http://www.beaubristow.com/ Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:35:00 CST Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:35:00 CST http://www.osmek.com/ Beau Bristow - Blog Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:35:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ Back in the states and recovering from the past few days. I have done more than a few crazy things in my life, and here is one more for the list....

Between 6:30 PM CDT (Central Daylight Time) last Monday, and 12:30 AM CDT last Friday I slept 10 hours, and only 2 of them were in a bed...10 hours of sleep in 78 hours. Within this 78 hour period I spent 35 hours in airports or planes, and 12 more driving a car...all of this while sick (cold/laryngitis).

Let me explain.

Before I left for Malaysia I bought a car (the old White Lightning just wasn't road-worthy for another year of touring). It was in Columbia, South Carolina and after putting down a deposit, I promised to come get the car after I returned to the US.

The return flight was from Malaysia to Shanghai to Atlanta to Nashville. While in Malaysia I got the bright idea to reroute from Atlanta to Columbia, SC to get my car. Since the flight into Atlanta was late arriving, we missed our connecting flight to Nashville, and I was given the opportunity I needed.

After 4 hours running around the Atlanta airport, I finally worked it out where I could get a partial refund for my Nashville flight and rent a car to go to Columbia. (I couldn't afford the extra $ to reroute an actual flight to Columbia.)

I rented a car around 10:30 PM, drove part of the trip to Columbia and checked into a hotel. I got online and mapped out the course for the next day: to the bank, to the car dealer, to an independent mechanic to check out the car, back to the dealer, to the airport in Columbia to drop off the rental car, and then 8 hours back to Nashville. I went to sleep in the hotel but only got a little over two hours before I woke up. Malaysia is 13 hours ahead of Central Time and so my body clock was completely backwards. I laid in bed a couple of more hours before deciding it was useless and that I should just rise to meet the busy Thursday before me.

All went as planned and I got back into Nashville at midnight that night, took a sleeping pill to keep me from waking up at 3 AM again, and ended up sleeping until 3:30 Friday afternoon. I am still pretty sick, as expected after such a crazy trip, but it is nice to be home and it was worth it to not have to drive to Columbia this weekend. Oh, and I did "The Shack" on audiobook Thursday...might blog on that later...or not.

As for this blog, below is a little footage from Malaysia. I realized while editing it that I had been too busy in Malaysia to film anything other than when I was stuck in a car or the 2 times I did some sightseeing. Might be boring, but I threw it up anyway....gave me a chance to play with some video editing.

In the video you will see the Batu Caves (Hindu Temple) and the Petronas Towers (world's tallest buildings 1998-2004). It is a good representation of the contrast between the ancient and the modern in Malaysia. Oh, and that's David my traveling companion in the video.

Also below is a photo of my new tour bus. The guys here at the house are cooking up a name for it....feel free to leave suggestions.



]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:31:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Brief itinerary:
-Fly out early Wed 7/30
-- Thursday night - Get to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia at midnight (over 25 hours of travel)
--Friday - 2 concerts PM
--Saturday - 2 concerts (maybe 15 hours of sleep since I left Wednesday morning)
--Sunday - 1 concert and speaking engagement AM, Passion conference PM
--Monday - a little tourism AM and then a great concert PM
--Tuesday - a little tourism AM and then some music lessons and hang time PM
--Wed - fly out of Kuala Lumpur (KL) at 1:40 AM, 32 hours of travel to get home


Currently I have laryngitis. Just got it yesterday. Can't make a sound....this makes international travel REALLY entertaining.

They stopped me in customs as I was coming into China today because the lady monitoring the conveyor belt x-ray was pretty confused/freaked-out over my pedal board. They had me open it up and explain all it's 50 pounds of wires, knobs, and lights. The customs officer took a step back and looked at me incredulously as I made guitar-strumming motions and did a little tap dance. This must have been the equivalent of pleading insanity because they let me through.

This was my first time overseas, and it has been very eye opening. In fact, I am a little sheepish to admit that I have not had this experience earlier in life. It is a wonderful thing to find my own humanity reflected in individual people on the other side of the world with so many different customs, ideas, and cultural histories.

While in Malaysia, I managed to work in three morning runs. Each time I explored new routes through the tight network of streets in an almost exclusively Muslim neighborhood. (All their houses are attached like American town homes. They call them "link-houses.") From my starting and ending point I could see the dome of a Mosque just over the rooftops.

On my first run I was hesitant to make eye contact with many of the people I passed, and though almost no one ventured to make eye contact with me, I could definitely feel their glances as I passed. We all knew that I was the anomaly in the neighborhood.

On my second run I began to wave and make eye contact more often and almost always found a reciprocal response. In the few cases where there wasn't a quick return for my gesture, I could almost always see that it was not hostility, but being caught off-guard that was the culprit.

On my third run I ventured to run by a local elementary school just as students were arriving. Most walked, some were on motorcycles with a parent, and a few where in cars. As I circled the block that the school was on, I passed very close to 4 boys that could not have been more than 7 years old. When I got close they looked up at me with exuberant smiles and waved enthusiastically. I'll carry that image with me for a long time.

I am not so naive as to say that Islam is peaceful, and I am not willing to even discuss it here in this entry. What I will say is that I understand now more than ever that all people regardless of dress, skin, or creed are still people. This includes their brokenness and all the realities of the Fall, but it also includes love, creativity, a desire for connection with others, and all of the wonderful complexities to be found behind a smile.

Though the differences are real, and though they are in some cases very great, they do not erase the similarities. We are all truly reflections of the same image.

(My friend Wilson just sent me a couple of photos from Malaysia. You can see them in the "From You Guys!" album at www.beaubristow.com/photos.)




]]> Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:29:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I hope to post a video blog in the next couple of days.

Will be playing a show tonight and helping with worship the next couple of days.

I really wish I had more time to discuss the culture here....look for it in the next blog...

Oh....and I just found out when I got here that the guy I am staying with was a student minister 20 minutes from my home growing up...one of my best friends was in his youth group....crazy small world!]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:05:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just posted my new Bio. Go to www.beaubristow.com/bio.

Special thanks to Kami Rice for doing such an awesome job! Check her out at www.kamirice.com.
]]> Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:19:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ ______________________________________________________________________________________________
...Now, that being said, the next logical question is:
"How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"

The only answer I know to give is Christ. I am not ashamed of Christ, but I do feel a bit sheepish giving this answer because it is so cliché and so often misapplied, so let me unpack what I am saying here.

The essence of the gospel (and therefore Christianity) is that Christ, being God in a bodily form, truly lived a life of
perfection, suffered, bore our sin, died on a cross, and rose again in order to clear us of our true moral guilt before God and so to redeem and restore us to what we were originally created to be, eventually even glorifying us beyond this.

Therefore God is molding us who trust in Christ, mostly in ways mysterious to us, to be what we should have been all along. This is often called "redemption" or "sanctification," and is not just cloud talk. There truly is substantial change in the life of those who trust Christ. (Though this will not be completed until the return of Christ - Phil 1:6).

This has implications in all areas, but what it means for human relationships is that if they are Christ-centered then they will become more and more redeemed, though never perfect in this life.

Specifically, this means that at the very least they will be:

#1 More fulfilling.

#2 More committed.


Additionally, those who understand the reality and implications of the fall will be less easily deceived into thinking that some person will fulfill them completely. They will be able to more soberly look at the challenges and inadequacies in their relationship and work through them instead of trying to find a relationship that is perfect.


Now, let me engage a few challenges or questions that I foresee (if not when you read this, then later in life).


1. No relationship on this earth will ever be perfect. No person will ever fully satisfy you. Everyone will at some point let you down. So how do we live with this? Once again, this is where Christ is again central.

He is the ultimate expression of grace from one to another, and this sets the example (and even the standard) for those who trust him. Every relationship, if it is to last for any length of time, will require each person to extend grace to the other, and it is very difficult (I dare say impossible) to find a basis for this grace apart from Christ. In the best relationships I have witnessed, both parties are giving and receiving a lot of grace with Christ as the basis for this.


2. It is the truth that there are a lot of people who believe nothing of Christ, but have good and loving relationships. Additionally, the divorce rate among professing Christians is not much different than those who do not profess to be Christian. I am too sleepy to address it in length here, but what I will say is that there are also non-Christians who are healthier than Christians, more attractive than Christians, more intelligent than Christians, more affluent than Christians, etc.

The Fall effects everyone to varying degrees and in various ways, and further more Mt. 5:45 makes it clear that it is fully in line with the God of the Bible to bless even those who do not trust Christ (this what theologians call "common grace.")
As for divorce rates: 1) Those who are truly Christians still truly screw up. 2) How many of those who profess to be Christians are truly Christ centered?

