New Jams

For those who think this post is about a fruit preservative to put on your toast, I'm sorry to disappoint. We will leave that up to the fine people at Smuckers. The "New Jams" I refer to are some sweet new songs Brian and I are working on. We hope to have a new EP done by the fall and hopefully available not too far after. Also, I'd like to point out that today I am officially a real blogger. I am writing this blog from the confines of a Starbucks.

With that being said, the name of the EP is The Legend of Rich Jones, and the pic above is a rough draft of what the cover may be. Let me give you a little preview of the songs we are working on:

-First off, for those of you who have seen us live in the last few months, you have probably heard one of the new songs. We have come to realize that the amount of money you have seems to correlate with how far south you can go on spring break. Why not have a song for all of those poor students who can't afford a tropical trip? It's called Spring Break Delaware and it's about a week long excursion to our country's 1st state. The song contains everything from Civil War reenactments to showing more love to The Delaware Memorial Bridge than has ever been portrayed in song. Thousands drive over it everyday, but how many of us really appreciate the suspension it provides?

-Some days of the week seem to get more play in songs than others and we feel we have to remedy that. We are working on a tribute to that mid-week stalwart, that "what-up" wonder, that home of Cougar Town: Wednesday. The SNL boys showed us how to be lazy on Sunday, Rebecca Black beautifully poured out her angst on where to sit on Friday, and we want to teach you how to Party Like it's Wednesday. That needs no more explanation.

-Another song we are working on may cause some problems for our career, but it shows that we aren't afraid to get political. It has to do with a border control problem, and in our opinion the seasonal migration of Canadian Geese is illegal immigration and needs to be stopped. We are creating an anthem calling for all Canadian Geese to take their honking and feces from our lakes and golf courses, and to go back home.

-There are so many songs out there that describe the underdog overcoming the odds and achieving their hopes and dreams. The problem is there are only a small percentage of people who do that, so we wanted to write a song that is in tune with people like us. Those of us who peak at average and accept reality. It's called, You Were Right.

-Is it me or is every song about something? Some songs are about love, some about fame, and some are even about Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends. It's starting to get old. We are working on a concept song that is about what it's not about. Now some might argue that by making a song about what it's not about, we have made the song about something. We'll leave that up to the philosophers.

There you have it. A brief summary of the new EP Dave and Brian are working on. There will be some updates in the next few months, but we are very excited about getting some new stuff out to our fans!

Dave

August (Not the Month)

I have a dog named August. A lot of people ask if that was the month she was born and our answer is, "No" because she was born in January. I actually came up with the name while I was brainstorming names on the way to pick her up. For whatever reason the band, Counting Crows, went through my head, and I remembered their 1st album, August and Everything After. Though both great, they're not my favorite band and it's not my favorite album. I just like the thought of the name, August.

I never knew that August was actually used as a name, and for that matter, usually for boys. One of our friends actually got mad because he was planning on naming his 1st son, August, and now he couldn't because of our dog. I guess I can relate, because I got mad at my friend for naming his dog, Winston Churchill. My son, Nolan, could've been Winston Churchill Hopping.

Anyway, August is a Beagle/Golden Retriever mix. As you can see from the pic above, she's all Beagle, which makes it weird that we got her from a Golden Retriever Rescue. There are some Golden Retriever supporters out there who think she should only claim to be Beagle, but much like my white friend whose parents are from South Africa (technically making her African American), she's going to apply for any scholarships that may apply to her.

When August was a puppy, we used to have a rabbit that would chill in our backyard. Every night when I let August out, she would shoot off the porch and the rabbit would flee under the fence to the same spot. One night, August showed a flash of brilliance, by shooting off the porch and instead of running at the rabbit, she ran to the spot where the rabbit was going. They got there at the same time and collided. They both stopped and stared at each other, neither knowing what they were supposed to do next, and then the rabbit raced back towards me heading under the fence near me. I always wondered what would happen if Elmer Fudd finally caught Bugs Bunny, and I think I saw it.

We've had August for about 4 years now, and she's been a great dog. With the arrival of our 2 young boys, she is showing the patience of every guy who saw the movie, Hope Floats, on a date. My son, Winston Churchill, I mean, Nolan, and August have a love/hate relationship. He loves her and she hates him. I guess "hate" is a strong word, but I don't see her inviting him to any dinner parties soon. He chases her around the house, grabs her by the tail, and I'm pretty sure I've seen him reading to her from the 2003 tax law book. She takes it gracefully though. She doesn't bite or growl. I think, deep down she loves him and would fight off anyone that tried to hurt him, including pirates who might come to steal him in the middle of the night. This is what truly sets her apart from that dog in Peter Pan.

