Tent Revival

This is a picture of me drumming up excitement for our tent revival in Lubbock, Texas. Thanks to the talented Fred Askew!

Searching for the Promised Land

Here in Los Angeles. I fly out of LAX tomorrow at 10pm to head back to JFK. It is very hard to believe that the tour is over save one last action tomorrow. We will find the Promised Land. Right now that is all I can tell you. We sang on Hermosa beach yesterday and visited four malls - today we walked down the strip of Santa Monica and sang to save the souls of last minute xmas shoppers visiting one of the 2 Starbucks on the two block long shopping area. It was a pretty nice place though - lots of public performance and in fact we got involved in one of the performances - the whole choir got down for a good 10 minutes and we sang along with some of the songs too. Lots of fun, although for the most part the shoppers were mostly taken aback, though a few got involved.
After that we went to Continental Burger, an Armenian restaurant that the choir first went to 2 years ago at the beginning of our first tour. It is a great place, though we went in the mid afternoon and there were no belly dancers this time! But we got an even better gift - Rob, our director, and the guy most badly injured in the bus accident, is back!!! That's right, everyone has made a complete recovery as of this point and Rob is even back behind the camera now. Nothing can keep that guy down. It was very emotional for all of us and particularly for me. One of the first things I remember seeing after the accident was Rob, pinned behind the table that we were both sitting at, his face contorted with pain and him taking short, quick gasping breaths. I had to just look at his face as much as possible to replace this image with his now completely healthful visage. I think we were all reminded of just how lucky we were that the accident was as minor as it was.
Well, time to go to sleep, the search for the promised land will not be easy and I need all the strength I can get! I will try to make a final post tomorrow afternoon. But, as usual, check out the Fred Askew web site (see the first post) for new pictures, including lots from Vegas.

Gallup, New Mexico

We started the day off in West Texas and are now in East New Mexico - a long day of driving. Lunch in Gallup and dinner in a Pueblo run restaurant. Got some nice crafts made by a Pueblo family - a carved buffalo miniature and a beaded necklace with a turtle charm at the end.
The bus amazingly, has been pretty good. Lots of massaging and stretching in the aisles, but people are in good spirits in spite 12 hours on the road. We startedtoday in a scary ice storm (Texas doesn't salt their roads and doesn't usually get ice storms) but managed to make it into New Mexico at a snail's pace and by the afternoon the sun was out and the ice was melted away. While the roads were treacherous, that trees were beautifully frosted. It was quite surreal to see this in a desert setting - stay tuned for pics on Fred Askews web site.
I've made two trips here before, once when I was about 6 with Patsy and Ed (PA parents) and once when I was about 15 with Jon and Inga and Alex (Illinois family). Both times, but particular when camping the first time, I felt a very strong draw to this land, and this trip has reaffirmed that feeling. I would like to move here for some period of time - I think it would be positive for my spiritual growth. There is something about this land that gives me great peace of mind.
At the back of the bus tonight we had a really wonderful jam session - we sang some standards (Brown Eyed Girl and some oldies I didn't know but made up a bass line for anyway) and some 12 bar blues for everyone to take turns making up verses. I started up a round of the old labor spiritual, 16 tons of #9 coal, one of my faves from high school choir days, though I never remember it sounding that good back then! It was a was a great way to build positive spirits on that tired bus trip. Nasser, a new member of the choir playing percussion who lives in NYC but is original from Uganda also got involved - he taught us a simple song from his home. I should write more about him - he was an olympic boxer! He boxed in the 2000 Australian games, I think middle weight. We are going to work out together in Vegas if we can find a decent gym. It is amazing to think he boxed, he seems to me like one of the most gentle spirits I know.
Tomorrow we have a later start, 10 AM, a nice change from our crack of dawn schedule. I should get some sleep now, though, my knack for being able to doze through almost anything has come in really useful for catching up on z's while we drive. I guess I perfected this on the road trips Patsy and Ed used to take us kids on - I had to sleep through all of Jenny and Robs teasing. Heh heh.
I was given a video camera by the film crew tonight. I am supposed to tape the choir with the idea being that I can get more initimate footage because they will be more relaxed around me. Which is true. But I also feel slightly traiterous. We are being filmed all day and the only time we are off is in our rooms at night and now not even then!!! Well, I am attempting to be respectful and I think most people here don't mind too much or make it obvious if they do mind.
Alas, no pictures of my own to post, but keep checking Fred Askew's homepage (see the very first entry for the link), he is updating them when he gets the chance.
And please please please leave me a comment, even if it just to say 'yo'! I want to know if anyone is reading this and if I should keep writing!

Dallas Show

We just got back to the hotel from a show at the Black Forest Theater in South Dallas (the theater was founded by Erica Badu). The Black Forest is one of these old old theaters that was built in the 50's but has been through many iterations and renovations, most recently being turned into a club/theater/community center to serve the struggling community that it is in.

Well the show was fabulous Billy was totally on with his sermonizing and the choir was super psyched up 'cause this was our first theater show in many days and the space was really magic. It was really set up for concerts, not theater - in front of the stage was a pit and there were no seats anywhere. So we pulled in some sofas and other furniture to the pit and half the audience sat on these and half stood in the 'par terre'. We performed two new songs, 'Convenience' and 'What Would Jesus Buy', both of which went reasonably well. I fainted during one of James' solos and there was also a scene where we brought in one of the choir memebers, Quilty, onto to stage in a cofin. It was heavy, and, during rehearsal, Morgan said, "Where's that rock star Ben, he needs to be at the head of the cofin." Oh boy, I don't know if it is good to be a rock star in a gospel choir, but I definitely felt flattered.

OK, well before I let my ego get too inflated, I better go to sleep. We've got a 5am call tomorrow, headed to Lubbock TX where we will be performing an afternoon tent revival. Yee Haw! Please pray to the God Goddess Mystery Thing for us, we're gonna need all the help we can get! OK OK, keep an open mind, keep an open mind.

The Stars are Bright in Dallas

It's the 11th day of the tour. We loaded up at St. Mark's on Monday Dec. 5th pre-dawn and last night - pulled into a hotel on the outskirts of Dallas, 4 to a room but still a nice luxury. It is hard to believe that it has been less than two weeks. A quick rundown:
Oberlin Ohio, show in Fairchild Chapel and prayer at the site of a future walmart
Ohio Turnpike, bus crash. In the end there was only 1 person with moderate injuries - some internal bleeding. We were very very lucky that no one was seriously injured.
Chicago, visited a dozen 'stations of the cross' on the 'Maginificent Mile' and a show at a community center
Minneapolis, caroling at Holidazzle parade, show at the Sabathani community center, excorcism at Mall of America
Lawrence KS, Parade along main street
Bentonville, Arkansas, excorcism at WalMart corporate headqurters

I'm too lazy right now to write more, but check out these links!
Fred Askew's Photos
Rev Billy SIte Media Links
Other Blogs from Billy and Choir Members