Dreams are built on this....

I have had a great trip so far.

Last night I got in and hung out with a pastor and his wife who have become like family to me over the past 7-8 months. We ate and watched football and then the last of the Red Sox game. It was a great night. Then I came to my place here and crashed.

I woke up early, went for a walk, watched ESPN and then headed into L.A. from Laguna, where I'm staying. I hung out with my manager for a little bit, then had a big meeting with my agent on the acting side of things. We are working on a gameplan of how to approach the acting side of things and how to make all that happen. It was a really good meeting and an encouraging one. Obviously, when it comes to entertainment, nothing is promised. But my agent is excited and encouraged after learning some of my background and the fact that I actually studied acting and the theory of acting and the method of acting. So , in turn, that was encouraging to me.

Tomorrow I have two meetings with heads of casting for major studios. Wednesday, I have 2 more meetings with studio casting heads and also with casting directors for tv.

Apparently there are several strikes looming over the entertainment industry, so tv and movies may very soon be screeching to a halt. So, it may take some time to get a series going or some movie roles nailed down. But most actors never get through these doors. All I need is for one casting director to take a chance and then I just have to deliver.

Just know this: it's going to take hard work and a lot of patience getting into acting. But I'm excited about the possibilities. Who know? I may never get the chance to do acting at this level. But there's always that chance that I can live that dream also! It's early. So bear with me.

I mean, I'm still developing the sitcom idea. Once we figure out some of this stuff with the strikes we are going to pitch the show to various networks. It's a cool idea, I think, and a somewhat novel way of looking at the sitcom genre, so it could be cool. Also, I'm developing three screenplay ideas...one a drama, one a comedy, and one a family comedy/drama. I think I'm going to be hooking up with a couple of writers to work on the drama. I'm going to have to go back and look at my textbooks from my screenwriting courses from college, haha. I have the ideas, I think...I just need a technician to help me take them to the next level (or up 15 levels). I am just trying to be proactive in all of this as much as I can.

So, anyway, I'm excited, apprehensive and thankful all at once. I'm getting to live the dream. I mean, a year ago, I would've killed to walk into CAA, hang out with an agent for a couple of hours and leave with 4-5 casting appointments in hand. In fact, most young actors would kill for that. And because of one silly turn of events (me actually making it on AI), dreams are coming true.

Though I'd love to be a huge, popular, well-respected actor and would love to be able to fulfill more dreams down this road, I honestly would be okay if this was it. Today was a huge day for me, and I can live with that for a long time.

Dreams are built on hopes for tomorrow.

I'm just an optomist who can't wait to see what is waiting for me.

Working Feverishly

Well, I leave tomorrow morning for sunny City of Angels. I'm excited. But I am working feverishly to get caught up on demos. I wrote 8 songs this week and finished up 2 other songs. So, I have 10 demos that I'm trying to get done to throw into the mix for my record. As I said before, we have 15 that we're mulling over, but I'm hoping to write better songs to knock some of those 15 down the totem pole. I think I succeeded this week.

I wrote with Tony Wood on Wednesday and we wrote a new song and he helped me finish the lyric for another I had. The song we wrote together (well, he wrote lyrics, I wrote music) is called "Between Two Forevers" and is the idea that an end could come at any time, so we should live life to the fullest. The lyric is gorgeous. I put music to it, but am re-writing to make it even better. This lyric deserves my best shot musically. The song we finished was called "The Movement" but when we re-wrote the chorus and pre-chorus, the name changed to "Good Intentions". I really, really like it. It's very agressive musically and the lyric is really cool, and different for me. So I'm excited. I mean, we spent 4 hours just rewriting the chorus, so I hope it's good.

I wrote with Sam Mizell yesterday. Sam and I pushed out a song called "Hurts Just a Little Bit" which is a soulful piano mid-tempo rocker that talks about the idea of "if it hurts just a little bit, you're probably doing the right thing". The lyric and music on that one is really freaking cool, too. I am struggling to figure out if it fits on my record, but even if it doesn't it's one of those songs I could see getting cut really quickly. It's really cool.

Then later yesterday, I worte with a NY writer named Nate Campany and a Nashville guy named Chad Cates. We churned out a great 6/8 rocker called "Grace Finds Me". The lyric on the chorus is:

Somehow the night finds the day
Fall finds the spring, the rain finds the sea
And just as the wind finds its way
Jesus, each day
Somehow your grace finds me

I'm really excited about this one. I think this could be a strong CCM single. And that's what I'm trying to get right now. So, hopefully that works out.

Anyway, I must run to finish demos. But before I leave, I thought I'd let you know, I put "Good Intentions" up on myspace, so check it out and let me know what you think.

Also, I put up an acoustic demo of another song called "The Breakdown". Let me know what you think.

No News Is Good News?

Haven't really had a lot on here lately, when actually my life is extremely busy of late.

Obviously, I've been writing. I just wrote another song that I'm really, really pumped about called "The Breakdown"...it's about the idea that there is this weird dochotomy in life that being broken down is somehow beautiful. You can't truly love without defenses being broken down; you can't truly give yourself to something or someone without barriers being broken down; there's beauty in the breakdown.

Kevin Max and I, I think are becoming friends. How weird is it that someone I have idolized to some degree is now becoming my friend. Anyway, we're working on a couple of ideas right now that are really strong, I think. We're getting back together on Thursday to work through and hopefully finish a song or two. We may possibly involve a guy named Will Owsley who produced Kevin's Blood album and was the lead singer of the band Owsley. Owsley has become a friend also.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting with Brown, the producer who'll be producing most of my album. We are listening through songs and figuring out the 5-6 songs that are definites for the record...basically we're defining the record we're making. We'll also be talking about who will be playing on the record, who will be producing other tracks on the record, etc. So, tomorrow, hopefully, we'll have a definite vision of what this record will become.

Wednesday, I'm writing with one of my lyrical heros, at least in the CCM market, named Tony Wood. Search Tony's name and you'll find he has written songs that you know and that you love. He's a fantastic lyricist, so I'm excited to see what kind of ideas we work through. I have ideas for lyrics, but he's the technician who'll take the ideas and make them great.

Friday, I'll be working with a guy named Sam Mizell who is had like 6 number 1 CCM hits last year. This will be interesting. Sam's style of writing isn't my personal favorite, but he is great at what he does. If he's as talented as I think he is, it'll be cool to pull him to where I like to write and have him make me better while doing something different than he normally does, or maybe we'll meet somewhere in the middle.

I've been working out 3 times a week for an hour with a trainer, plus small cardio on my own on off-days. It's kind of cool to see my endurance growing quickly. I actually can run a pretty good distance now, so that's exciting. Plus my face and stomach are rapidly growing smaller, so it's nice to at least see those things tone up.

Next week, I fly to sunny L.A. to meet with publishing, labels, tv studios, casting directors and film companies. I have a busy 4 days. I also will hopefully be writing with a writer who had something like 5 number one hits on the mainstream side last year. CAA has done a great job with lining me up with people who will help me on the acting side of things while my management is chasing down some ideas on their end that look very promising. In the next few weeks, I may have some exciting news on the acting front!

Finally, it looks like my label hunt is finally coming to a close. Recently, a label has stepped up to the plate and really made it worthwhile to work with a label. There's a lot that still has to happen before a formal announcement, but let's put it this way: I'm excited. It's a label that's been in the hunt from the beginning, never fallen off and stayed true to making great music and helping me build a career off the great building blocks we have already.

So, stay tuned. My guess is that, if everything goes to plan, within a week or two, I should be announcing my label home.

So, believe me, no news is good news.

Co-writing 101

Today, I cowrote for the first time. Well, not for the first time, but for the first time successfully. I've never enjoyed cowriting. I'm very private about my writing. Ask Sarah...if I'm writing, Sarah can't even be in the same room as me. I'm weird about it. So cowriting has never really worked for me.

Today I went over to Chris Eaton's house to attempt to cowrite.

Chris is a Brit who was signed in the 80's and 90's to Reunion Records (Smitty's label), and has been a successful songwriter for a long time (he wrote a huge hit for Jaci Valasquez in "God So Loved the World"). Brown hooked me up with Chris as my first co-write session. And I'm glad he did.

We kicked butt today. I got there about 10:30am and we just hung out for a few minutes, then I let him listen to several of the songs we're sure will be on the album to give him a context of what the album will be like. He asked me if I had any musical or lyrical ideas, and I played him a little acoustic thing I had. I told him that I really didn't have a stripped down kind of song, so it'd be kind of cool to work on a piano or acoustic song. Chris is a really great piano player, so my acoustic riff quickly turned into a very nice piano riff.

Lyrically, I've been thinking about the idea of being almost 30 and feeling like I'm still a kid. When do we grow up? Those kind of questions. So, we took that idea and formed a lyric around it. The name of the song is "Potential". It's definitely the most vulnerable I've ever been lyrically and the song turned out to be one of my favorite I've ever written. So, I'm excited about that one.

After that, Chris started playing a Celtic sounding piano riff and we quickly wrote a simple worship lyric. I got the idea to put a modern rocking chorus with it and suddenly we had a song. We quickly fleshed out the 2nd verse and I threw down an idea for a bridge and within an hour, we had a great worship song...I can hear churches singing this song all over. I don't think I'll record it, but I think it could be a really big song.

So, today was a great day writing wise.

My cousin is in town, too, so that's fun to hang out with him. We're watching Monday Night Football as I write. Anyway, back to football. Cowboys better win. Romo is sucking tonight.

The New Life

Well, life has changed considerably. Sarah and I are in Nashville...well, Franklin...and enjoying life. We love our new house. We love our new neighborhood. We love our new life. It's awesome.

