Hey friends

This one is from Tori... I am her biggest fan :)

Enjoy

Tre


Soul Survivor.....How do we love thee? Let me count the ways...

Yes folks...time again for us to tell you about the amazing time we had at the Soul Survivor Festivals this year. I would have to say, as a veteran of the Soul Survivor scene for several years now, that this year was my favourite. "Why would you say that Tori??" so says you the dear reader. Well, it's a combination of things. And if you'll indulge me the pleasure....I'll tell you now, you dear reader you!

I think I'll start by saying that Soul Survivor is this incredible mechanism....growing and changing and becoming more and more and better and better....and yet keeping to it's DNA. Soul Survivor is consistent.....keeping Jesus at the centre and with the obvious goal of reaching masses of young people with the Gospel. We love Soul Survivor! And here's the flip....our privilege and joy is that Soul Survivor has been so good to us by inviting us back time and time again. So we have had the privilege of being a part of that incredbile mechanism and the opportunity to see it go from strength to strength. As long as I live, I will always be grateful for the chance we've had, with Onehundredhours and Tre's teaching, to be a part of the Soul Survivor movement. And it was especially lovely this summer to see so many of you there and showing your love and support.

Ok so now you know how I feel about it. Let me tell you what we did!

We showed up first at Week A at the Stafford showground in Staffordshire. Tim and Steve had arrived before us because they were actually playing in the main worship band for the week. (You see....they're so good everybody wants them!!) So they had been working hard by the time we got there. It was my first time on the site and I was really impressed with the look and feel of the site.....and I actually really liked the fact that it was smaller in the number of participants. It felt more intimate and also has the feeling that it has loads of opportunity to grow and develop. So that's exciting to get to see first hand. Tre had a seminar in the afternoon and then the band had our sound check. We played in an enormous hall....the main hall. So our gig was after the main meeting. I have to say that I had to keep reminding myself that there were actually loads of you at the gig...although we all rattled around in that huge place a bit!! The gig was amazing and perhaps the hottest gig we've played in years... it was literally so hot that the boys gave up on trying to look good and decided to go for the "drenched in sweat" look immediately as opposed to the end of the gig :)

Week B we showed up at the Bath and West Showgrounds as we have done these past 7 years. I have to say that a smile began to form on my face when we drove through the gate and I don't think I wiped it off till I fell into my bed that night. It was just great to be back. Now this week, it was Mark who had arrived ahead of us to play on the main stage for the worship. (Everyone wants our boys!!) We couldn't sound check with him because he had to be with the other band during our slot for sound check...and I have to say...it was a keen reminder of just how much the bass locks us in and MAKES our sound what it is. Without Mark, our sound check just lacked the VAVOOM....so we breathed a huge sigh of relief when he showed up and the boys turned up the amps to start our first song. Trust me....it was ALL there...and they sounded great. (This is that part of the blog when I can brag on the band since I don't play with them!!....grabbing that moment: arent' they awesome?? ;)
Anyway we played a blazing gig to an absolutely packed gigs venue....it was a blast. We worshipped...we rocked....we called on the name of the Lord to break through in this generation and with the HIV/AIDS crisis......and we had fun....a lot of it. The next day was one of my favourite seminars Tre has ever done at Soul Survivor. The venue was packed to every wall with people standing and on floors and the topic wasn't one you'd think they would have rushed to hear: "Following a 1st Century Rabbi in the 21st Century" But by the end, many were in tears and the presence of the Lord was so heavy in the room. All of us learned more about our Saviour....and again, I felt the privilege of getting to be a part of lives being changed at Soul Survivor.

