Friday, October 30, 2009
Pic of the Day
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Live Photos
A photographer named Phil Rucker came to the show today, and handed us a few discs of photos from previous shows. Here are a couple!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Celebrity Theater
So last night we had SUCH a good show!
We played the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. If you've never been to this theater.... it's a trip. The room is circular, and the stage is in the middle of the room. The stage is also circular, and it SPINS while the show is going on! This way everyone gets to be faced by the band for parts of the show. It's a pretty bizarre way to set up a stage, and it makes for some technical nightmares, but it was a pretty amazing experience nonetheless.
I generally set up my amps off-stage, or at the back of the stage facing backwards. They've got mics on them, and I can hear them in my in-ears, so it really doesn't matter where they are exactly. Here's what they look like normally.......
Well, the problem with the show last night was that the stage is SPINNING, and I didn't have enough cable to have my amps off-stage, so I had to put them at the back of the stage. The problem with THIS, is that they'll be pointed at people's HEADS when the back of the stage faces them. That's bad news, since these amps are so loud.... SOoooooooooo this was our solution.
We covered the amps with 3-4 moving blankets, and there are also some case lids under there. Haha..... So if you were at the show, and wondered what monstrosity was hiding under all those blankets.... There you have it!
Jonathan
We played the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. If you've never been to this theater.... it's a trip. The room is circular, and the stage is in the middle of the room. The stage is also circular, and it SPINS while the show is going on! This way everyone gets to be faced by the band for parts of the show. It's a pretty bizarre way to set up a stage, and it makes for some technical nightmares, but it was a pretty amazing experience nonetheless.
I generally set up my amps off-stage, or at the back of the stage facing backwards. They've got mics on them, and I can hear them in my in-ears, so it really doesn't matter where they are exactly. Here's what they look like normally.......
Well, the problem with the show last night was that the stage is SPINNING, and I didn't have enough cable to have my amps off-stage, so I had to put them at the back of the stage. The problem with THIS, is that they'll be pointed at people's HEADS when the back of the stage faces them. That's bad news, since these amps are so loud.... SOoooooooooo this was our solution.
We covered the amps with 3-4 moving blankets, and there are also some case lids under there. Haha..... So if you were at the show, and wondered what monstrosity was hiding under all those blankets.... There you have it!
Jonathan
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tours and Shows, Tours and Shows
Alright.... I KNOW.
I know I've been LAZY with blog posts recently. The truth is that I haven't been feeling particularly inspired with anything to talk about. I've felt like keeping to myself these last few weeks.... so I hope you all can forgive me for that.
Let me catch you guys up....
We're on the Awake and Alive tour, with Skillet, Decypher Down, and The Letter Black. We've been having a good time so far... but I think we're about to start having an even BETTER time, because we're getting to my favorite part of the country.... the west coast.... Tomorrow night we're playing in Phoenix, and then on to Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Redding, and then up through Oregon and Washington.
Tonight, however, was a special night for me. We had a day off in Phoenix today, and we heard that Our Lady Peace was playing in town. Now, you have to understand that OLP was one of my favorite bands growing up, and they influenced me tremendously as a guitar player and musician...... and I've NEVER seen them live.... So I knew I HAD to go. Even better, Skillet's tour manager Scotty managed to pull some strings and get us in for free! Yeah!
There were 2 opening bands, and then Our Lady Peace hit the stage......
I've gotta say, there were a ton of surreal things about this experience.
First off, they played incredibly well. The set list was a great mix of songs from each record.... They played 3 new songs from their new album Burn Burn, so there was plenty of space for the HITS! Songs like Innocent, Superman's Dead, Somewhere Out There, and Is Anybody Home had the crowd singing along. He let the crowd sing the first half of 4am on their own before really kicking in on that one. Nice touch.
Steve Mazur, the guitarist, played both new and old guitar parts faithfully. He joined the band in the early 00's, and I wasn't sure how much liberty he'd take with the parts. Well done Steve. He NAILED the "One Man Army" guitar solo. This solo was hugely influential to me, and was my inspiration for the chaotic guitar solo on "The Job" of the new HN record. I was so glad he didn't alter that particular part.
Jeremy and Duncan, the drummer and bassist, were SO locked in. Amazing rhythm section. The foundation of their playing left the field wide open for Steve to be SUPER expressive with the guitars. It inspired me to push the envelope a little more on the guitar... and take more chances... not play things so safe, and I sometimes like to do.
Raine's vocals were classic Raine Maida. His pitch was better than I remember from seeing him on TV shows and such back in Canada all those years ago. He seemed tired at times, but that's kind of his persona. Haha.... I was more interested in the rest of the band anyways.
Probably the most shocking thing for me was that there were only maybe 300 people at this show. This was MIND BLOWING to me, because OLP has sold more than 5 million records worldwide, and they're a massive band (especially in Canada, being good ol' Canadian boys). I got the impression that when they play in the US, this number is not unusual. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this crowd is smaller than the smallest crowd we'll have on the tour WE'RE currently on. WOW.
