I was born in Lawton, OK but smelled the fajitas wafting across the border when I was two and made a break for it. I spent the next 22 years in Texas. My body adapted quickly and soon could only run most efficiently on Tex Food cuisine. So today, while the wether and scenery are nicer in Tennessee, my body and, well, my spirit too, putter along on the cheap fuel of Taco Bell. I’m forced then to schedule frequent stops in the land of Pappasitos as a matter of survival. This was one such life saving journey.
We arrived by plane in Houston where a man was allowed to set up a protest table outside the baggage claim - claiming that Bush was the antiChrist, Cheney was an UNnatural disaster, and other such nonsense. I had to marvel at how evenly God has distributed the wackos between the two parties in this country. It’s only fair.
We quickly made our way to Pappasito’s - #2 on my list of great purveyors of Tex-Mex. (#1 is Uncle Julio’s). There, Brian and I gorged ourselves on hot sauce made from grilled ingredients and queso full of chopped onion and green peppers before diving into our entrees. Mmmm. God bless Mr. Pappa. He completes me.
Then it was on to Central Baptist Church where I played a show with Paul Colman. Paul goes to my church here in Franklin, TN but we’ve never really made time to get to know each other before this show. We sat, restringing our guitars in the choir room, and talked about music business and family, how he got started, whether country music is good or demonic, and lots of other stuff. He’s a driven driven man with more charisma and ideas swimming around in his pinky finger than I’ve got in my body. Of course it could just be the accent. Anything Australians say sounds worth listening to. It’s just not fair.
At the last minute we decided to play one large set together instead of two separate smaller sets. I took the stage and asked the crowd if that was OK with them and to cheers I invited Paul up to join me. Unrehearsed, we pulled off - but just barely - duets of each other’s songs, me limping through harmonies (not my gift) and stumbling through my lyrics (I think my songs have twice as many words than his so it’s to be expected.) In the end it was a great night, a change of pace for us both, and a chance to relax and cut up a little more than usual in concert. We were both forced out of any routine that may have found its way into our sets lately and were made to improvise and trust someone else for a change. Scary when you don’t know where the other guy is going next.
Went to Texas to play two shows (College Station and Beaumont) this weekend. Flew in this afternoon, hung out with my family briefly, and then zipped to a hotel in Nashville to play for a group of retailers in town for a convention. I just got home (10:40PM) and would rather sleep than upload photos and craft a decent post for SHLOG.COM so that’ll have to wait. Check back sometime Monday for a story about a promoter crying, a tale about a duet I sang with an Aussie, an update on relief efforts in Texas and find out why one Christian artist I ran into at the airport says he/they/she will be releasing a “worship” record soon. (No names will be used of course.) AND pictures of a grown man diving into a blow-up swimming pool filled with ice cream Sundae.
Yep. That’s my weekend. Ya’ll come back now. It’s worth the wait to read about.
-SG
Thanks to WAY-FM for having me on the air this morning on their South Florida station. Thanks, Brant and Donna for getting the word out about findshelter.org for us. You guys are already doing so much with Samaritan’s Purse, The Red Cross and others so I appreciate you adding findshelter.org to the list of options for Floridians wanting ways to help hurricane victims as well. Thank you.
-SG
I’m on the air this morning (7 AM CST) with WAY-FM West Palm (listen here) to talk about findshelter.org and then it’s off to Texas. My body is running low on the power only good Tex-Mex can provide. I’m like a car made for diesel trying to operate on regular unleaded living out here in Tennessee. I have to pull through the promised land every few months to refuel. Fajitas. Queso. Cilantro. That’s mana. Here I come.
Pics and posts after the show.
God bless Texas,
SG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
NEW ORGANIZATION, FINDSHELTER.ORG, ESTABLISHED TO CONNECT HURRICANE VICTIMS TO CHURCH SPONSORS FOR LONG-TERM RECOVERY
Rocketown Records artist Shaun Groves signs on as spokesperson
(09/08/05) - Through the cooperation and inspiration of Christians from various denominational backgrounds, a new organization has been established in the past week to provide assistance for Hurricane Katrina victims. FindShelter.org is dedicated to helping families affected by Hurricane Katrina by connecting them with churches and other organizations willing to assist them with long-term recovery.
Rocketown recording artist Shaun Groves joined with the organization this week as both a spokesperson for their work and a partner in the daily planning needed to make relief possible. “Under the oversight of the North American Mission Board, we are matching up families devastated by hurricane Katrina with churches or other Christian groups willing to ‘sponsor’ them for a full year,” Groves said. “Sponsorship would entail meeting every need present in the family: food, shelter, employment, spiritual and psychological counsel, health care etc. We believe it is the Church’s responsibility first and foremost to aid these families in need. Only the Church can meet the needs of the whole person, both physical and spiritual. And we hope to be one of many lifelines between the hurting and the Church, helping the helpers find the needy.”
FindShelter.org was established by business partners Carsie Denning, Jr. and Brian Bell with the help of a large, nationwide network of Christian friends. According to Denning, “It has been absolutely amazing to see how God is pulling this effort together through the service of so many people and organizations. Our desire is to bring glory to Him though our efforts to serve the displaced families.”
For more information on how churches and organizations can sponsor families, please visit http://www.findshelter.org or email . Interested parties may also call 910-341-8410.
Team member Bill Bangham, director of photography at the Southern Baptist International Mission Board and board member, along with Denning, of the American Belarusian Relief Organization, is handling media inquiries. He can be reached at or 804-519-4288. Shaun Groves is also available for questions and interviews and can be reached at or through Rocketown Records at 615-503-9994 x29.
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I was born in Lawton, OK but smelled the fajitas wafting across the border when I was two and made a break for it. I spent the next 22 years in Texas. My body adapted quickly and soon could only run most efficiently on Tex Food cuisine. So today, while the wether and scenery are nicer in Tennessee, my body and, well, my spirit too, putter along on the cheap fuel of Taco Bell. I’m forced then to schedule frequent stops in the land of Pappasitos as a matter of survival. This was one such life saving journey.
We arrived by plane in Houston where a man was allowed to set up a protest table outside the baggage claim - claiming that Bush was the antiChrist, Cheney was an UNnatural disaster, and other such nonsense. I had to marvel at how evenly God has distributed the wackos between the two parties in this country. It’s only fair.
We quickly made our way to Pappasito’s - #2 on my list of great purveyors of Tex-Mex. (#1 is Uncle Julio’s). There, Brian and I gorged ourselves on hot sauce made from grilled ingredients and queso full of chopped onion and green peppers before diving into our entrees. Mmmm. God bless Mr. Pappa. He completes me.
At the last minute we decided to play one large set together instead of two separate smaller sets. I took the stage and asked the crowd if that was OK with them and to cheers I invited Paul up to join me. Unrehearsed, we pulled off - but just barely - duets of each other’s songs, me limping through harmonies (not my gift) and stumbling through my lyrics (I think my songs have twice as many words than his so it’s to be expected.) In the end it was a great night, a change of pace for us both, and a chance to relax and cut up a little more than usual in concert. We were both forced out of any routine that may have found its way into our sets lately and were made to improvise and trust someone else for a change. Scary when you don’t know where the other guy is going next.