We have a 3 bedroom/2.5 bathroom house in a Franklin neighborhood called Fieldstone Farms. My next door neighbor is the head of Warner Brothers Christian publishing. We have a Publix and Blockbuster down the street from our house and just last night, I was stopped by a songwriter who has been a part of records that have sold 200 million records who stopped me in Publix wanting to write with me; then in the parking lot, I was stopped by the producer who co-produced the MuteMath albums just saying hey and thanks for doing MuteMath all summer. Only in Nashville.

Next week, I'm writing with a guy named Chris Eaton who has written number 1 hits on both the CCM side of things and the mainstream side of things. Wednesday I'm writing with Kevin Max. Over the next coupla weeks, I get to write with songwriting heroes like Tony Wood, Chris Rodriguez and many many more. It looks like we are going to be starting the album around November 1.

I'm also excited because over the last week or so, we've kind of moved the direction of the record from a straight up Christian record to making a crossover-type record, which is exciting for me from an artistic standpoint. On Tuesday, the producer who is producing most of the record (Brown Bannister) and I are getting together to choose the 5-6 songs that are definites for the album and then choosing 7-8 more that are possibles. Then as I write between now and November 1, we'll figure out what songs are the best 12-13 to make the record.

Last week was a frustrating time for various reasons. It's nice to be back to being excited again. I think hopeful suits me better than frustrated.

Life is good. I can't wait for music to start pouring forth and for label news to be out.

Wasting Time

Well, I'm sitting out on my porch listening to the packers packing up my furniture and, I presume, getting ready to start carrying stuff out. I feel a little guilty. Sarah and I have moved 4 times since we've been married and every time it's been a stressful, miserable experience that involved me lifting a lot of boxes and carrying my wife's too heavy furniture. This time, I fell a little guilty because the movers are doing all that for me while I write a blog entry. But you know, the guilt is not enough for me to be anything but happy to be sitting writing a blog while they pack up my house.

This is the beginning of a new stage of life for Sarah and me. Sarah, I think, is going to pursue her dream of doing interior design, and it looks like we've got a place for her to work and learn. So that'll be exciting. She's an amazing designer naturally so it'll be fun for her to be able to do what she loves for a living (even if she doesn't make a lot of money at first).

I'm excited, tomorrow I start my workout regimen and, afterwards, head in to work on some finishing some of the songs I have written. I'm a little worried. I've never worked with cowriters before. Well, I have, it just wasn't a good experience. So, I've never worked with pro cowriters before. With the new songs, I feel like musically, they're really close...just the touch of a fantastic producer, I think will shore that stuff up. Lyrically, they're a little further away. I just need a technician to take my ideas and make every word perfect. So, I'll be sitting with some lyricist, showing them how the songs go and letting them work their magic. I think that this could be a big breakthrough for my songwriting. I hope...I'm nervous, but hopeful.

Wednesday, I think I'll be doing some co-writing, having a meeting with one of the producers I'm working with and then I'll be heading over to another producer's house to start work on some more intensive demos. These demos should become the basis for the album, so that will be exciting. Studio work is my favorite...I love being behind the board and creating. Obviously, the touring side of things is ultra important to me...I can't wait to get out on the road. But the creating of the music is so much freaking fun for me. So, it'll be fun to start getting more serious demos done.

Still not sure what will happen on the label side of things. The more I've researched and thought and looked into the whole indie thing, the more I think it could work. However, after all the research, too, I feel like the right label could be great, too. So, the next few weeks are going to be vital. I would have loved to have had a label decision by now, but ultimately I've come to realize that this decision is the most important, so I can't sign with a label simply to have a sense of accomplishment. It has to be the right fit. Looking at friends who have gotten signed in the past, and looking at past Idols who have gotten signed, the right label fit makes all the difference.

So, I'm sitting on the porch wasting time. Dreaming. Looking forward to the next few months. These are the good times.

Copeland Farley

Copeland Farley was the baby that I spoke of in the post a few days ago that did not have long to live. After holding on for 8 days, she finally passed from this world.

Please keep my manager's family in your thoughts and prayers. The parents (my manager's daughter and son-in-law) are the same age as Sarah and I, so it has brought a lot of thoughts to Sarah and I...I can't even imagine the pain of seeing a child, especially one this young, pass away.

Home

Well, after hearing that song at least 700 times over the summer, and having it bring back memories of my AI demise every time, I am finally home.

It's good to be with my brothers. My brother Jon is 26 and Allen is 19...they both live with Sarah and I...well, for 1 more week. Jon and I went to eat dinner with Sarah and I was able to eat at my favorite Mongolian Buffet. It was fantastic (though I think that the place we went to in D.C., Carmen, was the only place that has ever been better).

It's good to be with my puppies. L.G. & Tucker recently got fixed, so they aren't very happy with their mom and dad. Oh, well. I was tired of them peeing on everything. Well, actually, I hadn't really had to deal with it for the last year or so, but Sarah was tired of it and I talked her into allowing their nether regions to be altered.

It's good to be with my equipment. That's right I said equipment. Maybe I could say my stuff...maybe I'll just let that one go with a smile. Anyway, I have had the chance to get some fantastic equipment over the past few months and it has been waiting for me at home. So, my new guitars and new amps got a little face time with daddy today. We talked about the future and I made sure every one of them was tuned for rocking and then did a little classically-trained rocking out. It was fun. Though I was disappointed with 1 piece of equipment - a distortion pedal called the Metal Muff...I had read it could give a warm bluesy tone, but apparently all it does is Metal. And since I'm not really a Metal guitarist, I'm afraid it will end up on ebay very soon. Anyway, I was excited about that.

Finally, it's great to be with Sarah. In our house. Together. Not in a hotel. Not in the American Idol bubble. We stayed up late watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy that I downloaded on iTunes. We also watched a couple of episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We don't have cable so I couldn't watch Monday Night Football (why, NFL, did you give it to a cable network?!!) It was probably better that I didn't because I was able to not feel remotely wussy by watching a chick show because my wife was in the room with me. Fantastic! A get out of jail free card.

Side note: I am pumped about the NFL this season. As always, I went through this last week and made my weekly predictions. This week I was 10 of 15 right...better than Boomer, right? Anyway, I love football. I love the NFL. I love Indy and can't wait to see them in the Super Bowl again. However, I should point out that the Super Bowl is going to happen in the AFC championship game, when Indy plays New England. Has anyone seen how great Moss and Brady are together? Holy crap! I hate the Pats, but Brady has never had a receiver like Moss and Moss has never had a QB like Brady. I'm saying this: if Moss stays healthy, he's going to break records this season...my predictions are 1700 yards and 20 touchdowns. He's 30 and playing like he's 25. But I digress. Sorry non-football fans.

It's 1:45am. I should be sleeping, but I'm still used to this crazy schedule I've been on for nearly a year. Stay up late. Get up early. I'm looking forward to tomorrow being able to sleep in. Though I'm pretty sure the puppies I love right now will be hated in 6 hours when they are licking my face to release their bladders somewhere other than my pillow. But hey, the glass is half full, right?

At least I'll be home.

Struggles and life

The last couple of weeks have been pretty tough. Obviously, the tour has come to an end now, and though I'm excited about the next stage of life, it's difficult to imagine life without all these people with me every single day. So, it has been difficult to say goodbye to this stage.

But even harder have been things going on in my "real life"...the life away from music and touring and career...even harder are the things that really matter.

My manager's daughter was pregnant and 8 weeks before the baby came, the child was diagnosed with a disorder that causes the child to be either stillborn or die within a short time of birth. They had the baby last week and, though the baby didn't pass right away, they have slowly watched a beautiful newborn child slip away. They think the child will die very very soon. Though I only know the parents in passing, over the last few months, I have come to love my manager and to see the pain it is causing him is tough to watch...and tough to empathize with.

I also recently received a call from one of my closest friends in the world to tell me that his family is going through a terrible crisis. I think that they will make it through, but it's tough to see a close friend have to go through so much pain.

So, please keep those two situations in your thoughts.

Finally, my wife and I are moving in a week. I am now officially unemployed. And October 2, I start an intense diet and workout program with a nutritionist and personal trainer. 3 incredibly stressful things are happening all very soon. So, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Blessed

I really need to shave. I mean, like 3 days overdue for shaving. I just left my razor in one of the many hotel rooms we've been in lately. I can't remember which one. But I really need to shave. Later today, I'll have a runner go out and buy a razor for me so that I can shave and look decent for the show tonight. I just got into the hotel I'll be in for maybe 8 hours and looked in the mirror and was reminded once again that I really needed to shave. And it got me thinking on how blessed I have been by this whole American Idol experience.

Sure, maybe it's because things are coming to a close: 3 more shows to go; in 5 days I'll be sleeping in my bed. So maybe I'm just a little reminiscent. Or maybe I'm just delirious because it's 4:36am and this weird schedule I'm on has me sleep for 4 hours, wake up go into a hotel room, take an hour to settle down and then to sleep again. Or maybe I'm just blessed.

I remember a year and a half ago, going to the grocery store and staring at razors trying to figure out which one I should buy because we literally didn't have the money to buy groceries, nonetheless a $15 razor. Sarah and I had made the choice for me to turn down several high-paying job offers over the years in order to continue to pursue this dream of mine. We were poor, hurting and trying to make the best of it. But it wasn't easy. Financial matters are the number one cause of divorce, and though you say for better or worse, when it's worse, all you can think about is surviving and that can come in the way of being a good husband or wife.

