Lakes

the ball is rolling.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:36:00 +0000

hey everybody. it's getting to be serious time. We played a few shows a week ago in the L.A./Orange County area, and had a lot of fun. Yesterday we officially finished the last track of recording for the album. 3 or 4 of the songs that were already finished have been mixed and it's sounding pretty sweet if i don't say so myself. (i'll see if i can't talk Seth into putting up a new song for all you patient people.)

We played a show in Irvine for FeedtheMusic.net, and it really went well. There was a good group of people, good food, questions and answers and we really enjoyed ourselves, so thanks to everyone who came out to the Hub. I think we'll be getting some pictures from that event later this week and when we get 'em I'll throw some up here.

I'm sort of like a huge rock, and Kev is very much a rock climber so this was bound to happen at some point during the weekend.

We then played a show in downtown LA on the rooftop of some sweet building.

There was some van trouble and Jeremy wasn't able to make it in time, and he was sorely missed. The show was pretty cool, and Damion Suomi's set was really great.

Open air, jacuzzi with cold water, laid back, it really was a lot of fun.

The following night we played another round at the Hotel Cafe, with a very special friend of ours Flo Paris.

She just released an album that Seth produced and played quite a bit on so check it out and show her some love. She's touring around the country now, and then headed back home to Nashville.

Jeremy was back with us so all was well. We had a great time overall, got to see lots of friends and family, and practice some new songs for our future shows.

Seth

Can't wait to show you guys the new songs, so stay tuned for updates, because they will be coming. Take care.

NEW ALBUM?

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:11:00 +0000

Ok. So the past month and a half has seen Lakes getting together to get all the tracks together and worked out. Let me be the first to tell you, I'm loving all of these tunes.

Three or four weeks ago, we convened at the studio here in our hometown of Atascadero.

We got a lot done in 24 hours but realized if we wanted to get this done, and done soon, we had to get to a bigger studio. We then got in contact with a dear friend of Lakes named Jason,

who owns quite possibly the coolest studio that i have ever stepped foot in. Two weeks ago, we joined up in Modesto, at Jason's studio and got to work.

and

It seemed that gallons of "5 hour energy" were drank, amazing meals were provided by Jason's wife Krystall, and the album was pretty much finished except for some vocals which should be finished over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Here's Seth recording some cello on a song called "I Was There" that will be closing out the album.

A couple different times, on a few different songs, there were spots where we all agreed it just needed something. Sometimes we couldn't put our finger on it, and other times we could, but almost every time what that thing was, was Jacob Wick. Jake has quite a few shining spots on this album.

Just to let you in on how amazing this studio is....there is a venue inside the complex. We were fortunate enough to have Rick Rubin stop in and give us a surprise solo acoustic performance.

Just kidding. That's obviously Jeremy Wells playing that one slow acoustic Noggin Toboggan song that he still knows.

The studio/house/venue was really amazing. Seth was really on a mission and it seemed that we all followed his lead in staying pretty focused.

When I wasn't recording piano, accordion, random weird percussion, or background vocals I was watching youtube videos on a super comfy couch in the main room of the studio.

Jeremy like to sit in the same spot and drink huge cups of coffee.

We really have been working hard to get this finished so that we can bring you a nice finely tuned, delicious project. So many people have spent time working on this album but it needs to be said that Jason and Jonathan have also recorded quite a bit of the meat and potatoes of this album and took some of these songs in some really sweet directions, and that Kevin Foster wasn't here either. They were all missed.

So, we can't wait to share this all with you. I know you have all been super patient, not that you had a choice, but we really appreciate all of you hanging in there. We think it's gonna be worth the wait.

Could it be.......

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:36:00 +0000

...that Lakes are headed north to a secret location in Modesto to work on the mysterious new album? well, the rumor on the streets is that the guys have been spending weekends together trying to finish this project. hopefully this weekend is one huge step towards getting the first full length Lakes album into your hands as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support. I'll be updating this weekend to let you know how things are going, hopefully with a few pics.

