Madcity insanity!

I've broken the silence with my previous post, and per request have began to let the creative juices flow once again! It's touring time, which means that it's time to try and write and provide insight, humor, and maybe even a bit of a good read through the words you're reading right now.

The HURT tour has started, and even though it's only six dates, attitudes in our camp are better than I've seen in a long time. There are some great steps being taken and everyone is excited about the future.

All that lovely stuff being said, the band played their first show of the tour Sunday. It was a beautiful day at Taste of Madison, here in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a "throw and go" which is always a recipe for a crazy day. We had great help from the WJJO folks and things went well. People seemed to really enjoy the show, it was a great crowd and I'm hoping everything was pleased.

It's amazing as always to see these guys again. Some of my best friends I've made on the road and it's a pleasure spending time with them. We've picked up two new guys in the crew as well, Jeffro (The Wandering Madman) and Sam. I've met Fro several times before he's a great guy with a positive outlook and an awesome guy to work beside. Sam is my age and he too is a good, hardworking kid.

Today we had a day off, and it was one of the best days off I've had in quite some time. A great lunch was what started it off. In the evening we went to a cookout that some friends from the radio station were having. Cookouts in this business are a wonderful thing. Food was bountiful and good times were had by all. Most of our camp was there as well as my good friends Zach and Ken from Nonpoint. It was good to spend some time with old friends, new friends, and some genuinely nice folks.

Well, it's late and I've got to be up reasonably early for the drive to Libertyville, IL for our show tomorrow at Austin's Fuel Room. On a final note, think about trying this. Everyone's life is so filled with stress, with worries, and with bad news. I know we can't always blow these things off or make them drop off of our plate. However, I've re-learned that a great key to life and to enjoying your time is to really experience it. Take time to truly feel, and smell, take a moment to taste the food you eat and to hear the world around you. Having an essence just for being alive can really put the world in perspective and help to prioritize what's going on around you. Sometimes we can only control ourselves, and it's much easier to do that if you have a positive attitude and enjoy the environment you are in at any given chance.