When we started this whole American Idol thing I was making $9 per hour. Over the course of a few months, I had moved up to $13 an hour, but that's hardly crazy money. We were living paycheck to paycheck. I would work 40 hours a week and the band would play 5-10 shows a month on the weekend. The band had made a decision to move over to the mainstream from playing churches and youth groups, places we were making great money to playing places where we were getting paid nothing. How Sarah ever put up with it, I don't know. So much work for so little money.

Then American Idol happened. I didn't know that much about American Idol. I didn't know if you got paid. I didn't know about the tour. I didn't really know anything. But it looked like a good opportunity. I didn't think I'd make it, but a friend offered to pay for the first trip down to Birmingham, so I took it, and now over a year later, I'm coming to the end of my American Idol run. Dreams coming true, money in the bank and eternally blessed.

I'm blessed because for the first time in my adult life, I have money. Not a lot of it, but I actually have money in the bank. I am by no means a rich man financially, but I have the ability to buy the equipment I want and need, I am able to buy nice things for my wife and we are able to make a move that we have wanted to make for years but never had the money in moving to Nashville. I will probably never be "wealthy" but for the first time we're able to be comfortable.

I'm blessed because I have the most giving, wonderful wife who I am truly undeserving of. But she was there before the whole American Idol thing. But this whole experience has caused me to really understand how much I appreciate her even more than before.

I'm blessed because I have come away from this experience with 9 great friends. Some closer than others, obviously, but 9 friends (10 if you count Shyamali) that I know will be lifelong. Phil and I will be living 5 minutes apart and Melinda is close by. In the fall, I'll be co-producing a project for Gina. Haley will be coming in and out of Nashville meeting with my management, trying to find the right fit for her musically. Rich and I are hoping to go see some NFL (yes, the Colts are going to kill the Broncos) together. Blake will always be my brother. I mean, to get 10 friends you love out of this is way more than I could've hoped.

Finally, I have intentionally created a culture with my fans that I hope can continue throughout whatever career I am able to have. There is a line between fan and friend that I think can never truly be crossed because of the distance between us. But I want for the Chris Sligh fan to feel as much like they are my friend as possible. That's what this blog is for. There have been some down times on the blog, there have been times of bad decision-making on my part on what to challenge. But we've found a place where we can come, hang out, have fun, discuss and simply be friends. And that's just the way I wanted it to be.

I am incredibly and inexplicably blessed.

And just some encouragement to those struggling. Without being cheesy. Without being over the top. Just know that the blessings are there already. The blessings are there for you plain to see, even though it's hard sometimes in the tough times. But stay the course...blessings are there and there's more on the way.

9-11

Today is the anniversary of that sad day 6 years ago.

I remember I had worked till about 3 in the morning the night before, so I was fast asleep when my best friend called me. He told me to turn on my tv. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have a tv. So, my roommate and I got in our car and drove over to Circuit City and literally sat in shock as we saw the 2nd plane hit. Then in utter disbelief as the towers came down. I didn't cry, but I remember just sitting down on the floor of Circuit City, people walking past me in and out of the store, me staring at the tv with my roommate.

Anger, frustration at being helpless, fear that by some chance I knew someone marred by this tragedy...it was a day I'll never forget.

I think that this is that moment that everyone from this generation will hold on to and remember where they were when it happened for the rest of their lives. My parents and the generation before this do that with JFK. Sure, JFK seemed to hold the hearts of a nation...but 9/11 went straight at the heart of a nation.

I don't think the answer is war. I don't think the answer is hatred of a nationality or people. The answer is in understanding that this world is a dirty place. There is none good, no not one. It is by the grace of God alone that we are able to live in America, but it does not make us superior. It makes us lucky. We should defend ourselves, but love our enemies.

But most importantly, we must remember.

Ramblings 8-30-2007

So, I'm looking at a new t-shirt I bought that is the front cover of Abbey Road by the Beatles.

Have you ever wondered if it would be quite as iconic if, say, Ringo were out of step?

I'm guessing not.

The Choice

Since early 2001, I have focused on attempting to make music my career. In 2001, when I started, I felt strongly about Christian music and Christians being involved with Christian music. I was in love with the music of artists like Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Chris Rice, Bebo Norman, Caedmon's Call, Third Day and many more. When I first started this journey, I was a straight up "Christian artist" whatever that means...to me, it meant I sang music that the mainstream or people outside the church wouldn't "get"

I got into Christian music as a teenager (behind my parent's back) and honestly believed in it at the time. It changed my life in allowing me to see that music didn't have to be crappy to be done by Christians; that lyrics could talk of a relationship with Christ without being stupid or cheesy. I always listened to mainstream music but my main staple was always CCM (Christian Contemporary Music). However, over the last few years, I felt that CCM had made a leap into more cheesy and un-poetic (if that's a word). There were bands that broke the spell of the typical, so to speak, but for the most part, I became fed up with CCM. In the mainstream, there's as much or more bad music, but CCM is such a small world that it created the problem of not being able to find great music as often as I was on the mainstream side of things.

My band began to take off and get noticed, we had record deals on the table, but never had anything actually work out, and after 4 years of doing everything I was told to do to make it in CCM, I decided to take my band into the mainstream. It was a tough choice because at the time we were pretty consistently making $1000-3000 a show, and in the mianstream we went immediately to making nothing or at the most a couple of hundred bucks.

But immediately the band began to gain traction. In 4 months from the time we started to play shows in the mainstream, we played more "big" shows than I had in the 4 years of working the CCM industry. Then my friend talked me into trying out for AI and after making it to Hollywood, I had one of the biggest managers in the mainstream (with a list of big discoveries a mile long) contact me about the band, and ultimately decided that AI was the way to go...if I did well on American Idol instead of being a bottom of the totem pole band, trying to make it, we or I would be at the top of a label's priority list to make sure I/we were successful.

So, when I started the AI journey, I was pretty decided on being a mainstream artist or in a mainstream band. As I made it further and further in the competition, instead of thinking about all the possibilities on the mainstream, my heart kept bringing me back to CCM. It was really strange. I didn't really want to be in the CCM market, but my heart kept on returning to having something to do with it. Originally, I thought I would have a mainstream deal and just siphon the record back to the CCM market somehow. But the more I thought about it, I kept feeling that I was supposed to be a CCM artist.

It was weird...I actually felt like I was fighting God on it for a while. I really didn't want to be a CCM artist. But as I surrendered it over to God, I realized that I was passionate about making great music within the confines of CCM. In fact, this realization has happened really in the last 3-4 weeks. I have become very passionate about making music that would be equal or better than I would ever do on the mainstream with lyrics that deal honestly and freshly with my relationship with Christ.

Many people who aren't religous and who aren't "Christians" will wonder why I made this choice. Believe me, if I couldn't I wouldn't have. At one point I had multiple mainstream labels involved in the chase, but I decided several weeks ago to move on from those labels and focus on labels that would allow me to focus on a Christian record. The label's that I'm excited about are all labels that will not only allow me to make this kind of record but will allow me to succeed with this kind of record.

This last week, I met with the team that will be mine for the next few years. My management is a perfect fit. My booking agent is someone I respect and am lucky to have on my team. My day to day manager is one of the most fun guys I could ever imagine having on board. And the producer I think I'm going to be using for this first record literally produced several of my favorite CCM records of all time.

Will I sell fewer records? Probably. Will I make less money? Probably. Will this allow me to fulfill my dreams? Definitely. Will this allow me to make a career in music? Well, here's hoping.

I am lucky to be in the position of having choices to make. It doesn't make the choices any easier, but the choice has been made.

And I couldn't be happier.

Thanks for the memories

Well, today is the official day that we are released from our contracts with 19 Entertainment. I actually got word of my release a couple of days ago, but today is the official day. It's excited to move on, but it's with whimsy that I look back on the last year of my life.

I am thankful to 19 Entertainment for a lot of things. I am thankful that Nigel and the judges gave me a chance. Before Idol, I was at a place in my career where I was frustrated because, though things had happened with labels, nothing had ever quite worked out. Now, because of the show, I am signing with management that I have always dreamed of signing with and I'm about 95% sure I'm signing with the label and A&R guy that I fell in love with 5 years ago.

There were some really great times over the last year and some really crappy times, mostly of my own doing, to be perfectly honest. I put myself in stupid situations and the last few months have been great to extricate myself from some of those situations. It's nice to finally be at a place in my life where I can make choices and stand behind those choices as my own and feel confident enough to allow disagreement with those choices without defending myself. It's a nice place to be, honestly.

19 and American Idol have changed my life for the better. And for that I am eternally thankful.

I am glad to have had this experience.

I am now looking forward to putting this behind me and making a great record and touring on the validity of that record. As I said in the previous post, I have 3 new demos up on myspace. Check them out and listen while I'm able to have them up there. Please continue to come here...I'll have new content up soon.

And thank you for being with me on this incredible journey.

Ramblings for the day (8-8-07)

So, 2 days ago, I started a ramblings about Chuck's. I think I'm going to make this a feature of my blog. Sometimes I just think of really stupid things and feel like making a blog about it. I'll call it ramblings.

Today's rambling:

Today, as Rich, Mindy Doo and Kiki were singing "I Heard It Though the Grapevine" I thought through the lyrics. The lyric on the 1st verse says:

"Oh, I bet you wonder how I knew
Baby, 'bout your plan to make me blue"

And it got me thinking about the word "blue". If I wrote a song today that included the word "blue" in that context, I think it would be thought of cheesy and over the top...I think mainly because the word "blue" is not really used in that sense in our vernacular today. However, I got to thinking...when Marvin Gaye wrote that song was it cheesy then? Or was it part of the common language, so it was accepted? And I wonder if blue will ever be vernacularized again in modern language?

Just rambling.

