Preparing For The 15th Anniversary

I'm really excited about Saturday. It's the 15th Anniversary of LIFE 100.3. I don't think it's hit me 100% yet. But, I can feel my sentiments growing.

LIFE has been a huge part of my LIFE for at least 10 years. Maybe longer. I'm not really sure when I started listening, but I have been hooked ever since.

I don't have any launch stories to share, but I have a bit of a fun one from the 10th Anniversary.

The decision to go was kinda last minute (*cough*thenightbefore*cough*). So a friend of mine, my Mom and I piled into our car and made the trek to Barrie. The show had been sold out for months. We were standing almost at the front of the line... without tickets.

As the line began to grow, we started asking people if they had extra tickets to sell. Sure enough, we managed to get everyone in! I don't recommend trying this at sold out shows. We were blessed it worked. If you can, just buy them in advance!

I remember the show really well. The lights, the booming sound at Emmanuel Baptist in Barrie.
Lincoln Brewster was the headliner. He was fantastic. If you've never seen him, he's a worship leader with a Mohawk and a habit of doing a lot of guitar solos in the middle of his worship set.

My favorite part, however was looking over at the LIFE staff and thinking "Man, I wish I was over there".

5 years later, I will be! Even as I type that, I'm reminded how blessed I am to be a part of this ministry.

O.K. Enough mushy gushy.

See you at the show with Peter Furler and Chris Bray!

The Newsboys Reborn

O.k, not quite. But that was what crossed my mind at least 5 times on Monday night as I watched Peter Furler perform in Peterborough. Peter alone made it feel like Newsboys, then there was former bassist for the group Phil Joel. Add in Super Chic[k] guitarist Dave Ian (I know that's not his real name, but that's what he's going by these days) and you get a sound that sounded like Newsboys. It was great. They did classics like Breakfast, Shine and Entertaining Angles. A newer Newsboys tune also surfaced in the form of Something Beautiful. Peter did a few of his own solo career tunes too like Reach, All In Your Head and Psalm 23. It was a blast. The best part was meeting both Peter and Phil! These guys are heroes of mine, twas awesome to knock that item off the bucket list!

Most Anticipated of 2011

O.K. I admit it may seem a little late for a "most anticipated" of 2011... March is almost over.

But in my defense most artists have only announced that they have new albums coming out recently so... here are my "5 Most Anticipated CDs of 2011".

5. Family Force 5 - Untitled - I loved Dance or Die. The mix of rock/punk/dance is just to good not to like. Will this new cd continue this sound or will it go back the the grunge rock that made the Family famous? Well we'll find out.

4. needtobreathe - Untitled - Every album that needtobreathe has released has gotten progressively better. More originality, more advanced lyrics, more of a sound that sets them apart. This will be their 4th album and my hopes are that this will be their best yet.

3. Peter Furler - On Fire - I miss the (old) Newsboys. There is a place in my heart that needs that pop rock that they did so well. When I heard that Peter was doing a solo thing I figured it would be "caned worship" then I saw the album cover ...

This looks promising!

2. Owl City - All Things Bright and Beautiful - I think Owl City is a really talented solo act. If one guy can create such ambiance music in his parents basement, he has to be good. Plus this cd going for a more broad style musicly... namely rock... with synths... oh ya!!!

1. Fm Static - My Brain Says Stop, But My Heart Says Go - I have very high hopes for this album (it is at number one after all), I have loved every song that I have heard from the CD so far. April 5th can't come soon enough!

0. David Crowder * Band - Unknown - No David and the boys haven't announced a new CD... but... I have a theory that we will have a new album from them come late summer, early fall. ***Please remember that this is my theory based on the fact that they are recording right now***

And there you have it my "Most Anticipated of 2011". What are your most anticipated?