The Wedding Rocks Memphis

Back in like May, us Nashville Diehards discovered that The Wedding would be playing at a Skatepark in Memphis, TN, which is about a three hour drive away from where we reside in Nashville. One of our newest Diehards, Jess, had a friend who would be meeting us in Memphis from Arkansas.

We decided to meet up at Huey's in downtown Memphis. One of our roomates gave Jessie this demon, named GeeGee. We were going to try and take pictures of it throughout the day, but we kind of forgot, so this is all we got. But, they let you shoot the toothpicks at the ceiling, and it looked kind of funny when you tried.



So after we left Huey's, we went to Wal-Mart to work on our pranks for the night. How could we not? After successful brainstorming and some strategic purchases, we headed to the venue, err, I mean Skatepark. Or old Skatepark. Whatever. In the process, we found out that Trevor had had one of his fingers shut in the back of the van earlier in the day, so his performance status for that night was unknown. (Thankfully he had a splint on it and was given painkillers so that he could make it through the day). We get to the venue only to find out that there were 6 bands performing before The Wedding. So we decided to occupy our time. There was a bungee cord that was involved in many stupid activities amongst ourselves. We also snagged a few old stickers from the boys and decided to decorate a table.

All night we waited ever so patiently for the right minute to pull off our pranks. This venue was located in a really weird place - right in the middle of other businesses in kind of a business park - so whenever we went outside, we had to stay in this one area to avoid getting in trouble for loitering. So right after the 6th band finished, and when The Wedding began to set up their equipment, Jessie, Kirsten and Scooter took off for their van and began to showcase their artwork. It really did turn out great. They completed the right half of the van just in time for their set to start. The show went really good - the boys performed about 5 or 6 songs, which included three of the new ones - Receive, Return, and Reveal. And of course some of our favorites - Say Your Prayers and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. (In case you are not aware, The Wedding & Wavorly are all really good friends, so this was more of a joke on both of them, because The Wedding was leaving from this show and heading to Cornerstone - where they would soon battle it out with Wavorly.)

The set ended up being much shorter than we were expecting, and Scooter wasn't quite ready to pull off our best prank yet. Right after Matt #2 said it was their last song, we sent Scooter running to the back for his big appearance. Laura, being quick on her feet, shouted "Matt! Tell us a story!" Matt was fresh out of stories, but Cody didn't let us down. They started into Reveal and not long after, Scooter comes running from the back of the venue up on to the stage. As you can see, we were able to get a hold of a chicken costume that would nonetheless cause some laughter. We were able to clear it with security beforehand, because we didn't want poor Scooter being kicked out. The guys were definitely not expecting it and laughed throughout the prank. They knew it was us, but it still turned out perfectly. Matt #2 insists he did NOT shove Scooter off the stage, but we have proof to prove him wrong. This definitely looks like a hardcore shove to me!

After their set, the guys were all full of laughs as they concluded that they were even with Jess and Laura, but that it was so on with us Nashville kids. Little did they know, we were so far ahead of even ;) The usual after show stuff happened and we were eventually kicked out of the venue, but decided to chill out back until the boys were done and ready to load out. Jess & Jessie had a little bit too much fun with Cody's bike:


Finally the guys were done and able to see the nice artwork we had been working on all night :) At this point Cody accepted the fact that we were indeed ahead of them (you know, but who is counting the pranks, hehe). Laura had brought some leftover birthday cake from Arkansas with her to share with us & the guys, and Adam in particular really enjoyed. So much in fact that not only did he stuff his mouth with it, but he also decided to decorate Jess' car with it. We tried to get him to cover Cody with the remaining cake, but Matt #2 insisted that it would be a bad idea, when some little light when off in Adam's head that made him run after Jess' car. They thought this would bring us up to par on the prank wars, but really it has only just begun.

New Music from This Beautiful Republic!

how could you not?!

kelsey.

StorySide:B Needs Our Help!

Yet another one of our bands is in need. This time, it is something that can be fixed somewhat easier than what the Rush of Fools boys are going through. Check out the SS:B Blog:

Hey everyone, on our way from Florida to Cornerstone last night the timing chain broke on our van. This is badd news for an engine. We were stranded on the side of the highway somewhere between Chattanooga and Nashville for several hours. It has caused us to have to buy a new engine, not to mention renting a van to get us to Cornerstone in Illinois (we're still gonna make it!!) and pay for a way home from Nashville where our van will have to remain til it is fixed. It will be about $7000 to get us going again.

We have offered our musical gifts as our spiritual services for almost 4yrs now for very little or no pay. So many times people ask us what they can do for us and we don't know what to say except "pray". In this case we could also use your financial help. It is not easy for us to ask but this is really hitting us hard so if you'd like to help out, please click on the donate button below or send a check to:

StorySide:B
P.O. Box 3547
Brentwood, TN 37024

Special thanks to our friends Jaime Janiszewski and Stephanie Smith for coming to our rescue last night :)

Even though monetary help is not always possible, just by praying for these bands on a regular basis can make a world of difference!

Rush of Fools Needs Our Help!

From the Rush of Fools Myspace:

We need your prayers! Early this morning, Rush Of Fools' trailer was stolen out of our driveway in Alabama. The band has lost everything they own including all merchandise, guitars, cases, amps....anything you would see them play with at a show is gone. Insurance will cover some of the costs, but due to recent purchases and additions to the gear, the value lost is over $60,000. This, as you know, is a major loss for a young band. We know that God has plans in the midst of this. While we look for answers, please pray that our trailer and gear will be found quickly and unharmed. We are all off on vacation this week, and Wes gets married on Saturday. Not exactly the kind of stress you need before your wedding.

