Blessed Outcast: The Opening

There we all were, preparing ourselves for what this unreal night had in store for us. I sat on the couch in the middle of the modest green room, sipping my latte and reading a really good book and watching the other guys play one of the latest video games we'd all been getting into.

The culmination of everything we had accomplished, not to mention everything we had been through as a band, was about to commence in just under half an hour. That ever-potent combination of nerves, utter fear, and shear excitement was the exact thing we all were feeling. Not to mention, when we overheard my guitar tech tuning my Fender Telecaster, only to hear the crowd roar to life, I swear that my heart was beating faster than if my arteries were clogged.

"Dude, that was absolutely awesome," said Nate, our lead guitarist, as he got up and gave high-fives all around to all the members of Fish and Chips, a North Carolina-based holy hard rock band. Some long time friends of ours we had made while doing the huge summer Christian festival circuit, they were the first group we thought of for who we wanted to open for us on such an occasion.

"Yeah, man," exclaimed Jeb, their dread-lock and tattoo-wearing electric bass player, as he made a mad dash to the fridge for a well-deserved can of Diet Pepsi. Mind you, we'd been cooped up in the green room, in order to make final preparations for our set. But, we were able to watch all of the on-stage action from the stage monitor television. That way, we always know just how good or bad our tour mates are playing out their sets.

"Fifteen minutes to show time, guys," informed the venue's stage manager as he did the old peek-in. Right then and there, I knew that time was soon to be out, the stage lights would go out, and we'd be left with nothing else but to give the audience the thing that most all of them had paid good money to see. Until then, the butterflies in my stomach had turn to Venus fly traps, chomping at every little last bit of collectivity I had. Then, to top it off, I was light-headed, considering that I hadn't eaten anything since that big breakfast at that cool diner on the edge of town.

Knowing that I could only fix the latter, I partook in a sampling of the dinner service and other goodies set up on a big-long buffet table before me. Certainly, this must've been my night, considering that dinner that evening was a deluxe taco bar, complete with all the veggies, three kinds of cheeses, two kinds of meats, two different kinds of tortillas, and four different kinds of salsa. Honestly, I never knew, until I became a touring musician, that there were that many kinds of salsa.

Anyways, I scarfed three of the little guys down, easily, then went back to make myself one more and grab me a diet Dr. Pepper. But, faster than I could crack the frosty cold can open, we watched as the venue's tech guru dim the lights to darkness, causing an eruption of excitement amongst the ever-anxious crowd. It subsided just as quickly, though, when they realized that it was all a false alarm, since he was just making sure that everything was in working order.

"Dude, don't eat too many of those; you don't wanna get sick out there!" Miles, our drummer, chortled as he did his warm-up on a practice pad. I knew that I wasn't going to get sick, though I was just hoping that God would give me the strength to go out there, put on a great show for our fans, and otherwise rock the house like the good old days. After all, we'd been out of the loop for so long that, as we underwent rehearsals of the old and new stuff, I kept wondering as to whether or not we still had it in us.

"Five minutes to curtain, boys." My heart was now a drag racer that had just jetted past the green lights and towards the finish line. The time had come, meaning that there were some last minute preparations to make. First we all stretched, assuring that none of us would walk out on stage being stiffer than Frankenstein. Though, as we did that, the crowd erupted yet again, this time knowing that it wasn't a false alarm.

Fans were now waiting to catch a first glimpse at us as we walked out, instruments in tow, and ready to play the first number. We all joined hands and said our group prayer, a must before every meal and before we hit the stage, then ventured up the staircase.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls of all ages," the overhead announcer began. "Please join me in welcoming home Spokane's own Blessed Outcast!" The lights flickered on, we hit those first chords, and the room was engulfed in the sounds of one of our fan's universal favorites, "I'm Not a Trend." Man, does it ever feel good to be home.

Hello, my name is Kelsey. I play rhythm guitar and do lead vocals for my band, Blessed Outcast. Exactly a week ago, the five of us, also including my best friend, Nate, on rhythm guitar, Darryl on bass, Trent on keyboards, and Jamie on drums, played our first show in a very long time; six years to be exact.

I never thought two things; first, that I would become as nervous as I did as it crept closer to curtain time. Also, I never would've fathomed that so many people, some who had traveled several hundreds of thousands of miles to get there, would ever come to one of our concerts. On the other hand, it was one of our hometown shows, and we hadn't toured for a while.

Actually, to say that we hadn't been touring for a while was a grave understatement. As a matter of fact, only until recently, none of us were in the music business, and were all doing our own thing. Quite honestly, I never thought that we ever would return to this, the thing we were the most passionate about, but we just learned that God had a different plan up his sleeve.

I took a peek out from the curtain and catch a glimpse of the crowd, only to be extremely taken aback by the fact that we'd filled Spokane Arena up to its maximum capacity. It was right then and there, that I thought, "Man; I'm a member of one of the most loved and embraced Christian bands on Earth." Then, when I peered over to notice that a couple of fans had made giant signs to the effect of, "WELCOME HOME, BOYS!" it reminded me of just how much I love my job.

Now, I've always really liked all of the jobs that I've held since college, but it's the one that I've held for a good fifteen years, to date, that makes me look forward to getting up every morning. We, as an Alternative Christian Rock act, have sold about twenty million records worldwide, toured with countless well-known and independent acts, won a few trophies here and there, and touched the lives of countless millions. Someone might accuse me of bragging, but I don't think it is, especially if what you're saying is true. For the five of us, it's all in a day's work.

It hasn't been this great for the longest time, though. While we've been a band for a total of fifteen years, but we've only been writing, recording, and touring for nine. In the six within the latter, we all went to hell and back; being condemned, belittled, betrayed by our own kind, and even, at one point, beginning to doubt the unconditional strength and love of the one who we've devoted our lives to praising.

This is not really an easy story for me to tell for a lot of reasons. In fact, the only people who know the whole story of what we've been through are our closest friends and family. That is, until now; we've gone long enough holding in this thing that most everybody should know about. So, now, if you'd be so kind, I'd like to tell you the whole story of our band, our highs and extreme lows, and everything else that led us to where we are today.