I appreciate August's politeness and loyalty. Whenever I leave, even to just take out the trash, she's waiting at the door for my return. I've had a few dogs in my lifetime, even one that I had for 16 years growing up, but August stands apart. Maybe it's because she's the first dog who was truly mine in that I've been fully responsible in caring for and training. Whatever it is, she holds a special place in our family, and a special smell in our noses when she excitedly excretes. I'll let her type this last part out:

"fsgneronobrn SAVE ME FROM THE BOY! rbklfnlknoienoinownfknlknfl"

Dave (and August)

See Mom, sometimes I can be serious

Today is Easter, so I thought I’d take a moment to write about it. I understand that not everyone who reads this blog is a Christian, and that’s actually the reason I write this post. I think a lot of people misunderstand what Christianity is. Is it a bunch of rules, regulations, and Republicans? Is it the clean-cut people we see on TV on Sunday mornings, or is it Quinn Fabray’s hypocritical dad on Glee? I have to apologize that I know that Glee reference, not because of my faith, but because of how lame it makes me. I use Bible references below to show that I’m not the one making this up.

I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that by no means is the purpose of this post to “force my beliefs” on you. It’s just to explain the point of Easter, and I’m also pretty sure I can’t really force my beliefs on you. If that is a fear of yours though, here’s my advice. Stop reading now, and read my blog tomorrow when I present my beliefs on how I need a new car.

So in order to understand why Christ would come to Earth to die (and have Mel Gibson make such a graphic movie about it), we must first understand the concept of sin. A lot of people get really turned off by the mere mention of sin. They think if you talk about it, you’re automatically being judgmental, or they associate sin with hardened criminals, like Lindsay Lohan. Sin is really anything we’ve done wrong in our lives (Romans 3:23). It can range from lying to murder to public urination. I must admit though, if you are urinating in public, I will have a hard time not judging you. The reality is no one is perfect (Romans 3:11), except of course Tina Fey who can do know wrong in my mind. Baby Mama wasn’t bad, you just didn’t get it. Anyway, if you have ever done anything wrong in your life, then there is sin (James 2:10).

So the sin in our lives separates us from God, because God is perfect (Isaiah 59:2). It’s this separation that’s the problem, and it’s bigger then just some flames and a long-tailed, goatee-sporting, dancing guy with a pitchfork. We were created to have relationship with God. We were meant to spend eternity with him (1 Timothy 2:3-4). That’s why so many of us have a longing for fulfillment that just can’t be satisfied. We try to fill it with all sorts of things like drugs, money, or Beanie Babies. Trust me, I had an aunt heavily addicted to the BB’s, and I can’t even begin to explain where she is now. All of these things are temporary. Drugs wear off, money goes away, and thank heavens, the Beanie Baby fad died off. There is a punishment for our sin and it’s eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). Though I can’t fully explain what that looks like, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it sucks.

Because of our sin there is nothing we can do to connect back to God. Good deeds, money, or religion can’t do it. With that statement you are probably all very encouraged, and many of you are wondering what any of this has to do with Easter. Jesus Christ, The Son of Man, God himself came to earth as a man (John 1:14). He is perfect because he is God, but he was in the flesh as a man. What was the point of that? When Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, he who lived a sinless life making him the perfect sacrifice, took all of the sins of mankind onto himself (Hebrews 9:12-15)). When he died on the cross, he took the punishment that was meant for all of us (1^st Peter 3:18). With him, our sin died.

Easter is the day we celebrate Christ rising from the dead. The resurrection is so important because it shows Christ’s victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:17). Some of you may be thinking that this sounds a lot like The Matrix. First, where do you think they got the idea? Also, I’m willing to bet that Christ was more lively then Keanu Reeves, and the special effects were probably way better.

Easter celebrates the fact that we can be reconnected to God through Christ’s sacrifice, and live a new life with God, the one we were meant to, through his resurrection. This is available to everyone, but you have to accept it. If you believe that Christ died for your sins, and you want to be forgiven, all you have to do is confess your sin and believe in your heart that Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9). Nothing you’ve done can hold you back, nothing you do can bring you closer. Christ died for all sin, and only through him is forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I know this is more serious than most of the posts I write. If this bothers you, come back tomorrow when I talk about my dog August. I just wanted to share this, because I know it’s important. Happy Easter.

Dave

Blog within a Blog= Lazy

I've gotten lazy again blogging. I think the it's because I want to put up original material, but other blogs don't seem to do that. They tend to put up things they've seen on other blogs, or cool videos they've seen that day and then comment on them. I noticed bloggers were doing this when we released our music video. It was on a ton of blogs and even had the same write up. Basically, people had copy and pasted other blogs to use as their own. That seems a little lazy to me. What if someone said in a British accent, "Hey, American Idol seems to work. What if we made a show called X Factor, and pretend it's different because of some minor details." That's just a hypothetical.

I guess I could blog about current events. For instance, right now, I'm watching Tina Fey on Ellen, the boys and my dog August are sleeping (hence I have time to write a blog), and I have an aftertaste of pizza in my mouth (when did I eat pizza?). If that's too personal, I could write about the upcoming royal wedding. I'll spare you tough, because I think we're all sick of hearing about Prince Albert of Monaco's marriage to Charlene Wittstock (seen above). July 2nd can't come soon enough. Am I right?

