We already have snow....why??? I have purchased my very first snowsuit to try and tolerate the cold...got some mighty fine looking thinsulate boots, a nice hood type hat(sure to block any cold air), and I'm working on getting better gloves with the help of my ebay savvy husband. I am not a cold weather person, but have been forced to endure it during recess...WOW!! Why do these kids like the snow??? It is SO COLD??? IT MELTS!!! It makes you WET AND COLD!!! It gets into every crevice of space that you may have left gapping...it freezes you to the bone!!! WHY OH WHY???
So we must look to the positive as we are forced to in life with so many situations....!
SNOW Positives:
1) It looks pretty if you are inside a warm building and your eyesight is good enough to enjoy the view.
2) You can throw your dog into a snow drift to watch it disappear, only to see it reappear again in a few seconds.
3) You see young children put their tongues on metal surfaces only to tear off their skin and bleed profusely and scream in pain. (oh, wait...that is not a positive..forget that one)
4) Santa has somewhere to land his sleigh, but that is only if you believe in the jolly ole' elf, some of us had to grow up.
5) You get an occasional snow day off of school.....YEAH!! (only to make it up again in nice spring weather...boo!..double whammy)
6) You have a reason to wear the snowsuit and boots you bought.
7) You can have a White Christmas.
8) They can gate off the interstate in your state and not let you drive.(only a positive if you don't need to go anywhere)
9) You have an excuse as to why your back is hurting(shoveling snow) rather than just that you are weak, old, or frail.
10) It makes the earth look clean again!!
I guess you can look at positives in whatever area of life you need to. That is how we all survive to the best of our ability. Look to the positive wherever you are going......be optimistic!! There is always a silver lining...sometimes you have to dig to find it, other times you must be VERY CREATIVE!!!
I am signing out for now back to my tundra of snow...back to my mound of blankets...and many layers of clothing....!! (Of course none of the band members would know about this dilema-----warm weather natives that they are)
Don't worry about this road manager...I will stay warm...I will survive another day....I AM WOMAN!!!
Tam out
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Back to the real world
for those of you reading this blog... back to the real world is kids to feed, bills to pay, work to be done and missions to accomplish. How do we find space in this real world of so much we "have to do?" It's an ongoing question of balance on the tight rope and try not to fall off one way or another...but we all fall off and most of us get back on.
All I know is that no matter what the most important thing I do everyday is communicate with people I meet that I love and care for them. It's not always that most important thing that is on my mind though when I fall off into my pile of work in that cave of mine that I call an office. People are what drive me and it is the people in my life that I need to focus on even more...
with blessings and a thankful and hopeful heart...
Jannel
All I know is that no matter what the most important thing I do everyday is communicate with people I meet that I love and care for them. It's not always that most important thing that is on my mind though when I fall off into my pile of work in that cave of mine that I call an office. People are what drive me and it is the people in my life that I need to focus on even more...
with blessings and a thankful and hopeful heart...
Jannel
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
For all those who just got their hair did....
If you just got your hair did and are ready for the holiday, smile and look pretty for the camera!
It is that time of year when you get together with family and friends and are thankful!!! This year I am thankful as always for my family and for a very blessed year with them. I am also SOOOOOO THANKFUL for my clementine family, we had an amazing journey together during the Squeaky Wheel Tour and grew very close! What an amazing group of people who really get the missing and their families.
I wish you all a blessed holiday and send love to you across the miles! None of us are together this season, but J & J are experiencing the beach life of relaxation! I hope they relax, refresh, rejuvinate and reinvent some memories... : )!!
Keep yourselves healthy, stay warm, and continue to live with a thankful, grateful heart! We are all so blessed!!! In so many ways!!! As always, your road manager, keeping the peace, watching the clock, plotting the course, working the crowd, doing the laundry, and much misc.....with a very grateful heart!!
Love to you all!!!!
Tammy
It is that time of year when you get together with family and friends and are thankful!!! This year I am thankful as always for my family and for a very blessed year with them. I am also SOOOOOO THANKFUL for my clementine family, we had an amazing journey together during the Squeaky Wheel Tour and grew very close! What an amazing group of people who really get the missing and their families.
I wish you all a blessed holiday and send love to you across the miles! None of us are together this season, but J & J are experiencing the beach life of relaxation! I hope they relax, refresh, rejuvinate and reinvent some memories... : )!!
Keep yourselves healthy, stay warm, and continue to live with a thankful, grateful heart! We are all so blessed!!! In so many ways!!! As always, your road manager, keeping the peace, watching the clock, plotting the course, working the crowd, doing the laundry, and much misc.....with a very grateful heart!!
Love to you all!!!!
Tammy
Friday, November 16, 2007
Back in the swing of life.....wow, that took an adjustment! Waking up in the middle of the night wondering why the bus had stopped, what time it was, where we were, what in the world was Mike doing stopping the bus for so long??? All those questions running through my mind in the wee hours of the morning. This road manager had to adapt to the home schedule. No more worrying about cell phones being lost(although I did receive a call from Jannel looking for her cell phone since I have been home), no more early morning press and radio interviews, waking the sleeping Dana for sound checks, getting the tech crew in gear from a sound sleep, finding a room for BAMA, getting him on the right track before we all drifted off to sleep, getting used to staying put and not waking up in a new city every morning....these are just a few adjustments to be had....!
I am slowly adjusting, missing our bus crew immensely since we got so close over the 19 days. What a wonderful group of people I had to work with!!!
My boys no longer have to bach it at home and are glad to have me back. I have been spoiled by getting the much needed sleep that I lacked while on tour, and being taken care of. They spoil me so! I am back at my normal job answering phones, typing, and assisting in an elementary classroom. I was greeted with a mob of hugs from my kids.
While Dana is off on a cruise, Jeff is mending his one ailing lung, Jannel is deep in the cave, Gary is back to the hide-a-way, singing, and catering, Joe is off mending, cleaning, helping, and hugging, Eli at school, Annie loving those around her, Cristi mending her knee...we have all returned to bloom where we have been planted. Back to life as we know it!
Remember to LAUGH alot and enjoy each moment, hug those around you, and savor each experience....!
PS...If you are ever flung out of a bus bathroom at a terrifying speed, remember that someone, some bunk, or some door knob will be there to catch you!!
I am slowly adjusting, missing our bus crew immensely since we got so close over the 19 days. What a wonderful group of people I had to work with!!!
My boys no longer have to bach it at home and are glad to have me back. I have been spoiled by getting the much needed sleep that I lacked while on tour, and being taken care of. They spoil me so! I am back at my normal job answering phones, typing, and assisting in an elementary classroom. I was greeted with a mob of hugs from my kids.
While Dana is off on a cruise, Jeff is mending his one ailing lung, Jannel is deep in the cave, Gary is back to the hide-a-way, singing, and catering, Joe is off mending, cleaning, helping, and hugging, Eli at school, Annie loving those around her, Cristi mending her knee...we have all returned to bloom where we have been planted. Back to life as we know it!
Remember to LAUGH alot and enjoy each moment, hug those around you, and savor each experience....!
PS...If you are ever flung out of a bus bathroom at a terrifying speed, remember that someone, some bunk, or some door knob will be there to catch you!!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Real Men in the Kitchen
I was not aware that Jannel posted a new BLOG and that she placed me in the kitchen as the "Clean Up Crew".
Now let's be clear...the kitchen is a manly place to be. Real men spend massive quantities of time in the kitchen. I lift weights in the kitchen. It is a well known fact that in nature the alpha male of the pack prefers to fight any upstart male pack members in the kitchen.
The kitchen is a place of virility and power. I keep my testosterone in the refrigerator next to the Soy Milk and Tofu.
And for the record, real men drink soy milk. I am smoking a cigar and enjoying a pint of soy milk right now. And where am I doing this most masculine of all activities?
IN THE KITCHEN.
Which is why I cleaned up the kitchen after the tour. It is a man's job that could not be left to the frailer band members, Jannel and Dana. Well, Dana took one look at the mess and left for Mexico. What she doesn't know is that I stole her green card so she won't be coming back to America any time soon. Good thing I actually know all the lyrics to "Stranded". (some nights Dana almost sings all the lyrics correctly).
We are back from tour and our kitchen is in order just like the marines trained me. Did I tell you about the marines? I wasn't actually a marine but my uncle was and he once cleaned our kitchen on leave from Vietnam.
Need a say more?
If you want a ticket to the gun show look no further then the drummer from Clementine in his apron lifting 2 heavy oven mitts. A portrait of raw masculinity.
Jeffrey Wayne
Now let's be clear...the kitchen is a manly place to be. Real men spend massive quantities of time in the kitchen. I lift weights in the kitchen. It is a well known fact that in nature the alpha male of the pack prefers to fight any upstart male pack members in the kitchen.
The kitchen is a place of virility and power. I keep my testosterone in the refrigerator next to the Soy Milk and Tofu.
And for the record, real men drink soy milk. I am smoking a cigar and enjoying a pint of soy milk right now. And where am I doing this most masculine of all activities?
IN THE KITCHEN.
Which is why I cleaned up the kitchen after the tour. It is a man's job that could not be left to the frailer band members, Jannel and Dana. Well, Dana took one look at the mess and left for Mexico. What she doesn't know is that I stole her green card so she won't be coming back to America any time soon. Good thing I actually know all the lyrics to "Stranded". (some nights Dana almost sings all the lyrics correctly).
We are back from tour and our kitchen is in order just like the marines trained me. Did I tell you about the marines? I wasn't actually a marine but my uncle was and he once cleaned our kitchen on leave from Vietnam.
Need a say more?
If you want a ticket to the gun show look no further then the drummer from Clementine in his apron lifting 2 heavy oven mitts. A portrait of raw masculinity.
Jeffrey Wayne
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Back at our respective homes and...contemplating "F" words!
Dear Whoever is reading,
It is clear that the Squeaky Wheel tm Tour is over, however, I still have boxes, bags and suitcases all over the house to the contrary. Am I slow to clean it up because I want to relish every last moment or am I just lazy. Jeffrey put away everything in the kitchen. I asked him not to because I wanted to film all of the stuff that came off of the bus. It is hard to believe that all of this, plus everyone's equipment,luggage and personal effects were housed on that bus along with the 9 of us...but it and we were all there. 19 days for 5 of us and 21 days for 4 of us.
Dana was back at work all week making her clients beautiful. Her birthday was yesterday and she is now off on a wonderful cruise vacation. Jeffrey is still recovering, however, the doctor said (he did visit the doctor ordered by me and Tammy ; ) if he feels like doing something he should do it and if he doesn't...then, rest. He has compiled all the tapes for "FINDing Gina" and placed them in order of the tour, so he can begin putting the pilot together. Gary is back performing and catering in Dallas. We miss him when he is in Dallas. Eli, the youngest member of the crew with story ideas miles long is busy working on completing all the homework he has left due to missing 15 days of school. Annie, creative videographer and artist, is in Virginia spending time with her boyfriends family for the holidays. Cristi-the always happy lead videographer-is back with her family, working and recovering from her knee injury. It looks like she may not have to go into surgery...she simply needs to stay off of it...baby it..take it easy...what a concept! Difficult to do on the road...for sure. Tammy, my sister and tour manager is back at work, church and family...periodically waking up wondering why the bus is not moving, where we are supposed to be, when she has to wake us up and where is Jannel's cell phone? We even call her to ask her what we are supposed to be doing now that mother hen has left the bus. I am back at the computer in the cave (as Jeff calls it) contemplating what mess to clean up first. The one I left before tour or the ones made from the tour.
There was so much going on during the tour: meeting with the families of the missing, press meetings, filming, setting up for shows, money concerns, last minute booking, schedule, hotels, meals, daily struggling to find time and then hopefully logging on the Internet or phone to make sure other SWT artists, families of missing and event organizers were communicated with. I remember thinking I need to take every moment of this magical trip in tired or not and focus on having fun. Tammy and Dana seemed to have a real handle on finding the time to create fun when they bought dolls: Jenny and Tanisha and created a whole puppet video about it. I have to say I was slightly annoyed when they first started as I was too tired to appreciate the moment they were creating for themselves. I now have to say that they were an inspiration to me to have fun no matter what. Laughter and fun- the great release.
A couple of days ago, I heard Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame recall his father saying, "It's not that bad if you can laugh at it." His fathers sense of humor has been his inspiration. Simply putting together a tour to gain attention for missing people has a whole lot of sad. Going on that tour has a whole lot of sad and intense emotions. The reminder here is that I have learned to focus more each day on what I have FOUND and not what is missing. Some of that FOUND is very funny. Laughing takes us to the other side of crying creates health and lightens the load. Jeffrey has been around to teach me about laughter for a very long time. Jeffrey makes a joke out of everything. He is well crafted at it. I still have a lot of learning to gain from his approach. Tammy and Dana create their own fun. Something I so need to pay attn to. Annie just loves everybody no matter what and finds fun and happiness wherever she lands. It is what she focuses on. Joe is peace, tranquility, wisdom and had no problem enjoying every part of the tour. Eli found fun with his confessionals and stories he shared with everyone. Gary got into Tammy and Dana's fun by egging them on with props for Jenny and Tanisha...at one point I thought he was creating a monster, but it turned out to be beautiful one. Cristi created her comedy relief in trying to get a chance to drive the bus and going back and forth with Bama on film about the challenge. I don't remember doing anything particularly funny...but I enjoyed watching the others create their moments. My nature is to work, get things done and make things happen...but this tour reminded me once again to create, acknowledge and find time for laughter and fun no matter what the circumstances.
I would say we all have pain we can focus on if we want to. I know I do, but I don't wants to anymore? It doesn't make my life better and if something doesn't make my life better then what's the point?
Today I am choosing to focus on "F" words: FOUND and FUN!
I am off for a walk with Jeffrey, his jokes and my sweet loving dog Micha. How much more fun could I FIND!
Love, Love...Annie LOVE...
Jannel
It is clear that the Squeaky Wheel tm Tour is over, however, I still have boxes, bags and suitcases all over the house to the contrary. Am I slow to clean it up because I want to relish every last moment or am I just lazy. Jeffrey put away everything in the kitchen. I asked him not to because I wanted to film all of the stuff that came off of the bus. It is hard to believe that all of this, plus everyone's equipment,luggage and personal effects were housed on that bus along with the 9 of us...but it and we were all there. 19 days for 5 of us and 21 days for 4 of us.
Dana was back at work all week making her clients beautiful. Her birthday was yesterday and she is now off on a wonderful cruise vacation. Jeffrey is still recovering, however, the doctor said (he did visit the doctor ordered by me and Tammy ; ) if he feels like doing something he should do it and if he doesn't...then, rest. He has compiled all the tapes for "FINDing Gina" and placed them in order of the tour, so he can begin putting the pilot together. Gary is back performing and catering in Dallas. We miss him when he is in Dallas. Eli, the youngest member of the crew with story ideas miles long is busy working on completing all the homework he has left due to missing 15 days of school. Annie, creative videographer and artist, is in Virginia spending time with her boyfriends family for the holidays. Cristi-the always happy lead videographer-is back with her family, working and recovering from her knee injury. It looks like she may not have to go into surgery...she simply needs to stay off of it...baby it..take it easy...what a concept! Difficult to do on the road...for sure. Tammy, my sister and tour manager is back at work, church and family...periodically waking up wondering why the bus is not moving, where we are supposed to be, when she has to wake us up and where is Jannel's cell phone? We even call her to ask her what we are supposed to be doing now that mother hen has left the bus. I am back at the computer in the cave (as Jeff calls it) contemplating what mess to clean up first. The one I left before tour or the ones made from the tour.
There was so much going on during the tour: meeting with the families of the missing, press meetings, filming, setting up for shows, money concerns, last minute booking, schedule, hotels, meals, daily struggling to find time and then hopefully logging on the Internet or phone to make sure other SWT artists, families of missing and event organizers were communicated with. I remember thinking I need to take every moment of this magical trip in tired or not and focus on having fun. Tammy and Dana seemed to have a real handle on finding the time to create fun when they bought dolls: Jenny and Tanisha and created a whole puppet video about it. I have to say I was slightly annoyed when they first started as I was too tired to appreciate the moment they were creating for themselves. I now have to say that they were an inspiration to me to have fun no matter what. Laughter and fun- the great release.
A couple of days ago, I heard Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame recall his father saying, "It's not that bad if you can laugh at it." His fathers sense of humor has been his inspiration. Simply putting together a tour to gain attention for missing people has a whole lot of sad. Going on that tour has a whole lot of sad and intense emotions. The reminder here is that I have learned to focus more each day on what I have FOUND and not what is missing. Some of that FOUND is very funny. Laughing takes us to the other side of crying creates health and lightens the load. Jeffrey has been around to teach me about laughter for a very long time. Jeffrey makes a joke out of everything. He is well crafted at it. I still have a lot of learning to gain from his approach. Tammy and Dana create their own fun. Something I so need to pay attn to. Annie just loves everybody no matter what and finds fun and happiness wherever she lands. It is what she focuses on. Joe is peace, tranquility, wisdom and had no problem enjoying every part of the tour. Eli found fun with his confessionals and stories he shared with everyone. Gary got into Tammy and Dana's fun by egging them on with props for Jenny and Tanisha...at one point I thought he was creating a monster, but it turned out to be beautiful one. Cristi created her comedy relief in trying to get a chance to drive the bus and going back and forth with Bama on film about the challenge. I don't remember doing anything particularly funny...but I enjoyed watching the others create their moments. My nature is to work, get things done and make things happen...but this tour reminded me once again to create, acknowledge and find time for laughter and fun no matter what the circumstances.
I would say we all have pain we can focus on if we want to. I know I do, but I don't wants to anymore? It doesn't make my life better and if something doesn't make my life better then what's the point?
Today I am choosing to focus on "F" words: FOUND and FUN!
