A Quick Hello

If anyone is still subscribed to this blog… bless you, and sincere apologies for long gaps gone by.  I guess it shows that life is busy, and thus good.  Here’s a quick update on the Holiday crew:

Scott:  Scrambling to get Storenvy completed and launched in the not too distant future.  Stay tuned at http://www.storenvy.com for updates.  If you need merch printing, be sure to send us an email at printing@storenvy.com.  Also, awaiting little boy #2 in a short 4 weeks…

Joe:  A mad writing machine with his new band Shwank: The Experience.  Be sure to follow them on Twitter:  theShwank

Mark:  Currently in his 2nd session at Brooks doing Photography.  Recently added baby Iris to the Holiday family.  Check out his killer photos:  http://www.logosphotography.com/

The B Hive:  On the road with Switchfoot manning all things merch.  If you happen upon a Switchfoot show, be sure to drop by the Merch booth to send your greetings.

Well, that’s all for now.  When the dust settles, stay tuned for more music.  Thanks for being patient.

- THL

If only blogging were easy…

Ok, so I log in to my Facebook account and realize that I’ve managed to completely neglect my dedicated FB buddies, not to mention the extremely outdated features on the page.  Couple changes, back in action, problem solved.

But hang on… Twitter?  Well, I’ve been IM’ing people all day and updating my Facebook page… ok, Twitter this, Twitter that, problem solved… at least for another 5 minutes or so until my next thought needs to go live.

And to top it all off, Myspace is a fading memory in my mind.  Like an old jacket whose hanger just keeps getting pushed back by newer, and better, jackets.  But, the updates must go on, at least for those lonely souls out there still “pimpin” their space for the dwindling few.  

Which leads me to the ever-important and iconic “Blog”.  Well, the fact of the matter is, I’ve “blogged” a hundred times over before I even manage to login to WordPress… will hungry eyes ever even grace these pages?  Well, if not for you, then for myself.  

A Day in the Life: Motivation

Ah… the sweet glory. The video is done. It’s here. Finished.

Two amazing days of filming with our good friend Matt Stubstad, many days and nights of editing and way too much deep concentration and yoga and we finally have the video to show for it:

Special thanks to Austen for being the world’s best “crooked record label agent”. You couldn’t have done it any better. More special thanks to the Rancho Sante Fe police for giving us that extra 60 seconds to shoot in the woods before you kicked us out. And thanks to the kids at Seacoast for going along with it, although having no idea why I was on stage dancing to “We Are Family”.

We had a blast shooting the video and are looking forward to the next when we get back from tour this Spring. Stay tuned for a “behind the scenes” podcast in the not too distant future.

Top 3 Concerts of All Time

After an amazing trip across the Pacific to the tropical paradise of Kauai, I returned to the mainland in a heightened euphoric state, anticipating what would be THE concert of this decade in my book the next night. Travis. These 4 everyday Scots were putting on the last night of their first US tour in 4 years… in my hometown… gloria!

Fidgeting with nervous anticipation, I waited for the lights to go down. Crewmen took the stage with oversized flashlights as “Gonna Fly Now”, the infamous Rocky Theme Song, filled the air. Seconds later, the spotlights hit a door in the back of the room and out popped the guys, dressed in different colored Everlast robes, filtering through the crowd with nothing but high fives and smiles.

As if this wasn’t enough to create a permanent smile on my face for the rest of the year, Fran bounces right past me, makes eye contact and we commence the ultimate high five.

For those unfortunate souls that stayed home with thier pets, I give you this 1 minute and 33 second video documenting the beginning of an evening that has made my “Top 3 Concerts of All Time” list.

Enjoy.

Honest to Goodness… Music

I’ve been waiting for the month of November for quite some time now. For my birthday this year, Bobby surprised me with two tickets to Travis here in San Diego at the House of Blues. Travis is on my Top 5 Favorites of All Time list. The fact that I get to see them with 500 other people blows my mind. I watch DVD’s of these guys performing for 50,000 people in Glasgow!