Happy Day

Well, as some might have heard already (it's posted on youtube and it happened in front of 15,000 people)...Gina got engaged tonight to her longtime boyfriend Joe. Joe is seriously one of my favorite people in the world, and he's marrying one of my favorite people. Congrats to Joe and Gina.

It was great to watch...good day for all.

The Tour

So, the tour has been going for a few weeks here. I am having the best time of my life. Everything about this reminds me that this is what I want to do for a long time. Obviously it's tough being away from Sarah - till Minnesota, we had been apart for over 3 weeks - but we just made a rule to not go more than 2 weeks without seeing each other anymore, so hopefully that will cut down on the feeling of missing her...though it is obviously different than being together.

But everything, from the performing to the interviews to the comradarie among all of us on tour....it's just all incredible.

I have the problem of focusing too much on trying to be musically perfect and forgetting the performance aspect sometimes. In college, I studied classically and was taught to never look like I'm straining or really even move around...it's taken a long time to get away from all that training. Classical training in this regard has held me back. The training has been great for my musicianship and being able to keep my voice through a lot of singing situations. But from a performance standpoint it has stunted me.

Also, as I moved into performing non-classical music, I was surrounded by conservative Christians who encouraged me to never allow my performance to take away from the words of the music. When I would really let loose (which for me might be jumping out of time with the music), I would have someone talk to me about really allowing God to come through instead of me. So, this was another thing that stunted my growth in this area.

When I moved away from this time of Christianity, I began to perform with musicians who were a little bit snobby and every time I'd attempt to go crazy on stage, they'd give me these high-brow looks like I was crazy. Yet another thing that stunted my growth.

Then about 2 years ago, I finally got with a band that really wanted to go crazy on stage. And I finally started to learn. I started to see bands in concert and watch how they moved, how they rocked out, how they went crazy. So, basically, in 2 years I've had to learn what most people learn from the beginning of their perfomance careers...and not only learn, but unlearn everything I've learned for 10 years.

So, with that said, I am having fun, learning from Blake and Phil...Phil lately has been watching my performance and critiquing me...it sucks because he usually tells me I sucked, but it is also great because with every show, I'm getting things to work on, and really working on them. I think that that is the thing that I am most excited about...I want for my life to be full of learning experiences and this tour is allowing me to grow leaps and bounds because of great interaction with people better than I. This for performing is kind of like what it was like hanging out with session musicians and producers in Nashville...I just watched how they worked and learned.

I have a long way to go to be a great performer, but I have the fundamental elements: people say I'm a good singer; I feel pretty confident in my musicianship; and reviews are saying that I am a great songwriter. Now, if I can continue to lose weight (I've lost 15 pounds on tour so far) and continue to grow as a performer, I think that I can become the artist that I really want to be. My goal is to be the best at what I do. I'm realistic enough to know that that will never happen...but striving for excellence will only make one better.

So, to those who voted for me...I thank you. Otherwise, I would not have the tour as a learning experience.

Ramblings (8-3-07)

Have you ever noticed that Chuck Taylor's have been the shoe of choice for the alternative crowd for forever. I mean, you never see preppy people wearing Chuck's. Why is that? Why has the cycle never come around to preppy kids wearing Chuck's?

Weird.

A question makes me think

In the thread below, a commenter (-Di) asked me a question quoted here:

"I have a question. It is in reference to your comment about making great music to sell records. How do you define success in the area of selling records?

The reason why I ask is because there are artist I like who have a modest core group of fans but their singles are rarely top 40 material. (e.g. Michael Penn, as far as I know he's a one hit wonder.)

If you put out an album that you feel is the best music since Mozart and for some reason it does not sell, in your opinion would that mean the song were not as good as you thought?"

And it got me thinking...in a very good way.

As a side note, just a little about me: sometimes I get a question from someone here or in real life and it gets me thinking. I can be overanalytical at times, honestly. But it some ways that can be a good thing. I want to be able to explain why I do what I do, and how I do it. So, the questions got me thinking about one thing, which lead to another and suddenly I have a medium sized blog post. Anyway, my mind works strangely, but maybe this will give you a glimpse into how I work.

Some of my favorite records of all time: Sufjan Steven's "Illinoise" (which I'm listening to as I write), Sigur Ros "Takk", even Mute Math's debut....they are not commercial successes (in that they haven't sold buttloads of records) but there is no question in my mind that these are albums that live up to every measure of artistry and songwriting that I hope to someday reach. Most people don't even know that names of these groups, yet they made albums that I would be proud to call my own.

However, if I do make an album that is commercially successful, it does not mean necessarily that the songs were good (do I need to actually point out crappy records that sold a ton of records? I think you get the point), and I would hope that with the next album I would challenge myself to write better songs than ever before.

On the other hand, perhaps I will make an album that is not all that great and it translates into a small amount of sales.

The final thing that could happen is that I make a great album and it happens to translate into commercial success. This is what I hold to...I have to believe that if I make a great record it will sell well because it gives me hope. However, the realistic side of me knows that great records do not necessarily sell. And there are so few spectacular albums anymore (in my opinion), that how realistic is it to think that I can make one of them?

And to be honest, over the last few weeks, I have been torn a tad. I feel like I have a niche that I feel comfortable in...I feel very comfortable writing songs I think that an audience can sing along with and have familiarity with early on in their listening experience. However, lately, I find myself messing around with ideas of songs that are completey non-commercial, experimental and raw. Songs that feel the best underproduced and emotional. So which side of me do I feed? Maybe both...I can always have songs in the bank for later use, or for side projects. But ultimately it comes down to the creative process for me.

So, my creative process, though cloudy of late, comes down to this:

1) Emotional connections are what tie and artist to a consumer for life. When and if I can connect on an emotional level with a listener then chances are that listener will buy my next album and maybe my next. How does one connect on an emotional level? I don't think it happens any other way than simply being honest and raw and dare I say emotional from both a lyrical and musical perspective. So, as I write, I attempt to force myself to expose myself in ways I haven't been able to before. So I hope to connect with you in a way that you can understand and feel as if you've experienced the same things perhaps in different ways.

2) Music, ultimately, is what will sell a song as a great song. You can have the greatest lyrics in the world but if the melody doesn't make sense and doesn't tell a story, then the point is lost. So, as I write, I attempt to tie the lyrics as best as possible with the melodies. Songs are stories...maybe not a linear story that tells of this person and this person and how they fall in love or how they make it (a la one of my favorite songs "Living On A Prayer"), but a story. Ultimately drama in the music is what forces the story forward. For some songs, the drama is a loud and soft dynamic change (think "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), some songs the drama is in a slow build to a climax (think Coldplay's "Fix You"), while others the drama is a small change between the verses and choruses. But ultimately the music will sell the song.

3) Production can make or break a song. I have heard songs of mine that I thought were okay songs turn to great songs because of the way the song is produced. Production is like onions...they both have layers (sorry, Shrek) My favorite productions are ones that have layer after layer of things that you find the more you listen to it. This doesn't mean necessarily that the songs must be over-produced...listen to a White Stripes or Racanteur record and you'll find how underproduction can still provide layers that suprise you in multiple listens. The way a song is arranged is important. Sometimes having an interlude between chorus 1 and verse 2 can hurt a song, while with other songs, the interlude is necessary to promote the mood needed in the songs. With the songs, this is one of the most important things. Instrumentation is also part of this: believe me, instrumentation can break a song...think if the Beatles "Blackbird" had been done with full band...the moment would not have been the same (same thing with "Yesterday"), whereas a song like "Mama" by My Chemical Romance could have been done with just a mandolin and been awesome, but there is drama when the full band comes in.

4) I just try to write what comes natural, then re-write, re-write, re-write to make it better. This is the tough part. Most songwriters will tell you that re-writing is the toughest part because it's easy to become married to certain sections of a song, even when those very parts are what is making the song not work. So, I try to force myself to rework and re-write and never become married to something even after it has been recorded (i.e., there are some songs from the HPF I will be re-recording and I am actually rewriting some lyrics and reworking some parts of songs). I actually think that these things kind of build off each other. None is more important than the other, but I usually start with #1 and move through #4. Hopefully, at the end I don't realize I've wasted my time on a crap song (that's happened more than a few times).

So, as I write, I try to make sure that all these pieces fit together to make a great record. What may come is a very uncommercial record that I love, a commercial record that I hate, or, hopefully the happy medium, of a record I love and the consumer loves.

Anyway, I understand that maybe this is a little more in depth into my head than what was asked, but a question was asked that made me think, so I thought I'd post a few thoughts. So, hope you like it. Sorry if you don't.

10th Place

So, I thought I'd share a little bit about what I'm learning. Obviously it's important to find what one needs to learn as they walk through life.

1) One thing that I learned over the last few months and am simply being reminded of now is that it is okay for people to be better than me. I have been a big fish in a little pond for a long time, and when I see that there are performers who perform better than I, there are singers who sing better than I...well, honestly, at first it was somewhat hard to take. It was a humbling experience. Every night of the tour is a humbling experience for me, and I believe that is great. It is also challenging to become better at what I do. And, instead of being defensive about someone being better I feel freed to support them in being better than I...it's actually quite a freeing experience.

2) It should be obvious, but it seems that people don't think of it like this: I came in 10th place...I am close to the bottom in popularity of the top 10...simple right? Certain performers get incredible responses every night. I feel like I am challenged to go out and make new fans every night. Then when I see, as I did in San Diego, a group of like 50 people all wearing Chris Sligh t-shirts, I am excited and feel lucky to have fans. The reviews that I've seen of the tour have all been very kind to me, but ultimately a review is just a review and one person's opinion. I just have to go out and play as well as I can for 10-15 I'm on stage every night and then enjoy the ride...and hopefully show people a glimpse of what's to come.

