SONICblog

Walking the streets of Alaska...

2006-10-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

FLORIDA HERE WE COME!!!

2006-09-20T15:54:00.001-07:00

Hey guys!! Just wanted to give you a shout-out and let you know that we're headed to Florida for a few shows this week!!! If you live down in FL be sure to check out one of the gigs, if not, send a friend!!! God is doing some awesome things out here on this tour, and we're excited about the next 2 months left on the tour!!! peace-- T-Rex

SONICFLOOd Live Album “Glimpse” – October 31st, 2006

2006-09-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

NEWS REPORT:
SONICFLOOd Live Album “Glimpse” – October 31st, 2006

An October 31st release date has been set for the next SONICFLOOd CD release titled “Glimpse – Live Recordings From Around the World”. As the name would suggest, the CD will feature a selection of live song recordings, compiled from summer 2006 performances in the US, Northern Ireland, Switzerland and Thailand, together with two brand new studio tracks.

The two studio tracks “Save Me” and “Infinite Love” – co-written by band leader Rick Heil and keyboardist Jeff Pardo – build on the fine tradition of SONICFLOOd songs of sincere worship and the search for connection and honest relationship with our Creator. Both are scheduled as radio singles. Call your local Christian radio stations and request the new single “Save Me”! “Save me Jesus, won’t you melt my pride away!”

The initial production run of “Glimpse” will be packaged with a limited edition DVD “The Making Of Glimpse” plus two music videos and a slide show. The DVD will show the band on their 2006 around the world trip, behind the scenes, on stage and in interview. Pre-orders for “Glimpse” are running HOT at SONICFLOOd’s current fall tour shows!

For a preview of the new singles and live songs from Glimpse, visit:www.myspace.com/SONICFLOOd!!!

OUR CREW ROCKs floods of fans!!!

2006-09-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Tico and Todd got some props from their old school in Goshen recently. Tico rocks the monitors on stage for the FLOOd and Todd makes the video server behave which is a full time job! the article goes as follows:::
GOSHEN -- When thousands of people sing to God this fall, Todd Hershberger will give them the words.

He's the new projectionist for Christian praise band SONICFLOOd, which leaves on a cross-continent tour next week.

"I guess I feel a little bit like a rock star sometimes, especially when I tell people that I'm going on tour with SONICFLOOd and I meet a huge fan that just practically faints," Hershberger said. "And then when I tell them I can get them complimentary tickets to the show, they're like, 'I love you forever.'"

Hershberger left his job as audio/visual systems specialist for Goshen College. He joins fellow Goshen graduate Joel Jimenez, who is one of SONICFLOOd's sound engineers.

Hershberger and Jimenez became good friends as students and employees at the college. They promised each other that if one got a good job in the audio world, he'd try to hook the other up.

Jimenez got his job in January. When the projectionist quit, Jimenez recommended Hershberger. They start rehearsals today and launch the tour next Monday.

SONICFLOOd has won two Dove Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for its modern rock-worship music. The band is known for its songs "Cry Holy" and "(You Are My Refuge) Shelter" and covers of "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever."

"SONICFLOOd is considered to be the band that defined modern worship," Jimenez said. "It puts worship within reach, even to the secular crowd, because it's good music."

The "This Generation" tour has more than 50 shows through the continental U.S., Canada and Alaska. The tour is co-sponsored by The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Church.

Besides projecting lyrics during the shows, Hershberger will display camera shots of band members and videos. He'll also coordinate live interviews between band members and mission workers abroad.

"That will be a very interesting challenge. It relies on a solid network to get the video or audio through. That changes because we're in different venues every single day," Hershberger said. "Not only will I be the video operator and the projectionist, it also sounds like I'm going to be the network guru."

Jimenez mixes the sound for the on-stage monitors the band members rely on.

He got the gig while living and playing in Nashville. As a bass player, he's performed with Christian artists Rebecca St. James, Rachel Lampa and Todd Agnew. He also played with a drummer who eventually joined SONICFLOOd and recommended him.

On Jimenez's first tour, the band played in Canada, Europe and southeast Asia. "We went literally around the world in 18 days," he said. But they didn't trash any hotel rooms.

"There's zero attitude, everybody's cool, there's none of this, 'I'm a big-name rock star,'" Jiménez said. "It's a very family-oriented work situation. When we go out, we go out to work."

