my babies are here....

...and they're beautiful.

thanks Ari for being my girl model

thanks JD for being my boy model

fingers crossed they'll let me get close enough to jon foreman to give him one!

xo

because i haven't talked about jon foreman enough lately.

it's summer y'all (well almost) and summer means tank tops!
my apparel line, heartsbeatlove, is putting out a small line of tank tops in just a couple of weeks. baller.
wanna know the fun part?
the tanks feature quotes by the one and only, jon foreman! (insert lovey-dovey eyes and stupid grin here)
almost two years ago i got in touch with mr. foreman, through switchfoot's merch guy- no lie, and got permission to use his quotes as long as a portion of the proceeds from sales went to stand up for kids, a non-profit helping end youth homelessness.
game frickin' on.
but then life got crazy and i got lazy and the game was put on hold.
but here we are, 22 months later, and my second round of babies are about to be born. ish, can you imagine legitimately being pregnant for 22 months?!
anyway, i can't wait to "meet" them!
i can't wait to try to get close enough to jon at bro-am to give him one.
i can't wait to share them with everyone.

if you want to see them when they arrive feel free to 'like' the heartsbeatlove Facebook page. you'll be able to see them there...and if you feel compelled to buy one you'll know when they're available and how to order one.

xo

unfamiliar territory.

the building was familiar.
some of the faces were familiar.
even my outfit was comfy and familiar.

i finally got to see paper route.

sounds like this was probably the most boring show ever, eh?  here's the kicker though, there were so many unfamiliar things and that made the whole experience so different. and so wonderful.

first unfamiliar: i wasn't expected to do anything. i wasn't working the show or associated with it in any way so i just went and got to soak up all the goodness without having to worry about having enough change at the merch table or having enough food in the green room or make sure all the bands have the correct equipment to do their job.
second unfamiliar: the building was a familiar one but it had been revamped since i had been there last...a higher stage, an extended bar, a different box office, a security guard patting everyone down outside the club making sure no one brought in contraband. it was weird.
third unfamiliar: in case you missed that one key sentence; I GOT TO SEE PAPER ROUTE. i have never seen them before...what? i tried to see them in nashville over a year ago but for whatever reason they didn't play and i was heartbroken. then they went out on tour with switchfoot and it wasn't coming to my city and i was, again, heartbroken. i seriously contemplated driving multiple states away to see it. then they went out with anberlin and that tour wasn't coming to minneapolis. you can practically hear my heart breaking at this point. but wait! they added more tour dates as the first leg of the tour de vital wrapped up and good ol' mpls was on the list for the second leg!
seeing a band live for the first time always makes me a little apprehensive, especially if i really enjoy their album. what if they suck live? what if they aren't captivating? what if i can't get over the fact that the lead singer is wearing a  hideous tie-dyed t-shirt? so many what-ifs!
there was no need for worry, the paper route boys were phenomenal. gavin mcdonald (drummer) was so into it he was standing behind his kit half of the time instead of sitting. chad howart (keys, bgv) did his thing and killed it on the hyper auto-tuned parts. jt daly (lead vocals) could best be described as "mad-scientist" on stage. he had such a unique presence, he kind of walked/pranced/danced all over the stage and then would hover over the synth creating otherworldly sounds and then would climb behind a spare trapset and play drums for a bit. maybe it was the bow tie that really gave him the scientist vibe but whatever it was, i enjoyed it. a lot. the entire 40 minute experience felt like you were watching something a little bit magical.
to avoid ruining the evening by letting my mouth take over i made sure to grab my merch when the PR boys weren't at the table. they escaped the evening unscathed.

xo

covers.

imagine you're in a dingy bar watching a band you don't know and have never seen before. you're there because your roommate thinks the bassist is cute and you're a good friend. you're a wee bit bored because, while the band is good, it's always harder to get into a show when you know zero songs that are being sung.
then it happens. the band strikes a chord and instantly you know the song and are completely engaged, it's time for a cover song. immediately you become simon cowell and mentally pick apart the cover compared to the original (and by "mentally" i mean you share every thought with your friend that drug you there in the first place.)

covers are tricky. the general feelings toward covers:

i want the band to keep the same melody so i can sing along but they have to change it up a bit so they don't sound like they're doing bad karaoke and let's be honest they are never going to live up to the original but if they can change it without changing it, really make it their own but keep the heart of the song...well i guess it will be okay then. if it bombs somewhere it's gonna be the vocals, the lead singer of the bar band just never quite measures up (at least in my humble opinion) to the lead singer of the band that won a grammy and a people's choice award for that same song but he's pretty good. at least the band got that one run almost perfect.

despite all of this, i love cover songs. i like hearing new renditions of old favorites, i like the new twists and musical surprises, and sometimes they are just great because they really highlight the talent of the band that put the song out in the first place. there are a lot, we're talking upwards of 30 here, of covers that i love (and watch/listen to regularly with the help of youtube) but i thought i would post just a few that require at least two listens through every time.