3) This is the most fun I've ever had. The one downer is that Sarah isn't a part of this. I feel like I get to make a living with no pressure. Some contestants have pressure to perform at a certain level. Most people don't remember me, or remember me vaguely from the show, so it's a blank slate...I just have to go out and do my thing. Others have expectations to live up to. I set up my studio in the dressing room in almost every city and during the show, when I'm offstage, I work on demos. So, almost every day, I'm being creative, working out song ideas, helping other contestants with song ideas, recording demos, then on top of all that I get to go out in front of a crowd bigger than anything I've played before and will probably ever play again. This is fantastic!

4) Ultimately, I have to make great music to sell records. Before American Idol came around, I had several labels after me. If I had signed with them a year ago and not had American Idol, what would have sold me was the music. Coming in 10th place is great because I have the experience of being a part of this whole amazing process and to make great friends, but there are no expectations on me, other than to fail. So, in September-October when I hit the studio, if I can make a great record, then it will be the music that sells itself, as opposed to hype from the biggest show on earth. Now, granted, AI has definitely aided in making great fans...but it's the music that will do that talking, I hope. And if I don't make a great record (God forbid) then Darwinism goes into effect.

5) I have also learned that there are going to be some ultra successful contestants this year. Just take my word for it...I have heard songs coming from people that I never expected. It's going to be huge!

Some New Music I'm Checking Out

Now, these are all pretty new to me, so I'm not completely sold on any of them quite yet, but I'll say this: on the first few listens they're all pretty great new bands.

RUTH - Secondhand Dreaming

Ruth is a new Tooth and Nail band. I'm wary of T&N bands because T&N usually takes the attitude of putting out as many bands as possible and seeing what sticks. However, bands like Anberlin and Mae have gotten me, and I've heard a lot of great things about this band, and they do not disappoint. The songs are pop/rock similar to what my band does. They are definitely influenced by Switchfoot (the lead singer's voice is so much like Jon Foreman's that I actually wondered if Jon was making a guest appearance). But the music is strong and the lyrics are thought-provoking and deep. Check them out on iTunes...you may like and love.

JONEZETTA - Popularity

Jonezetta is an older T&N band that I have been wanting to check out since they toured with Mute Math, but have never gotten around to it till recently. I am now officially kicking myself for not checking them out sooner. They write catchy, hooky, danceable pop/rock. Some songs are in the dance/rock vein like some of the Killers (without the synthesizers), most of it is just well-written melodic yet rhythmic pop/rock. Definitely check them out on iTunes.

PLAIN WHITE T'S - All That We Needed

I've listened to these guys the least. On first listen they are really, really great. They mix pop/punk with elements of alt-country - or at least that's how it feels to me. It's really kind of interesting. They never quite go to the pop/punk but they imply it, if that makes sense. Basically, they seem to be a great rock band. They are not my favorite band, but they are great. Again, check them out on iTunes...you may really love them.

PAUL McCARTNEY - Memory Almost Full

I bought Paul's last album and, though there were some moments, it was kind of a disappointment. I think I've made it clear that I am, however, a huge Paul McCartney fan...I still think he is what made the Beatles great. Anyway, my expectations were not incredibly high, but I started to hear a little buzz. Sir Paul left Capitol records to go with Starbucks new imprint (which is a genius idea, btw). I actually got the record at Starbucks. And it is a really, really good record. I am very pleased. I swear his voice sounds better than it has in 30 years. Weird, right? And the songs are all great. You don't even need to check this one out...go to Starbucks, buy a mocha frapaccino and this record. GET IN YOUR CAR NOW!

MIKA - Life In Cartoon Motion

I like this guy, but the record is very uneven for me. He is definitely a pop artist, but at times he is reminiscent of Freddie Mercury and Queen. Some songs are great. Some songs are very weak. Hopefully he gets to a second record because I see a lot of potential, but this album is definitely one you should buy certain songs from, instead of the whole album.

Now, go get some new music.

Discussion Thread

Discuss.

The Secret Brotherhood of Secret Brothers

Well, it's 8:30am. I haven't woken up this early in a while, except on Sunday.

Yesterday, the guys debuted their group number for the rest of the cast and crew. It was exciting, and it went really well. I think this section, being that it's something never done on the Tour before, could be a highlight. Then we basically went throught the entire set list in order.

It's funny because all season long, everyone involved with the show would talk about how great this bunch was....we genuinely like each other, we get along, we don't have a diva in the bunch (well, maybe every now and then, but for the most part no divas)...there just isn't a lot of drama in our group. We thought that surely past years were probably like that, too...that producers and crew were just being nice.

Then we got into rehearsals. Literally by the third day we were able to run the entire set from top to bottom. Our tour producer has been blown away...said usually it isn't till the second week that we can even get through the whole set. The video producer (for the little clips they show during the show) and I have gotten to be friends and he was saying that he's never had this much fun on an idol tour...that everyone is fun to work with, he hasn't gotten any divas, and, most of all, everyone is really funny. He thinking about putting together a 2 hour movie of outtakes from these videos.

Basically, the jist is this: we are having a ton of fun. Everyone is learning their stuff and the set is starting to gel incredibly well. I've heard that the first few shows every year are not too tight because everyone hasn't had a chance to run through stuff from top to bottom...we're running stuff from top to bottom 3 days into it. So, I think that the Sunrise, FL people are going to not only be the first to see the show, but they're going to get a good show, too.

Well, I'm off to a meeting about that big offer. Gonna investigate some more and see if it's truly worth putting off my record.

On that note, though, I should tell you guys that, for some odd reason, I've been writing a ton lately. I haven't had enough seperation to figure out if the songs are great yet, but the ideas are flowing. Now that I've got Pro Tools up and running, it's VERY NIIIICE! In betwen my songs, I run into the room where I have my studio set up and lay down demos for new songs. Yesterday, it was kind of cool - one of my frends was sitting at the piano in the hallway at the studio and was stuck on a chord progression he was working on (he's not really a piano player), so he asked me what I would do with it (he had like a 3 chord progression). We went into my studio room, laid down a drum loop and proceeded to put together a really good song. It will probably be on his record - we have to finish it, but I've written long enough to recognize a great idea.

Anyway, life is good.

And to the core group - I love you!

Lol

Rehearsals II

So rehearsals have been doing great. As we speak, I'm sitting in one of my friend's room with another of our friends watching Saving Private Ryan. Giovanni Ribisi's character just got killed. Such a great movie. There's a moral dilemma over whether to kill the German who killed Ribisi's character. Hmmm. Good stuff.

So, rehearsals are great. We're starting to get all the music down, now we're all just working on memorizing lyrics. I was lucky to have gotten to do several songs that I knew pretty well, so the lyrics have come pretty easy. So, I've been able to take time to work on stuff.

I recently purchased Pro Tools to record demos on tour. I've used Logic in the past, so it was a tough choice to move over to Pro Tools, but it was a necessity...it's the industry standard and everyone I work with uses it, so my demos needed to be on that platform. But I know very little about Pro Tools, so I've had to learn all the tricks to get stuff going. One of my friends has been a Pro Tools user for a while, so he's been helping me learn some stuff, but I bought a Pro Tools book and have watched the instructional DVD a couple of times. Basically, though, I've progressed enough to do the basics of recording.

So, today, we ran through the whole set, and it's a mighty fine set, by the way. In between the several songs that I get to be a part of, I set up Pro Tools in a little room and worked on several song ideas that I've had swimming around my head. It's great to be able to lay down ideas. I'm writing songs for several other contestants now, so that's kind of cool. I'll be juggling the tour with writing for me and writing for several other people. Who knows what songs will get used on poeple's albums, but I'm kind of honored to be able to write for other people.

Plus, I just got the biggest offer of my life a couple of days ago. Again, I can't go into details but it would includedoing somthing that will be a HUGE honor and it will be a great chance to raise my profile a little bit in the entertainment business. I don't know yet if I would take it because it would mean that I would have to put off my recording career for a little bit. So, it'll be a pretty tough choice. We'll see what happens. More on that later.

Anyway, the opening number is coming together quite well. It's crazy and stupid, but it get's the show started in a great, great way, and once again it is something never ever done on the AI tour, from what the tour producer says. So, that's pretty cool. It's one of the only group numbers that involves the whole group of 10. There are quite a few "group numbers" that involve a few of the contestants but this is one of the only ones that involves all 10.

The guy's number is being worked on all day tomorrow. We've got to work on what exactly we're doing, but as I said before, it's something that has never been done on the tour, so a couple of firsts this time out.

Finally, me and the two friends I'm hanging out with tonight are working on a new number that will possibly be added to the show. If it works out, it could be pure genius. In a very, very funny way. I think it could be really, really cool.

Anyway, more about the tour, etc. in a little bit.

Thanks for hanging out and sticking around, through all the stuff the last couple of days.

Peace and love.

The Dan Band, Part Deux

Last night a group of us went to see the Dan Band at the Avalon. There were six of us, plus one of the back ground singers from the show, who is also joining us on tour as a background vocalist. This is my second time seeing the band, and for the second time they were incredible.

For those of you unfamiliar, the Dan Band is a comedy band based out of L.A. There is a full band (drums, bass, guitar, keys) then the lead singer and 2 background singers/dancers. Dan is a normal looking guy who wears a mechanic's outfit, while his two background guys wear nerdy glasses, suits and ties. The band then performs all female covers, adding in dancemoves, hand motions and added lyrics. All for the funny.

The genius of the band is that the band proper is incredibly tight, the background vocalists are incredible and Dan, the lead singer has an incredible voice. And the 3 singers are actual really great dancers with inventive, funny choreography. It really is one of those things you have to experience at least once.