3. What I am saying here is no pious mush about "letting Christ fulfill your every desire." I am a man. I desire a woman. Christ was a man. You quickly see how this will not work. The desire for the unity we seek in a man-woman relationship is a unique desire that can only be met in that context. Additionally, this desire is truly a good desire as it was God's gift and intention from the beginning.

Christ can bring this desire to its highest possible fulfillment in this life. He can also sustain us when this desire is not met at all. Additionally He can lessen this desire to such a degree that one can be substantially free of it (which some call the gift of singleness). What He will not do is fill this desire Himself.

You don't go gnawing on Jesus when you get hungry and then expect to be full. You go find some food (not grass, not trash, but real nourishing food) then thank Him for it and ask His blessing on it before you eat it. This is what I am aiming for in my next relationship. (Like I said, 27 year-old single male...after that last analogy, you know why.)

beau

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a series of blogs where I answer your questions. At the end of each blog in this series there is a shout box where you can leave a question (don't leave it in the comment box). Feel free to ask anything about me, about my thoughts on a topic or event, about my music, my business or creative practices....basically whatever you want to know!



(Note: you may also email questions to QandA@beaubristow.com)




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]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:10:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Beau,
I just have this burning question because I'm tired of seeing my friends hurt...Why do people cheat on their significant others?



I've just spent the night with one of my best friends, trying to give her answers because she has just gone through this. We both just sat on my floor trying to wrap our fingers around this question and since I've been through the same, I thought I may have something to offer her, but I really don't. She has finally felt well enough to try and sleep and I'm just sitting here trying not to cry (sooo not working) because I'm supposed to be the strong one for her and all it's doing is bringing up horrible memories.


I know nobody has the answer to this...and I'm really not looking for one I guess, well I would love an answer actually, haha...(edit)... I am truly at a loss with this one. We're just at the point where we are losing faith in relationships and I'm trying so hard to help her, but I can't think of any justification for it and I'm incredibly sick over it. I just don't get it.


I'm sorry...(edit)...for some reason I thought of e-mailing you about it.



-Sarah



_______________________________________________________________________________________

Hey Sarah,


I apologize for my slow response.

I have been out of town all weekend and just read this a moment ago.

Why do people cheat on their significant others?

Before I even try to say anything about this, let me first say that I am sorry. I am sorry for your friend's hurt, for your hurt, and for the reality that life hurts; and this is one of the moments when it does so the most.

I know that ache, that loss. It is a deep loss indeed. It is the loss of the beloved, the loss of one's own footing and sense of personal value, and it is the loss of hope that we might love and be loved as we so deeply desire.

I've been there, and I hope I am never there again.

As for your question, I'll tell you why I think people cheat, but this immediately demands a follow up question: "How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"


(This should be good since it comes from a single 27 year old male....feel free to disregard anything I say).


Now, why do people cheat?

1. Because they want something more than the relationship is giving them. They are not fulfilled in the relationship and they find someone else who they think will bring this fulfillment.

2. Because their commitment to the relationship is not strong enough to keep them from betraying that commitment.

Now that I've said this, I must say that I know this really doesn't dig deep enough to be the answer you or I am looking for.
You are thinking: "Yes, I know all this business of #1 and #2, but why is it this way?!"


"Why is the love I desire to give and receive so elusive? Why no commitment? Why no fulfillment? Why are we not able to reach out and grasp this thing that lives in our hearts, in our stories, and in our dreams, but never enters our REALITY?!"

The reason we can imagine these good things is that we were created for them and they were once real, and the reason they are no longer so is revealed in Genesis 3:15. Our whole situation can only be understood when we really understand the implications of Gen 3 and the Fall of Man.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman." Gen 3:15

In Gen 2 they (Man and Woman) were "one." But now, from Gen 3 to the present, they are in a real sense broken. There is now a distance that was not there before. And this is not just between man and woman. It is between Man and God, Man and Man, Man and the created world, and Man and himself. All relationships are broken. How many times have we heard (and made) the cry for unity, or just wanted to be in some sense "one?" Yet we never fully find this unity, at least not as we feel in the depths of our being that it should be.

So first of all, all of our relationships are broken. This means that they always fall short of being perfectly fulfilling.


Secondly, since The Fall we have inherited an inclination towards that which is wrong, a sinful nature. This is why commitment is so quickly broken.


Put these two together and this is why people cheat: Lack of fulfillment, and lack of commitment, all given birth in Genesis 3.

Now, that being said, the next logical question is:
"How can I have a relationship where there is trust that is not broken by such a betrayal?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(Since my response is so long, I am cutting it off here and will post the rest of my emailed response in a few days. Like I said, it should be interesting coming from a 27 year-old single male...)







]]> Sun, 25 May 2008 08:23:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:30:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just uploaded a few new photos from a show last week at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

They were sent to me by Mary Nail, who was at the show and was very kind to email them to me.

In case you didn't know, you can send me any photos you may have of me (at a show or not) and I will post it on my photos page (if it's appropriate....and if it's not appropriate be sure to include the story of how in the world I ended up in such a photo because that will be news to me...)

Send the photos to photos@beaubristow.com!

Later!

beau


]]> Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:23:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Beau!
Just wanted to let you know that our apartment has gone through a few breakups this week and today we blasted your music, and there were no tears! haha. Just some ridiculous dancing and terrible singing :-) So Bristow is great during breakups...pizza and cookies too, with the occassional teddybear of course.
...Oh yeah...my roommate and I also played your tunes while we scrubbed our toilet and sinks today and it worked just as well :-) haha.
Hope all is well!
-(name withheld for this post)



This makes me wonder....when do you listen to my music? I really want to know. What song for what situation. How it makes you feel. Stories are great here too. Just let me know!

(And who's gonna be the boldest and leave the first comment...)


NOTE: In the "YOU TELL ME" series of blogs, I want hear from you. Whether it is your thought or your story, let it be known. Please post your thoughts in a comment box below or email them to beau@beaubristow.com.
]]> Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:58:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
At the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) convention a few weeks ago I held a drawing/giveaway for school representatives. The prize was a $200 Best Buy gift card for the winning representative and a free show for his/her school.

The drawing was held the final night of the convention, and as of yesterday the winning ticket holder had not come forward. So I took it upon myself to do a drawing of the ticket numbers that had been emailed to me and give the winner the gift card.

And so.......the winner of the gift card is.......Paul Wray from Maryville University with ticket number 6362328!

If you never sent me your ticket number, you can still send it in because I am still doing the free show if the original winner turns up! Send it to beau@beaubristow.com.


Congrats to Paul!

And it was nice to meet all of you at NACA!

Beau
]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:42:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I'll have more news soon!]]> Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:41:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/


(Note: you may also email questions to QandA@beaubristow.com)




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]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:18:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Happy Valentines Day!


]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:34:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Yesterday I had the day off and was between a show in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire so I took my friend Kelli Myer (in New Jersey) up on her offer to show me around New York City the next time I had the chance. Kelli is the one responsible for all of these great photos. Thanks Kelli!

I met up with Kelli after she got out of class around noon and we took a train into the city and started off with lunch in the "Little Italy" district.

We snapped this shot on the walk from the subway to where we ate. The "Beau Label Corp" must be awesome...though I'm still not really sure what it is they do.




After lunch and another ride on the subway, we walked through central park and then down 5th Avenue.

And that's when I saw it.....the Apple Store.....




We only had a few minutes in Heaven before they made us leave...I'm still not sure why...

Oh and by the way, those Macbook Air's are really portable.



As we exited the Apple store we found ourselves outside of FAO Schwartz.

I had a brief encounter with a Lego Darth Vader....






And then I lived a bit of a childhood dream....this is ridiculous....




Tonight I am into New Hampshire and tomorrow it is Boston (humming "More Than a Feeling").

Hope you guys are liking the new tunes!

Beau
]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:33:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Also, I have been on tour for the last 8 days. Seven shows in 8 days! It's been pretty exhausting honestly and I am glad I had the day off today to catch my breath. You can see some of the photos from the shows on my Facebook page.

Funniest moment: Me putting chapstick on my nipple in the men's locker room at the YMCA and looking up to a funny and confused expression from an older gentlemen just entering the room. Hey, it was cold and chapstick was all I could think of at the moment.

I have more shows in the upcoming days so I hope to see some of you soon.

Be on the lookout this coming week for the new Beau Bristow website....I'll blog about it and let you know.

Have a great weekend!


beau]]> Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:20:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ (www.myspace.com/michaeldavisband) for his idea which led to the album title "Standing. Still."

I will post a couple of tracks later this week and will blog an update on how you can get the album.

