my two favorite people...

So the little guy looks like his mom. I thought so, but here's the proof. I hope you all had a great Christmas!

nice

This is what the future looked like in 1978.

sshhh!!

I'm up a little late. Mark sent over some song ideas we had recorded on the road but had since forgotten. Well, at least I had forgotten. It's fun to listen to something you did but don't really remember. It caused me to look through my iTunes library at the 'album' entitled junk which consists of at least one hundred song fragments. Junk is a very fitting name for this collection, even though it has been cleaned out plenty of times during this age of the mp3. I came across one recording though that I really enjoyed hearing again. It's from a night I'm pretty sure all the guys remember fondly... the night we wrote the song 'eternal.' I'll try to explain it in a way that doesn't sound pretentious - but we came up with the bones to at least 4 songs in a period of 2 days last year when we were in desperate need for some new material. We had already recorded a good portion of the record, but we honestly lacked some key elements - of which included Half our lives, turn on the lights, we need each other, and eternal. Those four songs were demoed in rough form during 2 nights we took off from the road late in the summer of '07. But the one that came out the best then was Eternal - at least in my opinion. It felt like the most pure thing we had ever written or created in a day's time. It was a real highlight for me in the whole twelve years we've been together actually! For the first time ever the five of us got in a room and created a piece of worship with no strings attached and with no commercial ploy in mind. Maybe I should re-word that... We love making music, we are privileged to share and record it, but this song was all of us in a room making a sound that reflected the love of Christ for us. Even as I listen now I get a bit worked up over it. So yeah, here it is for you to hear... It's one take, 2 mics in a bad sounding room, matt singing through a guitar amp and no sauce to cover anything up. This was the first and only complete take. I'm pretty sure I could get in trouble for posting this, so keep it on the down low ;) It's a video file but it's all blank - just give it a listen...

Merry Christmas!

Today I think I stole a guitar. From Matt. I don't think I need to worry about him getting on a computer to read this though. But little does he know I found a PRS of his in the van today and I'm laying claim to it for a little while. At least 'til he notices.

Hmm, what else has happened lately... Some good friends from out in California sent us an AWESOME hand made gift for Josiah. It's a 'watch me grow' book that looks like a tree and it has room for a year's worth of pictures. The Goldstone's always send us these incredible hand-made Christmas cards too. I'm not kidding, but I know for a fact they could start their own company and give hallmark a huge run for their money...




Random, but tonight I heard John Tesh on the radio. What a perfect radio voice that guy has huh? He was talking about PB+J at about 9pm. So I pulled over and bought some at the kroger. Not my kroger though, because I really don't like that one. That's a different blog. Also went to Best Buy tonight and noticed how ridiculously big and bright their shopping carts are. It's like they're just asking to be filled with large corrugated boxes full of non-biodegradable packing wrap and shiny black boxes. Don't worry though I just bought a dvd with some best buy bucks, the cart was for the little man. Which brings me to my next point. I never knew about the funny noises a baby is capable of making. I mean, it's pretty incredible. I'm told it's normal, but sometimes I wonder if it's my baby in the crib or a terradactyl egg hatching.

Really?

So if you were to tell me at the beginning of this year that by Christmas one of the following statements would be untrue I don't know which I would pick.

a.) I would have a baby boy.
b.) I would pay $1.42 for a gallon of gas
c.) I would be nominated for a grammy award
d.) I would see over 2000 people sign up for the Mocha Club
e.) I would have no gray hair

Well I guess hair dye would be the logical solution to the trick question. But it's been a while since I've opened a bottle of that...

So yeah, I'm pretty shocked right now. We had a good little trip to Nashville this weekend to let it all sink in. Pete got married on Saturday. What a great time. It was a perfect day and the bride and groom looked pretty awesome. Dan was in the wedding so he looked cool too. Hopefully those guys will share some photos. I've already seen some and they're ridic. Yep. We got to see a bunch of friends and the very accommodating mr. Jeremy Camp let us stay at his house for the weekend. Dominique said it was like a vacation. I think that's fair to say.

Home right now and it smells like fresh baked cookies.

Can't wait to work on some new tunes this month. I think we may have some good ones on our hands ;)

I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

So this week the good people over at mochaclub asked if we could help get the word out about what they've seen to be reality in Africa. For those of you who don't know what mochaclub does it's actually pretty simple. They use monthly pledges of only $7 a month from people all over the U.S. to greatly impact the people in places like Sudan, where in the past 3 years over 2 million civilians have been forced to leave their homes. The mocha club relies on the support of it's members to bring relief to multiple areas through a wide variety of projects - And they do all of this with only $7 a month! On the last tour we brought out our friend Sammy to help raise support. The response was overwhelming and enough money was pledged to provide water for A LOT of refugees who would otherwise have no clean water.

This brings me to what it is our friends at Mocha club have seen to be true in the midst of these war-torn regions, and that is not the images of despair that so often gets flashed on our televisions, but communities of people grateful to be alive and grateful for what little they do have. In seeing this it becomes evident that finding happiness is not about finding sweet deals on the internet or waiting in a line outside a department store the day after thanksgiving. True happiness is something I understand more by having the privilege to give 7 dollars to people who really don't need anything more than clean water to be 'happy.'

SO... help my friends at mocha club and help yourself by checking out the following info....