Hotel Cafe...Take Two.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Hey everybody. Thanks to those of you who came out to the last two shows in Costa Mesa and Hollywood. The two shows really couldn't have been more different. The show at the Detroit Bar had a line-up of

seth on guitar (obviously),

Jeremy on bass,

Matthew (me) on accordian,

and KJ on drums. Kevin was in Reading living the dream playing bass for the Honey Trees. A lot of my family (hey Greg. i now know you read this) and some friends came out to this show, and it was a really fun kinda loose vibe. Maybe not our best performance ever, but it was a lot of fun. We played with Western Front.

The show at the Hotel Cafe had a couple of changes, with Kevin making it out, and playing a really delicious mandolin, and a little electric guitar, and a change on the drums with Jacob Wick invoking his lifetime membership Lakes card while finding the time to play a little violin.

Notice Jake on the violin playing into the drum mic. The Golden Child.

The setlist was as follows: White Flag, All of Me, 10 Years and Separating States, Ghost in the Man, Photographs, Father Son, the Heart is an Anchor, Indian Lover

One of the highlights for us was Photographs, as we haven't practiced that song in around, oh, 9 months.....but after the show Seth said, "That was one of my favorite times ever playing that song!" And Seth has been playing that song for a while. So it was pretty cool.

The show was also really fun because some old friends came out, and we were graced with Jovel's presence.

He's got a show tonight (cinco de Mayo) at the Roxy, please go. Your mind will be blown. He's amazing.

All in all, things seem to be moving along in the life of Lakes. The album is still in the works: vocals have been recorded on 6 or 7 songs...it's getting close people. Keep hanging in there. We appreciate you and love you for it. Thanks for reading, we'll be talking soon I'm sure.

Upcoming Shows

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:10:00 +0000

hey everyone. just wanted to give a quick heads up to you guys because we got a couple shows coming up in Southern California this month.

April 23rd @ Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa 9:30 p.m. (21+)

April 27th @ Hotel Cafe in Hollywood 10:00 p.m. (21+)

We hope to see a lot of friends at these shows, so come out and say hello.

Downtown Brew, SLO

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:11:00 +0000

Good 'ol SLO. I guess it can't be considered quite a home show, now that only half of the members of Lakes live in the county, but I think it feels like a home show to us all. This was the second of two shows we played with Tumbledown and S.G.F.Y. this was a pretty fun show with lots of familiar faces. Kip (the sound guy) always does a phenomenal with the sound in this venue and it's just a great place to play.

This was the second show in a row that we played Father, Son...and I wanted to post it up here to share with you all. It seems that Seth usually would only play this by himself by request, but i think the full band sounds nice. Let us know what you think.

Father, Son

flubbed lyrics, a little mid song banter with the crowd, oh local shows.

the Heart is an Anchor

Indian Lover

A really fun way to end this last batch of shows and look forward to the next. I know Seth has been working on finishing up a lot of the songs for the next Lakes album. Hopefully we'll have some concrete news for you guys soon. Love ya and thanks.

the Roxy, Hollywood

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:53:00 +0000

So, I just realized that I've done a few shows out of order. What are you gonna do, you know? So we played a few shows, on in Pismo, Santa Maria, one down at the Knitting Factory, and so now we move on to the Roxy. A place that i've only dreamed about playing. A club that became legendary during the birth of Guns N' Roses, I was more then excited to play. It's during this show that K.J. has now begun drumming with us. So, K.J.- Lakes fans, Lakes fans, K.J. Now that everyone is aquainted.

To tell you the truth, and I talked this over with Jeremy, but we did a soundcheck where the curtains were drawn, and it was one of the coolest things that i've ever done. I don't think i can explain it, so i won't, but if you ever get the chance to soundcheck at the Roxy, really just enjoy it. It's amazing.

All of Me

Ten Years and Separating States

We played this show with Bidwell, Western Front, Love You Long Time, Goodnight Sunrise and Goodbye Elliot. Hanging out with these guys was pretty fun, each step i took backstage, i thought, "wow. i bet axl did something insanely crazy right here." or "i bet slash had a jack and coke right here". super wild. have fun.

