How To Video: Let's Dance Riffs

How to play various riffs and parts from Let's Dance...

How To Video: The Show Riffs

How to play various riffs from "The Show".

How To Video: Bring Em Out Solo

Here is the first of the instructional videos.... The Bring Em Out Solo....

Twitter Critter

I know I've said this before.... But if you're not following me on twitter, you should be. Somehow 140 characters are a lot less intimidating than an entire blog post.

http://www.twitter.com/jonsteingard

Jonathan

Got a Light?

Over the course of the first few months of 2009, we've been a part of 2 full tours.... Winterjam and The Rock & Worship Roadshow. We've played nearly 60 shows from West Coast to East, and there was a combined attendance of around half a million people at all those shows. Wow. No wonder I'm a little tired.

Anyways... I wrote a few days ago about all the lights and cryo that we carry around. Sure, I was using that stuff as a metaphor, but taking it literally works too. Haha. In any case, I found a video on YouTube of all that stuff at work during the show... and I've gotta say.... WORTH IT! Haha.

It's interesting to watch videos like this, because this is an un-edited, un-polished video taken from the audience. I never get to see things from this point of view, so it might be more fun for me than you...
but it is fun for me. :)

"ooooooohhhh bright!"




j.

Robot Attack!

Last night we played our final show of the Rock and Worship Tour.

We were attacked by robots during our last song!



The guys from Tenth Avenue North played one of my favorite tour pranks on us. We loved everyone on this tour and we're gonna miss everyone!

j.

A Case of Meta For

So we were loading out our gear tonight.... and it was a brutally long push up the ramp to the trailer. The arena's loading area didn't have enough room for our bus, so we had to park up in the parking lot, probably 300 yards up a long, steep, ramp. Because it was so far, most of us helped Garrett, our stage guy, push the cases up the ramp and out to the bus. I'm gonna be honest, it was miserable. It was long, and steep, and those cases were heavy!

While pushing all the cases, I couldn't help but feel that these cases were a pretty good metaphor for what being in a band is like.

These are the various road cases we've had out on this tour.

 

Being a band, you'd think we'd basically have amps, guitars, and drums, and that's about it, right?

Below is the same photo.... Cases with music-related gear are in blue. Cases with other types of gear are in red.

 

We've got a lot more non-musical stuff than you'd think right? The answer is yes, we do. Those other cases are full of lights (we bring our own extra lighting to the shows on this tour), cryo hoses and pods (cry is the big jets of smoke-looking stuff that shoot up off the stage), and all kinds of gear needed to make all that work. The basic jist of it? GIMMICKS. Yep. Gimmicks. The flashey lights and blasts of smoke designed to make people go "oooooh". We haven't even TALKED about merch. That's another rant. Aaaanyways..... Suffice it to say, we have a LOT of stuff that has nothing to do with music.

When I was a kid, and dreamed of being in a band.... I dreamed of those blue cases.
Sweet amplifiers, drums, and guitars. I never saw those red cases coming.

Invariably, those red cases are freakin heavy too. They're not always fun to push around. These are the less glorious cases, and the more you grow as a band, the more of them you seem to accumulate. You find yourself hauling these red cases around everywhere you go... something you don't remember agreeing to, and certainly didn't aspire to do. Eventually it seems like all you have is red cases..... and you find it hard to make time for the blue ones.

Finally, you find yourself musing over the journey you've taken.... You dreamed of blue cases.... but the longer you chased that dream, the more red ones you found yourself pushing around.

j.



p.s. in case you didn't catch it, this post has nothing to do with cases.

p.p.s. yes, i know that was a pun.

The Bishkek Daily Steingard

This is weird, right?

http://www.thepenguinrepublic.com/

j.

Timmy's

 
I woke up to see this on the counter of the bus this morning... Amazing!

Andrew, our driver (who is also Canadian), knows that we love our Tim Horton's.... and he knew there was one here in Columbus. He picked donuts up for us.... What a guy!

Jas made a second trip to Tim Horton's later on in the day, and got some more donuts. Ugh. I feel weird. I can't remember how many I've eaten.

j.

PRS Singlecut Hollowbody

I recently started playing a Singlecut Hollowbody from Paul Reed Smith guitars... I wanted to play it a few shows before writing a few thoughts, and now that I have... so here are some thoughts.

The first thing that came to my attention with this guitar is the finish. Wow. Immaculate. PRS has always had a way with finishes, and this guitar is no different. The bookmatched maple top is flawless. The attention to detail in the finish is matched in the inlays and binding. Then I picked it up... and my jaw hit the floor. This is the lightest guitar I've ever held. It is so light, I was a little scared to strap it on and play it... but when I did, it fit VERY comfortably. That's another detail that PRS is great at.... When you put on a PRS, it just fits your body right.

Once I started playing, I experienced a whole other level of intrigue. The guitar is more than semi-hollow... It's completely hollow except for a block under the bridge. It responds with so much character when you play it. The warmth and fullness is just juicy. When the volume is pulled back, it maintains a lot more character than most guitars. When others would get thin, it stays warm.... Wonderful!

The tuners hold pitch incredibly (as you'd excpect from PRS), and the rest of the hardware is just as great. The pots are smooth, and the switches feel solid. It comes in a SWEET plush case as well.

If you're interested in a hollowbody... DEFINITELY check out the Singlecut Hollowbody at prsguitars.com.

j.

Photobooth Madness!

I got a new Macbook this week. I think I'm enjoying photobooth a little too much.... :)

Springfield, IL, April 19

Hey Guys....

