this is the website i used to play around with until i got lazy and turned to myspace.
i really will have a new golden gram record out. it is mostly done. i just gotta get some help from a few friends before it is RFTW.
so yeah. i guess look at myspace.
i still haven't done facebook. holding out as long as possible.
remember friendster?
love you.

He was a graduate of Auburn University, as well as Oklahoma University and the University of Nebraska. He retired as a Colonel from the Air Force Reserves after serving around the world as a meteorologist. He also retired from Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas where he lived with his wife and children for 26 years. He was married to Linda for over 35 years. His son, Graham, is a musician based in Oakland, California. His daughter, Camille, is a pastor in Little Rock Arkansas, where she lives with her husband, Jonathan Powell. Archie was very proud that his children have chosen to use their creative gifts to bring joy to others. He is also survived by his sister, Sally Holland, and brother, Malcom LeBron, and countless faithful friends and family.

Archie's call in life was simply to be helpful to others. He lived a dedicated and active life of faithful service to his church and community, and to friends and strangers. He was a proud Presbyterian Elder and his favorite hour of the week was teaching his Sunday school class. His last months were filled with messages of love from all over the country, reminding him of how important he had been in so many lives in so many quiet ways.

In honor of his life, and his love for the Alabama outdoors and the Presbyterian Church, the Canoe Launch at the new Living River Presbyterian Camp & Conference Center will be built in Archie's name. Donations may be sent to:
First Presbyterian Church
100 South Norton
Sylacauga, AL 35150

bright colors indicating their gender, they swooped back and forth on the ridge overlooking the lake below that had reflected the full moon the night before, bidding the stranger to take rest in its tranquility.
their mating calls were sharp and pleasing to the ear.
he could not remember a better way to greet a new morning.
"this is beautiful" he spoke to no one and thought to himself.
how much farther would this journey take him? would he find what hoped to?
today there was no way to know.

he watched as the avian pairs continued their arial foreplay, unaware that their pulsing, careening rhythms were a dance worthy of any creatures observance. enough to warm a cold heart and perhaps even long dormant loins.
such were the mating rituals of these feathery beasts previously unknown to him.
mesmerized, he recalled he hadn't seen anything like it in all his wandering.

he leaned forward over the bluff to watch another pair in the chase of love.
the male dove sharply into the cool lake below, disappearing for a moment before bursting into the air again to the visible delight of his partner. she twirled higher in the air and called out to him.
"must all males show off?" he spoke to the birds this time, "i suppose it is natures way. it has been so long i don't think i would even remember how."
though he knew he had it in him if the time ever came again.
for now, he was content to be a lone traveler. his mind had become clearer the longer he had been gone. he felt his sense of self growing, filling him with the acceptance he had denied himself for so long.
he noticed the wind, and how the birds were using it to their advantage.
he stood up and walked naked to the edge overlooking the water.
as he gazed mindfully over the immaculate purity before him, another gust shot up from the lake. he felt natures strength against his limbs.
was it true? didn't it feel like he might be able to catch upon this wind and rise?
maybe.
his mind had calmed itself enough to feel the vibrations of the earth and the secret curvature of the winds.

stepping back from the edge of the bluff, he held his arms aloft and felt the energy rushing all around. the water was not that far below, and surely it would be deep enough.
a few more steps back and another gust.
he jumped straight into the air and caught it.
it lurched him forward like a bull from the gate as
he balanced himself on it like a wave as it carried him.

strange all these years he had never realized.
sailing over the ground, he quickly found another current that pulled him higher.
could it always have been this easy? to understand the winds enough to grab hold and move with them instead of against? better not to over think it just now.

leaning forward, he glided horizontally past the bluff, out and over the cool water.
he chased the sun's reflection over the glassy surface of the lake.
it was so calm. how could this wind holding him aloft not be causing ripples?
his questions ceased as he realized again what he had acheived.
keeping his mind clear, he raced over the water, feeling the air against his nudity.
could he have done it with his clothes on?
again he pushed questioning out and gave himself to the moment.
soaring over the ocean, catching another rush of air, he shot straight up, admiring the bluff where he had just been.
a much nicer view these birds have.
settling into a breeze, he began to fly low over the lake.
he dropped lower and lower until he felt himself skimming the surface.
he began to swell, deeper into the water, slowing his momentum slightly.
blood rushing, that old feeling returning to him, literally washed away by something new. continuing his trajectory, ecstatic with discovery, he centered himself as he rushed across the lake, arms spread wide as the smile on his face.
the tumescent joy he had not felt in so long was returning.

the waves of pleasure pushed thought further from his brain. intensity gripped him, every nerve pulsing with the same sensation.
how long he skimmed that lake with his manhood he would never know, it was insignificant.
in a rush of elation, he released himself from the cool water's grip and shot high into the air, a new being. dawn still fading in his ears.

when he awoke, the alarm was screaming at him. he felt that familiar sensation below and remembered the moments before. he smiled to himself and sighed.
he would need to change the sheets soon.

it's fine.
if it didn't hurt sometimes, you wouldn't appreciate the joy.

i like to be dramatic every now and then.
it might be necessary for me.

shows are good.
there is lots of joy in my life.
sometimes it is hard to see it.

