Kurtis Johnson’s Blog

so heres a shot of one of the windows on the house we built. the people living in it have no idea that they are representing atlanta. haha.

i also saw this on the way home. it was somewhere in louisiana i think. i thought it was funny.

-kurtis

so….. i was at starbucks today and there was only one parking spot left, but the car in the next spot over was all on the line. so i thought it would be funny to park as close as i could to them. as i was crawling out the other side of my car, they came out of the store and got into their car, which made it very awkward. i took a picture after they got in the car, and i guess the whole situation wasnt funny to them. i saw them take a picture of my license plate as they left. i dont know what theyre planning on doing with it, because when you look at my picture, i am clearly in between the lines and they are clearly, partly in my spot. but i still thought it was funny. here it is…..

im actually not even as close to them as i thought i was, so i guess its not a huge deal. if you look closely, you can see a hand on their steering wheel. 

-kurtis

so heres a little video i made of the trip. i had a lot of camera problems and i lost a lot of stuff, so its not quite as cool as i hoped it would be. but this should give you a little idea of what the trip was like.

enjoy!

so i finally got home. it was a loooooooooong drive from atlanta to juarez, mexico. forget airplanes. see the country. its awesome. assuming your from america, be grateful for where you live. i dont care how much gas is, how poor the economy is, or how stupid you think republicans are, you still have it better than anyone else in the world. but anyways, here are some things i learned:

- its a long drive as i already said

- texas is huge

- cattlemans steakhouse has the best steak in the world. period.

- theres a lot of trash on the ground in mexico

- its very rewarding to build a house in the 110 degree weather for a family in need

i should have a video up soon. im not sure how cool its going to turn out yet, but it will show a good bit of the trip. ill keep you posted.

-kurtis

so, i decided im going to wait until i get home for the video. i accidently taped over all the footage from atlanta, alabama, mississippi, and louisiana. i was mad. not that there was anything really exciting happening in any of those places, but i wanted to film the few important cities along the way. so ill have to get them on the way home. ha.

i will try to upload some more low quality pics if i get the chance. later!

-kurtis

so after 24 hours (give or take) in the car, we have finally made it to el paso, texas. its been a long but fun trip actually. me and blake got our room in the motel 6, and we can see the city in mexico that we will be staying in for the rest of the week. we are right on the border. we are getting up early tomorrow to cross the border, then we will begin building a house. thats right… building a house. and yes, in one week. im not sure how its done, but it gets done every year. it should be fun! i didnt take many pics because all i have is my phone on my camera, but i did get some good video which i hope to be uploading very soon! for now, here are some not so interesting pics of the dessert. haha.

so i just found out today that im going to mexico this saturday. its really random, but im pumped about it! im going with my friend Derek’s church. he told me that three people had to drop off last minute and asked me if i wanted to go…. so i said yes. im excited to see what God has in store for this next week. not to mention im excited about traveling. i think we are driving, so its gonna be quite a haul. im not sure how the internet situation will be down there, but hopefully ill be able to blog a little while im there.

ill be sure and drink a lot of water. i hear its good for ya!

-kurtis

if i have ever played music with you… read this.

music is always what i have done. its been really all that matters to me. it has ran in my family for generations. my grandma used to sing with with all kinds of famous country singers back in the day. (merle haggard, buck owens, ect. look em up.) she even went and chilled with lynard skynard not long ago. it makes sense that this what i would do.

when i was in 7th grade i started playing worship music at my church. i was terrible, but that was back when it didnt really matter. no auditions or anything, just a super awesome dude named joseph robinson that wanted to give me a shot. thats where i got my start. thats where i began to learn how to deal with other musicians and play my own guitar better. i still play worship music to this day. i guess its going on eight years. i know thats not a super long time, but its longer than most people my age. 

since then, i learned to play drums as well. (im no neal peart, but i get the job done.) i have played drums in the church just as much as guitar it seems like. i have also played drums in some little jazz trio type deals. thats not as cool as it sounds. as i said, im no neal peart, or buddy rich for that matter. jazz is a tough thing to accomplish on drums. on guitar i have done about everything from hardcore/metal to classical. i started playing in a hardcore band when i was about 15 with people who are STILL some of my best friends. it was a blast. some people laugh when they think about “hardcore screamin stuff,” but i learned a lot there too and wouldnt trade the memories for anything in the world. (sometimes i wish i could still do it. haha) since then i have done classical and jazz in a more educational setting. i have also done “pop rock” with chris and the dudes which is probably the most serious group i have ever been involved with yet. this is the group where i still play, and it has given me many awesome opportunities. i have been able to make somewhat of a living off this band, and i have been able to share the experience with some of my newer best friends.

that part wasnt me trying to “toot my own horn,” i just wanted to share my background before i continue.

i, like anyone else who plays music, would love to be able to make a living off of it. i would love to be able to do it with the band i am in now, and i think we are very capable of it. im not really sure what has been going on, but it seems like things are changing. some of the change has been out of my favor, but that doesnt mean its a bad change. i see us moving forward. it may be in a slightly different direction, but its forward, and im pumped about it. this is where this blog might get weird: i want my fellow band mates to know that i love them and i am praying for us as a band. just like i sometimes question where my heart is, especially when im leading worship, i may question theirs too. this isnt meant to be taken offensively. think of it this way: as i have written in previous blogs, Christians sometimes question their faith. for me right now, i dont actually think that there isnt a God, but i have been wrestling with the questions that are commonly asked for a while. just like i dont think that me, or the rest of my band have bad hearts about what we do, but i think we should question our hearts every time we take the stage, every time we talk to a booker about money, every time we talk about a sound system, ect. we should always ask, “Why am I doing this?” this isnt to point fingers at  myself or anyone else, its just a simple reminder of the central question. i dont think that there is time to worry about money or any of the other things most bands stress about. if we truly make the right decisions based on the gifts we have been given by our Creator, how can we worry about something as small as money? God WILL provide. trust me… i know. i lived off 200$ a month for quite a while and im not sure how i did it. it starts slow, but it will pick up. and im certainly not saying we should do free favors for everyone, but we cant do anything at all without God on our side. i know that sounds like a 3rd grade Sunday School class, but its true. things get tough when we try to take matters into our own hands. this isnt supposed to be a “low blow” to you guys, (i can say ‘you guys’ now because i think i made it clear that this part was written for the 5 of us.) this was written for me just as much as you, if not more. just like you guys, i want to move forward and i want to be at every gig, regardless of where it is. maybe you guys do already think of these things, and ask these questions. but if you dont, maybe its something you should do. i know i have been working on it. 

this is just something i wanted to get off my chest. i love my band and i love what i get to do. i need to thank God every chance i get for giving me the opportunities and skills he has given me. love you bros.

these guys need to get on the ball.

http://www.youtube.com/v/BkfdQ4DU5qU&hl

things like that shouldn’t happen.