I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day. [read more]

my laptop went to Vienna but I'm home with a new friend

Sorry for the delay in posting about the biggest news in my life! But this past week has been fantastic and crazy all at once. Last Tuesday night my wife and I got to meet our little boy! He was born here in the great city of Toledo, Ohio on Veterans Day at 10:20 PM. Weighing in at only 6 pounds and 1 ounce at 19 and 1/2 inches long here he is... Josiah Christopher Rohman. He's my new best friend and right now he's sleeping in my bedroom. I'm starting to get the hang of this new sleep schedule we're on, but my wife is much better at it than I am. Like I said, i'm still without my laptop because the guys went to Finland and Austria and required the use of my computer. So when I get it back I'll be sure to post again. Thanks for all your prayers! God is good ;)

yep

had an awesome time today in michigan. I'm happy to have a very cool, and very pregnant wife ;)

some decorations dom made while i was gone last week...

What do I like?

So every once in a while someone will ask me what music I listen to. Every once in a great while I'll actually have something to share I'm really stoked about... Tonight I discovered there is a new Travis record releasing here in the states on Tuesday. It's snippets of songs like this one that make me want to play my guitar all night. The video is shaky - and you may not like it, but right now I'm diggin it.

More Snacks?

Right now I'm in the air somewhere over the midwest. I guess I should mention I'm in a plane. I'm surrounded by some sleepy people with awkward hair and travel pillows around their necks. Some of them have large headphones on as well. Today I feel like I'm back in pre-school for some reason. Maybe it's because the flight attendants look as though they could have jumped out of 1985. They just have that golden look to them, like many people and things did back then. Like my moms brand new shiny volvo station wagon. The new car smell still comes to mind. I think it's the way the sun shines through the windows on a plane at 30,000 feet that reminds me of being young again. That and the fact that now on Southwest flights the attendants come around with a big box of 'snacks' for you to choose between. One of the snacks being Lorna Dunes, a staple at my Grandma's house. It's funny watching people half-awake with their sleepy eyes rummage through a box that some flight attendant has to hold in front of their face as they decide which snack will best hit the spot. All the while the attendant must careen carefully to keep their balance as the plane jostles to and fro. If I could take pictures of this going down right now I would...

The past week I've learned a few things about myself. Funny things really. For one I love green M&M's. I've also been thinking at what age I was when I can remember things fairly vividly. Probably because I'm starting to wonder what kind of things my kid will pick up on as he grows up and what things he'll be funny about too. I had a really nice watch fall apart during the tour. You can barely make it out in the picture we used for the new album cover. I have small wrists. I realize every time I go 'watch shopping' I tell the nice lady opening the glass windows this fact. Why? I guess I hope that it will help her not to think I'm less of a man because I have to use almost all the holes in the strap to make the watch stay in place. Or maybe it just helps to make conversation. Or maybe I really do have awkwardly small wrists. Anyways, the strap came completely undone in about a years time and so Dominique, having worked in retail before, decided to help me out while I've been on the road and called the store to see if we could get a strap. After a week of playing tag with the manager she said she would give me an altogether new watch since they no longer make this one. This brings me to the funny realization - I'm the kind of person who hates asking for things. So to have to go in to a store and pick out a new watch and walk out with a new one for free makes me feel weird. Even if this is what they should do and agreed to do anyways. I realize I'm this way a lot. I don't like asking for a cup of water at the drive through. What? I don't like taking more than one snack - even though they encourage it. I guess my fear is that someone at the back of the plane might not get their cheese crackers. I only like to do things when I ask if it's really OK to do so. A few weeks ago I had a terrible experience with a store that rhymes with 'battery farm' not wanting to return an item we had ordered for our house. I had asked before ordering if it was returnable, covering my bases I thought. It wasn't my intent to order this large item only to return it, but after receiving it we didn't like it and decided to return it that same day. They changed their tune though and stated it was all the sudden non returnable. After practically threatening the company and them having to change their website they caved in. Anyways, back to the watch. We didn't have the receipt, but we had the warranty with the original sales tag attached to it. I picked out a watch quickly and the 'dudes' working took forever to get me out of there with the watch. They wouldn't look me in the eyes really, as if I was a thief stealing something from under their noses. They continued to make comments on how I really need to keep the receipt this time etc... The manager had left a note for them that it was all cool, but still they gave me a weird vibe as if they were making a huge exception and doing me a favor. This was just what I expected though so it came as no surprise. It put me in a weird mood the rest of the way home. I guess I have no faith in retail, not that I should anyways, and very little faith in customer service. You know when you go to best buy and they have open boxed items for sale? Most of the time they are damaged or missing something like a cable, a battery, or a remote? Yeah I'm pretty sure those once belonged to people that have no problem using something then taking it back bruised and dirty. This gets me going too! I guess next time I need to take some nice pictures of something I'll buy a camera then return it a week or two later. I'll just tell them I didn't like it.

Anyways, as I'm thinking all of this, before I type it out I'm on the plane still.... listening to my ipod and my eyes start to close. Just for a minute it's all coming together in my head. I'm remembering my pre-school teacher I had a crush on, my mom picking me up in the volvo, the way the sun made the fall leaves look on the way home and then suddenly...... My tray table is pushed down in front of me and the woman with my dr. pepper is looking at me all flustered and hands me my drink only to sarcastically say 'well you know I was about ready to skip you.' That's when it hit me. It's been this woman my whole life that has made me not want to ask for anything. She's been everywhere I go. She's been the one huffing and puffing behind the counter at Tim Horton's when I ask for a toasted bagel. She's the one on the phone at pottery barn. She's the one working at fossil giving me the dirty eye. She's the one one working for Northwest that doesn't want to enter my frequent flyer miles in for me. She's everywhere!! And she's the voice that pops into my head the moment I think about taking more snacks.

nice leaves

Today I was able to be home and spend time with my wife. We ran around and did a bunch of things... went to the park for a sec. Wish I would have had my better camera. These are from the old iphone ;) Not too bad I guess. What a day!