I am off for a walk with Jeffrey, his jokes and my sweet loving dog Micha. How much more fun could I FIND!
Love, Love...Annie LOVE...
Jannel
Monday, November 5, 2007
We have "Made It" at the Hide Away...woo oh at the Hide Away...yes, we did, yes, we did
The “Squeaky Wheel tm Tour” is officially over for Clementine, yet, the after affects will linger on. We are working on a current FOUND count of those missing profiled during the tour via the giveaway DVD’s, CD’s, web casts, flyers, media, truck stops, concerts and our site that have been found during the 19 days. We will keep you posted on that.
Yesterday, was a full day at the Center for Hope. We started out at 9am in the Sunday morning service. We remained on hand throughout both 9am and 11am services to encourage church goers to come to our concert that evening. Again, families of the missing drove and flew from surrounding areas to join us and to tell their stories live and tape for FINDing Gina. Gary Floyd and Denise Lee did an excellent job of making sure that we had an amazing finale. The support of the Dallas community was clear. Not to mention that Dana’s mom and dad surprised us by showing up for our finale and had me in tears. I think more tears were shed yesterday for so many reasons…more than the usual. Not only was it the end to an amazing tour, but the beginning of so many new friendships and family members all around the country.
November 4 Clementine
Gary Floyd
Denise Lee
Tim Seelig
Encore
Jannel Rap
Others TBA
SQUEAKY WHEEL TOUR™ FINALE CONCERT
Presented by Together We Can and Art for Peace & Justice
Cathedral of Hope
Webcast at 411Gina.org
214-351-1901
800-501-HOPE
6:30 pm
VIP Reception at 5:30 pm
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
5910 Cedar Springs Road
Dallas, TX 75235
Missing Profiled
- Joseph Brandon Benton
- Shirley Hunt
- Christopher Michael Pierce
- Roxanne Paultauf
- Leah Rachelle Peebles
This morning I woke up with a headache and couldn’t get back to sleep. I can’t help but wonder if it is a real headache or simply so many thoughts, emotions and lessons all crammed into one head for 19 days.
There are only 4 of us left on the bus, five of us counting Bama our driver. The adorably talented, Dana Woods had to fly home to get back to work. My precious artistic niece Annie Love flew back east for Thanksgiving. Cristi our lead and tireless…videographer still in knee brace flew back to the Midwest to her family. She may be headed for surgery after the Dr’s find out what is on the MRI. Tammy, my beautiful sis and the best road manager ever is back to the land of the Dakota’s and her job. Gary gifted with the voice of a 1000 angels and fingers that instinctively know what to play stayed in Dallas where we held our finale. He will be back at work catering and playing at the “Hideaway” woo hoo at the Hideaway….
Alas...I am humming a little tune I wrote about the Hideaway last night…
Speaking of the HIDEAWAY...Everyone but Jeff and Joe went to check out the local Dallas pub, "BJ’s Hideaway" where Gary plays frequently in Dallas. We wanted to see him in his element, have a going away party and meet his friends before we all took off. It was open mike night and Buddy was at the piano and Liz was the host. Liz plays one of the mothers on “Friday Night Lights” and I understand she has recently been chosen as one of the top TV mom’s. She had an amazing voice, personality and presence. Not only was Liz a special talent, but the additional gifted performers was without exaggeration, captivating. I was humbled by their talent.
As I travel this road of an Indie artist it constantly amazes me as to who “makes it” and who doesn’t. I hear people like Yvonne Perea, Susan Gibson, Gary Floyd, Dana Woods, Jimmy Davis, Kelly Fitzgerald, Denise Lee… I can’t help but wonder if the people listening realize they are in the presence of greatness. This brings me to the many talented musicians that we have met during the tour and those that have volunteered to profile missing persons at their events. These are hard working artists with day jobs who have to make their music like they have to breathe. They have many other responsibilities and they still come out exceptional. They are the real music industry. This makes me wonder why any of us ever give the “industry” any right to choose or not choose us. We know what we were born to do, we know who we are and we will do it with or without them. 15 or 55, fat or thin, short or tall, the look or not…we will continuing breathing our art in and out. Isn’t it up to us to choose everyday that we have “made it?” What would we rather be just another fast food restaurant that one could find in any city anywhere in this country or a fine restaurant that people plan their vacations around? A place or music that people in the area flock to because of the genuine, honest, home grown, honed, finely crafted songs (food) good for their souls. In the end what is a measure of a mans life anyway…a hit song, a Grammy Award, a record deal from a label that could drop or shelve you at anytime…or a hard working artist who’s mission is to do some good in the world wherever his/her guitar/piano and songs take him. We “make it” every day we choose to get out there accept who we are, walk forward and continue to be true to our own reason for breathing.
Thank you to Clementine and Crew for all of your hard work. Thanks for the GINA Artists who went out there during the Squeaky Wheel and printed and copied flyers to pass out to your audience even when you didn’t have the money or time to do so. Thank you for making the effort to help bring one home. Some of you worked very hard to get press for your events in order to profile your missing person and it has made an impact on your community. The affects of your efforts cannot be measured by the ending of SWT, but by the homecomings and the passing of time as some family members now have a chance to grieve while others have been given one more day at a time to build a new life with their newly FOUND loved ones. Squeaky Wheel Tour and GINA Artists you are more than the bomb, it’s more than YOU ROCK, it’s more than words can express….Quite frankly, YOU HAVE MADE IT, YOU HAVE ARRIVED and you have made my year!
Intense and immense Blessings….all around…
Jannel
Yesterday, was a full day at the Center for Hope. We started out at 9am in the Sunday morning service. We remained on hand throughout both 9am and 11am services to encourage church goers to come to our concert that evening. Again, families of the missing drove and flew from surrounding areas to join us and to tell their stories live and tape for FINDing Gina. Gary Floyd and Denise Lee did an excellent job of making sure that we had an amazing finale. The support of the Dallas community was clear. Not to mention that Dana’s mom and dad surprised us by showing up for our finale and had me in tears. I think more tears were shed yesterday for so many reasons…more than the usual. Not only was it the end to an amazing tour, but the beginning of so many new friendships and family members all around the country.
November 4 Clementine
Gary Floyd
Denise Lee
Tim Seelig
Encore
Jannel Rap
Others TBA
SQUEAKY WHEEL TOUR™ FINALE CONCERT
Presented by Together We Can and Art for Peace & Justice
Cathedral of Hope
Webcast at 411Gina.org
214-351-1901
800-501-HOPE
6:30 pm
VIP Reception at 5:30 pm
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
5910 Cedar Springs Road
Dallas, TX 75235
Missing Profiled
- Joseph Brandon Benton
- Shirley Hunt
- Christopher Michael Pierce
- Roxanne Paultauf
- Leah Rachelle Peebles
This morning I woke up with a headache and couldn’t get back to sleep. I can’t help but wonder if it is a real headache or simply so many thoughts, emotions and lessons all crammed into one head for 19 days.
There are only 4 of us left on the bus, five of us counting Bama our driver. The adorably talented, Dana Woods had to fly home to get back to work. My precious artistic niece Annie Love flew back east for Thanksgiving. Cristi our lead and tireless…videographer still in knee brace flew back to the Midwest to her family. She may be headed for surgery after the Dr’s find out what is on the MRI. Tammy, my beautiful sis and the best road manager ever is back to the land of the Dakota’s and her job. Gary gifted with the voice of a 1000 angels and fingers that instinctively know what to play stayed in Dallas where we held our finale. He will be back at work catering and playing at the “Hideaway” woo hoo at the Hideaway….
Alas...I am humming a little tune I wrote about the Hideaway last night…
Speaking of the HIDEAWAY...Everyone but Jeff and Joe went to check out the local Dallas pub, "BJ’s Hideaway" where Gary plays frequently in Dallas. We wanted to see him in his element, have a going away party and meet his friends before we all took off. It was open mike night and Buddy was at the piano and Liz was the host. Liz plays one of the mothers on “Friday Night Lights” and I understand she has recently been chosen as one of the top TV mom’s. She had an amazing voice, personality and presence. Not only was Liz a special talent, but the additional gifted performers was without exaggeration, captivating. I was humbled by their talent.
As I travel this road of an Indie artist it constantly amazes me as to who “makes it” and who doesn’t. I hear people like Yvonne Perea, Susan Gibson, Gary Floyd, Dana Woods, Jimmy Davis, Kelly Fitzgerald, Denise Lee… I can’t help but wonder if the people listening realize they are in the presence of greatness. This brings me to the many talented musicians that we have met during the tour and those that have volunteered to profile missing persons at their events. These are hard working artists with day jobs who have to make their music like they have to breathe. They have many other responsibilities and they still come out exceptional. They are the real music industry. This makes me wonder why any of us ever give the “industry” any right to choose or not choose us. We know what we were born to do, we know who we are and we will do it with or without them. 15 or 55, fat or thin, short or tall, the look or not…we will continuing breathing our art in and out. Isn’t it up to us to choose everyday that we have “made it?” What would we rather be just another fast food restaurant that one could find in any city anywhere in this country or a fine restaurant that people plan their vacations around? A place or music that people in the area flock to because of the genuine, honest, home grown, honed, finely crafted songs (food) good for their souls. In the end what is a measure of a mans life anyway…a hit song, a Grammy Award, a record deal from a label that could drop or shelve you at anytime…or a hard working artist who’s mission is to do some good in the world wherever his/her guitar/piano and songs take him. We “make it” every day we choose to get out there accept who we are, walk forward and continue to be true to our own reason for breathing.
Thank you to Clementine and Crew for all of your hard work. Thanks for the GINA Artists who went out there during the Squeaky Wheel and printed and copied flyers to pass out to your audience even when you didn’t have the money or time to do so. Thank you for making the effort to help bring one home. Some of you worked very hard to get press for your events in order to profile your missing person and it has made an impact on your community. The affects of your efforts cannot be measured by the ending of SWT, but by the homecomings and the passing of time as some family members now have a chance to grieve while others have been given one more day at a time to build a new life with their newly FOUND loved ones. Squeaky Wheel Tour and GINA Artists you are more than the bomb, it’s more than YOU ROCK, it’s more than words can express….Quite frankly, YOU HAVE MADE IT, YOU HAVE ARRIVED and you have made my year!
Intense and immense Blessings….all around…
Jannel
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Done in Dallas
It's over.
The finale in Dallas was off the hook. Prior to the concert we were told to meet in the "food" room by the QUEEN of ALL Diva's. Denise Lee. She and Gary organiized the event tonight. As we were all seated for what purpose we knew not in sprang Dana Woods parents John and MAMA G. They had flown in from California. I am not sure why but Jannel hugged John and wept. When I saw her weeping I started crying like a little puss boy. I assume Jannel was overwhelmed by the amount of support she has gotten and John and Gigi showing up was the tear the broke the camels back. I don't know how else to say it other then to say that "CLEMENTINE" played at a different level tonight. The long journey on this tour must have all kicked in tonight and we played at a level that I can only define as "ROCKED"! The sound was great, the vocals were great the crowd was great. At one point before the song "Clementine Street" Jannel had all of our crew come on stage and asked the audience to thank them for thier effort. We got a 5 minute standing ovation and for whatever reason seeing the audience salute our team like that caused me to tear up like a little wimp boy. Many tears tonight. Tammy Smith was crying ALOT on and off. She deserves it. She road managed the hell out of us. She was EXCEPTIONAL! And I love her. Annie (my daughter)was brillient. Responsible, artistic, spreading her love. She was the backbone of the tech crew no question. Cristie our lead videographer was the workhorse of the crew. Up everyday like a Nebraska farm girl and NEVER stopping until late at night. She is incredible even and consistent. I love her.
So I sit on the bus in Dallas. Dana, Tammy, Cristi and Annie are preparing to head to their hotel as they are flying out in the morning. Gary is heading to his house in Dallas. Joe, Jannel, Eli and I are staying on the bus with BAMA (our driver) for a 2 day trip back home. That's right, we have to ride the bus back home. Why? Because we are not DIVA's. Come to think of it, I take back all the nice things I said about the tech crew. The 4 of us are the meat and potatoes of CLEMENTINE. Well, I am the meat and the other 3 are the potatoes.
So SQUEAKY WHEEL 2007 is done. What is ahead? Stay tuned for updates about the TV show "FINDING GINA" which will put "CLEMENTINE" in your homes every week. Once that is done "CLEMENTINE" will be looking to hit the road again and make new friends and reconnect with you'all, (meaning our current friends.)
we will blog on our way home as we pass threw New MExico and all the hell holes in between.
Jeffrey Wayne
The finale in Dallas was off the hook. Prior to the concert we were told to meet in the "food" room by the QUEEN of ALL Diva's. Denise Lee. She and Gary organiized the event tonight. As we were all seated for what purpose we knew not in sprang Dana Woods parents John and MAMA G. They had flown in from California. I am not sure why but Jannel hugged John and wept. When I saw her weeping I started crying like a little puss boy. I assume Jannel was overwhelmed by the amount of support she has gotten and John and Gigi showing up was the tear the broke the camels back. I don't know how else to say it other then to say that "CLEMENTINE" played at a different level tonight. The long journey on this tour must have all kicked in tonight and we played at a level that I can only define as "ROCKED"! The sound was great, the vocals were great the crowd was great. At one point before the song "Clementine Street" Jannel had all of our crew come on stage and asked the audience to thank them for thier effort. We got a 5 minute standing ovation and for whatever reason seeing the audience salute our team like that caused me to tear up like a little wimp boy. Many tears tonight. Tammy Smith was crying ALOT on and off. She deserves it. She road managed the hell out of us. She was EXCEPTIONAL! And I love her. Annie (my daughter)was brillient. Responsible, artistic, spreading her love. She was the backbone of the tech crew no question. Cristie our lead videographer was the workhorse of the crew. Up everyday like a Nebraska farm girl and NEVER stopping until late at night. She is incredible even and consistent. I love her.
So I sit on the bus in Dallas. Dana, Tammy, Cristi and Annie are preparing to head to their hotel as they are flying out in the morning. Gary is heading to his house in Dallas. Joe, Jannel, Eli and I are staying on the bus with BAMA (our driver) for a 2 day trip back home. That's right, we have to ride the bus back home. Why? Because we are not DIVA's. Come to think of it, I take back all the nice things I said about the tech crew. The 4 of us are the meat and potatoes of CLEMENTINE. Well, I am the meat and the other 3 are the potatoes.
So SQUEAKY WHEEL 2007 is done. What is ahead? Stay tuned for updates about the TV show "FINDING GINA" which will put "CLEMENTINE" in your homes every week. Once that is done "CLEMENTINE" will be looking to hit the road again and make new friends and reconnect with you'all, (meaning our current friends.)
we will blog on our way home as we pass threw New MExico and all the hell holes in between.
Jeffrey Wayne
Can It Really Be the Last Day?????
What happened to the last three weeks???? They have flown by in a blur of activity; singing, crying, sleeping, massive doses of coffee, vitamins, airborne, laughing, hugging, stories, memories forever etched in our minds. The people we have met, the places we have seen, the miles we have put on this ole' bus.
Our design on the map of our trip across the country resembles some shape I should have recalled from geometry, but have chosen to forget.
The memory of being flung from the bathroom while rounding the hills on our way through North Carolina. Fortunately I was only brushing my teeth. That experience earned me another of my many bruises. I have acquired many from who knows where, just bumping into things on the bus, loading equipment, setting up, and just walking.
It is crowded with the 9 of us, but no one seems to mind. We have all gotten along so well and it will be very hard saying goodbye tonight after our last event. We are in disbelief that the three weeks are already over, it seems we have just begun. I have been challenged in many areas of my life, stretched, and grown. I have been in my comfort zone, and jumped out of my comfort zone......all in the name of helping the families of the missing. It is a task I have loved taking on. I have loved working with this band, being close to my sister, niece, and nephew, the whole adventure. I have found many new friends, cried many tears, and have been overwhelmed at the vastness of all we have tried to accomplish.
FOUND.....I have found a whole new respect for the people around me, the goodness of people, the blessing I have, my family, the value of each of us and how we are all connected. We must always watch out for each other, always have a listening ear, listen with our heart, hear what people have to say, be there for each other.
Most of all.....I have found myself growing into the person God created me to be. For that I am grateful....with the help of my family and friends...I continue growing!! This road weary manager has had an amazing journey and loved every minute of it. I LOVE YOU CLEMENTINE!!!!
Our design on the map of our trip across the country resembles some shape I should have recalled from geometry, but have chosen to forget.
The memory of being flung from the bathroom while rounding the hills on our way through North Carolina. Fortunately I was only brushing my teeth. That experience earned me another of my many bruises. I have acquired many from who knows where, just bumping into things on the bus, loading equipment, setting up, and just walking.
It is crowded with the 9 of us, but no one seems to mind. We have all gotten along so well and it will be very hard saying goodbye tonight after our last event. We are in disbelief that the three weeks are already over, it seems we have just begun. I have been challenged in many areas of my life, stretched, and grown. I have been in my comfort zone, and jumped out of my comfort zone......all in the name of helping the families of the missing. It is a task I have loved taking on. I have loved working with this band, being close to my sister, niece, and nephew, the whole adventure. I have found many new friends, cried many tears, and have been overwhelmed at the vastness of all we have tried to accomplish.
FOUND.....I have found a whole new respect for the people around me, the goodness of people, the blessing I have, my family, the value of each of us and how we are all connected. We must always watch out for each other, always have a listening ear, listen with our heart, hear what people have to say, be there for each other.
Most of all.....I have found myself growing into the person God created me to be. For that I am grateful....with the help of my family and friends...I continue growing!! This road weary manager has had an amazing journey and loved every minute of it. I LOVE YOU CLEMENTINE!!!!
This can't be our last day......
Our last day is here in Dallas, Texas. We drove 12 or so hours from Nashville last night.
