TYI Was an Eskimo's Nightmare

Last week, Brian and I had the privilege of performing at the Southern Territorial Youth Institute (TYI) for The Salvation Army in Texas. There were about 250 students there and the temperature averaged about 108 everyday. At one point, I think it got up to 112. Going between the excessive heat outside, and then going to the freezing air conditioning inside, I now know what it feels like to be a woman in her 60's (I made this joke last year, but I love it so much.).

We did our show on the Tuesday night and played our new song, "Branta Canadensis (Down in Flames)." It's basically a protest against the illegal immigration of Canadian Geese. For those of you who want to correct us by pointing out that they're actually called, "Canada Geese," realize most people call them "Canadian." It's kind of like how we call the Kardashians celebrities. It's not true, but generally accepted.

After our show, a kid came up to me and shared the affect that our show had on him a few years prior. He explained that he had seen us in North Carolina and shared, "Your show really meant a lot to me. After seeing you guys a few years ago, it gave me the courage. . . (here's where I'm expecting a life changing story). . . to wear a dress on stage." This was one of those genuine, "Can you repeat that?" moments. He went on to explain that he was asked to participate in a play, but he had to wear a dress for it, and thought it was too stupid. Then he saw how stupid we were on stage and having fun, so he had a change of heart. So there you go: Dave and Brian, changing lives, one student dressed in drag at a time.

For those of you who know me, I am a huge Phillies fan. Let's just say this was a great week for them to go on a 9 game winning streak, because I was surrounded by Braves fans and was doing a lot of "talking." At the beginning of our show, the sound guy started playing the Braves fight song, and half the audience got up and started doing the Tomahawk Chop. When they finished I said, "That was cute. You should all get together and do that in October when you have nothing better to do." I've become a baseball jerk, but I justify it by all those years of being a fan of the laughingstock of baseball.

At TYI we met a lot of awesome students, but one that stands out was a young man from Alabama, named Will. Will was an incredible guy with a great heart, and could pray with such insight and authority that it'd blow your mind. Anyway, he came up to Brian with a song idea about a fictitious product called "Super Detergent." The beauty of Super Detergent is that it can clean anything. You could put your clothes and dishes in the same load. According to Will, it's like Jesus who can clean anything. I guess it's a religious allegory, like Lord of the Rings. Brian wrote a sweet jam for it and put it together with the full band. Here's some rough footage below. It starts with me sharing a little about some stuff God had shown me personally this week, so that's what I'm rambling about in the beginning. Thanks to Matt Cunningham for the footage.

Dave