Week C I found myself feeling sentimental as we drove through the gates again. All day I felt that sense of history as I considered our first time there 7 years ago. But we started our time there pretty well exhausted. We had just finished our gig in Ballymena , Northern Ireland the night before and had left our beds that morning before 4am to get the plane over to Bristol. We were wiped out.....but tried to rest as much as we could once we got to the site. A few of us even got in some nap time. Tre headed out for his seminar in the afternoon and dear Mark went back to the rehearsals with the worship band. Tre's seminars were really just full of the presence of God again and so so many people turned up. I have to say that I know it meant a great deal to him that so many of you came to hear his teaching. It always feels like our mission is so much more complete when our gigs can somehow accompany his teaching....it's gives such a better idea of the message we are hoping to get across and the impact we hope to have on the lives of young people. Anyway....we were set for another great gig. Backstage before we went on, the sentimental edge that had been gnawing at me all day kicked in and I was filled with the memories of the original members of Onehundredhours, Tre and me, Jono West and Paul Baker, scared to death and nervous as could be about going out on stage for our first gig at Soul Survivor. We had actually prayed together 18 months before that God would open the door for us to get to be a part of Soul Survivor in some way.....7 years on, with the history of leading worship, gigs, and Tre's teachings...I got all choked up with thanks to God for his goodness and faithfulness to us all. There is nothing so fulfilling as feeling as though we have partnered with the God of time and space for His plans and purposes in this generation. Yeah...all I can say really is...Thank you so much God. Our gig was one of my all time favourites and I was so so proud of the incredible band I get to be a part of. Those boys are so precious to me. (And Mary our Tour Manager and Philip our Band Manager too!!)

I think the best way I know to end this is a prayer for blessing over the Soul Survivor movement: May God's grace and power be with Soul Surivor, and may everyone who felt His presence and learned of His ways this summer be forever changed and grow in their knowledge and understanding of Him in them and through them....as long as they live! Amen

From a rainy September morning at a cafe in Dervock, Northern Ireland,

Tori

Well friends,

The summer is over, but the love continues :) We're trying to get all the gig blogs up soonish, so thank you for your patience!

Here's a blog from Jonny T Ravn about our gig in Essex at "Dukes" with the always fabulous Electralyte.

Be well,
Tre





Hello everyone again, Thank you for joining us in another chapter of 'The Hours on the Road' the official tour/gig diary of Onehundredhours. This Chapter is will be narrated by you the reader. So get your voice warm 'n' ready, and if you can put on a really good James Mason voice this will help create the magic...

"It was a warm day in July when the men and women of the band awoke. The sounds of birds in the air and a gentle breeze that pushed it's way through the cracks in the window, billowing the curtains as each wave passed their houses. Three members of the band Tre, Tori and little Jonny from over the hill climbed in to the van and listened to the gentle static of the broken radio as they made there way through the winding roads to the town of Chelmsford.

Many stories come that infamous town but they are for another time. Around the second hour of the clock, the group arrived and greeted each other with laughter and smiles, just enjoying the moment and letting nothing get in it way. As the white Citroen chariot was unloaded the leaf springs gave a sigh of relief, knowing for now their job was done.

Hours went by and the sun started to fall behind the horizon. The sound check was complete and more people started to arrive. Jonny getting rather peckish wondered back to the chariot to retrieve nourishment and to his surprise he found it unlocked. Stunned, he took the food he was looking for and locked it with cheer realizing that nothing was taken.

The green room in the back of the club was encircled with huge flowing curtains that matched the maroon doors that separated the two sides of the evening. People gathered, chatted and played games with each other to pass the time. But as the clock struck the hour, a sea of people flooded the venue and were met with ballads of rock from the newly amped 'Electrolyte'.

Clothes were on, guitars were tuned and the whole sound system was turned up to 11. The sounds of distorted waves were swelling the air as Steve took hold of his Silver weapon. In only a blink of an eye the dam that held the quiet together came crumbling down and the 'Hours' played until they where nothing more than a ear ringing, sweat sticking ball of fire. In the crowds people leapt whilst others stood motionless. Tre broke rank and vaulted a barrier, placing himself face to face in the pit of mosh. There he wrestled with singing and trying to get back and just making it to close the song on his black dripping fender tele.