Since the last time I wrote we hit a smokey bar in North Carolina called The sports Zone, where we all took in about a pack of cigarettes each. We had about 4 people show up to the show. The reason someone said that we didn't have a good turn out is, in North Carolina people don't get out of the house until 11pm and stay out drinking till 4 am whether it's a week night or not. So, the fact that we went on around 8 or 9 didn't do too much for us. But we met a guy by the name of "Jimmy Mack" who walked in pretty hammered and turned out to be one of our biggest fans that night...... he saw those cameras and wanted to tell the whole world that he thought what we were doing was awesome. We started to think he was a little too drunk to be hangin' out with, but then he went ahead and introduced us to man who donated $1000. !! Not bad Jimmy Mack.
From there we went to the Electric Lady in Indiana, where we all smoked another pack of cigarettes. Except there were about a 100 people. The bands were all great and the guys from Same Soul were good peeps. It's shame that with his tour we have had so little time to spend with the people we meet on the road. We always have to hit splitsville right after we play to make to the next state by morning. That night in Indiana was a fun one, wish we had more time.
Yesterday, we hung out in Nashville, played the Edge Hill Studios Cafe, hung with Jeff's family, ate some Mexican food, and hit it around 8 pm. Nashville felt alot like San Francisco. The people looked like southern California people with their cool hair and their tanned skin. I was a bit confused. I thought I was gonna see some cowboys er something. I honestly didn't get too excited over Nashville....... but the show was good nevertheless.
I sit here in the tour bus in front of the church we will playing at tonight. This is our last show of the tour. I depart on a plane back to Cali. while some of the rest of the band drives the bus back home. I can't believe the tour is over.
I remember getting on this bus thinking to my self, " how am I gonna last for 3 weeks?"
And I'm telling you it really has gone by so fast. 3 weeks have come and gone and it's all back to the real world for us. I would be ready to do all over again...... who knows, we just might and hopefully we can make it to your town.
Signing off.......Big D
Since the last time I wrote we hit a smokey bar in North Carolina called The sports Zone, where we all took in about a pack of cigarettes each. We had about 4 people show up to the show. The reason someone said that we didn't have a good turn out is, in North Carolina people don't get out of the house until 11pm and stay out drinking till 4 am whether it's a week night or not. So, the fact that we went on around 8 or 9 didn't do too much for us. But we met a guy by the name of "Jimmy Mack" who walked in pretty hammered and turned out to be one of our biggest fans that night...... he saw those cameras and wanted to tell the whole world that he thought what we were doing was awesome. We started to think he was a little too drunk to be hangin' out with, but then he went ahead and introduced us to man who donated $1000. !! Not bad Jimmy Mack.
From there we went to the Electric Lady in Indiana, where we all smoked another pack of cigarettes. Except there were about a 100 people. The bands were all great and the guys from Same Soul were good peeps. It's shame that with his tour we have had so little time to spend with the people we meet on the road. We always have to hit splitsville right after we play to make to the next state by morning. That night in Indiana was a fun one, wish we had more time.
Yesterday, we hung out in Nashville, played the Edge Hill Studios Cafe, hung with Jeff's family, ate some Mexican food, and hit it around 8 pm. Nashville felt alot like San Francisco. The people looked like southern California people with their cool hair and their tanned skin. I was a bit confused. I thought I was gonna see some cowboys er something. I honestly didn't get too excited over Nashville....... but the show was good nevertheless.
I sit here in the tour bus in front of the church we will playing at tonight. This is our last show of the tour. I depart on a plane back to Cali. while some of the rest of the band drives the bus back home. I can't believe the tour is over.
I remember getting on this bus thinking to my self, " how am I gonna last for 3 weeks?"
And I'm telling you it really has gone by so fast. 3 weeks have come and gone and it's all back to the real world for us. I would be ready to do all over again...... who knows, we just might and hopefully we can make it to your town.
Signing off.......Big D
Nashville? What the Hell?
We dropped our road weary bodies into the deep south yesterday for a show in Nashville.
Nashville? So much to say and no need to say it.
It is a place where EVERYONE (almost) is a songwriter hoping to be discovered. And the secret truth is that except for a small inner circle 98% will never get a shot at a songwriting career. So the city is awash in this surface southern support for the music scene. But it is surface because underneath it all is a pile of crushed souls. Many EXTREMELY talented souls working as temps, waiters, caterers, coffehouse workers etc. And yes, the members of CLEMENTINE have stood in line in Nashville awaiting some crumbs of acceptence. Gary revisited the porch he slept on only a few steps from the place we played. He lived in Nashville, showcased for all the bigshots and nothing. Imagine that. Gary Floyd was not "good enough" for the Nashville inner circle. Well, CLEMENTINE is not standing in line waiting for any crumbs. We played a good show in front of a small but receptive crowd, had dinner ith my beautiful nieces and sister and hit the road for Dallas. No Nashville weeds are growing under our feet waiting for a record exec to tell us we are accepted. We are traveling the country, making friends, playing music on our own terms and helping our society with missing families and broken hearts.
Nashville was a great place to stop, play and GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE.
Nashville? So much to say and no need to say it.
It is a place where EVERYONE (almost) is a songwriter hoping to be discovered. And the secret truth is that except for a small inner circle 98% will never get a shot at a songwriting career. So the city is awash in this surface southern support for the music scene. But it is surface because underneath it all is a pile of crushed souls. Many EXTREMELY talented souls working as temps, waiters, caterers, coffehouse workers etc. And yes, the members of CLEMENTINE have stood in line in Nashville awaiting some crumbs of acceptence. Gary revisited the porch he slept on only a few steps from the place we played. He lived in Nashville, showcased for all the bigshots and nothing. Imagine that. Gary Floyd was not "good enough" for the Nashville inner circle. Well, CLEMENTINE is not standing in line waiting for any crumbs. We played a good show in front of a small but receptive crowd, had dinner ith my beautiful nieces and sister and hit the road for Dallas. No Nashville weeds are growing under our feet waiting for a record exec to tell us we are accepted. We are traveling the country, making friends, playing music on our own terms and helping our society with missing families and broken hearts.
Nashville was a great place to stop, play and GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Bloggy McBloggerson and for all she's worth!
So...annie here, and as you all may know, I haven't blogged much. (Nor I have I really confessed...it's just weird to talk to a camera, but maybe I'll gather up the balls to do it before the end. Man! I could never be on "The Real World." That's for sure!) Because of the fact that I find it entirely hilarious that it's called a, "blog". So from know on you may call me Bloggy McBloggerson.
The end of the tour is near. One more night, in Dallas...then we are all parting on our separate ways again. I love all these freakin people so much it's going to be weird leaving them...ooooh but not for long I do say!!! It has been one hell of an adventure and I've met many amazing people who are a part of it all...thank you to all of you beautiful ones out there who actually CARE about this world and the issues going on with it.
Tonight, in Nashville - I got to meet Jeffey's sister and nieces and they're just soooo sweet and such beauties. It twas a fun night, and not to mention that we met Bama's family. OOOooooh mah goodness! :) Loverly doverly. I was telling Jeffery and Jannel how I wish we could continue on...Jeff seems to think it's because I'm some type of celebrity. But what does he know. HAHA! I just have become accostomed to these lovefolk and the cause - even with my own repercussions.
Blessings and love to all the families of the missing I've met along the way, and those I haven't as well.
Gary, i will miss you the most. ;) Cuz for all of you out there who don't know, we're on the same page!!! Except for he makes his bed while still sleeping in it, and I never make mine while not sleeping in it. Us "nine" people got it goin on, let me tell you! Really though...I'll miss you all! Jannel for her sweet childlike soul, Jeffery for his smelly gunky bunk butt fatherly "sweetface" ways, Dana for her, "nah-uh gurrrL, don't go there" talk, Joe for his huggable ordained minister of a self, Tammy for her silly singing ways and way to be on the BALL constantly, Eli for his impeccable pickyness and sweet little self!!, and cristi for her craziness and laughable heart, not to mention her eye for beauty in the lens of a camera. You are all crazy, wonderful, beautiful people, and I am ever so glad to call you my family!!!
So I'm excited for the outcomes of this tour and feeling blessed to be a part of it. I cannot wait to see what comes of it and onto the next tour!!!
The "worst" part about leaving the bus and the tour...no more confessionals and no more BLOGS.
Haha.
Wish I could spill out something more meaningful right now- although everything stated above is definitely true from my heart- my eyes are tired, my brain feels like it's splitting open, and this bus just won't stop moving!!!
For all I'm worth...
dread out.
Bloggy McBloggerson
The end of the tour is near. One more night, in Dallas...then we are all parting on our separate ways again. I love all these freakin people so much it's going to be weird leaving them...ooooh but not for long I do say!!! It has been one hell of an adventure and I've met many amazing people who are a part of it all...thank you to all of you beautiful ones out there who actually CARE about this world and the issues going on with it.
Tonight, in Nashville - I got to meet Jeffey's sister and nieces and they're just soooo sweet and such beauties. It twas a fun night, and not to mention that we met Bama's family. OOOooooh mah goodness! :) Loverly doverly. I was telling Jeffery and Jannel how I wish we could continue on...Jeff seems to think it's because I'm some type of celebrity. But what does he know. HAHA! I just have become accostomed to these lovefolk and the cause - even with my own repercussions.
Blessings and love to all the families of the missing I've met along the way, and those I haven't as well.
Gary, i will miss you the most. ;) Cuz for all of you out there who don't know, we're on the same page!!! Except for he makes his bed while still sleeping in it, and I never make mine while not sleeping in it. Us "nine" people got it goin on, let me tell you! Really though...I'll miss you all! Jannel for her sweet childlike soul, Jeffery for his smelly gunky bunk butt fatherly "sweetface" ways, Dana for her, "nah-uh gurrrL, don't go there" talk, Joe for his huggable ordained minister of a self, Tammy for her silly singing ways and way to be on the BALL constantly, Eli for his impeccable pickyness and sweet little self!!, and cristi for her craziness and laughable heart, not to mention her eye for beauty in the lens of a camera. You are all crazy, wonderful, beautiful people, and I am ever so glad to call you my family!!!
So I'm excited for the outcomes of this tour and feeling blessed to be a part of it. I cannot wait to see what comes of it and onto the next tour!!!
The "worst" part about leaving the bus and the tour...no more confessionals and no more BLOGS.
Haha.
Wish I could spill out something more meaningful right now- although everything stated above is definitely true from my heart- my eyes are tired, my brain feels like it's splitting open, and this bus just won't stop moving!!!
For all I'm worth...
dread out.
Bloggy McBloggerson
Smokin in the Madison Room
Last night we played an amazing show in Madison Indiana and the remenants remain in my lungs.
We Californians live in a pristine world of smokeless establishments and botox and breast enhancements.
In AWESOME Madison,real men smoke their cigarettes indoors and party like it was 1999.
We played at the Electric Lady which hosted the event and Jeff the owner was incredible to us. The band SANE SOUL treated us with compassion and showed a real heart for the cause. Rusty Bladen rocked our world and is so gracious!
Now, the large crowd was noisy, smokey and dancing fools. At one point Jannel ordered me to stand near our expensive camera and keep the locales from dancing it into a shattered mess. I love taking my scawny body and becoming the muscle.
But the hightlight of the evening had to be the MC. He was COMMANDING the revelers to quiet down and listen to the information about the missing. The first time they listened...sort of. But I learned that the MC for the event was the MAYOR of Madison. THE MAYOR! He was great.Did you get that. THE MAYOR was the MC for the event. THOSE DATILLO's make the earth move in Madison. Then I learned that their great, great ,great grandfather actually owned the entire town at one point. So they have that going for them. I assume the Mayor is on their payroll. To be honest, we are all on their payroll. I am personally on Kari's payroll. (BY THE WAY, CARROT...your father wants you back in LA).
I smell of the smoke in Madison and that reminds me of Joe, Jeff, Steve and all the friends we met. For the record..I played my drums HARD last night and Jannel never gave me the famous "SHARK EYES".
I raise my smoke ladened hand in salute to your Datillo, Indiana.
We Californians live in a pristine world of smokeless establishments and botox and breast enhancements.
In AWESOME Madison,real men smoke their cigarettes indoors and party like it was 1999.
We played at the Electric Lady which hosted the event and Jeff the owner was incredible to us. The band SANE SOUL treated us with compassion and showed a real heart for the cause. Rusty Bladen rocked our world and is so gracious!
Now, the large crowd was noisy, smokey and dancing fools. At one point Jannel ordered me to stand near our expensive camera and keep the locales from dancing it into a shattered mess. I love taking my scawny body and becoming the muscle.
But the hightlight of the evening had to be the MC. He was COMMANDING the revelers to quiet down and listen to the information about the missing. The first time they listened...sort of. But I learned that the MC for the event was the MAYOR of Madison. THE MAYOR! He was great.Did you get that. THE MAYOR was the MC for the event. THOSE DATILLO's make the earth move in Madison. Then I learned that their great, great ,great grandfather actually owned the entire town at one point. So they have that going for them. I assume the Mayor is on their payroll. To be honest, we are all on their payroll. I am personally on Kari's payroll. (BY THE WAY, CARROT...your father wants you back in LA).
I smell of the smoke in Madison and that reminds me of Joe, Jeff, Steve and all the friends we met. For the record..I played my drums HARD last night and Jannel never gave me the famous "SHARK EYES".
I raise my smoke ladened hand in salute to your Datillo, Indiana.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Behind The Curtains (It's Ozma! Or is that Razma?)
Hi there! Carey Colvin here, the Girl Behind The Curtains. I'm also known as Razz, because there are a lot of Carey/Keri/Carries. (Raz is for Raspberry Sun Music, my company.) For those of you who don't know me, please allow me to introduce myself: I am a musician ("performing songwriter", for those of you who subscribe to being politically correct), mom, wife, and painter. The medium I most use to paint with these days (besides words) is pixels. I'm the webmistress (although I like the term Jannel & crew have for me, which is "Web Goddess") for the GINA Foundation web sites, the Clementine site, and Jannel's site. It's my job to make sure that all the information on all the sites is current and accurate.
I started designing web sites about 10 years ago, when the person doing my own site had my tour dates up . . . only they were three months out of date. If you wanted to come see me play and checked my web site, you weren't going to find me...! So, I decided (in my "I-must-fix-this", organized and efficient manner...wait, did someone say, "anal"?!) to do my web site myself. And a funny thing happened - people went to my site, ask me who designed it, and started asking me to do theirs, too. So, I kind of started a business by accident. Now I have a lot of clients and it's become kind of my day job, between writing songs and performing whenever I can.
Some of you may have met me last year at the SWT Finale in Little Rock, AR. My husband and music-slash-business partner, Granger Helvey, and I drove up to participate in the Finale. (Granger, by the way, is the GINA technical/IT Guru.) It was one of the most memorable performances (and trips) that we've ever had.
As a matter of fact, I do need to explain something to all of the families that were in Little Rock last year. Some of you may have wondered why I kept my eyes closed or averted during my performance. Here's why I was pretending to be invisible: I am a very passionate and emotional woman. I feel things very deeply, that's just how I came into this world and who I am. I'm the person who looks at the faces of the missing every single day. I find their information, I calculate how old they were when they vanished, I resize their photos, update them when necessary, make slides, flyers, and put them in three different places on the GINA site. I go through all the missing on our site every week to find out if they've been found - when they are, I'm the one who puts "Found" on their information. I feel like I know every single one of these people.
Sometimes, it really gets to me. There's one young man who's missing whose information and picture I can barely bring myself to look at, it hurts so bad. Why him? I don't know. I just know it's so. When it gets to me, I can get up from my computer and walk away and go garden or play with my dog or hang out with my family. I can clear my head and revitalize and re-energize myself. When I was in Arkansas, I looked from the stage at all the faces of the families, and knew that they could never walk away, no matter how much they might want to, just for five minutes. I was pretty much overcome with emotion, and I knew if I looked at anybody, I'd just lose it. So that's the explanation of why I sang most of my set with my eyes squinched shut. It was close 'em or drown!
I started doing the GINA sites about a year ago. I think there were maybe 50 missing persons on the site when I took over. Right now, at last count, there were 603. Some of them have been found, but the total is 603. That doesn't even BEGIN to touch the number of total missing in this country, not to mention worldwide. Every one of these people has a story, and every one of them has someone who loves them and misses them. I'm glad that I'm able, through my talents both musically and "designally", to make just a bit of difference for the missing. I'm blessed to have hooked up with Jannel (thanks, Yvonne!) - I think it was something that was meant to be. We, all of us, make a great team.
Quite simply, Jannel is one of my favorite people. Her determination and compassion is amazing, and she's one of the most positively energized people I have ever met. We are all very lucky that she's on this planet.
I had hoped to come to Nashville tomorrow to participate in the tour, but life had other plans for me and I won't be able to make it. I have been on this entire tour, though, in spirit and in reality - just not on the bus :).
I'll relinquish the blog now to those who are on the bus, as they're probably scratching their heads and saying, "why the heck can't I access the blog?!"
Lots of love and miracles,
Carey
Where you can find me:
www.careycolvin.com
www.myspace.com/careycolvin
www.raspberrysunmusic.com
I started designing web sites about 10 years ago, when the person doing my own site had my tour dates up . . . only they were three months out of date. If you wanted to come see me play and checked my web site, you weren't going to find me...! So, I decided (in my "I-must-fix-this", organized and efficient manner...wait, did someone say, "anal"?!) to do my web site myself. And a funny thing happened - people went to my site, ask me who designed it, and started asking me to do theirs, too. So, I kind of started a business by accident. Now I have a lot of clients and it's become kind of my day job, between writing songs and performing whenever I can.