Anyway, it was a great night for all. One of the other contestants and I were very tired, so we went back to the hotel while the rest of the group went to a club for a few hours. I was a little miffed because my friends got to hang out with Paula and they met David Hasselhoff (gosh, I still want to make him cry). But, then I remembered that to sing you must have sleep and yesterday all day at rehearsals, I had a terrible headache, so the extra sleep was well-worth my while.

So, things are going great. Thanks for asking.

Rehearsals have started

I flew Tuesday to L.A. to start rehearsals for the tour.

La-La land is as beautiful as ever...I really love L.A....not sure I'd ever want to live here simply beacause I hate traffic and it takes so freaking long to get anywhere. The hotel we're staying at is nice, and for the first time, we each get our individual rooms, or suites in this case. We've all had fun hanging out and being back together. It really is cool to see how well everyone on the tour gets along with one another. We just really enjoy being together...it's rare you get 10 singers who are as talented as this group is and not have egos raging...but even the people who made it the furthest are just as normal as when we started all this 9 months ago.

I gave a couple of teasers before, but let me give you more to whet your appetite. Then you can discuss what you think the teasers mean.

The show opener is something that has never been done on the idol tour. I can't give details quite yet, but I'll put it this way, we are getting it started in a really hip, cool way...literally nothing like it has ever been done on the tour.

The guys are doing a group number doing another thing that has never been done on tour before.

So, discuss those two.

The way the tour works this year is a little different than past years. More on that later, but the solo sets are being done in a different way than before. I think it'll be much hipper the way we're doing it this year. There's also not a lot of group numbers, which I've heard there were several of in past years.

Rehearsals are going well. Everyone is pumped up and excited because forr the next three months 4-5 nights a week, we get to be with the fans.

It's going to be great.

What I Did On Summer Vacation

Well, I'm sitting in the Cancun airport typing on my MacBook Pro (best purchase I ever made outside of Sarah's engagement ring), getting ready to fly back to Charlotte. My wife is sitting beside me looking as beautiful as ever, with a dark tan she's quite proud of. We got to spend a lot of time in the sun relaxing, so it's been great.

We got here Friday a week ago. We landed in Cancun airport, got our luggage and then our rental car and we were off. One problem. Sarah, who was taking care of all of the traveling details, had forgotten to ask for directions to the house. She had gotten some basic clues from emails wih the owners of the house we stayed in (like what resorts the house was in between) but we had no idea how to get to the house. We had emailed the owners, but (we found out later) they were at a golf tournament for the day and missed our calls and emails. Just as it was starting to get dark, we decided to try down this little street beside one of the resorts and we lucked out! It was the right one. We went to the property manager's house, got the keys, and literally as darkness settled we got into the house. It would have sucked to try and find the place in the dark, so we were quite happy.

Most days, we just lounged around the house. The house is about 4000 square feet and is about 50 yards from the beach, and it was sunny every day except 1, so we would hang out at the house and just tan and relax. Every day, we would head into Playa del Carmen, the closest town (Cancun was about 30 minutes north of where we stayed) and got dinner at a nice restaurant, but for the most part we just stayed at home. Playa has a Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and several large Americanized stores, so a couple of meals we bought food, brought it home and I cooked. It was nice.

My favorite day was on Tuesday. We went to a water park of sorts called Xel-ha. Basically, it's a natural water park, right on the ocean. There's an inlet with coral reefs throughout, a river that empties out in the ocean, a place to swim with the dolpins, assorted restaurants and tons of stuff to do. The day pass that we got was all inclusive, so we got all our meals, free drinks, snorkel equipment, towels and lockers. We pretty much snorkeled the entire day except for lunch. It was great.

There were certain places where the fish were fed, so it was fun to swim there as hundreds of fish surrounded you waiting for food. We swam all the way out to where the inlet turns into the ocean and there were some huge Grouper fish that were bigger than Sarah...they were being fed, so they were swimming past us, brushing against us, getting food...it was awesome.

After lunch, we went up to the top of the river and snokeled down the river, stopping a couple of times to jump off 20-30 foot cliffs (that was fun). Then I talked Sarah into giving up her life vest so that we could dive down into the water. That was when the real fun began. The last 3 hours, we just spent out in the water, around the reefs and rocks in the inlet, diving down to find all kinds of fish and coral and cool stuff on the bottom (the deepest the inlet gets is about 25 feet, as far as I could tell).

So, that was a great day.

Overall it was a very refreshing vacation. There were things (like my iPod) that had been bothering me for a while that I got to take care of, finally. There was music that I had been wanting to listen to in depth for a while that I finally got to buy and listen to. From a creative standpoint, I was nearing empty...I was just tired and needed a break. Now, with batteries recharged, I'm all pumped up to write more new stuff that will hopefully make the record.

I'm excited.

I have said this before several times, but thanks once again for all your support. This blog has changed a couple of times, but I think it's changed for the better. I have decided to refrain from using names of fellow contestants, unless I receive specific permission from them. I may use general terms when talking about friends, but I think it will be best to refrain from names on the blog. Also, I will focus mainly on music stuff and personal stuff here. I may write about the tour, but I will try to focus on stuff that happened personally. There are a lot of people out there that feel the need to tear apart every word I write hear and attempt to use it against me. I could care less about them, but I would hate for their stupidity to ever get back to my friends and for my friends to question even for a second that what those people are accusing me of is true. So, from here on out, I will do things in a way to avoid questions. And eventually the tour will be over and life will go on and the people on here will be the fans, not the "haters".

I love you all and say it again: thank so much for your support and love.

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

I got the new Maroon 5 a little earlier than it's American release as a gift from a friend of mine who had received it from the band themselves. I got the Japanese extended version of the album, which I understand has 3 extra tracks on the record, so please forgive me if I speak about songs that are not on the American release.

On to the review:

I can still remember where I was the first time I heard "Harder to Breathe" back in late 2003. I was pulling out of my guitar player's driveway and had just turned on the car and radio was blasting B93.7, our local Greenville Hits station. As the song coursed through my car's crappy speakers, I knew that this band or artist, whatever it was, was something different. The song was funky and rocking, and I wanted to hear it again. As the song finished, the DJ said it was a band called Maroon 5 and I remember thinking that was kind of a weird name, but the next day, I went out and bought the album.

"Songs About Jane" was a good record but a little incomplete, in my opinion. It had hits and a couple of great songs outside of the hits, but there was a bunch of filler. Where that record failed, this album makes up for in spades.

It's rare that every track on a record is worthy of a listen, but this album comes through on that level. Starting off with the funky Michael Jackson/Quincy Jones infused "If I Never See Your Face Again" the band lets you know that it is at its funky best and really never lets up till the closing notes of "Losing My Mind".

I don't know that there has been a catchier hook in recent memory than the chorus of "Makes Me Wonder". The verses are weaker, but the payoff on the chorus is well worth the wait. The song also includes one of the best pre-choruses I can remember with the lines: "I still don't have a reason/And you don't have the time/And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a ____ about you" - the melody leading to the chorus is great, plus it adds a release from the tension created by the opening/verse chord progession. I won't say it's a perfect song, because the verses are a little weak, but there aren't a lot of songs in the last 5 years that got me like this one did, with the exception of maybe "This Love" from the band's debut.

"Little of Your Time", "Wake Up Call", "Can't Stop", "Kiwi", "Untill You're Over Me", and "Infatuation" show the band at it's funky best. I'm not a huge fan of funk, but Maroon 5's walking the thin line between funk and pop is reminiscent of 80's Michael Jackson, in that it's successful in melding the two while making it palatable to the mass audience. My favorite of the funky tracks (outside of "Makes Me Wonder") is "Wake Up Call". The song is basically the story of Adam Levine's (lead singer) character walking in to find his lover with another man, and how the character reacts to said developments. Not the brightest of songs, but if I'm guessing it will be a huge hit...strangely enough, the darkest song lyrically is one of the catchiest musically.

The band does stray away from the upbeat funk long enough to let loose several songs that are bound to be in 13 year old's mix tapes for years to come. "Won't Go Home Without You" is this album's answer to "She Will Be Loved"; "Nothing Last Forever" hashes out the chorus used on the Kanye West hit "Heard 'em Say" to make a song that I have a feeling will be a hit; "Goodnight, Goodnight" enters territory I haven't heard from this band before, starting off sounding like a Three Doors Down and moving into Coldplay-esque territory.

Some of my favorite songs on the album are songs that are clearly homages to the band's influences. "Not Falling Down" starts off sounding like a modern take on Sting and the Police, giving it a modern twist on the chorus. "Better That We Break" is an obvious homage to the Beatles, with it's "Hey Jude" rhythmic structure and chord change. "Back At Your Door", with it's 6/8 piano ballad feel and lush string arrangement feels like a 60's jazz-infused pop that Dusty Springfield or Smokey Robinson would have felt comfortable singing.

All in all, this record is an incredible record. I don't know that it will have as huge a hits ("This Love" is a tough act to follow), but in my opinion the record has more hits on it. Every song on this record is enjoyable on some level.

The album gets 4.8 out of 5 stars.

The Evolution of Robin Thicke

- Growing pains? I think not.


When I first made it to Hollywood, I became friends with someone who did pretty well in the competition. As with most friendships I've started with fellow musicians, it started off with a conversation about what our influences were. The first artist my friend gave me was Robin Thicke. I had heard the name but couldn't quite place it. So, in between Hollywood and top 24, I went to Best Buy and bought The Evolution of Robin Thicke, which my friend said was the better of Robin's two albums.