This happened for what seemed only a second and was then over. As people left they were thanked and greeted again with the opportunity to meet the band and duel sharpies over records and posters. The venue, now empty, looked like the ending of Wayne's world two. Bottles and flyers littered on the floor the only thing that was missing was the site of the 'Weird lookin' Indian Guy'.

As the Band repacked and went on their way, the hum of the show still sung in their ears. Although this was not the end for the tale of The Hours, the sky was dark and stars poked through the blanket of night like holes in sheet. So they made their way to ends of the earth ready for another adventure in the lands of 'Soul Survivor' a mischievous place of Rock and Triumph.

The End.


Thank you for being a part of my ridiculous brain, and if I get a chance I may do another chapter later in the year. I hope you are well and don't forget to cash in your 'Every Copper Count' money when you get a chance. We'll see you on the road love Jonny

The Hours

Hey friends,

So many of you have written asking for ticket information for this very special gig and we've just received the link you need to book online....

so here it is :

Tickets for The Grand

Make sure and book soon as tickets are going fast and the venue is smallish :)

Should be a killer night!

Be well,
Tre

Hello friends,

Well, I'm in the hotel lobby at the Malmaison (my favourite hotel chain, by the way)... with my kid, which is nice, and on my final trip of the year, hurrah!

Sorry this blog is late... we've been very busy! But more are coming from all the summer gigs and this one from Norway is ripe for reading :)

Yes, we did fly Ryan Air and it's amazing how much you can miss EasyJet, but since I don't relish a cease and desist order, I'll stop there :)

Be well,
Tre


Oh, and here's Mark Prentice, captain of the bass with his Norway report:

Day 1: Wednesday

After a very early start (1.30 am) we (Mary, Steve, Jonny, Tim and Emily [Tim's fiancee] and I) made it to the airport for our 4am check in time, managed to check in all of our (heavy) equipment and boarded the 6am flight to Norway!

Once safely in Norway, we had a 3 hour drive to a small island off the south coast where Seaside Festival takes place. This beautiful island is about half a mile across and is only connected to the mainland by a bridge.
The weather was wonderful - about 30 degrees with clear blue skies. Perfect conditions for swimming and sunbathing! But there was no time for any of that yet. Our first gig was due to start at 9pm, sound check at 4pm and no sleep since 1.30am! So I decided to make the most of the spare time we had to take a quick nap.

During our 5 days at the festival we had 2 gigs. The first was in the big top and the second was on the main stage 2 days later. Onehundredhours is only just starting to make a name for itself in Norway so it was important for us to give this first gig in the big top everything we could. We met up with Tre & Tori in the big top for sound check - they'd also had a very early start having to fly from Belfast via London to Norway! Sound check went well but we were going to have to rock pretty hard to get people to come into the tent for the gig.

9pm came around pretty quickly. I was feeling a bit jet lagged but the adrenaline started to kick in right on cue - the Gig begins with I can't see myself - A big start to any concert that blows away the cobwebs. From this point on the crowd (which had started quite small) grew and grew until the tent was full well back beyond the sound desk. The Norwegian crowd seemed to be loving the music but also loving the message that onehundredhours preaches wherever we go - it's all about God!

By the time we finished the final song 'Safe in Your hands' the audience just wanted more and more. What a great response! We'd been told that the Norwegians knew how to rock but thanks to such a great response we too were all able to enjoy every moment of the gig. We decided to hold off on the encore and encouraged everyone to support us During our main stage slot 2 days later. Post gig, I found out that once again Steve had managed to slice open his hand in the first song covering his guitar in blood! Very Rock 'n' Roll although Steve said seeing the blood made him feel very light headed for most of the gig.

Finally we were able to go to bed - it had been a very long but very worthwhile first day.

Day 2: Thursday

Thursday was a day off. A chance to explore the island a bit more - do some swimming and sun bathing. Before we had a chance to do any of that Philip (our manager) had arranged for us all to be taken out on a boat trip. 'Boat Trip' can mean many things. Fortunately for us Boat Trip meant a trip around the local coastline in a speed boat. I've not been in many speed boats before but this boat seemed to be pretty fast. This was great in the calm waters around the Island but it wasn't long before we hit the slight choppier waters of the Norwegian seas. This boat started getting air - at least thats what it felt like. I was one of the luckier people that got to sit towards the front of the boat. This basically meant that we got more air and much wetter. Many thanks to Leif for taking us out in his awesome boat!