Jimenez and Hershberger credit Goshen College -- particularly the mentoring of Paul Housholder, senior multimedia specialist -- for getting them qualified for the jobs. They said the small school gave them chances to learn different skills and become multi-talented. That made it hard to leave, Hershberger said, but not too hard.

"It's one of those chances in life that if I were to pass up and stick with the job that is more stable and offers the fringe benefits, I would probably look back and wonder what it would have been like," he said.

TOUR IN MOTION....

2006-09-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

hello there! i would like to invite you to come out to see the world! we're in the beginning days of the THIS GENERATION TOUR and we would love to see you check out the schedule and then check out the concert...and let us take you on a virtual missions trip around the globe! may God bless you, Rick

A Note To Pastors....

2006-09-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

As we are reminded of the tragic events of 9/11 let us also be reminded of the security and constant shelter of our Heavenly Fathers infinite love.
‘When all around us is falling into waste and the earth is dying, You cannot be erased … and I don’t have to be afraid!’ - 'Everlasting'

Dear Pastor, we in SONICFLOOd would love for you to consider playing our video to your church this Sunday in remembrance of the terrible events that occurred on 9/11 five years ago.
in light of the current state of our world during these last days, the song’s lyrics reassure us of the promise that our Lord will never leave us or forsake us. And that despite every hardship we face, our Lord is faithful when we put our trust in Him, to redeem the bad and use it for good. to see the video to 'Everlasting' follow this link: then chose your format, .mov or .wmv

Watch Rick's testimony on the 700Club

2006-09-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Rick recently sat down with cbn's Mia and her crew to tell his story about being healed from Crohn's disease.to watch the interview go to CBN.org and check it out. the 700club even went through the trouble of interviewing Dr. Church who operated on Ricky. be blessed!

OUT ON 60 CITY TOUR!!!!

2006-09-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

hey all, we are out on the road and having a crazy time! today im writing you from New Mexico way up in the mountains. its the boonies but at least they have wireless internet. if you get a chance to come out and see this tour i know you will have a blast! we got a little rock band out with us from Texas called DALTON and they are fantastic! and we have 3 screens set up so you can sort of get an idea of what its like to travel around the world in one evening. PLUS we've got the most amazing crew with us and they work their tails off every night to make it the best concert out there! check out the front page of the sonicflood website or go to our MYSPACE PAGE and then get yourself to the show!!!!!
see ya soon!
love,
rick

Trey Cell Phone Post

2006-08-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

Switzerland..

2006-06-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

yo yo yo.. what's up SFd blogger people?? nothing much here, just sitting in my hotel room here in Switzerland..and it's 1:45 in the morning.. we played last night in Tavannes, Switzerland, and we've had the day off here in the town of Tramelan... it's so beautiful here! it's been a relaxing day to chill in the village and get some much needed naps in! i also found some time to make some cartoon characters of the band..pretty funny indeed!!! (from left to right::Grant, Trey, Rick, Jeff, Jordan and Chris)

the trip is going sweet, looking forward to rocking out in Thailand this next week, and on from there to our homes!!! thank you guys for your never-ending love and support!!! until next time.. peace-- TREx

Belfast, Ireland

2006-06-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

hello peeps!!!
if ya didn't know we started our Euro/Asia tour this week with our first stop in Belfast, Ireland.. we liked it so much that we've decided to stay a few extra days!!! thanks to Wilson and everyone w/ the Megalife Festival for bringing us over...these peeps know how to rock over here...please pray for our journies, as well as our families and other loved ones while we are away...it's a tough thing being away for 18 days.. anyways, hope you guys are doing well wherever you may be.. please stay tuned to the site cause Jon will be updating w/ pictures very soon!!!!! see ya soon!

T-Rex

2006-06-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Louisville, KY

2006-06-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

Quaryville, PA

2006-06-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

Waterloo, IA

2006-06-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

Crusin' w/ The Stinger himself

2006-06-02T18:47:00.001-07:00

Hello folks....man, we just came home from an awesome cruise with some friends to the Bahamas! Some of us tanned too much, ate too much and slept too much, but we had a blast doing it!! We got a chance to hang w/ old friends and make new ones as well!!! I had the opportunity to meet and hang out w/ one of all-time heroes...Steve Borden (aka. Sting)...

