Chicago, Chicagoing, Chicagone

The past few weeks have been pretty eventful. So much has happened and Ive been short of a decent wireless connection 90% of the time. Now Im on a good one and can post some images to show what's been going on.
Floor fell through in Abbotsford, Canada. Long story. Thank God nobody died.

Early morning view from the front of the bus, including bird poop on the windshield

Then came Chicago and all it has to offer.

96th floor

Deep dish

from

Mmmm. Good

More pizza, thin crust,

not as good, but in Wicker Park, great place to hangout.

a couple more days and Ill be back in Texas ready for some Chuy's, Pappasito's, and Rudy's BBQ.

Canadang Im surprised

Been a bump on a blog these past weeks. Loving the play on words huh? I get blamed much too often for having the pun ridden humor of an 85 year old man.
Flew into Canada the other day to start the 2nd leg of this tour with the Shanes and Beth. This run is looking like its going to be a lot of fun. Playing 10 shows in a row in the Great White Hype that is Canada. Tomorrow we are in Vancouver which is the city I am looking forward to the most. The only other time Ive been in Canada is with Crowder to some conference in Edmonton and already these past 3 days are redeeming my once lackluster outlook on America Junior (canada). Best of all, get to hang out with the Starfield guys for another 3 weeks. These guys are so rad and have such hearts for the Lord. Dave and Gordie are the new drummer and bass player for my side project, Wild Ponies. Clips to come shortly.
Ill probably just post a lot of pictures.
I just finished this book my buddy Jeff gave me "Christ our Mediator" by CJ mahoney. Great book about Christ and the cross, and how we constantly need to cling to it.
Im currently reading AW Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God". Man, too much to blog about in that one. Reality, believe it. More to come on that once Im finished.
Mind you, these are probably the first two books of the religious/spiritual vein Ive ever read. It has me reading the Bible a lot more, something I think we could all stand more of.
"The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the church is famishing for want of His presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and that God is in us. This would burn away the impurities from our lives..." - Tozer

Time Off

Been bad at updating, no more excuses. Im no Kenny Bloggins, but this past week could easily qualify as my spring break and deems itself public.
Fun was had.
Found myself at several establishments that offer the 2 in 1 water/minute maid lemonade trick.

One of my favorite drinks is water with lemon, but recently I've gotten in the bad habit of replacing complimentary lemons with fountain lemonade. Probably illegal, and immoral, but man, nothing better than diluted lemonade, seriously. Do you do this?
Went to a Mavericks game with some friends.

Got to hang out in the locker room with some new friends

Played some poker with a few more colleagues

Joey dealing, above

Shane and Hunter about to bet their savings at this point.
Overall, it was a great week of relaxing, stealing lemonade, hanging with friends, losing money, and sharing meals with close friends and family. A good way to see myself off for the next 4 weeks.

Leaving Arizona

I should probably update on what's happened since I last got on here.
Last week I was in Houston playing a couple times and supporting the first sunday of my brother's new church plant. It was definitely a busy weekend, but I feel like I caught up with a lot of friends and became better friends with some once considered acquaintances. I am in the Phoenix airport right now waiting for a delayed flight to show up. These last couple days were great. I spent Wednesday through Friday recording at a studio in the desert outside of Tuscon, Az.
The weather was great and the producer, Tom, had an incredible house with a sweet view of the mountains and Arizona sky.


Tom was a new producer for me to work with and I couldn't have left more pleased at how easy he was to work with. We tracked on this singer songwriter's record for a couple days, then recorded some of Tom's original stuff. It was a blast.
Im on my way home to Dallas for 24 hours, then back to Houston to play again. After that I have a couple weeks off before I go to Canada for about 3 weeks.
This just in, standing right in front of me in the airport in full "coach shorts" regalia.

Reversed thinking. Too much baggage, not enough clothes.

Easter Weekend

Just got back from spending 3 days in Houston this Easter weekend.
I got to spend some great time with my brother Jason and sister in law Emily. That means I got to spend a lot of time chasing this one around.