The rest of the day was spent sun bathing and swimming. Oh, and an impromptu 2-song set at Soldier Camp - a makeshift stage, built by some forward thinking campers, in the middle of the campsite! Genius!


Day 3: Friday

We had a midday sound check for our mainstage gig slot. Mainstage gigs are a lot of fun but due to the number of bands that perform at these festivals you don't get very long to soundcheck and once your soundcheck is finished you have to clear the stage. You then have about ten minutes to set everything up again before your gig slot. These gigs can be 'flying by the seat of your pants' moments. Fortunately for us our soundcheck went very well and once everything was set up again for our slot things were surprisingly calm. We had 30 minutes to play which meant a shortened set - we hit them with all the loud songs before bringing it back down for 'Make me okay'. Once again, we finished with Safe in your hands, with another death-defying stunt from Tim... hmm. Another great set in Norway and again the audience were fantastic making us feel really welcome. A very successful gig. For the rest of the day we were able to sit back and enjoy some of the other fantastic bands on that night: Humming People, Dream Pilots and Jars of Clay.

Days 4 and 5: Saturday and Sunday

Once both of our gigs were out of the way we could relax a bit more and really take in the atmosphere of the festival. During Saturday we were able to hang out with some great People and bands. It was wonderful spending time with Sarah Kelly and her band, and hanging out with Bloodgood was a musical education.

And so for the journey home (which involved a fair deal of packing & repacking due to certain weight restrictions!).

Farewell to Norway - a truly beautiful place. Special thanks to Kjersti Olsen for such tremendous hospitality, and Philip for all that you do...

Hey friends,

Sorry for the lack of blogs... we have been remiss, but they are coming if we ever get off of Easy Jet :)

Which, by the way, I have strangely warmed to as of late... I know, it is bizarre. But since the orange besuited good people of Easy Jet brought out the Easy Jet Plus card, I have been in a happy place.

And now I sound ludicrously travel nerdy, but alas, I am.

Anyway, this blog is to let you know about a brilliant event on August 16th in Northern Ireland, Ballymena, to be exact, called FUEL. It's being put on by some of our good friends and will feature a load of brilliant bands including Starfield, The Jonny Parks Band, Crave and of course, your friends and erstwhile bloggers, Onehundredhours.

As it is a hometown-ish show for me, it does have a special place in my heart and it's free, so rock n roll, eh?

We promise to bring all guns blazing (erm, figuratively of course) and the rest of the Hours are flying in special from our gigs at Soul Survivor for this one night.... so come on out if you're in the wonderful North and if you're not but still an adventurous type, go on over to easyjet.com and book yourself a flight to Belfast and head up the road to Ballymena for a great day of good friends, Northern Irish hospitality and foot to the floor rock n roll.

You can't really ask for more than that, you know?

Hope to see you there :)

Be well,
Tre

Hello friends,

Here's the latest blog from none other than Miss Tori. She's a special one, that one :)

Hope you enjoy,
Be well,
Tre

And so to Glenealy, Co. Wicklow for MAD 2008 (short for Make A Difference).....

Yes, it's true. Onehundredhours made our first entry into the Republic of Ireland. What a privilege to have an invitation to what we understand to be the first Christian Music Festival of it's kind in the Irish South. And you really wouldn't have believed it was their first time....we were treated with such beautiful hospitality and everything seemed to run along swimmingly (at least from our point of view!) Speaking as the one in the band who knows just about NOTHING about the technical side of things.....the big tent and PA and AudioVisual set up were topnotch and we loved the people we worked with.....so on that front....it certainly didn't come across as novice.

