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Naïve Orleans: The Ignored Poverty

So fair warning this is probably border lining on a completely emo blog, but I have to share my heart about our experience in New Orleans this past week.
We have toured all across the US from Austin to Atlanta, from St. Louis to Nashville... it doesn't matter where we go we seem to encounter something in each city that we didn't expect. Such was the case in New Orleans, LA... but to an extent that couldn't have been anticipated by any of us. Here you have a city that has, in the past two years, suffered from a blight not experienced before on American soil. Pain, agony, homelessness, poverty, starvation... each are daily occurrences for nearly 20% of New Orleans CURRENT population. All of these plagues in plain sight, yet it somehow goes unseen by so many.

It strikes me as a jaded form of irony when you take into consideration that less than a mile away from a "tent city" set up for the homeless there sits a multi-million dollar football franchise, a billion dollar trump tower under NEW construction (post hurricane Katrina), and thousands of suit-clad businessmen that seem to ignore the extreme suffering around them.
New Orleans is a city surrounded by so much controversy, invaded by so much turmoil... a city full of poverty and overflowing with disappointment. The air was thick with oppression... the streets that we walked on heavy with the pain of broken dreams... and that is exactly what attached itself to me as we walked... brokenness. I began to feel the broken lives of an oppressed people. The very lives that go un-noticed on a daily basis. It is then that I realized where we as a people have begun our folly... we are "willingly ignorant." We are spoon fed what is easy to digest. And most of us are none the wiser, partaking of our daily rationed diet of commercialism and self aggrandisement.
So lets make a pact to change our role in this production we call society. Lets become aware, lets turn your eyes in a new direction and see what we have ignored. Lets choose to become conscious of our surroundings, so that little by little we can extend our area of influence, make an impact, leave a legacy, and... change the ignored.
Mucho amo,
Clint

Snowy Virginia

Backstage Fun Kung Fu Style

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Hotels are made for music

Check out this video: South Carolina Christmas in room 247

Total Axxess In Nashville

So last night we had a radio interview in Nashvegas at the world reknown WayFM!

It was an amazing experience across the board. Wally, the total axxess guy, had some pressing questions for all of us and pretty much tried to demoralize me and called into question my current spot on the road with Chasen by making an attempt to auition for my position as the bass player. However his evil plan was thwarted by my extra vocal talent to which he cannot touch with a stick. So no sweat!

One of the stipulations for our interview was playing a song called the "circle bunny" song. More or less the song was a lullaby the Wally sang to his daughter when she was young, but due to his late night work schedule he has now delegated the task to whatever band is in the studio that night.

Check out the link to the total axxess chasen page with the interview and songs including the

amazing "circle bunny" song right here....

http://www.totalaxxess.com/vault.php?gallery=a,152

Mucho amo,

Clint

"You can find me in St. Louie..."

"Rolling on dubs, blowin' up like cocoa puffs"

St. Louis is a totally sweet city. We have had an absolute blast here in the big STL... from the Big-a-arch to accidentally driving down Martin Luther King Dr. I also got to see my best friend from high school (Daniel aka "D") while I was here and hang our alot with our new bros from Candlefuse. BTW if you ever roll through STL make sure you check out the City Museum probably one of the coolest places you'll ever go. Here is a few pics from the road... go to my mysace for more.
Mucho Amo,
Clint

In The Studio!

This week we are in the studio working on our first Christmas tune. Everything is coming out great so far... Evan's guitar licks are becoming increasingly brilliant, Aaron is nailing all of the drum parts like it's his job (which it is), and Chase's lyrics are totally clever! So look forward to a kickin' Christmas song on your radio this holiday season courtesy of Chasen!

Mucho amo,

Clint

There's a new addition to my top 10 best days ever!

The House of Blues

This past weekend we did a quick tour with our great friends Sister Hazel.

The first stop was a Ziggy's in Winston Salem, NC home of the Wake Forest Deamon Deacons...