Some of you may have met me last year at the SWT Finale in Little Rock, AR. My husband and music-slash-business partner, Granger Helvey, and I drove up to participate in the Finale. (Granger, by the way, is the GINA technical/IT Guru.) It was one of the most memorable performances (and trips) that we've ever had.
As a matter of fact, I do need to explain something to all of the families that were in Little Rock last year. Some of you may have wondered why I kept my eyes closed or averted during my performance. Here's why I was pretending to be invisible: I am a very passionate and emotional woman. I feel things very deeply, that's just how I came into this world and who I am. I'm the person who looks at the faces of the missing every single day. I find their information, I calculate how old they were when they vanished, I resize their photos, update them when necessary, make slides, flyers, and put them in three different places on the GINA site. I go through all the missing on our site every week to find out if they've been found - when they are, I'm the one who puts "Found" on their information. I feel like I know every single one of these people.
Sometimes, it really gets to me. There's one young man who's missing whose information and picture I can barely bring myself to look at, it hurts so bad. Why him? I don't know. I just know it's so. When it gets to me, I can get up from my computer and walk away and go garden or play with my dog or hang out with my family. I can clear my head and revitalize and re-energize myself. When I was in Arkansas, I looked from the stage at all the faces of the families, and knew that they could never walk away, no matter how much they might want to, just for five minutes. I was pretty much overcome with emotion, and I knew if I looked at anybody, I'd just lose it. So that's the explanation of why I sang most of my set with my eyes squinched shut. It was close 'em or drown!
I started doing the GINA sites about a year ago. I think there were maybe 50 missing persons on the site when I took over. Right now, at last count, there were 603. Some of them have been found, but the total is 603. That doesn't even BEGIN to touch the number of total missing in this country, not to mention worldwide. Every one of these people has a story, and every one of them has someone who loves them and misses them. I'm glad that I'm able, through my talents both musically and "designally", to make just a bit of difference for the missing. I'm blessed to have hooked up with Jannel (thanks, Yvonne!) - I think it was something that was meant to be. We, all of us, make a great team.
Quite simply, Jannel is one of my favorite people. Her determination and compassion is amazing, and she's one of the most positively energized people I have ever met. We are all very lucky that she's on this planet.
I had hoped to come to Nashville tomorrow to participate in the tour, but life had other plans for me and I won't be able to make it. I have been on this entire tour, though, in spirit and in reality - just not on the bus :).
I'll relinquish the blog now to those who are on the bus, as they're probably scratching their heads and saying, "why the heck can't I access the blog?!"
Lots of love and miracles,
Carey
Where you can find me:
www.careycolvin.com
www.myspace.com/careycolvin
www.raspberrysunmusic.com
The Vet, Walmart and the $1000 Candy Bar
I am sitting on the bus in Madison Indiana and I have to admit to you'all that I am an illiterate blogger.
I type and think so fast that I spell like a preschooler.
So what the hell?
Last night we played in Arden North Carolina. Now, it's always a bit of a surreal experience when you play in a bar.
(off the topic: Dana Woods should never handle firearms)
Back to the bar. The opening band "99 Years" did a song with this lyric in it:
"Walmart is the GOD D#$MN DEVIL".
I think you are getting a flavor of what our night was like. During soundcheck the monitors rang like a fire alarm during first period in elementary school. Gary had a splitting headache. Joe and I silently wondered if the vocals would be heard. Dana setup her merchandise oblivious to any of this. Actually, she is oblivious to most things. And JannelS she glided through the bar schmoozing and looking for missed details. In her view there are always missed details.
But I digress...the truth is the people that hosted us from the band 99 YEARS were SAINTS. Taylor and Melissa and the band worked tirelessly and they really were concerned about the ringing monitors. The sound was fine during our show and the small but vocal crowd STOOD UP and RUSHED THE STAGE during "STRANDED". At least that is how DANA envisioned it in her mind. I thought everyone was leaving. So you can see that I am a half full kind of guy and Dana is a "THE GLASS IS ALWAYS FULL BECAUSE I AM SOOOOOO BITCHIN'" kind of girl.
SOOOO...at the end of the night after our finale of "CLEMENTINE STREET" we got a standing ovation and a dude walked in and told Jannel he would donate $20 if we played another songs. And what did we do? "HEART OF THE MATTER". Yep...I got my chance to shine and this time everyone stood up and held up their lighters. Perhaps because I was finished singing.
Afterwards JIMMY MAC (the $20 donator) told Jannel he had a friend he wanted to introduce her too. Turns out this friend owns a series of hotels and turns out this friend made a LARGE DONATION to GINA on the spot.
NOw, my limo is here to take me for a shower...
I type and think so fast that I spell like a preschooler.
So what the hell?
Last night we played in Arden North Carolina. Now, it's always a bit of a surreal experience when you play in a bar.
(off the topic: Dana Woods should never handle firearms)
Back to the bar. The opening band "99 Years" did a song with this lyric in it:
"Walmart is the GOD D#$MN DEVIL".
I think you are getting a flavor of what our night was like. During soundcheck the monitors rang like a fire alarm during first period in elementary school. Gary had a splitting headache. Joe and I silently wondered if the vocals would be heard. Dana setup her merchandise oblivious to any of this. Actually, she is oblivious to most things. And JannelS she glided through the bar schmoozing and looking for missed details. In her view there are always missed details.
But I digress...the truth is the people that hosted us from the band 99 YEARS were SAINTS. Taylor and Melissa and the band worked tirelessly and they really were concerned about the ringing monitors. The sound was fine during our show and the small but vocal crowd STOOD UP and RUSHED THE STAGE during "STRANDED". At least that is how DANA envisioned it in her mind. I thought everyone was leaving. So you can see that I am a half full kind of guy and Dana is a "THE GLASS IS ALWAYS FULL BECAUSE I AM SOOOOOO BITCHIN'" kind of girl.
SOOOO...at the end of the night after our finale of "CLEMENTINE STREET" we got a standing ovation and a dude walked in and told Jannel he would donate $20 if we played another songs. And what did we do? "HEART OF THE MATTER". Yep...I got my chance to shine and this time everyone stood up and held up their lighters. Perhaps because I was finished singing.
Afterwards JIMMY MAC (the $20 donator) told Jannel he had a friend he wanted to introduce her too. Turns out this friend owns a series of hotels and turns out this friend made a LARGE DONATION to GINA on the spot.
NOw, my limo is here to take me for a shower...
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Jes a blurrrrr
Jannel here...
So much to digest from Coast to Coast that it is difficult for me to describe. I think I am a multitasker, but when I am trying to do something that takes a lot of concentration and I have extraneous details swimming in your brain, activities going on, difficulty getting online and general communication issues...it places a bit of over stimulation on my brain and the ability to focus on what really counts and get it out to all of you is hampered.
I know I have met some amazing people. I know that I am adding more and more family members of the missing to my extended family. I know that the band and crew I am traveling with are angels. I know that I am learning so much that I will have to start writing another book. I know that I am being stretched in ways that I never dreamed of stretching and I know that my goal to gain as much attn for the missing as possible is broadening. Thanks so much for your support, your prayers, your donations in word and deed. With all of you out there holding us up...we would not be able to Squeak So LOUD! We will be in Aston NC tonight with 99years. We will profile 6 missing people from the NC area. 3 family members will be there. 99 years has been more than supportive in getting us hotels, food and additional transportation.
They are having a tech meeting in the back of the bus that I am late for. I need to finish up here...but just wanted to get a little blurrrrrrrrrrrb out for the day. We are looking forward to hearing 99 years. This tour is zipping by so fast...I can't believe we are almost done.
We have had a lot of tips come in for missing people and and and we have nearly 10 that have been found during the tour. We will get a count out to you as soon as we are sure. YEAH!
Love you all...Blessings all around this world to all of our supporters,
Jannel
Gary is outside writing a song on the Daisy Rock Guitar. GO GARY!
So much to digest from Coast to Coast that it is difficult for me to describe. I think I am a multitasker, but when I am trying to do something that takes a lot of concentration and I have extraneous details swimming in your brain, activities going on, difficulty getting online and general communication issues...it places a bit of over stimulation on my brain and the ability to focus on what really counts and get it out to all of you is hampered.
I know I have met some amazing people. I know that I am adding more and more family members of the missing to my extended family. I know that the band and crew I am traveling with are angels. I know that I am learning so much that I will have to start writing another book. I know that I am being stretched in ways that I never dreamed of stretching and I know that my goal to gain as much attn for the missing as possible is broadening. Thanks so much for your support, your prayers, your donations in word and deed. With all of you out there holding us up...we would not be able to Squeak So LOUD! We will be in Aston NC tonight with 99years. We will profile 6 missing people from the NC area. 3 family members will be there. 99 years has been more than supportive in getting us hotels, food and additional transportation.
They are having a tech meeting in the back of the bus that I am late for. I need to finish up here...but just wanted to get a little blurrrrrrrrrrrb out for the day. We are looking forward to hearing 99 years. This tour is zipping by so fast...I can't believe we are almost done.
We have had a lot of tips come in for missing people and and and we have nearly 10 that have been found during the tour. We will get a count out to you as soon as we are sure. YEAH!
Love you all...Blessings all around this world to all of our supporters,
Jannel
Gary is outside writing a song on the Daisy Rock Guitar. GO GARY!
rounding the bend...
today i woke up in ashland, north carolina. it's hard to believe that we've traveled coast to coast at this point, and are making our way out west again. it was quite a bumpy night in the bus. i'm assuming we drove through lots of mountainous, winding roads to get here. as i was lying in my bunk, trying to count backwards from one hundred to get some sleep, my mind kept racing over the past few days. of course, the freshest day in my mind was yesterday, when jannel, tammy and i met up with the maryland task force for the missing to go to washington, d.c.
i have to say, of all the days we've been out here, yesterday was when i really got an education about specific things we can do to help the missing and their families. darlene drove us from the peaceful bed & breakfast in maryland to the bustling, crowded streets of d.c. on the way, we had quite a conversation about the information and tools available today, as well as the struggles to get funding and action. she told us about the DNA kits that are available for law enforcement agencies, to identify human remains, and how the Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth, TX can take those samples and match them with the DNA samples from families of the missing. seems like a simple thing, right? not so much. most families aren't aware that the kits are available and most law enforcement agencies are unaware that they can and should run DNA tests on all the human remains they have in their backlog, BEFORE they decide to cremate or bury the remains and list them as "john or jane doe". it reminded me of the images of the trailers for the victims of hurricane katrina, that still sit in a field in arkansas. the DNA kits are free to the families, but they have to be administered by law enforcement, and law enforcement is sometimes unaware, or unconcerned that they even exist. so first of all, i learned that we need to somehow educate the families that they have a right to the kits, and hold law enforcement's feet to the fire to run the tests on the human remains that they have in their possession, so they can be matched to the DNA of the families. at the present time, there are 40-60,000 unidentified human remains, waiting to be tested. this is not to say that if a person is missing, he or she is deceased. we have found that out by hearing that 10 of the people who have been profiled during the squeaky wheel tour have been found! we celebrate with those families today. but more needs to be done to bring closure and resolution to the families of the missing who are waiting to be identified through these measures.
another disturbing thing i learned yesterday is that the funding for the National Center for Missing Adults runs out on Nov 5. that's in four days. there is money that has been promised and ear-marked to continue this vital resource, but unfortunately, it is being held up in some committee, and the representatives we spoke with yesterday didn't give the families much hope that it will be released to the center. if you have a minute, call your representative and ask them to look into this matter, and do what they can to get this bill passed. it is vital.
if we all begin to squeak louder, they can't ignore us. even if you're like me, and you don't have a missing person in your family, it's not difficult to have compassion for the families that do. just one degree of separation, and it could be any one of us.
and so we squeak on...on the final home stretch of the tour. it's been one of the most rewarding things i've ever been a part of. there is so much love and compassion out here, to lift up those with so much hurt and frustration. we're all in this together. and together we CAN make a difference in the world. we ARE making a difference. press on! :)
gary
i have to say, of all the days we've been out here, yesterday was when i really got an education about specific things we can do to help the missing and their families. darlene drove us from the peaceful bed & breakfast in maryland to the bustling, crowded streets of d.c. on the way, we had quite a conversation about the information and tools available today, as well as the struggles to get funding and action. she told us about the DNA kits that are available for law enforcement agencies, to identify human remains, and how the Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth, TX can take those samples and match them with the DNA samples from families of the missing. seems like a simple thing, right? not so much. most families aren't aware that the kits are available and most law enforcement agencies are unaware that they can and should run DNA tests on all the human remains they have in their backlog, BEFORE they decide to cremate or bury the remains and list them as "john or jane doe". it reminded me of the images of the trailers for the victims of hurricane katrina, that still sit in a field in arkansas. the DNA kits are free to the families, but they have to be administered by law enforcement, and law enforcement is sometimes unaware, or unconcerned that they even exist. so first of all, i learned that we need to somehow educate the families that they have a right to the kits, and hold law enforcement's feet to the fire to run the tests on the human remains that they have in their possession, so they can be matched to the DNA of the families. at the present time, there are 40-60,000 unidentified human remains, waiting to be tested. this is not to say that if a person is missing, he or she is deceased. we have found that out by hearing that 10 of the people who have been profiled during the squeaky wheel tour have been found! we celebrate with those families today. but more needs to be done to bring closure and resolution to the families of the missing who are waiting to be identified through these measures.
another disturbing thing i learned yesterday is that the funding for the National Center for Missing Adults runs out on Nov 5. that's in four days. there is money that has been promised and ear-marked to continue this vital resource, but unfortunately, it is being held up in some committee, and the representatives we spoke with yesterday didn't give the families much hope that it will be released to the center. if you have a minute, call your representative and ask them to look into this matter, and do what they can to get this bill passed. it is vital.
if we all begin to squeak louder, they can't ignore us. even if you're like me, and you don't have a missing person in your family, it's not difficult to have compassion for the families that do. just one degree of separation, and it could be any one of us.
and so we squeak on...on the final home stretch of the tour. it's been one of the most rewarding things i've ever been a part of. there is so much love and compassion out here, to lift up those with so much hurt and frustration. we're all in this together. and together we CAN make a difference in the world. we ARE making a difference. press on! :)
gary
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Duck season....Rabbit season.....
Halloween 2007 on a bus with 9 people wearing a $0.99 hot pink mask.......WOOOPIE!!!! Someone hold me back!!
Well, I can't really complain. It's the end of a really awesome day for me. As I leave Maryland I look back at the people I have met and the things that I have learned. The one that sticks out to me the most is the guy who taught me HOW TO SHOOT A GUN!!!!
YEAH BABY!! I went shootin' me some clay pigeons today.
It all started a day ago when we pulled up to one of the nicest places I have ever stayed at .....EVER! The Pintail Point Bed and Breakfast. The good people at the Maryland Task Force have been helping GINA for missing persons set up a concert here in Maryland and somehow landed our show at Hunter's Oak Golf Course who is partnered with Pintail Point B&B. Pintail, donated the entire house, which had 5 bedrooms suites, and I think all together had over 15 rooms, and sleeps 16 people comfortably. This was a mansion to say the least.
It was build in 1934 by a Portuguese Prince, then sold in the 70's for around 125K ! In the 90's the owners decided to do some renovations and turn it into a bed and breakfast.
I thought my head was going to spin off my neck. I had no idea that these places even existed. And never thought that I would be able to stay at such a place while on this tour. What a friggin' treat.
8 am, when I woke up to Tammy jumping on top of me screaming "WAKE UP DANA!!!" I first had to warn her that if she didn't get off of me I'd have to throw her across the room, and then I wiped the boogers out of my eyes and headed down stairs where there was a lady makin' muffins and coffee. "HECK YES!!" It was the SHI*@#%!!
She asked me if I was going clay shooting and I think I said yes to her, not realizing what she was even talking about. So she said all I'd have to do was walk to the Welcome center and sign up.
Later that morning I asked someone what clay shooting was and they said " You know Dana, Skeet Shooting!?!?" Which I thought was something completely different. But nonetheless, it was described as what I learned today as Clay Pigeon Shooting.
I loaded that gun and out of 12 clay discs, I shot 1!! Not friggin' bad for a little twit like me. The gun was a Barretta, 20 gauge, automatic shot gun, that left a nice bruise on my shoulder. MAN, when I pulled that trigger I couldn't help but hoot and hauler like a back woods Betty Badass!! Don't worry mom, I don't want a gun for Christmas.
After I bonded with my hillbilly roots, We walked over to a couple of horses named Spot and Ralph, who weren't so interested in us, so of course I did my usual loud obnoxious, baby/animal talk to see if I could get there attention...... yeah they just walked away. "Hey that's cool" I said " I just shot a gun......!!!"
Big D
Well, I can't really complain. It's the end of a really awesome day for me. As I leave Maryland I look back at the people I have met and the things that I have learned. The one that sticks out to me the most is the guy who taught me HOW TO SHOOT A GUN!!!!
YEAH BABY!! I went shootin' me some clay pigeons today.
It all started a day ago when we pulled up to one of the nicest places I have ever stayed at .....EVER! The Pintail Point Bed and Breakfast. The good people at the Maryland Task Force have been helping GINA for missing persons set up a concert here in Maryland and somehow landed our show at Hunter's Oak Golf Course who is partnered with Pintail Point B&B. Pintail, donated the entire house, which had 5 bedrooms suites, and I think all together had over 15 rooms, and sleeps 16 people comfortably. This was a mansion to say the least.
It was build in 1934 by a Portuguese Prince, then sold in the 70's for around 125K ! In the 90's the owners decided to do some renovations and turn it into a bed and breakfast.
I thought my head was going to spin off my neck. I had no idea that these places even existed. And never thought that I would be able to stay at such a place while on this tour. What a friggin' treat.
8 am, when I woke up to Tammy jumping on top of me screaming "WAKE UP DANA!!!" I first had to warn her that if she didn't get off of me I'd have to throw her across the room, and then I wiped the boogers out of my eyes and headed down stairs where there was a lady makin' muffins and coffee. "HECK YES!!" It was the SHI*@#%!!
