It was our first show of the year, our first show with Annandale, our first travel troubles, and our first show officially in Nashville. There were a lot of firsts that took place at this show. So for those of you who want to know what it's like to be a DIY band. Here is a perfect example of the hard work that goes into it.
First of all, every single one of us had to take off work so we could make it to the show on time. So there is sacrifice number 1. We are all actually loosing money at this point. Then we all show up an hour early, prior to the estimated time of departure, so we can load the van up with all of the equipment needed. Jeff, Raymond and I at this point are ready and excited to hit the road until.......... we realize that the van's tires looked like Marshmallows melting inside a S'more. So the panic begins, we scramble to find a shop that will replace the tires and do it in a timely manner. After several phone calls, and after several stops we found a small place in Athens that said they could help us out quickly. Jeff, Raymond and I waited patiently inside their tiny lobby that allowed us to look through the windows to watch the mechanics as they worked on the van. A couple of minutes pass by and a gentleman walks in to inform us that the radiator hose was broken too and needed to be replaced. That's when I decided to make this video. We have got to do something to make this fun right?
We made jokes and tried to make a serious/stressful situation fun, but the clock kept ticking and we needed to be in Nashville in an hour for sound check. I eventually brought up how I think God allows us to be put in these situations so we have to completely rely on him to take care of us. Honestly, he deserves all of the credit. Jeff (whom paid over $400 to save the van) made a comment about how God was going to let us leave in 5 minutes (most likely as a joke) but when the time came, that's exactly what happened. We finally got out of there right at 5:30pm and scrambled to get to Nashville as fast as we could, we didn't hit any traffic, and we were only 30 minutes late. It turned out to be no big deal, another miracle.
When we arrived we unloaded the equipment out of the van and onto the stage. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. We did a thorough sound check and got ready for the show. On this particular night Adam and Raymond's lovely girlfriends were there and they helped set up and work our merch booth. (Thanks again girls!)
The show was fun and it was probably one of the best sound situations we have ever had in my experience with Estoria. One of my favorite parts in this set was when we were performing "From Darkness". At the corner of my eye I saw John jump onto one of the speakers in the audience, Jeff ferociously play his guitar, Raymond drop to his knees, and Adam nail the climatic break down of the song. I am always impressed with my guys showmanship. Adam (our new drummer) did a fantastic job through out the entire set and adds a whole new level of quality to what Estoria brings to the table.
After our set we tore down, and loaded the van back up and mingled with the crowd. We got all kinds of compliments about our song "Can't Take It" and everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy our music. We watched our new friends Annandale take the stage and later realized we have recorded with the same producer. (It's a small world.)
The headliner of the show, Flawless Pursuit took the stage next. These guys are super talented and are always so much fun to watch on stage. If you haven't been to one of their shows, go! You won't regret it. This was our second show to share the stage with these guys. They are super friendly and just lots of fun to hang out with.
This show was another opportunity for me to exercise patients, stewardship, and relationship building. It's so easy for us to look at all of the countless hours that go into practicing for a show, emails and time sacrificed to get on a show, money spent to take the day off, to spend money on repairs, for gas to drive for 3 hrs, only to play for a small group of people, and to not get paid at all. It so easy to focus on the negative. But for me, that night I learned several things. I learned (once again) to rely on God to remove all the obstacles for this show. I learned how to appreciate every single person that came out to the show. I learned to take advantage of every possible conversation I had and to somehow share Jesus with people. I got to share my testimony with two people in particularly that night. That in itself made all of the sacrifice and money worth it. I know I had a blast and so did my guys. We made new friends and made new memories together. Example: Check out this video of Jeff and Raymond trying to do their own acapella version of Linkin Park's "Echo".
Hilarious right? Well it is to me. So what is the point of this blog entry you ask? The point is, if you as a musician ever find yourself pointing out all of the negatives, stop. That's it. Just stop. Force yourself to focus on the good. Not only will you be in a better mood, but you most likely will start to be a better steward of your time and conversations at each show. Figure out the "Why?". Figure out why you continue to pour endless amounts of time and money into your craft. For me, I'm on a mission and I'm not on a worldly one either. I'm on a kingdom, secret mission to share Jesus to those who need him the most.
~ Meagan
Now that's over, who is coming out to see Estoria open up for 12 Stones on Feb 6th?
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