Battle of the Bands

Justin's band participated in a local Battle of the Bands for Christian bands over this past weekend {Technically, I'm a member of the band too, but I'm part of the business side of things, not the music side of things}.

When we arrived, everyone was really nervous, because it became apparent pretty quickly that most of the other bands that had entered were of the "screamer" variety. It's just a totally different genre than Justin's band--especially since the band was missing one of their drummers that day. Usually, the band has someone that plays the drum set, AND my sister who plays the djembe, which is an African drum--Court does an awesome job on the djembe, but the overall sound is much more acoustic/folkish than when they also have someone on the set. So, when compared to the other bands, everyone was nervous that the band's sound just wasn't exactly what the judges were looking for.

Still, they got up there and rocked out three original songs.

People seemed to really enjoy it, and I heard quite a few people around me comment, "Wow! You can actually understand what they're saying!" And then, when they finished their third song, one of the judges said, "Hey, would you guys mind playing another song?"

So, the band had a quick conference and picked a third song to play. My sister told me later that she realized once they started playing that she had never played that song with the band before, lol! Overall, the judges gave some good feedback, but also some suggestions for things the band could work on. We stuck around to watch the band that played after us, and then the judges deliberated. There were 7 or 8 bands total, and I think everyone in our group was hoping for second or third place--and after those places were announced and we weren't in them, I think everyone had resounded themselves to the idea that our music style just wasn't what the judges were looking for, which was fine...I think we all collectively felt that although it would have been fun to have won, the point of the day was really just about getting together with other bands to worship God.

And then they announced that we won. Um, WE WON. We were so surprised. So honored. It was so neat to watch them get up there, praise God, and hear such positive feedback about how the music touched the judges and the audience. It was especially cool, because most of the gigs the band has played historically have been people or churches that the band already knew. This was one of the first times that they've played at a venue that they've had no affiliation with, and to receive such awesome feedback was just really affirming. I think we've all had periods of time where we wonder whether or not to give up this pipe dream of being able to make a living ministring through music. I can't speak for everyone else, but hearing the feedback from the judges about how they think that this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing was pretty amazing. I can't wait to see what God has planned for our little band. 

Here's a video from the battle ( we're called Second Best, which we get lots of interesting comments about, but for us, it's meant to be an intentional reminder that God is always first in our lives). They're performing one of the songs written by my sister-in-law Renee called Busy People. Like I said, they're missing their drummer, and for some reason, you can't hear Justin on the bass at all, but I think it still sounds pretty awesome.