Nashville Diaries: Week 8

It’s been another busy two weeks here in Nashville, and I continue to learn so much about this town and its people. Here’s a few of the highlights:

• I was able to meet with Michael Card this Wednesday. Michael is one of my childhood music heroes, and not only did we hit it off, but we were able to talk for almost two hours about Taylor Swift's latest hit record (he had some amazing perspectives on it, since he's penned 19 #1 hits in christian music over the years) , touring, and how to maintain your marriage when you're traveling constantly. We also talked about his upcoming Christmas tour, which sounded like too much fun. It was truly inspiring to talk with a man with so much wisdom, so much talent, and such a heart for the Lord and the people of Nashville. 

• Earlier this week I hung out with the talented singer songwriter Garrett Shields, and we got to reminisce about the album I produced for him last year, and I got to hear some of his new work. While the album we made together isn't available online, you can pick up a single I cut with him on iTunes by clicking here.

• Bill Franco and I met for Starbucks, and talked about his guitar work with the 70’s rock group Pavlov’s Dog. He also gave me some great advice on landing equipment endorsement deals (for any of you that are interested, write me and we’ll talk), and we enjoyed talking about our hometown of St. Louis. 

• I spent the weekend doing a final tech rehearsal for this year’s TSO tribute tour, and we’ll be hitting the road starting this Saturday. I can’t wait to be back on tour again. You can check out our touring schedule here. 

What have a learned these past two weeks? Perhaps it this: 

• You can make great music wherever you are at, and constantly wishing you were somewhere else playing with someone else ultimately makes you miserable. To be trite, bloom where you’re planted. 

• To sound great onstage, you have to sound absolutely amazing at home during practice time. 

• According to Michael, who's toured for 30+ years, keeping up a marriage is difficult when you're on the road, but it's worth it. He's also been married about that long, which proves he knows what he's talking about. 

I took this photo when I was commuting from St. Louis to Nashville. Never dreamed I'd be lucky enough to call this city home.