They had the whole day/evening planned with music and from different artists including Shell Paris, Redcross Band, Ronan Johnston,Elation, Donking R, The Gentlemen, Ben Cantalon and us. My darling husband, (who you will know as our iconic frontman and hero, Tre) was the speaker for the evening. I KNOW I'm biased (of course I am...you know I'm in love with him!), but it really was such a moving message to that crowd of young people.....a message to encourage them that they can take the passion of what they had felt at this event outside the tent and grounds of that place.....to the streets and schools and pubs and clubs and businesses of Ireland....that they really can change their world. That's the message of Onehundredhours.......that's who we are and what we say....over and over again. And we want to keep saying it, with more and more passion and more and more conviction... that Jesus in our lives.....in us and through us....is the hope and light for the whole world.

So Ben led an incredible set of worship (really like watching a masterclass in how to lead worship), Tre spoke, Ben led a bit more and then we were on! What a night.....we should definitely do that again with Ben if we get the chance. We were all so much already in that place of worship by the time we went on.....it was the perfect set-up. And so...we rocked Co. Wicklow, pressing through some technical difficulties, but pulling out all the stops for the huge sound and huge heart that defines us when we hit the stage. After 10 1/2 years...It's still such a gift to get to be in The Hours....to get to sing my heart out and lift Him up with all my everything. I will always, always be grateful.

Now it's not always EASY....I will say that. Most good things in life don't come easy do they?? I laugh when people talk about our gigging like it is glamorous. Well you sure couldn't have convinced the band it was glamorous for this gig. Mark, Mary, Tim and Steve all had to leave their house at 2:30am to make the flight to get them to Dublin...and Jonny and Nai (Jonny's love!) had to leave at some other crack of dawn time. The Sheppards jumped in the band van and the truck with the two small Sheppards (yea! I love it when the kids get to come!) and drove the 5 hour drive down the country. Let's just say that we were all delighted it turned out to be a great gig....cause when you put your body and mind through that kind of rigor to get to a gig....you are hoping it is going to be worth it. Well.....it surely was for us. I hope that fabulous crowd of Irish lads and ladies feel the same.

Now we just can't wait to get back down South again.

Next week.....Norway!

For The Hours,

Tori

Gentle Readers,

I return, if only for a quick blog :) But I think you'll agree that the rest of the Hours have been doing an admirable job with their blogging powers. And it's my turn now... we go by age, from the youngest to the oldest, so I'll leave you to figure out where that puts me :)

It was great to be playing a gig in my home church, the Causeway Coast Vineyard, finally... It was the first of a new event called "Movemeant" that we're starting here at the church and our gig was the kick off.

But I gotta tell you about our photo shoot the day before! We've really needed to do new photos since the fabulous Timothy R. P. Cooke joined us and we finally set a date and made it happen... we'd had the idea to have the shoot on the beach near my house with everyone dressed to the nines and me sitting in a big chair like the Godfather... and we thought it might work, but we had no idea how well it would turn out! The photographer Connor was an absolute legend and totally rolled with our plans and made the day amazing... I must also mention Hannah Mathers who styled the band and extraordinary Caroline Ellis who did everyone's hair.

I have to say that the hairstyling, photoshoot, dress up part of my life is the part I dislike the most... I am an extremely normal guy most days and find it all a bit embarrassing really. But strangely enough, I had a brilliant time at this shoot and it was a great build up for the gig ahead.

And so into the breach we went, with amps set to stun and more PA gear than anone could ever imagine in the church :) We actually used the drum booth to build barriers around my amp and Steve's amp so that we wouldn't kill anyone with rock n roll :)

The gig was great and the crowd was amazing... loads of people turned up and everyone rocked away. It's always a bit strange to play in your hometown, especially as I live here to escape my rock n roll life, so I can surf, play golf and raise my kids in a quiet town... but everyone made it so special for us and it was cool to do what we do with our closest friends about 5 minutes from my house.

It capped off a great week with the Hours in Ireland and I'm sure it won't be the last one... Here's a quick preview of the photo shoot:




(Onehundredhours 2008)

And so I must leave you now, and turn it over to Timothy Cooke for a Leeland gig blog.