matthew mayfield, "fix you" by coldplay
the rocket summer, "blackbird" by the beatles
anthem lights, "we are never getting back together" by taylor swift

xo

battle of the bands. part II.

i promised the highlights from the battle of the bands, and here they are (because even though that last post was one big whining session it was actually a fantastic night):

• the bands did a great job. all of them. i was weirdly proud of them, like mom-proud. 
• the judges were fabulous, they were honest but encouraging in their critiques and were genuinely excited to be there. 
• the main room of the venue was perfect for the event despite the minor roadblocks we encountered at the beginning...and it looks legit in pictures.
• we had leftover food from the green rooms which i then proceeded to eat for the next week.
• my radio students were willing to do whatever needed to be done to help which made the event run as smoothly as possible.
• the mission team that was there raising funds for their trip raised about $200.
• two different bands won prizes: grand prize went to Harps & Liars and the audience choice prize went to Last Man Standing.
• as they were leaving, people were already talking about the next battle of the bands. at the moment i was like, 'slow down kids, we haven't even cleaned up from this one yet' but a week later i was ready for the next one.  

xo

battle of the bands. part I.

venue- check
bands- check
judges- check
green room(s) food- check
audience favorite prize- check
grand prize- check
artist/staff/judge lanyards- check

two weeks ago, this checklist was my life. crown radio hosted it's first battle of the bands, and like anything you plan in life, it didn't go off without a couple of hitches.

we arrived at the venue and no one seemed to know what was going on or that the battle was even happening there that night. the guy i had been arranging the whole thing with wasn't there and apparently didn't tell anyone when we would be arriving or what we would need from the venue. we were greeted with blank stares and a lot of work to get the place in the shape we needed. i really do think it would be the best use of my limited time to pick up and vacuum the entire main room before the event. oh, we should empty the trashes too? love to.

one of the green rooms ended up being a shared office with FIVE desks in it. really, sir? you think it's a good idea to have one of the green rooms be an already over-crowded office that has desks with personal belongings without even consulting the owners of those desks first? okay, no worries, we'll just move everything around to make enough space for four bands and radio staff to use it as well as hide all the personal affects of the desk owners so they don't get "misplaced" and then put it all back at the end of the night. sure, good plan.

the bands were supposed to arrive at 4pm for load-in and sound check, one of them didn't get there until 6:30. i understand that things happen, and you get stuck in traffic, and bands are notorious for being late but COME ON. we were scheduled to open the doors at 6:30 but you can't open the doors if one of the bands is just starting their sound check. they apologized to everyone in the pre-battle band meeting and i can't stay mad at a boy with a bull ring for long but it was frustrating and gave me what i believe to be the start of an ulcer.

we got started 20 minutes late, i hate being late.

okay, whining over.
i'll write about the great parts of the night soon....stay tuned! 

xo

more than just a good time.

i've written before about how i think artists in the industry are doing it wrong. how they say one thing and do another. how they portray themselves in one light and are really living in the dark.
this post is the exact opposite.
this is one artist who i think is doing it right.
he isn't even in the "Christian" industry and he is more outspoken in his interviews and on his blog than a vast majority of the Christian artists out there.
so in this post i tip my proverbial hat to mr. adam young...better known as, owl city.

who didn't love "fireflies" when it came out? it was a new sound for pop radio, it was ethereal, and it rocketed owl city onto the music scene. there was nothing in the lyrics that said he was a Christian and nothing offensive to anyone in any way. his entire ocean eyes album was pretty imaginative and brought you into this fantasy world mr. young had created.

just before the release of all things bright and beautiful (owl city's sophomore release) there was a blog post that showed a side that the average listener and fan may not have known about the quiet frontman. adam had taken the beloved song, "in christ alone," recorded it and tossed it up on his blog. it was linked by hundreds (if not thousands) on facebook, twitter, and was played on many a radio station, including the one i work for. suddenly, adam's faith had been thrust into the forefront and he didn't shy away from it at all.

in interviews he said that he was a Christian and quoted Scripture, he tweets Bible verses, his sophomore album had a song that sang, "dear God, you're the only north star i would follow this far." on his last tour he partnered with the salvation army for their "rock the red kettle" movement, stopping in almost every city along the way to volunteer his time and energy in the stores and sorting rooms and using his celebrity (via youtube videos) to help their cause. and i get that you can't ever truly know anyone else's heart and tweeting John 3:16 doesn't make you a super Christian but you can tell when it's authentic and when it's a show. i get the feeling that, with adam, it's genuine.

do i think adam young is perfect? no.
do i think he's doing a better job than a lot of Christian artists at living out his faith? yes.
he isn't afraid, of what label might be put on him or how it may affect his career. and that's an example we can all learn from.

xo