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My buddy and lead guitarist, Ugur Taner, has been waiting for his new rig to be built and sent from the Netherlands or wherever it is... He sent this email to me today:
I just posted seven songs from the 10/03/06 concert at PCC where we opened for the Lost Dogs. A lot's changed since then... David had just joined us, Ugur only had two kids, and I was 30 pounds heavier!
Enjoy the music! I've posted it on Youtube.
First, I found out I got to sing the National Anthem for the 49ers. Then I found out I get to sing when they're playing the Seahawks (whose head coach is Covenanter Mike Holmgren. Now I find out that Jerry Rice is retiring as a 49er and he'll be having his retirement ceremony THAT DAY. It just gets better and better.
I'm in Sacramento for a class with my denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church. I am working toward my commissioning in the church... like ordination, for staff ministers like me. I love this class... It's all about theology, and we're wrestling through big issues. I've met some really cool people, and I'm grateful to God for all He's doing in my life. It's such a cool opportunity to be here and be learning so much. I love the Covenant... It's really a great home for me spiritually.
Check it out here.
Also, Jen Ehinger is hosting a video she took of it over at her Myspace. Check it out here. Thanks, Jen!
Oh yeah... I'm excited cuz Luanne and I are joining Michael and Nicole Hoefer to see Jason Mraz tonight too!
It's Sunday night, and I am beat... It's been a heck of a weekend.
Friday night, the Koinonia gig was awesome. Steve and Brad and I had a lot of fun. Luanne and Stacie (Brad's wife) were able to come out and enjoy! (Special thanks to Lindy for watching the kids) I really enjoyed meeting Staci Frenes; her set was awesome.
Saturday Luanne and I took the kids to Pier 39 for the 49ers National Anthem auditions. It was crazy and stressful, but well worth it. 30 of us had been chosen to sing, so we did... one right after the other, O say can you see... After we all sang, the judges took about 45 minutes and whittled it down to 12 of us. Then we all sang again... By the dawn's early light... Then after another extended break, they came out and named the eight of us who will sing the national anthem at a 49ers home game this season! I'm in! We took group shots and headshots... then got together and talked about what to expect... I guess it's a pretty big deal to sing for 70,000 people! You can read all about it here. Not sure why my name's not mentioned, but you see my smilin' mug... I'll know in the next few weeks when I'm singing.
Special thanks to Jen & Steve Ehinger, Ron & Samuel Dahlin, Don Robbins and Gloria Ambrosini for coming out to support me! It was great to have some friends there.
So I was late getting back to PCC for my band's soundcheck, but it worked out fine. The concert rocked. Sara Groves has long been a favorite of mine, and she and her band were just amazing. Andrea Hamilton opened... What a big voice from a tiny little body! She's great... And it was the PCC debut of the Matt Nightingale Band. Very fun to play to a supportive hometown crowd. Everybody was very receptive and encouraging. I am really grateful for Ugur, Steve, Geoff and Brad. They're a great group of musicians... This is gonna be a fun ride, I can tell...
Of course what I haven't been mentioning is the stifling heat. In my six years in the Bay Area, I have never experienced such amazing heat. We're breaking records left and right. It's been over 100 every day for a week... Amazing. Unfortunately we only pulled about 300 people for the concert. I'm sure we could have packed it out if it had been a little cooler... Our worship center desperately needs A/C. This morning in church, Sara Groves played a few songs... She was laughing about the concert, saying that it was a truly bonding experience... we were all melting together in the heat.
This morning was great. Sara sang again... "Add to the Beauty," "The Word" and "Something Changed."
Took the afternoon off - Justin and Kirsten led worship at Sunday At 6 tonight - so the family could take Josh to Frontier Ranch. He had a great time last year, so I know he'll love it this year too. Lots of friends are there this week with him, so that's cool.
Now I'm going to bed... Taking Monday off from work. Praying the kids will let me sleep in a bit!