Now, the reason I have been out of touch for a few weeks is that I have been remodeling my house! This was a major project: four solid weeks! I hired my roommate Dave to help me the first week but had to finish it on my own. One night I began laying hardwood flooring at 6:00 PM and didn't stop until 1:00 PM the next day....19 hours straight.

I stripped out the old paneling, put up drywall, added lighting, installed new windows, put in hardwood floors, and did some pretty extensive trim and painting. I remodeled 3 rooms and have photos here of 2 of them.

This is the dining room before:



This is after I stripped the paneling and leveled the concrete floor:



This is after I put up and finished the drywall:



This is the finished dining room (minus a chandelier that I put up a few days after the photo):



This is a shot of the corner of the living room that meets the dining room before I started:



This is a shot of the same area when I finished:




This is a shot after we put in some furniture:





That being said, I am out on the road again! I am writing this from Anderson, IN. I will be in OH all of this coming week.

Be sure to watch out for tracks from the new album here on myspace later this week!]]> Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:24:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Here are a couple of shots taken by Steve from Kohl Photography. Check out Steve's site at www.kohlphoto.com. Great shots Steve!






















As for the album, Brian Roland, former roommate and current friend, played a sweet horn part yesterday (there's also a shot of me doing a bit of arranging for a part that we ended up scrapping). It was our final overdub! Now Stephen is mixing like crazy because we are scheduled for mastering a week from today! Then it is off to be pressed and will be released in January....

Adios!











]]> Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:26:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
We are mastering the album Tuesday and I need to have the ALBUM TITLE finalized. I have been wrestling with this and here is what I have thought of and why. My final options are below (in no particular order). Please tell me which one(s) you like and why you like them!



THE SONGS YOU SING
-From the last 2 lines of "Stand" which will close out the album.

"Let yourself go in the songs you sing;
Let 'em move you to love, or stop you to think."



BREATH OUT LOUD
-From the chorus of "Stand." I like this one because it implies action and intentionality; a unique phrase that taps into the meaning of the song it came from.



STAND
-Is the title of the closing and deepest track of the album. Because of the song it titles, this word has a lot of weight and multiple existential implications. Still it is simply the title of a track and might be a cliche or trite album title.



STILL STANDING
-This is not in the album anywhere, but it has a richness of meaning for me. This release marks the overcoming/enduring of a lot of questions and obstacles in the past year. This title also draws from some of the depth of the song "Stand." It reflects my conscious decision to live, to persevere, and to continue writing the story that these songs tell.



THERE WILL BE A TREE
-This is from the song "I can walk through the rain." It reflects a confidence that what is done and/or endured in this moment will in some way contribute to some good thing.

The chorus of the song says,

"I can walk through the rain, because somewhere there's a seed...."

and the bridge is,

"somewhere, there's a seed in need of streams that fall and drench us all,
and make us wish for sunny skies and streets more dry;
and someday there will be a tree,
and I'd like to think that I might need, a little bit of shade...."]]> Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:58:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

In October I played a show at a very cool new venue here in Nashville. It's on the rooftop of a building downtown and it is called "The Loft." Check out the MySpace page here!

Here are a couple of shots taken by Steve from Kohl Photography. Check out Steve's site at www.kohlphoto.com. Great shots Steve!



























As for the album, Brian Roland, former roommate and current friend, played a sweet horn part yesterday (there's also a shot of me doing a bit of arranging for a part that we ended up scrapping). It was our final overdub! Now Stephen is mixing like crazy because we are scheduled for mastering a week from today! Then it is off to be pressed and will be released in January....

Adios!










]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:13:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Earlier this week a couple of friends and I got together to do something that may haunt me the rest of my life...you've gotta see this....


I cannot tell you how much I have wrestled with the thought of posting the content of this blog. What I have come to realize is that I can deny reality, and I can to some degree ignore reality, but I cannot change the fact that it is there and that it is what it is.

This applies not only to reality as a whole, but also to the reality of who I have been and who I am. I don't owe you or anyone else the candidness of this blog. I am transparent here not by debt, but by choice. You will understand why as you read it...or maybe you won't. Either way, here it is:

(Everything below this is from the original entry written on Oct 2, 2007.)




...Now to tell you the truth, I don't trust God today. I didn't chose this. Trust, in the sense I am using it, is a feeling. You can no more fault me for this than you can fault me for not feeling energetic after a long day, or for not feeling hungry after watching a mammal eat it's own placenta after giving birth on the Discovery channel.

Or look at it this way. Do you trust Santa Clause? You say, "but he doesn't exist!" But that is irrelevant. The question is "do you trust him?" Of course your answer to this is "no," and I must now ask you "did you choose not to trust him?"

At this point be honest with yourself. Could you really be convinced to trust Santa Clause? What would it take?

Most likely at some point you did trust him. In fact at some point you may have written a letter to communicate to him your wishes, wishes you fully expected to be fulfilled in light of the knowledge that he is so good and powerful. Maybe you asked for a pony, and were quite confused when you awoke on the day you were to receive your treasure to find that you had gotten a doll house, or a GI Joe, or a pair of socks instead.

Surely after a while, without any intention to do so, you began to trust Santa Clause less and less until you concluded that he no longer existed and in fact never did. You never willfully decided to stop trusting him, just like you never decided to feel sick at the thought of chewing a placenta. You just did.

Now would it make any difference to you if I told you that Santa really did have a pony for you but that is was still at the North Pole and that one day he would fly you up there to retrieve it? Probably not. At this point we both know that there is essentially no way for you to regain trust in Santa, even were you to will that you should.

The allegory should be pretty obvious.

Now I am not accusing God of anything here. I have been accusing Him for the past 24 hours and have decided I have said enough as far as that goes.

What I am saying is that I didn't choose to be a people pleaser, I didn't choose to be a perfectionist, and it wasn't my choice to not trust God today. I never thought these things through and I never chose them to be the state of affairs on October 2, 2007.

What I am choosing to do is fight like a fucking madman to change all of this. I'm pretty sure it will ruin my rapport with some and I can already think of several that I will no doubt let down, people who have held me in high esteem and have been encouraged by a perception of me that will surely be shattered as they read this. Do not mistake my boldness for nonchalance. I am very sober when I say that it deeply grieves me even now.

But what can I do? Two options lay before me.

I can continue this life of impotence, a slave to the thoughts and opinions of others, a slave to the fear of all that is less than perfect, and a life in constant denial of that grotesque depravity which is truly me. This is surely a path that can bring no good.

Or I can be honest with others, with God, and with myself.

I've lived the former to no avail.
Do I dare the latter?
Oh, what the hell.



About the author:

Beau Bristow is either a Nihilist or a Christian depending on how long it has been since his last meal and how much sleep he has recently gotten.

When a Christian he resides in a universe that is the real product of the mind of a sovereign and personal God who has revealed himself extensively to a race of people known as "Jews" and through which He has further made Himself known to the rest of humanity, specifically through that one Jew by the name of Yeshua.

When a Nihilist Beau resides in Misery, which has yet to be mapped, but is really close to Everywhere, and not far from Anyone.]]> Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:36:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/







The Monday after Thanksgiving we tracked keys at Matt's studio. Here are a few shots of Matt and his set-up. Matt can really work a Rhodes and a B-3 and it is really cool to get this far in the recording.








The songs are really taking shape and it is awesome to have the ideas and abilities of others blended into the sweet dish we are cooking up (sorry, still have food on the brain after Thanksgiving).

Later!

beau]]> Sun, 25 Nov 2007 01:08:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Last winter I resumed teaching lessons part time in order to invest all of my touring income back into the music.

This semester I have had a wealth of students and experiences. Here is the first of them....

Let me introduce you to a 3rd grade boy that I will call "Student S." (Not to be confused with Student X from way earlier blogs....if you haven't read them, you owe it to yourself to check them out.)

Student S owns an electric guitar that is full size....needless to say it is too large for him and he is constantly wrestling with it as if at any moment his struggle might actually burst though to victory and will find him larger or his guitar smaller. He puckers his lips, grimaces, and snorts as he shifts the guitar further to the left, then the right, lifting it to keep it from sliding off his lap, and then immediately pushing it back down to get his arm over the top. It is the plight of Sisyphus, and thus the name Student S.

S's guitar is broken. It apparently happened shortly after he got it. The connection where the guitar would normally be plugged into an amplifier is broken and pushed back into the guitar. This is not uncommon, but I still can't elude the sense that this case is the result of an intentional act...an annoyed parent or older sister....it's just a thought, but I honestly wonder....

