CHOCOLATE ON MY CRANIUM :)

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2011/07/nashville-tribute-band-work-giveaway.html

TWO PROMISED ANNOUNCEMENTS

My dearest friends and family of the Nashville Tribute Band,

We all hope that your holiday season was blessed in every way and that each of you is recharged with a spiritual energy to triumph in your potential in 2011. We wish this for you! 2010 was an incredible year for all of us. We had the treasured opportunity to tour to many wonderful places and share the gospel NTB style in many different situations. We love our friends out on the road!

In 2010 I personally had the opportunity to finish the writing of the album THE WORK: A NASHVILLE TRIBUTE TO THE MISSIONARIES, which I am thrilled to say that we are recording as we speak. My heart is filled beyond the rim as I am steeped in this project and it’s subject! We love the missionaries, both past, present and future and we love what it means to our culture to send missionaries throughout the world.

This spring I will also be producing another project that will be coming out later this year under the Nashville Tribute umbrella. I will have to fill you in on details shortly, but I couldn’t be more excited about this project. It will be very different and wonderful. I’m smiling now as I write this! Stay tuned J

OK, I promised two announcements, so here we go:

First, I can’t imagine anything I would rather do more in July of 2011 then to hang with my NTB friends on a bus tour of church history sites. IT’S HAPPENING! My friends at Murdock Travel have added an NTB / Church History sites tour to their Escorted Tours for this summer. There are two tours available. The first will be the Palmyra/Kirtland tour: “Join us on this unforgettable tour to the Palmyra and Kirtland Church History sites. The highlight on the trip will be attending the Hill Cumorah Pageant and traveling with the Nashville Tribute Band. Other highlights include the Peter Whitmer Farm, Sacred Grove, Palmyra Temple, Susquehanna River, Niagara Falls, Kirtland Temple, Morley Farm, Whitney Store, and the John Johnson Farm to name a few.” NTB will do concerts along the way. Here is the link: http://www.morrismurdockescortedtours.com/STW/STWProduct.aspx?Theme=MURDOCK&ProductCode=NA-NTBPAGNT11. The second is the Nauvoo / Missouri / Winter Quarters tour. The two tours will be back to back so if you wanted to join us for the entire journey that would be incredible. “This tour is the 2nd leg of our CHURCH HISTORY TOUR with The Nashville Tribute Band. We start in St Louis and travel to Nauvoo, Carthage, Adam-ohdi-Ahman, Far West, Independence, Liberty and Winter Quarters. In these special, sacred places we will get to hear our featured historians tell the stories and then listen as the members of the Nashville Tribute Band share their testimonies of these sites through their songs. In addition to the Nauvoo Pageant and the other fun musical performances that are planned for the summer in Nauvoo that we will get to see, while in Nauvoo and Winter Quarters we will be treated with specially planned concerts from the Nashville Tribute Band for the local wards and investigators.” Here is a link: http://www.morrismurdockescortedtours.com/STW/STWProduct.aspx?Theme=MURDOCK&ProductCode=NA-NTBNAUVOO. So excited! These bus seats will fill up fast so get yours booked today and we’ll see you this summer for an experience of a lifetime, back where it all began J

The second announcement, and one that I am humbled and thrilled to tell you, is that NTB is booked in late April to perform for the Saints in Hong Kong and in Beijing. We will be performing at the annual youth conference for all of the youth living inside the Republic of China. Wow! Are you kidding me! We will then travel into Beijing for a performance for the foreign members of the church living there. The tour will be sponsored by the Apple Corporation and we will be doing a few in-store live performances at Apple Stores in the region while there. We have traveled to several countries to share the message of the gospel, but to do so in this region of the world was something that we never dreamed of. Smiling ear to ear J

Well, there you go. Hope to see you all along the trail from Palmyra to Winter Quarters with us this summer, and we would love your prayers for China and for our trip over there, that the Lord’s will be done.

