Salutations to all!! This is a belated update of what we have been doing. Two weekends ago found The Cause on the road again. We hadn't done much after ending the summer tour, so it was exciting to be headed out to play music again. Our destination was Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson, MN to play for a youth rally they were hosting. The riding situation was a little less tasteful though. Instead of being able to relax and recline in the van Roxanne, we five found ourselves stuck in Tiny Jim (Lance's vehicle, a GMC Jimmy). We actually touched each other because the space was so limited...and no...I didn't embrace the idea thrown out there that it would just help us bond better. No more bonding please! But we got to MN without any mechanical issues and that was a blessing. The only thing was, when we arrived, everything was dark and locked up. Hmm. As Kade, our sound technician, contemplated removing the window screen from the guys dorm, the head dean appeared and asked us if there was a problem. We assured him there was none, and that we were just five lowly college boys looking for some warm blankets. So we got settled in, and went to bed. Sabbath morning we went to church and later that afternoon set up our soundsystem in the local Hutchinson Park where the meetings for the youth rally had been taking place. We did a concert that evening and want to give a big shoutout to the youth from Maplewood, Minnetonka, and the surrounding area!!! Ya'll rocked and it was really fun seeing you get into the music and being able to join in with you. That night, we sold our first CD's and posters! Exciting stuff...you should probably buy one if you haven't already. :)
Midday Sunday found us on our way towards the Assembly of God Church in Le Mars, IA. This would be our second time to open for the band Remedy Drive, who is promoting their new CD Daylight. We got to the church before they did, and on the way, Hiroshi's hand was stung by a yellowjacket. He pushed through the pain though becuase he's a warrior. The church had tons of assistants to help bring in instruments and all the gear, so set up went quickly. We bairly were able to get a sound check before doors opened at 6:00pm. It was estimated there were between 350 and 400 in attendance for the evening. The countdown began and we took the stage. It was a lot of fun playing and thanks to all ya'll who came to our table afterwards and talked to us. Christian music fans are so cool! Thanks to ya'll who supported us and bought some merch too...you're awesome. Hope you were blessed.
That night we drove back to Lincoln through one of the best/worst lightning/rain storms I've ever been in. It was so hardcore that Little Jimmy's left wiper broke off track and started to fling itself off the windshield on the left side of the vehicle. This presented a problem, but Lance did a good job of getting us back to Lincoln all in one piece.
The weekend was memorable and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Hope to be coming to your neighborhood very soon. Someone should work on that!! :) Peace.
- michae
