CHECK THIS OUT: Video, Catch and Release

Last month I did praise and worship for a youth in Alabama and brought my trusty sidekicks/roommates along. Dave kicked a little beat (or an abnormally loud beat rather, as you shall hear on the video...we were in a gym) and Ross held up the low end (by playing the bass I mean, not by touching anyone’s butt thankfully...we’re trying to break him of that habit...putting Tabasco sauce on his fingernails didn’t work).

I just received a copy of the video and figured I’d share a clip with you...it’s a Beau Bristow Trio version of “Sign Me Up.”





Speaking of bass (with a long A), I got to go fishing a couple of weeks ago and have this lovely picture of the first bass (with a short ‘a’) that I have caught in ages. Used to fish a lot as a kid...not so much these days.



Now the main purpose of this blog was to give you the video clip, but I figured that I might as well throw the fish photo in as well. However the fishing photo reminds me of a story....

I used to fish a lot with my friend Matt (he’ll no doubt respond to this I’m sure you can see him in the comments below). Now Matt is the most touch sensitive person I have ever met. He needs personal space of at least 3 feet in all directions. He bows up in a “fight or flight” manner even if you go to pat him on the back. I can’t even imagine what he would do if someone broke the 3 feet personal space perimeter anywhere below the belt (aside from that one time when he was the first to fall asleep at a sleep-over at a friend’s house and we poked blue dots all over his shorts with a pool cue and chalk....wow that sounds immature).

Anyway, one time Matt and I were fishing and I got my lure hung in a tree. If you have ever done this you know the first response it to start trying to jerk it loose with ridiculously aggressive sweeps of the fishing rod. If you have ever gotten that far you know what comes next: a chunk of wood with large sharp metal hooks zipping towards you at Mach 3.

For some reason I felt all of this was better than going to retrieve the lure or cutting the line, but Matt was not of such a mind. As soon as I started trying to yank the lure free he turned his head away and nervously yelled, “Watch it n––!” But that was as far as he got. On this one particular day Matt was sitting to my right in the boat, and I am right handed. This means that at just that moment when the lure came free it came screaming toward him like a patriot missile.

When the proverbial dust cleared and I opened my eyes again, I slowly traced the fishing line from the end of my rod, down into the boat, over into the water, back up out of the water, up Matt’s leg, and all the way to the fishing lure, now dangling from where it had hooked itself in the crotch of Matt’s jeans (which was well exposed from the way he was sitting). From there I abruptly lifted my eyes to catch the look of horror on Matt’s face.

I really can’t remember if he got mad or not. He probably said some unkind things and questioned the legitimacy of my birth. All I remember is laughing at the whole situation... I’m still laughing about it. Sorry Matt.

YOU TELL ME: Which T-shirt Do You Like?

As many of you know I am gearing up for a new album and have a few other projects in the works.

As some of these projects are coming together I will be asking you for your honest input, advice, and feedback. This is the first of these instances where I need to hear from you.

Below are 2 different t-shirt designs. We want to print one of them very soon. Basically I want to know which one you like the best. The style of shirt may change, so it is the actual layout, design, and color that you should focus on.

Simply comment on this blog and tell me whether you like A or B. (You are welcome to give the reason for your choice as well.)


T-shirt A



T-shirt B




Also, now that you have seen her work, I want to give a special thanks to my excellent graphic designer Gwynne Gardner! I asked her to describe herself and here is what she said:

"I'm a designer that's not afraid to get my hands dirty - creating collages with everything from pencil shavings to bottle caps to cut up pieces of old photos, and I have a unique style of creating that always begins with a sharpie, pencil, or paintbrush in my hand. I love color. If I had to choose a favorite color it would be blue, all shades, but I like to use every hue equally.
Nashville is the 10th city I have lived in. I love to travel and by seeing the world and what God has created it has inspired me to be a creator myself. Above all my wish is to glorify God with my art and if I can do that my soul sings."

If you are in need of some sweet graphic artistry, you should definitely check with Gwynne. Go to: www.gwynnegardner.com/gwynnegardner.

Thanks!

BB

TOUR JOURNAL: More Intense than 24

Last Wednesday I left Nashville at 7:00 for Rochester, NY with Rachel Carrozziere (www.myspace.com/rachelcarrozziere). We arrived around 8:30 the following morning at her parent’s house, where we would spend the next few days as we played occasional shows and ate wonderful meals provided by various Carrozziere family members. (Seriously, it was amazing....I love this family.)

The first show was at Roberts Wesleyan College, followed by a chapel service, a radio show, and a coffeehouse over the next few days. We left Tuesday morning around 9:30 (EDT) for Cabrini College in Radnor, PA (shout out to Mary Kate and Ashley...not the ones from full house) for a show that afternoon around 4:30. We left there and drove all night to arrive in Nashville at 8:30 (CDT). That is 24 hours of continuous driving and shows....not as exciting as 24, but I would argue that it might be more intense (minus the explosions, guns, and terrorists).

The sad part of this whole trip was that I only took one picture the whole time. Recently I bought a digital camera so that I could give you a better picture of what my world is like....lot’s of good it does when I don’t use it!

On our route back to Nashville we did encounter a photo opportunity, disturbing as it may be, and since I had no other photos I felt it necessary to subject myself to the humiliation you see below....



I didn’t notice it when we took the shot, but I just realized that “wendy” has a pretty broad set of shoulders and I’m pretty sure that is a man’s chest...almost as disturbing as the man’s face under that red hair....definitely motivation to get better pictures next time.





(Oh, and if you get a chance, click here to see Rachel in a recent commercial....the commercial was filmed by having Rachel ad lib for 30 minutes. The production company then selected the parts they wanted for the commercial. Rachel had no idea what parts they used until it was on air regionally....you can’t fully appreciate the humor in this unless you see the commercial and are aware of the fact that she really has an Aunt Linda! I met her this weekend and I can’t see how anyone could say anything negative about her....gosh Rachel....)