I grew up watching WCW and he has always been my favorite wrestler...his testimony is amazing, so if you get a chance, make sure you go to his website -- http://www.therealsting.com ... he is a believer and a fantastic speaker, so he was speaking at a few events on the cruise...he also brought along his beautiful family!!!

it looks like we may do the cruise again next year, so make sure you stay tuned in to the site!!! we're heading to Iowa on Sunday and some shows coming up next week in PA and KY...anyways, gotta jet..stay outta trouble..peace

SONIC cruise

2006-06-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Mount Prospect, IL

2006-05-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Indy 500!

2006-05-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Jonesboro, AR

2006-05-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Nashville, AR

2006-05-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Tabernacle Baptist

2006-05-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

2006-05-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

2006-05-12T17:43:00.002-07:00

2006-05-12T17:43:00.001-07:00

2006-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

2006-04-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

2006-04-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

2006-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

2006-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

2006-04-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

We love CA!!

2006-04-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hello people.. Just wanted to do a little update on the blog and let you guys know what we've been up to... Shows are definitely starting to pick up for 2006, and we hope we get to see everyone of you at some point this year. We just had an amazing Cali trip and got to share the musik w/ some amazing folks!! Started of in Highland, CA w/ John Reuben, and The Listening (formerly the Rock N Roll Worship Circus...great band too!)....then we continued on to Six Flags Magic Mountain, and what a day that was!!! About 6 rides in 2 hours and we were feeling really pumped for the show!!! Luckily, our show was later that night! We had an amazing time w/ the people at Six Flags...there was just a great vibe there in the theatre. Could it be that Spinal Tap had graced the stage many years ago for their rockumentary?? we don't know..but, we were feeling it!! I think the best nights for me are when you look across the stage and you feel unified w/ the other guys in the band. Sometimes, it's hard to connect, especially when your tired or your having technical problems, etc. but this night could not have gone more smoothly! thanks to Stan, Joel, Jon, Andrew (our posse) for all of your hard work and for making things run smoothly night after night!!!! After Magic Mountain we cruised on down to Horizon North County in Rancho Santa Fe....man, what a beautiful place!!! Willie and the crew took great care of us and we really had a blast. We played worship for a few of their services, both Saturday night and Sunday morning! They have an amazing community and lots of cool ministries going on!!! Well, as I sit here at home, I heard the washer stop and the dryer just buzzed, so I need to go get my laundry and pack, cuz tomorrow we're heading up to Montana for a few shows in Billings and Great Falls!! We're looking forward to seeing all of u guys up there, but we're not looking forward to the 6 am flight out!! HA! anyways, i hope all of you guys are well and please continue to check the site out for news, blogs, tour dates and listen out for our new single "Everlasting" which should be out to radio very soon!!! alright---peacE... T-Rex

Hangin' out with Larry from Spirit 105.3FM Seattle

2006-04-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

SONICcast #3 (Help!)

2006-03-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

Host: Jon Allen
Location: Franklin, TN

Just a short request for help.

In this episode ..

We want your input!
Upcoming Tour - A Concert with Compassion

SONICcast@sonciflood.com
Running time: 02:20

Official SONICFLOOd Website
Official SONICblog

Jon's Blog - "Engineering a Blog"

SONICcast #2 (The Blogger Files)

2006-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

Host: Jon Allen
Location: All over the place, USA

Taking a little look back through the Blogger files. Some of the old audio posts on our blog. Quite a few of these are really funny so I have to share them with you. Of course I have to make comments on them. After all this SFd from my perspective!

Old audio posts about ..

Tuna sushi
Todd E Funk!
IHOP coffee might be made from chickory
Stan is a big tarp
Trey eats a double cheese burger at 9am
Beano before, Quiet after
Audio post from stage - lots of screaming people
Blogsplotch.com
Carrissa the next diva
Hardees & ice skating
The boys pray for Ricky, and Andy T saves the day
Trey sings something about flying and being nieve
The 3 stooges go to turkey

Running time: 11:54

Official SONICFLOOd Website
Official SONICblog

Jon's Blog - "Engineering a Blog"

SONICcast - A SONICFLOOd Podcast

2006-02-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

Check out our new podcast!!

The new SONICcast is up and running now on several podcasting services.
See the navagation panel on the left.

