Recording, Burgers, and Stories

So we are still recording. It's been an intense 7 days of working on music and singing our hearts out. I imagine this is how Kei$ha must live, only more sober. The songs are sounding great and the finished product is going to be unbelievable.

We've been meeting a lot of great people during this experience which only adds to it all. Paul Colman's 2 young girls have become big fans. They're singing our songs non-stop which I'm sure takes that fine line between cute and annoying and obliterates it for their mother. We stayed with Jeremy Michael, our engineer, over the weekend and recorded some things in his studio. His wife, Bonnie, and 3 kids, were gracious enough to let us crash at their place and eat their Digiorno Pizza. I got to read stories to the 3 kids before they went to bed on Saturday night. I think they liked it even though the only voice impersonations I can do are 1920's flappers and bootleggers. Here's some footage from our recording sessions with Jeremy to show how serious this all is.

We also got to do a show at Riff Burgers (www.RiffBurgers.com) and it was phenomenal. We hung out with John Thatcher, who booked us, and his family there. His 6 year old son, Jackson, told me that he thought Brian and I really work well together. He may be 6, but his half-British accent and fedora made it sound much more mature.

We're wrapping up vocals on 2 more songs today. We also have Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay), and Jennifer Knapp coming in later tonight to throw down some guest vocals. We are very thankful to Paul Colman and the other who are working on this project for their belief in what we are doing. It's very cool to see this thing going to the next level and higher, way higher.

Dave

Happy Thanksgiving (We'll be recording)

I promised a blog everyday, but unfortunately I did not get around to it yesterday. We have been quite busy working on songs and pulling this all together. It has been a really awesome process so far, and we are really looking forward to how this album is going to sound.

Our days kind of look like this: We wake up and do about 2 hours of Pilates. I'm kidding. Each night, Paul puts together some programming loops for us to play to. Then in the morning Brian plays his guitar parts over them. Then he does his vocals, which usually takes 1 take because he has the voice of an angel who was birthed by another angel and Josh Groban. Then I do my parts which usually takes a little longer because I have the voice of most child stars after they've gone through puberty.

We then take what we've done and send it off to a guy named Tedd T, who is programming the album. This means he'll be adding beats and other various sounds to give everything a nice full sound. We hung out with him on Monday and this guy is no joke. He won a Grammy, and has worked on songs for MuteMath, Jewel, and Rebecca St. James. He actually did the song that my wife and I danced to. I thanked him, but also mentioned I would've preferred it a little slower.

So far we've knocked out Red Rover, Branta Canadensis, Hot Pockets, and Smalltown Gangstas. There is some new flavor added to our older songs and they are sounding great. We also had our friend Adam Agee of Stellarkart come in to help on Branta Canadensis. We're working on some other big names to come in next week, and I'm pretty sure Jennifer Knapp will be coming in on Monday or Tuesday. Not sure what she'll do, but should be fun.

Those of you in the Nashville area, we are doing a show at Riff Burger's (www.riffburgers.com) in Franklin at 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. We got the show through John Thatcher, who was the bass player in the band, Delirious. He came over yesterday and we talked about websites. I would've rather talked about "I Could Sing of your Love Forever," but websites are cool too.

Dave

Atlanta Has been Rocked

We have left home and will be on the road a total of about 15 days. There are shows, recordings, hockey games, and hanging out with music industry peeps that will be going on. It's going to be a little crazy.

This past weekend we were invited to perform at the National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta. We had the pleasure of performing in the "Big Room" right before the main meeting. It's a little bit of a tough spot, because people are still trickling in and it's early in the morning. A special shout out to Captain Bobby Parker and his wife Nicole for showing up extra early so as to not miss us. It was either that or they just wanted really good seats for Dr. Robert Epstein. Either way, they were winners that day.

Saturday night, we performed at the Late Night Comedy show in the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta, with Taylor Mason (www.taylormason.com) and Jeff Civillico (www.jeffcivillico.com). There were well over 2000 youth leaders in attendance, and it was a blast! The High-5 was brought back, and Canada was sent a message about their geese.

