Emerald & Alba

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... - James 1:17

When I was younger, I discovered that the land of my distant heritage was one that enraptured my imagination. I fell in love with that which is Celtic – the music, the landscape, the history. I bought albums with harps, fiddles, bodhrans, penny whistles, Uilleann & bagpipes. I bought books about Scotland’s role in history and their role in shaping the Western world. I bought wall calendars with pictures of castles, hillsides, lochs, moors, and mountains to afford me the opportunity to look at something Celtic and beautiful every day. Scotland and Ireland became the landscape of my dreams. I invested time daydreaming about overcast skies, old stone bridges, ancient cathedrals, fog on the Highlands, and dinner at small pubs complete with fireplaces and fresh Guinness. I began many sentences about this wonderful part of the world with the phrase, “One day….” and no-doubt exhausted my family and friends with declarations about how I couldn’t wait to get over here.

This morning, I woke up in Dublin and am currently on a ferry headed for the coast of Scotland, on my way to play music in Glasgow.

Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin - circa 1030 AD

When I was younger, two bands changed the course of my life forever. I discovered U2 and The Police when I was 13 years-old and became convinced that a musical road was the one I was meant to travel on for the rest of my life. It is no exaggeration to say that The Joshua Tree completely altered my young understanding of what rock music could do to a person’s spirit and consciousness, and when I finally got a chance to watch Rattle and Hum and saw Larry Mullen, Jr. slam out his groove to the Beatles’ Helter Skelter, I said, “That, right there, is what I want to do for people.” Most all of my musical experience has flowed from the seed that those four guys from Ireland planted.

Last night I played a sold-out gig at a venue that U2 themselves performed at a handful of decades ago.

The River Liffey in the beautiful city.

Dreams are sacred things. They are gifts to us, not of our own making, and they are meant to be safeguarded, fought for, entreated over, and cherished throughout our lives. We hold them before God with an open hand and wage war for them with a sword in the other. To achieve one’s dreams takes persistence and the forsaking of both comfort and the status quo: one must endure criticism and degradation and resist the call of his own spirit to give up an unnecessary struggle and succumb to the flow of the world around him. We are not required to pursue our dreams, of course, but we might just have to answer for whether or not we did and why.

But once you reach the top of that mountain…. Once you make it around that curve in the road…. The view is absolutely breathtaking.

I’ve found myself several times on this tour stunned by the reality of the situation I’m in. I sit in the front of our tour van in order to take in all that’s around me as we pass by. I wave my touristy flag high as I break out my camera to take a picture of an old church, a river walk, or something else that the locals pass by every single day. I queue up old U2 albums or the Braveheart soundtrack on the iPod while we pass through the countryside. I am not particularly given to too much sentimentality (a few doses of it is quite healthy, I’m sure), but over here I cannot manage to get enough.

I suppose that what I’m attempting to get out in the midst of all this is that the joy that comes from seeing one’s dreams realized is well-worth the blood, sweat, and tears required to reach them. God gives us dreams to show us what is possible in life: He wants us to live and not simply to exist. He wants to illustrate to us the reality of unimaginable riches beyond what is normal, what is usual, what is standard. Don’t bury your talent. Acknowledge where it came from, invest it, and never give up the fight.

The prize is completely worth the price.

Dear Manchester,

That was awesome.

Sincerely,

Tyler, Josh, and Joel

London Calling

Here we are, backstage at the University of Manchester's Academy 3. It's early and they've provided us with free broadband; I've come to learn that I need to take advantage whenever I can!

Midday in Manchester

We are only two shows into this tour, and already I find myself enamored with this British isle. London is truly a city all its own. Large, to be sure; massive, even. But without the claustrophobia or grime of other huge towns. She is busy and active and jam-packed with class: thousands of people fill the main thoroughfares, all seemingly with their own unique and individual style. On top of it all, the Londoners are accommodating and genuinely nice. I have been won over.

Cheers.