Be well,
Tre



Hey everyone,


Its great to be back writing the blog. It's now my 11th gig with the band and I am still loving it so much. This gig was a very special one for us because we were playing with an amazing band called Leeland and also a band called Compass from norway, so it was a very cool one for us to do. Check them out.

We started with a sound check, very chilled and laid back and then went from there to have something to eat with the Leeland guys. This was really cool because just to let you know if you are not in a band you don't really get that much time to chill out with other bands when your playing with them as everything is always so rushed, so it was really good to get to know them.

We then moved on from there to discover a huge children's play area, you know the kind of huge cube structure with netting all around it and lots of slides and ball pits its was so good. So me, Steve and Johnny had a huge game of 'it' in there for quite a long time and the rest of the band was just watching and laughing and wondering why half of the band are little kids.

Then it was time for us as a band to just chill out, pray and spend time with other which was really good we always love it when we do this and I can't explain how peaceful it is.

Then it was time for another brilliant gig from the Hours, its getting good on stage now Johnny, Steve, Tori and Mark are all letting go of themselves and performing like I've never seen them before and Tre is just looking really relaxed on stage and really just enjoying being in a band and just loving it. The gig on the whole was performance wise wicked but there were a few mistakes no names mentioned, and also it wasn't helped by the fact that The Knipper had spilt has finger opening and nearly died or that's what he said anyway.



(Blood on the strings, or "How the Knipper almost died")

We all came off feeling tired but like we had done something special tonight and went up in the balcony to watch the amazing Leeland (you really, really should check them out).

Thank you so much to everyone who was there and also everyone who helped.
It was a great evening.

And also thank you Philip Simpson because you are awesome.

This is me over and out.

Tim Cooke


(The Hours, Compass and Leeland)

Here's some facts about Wales:

The Holy Grail is found in Wales.
The earth's highest mountain is named after a Welshman.
Thanks to a Welshman hanged for murder, Britain has no Death Penalty.
Golf's Stableford System was invented in Wales.

Here's another fact about the Wales:

It's full of lovely, lovely people! Welcoming beyond expectation. And they know how to rock!!

After a big chunk of the day on the road – with traffic, numerous toilet stops and a confused tomtom – we all made it to the gig venue in Tonyrefail, just in time for soundcheck.

Soon, with everything in order, sounds checked, bands fed and watered and people waiting around in anticipation, Electralyte took to the stage to warm up the crowd. A sharply dressed three-piece with a big sound… if you've not yet checked these guys out, then make sure you do… as soon as you've done reading this, that is!

After a swift change-over it's time for the Hours… by this time the crowd are charged up & ready for a rocking!

(At this point I should probably tell you who I am… I'm Mary. Road Manager for the Hours. Wife of Mark. I basically make sure the band are where they should be, that they have everything they need & that the show is running smoothly.)

The best thing about my job is that while the guys are playing, I get to stand back & enjoy the show (with half an eye on proceedings of course!). Every gig keeps getting better… the band are tighter, the sound is hotter and the enthusiasm on stage spills out, tickling a waiting crowd with anticipation… as the music plays, a passion grows, and the Holy Spirit emerges… it's an awesome thing to witness amidst such a young audience – don't wait till you're all old & grown up – you guys can change the world today!!

With a climatic ending (and Tim almost devastating the drum kit!), the Hours exit the stage, leaving the crowd primed for a spectacular set from the yFriday boys…

Big thanks to our man Gareth on sound – superb as always… and Duncan Purvey, for taking some astonishing photos (check them out here)!

Cymru am byth!

Friends,

The blogging continues. This week, Jonathan T Ravn steps up to the bar.

Enjoy,

Tre

Dear Readers of the rock and roll variety, Thank for your continued reading support and for those who couldn't make any of this trip, this is dedicated to you. Let me just start by saying we had a great a few days and that I'm going to share a little bit of my crazy experience on the road and some good old fashioned stage 'Tom Foolery'.