Sunday night we had the pleasure of performing at The Salvation Army's Atlanta Temple Corps. I can't describe to you how fun this show was. Some had seen us before, some had not, and even though there were over 130 people there, there's something about performing for Salvation Army folks that feels like performing for family. Our good friend Dan Kulp opened for us and as always was awesome to not only work with, but hang out with. A special thanks to the Atlanta Temple Corps, Bernie Dake and the Territorial Music Department, and Major Art Penhale and the Territorial Youth Department for making it happen.

We have begun the recording process. Expect at least 1 or 2 blogs everyday to update. We are working on getting different artists to guest such as Adam Agee of Stellarkart, Jennifer Knapp, and maybe Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer.

Dave

New Blog with a ton of videos!

I don't know what happened. One thing lead to another and now here we are about 2 months without a new blog. Shame on me. My punishment is that I am skipping an episode of Ellen to write this (or just part, depending on how long this takes me). Brian and I have been very busy since I last wrote. We've been to a Youth Councils in Maine, a Campus Fellowship Retreat in Kentucky, The National Youth Workers Conference in San Diego, and did some pre-production work in Nashville with Paul Colman. I would love to go in to great detail on all these, but let me just give you a bunch of videos that came from these trips. I'll write more when we get down to Nashville to record and keep everybody up on that process. You won't want to miss those blogs! We're going to be working with Paul Colman, Adam Agee of Stellar Kart, and maybe John Reuben, Leigh Nash of Sixpence, and Jon Schlitt of Petra.

Kentucky:

New Song "Branta Canadensis" performed at NYWC in San Diego:

Branta Canadensis from Daveandbrian on Vimeo.

Paul Colman and Pre-Production:

Only a few hours left to donate to our fundraising campaign for the new project! Check out this cute video:

Thanks everyone!

Dave

Dave and Brian Lost Their Minds

As many of you may have already seen, we are trying to raise $25,000 to record our next album. Some of you, including myself, may think that we've lost our mind, but we look at it as something to move the Dave and Brian business forward. If we were starting a Taco Bell and needed $25,000 it would probably seem less weird. One major difference though, is that I can guarantee our album was cause way less stomach issues.

So let me give you some back story on this. A few weeks ago, Brian and I performed at Camping for Christ in Kresgeville, PA. It's a fun event with a pig roast and everything. This year, the headlining guest was singer/songwriter, member of the Grammy nominated Paul Colman Trio, and member of the Newsboys, Paul Colman (www.paulcolman.com). He sat through our whole show, which often times other entertainers (or much of the general populace) won't do, because they've got too many other cool things to do. Afterwards, he approached us and was very excited about what we are doing.

Paul was very complimentary about our show and being Australian, he used several phrases we don't understand. Don't get me wrong, I eat at Outback and all, I'm just not fluent. Anyway, he mentioned that he live in the Nashville area now and works with artists on producing albums.

He later followed up with Brian on a phone call and shared some great ideas. He plans on not just working on the album, but wants to work with us to improve our live show. Paul is also very connected in the music industry and wants to shop us around to various labels, and get us on the music festival circuit next summer. The goal is to be done by December and get things moving for 2012. To be perfectly honest, if he's able to introduce us to Michael W. Smith (www.michaelwsmith.com) at some point, it'll be worth it.

After looking at our bank accounts, we've come to find out that apparently, we do not have this money (does anyone other than Mike Whittle get that reference?). $25,000 is a lot of cash to raise. If I've learned anything from films such as Tommy Boy, Hot Rod, and Dirty Work, we just need to sell more brake pads, stunt jump some buses, or start a revenge for hire business. Until we get there though, we're going to beg. We've started a page on indiegogo.com to help raise funds (see link below). Every little bit helps, so if you think you can donate it would be much appreciated! We have great fans who have been very supportive and we look forward to this next step in our career to be able to connect with more people. Thanks for all of your help!