Kuppajoe, Fresno.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:39:00 +0000

i believe that this is the first show since Seth moved to L.A. that wasn't in L.A. that we played. did that make any sense? could i have said that any more confusingly. well, the show was pretty interesting from the get go. Seth and Kev drove up from southern california, and made it to the show about 10 minutes before we were supposed to go on.....and poor poor kev. He came all the way from San Diego, and 15 seconds into the 2nd song his mandolin kept feeding back, and shorting out. It went this way for the remainder of the show. But kev-o stuck it out like the champ that he is, Seth at one point asked people to send him pants because it's hard to survive in this economy....and well, we played some songs. here's a new one.

Ghost in the Man

After the show we went to In and Out with some dear friends, Jeremy got into a joke contest with some ladies and prevailed as champion, and then everyone had a long drive home. Some longer then others.

thanks to katie for filming this.

the Hotel Cafe show

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:43:00 +0000

what a fun show this was. Seth had been talking about playing this venue for a while. so it was really fun to be able to do this. hopefully we'll be going back here often. we played the show with tim myers, the rescues, and josh kelley. tim myers booked some time at a practice space so that we could learn a few of his songs before the show and be his backing band at the show. he was really nice, and things came along pretty smoothly. our set was short, i think it was four songs, but it sounded really good, and then we ended up playing a few songs with tim. here's a couple videos.

White Flag

It's a Beautiful World (tim meyers)

It was a really fun night. I was a little bummed because there was a rumor going around that Meiko would be there to watch, but alas, i never saw her. but hanging out with Jovel "Impulse" Walker more then made up for that. that guy is about to take over the world. so look for him. more shows shortly.

Fine in 2009.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:02:00 +0000

We really had a great time in San Jose to kick off the year. I know, January 2nd show, end of March put up the vids, someone isn't doing their job right? Well, here are some videos none the less.

White Flag

Indian Lover

the Apartment Song (by Tom Petty)

the bands that we played with were really great, the pizza place we went to afterwords was really sweet, and the guys (and becky) really enjoyed everyone's silicone valley hospitality. Thanks.......more to come shortly.

YOU WANT KEVIN BAD!!!

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:04:00 +0000

So, for those of you who don't know, our mandolin (and guitar, bass, unicycle, banjo, etc..) player is in the running for the "best job in the world." He turned in his application among the (as it stands now) 115,000 other applicants, and needs everyone's help to get this job. Click the link below to help Kev out. This will also be a good thing for Lakes. His office would be a good place for Lakes to hangout before a big Australian tour......which definitely won't happen if you don't vote for him..Also, there is my first acting spot in a short film during kev's vid, so be easy on the critiquing.

CLICK. VOTE. REPEAT.

thanks. keep checking back for more updates.

January 2nd, Revisited...

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Just incase video isn't your your thing or you were somehow unable to see motion pictures, we have some still shots that some friends from san jose sent to us. take a peek and relive the glory, or see what you missed out on.

don't let those dreamy eyes fool ya folks, the guys a ferocious lion.

not even sure i know how to play this thing.

kev looking oh so serious.

between matt and jeremy there's more beard in Lakes in '09 the in the previous 5 years combined.

this is the part of the show where kev and jake express their love for each other by blowing kisses to one another. very moving.

told you.

that's the sweet camera that kev recorded the sweet videos on. in case you didn't know, kev is amazing.

well, things are getting a little crazy here at lakes headquarters. there's gonna be some news to report coming soon, and don't worry, the album hasn't been forgotten. it is still being worked on maybe even as i type this....and we got a couple of shows coming up: January 21st, 8pm at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood with Tim Meyers and Josh Kelley, and January 29th in San Luis Obispo at Downtown Brew with the Honey Trees and Tim Meyers. There will be new songs played for sure. So come get your fix at a show. We'd love to see you guys there.

Anchor Recording (remastered)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:46:00 +0000

A video of Anchor recording in high quality. Experience the magic again, for the first time!

Super Secret Backstage Show

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Like the title says, this is a super secret backstage show, we had to kill a kid cause he told someone about it. Basically what's going on here is Matt demonstrating his almost too perfect puppet voice accompanied by Jacobs rusty puppet skills, Andy (guest drummer that rocks) so happy to kick a soccer ball, Seth shredding mando on Tom Petty cover and a new take on At Its Finest.