She can down some flour tortillas, thats for sure.
I played with Robbie and the guys at the Woodlands annual good friday service and had a blast. Speaking of blasts, my pedalboard had one too at the end of Shine Your Light. Awkward. So good to play with those guys again. Spent this morning playing with Robbie again at Ecclesia's Easter service. We played this Jon Foreman song "white as snow" from his winter EP. That song has spoken to me so much in recent months and really spoke to the crowd at church this morning.
I saw a ton of old friends and played music with some new ones. Robbie's kids are growing up so fast. I usually brace myself when I see Ethan because I can almost always expect some kind of kick in the crotch or a bite on the arm, but this time, kindergartener Ethan comes up and greets me with "Hello Mr. Taylor, how are you doing?" What?!
Had a lot of great conversations with old and new friends this weekend. It was awesome because somehow selflessness, humility, and grace eased their way into these conversations quicker than ever. God has really been stretching me with selflessness this season in my life. In Hosea it says "When I fed them they were satisfied, when they were satisfied they became proud, then they forgot me." So many times I forget how God has fed me in every aspect of my life: family, vocation, friends, etc... I take all of those blessings for granted and indulge myself in prideful cynicism and personal wants. I fail to see that He wants me to be broken in Him. I long for a broken heart in Him.
I just picked up the new Daniel Lanois album "here is what is".

Track 5 starts with Brian Eno talking about beauty and how some of the most beautiful music and art that he has experienced comes from such unpromising beginnings. He then calls himself an unpromising beginning. We are all unpromising beginnings. Im learning that in all areas of life it takes a sort of letting go to gain control.
Im now back in Dallas

These next couple of weeks I am in the studio in Dallas and on the road with Gatlin Elms and the Shanes. Check out Gatlin at www.myspace.com/Gatlinelmsband. Cool stuff!

"The sacrifices of our God are a broken and a contrite heart
Against You and You alond have I sinned."

Chattanooga

Chattanooga, Tn




Day off in Chattanooga, Tn. I love this town. Broad street has so much to offer in the means of cool places to eat, great pubs, and the aquarium with an IMAX theater right next to it. Always a great idea. I played a week long gig with Robbie here about 2 years ago at some college on Lookout Mountain and we would always make the drive down to downtown Chattanooga for some late night relaxing. That might have been the same time we flew these
this is literally a go kart with hang-glider wings on it that takes you about 1000 feet in the air Im guessing. It was completely unsafe but a complete blast.
I stumbled across Phantom Planet's myspace yesterday to discover that they have a new record coming out April 15th. These guys have made some of my favorite records in the past 7 years. The Guest was such a place in time record for me. It combined the best of what I like about Elvis Costello and The Beatles mixed with Ric Ocasek vocal delivery. 3 years ago they brought their self titled record which sounded like they had been listening to the Cardigan's "gran turismo" and a little Fugazi. The self titled album is compressed so tastefully but at the same time sounds like it could blow up your soundsystem at any given moment. Songs like "knowitall" and "1st things 1st" are stand outs to me. Their new record is called "Raise the Dead" and you can hear two new songs "Leader" and "Do the Panic" on their myspace. These songs are so well crafted and combine hints of the Zombies, the Cars, and the tongue in cheek factor that Weezer/Beach Boys have always brought. Check it out if you want. This will a record store purchase for me.
Last night we were in Dublin, Ga. We started at 7:30 and the whole thing (with 3 bands) had to be done by 10pm.
We played a quick 45-50 minute set and I couldn't have been happier. Here is what it looked like

Dublin, Ga

Tuesday's Gone

Tonight I am in Clinton, Mississippi. "Not quite" Jackson, Ms. I told you. Today isn't over, but it has been an easy and relaxing day so far. The tour had a day off yesterday in St. Louis, Mo. Days off always fall on Mondays and are usually way past due at that point. Play 6 days, take one day off. Monday. We hung out at the St. Louis galleria for most of the day. A group of us saw Bank Job. Save your cash. After that we chilled out and went to P.F. Chang's for dinner and Cheesecake factory later...decadence at its finest. It was a great group that provided a great evening.
Today was another big grinner. It doesn't take much to make me smile on the road. Today's surprise was laundry machines in the venue. This means I have clean clothes till I get home on Monday. That's something I definitely look forward to. I have about 5 weeks off and during that time I'll be recording some, playing in Houston a bit, hanging with friends and family, and moving out of the house Im currently leasing in Dallas. Any ideas where I should move?
Been listening to a lot of Nirvana the past week. I can't get over how great they were. 'Sliver' is standing out a ton right now.
Ive also been listening to a lot of Weezer's "Pinkerton" album. Same nostalgia, different time periods for me. "The Good Life" always stands out.
In stride with my previous posts I thought I would give you a stage shot that wasn't so lame. This one is with the stage on.

Clinton, Ms