Alright, so Winterjam has been underway for 4 weeks now, and I haven’t said a word. Just pathetic. I apologize.

The problem is I’m having way too much fun on the tour, and I haven’t had the discipline to sit my butt down and write about it. Plus, Mark Anderson (our stage manager) and I may have snuck a tiny trip to New York City in between tour stops…I know. Shame on us :)

So here’s where we’ve gone so far…

Charleston, WV – Rehearsals and first show.
Raleigh, NC – good times
Charlotte, NC – more good times
Orlando, FL – some more good times
Jacksonville, FL – really good times
Tampa, FL – a guy licked Kari Jobe’s guitar player’s shoe. Yes. you read that right.
Atlanta, GA – I got sick and threw up. Not good times.
NEW YORK CITY! – Went and saw David Letterman
Des Moines, IA – First snow of the tour
St. Charles, MO – good times again
Ft. Wayne, IN – you know what I’m going to say here
Reading, PA – good times
State College, PA – currently good times.

And here’s a few photos…

What’s up Winterjam!

Skillet blows up…

Oh, nope. They’re just fine.

There are 140 people on this tour, and it’s been a blast getting to know everyone. You got Skillet, Peter Furler and band, Kari Jobe and band, Building 429, Newsong, Group1Crew, Dara Mclean, For King & Country, We As Human, Brock Gill, Nick Hall, Pie the Catering man, Steve the Jib operator, Lloyd the monitor man, Bobby the tour pastor, Jessie the merch man, Kendra the assistant tour manager and on and on and on…and what’s so great is that everyone is great. It’s quickly becoming a great little family.

So anyway, it’s been a great month on Winterjam, and I’m excited that we have a couple more to go. For now though, I’m hungry and it’s dinner time. Peace out.

Oh, and here’s a couple photos from New York…

9/11 Memorial in New York.

Dead Sea Scrolls!

Hanging in Times Square. Whatevs ;)

So every night on tour, while Matt and Pete play “All of Me”, I try to hide out on stage and take a photo. Then I post it on Facebook so everyone at the show can tag themselves in it. After 20+ shows though, I realize these photos are all starting to look the same. I need to spice it up some. Got any ideas?

Last week’s run started in Madison, Wisconsin. All my life, I’ve heard great things about this city, and I’ve always had a place in my heart for Wisconsin because this is where my grandparents met and where my Dad was born. I’d never been to Madison before though. Since Pete and I are the adventurers of the band, we immediately took off on our bikes and rode all over the town, and now I can say all the rumors are true. Madison is awesome.

The next show was in Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago. Pete and I got up early and took the train into the city. We only had about 3 hours to explore but made the most of it. We got our favorite coffee at Intelligentsia, stopped by Millenium Park to see the bean, and ate lunch at this GREAT place called Orange. Then we caught the train back to the venue and had a great show.

The last show of the run was about 3 hours south in Peoria. We have some great memories here. A few years ago on a tour with Superchick and John Reuben, we got snowed in, stuck downtown for a day and a half. It was awesome. We had this little snow-covered city all to ourselves. Snowball fights around buildings, snow angels in the middle of the streets. It was so much fun. Ever since, we’ve had great times here.

And on this trip, one of the World Vision reps, Dan, is from Peoria, and his family still lives there. They opened their house for us to come out and have a bonfire, hayride, and all-around fall-time-fun time-jamboree-celebration-thing. So we all went to their house and jamboreed our hearts out. Another memory to add to the list of good times in Peoria.

And finally we’re back home. Split between Nashville and Toledo. We’ve been hanging out at home, enjoying Autumn. As for myself, I had a little trip to Cleveland in there and stopped by this place. Is it too soon to be thinking about Christmas?

After nearly a month of touring out west with Casting Crowns, The Afters, & Lindsay McCaul, we finally made it back home for a few days. The tour has been really great, but getting home was a welcome and needed rest. No matter how exciting travel can be, after 2-3 weeks, your brain starts to sizzle, and all you can think about is getting home. The Come to the Well tour goes into December, but from here on out, we get to be home a few days every week. Medicine for our souls.