She asked me if I was going clay shooting and I think I said yes to her, not realizing what she was even talking about. So she said all I'd have to do was walk to the Welcome center and sign up.
Later that morning I asked someone what clay shooting was and they said " You know Dana, Skeet Shooting!?!?" Which I thought was something completely different. But nonetheless, it was described as what I learned today as Clay Pigeon Shooting.
I loaded that gun and out of 12 clay discs, I shot 1!! Not friggin' bad for a little twit like me. The gun was a Barretta, 20 gauge, automatic shot gun, that left a nice bruise on my shoulder. MAN, when I pulled that trigger I couldn't help but hoot and hauler like a back woods Betty Badass!! Don't worry mom, I don't want a gun for Christmas.
After I bonded with my hillbilly roots, We walked over to a couple of horses named Spot and Ralph, who weren't so interested in us, so of course I did my usual loud obnoxious, baby/animal talk to see if I could get there attention...... yeah they just walked away. "Hey that's cool" I said " I just shot a gun......!!!"
Big D
To film or not to film????
The concert at Hunters Oak last night went really well! This Maryland Task Force really know how to organize. The stories from the families all drew us in and brought us to tears once again. There are so many people affected out there and we have found more family by coming here.
We packed up and headed to the Bed & Breakfast for a relaxing evening. It is an amazing house and we all had plenty of space to stretch out. We explored a bit and tried to scare each other by making up stories of this old house. Someone screamed like a girl, but I won't say who!! Dana and I bunked together in twin beds and slept soundly. I don't think the covers even moved on my bed. I was out!! I woke up early to enjoy a little of the beautiful view before we headed off to Washington. The mist coming off the river cast a calming effect on the morning. Jannel, Gary, and I readied ourselves for the long trip to Washington, DC to visit with Representatives and share our heart for the missing. We wanted to get our voices heard and get that Squeaky Wheel making noise.
We spent three hours walking around the Rayburn Bldg. and the Cannon Bldg., meeting with various representatives from around the country. When going through Union station I was asked to quit filming....then again going through security...me and getting into trouble with cameras...there must be a trend here. Of course, Jannel had to make a scene when going through the security check point. She just couldn't walk through, no...she kept setting off the alarm. She pretty much stripped all jewelery off, and any added accessories...and still the alarm kept going off. I'm sure it didn't help that she was wearing a wire(her mic) and thus looked quite suspicious. The security guard finally gruffly told her to just come through and he used the wand on her. It only beeped at her midsection...a mere plastic button was setting it off. She got the attention she needed for the day and we were able to proceed. After roaming the halls of our capitol city for three hours toting two cameras that I wasn't allowed to use, I was ready to head back to our bus sweet bus! By this time we were starving, but we couldn't eat in town, we had to drive out before traffic got bad. We had our daredevil driver, Darlene, braving the streets of DC. Needless to say, I won't comment on her driving ability. I was asked to sign a waiver against any negative comments regarding her driving, Egyptian dance, and you go girl comments. I am here to type this blog, so I guess she did pretty well with the driving. We did run into a major traffic jam followed by a group of teens chasing another teen through traffic dodging cars and almost getting hit. I did manage to film the event just in case they started beating on this young boy, it didn't look good and we didn't know if someone was going to get hurt. They ran around cars for several minutes and finally got out of the street...it was a tense moment. I figured I might as well use some film, since the government wouldn't let me film our representatives. We finally arrived back at Hunters Oak to greet the rest of the group...we missed them so. It is hard to be apart since we have grown so close over these past 13 days. We had to bid our new friends adieu, Darlene and Cathy, so they could head home. We have found more family to love.
And now, the dilemma.....when arriving back at the bus some of us had to go to the bathroom. Upon checking out the situation we found that the clubhouse was locked along with the pub. No available restrooms....ugh!! Of course, the Bama rule is no #2 on the bus...what were we to do. Do we break the Bama rule, or do we find a spot in the woods???? What a dilemma! We started to make arrangements to get a ride to a gas station, when in walks Joe. He had been in the clubhouse using the restroom when they locked him in. Joe, our angel, has saved the day...the door is now unlocked because he had to come out. WE follow him back to the clubhouse and proceed to do our business. I finish up and wash my hands and hear someone trying to get into the bathroom...thankfully I locked the door. I'm thinking is Jannel trying to come in.....or are the guys worried about me???? I open the door and before me stands this huge block of a man...I immediately do what anyone in my situation would do...I turned off the light. Trying to act natural!! We proceed to explain our situation and he is cool with it all, and said he was just checking things out. WHEW!!! I'm glad I had already went because I might have lost it then. This is one eventful trip! I find I am constantly being told to quit filming...what is with that???? Either by gas stations, gov't security, gov't regulations, or our own security force. Maybe I should give up the dream to film, maybe it never was my dream, maybe I should just resort to a chip in my brain to save all the data needed???
Until next blog.....I will ponder that dilemma!
FYI!! Dana doesn't liked being pounced on early in the morning to be woke up....I learned that first hand this morning.
I can't wait to see what North Carolina brings!!
Tammy
We packed up and headed to the Bed & Breakfast for a relaxing evening. It is an amazing house and we all had plenty of space to stretch out. We explored a bit and tried to scare each other by making up stories of this old house. Someone screamed like a girl, but I won't say who!! Dana and I bunked together in twin beds and slept soundly. I don't think the covers even moved on my bed. I was out!! I woke up early to enjoy a little of the beautiful view before we headed off to Washington. The mist coming off the river cast a calming effect on the morning. Jannel, Gary, and I readied ourselves for the long trip to Washington, DC to visit with Representatives and share our heart for the missing. We wanted to get our voices heard and get that Squeaky Wheel making noise.
We spent three hours walking around the Rayburn Bldg. and the Cannon Bldg., meeting with various representatives from around the country. When going through Union station I was asked to quit filming....then again going through security...me and getting into trouble with cameras...there must be a trend here. Of course, Jannel had to make a scene when going through the security check point. She just couldn't walk through, no...she kept setting off the alarm. She pretty much stripped all jewelery off, and any added accessories...and still the alarm kept going off. I'm sure it didn't help that she was wearing a wire(her mic) and thus looked quite suspicious. The security guard finally gruffly told her to just come through and he used the wand on her. It only beeped at her midsection...a mere plastic button was setting it off. She got the attention she needed for the day and we were able to proceed. After roaming the halls of our capitol city for three hours toting two cameras that I wasn't allowed to use, I was ready to head back to our bus sweet bus! By this time we were starving, but we couldn't eat in town, we had to drive out before traffic got bad. We had our daredevil driver, Darlene, braving the streets of DC. Needless to say, I won't comment on her driving ability. I was asked to sign a waiver against any negative comments regarding her driving, Egyptian dance, and you go girl comments. I am here to type this blog, so I guess she did pretty well with the driving. We did run into a major traffic jam followed by a group of teens chasing another teen through traffic dodging cars and almost getting hit. I did manage to film the event just in case they started beating on this young boy, it didn't look good and we didn't know if someone was going to get hurt. They ran around cars for several minutes and finally got out of the street...it was a tense moment. I figured I might as well use some film, since the government wouldn't let me film our representatives. We finally arrived back at Hunters Oak to greet the rest of the group...we missed them so. It is hard to be apart since we have grown so close over these past 13 days. We had to bid our new friends adieu, Darlene and Cathy, so they could head home. We have found more family to love.
And now, the dilemma.....when arriving back at the bus some of us had to go to the bathroom. Upon checking out the situation we found that the clubhouse was locked along with the pub. No available restrooms....ugh!! Of course, the Bama rule is no #2 on the bus...what were we to do. Do we break the Bama rule, or do we find a spot in the woods???? What a dilemma! We started to make arrangements to get a ride to a gas station, when in walks Joe. He had been in the clubhouse using the restroom when they locked him in. Joe, our angel, has saved the day...the door is now unlocked because he had to come out. WE follow him back to the clubhouse and proceed to do our business. I finish up and wash my hands and hear someone trying to get into the bathroom...thankfully I locked the door. I'm thinking is Jannel trying to come in.....or are the guys worried about me???? I open the door and before me stands this huge block of a man...I immediately do what anyone in my situation would do...I turned off the light. Trying to act natural!! We proceed to explain our situation and he is cool with it all, and said he was just checking things out. WHEW!!! I'm glad I had already went because I might have lost it then. This is one eventful trip! I find I am constantly being told to quit filming...what is with that???? Either by gas stations, gov't security, gov't regulations, or our own security force. Maybe I should give up the dream to film, maybe it never was my dream, maybe I should just resort to a chip in my brain to save all the data needed???
Until next blog.....I will ponder that dilemma!
FYI!! Dana doesn't liked being pounced on early in the morning to be woke up....I learned that first hand this morning.
I can't wait to see what North Carolina brings!!
Tammy
DC or BUST!
Ouch, the dogs are barking after walking all day in DC in heels...
Gary, Tammy and I went with the Maryland Taskforce for the Missing to go to our Representatives offices in DC to let them know about the issues relating to the missing. There is the fact that there is a data base called CODIS used to log DNA. And the way to get this DNA processed for free is already set up for the families. Most people are unaware of this. We are trying to find ways to get this info our to the people who need it. This free service to process DNA is available if requested by law enforcement...North Texas University has a program funded by the Dept of Justice to process all of our missing family members DNA. Not only are family members of the missing unaware of this service, but many police departments are not educated about what is available out their to help identify our missing. We are hoping to find ways to educate family members of the missing re: this free service and to have a consistent system of communication to all police dept across the nation.
Additionally, we also talked with each office about the needed funding for Nations Center for Missing Adults. They will have to close their doors on Nov 5th if something does not happen. This is the only National Data base for missing adults in this country. If this closes in 5 days...it will affect many families and many other nonprofit agencies like GINA that rely on their website as a resource.
There are many issues to discuss...so many missing pieces. I am only covering a few.
We have limited computer access and I am about to get logged off, so I must hurry to finish...more on DC tomorrow.
Jannel
Gary, Tammy and I went with the Maryland Taskforce for the Missing to go to our Representatives offices in DC to let them know about the issues relating to the missing. There is the fact that there is a data base called CODIS used to log DNA. And the way to get this DNA processed for free is already set up for the families. Most people are unaware of this. We are trying to find ways to get this info our to the people who need it. This free service to process DNA is available if requested by law enforcement...North Texas University has a program funded by the Dept of Justice to process all of our missing family members DNA. Not only are family members of the missing unaware of this service, but many police departments are not educated about what is available out their to help identify our missing. We are hoping to find ways to educate family members of the missing re: this free service and to have a consistent system of communication to all police dept across the nation.
Additionally, we also talked with each office about the needed funding for Nations Center for Missing Adults. They will have to close their doors on Nov 5th if something does not happen. This is the only National Data base for missing adults in this country. If this closes in 5 days...it will affect many families and many other nonprofit agencies like GINA that rely on their website as a resource.
There are many issues to discuss...so many missing pieces. I am only covering a few.
We have limited computer access and I am about to get logged off, so I must hurry to finish...more on DC tomorrow.
Jannel
The Bikers of Queenstown
We played in Queenstown Maryland last night. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. It is called HUNTERS OAKS. That equates to 1700 acres of lakes, flatlands, green and awesomeness.
Last night there was a ROAR before we started and within minutes a gaggle of leather clad bikers appeared in the audience. Seems they were invited by the Maryland task force and REALLY wanted a picture taken with our bus. Kath (the ex marine who told us we were WIMPS not to ride the rail)organized them all and we heard the roar of the engines as they road their HOGS over to get a pioture with our bus. One of them shock my hand and called me "SON". His name was "SPIDER". Imagine that...me...the son of an outlaw biker named "Spider". MY biker name would be.....
GNAT.
The point of the story is that I actually fell asleep while we were playing our "hit" song "MUST HAVE BEEN". Not literal ASLEEP neccesarily. But once we atarted that song the bikers started to leave. I saw them leaving one by one and then heard the roar of the bikes over the sound of our instruments. As I was playing i went inside my head and started thinking about the bikers. Did they hate us that bad? Didn't they think Jannel and Dana were HOTTT!!!! Maybe a few of them fancied Gary and me. Wait, these are bikers!!!!
By the time I roused myself from my reverie we were at the end of the song. I literally zoned out for the entire song.
Biker have that effect on me.
Last night there was a ROAR before we started and within minutes a gaggle of leather clad bikers appeared in the audience. Seems they were invited by the Maryland task force and REALLY wanted a picture taken with our bus. Kath (the ex marine who told us we were WIMPS not to ride the rail)organized them all and we heard the roar of the engines as they road their HOGS over to get a pioture with our bus. One of them shock my hand and called me "SON". His name was "SPIDER". Imagine that...me...the son of an outlaw biker named "Spider". MY biker name would be.....
GNAT.
The point of the story is that I actually fell asleep while we were playing our "hit" song "MUST HAVE BEEN". Not literal ASLEEP neccesarily. But once we atarted that song the bikers started to leave. I saw them leaving one by one and then heard the roar of the bikes over the sound of our instruments. As I was playing i went inside my head and started thinking about the bikers. Did they hate us that bad? Didn't they think Jannel and Dana were HOTTT!!!! Maybe a few of them fancied Gary and me. Wait, these are bikers!!!!
By the time I roused myself from my reverie we were at the end of the song. I literally zoned out for the entire song.
Biker have that effect on me.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
I Love Maryland
Our little adventure to the harbor turned into quite the exciting time. The ride on the train was eventful as Jeff described earlier. We were just going to walk around the hotel and look at the sights, but then it was decided that we should actually take a day off and do some real exploring. Little did we know that we would experience Baltimore first hand by riding the train. We were the typical tourists in every way, video camera in hand, loud, and looking at the sights. Dana and I were looking at the pretty lights, and scenery when Eli and Gary jumped into action when they sensed danger. We were quite oblivious to the two guys on either side of us that made eye contact and looked like they were ready to pounce. Gary pushed Dana and I both into the street and said, "Get walking!" He then proceeded to take my camera and say, "No more filming, walk with purpose, and look like you know where you are going." I took this advice, but Dana was tooooo happy to be contained. Don't know if it was the three glasses of wine, the cold medicine, or just her happy self. The boys were trying their best to keep her contained, but they had their job cut out for them. Gary grabbed the camera in his hand and was prepared to use it if needed....it was all we had for we weren't packing heat! We went by the harbor...beautiful, and then over to the Hard Rock Cafe to get souvenirs. The scenery was amazing, but not recorded as much as I would have liked, but in my mind forever. The Legal Seafood Restaurant was amazing!!! I am not much for seafood since I haven't been exposed to it, but their crab cakes were to die for. I also had Halibut steak for the Hal-i-but. It was sooooo good! I now like seafood. Even young Eli tried Rainbow Trout and ate the whole thing. This is a huge accomplishment for him, he is not one to try new things. He likes his staples. We had such a wonderful day off. The train ride home was quite interesting, although Eli was off looking for his ticket and hugging the Maryland Task Force and almost missed the train. We managed to all board, ride safely (but not quietly..for that is not our nature), and safely get off the train. The guys were running security and figured they would probably end up taking a bullet to protect the ladies. They thought whoever came after us would not be working with fists but guns. Of course, Jeff is always looking for that hook to get media attention on this tour, so I was not feeling safe about his protection. Needless to say, we made it safely back to the hotel and had a restful nights sleep.
We are flyering this afternoon with the Maryland Task Force and just stopped at the Moose Lodge to eat. Did I say I love Maryland???? Well I do!!! This is the Road Weary Manager, loving every minute, sleeping only when the details that swarm my mind allow!
We are flyering this afternoon with the Maryland Task Force and just stopped at the Moose Lodge to eat. Did I say I love Maryland???? Well I do!!! This is the Road Weary Manager, loving every minute, sleeping only when the details that swarm my mind allow!
Bad Boys of Baltimore
Last evening Gary and Tammy organized an "adventure" into downtown Baltimore for a dinner on 1 of only 2 days off on the entire tour. We were told we would ride the "light rail" to the "harbor". My mind flooded with images of a seafood dinner seated along the bay after a short carriage ride thru the tranquil city.
Turns out the light rail was basically the inner city subway.
The ride over was unevenful but MUCH LONGER then expected. And it was clear that we were the "foreigners".
Tammy asked our waitress about the safety of riding the rail.
"Well, you know Baltimore is the murder capitol of the nations".
We were advised to take a cab back or ride in a very large group on the rail. An ex marine mother of a missing persons that was dining with us said that we should ride in front by the conductor,
"That way if you get into trouble you can alert them and they will stop at the next place and get the police".
I felt comforted. Especially as we walked to the rail after dinner at 11PM and a drunk skinhead fell into our group and stared at us maniacally while making casual conversation with Jannel. Tammy said to me, "Jeffrey, protect the ladies."
I searched my Indian heritage to see if I could recall the ancient Indian art of screaming and begging.
So the momment arrives and we board the train but we make a HUGE scene getting on because Eli is hugging and saying goodbye and the doors are closing and a man in the back is yelling "HEY HEY HEY GET ON THE TRAIN". Any chance of remainimg low key is gone and from that moment on my crew of pale faces does little to keep all eyes from remaining locked on us. We had cameras filming, Dana Woods talking loudly across the aisle to Tammy, and at one point they did a "gang routine" flipping signs and saying "Yo Yo". I calmly said to Ms. Woods "This might not be the best place to do gang signs".
In what seemed like 7 hours we arrived at our stop and Jannel saddled up next to me and said: "Guard your belongings and be aware of your surroundings." This because of the men on the train suddenly pushed to get off at our stop. Now, how would they know it was our stop? Because throughout the long, journey back, several in our party kept announcing how much further our EXACT stop was. That combined with our tourist shopping bags, loud talk of what state we were in before, and we were setup to go down.