Now, I should start off by saying that jazzy r&b is usually not my thing. But going back to when I first started to discover music, BoyzIIMen, Shai, R. Kelly, Silk, Keith Sweat, etc. were my first love (along with a lot of rap). I know, you wouldn't know it now, but I actually learned to sing with r&b singers first. I would sing as loud as I could along with my mix tapes of r&b hits of the early 90's while delivering papers when I was 15, copying riffs, learning how to hear harmonies, etc. But by the time I got out of college, I had discovered rock & roll, and r&b kind of fell to the wayside (rap had fallen to the wayside when I was still in high school).

Anyway, all that to say - I'm not a huge fan of modern r&b. But this record is a great, great record. Robin is well-known in the pop/r&b world, writing songs for who's who of modern pop/r&b. But as an artist, he shines. Robin's silky falsetto is shown off throughout the entire CD, and his jazzy pop way of writing modern r&b is an interesting take on a genre. I didn't enjoy some of the collabarations on the album (with Pharell, Lil' Wayne, etc.), as they strayed more to the urban/hip hop vibe, but overall the album is a really fine record.

Lyrically it's sexy without being over the top or explicit. Robin's voice naturally lends itself to a sexy vibe, but there's more here than innuendo. Listen to what he's saying and he's talking wistfully about real love. Sometimes, he comes across as a little arrogant in his love (from the hit "Lost Without U": Lost without you/Can't help myself/How does it feel/ to know that I love you, baby), but overall he comes across with an earnestness that doesn't come out a lot in the genre.

A few of the songs seem to run together once you've listened to the album a few times, as the under-production of most of the songs (acoustic, rhythm progamming, bass, vocals) makes some of the songs indiscernable from each other. But there are some gems here. "Lost Without You" is a bona fide hit, "Angel" is a great song, and "2 the Sky" is a favorite. There are some misses, too, but for a second album, it's a great record.

I think that Robin will soon be known simply as an artist instead of Alan Thicke's son.

The CD gets 3.8 out of 5 stars.

Going through my iPod

I'm on vacation, getting a tan quickly (well, a burn, too), and one of the projects I have while I am here is to go through my 30 gig iPod and get rid of any music that I don't really care about. I just have not had time to do it lately because of being so busy, and this is a long job: I've been working for 3 days now and I'm only down to the G's. But it's been fun.

I started off by going through and deleting songs that for some reason I have doubles of. There are certain artists who I have their entire catalog on my iPod, so many times Greatest Hits collections will have songs that I have from the real albums. So, unless the greatest hits collection includes a new version or a new mix of the song, I have been deleting the greatest hits version. For instance, I have U2 and the Beatles full collection...so I simply deleted songs that were the exact same versions.

After that, I basically have been going through every single song and making sure I love the song and will listen to it at some point. Now, some stuff I'm keeping isn't necessarily stuff that I really like, but stuff that I want to have as a reference. Since I plan on moving into more songwriting for other people and producing other people there is stuff that I will produce and write that wouln't necessarily be something that I would perform myself. For instance, I'm writing songs for a friend who is a country artist right now. I would never sing country, it's not really my thing, but there are so many great country songs, so I have country stuff on my iPod to learn more about the genre and how to write songs for that genre. I have some pop stuff on the off-chance that I would someday write for and produce a pop act. But if it's stuff I could care less about, I just delete it from my iPod.

I have a 30 gig iPod and as of yesterday it was completely full. I have about 10 CDs that I bought recently that I plan on loading on, but I was out of room. So, the carnage had to happen to make room for new music coming in. I may have to move up to an 80 gig iPod, but for now I'll make do.

Oh, one thing that is making it easy to get rid of some stuff is the fact that I have on my iPod ever single song ever performed on American Idol. When I first made it to Hollywood, I went to americanidol.com and found what every single semi-finalist and finalist had performed on the show and put the original version of the song on my iPod. Obviously, a lot of that crap is stuff I would never have on my iPod, so that's kind of easy...it's like 600 songs...obviously not all of those will go, but a good majority of them.

So, that's what I'm up to on my vacation.

Well, there's a lot more than that, but the rest of it is really none of your business.

I'm smiling right now.

Last Night & Tonight

Last night, Sarah and I got to attend something called the Well Done Awards. Our friends Denny & Lisa Bellessi, who run an incredible organization called the Kingdom Assignment, held an awards show for people who are doing great things for the Kingdom of God.

Bebe Winans and Katherine McPhee performed. Holy crap, they were great. I'd never heard Katherine sing live, and honestly it was one of the best live voices I've heard in a long time. I give that girl credit...she deserved to win 2nd place last year. And she is honestly one of the nicest people you'll meet. Very down to earth and open about things she's going through. Her boyfriend Nick is really great, also. And Bebe Winans was incredible. Wow...he's a gospel legend for a reason.

The awards show included a performance by a dance troupe called the Groovaloos. Their dance routine included a story of one of the dancers being shot and how he recovered to be able to dance again. It was very, very moving. Obviously, being a big boy, I've not done a lot of dance, but working with our choreographer at AI gave me a greater appreciation for dancers, and these guys were incredible. They mixed Hip-hop and freestyle with breakdancing...it was really really incredible.

Afterwards, we met a couple of members of the Christian band Kutless. We went to eat with them as well as my friend Josh Griffin who is the youth pastor of Saddleback church. We had a great meal at TGIF. The service wasn't great, but I chalked it up to the fact they had given us 2 wait-people and they apparently always thought the other was taking care of us. No biggie.

We headed home and got some sleep.

Today, Sarah and I spent some time at Fashion Island. That was really fun. We headed back home and got some rest, then went to dinner at Gina's in Laguna Beach, a great Italian restaurant. I got pizza and Sarah got manicotti. Then we headed back to the beach house.

Denny and Leesa had a meet and greet for Sarah and I with people who were at the Well Done Awards. A bunch of people came over and we just hung around and talked. It was great to meet a bunch of interesting people.

We had a great time.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we leave for our beachy place. I'm looking forward to rest and relaxation. It's going to be a great respite before the tour. I'm looking forward to the tour, but 59 shows in like 85 days is going to be tiring. This is going to be nice.

Peace and love

Vacationland

So, Sarah and I have the blessing to be able to take a little vacation. Finally. I've been saying since I got voted off that we were going to take a vacation, and we finally get to take it. And I'm excited.

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by a lady who owns a house in beautiful beachy location who was a huge fan of the show. She and her husband go to the same church (in a different location) as we do, and they offered us the use of their house for a vacation for free. We just had to pay for plane tickets. So, we of course took them up on it and Friday we'll fly down for a nice trip away. We'll be down there for about 9 days, hopefully recharging my batteries for the tour.

We had a huge tour meeting and I'm even more excited now about the tour than I was before. Obviously I can't give you guys specifics quite yet, but know that the tour is going to have some really, really great moments. I can't wait for everyone to see what Simon, the tour producer, has put together...it really is a freaking great show. And the stage set up is bad to the bone. And this year will feature something that has never been done on the idol tour before. Yes, I'm giving you a teaser. You need to get tickets to this...it is going to be awesome.

Anyway, back to my vacation.

Sarah and I are going to take some much-needed time away to recharge our batteries and spend some time alone. We need that. I've been sharing my life with the world for a few months - we understand that it comes with the territory, and we're both excited that we get to share my life with the world, but at the same time, Sarah and I need some time to recharge. The next few months will not be easy. The tour is going to be awesome, but we will have to be apart most of the time, once again, so that will be tough. She is going to travel to several shows here and there, but she'll be at home most of the time I'm on tour. So, this is our little fling before being apart.

I can't wait.

I'm in Laguna Beach now till Friday. We get a little vacation here, too, so that's nice.

Anyway, I'll try to keep up the blog as best I can, but I apologize in advance if I don't get to comments quickly. This is my time away, after all. Hope you all understand.

Finale Night

Finale night was incredible. It was an incredible, incredible show to be a part of. I didn't get to see it because of press and stuff after the show, but it was awesome to see from backstage and the group performances had an energy to them that they never had during the regular season...might've been that there so many more people at the Kodak than at CBS.

All the celebs were incredible. I love Kelly Clarkson and her band - in fact the keys player used to be in the original version of Sonicflood (one of the first rock worship bands to be popular). I hung out with those guys for most of our wait time (it was a long day). Her bass player Einar (I think is how it's spell) was the bass player for the Dan band I saw on Saturday night...he was really cool, too. Kelly was really, really nice, too - always taking the time to stop for the Idols and talk when she could.

Carrie's band was really cool, too. The guitar player's name was Ed and he was freaking awesome. We talked for a while about me moving to Nashville and writing songs, etc. I find myself having more fun hanging out with bands than I do with singers...don't get me wrong, I love singers, but my heart is with the band. I love bands.

Anyway, all the celebs were cool. The show ran really smooth. The group numbers were really fun. We all gave Sanjaya a hard time for forgetting some dance steps in the Smokey Robinson number....it was hilarious, Chris Rich and I were doing out little dance routine and we look up and Sanji is just standing there smiling. I almost broke out laughing but remembered the rest of my dance steps, thankfully, then we all died laughing off-stage. Sanjaya was a great sport about it - and we all laughed about different moves that we forgot. As a side note: I just watched the performance over at rickey.org and you can barely tell (unless you're looking for it) that anyone missed the steps, so the gaffes happened at the perfect times with camera angles.

I guess that's the cool thing about being in something like that is that you know all the little things that happen that no one else even notices or cares about. Missing dance steps was funny to us...most people wouldn't even notice it.

I have to say that, honestly, I was a little jealous of Sanjaya to be able to perform with Joe Perry. I have been a huge Aerosmith fan since I discovered rock and roll. But as Phil and I watched Sanjaya, I turned to Phil and said, "Dude, that guy has turned into the best performer on the show." It was a really cool moment to be able to realize that you've seen someone grow from a kid to a great performer. He's not Blake yet, but man he knows how to work a crowd.