love,

gg

"you can't reason with your heart,
it has it's own laws,
and thumps about things which the intellect scorns."
- mark twain

that's a lie.
i know what i would do.
i would do it.

tonite, after the show, i drive to rockford to see mom and dad for a few hours before i head on to nashville.
life is crazy sometimes.
it is important to be mindful of the good things. slow down for a minute.

i've started road yoga again, gotta keep it up now.

oh yeah, the other bands.
king of france is kick ass piano guitar rock and they are very funny on stage.
plus great dudes.
nada surf is a sick power trio with deservedly adoring fans.
they rule. and they couldn't be sweeter.
and we all get along and laugh and quote movies and songs and blah blah blah.
you know, all the usual cool bands getting to know each other stuff.

love,

g

i have been up since this morning in amsterdam.
getting near 24 hours maybe?
ah. whatever.
i am crazy from no sleep and so far to go still.
it is OK.
europe was cool.
we just played our first show with nada surf in baltimore. sold out. neat.

love,

gg

amsterdam is always fun to hang out with my friend, joris.
rocking.
maybe the show is sold out i might have heard.

graag = very much
gaaf = cool

tomorrow we play in baltimore. what a day it is going to be.

love,

gg

but,

i must confess. i am sad. sadder than i can ever remember being. even though such great things are happening for the band right now, my personal life is heavier than ever.
in the week before christmas, i found out my dad has pancreatic cancer.
and i became single again.
i am so confused and scared and angry and sad and all of it.
i don't even know how to sort it all out now.
being on tour, i am distracted, but in the quiet moments, like now, it hits me like a jackhammer.
my heart aches.
it is 1:30 am.
i sit in the lobby of a hostel in berlin watching people watch the super bowl.
life is hard.
my mother said in an email that all of this is too much for a young heart to bear,
but i think that there is nothing the heart can't bear.
you deal with what you have to.
and that is what i'll do.

i love my father.

gg

tonite we play @ prime club.
only a few more shows and then back to the warm states.

lovely,

gg

it is sad because we'd love to bring them to the states, but we all know that the american kids would never embrace a band that didn't speak in their native tongue.
i love their songs so much, but i have to admit i wish i knew what they were singing about.

i am curious to see how the rest of the deutschland shows will be on our own.
definitely a different deal.

it is definitely not as hard to eat healthy when there are big spreads of food at every venue. it IS hard not to eat too much bread and cheese.
the fruit abounds, though we are definitely spoiled living in northern california.
but i ate that orange this morning anyway.

kleine gummi translates as small rubber.
which is almost as funny as gross schwanz, kleine unterhosen
which means big penis, small underwear.
we are doing our best to learn deutsch.

we had a crazy night in leipzig, the first night of the tour with tomte.
after driving 8 hours from antwerp,
the van died 8 kilometers away from the venue.
tomte's crew came and jumped us, but it wouldn't start after the show either.
we rocked the show and it got late.
we were calling the guy in amsterdam we rented the van from and didn't hear anything for a while.
finally, he gives us the number of mercedes benz 24 hour support.
we call, and we order a taxi to take some of us to the hotel.
the taxi never comes.
the mercedes guy does. at 3 am.
he jumps us and we follow him to the dealership. freezing becuz the alternator is dead. no lights, no signals, no heat for a 20 minute drive to the outskirts of leipzig.
he does the repair, but not before letting us know that we can only pay cash.
luckily we have a good bit from the shows we have been playing.
so, we sit around this dealership for an hour and a half while he replaces the alternator and battery.
there was this big security guard who didn't speak english, so we practiced more german trying to make conversation. luckily pat has a high school grasp of the language.
he saved us with the repair guy too, cuz he barely spoke any english either.

americans are so spoiled. it's ridiculous. i am constantly meeting people who speak at least two languages, and many that speak 4.
stupid americans.
we are pretty embarassed to say we are from the states.
oh well.
better to be embassadors, right?
maybe we can change some minds.

i cannot wait to get back to our spacious, warm van on the 8th.
imagine the luxury of having your own bench seat to sleep on.

love,

gram

we are in antwerp, belgium and i love it.
i love belgium.
it is slightly intimidating though becuz everyone is so beautiful. and competent. and polite.
and reserved too. we are definitely the loudest folks here.
imagine that.
we are playing the de nachten festival at this beautiful conservatory called desingel. the belgians know how to do it up right. they support their art. this place is an engineering masterpiece.
some of the ladies are too.

anyway, we are opening for stuart staples from tindersticks. that was a nice surprise for zach and i who are fans.
they put us up in the hotel across the street and the backstage accomodations are top notch.
only hope the rest of the tour goes as well.
last nite we sold out that dive of a club, barfly in london.
and we got our van. which has significantly less room than the sprinter we had last time we were in europe.
in fact, if anyone wants to lie down, they have to ride in the back with the gear. which evan and i did this morning. cold and dark.
we'll have to work on that.

thanks to my friends for all the support.
i am sad to be away from my family right now, but we all agree i am doing the right thing.

love,

gg

tour dates here:
http://www.myspace.com/roguewave

and me too:
http://www.myspace.com/goldengram

love,

gg