acts.1.eight

- notre dame playing for the national championship… in hockey.  tomorrow.  how odd.  but exciting.

- we did our first live webcast this week.  went quite well.

- gunnar and i are riding the train to crosby next week.  i can’t wait to take him to my home again.

i went to fosston, mn this week.  the green t tour was there.  why in fosston?  i have no idea.  the green t tour is made up of capital lights, run kid run, and hawk nelson.  of course, being that run kid run was on the bill, that meant that my good friend ryan was there selling merch.  it took less then 2 hours to get there, but we still missed the majority of the show.  that’s the peril of working a real job.  hawk nelson was on the stage when we got there, so the fact that there was difficulty getting us on the guest list didn’t matter.  we did not even set foot in the gym during their set.  i don’t care for their music.  we’ll just leave it at that.

ryan seems to be doing well.  i think the realities of life on the road, music as a business, and the marketing of “christian” music seems to be wearing on him a bit.  but when your dream starts to become a job, i don’t doubt that it can be tiresome.  he had stories from the road.  some good, some funny, some bad, some disturbing.  all in all it was great to see him and the guys from run kid run.

the show itself was another experience altogether.  it took me back to the days when i was in junior high and high school and we would flock to see bands like audio adrenaline or newsboys.  however, i don’t seem to remember the overwhelming  cloud of body odor that hung around this crowd.  in the short time we were there, i too got to see glimpses of the excess of music as business.  no better example than the cheap plastic kazoos being sold for $3 each.  i don’t doubt you could find a bag full of the same kazoos at any party supply store for the same price.  not to be critical of the bands, because i understand they need to make a living, but at what point does artistic integrity win out over the need to sell one more cd or one more t-shirt?   do you strive to produce the art you are most proud of, or do you strive to produce the are that will sell the most copies?  is there really a difference?  i could tell by brief interactions with some of the people associated with the tour that they were not very satisfied with what they are doing with their art.

how does a person ever get comfortable with celebrity?  perhaps i would be perfectly capable of making the adjustment if in their shoes.  but i couldn’t help but wonder how a person gets comfortable with the idea of sitting on a comfortable tour bus while a bunch of high school students volunteer to load your gear into the trailer.  or how do you reminisce about the one year you toured in a van, when your tour mates are going on their 8th or 9th year in vans?  i’m not trying to single out any one band or any individuals.  they are probably good guys with good hearts.  it’s just difficult for me to understand celebrity.  how do you ever get to a point where you are comfortable with teenage girls yelling “marry me” outside your bus?  or signing your name in sharpie marker across some kids forehead?  what a strange existence that must be.

not to be lost in the mix, we saw a lady with gigantic bangs walk out of the school while we stood outside to get some fresh air.  it’s always good to see that the 1980s live on.