) looked kind of like Nazi German officer uniforms in shape and color, but I didn't notice red armbands or swastikas, so we're probably talking about some other European country's military garb.* If it was just one member, it would be one thing, but having the entire band decked out in this fashion made it very striking. Kind of crazy, but intensely cool. I wonder if they'll pull off a different look for their HM Magazine Stage performance on Thursday night.

It rained Wednesday night, which has brought a cooler temperature to Thursday morning's wake-up experience. Time to break out the hoodie -- even though it's July 3rd.

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"Tooth & Nail Day" went down really well. Besides a couple dozen T&N bands playing on Encore 1 & 2 Stages, there was the two or three dozen generator stages (I haven't bothered to count the total number yet) sporting bands all day long. Besides an untold number of death metal core bands screaming and growling I saw a melodic rock band that really stood out. They were called Dear Future, and they've got it going on. In their last song of the set I saw the lead singer was repeating a refrain of: "...we are more than the sum of our urges..." followed by something like "...we need to have control." I like this band and have a feeling that I'll be hearing more from them in the future.

On a brief once-around of the grounds, I was fortunate enough to come by the Anchor Stage while Neocracy was playing. They're one of our "Pick of the Litter" bands for this issue. I'm glad to find out that they're really good live. They bring the metal and energy in a fresh way. They had the audience break up and perform a "wall of death," which was probably the first of a few for this year's fest. It's crazy to see that pulled off.

Ivoryline was very jovial and hospitipal during their show. It was interesting to see how their live show and the loud mix emphasized their identity as a rock band. Their drummer stood out as a basher. It was a slight surprise departure from the prominent melody of their fine debut album, but it still translated pretty well.

By chance I got to see Jimmy Ryan's new band, Trenches. He informed us that they were signed to a "mystery label" and would have an album out in September. He made some reference to liking Kat Jones' music, but not being as cute as her. Maybe a veiled reference to her label? Who knows. Besides a few self-effacing remarks about his weight (and some air guitar moves performed with his belly fold), the most noticable thing about this band was the large amount of raw power they weilded onstage. Almost taking a deconstructionist angle with their music, their bassist was madly torturing his 5-string bass like he was trying to score points with the amount of different notes he could hit. The guitarist on stage right was slicing away at invisible heads of lettuce with each accent and chord change, it seemed, which was many. Their drummer was a monster. The stage volume and sheer power was immense. It was at times a chaotic train wreck and at others a progressive but trackable with the ears work of beauty. Fans of Frodus and Warlord should dig their music immediately.

Becoming The Archetype blazed some heavy tunage as expected. It was sad to know that this show and their midnight encore set the next day will be the last with Alex on guitar, who will be returning to Aletheian.

I "club hopped" over to the Anchor Stage to see another Tyler, Texas band play -- Luminate. They've really kept improving and gelling as a band. They were really tight and brought the rock in the first three songs I saw. I was reminded of Delirious a bit with some of the chorus melodies and Sam Hancock's melodic vocals. There's still a little ways to go before this band hits its stride, but during the orchestrated accents where the band all came together was one of the first moments of the fest where I felt like a band was "bringing it" with that added element of "magic."

Showbread had the packed crowd in their back pocket, who sang as loud as the sound system during "Dead by Dawn." They brought it and made many an invitation to come see them play the next night on the HM Magazine Stage.

I didn't overdose on music this day, but I liked what I heard.

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Well, it looks like my plans to blog my Cornerstone Festival 2008 experience might fall flat on its best intentions. [...hold that thought -- I just successfully logged on to the fest site. Thanks, Scott!]

If I can get an online connection, I'll blog as if it can be read. We took two days to drive from Austin, TX to Bushnell, IL so as to make it more bearable and less torture. (I guess it's a 19-hour trip straight, which we've done a few times)

When we arrived around 5pm on Monday, the festival looked like it was already hopping. Cars, RVs, tents and people were all over the place. It's kind of like the first day of school, in that people watching is very fun and easy. You're seeing people you recognize but don't know (think big high school) and run into old friends that you see once or twice a year (now you can imagine the smaller school experience, hehe). After parking the long 32-foot trailer we pulled (in the first backup try, which was very nice and stress-free), we briefly setup camp and then headed over to the food court for dinner. Most of the same vendors from previous years were there -- the Hawaiian Shaved Ice place** and the Elephant Ears and Corn Dogs place, Subway, Pizza Hut, a cart that sells Gyros, and the Italian place that has a nice seafood alfredo dish with garlic bread. Our girls (my wife and two daughters) all got the alfredo while I couldn't resist the gyro.

