Taught by a Nightmare

I woke up to a nightmare last night.  Not one of those nightmares involving monsters or ghosts, but one of those that caused me to wake up in a cold sweat and that continued to bring itself to the front of my memory all morning, bringing with it the same sense of unease and anxiety.

I dreamed that, for some reason or another, I was being admitted into a penitentiary.  Whether or not I was guilty or innocent of the crime that was committed wasn't important or made known in the dream, but it was known that I would have to be locked up for at least one year. 

While the details of the dream were and are hazy, I remember more vividly the feelings and emotions that were felt while I was asleep and trapped in that situation.

As I stood in line, waiting my turn to be processed by my old mission president (who was the official in charge for some reason), my mind turned inward as I began to reflect on the situation. 

I've always been the kind of guy that tries to find the silver lining in difficult situations and to look on the bright side of things.  This was the same case in this dream.  As I thought about the confinement that I would be in, my mind thought that at least I would be able to catch up on a lot of reading and studying without interruption.

However, as soon as that thought crossed through my mind, it was followed by a sickening feeling of dread as I realized how much I would be missing.  I would be away from my wife.  I would be away from my parents and my family.  And worst of all, I would miss the birth of my firstborn child.

I wish that I could say that I woke with a start upon feeling those emotions, but I had to endure what felt like an eternity of those feelings before my back pain finally jolted me awake, followed by my alarm shortly thereafter.

As I mentioned earlier, even after being awake I was plagued by the memories of this nightmare, that my memory unwillingly recalled over and over again while I prepared myself to go to church.  Sitting in sacrament meeting, I was still bothered by the dream, and prayed silently for comfort.  It was at that time that a feeling of understanding came over me about the dream that I had.

It's always been in my nature to be able to get immersed in projects, studies, and solo activities, whether they be something music-related (such as practicing the guitar for hours at a time and/or writing music), something technical like building a website or learning and reading up on technology that I work with or want to know more about, and/or even just reading for entertainment and leisure.

With life being so busy these days, those things have nearly become a thing of the past.  After working full-time at a satisfying yet stressful job, I come home and simply want to spent time with my wife.  I no longer sit in front of my computer with my guitar in hand, wearing headphones, or sit down with my Kindle in hand for hours at a time.  There just isn't time.

But what this dream has brought to my realization is that this doesn't matter.  The thing that means the very most to me in my life is my family, and it always will be.  More and more, in fact, as my family continues to grow.

This week is very special for me and my wife, because on Wednesday we will finally get to find out the gender of our little baby.  My thoughts on what it will be changes almost every day, but I will be absolutely thrilled whether it be a girl or a boy.

Yesterday, my wife and I were able to do a lot of work to prepare for the baby's coming.  We worked on cleaning out the baby's future room, which still had been completely full of wedding gifts that we haven't been able to use or return yet.  We swapped out and hung drapes in the living room and two of our bedrooms.  We also finally got to move our dog's crate from our bedroom to the computer room, now that we finally have some drapes that will keep it dark when it's time for him to take his naps.

It was really wonderful to spend the day like that yesterday.  It was a lot of work and my wife and I were both pretty sore by the time we were finished, but it felt amazing to know that we were preparing for the new addition to our family.  I think about our little baby every single day and how great it will be when the time finally comes to meet him or her.  I already know that it will be a sacred experience for me and Whitney.

I love my wife very much.  She is my rock and my reason for waking up every morning.  I love every second I get to spend with her and am so excited that I have all of eternity to be by her side.  Some of my favorite moments that I've had since being married were just lying in bed with her talking about our day, or worries, our excitements, or anything else that came to mind.  She is the best person to talk to and I think we are each other's therapy in a lot of ways.

Having said that, it is no wonder why my nightmare affecting me so heavily.  The thought of being far from my wife, my child, and the rest of my family was--and is--unbearable.  I'm no psychologist, but I think that this was the primary fear that was manifesting itself to me while I slept.  But, as traumatizing as it was for me, I am grateful for the realization that was presented to me of exactly what my priorities are.

I know now without a doubt, as I'm sure I did before the dream as well, that my family is my highest priority in life, and I will do everything in my power and with all of my energy to make them happy and to be worthy of the eternal marriage that Whitney and I established on the first of February this year.