Lakes Show San Jose Jan.2.08

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Hey everyone, this is Kevin (mandolin/guitar player). We had a fun show recently in San Jose...only draw back was driving home at 4 am and noticing a car driving in the fast lane straight at us on the 101 South...luckily I had chugged one of those 7 hour energy things (disgusting!...5 hr. energy not so bad though...stay away from 7) and I swerved in time. Thankfully we're all alive and able to show you a little vid of Seth playing some old Watashi Wa songs after our set. Get into it!!!

Chain Reaction

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:38:00 +0000

So, Seth had the itch to play a new set of shows, but Jason ended up moving to Arizona to start a recording studio with a friend. So, He enlisted Kevin Foster, who was already the bass player but didn't go on the last tour because he was in a wedding, to play the mandolin, Jeremy Wells of the famed Noggin Toboggan days to play bass along with Justin Sears also of Noggin, to play drums, and then Myself (matt covington) to play the accordian. We had two practices at Seth's studio.....

Seth, Kev, and Jeremy

Justin

The practices were pretty sweet. I think we learned around 6 songs, and we had a show planned for early October in Anaheim, and a venue called Chain Reaction. We were opening for Jonzetta. The day of the show arrived, we drove down and hung out at the venue. A super sweet and energectic band from Utah that happened to play a funky style of 80's rap, super rediculous but amazingly fun...then Jeremy Limpic's cousins band played. He had a really cool voice. And then it was time for our first show with this lineup.

The show was a little rough, and probably not as good as our last practice had been, but there were also some technical difficulties that added to that. The whole keyboard set up was a massive failure. One really sweet thing about the show was that it was broadcast on the web, and my family watched it online.

I think the setlist went something like this:

White Flag
All of Me
Anchor
10 Years and Separating States
Face
Indian Lover

All in all, it was a fun experience.

Jeremy

Seth

Kevin and Matthew

I also would like to say that these pics were taken by some hot babe (my wife) in the crowd and then given to us.

Goodnight.

Days 8-10 (IF THERE ARE NO PICS, DID IT REALLY HAPPEN?)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:44:00 +0000

So, when I lost my camera pack which included the case and battery charger, i thought the camera would make it to maybe day 4, so to get all the proof through pictures that i did, kind of amazed me. But when the battery finally died, it was a bummer. So, We played a show in Colorado that has some pretty sweet videos available on Youtube,

All Of Me

Broadland

Anchor

Photographs

It was a really weird show. It was in a storage unit that had been turned into a venue. It was actually super sweet. A good time was had by all. Seth met up with some friends who took us out to dinner at chipolte, such a blessing. And i got to meet up with my Aunt and Uncle. And then we were off to Salt Lake City for our last show.

We drove through the night, had some scary moments, but made it alive. We played a lot in downtown SLC, they had a pretty sweet train transportation deal, and we had brand new crowd everytime the train came. We got enough money to get home, and enough to have a celebration feast at a local restaurant. We met back up at the venue, which was kind of cool. Kilby Court. Played a decently sweet show. Here's a video of the band playing photographs backstage by request for a couple of fans. Thus proving my ongoing theory that Seth is a sweetheart.

Photographs

We saw a friend from Atascadero after the show, and then we left. Driving through the night, we had a mishap along the way, but we made it home alive and happy. All these things that i've said and typed were all true, no names were changed to protect anyone. This is what happened. Next tour just come to a show so you don't have to wait 7 months for me to report on what happened from memory. Thanks for reading about our short 10 day tour. We had a blast.

Day 7 (Some People Just Have Cold Hearts)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:35:00 +0000

So after having the Colorado show canceled last night, and playing and staying in Kansas City, today was to be our only off day on tour. Now with diesel gas being so expensive back in the summer, we were running real short on cash. We decided that we could ask Rory where would be the best place to play on the street for money. We left Rory's parents around 10 to head downtown. Right by the van were these flowers (hydrangeas) i believe.

A little known fact about them is that they are the favorite flower of my beautiful wife. Also, they don't really grow in the climate we live. One other side note, Seth, Jason, and Myself all have ladies back in California (Seth and Mine both happened to be pregnant) and we were all really starting to miss them really badly. But mushiness aside. The ride to downtown was beautiful.