We found out that the booth space we requested was kinda old. Apparantly, the fest does keep records of previous year's booth locations and our choice spot from last year was a relocation effort assisted by the cool guys that organize the merch tent. This relocation didn't make its way into the official spreadsheet, so another organization was at our spot. Turns out they requested the same booth as last year, like we did; and -- lo and behold, they were the ones that we switched places with last year. The head guy here runs all the booth assignments and he moved us into the corner spot we had requested via email, leaving the other folks a note about the relocation. He asked us if we wanted to be so bold as to move some crates the other guys had left. He grabbed one and we moved their stuff. I was feeling kind of unsure about all this. I don't like to be a "demand my own way" kinda guy, because that's pretty simple bottom-line "treat others the way you'd want to be treated" stuff. The organizer was obliging our request, and that was super kind. I hoped the other folks wouldn't be put out. I heard this morning they were fine with it. It helps that they originally requested the spot they were now in, so we were both getting what we originally wanted and requested ... that's funny.

My daughter is playing Guitar Hero here in the trailer. The opening lines to Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" from the cover band performing the hits are floating my way. It's funny how hollow the song can sound if you don't hit the notes. Ya gotta admit, this is a pretty fun game. My oldest is better at the game than I am (she's not missing any notes). My wife suggested that we should send her on tournaments to earn the family money, but I know better. I've seen some experts play the game at the SXSW Interactive Festival and know how good some of these game shredders can be.

I put ** next to the Shaved Ice vendor, because I have an old Cornerstone story. Back when the HM Magazine Stage was in a smaller speaker tent, we had a rented RV parked next to it. A guy named Bill Conine had another rented RV parked next to ours. Bill was a big and tall guy with a friendly smile. I could imagine him a tv evangelist (old school style), though. Anyway, I borrowed a hose to refill the water storage tank in our RV from the Hawaiian Shaved Ice vendor. The guy in charge of that cart said it'd be okay, so I strung the hose through the exhibit hall (I think) and into the port for the tank opening. As I was filling it up, Bill approached me and asked if he could fill it up after me. Against my better judgment (never let anyone borrow something that you're borrowing), I said, "Sure," and told him where to return it when he was done. I left and found out later that the owner of the Shaved Ice booth had returned to a long line of people waiting snow cones. They ran out of water and he asked where the hose was. He followed it to Bill's RV and laid into him with an anger-filled tirade that let him know how upset he was. He had a long line of customers waiting and here Bill was using his water hose. It's not very proper of me, I guess, but I can't help laughing at that story. I laughed with Bill when he told me shortly after it happened. I apologized first, but that was a gross situation I was glad I avoided.

I was hoping that this booth moving thing wouldn't turn out like that. I'm glad it hasn't. It's not too hard to keep peace with people around you. Sometimes conflict happens. Sometimes it's flat out your fault and, obviously, could have been avoided. Other times there are other factors involved that brew a "perfect storm" of conflict. Those can be hairy, but they test ones character.

Anyway, so last night the Anchor Stage was going until around midnight. There were a couple of really good bands playing that stage -- especially the second-to-last one. I'm going to find out who that was and post it. Nice sounds. The band prior to them was a really tight metal band with lots of grinding and death metal growls. The Anchor is a church in Nashville that reaches out to a youth culture that thinks, looks and dresses entirely different than their older family members. It's neat to see such a fellowship in the Deep South. They have an Anchor Prayer Tent that is always manned right across the road from the stage. It's cool to see that kind of simple and faithful service. Sometimes it takes a lot of guts to approach such a place, but they're often really special places of refuge where love is in the air. People with sympathetic ears and an eagerness to intercede on behalf of a concerned or hurting person is a good and (dare I say it) a precious thing.

As Dave Ellufson (who now fronts a band called F5) might say, "I got my God fix" early today. I was coming back from the HyVee store with a shaver in hand and ran into Jimmy Ryan (who said his new band was going to play today). He was talking with a member of For Today (a really great band on Facedown Records) about God's faithfulness. Jimmy apologized for "bringing that up out of left field," but that kind of "God talk" is something I really, really enjoy. I added my two cents worth of agreement, bringing up the "extreme example" of Hosea and God's instructions to the prophet to marry a prostitute. It's a beautiful book that God uses to illustrate His faithfulness in spite of our faithlessness. Jimmy laughed, because they had been talking about Hosea. He totally is digging chapter 2 of that book, which has me and the guy from For Today (I forgot his last name already, which sucks) jones-n' to get back into the book. It's been awhile since I read it last. For Today guy asked us to pray and we huddled together and he prayed for us both. It was just a brief moment in time, but it was better than a nice big hot mug of good coffee in the morning (and I'm saying a lot by comparing it to that, ha ha ha). That was nice.