As if this excitement wasn’t enough, I found out that one of my other Top 5 was coming to LA, Ahtlete. Another band from the UK, these guys just came out with their 3rd incredible record, Beyond the Neighbourhood. It was a beautiful, inspiring and intimate show. Got a chance to chat with Joel a little bit before the show…

Now, this was clearly enough to satiate my wildest dreams for a while. But, just to put the cherry on top, I found out last Saturday that Feist was in town at 4th and B! I quickly got online only to find out that somehow I had missed hearing about the show altogether and it had sold out, day of. Jumped on craigslist and was fortunate enough to find two tickets for face value!! Just as amazing live…

Amazing People

Well, it’s 8:21am in Seattle, WA. We’re packing up our things and getting ready for the long drive home. Not really looking forward to 24 straight hours in the van. It was kind of weird to only have 3 shows on this run, but they sure were fun. Thanks to all of you who came out to see us at Cal Poly, Roseville and Seattle! It was super fun hanging out and getting to see familiar faces (as well as new ones) again.

I can’t stress enough how much your support means to us. Without you, we would just be four guys playing music. But, with you, we have ears who listen. It’s amazing to experience your love and support wherever we go.

Stay in touch through the holidays. We won’t be playing very much, but will be kicking back in gear in the new year.

Much love.

The Beginning of the End of the World

Well, in a lot of ways, that’s kind of what things feel like right now…
Our record just released yesterday, October 31st, 2007. It’s a huge day for us, because the world finally has access to something that we put a lot of heart and soul into and have been waiting to put out.

On the other hand, it hasn’t been the kind of release that we imagined. It’s a soft release, which means that we aren’t releasing it in stores… yet. It will only be availabe online via our label’s store HERE and on iTunes HERE. However, our label didn’t get the album to iTunes in time, so it looks like you won’t be able to buy it there until Tuesday, November 6th.

We’re really hoping to have distribution come the beginning of next year. We’re attempting a slow build, which basically just means rather than putting all our cards on the table immediately, we let things build over time. And, all of you will play a huge role in that!

So, that’s it for now. We’re super excited about it all, it’s just a crazy time. Thanks for sticking with us and for being excited with us. Thanks to EACH of you for being amazing friends along the way. You’ve pretty much paved the way…

Evacuation…

Well, I woke up to 60mph winds last night and couldn’t fall back to sleep as I watched the news going on about the completely out of control fires that seemed to be inching closer and closer. 

Finally got to sleep for a couple hours only to wake up to a mandatory evacuation from our house.  So, we packed up what we could into the cars and headed into the unknown.  And we wait…

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$1 Radiohead & House Parties

Last week I bought Radiohead’s new album, In Rainbows, for $0.97.  I was a huge Radiohead fan during The Bends and OK Computer… they kind of started to lose me when they released Kid A.  However, this whole “Name Your Price” campaign for their new record was clearly enticing enough for me to dig into my wallet.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this.  Incredibly, I don’t feel like an artist trying to rip another artist off… I feel like a fan taking an artist up on an opportunity to rekindle an old flame.  So, thanks Radiohead.

On a different note, we played a party at Rusty’s house last night in Boulder, CO.  We turned some mood lighting on, holed up in a corner and played about 10 songs.  It was a genuinely cool musical experience.  I am contemplating the idea of doing an entire tour of intimate house parties next year…  Boulder is a particularly cool town.  Great people, mountains, crisp Fall air, changing leaves.  Check out some of the photos from our time there. 

Right now it’s 8pm and we’re driving to New Mexico tonight on our way to Tempe for our show tomorrow.  I’ve been working on the next podcast.  We’ve got some fun footage from the tour to share… stay tuned. 

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The Pursuit

It’s a beautiful Colorado afternoon outside the walls of our van, cruising down I-70 on our way to Boulder. I’ve been lying here reading my friend Crystal’s book, Marked For Life, about her life experiences and God’s pursuit of her.

Right now I’m just feeling pretty overwhelmed by the tenderness of life. Watching grandparents grow fragile, feeling disconnected from people that you love, contemplating the question marks that plague our tomorrows or watching family and friends deal with sickness… life is tender. The only conclusion I come to on these days when my heart feels a little heavy, is that life was meant to be lived now.

We all know the mantra of the Dead Poet’s Society as they abandon all pretense in their everyday existence… Carpe Diem… Sieze the Day. But, even this idea leaves me wanting. To simply take each moment or even each day for myself and my own desires doesn’t eliminate the fragility of life. Over the last 16 years of my life, the only thing that has consistently pulled me through these times is God’s endless and passionate pursuit of me.

Yes, life is fragile. Yes, loneliness is real. But, even in fragile and lonely moments, we are alive in the glory of God.

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Tags: thlthis holiday life crystal miller dead poet’s society seize the day carpe diem tender fragile