S is all-boy. On his first lesson he came in late with red cheeks, grass stains on his Catholic school uniform, and breathing like Seabiscuit with emphysema. He explained that he had been playing football since school let out. He was practically dragging his guitar behind him (which might explain the broken guitar...but I am not convinced). He had obviously spilled something on his navy blue pants that day in school, and his grey polo shirt was partially un-tucked, damp with sweat, unbuttoned, and stretched loose around his neck.

In the first couple of weeks I taught him a simplified version of "Smoke on the Water" which he has played for me first thing in every lesson since then. He plays with his head turned towards the left, tilted slightly down, his mouth half open, and strums like he is recklessly fighting to flick a bug from the top of his guitar. Every 8 - 10 notes he stops to readjust his guitar before it slides into the floor.

This is entertaining enough in itself, but as fortune would have it, Halloween fell on a lesson day. He came bouncing proudly into lessons that day wearing the kind of renegade smile that finds its way to one's face when they are desperately fighting to wear anything but a smile, the kind of smile that leaks when someone desperately desires and expects to be recognized for something but doesn't want to broadcast such feelings.

In this case the smile was doubly betraying (and even more inevitable) for it revealed an oversized set of plastic fangs that S had clearly been showing off all day to every teacher, student, and unsuspecting nun at the school he attends. I couldn't help but meet his smile with my own. I allowed S to keep the fangs in his mouth as he fumbled to get his guitar on his lap and begin playing the Batman theme which he had learned the previous week.

Within seconds I was beyond a smile and was now fighting laughter and on the verge of loosing it all together. I was spared from being seen only by the fact that he always looks to his left while playing and therefore couldn't see my struggle just to stay in my chair.

My struggle was mild compared to his. If he wasn't shifting his guitar, he was reaching up to press the oversized fangs back into his mouth, and if he wasn't snorting through his blushing nose, he was sucking in the spit that kept pooling in his mouth with no hope for being swallowed because he couldn't even begin to close his mouth over the fangs. The fact that he was looking slightly down made this even worse and he kept looking up so as not to pour drool over his constantly escaping guitar.

Despite all of this he managed to perform a most musical arrangement of Batman complete with rhythmic snorts and slurps and enough guitar and head motion to imply a quite elaborate choreography.

He finally gave up and took the fangs out for the rest of the lesson, laying them in a puddle of saliva on my desk. I settled back to a simple smiled....and then thanked God for other people's children.

Next time I will tell you about how he invented "Halo Kitty" and might even introduce you to student C.

Until then...

Beau]]> Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:49:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
This is why I am captivated by honesty. It is why I am passionately disinterested in the scripted speeches of politicians and "interviews" with the kings and queens of pop culture.

If my single goal was to sell you music, to sell you myself, to profit by presenting an image of myself to you that is so detached from reality that you can't figure out a better response than to worship it, then I might never give you what I am about to give you.

The fact that I am posting what I am posting should speak for itself in regards to my intentions.

The following is a rant that I wrote a few weeks ago in a very emotional state. I deliberated whether or not to post it, but decided that for the sake of honesty I should show you this side of me. Today I am only giving you the first part because it is somewhat lengthy:




"WHAT THE HELL"


I've been rolling a lot of thoughts over in my head for the past few hours/years, and in the past few minutes the context for these thoughts has been as if I was writing them in a blog. So I figured, "What the hell, I'll write some of them down." I might not ever post it. If I did, it could really hurt what people think of me.

I should also note before I continue that I live my life with this curse of feeling that I always have to please others. This is the surest path to misery. I know. I have walked this path and I arrived at Misery about 7 years ago. Most people who don't walk this path are still a few years away from Misery at my age.

But maybe I shouldn't complain. Maybe this is really an opportunity. Surely I now have some experience of Misery with which to minister to those who are just now arriving here; or maybe I can give alternate, longer, more scenic directions to those who would inevitably be here tomorrow if they continue their current route. Surely such ministry would be a good way to please someone. But I digress.

Currently I am sitting at my computer, naked. I think I think more clearly this way, but I'm not sure because I don't think clearly enough to judge how I think when I'm not thinking clearly.

I just got back from a run, which came immediately after paying over $400 for car repair, which came immediately after 2 cups of coffee while I was having car repair done, which came immediately after a short-changed night of sleep, which came immediately after discovering that I am still in love with someone I broke up with 8 months ago (and 3 more times since then, though we never got back together...don't even try to figure that one out).

This lingering love has kept me from being able to move forward in any relationship since then. What this essentially means is that two times since the breakup last February I have begun a relationship with a great girl only to find that I am completely incapable of giving my heart to the relationship because my heart is still somewhere else.

It happens pretty predictably: 3 dates, a lot of shared self on both sides, my realization of where my heart really is, a confession to her of where my heart is, pain on her side for investing in something that never had a chance, pain and guilt on my side for being the source of her pain, and honest confusion on my part as to where the knee-deep shit I am standing in came from.

Now the logical question at this point is, "Beau, if you love this girl so much, why are you dating other girls?!!"

At this point I should probably fill you in on another bit of information about myself. I am a perfectionist. I want and expect everything to be perfect. I want everything to work properly, to run smoothly, to be morally and metaphysically right (whatever that is), and to please everybody perfectly.

This causes untold anxiety and ridiculous amounts of deliberation in even petty decision-making. I am often frozen in thought, stranded in fear between two alternatives, certain that the wrong choice will leave me short of perfection and therefore miserable but uncertain as to which choice is right.

The whole process makes me miserable. In fact, come to think of it, I arrived at Misery earlier than I thought. It may have really been 10 years ago. But that's a further testament to the importance of thoroughly deliberated decision-making. If I had thought about it more I might have realized that choosing to think so much would make me miserable, and I could have avoided the whole thing altogether.

That being said, the reason I am not in that other relationship is that I wasn't certain it was the right (or perfect) choice. If it wasn't right then it must not be pleasing to God, and if it wasn't pleasing to God then it couldn't be right. So I began to question the relationship. The more I questioned the relationship the more strained it became, and the more strained it became the more I questioned it. Eventually we were both miserable and decided that we should just break things off. We had come to an impasse, and the only way to get around it was to not go any further.

So I traded the misery of questioning if I should be in that relationship for the misery of questioning if I should have stayed in that relationship. I promptly realized the real truth of the saying "misery loves company" and so I began to wish I was back in that relationship, but I couldn't be sure this wouldn't just make me more miserable, and so I decided to look for a new relationship that might make me less miserable, or at least a little more certain that it wouldn't get more miserable.

Now to tell you the truth, I don't trust God today....


(I'm stopping here and will post the rest in a few days)]]> Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:21:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Last Monday and Tuesday we tracked Bass and Drums (yes, they warrant capitalization...they were that good).

Here's a few shots of Ben (Drums) and James (Bass).










We tracked Bass and Drums at Ben's studio and then spent Thursday through Saturday at Stephen's studio tracking acoustic guitar (you can see Stephen in the last photo with James above).

Here's a couple of shots Stephen took Saturday night before we finished up.







Monday we will be tracking electric guitars and then taking a break for thanksgiving. I'll fill you in more the week after thanksgiving. I'll also fill you in on Stephen, who is producing the album and just happens to be my neighbor.

If you are interested in hearing the songs we will be doing on the album, you can go to www.beaubristow.com to hear scratch guitar and vocal tracks.

Later.

beau]]> Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:28:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
The first was thrown together by my friend Kevin Sparkman for a show that I played last month at a new venue here in Nashville called The Loft. Kevin manages this venue, which is located on a 5th floor rooftop in downtown Nashville....it's awesome!

The video is just a bunch of clips he got from me and from a couple of videos online...it's pretty funny and got a good laugh from the crowd that night.





The other video is the only recorded version of my song "Crazy." It was recorded last Spring for a friend of mine as part of his Senior thesis. It was during the time in my life when I wasn't sure I would be continuing music and had just lost love in my life....which explains the disheveled appearance and facial hair....I promise to take better care of myself in the future :)

]]> Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:16:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

(It should be noted before you read this that I am only posing thoughts/concerns and am not presenting solutions. In all honestly I have not even fully presented all that is entailed in the Free Will Defense, nor have I listed all of my corresponding concerns. This being said, I welcome antagonistic comments, just don't be disappointed if I already agree with your statements.)

As mentioned in my last installment of "We Are Living it Right Now" I mentioned that I am reading and working through the problem of evil.

To review, the problem of evil is as follows:

1) God is all powerful
2) God is all knowing
3) God is good
4) Evil exists

Statements 1-4 seem to be logically incompatible, for if 1-3 are true then my first expectation would be that 4 is false. Life testifies to the truth of 4, and strongly so. Thus, it seems that at least 1, 2, or 3 must be false, for if 1 is false God just couldn't have prevented evil; if 2 is false God just couldn't have foreseen evil to avoid it or didn't know how to do so; if 3 is false then there is no reason for God to avoid evil since he is not necessarily opposed to it.


