The Week of Cool Hand Luke

This past week has been amazing. =D

I honestly don't know where to start. From car rides to concerts, this week has been jammed-packed with amazing experiences I will never forget. ** Its also 3:40 AM, so bear with my mixed-up thought processes*

It was: The Week of Cool Hand Luke.

Ok, for those of you who don't know who Cool Hand Luke is, you need to check our their website:

www.coolhandlukeonline.com

I really have no idea how to explain what kind of music Cool Hand Luke plays. But I can tell you that their music is passionate and true - they hold nothing back about what they feel and what they believe. Not only that, but the band members themselves are awesome guys. You will see more of that later, but I would like to suggest that if you are interested, check out the website and read their news box.

So now that you are a bit acquainted with the band, let me tell you about a couple of the coolest experiences of my life: the two Cool Hand Luke concerts I attended in the past week.

Cool Hand Luke has been touring around Illinois and surrounding states for the past couple of weeks, and in the process they played in Greenville, Lincoln, Bourbonnais, and Elgin. I was able to make it to the Greenville and Bourbonnais shows.

*I suggest anyone interested check out the lyrics page of their website, where you can see just how meaningful and sincere their music is. I have never experienced a better and closer worship experience with my God then I did when attending the Greenville concert.*

I have a few pictures of us and the band to show you guys.

The first few are of everybody getting ready for the show:


Tad, Shelly R, Hannah's Car, Hannah, and Heather


Tad, Hannah, Shelly R, Some of Ian, Drew with THUMBS UP YES!

Here's a picture of the Drummer/Lead Singer of Cool Hand Luke, Mark.

This guy is probably the least likely drum player I have ever seen, but he plays them like a maniac, and sings his heart out at the same time. Amazing musician.

Heres a picture of the AWESOME Aurora Borealis that we saw on our way back from Greenville last Sunday night -

Amazing. Why in the crap was this is central Illinois? Because God is great. =D


The trip to Bourbonnais was a blast. Bourbonnais is right next to Kankakee, which is a good 2 and 1/2 hours from Springfield. Awesome drive; I got to hang out with two of my favorite guys: Tad Blacketer and Matt Wallace. Good times - the concert in Bourbonnais was in an awesome Cabin/Party house, which could have held maybe two hundred people, but didn't have over fifty. The band's "backstage" was a room by the bathrooms in the back. Very awesome.

So remember how I mentioned that these guys are passionate and honest? They are so much more than that. Before the shows I got an opportunity to talk to all three members of the band. They are kind, joyful, and humble men. I asked them to sign a CD for someone who couldn't come to any of the shows they had in the area. Not only did they sign it, but they wrote whole paragraphs to her! Their loving desire to see people grow in Christ is amazing.

Well, that pretty much wraps it up for this chapter. Hope you all have had a good week. I'll be back in touch soon.



John