It’s 12:23 A.M and I just got back from a 7 mile run with 2 friends (1 of which I just met this evening.) Lately I have found myself drifting off while at work or play thinking about when I can get a run and some decent solitude in. It seems that getting off the couch and pounding out a few miles is exactly what my soul has been craving.

This series of Blogs in general are to document my life as a new artist and the trials and pleasures that ensue. But early this A.M I can’t help but document a deeper yearning. I want to LIVE. I want to get out when I should be sleeping and sweat alongside a few comrades. I want to get over the feeling of failing or succeeding in the music world and get whipped into submission. I feel the closest to Christ while going out for a run. It’s seems that running in the early hours of morning or later at night is the only real option when you have a family and conflicting hobbies☺

I think after having my first record out for a few months and getting ready to go back out on tour I find myself desperately seeking clarity. How do you remain a faithful husband and father while building a ministry and broadening a fan base? I don’t know. I do know that with every pounding heartbeat, deep breath and lack of words I am finding peace in the struggle. Mixing the joys and frustrations of music with the welcomed pain of building endurance and stamina is a delightful cocktail.

It’s 1:05 A.M and I am thankful. My legs and feet hurt. I’m hungry. But more importantly I’m writing and I am sharing instead of sleeping. I love to sleep and unfortunately I sleep too much. Not tonight.

After meeting my new friend Sean tonight I felt like I knew him better after our run. It was only 6 months earlier I drove past a crazy looking man running bare foot with no shirt who looked just like Jesus or at least the Jesus in my mind. Tonight, God blessed me with a new friend and it came by getting out my comfort. Sean is the guy you throw drinks at while driving by and call crazy because he has long hair, beard and runs bare foot. After tonight I want to take my shoes off and get nailed in the back of the head with your Wendy’s Frosty. I’m all in. I’m reminded of paragraph of one of my favorite books:

“Most Dreams die a slow death. They’re conceived in a moment of passion, with the prospect of endless possibility, but often languish and not pursued with the same heartfelt intensity as when first born. Slowly, subtly, a dream becomes elusive and ephemeral. People who’ve let their own dreams die become pessimists and cynics. They feel that the time and devotion spent on chasing their dreams were wasted. The emotional scars last forever. “It can’t be done,” they’ll say, when you describe your dream. “It’ll never happen.” Pg.139 Ultra Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes

Charge!
Chris

I noticed something interesting while on tour. Every venue I played there were flyers up of other Christian artists who either just played the same venue or who were about to play in the coming days and weeks. I guess I always knew there was this kinda “circuit” that Christian bands played but it never became as clear as it did when I joined the circuit myself. I noticed something starting to happen each time I saw these flyers. At first, I would get intimidated by the fact that I was just one of the many artists out there trying to make a name for myself. Certainly, Christ didn’t call us to this mindset but the thoughts were there nonetheless. One day, it occurred to me: I felt called to pray for these artists. If Christ truly is the center of what we are doing then why not serve and support them any way possible. The worst option would be to worry about competing in a popularity contest. We’re in this together.

How many Christians have we seen that have not been encouraged, loved or even corrected for that matter? It would have been really helpful to get an e-mail from someone who was further down the road than I was; I would have loved to receive advice on how to deal with the challenges of being a touring musician. (Although I do have a couple of friends who’ve been around this whole scene and whose wise words are invaluable to me.)
Fortunately, communities are being built in various areas that are connecting artists together who can uplift, pray, challenge, and simply encourage one another in Christ. I came across this beautiful passage from one of Madeleine L’ Engle’s books while dealing with these issues on the road. This passage speaks about Art and the role it plays in our lives.

“A great painting, or symphony, or play, doesn’t diminish us, but enlarges us, and we, too, want to make our own cry of affirmation to the power of creation behind the universe. This surge of creativity has nothing to do with competition, or degree of talent….This response on the part of any artist is the need to make incarnate the new awareness we have been granted through the genius of someone else.”
(A CIRCLE OF QUIET)

We need each other. We need to let go of control and be vulnerable. I am so thankful for the artists who are out there walking in faith. I want to be in their lives as much as possible, and I want them in mine. I welcome that vulnerability. I know that being open to inspiration from other artists (of all kinds- writers, painters, composers) will only strengthen my own art.

Warmly,
Chris

I’ll never forget the morning I left for tour- completely freaked out. I kept trying to calm my busy mind to no avail. I was just flipping out. How does one get ready for what will certainly be a life changing experience? I went down the list: guitars, suitcase and wallet. Check, check and check. But I was missing something.

I was missing the certainty that I was doing the right thing. Having a gift or talent wasn’t enough to justify leaving my family at home. Having a record deal wasn’t cutting it either. Fortunately, the blessed assurance I needed to get me through the next two months was on its way. (And honestly, I needed the assurance just to get me through the drive to Nashville.)