Our next set of concerts begin on July 14th, and our management company is working now to help find solutions so we can continue to play concerts and share our music with hurting people who need to hear it.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." This verse is where we all live and breathe. We trust God in all things, even when we don't have the answers to why someone would do this. It's our prayer that whoever took the gear and trailer would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through our stuff. Yes, literally, our "stuff" would be the catalyst to their introduction to Christ.

So, we need your immediate help in two ways. First, if you can pray, please stop right now and ask God to intervene and find our trailer. Second, if you are able to help financially, we would love that support. You can mail checks to Rush Of Fools, Inc at the address below. All money received will go towards being able to replace our gear.

You not only are the best fans in the world, but you are our friends too. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for us, our band, and our families.

Rush Of Fools
PO Box 963
Nolensville, TN 37135

Rush Of Fools

You can stay up-to-date on the status of their stolen trailer by reading their blogs at http://blog.myspace.com/rushoffools.

Sunshine in the Clouds - Fri/Sat of Ichthus

Hey! This is Maria. I'm here to tell you about the rest of Mo and I's amazing weekend in Wilmore, KY. If you don't know where that is, it's ok. Neither do we.

I was all excited about Friday because it was THE DAY for bands. It was like all one awesome amazing goodness was packed into the day of the week that is always looked forward to -- Friday. The bands that were planned to grace us with their presence were Maylene & the Sons of Disaster, As I Lay Dying, TobyMac, The Showdown, Becoming the Archetype, Inhale Exhale, Flatfoot 56, Blaze Entertainment stage, and the band we all know and love, This Beautiful Republic. Maybe those aren't your type of bands....but for me, it was a little slice of heaven mixed with hardcore. We took our time getting out our "bed", aka the back of Mo's car, and I even got a shower in that day. I stood in line for an hour and half to take a 5 minute shower. No lie. I was that quick. :) Mo and I met this super cool southern guy named Perry Stokes (that is an AWESOME name!) who took more time getting ready than we did. He dragged me all around the festival grounds to find a plug so he could use his straightener on his hair. Seriously. After he found one, he proceeded to take out multiple bottles and hair products so that his hair would stay straight and smell wonderful all day long! After we got laughed at by a few teeny boppers, we went to go see some bands play, because after all, that's why were there right?!

After wandering around, we camped out at the Deep End stage and was about to watch a band named after Spiderman's first girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. They just started to play a few tunes and down came the RAIN and washed spiderman's girlfriend out. We all took cover under the tents and then the army men and a really butch woman made us go back to our cars (bc that's a real safe place when there's 50-60mph winds and a tornado watch). During the downpour, Mo and I were inspired by Bear Grylls of Man vs. Wild and collected the rain water off of our manmade tarp-tent. I know this is a lame story, but it's all we got. Everything was canceled for the rest of the day. Eff that crap. Because of the sudden lack of events, I curled up in the car and slept for the next 5 hours. What Mo did during that time, I will never know. But I do wonder where all the food went and why my shirt was cut into pieces...just kidding.

I woke up just in time to see a shaggy haired man walking in front of our car trying to get in the back gate. Seeing that it was dark outside and I have horrible night vision, I had no idea who it was. Turns out, Mo can see fairly well and realized that it was none other than Mr. Andy Smith of TBR trying to get inside the festival grounds because the rest of his band left him! With our expertise, we got him back to his beloved Brandon and TBR clan and were able to chill with the guys while they were there. It's a bummer they didn't get to play :(

Saturday was chaos. Ichthus was doing a lot of major rehaul trying to fit in bands that stayed around hoping that they would be able to play for the kiddos. Bits and pieces would best describe Saturday. I think the highlight for me was seeing The Glorious Unseen and creating relationships with Perry and this other awesome guy we volunteered with, Travis, who happens to know Isaac Dietz. I was fortunate enough to run into them and get to know both guys a little more. Amidst the packed Saturday, Mo and I got to hang out with our friends that played (11ty7, The Glorious Unseen, Through a Glass, Gwen Stacy, Special D, and Josh Brown from Day of Fire), make new friends (After Edmund, Ilia, The Switch, Amy, Travis, and Perry and my new friend from Nashville - Cory! --->) There's too many to keep naming!

We left during MxPx (don't judge us) and drove an hour out of the way to get on a bump, bump, bumpity road and got back in Nashville around the same time we arrived in Kentucky: 4:30am.

The trip was awesome. We barely slept. There was only 1 shower taken. We were able to actually cook mac and cheese to sustain our life. We made around 5-ish new friends. Haste the Day puts on an amazing show...and has a mean cookout. I actually saw a hardcore band who had a chick as their lead singer. It was awkward and I don't think people are ready for that quite yet. We can officially say we survived the wilderness of Kentucky thanks to the expertise of Bear Grylls...and our own improvisation. I got a killer tan. I screamed every time a cicada thought about flying by me. It was entertaining to see the bands react to the cicadas on stage. They screamed and danced around awkwardly as well. We didn't take many pictures but these are a few of my faves. :)

Mo and I are hitting up different festivals every year.
Last year was Creation East.
This year was Ichthus.
Both were beyond what I had hoped for or expected.
I can't even imagine what next year will be like!
Where should we go next??