Las Vegas, NV

Good times today. Tired at the moment -it's late and I'm wiped out from a long weekend. Tonight was pretty awesome though - packed to capacity. There was a guy running security tonight that was super pro. He use to be head of security at some casino here in town. I definitely didn't want to tick him off. He had a sweet accent too. I would of taken a picture but then he would have had to confiscate it.

Can't wait to get home some. Won't be long now til the little guy shows up! Can't wait ;)

We'll see you in Portland.

FYI... 4 In N Out stops in 6 days. It's been a busy week.

Highland, CA

Tonight was great. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped raise money for the Mocha Club. Sammy tore it up for the crowd during Turn On The Lights. Cool note - 2,100 people in Africa will have clean water courtesy of the people in Highland, California. Ya'll rock ;)

Santa Maria, CA

Wildomar, CA

It's fall, I'm in California, I'm gonna listen to some T.P.

And maybe some Cardigans for old times sake - thanks for getting me in the mood Mr. Brennan Smiley ;) A friend of mine who recently acquired a brand new shiny black Deusenberg guitar.

So we've been having a great time on the road. Last night we 'camped' out at Joshua Tree Park, today we're going to rock in Wildomar somewhere outside L.A. I think. Tomorrow Pete's parents will be hanging out so maybe we'll get some bbq action. 

I gotta go find a shower and some coffee right now. oh check out the new twitter ;)

oh boy - is anybody else tired?

So I'm up late watching Anberlin on Jimmy Kimmel dressed all in black and reading about how I just lost a chunk of change today in the crazy slip and slide that is our nation's economy. Today started out bright and great though. Dominique and I took another road trip - as though this past weekend's jaunt through 'northern accent country' wasn't enough. We headed just a few hours north to a magical place called Frankenmuth, Michigan. And yes - some would say we have northern accents too, though I would like to think mine has withered a bit. We filled up at the Bavarian Inn and ate like mad. It was Dominique's birthday last week so we had a coupon and ate fried chicken and schnitzel without the knowledge of the stock market turning upside down today. But even now I'm not too worried. I mean just throw it in the pile with the rest of the noise we're bottled up in... HD, BluRay, Bluetooth, Nintendo wii's being in stock for Christmas, WiFi that's not free, 2G or 3G, Tall or Grande, rampant illegal MP3 downloads, Home Depot or Lowe's, extended warranties, and no interest no payments til 2012. Oh not to mention that almost everything we buy is made in a foreign country... and that probably includes this sofa and keyboard.  All that aside I guess I'm more concerned with the fact that Bill Maher is on Conan and whole-heartedly thinks there is no God. 

So where does this leave me tonight? Grateful for a God that has orchestrated the creation of the universe, a God that knows no political or economic boundaries. Grateful for a God that loves his creation enough to give us all free will, but saddened that the reality of that also means there are those that will never grasp God's eternal love.

The truth is that everything here on this planet can get crazy. The fact that we're all here is crazy. But I believe there is a God that is crazy about us - we just need to cut out some of the noise to realize it. 

btw - I'm Chris Rohman, and I approve this blog

random notes

We are taking a few days off from the road at the moment, but we're excited to get up to the great states of Wisconsin and Minnesota this weekend. I promise we'll get some pics up after these next few shows. The past week was incredible though - Maine is so good to us. Not to mention the 1400 people who showed up in Pennsylvania on Sunday!! I finished my book in my bunk somewhere between Bangor and Souderton. Good times. Somehow in Oklahoma last week I lost my sunglasses. My favorite sunglasses. Bad times. I've never owned a nice pair of sunglasses in my life and I took such good care of them - only to loose them in the end. (Here's a pic of Pete sporting my long lost compadre) I really don't know what happened but I'm on a quest to replace them and so far haven't been able to find the exact same pair. Sad Day. I did find out though that the sunglass hut has an incredible return policy. So I'm 'trying' out a pair for the weekend. We'll see how it goes. Silly huh? I never realized how much sunglasses really do help reduce glare and stress on the eyes though ;) I'm Not sold on the grey lenses as opposed to the brown which I loved. hmmm

Anyways! So I'm getting really excited for our little boy to arrive. It's going to be pretty awesome. I can't wait to get him his first guitar!! Which btw I just scanned a picture of mine recently... Yeah it's about to get crazy at our house ;)

waiting for my ride

So we just finished a good six shows in a row this week, something I don't think we've ever done before. Actually I think it was 10 shows in 12 days to be exact. What a whirlwind, but what an awesome way to spend the last two weeks! I still can't believe how well the tour is going. Every night we've been shocked at how many people are actually showing up and singing along. We have an ongoing joke I'll let you in on as to why things have bode so well, then I'll try explain what I really think it is...