My dad dropped me off at Hertz to pick up my car so I could get rolling. I arrived perfectly on time in order to make bus call in seven hours. One problem. Hertz didn’t have a car for me because previous customers failed to return the keys with their cars. Thankfully, Hertz had one vehicle, a red pick-up truck with the leftovers of a bale of hay in the back. I didn’t care. At this point I just needed to get to Nashville. And now.
Only God knew what he had in store for me. Within five minutes I was crying at the steering wheel in my little red truck. I had turned on the radio and the first song to play was this:

So here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
And here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page

God spoke to me through Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page.” Mysterious ways, my friend. They work. I knew that a page was turning in my life and that it was being turned by God’s hand. To top it all off the very next song that came on the radio after hitting scan was “Promise of a Lifetime” by Kutless. For those of you who don’t know, Kutless was the band I was joining for the tour. It only took God about five minutes to calm me down. Two little signs, and that was all I needed to drive on in confidence and peace.

More later,
-Chris

I’m sitting here thinking of the best introduction to describe the recent changes in my life, and it’s proving to be a daunting task. So many emotions related to new places and new relationships are scattered in my mind. It’s not so much the fact that I stepped out of a successful 8-5 job and into the life of a touring artist that surprises me but rather the overwhelming feeling of watching God’s faithfulness shine in my life in completely new and very specific ways.

This blog will cover the first 6 months of being a new artist. From releasing the album to my first tour with Kutless, inspirations behind the songs and simply dealing with the strange ride through this season of my life.

As I write this I am leaving Nashville heading back home to Florida. The Kutless tour has officially ended. I have spent the last 2 months traveling through 25 states; laughing, listening, and learning. And did I mention that I’ve been living with 15 guys, most of us on the same bus? One thing is for certain: I have made lifelong friends while on the road and I will miss this tour dearly.

All along the road I’ve been remembering the boy I used to be. I spent so much time in my room writing songs and singing to God. I had so much ambition and I wondered if it would be possible to sing those songs for other people, too. Night after night I recalled those feelings while singing on stage and I would almost weep into the microphone.

After coming to one of the shows my older brother Mike said, “It’s not so much the fact that you are on a tour bus traveling and signing autographs that’s cool but that you are sharing the “good news” about what Christ has done in your life.” I couldn’t agree more. It was an honor to meet folks along the way and hear their stories and testimonies of Christ’s matchless love. There is so much about Christ and His character that is worth modeling our lives after.

A huge fear of mine at the start of this tour was trying to act like I was further along in my life with Christ then I am. As the tour started moving forward I learned to not worry about that so much. Christ is the centerpiece, the all in all and simply everything. I left this tour fully embracing that. I heard it over and over from every member of Kutless, Esterlyn, our tour manager, our crew and from the constant encouragement along the way from friends and strangers.

So here I am heading home and completely thankful. I’m thankful for my family and dear friends, and for the opportunity to write and sing songs for the public, just like I dreamed of doing a short while ago. I’ll be writing pretty often in the next six months. I hope this will serve as an open book into my artistic life.
It’s and honor and the pleasure is certainly all mine. Talk soon!

Warmly,
Chris

So yesterday (Dec. 6th) the Punk the Halls tour was in the Los Angeles area, which was a blast, and today we are north in a little town called Porterville. Little town but big hearts, and man what a show it was! Before the concert, we were driven around town in an extended Escalade limousine!! It was awesome…I wanted to finish the tour in that thing! hahah.

Tyler and I (Nick) bought some scooters to help us get around the venues easier…ok, ok, so we’re just big kids and we like new toys. But funny story - Tyler was riding around a Target parking lot on his scooter…and it was raining so Tyler slipped on the pavement and wiped out on his scooter and landed FLAT on this back!! hahah!! It was hilarious!! Several Target shoppers were startled and looking to see if Tyler was alright as he lay there motionless on the ground. Just then, our Escalade Limousine pulled up beside him, the driver got out and opened up the door and Tyler got up off the ground and hopped in. Talk about saving some face and making a grand exit! Now at least he looks like a very important idiot. HAHAHA.

The Camp Verde, Arizona area has got to be one of the more beautiful locations in the country. It’s just a few hours south of the Grand Canyon, and it’s a breathtaking layout. I could sit here for hours and still not be able to take in the magnificence of the never-ending horizon and unique mountain skyline. I’m really glad that random chance, some gas and wayward atoms clumsily ran into each other and created this place through purposeless evolution! Rrrriiight.

The fingerprints of a loving Creator are not hard to see here in Arizona! We have played in Camp Verde before, and were really excited to see everybody back out for a great show! I wonder if they realize how lucky they are to have such an incredible back yard!

Vegas! On our way into Las Vegas, we stopped at the Hoover Dam and it is absolutely HUGE! I was particularly excited to see the Dam not just because I’ve seen so many “Engineering Marvels” type TV shows about it, but also because it was a very important location of the Transformers movie. We looked for Optimus Prime and the other AutoBots, but it appears they’ve been long gone.

