Anderson Folk Fest . . . Trinity Music Festival

We're back, almost one year later . . . Actually, we never left. But this blog got abandoned (which was my fault). But now I'm happy to report that we've had a pretty active summer and I think I speak for everyone when I say it feels like we have some momentum right now. Hopefully this will become a more regular place you can come to see pics, videos, and get some more insight about what we're doing than you might get from just visiting the facebook page.


Yesterday marked Grisham's first year together as a band, and there's really not a good way to briefly recap that year . . . It was full of variety. We played some shows for fairly large audiences, and then other shows for nobody (literally. Anyone remember The Gear? Probably not, because no one was there). We pushed our homemade EP and also recorded a few tracks that have yet to be released. We wrote a lot of new songs and started playing several of them live, while a bunch of new material is still on the back burner.

It's been a long journey. But we'd walk to you if we had no other way. Here's proof.



So that's our year in a paragraph. But let's talk about the last few days. Friday we packed up and went to Anderson for an outdoor show with Letting Love. It was an outdoor event, and despite being mosquito-infested we had a good time playing a longer set for some people who seemed to really appreciate it.

Then there was Saturday, which capped the end of a months-long battle of the bands with Star 88.3. While we didn't win, we did receive a recording package from Sweetwater, and I'd say we definitely all left with a really positive feeling about the day. Certain doors seem to be opening, and I think right now our prayer is just that we'd know the right steps to take, and be willing to put in the time and effort that we know it will take to make the most of the opportunities we have.


This has nothing to do with band things, but we went to Skyline Chili in Anderson and here are our thoughts:




Backstage at Trinity Festival:




THE END

p.s. Hire me Tincaps. I'll play right fielder just like this.

Heartland

Community Day at Heartland Church means a lot of kids running around, free popsicles, country music, and GRISHAM. Me and Lindsay got to the church at about 11:45. The twins showed up maybe 15 minutes later. They skipped church because they said their music is way more important than any church service.

No, actually, they had bad headaches, so they get a pass...

Once Mars and Valentina got there we were ready to roll, but not before we got some hotdogs and applesauce and other free food. We were all incredibly nervous, but then we got totally relaxed once THIS guy showed up...

Heartland had some nice equipment we got to use, but regretfully the in-ear monitors were a bit of a problem for the girls, whose small ears didn't seem to fit the earbuds very well... But it's okay cause--$3 at a time--we're saving up for our own sound system, then we'll know what to expect every time we do a show. Oh, and good news, The Hawkins said that once we make $10,000, they'll match it, so then we'll be able to buy some sound stuff. What an incredible manager.

Tonight we have a photoshoot with the great Ben Phen. The results will probably be on facebook and other outlets within the next few days. Soooo get excited.

(CORRECTION from yesterday): Valentina isn't mean. Don't take her quote the wrong way.

The Dome

Larisa worked until 2 and Vanessa had to start work at 7, but we still managed to fit in a show at the golf dome today. It was kind of a praise and worship conference, which took place under the big, tent-like "dome" on the green turf that normally serves as a driving range. We were all kind of nervous about the time constraints, but we felt better when Manager Matt showed up.

We met at Barnes and Noble and then showed up at the dome around 3:15. From the parking lot we heard the muffled, echoey voices of a praise and woship band. We went inside, not really knowing what to expect. Our collective reaction to the vast, mostly empty space inside the golf dome was maybe a mixture of surprise and disappointment. There were some rows of folding chairs, where maybe 25-40 people sat, and then beyond that the football-field sized turf was pretty empty, except for some tents toward the back. It seemed like the venue was prepared for about 1,000 people, but the actual number in attendance was, well--less than that.

But we know our place... We're happy to play any show we can get regardless of pay and attendance. So we claimed a table and set to work labeling some more EPs to sell after the show.

Apparently the show itself went pretty good. I'll quote Mars' sister Valentina: "You guys played well, but you've played better."

The monitor mix for each of us was pretty muffled--kind of a blaring mash of everything together, so we did what we could and hoped that what was coming out of the house sounded like music.

All in all, I'd say we appreciated everyone sticking around till the end of this 24 hour event. From the looks of some of the people, everyone was probably a little burned out, and sure, there may have been more people towards the beginning of the 24 hours, but we were glad to be there. And glad that more people we don't know got to check out Grisham.

Oh, and this is our new biggest fan...

The Beginning

Here we go.  I'm Devin Wieland and I play drums for Grisham. Chances are you sort of know who we are if you found your way here, so I won't go into an introduction.

This is going to be the place to come if you want to see how things are going for the band and get a little behind the scenes look at what's going on. The first real entry will come tonight after our show at the Dome. I'm planning on taking some pictures, maybe some video, and then writing a little recap. So yeah, check back here later on for more.

That's it for now.