Section 1 ~ The main Bit

We spent 3 days together this time round, which in the eyes of the hours is brilliant. We all live so far away from each other that practice time is sometimes the only time we get to hang out. We were all staying down in ICC Studios in Eastbourne and locked out studio 2 for two days. Instantly it felt so good to be back in the place where so much creativity had started. And if you look closely in the album sleeves of our record you will see that some of the magic was recorded here. So in a nutshell ~ it felt like we were home.

We practiced with all of our normal stage gear from our studio in Harpenden so it felt right from the start. Playing to each other in the round we concentrated on bringing in a few new tunes into the set and also tried rearranging the order to bring a new feel here and there. It was a great time and we all pulled together to work on vocal parts and even some more synth sounds and effects. Tim and Steve have a particular interest so when I was away they huddled round the tiny keys and invented new sounds.

Back on the road on Sunday we headed for London Astoria and even with leaving in plenty of time arrived incredibly late! The main problem was that there were other people in London also driving, and I'm sure if there wasn't we wouldn't have been so late to sound check. The real reason was a bus that was on fire on the bridge separating the north and south side of London, so police were diverting traffic in circles to keep us all amused.

Once we arrived everything went into full swing and the venue staff were brilliant. There were several guys who helped us load in and out and picked up two things at once that we normally carry between two and we were instantly loaded in! After meeting our manager who was in charge of all things stage related we relaxed for an hour and promptly sound checked. We managed to do it in about 25 minutes which is ground breaking when you think how much there was to do.

After a great show from the Gentlemen we stormed the stage and kicked out the jams, with our new polished set and good vibes from our monitor engineer. Tre had some incredible vocal sing outs and nearly brought Tori to tears, just ask her, and with smiles on our faces, we worshiped like we knew best. God was all over that venue and in a place that normally has so much darkness it was amazing to bring in some light and see a real impact on the people around us.

Driving home I realized again where God has been calling us: places where His presence usually isn't felt. Looking back over the years Tre and I still say our favorite gigs have been the ones where we play to a bunch of people who don't know God and in a place where the words 'Jesus Christ' are only used as a put down. I can't wait to be out again, it always feels too long but God has a plan and I've got a van, so all is good. Pray for us as we take a week off to spend time with our families, and don't forget to keep looking on the engageHIV/AIDS site for updates on what we're doing on there.

Until next time, Jonny

P.s. Due to a crazy schedule i didn't take any video footage so I've written up my days in a time line for you to enjoy. Please feel free to invent your own video in your head as you skim through it ☺ But incase any of you are sad there is a special video that will be going up in the next seven days, of our time together in Northern Island. Bye!


Section 2 ~ Organised chaos: Jonny's days on the road.

Thursday
5.30am Get up and pick up Tom and drive to Onehundredhours Studio.
7:00am Load van of all show gear and half of the studio including kitchen sink.
8:30am Drive back to Watford drop off Tom and head to Gatwick airport.
10:30am Tre arrives and has also been up since 5. Continue down south in Van.
1:00pm Arrive at ICC Studio in Eastbourne, unload van and set up for practice till fingers and throats are sore.
8:30pm eat some dinner.
9:10pm Get on train and travel back to Watford.
12:45am Get into bed and sleep.

Friday
6:00am Get up again and go to work in the Coffee House.
2:45pm Due to missing all breaks leave work 45mins early and run to station.
3:10pm Get on delayed train, thank you British Rail, and barely make connection to Eastbourne.
5:30pm Practice again with much urgency, but also with Tori as she also had just flown in.
9:00pm Finish practice and have a lovely dinner Mary prepared.
10:00pm Onehundredhours meeting which was very honest and fruitful.
11:30pm Pack up studio
1:30am Sleep

Sataday
9:00am I get a lie in hooray! Sort out Artist's Flat at the studio and load the van.
10:50am Leave 10 mins early and head into London
1:00pm Stuck in traffic and search for nearest loo.
2:00pm Drive past burnt London bus on bridge, which explains why we we're stuck at 1pm, haven't see so much traffic in London in ages.
3:00pm Make it London Astoria but fail to find the one way road behind to the loading bay and drive round London some more.
3:38pm Tre drives wrong way down one way street
3:40pm Unload the Van.
5:30pm Sound Check.
7:10pm Bring Huge wave of Rock.
9:00pm Load van and head to Stansted airport to drop off Tre and Tori
1:00am Unload van in Studio.
1:30am Sleep.

