Old Friends and New Friends

Were you at the Guide You Home Tour show with Remedy Drive, Sixteen Cities and Made Avail? If so, you know it was an awesome night of music at CrossRoads Garage in DeMotte, IN. If not, what were you thinking??? You should have been there!

Local band Once Ascended kicked off the night with some rockin' worship and got the crowd ready for the bands that followed. Chicagoland boys Made Avail took the stage on the first night of the national tour which was sponsored by World Vision. Portland, Oregon's Sixteen Cities and Nebraska rockers Remedy Drive filled out the evening's line-up.

The Count Me In Concerts team has partnered with Remedy Drive several times in the past (one of our very first events, in fact!) and we love the Zach brothers David, Phil, Dan and Paul. There's a new Zach on the road: Paul and his wife very recently adopted an adorable little girl! We also recently hosted Sixteen Cities (at The Hub with Chasen), who are now a four-piece band. Since last time they were hear, lead singer Josiah Warkening has gotten married (and taken a 3 week honeymoon!).

Since this was our first time with Made Avail, I wanted to focus on them in this blog.(Just trust me that the music played by the bands was amazing, and you should buy all of their cd's.)

I asked lead singer Tyler Hawx what I should know about the band, and I was pleased that what followed was not the standard "we've been together since blah blah and are working on our next blah blah." Instead, he shared with me several fun band facts.

Jon the bass player is homeless... by choice. When the band is not on the road, he might be found sleeping in his car or camping out under the stars. He is rumored to have been well-trained as a Boy Scout, so he has excellent survival skills.

Drummer Josh, the band's newest member (this was his 4th show with Made Avail), is still finishing high school. The guys promised his mom that they'd be sure he does his chemistry homework on the road. He was seen with a large backpack in the Green Room.

Guitar player Luke has a penchant for "Angry Birds." (While we were talking, he discovered the 'large print' edition on the iPad.) He also shared with me about a trip to England where he visited the town of Maida Vale and loved the name. (hmmm... see a connection?)

Tyler is an artist, as well as a musician. He draws (I peeked over his shoulder at something he was working on... AMAZING!), designs tattoos, and is a partner in a clothing company. (Check out grottomadrid.com for some cool stuff)

I had a great time talking to these guys; I feel like we're old friends now. And, oh yeah, their music was terrific! I listened to them again on my (2-hour) drive home; check out their self-titled EP. And you can see their smiling faces on their new music video for "Right Direction" at youtube.com/madeavail.