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January 30, 2007

Atlanta

Sitting here on a beautiful tuesday morning. We had the night off last night, so we just had a poor man's night on the town. Varsity burger and miller light. That's what I'm talking about! This is a beautiful state and I'm so glad the folks at Piedmont College were kind enough to book us. This tour has been a blast and reminded me again of why I play music. I love playing at home because I get to see the same people at shows and build what I'm trying to build. But I love playing on the road because it's square one. Little or no history with your audience means you have to work hard in a different way. But it's still building what I'm trying to build. The truth is, the best shows are those played to friends, whether silver or gold (anyone? anyone? that was a stretch, I admit, but we all sang that one as kids, right?) And that has never proved more true than on this trip. Here's le video from Nashville (thank you Andrew).

P.S. I'm sitting in a starbucks right now in the middle of corporate Atlanta, and let me just say that hearing the conversations next to me makes me so so so so so so so thankful to be able to do what I do. I know that there are a lot of people who are supposed to wear a suit and make acronyms out of everything, and that is their thing and they do what they do. But there is also a seemingly equal number of people who are NOT supposed to live that life, and end up doing so. I understand, it's secure. But I am so thankful to be in a position of playing music for a living.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 05:32 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2007

Time Machine

Sitting here in Nashville. The small amount of time i've spent here, coupled with the opinions of some very educated friends, leads me to believe that this town is all it's cracked up to be. Last night was fantastic. It had the passion of a sophomore theatre major but the maturity of a seasoned Meryl Streep. I'm in love. Anyway, here's the second video blog of our tour so far. Enjoy. I'll post pictures and videos from last night soon.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2007

Nashville

First time here... so far I love it. Here's a video that Brad (Andrew's guitar player) made. Big up yourself.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2007

El Paso

Sitting here in a Starbucks in El Paso tx, and it feels good. Some people say "I hate that all starbucks look the same, no matter where you go.." but I love it. Played on "Arizona Midday" yesterday and had a great time. First time i'd ever done a tv show. Moses kept asking if Rachel Ray was there. It got a little embarrassing. And so we're doing a nooner at the university here today and playing in San Antonio tomorrow. This has been a great trip so far. Andrew Steven has introduced me to "30 Rock" and I'm hooked. I have a pretty serious beard going right now. And every time I look in a mirror I vomit a bit in my mouth. It's funny, when I'm brushing my teeth and I look at myself, I don't seem to think the beard is so bad. I own it. But it's those accidental glances from car windows or tv shows that really freak me out. The glances when I'm not in control. It's like going to the store and buying the 32" waist jeans, though you know you're at least a 34". You used to be a 32... nothing's changed, man. So you put them on and suck it in and stand in the dressing room and think "Thank God, I still got it!" But then you go into Savon to buy a pop-tart and see yourself in the surveillance monitor they've placed by the entrance... and realize... it's just not working out.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 06:29 AM | Comments (2)

January 22, 2007

Every Time

Every time I go on the road I'm reminded of the power we have to be good to each other. The boys and I are here in Phoenix AZ, sitting in the lovely living room of some of Moses' friends. We're playing on a TV show in the morning and it feels so good to sit and relax. By the way, if you live in the Phoenix area, tune into nbc tomorrow morning after Regis and Kelly. It makes me really happy that we're on after them.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2007

Customer Service, Shmustomer Shmervice

I often find myself saying things like such and such company "get's it". Starbucks gets it. As does The Lost Bean (the best coffee shop in the world) and Nordstrom. What do they "get" you ask? They get that every single human being on the face of the planet has one common desire: to feel significant. To feel like they matter. Other companies absolutely do not get it. Like Kinko's, who never fail to fail at something each and every time I go. I think about these things because our need for love, control and the feeling of worth is embedded in the deepest way anything could be. It's in our dna, it's who we are. It drives our economy here in America, and it's the reason communism cannot and will not work. Obviously i'm driving down the road to God-ville here, and my point is once again our need for salvation. What is interesting is that many people would disagree with me on that point. Many people would say that what I'm describing here is simply survival of the fittest, or point to some tribe somewhere who exhibit behavior contrary to what I have described. But I say: i know that on some level, somewhere deep down inside, they're arguing their point so that they themselves can feel significant and ultimately loved. But no one can prove that. At some point, we have to have faith and be vulnerable. I believe what I believe because i've yet to see a situation in life in which I didn't see it.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2007

Very Simple

If you want something in life, really want it, you just go out and get it. This is not rhetorical philosophy, these are practical day to day words to live by.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2007

Balance

Everything in the universe is balanced. There was a time in my life when I told myself that I believed all kinds of things about God and Jesus. I told myself that God was "doing" in my life. That he was "speaking" to me, almost on a daily basis. And it was great! I had hope, I had a motivation. I had a reason for getting up in the morning so powerful that i'd start to cry if I thought about it for a minute. But there was one huge problem with what I believed: it wasn't true. And I knew it, on some level. And so the price I paid for the happiness I enjoyed during this time in my life was the agony and darkness I felt when I finally got real with myself. Balance. One of the few absolutes I can see. We all want so badly to believe in something. We all want so badly to feel significant. And we all lie to ourselves to get there. But, I am a creation of God. And he made me because he wanted to. Therein must lie my worth. That I am loved by God, just because. I am the thing that he made! I look around at humanity and I think it is the most beautiful thing. I see it in there, what God made. More than anything, I feel the ought. I feel on the most visceral level what was supposed to be. And I have so much hope because I know that someday, it will.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2007

Security

I just don't understand men who go for the comb-over. It's one of the only things I can think of that literally no one buys. And the guys sporting said 'do know this. So nobody buys it, and everyone knows, yet men, grown men, still try and pull it off. I'm racking my brian to try and think of other things that people try and pull off though literally no one buys. I think the only thing that even comes close is something like this. Mmm... maybe this. I'm pretty sure that you can get away with just about anything in life if you do it with confidence. My roommate Moses and I have gotten backstage at concerts before just by acting like we knew what we were doing. So, to anyone reading this while donning a comb-over, heed my advice: get rid of all of it!

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2007

I love

The hours between 7pm and 10:30 am. During those hours, I am alive. I care. I go to sleep excited. I wake up excited. But as soon as I start thinking about lunch... mmm, then the blah sets in. When we were in college, my friend Ty and I began using the word "blah" as an adjective. As in, "no man, she's blah".

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)

Mad respect... but, really?

Ok Chris Daughtry, I get it. You do what you do well. But, you're really doing the wallet chain thing? Really?

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:39 AM | Comments (1)

January 06, 2007

familiar

there is something comforting about sadness. Something warm feeling. The older I get, the more I feel my need for salvation. The more I feel my depravity. And the more I hate evil the more I love Jesus. The more sadness I feel, the more suffering I see, the more I cry when I think about the love of God. Because as horrible as evil in this world is, how much more in the other direction is the love of God. I don't understand it. But here I am, alone in my living room, terrified. Because I know who God is.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 02:36 AM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2007

a real find

A bit of a warning: this is not for the easily offended. But if you're a male between the ages of 12 and 200, I think you'll enjoy this. Really take your time here. Enjoy all there is to offer.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2007

Upside down and backwards

Most days i'm apathetic about music. I'm apathetic about my career, waking up and aiming at a target I can barely even see. But then nights like last night happen. Nights where the target is in plain view again. And the funny thing is that it's not even in the distance. It was at the show last night. I could do that for the rest of my life. Because we all felt like friends. That's what I really want, I want my friends to come to my shows. And I want ty's 52 reissue. Last night wasn't magic. I've had those shows before, and this wasn't one of them. It just felt like friends.

Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)