2011 will be exciting, in so many ways, so I will definitely have more to come. Until then, “KEEP ON TREKKIN’!” J

Jason Deere & The Nashville Tribute Band

Due West's single "I GET THAT ALL THE TIME"

Please read this wonderful conversion story from my new friends the Williams. Hats off to Due West for just being who they are. D&C 18:15. Love you boys! :

"Hi Jason,

So glad to hear from you, hope things are going well with the boys (Due West) & the Tribute Band. I REALLY enjoy the Trek cd and Joseph as well and am looking forward to the new album. Anyway you wanted to hear our story for "I Get That All The Time" so here goes!

Last year I was working at a country station in Potsdam, NY and had a segment where I looked for up & coming country artists that had a song out to radio. I'd play the song along with telling a little about the singer/band and if possible set up an interview to go along with what I could come up with. One evening my wife told me about this new group she'd found out about called Due West. She'd found them through my stepson's twitter account and was directed to their myspace page. So I decided to check them out for myself, I was impressed with what I'd heard on their site. Out of all the songs "I Get That All The Time" really grabbed me, it was the story in the song that really resonated with me and what I believed a marriage should be and they just killed it too!! So I decided to highlight that on my show and sent a message through the myspace page to try and set up an interview. Little did I know that it'd be their first radio interview, they sounded like seasoned pros when we spoke and really got across in the interview what they were about and what they wanted to get across with the song. After that my wife Heather & I started following them on twitter as a band and then individually when they got their own accounts. Well Heather got talking with Tim's sister Cary and started talking religion and their beliefs. We at the time were looking for a church that would feed our children and us and Cary asked if she could send some missionaries to our house and Heather said go ahead. So 2 weeks later Sister Hansen & Sister Hacking showed up at our door and started meeting with Heather and when I was home, me too. Well this was October and at the end of September I'd left the radio station as numerous cuts were being made. So I was working a job for a month to make ends meet before it just wasn't working out. Before this I'd never been out of work more than a week, well this time it was from November to the end of February!! But it was because Heavenly Father wanted me to learn more about his true church with my wife. I admit at first I was a little reluctant, but as I sat in on the lessons they'd give I'd hear about the things I'd learned as a child growing up in the Wesleyan Church. The difference was when Heather or I had questions about things we'd wondered for years...there were answers to them! Some many holes were filled in, and as we prayed about the church and the Book of Mormon we knew it was definitely true. So we started attending the LDS Branch in Ogdensburg, NY and immediately felt welcomed and at home. The kids told us they loved it and it felt right too! We have been blessed so much by Heavenly Father since we stared attending and getting baptized on Feb. 14th 2010! In fact 2 weeks after I was offered a full-time radio job again out of the blue after applying for a part-time position and some many other things to mention. Heather is the Primary President for our branch which she and the kids are enjoying. We made it to the Palmyra temple to do baptisms for our family & others and got to see Joseph Smith's home, the Hill Cummorah and where the Book of Mormon was first printed...but walking in the Sacred Grove was indescribable! We plan on being sealed September 7th, 2011 on our 4th wedding anniversary in the St. George Temple. I look forward to becoming an Elder and doing my part for Heavenly Father whatever that may be...and it all started with Due West's "I Get That All The Time". We have a special place in our hearts for the boys and that song and pray for them and the message the song has for everyone that listens to it and really gets it!!

Well hope I didn't bend your ear too much! I really enjoy the work you do and SO hope to be able to see the Nashville Tribute Band in person someday soon. Hope you enjoyed my backyard...the writers retreat was less than an hour from where we were living before we just moved. Well continued success to you and the boys and I hope to one day get to meet them and you as well. Until then, God bless!!!

Dave Williams"

:)

-- Jason Deere - Post From My iPhone

Father's Day Quotes

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "The Lord's plan of salvation requires that you pass through trials in this mortal life. Those trials seem to be greatest when you reach fatherhood, but be assured—fatherhood, in a sense, is an apprenticeship to godhood" ("Father, Consider Your Ways," Ensign, Jun 2002, 12.)



President Ezra Taft Benson: "The sacred title of 'father' is shared with the Almighty. In the Church men are called and released. Did you ever hear of a mortal father being released?



"...Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence, and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters" ("Great Things Required of Their Fathers," Ensign, May 1981, 36)



Kim Crenshaw Sorensen: "We live in a day when many fathers are working at a fevered pace to build material legacies of homes, boats, and bank accounts for their children. Exemplary Book of Mormon fathers, on the other hand, show us the importance of leaving legacies that cannot be cankered by rust.