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

Spandex Band, Lemonjellos, and Flash Mob

I had the opportunity to hang out with CIY Staff, guests, and Bible College Students during my time in Holland, MI. I really got to know people well during the weekend when we had a bunch of free time. On the Saturday night, we had an awesome picnic involving some tasty BBQ Ribs, KanJam (www.kanjam.com), and a baseball game. In the middle of our picnic some older dudes showed up on their bikes hauling instruments. It turns out they're called The Joybox Express (www.joyboxexpress.com), and bike across Michigan to raise money and awareness of the arts for children. The juxtaposition of their beautiful music playing and their spandex fitted bodies was the true expression of art in my opinion.

There is a great coffee shop in Holland called, Lemonjello's. I got in a little bit of trouble, because the ignorant human being that I am pronouncing words as they're spelled, called it Lemon Jellos. It's pronounced "Lemawnjawlos." It's kind of like the whole "Target/Tarjay" thing, except less absurd. They have a great atmosphere, wonderful coffee drinks (I recommend the Stress Reliever), and one of the coolest soda drinks I've ever had. It's called a "Green Army Guy" and here's the ingredients: green apple soda+strawberry+an army guy. That's right! There is a little green army man floating in your drink. Phenomenal!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mike, Chris, Annie, and Bethany from Central Christian College of the Bible (www.cccb.edu) for taking the time to hang out with me. We all learned a lot about each other. For instance, Chris and I could become professional KanJam players if there were such a thing, Mike has an inner-Martin Van Buren like no other, Annie could never be on the A-team due to a fear of vehicles with open doors, and Bethany has strong opinions about Chipotle. They actually offered me a scholarship if I were to come to their school and gave me a T-shirt. I didn't say anything, but I would've come just for the shirt.

The last week at Michigan consisted of 1300 fired up high school kids, who I once again referred to as Martha. One kid on the last day, hugged me and whispered, "Marth loves hugs." I'm not sure he understood how creepy that was. This group was especially cool, because they pulled a planking flash mob on me. It was very well planned, because none of us on leadership had any idea it was going to happen. I was doing my thing one night on stage and when I put a picture up on screen, 1300 people dropped to the floor in unison to plank. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen.

In closing on my CIY MOVE adventures, the fine CIY people made a great film about the persecuted church around the world that they showed at these events. It's called Love Costs Everything, and was very intense, but also very challenging and eye opening. It's not available yet, but you can check out more info here: http://2011.ciy.com/lovecostseverything.

Dave

My Clogs Were Useless in Holland, Michigan

After San Francisco, I got home, mowed my lawn, and the next day went to Holland, Michigan for 2 weeks of Christ in Youth's (www.ciy.com) MOVE events. My flight was later in the day, so I got to the event with about 20 minutes to spare to get on stage. This meant I could only do half of my pre-show Pilates routine.

Fortunately, having already done the Durango event, I went in much better prepared and more confident. It's a good thing, because there were over 1900 teenagers there and they were ready to party. There were teens dressed as Gorillas, some as bananas, and even a kid in a camouflage, full-body spandex suit. He was kind of a walking oxymoron, because he wanted to draw attention to himself with the suit, yet it was camouflage. For one of the games I lead, I didn't have a prize to give since I had just gotten there, so I gave the winners a Sky Mall Magazine, and a Barf Bag.

I felt that referring to the audience as "The Audience" or just the name of the event was tacky and impersonal. I decided that when we were all together, I would just refer to the audience as "Margaret." Separately, the audience members were individuals, but as a unit they were Margaret. Kind of like how the different Power Rangers were The Blue one or The Pink one, but would combine to make that Vultron Robot at the end of every episode. I really feel Margaret and I connected that week.

On the Wednesday of the event they had a Volleyball Tournament. Apparently, I'm not too cultured, because I pronounce it "Tour-nament" and not "Turn-ament." Thank you midwesterners for setting me straight. Anyway, when I arrived at the event I met a team from Illinois that was gracious enough to invite me on their team. My childhood dream had finally come to fruition. I was a member of The Bleeding Frogs volleyball team.