Now, back east and south, we’ve had shows in Memphis, Nashville, and Savannah, GA, and so far they’ve been really good. About half the Sanctus camp lives in Nashville, so it was great having that “hometown” show of sorts. Next week we’re heading out to Auburn, AL, Lexington, KY, Greensboro, NC, and Macon, GA. If you’re in any of those areas, you better come see us!

Anyway, enough with the jabber. Here’s some photos from Nashville. A huge thank you to Dale Manning for taking them!

All Photos by Dale Manning

Come to the Well Tour - Photo by Jordan Owen

There are a lot of places in the good ol’ US of A that we enjoy traveling to. However, I have to say that overall, the Pacific Northwest is our collective favorite. This is partially because it’s so far from home, and we don’t get to visit very often, but mostly it’s because the area is completely unique and gorgeous, and the weather is always just perfect.

Since our writing day in Lake Tahoe, the Come to the Well tour has been caravaning all around this region. We’ve made stops in Roseville, CA (a suburb of Sacremento), Portland, OR, Redmond, WA (a suburb of Seattle), Vancouver, Canada, Kennewick, WA, and Salt Lake City, UT. There is so much I would like to say about each of these tour stops, but it’s late and I’m falling asleep. Instead, I’ll just say that we really, really, REALLY enjoyed 5 of the 6 cities.

You work it out…

Just kidding. That’s one of my favorite jokes, courtesy of Jason Gray. He’s awesome. He’ll be in the room with the five us and as he’s about to walk out the door say, “I really like 4 of you. You work it out”, and then shut the door behind him.

Aw. I miss that guy.

Anyway, thank you for being so great to us Northwest. We hope you’ll have us back soon!

Come to the Well tour - Photo by Jordan Owen

Come to the Well Tour - Photo by Jordan Owen

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A beautiful night Roseville, CA - PS, I took this photo with my iPhone.

Stops in Portlandia #1 - Stumptown Coffee

Stops in Portlandia #2 - Powell's Books

Stops in Portlandia #3 - Voodoo Donuts

A Day off in Seattle

On the road - Gorgeous mountains outside Salt Lake City, UT

Photo by Mark Anderson

A few weeks ago we ran across our friend from the road, Al Denson. He’s been involved with Christian music for a long time and is an all around swell guy. He offered places for us to stay and rest in different parts of the country if we happened to be passing through them. Well, it just so happened we were. The first place was his ranch in Texas where we rode 4-wheelers. It was a great and refreshing day.

The second was a condominium at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. After our stop in Universal City, CA, we just happened to be headed north with a day off. So we called Al up, and he was more than happy to let us use the space.

Photo by Mark Anderson

We decided to commit this day to writing music for our next album. Earlier in the summer we borrowed a family’s lake house in Michigan for writing, and it was incredible. We were hoping to get some more of that good mojo going on the road…after all, it’s autumn in Lake Tahoe. Mountains, woods, water, crisp clean air. It’s such an inspiring atmosphere and a place we’d never been before.

Photo by Mark Anderson

Photo by Mark Anderson

I’ll say one thing about being in a band and our work being creative in nature. Creativity doesn’t play well with time contraints. Sometimes it flows fast and free and you have to do all you can just to keep up, but other times, and much more frequently, you have to “wrestle the bear to the ground”, as someone smart once said. This writing day was a day of wrestling that old bear. By the end, we got somewhere and we got somewhere good, but it was hard work, and it’s still incomplete. In other words, the bear isn’t down yet, but that’s alright because winter is coming and he’ll be going to sleep soon.

Wait, does that mean a hybernating bear is easier to wrestle, and our music will put people to sleep? That’s a bad analogy. We can’t have that.