I just wanted to let you all know that we will NOT be playing at the Rock and Worship roadshow date in Springfield, IL, on April 19th....

The advertising did not have us on the show anyways, so you may have already known that.... but I didn't (until last night)! We WILL still be at the Columbus, East Lansing, and Cedar Rapids dates on April 16, 17, and 18... So if you're planning to come to any of those to see us, you're in the clear!

Sorry for any confusion!

If you're in the Springfield, IL, area, we WILL be playing at AGAPE FESTIVAL near you, on May 2nd. Hope to see you there!

To Be Announced!!!

One of the best things about this current tour is the amazing crew guys. This is one of the best tour crews we've ever worked with. Many of them are pretty amazing musicians themselves. In fact, they seem to have gotten a little bored (as have the rest of us), and they've decided to form a band, and film a mockumentary about themselves...

I present to you.... To Be Announced!



They REALLY are performing at the show tonight in Springfield, MO. You'd better get here early to see it!

j.

PRS Domination Station

Here are a few of us guys on this tour with our PRS guitars....







From Left to Right...

Mike Scheuchzer of Mercy Me with an SC245,
Barry Graul of Mercy Me with an SC245,
Jonathan Steingard of Hawk Nelson with a Mira,
Randy Williams of Jeremy Camp's Band with a Singlecut Hollowbody,
Andy Davis of Jeremy Camp's Band with an SE One,
and Jeff Owen of Tenth Avenue North with an SE Soapbar.


Wow. I feel short. And grinny.

j.

Hot Dog Conspiracy

I think there's a Hot Dog Conspiracy, and here's why...

When you go to buy hot dogs, you need two things: hot dogs, and hot dog buns. Now, the hot dogs generally come in packages of 8, while the hot dog buns come in packages of 12.

In order to buy the exact same amount of hot dogs as buns, you'd have to buy 3 packages of hot dogs, and 2 packages of buns... 24 total of each.

Now, it seems to me that since we can put a man on the freakin moon, then we should certainly be able to purchase hot dogs and hot dog buns in identical quantities.

The only other explanation is a conspiracy in which the hot dog and bun companies got together and decided to create a situation in which consumers were FORCED to buy hot dogs and buns 24 at a time. Think of the profits!

So, I submit to you... My Hot Dog Conspiracy Theory.

Lady, We're All Dyin'

Aging is a funny thing.

It invariably drags you through life's various phases, without the slightest regard for your feelings in the matter. We kick and scream about it most of the time.... generally convinced that we'd be much happier in some phase other than the one we're in. However, in spite of all of our number fudging, botox, mid-life-crisis-mobiles, and fake IDs... We are where we are, and we're gonna end up where we all end up.

I was at my grocery store yesterday, and I noticed an old man checking out. He was the perfectly-cast stereotypical "grumpy old man". He used coupons adamantly, and demanded "Did you give me the discount?" after each coupon was scanned. He paid by check, of course, and certainly took his sweet time writing it. This old man was in no hurry, and paid absolutely no attention to the line forming behind him.

As I observed him with a slight grin, I thought about the phase of life that he is currently in, as well as all the phases he would have gone through before finding himself here. At one point, he would have been a young man, in a hurry to prove his worth and make a life for himself. Before that, he would have been a teenager, most likely an awkward one. Even earlier, he would have been a child... and he's old enough now, that he might have actually had a real red wagon as his favorite childhood toy.

I'd be willing to bet that in none of those phases would he have guessed that someday, he'd be the grumpy old man holding up the grocery store line. In those earlier phases, he would have been caught up in the now, just like the rest of us generally are.... Living for today, and not looking into the future with any accurate picture of what it will look like.

I don't fear age at the moment. I'm 25, and I'm blessed beyond anything I could have earned.... I feel content moving into the future. I've had a great 25 years, and I'm looking forward to at least 50 or 60 more.

I am blessed with a few dear friends that are older than me, and they give me hope that it is possible to age not only gracefully, but masterfully. Some of my guitar heroes (a few of whom I am lucky enough to call friends) are of particular inspiration to me. If I'm half as cool as Randy Williams, Barry Graul, or Stu G when I'm their age, I'll be doing pretty darn well.

Bring on the years. Bring on the grey hairs and wrinkles. I'm not worn out yet.

j.

Hawk Nelson likes Wendys

We tried to go through a Wendy's drive through with the bus the other night....


We didn't exactly get all the way through... but we got close enough to order... and we walked through from there.

Yum!

j.

Scooteriffic

I got some new wheels today!



It makes sparks when you brake!



Yeaaaah!

Boring Boring Everything is Boring

I'll admit it, Tour Buses really are a great way to travel. There's a bunk for you to sleep in, 2 TVs, a mini kitchen, bus internet (wireless of course), and lots of other little perks. Overall, it beats flying, and destroys driving in a van.

However, it can't make the drive from Las Vegas, NM, to Amarillo, TX, any less BORING than it is. It also can't do much to salvage the Amarillo, TX, to Baton Rouge, LA, drive we're gonna do tonight/tomorrow.

Ah, yes, the I-40 almost all the way. A long, boring drive. Andrew, our driver, is hauling this bus as fast as he possibly can. That means he doesn't even KNOW how fast he's going. We all just want to get through it as fast as possible.

I don't mean to be down on anyone that lives here (looking at the window, it doesn't appear that anyone does), but this part of the country is desolate! I never thought I'd be so excited to actually arive in Amarillo. It's like being so bored, you'd be willing to watch Tyra.

Ugh.