As a musician, and as a member of a Christian band, my goal is to inspire, to move, and to lift people up.  I think the other guys (and girl) in Maywood would agree that we're achieving our mission when we're able to use these gifts and talents God has given us to bring people closer to their faith.  Because of this mission, every once in a while we're given the chance to be a part of some truly amazing experiences.  I feel like tomorrow night's show is one of those occasions.
 
In case you weren't aware, tomorrow's show is the Danner family benefit concert at St. Pius X High School.  We're playing to help raise money for the Danners, a family whose faith has been challenged and tested by unimaginable tragedy.  They're enduring more than any family should.  We've been asked to help lighten the load on them, and it's something I'm honored to have been asked to do.
 

I can tell the severity of the rainfall by the frequency of the taps I hear on the air conditioning vent in the ceiling of my office.
 
I am not a happy camper.
 
It started raining sometime before lunch.  That's maybe an hour ago.  I found out when Jess sent me a text asking what we're going to do about tonight.  Which leads to me exactly why I'm not a happy camper.  Hillsong United plays in KC tonight.  I've never seen them live.  My first Hillsong show.
 
Stupid rain.
 
So here I am, sitting, praying for a little bit of clear sky, just for a little while tonight.  I know a lot of people who could benefit from this concert tonight.  I hope it clears up.

Last week, the world lost a musical legend, and someone who was extremely dear to my heart.  His name was Luigi Waites.

I met Luigi when I was about 16 years old, just learning bass guitar in high school.  He was 68 at the time, but you would never have known that from his energy level.  I was a teenager, barely able to keep up with him.  I met him through my high school's percussion teacher.  Her band needed a fill-in bass player, and she thought I'd do the job nicely.  I had no idea that one of the vibraphone players in her group would have such a lasting impact on my life.

Unless you've been living under a rock for a while, you've heard about the disasterous earthquake that hit Haiti.  The earthquake, which measured around a magnitude 7.0, was centered just southwest of Port-au-Prince.
 

Hey everyone!  Hope your Christmas was excellent!  Arizona was, well, perfect.  It rained one day, sunny and high 60's the rest.  It was the perfect recharge... I really needed a vacation.  Now that I'm back in KC, it's time to shake the dust off.
 
We've got a bunch of stuff coming up.  Within a week, we're playing at Kingdom Kafe, FBC Albany, and Club D Mask Us.  So it's time to refocus.  It's a new year, and time to see what Maywood can do.

I know it seems to be a little quiet around here at maywoodband.com, but we're not hibernating.  Things have been going on behind the scenes... big things.
 
Like shows being lined up for late winter and early spring.  Like recording studio time being worked out amongst the members of Maywood.  Like weekend-long sessions in Jared's basement, hashing out guitar parts and recording tracks for ... what... AN ALBUM.
 

We had an amazing time down in California, Missouri this past weekend.  The leaders did a killer job putting together some great activities and great worship for everybody there, and the kids were outstanding.  As with any event like a Disciple Now weekend, you learn a few things along the way.  Here are just a few things I picked up from the weekend:
 
1. Never, ever try to match the awesome energy of a 7th or 8th grader.  It is just not going to happen.

So I finally had a chance to flesh out the image galleries.  Go take a look!  There are tons of pictures of Maywood working in the studio, rehearsing for shows, and just generally goofing around.
Enjoy!

The Monday before playing live, that is. This is about the time I start to get that little feeling in the bottom of my stomach, thinking about setting up my gear and making a ton of noise on stage. Sound checks, mic checks, run a couple of songs, and then the wait...
..
..
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If you're a Twitter user, you should check out the maywoodband account. We've got MaywoodBand.com wired into Twitter so that whenever anything interesting happens here, a Tweet gets posted there. Follow us, and you're sure to have the latest info on concerts and the up-coming album!