As we exited the train (quiet for the first time) Gary took the camera out of Tammy's hands to use as a weapon.
Moral of the story: No one followed us and I will not go into the inner city with these pale faces that I love without the National Guard.
Turns out the light rail was basically the inner city subway.
The ride over was unevenful but MUCH LONGER then expected. And it was clear that we were the "foreigners".
Tammy asked our waitress about the safety of riding the rail.
"Well, you know Baltimore is the murder capitol of the nations".
We were advised to take a cab back or ride in a very large group on the rail. An ex marine mother of a missing persons that was dining with us said that we should ride in front by the conductor,
"That way if you get into trouble you can alert them and they will stop at the next place and get the police".
I felt comforted. Especially as we walked to the rail after dinner at 11PM and a drunk skinhead fell into our group and stared at us maniacally while making casual conversation with Jannel. Tammy said to me, "Jeffrey, protect the ladies."
I searched my Indian heritage to see if I could recall the ancient Indian art of screaming and begging.
So the momment arrives and we board the train but we make a HUGE scene getting on because Eli is hugging and saying goodbye and the doors are closing and a man in the back is yelling "HEY HEY HEY GET ON THE TRAIN". Any chance of remainimg low key is gone and from that moment on my crew of pale faces does little to keep all eyes from remaining locked on us. We had cameras filming, Dana Woods talking loudly across the aisle to Tammy, and at one point they did a "gang routine" flipping signs and saying "Yo Yo". I calmly said to Ms. Woods "This might not be the best place to do gang signs".
In what seemed like 7 hours we arrived at our stop and Jannel saddled up next to me and said: "Guard your belongings and be aware of your surroundings." This because of the men on the train suddenly pushed to get off at our stop. Now, how would they know it was our stop? Because throughout the long, journey back, several in our party kept announcing how much further our EXACT stop was. That combined with our tourist shopping bags, loud talk of what state we were in before, and we were setup to go down.
As we exited the train (quiet for the first time) Gary took the camera out of Tammy's hands to use as a weapon.
Moral of the story: No one followed us and I will not go into the inner city with these pale faces that I love without the National Guard.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Blah blah blah blaaaaaaaaaaag
Hey, Yo'ins,
I started out with Yo'ins as we drove through Pennsylvania today. Beautiful Pennsylvania I might add. We flyered quite a few spots in Pennsylvania this morning as we made our way to Maryland. The first 5 stops actually said no, but we perserved and we were on a streak of people that really cared about missing people. We also met a couple of sisters on their way to Florida who took a whole stack and offered to make copies along the way so they could post missing people from Oregon, California, Iowa, Indiana and more...we are picking up Gina volunteers everywhere we go. It's amazing.
Oh and by the way, our bus attracts a lot of attention...which was the point of raising money to make this happen. The more attention we attract to our cause...the more chances of bringing one home. Each new stop brings tears to the families members of the missings eyes when they see the bus that represents the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Patti Bishop was so moved it took her a few moments to compose herself so she could take a picture of the bus. I still tear up when I see the bus. This whole trip has been surreal. I am trying to be in the moment as much as I can to drink it all in...but with so much going on I am glad there are 9 of us to capture all the bits and pieces.
This is yesterdays blog from Ohio. Oct 28, 2007: I had an inspiration today as the band was talking. It is about building a data base with enough artists to profile all 100,000 active missing people’s cases in this country during the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Now, I don’t really want to make more work for myself and I don’t really want to actively pursue this at this time. However, the reality of bringing this to pass does bring tears to my eyes as I contemplate the enormity of that kind of effort and the impact it would have on 100,000 missing people’s families…it seems like a very worthwhile goal. I know there are enough Indie artists out there make it possible. I can’t believe it took me so long to come up with that idea.
The idea all started this morning when we were at a “Flying J” in Ohio placing missing person’s flyers and asking travelers to take them. Prior to flyering, I went to the back of the bus to grab a stack of flyers and had very a difficult time not taking every single one with me. How do I choose? Who am I to choose which flyers go out at any given truck stop? I felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the missing we had in our care coupled with the knowledge that they all needed and deserved that chance to be brought home. Tears welled up in my eyes with nearly each person I asked to take a flyer. As I told the story of my sister it felt like I was not reciting this story by rote but that it was the first time I was telling it….as if it just happened. That is the thing with living in this world of the missing. I try to focus on what is found in my life and keep that at the forefront of my mind…however, there are times when the walls I put up to protect me break through and I have my moments where it feels like Gina just disappeared. I never know what it is that will break down my focus of found and the walls I have built up to protect me in order to daily deal with the sadness that surrounds this work. Today the tears simply came from knowing that each one of those precious missing deserve to be found, to be recognized and brought home…to their waiting families.
Thus, the today’s tears breaking through created an idea that every missing person in the US will be profiled by at least once artists during the 19 day Squeaky Wheel Tour period. Don’t know if we can achieve it by 2008...but having the goal and focus in my mind and putting it out there…makes it SO!
All is well on Clementine Street!
Jannel
I started out with Yo'ins as we drove through Pennsylvania today. Beautiful Pennsylvania I might add. We flyered quite a few spots in Pennsylvania this morning as we made our way to Maryland. The first 5 stops actually said no, but we perserved and we were on a streak of people that really cared about missing people. We also met a couple of sisters on their way to Florida who took a whole stack and offered to make copies along the way so they could post missing people from Oregon, California, Iowa, Indiana and more...we are picking up Gina volunteers everywhere we go. It's amazing.
Oh and by the way, our bus attracts a lot of attention...which was the point of raising money to make this happen. The more attention we attract to our cause...the more chances of bringing one home. Each new stop brings tears to the families members of the missings eyes when they see the bus that represents the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Patti Bishop was so moved it took her a few moments to compose herself so she could take a picture of the bus. I still tear up when I see the bus. This whole trip has been surreal. I am trying to be in the moment as much as I can to drink it all in...but with so much going on I am glad there are 9 of us to capture all the bits and pieces.
This is yesterdays blog from Ohio. Oct 28, 2007: I had an inspiration today as the band was talking. It is about building a data base with enough artists to profile all 100,000 active missing people’s cases in this country during the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Now, I don’t really want to make more work for myself and I don’t really want to actively pursue this at this time. However, the reality of bringing this to pass does bring tears to my eyes as I contemplate the enormity of that kind of effort and the impact it would have on 100,000 missing people’s families…it seems like a very worthwhile goal. I know there are enough Indie artists out there make it possible. I can’t believe it took me so long to come up with that idea.
The idea all started this morning when we were at a “Flying J” in Ohio placing missing person’s flyers and asking travelers to take them. Prior to flyering, I went to the back of the bus to grab a stack of flyers and had very a difficult time not taking every single one with me. How do I choose? Who am I to choose which flyers go out at any given truck stop? I felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the missing we had in our care coupled with the knowledge that they all needed and deserved that chance to be brought home. Tears welled up in my eyes with nearly each person I asked to take a flyer. As I told the story of my sister it felt like I was not reciting this story by rote but that it was the first time I was telling it….as if it just happened. That is the thing with living in this world of the missing. I try to focus on what is found in my life and keep that at the forefront of my mind…however, there are times when the walls I put up to protect me break through and I have my moments where it feels like Gina just disappeared. I never know what it is that will break down my focus of found and the walls I have built up to protect me in order to daily deal with the sadness that surrounds this work. Today the tears simply came from knowing that each one of those precious missing deserve to be found, to be recognized and brought home…to their waiting families.
Thus, the today’s tears breaking through created an idea that every missing person in the US will be profiled by at least once artists during the 19 day Squeaky Wheel Tour period. Don’t know if we can achieve it by 2008...but having the goal and focus in my mind and putting it out there…makes it SO!
All is well on Clementine Street!
Jannel
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tammy here, the road weary tour manager for this group of angels! We are having an incredible journey together! I am amazed at the heart of this group. Some of you know that I am Jannel's sister, while it may be a news flash to the rest of you. I am so grateful to be along on this adventure that has been an emotional journey to say the least. We have had many moments of laughter, mixed with an overwhelming need to shedd those much needed tears. That seems to be the thread throughout this journey as we stretch and grow through this time. We have had Jeff's pnemonia to deal with, Christi's knee issues, Dana's sniffles, and now some kind of allergic reaction on my eyelids. Who knows where that came from, but we all are handling life on this bus amazingly well! We have grown so accustomed to this rocking boat of sleep that when we are offered a motel bed, we choose to sleep in our tight knit bunk. We feel like the bus is our home now. To be able to help these families at each stop has been an incredible, fulfilling experience...one I shall never forget. Today we took flyers to a truck stop in Columbus, OH. The truckers were very receptive and took the flyers to post wherever they traveled. I am encouraged by the goodness of people out there, the generosity of strangers. We still have good people out there, and there are alot of them. The amazing thing about this group of musicians is how they perform. No matter the size of the audience, whether it be 5 or 500, they go out and give it their all each time. They give all their energy, all their heart, not leaving anything out. Their hearts are felt each time they perform, audiences are touched wherever they are. I am honored to be a part of this tour, and to help out in anyway I can. Jeff's favorite thing to say to me is, "You are really earning the money you raised for yourself." It always makes me laugh. I would do it again in a heartbeat, it is an adventure of a lifetime to be able to travel with such a mission as we have chosen. Even if we don't find our sister Gina, we may find someone else's sister, mother, brother, son, daughter...that is what makes us get up at 5:00 am and back to bed after midnight! It is soooooo worth it!!! Until next time....Tamlyn
Catching up with all the days gone by.....
We are almost half way through our tour and for me it's gone by so quickly. We've been to Nebraska for a couple of days where Jannel is native. Our show at the Meadowlark was a great hit. We had about 5 families of the missing attend and got some great interviews for the T.V. show.
We've been to South Dakota where we hung out with our biggest fans Kim, Arllen and Tabi, The folks over in Garreston made us a nice spread of food right before our show over at Augi. College, in Souix Falls. Christi our camera girl got injured badly while playing with some of the kids of the area. I guess she tripped over a crack in the street and fell right on her knee. She came up into the bus and there was a little red mark right above her knee cap. Not a big deal.....Yeah right!!! About 1 hour and 1/2 goes by and she comes walking up to the merch. table and lifts her pant leg up and her knee is the size of a orange!! And that little red mark above her knee cap was now green, yellow, red and a funky brown color....... gnarls!
I could see it in her eyes she was freaked out. Lucky for us there were 2 med. students there at the show that helped her out with some pain relievers and an ace bandage. Over the course of our trip she has seen a Dr. and he Rx her a soft cast and I think someone along the way had donated and old school looking crutch, so she's all hooked up and ready to go.
From there we headed to Iowa and did a show at the Moose Lodge. Somethin' was a brewin' in my system that I couldn't yet explain but I shugged it off and continued with the show and it went good.
Now.....the next morning round 6 or 7 am I felt a very strange pain in my throat and went I went to swallow, the pain threw me back to that Roubitussin commercial cira.1982 ...."It'll hurt if I swallow....It'll hurt if I swallow......It'll hurt if I.....MOMMY!!!!!"
I knew right then and there I was SICK!!!!! "SONOFA......!"
Our next show was in downtown Chicago at the Lumen Club, and we had to drive quite a bit so I got a lot of rest. When we got there and walked in to set up I was surprised at how groovy this club was considering it was in the middle of the meat packing district in downtown Chicago. It actually reminded me of the hipster clubs in L.A. on being the Mandrian Hotel off of Sunset where only the hoity of toities go......oooohhh fancy!!!
With this being said I guess you can say It wasn't the kind of place Clementine is used to playing, so I kept my mind open...
Little by little people started trickling in.
Kathy Teague came in. She is a mother of one of the missing children we profile. Vignette Teague is her daughter. On our GINA DVD she was one of the missing that I profiled and I completely remember her story and how it made me feel and let me tell you something Kathy's story touched, and moved me in such away and I believe it's from the immense energy and the love that flows from that woman.
Her daughter has been missing for 24 years and the love and support that showed up for her that night was amazing. It was an intimate crowd of maybe 40 people but it felt like 100 people where there. We handed out 100 DVD's to the people there and they all wanted more to post up in their workplaces, their churches and to their friends and family. I actually had to run out to the bus and get another box of 50 to give to Kathy so she could hand them out.
Of all the shows so far I think this one was my favorite..... I just wanted to hug everyone.
Big D
We've been to South Dakota where we hung out with our biggest fans Kim, Arllen and Tabi, The folks over in Garreston made us a nice spread of food right before our show over at Augi. College, in Souix Falls. Christi our camera girl got injured badly while playing with some of the kids of the area. I guess she tripped over a crack in the street and fell right on her knee. She came up into the bus and there was a little red mark right above her knee cap. Not a big deal.....Yeah right!!! About 1 hour and 1/2 goes by and she comes walking up to the merch. table and lifts her pant leg up and her knee is the size of a orange!! And that little red mark above her knee cap was now green, yellow, red and a funky brown color....... gnarls!
I could see it in her eyes she was freaked out. Lucky for us there were 2 med. students there at the show that helped her out with some pain relievers and an ace bandage. Over the course of our trip she has seen a Dr. and he Rx her a soft cast and I think someone along the way had donated and old school looking crutch, so she's all hooked up and ready to go.
From there we headed to Iowa and did a show at the Moose Lodge. Somethin' was a brewin' in my system that I couldn't yet explain but I shugged it off and continued with the show and it went good.
Now.....the next morning round 6 or 7 am I felt a very strange pain in my throat and went I went to swallow, the pain threw me back to that Roubitussin commercial cira.1982 ...."It'll hurt if I swallow....It'll hurt if I swallow......It'll hurt if I.....MOMMY!!!!!"
I knew right then and there I was SICK!!!!! "SONOFA......!"
Our next show was in downtown Chicago at the Lumen Club, and we had to drive quite a bit so I got a lot of rest. When we got there and walked in to set up I was surprised at how groovy this club was considering it was in the middle of the meat packing district in downtown Chicago. It actually reminded me of the hipster clubs in L.A. on being the Mandrian Hotel off of Sunset where only the hoity of toities go......oooohhh fancy!!!
With this being said I guess you can say It wasn't the kind of place Clementine is used to playing, so I kept my mind open...
Little by little people started trickling in.
Kathy Teague came in. She is a mother of one of the missing children we profile. Vignette Teague is her daughter. On our GINA DVD she was one of the missing that I profiled and I completely remember her story and how it made me feel and let me tell you something Kathy's story touched, and moved me in such away and I believe it's from the immense energy and the love that flows from that woman.
Her daughter has been missing for 24 years and the love and support that showed up for her that night was amazing. It was an intimate crowd of maybe 40 people but it felt like 100 people where there. We handed out 100 DVD's to the people there and they all wanted more to post up in their workplaces, their churches and to their friends and family. I actually had to run out to the bus and get another box of 50 to give to Kathy so she could hand them out.
Of all the shows so far I think this one was my favorite..... I just wanted to hug everyone.
Big D
merrily we roll along...
rolling into cleveland today. sometimes it seems a bit like a blur out here. keeping track of what day it is, what city we're in next. feeling the mix of excitement and exhaustion. but one thing remains constant...the mission each of us took on when we decided to get out here and make some noise...and it's what keeps us going day in and day out. it's giving a voice to the missing that keeps me going. seeing the gratitude of the families, that someone out here cares about what they're going through. every story is unique, with it's own set of hope and frustration, and knowing that we're really making a difference is what makes it all worthwhile.
the bus seems to be stopping, so i should crawl out of my bunk and begin the next step in the journey. til next time, keep the prayers and good energy coming our way. we love you all!
gary
the bus seems to be stopping, so i should crawl out of my bunk and begin the next step in the journey. til next time, keep the prayers and good energy coming our way. we love you all!
gary
Poo poo platter...
Well well well, if it isn't all of you again...
so there's no taking number twos on the bus and that sure is a disappointment when you have to go in a porta potty at some random gas station off some random interstate in ohio, instead...that was NOT a good experience. I would rather go in the woods...Let me tell you - as if that isn't enough, my emotions have been a sort of poo poo platter within itself...
This whole trip has been a odd experience for me, with emotions running high, I wasn't quite so sure how I felt about it all. My way of dealing with my mom's disappearance has just been to do my best to stay me - happy and laughable and do my best not to dwell on it. I've done a pretty good job of that - I think...but sometimes it's just too much and I see how much pain some of the families of the missing are in, and I remember where I was at the time when my mother, Gina, first disappeared.
With everyone on the bus and in the band doing so much - sometimes I felt like I wasn't doing enough...but Joe, beautiful Joe, helped me to realize that that's my own way of dealing with it and I have to leave that space for myself to feel and to not pressure myself to talk about things I'm not comfortable with, etc. I'm already doing what I can and that is what I can do.
Missing persons are an odd thing because they all have different stories. I realized yesterday that I was frustrated with this whole tour because I was only thinking about how I felt about it...but then I thought about it and because each missing persons' case is unique to their own, as well as the individual and their families, of course there will be different ways of viewing it and feeling about it. The point of this mission is not for me to see to it that I feel alright about my mother's disappearance because I've already somewhat reached my own conclusion inside of my heart - but rather to help others out there to do the same, to find their missing loved ones or to find their own type of closure...even if mine is so different from theirs. I think part of my frustration was that these people are still in pain when I just want them to find a positive way of looking at it. But that is hard. It is all hard. I can't just expect everyone to be happy all of the time - we each need our time to feel and our space to not be pressured - just like Joe said. And there are still some days when I am in pain and ache for my mother to be physically next to me. I just do my best to stay me...happy, laughable...and feeling blessed for the things I have "FOUND" in life and for the things I have learned because of her disappearance. Like I said, it's an odd thing...but we all have to help eachother - as family and work through it and keep living day to day.