Llamado a Servir

Since the day that my little brother Easton entered my life eighteen years ago, I knew that the day would come when he received his call from the Lord to serve his two year mission.  However, that day always seemed to be part of a future that would never arrive, an everlasting tomorrow.  He was my little brother and always would be.

Despite that feeling, I never doubted that he would be an incredible missionary.  Throughout his entire life he has always had an amazing spirit about him that spoke volumes about his convictions and his testimony of the Gospel.  This sense of preparedness has seemed to skyrocket over the past few years and months, and even weeks.

Easton and I have always been very close.  Even while he was really young, he was my "little buddy."  He and I did everything together.  We were the perfect video game companions.  We rode bikes and skateboards.  We even just hung out and did whatever sounded fun.

I also had the unique opportunity of saying that I played in a rock band with my little brother.  When I was about eighteen years old, I began a band called Last Gamble with my cousins Joel Thompson and Jake Jensen.  It started out as a cover band, with us just playing renditions of our favorite songs by Millencolin, Tiger Army, and Rise Against.  At the same time, my grandpa Elliott--who played in a jazz band for about 38 years--was teaching Easton to play the drums, and he was really picking it up quickly.

I was extremely impressed with how well Easton had learned to play, especially at his young age.  I had attempted to learn the drums from my grandpa, but I just couldn't fall into it as much as I wanted to and shifted toward the bass guitar instead.  Easton, on the other hand, flourished and had a natural rhythm.

I decided to help my brother along with his gift and bought him a Tama Stagestar drum set, which is designed to be a smaller set used for gigs where you don't have a lot of storage space.  I, however, found it to be the perfect size for such a little guy.  Easton joined our little group and we began not only learning covers but writing our own material.  We even got invited to play several shows in local venues, one of which performing as the opening act to a band I would later join.

We became pretty well known in the Provo area because of Easton, and I got accustomed to getting calls from venues asking if we were "the band with that awesome ten-year-old drummer."  People looked forward to hearing us play, and I'm sure it was mostly because of how fun it was to watch a kid who was barely taller than his drum set playing some advanced fills in songs.

As time went by, our small group dissolved as I went on to play in larger bands and because Jake lived so far away, but my bond with Easton was still very strong.  One of my very best friends growing up was my cousin Joel, and when he had to move to California I was very sad that I had lost such a close friend.  I turned to Easton and we did a lot together, whether it was going places like Nickelcade or to movies, playing racquetball, or just hanging out at home playing video games.

Even after my mission we still spent a lot of time together, even though he was obviously in his teen years and had a lot of other friends that he hung out with.  Some of my favorite memories of my unmarried life are when Joel, East, and I would meet up in my basement with our Xbox systems to play Call of Duty or other games late into the night together, laughing at each other and just having a great time.

Throughout those teen years, East has continued to really impress me.  Even with his energetic, fun side he still had a strong testimony and stood up for what he believed in.  I distinctly remember a time when he and I were the only ones home while my parents and Steph were out of town, where we had a long, late night talk about a friend situation he was having.  His friend was not very interested in living by Gospel standards or attending church or seminary, and East was worried that remaining friends with him would affect his own spiritual standing.  He had turned to me for help because he had come to a crossroads where he needed to put friendships on the line to do what is right.  I am so happy to know that he made the right decision, and that such thoughts were even on his radar at that age.

I have been continuously impressed with him, especially during this time that his mission is drawing closer.  I was excited to know that he has been attending a mission preparedness class, and that he has been thoroughly studying the Preach My Gospel manual so that he can be as prepared as possible.  It was also wonderful to hear of his progress as he filled out his mission papers and met with the bishop and stake president.

This past Wednesday, the day finally came when the envelope arrived at my parents' home addressed to "Elder Easton Dean Shurtliff," stating that it was from the office of the First Presidency.

We all met up that night to go to Brick Oven to celebrate both the call and several family birthdays occurring that month.  After dinner, when Easton's nerves were undoubtedly ready to pop, we returned home and sat around him as he opened the letter.  We all made our guesses on where he would go, but I think honestly we could see Easton serving both stateside and foreign, and so could he.  We knew he would truly be happy with wherever the Lord sent him.

With emotions running high and the tension thick in the air, Easton opened his call.