A few weeks ago we played a show in Kansas City and I decided to bring a rug to put on stage. I have to admit it's rather funny showing up with  A rug.  Not enough rugs to cover the stage mind you, but just one lonely rug to place on my 5 x 8 space on the stage. You see, all the big guys have been doing this for years and I don't think it's just because of the 'vibe' effect. It feels good on the feet and I believe it has great acoustical purposes in the way it counteracts the harshness from a blaring guitar amp.  Most drummers will use a rug to prevent their hardware and drums from slipping all over the place. It also helps to move a kit a few inches with one gentle pull on the rug.  Mark has actually been setting up his kit the past 12 years on a rug we stole from my mom. No joke - it's out on tour with us right now. So I decided it was high time I got a rug of my own. Kansas City was the first city to catch a glimpse and I honestly think the show went amazing! It just felt like everything on the rug was under control. When we started the tour we felt like it was time to kick it all up a notch and so we decided to grab an additional rug. I know - it's kind of a big deal, but we thought it was the right time. So here we are out on tour with 2 rugs and things are just smokin'. Every night after a great set we joke that it's 'gotta be the rugs.' I mean every night we're walking off stage and for the first time in sanctus real history we feel like we're just part of something bigger that is happening and none of us are really in control of it.  Well the jokes are funny for many reasons. Pete and Dan are funny guys, so of course the rug comments are new and more hilarious every night. But when all the joking subsides and we're still scratching our heads as to why this tour is going better than expected it becomes more and more obvious that it's God's blessing on it and nothing at all to do with cheap oriental rugs. We really believe that what this tour is doing is far greater than playing some songs and selling t-shirts. Of course we've always been concerned with writing songs to encourage people and relate what God has done in our lives, but everything has such deeper meaning this time around because we're helping to build wells for refugees in Darfur. It really is life changing. Thousands of people will get to drink clean water now because of people joining together at the shows and committing to send just 7 bucks a month to the mocha club. I can't even begin to describe how crazy it is that over $100,000 has been raised already!! We're not even a quarter of the way through the tour! To sit here and think that this dream we had earlier this year of taking the 'we need each other' theme on the road is now a God-breathed reality is absolutely mind blowing. So yeah - rugs are cool, but people coming together for the broken and thirsty is where I really want to be.

SO - thanks for reading. I'm waiting for my ride to Virginia. I'm excited to see what lies ahead. I'm also about 3 chapters from the end of a great book.  Check it out... The Shack

What a week!!

WOW! I can't believe everything that has happened this week. First of all thanks to everyone that has come out to the TOUR so far - you definitely helped kick start it into action. Perrysburg on Thursday was a huge success thanks to everyone who signed up for mocha club. You helped raise over $30,000 in one night! Enough money to build 2 wells in Africa this year. That is truly amazing! Not to mention the way the other two shows in Cinci and Spring Arbor went. After this weekend I believe people have joined together to raise over $60,000 already!!! I'm too excited to sleep because of it! AS if those 3 shows weren't enough, we were able to play a sold out benefit show for a local family in Toledo being featured on Extreme Makeover - Home Edition! Check out the Toledo Blade, and our local ABC station for details. Last night over FIVE THOUSAND people showed up for the rally. They were forced to turn people away - I don't think anyone was planning on it being so big! We even got to play a quick song with designer Paul DiMeo. HUGE! What a night. We're going to head to the demolition tomorrow and I'll try to get some pics. Thanks to my dad for these photos already ;)

Also must quickly mention - Check out TOMS shoes NOW! And check these pics too...

today we start this thing

well actually a few days ago the chaos started, but we're embarking on the big tour today. kicking the whole thing off right here in our hometown. we're pretty anxious to hit the road and see how things play out.  i'm trying not to get too nervous, but there's a lot of work to be done and a lot of diesel to be burned.  i don't think i could feel any better about the guys we'll be out with and the music we're all bringing to the table though - it should be an incredible time ;)

i'll do my best to get back into blog mode, been taking some time away from the ol laptop lately when i've been home. 

oh, i thought i would mention too you should go out and buy the new record from 'above the golden state.' you will not be dissapointed ;)

'til next time...

What?

I just saw that the new kids on the block have a new record coming out. OK.... really?

what's new?

Hey there. It's been a busy couple of weeks over here. Since the last time I wrote I think we've been in Seattle, Nashville, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, and Oregon. There were a few places there between - 4 hour layover in Phoenix (allowed for a cab ride to In N Out) and late night driving through the great state of Pennsylvania. I've definitely seen more of PA under the moonlight than during the daytime. Dominique and I decided to head north for the weekend and made it up to Frankfort Michigan last week. Her parents have a great place up there so we try to hit it up when gas dips below 4 bucks. We love to look at furniture - neat huh? There's a cool place up there we always go to called Betsie Bay Furniture. Yeah, nothing in there is too affordable so we just look. Everything in this town is on the main strip really, including an old movie theater - with one showing during the weekends. We decided to walk down and see hancock one night and it was a good little movie. Hit up the beach in Empire and talked about baby names. WHICH by the way is the hardest thing to figure out. The biggest news right now is that we found out we're having a BOY! Yeah - check him out...

How crazy is that!! We can't wait. Between shows and traveling we've been getting some things ready for the little guy around here. Took a trip to the outlet mall and got him this guy at pottery barn... I think he'll dig it. We have some awesome baby furniture coming next week too. Can't wait to put that all together ;) I might have to get Dan Gartley to help since way back when Dominique and I got our first place he helped me move all the furniture. I think it was like his first trip to Toledo - we had just met and I had him help move heavy things in the rain. Really, I was just preparing him for life on the road. So far so good. Now I just need to sell him one of my cars ;)

yeah I got an agent, and a roadie named bart...