Show Note for
SONICcast #1 (An Introduction)

Host: Jon Allen

Guest: Rick Heil

Location: Nashville, TN

Take a look at this brand new podcast from SONICFLOOd. Hosted by the slightly off key monitor engineer, Jon Allen. See a side of the FLOOd boys that you usually don't get to see. Freinds to politics, travels to warming stories.

In this episode..

A brief intro from Jon
An interview with Rick
- Meet the Heil family
- The corgy
- Rick's slightly left sided monitor mix
- "How do you get people to worship?"
- Preview of coming episodes
Closing thoughts and upcoming podcasts

Rick hard at work, or hardly working?

Running time: 10:10

Trey Crashes a Forklift!!

2006-02-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hello to all of the people in net-land!! Just wanted to update the blog w/ some pics from last weekend in Arlington, TX! We had an awesome time w/ the Winterfest crowd!!! I managed to wreck a forklift, but luckily it was just a new Chevrolet truck that broke my fall, no big deal..at all. Ha!!! No, I promise i didn't wreck it, but some one really did and i'm posting the pictures for your enjoyment!! With a little help from Jon (photographer/sound engineer), I was able to recreate every moment of the forklift slamming into the truck!!! Anyways, I hope all of you are having a great 2006 so far, and we hope to meet you guys VERY SOON!!! Peace-- T-REx

more IHOP insanity, more whipped cream!

2006-01-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Breakfast @ IHOP in Dallas, TX...

2006-01-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

a few thoughts from Jordan on sushi in TX...

2006-01-11T14:18:00.000-08:00

Spreading the love in Woodlands, TX...

2006-01-11T14:17:00.000-08:00

Rick's Random Pics from Istanbul

2005-12-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

Now here's Grant trying to communicate to our Turkish speaking drummer, Samuel; with Oljie interpreting... it was crazy and surreal at the same time!

The Crew... IMB boys on location!

note the aqua ducts on the left and the guy picking his nose on the lower right.

Everyday this was breakfast for me in Istanbul... hey lil' doggie! where do you think your goin'?

Balans Club Gig Pix - Istanbul, Turkey

2005-12-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night, while in Turkey, we did a club show. With Chris and Jordan not with us, we got some great help from a fill in drummer named Samuel! Thanks Samuel! (Samuel doesn't speak English and we don't speak Turkish, so it was pretty interesting getting the material together!)

To our knowledge, this was the first "praise and worship" gig in a secular venue in modern Turkish history! It's hard to know if this is absolutely true, but a great crowd showed up and a very cool time was had by all!

We hope to come back and do another show some day, but with the whole band next time!

Enjoy the pix!

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Photograph by Ahmet Ferah

Some Pix from Turkey

2005-12-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Rick, Grant and Trey have just returned to the US from Turkey. (Wish you could have been with us Chris and Jordan!) What an amazing time we've had.

We did all sorts of things, including shooting film for a music video for "This Generation" and other stuff - but also making new friends, encouraging people and being encouraged!

Enjoy the pix!

Three fifths on SONICFLOOd, high up on a balcony in Istanbul, Turkey.

Grant tries to get involved. The Blue Mosk is in the background.

Trey takes some time to chill between shots.

Rick meets some of the locals.

Even late on a cloudy day, the view of Istanbul - a city of around 15 million - is spectacular.

Message from Grant in Turkey!

2005-12-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

What an amazing time we've been having in Turkey!

Rick, Trey and I are in Istanbul right now. (Chris and Jord's are keeping the home fires burning for this particular trip. We miss you guys!) We are using this time to do some filming which will be used in a music video for "This Generation". (Stay tuned for more info about that).

While shooting we have been enormously challenged, served and encouraged by the tiny, but totally "fired-up" church here in this city of over 15 million mainly Muslim people.

The followers of Jesus here are just awesome! The challenges they face are hard to comprehend. Yet they overflow with joy, peace and personal conviction. Most have been disowned by their families for their decision to follow Jesus. Persecution of Christians is common here.

We have had opportunity to meet and get to know several wonderful brothers and sisters. Today we attended a Sunday worship service with a group of about 20, mainly young believers. They sang songs of praise with a passion and gratitude that is uncommon in our home country. “Hallelujah! Hamd Allah!” Praise the Lord! Thanks to God!