We were in Indiana yesterday and I was really touched by what some of the families had to say...I remember specifically a mother of a missing woman saying that, "we are all family. we are all one." I am one to stand by this statement...and it really felt like it yesterday and not just because we each have someone missing in our lives but because we care, because we are doing something about it, and because we are showing one another love.
Even in the midst of all the poo poo on the platter,
WE ARE ALL FAMILY.
I learned that I do have respect for different ways of viewing and feeling about the missing and that it's ok to take the time to feel that you need...no matter how long it has been since the disappearance, no matter how long it takes you...it's ok. That's part of what this mission is about - to help people get through that and to help them find what they need and the strength to continue...
I love each person on this bus so much...it's hard to explain, you're all such fantastic people and strong warriors...I am so thankful and proud of all of you.
And I have so much love for all of those out there missing someone in their life - and to the families of the missing that I have met...you are all strong!! Do not forget your strength to carry on. Keep loving and living!!!
WE ARE ALL ONE.
Connected. Feeling. Being. Percieving. Acting. Helping. Loving.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
dread out.
annieSuN
so there's no taking number twos on the bus and that sure is a disappointment when you have to go in a porta potty at some random gas station off some random interstate in ohio, instead...that was NOT a good experience. I would rather go in the woods...Let me tell you - as if that isn't enough, my emotions have been a sort of poo poo platter within itself...
This whole trip has been a odd experience for me, with emotions running high, I wasn't quite so sure how I felt about it all. My way of dealing with my mom's disappearance has just been to do my best to stay me - happy and laughable and do my best not to dwell on it. I've done a pretty good job of that - I think...but sometimes it's just too much and I see how much pain some of the families of the missing are in, and I remember where I was at the time when my mother, Gina, first disappeared.
With everyone on the bus and in the band doing so much - sometimes I felt like I wasn't doing enough...but Joe, beautiful Joe, helped me to realize that that's my own way of dealing with it and I have to leave that space for myself to feel and to not pressure myself to talk about things I'm not comfortable with, etc. I'm already doing what I can and that is what I can do.
Missing persons are an odd thing because they all have different stories. I realized yesterday that I was frustrated with this whole tour because I was only thinking about how I felt about it...but then I thought about it and because each missing persons' case is unique to their own, as well as the individual and their families, of course there will be different ways of viewing it and feeling about it. The point of this mission is not for me to see to it that I feel alright about my mother's disappearance because I've already somewhat reached my own conclusion inside of my heart - but rather to help others out there to do the same, to find their missing loved ones or to find their own type of closure...even if mine is so different from theirs. I think part of my frustration was that these people are still in pain when I just want them to find a positive way of looking at it. But that is hard. It is all hard. I can't just expect everyone to be happy all of the time - we each need our time to feel and our space to not be pressured - just like Joe said. And there are still some days when I am in pain and ache for my mother to be physically next to me. I just do my best to stay me...happy, laughable...and feeling blessed for the things I have "FOUND" in life and for the things I have learned because of her disappearance. Like I said, it's an odd thing...but we all have to help eachother - as family and work through it and keep living day to day.
We were in Indiana yesterday and I was really touched by what some of the families had to say...I remember specifically a mother of a missing woman saying that, "we are all family. we are all one." I am one to stand by this statement...and it really felt like it yesterday and not just because we each have someone missing in our lives but because we care, because we are doing something about it, and because we are showing one another love.
Even in the midst of all the poo poo on the platter,
WE ARE ALL FAMILY.
I learned that I do have respect for different ways of viewing and feeling about the missing and that it's ok to take the time to feel that you need...no matter how long it has been since the disappearance, no matter how long it takes you...it's ok. That's part of what this mission is about - to help people get through that and to help them find what they need and the strength to continue...
I love each person on this bus so much...it's hard to explain, you're all such fantastic people and strong warriors...I am so thankful and proud of all of you.
And I have so much love for all of those out there missing someone in their life - and to the families of the missing that I have met...you are all strong!! Do not forget your strength to carry on. Keep loving and living!!!
WE ARE ALL ONE.
Connected. Feeling. Being. Percieving. Acting. Helping. Loving.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.
dread out.
annieSuN
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Missing Pieces to FIND the Missing...
Hey ya'll,
I have been looking for 7 years to FIND, create and put together the missing pieces to FIND the missing. Yet, here I am on a 49 foot long bus with the pieces starring right back at me day after day. I could not have put together a more perfect crew.
First of all, Jeffrey Wayne was my best friend for years and has seen the ups and downs of Gina's disappearance, her children in our lives and more...and he has been along for the ride. He taught himself how to edit film for the cause. He is not only pivital in our sound, had the initial idea for Clementine and dubbed us so, but he is great at PR and filling in holes or missing pieces that need to be filled.
Dana Woods is a naturally talented, gifted in so many ways person...brilliant...I have heard someone say. She does our hair and make-up, handles the merchandise, has been playing nurse maid to Jeffrey with his pnemonia and now Cristi with her knee injury. Dana's huge heart grows bigger with each new missing person we meet. She has also been reported as being seen straightening up the bus on a daily basis.
Joe Lamanno is the calming voice of reason and wisdom flows through his veins. He keeps track of all of our sound equipment, sets it up, loads it and fronts the equipment for each gig. His heart for this mission seems to be growing in places I did not know could be grown.
Eli Cooper my amazing son considers this work for the missing his mission. I have been going about my business all these years not knowing how it would affect my kids. Eli has been profoundly impacted by the work and his consistent helpful attitude and work ethic for what needs to be done rivals many adults. Not only is he working as much as the rest of us, but he has 3 weeks worth of homework to get done. If you were his mother...you would be proud and you might even have a tear in your eye as you were typing these words. I could not ask for a better gift in this life...Eli is incredible.
Annie Williams my precious Gina's daughter...has the depth of soul of a much much older person. Her wise way of viewing her mothers disappearance an example to us all. She chooses to be happy and look at the things she has FOUND in her life. She does not dwell on the sadness. I wanna be like her when I grow up. She is learnin' me.
Cristi Higgins is a kind soul gifted with video production. Her heart for what we do touches her tremendous effort. Even though she is injured she is constantly working to find ways to utilize the time she has by logging video or whatever. The families of the missing can really feel her care for their stories and they express their great appreciation for work.
Gary Floyd is a soul I have always felt akin to. I have known for years that one day our paths would align...I just never imagined that they would align in Clementine, a band with a mission and the Squeaky Wheel Tour for the missing. His talent is limitless and his heart seems to be the same.
TamLyn Smith...my sweet sister...is our road manager. She has never done this before in her life, but she is handling it she has been doing it all of her life. No detail gets lost with her. Our bus driver, Bama is impressed with her and thinks she is top notch. Jeffrey goes on and on about how great she is. She keeps us on schedule, washes our laundry, makes sure we have hotels, a place to park the bus, handles every detail with flair..and, and and she has to wake up first in the morning to get the rest of us up. Not a fun job. Up until the last few months she has been on the outskirts of GINA for Missing Persons FOUNDation. She has had her eyes, ears and hands full with helping the missing. I am not sure how much this is affecting her, but I know that she so relates to the families of the missing and their need for what we are trying to create for them. I am so proud of her and her natural abilities. She is also a great singer and joins us on Oct 17 and Clementine each night. Besides the fact that between Tammy, Dana and Jeff...we have constant comedy routines going on in between Squeaking.
We prayed for just the right bus driver. Mike Smith is his name, but we have dubbed him Bama...since he is from Alabama...we are very creative. Anyway...he gets us. He gets what we are doing...what our mission is and whether he likes it or not he is already a permenant member of the band.
All in all. I started out with a great amount of love and admiration for everyone involved the project. Everyone on this tour is growing to be more beautiful and inspiring and mission oriented with each passing day. They have each taken on their own expanding role of this mission as if it were created just for them. It takes me aback at times as I am so used to being the one holding all of the balls. They have so taken on their roles that I have actually been able to rest in knowing I don't have to do everything...that there are angels on this bus helping to carry this load I have been carrying for so long. At times I feel a little like a mother letting her chicks go out for the first time. It's hard to let the chicks go. But if I want GINA to grow and I want to Squeaky louder with every passing day...then I have to let someone else take the reins...and thank goodness for all of the missing pieces on this bus that have fit together perfectly to make this tour an incredible experience for all.
I guess I have said enough...we are in Indiana today with In Hope and Keri Dattilo. Boy have they been working for us. We got this last minute gig put together, great hotel rooms and 6 families of the missing came to tell us their stories. Each day is emotional as you can imagine. Jeff already told you about Chicago last night. I am certain that we are all learning and growing in ways that will be long lasting. It is all happening so fast with such emotional highs and lows...that I for one will need time to assimilate it all.
Until I have time to blog...blessings...all around.
Jannel
I have been looking for 7 years to FIND, create and put together the missing pieces to FIND the missing. Yet, here I am on a 49 foot long bus with the pieces starring right back at me day after day. I could not have put together a more perfect crew.
First of all, Jeffrey Wayne was my best friend for years and has seen the ups and downs of Gina's disappearance, her children in our lives and more...and he has been along for the ride. He taught himself how to edit film for the cause. He is not only pivital in our sound, had the initial idea for Clementine and dubbed us so, but he is great at PR and filling in holes or missing pieces that need to be filled.
Dana Woods is a naturally talented, gifted in so many ways person...brilliant...I have heard someone say. She does our hair and make-up, handles the merchandise, has been playing nurse maid to Jeffrey with his pnemonia and now Cristi with her knee injury. Dana's huge heart grows bigger with each new missing person we meet. She has also been reported as being seen straightening up the bus on a daily basis.
Joe Lamanno is the calming voice of reason and wisdom flows through his veins. He keeps track of all of our sound equipment, sets it up, loads it and fronts the equipment for each gig. His heart for this mission seems to be growing in places I did not know could be grown.
Eli Cooper my amazing son considers this work for the missing his mission. I have been going about my business all these years not knowing how it would affect my kids. Eli has been profoundly impacted by the work and his consistent helpful attitude and work ethic for what needs to be done rivals many adults. Not only is he working as much as the rest of us, but he has 3 weeks worth of homework to get done. If you were his mother...you would be proud and you might even have a tear in your eye as you were typing these words. I could not ask for a better gift in this life...Eli is incredible.
Annie Williams my precious Gina's daughter...has the depth of soul of a much much older person. Her wise way of viewing her mothers disappearance an example to us all. She chooses to be happy and look at the things she has FOUND in her life. She does not dwell on the sadness. I wanna be like her when I grow up. She is learnin' me.
Cristi Higgins is a kind soul gifted with video production. Her heart for what we do touches her tremendous effort. Even though she is injured she is constantly working to find ways to utilize the time she has by logging video or whatever. The families of the missing can really feel her care for their stories and they express their great appreciation for work.
Gary Floyd is a soul I have always felt akin to. I have known for years that one day our paths would align...I just never imagined that they would align in Clementine, a band with a mission and the Squeaky Wheel Tour for the missing. His talent is limitless and his heart seems to be the same.
TamLyn Smith...my sweet sister...is our road manager. She has never done this before in her life, but she is handling it she has been doing it all of her life. No detail gets lost with her. Our bus driver, Bama is impressed with her and thinks she is top notch. Jeffrey goes on and on about how great she is. She keeps us on schedule, washes our laundry, makes sure we have hotels, a place to park the bus, handles every detail with flair..and, and and she has to wake up first in the morning to get the rest of us up. Not a fun job. Up until the last few months she has been on the outskirts of GINA for Missing Persons FOUNDation. She has had her eyes, ears and hands full with helping the missing. I am not sure how much this is affecting her, but I know that she so relates to the families of the missing and their need for what we are trying to create for them. I am so proud of her and her natural abilities. She is also a great singer and joins us on Oct 17 and Clementine each night. Besides the fact that between Tammy, Dana and Jeff...we have constant comedy routines going on in between Squeaking.
We prayed for just the right bus driver. Mike Smith is his name, but we have dubbed him Bama...since he is from Alabama...we are very creative. Anyway...he gets us. He gets what we are doing...what our mission is and whether he likes it or not he is already a permenant member of the band.
All in all. I started out with a great amount of love and admiration for everyone involved the project. Everyone on this tour is growing to be more beautiful and inspiring and mission oriented with each passing day. They have each taken on their own expanding role of this mission as if it were created just for them. It takes me aback at times as I am so used to being the one holding all of the balls. They have so taken on their roles that I have actually been able to rest in knowing I don't have to do everything...that there are angels on this bus helping to carry this load I have been carrying for so long. At times I feel a little like a mother letting her chicks go out for the first time. It's hard to let the chicks go. But if I want GINA to grow and I want to Squeaky louder with every passing day...then I have to let someone else take the reins...and thank goodness for all of the missing pieces on this bus that have fit together perfectly to make this tour an incredible experience for all.
I guess I have said enough...we are in Indiana today with In Hope and Keri Dattilo. Boy have they been working for us. We got this last minute gig put together, great hotel rooms and 6 families of the missing came to tell us their stories. Each day is emotional as you can imagine. Jeff already told you about Chicago last night. I am certain that we are all learning and growing in ways that will be long lasting. It is all happening so fast with such emotional highs and lows...that I for one will need time to assimilate it all.
Until I have time to blog...blessings...all around.
Jannel
Chi Town
It rained all over us in Chicago last evening. We played at this COOL little trendy dance club in the middle of the meat packing district. Because the space was so intimate we played an acoustic set with no drums or bass. AND BABY...it was magical. Kathy Teaques lost her daughter 21 years ago and she packed the place with her family and friends. I can only say that we had "CHURCH" in that place. The song "OCTOBER 17th" was like a worship song!!!! Simple an exceptional night. Afterwards we had one of the locals stalking our bus wanting food, money and the use of our cell to "Call his wife". I put my hand on his shoulder and told him he was an angel. He reponded by offering to pass out missing posters for food or money.
Now that's life in the missing lane!
Jeffrey Wayne
Now that's life in the missing lane!
Jeffrey Wayne
Thursday, October 25, 2007
More days have passed since my last confession...
Heyall,
It is difficult to get on the Internet everyday. So, I have a lot of catching up today. We had everything scheduled so that we would have time to get on the computer, blog, do homework, work on the nonprofit and more...however lack of computer access and such a packed schedule makes it difficult.
We were in Lincoln for 2 days, but it felt like a whirlwind. We stayed with Annie's grandma. They housed and fed us as well as sent food along with us for the ride. The Meadowlark Coffee House was a welcome environment and many people who have never heard me play came out for the show. Branson Perry's mother came from MO to profile her son along with Linda who is a warrior for many missing that she has never met. Nathan Anton's mother and father came to tell the story of his disappearance. Kelly Jolkowski from Project Jason came to profile her son, Jason and to meet with other families of the missing. Carolyn Pospisil came with her family to talk about Erin. Gary, Dana, Jeff and I all took one family to talk with and film the stories of the missing for FINDing Gina. It gave me a break from my usual frenzy and really created a way for them to truly be a part of the solution. The event went so well. The audience responded well and we not only distributed a lot of flyers and DVD's of the missing...but we sold a lot of merchandise.
Sioux Falls found us at Augustana College with some amazing students who slept in a van for a week to help us raise money to continue on our way. They said it was uncomfortable and cold, but it was a rewarding experince. We were able to profile 10 missing people matched up with 10 students from different areas of the country. Our sound was turned off in the house for most of the event, but I guess people could hear us anyway. We finally got it turned on by the last few songs. We don't know what the final count on the donations coming in are as the students are still waiting for funds to come in. We also had the opportunity to go to visit the town that gave us our start...Garretson. Last summer we were in Garretson, SD for Jesse James Days. The people there treated us like kings and queens and this visit was no exception. For a town of 1100 we certainly got a lot of heart, support attn and funds raised. Amazing. We are working on writing a song for them. We have a couple of versions, but are not sure which direction we will go in. Additionally, they fed us a wonderful BBQ dinner, raised more funds for us and the kids played a game of freeze tag. Cristi our videographer got involved in that game and somehow landed on her knee...which within a few hours was swollen up twice it's normal size. Pretty ugly...and we stayed up till one in the morning trying to figure out what to do about the situation. Fortunately, before we left Augie a student who had training in Sports Medicine came to our aid...gave Cristi advice and today...the swelling is down. It doesn't look pretty, Cristi is in pain and can't walk well...but she appears to be on the mend.
I got up at 545 due to Tammy's prompting for an Interview on channel 3 Mason City. Then, at 10 am I had a live hour interview with an npr station. The interview was an indepth interview about my work with the missing, my book, my life and what I have learned. A few questions caught me off guard as I was not used to being asked such indepth questions. The Interviewer Greg was amazing. I called him Gary when we started. I felt really unprofessional, but he handled it well. I knew his name was Greg, but I have met so many Gary's on the road...that I guess I had Gary on the brain. A few people emailed in with great questions. It was really a nice interview. We even talked about the trip we are planning to DC to speak with Senators about DNA issues.
We met up with Paul Davis and his twin daughters, Alexia and Kayla who were abducted when they were 2 years old. They are featured on the side of our bus as FOUND! We will be interviewing their family tonight about the abduction and the change in their lives since the girls were brought home.
The men are setting up for our show and Dana and I are doing computer work. Tammy is running around faxing our stage plot to Dallas for our Nov 4th finale event and getting hotel rooms booked. It looks like we will be in Chicago on Friday night with a congressman and the Chicago Sun Times. We continue to squeak in the best way possible.
We planned a quiet area with a sign and everything in the back of the bus that we have never used. First, Jeff used that as his recovery area. His lungs have been filled with fluid this whole time and now that we were able to get him a breathing aperatus he is doing a lot better. Cristi is now using that same area for her recovery and so Jeff is back in his bunk. Last night, Gary replaced the sign with SICK BAY.