It took me a few days to get around to writing about one of the most memorable nights of my life. For that I apologize - it just took me that long to recover! WOW. Tom Petty, 4th row on the river in Cincinnati. I mean this guy alone is just about the biggest reason I wanted to play music when I was young. And it only took me this long to get around to seeing him live. And he was pretty much right in front of me. I debated if I should bring my vinyl records in to the show to hold up and try to get his attention. I was so freaking nervous too! Haha - but it was awesome when he looked my way and gave a nod (right at me of course) when I held up my Damn the Torpedoes record during Even The Losers. And then during Saving Grace when I held that vinyl up and got Mike Campbell's nod of approval that warranted a pick throw that woefully fell short by only an arms reach. AHHH! But he made sure to shield his eyes well enough to get a good look at the skinny kid with big hair and genuine vinyl records in the 4th row ;)

So yeah - what a night...

YOU WRECK ME
LISTEN TO HER HEART
I WON'T BACK DOWN
EVEN THE LOSERS
FREE FALLIN’
MARY JANE
SWEET WILLIAM
END OF THE LINE
BAND INTRO
BREAKDOWN
SAVING GRACE
HONEY BEE
YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS
LEARNING TO FLY
DON'T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE
REFUGEE

ENCORE:
RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM
MYSTIC EYES
AMERICAN GIRL

I've never had a more amateur video moment than this.... As soon as he came close I almost dropped the camera.

Schooled

It's Sunday 2:30 AM and Today - by that I mean Saturday, I woke up at 4AM in Bakersfield California in a small queen sized bed with Matt. Ok that may be too much info, but I'm still awake because I bought the new John Mayer film and it's blowing my mind right now. Don't watch it. Seriously - especially if you think you play guitar. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now ;)

... ok, i was kidding - you have to check it out. Musically it's incredible. He plays 3 back to back sets and keeps his voice and hands flawlessly in sync the whole time. I'm not into his wristwatch preferences but to each his own. I don't know how Eric Clapton can even sleep well at night after watching this.

OK

Hey, sorry for the long delay in updates lately. WOW, I'm terrible huh? Where to start ? I guess where I left off... bought the Coldplay record on the Tuesday it came out on a drive to Kentucky. Actually bought the last copy at a starbucks somewhere in Marion, Ohio - which btw is the hometown of none other than mr. Dan Gartley. He was not there on this day though, which is probably why I was able to buy the last copy. So that was fun. Also sometime in June was my birthday! Yes - I turned 18, well not quite. But I did get some sweet gifts. I'll mention two of them; an apple TV and a model airplane my dad made. Pretty awesome. We had a good old fashioned cook out and I dropped some burgers between the grate in the grill somehow. Dominique got me a sweet Reese's ice cream cake from Friendly's. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. We played some fun shows in June. One was at stone mountain in Georgia. It's called stone mountain because there is literally a mammoth stone that sticks out of the ground at this park. It supposedly stretches miles beneath the earths surface too. We got to the top via a ski lift contraption. I snapped some pictures, but it's really hard to tell what it really looked like, plus there are two dudes in the background sporting their farmers tan. Anyways, Dan and Pete decided to walk down the mountain before showtime. I think they were pretty tired. I did get a cool picture of us flying over St. Louis. Don't remember what flight that was, probably on the way home form Texas. Anyways - it's pretty cool to see the arch from a plane.... Somewhere in Colorado we were spotted on a 'no alcohol beyond this point' sign. We all got a kick out of this. And sometime in June I had a chance to pick up some genuine Mexican Coke.

Why...

..do I love this soo much right now? It's a 4 chord song. I guess it's the whole bit - melody, visual, strings, a familiar beat... hmmm.

=w=

OK - a few thoughts before I get to bed. First I need to mention that if you have seen the new episode on sanctusreality then you've probably unnoticeably seen one of the greatest bass players of all time hanging out with us. His name is Adam Nitti. Look him up on youtube.

Second - Last week I went to a big box electronic store and asked the music manager if he would tell me how many of a certain blue looking CD had sold. I was curious beacause a few weeks prior I happened to notice that they were stocked up with like 25 cds! I looked again and now there were like 3 left. I wanted to know if they had actually sold or had been sent back. I mean - wouldn't you like to know too? So as I'm talking to the guy he casually says 'I bought that CD.' Surprised I said, 'Cool. Is it any good?' He said 'Yeah.' So that was cool. Turns out that this particular store is making about 37 bucks a week in profit off of sanctus real according to their computer. Then I started to think if that might be more than....

Third - I just realized tonight that weezer came out with a new record last week. Not sure If i'm going to buy it.

Fourth - I got my hair cut today and while talking to my hair dresser (is that a proper term or is it stylist) I realized I've never seen any of the Lord of the RIngs movies or Harry Potter movies - or the narnia movies. This could explain some things. Other than that though I think I'm a pretty normal guy. I mean I love chocolate cake.

goodnight ;)

what do you think?

there it is for those of you that missed it.

Anyways - I think it might be time to go see ironman finally. Might take off this afternoon and catch a mattinee. Or maybe I'll vacuum my basement........ ok probably not.

Well it's about time Jeremy Bentham

Hello there. Where to start, maybe I'll work my way backwards. Today I bought a snazzy new wireless apple mouse. I can now move my cursor from the other side of my kitchen. Maybe even further I just haven't had time to check yet. I also purchased something else super cool today. Personal financial software. Yep - check it out. If that doesn't strike you how about this. Yeah used that on our cars this morning. And if that isn't interesting enough I have yet to mention my wife and I are expecting our first child! Bam!! Didn't see that one coming now did you? Oh, and I thought I could save that news til the end of this blog. We're super excited and we get to find out if it's a boy or a girl in just a few more weeks! So we've been pretty busy getting things ready here and having late night debates on names. Now that's gotta be one of the hardest things to figure out. Maybe I should take a poll. We'll see...