We parked in a parking garage that literally had, depending on what angle we were driving inside the garage, left us anywhere between a half inch and an inch and a half between the van and the ceiling. We got our things and walked towards the crowds.

There were lots of cool fountains, and in general it felt really good to not have to be somewhere with a deadline, but at the same time, we did need to make a few bucks. So we started strategizing.

Becky enjoyed another of the sculptures. It was either song number one or two, but Jacob broke a violin string. Bummer. Jake and I drove to a music shop and they amazingly changed the string and we were back within an hour.

It was pretty sweet. There really weren't a ton of people, but it seemed that those there were enjoying themselves. It made for some really funny moments. If you saw this tour then you know that there was a slightly different arrangement to a lot of the songs. One of my favorite was in "10 Years and Separating States" coming out of the bridge, it went into an accapella chorus with all kinds of harmonizing. Really just gorgeous. And there was this moment where they were playing this song, and the acoustics of the sidewalk and building we were next to was seriously one of the most beautiful things i have ever heard,

and there was this older couple intent on completely ignoring the band. Walking straightfaced right past the band right as they hit the angels descending from heaven part, the couple didn't even break stride or crack a smile. I had goosebumps from the beauty, they had cold hearts and not an ounce of joy. It was great. So we got a tip that a church that Rory had frequented as a youth had a service that would be getting out shortly. We had to act fast.

We made enough to make it to Colorado, but not really enough to eat, and then we met some of the sweetest people that we met all of tour. Plus we got to meet this cutie pie.

There was a great community of friends that enjoyed our playing on the street and invited us back to a house where they ate "zuccizas" (really great invention) and among other things, we all just sat around and jammed.

It was sweet because we played some Lakes songs, some Watashi Wa songs, some Bella Rayne songs, some Honey Trees songs, and then some of the Kansas city peoples originals, and maybe some other covers too. I think for some reason we played the Apartment Song by Tom Petty. Great day, but we had to leave for Colorado Springs. Long drive, some near death experiences, and the bummer of finding out that this night would hold my last picture of the tour. So enjoy this picture of dueling violins. I know we did.

And to all you beautiful Kansas City people that took us in, thank you. And i think that all that playing was recorded, right? I'd love to hear it, just to remember it even clearer. Thanks. Day 8, soon......

Day 6 ( You didn't think we forgot did you?)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:52:00 +0000

I've had a lot of time to think about this tour, and the farther away it is, the more i remember how exhausting, and dirty, and just plain gross we felt leaving cornerstone (and we had a hotel room with a shower), but i was still bummed leaving. it was my first experience at a festival like this, and over all it was a blast. here's a pic of our van the morning of departure.

We were supposed to play a show this night in Colorado but in somehow or another got canceled, so another day of scrambling around and trying to figure out what to do. Of course it all worked out. Rory's parents live in Kansas City, and were nice enough to offer us a night of rest at their house. I can't remember if it was in the Missouri side or the Kansas city side, and i'm sure that's a major catastrophe, but i just don't remember. Here's a few pics of the drive from Cornerstone to Kansas City.

I know I've written a few times about Seth driving crazy - but he got us to quite a few places on time that we probably shouldn't have been on time to. He must have toured before. Here's Jake falling a sleep, with a creep lurking.

And then we having drooling Jake.

At a rest stop, Becky realized that she had brutalized her legs and found herself with a good 'ol tamborine injury.

Along the way Jake and Becky had time to catch up, but it seemed that maybe they didn't really keep Jason in the conversation. Hmmmm. Awkward.

One other funny thing was looking out our window and seeing this.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this, just kinda made everyone in the van laugh. Out loud. For a long time.

Well, we ended up playing a show at this guy's (who we met on tour and hung out with in Rory's hotel room) mom's club in Kansas City. It ended up being a pretty fun show, we played with the Wedding and another band that had a guy from Superchick in it. I know. Awesome.

