"Out Of My Hands"

Today was...weird. 

The runners were great!  That was a splendid change from the norm. All was wonderful this morning too. Both Jenn and I planned on getting showers this afternoon thinking it would be a slower day at a really nicely laid out venue.  

Nope. 

Just as the afternoon began, I found out that this venue was mostly run by newbies. I think several were students learning to do their job.  What better way to learn than by experience, right?  "Let's just do shows, and you can screw them up now so you don't make the same errors when you work at a real show"

Maybe I'm far off base on that, but it definitely felt like that. There were so many errors and unanswered questions and huge rookie-like mistakes. 

For example:

The venue set up a meet & greet that was to run from 630pm-7pm...with 150 people attending...and didn't tell us ahead of time...and didn't tell the 159 people anything about how or where or when. 

NOTHING. 

They told us around 2pm. At which point we have a few hours to figure out how to get 150 people through a line in 30 minutes!!!

Mathematically, that's one person every twenty seconds!!  Barely enough time to just take a picture, let alone a signature or a "hi, how are you doing?"

We were able to work it all out and fix everything, but that should have never happened. 

We also got pranked tonight!!

The girls decided to play pranks on us. Jenn and I were asked to check out our bunks, so I warned Matthew as we opened the door to the bunks, "be ready. And you might want to film this..."

As the door slid open and Matthew started walking back, I screamed as loud as I could. He literally jumped about a foot off the ground. I can't blame him though, my screams are loud and frightening. All of those years working at a haunt finally paid off. 

What I found was that the girls had gaff taped my bunk so I couldn't get into it.  It was gaffed like a spider web. I could barely get one foot through any of the gaps.  

Jenn luckily only got streamers. She got more decorations than prankage. 

I'm sorry, I don't care if your age is still single digits, or barely double digits. Payback will be paid back!!  

Oh, and it was:

We left a nice little note on the door for the girls, and gaff taped their shoes to the ceiling.  It's tall enough they won't be able to reach their own shoes - I could barely reach them standing on the seats. 

"Do Something"

This morning started with sleeping in. We are in Dallas and have the day off.  I also had nothing planned - the possibilities were endless!!!

First things first: breakfast. Two bagels with cream cheese!!  I bought the bagels two weeks ago, so it's good I finally ate some of them. 

Second: a quick trip to the bank.  Luckily my bank had a branch right across the street!  The difficult part was getting across 6 lanes of traffic with no crosswalk.  I made it safely both directions!!  But I also had to wait for a clear space for a few minutes both times. 

Third: lunch with friends. Six of us went to lunch today at Chuys.  Two of my favorite moments: 

1. We all belted out "oh baby baby!" When Britney Spears played on the radio. 

2.  Restaurants started posted reading material in front of urinals for some reason.  This place had some concerning graphic novel pages written in Spanish. I couldn't tell what it said but the photos were quite disturbing. 

Fourth: the mall. We saw the biggest tree I have ever seen up close:

Then I thought we were going shopping, but instead we went and got pedicures. 

My feet hurt during the process, but tonight, they feel so nice and soft! 

Fifth: thank you dinner. Matthew took out the production team, the crew, merch and the drivers for a thank you dinner.  We all had a great time bonding with each other and our boss.  Throughout the normal working day, none of us typically have time to spend doing anything together other than work. So getting this time for us all to talk and laugh together and tell stories was great!!

"Stop The World"

What was different about today?

EVERYTHING

I woke up early this morning and needed to use the facilities. Our bus doesn't have the ability to deal with the solid waste deposits in our restroom so I went into the venue to use their toilet. 

As I snooped around, I found out our room was large and had a large bathroom. But it also shared that bathroom with another artist AND the bathroom doors could not be locked.  We have too many ladies with us for that to be acceptable.  So we ended up switching rooms with some guy from American Idol, Gokey. Idk who he is, but he got a huge dressing room today so he could share a very open toilet with another artist.  

It wouldn't had been so bad if the catering lady wasn't so demanding of immediate answers and yelling at me. At one point I just turned to her and very straightforward said, "I am not authorized to make these decisions. I will give you answers as soon as I get them."

She didn't appreciate that, but oh well. I got her an answer and we swapped our rooms and the world was still alright. 

Then my world got pulled in half a dozen directions as everyone started asking me for everything all at once...passes, meal tickets, packets, schedules, sign changes, arrows, start times, ice, drinks, locations, cases............

I did my best to do what I could as fast as I could. I feel like I dropped so many balls trying to get it all done at once, but some people were just going to have to wait. And they did.  And the world was still alright. 

By the time I got things up and running, we had to go straight into a media blitz with Matthew.  First was a radio interview. 

We did that for about 20 minutes and then went right into a meet'n'greet at a different location.  Where we were was an amazing view of the show: Spotlight world. 

Twenty minutes there and we were off again to do an autograph signing. 

There was a line over 1000 people long that wrapped around the stadium wanting autographs.  