Aguascalientes.  Easton--soon to be Elder Shurtliff--would be serving in the Mexico Aguascalientes mission, serving the Lord in the Spanish language.  He would be entering the Provo MTC on January 22nd.

Easton...obviously...couldn't be happier, and neither could we.  I am beyond words when I say that I am so excited for him to be serving in Mexico.  I know that he will be an incredible missionary, and that he will dedicate his whole heart and soul to the Lord during that time to help others to come unto Christ and experience the joys of the restored Gospel.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Priesthood Session of general conference with Easton for the last time before his mission.  It was so touching to look over at him as he hurriedly scrawled down notes from each speaker in his notebook, rapt with attention.

I just know that Easton will be a superb missionary, and I am so excited to love and support him as much as I can while he is gone with mail and by any other means necessary, and know that he will truly be used an an instrument of the Lord in preaching the Gospel to the Mexican people.

Just as he has been throughout his entire life, Easton continues to be a huge example to me and I look up to him so much.  I am so excited to learn from him and follow his progress during his mission, and to see the man that he becomes while he is out there.

Back to Muse

I've played in several bands over the past eight years, and in almost every one of those bands I have played a show or two or ten at the Muse Music Cafe in downtown Provo, UT.

One of the moments I've remembered the most about that venue was playing a show in a metal band called Tamarack.  The band was established by a friend and neighbor of mine, Brady Bills.  I wasn't actually in his band at first, but one day there was a knock at my door and I answered it to find him and his dad holding a CD.

Brady told me that he had a huge favor to ask.  He had a show scheduled at Muse, but his bassist in his band had a bought of stage fright and decided that he didn't want to play shows and abruptly quit.  He asked if there was any way that I could fill in and play for them.  My previous band had parted ways not too long before that, and I was leaving on my mission in the coming weeks, so I agreed to jump on.  He was super excited, and promptly handed me the CD and told me that it had all the songs we would be playing but that some of them did not have bass lines recorded so I would need to come up with my own. He also told me that the show was in two days. 

It was an interesting experience trying to get the songs down pat, and to write new parts for a few of them.  But I sat in front of my computer, bass in hand, for a few hours and managed to get pretty solid. 

We had one late night rehearsal, and then it was off to the show.  Although I didn't have much playing time with those guys under my belt, I feel like we did very well, and it was really fun to play a style of music that wasn't my norm.  

Over the years after my mission, between Formerly So and Goodnight Annabelle, I've played at Muse probably over a dozen times.  Have I ever played larger venues?  Yes.  Have I ever played venues with a better sound system or a nicer stage?  Yes.  But at the same time I enjoy playing at Muse because of its intimate feel and because it is in the heart of Provo. 

Over the last nine months or so, we have played shows across the far reaches of Utah.  We had the great privilege of opening for Mayday Parade in Richfield, near the small town of Annabella, where our band got its namesake.  We also had the opportunity to play at the UBIC (Uintah Basin in Celebration) 2013 event in Roosevelt.

While those shows were amazing, I would by lying if I said that I didn't miss playing in Utah county, especially as that is where most of our fanbase resides. 

So I am very excited to say that Goodnight Annabelle will be playing at Muse Music Cafe tonight for the Helping Houston benefit event.  The doors open at 8pm and we are the first band on the bill, so we will be going on at 8:30pm.  I'm very excited and can't wait to show everyone the new songs we've been working so hard on over the past year.

 

Building Our Family

It's certainly been a while since I've written a post about something other than music, and in that time my life couldn't have changed more dramatically.  The girl of my dreams said yes when I asked her to marry me, we bought and moved into our condo in Saratoga Springs, and began our new life together.  We have now been happily married for eight months.

I'll be the first to admit that life was turned on its head for me, as I'm sure it was for my wife.  Going from a life of being single and not having to worry about things like rent or utilities to having the responsibility of providing for a family, paying a mortgage and other bills, and just being the patriarch of a home has yielded its fair share of stress. 

However, through all of those stressful times (which are certainly ongoing), I have been blessed to have a loving wife at my side.  There are few things as comforting as knowing that I have a wife waiting for me at home, with whom I can confide in and who is always willing to listen and to share my burdens.

On the other side of the coin, I am so grateful for the movements when I am able to be there for my wife when she feels stressed or worried, when she falls ill, or just needs someone to hold her. 