That’s all for now!

They Got 'Cons'!

2005-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

They sell 'Cons' even in Istanbul!... i'm breakin' my new ones in right here in Turkey. we are having a blast shooting our new video for 'This Generation' and leading worship for some brothers and sisters out here! (it looks like i'm doing the loser sign ... but those who loose their lives will be saved, so its cool :-))

Trey & Grant in JFK Airport

2005-12-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

here we see a pair of Macs waiting to board the plane to Turkey with their owners.

Grant, Rick and Trey hangin' out in the Airport in NYC....

2005-12-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

SONICFLOOd @ YOUR Summer Festivals in 2006

2005-11-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Grant again!

You know, as we travel around doing concerts all over the place, we often get one special request:

“Please come and play this year at ‘XYZ Christian Music’ Summer Festival!”

Our response to that request is always the same. “We would love to!” and we are ABSOLUTELY telling the truth! We are hoping for, and planning on, a busy summer in 2006. We already have a European tour penciled in, but it’ll be great to make another run of the amazing US summer festivals.

But here’s the deal – we in the band have very little to do with whether or not we get to play at your local festival. Our booking agent or management needs to receive an invitation from the festival promoter for us to go. And festival promoters will invite us if they think that the PEOPLE want us there!

Right now is the time when the summer festivals are deciding on their line-up for 2006. Do you want to see SONICFLOOd at:
- Cornerstone?
- Spirit West Coast?
- Creation East or West?
- Alive?
- Purple Door?
- AtlantaFest?
… or one of the many other fantastic summer festivals?

We want to be there too! So please organize your friends and contact the festival. They all have websites with contact information. Just do a web search and shoot them an email or give them a call. It’s easy!

The influence of YOUR voice cannot be overestimated. We really appreciate it!

An Australian's Take on Thanksgiving

2005-11-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys! Grant here. I’m guessing that most of the people who visit our site, and therefore most of the people who will read this, live in the USA. That’s where I live too (for the last 4 years or so), but I’m actually Australian. That’s why I’m still learning about things like saying, “Happy Holidays” in November and what Thanksgiving is all about.

The story of Thanksgiving itself, and how it came about, is amazing. I won’t try to give you a history lesson or anything, but you have to go back to the early 1600’s (when Australia was still well over 100 years from even being discovered by Europeans) to find its origins. The holiday was set aside by the first European settlers as a time to be thankful to God. He had guided them to the new world where they hoped to build a nation on Biblical principals and he had helped them survive the first terrible winter. That winter had killed about half of them and life was tougher than we can imagine! Yet they found reason to be thankful and praise God.

That’s a great reminder to me. Sometimes I even want to complain if the air conditioning is a couple of degrees not to my liking! Sometimes I just need a bit more perspective! Living a life that shows gratitude for all of God’s blessings is something that I strive to do everyday. But having a special time of year to show special “Thanksgiving” is awesome.

As we in the US celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let’s remember the original spirit of the oldest of all American holidays - gratefulness to our Creator. And if you don't live in the US, why not do it anyway? And have a happy holiday!

Thanksgiving Post from T-Rex and a note from Rick

2005-11-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

Thankfulness is a core theme in worship and is an essential attitude for all children of God to have. With Thanksgiving this week, stop for a while and ask God to remind you of something to be thankful for. I believe in His still small voice, He will bring to your mind times when He showed His unconditional love when you thought you were unlovable. He will maybe bring to mind times when He has rescued you and restored your hope. He may ask you to look around and take note of the people He has brought into your life and then show you the way these relationships have made you better and/or brought you immeasurable joy. Then He will remind you of how He loves you; so much that He doesn’t want to live without you, so much that He allowed His Son, Jesus to die as a sacrifice so that you could have a relationship with Him… the way He wanted to live with you from the beginning of time. A thankful heart comes from a revelation of God’s love and the greatest revelation to us of His love; is the sacrifice He made so that we could be made pure and whole and be restored in our relationship with Him: the One who made us! Our Lord is a Good Father and ever good and perfect gift is from Him and so we enter His courts with Thanksgiving! Have a glorious Thanksgiving and may your feast be joyful and blessed!

On the plane home from Cali

2005-11-14T07:33:00.000-08:00

Stockton, CA

2005-11-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

A little song from Trey
(The power went out in the choir room, and the boys got bored)

Some crazy fans!