Our first match is one that will be discussed for years to come by mostly me and other members of my team. Maybe just me. One of my teammates had a nasty serve and sent a message to the other team in an unorthodox way. She smashed the ball into her brother's face, thus telling the other team, "I'm not afraid to take anyone out, not even my kin."

We were down by about 5 at one point and on the cusp of defeat, when I had a sweet put-back that swung the momentum in our favor. We went on from there to maintain possession and score our way to victory. There was a lot of rejoicing, except from the other team, and the kid that got smashed in the face. Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky in the next round. Maybe we were tired, or maybe we should've smashed another teammate in the face with a serve, but we just didn't have it. We may not have won that tournament, but wherever there is a frog bleeding, it has been honored through volleyball.

Bleeding Frogs 4 Eva

Dave

San to the Fran

I got home from Durango and not even 24 hours later, I was back at the airport with the whole fam to head off to San Francisco. Not sure if you've ever traveled with a 2 1/2 year old, and 7 month old, but I'm pretty sure I've discovered the premise for a new challenge on "The Amazing Race." The plane ride wasn't that bad it's getting through the airport. You have both kids, luggage, stroller, birth certificates, bottles, and the love of family which seemed to have a slow leak as we made our way through security.

We landed in San Francisco at 9:30 PM Pacific which was 12:30 AM my time. You know how in Gremlins they weren't supposed to feed Gizmo after midnight because of what he would become? I think it's worse when you wake up a toddler and infant to get off a plane after midnight.

We went to San Fran for my wife's work so I'd like to thank the University of Pennsylvania for putting us up in a sweet hotel by the Pier. While my wife had meetings during the week, the boys and I hit the town. We were able to rock the Zoo, The Exploratorium, The Maritime National Historic Park, and the 39th Street Pier. Nolan and I also checked out a Giants/Twins game in which the starting pitcher was pulled after only 1 out (which was the opposing pitcher), and giving up 9 hits and 8 runs. What did Nolan talk about most? The trolly ride there.

It only took until the 2nd day there to realize a mistake we made. The main mode of public transportation in San Fran is Trolley Trains. Between that, the boats, and bridges, my son Nolan was in a sensory overload. We were basically on a real life train table and his head was about to explode. We'd step outside and he would literally start stuttering he was so excited. When I started running out of ideas for what to do, we would just go to trolley stops and watch people get off and on. What's odd is when I do that with 2 kids, no one says anything, but when I do it by myself, someone calls the cops.

All in all it was a fun trip. I had a good amount of seafood, walked a ton of hills, and had a homeless guy share with me his idea for a diaper that lights up when wet. I love that city.

Durango (Colorado, not the automobile)

Hey everyone. I'd like to give you some excuse like travel, family responsibilities, or witness protection as to why there hasn't been a blog in forever, but I believe I can sum it up perfectly with just 2 words: Lazy Writer.

It has been a crazy few weeks for me. Brian and I were booked separately to Emcee MOVE, which is a week long high school event put on by Christ in Youth (www.ciy.com) all over the country. Brian did an event in Tennessee and one in Florida. I did one in Colorado and 2 in Michigan. Actually, in the last 4 weeks, I have been in Colorado, California, Michigan, New Jersey, and Illinois. I have only been home for probably a total of 3 days combined. It wasn't that bad, except my kids are calling me by my first name, my wife rented out my side of the closet, and my dog keeps growling at me.

I will give you the run down on my journeys, but will do so in separate blogs. This first one is dedicated to my trip to Durango, Colorado where I Emceed a unique MOVE event that had over 900 teens from a church in the Phoenix area. Colorado is a nice place, but I do have one recommendation for those people. They should definitely look in to oxygen. We have it here in Philly and I find that it helps so much with things like breathing. Some might argue that the air is cleaner there, which it is, mostly because there's less of it to get dirty.

It was weird to be on stage by myself. I used to do stand-up alone all the time during and right after college, but Brian and I have been doing our show for over 7 years now. I mostly did jokes at this event, for 2 main reasons. If I were to do the songs, they'd all just be a cappella and some would be just a harmony, which can be off-putting. Secondly, the only instrument I would be playing is the Glockenspiel which needs the guitar to tone down it's power.