Some of the most sacred moments that I've experienced over the past few months were when Whitney or I have felt that overbearing feeling of anxiety or stress, and have turned to either other for help.  I hope that I have been able to help her as much as she had helped me, because she had done so more often than I can count.  

Whitney is incredibly skilled at reading my emotions and knowing how to be there for me. Sometimes she's able to help me understand the anxieties that I'm feeling about work or other worries that I haven't even been able to come to terms with myself.  She is an incredibly good listener and shows an empathy greater than anyone else I know.  Whether this comes from her degree in Psychology or a wife's intuition, I don't know, but I certainly appreciate it. 

While I definitely don't feel like I measure up in terms of knowing the best way to be there for my wife, or to comfort her in the way that she needs most, I am definitely trying my best, and believe that she knows that.

One of my favorite traits that Whitney has is the bravery to always ask for a priesthood blessing whenever she feels sick or is mentally or emotionally strained, or just needs some extra help.  She also has an incredible faith in the Priesthood and in my worthiness as a priesthood holder and knows that the blessings are ore than just words and that they truly have a positive effect in her life.  I am so honored to have this unique opportunity to bless her life, and really look forward to these times. 

Marriage is not an easy thing, but it is definitely an enjoyable thing. When I think back on my life without Whitney by my side, I have no idea how I was able to make it.  She has been my rock as much as I hope that I have been hers. 

We now have the wonderful blessing of knowing that our family is soon to get even larger, as Whitney is currently 14 weeks pregnant.  I will never forget that moment when I got to see the first ultrasound and see the throbbing heartbeat of the small child--our small child--that is growing inside of her. Seeing that heartbeat caused my own to feel like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest, and I was overwhelmed with the feeling of how real the situation had become.  One very powerful thought filled my mind and hasn't left me since that moment:  I'm going to be a father. 

While I'm nervous and anxious about how this huge event will chang my life, and how I will be able to step up to the task of being a father, I am extremely excited and can't wait for the moment to arrive.  I also know that I couldn't have asked for a better mother for my children.  Whitney has been so incredible to me that I have no doubt at all that she will be an exceptional mother.

The time is drawing nearer each day and there is still a lot to do to prepare for the coming of our baby, but I couldn't be happier.  I am so grateful for Whitney and her sacrifices with being pregnant. I love her with all my heart and so am thankful that we are able to make our little Shurtliff family even bigger. 

Always Where You Least Expect

When people would say they found their girlfriend or spouse online, I used to think that was a bit strange.  How could somebody find their perfect match on a website?  It was a few weeks ago that my opinion was completely turned around and I understood completely how possible it was.

Ever since my last relationship broke off a couple of years ago, I had been taking it slow, going on dates here and there.  But although the girls I would date were really nice, I just didn't hit it off with them and the relationships didn't seem to progress.  Then, one day, my sister felt inspired to have me sign up for LDSSingles.com, an LDS dating website.

Because Steph felt so strongly about having me sign up, I created a profile, added a small bio, and threw about ten pictures on there from my Facebook page.  I completed all of the surveys and started looking at the different profiles, but I really didn't have any hope that I would find someone on that website.  That is, until I received a message from a profile with this picture:

I was really intrigued.  Not only was I blown away by how cute the girl in the picture was, I was also surprised that she would send me a message instead of just a flirt (basically sending an emoticon to someone with nothing else).  First, this meant that if she was able to send me a message that she was paying for membership on the website, and second, it meant that she was interested enough in knowing me that she was willing to make the first move and contact me.

I was determined to meet this mystery girl, and decided then and there to find my wallet in order to fully subscribe to the website.  It was torture waiting the two hours for the website to activate the membership before I could respond back.

We started sending each other messages on a regular basis, and the messages themselves got longer and longer.  Even in digital form, we were really able to get to know each other, and it was remarkable how much we had in common.  It seems like every email revealed more similarities between us, whether they were interests and hobbies, or even the fact that we are both left-handed.  I began to look forward to each moment that I would be alerted of a new message waiting for me in my inbox.