I can't contemplate this fact without feeling a deep sense of humility and appreciation for our fans. You guys are seriously amazing. Thanks for coming to our shows.... thanks for showing up in the hundreds and thousands..... thanks for showing up and singing along, and kazooing like crazy people. Thanks for helping make it possible for us to do what we do. I love my job, and tonight, I am exceedingly grateful for it, and inspired to push myself even further with it.
You guys are the best. Thank You!
Jonathan
I know I've been LAZY with blog posts recently. The truth is that I haven't been feeling particularly inspired with anything to talk about. I've felt like keeping to myself these last few weeks.... so I hope you all can forgive me for that.
Let me catch you guys up....
We're on the Awake and Alive tour, with Skillet, Decypher Down, and The Letter Black. We've been having a good time so far... but I think we're about to start having an even BETTER time, because we're getting to my favorite part of the country.... the west coast.... Tomorrow night we're playing in Phoenix, and then on to Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Redding, and then up through Oregon and Washington.
Tonight, however, was a special night for me. We had a day off in Phoenix today, and we heard that Our Lady Peace was playing in town. Now, you have to understand that OLP was one of my favorite bands growing up, and they influenced me tremendously as a guitar player and musician...... and I've NEVER seen them live.... So I knew I HAD to go. Even better, Skillet's tour manager Scotty managed to pull some strings and get us in for free! Yeah!
There were 2 opening bands, and then Our Lady Peace hit the stage......
I've gotta say, there were a ton of surreal things about this experience.
First off, they played incredibly well. The set list was a great mix of songs from each record.... They played 3 new songs from their new album Burn Burn, so there was plenty of space for the HITS! Songs like Innocent, Superman's Dead, Somewhere Out There, and Is Anybody Home had the crowd singing along. He let the crowd sing the first half of 4am on their own before really kicking in on that one. Nice touch.
Steve Mazur, the guitarist, played both new and old guitar parts faithfully. He joined the band in the early 00's, and I wasn't sure how much liberty he'd take with the parts. Well done Steve. He NAILED the "One Man Army" guitar solo. This solo was hugely influential to me, and was my inspiration for the chaotic guitar solo on "The Job" of the new HN record. I was so glad he didn't alter that particular part.
Jeremy and Duncan, the drummer and bassist, were SO locked in. Amazing rhythm section. The foundation of their playing left the field wide open for Steve to be SUPER expressive with the guitars. It inspired me to push the envelope a little more on the guitar... and take more chances... not play things so safe, and I sometimes like to do.
Raine's vocals were classic Raine Maida. His pitch was better than I remember from seeing him on TV shows and such back in Canada all those years ago. He seemed tired at times, but that's kind of his persona. Haha.... I was more interested in the rest of the band anyways.
Probably the most shocking thing for me was that there were only maybe 300 people at this show. This was MIND BLOWING to me, because OLP has sold more than 5 million records worldwide, and they're a massive band (especially in Canada, being good ol' Canadian boys). I got the impression that when they play in the US, this number is not unusual. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this crowd is smaller than the smallest crowd we'll have on the tour WE'RE currently on. WOW.
I can't contemplate this fact without feeling a deep sense of humility and appreciation for our fans. You guys are seriously amazing. Thanks for coming to our shows.... thanks for showing up in the hundreds and thousands..... thanks for showing up and singing along, and kazooing like crazy people. Thanks for helping make it possible for us to do what we do. I love my job, and tonight, I am exceedingly grateful for it, and inspired to push myself even further with it.
You guys are the best. Thank You!
Jonathan
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Selling a 1980's Custom Telecaster
Hey Guys....
I'm selling a one of my guitars on ebay right now.... It's a telecaster was custom made under the name Ed's Guitars, sometime back in the 1980's. It has aged beautifully since being made.... and plays great. More details are available on the ebay listing...
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE EBAY LISTING
I used it extensively on our new Live Life Loud album..... so it's a fun guitar to send to a new owner!
Jonathan
I'm selling a one of my guitars on ebay right now.... It's a telecaster was custom made under the name Ed's Guitars, sometime back in the 1980's. It has aged beautifully since being made.... and plays great. More details are available on the ebay listing...
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE EBAY LISTING
I used it extensively on our new Live Life Loud album..... so it's a fun guitar to send to a new owner!
Jonathan
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Mountains and The Valley
I've been reading through My Utmost for his Highest by Oswald Chambers the last few days, and this particular part was a huge eye opener for me.
The Place of Exaltation
. . . Jesus took . . . them up on a high mountain apart by themselves . . . —Mark 9:2
We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18 ). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.
We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, "What’s the use of this experience?" We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.
Jonathan
-- Post From My iPhone
The Place of Exaltation
. . . Jesus took . . . them up on a high mountain apart by themselves . . . —Mark 9:2
We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up, something is wrong. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18 ). We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop. Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.
We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, "What’s the use of this experience?" We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose.
Jonathan
-- Post From My iPhone
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