The London performance took place at Dingwalls, a club that finds its home in historic Camden Town. A vibrant energy seeps from the very stones of the buildings and the crowd was no-less electric, helping to make a great memory for us American blokes. Before the show, I enjoyed my very first dinner of Bangers & Mash (exquisite); afterward, a drink with a fellow high school alumnus who was too good for any of us at the Hawley Arms, formerly owned by Amy Winehouse.

Lamps, hats, ties... Vibe.

The following day found our crew with no particular place to be, so of course my history bug flared up and I was able to convince the guys to spend the day taking on the city by foot. St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Parliament & Big Ben: the architecture and history undoubtedly speak for themselves over here.

"We are only two shows into this tour, and already I find myself enamored..."

This tour is quickly turning into the adventure I've always hoped it would be.

Historia Sustinet

Rockin' Charlie Dickens' Hometown

Cheers, everyone.

I'm blogging from backstage here at the Wedgewood Rooms of Portsmouth, waiting to go on for Tyler Ward's first-ever headlining show in Europe. Despite the setback incurred by blowing a few fuses (240 British volts going right through everything), the sound check went swimmingly and the show will indeed go on.

Always cool using the I.

There is a noticeable difference so far in the way our British friends manage their smaller music venues. If I had to, I'd eat off the floor here... in the bathroom. Not to sound at all hyperbolic, but most of the American crews and club owners I've had to work with in the past could certainly learn a thing or two from their British counterparts. How nice it is to feel comfortable and taken care of when you're almost halfway around the world. (Despite the bizarre potato chip flavors, that is... Prawn Cocktail just doesn't seem quite right to me.)

Mercedes-Benz providing us our home away from home.

I can't relay just how excited and blessed we all feel to be on this tour. Dreams that have been fomenting for more than a decade will come to fruition tonight for this drummer, and I personally could not be more thankful. The vibe is chill, the mood is up, and everyone is feeling relaxed and excited for whatever comes our way over the next few weeks.

The Rented Party - a Yamaha Maple Custom

Keep checking in for more updates.... can't wait to post them!

The Americans Are Coming

The countdown is officially on.

First-time travel to Europe is reason enough to be excited. But the opportunity to do something we've never done before certainly ups the ante a bit. 

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for us. First priority went, of course, to rehearsals. The standard we've set for Tyler Ward's first-ever (headlining) European tour is pretty high, so we've been intent on crafting a set that won't let anybody down. There are some familiar favorites, some brand new songs, and even a few surprises buried in the bottom of the cereal box. A bevy of different circumstances have forced us to restrict the personnel for this particular run to the titular Mr. Ward, the lifetime-appointed Minister of Suave, Joshua Corbett, and myself. It's been an interesting adventure to adapt Tyler's music to a three-piece format, but the results have turned out to be satisfactorily piquant and we can't wait to unveil a brand new kind of Tyler Ward performance.

We've also taken the time to record a special  EP to be sold exclusively at the shows on this particular tour. A brand spankin'-new song and a few re-imagined T-Ward classics (from way back before the days of YouTube) are going to be available to the European fans as a special way of saying "Thank you!" for all the incredible support they've thrown our way. But have no fear, non-Euro fans: something tells me that the music will make its way to your own collections soon enough....

Tyler & Josh get their tracking on.

The final piece of our Euro Tour Boot Camp was held last night at Lucky Joe's Bar in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Just a couple short years ago, you would've had a very good chance of sauntering in to hear a young troubadour by the name of Tyler Ward fill the late night air with classic covers and bar tunes played on his acoustic guitar. So, with a healthy dose of sentimentality we decided Lucky Joe's would be a fun place to stage a special live rehearsal performance of our set before we head off to where they drive on the other side of the road. The atmosphere was laid-back & fun (perhaps a little too fun at times...), and it was certainly good to get the kinks out a bit, both logistically and musically. Thanks to everyone who showed up to watch us practice in public - the one thing rehearsals never seem to have enough of is applause when you get something right!

The Trio @ Lucky Joe's

So that brings us to now: only one weekend and one ocean stand between us and our first European tour, the first Tyler Ward Trio performances, and my first trip across the pond. It's hard to say exactly what the most exciting element of all this happens to be, but it's sure to be an experience none of us will ever forget.