"What more could we hope for than to leave our children the spiritual tools, the self-control, and the faith to become witnesses and disciples of Jesus Christ? Lehi and his sons Nephi and Jacob, Jacob and his son Enos, King Benjamin and his three sons, Mosiah and his four sons, Alma and his sons, Helaman and his sons Lehi and Nephi, and Mormon and his son Moroni all came to know the joys of discipleship and discipline.



"The sons of righteous Book of Mormon fathers were grateful they had been taught in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Enos 1:1), which led them to Jesus Christ" ("A Latter-day Father’s Guidebook," Ensign, Feb 1995, 15.)



President James E. Faust: "It is useless to debate which parent is most important. No one would doubt that a mother's influence is paramount with newborns and in the first years of a child's life. The father's influence increases as the child grows older. However, each parent is necessary at various times in a child's development. Both fathers and mothers do many intrinsically different things for their children. Both are equipped to nurture children, but their approaches are different. Mothers seem to take a dominant role in preparing children to live within their families, present and future. Fathers seem best equipped to prepare children to function in the environment outside the family" ("Fathers, Mothers, Marriage," Ensign, Aug 2004, 2–7.)



President Ezra Taft Benson: "Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released. Callings in the Church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place. But a father’s calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity" ("To the Fathers in Israel," Ensign, Nov 1987, 48.)



President Howard W. Hunter: "We encourage you, brethren, to remember that priesthood is a righteous authority only. Earn the respect and confidence of your children through your loving relationship with them. A righteous father protects his children with his time and presence in their social, educational, and spiritual activities and responsibilities. Tender expressions of love and affection toward children are as much the responsibility of the father as the mother. Tell your children you love them" ("Being a Righteous Husband and Father," Ensign, Nov 1994, 49.)



Elder L. Tom Perry: "Fathers, by divine decree, you are to preside over your family units. This is a sobering responsibility and the most important one you will ever assume, for it is an eternal responsibility. You place the family in its proper priority. It's the part of your life that will endure beyond the grave" ("Fatherhood, an Eternal Calling," Ensign, May 2004, 69.)



President Gordon B. Hinckley: "God bless you, dear fathers. May He bless you with wisdom and judgment, with understanding, with self-discipline and self-control, with faith and kindness and love. And may He bless the sons and daughters who have come into your homes, that yours may be a fortifying, strengthening, guiding hand as they walk the treacherous path of life. As the years pass—and they will pass ever so quickly—may you know that "peace... which passeth all understanding" (Philip. 4:7) as you look upon your sons and daughters, who likewise have known that sacred and wonderful peace. Such is my humble prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen" ("'Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children'," Ensign, Nov 2000, 50.)



-- Jason Deere - Post From My iPhone

O Canada

Kichener, Ontario, Canada here we come! :)


-- Jason Deere - Post From My iPhone

Tennessee Flooding

The following photos and text are taken from an email from Jason Deere

Hey guys,

Below is an e-mail that Sonja sent out to her family last night that may have some interesting stories in it. I thought I'd sent some picks too. Last night J Davis came sprinting into our bedroom and jumped in bed with us. Sonja whispered, "Are you ok? Bad dream?" He said, "Yes. There was this water wescue boat, and I was the one being wescued, and the fireman fell in the water and I got stinged by an electric eel." Poor kid. We volunteered all day yesterday. So much more to do. The Cumberland River finally crested at over 51 feet. If you know Nashville, downtown is flooded up to 4th ave. Titan's Stadium is flooded. Opryland Hotel, Opry Mills Mall, the Grand Ole Opry...completely flooded. Downtown Franklin...flooded anywhere near the river. Neighborhood after neighborhood...under water. The Sonic on Hillsboro Road...water up to the middle of the order signs. Nuts. It's nuts all over town...everywhere.

Jason

Dear family,

We have had the most unbelievable weekend. It has been scary, devestating and historical. It is mostly unbelievable because we always get a little flooding with heavy rains but NEVER this. It also only rained about 12 hours before serious things started happening. It rained about 36 hours, and half of those hours were seriuos storms with tornadoes.