The most frequently espoused response that I have encountered to this problem is what is known as the "Free Will Defense." This defense essentially states that for God to give us true freedom of choice, there must be the possibility that we will choose to do that which is evil. For God to mettle in our decision-making in any way, even so as to avoid evil, would compromise our free will.

Today I just want to mention three critical thoughts that concern me and make me hesitant to embrace this as a theodicy (a theodicy is defined by Webster as a "defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.")

First of all I do not think the Free Will Defense is Biblical1 (and I should probably state here that it is my conviction that God has truly revealed Himself in the 66 books of the Protestant Christian Cannon2).

My second concern is that the Free Will Defense limits God's power by affirming that it is impossible for Him to create creatures with free will and guarantee that there will be no evil. Is this really "all-powerful?" (proposition 1)

My third concern is that the Free Will Defense (and various other defenses) come down to an assertion that it is better to have freedom of will than freedom from evil (including pain and suffering). God is a still a good God (proposition 3) because He created us with free will, and this outweighs the evil (proposition 4) that results from it.

Or let me pose my third concern this way:

Is it better to be "robbed" of free will or to go to Hell? The free will defender must affirm that it is the later, and this I cannot do.


(Since drafting this blog I have decided to post further thoughts on the Free Will Defense in my next blog. I would love to hear your comments on this blog so that I can keep them in mind or speak to them next time.)





Notes:
1. This is because the Free Will Defense assumes incompatibilism, which means that God's Sovereignty and free will cannot coexist. Though the terms "Sovereignty of God" and "Free Will" need more definition than I chose to give here, it will suffice to say that I believe that they can coexist and that indeed this is what Scripture teaches, a view known as compatibilism.

2. I know that many of my readers may take issue with me on this, and I only ask that if you are one of them that you suspend judgment and do not write me off until some time in the future when I am able to explain my view of Scripture more thoroughly. I trust that if you truly take interest in the content of this blog then you are intelligent enough, open-minded enough, and tolerant enough to grant me this]]> Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:17:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
We are now shipping the new Beau Bristow T-shirts!

Like I promised, those who order shirts get a free copy of "I Can Walk Through The Rain." This is the first released recording of it. I left it really raw and natural...two guitar passes and one vocal take; a bit of compression and verb...and....well....you can hear it at www.musicnuvo.com/beaubristow.

Just an update: I start preproduction for my album this coming week! I'll be keeping you posted throughout the process.

Hope you are having a great week!

beau]]> Sat, 27 Oct 2007 07:20:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all knowing
3) God is good
4) Evil exists


Statements 1-4 seem to be logically incompatible, for if 1-3 are true then my first expectation would be that 4 is false. Life testifies to the truth of 4, and strongly so. Thus, it seems that at least 1, 2, or 3 must be false, for if 1 is false God just couldn't have prevented evil; if 2 is false God just couldn't have foreseen evil to avoid it or didn't know how to do so; if 3 is false then there is no reason for God to avoid evil since he is not necessarily opposed to it.

In all honesty, it is quite simple to fix the apparent logical inconsistency presented in 1-4. One way is to simply re-define the terms. The simplest example of this is to define "good" as whatever God wills, allows, and does, and "evil" as whatever we happen to dislike. This way God can ordain what we may call "evil" but can still be good. This fixes the logical inconsistency or propositions 1-4.

Still, it does not resolve the question of whether or not this "solution" aligns to what is in fact reality, and something inside me screams that it does not. I hate evil, not because I define it as "that which I hate" but because it is something much more severe than this and therefore worthy of my hatred.

In fact, the solution proposed above renders the terms "good" and "evil" meaningless, and this is not livable. I cannot stop myself or any other human from acting as if some things are truly evil and some things are truly good.

Another way to solve the apparent logical inconsistency of propositions 1-4 is to simply remove God from the equation (propositions 1-3). You are then left only with the proposition "evil exists" which now has nothing to contradict. This has been the response of many to this issue, and the problem of evil has traditionally been held as a major support for Atheism (though more recent debate has made this not so much the case).

The problem here is that if you remove God from reality, then you have no standard for ethics or morality and once again "good" and "evil" lose their meaning. (CS Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, explains why this is so in a very concise and understandable way.) As mentioned before, this is not livable.

I go in cycles with this and other great questions of life. I wrestle with mystery until I come to the point where I realize there are some things I will never understand and I let it go. I lay it down and walk away.

However, this cannot last long. I am inescapably human, and as such I am compelled, or rather forced, to make choices as time pushes me through life. These choices have consequences based on the reality that surrounds me, and I am pressed to contemplate that reality to deeper degrees depending on the gravity and complexity of any decision. I may not question the nature of God when I am buying a cup of coffee, but I sure as hell do when those in my family die of cancer, or when I have loved and lost, or when I must choose between seeking my own peace and prosperity or sacrificing it to serve God or others.

Whatever reality is, this is part of it.




Note: This blog is the first in what will be on ongoing series titled "We Are Living It Right Now." This series will address deeper topics and issues in life in as honest a way as I know how. The title of the series comes from my song "Stand" which is a call to contemplate and live life with both eyes open and at times with both fist clenched.]]> Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:19:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just wanted to take a moment to introduce my intern to you. Jessi has been helping me with all kinds of things as I am restructuring my operations and gearing up for a new album. She is currently working on a Music Business degree at Belmont University and I am already dreading when she leaves me at the end of this semester!

All that being said, I'll let Jessi take it from here....but you can't say anything about how messy my office is Jessi!!!





Where to begin? I am from the north side of Chicago and I am a hard-core Bears fan. Don't hate! Even when they're losing I love them. I am a senior at Belmont University and I'm itching to graduate! I am torn between Chicago and Nashville; they are both amazing cities to live in. I am in love with music. I can honestly say that I cannot imagine a world without it. Music is my passion and my sanity. I love anything that makes me feel. I am really interested in artist management and artist development. My biggest career aspiration is to own and run my own small venue/bar. My goal is to have the ball rolling and in the first main stages of operating and developing by the time I am 28. Wish me luck!


I am loving my internship with the fabulous Mr. Beau Bristow. He is a talented, great man to work for and I cannot thank him enough for all of the opportunities he has given me. I am so blessed to have been able to have this experience. I can't believe it is already more than half over and I have no idea where the time has gone. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun! Thanks Beau! Goooo team!





]]> Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:21:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
You may have noticed that I haven't had many shows on my tour schedule lately. That's because I was traveling to trade shows the 2 weekends before last and will be doing so again for the next 3 weekends. It is part of my involvement with an organization called the National Association For Campus Activities (NACA). This is how I have been booking college shows.

In addition to this I am focusing on writing and preparing for my upcoming album, which I begin recording in November. I have really been missing the opportunity to perform lately so it was nice to get back out in the old tour bus (well, white station wagon) and make some music.

Last Friday I played in Louisville, KY with Brooks Ritter, an old friend, and Jamie Barnes, a new friend. There is a coffeehouse / wine bar downtown and close to the river in Louisville that you must check out if you are ever close. It's called Blue Mountain Coffee House, and was a really cool place to play. There was an aquarium built right into the bar directly in front of where I was playing...that in itself is enough to make me go back.

Also, you probably haven't heard of Brooks Ritter yet because he is a Kentucky secret right now, but I am hoping to have him on more shows with me in the future. Great guy, great voice. Sorry ladies, he just got married.

On Saturday night I played for a sorority fundraiser in Bloomington, IN. Alpha Gamma Delta of Indiana University was hosting their annual Teeter-totter-a-thon to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research. They had 2 teeter-totters set up and someone was teeter-tottering constantly from noon to midnight.

My friend Sarah set things up to have me come in with some music later in the day. It was one of my most memorable shows thus far! I was set up on the lawn in front of the sorority house with 2 construction lights for lighting. It had a very laid back, indie feel and I had a great group just hanging out on blankets right there in front of me. The night was cool but not cold and there was this really huge tree that ended up making a sweet backdrop.

I have a couple of photos so you can get a feel for things (thanks to Sarah). If you want to see me teeter-tottering then there are more photos tagged on my facebook profile.


(If any of you girls know how much money you raised, please leave it in a comment so I will know!)

Beau


















]]> Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:24:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
On the third or fourth strip of flooring for day two, I made an error I will not soon forget. I set the strip in place with my left hand instead of my foot as I had been doing previously. When I swung to hit the flooring with the mallet and make sure it was snug with the previous piece I landed a direct blow to my finger where it lay across the corner of the flooring.