All in all I had a great time out in Colorado. I learned a new game called KanJam (www.kanjam.com), hung out with some cool teens from Phoenix, and discovered a new phenomenon called "Planking," which is pictured above. It's basically where you lie down very straight in unique places, and get a picture of it to can post on line. I wish this would've started while I was in college. I could've gotten some great "Planking" pictures around the Frat Houses on Saturday mornings.

All in all, the week was fun and a good learning experience for when I would be heading off to Michigan. I learned how some of the games I was supposed to lead actually worked, what material worked best and when, and not to announce Basketball Tournaments when they don't exist. I also helped organize the longest side-hug to try and set a record for the summer (video below).

Roads of Rage

Sorry I've been so negligent on the blog front. Things have been a little crazy, between taking care of the kids, and pulling our house together. I understand that there is a strong possibility that some of you have been lying awake at night, wondering when the next blog was coming, and I will forever have that on my conscience. Let's be honest though, some of that may be due to the amount of caffeine you've been consuming. I'm not a doctor, but we all know that I can't fully be blamed for your lack of sleep.

I'd like to comment on something that has recently happened to me twice now, and it hasn't happened since high school. In the last few weeks, I have been given the finger twice in traffic. At first, I thought they were telling me I was number one and just using the wrong finger. Looking back on the circumstances of the situation, it occurs to me that they were giving me this finger out of spite and not encouragement. I didn't realize people still did this, let alone adults.

The first time it happened was on 95. I was in the far left lane already going 7 miles over the speed limit (I fear putting this for legal reasons, but I'm not sure that a blog is legally binding). There was a truck to my right going about the same speed, so I wasn't able to get over. I noticed in the rear view a white car coming up fast. I don't remember the type of car. Could've been a Lexus or an Audi, but I can definitively say that it wasn't a Ford Escort. It was driven by an older gentleman in his 60's, wearing sunglasses, and a shirt unbuttoned low enough so we could see the medallion on his gold chain I suppose. I don't want to speculate on his nationality, but I'm willing to bet that if Jersey Shore came out in the 70's, this fellow would be a celebrity.

The guy got right up on my bumper, and started flashing his headlights. This act is meant to make me move over or speed up. Needless to say it was kind of useless, because there were vehicles to my right, and my first reaction to this sort of thing is to slow down. Don't worry. I didn't slow down. I did however get into the next lane and as he passed, I turned and gave him the biggest smile you can imagine. You know, the kind that makes those muscles right under your cheekbones hurt. I would say I was asking for it with the smile, but he was already giving me the finger as he passed. He weaved in and out of traffic ahead of us and then zoomed off an exit a few miles later. I can't really comment on why he was in such a hurry. Maybe he was in labor. Maybe he couldn't slow down under a certain speed or his car would blow up. Maybe he feels that it's impossible for him to be part of the solution so he has just given in to the other side. No matter what, the odds are fairly good that he's just an arrogant old man with an irrational sense of entitlement.

It happened again the other day. I was sitting at a red light, and the people across the intersection from me got the green arrow to turn left. My light then turned green, giving me the right of way. As I started to go, a car ran the light to sneak in their left, which I put up with, but then the huge pick-up truck behind him went totally cutting me off. I honked my horn, and the guy looked back at me and gave me the finger. I know, it was probably rude of me to honk my horn to point out that he was clearly cutting me off, potentially causing an accident, and not adhering to something we all were taught in pre-school, which is to wait your turn.

I'm not sure what caused him to be so juvenile and bitter. Perhaps the resentment of owning a pick-up truck in the suburbs finally got to him. I'm sure the machismo that it makes him feel does not balance out all of the times he's asked to help someone move. I don't take it personally that these guys flipped me off. I'm offended that there are people in society, that still think this is an appropriate reaction to their discontent. Oh well. My goal here is not retaliation or complaint. It's to hopefully reach out to those who may still use this gesture, and help them see how ridiculous it is. Try something a little less ignorant. I don't know what. Bite your thumb at people. At least that's Shakespearean.