A Shout out from the stage!

Lunch stop for some spicy mexican food

Good morning Sacramento, CA !

2005-11-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

FROM TREY--- hello friends!

2005-11-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

what's up people??? i'm just sitting here on my couch..bored out of my mind!!!!!!! we've had a pretty slow month here in SFd world...i guess you could say we are starting to wind down for the holidays..but anyways, i'm excited to get back out there this weekend w/ the boys and play some shows..we're on planes all weekend which is kinda rough, but it's well worth it to see you guys!! we're going to be stopping in Findlay, OH on Friday night and then heading over to Sacramento, CA on Saturday and then to Stockton, CA on Sunday..should be fun times indeed!!! On another note, we have been getting ready to launch some much needed updates on the site. our awesome monitor engineer, Jon, happens to be an incredible computer guy, so look for some changes to the site coming soon!! also, keep checking the site for updated tour info and all that stuff..we've got some BIG things cooking for 2006, so stay tuned for that!!! anyways, i believe i'm going to go pickup some Chick-Fil-A now...YUM! made ya hungry, huh?!?!? But, before I go--please keep your ears open for our new single YOU ARE, now on radio...it was released two weeks ago and we're really pumped about this song... it is from our newest record THIS GENERATION, and you can listen to a clip of YOU ARE on the homepage of the website...so please give it a listen, call the radio stations and request it...tell all your friends to tell all of their friends to tell all of their friends...and so on.. alright kids...have a good one!!!

Trizzle.

Quakerstown, PA

2005-11-07T16:18:00.000-08:00

...and from out of the mist came a guitar carrying Jordan. its a rare picture of the beast in his natural habitat.

cookin'!!! Chris making the soup. (FHGMinistries)

Rick about to take a bite out of a tasty Sennheiser mic.....ummm good! (FHGMinistries)

all the guys rockin' the gym! (FHGMinistries)

GOODNIGHT! (FHGMinistries)

we had a great time in PA with Everlife and Overflow. and hey a BIG shout out to the WORD FM...all you guys rock!

we had an amazing time w/ the folks in Quakertown. you guys in PA. ROCK!!! (tell us your thoughts @ our My Space page!

nice kitty, gooooood kitty.

2005-10-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

this is one of the many lions we got to hang out with whilst in South Africa. she was taking a nap cause that's what cats do... oh, and they like to eat meat and people.

Hey everybody!!!!

2005-10-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks and friends and brothers and sisters. We finally got home after being stuck in the Denver airport for about 12 hours... im so glad to be home!!! We are still looking for our luggage... I hope its not to far away. Despite the grief, we had a wonderful time with Pastor Dan and Water of Life Church in Cali!... And the chance to partner with a Church that is so focused on loving the world through such an intense missions program, no matter what the cost, was certainly worth all the hassle! HAPPY 15th W.O.L.!!!!!!! You guys ROCK!

2 ft of snow in Denver!!

2005-10-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

And we got stuck in it!!