The time finally came when we were able to meet up and go on our first date.  I was pretty nervous, but at the same time extremely excited.  I had planned to take her to dinner and then, if things were going well, to maybe get some dessert somewhere as well.  I rang her doorbell and, although I was expecting as much, was shocked when the beautiful girl from the photos, Whitney Day, answered the door.  She was breathtakingly gorgeous and her smile lit up the neighborhood.  I knew then and there that a special night was in store.

We went to Brick Oven in Provo for dinner, where we became so engrossed in conversation that we stayed there for over three hours just talking and getting to know each other.  With each topic, we discovered just how alike we really were and that our standards, beliefs, hopes, dreams, and future plans lined up perfectly.  It was as if I had known her for years, as opposed to days.  This did not feel like a normal first date for me.  Instead of emotionally preparing an exit for myself so as not to get too attached and open myself up for getting hurt, I found myself wondering even while we were together when I would get to see her again.

After we left the restaurant, we decided to go to Macey's in Provo to get some ice cream, and while eating our dessert we were once again amazed at how similar we were in everything we talked about.  It was so surreal to me that someone so beautiful and so amazing could still be single, and that she was interested in spending time with me.

After ice cream we reluctantly decided that it was time to head back to her house and call it a night, as I was leaving on a motorcycle trip the following morning and still hadn't packed.  As we drove back to her house, my mind was racing, wondering how I could ever convince a girl that perfect to want to do something again with me.  I had been hurt in the past in past relationships and it was difficult to come out of that comfort zone again, and I didn't know how to proceed.  I could tell already that I liked her and really wanted to get to know her.

We sat in my car for a little while, talking and playing each other our favorite songs on our iPods.  It was there that I opened up and told her plainly how much I enjoyed the time that we spent together and how grateful I was that she messaged me on that website so that we could have the chance to get to know each other better.  I expressed to her how amazed I was that we had so much in common, and that I really wanted to see her again, to which she readily agreed.

We got out of the car and I began walking her to the door.  We gave each other a hug, and then I did something that was as much a surprise to me as it was to her:  I bent down and gave her a kiss.  I had never kissed anyone on a first date before, but there was something about Whitney and how special she was that drew me in and it just felt like the perfect way to leave her with no doubt about how I felt about her.

Dazed but elated, I said my goodbyes and went back home, truly on cloud nine from the amazing experience that I just had with such an amazing girl.

I left for my motorcycle trip with my cousin and my friend down to Bryce Canyon and during the long hours on the highways, I found my mind constantly drifting back to her, to the wonderful night we shared together the previous day, and how much I already missed being with her.  Throughout the trip we would text each other as much as possible, and it was torturous whenever I would enter an area that had no cell reception.

After returning home from my trip, we quickly made several plans to be with each other again that week.  We spent time watching movies, going to dinner, watching the stars together, and we even got to drive up to Brigham City together to go through the Brigham City Utah Temple open house, which was a wonderful night.  I loved being able to spend so much time with her, having very meaningful conversations and feeling completely at ease and able to be myself around her.

That Friday we had the chance to see a theatrical production of Wait Until Dark in Provo, which was very exciting.  It was also our one-week anniversary of knowing each other beyond emailing back and forth, and Whitney surprised me that night with a CD that she made for me with several songs that reminded her of us, which she organized in order of how our relationship had progressed.  It was so sweet, and the album has scarcely left the CD tray of my car since that time.

But the fun didn't stop there.  The very next day I was invited by her family to accompany them and her to a BYU game in Provo, which was extremely fun.  I hadn't been to a live BYU football game for at least ten years, and it was very nostalgic to enter the stadium again.  But this time I got to enter the stadium hand-in-hand with a very pretty girl, which made it that much better.

The adventures have been never-ending.  Since that week, we have never missed a chance to see each other, spending time with each other every single day, rain or shine, even when we have been exhausted from work.  We have done so much together, and even something as simple as going shopping at the mall has been incredibly fun for me because it means that I get to spend more time with her.

It hasn't been too long that we've known each other in conventional terms, but as I mentioned before, I feel as if I have known her my entire life.  She is the most wonderful girl I have met in my life, and can easily say that she owns the key to my heart and that I love her more than life itself.  With each passing day she grows more beautiful and I see more and more examples of just what an incredible person she is.  It is my ever-present goal to make sure that I am always deserving of her love, and I am willing to do everything I can to make sure that she is happy.