Some people like to use their blogs to critique things. Here's my attempt. This episode of Ellen is pretty good. I'm kind of biased, because I have a crush on Tina Fey. My wife's cool with it because she knows it's nothing weird. Yes, I want to be on 30 Rock, yes, I have a poster of her, and yes, I wanted to name our first son Tina, but it's nothing weird. Anyway, this is a good episode of Ellen. It looks like tomorrow, she'll be having Robert Pattinson on. Is it me, or does that guy look sickly? I've never wanted to force an IV on someone as much as when I see him.

Speaking of Robert Pattinson, I do have a bit of social commentary which is also a popular blog thing. I saw this section in Barnes and Noble today:

Has it really come to this? Don't get me wrong, I got a little teary-eyed when Christina Ricci got to dance with the human version of Casper at the end of the film of the same name, but I didn't go nuts over it. I guess teenagers' current obsession with "Twilight," "Harry Potter," and Lady Gaga warrants it, but to have this be a whole section in a bookstore? Japan, Singapore, and South Korea are all beating us in math and science, but when it comes to Phantasmic Love we have them all beat.

So, there you have it. My blog about how I have nothing to blog about. I'd like to think it's existential, but we all know it's just laziness. I promise I will try harder. Thanks for reading.

Dave

Youth Councils, Zombies, and Meatloaf

This past weekend, Brian and I performed at The Salvation Army PennDel Divisional Youth Councils. There were teenagers from all over the eastern side of PA and Delaware. Our show was Friday night at 11:30 PM and needless to say, the 2nd half of it is a vague memory. Everyone was pretty out of it by the end including myself. It's hard to remember if that flying goat happened or was a dream I had that night.

Brian lead the worship band this weekend. They were called "The Infiltrators" because it went along with the theme of the weekend. I thought they should be called Chumbawamba, but apparently that was taken. They sounded great, and I hear they may be doing some more events here and there under a different name. I want to suggest "Mannah Hontana" but don't know if they will take it.

At dinner one night, I was sitting with the fine teens from Boyertown, PA. Things got a little quiet and all of a sudden, the kid next to me tapped me on the shoulder. I'm paraphrasing, but he said, "If a virus were to infect the whole world turning the entire population, except us, into zombies, and all we had were 2 AK-47s, what would you do?" My immediate response was, "How much ammo do we have?" To be perfectly honest, I had never really thought about this scenario. My parents are always telling me, "Make sure you are putting together a portfolio for your retirement, and a survival plan for a post-apocalyptic zombie society." One day, I will pull it all together and be prepared.

Our friend Damien Horne (www.damienhorne.com) was also a special guest. Not only is he a very talented singer/songwriter, but he's also a phenomenal Michael Jackson impersonator in our live, full band version of "Hot Pockets" in a previous post (http://daveandbrian.blogspot.com/2011/02/not-cold-pockets_22.html).

Damien's such a humble and easy-going guy that you would never know he's worked with Kanye, John Legend, and Kenny Chesney. He's friends with John Rich, who is currently on "The Celebrity Apprentice," and was telling us how John invited him to his house to watch the season premier. Apparently, Mark Mcgrath, Meatloaf, and other cast members were there. Brian and I had never known such jealousy, as when he told us that Meatloaf performed, "I Would do Anything for Love" on John's piano. All they needed was Gary Busey to reenact a scene from Lethal Weapon and it would've been a party. Anyway, check out Damien. Hopefully, we'll be hanging with him again in August, if not sooner.

Dave

Sweet Georgia Red (on my face)

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of rocking out in Alpharetta, GA, just outside of Atlanta. The event was The Salvation Army's Georgia Division Youth Councils and there were over 400 teens in attendance. We rocked some glock, played soccer, and got in a minor car accident for good measure. I know a lot of you are concerned about what i just said, but don't worry. We stretched before playing soccer.

The accident was nothing. The vehicle we were in rear ended a car at a light. No one was injured, and it actually looked like there was very little damage to both vehicles which was surprising. We were in a pick-up truck (we have in our rider that we prefer riding in the classiest vehicle of the culture we are visiting), and drove into the back of a Pontiac Vibe. The pick-up hit the Vibe pretty hard, and its response seemed to be, "Is that all you got?" There was barely a scratch on it. Pontiac has discontinued the Vibe and I can only imagine it's because they were afraid it was becoming too strong and would one day overtake us.

We got to see some friends at this event. Rick and Bernie were rocking the AV, while Doug McClure was socially networking. The boys from the band TransMission (http://www.facebook.com/satransmission) were there rocking hard. Captain Sturdivant was in charge and an awesome host. They even made short videos to introduce us. Here's one below. I'm still not sure which one's supposed to be me and which one is supposed to be Brian:

On Saturday, we played a marathon game of soccer. Seeing that it was snowing in Philly when we left on Friday, the last thing on our mind was a sunburn. Needless to say, with my bald head, I am closer than ever to becoming my favorite TV star: Bob the Tomato. Soccer was fun. Brian scored a bunch of goals, and I even had some. One was a textbook header, that you may see on SportsCenter. I can only assume it will be on there since there were more points scored in our game then in the UConn-Butler NCAA National Championship Game.

Once again, thanks to all of our friends, old and new, from The Salvation Army Georgia Division. Hopefully we will hang together again soon! We'll bring the Glock, you bring the sunscreen.

Dave