I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.  Lake Tahoe is gorgeous and awesome. The end

Photo by Mark Anderson

Photo by Mark Anderson

Photo by Mark Anderson

Photo by Mark Anderson

Photo by Mark Anderson

Jaws

I’m doing a terrible job of keeping up with tour pictures and things. Sorry friends. Today’s post happened over a week ago in Universal City, CA. We accidentally snuck onto a tram tour at Universal Studios. We didn’t know we were sneaking. We thought it was free, but some other guys from the tour tried it later and got the boot. Whoops…my bad. But, that’s part of being in a rock n roll band, right? Sneaking into things…even if it is an accident?

It was a fun tour. It ran us through Jaws, Jurassic Park, Back To The Future, King Kong, Fast and the Furious, and a bunch of other stuff.

Jurassic Park

Clock Tower from Back to the Future!

Ship from King Kong

Dancing cars from Fast & Furious

The best part of the day was right before the concert. We had the great privilege of meeting one of our favorite childhood stars, Candace Cameron! Otherwise known as DJ Tanner from Full House. It was extremely awesome, and she’s super cool. We also got to meet her sister and husband who among other things, own a faith-based toy company called Alphabet Alley. It’s a great resource for toys with solid spiritual values. Check it out.

Sanctus Real with Candace Cameron and the Flemings!

Our favorite DJ is defeinitely DJ Tanner

Where's my sandwich?

What the heck am I thinking about in this photo? 10 points for the best caption…

Anyway, I’m going to run off from Universal City, CA here and try to write about Lake Tahoe. Catch you up north!

These dudes think they're awesome. Touche', dudes

It’s an interesting thing to be in a Christian band and play in Las Vegas. People back home raise their eyebrows at you a little bit and think things like, “Vegas, huh? Are you really a Christian?” At least that’s what I assume, but I haven’t actually asked anyone. I know I used to think things like that though, and since everyone is like me, I’m sure it’s true. And I’d agree with the sentiment of those people I haven’t talked to: Las Vegas has a reputation. It’s the only city I know of built solely as a brand and product. It’s advertised and sold in the form of hotels, casinos, pornography, and buffets, aka, adult freedom, and it’s been very successful. This product of distraction has made tragedy in many, many lives.

However, not everyone knows Las Vegas as Sin City. Or probably they do, but secondarily. These folks know and love it as home, the same way I love Ohio and the dirt that raised me (I love Ohio, if you haven’t heard). The same way my southern friends love Georgia and my northern friends love Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. I have to believe God knows where we’re born and raises us there on purpose.

So being in a Christian band in Las Vegas, we’ve gotten to see and know a side of the city that isn’t the product. We’ve gotten to meet Christians who grow up and live in the midst of it. And I’ll say every time we’re there, it’s truly great. They take their faith seriously…much more than I do if I’m honest. They’re faced every day with the aftermath of sin and the damage it causes in ways the rest of us aren’t. It’s so direct and unashamed. If there’s any church in the country that needs encouragement, it’s this one.

The Venue: Henderson Pavillion

Inside the Pavillion

We had a good two days in Vegas. The tour day with Casting Crowns, The Afters, and Lindsay McCaul was beautiful. We played outdoors, and it was a perfect night for it. The next day was a day off. The tour cruised on to California while we stayed behind. Our friend Scott Campbell set us up with hotel rooms in the MGM Grand and got us tickets to Cirque Du Soleil, which was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life. A HUGE thank you to Scott! Everything you did was a great blessing to us.

The rest of the day we wandered the Strip a little bit and got to see more of what Las Vegas is known for. The product. It’s unlike anywhere else in the world. Aesthetically, there is soo much to take in; lights, colors, sounds, architecture, tv show pawn shops.

