Come This Weekend

To all you peoples in the Greenville-Spartanburg area, I am playing with my band Friday night at the Channel in Greenville at 8 and at the Spring Fling on Sunday at 2 on Broad/Spring St. Please come.

We will be playing some new songs we've been working on plus we'll have t shirts for sale. The shirts are $12 and will go towards recording a Cd this summer.

This weekend only - If you say the phrase "Spaceship Camp" while winking with your left eye you will save $2 on your t shirt. (if anyone does this I will be incredibly happy). So, when the kind people at the merchandise table tell you how much the shirt costs, utter the phrase while winking and you will have enough money left over for coffee (or 2 double cheeseburgers from McDonalds). Man, what a deal.

Thanks Freida & Ron

I realized just now that I have no clue how to mail anything. 

My TOMS came in and they are waaaaaay too small (order true to size my bottom) so I went to the Post Office to return them.  I had the box, address, etc, and I went to the front desk and said "hey, I want to mail this".  Of course, the box wasn't taped and I hadn't written the address on it yet but I wanted to make sure I did it right.  

The dude behind the counter was no help.  There are about 700 labels and different ways you can mail a box.  Apparently he didn't understand what "cheapest" meant.  He kept talking some secret Post Office language and I was speaking english which he didn't understand.  

I asked for some tape and he said it was $3.30 a roll.  I said "no, I just want a little...I want a little free tape".  He went on some rant about how this was a business so I told him I was taking my business elsewhere.  Who on earth charges for tape?  

Then it hit me...call Mom (she was off...she runs the PO downtown, duh) and get a favor.  So I turned around and went to the back where 2 of the nicest ladies on earth taped, addressed, stamped, metered, weighed, and mailed my TOMS to California for me.  That made me glad.

With more good news, I got my Tahoe back from the shop today and it looks brand new.  Ron's crazy friend Buster Mills came through big time.  

Chicken Fajitas, no vegetables.

I am an old man. I just got home from Waffle House where I know all the people in there by first name. That got me thinking....all the ladies at the bank know me as well. I end up talking to them forever when I go in there. And the dudes at Monterreys know my order by heart when I walk in.

I love Spartanburg. It's a small town and everyone is friends. Plus I love to talk.

Ronald J Ridings III

Yesterday was Ron's day off (if you do not know Ron, he is the man and he is my dad) and we eat breakfast every time he's off.  Glorious.  There is nothing like Ron's breakfast...y'all lucky enough to have experienced it know what I'm talking about.

Remember how I lost the trailer I was hauling Saturday and dented the back doors on my car?  Well Ron had a solution.  Most people would just drop their car off at a body shop and pick it up when it's ready.  Not dad.  Where's the fun in that?  

We went to the coolest most backwoods place ever in Chesnee...dad's old friend Buster's shop...to find him sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette.  He looked at the car, made fun of dad, talked about the losers in our family, showed us his rad Fairlane, then smoked 3 more cigarettes.  

Once he agreed to fix the car dad and I headed to Vickers, the most awesome junk yard ever.  This place baffles me.  It is full of guys who look like they couldn't tie their shoes but when you ask them about a car part, they look it up in the computer and find it in about 12 seconds.  

Have you ever been to a junk yard before?  It's is sooooooo much fun.  There is crap everywhere.  Vickers is huge...there are cars everywhere.  The guys that work there are awesome.  Ron and I ask about the doors and a Hispanic dude drives up in a car to take us to the Tahoes.  The car is a dump...plus there's only once seat.  Ron and I look at each other.  Am I supposed to ride in dad's lap??  You can't do that at a junk yard.  The dude tells me to follow.  

He takes off and I run after the car....it looked ridiculous (imagine Dad riding shotgun in a barely-alive car with me running after).  He dusted me and when he turned the first corner I lost him.  There are probably 30 acres of cars.  Cars everywhere.  I ran around for a while then finally found Ron and Julio.  We didn't buy the doors there b/c they weren't awesome.  So we went to another junk yard...much smaller but still weird.  (junk yards are weird).  Everyone wears acid wash jeans and has mullets.  

We ended up getting two doors for super cheap.  It was awesome seeing Ron in his element.  Dad is in the zone at Junk Yards and body shops.  Everyone knows his name.  We saved hundreds of dollars by knowing who to talk to.  Ron's the man.  

I love that I never know what's gonna happen when I hang out with Dad.  It's always random and it's always fun.  If you've never been to a junk yard you MUST go.  It's be a great date, guys, take my word for it.  