Until I can get back on line...
Love,
Jannel
It is difficult to get on the Internet everyday. So, I have a lot of catching up today. We had everything scheduled so that we would have time to get on the computer, blog, do homework, work on the nonprofit and more...however lack of computer access and such a packed schedule makes it difficult.
We were in Lincoln for 2 days, but it felt like a whirlwind. We stayed with Annie's grandma. They housed and fed us as well as sent food along with us for the ride. The Meadowlark Coffee House was a welcome environment and many people who have never heard me play came out for the show. Branson Perry's mother came from MO to profile her son along with Linda who is a warrior for many missing that she has never met. Nathan Anton's mother and father came to tell the story of his disappearance. Kelly Jolkowski from Project Jason came to profile her son, Jason and to meet with other families of the missing. Carolyn Pospisil came with her family to talk about Erin. Gary, Dana, Jeff and I all took one family to talk with and film the stories of the missing for FINDing Gina. It gave me a break from my usual frenzy and really created a way for them to truly be a part of the solution. The event went so well. The audience responded well and we not only distributed a lot of flyers and DVD's of the missing...but we sold a lot of merchandise.
Sioux Falls found us at Augustana College with some amazing students who slept in a van for a week to help us raise money to continue on our way. They said it was uncomfortable and cold, but it was a rewarding experince. We were able to profile 10 missing people matched up with 10 students from different areas of the country. Our sound was turned off in the house for most of the event, but I guess people could hear us anyway. We finally got it turned on by the last few songs. We don't know what the final count on the donations coming in are as the students are still waiting for funds to come in. We also had the opportunity to go to visit the town that gave us our start...Garretson. Last summer we were in Garretson, SD for Jesse James Days. The people there treated us like kings and queens and this visit was no exception. For a town of 1100 we certainly got a lot of heart, support attn and funds raised. Amazing. We are working on writing a song for them. We have a couple of versions, but are not sure which direction we will go in. Additionally, they fed us a wonderful BBQ dinner, raised more funds for us and the kids played a game of freeze tag. Cristi our videographer got involved in that game and somehow landed on her knee...which within a few hours was swollen up twice it's normal size. Pretty ugly...and we stayed up till one in the morning trying to figure out what to do about the situation. Fortunately, before we left Augie a student who had training in Sports Medicine came to our aid...gave Cristi advice and today...the swelling is down. It doesn't look pretty, Cristi is in pain and can't walk well...but she appears to be on the mend.
I got up at 545 due to Tammy's prompting for an Interview on channel 3 Mason City. Then, at 10 am I had a live hour interview with an npr station. The interview was an indepth interview about my work with the missing, my book, my life and what I have learned. A few questions caught me off guard as I was not used to being asked such indepth questions. The Interviewer Greg was amazing. I called him Gary when we started. I felt really unprofessional, but he handled it well. I knew his name was Greg, but I have met so many Gary's on the road...that I guess I had Gary on the brain. A few people emailed in with great questions. It was really a nice interview. We even talked about the trip we are planning to DC to speak with Senators about DNA issues.
We met up with Paul Davis and his twin daughters, Alexia and Kayla who were abducted when they were 2 years old. They are featured on the side of our bus as FOUND! We will be interviewing their family tonight about the abduction and the change in their lives since the girls were brought home.
The men are setting up for our show and Dana and I are doing computer work. Tammy is running around faxing our stage plot to Dallas for our Nov 4th finale event and getting hotel rooms booked. It looks like we will be in Chicago on Friday night with a congressman and the Chicago Sun Times. We continue to squeak in the best way possible.
We planned a quiet area with a sign and everything in the back of the bus that we have never used. First, Jeff used that as his recovery area. His lungs have been filled with fluid this whole time and now that we were able to get him a breathing aperatus he is doing a lot better. Cristi is now using that same area for her recovery and so Jeff is back in his bunk. Last night, Gary replaced the sign with SICK BAY.
Until I can get back on line...
Love,
Jannel
Sioux Falls or Bust
LAst night we played to some LOYAL, LOYAL friends from Garretson!!! We had a special dinner and got to eat REAL FOOD!!!!! What a night. What a night. What a night. We now have personalized pillow cases made by Kim and Tabby (you know who you are).
Today we are in Mason City IOWA getting ready to go to the venue. My lungs? Cristi brought me a 'Neubulisor" and the infection is leaving.I am getting stronger everyday.
Now, let me tell you that we cannot use our bathrooms on the bus for certain functions of the bodily kind so we are all learning the acient indian art of clutching and holding.
"RELEASE YOUR CRINGE".
Love you all.
Jeffrey Wayne
Today we are in Mason City IOWA getting ready to go to the venue. My lungs? Cristi brought me a 'Neubulisor" and the infection is leaving.I am getting stronger everyday.
Now, let me tell you that we cannot use our bathrooms on the bus for certain functions of the bodily kind so we are all learning the acient indian art of clutching and holding.
"RELEASE YOUR CRINGE".
Love you all.
Jeffrey Wayne
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Internet within my reach...
Hey...
The first 5 days of The Squeaky Wheel Tour we the "Clementine Band" started off in our bus at the world famous Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA for the kick off event on Oct 17th. Artists and families of the missing are meeting face to face for the first time. Each day that passes more events are gaining press for the missing who have never received press before. Then, it was off to Napa on the 18th at Downtown Joe's with Saul Kaye. On Oct 19th we were in Ashland, OR. 5 families of the missing came to tell us their stories and profile their loved ones. One of the family members actually had a tip about another families missing daughter that brought everyone to tears. Without the Squeaky Wheel Tour would that particular tip have been received? Everywhere we go we meet new people who have missing loved ones who need our help. In Ashland, OR the DJ at the radio station has a brother who has been missing for 5 years. She did not know where to turn for help and now she does. On Oct 20 we traveled for 22 hours from Ashland, OR to Denver to get to CBS 4 Denver in time for a LIVE TV interview. On our way when we stopped at truck stops in Wyoming we not only flyered the truck stops, but we went up to truckers as they were getting ready to leave and asked them to take flyers of the missing wherever they might go. Today at the "Unity Church" one man was visibly shook up when he realized we were profiling his friend who was a missing person. We all think that missing is something that will never touch us and yet everywhere we go we are meeting people who have been directly affected by a missing person in their lives. As the Nielson ratings use a statistic of over 200 to represent each family they interview if we multiply the 100,000 active missing persons cases in the US the numbers are staggering. The Chicago Sun Times is on a week long series to profile missing people, then we arrive in Chicago on Friday for the tail end of their series. We have radio, print news and TV News everywhere we are going as well as press via 100's of other artists throughout the world during the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Oh and all the while we are filming our reality TV series FINDing Gina every day all day long...as we continue to Squeak as loud as we can. If we miss a few days it's because Internet connection is spotty. We sleep when we can on the bus. It's a great time all in all...with great connections and an amazing group of talented people with hearts all the way to the moon and back...until the Internet is within my reach. Jannel
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The first 5 days of The Squeaky Wheel Tour we the "Clementine Band" started off in our bus at the world famous Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA for the kick off event on Oct 17th. Artists and families of the missing are meeting face to face for the first time. Each day that passes more events are gaining press for the missing who have never received press before. Then, it was off to Napa on the 18th at Downtown Joe's with Saul Kaye. On Oct 19th we were in Ashland, OR. 5 families of the missing came to tell us their stories and profile their loved ones. One of the family members actually had a tip about another families missing daughter that brought everyone to tears. Without the Squeaky Wheel Tour would that particular tip have been received? Everywhere we go we meet new people who have missing loved ones who need our help. In Ashland, OR the DJ at the radio station has a brother who has been missing for 5 years. She did not know where to turn for help and now she does. On Oct 20 we traveled for 22 hours from Ashland, OR to Denver to get to CBS 4 Denver in time for a LIVE TV interview. On our way when we stopped at truck stops in Wyoming we not only flyered the truck stops, but we went up to truckers as they were getting ready to leave and asked them to take flyers of the missing wherever they might go. Today at the "Unity Church" one man was visibly shook up when he realized we were profiling his friend who was a missing person. We all think that missing is something that will never touch us and yet everywhere we go we are meeting people who have been directly affected by a missing person in their lives. As the Nielson ratings use a statistic of over 200 to represent each family they interview if we multiply the 100,000 active missing persons cases in the US the numbers are staggering. The Chicago Sun Times is on a week long series to profile missing people, then we arrive in Chicago on Friday for the tail end of their series. We have radio, print news and TV News everywhere we are going as well as press via 100's of other artists throughout the world during the Squeaky Wheel Tour. Oh and all the while we are filming our reality TV series FINDing Gina every day all day long...as we continue to Squeak as loud as we can. If we miss a few days it's because Internet connection is spotty. We sleep when we can on the bus. It's a great time all in all...with great connections and an amazing group of talented people with hearts all the way to the moon and back...until the Internet is within my reach. Jannel
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ain't it true what they say about a squeaky wheel...
here we are. five days in. rolling all over the country, making the loudest noise we know how to make. nine people from varied backgrounds...one heart, one mind, one mission. it's been a magnificent adventure so far...from the kick off concert at the coach house in orange county, to the warmth of unity church in denver, in the midst of the first snowfall of the season, we have all begun to realize just what the squeaky wheel is all about. stepping outside yourself. leaving your comfort zones behind.
staying open and willing. i don't think any of us was sure exactly what to expect on this journey. i know i wasn't. but when i met the family of "thatcher" in ashland, oregon, it became a little clearer. thatcher's mom told me the story of her son... a keyboard player, songwriter, and musician, just like me, who had disappeared seventeen months ago on mother's day. he left shady acres rv park, where he lived, on may 14 around 5pm on his bicycle, and never returned. her pain and grief were undeniable, and all i could do was hug her and let her know that we were doing everything we knew how to do to help bring awareness and attention to people like her son. vanished without a trace...no leads...no sensational story...just missing. one day here...the next gone.
that's why i'm here. to use whatever gifts i have been given to bring a little hope to people like thatcher's mom. and i belive music is a great healer in our world.
so come along on the tour with us. make some noise wherever you are. we're all in this together. and remember, the squeaky wheel always gets the grease.
staying open and willing. i don't think any of us was sure exactly what to expect on this journey. i know i wasn't. but when i met the family of "thatcher" in ashland, oregon, it became a little clearer. thatcher's mom told me the story of her son... a keyboard player, songwriter, and musician, just like me, who had disappeared seventeen months ago on mother's day. he left shady acres rv park, where he lived, on may 14 around 5pm on his bicycle, and never returned. her pain and grief were undeniable, and all i could do was hug her and let her know that we were doing everything we knew how to do to help bring awareness and attention to people like her son. vanished without a trace...no leads...no sensational story...just missing. one day here...the next gone.
that's why i'm here. to use whatever gifts i have been given to bring a little hope to people like thatcher's mom. and i belive music is a great healer in our world.
so come along on the tour with us. make some noise wherever you are. we're all in this together. and remember, the squeaky wheel always gets the grease.
Somewhere in Denver...
So...the wheels on the bus go round' and round. Well, except for right now...as we sit stationary in a parking lot next to a hotel and starbucks on the other side somewhere in Denver, waiting to get goin. The tour has been going well so far, and I don't think that any of us are at eachother throats...except for Jeffery and I, cuz well let's face it...it never ends with us. (He thinks he knows everything.) ANNIEway, I really enjoyed the church we went to this morning that Clementine played at and I am definitly NOT a church person. We went to the Denver Unity Church and everyone was very kind and open, I felt very welcomed there. They gave us such a generous donation and even fed us some wonderful food, and I am so appreciative of that. It was a good show and we're all livin it up.
Our next stop is Lincoln, NE. and I am very excited about that since I get to see my family and friends and in a way chill out for a couple of days - there will still be much work to do however. We should be arriving sometime in the middle of the night if everything goes to plan and it's snowin out here!! So we'll see, but Bama says he has a nack about these things and that we'll make it according to schedule.
I'm learning a lot about camera work, never thought I would be a "camera person" for anything but there's definitely an art to it and it has been very fun. Especially following "friggin" dana around. Sheesh...that girl!
Might go frolic in the snowy snow while I have the chance...
dread out.
<3 a.dub.
Our next stop is Lincoln, NE. and I am very excited about that since I get to see my family and friends and in a way chill out for a couple of days - there will still be much work to do however. We should be arriving sometime in the middle of the night if everything goes to plan and it's snowin out here!! So we'll see, but Bama says he has a nack about these things and that we'll make it according to schedule.
I'm learning a lot about camera work, never thought I would be a "camera person" for anything but there's definitely an art to it and it has been very fun. Especially following "friggin" dana around. Sheesh...that girl!
Might go frolic in the snowy snow while I have the chance...
dread out.
<3 a.dub.
Snow is falling on my face
Day 5. We were up at 5 am to get ready for our BIG channel 4 news spot, in Denver. We arrived at the channel 4 CBS building around 7 am and it was cold but tolerable. The second i walked into the filming room I couldn't get that movie Anchorman out of my head..... all I saw was BIG hair and BIG smiles....... it was creepy, and their voices were pretty big too...... I was scared.
The really awesome thing was that we were LIVE and got to play 2 songs and talked about the GINA FOUNDation. They showed the weather and it didn't hit me that they were forecasting SNOW, until I walked out of the CBS building and saw........SNOW.......FRIGGIN FALLING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! I swear I thought it was Christmas and wanted to know where the hell all my presents were. It was a very memorable moment in my life.
From there we headed to Unity Church to do a service by 10 am. The band seems to do a lot of church services with reason of course, since the church population continues to support our cause.
The last couple of days were travels days for us from Ashland Oregon, to here Denver Colorado. Nevada in my opinion was a land of " not a whole lot". and Utah was cool I guess, I was sleeping most of the time. But Wyoming, was friggin' butt cold.
We stopped at a flying J truck stop and Jannel and I passed out flyers of missing people to truck drivers. That itself was something I would NEVER do if I wasn't apart of this project and to be honest It made me feel uncomfortable. Not only was I freezing cold, but I was told that "working girls" go truck to truck knocking on the doors of truck drivers to give services and that was the LAST thing I wanted anyone to see me as. I mean I could service them with a hair cut..... and trust me these drivers looked and smelled like they needed more that a haircut. They did however take our flyers and said they would keep an eye out and post them on the road.
I sit here in Denver on the bus watching the snow fall outside while "Bama" gets his 8 hours sleep. I plan on walking around and taking lots of pictures.
I miss my parents, Faustin and my friends Elicia, Leah and Dave. I wish you could be here so I can throw a snow ball at all your heads!!!!
Love and Rockin'
Big D
The really awesome thing was that we were LIVE and got to play 2 songs and talked about the GINA FOUNDation. They showed the weather and it didn't hit me that they were forecasting SNOW, until I walked out of the CBS building and saw........SNOW.......FRIGGIN FALLING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! I swear I thought it was Christmas and wanted to know where the hell all my presents were. It was a very memorable moment in my life.
From there we headed to Unity Church to do a service by 10 am. The band seems to do a lot of church services with reason of course, since the church population continues to support our cause.
The last couple of days were travels days for us from Ashland Oregon, to here Denver Colorado. Nevada in my opinion was a land of " not a whole lot". and Utah was cool I guess, I was sleeping most of the time. But Wyoming, was friggin' butt cold.
We stopped at a flying J truck stop and Jannel and I passed out flyers of missing people to truck drivers. That itself was something I would NEVER do if I wasn't apart of this project and to be honest It made me feel uncomfortable. Not only was I freezing cold, but I was told that "working girls" go truck to truck knocking on the doors of truck drivers to give services and that was the LAST thing I wanted anyone to see me as. I mean I could service them with a hair cut..... and trust me these drivers looked and smelled like they needed more that a haircut. They did however take our flyers and said they would keep an eye out and post them on the road.
I sit here in Denver on the bus watching the snow fall outside while "Bama" gets his 8 hours sleep. I plan on walking around and taking lots of pictures.
I miss my parents, Faustin and my friends Elicia, Leah and Dave. I wish you could be here so I can throw a snow ball at all your heads!!!!
Love and Rockin'
Big D
Thursday, October 18, 2007
I woke up in a van down by the river.
We played the coach house last night in san juan capistrano and ended the show at midnight. We were on a very tight schedule and had to get going because we had a 7 o'clock radio interview in the morning. So, Mike form Alabama our bus driver, drove all night to try and get us there on time.
We tried to sleep during the night but it's not like sleeping in a car while driving, it's like trying to sleep on the top of a tree in a wind storm.
I have the top bunk in the bus and the whole time i was sleeping i thought i was going to friggin' roll out of the bed and fall flat on my face.
6 in the morning came real fast if you know what i mean. But, Bama, our bus driver wasn't quite at our destination yet. We forgot about traffic.
8:45 am we finally arrive at KVON in Napa, with Kellie in the morning, and had a whole 15 mins to do an interview and play a song live in studio. Even with our froggy voices we did a pretty awesome job.
She plugged our show for tonight and Gary has been walking around the town of Napa passing the word around about our band playing, in hopes that we get some people to support.
So far so good. I already miss all your faces.
We tried to sleep during the night but it's not like sleeping in a car while driving, it's like trying to sleep on the top of a tree in a wind storm.
I have the top bunk in the bus and the whole time i was sleeping i thought i was going to friggin' roll out of the bed and fall flat on my face.
6 in the morning came real fast if you know what i mean. But, Bama, our bus driver wasn't quite at our destination yet. We forgot about traffic.
8:45 am we finally arrive at KVON in Napa, with Kellie in the morning, and had a whole 15 mins to do an interview and play a song live in studio. Even with our froggy voices we did a pretty awesome job.
She plugged our show for tonight and Gary has been walking around the town of Napa passing the word around about our band playing, in hopes that we get some people to support.
So far so good. I already miss all your faces.
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