Pawn shop from the TV show, Pawn Stars

I really enjoyed walking around and taking everything in. Functionally, the sidewalks are built to coral you into casinos and malls. You’ll be hard pressed to find a place to sit and rest your tired bones unless it’s in a restaurant or behind a slot machine, or some other place meant for spending money. At night, people wander the streets with ambition. Drinks in hand, dressed from glamor magazines. At some point it dawned on me…these are our brothers and sisters and they’re literally wandering the middle of the desert in search of happiness. The broken and sad nature of the human condition became extremely evident. Folks on the strip are doing whatever they’re doing because they’re looking for peace and they don’t know how else to go about it. As obvious as that sounds to me now, it was hard to pinpoint while I was there looking at it.

Anyway, we really did have a great couple of days, and I look forward to going back. But for now, the tour continues on. Next stops: Universal City, CA, Lake Tahoe, and Portland, OR!

QUESTION: I guess since I haven’t asked, maybe I should…What comes to mind when you think of Las Vegas? Where are you from and what leads you to your thoughts?

Hanging Danny Ocean style

I love being on the road during fall.

Sanctus Real does not love flat tires on the bus.

We do love playing concerts, especially when people come to them.

Pete and World Vision Dan love pointing at their past roommate's names. Hi Andy and Josh.

We’re 3 days into the Come To The Well tour with Casting Crowns, The Afters, and Linsday McCaul, and so far it’s really great. The atmosphere is uplifting and Christ-centered, probably more than any other tour we’ve ever been on. And the three shows we’ve played in El Paso, Phoenix, and Corona, CA have gone really, really well. A huge thank you to everyone who’s come out to them. You make it much easier to be away from home.

Anyway, enough talk of socks. Here’s some photos of us riding 4-wheelers.

A huge thank you to Al Denson for offering us a great and relaxing day at his ranch.

We’re beyond excited to be apart of this fall tour with Casting Crowns, The Afters, and Lindsay McCaul. It’s going to be such a good adventure, and we’re looking forward to a lot of truly good things to come from it. Keep us in your prayers as we get rolling. I’ll do my best to share the stories on here as they come.

For now, we’ll be seeing you in El Paso, Texas!

dan

En Fuego Festival - Verbena, Alabama.

So our set time was at 6:30pm. Just in time for the sun to set directly in our eyes. Chris convinced me to wear my sunglasses. I always feel a little strange doing this. I don’t know why. Maybe I feel like I’m hiding something. Or maybe there is a better connection between band and audience when we can see each other in the eyes. Or maybe I’m just too cool for school. Who knows.

Anyway, he convinced me to wear them, and it’s going alright until about 20 minutes in when the sun sets below the horizon. I no longer need them. Not only do I not need them, they’re annoying. It’s too dark. It’s too dark, and surely everyone in the crowd wonders why this idiot is wearing sunglasses when it’s dark. He thinks he’s so cool. At about this time I see Chris take his sunglasses off and put them on his amp. I see Pete throw his Sanctus Real sunglasses into the crowd. Matt and Mark knew better than to wear them in the first place. The problem for me is that I have pitiful vision. My sunglasses are prescription, and my normal glasses are on the bus. What is poor Danny to do? Wear sunglasses in the dark and feel funny about it, or take them off, play blind, and feel funny about that. It’s a lose/lose situation. Oh, and my microphone keeps shocking me every time I sing. Unrelated, but Lose/Lose/Lose. All I do is lose.

Since there is no winning for me, I decide to try something new and play the rest of the show with my eyes naked. No glasses. A little dangerous but could be fun, right? It kinda is. Everybody disappears. My bandmates become squabbly blobs and the audience becomes a wash of bright colors. I glare across the stage at Chris to razz him for what he’s done to me. At least, I think it was Chris. It could’ve been an ostrich, a Jonas Brother, or a basketball hoop for all I knew. Although I doubt anyone brought any of those things up on stage while this was going on. It was probably Chris. Anyway, he felt bad about it, but I thought it was funny, like a great accidental prank.

So good one Chris.  Now I’m going to change all the settings on your amps and guitar pedals.

dg

What's up En Fuego!