The dressing room was a lot of fun. We got some cool clothes to hang onto, and we all had fun hanging out. Phil, Chris, Blake and I all bought PSP's and several games each so our 19 rep was making fun of us all sitting and playing video games every chance we got.

We pretty much watched the whole show from backstage. It was interesting watching Blake and Jordin running around back stage to change clothes.

My favorite moment of the night (outside of the group numbers) was watching Blake and Doug E. Fresh beatboxing off each other. I thought Blake outdid the legend, but I guess I can't admit that. He was incredible though.

The Beatles number was a lot of fun and I was so thankful to have gotten some solo parts...the vocal coaches were very kind to me. The Beatles are in my top 5 favorite bands of all time, so British Invasion was tough without them. But it was really cool to be able to do the medley, especialy some of my favorite songs from the Sgt. Pepper record. Anyway, it was great.

Anyway, the next few days are busy, so I don't know how much I can write, but know this: all is well and it's been great. I am having the time of my life. Thanks so much to all the fans who got me to the top 10. I am so thankful to you all for voting.

Okay, so I'm a fan

Before I talk about last night, I have to admit something. No matter how famous I ever get, if I ever get any more famous than now, I will always be a fan. I have people that I respect and love and I've gotten to meet some of them. When I meet people I still am a fan. What's crazy is when famous people know my name.

Last night was really, really cool because I was able to meet some really really cool people of whom I am huge fans.

After rehearsals were over yesterday, I rushed back to the hotel, took a shower and got dressed for a night on the town. Gina, Haley, Phil, Rich, Brandon and I had the chance to go see the Dan band, which is an awesome comedy band. Basically they do a bunch of cover songs (and a few originals) and do them with cheesy choreography and a really tight live band...it really is incredible. Anyway, we saw them at the Avalon.

As we were walking into the Avalon to get to our seats, Gina, Haley and I got asked by some fans for photos, so we stopped. One lady didn't have her camera ready, so as we waited, I see Kyle Gass (KG from Tenacious D) walking in. He stopped and called me by name! I was blown away! Then the lady with the camera turns to KG and says, "Can you take our picture?" I just about laughed, but held it in - I mean, she's asking KG to take our picture. The lady got her picture then Gina, Haley and I got our picture with KG. More on KG later.

We walked to our table and talked to several people in our area...we took a lot of pictures and then the show started. It was freaking hilarious. The band was super tight and Dan can really sing. The background dancer/singers were dressed like nerdy businessmen, but the dance routines and bgv's were awesome. It really was a great show. Gina is a huge fan of the band, so it was cool watching her get excited about stuff she had seen before (she's seen the band 4 times).

After the show, we were all able to go hang out backstage with the band, so that was a ton of fun. While up there, celebrities started to pour in. I got to meet Anthony LaPaglia (one of my favorite actors - you might know him from Without a Trace) - he was really cool. Dan is married to Kathy Najjimi (you might know her as the cute chubby nun from Sister Act or from Hocus Pocus), so we talked with her a good bit. Helen Hunt came up and knew our names! It was crazy. Gina went nuts because What Women Want is her favorite movie. Then KG came up and we hung out with him, just talking and hanging out while the Dan Band met everyone. KG suggested jokingly that I should form a Tenacious D tribute band and he'll come and be the guitar player. I thought it was hilarious to think of a tribute band with 1/2 of the original band. Then I told him he should break up his band and then hire me as his lead singer. He said he could probably do that. It was awesome just to joke around with KG. I am huge fan, so that was really freaking cool.

We left the Avalon and we were all invited to go to Ryan Cabrera's house for a party. Gina, Haley and I took a taxi to Brandon's house because Brandon took the guys to go pick up Blake. We met Brandon's roommate Steve, who apparently is a fantastic standup comedian. We hung out at the house, then Blake and the guys arrived. They proceeded to play several rounds of guitar hero as we all sang along to the songs as loud as we could. It was awesome! Then we loaded up the cars and headed to the party.

I'm not a big party person - I love to hang out in small groups of close friends and with low enough noise to hear each other talk. This party was not that. It was like 200 people with music blaring. Ryan's house is awesome. You walk up his very steep driveway to the house and you walk up these steps at the top to reach the back yard. The back yard is simply one huge pool and jacuzzi area, complete with a huge tile paved bar. He has a ping pong table and a pool table out there, as well as a lounge area. The pool, by the way is heated and the jacuzzi waterfalls down into the pool. Seriously, I was in awe of the house.

I'm not a huge fan of Ryan's but I always thought he was a really good songwriter with a great voice...his music just isn't my cup of tea. I remember thinking, though, while he was on the Ashlee Simpson show, what a cool guy he seemed to be. He didn't disappoint. He was awesome. And hilarious. Brandon and he are really good friends, so there was connection there that superceded any awkward stuff.

I got to meet the bass player (Bryce) and guitar player (Ben) from Lifehouse. That was awesome - they were really freaking cool guys. I hung out talking with them for like 30 minutes. Phil and I then met the lead singer of Yellowcard. That was awesome, too. He was a really cool guy and super nice. Side note here: it's so freaking cool to meet really famous people who are actually freaking cool people....you always wonder if someone's gonna be a butthole, but they're just normal people like you and me....they just happen to be more famous than you and I. Tony Romo was there and I got to meet him - he actually knew my name (that is freaking crazy!). He at one point was actually bartending...that was hilarious. Jesse McCartney was there, too...we said hello. He seems cool....I didn't get to talk to him much.

The best moment of the night, though, was meeting Gavin DeGraw. I'm a huge fan so meeting him was awesome! I think he is seriously the best songwriter to come out in the last 5 years. He's amazing. I can't wait for his next album - I know it's going to be great. He was super nice, too, so it was nice to see him in that light.

One of the things that was really cool to watch was how people reacted to Chris and Blake especially and even Phil. Those guys are stars and people love them. And you know what I can't wait to hear records by all 3 of those guys. I am a huge fan of all 3 and all 3 of them do different things and I can't wait to cheer them on. It's a weird thing to have friends who are stars and knowing that very soon they are going to be the hugest stars in music. It's a really cool feeling.

Anyway, the night was incredible. It just solidified in my mind, though, how much of a fan I still am.

Dinner with friends

So, we rehearsed most of the day yesterday. It was exciting and fun. It was new again, so that was great.

After we got back home, Phil, Gina, Haley, Stephanie and I decided to go grab something to eat. We started to walk up to Sunset when one of the AI cars screeched to a halt next to us. We looked up and in the car Sanjaya mashed his face up against the back seat window. We all chuckled. That kid is crazy. Anyway, the driver offered to drive us up to a restaurant, so we took her up on it since we're all lazy. We piled into the car and we start driving and I notice that Sanjaya is holding his mouth. I asked him what was wrong and he said that when he pressed his face against the window, he bit his lip. We all laughed really hard.

Anyway, we decided on a restaurant called Merabelles. It's this quaint little restaurant that has been there for like 40 years and the food was really good. We all piled into a table and ordered drinks. The group that hung out last night hadn't gotten to see Sanjaya and Jill, so we caught up with what was going on in their lives...obviously big things are coming to Sanjaya.

The food was really good and we all talked about the upcoming tour and how great it was to be back together. It is unbelievable how great it is to hang out with contestants when we are no longer contestants...stuff doesn't get read into and it's just cool because you can be just friends. That's the best part about being back - just hanging out and doing music with friends. Phil bought two entrees because he wanted to try both of them. So, naturally, I helped him eat his 2nd dish....it was this pasta dumpling stuff that was freaking incredible.

Apparently, the restaurant's owner's wife was a big fan, so they let us know they were giving us some free desserts, so that was really cool. Stephanie was tired, so she decided to walk back. Sanjaya being the gentleman that he is offered to walk her back to the hotel, so when the desserts came, Jill packed up one to take back to him. Sanji really is a great kid, as I've said about a hundred times - but for real, he really cares about other people.

After we finished eating, it was a nice little jaunt back to the hotel. I had eaten too much, so it was good to walk some of that off. We came back to the hotel said goodnight and I promptly went to bed.

In Rehearsal

So, I'm in rehearsal today. We're actually on a small break as I write this. Obviously I can't tell you guys details of what's going on, but it has been awesome to get together with everyone.

I got in last night and actually got to the hotel about the same time as Phil, Richardson, Gina and Haley. So, we all got settled into our rooms, then watched the show. Melinda went home. I don't know that I would be any happier for anyone going home than the other two...but it was awesome to watch how she has handled it - she seems really okay with not having the pressure on anymore.

Phil, Richardson, Gina, Haley and I went out last night and saw Storm Large at the Viper Room (our hotel is near Sunset, so we walked a little). Then we decided to go with Richardson to a club. Well, one club turned into 4 clubs. That was interesting. I've literally never been into a club and we were at 4 of them last night. It's a very interesting scene. I doubt I will ever do it again, but it was great to get in to a bunch of places for free.

Anyway, rehearsals are going great...we're doing some really, really cool stuff that I think people are gonna dig. It's really different for me in some places and really close to what I do in others...and all of it is great! It's fun to go a little outside my comfort zone on some stuff.

All I can say is this: getting back with all of my friends has been incredible. Everyone is excited to be back and excited to see what everyone else has been up to. Blake and Jordin are doing great - Blake is still as hilarious as ever and Jordin is just awesome. Whichever of them wins - well, they both are incredibly deserving and awesome. Anyway, off that rabbit trail...it's kind of nice because with the pressure of competition off, everyone can just be themselves and hang out and have fun.

It is great to be back.