So, after this show, we went to Rory's parents house, had a great night talking about future huge tours we would go on, and the state of the music industry and other things that we forgot by morning. Thanks to Rory and his parents for the nice beds, couches and floor to sleep on. Good day, i'll blog about day 7 way sooner then in 3 months. Don't you worry your sweet little Lakes loving heads.

Your Hearts Are All Anchors.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:45:00 +0000

yo. so, it took a little bit longer then two weeks, but i hope that you find it worth it. enjoy my friends. Anchor.

BIG NEWS (the old tour updates will continue. don't frown.)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:34:00 +0000

Ok. Lakes is setting a deadline for themselves to finish everything that is in their control for the album by the end of August. this is August you say? well that's what i said when Seth let me know. Another great bit of news is that i'm going to be posting a documentary style video which was made for Lakes during the recording of "your heart is an anchor" that's right! you'll be hearing a new recorded song, and video within the next two weeks. we got to take care of a few tidbits, and then we can throw it on ya. So hold tight.

DAY 5 (charlie peacock and 20,000 people)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:26:00 +0000

wake up in time for the breakfast today. sun is shining, and let me say, although i've never been to cornerstone, i heard a million times that this was the best weather by far in its 25 years of existing history, and it just felt like it was gonna be a great day. Today we picked up Louis at the hotel as he wanted a ride and then we got going. We got to the booth and sold some merch, we were also trying to sell stuff for a nonprofit organization called rise up. you should check them out. they are amazing! anyways, really the only bad part of the day was that we sold our last cd to this guy.

this kid wasn't the problem, it was the fact that the band and the record label are completely out of physical compact discs. i didn't know that ever happened. how weird. speaking of the militia group, some time around noon, we headed over to a tent where rory, owner of the militia group was speaking.

he spoke on being a christian in the business world of music, and he ended up being a great speaker. well, around two or something, we headed over to the ephraim clothing booth and the band played an all acoustic show.

the crowd really seemed to enjoy themselves, and the ephraim crew are a bunch of sweethearts. be sure to check out their site. the band then gathered up their belongings and headed over to the chasing canadia stage,

and battled against the forces of hardcore once again.

it seemed that in the confusion of all the crazy loud noises mixing up, jacob decided he should play bass. looks huge on him, but he made it sound good.

lakes couldn't really hear themselves, but the kids were really into it.the crowd moved down the line a little bit to the radio fashion stage, and the lakes party continued.

this show was filled with a bunch of familiar faces, and we really started making a lot of friends. this is one of them.

erin and her fiance (that's me in the pic. not her fiance.) were from ohio and north carolina if i remember correctly, and they got married a little bit after cornerstone, and spent their honeymoon down in costa rica. they're both in the armed forces. so crazy to see everyone at such a huge festival as individuals. it was really great meeting everyone that we did. the radio fashion show, was event filled. seth played an old watashi wa called "andy" as a request, the was a question and answer period that got a little silly, but seth explained a lot about things such as the whole "watashi wa" "eager seas" to "lakes" transformation, about how the new record is coming along (all throughout the tour they've been playing new songs like "ghost" "broadland", "the heart is an anchor", he also let on that some of the funny names of songs on the last e.p. were due to the fact that his wife got to name the songs and got a kick that people had to say things like "i love that lakes song...latersss. it's my favorite" or "indian lover. that doesn't seem politically correct." well, after the show, the fun continued. A lot of kids stuck around and talked to the guys and becky, and seth even gave a short guitar lesson on how to play "indian lover"

and along the lines of "indian lover" a kid came up who was engaged to a native american girl and showed seth a tatoo that he got on his upper left butt cheek

that was inspired by lakes song, and his fiance.

too good. what a great time. the day continued on as we headed back to the booth, there were rumors swirling around within the group all week long that charlie peacock, who was performing on the mainstage and doing the communion this night around 10 was going to ask becky, and that group that she was here with...lakes... to sing background vocals with him on stage, in front of 20,000 people to his songs "in the light" (made famous by dc talk) and "all in all" a worship song sung by churches. but there had been no call. it's around 7 or 8 and what do you know, becky gets the call. All Lakes on hand. we had to walk to the mainstage, kind of sneak in, because we didn't have the proper backstage pass necessary to get back there, and luckily Anna Gilbert was there to help us smuggle ourselves right in. We were whisked into a room where we learned there were more verses then we knew, about seven minutes to learn the songs, and don't worry, there were only about 20,000 people watching, and there were huge screens so that people could see our acne. No big deal. All of the sudden we were in a room with Charlie Peacock and he told us to relax, that God was in control, and we went out and sang.

