Awesome time so far

Well, we have been in Connecticut for 2 days now and are loving it. We come from a relational church in Kansas. What that means is that our church is a big family. We live lives together, we spend time together outside of the walls of the church. We laugh together, cry together, help one another and serve each other whenever possible. It is not the typical American church you could say. In fact, it is quite rare. We found it several years ago and have never looked back. It is home. Coming to the North East was purposed 3 fold for us. We have never been to New England, so the chance to do so with our kids was a big part. To see the history come alive in their eyes at the same time it will come to life in ours is awesome. To see things that we have never seen before...Like Niagra falls, New York City, Boston and the North East coast of the Atlantic...wow. Also to promote my CD by playing at several venues in the area. But our primary goal was to spend time with a good friend who moved out to Connecticut 6 years ago who once was a part of that church family we love so much. Keith Marshall has been a friend of mine since college. We reconnected in Pittsburg and have been close friends ever since. When he left to move to New England, is was as if I was loosing a good friend. In fact, we gained more friends because he moved out here. Our visit here has been a blessing in that Keith, having found a church in Connecticut not that different from our church back home, the transition has been quite easy. We have been staying with the Webers here. They opened their house to total strangers based solely on the words of our friend Keith. This is what is called relational living. They have been most gracious to us and have not only opened up their home, but their hearts as well. it is truly good to know that the family of God is wide reaching...this is a relationship that will not be lost with absence. Once we leave, we will continue to keep in touch with them.

We travel tomorrow to NYC and are very much looking forward to it. We are traveling by train from New Haven, CT to the city. I guess parking is a booger there....So till next time...Jamison

We made it!

Dennis and I were too tired when we made it to New York last night to blog, and we have been non-stop today driving to Connecticut. He stayed after church tonight to practice with the worship team, so I will blog tonight. :)

The first 10 minutes of our trip will HOPEFULLY be the worst of it. We loaded the van, and at 9:45 p.m. got in to head out. The van didn't start. The battery ran down (a new battery!), so Jesse helped us charge it. Off we went. We just crossed into Missouri, and we were pulled over for speeding. No ticket...just informing us it is 55 mph, not 65. Whew. The rest of yesterday was many hours of driving. Dennis drove until Indianapolis, I drove from there to outside of Cleveland, then he drove into Buffalo. We checked in, went and saw Niagara Falls, ate, then crashed.

We got up this morning and drove through beautiful countryside of New York, saw the Erie Canal, Massachusetts, and arrived in New Britain, Connecticut this afternoon. We are staying with a lovely family who graciously opened their home to strangers. But, because we are brothers and sisters in Christ, it felt like we have known each other for years. Keith Marshall, our friend for many years, met us for dinner at our host family's home, then we all went to church. We met very nice people and have made plans to get with several of them. Their church is going through 1 Thessalonians. The pastor spoke about it verse for verse, then we broke into small groups and discussed it further. I really enjoyed that.

Tomorrow we are meeting Keith and his sister for breakfast, then we will check out things locally. We appreciate prayers so far, and please continue to pray that God would use us on this trip and for our safety.

VACATION!!!

Well, that magical time has come...the summer vacation. I have been so incredibly busy through the summer starting in May with playing events all over the midwest, working countless hours and saving my pennies in anticipation for this particular time. We (my family and I ) are about to set sail on a voyage aboard the USS Big Red. Translation, our 1993 Ford Club wagon van. It is a huge van purchased for the sole purpose of touring and long trips with the family. There is enough room for the whole band and all of our gear. I found it on craigslist for $1500! This van is in amazing shape...New motor, tranny, exhaust, ignition system, battery and 4 brand new tires. Been to the shop for a full on inspection and it is ready for the road. So tomorrow at 8pm we leave the heat and humidity of S.E. Kansas for the lush mountains, sandy beaches and sprawling cities of New England. I have booked 5 events out there to promote the CD release. I have a concert in New York, 1 in Boston, another in Western Mass. and 2 in CT. So needless to say, I am pretty stoked about just getting to play. On top of that, we will be doing extensive traveling in the area taking in all the sites. I will be posting photos on my facebook profile as we go so check that out if you want to see where we are.

August is building up to be a busy month of playing all over the local are as well. We have been blessed to have several opportunities to play and have been blessed by those who have hosted us. I look forward to the next few months as the band and I play and hopefully reflect the relational church message that we sing about. Thanks for checking in! Till next time - Jamison

Amping up

I know, I know...I am the worst blogger on earth...but some exciting developments are happening. My record company makes a video trailer for all of their artists in effort to get the word out on their project. I sent final approval 3 days ago on it and today I get a call from the company telling me that it aired on VH1, MTV2, Comedy Central and CMT and played a total of 7 times on those networks today! Pretty stoked about it...You can see it here...

On another note, we are really getting the music down now...we have been playing as a band at all of the events so far and I love it! I realize that I will not be able to bring a band everywhere, but I sure love it when they can be there. I am pulling from my friends who play instruments to play the dates with me. My old band "Far From Perfect" has gotten back together in support of the CD and have really pulled together well. Thanks to Kent, Daryl, Danny, Dakota and the occasional Hunter on bass for joining me on the road. I hope to play many more events in the future with them. Till next time...Jamison

Away we go...

Well, May has begun and has started off great! I played a worship concert on the 1st with my old band "Far From Perfect". It was a great time of praise and worship. It really felt good to be back with the guys playing again. We have played a few places before this event, but not much as a group. We seemed to gel very well. There were about 30-40 people there, so it was very intimate in nature. It was funny when after the service, there were some tweenage girls running around trying to get autographs...My friend and guitar player Kent was asked to sign the back of their hands...They were laughing and saying how "cute" he was...I was ROLLING!!! Myself nor any of the guys are really about signing autographs or self glorification, but that was such a classic moment, I HAD to blog about it.
I am looking forward with great anticipation to playing another 8-10 events in the next 2 months. Several bookings are opening up in August and on into the fall. The CD comes out officially on June 1st. Pretty exciting stuff. I am optimistic that God will show his favor on the album and put it into the ears of people who need to hear it.
Please check the dates on my website for more event dates. Till next time. - Jamison

Looking forward

Have not blogged for a while, but I have had a busy past month or so. I try to get on the Twitter thing, but i do not think anyone is reading it anyway. My April has been fraught with many long hours at work. We have a man out with a wrist injury and he is not slated to come back for a month. While the extra time has been hard to deal with, and being away from my family has been even harder, I feel that the overtime pay is truly God's provision for me. You see, next month marks the first time in since, well ever...that I have multiple bookings set up within a month. I am excited to get out and play the songs that God has given me to people all over the area. I am also negotiating with several booking agents to retain their services in order to gain event bookings nation wide over the summer. Lets hope for a good one to help in this effort. Touring costs money, a LOT of money. So as often as I can I am either working to save up or playing in hopes of selling enough CD's to raise funds for the events. Please pick up the CD, if you already have, please plug it for me! I need every one who is praying for me in this venture to also be proactive and tell your friends. Till next time...Jamison

Work Work Work...

It has been a crazy month...Working 70-90 hours a week can flat out kill a guy. I am putting in OT at work because we have a guy out with an injury. I am saving up for the events that I feel God will be helping me to book this summer and beyond. Hoping to go to Canada for a week, have been talking to several festival organizers and have booked a few things. Really hoping things pick up on the record sales front. Seems like a lot of people just have not heard it yet. Getting some radio play as well. So things are looking up. Still, I am admittedly impatient. HAHA. Well, thanks for looking in. -Jamison