Notes from South Africa

2005-10-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing time we had in South Africa! It was truly a blessing to us all in Sfd. Everyone we encountered has become special to us and will never be forgotten. When we landed in Jo-burg we had a chance to acclimate with the help of Frank and James from Sarepta Music (our SA record label family) and get our ‘heads on straight’, which for some of us is an all day event. Then we met up with Craig and K.J. from IMB (international missions board) to do some filming for the next up and coming video, which will be to the song This Generation. We then went to the Day OF Destiny conference where we met up with Peter (the visionary of the conference) and his beautiful family. By the time we got around to playing we were defiantly ready! The concert was rockin’ and it was truly a day of destiny for us as we saw God do some amazing things. During the show, CeCe (some of our wives got to go on the trip) met someone who knew of a man who was in the hospital in Durban who had just had surgery for Crohn’s disease. The meeting was truly a God thing cause we were in Jo-burg and Durban is a good 6 hours away…just so happens that our next stop was Durban and so we knew we had to make a hospital visit. When we got to Durban we were brought to an awesome B&B where Graham Smith and his wife Antoinette treated us like kings and queens. The Leopard Wood Manor is in the heart of Kloof and if you’re ever in the neighborhood and your looking for a soft bed and a most delicious breakfast, the Smith’s house is your best bet.
That night we played an acoustic set at Westville Baptist Church…thanks Pastor Skip! During the following week, we went with Roger and his wife, Meg (IMB Missionaries) to an informal settlement which is basically a place where 1000s of poor and needy people live in shelters made of corrugated metal and anything else they can find in order to have a roof over their heads. We made our way through the narrow roads to where our vehicles couldn’t go anymore and suddenly, a sea of curious children surrounded us. Walking in the makeshift village was a heart wrenching experience we will never forget. The team CeCe and Brooke were with visited an orphanage or a daycare. Whatever the case, there were children lying on the floor on nothing more than woven mats on dirt. Despite their living conditions the children seemed happy and joined us in singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and some other songs in Africans. Our hearts broke as we said our ‘good-byes’ especially CeCe cause she had made a special friend named Olly which was short for a really long name starting with an ‘O’.
Then Roger took us into the city of Durban to do some filming and lunch. He introduced us to some indigenous flavors and curries. One lunch item was called ‘bunny chow’ which was basically a loaf of bread with its middle carved out then filled with some spicy curry. I had my curry with rice with bones and it was plenty spicy hot. The next day we went on a safari at the Tala Game Reserve and saw all the animals. The day was filled with adventure to say the least and Chris even picked up a big huge piece of rhino-dung….gross!
Thursday we wound up in Pinetown to do the Vision Conferences. Playing the packed room at His Church was so fun. The final day we were there we participated in a study group on worship and being in a worship team. I pray that our words were of some use. Right after we got through with our class we had to high tail it to the airport so that we could ride a plane for 30 something hours.
Needless to say, we loved every minute and we so thankful for the opportunity to worship with our family in South Africa.
may God's Favor flood your lives and HIs joy fill you hearts, PEACE.
rick

greetings from Rick...

2005-09-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hey yall.
Well its been awhile and im sorry for being so lax in my journal writing. Having kids in your life makes things a little more hectic than usual. Thank The Lord that both are now potty trained and the oldest just started school…its hard to let go. Being a father is a wonderful treat. The whole experience takes you on a rollercoaster ride…times of pure joy, exhilaration then difficult times and sadness. These days I feel my heart more and I love it. My heart or you could say the ‘essence of Rick’ is alive and kicking; breathing in the fullness of what a life redeemed can bring. I’m talkin’ ‘bout having wings like an eagle! Peace and joy that cant be explained by any kind of mental reasoning. You see, there was a time when my heart was not engaged, when emptiness filled me and darkness crowded my mind with thoughts of depression and death. Complete surrender in brokenness to Jesus changed all that and He then gave me a new heart. I must say it was an awesome miracle! And we pray that this miracle has happened to you cause life any other way is pointless and empty. Blessings to you guys and gals and seek Him with ALL your heart!

and now words from Grant...

2005-08-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello there, you-SONICFLOOd-website-visitor-you! I am very impressed that you're here and especially if you're reading a chunk of text like this one. Hopefully you'll find this interesting.

A high-school student, who was doing research for a school project, asked me to describe my influences. This is pretty much what I wrote to him:

My thinking and spirituality have been influenced by several books/authors I could mention:

- Donald Miller, especially his books "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching for God Knows What". I have also gone to hear him speak in public a couple of times. Most recently last Monday night (August 22nd, 2005 in Nashville)! He writes and speaks about the mystery and wonder of a loving relationship with Jesus, rather than the "commercial" or "religious" approach to being a Christian. He is also very funny!

- Paul (yes Paul Colman of my former band the Paul Colman Trio or pc3) greatly influenced my thinking on a lot of things too. He has some very wise older guys who have mentored him over the years in certain approaches to relationship and following Jesus. Thankfully, Paul passed some of these on to me.

- M. Scott Peck wrote a book called "The Road Less Traveled" which deeply influenced me some years back, but I still hold to the ideas and I am hoping to re-read it this year.

- Eugene H. Peterson's re-writing of scripture as "The Message" has also opened up the Bible to me in ways for which I am very thankful.

- My wife and I completed a wonderful seminar run by my church called "Ancient Paths" that was excellent and made significant changes in me. It's presented by a guy named Craig Hill. He wasn't at our church though. We had to watch him on video.