So last night was the season finale of lost. I've talked to Pete and Dan both about it already and they absolutely loved it. I on the other hand thought it was just so so. Maybe my head wasn't in the right place - it's been a busy week, but I just didn't feel the usual excitement afterwards. I'm hoping this will pass though. I think I'm bummed that they had to shoot 2 alternate endings. I won't spoil it for you, but after I saw that today It was like learning the secret to a great magic trick. I just went 'oh.' I think they did a great job of wrapping up such a unique season, but I think they'll have to get super crazy with the plot next year to keep everyone's attention.

Last weekend we celebrated Memorial day up near Traverse City, Michigan. It was great to get away and have a good old fashioned family vacation. My parents, my sister, and Dominique and I got in the car late Thursday night, put some Tom Petty in the cd player and drove up 23. Bought some dried cherries and skipped some petoskey stones on Lake Michigan.

I guess it was the weekend before that when we were in England. What a travel nightmare that was! 5 hour delays there and back and cold hot sandwiches. But the show was AMAZING. We definitely plan on heading back sometime when we can all hang out. We're also booked to go to Finland this fall - which is right next to Sweden home of the all new volvo xc70 btw. Anyways, England was great, but by the time we got there we were running a bit behind that I didn't get to take any pictures AT ALL. I had to change strings, program the set into the old laptop, figure out the gear 'sitch. Oh and somewhere in there we ate some baked potatoes for dinner.

Until next time... I gotta go check the range on this mouse.

finally!

Well, we've finally made it. I don't have one, though I should because I've forgotten how to play Leap Of Faith. Made my day to see this on Amazon. I think it's on back-order though ;)

I Promise I'm Not...

Slacking. I know I haven't posted anything terribly great lately. Dominique and I did take a week long vacation in Florida last week though. Daytona Beach, and Orlando... Disney. That did involve a bit of slacking. But today I'm up to all sorts of fun stuff. Cleaning my shower, spraying for bugs, cutting grass, scrubbing my kitchen floor, fixing my pedal board wiring, fixing a clogged drain, you know the good stuff. Tomorrow we do leave for the weekend, so I'll be sure to blog some tasty timbits later. yum

getting ready for the UK

It's a dirty world

Tuesday two great things happened 1.) my wife and I bought a dyson. 2.) phantom planet finally released a new record. Both purchases happened to be sale-priced, adding all the more to my excitement. All said and done this made writing a check to the IRS a bit more forgettable as I spent all night and the following day vacuuming and listening to one of my favorite bands. These actions left me with a very, and I mean absurdly clean home. We mainly have wood floors and I'm not kidding that vacuum picked up more 'stuff' than I'd like to admit. 3 emptied canisters later 5 out of 7 rooms had its own solid go-thru. I called my mom and told her all about it; she ran out and bought one wednesday. I think I found my plan b for when the band is over. All of this led me to remember a funny story... onto the real meaning behind the subject title.

So for some reason this morning when I woke up and the sun was shining through my dustless blinds and onto my gleaming floor I was reminded of a funny thing that happened on the third day tour. I, as usual, can't remember what city we were in but Dominique and I took a walk from the venue one day out into the town. Someone from the show warned us not to go too far as it was a bad part of town supposedly. It was the middle of the day though and there was hardly any traffic anywhere. Five minutes out this truck pulled up to a stop light and a witty dude-man (the term we use to describe any not so fluent guy we run across on the road) rolls down the back window of a truck with a rebel flag on the back of it and starts to bark at us. Literally bark - and growl. It was so unusual that I had to say something back. Obviously dude-man was trying to be demeaning, so I turned around and yelled back at him 'are you alright?' as if I was confused why he would be barking like a dog-man. I don't know - maybe he had gotten bit by a dog and needed a rabies shot and his only way of letting me know was by sticking his head out the window and growling. Anyways, he acted a bit startled that all 135 pounds of me acted like I wasn't scared, but then he gained his composure and dropped a few f-bombs. At this point I was just staring at him and then his fellow dude-men in the truck opened their doors as if to warn me they'd be coming out and barking as well. The light turned green and they sped off.

For some reason after remembering all this, I read through James this morning. Mainly touching on chapter 1. When it says 'slow to anger' it really hit me when I think about that little incident. I was pretty quick to let dude-man know I wasn't going to just let him bark at me although his actions didn't really warrant my response at all. Anyways, I thought about how great it would be if every time something started to bug me I just took a deep breath and blew it off instead. I don't know, It's a thought.

So tonight - as my wife and I took a bike ride guess what happened? Yeah, some dude-man started to yell out his window at us. Seriously - not kidding. What the heck right? All this, with a little help from the dyson, led me to one conclusion.... it's a dirty world out there isn't it? Oh well, I won't let it bother me too much.

Oh to meet Cip Patterson

Hello there. It's Saturday night and we're getting more than 3 hours of sleep tonight! We're in Tulsa... again. Played at the Mabee center... again. But every time is a blast, seriously and tonight was no exception. To top it off Pete bought me an authentic glass bottle coke from Mexico. It's the best coca cola out there. Last night we were in California - again as well. Wish we could only stay longer than 15 hours one of these times. We played the Fox theater in Visalia. Amazing theater. Won't be long before some other really great bands hit that stage too, ie. Foreigner. Anyways, I'm super tired and don't have anything too heady to type out at the moment. But since you chose to check this out I'll leave you with a tiny morsel to chew on. Enjoy. .:aptera.com:.

you know it's been too long if...

you forget your username and password. But then again, I'm a terribly forgetful person. There's really no good excuse for this though. It's usually the little things. I can come up with an idea and in the time it takes to find a way to write it down it's usually floated out of my brain somehow.

anyways - some lucky guy out there with five thousand dollars just sitting around won this tonight...