It still shocks me that I could meet the love of my life from an online dating website.  It just sounds bizarre.  But I am so glad that I was able to sign up for that website and have the amazing opportunity to meet Whitney, who has made me happier than I can remember.  I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for us, and I know that there are many, many more adventures to come.

GR33N SHOW!

After we placed first in the first wave of the Rock the River battle of the bands competition, the band and I have been working nonstop to really take to heart the advice that was given to us by the judges, especially because it was advice that we were planning on taking soon anyway.

Which advice am I referring to?  The advice that we really need to (1) decide on a logo/branding for the band, (2) define a band image, and (3) figure out a wardrobe that both unified us as a band yet allowed us to be individuals at the same time.

Believe me when I say that we spent hours and hours working on these together.  Goodnight Annabelle is unique in that band business doesn't just take place when we're all together in one place, but never really stops.  Throughout the week, we send out dozens of different emails to each other, going over branding ideas, creating and deciding on logo and other image designs, writing lyrics, and cover loads of other topics.  We even record and upload music that we write while by ourselves so that the band can listen and add to it so that we can incorporate the ideas during our normal jam sessions.

Over the past few weeks we have accumulated dozens of different logo designs, and after going over all of our options, we finally decided on a couple of variations.

This goal coincided with another project that Byron and I were working on, together with Adam Boyd (my old band Formerly So's sound technician and a very talented graphics designer), to build a sound-activated LED system into the kick drum that would correspond with our music during live sets.  This idea spawned from my cousin Ty Jensen's drum set, which had a white strobe light that flashed according to the bass hits, back when he was in the band New Holland.  He now films music videos for a living in LA, and actually directed my old band's music video.

Many hours were spent researching how best to go about this and a lot of time was wasted in custom wiring jobs before we were able to get it right, but in the end it turned out perfect.  Adam even took a simplified version of our logo and created for us a custom vinyl decal to place on the drum head for the light to shine through.  Also, being the stud that he is, Adam also crafted several similar decals for us to give to fans, and also gave me a decal that I was able to place on my bass amp which matches the drums.



For those of you who may think the name Adam Boyd sounds familiar, this is because it is the same Adam Boyd who recently designed a custom bass guitar for me, which I am in the process of completing by adding electronics, a fretboard, etc.  I hope to get it up and running soon so that I can start using it in performances.

The drum head project turned out so well that, as we deliberated together on how to best unify our appearance, we decided that it would be awesome if we actually used a color-themed image.  We decided to take three neon colors and use those to define the band image, both on stage and in our web presence.

In terms of show apparel, we decided that we would all wear mostly blacks and/or grays, but each with an emphasized article using the color that we had chosen for that day, as we hoped to have shows in which we have different colors at the forefront.  For example, one show would be a "green" show where we would all wear green, another would be a "pink" show, and so forth.

We decided that the Provo Block Party II show with Allred would be our moment to put to the test our little concept.  The number of emails back and forth flared up again as we all scrounged to find the clothing and other items that we needed before the show.  But we also decided to add another piece to the puzzle:  Team GnA

The support that we receive from our fans is simply astounding.  That was one of the first things I noticed when I joined the band, was how dedicated the fanbase was.  So we decided that it was finally time that GnA got its own street team.  First, a Facebook group was created called Friends of GnA, in which anyone could be invited that wanted to.  We posed the question to them of whether or not they wanted to actively help us to promote our shows and help us in developing our band ideas and were shocked at how many instantly wanted to take part.

We had so many requests to play part that Sam was forced to create somewhat of an application form so that we could divide the participation into different tiers:  One overall team, broken down into smaller geographical teams, and the Friends of GnA group for those that wanted to help but didn't have the means to really take an active role as much as the others.

Team GnA was a huge success and continues to be.  As we prepared for the Block Party show, we tried to involve the team as much as possible, and they really stepped up to the plate and exceeded every one of our expectations.  They helped us promote and get people excited for the show, they collaborated with one another, and they even helped hand out swag during the show itself.

The day of the show was pretty exhausting, but was extremely fun.  I work up at EMC in Draper and my shift ends at 5pm, which meant that I put the "rush" in "rush hour" to get to  Sam's house by 5:30, giving us enough time to run through our set and pack our gear before leaving for the show.  And then it started to rain....hard.