The newly opened space under my fingernail was already glowing with read and blue blood when I finished wincing at the blow and opened my eyes. It throbbed with pain, but went a bit numb and stiff, and eventually I just ignored it and kept working. When I got home that night I drilled two small holes in the top of the nail with a razor blade to drain the blood and puss (wow that is grotesque).

That was Friday. As I played guitar at a church on Sunday, I could look down to see small drops of puss running out of the holes I drilled in the nail (even more grotesque).

Eventually the dead nail began to pull free from the skin that once held it and supplied it with life, to whatever degree one can say that a fingernail has life. I finally cut most of it off and here is a picture of what remains.










You can send get well cards and iTunes gift certificates to beau@beaubristow.com......]]> Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:34:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I just received a copy of the video and figured I'd share a clip with you...it's a Beau Bristow Trio version of "Sign Me Up."




Speaking of bass (with a long A), I got to go fishing a couple of weeks ago and have this lovely picture of the first bass (with a short 'a') that I have caught in ages. Used to fish a lot as a kid...not so much these days.



Now the main purpose of this blog was to give you the video clip, but I figured that I might as well throw the fish photo in as well. However the fishing photo reminds me of a story....

I used to fish a lot with my friend Matt (he'll no doubt respond to this I'm sure you can see him in the comments below). Now Matt is the most touch sensitive person I have ever met. He needs personal space of at least 3 feet in all directions. He bows up in a "fight or flight" manner even if you go to pat him on the back. I can't even imagine what he would do if someone broke the 3 feet personal space perimeter anywhere below the belt (aside from that one time when he was the first to fall asleep at a sleep-over at a friend's house and we poked blue dots all over his shorts with a pool cue and chalk....wow that sounds immature).

Anyway, one time Matt and I were fishing and I got my lure hung in a tree. If you have ever done this you know the first response it to start trying to jerk it loose with ridiculously aggressive sweeps of the fishing rod. If you have ever gotten that far you know what comes next: a chunk of wood with large sharp metal hooks zipping towards you at Mach 3.

For some reason I felt all of this was better than going to retrieve the lure or cutting the line, but Matt was not of such a mind. As soon as I started trying to yank the lure free he turned his head away and nervously yelled, "Watch it n--!" But that was as far as he got. On this one particular day Matt was sitting to my right in the boat, and I am right handed. This means that at just that moment when the lure came free it came screaming toward him like a patriot missile.

When the proverbial dust cleared and I opened my eyes again, I slowly traced the fishing line from the end of my rod, down into the boat, over into the water, back up out of the water, up Matt's leg, and all the way to the fishing lure, now dangling from where it had hooked itself in the crotch of Matt's jeans (which was well exposed from the way he was sitting). From there I abruptly lifted my eyes to catch the look of horror on Matt's face.

I really can't remember if he got mad or not. He probably said some unkind things and questioned the legitimacy of my birth. All I remember is laughing at the whole situation... I'm still laughing about it. Sorry Matt.]]> Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:38:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
As some of these projects are coming together I will be asking you for your honest input, advice, and feedback. This is the first of these instances where I need to hear from you.

Below are 2 different t-shirt designs. We want to print one of them very soon. Basically I want to know which one you like the best. The style of shirt may change, so it is the actual layout, design, and color that you should focus on.

Simply comment on this blog and tell me whether you like A or B. (You are welcome to give the reason for your choice as well.)


T-shirt A



T-shirt B




Also, now that you have seen her work, I want to give a special thanks to my excellent graphic designer Gwynne Gardner! I asked her to describe herself and here is what she said:

"I'm a designer that's not afraid to get my hands dirty - creating collages with everything from pencil shavings to bottle caps to cut up pieces of old photos, and I have a unique style of creating that always begins with a sharpie, pencil, or paintbrush in my hand. I love color. If I had to choose a favorite color it would be blue, all shades, but I like to use every hue equally.
Nashville is the 10th city I have lived in. I love to travel and by seeing the world and what God has created it has inspired me to be a creator myself. Above all my wish is to glorify God with my art and if I can do that my soul sings."

If you are in need of some sweet graphic artistry, you should definitely check with Gwynne. Go to: www.gwynnegardner.com/gwynnegardner.

Thanks!

BB]]> Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:54:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ www.myspace.com/rachelcarrozziere). We arrived around 8:30 the following morning at her parent's house, where we would spend the next few days as we played occasional shows and ate wonderful meals provided by various Carrozziere family members. (Seriously, it was amazing....I love this family.)

The first show was at Roberts Wesleyan College, followed by a chapel service, a radio show, and a coffeehouse over the next few days. We left Tuesday morning around 9:30 (EDT) for Cabrini College in Radnor, PA (shout out to Mary Kate and Ashley...not the ones from full house) for a show that afternoon around 4:30. We left there and drove all night to arrive in Nashville at 8:30 (CDT). That is 24 hours of continuous driving and shows....not as exciting as 24, but I would argue that it might be more intense (minus the explosions, guns, and terrorists).

The sad part of this whole trip was that I only took one picture the whole time. Recently I bought a digital camera so that I could give you a better picture of what my world is like....lot's of good it does when I don't use it!

On our route back to Nashville we did encounter a photo opportunity, disturbing as it may be, and since I had no other photos I felt it necessary to subject myself to the humiliation you see below....



I didn't notice it when we took the shot, but I just realized that "wendy" has a pretty broad set of shoulders and I'm pretty sure that is a man's chest...almost as disturbing as the man's face under that red hair....definitely motivation to get better pictures next time.





(Oh, and if you get a chance, click here to see Rachel in a recent commercial....the commercial was filmed by having Rachel ad lib for 30 minutes. The production company then selected the parts they wanted for the commercial. Rachel had no idea what parts they used until it was on air regionally....you can't fully appreciate the humor in this unless you see the commercial and are aware of the fact that she really has an Aunt Linda! I met her this weekend and I can't see how anyone could say anything negative about her....gosh Rachel....)]]> Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:41:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
This is a shot of me leading, with Ross on the right playing bass and you can see part of Dave playing drums behind me.





And best of all, here's a shot of all the youth there at the church....




We did try to play one game of dodge-ball with them after the service...we lasted maybe 45 seconds...]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:43:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
So my last blog listed a prank that a roommate pulled in my house....something simple and a bit funny. I was curious if you had any prank stories to share....

Well oddly enough, over the weekend I was the unfortunate victim of 2 more pranks...

First, you will notice that my profile picture is different....and certainly not me...

This was the dirty work of my roommates once again...

We were on tour together this weekend and at one point I left my laptop out where they could use it. When they opened to the log-in page of MySpace, my web browser "remembered" and "auto-filled" my password ...they logged on and uploaded the picture you see below as my profile picture....







Now this is funny but benign...

However, when we all arrived home from tour, we found that we had been pranked by the girl's ministry house (a group of girls that live together with the same goals that we have....see my last blog for more info). They had broken into our house while we were out of town. Honestly, it is more of a humiliation than an inconvenience to have a someone break into your house like this. They hid our TV remote (though not well), stole our silverware, tied our shoelaces together (in our closets), set all of our clocks an hour forward, short-sheeted our beds, and taped the spray nozzle "on" by the sink so that when I turned on the sink I got sprayed.

It is odd that this comes right after my blog about pranks, but now that you are thinking about it, I want to hear any ideas you may have about how we can get them back.

There are 5 girls, and they live in a 2-story house a half-mile from us.

Remember, the best pranks are not the ones that are cruel or inconvenient, but the ones that humiliate those being pranked....the girls are really proud of their break-in, and the best way to get them back is to show them they are not as smart as they think they are...

So there you go, you tell me....what could we or should we do?]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 01:49:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ www.fellowshipofthebink.blogspot.com).

It recently ended up in our refrigerator....and by "recently" I mean it has been there for a week. I'm not sure who's it is, but I think his initials are D-A-V-E.

Here's what I see every time I open the fridge....



A closer look.....




Yeah, it's fake, but amazingly realistic.


So I am wondering, what stories do you have of friends, roommates, siblings, or even spouses doing quirky things or playing pranks?...put it in a comment below. I really want to know...]]> Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:13:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Here's a shot of the lake in the valley just below the cabins we slept in.




And best of all here is a shot of the whole crew that made it an awesome weekend! I love you guys!



I hope to be posting some new song clips soon.

Until then....]]> Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:38:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
This is a shot of me tearing through 3 or more layers of shingles that had been put on this house over the past 100 years. Each time it was shingled they just left the old ones on there...it was a mess...