73 tele

I'm not too jealous though. I opted to buy the new jon foreman ep today which cost me way less and brings instant satisfaction anyways.

this week while on the road we'll be shooting a video for 'whatever you're doing.' It should be a good time. I'm planning on fake-playing guitar and I'm pretty sure the other guys will be doing likewise. I'll try to post some pics this week...

did anyone catch Counting Crows on Letterman last night?

It's hard to keep moving when your feet are cold

"Well I may shake your hand, but I won't know your name."

So here I am at home getting back to a normal routine after being away for a few weeks. Doing my taxes, shoveling snow, jumping cars that won't start. You know, the usual. Oh and a few band related things like sending out press info, approving show schedules, and doing my part to keep the ship afloat. All in all I'm ready for a 'big weekend.' Last night definitely helped relieve the stress level though.... LOST on ABC was amazing. Best episode ever in my opinion. It's like taking my favorite movie of all time and kicking it up a few notches and throwing in a cool Scotsman to boot. For those of you into the show you know what I mean. Pretty much stood up and clapped after that one.



Next week we gear up for the tour with Third Day. We have definitely hit the big time - Van and all. Ha - seriously though, we are excited to be in such great company for a month and to play a BUNCH of new songs! I hope you're all ready to sing along.

Back to my taxes -

photos gallore

I'm writing this really quick because I'm pretty excited about it... I figured out how to post pics immediately from my phone. Here's the link for now. I'll make it fancy later.

http://gallery.mac.com/chrisrohman

A return to my roots

Today has been an eventful day. I regret that I don't have any pictures though - the main reason being it was just too crazy to be able to. As many of you hopefully know our new record releases tomorrow. It's almost like a birthday party - except there's some work involved and I don't know if we'll get any cake. But today started the whirlwind that goes with releasing a new record. I can honestly say though that all of us guys are enthusiastic and ready to promote the daylights out of this thing. All that started this morning - with little daylight actually. I got up nice and early - headed to our local radio station YesFM and met up with the guys there to talk on air. It turns out the station has been running a contest of sorts this past week where they asked their listeners to write 'essays' in which they were to describe how a Sanctus Real song had impacted their life. What a crazy concept I thought - but people actually took the time to write in and it floored me! They decided to pick one story from the pack and give them the opportunity to have lunch with the band and 10 of their friends. That happened today as well - but not before we made a stop at my old High School. You see, it's been ten years since I've graduated and it's been almost that long since I've stepped foot in the school. Today we were able to convince the principal to let us come in and play for chapel - just like we use to when we were 16. It was AWESOME! The students were great, the news channel was there, and we had an amazing time. After that we proceeded to lunch with the winner of the radio contest and 10 of her friends. They were probably one of the coolest group of people we've hung out with in a long time actually - and we all got to eat some great food. So anyways, i'm in the middle of doing some radio interviews, but wanted to write a quick note before things got any crazier. Thanks ahead of time to everyone who goes out tomorrow and buys the new record!! We hope it blesses you ;) See you all soon -

It's time for healing - It's time for the nitty gritty

So people always ask us what does our band name mean? Why did you add 'real' to a strange latin word that you purposefully chose to miss-pronounce? Good question. Well I can honestly say it's because of our desire to be genuine with each other and the people we hope to affect with our music. To let people know we don't have it all figured out, but that we rely on God's grace to survive - particularly when it's not easy. Not a small task really, but something we try hard to do no less. So these little blogs have been setup with the idea of being a place for anyone who cares to stop by and be entertained, maybe encouraged, but I don't think any of us thought of it as being a space to be completely 'real.' Maybe that's was just me, and maybe this is where it all starts.

So I unexpectedly discovered today how long you can go without talking to someone you've loved dearly. Someone I've loved my entire life. For me at least - that time was 3 months and 26 days. I never really let on to many people on the outside, but my Grandmother, Martha Rohman passed away on October 9th, 2007. She wasn't terribly old and she definitely never acted like it. She enjoyed a lot of un-grandmother like things like cool cars, hip gadgets, and good music. She really liked the beatles, sheryl crow, some johnny cash, and a band called sanctus real. She bought us our first van, our first nice trailer, and helped me purchase various gizmos and guitars along the way.