Dave

These aren't like Ren and Stimpy

I watch a lot of children's programming now thanks to my son. Let me rephrase that. I now have a rational excuse to watch children's programming. I don't remember watching too many of these educational programs like there are today, and that probably explains the grammar in a lot of my blog posts. My son really enjoys The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Curious George, and Dinosaur Train. Each show teaches lessons on nature, science, reading, and the social coexistence of a man living with a monkey. Let's take a look at these gems in particular.

The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, is the story of Sally and Nick, who tend to figure out minor predicaments they are in by joining a rhyming cat on an adventure to some land with a ridiculous name like the forest of Florah-Fah-Zoom, Jimmer Jammer Jungle, and Bed Bath and Beyond. The positives of the show are that the kids learn something about nature, and Martin Short does the voice of the cat. I do have some concerns with the show. For instance, where did this "Nick" come from and where is Sally's brother, Conrad, from the original book? I'd like to think that he's off at school or something, but I fear seeing him on TMZ stumbling down a back alley at 2 AM. Also, what's the deal with this Thing 1 and Thing 2? They seem to be under the control of The Cat. I don't know if he saved their lives at some point, or if he loaned them a large sum of money, but I have put a call in to the Better Business Bureau to investigate.

Curious George tells us of the adventures of a mischievous monkey who lives with a man who's only trait worth mentioning is that he wears a yellow hat. Not that he's a middle aged, single man, raising a monkey as his child, but that he wears a yellow hat. Whoever does his PR has really nailed it. What I don't understand is the amount of times, this guy leaves the monkey alone in public situations. This is where George tends to get in to his "predicaments" and they are fortunate that his misadventures only result in scientific discoveries and not mass chaos, or a lethal visit from Animal Control.

It's also weird, how intelligent George is. I have seen him build a soap box car, build a canal system, and figure out how to predict the weather through research and record keeping. The other day my son told me a a ghost was coming out of his butt when he farted, but this monkey is figuring out Meteorology. Sorry for the potty humor, but this is my life right now.

Dinosaur Train follows a family of Pteranodon's as they learn about different species of dinosaurs by visiting them on a train. Here's my problem with this show. You've got a bunch of talking dinosaurs that travel around on a train to meet other species and the train travels through time because a lot of the dinosaurs we are meeting were in different time periods. We're OK with the kids watching talking dinosaurs, traveling around on a train big enough to accommodate all of these dinosaurs, but we're worried that a kid is going to say, "Hey! The T-Rex was in the Cretaceous Period, and the Stegosaurus was in the Jurassic Period! I hate this show!" It just seems like an unnecessary covering of bases.

Dave

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

Flight Stories

Brian and I are regulars on the planes of Southwest Airlines. By planes I meant jets. I didn't want anyone thinking that Southwest Airlines has some rolling fields somewhere that we like to hang out on. Anyway, we pretty much fly with them whenever we can. The planes all fit Brian's guitar in the overhead, they are usually cheaper (especially since they don't charge for bags), and we have a companion pass through their rewards program (one of us flies free). Those reasons combined with the fact that their commercials make us chuckle makes them our favorite.

Tomorrow we are flying in to Atlanta and unfortunately since Southwest didn't buy Airtran fast enough, we have to take another airline. We always seem to run into unique experiences when flying different airlines, especially when we fly with tomorrow's airline. I won't tell you their name for legal purposes, so let's call them the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet.

One time we were flying to LA and I was seated next to a rather large gentleman who was in The Hell's Angels. I don't know that for a fact, but he had the word "Hate" tattooed across his fingers, and he was reading a book called "Angels of Hell." I shouldn't judge though, for all I know he could've been a Shriner. Anyway, he fell asleep next to me, and they announced that the in-flight film would be, Flicka, the touching tale of a girl and her horse. When it came on I was so tempted to wake the guy and say, "Hey man! Flicka's on!" I had to weigh whether I wanted a cool story to tell or keep all of my teeth in place. Needless to say he slept peacefully and I enjoyed Flicka.