The second stop was at the world famous House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC! To put it into perspective I used the same backstage toilet as John Mayer, Dave Grohel, and Rob Thomas just to name drop a few, haha. It was an incredible night... the set was great, the food backstage was amazing, and to top it off I got to play at the freakin House of Blues!

Life is great! Stay tuned to find out whats ahead...

Mucho amo,

Clint

Selma, Alabama

Last night we were in a small but historically signifigant town in the deep south called Selma, Alabama.

It is most known for its role in the civil rights movement of the 1960's when a huge group of civil rights supporters marched, or tried to at least, to Montgomery, AL from the town of Selma.

On "Bloody Sunday," March 7, 1965, referenced by the famous U2 song, some 600 civil rights marchers headed east out of Selma on U.S. Highway 80. They got only as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge six blocks away, where state troopers and local sherrif's deputies attacked them with Billy clubs and tear gas and drove them back into Selma. Two days later, on March 9, 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a "symbolic" march to the bridge. Then, civil rights leaders sought court protection for a third, full-scale march from Selma to the state capitol building in Montgomery. Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., weighed the right of mobility against the right to march and ruled in favor of the demonstrators.
"The law is clear that the right to petition one's government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups...," said Judge Johnson, "and these rights may be exercised by marching, even along public highways."
On Sunday, March 21, 1965, about 3,200 marchers set out for Montgomery, walking 12 miles a day and sleeping in fields. By the time they reached the capitol on Thursday, March 25, 1965, they were 25,000-strong. Less than five months after the last of the three marches, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Equality and the personal provision of men has really been at the forefront of my mind lately. It seems that we, as fellow humans, have fallen into a downward spiral of justification.... making whatever is right in our own eyes ok by our own set forth standards... I call it personalized doctrine. While we were in Birmingham for a much needed day off we all went to see the new movie "The Kingdom", which by the way is an amazing movie, but in the end it leaves you begging the question of who is actually right. This entire planet belongs to each of us yet for centuries we have waged war against each other for what? Land? Rights? Ownership? Money? All of which are completely fleeting. Now I know I am bordering on being a tree hugging idealist here but it seems like there must be some way that we as a small society, one by one, can begin to come together, combine our resources and live together as equals.... extending our blessings to even the lowliest homeless addicts of our society.

"I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me." Matthew 25:45

Selma Alabama was a place that I went to play a show... but I found a lot more while I was there... alot about myself and alot about us, as a whole... I, for one, for my part intend on making a difference.

Mucho amo,

Clint

My blog has fallen into disrepair!

So this is the first time I've updated in like two weeks! Sorry!

I have been at home spending a little time with Am and Jack, and now we are back at it on the open road!

Last night we played a show in the metropolis of Double Springs, AL. The people there were great and the show went just fine, even though we blew a breaker in the middle of a song... it happens. We stayed the night in a cabin off the side of some hwy which doesn't sound to glamorous but it really was pretty cool.... we chilled out on the bg porch playing guitar and writing songs in an old porch swing. So all in all "Double mint, double mint" springs was a tight little town.

It's great to be back on the road chillin in my home away from home, a hotel room in Birmingham.

Our single, Crazy Beautiful, has officially charted on CHR... #28

And we are #8 on Air 1, http://www.air1.com/ Things are really looking great for the rest of this year. I'm looking forward to winter, bring on the cold!

Stay tuned, I promise I'll update more often.

Mucho amo,

Clint

The Orange Peel with Relient K

Last weekend we played at this amazing venue called the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC with Relient K. What an incredible show! The crowd was awesome, and the show came out great!

All of us in the band had a blast on stage and after the show hanging out with all of the fantastic fans. It was totally an amazing night for all of us! Rock on Asheville!!

Mucho Amo,

Clint

A-LA-BAMA!

We just finished a quick two day stop back home in Greenville. It was awesome to spend some much needed time with Am and Jack, and get a little R&R.

So two days and boom! we are out on the road again.

This time it's Huntsville, Alabama! Home of none other than the 2005 American Idol runner-up... Bo Bice!