The Las Vegas show was great! We met some really cool people and we even went down to the strip after the show and grabbed some In-N-Out Burgers! (It was our first of what I’m sure will be a lot of In-N-Out consumption on this tour).

Hey everybody! Hope you had a killer thanksgiving and now have a bounty of turkey and mashed potato leftovers stored up in the fridge. Thanksgiving was great for the guys in Our Heart’s Hero…and now we are ready for some Christmas cheer on the 2007 Punk the Halls Tour with Stellar Kart, Nevertheless, EleventySeven, Manafest and us, Our Heart’s Hero!

We just finished the first night in Cleburne, TX (just a bit outside of Dallas) and what an AWESOME opening night! It was an absolutely packed house and everybody seemed to be amped up and ready to start getting their “Merry Christmas” on! After the concert, a couple of the guys in Stellar Kart, EleventySeven and Our Heart’s Hero caught a movie in Dallas and even had some of the world’s best hotdogs…a word of caution though, be careful if someone ever offers you a “Texas Style Hot Dog” - maybe have some EggNog close by or a firetruck perhaps. But they sure are good for warming you up on a cold wintery night.

We are so excited to get this tour underway, and we hope that everybody has a chance to make it out to one of the Punk the Halls stops near you! It’s going to be a great time to celebrate the holiday season and to remember that we celebrate the birthday of the One who loved us first! For dates and more info on the tour or to send us a message, you can surf by www.myspace.com/OurHeartsHero or www.OurHeartsHero.com. We can’t wait to see you on the 2007 Punk the Halls Tour!

hey everybody!  i wanted to share with you what’s been going on outside of our Trin-i-tee 5:7 world :-).  Being a balanced Christian woman is so important to the group and so one of the things we consistently make time for is giving back and sowing seeds to those less fortunate.  i recently had the privilege of going to Tijuana Mexico to visit an orphanage.  i went with a wonderful church group out of california and we spent the day with about 80 kids. they were absolutely beautiful. i held the babies while singing to them, we bought a giant bag of toys for them, and i even cooked a meal for them…scary right?  lol, no worries.  i had lots of help from my friends who came along with me. spending time with the children was such an amazing thrill!  they were so full of love and life. we prayed for them and thanked God for each one of them.  in the end, they all sang a thank you and farewell song to us. i held out the best i could but it wasn’t long before i couldn’t stop crying big crocodile tears.

their little voices were so touching…. what an exceptional group of kids!  on behalf of myself & the other ladies of  T57 i ask that you please pray for the orphans around the world and for those who care for them everyday. i must thank gregory james, mrs.faye and her church family for inviting me along. i’m not the same because of them and this visit. God bless you all for having such a heart of compassion…..and to all our T57 fans, thank you for supporting us not just in our music but in our humanitarian efforts as well. be blessed & talk to you soon.  love, chanelle - T57

We recently did work with Habitat For Humanity preparing housing for awaiting families in need of a home.

It seems simple, yet it is complex because if feels forgotten here in Mississippi.

We organize tool sheds, sweep foundations for houses, clear out sheds, pick up wood in wheel barrels and separate what is to be reused and what is to be scrapped.  There is detail involved and much labor to get to the bigger picture of people coming home. We are here for today, however volunteers are needed everyday and will be for sometime.

Chanelle seems to clean with the very near memory of the loss of all her families homes in New Orleans. I see the thoughts going through her mind as she is very thorough with a committed focus to everything she scrubs inside the home (kitchen and bathrooms). Angel seems to gradually take in and process the similarity of what has transpired with her family as well and helps with that understanding in mind. I organize, clean and sweep knowing that it is reasonable service to be here and I feel connected to the solution and the people as a whole, I want to be here. I am offering my form of contribution (I want people to know and feel that I care) and we are doing the same as a group.

There were song singing requests, so Chanelle went and got our new T57 cd and gave it out to be played on the speaker system so we could do the work we came to do and meet the request that was presented. It was a great solution because we really came there to roll up our sleves and work.

It was the least we could do. People are striving to get their lives on track and it takes community to do exactly that. I always say that “People Need People”. I think that is why GOD has brought us through such trying and difficult times so that we can represent Hope and Triumph in a realistic and practical way. Surviving difficult and draining times grows one’s compassion and believe me everyone at some point in life will need some compassion. Each day brings it’s own wonderful mysteries in many forms some in joy and some in pain.

Sometimes people just need to know that you care and if you are a spiritual person you should be a sincere example. We keep learning, growing and evolving on our own journey together and a part in our lives.

I watch the other volunteers (from Americorps for example) and you know what?  I was encouraged that people care and want to do the work that makes us all better.  In this case one nail, hammer and broom at a time

This is just one of the many ways we as humanity are all the better.

Love,

Adrian from T57