I normally carry our CD's on to the plane in a tomato box. Usually, I get stares and the occasional, "Are there tomatoes in there?" One day we were getting on the plane, and the flight attendant (fancy term for stewardess), said, "What's in that box?" I responded that it was CDs, and she in turn asked if it would fit in the overhead. I assured her that the box would fit and in fact was smaller than most suitcases they allow on. At this point, I thought we were having a lighthearted exchange, but then she got serious.

"It's not a suitcase though."

I said, "No, but it fits."

She responded again, "It's not a suitcase."

Brian said, "But they both carry things, right?"

Once again, "They're not the same. It's not a suitcase."

At this point, I couldn't contain myself. I said, "Ma'am if it will make you feel better, I could put a handle on it." It ended with her telling me not to get smart. It was kind of ironic. It started with her getting frustrated because she assumed I wasn't smart enough to understand the difference between a tomato box and a suitcase. Then it ended with her not wanting me to be smart. I'm not sure what level of intelligence I was supposed to have on that particular flight, so I just spent the time reading Sky Mall and commenting on how cool it would be to have a head massager.

Hopefully, this weekend, I'll be reporting on our event, and not the flight. Odds are though, you'll hear something about the flight.

Dave

Hey Roomie

One couple I forgot to thank yesterday for The Awesome Tour, were Jason and Kelly. Jason was my roommate in college, and as many of you know, the inspiration for our "The Diet Song." He and his wife Kelly were nice enough to let us crash at their house for the weekend and drink their green milk. Don't worry, it wasn't bad milk, or some sort of concoction that turned me into a plant-like substance so they could eat me (Troll 2 reference for the 3 people that got it). They were very hospitable and things were only awkward on Saturday night when we walked in on them. . . watching The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus. I still can't erase that from my mind.

Before I went to college, my grandmother told me that she was praying that I would get a Christian roommate. I wasn't very faithful then and remember saying, "Good luck, grandma. It's a pretty big school." What I didn't realize at the time is that when my grandmother prayed for something, it happened. For instance, I'm not going to say that she prayed against Y2K, but I wouldn't be shocked to find out she did. Anyway, I got to school and my roommate was a jolly young lad from Cazenovia, NY, named Jason who was a Christian.

We hit it off right away, to the point where the first night of our college career, we were joking around so much that everybody thought we had known each other since high school. We both had very similar senses of humor, and an addiction to video games. We were reminiscing how, when the fire alarm would go off at 3 AM in the dorms, we'd be the only ones not in our pajamas outside, because we were up playing Madden. Jason would usually get up and make an announcement to the freezing students, that I was offering my pants for $10. I probably got offered more money to keep the pants on.

We spent our whole college career being roommates. There were some other guys that joined us those 4 years, but it was always Jason and I. After school, we've kept in touch pretty well. We were in each others weddings. One day, Jason told me he was going on Weight Watchers. This wasn't anything new. In college he had tried Atkins, and would bring bags of bacon back to our fridge. There was so much bacon in our room that we had to hang an "Unclean" sign on the door to warn our Jewish friends. Anyway, he was excited about Weight Watchers, because it's a lot like Fantasy Football. You just have to keep track of the points. A year later he lost 75 lbs. I'm still waiting to see the commercial with the picture of big Jason next to thin Jason and the disclaimer, "Results not Typical."

I've heard so many horror stories of college roommates, that I guess our relationship could be classified as "Results not Typical." Of course, he likes to remind me that he was the answer to my grandmother's prayers. Anyway, we are both married and have kids (his 2nd one is on the way). This weekend, we joked about stuff we did in college and laughed how different life is now. For instance, he's thin so it's less funny when he does a cartwheel. People just point and say, "Whatever. Just another skinny guy doing a cartwheel." Also, when we talk now it usually has more to do with kids, and our wives than the glitch he found in Madden, or Irene from the Sadler dining hall.

Normally I'm not too serious with this blog, but I'll end this one saying, make sure you appreciate the solid friendships you have. Circumstances and priorities may change, but a solid friend is always there to hear you out, challenge you, or sell your pants for $10.

Dave