It was odd how they set it up. One continuous line for all the artists. The artists would take turns in 30 minute increments.  Whoever was signing when you got to the front of the line - that's whose signature you received.  Regardless of whom you actually were hoping for in line.  

We signed for about 45 minutes since we showed up early and the next band was late. Matthew loves these sorts of things, so this was a positive opportunity for us. 

Then a breather.  Lunch time. 

Soon as lunch was over, it was back at it full force.  Make sure towels and waters are at the stage.  Make sure Mr Talkboxis ready to go on.  Then I sat with some repairman for 30 minutes as he never got our satellite fixed on our bus. 

Then it was time to get Matthew to the stage.  

WHAT A PERFORMANCE!!

 Soon as he was done: DINNER TIME!!

This was the longest dinner break I've had on tour.  About an hour. I was already exhausted at lunch at 2pm. Now it's 6pm and I am beat!!! 

I literally felt my body trying to shut down. 

An hour later in the dressing room, I passed out. I fell asleep for about an hour or so. I woke up at 9pm, just in time to catch the Third Day show. 

What a great show, as always. 

During the encore, they pulled everyone on to stage that was side stage. Jenn came out with me for ten seconds before she disappeared.  I stayed on stage and sang my little heart out with them. 

Twas an ok day, but it was definitely a great night. 

"I Was Made For This"

Today was a good day. I got started a little early and took the bull by the horns. It made for a nicely paced day from then on. No rushing, no fast walking, no sense of urgency.  I was able at one point to just sit at the edge of the loading dock for 20 minutes waiting for our bus groceries to arrive.  

It was a nice day out.  The sun was shining, the temp was perfect. It gave me some time to just reflects little bit, to pray a little bit, to appreciate where I was, where I've been the last couple months and appreciate things I don't typically find time to.  

I spent quite a bit of time in the morning pondering this sign:

I couldn't make a decision if 

1. I shouldn't enter. 

Or

2. If I should leave it open. 

Why was I being forced to decide between the two options?  Which choice was better?  Who will be affected by my decision and in what ways?  

The pressure!!!!!!

(I ended up breaking both requests. The door stayed open all day. It was also catering - I entered a few times...and I don't regret it one bit)

Anyone else see something wrong with this picture...?

We also had a birthday party today!  Sharon, Matthews mom!  I had to order a cake for her, so I ordered an ice cream cake. Probably the best decision I've made in a while. Everyone loved it and I even had them write a special message on it for her:

She loved the message. I'm glad nobody thought it was too immature or something.  You know how some people can get sometimes.  

It was chocolate chip ice cream too!!

I started using the cardboard pieces in our 24 packs of water for shopping lists. I have been tempted to make the runners use this list because of its ginormous size, but nobody can read my writing. I'm afraid they would look at this list and come back with just Funyons and Hi-C. 

(I end up having to type it up and print it)

And lastly, today's fashion award goes to the wearer of these boots:

State Count - Week 8 - 31 and counting...

I know it's a little early, but we stay in TX tomorrow again and on Monday.  



WEEK 1
Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Indiana

WEEK 2
Georgia, South Carolina

WEEK 3
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California

WEEK 4

Oregon, Idaho, Nevada

WEEK 5

Colorado, Kansas, Missouri

WEEK 6

Michigan, Ohio

WEEK 7  

Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia

WEEK 8

Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas

31 states so far...only 6 more shows until the end...

"Hello, My Name Is..."

David Trask is still covering for Jenn.  Yesterday at our 'VIP QnA with Matthew West', David introduced Matthew as, "Please welcome Michael...er, Matthew West!!".

Matthew played it off great!  "I'm not Michael W.  I'm Matthew W."

BUT...
At the very end of the QnA, Matthew played one last song for the crowd: Day One.
A lady in the second row shouted out just as he finished, "You just gained a fan!"
Matthew: "Excuse me...?" a little confused at the situation.
Lady: "I came here with no idea who you are.  I've never heard of you or your music.  I'm here with a friend.  So you just gained a new fan - I love that song!!"
Matthew: "Well, thank you ma'am!  It's nice to meet you - my name is Michael!"
The entire crowd breaks into laughter.
 

Shattered....

I cannot even begin to describe today's mood. It started out as a decent day. Decent other than runner issues again:

"We have three runners today."

"Cool. Can one of you run Emily to Starbucks and The other run Papa Joe to the showers?"

"We only have one car."

"One car and three drivers??"

"Well...one is only 17. She's with her mom here. And I'm here. I don't have my car."

"This isn't going to work. We need runners WITH cars. Their own vehicles."

I don't get how people think this could even work. The only job of a runner is to drive places. It's not a relay. It's simultaneously and separately.  

In other news, the terrorist attacks in France happened today. Several people massacred at a concert. It's really sad and scary. 

Right after that news broke out, I received some somber news in a phone call from a friend. My heart has shattered today from all the heartbreak. Especially for my friend.  

There's too much anger and hatred in this world.