It was so crazy. But it went off without a hitch. To be done with that was the weirdest feeling. How strange is this tour. Well, if you've been to Cornerstone, you know how far away mainstage is from the merch booths, so we were a litte bummed we had to walk back. Enter Chico, who then lent us Charlie's golf cart. Oh the fun never stops. The five of us going up hills, jacob driving, becky in the middle, jason sitting on the end of the bench, with seth and myself hanging on to the back. We giggled like school children. We ended up finding a rave, yeah, a rave, danced for a song or two, then i think we left when jacob decided he needed a tambourine. seth tried to find a ride home separate from us because he wanted to watch 'me without you' (who i just listened to, sad to say, for the first time today. and if i had known anything about them, i would have campained hard to have all of us stay. they are amazing. check them out. and their wild lifestyle. amazing.) but he couldn't find one, so we all went back to our hotel room, victorious over the day. Is it really possible to have the days get any crazier? Hope all is well with you guys. I'll try to make the next blog a tad bit shorter.....Sorry.

DAY 4 (Sorry, I had to clock in)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:56:00 +0000

This post won't be as long as the others, as i sort of skipped this day. We woke up just in time to miss the free continental breakfast, but the staff was nice enough to let us sneak some cereal. Seth snuck away and made a call to his wife, to wish her good morning.

Things got rolling and we headed to Cornerstone. Today, Lakes had 2 shows lined up, And i think they went something like this: 4:00 p.m. a small acoustic set at the Ephraim booth in one of the merch tents.

Around 4:45 p.m. I'm pretty sure they played at a generator stage called "radio fashion" They guys there were really friendly and the shows went off really well. The only problem was that their stage was wedged in between two hardcore stages, and they were a little hard to hear. The shows went off aparently really well, with some good feedback. Here's a little peek from that show, with the song "Face" from the "Eager Seas" album.

If you don't know, find out. Lakes made plans to do it again the next day, adding one more show on the Chasing Canadia stage. I missed the festivities this day as i was working with one of my bosses, and Seth's "business" partner, (as we like to say, Jeremy Limpic, from the 805 Collective. I met back up with the band as they headed down to the main stage to check out the Almost. So, we did that then made the huge walk back to our booth, sold a little merch, packed up, went to some BBQ chicken place, which ended up having some nice vegetarian meals, and back to the room. I'll have more info for day 5. See you then.

DAY 3 (one of the most memerable 24 hours of my life)

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:07:00 +0000

This will forever go down as one of the wackiest days in my life. Where to begin? Lets just start with Seth and Jason finishing off their driving shift again around 5:30 am, and me taking over somewhere just south of Missouri. Everyone was sleeping, and i was talking to my dad on a cell phone...it's not illegal in missouri so relax. I hung up the phone, and Jason awoke. We're driving and all of the sudden, i noticed that there were turtles crossing the freeway and they were just getting smashed.

Pretty weird. Well, Me and Jason are just talkin, listening to tunes (i think this might've been the day that we started listening to Michael Jackson. A lot.) Things were going smoothly, and then naturally, right around 7:30 a.m., the van made a funny noise, and turned off. Me and Jason looked at each other as we coasted to the side of the road.

We woke everyone up, let them know the great news....it was decided we needed to move quickly. I decided that since I was driving, and wasn't really in the band, that i would go find gasoline. So i took off on foot, down a really long road. We seemed to be nowhere, and it was already a little warm and humid. After about a mile, i came upon a church that had someone there. Super sweet. I asked the nice man inside if there was gas within walking distance, to which he explained how about a mile and a half away, i could take a right and then it would only be a few hundred yards. I asked him if i could get a ride, and he explained how he was super busy. Cool. So I'm walking again...make it to "the truck stop" that would change my life forever. The place didn't have gas cans.....so i went into the restroom. I heard weird "noises" and heavy breathing coming from a stall.....I'm not going to explain in full detail what happened, but lets just leave it at, it involved two male truckers, and a really awkward exit from one stall. Needless to say it had me wearing my sad face.