Things i want to do

I've been making a list of things I want to do.  I've been making the list in my head and now it is time to make it official:

Things I Want To Do:

1.  Ride in a bobsled

2.  Spin the wheel on Price Is Right

3.  Ride in the Goodyear Blimp

4.  Skydive

5.  Be on a talk show

6.  bench press 3 plates on each side

7.  learn to play piano

8.  drive a fire truck

9.  hit a homerun at tomorrow's softball game

10.  not ever have one of those terrible pictures from when you get arrested

this is NOT an all inclusive list.  i will continue to add things to my list.  i want to do lots of things.    

Sweatin To The Oldies

Yesterday I went to the gym and worked out for an hour and a half. Now, actually going to the gym is a huge accomplishment for me....working out for 1 1/2 hours is just getting ridiculous. As I was getting ready to leave my friend Matt came in and said "Hey, you coming to the Cardio Pump Fit Extreme Power Class with me?". I, of course, said no then he started making fun of me. So I went. We were the only men in there and also the only ones under 60 in the room.

Buuuuuuuut, those were some in-shape grandmas. It was another hour and a half of misery for me. No breaks, tons of moving, lifting, shouting, (crying)...it was super hard. I have never been so sweaty in my life. I thought I was going to pass out.

At the the end of the class the 65 year old lady behind me came up and said, "this class isn't for sissys". (Apparently she was refering to the point about 45 minutes in where I laid down on the floor and moaned).

Needless to say, it was rough. Those ladies are monsters. But everyone came up to me (not too hard to miss the new guy) and talked to me and encouraged me to come back. It was hilarious. I am now in the club.

Oh, and I am never going back

Today Was A Great Day

This morning started off rad. I awoke around 7:30 and made my way to Boiling Springs. There is nothing like being awake and driving around at 7:30 am on a Saturday. You can swerve around in all the lanes b/c no one is out yet. Not even the cops. It's awesome.

I was gonna borrow a trailer from Ron and then borrow a lawn mower from Dirty Arnold (I own nothing....I am the king of borrowing/lending/trading).

I enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee with Freida after her morning walk then loaded up the trailer and hit the road. Here is approximately the time the day got a little not-so-rad. As I was getting on the interstate the trailer popped of the hitch and started punishing my car. It was freaking out, I was freaking out, the lady driving behind me was freaking out....it was bad.

I finally stopped the chaos...do you know how scary it is when a trailer pops off the hitch?? You always hear about it but never do you get the pleasure of experiencing it. Yikes. I got out to check the damage....the 97 Tahoe got her first scratch today. We had a flawless run, I guess it was time. But man, I sure made up for the past 12 years of splendor. The backs doors are destroyed....they will not open.

The weird thing is (I guess I was just too scared) I didn't flip out. I was super happy that one of the chains stayed connected and the trailer didnt fly off and kill someone. It could have been much, much worse. And I think I can fix the doors ("I can fix" translates to "pay a smart person to fix it for me"). Even when not-so-rad stuff happens God is still protecting me. If a messed up Tahoe is the worst thing to happen to me today then I am doing pretty good.

The rest of the day was awesome.

Today was a great day.

Josh Ridings LLC

Goodness me, I have had a crazy two weeks. So we're starting this Josh Ridings Band thingy and it has been work. Let me tell you it is super fun but exhausting. I have sat through meetings, worked on t-shirts, talked to designers, had some photo shoots (dont make fun of me), driven about 1000 miles around the upstate, talked to producers, cried myself to sleep, skipped tons of meals, worked on contracts, tried to write some new songs...I need to take a nap just thinking about it.

I am becoming narcaleptic. I fell asleep on Easter Sunday at my parents house on their cement driveway while attempting to play with my nephew. I was woken by Harlan screaming "wake up uncle josh!!!!" at the top of his little lungs about 2 inches from my ear. It was awesome.

But I think a lot of the work is over for the time being. We have ordered business cards, fliers, band photos, postcards, info sheets, stickers, press kits, and t shirts. It's on. One thing that is awesome is that I am actually using my marketing/management major. I love businesss. This has been very fun.

Some news: We decided to not go to Nashville this summer to record. We were about one second away from saying yes and it just didn't feel right. So we're back to looking for a producer or studio...we want to do it for very cheap or free (if you are laughing you should stop....it WILL happen). Actually who knows. I don't want to get in debt and I don't want to move too fast....things have happened pretty naturally for us so far and we want to keep the ball rolling gradually. So, if you know a small time (but awesome) studio in Charlotte/Greenville/Columbia let me know.

We still have the same goals (rock lots) we just are going to do a local album and try to get in the "scene" around here.

So, if you want to rock with us, we will be playing at the Channel in Greenville on May 1st at 8 and the Spring Fling in Spartanburg on May 3rd at 2 pm. Come out and sing with us.

We also will have shirts for sale. They are $12 and they are hot! All money will go towards our album so buy lots of them. Our EP will be for sale ($5) and we'll have some other free stuff at our table. It's been a hectic, up and down last few weeks but God has been strong. All we want to do is rely on the Lord....not our music or any of that garbage. If God wants this to happen, it will. Duh.