As you can tell in the previous and next photos, I was showing a bit of plumber's crack...which became plumber's sunburn by day 2...not fun...

(That's Brig with me...he's a professional mascot for the Nashville Predators and can probably bench a ka-billion pounds...)




On day 2 we finished early enough for me and a couple of the guys to get in some fishing before dark (which happens after 10 PM in the Montana summer). We crammed into a Chevy pickup and drove for an hour across the grassland to get to this spot. I felt like I was in "A River Runs Through It" with my fly rod in front of me and the Rocky Mountains on the horizon behind me. I had to wade up to my waist to get where I could catch this fish....and you will notice that my clothes are dry...I'll leave it at that.



One Day 3 we had to break during the middle of the day because the shingles were so hot that they were melting and tearing when we walked on them. We took a trip out to Gibson Reservoir at the foot of the Rockies. We found these 30-35 feet tall cliffs and had figured we'd get in a little cliff jumping. I threw this video together to give you the highlights.





So that's it for Montana. I'm in the hills of East Tennessee this coming week. I'm sure I'll have more to tell when I return.

Later.

Beau]]> Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:23:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
As for the summer, I am working hard to get ready for the next step in this journey...my next album. I have been meeting with producers, writing songs, and getting geared up to have an album out in the late Fall.

As things move forward I will be getting input from all my friends and listeners as to the creative elements of the album....songs, artwork, even lyrics...this should be beginning in late July and you will be able to contribute to this online.

July will also bring about something else online that you might be interested in...I'm pumped, but I can't give you details until it is all finalized...sorry, I know this is nebulous, but you will get an email about it soon if you are on my mailing list (go to www.beaubristow.com to join).


Now that you have on update on me, I thought you might also enjoy this MP3. I recorded this last fall for the fun of it. I had a friend who was recording things as a project for college. We threw this together and I posted a clip of it when we were working on it, but only a few have had the final copy in its entirety.

It isn't really where I will be going with my next album (as for production), but it might be fun to listen to. You can download it at www.beaubristow.com/foryou.

Catch you soon!]]> Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:27:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ The following paragraph is quoted in its entirety from the blog post "Wondering and Wandering."

Sitting in the house of my Grandparents wondering if this is what they wanted. Is this what their childhood dreams were? Wanting to be cooking vegetable soup, taking naps, enjoying the sit down mower, and coming up on their 58th annerversary. I love them with out an inch of doubt but do they love their lives without their grandchildren or just love their lives because they have grandchildren to make them forget. I know my parents are unhappy... are my grandparents? College - My Uncles were the first in their family to go to college just like my Dad. My Mamma and Papa wouldv'e loved to go to college but never had the oppurtunity. If they couldve done it instead of getting married would they? Wandering around this house filled with memories and questioning the faces in all of the pictures. Are you happy? Are you more than satisfied? I don't think I will ever get those answers if I'm asking these questions. I love my family but what If I want more than marrige and kids? I don't want to get married. I don't think theres anyone whos out there and i dont want to wait if there is. What if I want life? Does someone have the answers my grandparents refuse to give.

-posted by a friend on 5/31/07



I came across this blog post today and it struck me so deeply that I dropped all that I was doing and focused all my attention on responding to the words written above which I think will resonate with almost anyone (based on the fact that they resonate so strongly with me). I am deeply thankful for the sobering candidness of such a blog post. Now here are my thoughts:

To enjoy life is part of what it is to be human. It is how God created us. Before the fall we enjoyed God, we enjoyed each other, we enjoyed ourselves, we enjoyed the world around us (or more accurately, Adam and Eve did).

[Marriage, since you brought it up several times, existed BEFORE the fall! This is key to understanding marriage. It was there in the beginning...sex, love, children...all of it...and God said it was good.]

Now, with that in mind, a person must face the reality that the description of the world in Genesis 1 and 2 is vastly different than what we experience today. We live a life broken by the effects of the fall (Gen 3). This means that though there are still good things in life to be enjoyed, they all fall short of what they once were and what we rightly wish them to be. We are broken, the world is broken, and the result is suffering. Yes there are times of joy and happiness, but suffering exists alongside even the greatest joys of life (childbirth is a prime example). Everything decays. Every relationship suffers: with God, with others, and even within ourselves. This is reality. This is hard.

All people acknowledge the pain, the suffering, the brokenness, if not verbally, at least in the way we live life. We run after things to numb the pain or we chase something with the expectation that it will fix all of our problems. People go to Dr. Phil because deep down we all experience that something is broken.

Often these "fixes" we seek are truly good things. Family, marriage, friendships, art, hobbies, work... None of these things are bad in themselves. The problem is that they will not bring salvation from our brokenness! (This is why you want more than just marriage and kids, soup and a "sit-down mower.") Only the finished work of Christ on the cross will do this.

Still, even for those who have trusted Christ, a present happiness completely free of suffering is not an option...but this is not the eternal state of things. For those who put their hope in Christ to take away their true moral guilt before God and restore them to what they were created to be, for those people, there is hope. It is the believer in Christ who can honestly and with good reason say, "this is horrible...but it will not always be so." This is because redemption is not complete. We are not fully restored and in our new bodies...we groan for them, and know that our life is hidden in Christ (Col 3:3) and that what we will be has not yet been made known (1 John 3:2), but it will be when He returns. This is reality.

So how do we live in our present circumstances?

First of all it is crucial to keep in mind that as humans, we are created for a relationship with God himself, and that this is more about His glory and pleasure than ours. Thus whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). This is what we were created for and therefore it is only in this context that we are able to truly enjoy ourselves, to enjoy each other, to enjoy God, and to enjoy the world He has created...ultimately to be truly human.

Then, in light of all this, don't make your decisions solely on the criteria of whether or not something will make you happier. This will in no way bring "life" as you referred to it in opposition to marriage. Furthermore, God has made it clear that there are times when it is good or even necessary to deny ourselves valid sources of happiness for the sake something more important or eternal (see Phil. 1:29, 2:4, Mark 8:35; and in regards to marriage Matt 19:12 and 1 Cor. 7). Keep an eternal perspective and actively remind yourself of the reality that our enjoyment of anything will be broken to the extent that we and the world are broken until Christ returns and restores creation to what it was in the beginning...."good."

Finally, don't make the opposite mistake that many "religious" people make. Do not AVOID those things that you enjoy! (1 Tim. 4:1-4) Just realize that our basis for enjoying them is not found in the things themselves but in God's original design for us and for those things. Get married if the right person is there and you wish to do so! Stay single if you wish! Go to college; go to Africa; go and enjoy life and know that this glorifies God who created you!

As for your grandparents (since their lives were the examples and the basis for the questions you brought up in your blog), they are right to enjoy their marriage, but they would not have been wrong to not marry. They are also right to enjoy their grandchildren, their soup, naps, mower, and other good things. Furthermore they are right to mourn over the pain in life, the loss of a child, the hardships of aging, and many of their unfulfilled hopes or dreams. It is also right to acknowledge their personal responsibility in every decision. To deny them any of this is to deny the truth and to deny their humanity. To deny it for your self is to do no less.]]> Wed, 02 May 2007 18:07:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
If I sell 40 CDs on tour with Rachel from the time we leave my driveway till the time we get back in my driveway from NY then I will know that I should continue (as an artist). If I sell none, not a single CD, then I will know it is not for me to be in music at all. If I sell exactly 12 CDs then I will stop being an artist and look into publishing (songwriting).

Lord, if this is wrong and displeases You then please impress that upon my heart...Otherwise, please orchestrate my sales according to Your sovereignty and the request for clarity [just mentioned]...speak clearly in this to me so that I will know what to do and how to proceed from here."

-My Journal, 6:52 PM, March 25, 2007




Sometimes what we wish of God is not that He would part the vast expanse of the Red Sea or the thundering current of the Jordan, but only that He would carve a line of sight through the almost intangible yet relentless and borderline unbearable fog that from time to time sweeps into the valleys of our life and leaves us stranded in the fear that any direction we tread may in fact leave us more lost and distant from the once clear destination that the fog has now hidden from us.

I have been in this fog for months. It was last October when I hit bottom and the fog poured in. Burned out from a year and a half of working part time while doing 150 shows, booking, driving 60,000 miles, sacrificing recreation, sleep and relationships, and stressing over how meager my income was and what implications this had for the future, I was exhausted, demoralized, and quite frankly confused. For a few months I had not been at peace that I was spending my life correctly. There was no assurance as there had once been that I was on a path that was in line with who God has made me to be and what He has created me to do.

I hated what I was doing and was so tired and frustrated that over the course of one sleepless night last October I gave it up. Just like that, at about 5 in the morning I said 'no more' and fell asleep on the couch.