Tonight we played at Renown http://www.renownhuntsville.com/ in Huntsville. What a cool place, and what a great vision! Their main goal is to reach people who have been burned by church or really have had no interest in church at all. It's the true mission of Jesus at it's most basic element... loving people where they are in order to prove to them that they are loved. It was truly an awesome experience for all of us.

After the show we headed off to the Holiday Inn in Huntsville which once gave board to the one and only... Elvis! Thats right I am currently sleeping where the hip shaking, earth quaking, ground breaking king of rock and roll once slept! I can feel the inspiration rushing through me.... hang on............................ ........................... ....................... .............................. sorry I had to get up and do the ~hip swivel~ thing! Oh yeah!

Tomorrow morning we are headed off to Ashville, NC to play with Relient K! I am so stoked! What a cool show! Check back tomorrow night for an update and some pics.

Mucho amo,

Clint

Me, Jimmy Carter, and Rosa Parks

The road is good for many things...
~transporting goods from one area to another, like logs
~getting to where you are going
~getting back to where you came from
~and most importantly making memories!

I have truly had a blast this first leg of our tour.
Austin, Dallas, Birmingham, Hot Springs (I feel like I'm writing a Huey Lewis song)
I've learned alot about myself and my limits. I have also learned a few tidbits that may seem interesting to you... so I decided to list them.

So here are my top 13 facts learned on the road!

1) Tex-mex is all there is to eat in Texas
2) I always have to sit in the Rosa Parks seat in the van
3) Austin has really cool parades
4) Starbucks gives you gas
5) Hotels are a great place to get free pillows and towels
6) I sleep at least 16 hours a day
7) Cell phone batteries are not built to last
8) Everyone out west thinks Charlotte is in SC
9) Time moves faster, or slower… actually I have no concept of time
10) Jimmy Carter is made of wax
11) Hot Springs actually has hot springs
12) It’s easier to keep up with someone if they have a blog
13) No matter where I am, I’m on the way home!

Mucho amo,
Clint

Ode to Ozark!

We played a show on Wednesday night in a quaint little town called Ozark, Arkansas (pop. 2500)

The people were awesome and the scenery was gorgeous. Long live Ar-Kansas.

Mucho amo,

Clint

Welcome to Hot Springs, Arkansas: Boy Home of Bill Clinton

So once again here I sit a Starbucks... same frappuccino different town.
We are in the giant metroplex of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Interesting fact... do you know why they call it Hot Springs? Because there are springs and fountains within the city that have water the temperature of lava spraying out of them! How do I know this? Because I stuck my hand in one of these said springs and it burned the top 3 layers of skin right off! (not really but that would be a very interesting blog story )Here's a little real history of Hot Springs (for Wil)...

-It is the boyhood home of Bill Clinton and coincidentally has several houses of burlesque.
-The city takes its name from the natural thermal water that flows from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain.
-Approximately 800,000 gallons of 143-degree water flows from the springs each day.
-It was also once featured in an episode of Looney Toons where bugs bunny visited Hot Springs. So it's a pretty semi-famous town.

Tonight we play at The Attic here in Hot Springs and tommorrow we are off to Ozark, Arkansas home of the hillbillies, seriously thats their town mascot.
"Life on the road, don't get no better than this!"

Mucho amo,
Clint

Chasen Video Diary #2 (Daystar TV)

Chasen Road Diary #2
Soundcheck TV Show taping at Daystar in Bedford, TX.

Chasen Road Diary Numero Uno

Here is our first week out on the road.

On stage @ ACL!

On stage at Austin City Limits... a dream come true!

AUSTIN!

I am officially in Austin, Texas home of Chuy's Tex-mex (where Pres. Bush's daughters tried to drink under age), Season 16 of the Real World, Austin City Limits, Sandra Bullock, and Austin Powers!
So just to catch you up... here's todays events in chronological order.
Evan violated my safety bubble this morning so I broke his toe with a coffee pot full of cold water.. (the details are a little sketchy but it's really a long story)
Billy Earnhardt (Aaron) made a special appearance at Chuy's Tex-mex tonight. He shared with us many interesting facts... including how fast polar bears named Butch can move, which is actually 5 naughts in nautical terms or if filled properly with tex-mex food they can reach up to 10 naughts! That's amazing that a polar bear can reach those speeds, especially since Texas is like 212 degrees at all times!

