On Our Way To Crazy

Oh my gosh, you guys. YOU GUYS. I am going to say this, and it is going to sound a little extreme, but it is absolutely true: Yesterday was one of the very best days I have ever had. Seriously.

Yesterday morning was a great one for the youth. We had four kids get baptized yesterday. Four! It was crazy. Over the last few weeks they all approached me separately to talk about it and it all came together yesterday. It was really special – just knowing these kids’ stories and how they got to where they are… it was a big thing, y’all.

(Also, and it feels weird to even type this but I wanted to get it in print for the days that really really suck – our senior pastor told the WHOLE CHURCH yesterday morning that I am one of the best things about GracePointe. He was probably just trying to be nice, but still. Whoa.)

Yesterday afternoon Aaron had a lot of errands to run, so I was on my own. It was an amazing beautiful day, and I spent about three hours laying on a blanket outside reading. Fabulous.

Yesterday evening was a really big one for us, Aaron in particular. This week is a big industry week for him, full of conferences and lunches and showcases and meetings. A couple of months ago, in preparation, he was trying to figure out the best way to showcase his two bands, Remedy Drive and Jackson Waters. Their labels weren’t putting anything together, so Aaron decided to just do it himself. He got himself a sponsor, a club, some supporting acts and a fancy invitation and before we knew it, we were putting on a show.

I don’t know that I can make it clear how big of a deal this was for Aaron. It was like a coming out party for his company. He started this business for these two bands, and last night was his first opportunity to show people what he’s got. Failure wasn’t really an option.

As it got closer, Aaron was getting visibly more nervous. All of our conversations centered around it. How many people would come? Did we remember to invite everyone? What songs should they do? Do we open the bar? Charge admission? How long should the sets be? WHAT IF NO ONE COMES?!!?!?!

Last week Aaron had taken to saying that 75-100 people would be awesome. The club is split into two levels, and that number would fill the bottom half really well. It’s important for the place to feel full, you know? So that was kind of the plan… block off the stairs and fill up the bottom level.

Y’all. When I got there at 8:30 (the show started at 9), there were easily 100 people there. By the time Remedy Drive went onstage, there were 250. When Jackson Waters went on, there were people everywhere. Both levels full, every stool taken, the stairs packed with people. They were spilling out into the courtyard and the bar area. There were people EVERYWHERE.

Who are these people? Where did they come from? How did they know about the show? I have no idea. There were about 20 of our friends there, plus the label people and some festival and booking people. But seriously, between the two of us, we maybe knew 100 of those people. I don’t know who everyone else was or where they came from, but they were there in droves. It was unreal.

It was such a huge night for Aaron. It could not have been bigger or more successful. Both of his bands put on amazing shows and there were tons of people there to see them. I have never been so proud as I was last night watching lines of people wait to talk to him after the show. It’s like he (and his company) are legitimate now, if that makes any sense. He went out on his own, he has two great bands, and he put on a great showcase. Because he is awesome.