So our near death experience happened Saturday night. We were trying to get home from Monte and Gales. Right behind us were a long string of tornadic storms. Usually with severe storms the radar on the news show yellow or red.... these counties were BLACK!... Black = GET IN YOUR SAFE AREA. Unfortunately we were on the road in the middle of the night can't see the skies to see exactly where the storm is ..... but we felt good, we felt like we were just outrunning it (yes like Twister) until we get into frankin and hit all of the road blocks. While we were in Columbia, at Monte and Gales home, Franklin flooded over the top! All roads, interstates, and side roads were closed and blocked by police. We start freaking out, because you guessed it, the storms have now caught us. Tornado sirens go off, we are in the car at night and can't move. We end up going a back-back way - very scared because the roads are farmland and we think they for sure will be closed but what else to do? We round a corner and run face to face with a real life, heaven to ground TORNADO!!!! We don't have a picture because you've never seen a car turn around quicker or heard more screams in your life! It is WAYYYYYY worse in real life than on TV. It is awesomely heart stopping. We book it to the closest friend and sit there for about an hour. When the storm seemed to have passed or at least the sirens went off, we venture out again. Mind you the entire 5 surrounding counties are still under black but we've got to get home cause the flooding is only going to get worse. We find many road blocks on our wayyyy out of the way routes we were thinking up, but finally find one, getting home about 4 hours after we left Columbia. We cheered and gave much thanks.

Sunday morning (church cancelled) only a few hours after we got home, we spent about 2 hours in our safe spot - tornados one after the other, so exhausted, but lucky! So many people's homes are floooded, 12 dead. It rained all day making the flooding beyond anything ever seen here. Electricty out , threat of water being turned off, we had to fill up bathtubs just to make sure we can flush toilets etc. They thought maybe 4-5 days without water. Sewage was flooding over obviously.

Monday beautiful skies. Schools out, major roads still closed. We helped many people clean out garages, so gross! We have electricty and water but it needs to be boiled. Sunday for FHE we put together real life 72 hr kits. Like documentation and toilet paper and everyhting. This was really a great experience. Are we ready for even a few days without water? how can we cook for a few days without gas/electricty? If we can't drive anywhere how will our meals be? Well, we would have done pretty good for a few days, plus helping neighbors but nnot much more than that. We have plenty of food and water, but no way to cook it. No firewood, no big iron pans, not even an ax ..... something to think about.

Anyway I just thought I'd write to tell you that we're okay. I know you all were SO WORRIED about us. I couldn't even field all of the calls from my family. I think I'm the only one whose family isn't freaking out... :)

Love you all,

Sonja

Check out these links. Mom remember the hotel? So sad, they aren't taking reservatins for at least 6 months. It is a huge economic loss to the city, as the titans stadium, as downtown etc....

This is Interstate 24 (a school bldg floating down the highway!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XyRNt2Uur8

Opryland Hotel

http://www.wsmv.com/video/23435320/index.html

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=DN&Dato=20100503&Kategori=WILLIAMSON&Lopenr=5030802&Ref=PH

Our work crew yesterday

OPRYLAND HOTEL

THE GRAND OLE OPRY

Downtown

Downtown

Our 'ARK'

The next 7 pictures are from just outside our neighborhood

Our backyard

OPRY MILLS MALL

OPRY AND OPRY MILLS MALL

Grass Rootsin' It

Back in the early 1950s, a record producer
named Sam Phillips opened a little recording studio/label called Sun Studios/Sun Records in Memphis. He signed four artists, all the children of poor cotten farmers from the Mississippi delta. He signed the youthful unknowns Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Prestley. He made 45s on them and sent them out in various configurations to play in highschool auditoriums across the states. This was the beginning of the concept of "touring". My dad saw them at his highschool (Palodura High School) in Amarillo, TX in '57. He still talks about that show.
Tomorrow night I am on the road with Due West & NTB and we are playing the Weber High School auditorium in Ogden, Utah. I think I may wear black and play the piano with my feet.


-- Jason Deere - Post From My iPhone