Old Men Can Do Anything

I saw a guy in the gym this morning wearing a mock turtle neck, sweatshirt, baseball hat, and slacks drinking coffee while working out. It was the weirdest thing ever.

Church Yesterday

Yesterday was one of the coolest/most worshipful moments I have ever experienced. During the last song at church Richard invited everyone to pray for social justice for the oppressed and for families in America who are barely getting by and 3/4 of the church came down and began to pray. It was really neat to be on the stage and see everyone singing and praying.

When the song was finished I was still wrapped up in worship (as i think everyone else was) so we started singing another song. The band picked right up with it (even though half of the members have never even heard the song.....it was pretty incredible). Then I went into Mighty to Save and it was as if it was rehearsed. The band was rad. We built it up then sang the bridge for a while...."Shine you light and let the whole world see/We're singing for the glory of the risen King, Jesus".

Anywho, you know those rare times when you can feel the Spirit of God amongst you and it's real? This was one of those times. It was huge. I am still on a high from yesterday. I can't believe God uses me to lead His people to worship Him. All I want to do is beg God for holiness and purity and watch Him move like that again.

Shake and Bake Uncle Josh

Let me tell you something....i hung out with my nephew yesterday and my sister should be up for the Noble Peace Prize or something like that. Don't get me wrong, my nephew is the man, but he's almost 3 and he loves to not listen and do the opposite of awesome.

I learned another snippet of info for you nonveterans: Chick-Fil-A playground = bad news. Good gracious, kids just disappear in there. There's a helicopter, slide, car, and tons of tubes to crawl through....seriously I didn't see Harlan for about 45 minutes. Real safe. When it was time to go I just yelled "hey Harlan, let's hit it homey". Silence. Every other kid was completely still and quiet too (i forgot that adult voices scare the poo out of kids). I thought I was gonna have to climb in there after him but an older kid slid down the slide carrying him. That's when World War 3 broke out.

Apparently kids don't enjoy leaving playgrounds. Who knew? Have you ever tried to put shoes on a toddler who is super mad? Impossible. As we carried him out to the car every person in the restaurant stared at me with their judgmental eyes. I'm sure they know all the secrets of how to get a kid to politely walk to the car and buckle himself into his car seat. Or maybe the screaming just made them choke on their #1 combo.

Being an uncle is the best. I only party with Harlan. I give him candy, and play the guitar with him and hand him back to Heather...I don't have to discipline him (usually) and I'm never around for the hard parenting stuff. Whew, kids are hard. That's why I'm nominating Heather for the Mom of the Year Award. She really is ridiculous. I hung out with Harlan for about 12 hours (and I handed him to someone older when he was crying...hahaha) Heather is with him 24/7. I can't imagine that. So Heather, relax, you only have about 15 more years until you'll have some peace and quiet...unless you have more (which you will). So call me when you're 50 and we'll party.

You Can and You Will

Cool People,

We put our music on Grooveshark, a site that offers every song in the world for free. So, you should probably go there, type in Josh Ridings, and listen. Add our songs to your favorites and I think that would be good for us.

Also, we're on Amistreet, which is a rad place to find new music. Go there, type in josh ridings, and download. It's free.

Sincerely,

Josh Ridings

Hello Internet

Let me tell you a little secret: when you wake up at 5:45 am to workout you are tired all the time. Always. I can take 6 naps a day and it doesn't matter. Still tired. Hence the no blogging. I have been asleep. Or pumping iron. (who says pumping iron)

Anywho, my clothes are starting to fit again (over the past 6 years i have just been going out and buying larger clothes) so thats good. I am just surprised I have made it 4 weeks.

On other breaking news Shag (guitar player) and I have been handing out press kits and it's been going grand. We maaaaaaaaaaaaay get to play at the Spring Fling in Spartanburg which would be neato. We have a show at the Channel in Greenville on May 1st and we'd love for you to come. Pretty much if no one shows up they'll never let us in the building again. So please come. We're going to debut 5 or 6 new songs. It should be hot. We're headlining that night but we may play first so all the toddlers can come (seriously).

If you know any church or organization that I could talk to or mail a press kit to, let me know. We're working on a new website, band photo, and Electronic press kit right now. It's been pretty fun. (i skipped the gym this morning which is why i am awake past 9:30 and blogging....it feels like the good ol days).

Lastly, i am making a list of things I want to do in life and so far i have "spin the Price is Right wheel". That's pretty much the only thing I want to do before I die. Yes, I understand I'm setting the bar pretty high but I'm a dreamer.

We're praying about recording an album in Nashville this summer and I think we're gonna do it. If things work out, we'll have a rad album by the fall (thank you Eric Sparks for introducing me to an awesome producer). So we've got that going for us.