JAMESON

so I'm in a band.  JAMESON.  with some of my best friends.  who happen to be the most incredible musicians.  our EP release show is tonight.  we wrote it together.  we cut it together.  we have group text chains that would be worth staying in the band to read even if the music was awful. 

yesterday when we were rehearsing i looked around at everyone and thought that this must be what disney world feels like to a kid.  but I'm not visiting.  i get to live in the dang castle.  i can't believe that i get to make a living doing something that i love this much.

we want to share the love.  download our new ep, "the doctor's in", for FREE.

yep.  FREE.

www.soundcloud.com/Jameson-Band

365 Days of Country Music

meesa hayes.

she is gorgeous.  she has a gigantic heart.  she likes over sized sweaters.  she has hair worth mentioning.  she has a knack for finding treasures at goodwill.  she will pray for you when you are anxious.  she will take travel mugs full of wine to opryland hotel with you to sit on santa's lap because you don't have a picture of you doing so from when you were little and everyone needs a picture of them on santa's lap. 

see?

 she is the best.  and she is back.

365 days of country music.  you will love this blog.  gobs of country music goodness.  oh, and i made a guest appearance this week.

you're welcome.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

yep.

ben rector.

yep.

Jameson

remember when I told you that my friends and I started a band?  well we did.  and I think it's my soulmate.

we wrote and recorded the whole project in a weekend.  our first show is this tuesday.  we had a photoshoot with the amazing melissa schipper.  it's happening and all signs point to legit.

these kids are some of my best friends and are, without a doubt, the most talented people that i know.  even if they weren't i'd stay in the band for the group text messaging chains alone.  humor is not something we have a sense of in this band... it's our first language.

ladies and gentlemen... jameson.

29

this week i turned 29.  i'm not really sure how that happened.  i JUST finished college in boston.  i JUST signed my first publishing deal.  i JUST felt weird about turning 25 because it meant that i really had to get a handle on this whole grown up thing. 

a few months ago i started putting together a "30 before 30" list.  basically a bucket list of sorts with things i want to be able to say that i've done before that big, ugly number attaches itself to my name.  there are big ticket items like "mission trip to africa" and "sky diving" and then there are a handful of smaller ones like "food fight in a public place" (you know you want in on that one).  somewhere around #20 on my list i started having a hard time coming up with things to include.  this got me thinking.   i might have already knocked some of this stuff out... i mean, i got to do some pretty amazing things this last year.  some more obvious than others and some that would have never crossed my mind to include in such a list.

while i don't necessarily love that i now regularly discuss how fast the years are going by, i am thankful that my 29th year here allowed me to be a part of the following:

- i went cliff jumping.  and i can't wait to go again.

- i bookended a gig in northern california with a trip by myself to napa valley.  i stayed in calistoga, watched a sunrise AND a sunset, ate an amazing meal at JoLe, and spent 2 hours in the spa.  i also said "yes, just me" more times than i care to count.

-  i went to NYC at Christmas time.  it was pure magic.

- i held 8 pounds of pure happiness and celebrated preston adeline insogna's safe arrival with my friends jonny and liz.

- i cried for 15 straight minutes on the phone when my friend mary susan called to tell me that she and her husband were finally matched with a baby in ghana that they will be bringing home in the new year.  sweet baby abi, i can't wait to meet you!

- i popped the cork on a bottle of champagne.  by myself.  it's the little things...

- i got to explore west texas.  spent a long weekend in marfa, tx and felt like i was living in an episode of friday night lights.  success.

- i watched a handful of old movies.  "your girl is lovely, hubbell".

- i started keeping a prayer journal and discovered that starting my days on both my front porch swing and a note of gratitude is really good for me.

- i started a rock band with some of my favorite friends and the best musicians i know.  world, you betta watch out for jameson!!!!!

- i had the privilege of helping a very special friend navigate her way through her final days of a long and grievous battle with cancer.  it was the most cruel and beautiful thing i have ever been a part of.  she changed the shape, size, and condition of my heart.

- my mom came to visit me in nashville.  i love getting to see her without having to pack a suitcase.

- i spent 2 full uninterrupted days at a beautiful house in monteagle, tennessee with 10 of my girlfriends.  top of a mountain + sweatpants + home cooked meals + wine = perfection.

- i spent a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of shoes that i didn't need.  everyone needs to do that once, right?  shhhhhh... that's what I'm telling myself.

- i got to see my oldest and best friend in the world 6 times this year.  that's a record breaker in the decade that i have lived anywhere from a 14-26 hour drive away from her.

lucky girl, party of 29 year old me.

love your enemies

a few weeks ago some of my friends had $12,000 worth of gear, instruments and computers stolen from their trailer while they were on the road. this is how they responded. proud.