Our pastor this week started a month-long series called 'it is well with my soul.' For the past few months I've felt like I've been walking around without a limb or something. Nice timing huh? Although I wouldn't have minded chopping off my left leg because of problems I've had with a slipped disc and my sciatic nerve. It was actually today that I went to the Hospital for a simple procedure to have a needle shot up the base of my spine to apply a healthy dose of steroid between my 4th and 5th vertebrae. I've been very fortunate my whole life to have never had any major surgeries or sickness - so to be laying in a hospital room all by myself in a gown with a cold i.v. in the back of my hand was a strange feeling. The last time I had really been in a room like this was the night my grandma passed away. So there was a bit on my mind and I can't say I was really looking forward to this whole ordeal. I guess I can thank my bad posture and my les paul for being here though. Eventually it was time and I got up and was wheeled into the room where I was to lay on my stomach and pretend like I wasn't scared. I could hear the heart monitor beating frantically so there wasn't any real way to hide it. They asked if it was my first time, I said yes and they said 'oh we can tell... it's that whole fear of the unknown that's getting you huh?' I guess they were right - the whole procedure took all of 2 minutes and I was out of there eating a muffin and sipping on juice like nothing even happened. The rest of my day was great and fairly normal, but then tonight as I was looking through some files on my laptop it hit me. I saw some pictures of that familiar but not recently seen smile and was thinking about a letter I had just received from the nursing home facility about a candle lighting service they'll be having while I'm out of town for some unequivocal record promo stuff. I lost it, and I lost it hard. I hadn't cried this much that night I was with her, but for some reason I finally felt the release and it had to be brought out of me. I lost all control for a good while - I couldn't formulate any words and I probably should have passed out there on the floor.

So, back to the sermon from this Sunday.... Talking about "soul health." I guess there in church I prayed that God would do a work in me to shake off some things - I wasn't sure exactly what, but there was this knowledge there that I had been holding in some issues and because of that my heart had been numbed . Some things that had prevented me from feeling healthy in my soul. Things that had stopped me from really feeling like I could come to Christ and ask for some help. The pastor started speaking on how true health in your soul is a gift for everyone though, and that the only reason we can have this is because we are made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ. (romans 5:1-11) It might have been the first time in a looong time that I grasped that idea and really allowed it to happen. It wasn't like a huge ordeal - there were no tears involved at that moment. It was just a time to be honest and genuinely 'real.' After the service I walked out and was about to get out the door before someone stopped me. It was a friend of mine, a woman who constantly prays for me and the guys and comes to our shows when she can. She quickly gave me a hug and just as quickly slipped me a picture of myself that she had been holding on to since July. For no particular reason - she just felt like taking it to church and giving it to me that day. First of all I generally dislike 99% of pictures I'm in - and probably almost 100% of pictures that involve any kind of big zoomed-in lens. This was one of those pictures - I gave it a brief look and instantly thought - oh man I probably look terrible. As we spoke for a minute I began to look it over though and it was actually kinda neat, well... really neat. I had my favorite guitar held perfectly high, my eyes were closed, and I was smiling and singing at the same time into the microphone. I looked unbelievably happy. You could kind of make-out some green foliage in the distance and then I realized this was a picture taken at the very last show my grandma was able to attend last year. I think I almost lost it there in the foyer - but there was way too many people around. But how crazy was it to receive this picture of myself in a state of what looks like nothing less than pure joy and happiness, and then to think back to that day and remember the main reason I felt that way - because I knew then God had blessed me with one more special moment where I could look over to the side of the stage and see grandma giving me the thumbs up. So to me it was pretty evident God was already answering my prayer and beginning to show me that He's going to love me enough so that I could get back to that place. Today was definitely the biggest step in all of it.

Maybe the reason I'm up at 4 am writing is because of the steroids. But I really think it's for someone else to understand it's ok to be real with God about your heart and soul situation. It's OK to cry out to Him. That's what he wants actually - is for us to be so real with him that we can hardly speak anymore. There's no other way to get to a place of healing. I catch myself when I talk to people or do interviews not to sound too cliche and not to quote many of our song lyrics - I guess I'm way too self-concious... and that probably needs to change too. But, I'm getting excited all over again for people to hear the message on this new record. I look back and think about the songs my grandma was able to hear and how much she loved them and the stories they tell and how she thought they would encourage people.

When it came time to finalize the album artwork I was asked if I wanted to have a special note to dedicate the recording to my grandma. I actually said no. Almost in a defiant, pre-thought out way. I think because (A) I'm kind of weird (B) it didn't feel like the right timing for me yet, and (C) it's too small of a thing to dedicate to such an amazing person. But aren't those the same things God deals with in us? The things that stand in the way of coming to Him so that we can live a fulfilled life and have a healthy soul? To lift up what seems to be a small thing, even when we don't think it's the right timing - or we feel too self-aware, so that he can begin the massive overhaul that unbeknownst to us really needs to take place? Today can be the day that starts - today is the day I'm dedicating the new cd to my Grandma Martha - even though in my heart I know I'm dedicating a lot more than just that.



"It’s time for healing, time to move on, it’s time to fix what’s been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong; it’s time to find my way to where I belong

There’s a wave that’s crashing over me, and all I can do is surrender

Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but somehow there’s peace
And it’s hard surrender to what I can’t see, but I’m giving in to something heavenly..."

Now that's rock and roll

So the superbowl is over. I personally thought it was over after Petty played running down a dream. But what a crazy final minute huh? I lost a bit of interest as I got on my laptop after the halftime show to buy some Tom Petty tickets for July! But I'm glad I kept watching. So really, how about that halftime show? I was beyond excited. Top notch performance. I'm glad he played the classics. The Hammitt's were over and we all thoroughly enjoyed the show. Dominique dug out her Halloween costume from when she was 8 years old...


Good times. Also good stuff this week... season premier of LOST! We've only waited about a year for that to start. We had to wait an extra day to watch due to the cruise we were on - but I can't complain about that. It was a fun week for sure... more fun than what Bill Belichick will be having this week. We also signed some CD covers today. It's about that time. The record will be out on the 12th and we have a lot of things going on this week to get ready. Tomorrow starts at 7 am with a needle to my spine. Yeah - maybe I'll get some pics of that procedure for ya;)