Anyway....Seth and Jacob ended up getting a ride from two really sweet ladies, and coming and picking me up at a different gas station across the road. We got the fuel, they gave us a ride back, we filled up, and now for the moment of truth. The key turn by Seth and........nothing. I now know that when Diesels run out of fuel, it's kind of a big deal. Bummer. So we get towed after waiting for him for an hour (and while we waited, we searched in the tall weeds for turtles until Jacob found a tic on his leg..) His tow truck seats two, comfortably, three nice and snug...so when he said that we all had to hop in, 5 of us, 1 of him, it got really crazy.

Oh, and it was a stick shift. So, he ended up having to take it somewhere, and Seth and Jason went with him while Jake, Becky, and I stayed at "the Truck Stop".

...It was around this time, we realized that we had pretty much run out of time, and that we could only make it to Cornerstone for the only show in the next four days that was actually going to pay us money, and really the whole reason for this tour, was if Seth returned right now, and we drove between 90 and 100 miles an hour the for about 3 hours. I won't say how many laws were broken, but lets just skip to the part where we were about 5 miles away from cornerstone when we had to get fuel again, and then Becky realized that she had a tick sucking blood from her stomach. Jake removed it using a lighter and a paper clip borrowed from a gas station. We got to the front gate where we were supposed to check in, and kind of just drove right through the check point, around the grounds right to where we had to be, loaded on to the stage, and played about 5 minutes later...

..and the most amazing part was how many kids were there to catch the show.

Two nights in a row, two shows that nearly brought me to tears. The response was so great, the show went so well, there was about 100 kids onstage for the the last song, "indian lover"

stomping and clapping, and just having a great time. A lot of kids bought merch, which really helped us out so thanks....And then we got to relax. I got to meet a bunch of people i really wanted to. Later on in the evening, Seth rocked out on stage with Gasoline Heart

....at one point, Seth created a little pandemonium on stage inciting Louis, Gasonline Hearts singer, to smash his guitar..... Here's a little pic of the guitar that was with Louis during every song he had ever written. RIP. This is the last known photograph.

The crowd definitely got their money's worth from the gallery stage on this day. Sixpence None the Richer played later in the night.

As the day turned into night and we began to wonder aloud where we would be staying for the evening....Becky came through when her friend Chico, through another friend Charlie Peacock, had an extra hotel room in a small town, a few miles away. That means showers. When we got to this glorious room, we were exhausted....but there was still a little more fun to be had. I happen to have sleep apnia and use a mask to sleep at night. It blows air through my nose, and well, you can google it i'm sure. I let the guys try on my mask and see who could keep it on the longest.

Pretty sweet. Amazing day. It's really crazy how hopeless things seemed, and how they worked out to near perfection. Thanks Jesus.

Becky, Lakes Fans. Lake Fans, Becky.

lakes@lakesband.com (LAKES) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:10:00 +0000

Ok. Day three is coming soon enough, but I thought that i would do something that is long over due. The introduction of Becky. Here's a little background first...For those that came out, to the shows, or have seen the pictures, you may have noticed some slight line-up changes, and different arrangements. Kevin Foster, the bands bass player, had a prior engagement of being in a wedding during the tour and couldn't make it. Bummer. Seth, Jason, and Jacob thought about all the different options that they could do for the tour, at one point Seth even thought about calling the whole thing off, as so many things seemed to be going against the plan of touring. Becky then entered the picture. She had just recorded an album in Nashville (for her band: the Honey Trees with the aide of Jason and Jacob, and it was decided that Becky could play keyboards to mask the loss of bass, and it opened up the door for a lot of options.

The band thought back to their last west coast tour and remembered how the rediculous price of gasoline caused the Band to take their show to the streets as street performers between shows, just to make money for gas. Acoustic instruments, people switching places, amazing harmonies.....This was Lakes like most had never seen them. So, crowd, meet Becky.