Hoping for the best, we loaded up our gear--which was a lot easier than past shows because Jason was able to borrow his in-laws' large van to haul our equipment without getting it all wet--and drove to Provo.  I admit that I began to panic slightly when I saw that the Alpine Village courtyard, where the show was to take place, was empty.  However, we soon found out that the show had been moved inside of Me Crepes, where they had a mid-sized venue.

I actually preferred the show being inside, mainly because the acoustics of the room helped us to hear ourselves a bit better, but also because we would be able to play more to our lighting effects.  Before we went onstage, members of Team GnA handed out neon green glowstick bracelets, and we switched the lighting in the drum head to be a matching green.  As soon as our first song of the night, entitled "How to Control Me," began to play, the lighting was switched to change according to the music.

Overall it was an extremely fun show to play.  The room was filled with energetic fans that sang along to our songs and danced to the music, and we were even able to perform a song that we had written only days before entitled "Dare to Dream," which was such a hit that we plan on playing it at the semi-finals of the Rock the River competition.



We did have our share of snags as well that night, but it still worked out great, all things considered.  We realized when we arrived that the venue did not provide enough cables nor sufficient AC jacks for our instruments, but we were able to eventually get things sorted and ready to go.  Also, most probably don't know this, but Mike--our lead guitarist--was actually very ill the night of our show, and yet he didn't let it show at all during the performance, which makes him a hero in my book.

So, long story short, the Provo Block Party II show was insanely fun to play, and I think our fans had almost as much fun as we did that night.  I am so excited to hit our next show, and even more excited to get into the recording studio in a couple of months to lay down our new tracks so that we can release our new music by the end of the year.

Richfield Roadtrip

Last Saturday, my band Goodnight Annabelle had the unique opportunity to play at a benefit show in Richfield, Utah.  The show was to assist Jaren Barney, a young man who was recently diagnosed with a rare liver disease very shortly after receiving an LDS mission call.

This show was a very neat experience, as it allowed the band to revisit its roots, with Richfield being only minutes away from Annabelle, the small town from which the band got its name.  Although I didn't know anybody down there, it was still nice to be a part of the reunion.

The band met up around 1pm to pack up to leave for the show.  This show was to be different from others that we have played, namely because we would essentially be constructing the stage using our own PA equipment.  We packed up everything that we had, including a tiny PA system that I had purchased over six years ago, which we were able to use as monitors for the stage.

It took several vehicles for us to make it down there, and I rode down with Jason--the band's keyboardist--and his wife Aubrey.  It was a fun ride, with Jason and I being able to discuss several musical ideas and concepts along the way.  Byron and Sam, who also rode together, had an equally productive journey, having brainstormed quite a bit about different logo and band image concepts that we were able to discuss after the show.

It took much longer than expected to prepare the stage, but had a lot of help from the other band that shared the stage with us, Chasing Chance.  We combined equipment and were able to daisy-chain the amps to create a very full, dual-channel sound to fill the area...which was a good thing because we had to compete against a pretty strong wind.

First on the stage was Shay Markham, a seventeen-year-old musician from Provo.  This was her first large gig, but she did amazing and everyone was extremely impressed.  Even with the wind blowing in her face, she was able to do a wonderful job on all of her songs.

Next on stage was Chasing Chance, a band whose members were friends with members from my band.  This band was just recently formed, all of its members having recently returned from LDS missions, but they blew me away at how talented they were.  They put on a spectacular show and I was sad to see it end.

Finally our time had come and we were able to take the stage.  We played a full set of about eight songs, beginning--as has been the recent tradition--with our new song "How To Control Me," which is always a fun song with which to begin a show, as it brings a lot of energy with it.

We also had the chance to invite Shay back on stage to sing our original "Fight What They Say" with us, which turned out great, as you can see in the currently-unreleased video below:



We ended our set with tow of our most popular songs, "Stay" and "Memorable," which can both be found on our newest EP called "Just a Memory" and had some great crowd participation.  We love ending our sets with "Memorable," which has become another GNA tradition, and it definitely did not disappoint that night either.



Even though it was such a long drive to and from the event, and despite all of the heavy lifting and time that it took to set up and tear down the stage, it was still a very fun show and it was great to know that we were helping out and contributing to the best of our abilities to such a wonderful cause.