We played at a humongoid church in Austin called Great Hills Baptist Church.
It was amazing!
Rock on Great Hills Baptist Church!
Everyone at GHB has been incredibly nice so far. They set us up a sick green room with the works! (even a cool green rug that looks like it could be from Pier 1 or possibly even The Pottery Barn... wow that's sweet huh?)
Oh yeah, and we had like 200 or so kids sing Happy Birthday to Jack-jack over the phone in the middle of the show tonight! That was so cool for a dad to give his awesome son on his first birthday.

As you can see we are having a blast here in the captial city of the Lonestar State.
Life is great on the open road!

Mucho amo,
Clint

The Other Side of Rock and Roll

Thank God for free wireless internet! Who would have though that Starbucks in Alabama would charge $10 a day for internet... so rock on Panera Bread you make boredom a little less boring!

Alabama is a strange place....

Mucho amo,
Clint

"700 miles in Ron Burgundy"

Tonight we are at the infamous "Nick" in B-mingham for a kickin' show which we are all stoked about! Show starts at around 10ish which means it ends around 1ish... sounds like an average night... except for the fact that we have to be in Dallas by 11am the next morning! That's 700 miles in Ron Burgundy over a span of a few hours. (Ron is our van) Good thing we have Veronica (Veronica is our GPS system because we are all directionally retarded)

Our manager JD is making the overnight drive so we can be semi-awake for the show the next morning. Oh the glamorous life of rock and roll.

Oh yeah and JD screams in his sleep... whats up with that?!

Mucho amo,

Clint

Jack's First Cons!

My son Jack got his very first pair of Cons! (thanx Mike)

Talk about making a daddy proud! And what a perfect time to break them out... our first show of the tour.

Tommorrow night is at The Nick in Birmingham, AL. Then a 10 hour drive to Dallas for a Daystar TV show taping at 11 am the next morning.

Life is great.... God is doing amazing things!

Don't miss out!

Mucho amo,

Clint

Burlington, NC.... More than great coats!

Last night we met up with our good friends Overflow in Burlington, NC.
The show was a blast and the sound system was unbelievable. Rock on Burlington!

Next stop is The Nick in Birmingham, Alabama (the murder capital of the US.... seriously)

Mucho amo,
Clint

Wa-Holla-Atcha-Boy

So last night we played the Wahalla Civic Center conveniently located in Wahalla, SC... which in our case could only be located with a trusty GPS system. Luckily we had a said GPS system and found it just fine (thank you Veronica!)

Here is a picture from the show... sort of...

The show was a blast and the crowd was great... even though the roof was falling in on us in the green room and the lamp was on fire in the mirror.

Wahalla You Rock!

Mucho Amo,

Clint

And we're off! (The Tour Map)

Only 3 days left until Chasen departs on a whirlwind adventure across the nation.

First stop is Wahalla, SC.

Stay up to date with our non-interactive official Chasen tour map. Found only on Clint's blog!

By the way, I really need a few pair of clean socks before the tour so feel free to make donations.

Mucho amo,

Clint

Bottle Jumping (The new craze!)

Every so often a hip new trend is conjured up by some celebrity or semi-famous person that catches on like wildfire and eventually transcends into pop culture. I pride myself at staying slightly ahead of the game... so I have made it my hobby to try and predict if you will these coming trends. Sometimes it proves rather difficult to predict the way things will catch on... but every once in a while you stumble upon something that you know can't miss....

What is it that I am talking about exactly?

BOTTLE JUMPING!

You'll see, in a matter of weeks everyone will be doing it!

Many thanks to Evan for making me laugh hysterically!

Mucho Amo,

Clint

Velkommen (Welcome)

Hello to all,
Or as my Danish homies say Velkommen!
I'll be updating and ranting quazi-daily which is a fancy way to say when I get around to it.
Check back often, I may even say something worthy of reading.

Mucho Amo,
Clint