- "Men's Fraternity - A Journey Towards Authentic Manhood" was a life-changing early morning meeting/study that really helped me a great deal as well.

- I am also a big fan of Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost For His Highest”. I have to read the updated edition because the original text, first published in 1935, is pretty tough to plough through with it's old style English language. ”My Utmost …” is a collection of daily studies. I always find them right on the ball and very challenging

My favorite passage of the Bible is Proverbs 3: 5 and 6. Look it up!

Early musical influences are many and varied:
- The Beatles, especially Paul McCartney
- Crowded House and Neil Finn
- Early Contemporary Christian music like Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill and The Resurrection Band
- Rock bands like Queen, Toto and Boston
- Hard rock bands like Deep Purple,King's X.

Right now I am loving these newer artists:
- Muse
- The Killers
- Keane
- Missy Higgins
- Butterfly Boucher
- Frou Frou
- Air
- The Cardigans

So there you go folks. Hopefully you know me - one fifth of SONICFLOOd - a little better now. See you at a show some time soon I hope!

Grant Norsworthy
(bassist)

FROM GRANT...

2005-08-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the competition that our record company INO are running? It’s pretty cool. They’re giving away a Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable) to the person who makes the best SONICFLOOd fansite. There have been a lot of entries and I have been looking through at them. Some are very cool! You can have a look for yourself and even vote for your favourite. I am not totally sure yet, but I think my favourite is going to be one of these numbers on the voting list – 3, 13, 24, 32, 37 or 41.

Voting finished on Friday August 31 (one week away), so grab this link and check it out:

INO Records Fansite

From Trey

2005-08-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

hello peeps!!!! once again, thanks for visiting the SFd website and more importantly checking out our journal page....sorry it has taken a couple of months to update the journal page, but alot has been happening in the world of SFd and that has kept us super busy!!! wow, where to start?!?! well, since Chris last updated we had a SUPER busy month of July with a ton of shows at the beginning, and then a lil' vacation in the middle, only to come back and finish out July with a bang...the first of July we went out and played at some churches, then hit up Lifest and then we were able to be apart of The Song's 1st b-day up in Indy....HAPPY B-day!...then we finished up that run w/ a trip out to Denver for the CBA conference..from there we all went 5 seperate ways for vacation..kinda sad, but definitely relaxing...i for one went out to California to chill....VERY relaxing... we then met back up to fly up to Nebraska for a show w/ our buds Back To The Bible/Solid Sounds and then to East Bay Area Cali to see our friends in Brentwood! man, looking back now, i just realized i was only at my house a total of 2 days the month of July...the end of July saw us flying around 20 hours to visit the beautiful people of Singapore for two shows @ Sonicfest...dude, these people totally rocked out and showed us how God is working over there!! thanks to Stella, Greta, and the staff from Sonicfest for taking great care of us!! anyways, now we're in August, things are getting back to an easier pace..still keeping busy on the weekends, but atleast i'm home so i can keep my house tidy..HA (yeah right). anyways, looking forward to rockin' out my home state of NC this weekend..it happens to be Jordan's home state too!!! so we'll be getting to see some family and friends on this trip!! well, take it easy and we'll be catchin you guys soon!!!

- T-rex

From Chris,

2005-08-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!
I first want to shout out to all our beloved supporters and fans in Singapore. God bless you! We had such a wonderful time meeting all of you and sharing our music. Sonic Fest 2005 at Fort Canning Park was a dream. All of the stage staff was amazing, the late night dinners and "real deal" Singapore that we saw was breathtaking. But mostly, it was the people. God's people have a heart for serving others and giving every element of their own lives. This was more than true in Singapore.
We've been home for two days now, and I think we're all back on schedule. But there is a lingering part of my being that misses that place a whole bunch! Mark, Stella, Greta, Kenny.. all of you have a place in my heart. We, SFd, cannot wait to be back there again soon!
We'll post some pictures soon. And I am sure that some of the guys have thoughts that they will post as well. But again, thank you!
We're back on the road here in a few days. Its exciting as ever. I am so excited about the things the God is teaching all of us. And about the ways He is using us. Your prayers and support are all coveted!
Talk to you soon! Drop over to www.sonicfest.net and have a look!

Chris

"I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun. Not only because I see it, but because by it all things are seen."
-- C.S Lewis