Of course over the next few days I realized that to end so abruptly would be hasty and unwise. It would have been a decision made in a state of emotional turmoil and exhaustion, and wisdom demanded that I not burn any bridges but that I proceed slowly and in prayer. Some of my greatest advice in this time was "when in the fog, go slow." I was in the fog, so that is exactly what I did.

I still toured to the extent that I didn't abandon my work as an artist, but to such a small extent that I was not stressed or overextended with it. In my newly available time I looked into new jobs and even sold a guitar to pay for a graduate class last January with the thought that I might pursue more school. I prayed consistently, fasted, and diligently weighed my desires, my strengths, my weaknesses, my past, my dreams, and my visions hoping to find a common thread that would direct me in what I should do.

By March I had learned a lot about myself, but still had no idea what direction my next steps should be in. I was more aware of my situation, but the situation remained that I was in the fog.
On April 12, I was to leave for a tour with my friend Rachel Carrozziere, a tour that she had booked and that I still didn't know any details about other than what day we left and that she had everything lined up. I had only one final show booked after this tour, and unless I received guidance that I was to continue my artist career I had no intentions of booking any more.

There are so many things that I could share about the time between October and March, so many struggles that were separate from the question of my artist career yet intricately linked to it in many ways. Some were resolved, some remain, but in both cases I learned two things: patience and trust, and I was beginning to put these into action in a way that I never had. I still wrestled with anxiety and fear, but was more and more able to trust the God of my Lord Jesus Christ to work things for His glory and bring good from all things, trusting His word as it had proven true in recent experience. It was in this context that I prayed that prayer on March 25th. It was a bold prayer, but one I felt led to pray and one prayed with a willingness to wait if He did not grant clarity as I asked. I was making my request known but still trusting God and yielding to His will above my own. I prayed this prayer daily for the days leading up to the tour.

Then on Monday April 16, after I got back from my weekend tour with Rachel, I sat down and wrote this in my journal: "The tally sheet reads 40." It was almost surreal. Forty CDs exactly. God never owes us such clarity, but glory to God when He gives it.

It's still only a narrow slice through the haze, but it's an absolute, and so I'm exiting the fog.]]> Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:10:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/ Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:54:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Here is the deal, I am in a bit of a bind this week and am going to make this snappy...

There is only one thing that you need to know. We finished the mix of "Don't Get Too Close To Me" last week and will be mailing a link to download the song for free to all of my Street Team members this Sunday, October 1st. You can hear a clip at http://www.beaubristow.com/DGTC%20Clip.mp3!

Also, if you decide you want to be on the Street Team (which helps me with show promotion and a few other things) then go to http://www.beaubristow.com/streetteam to sign up!

Okay, I'll have a lot to update you on next week...until then "my heart is wrapped in plaster"...

~BB]]> Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:07:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Where to begin?....

Okay, last weekend had me in Peoria, IL then St. Louis then Memphis. I must say that the Bradley University show rocked! Thanks to everyone who dropped in to listen. And to Ashley, Mike, Brian, and the rest of the guys that hung out afterwards: you are a blast. I'm already looking forward to next time!


In Memphis I walked in right before the show (after a brief pre-show nap in my car) and to my surprise there was on of my former guitar students! Daniel had a soccer tournament all weekend and so he was already in Memphis and decided to drop into the show...thank Daniel!

(Random fact: I am currently listening to Bruce Springsteen.)

Sunday I was in the studio all day finishing up "Don't Get Too Close To Me." It will be released to my street team in the next 2 weeks and I'll be sure to post a short clip of it in my blog next week.

As for this week, I will be leaving Thursday for 5 shows in 3 days! Intense! I am rehearsing with the trio tomorrow because they will be with me in Georgetown, KY this Saturday.


Things to be looking for:

- If you are in the Dayton area then listen for me live on air at WUDR 99.5FM (University Of Dayton) at 3:00 this Thursday! (That technically makes 6 shows his weekend, but whos counting?)
- If you are a student at the University of Miami in Oxford, OH then there may be an interview in the school paper this week. (It's still in the works)
- If you are in Lexington, KY at UK then you will definitely want to check out an interview in the Kentucky Kernel this Friday! Special thanks to Whitney for this!
- And once again, you can catch the Beau Bristow Trio at the Festival of the Horse in downtown Georgetown, KY at 11:00 AM Saturday.


Now for the best part of last weekend: I got gas for $1.99/ gallon in the middle of nowhere Missouri! I had to drive a mile from the interstate and they only accepted cash, but it was awesome!

So, in case you are wondering about Don Gato....well I have an update. In the words of his owner (my manager Matt):

"Apparently Don Gato likes water. He chose to jump into an empty bathtub, after which we turned on the water and began to fill up the tub, and he just stood there until he was walking around in neck deep water (and enjoying it). So there you go...crazy cat."



So there you go! Until next week....


Beau]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2006 01:12:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
I am going to be brief this time because I am in a time crunch. I have been working hard all day recording parts for a couple of songs I am trying to finish up and give to my street team as a way to say thanks for all the help. I still have a full day of recording tomorrow and I only slept 3 hours last night...tonight I may get 5 hours if I can get this done in the next 30 minutes.

That being said, here is a short clip from one of the songs...you may recognize it because it is off of Coffee Not Included, but this version has all of 7 guitar tracks plus bass and drums...no vocals yet and it is a rough mix but it should give you an idea of what is coming. (Click here to listen!)

And if you arent on the street team, you can join by going to my website (www.beaubristow.com) and then clicking on the interact tab. There is more information there and you can direct any questions to beau@beaubristow.com or streetteam@beaubristow.com.

I played in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this past weekend and I have a couple of photos that I will leave you with as I say goodnight:











Until next week.....

Beau]]> Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:50:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/
Okay, who am I kidding...this is a Wednesday update...it always has been...

Anyway, last week was a blur. I was in West Lafayette on Thursday night and Bloomington on Friday. Saturday found me in Terre Haute and tonight I played in Nashville.

The show tonight was called "chick singers night." Of course you are wondering what in the world I was doing playing for that. FYI, I was the "are you man enough" segment.

Currently I am sitting here eating a salad and listening to Death Cab for Cutie. I have so much work piled up that I just need to get some sleep so I can tackle it all tomorrow.

That being said, I am gonna let you go (as if this is a phone conversation....and really, who does that fool?....let you go?...more like: "I've found something more entertaining than you so I am gonna go do that and assume that you are too dull to notice that I don't want to talk to you anymore"....it's kinda like the whole "it's not you, its me" thing...really...its you?...well if it's you then why are you breaking up with me!...shouldn't you be breaking up with yourself or something....and what about the whole "let's just be friends" business...what that really means is: "once I downgrade you to friend status I can date someone else without it being cheating"....what the crap?!!!.....by the way, if you have recently gotten any of these responses from anyone click here)


Until next Tuesday...or Wednesday...


Beau

P.S. Adding off-brand Cheetos may defeat the point of a salad, but they sure are a great salad topping...just so you know...]]> Wed, 30 Aug 2006 20:11:00 CST http://www.beaubristow.com/

Yeah, I know....today is Wednesday....not Tuesday....but I have good reason...I'll tell you at the end.


Now, for the week in review:


Last Wednesday was the second of two band rehearsals as I prepared to take the Beau Bristow Trio on its maiden voyage.

Thursday was its christening as we set sail for Georgetown. The show was a lot of fun and my friends in the audience gave an intimate touch to a rocking set.

Friday we played an outdoor festival in Bardstown, KY. I never know what to expect going into these situations. Its like pulling down that trap door/ladder thing that goes to your attic, you know, the one that knocked Chevy Chase out in National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. You never know what is going to jump out at you, but you are braced for the ladder, an anvil, 3 rats, a raven, a spider riding a snake, and maybe a vampire or two.

Well in this case, we were in a park that had a playground, a pavilion, and a grassy hill around the front of the pavilion...not exactly a stage, lights, and screaming fans.

We set up as. one by one. people began to roll in with their lawn chairs. By the time we were ready to go we were surrounded by a hill of 100 men and women. Now my typical audience is high school and college students....add 40 years to that demographic and you will get an idea for what the audience was like in Bardstown. Honestly, I was a little nervous. Could I connect? This was something unfamiliar, out of my element. I took a deep breath, braced myself and began....

Long story short, we played two 45 minute sets and had a much better than expected response...however, they did say the drums were too loud, which makes Lee the first drummer ever to overpower an outdoor audience without even going through the audio rig...I had him turned completely off! Way to go Lee...

Lee Holland (drums) and Caleb Mundy (bass) added more than I can tell you about here, and so I am happy to t