Sunday
Sleep...hurrah!!

Hello friends,

Another day, another flight. Queen's Day in fact in Holland and that was fun. I am tired, but home and happy. This blog is from the one and only Tori, so I will leave you in her capable hands. Oh and don't worry, my turn is coming... I will be back.

Be well,
Tre

ps Hope to see you all on Saturday night, May 10, at the London Astoria!

Hello all!

It's Tori here, happy to be sending my greetings to you and news of our gig at Soul Survivor Holland a couple of nights ago. I'm delayed in sending this due to the fever/flu/cough bug catching me and basically knocking me out....but I'm sure many of you have also been through that fun this Spring so I won't bore you with those details. I will though include it only to tell you a funny story of my drive to the airport on the way to Holland.

The trouble with the flight from our home in Northern Ireland to Amsterdam was the timing. Tre had done the same flight the day before because he had gone over a day early to do some teaching there at Soul Survivor Holland. Wednesday morning it was my turn to get there for the gig that night. It meant getting up at 4 a.m and being out the door and on the way to the airport by 4:45am. Generally in a family, there is usually someone who is a morning person.....not in this family! Tre and I are notoriously bad in the mornings and that makes the early airport run even more of a challenge. This morning was a particular challenge because that blasted flu had been pushing me around, and I was in the misery of it....at 4:45am on the way to Belfast. I turned on "As Sure As The Stars" to see if I could try to sing along, and it was one of those comical/horrible moments when I tried to sing, but nothing came out. I looked like a Muppet. I was so discouraged I was seconds from turning the car around to go back home, when at that very moment Tre's voice filled the car with these words from the CD "Come...Come as you are, with everything broken and all that's not spoken." Ha! I literally started laughing out loud to myself in the car and decided 2 things, that I love God's sense of humour, and that I would in fact, come just as I was....croaky voice and all.

As you might expect, I am actually glad I decided to go. Since it was a school night I had left the children with a dear friend who they love, to take care of them. It's a big deal for me to leave our wonderful children, so I always want to feel that what I'm doing if I have to be away, is actually worth it. I go with the expectation that we will change lives and that we really will bring hope to the brokenhearted and the love and peace of God to those come. The Hours has always been about so much more than the music alone...and now, more than ever, I always want every gig to really make a difference in the lives of the people that are there. It's our determined mission and the reason I keep singing my heart out.

I say this because I was so so happy that they surprised Tre and asked him to be the speaker for the main meeting which was on just before our gig. It was the last night of Soul Survivor and Tre basically gave a message of how to leave that place and change the world. It was electric. I know, I'm his wife and I'm not supposed to say how great he is....but really, it was such a powerful moment in that tent. For the band, it was perfect because we knew that the whole crowd would now know who we are and what we are all about. Tre even got to tell them all about ENGAGEHIV/AIDS during his speaking....so it meant that by the time the boys turned up the amps and started the roar of the sound that is Onehundredhours....the crowd was ready to go with us, and to really celebrate what God had already done in their lives that night and that week. We had a great time.

The gig did start really late because the main stage had to be cleared, and we had to sound check to a full crowd of people. If you were there...sorry for the wait! But I hope the wait was worth it, and that the people there had at least as much fun as we did worshipping the King (on Queen's Day) in Holland. It certainly was a party.

So to those that were there, thanks for coming. And for those of you that can come to the gigs coming up....we can't wait to see you there. London is next week! Really, book it in...the 10th of May at the Astoria in London with Salvador.

Saying "NO" to any more flu and "YES" to more beautiful Irish Spring days,

Tori