The Nashville Tribute Band: March 2009

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

GOOD PEOPLE

By far the most incredible thing about being on the road is the unbelievable people that we have the privilege of getting to know along the way. This past week has once again left me humble and speechless. Everywhere we turn there are people like Blake and Teresa Sandall, who live 80 miles from the Salt Lake City airport. They got ahold of us before we left Nashville and offered to get us a suburban to drive for the tour this week. They drove down from Tremonton, UT (80 miles one way) to bring us the SUV after we landed at 10:00 PM on a Monday night. We then drove the car for hundreds of miles all week and they drove back to the airport to pick it up when we flew out on Monday. Insanely beyond the call of duty. Not to mention that Teresa's sister Susie had made a beautiful Nashville Tribute Band sticker for the back of the car. They are truly our friends and we love them! Then there's Shane and Mandy Johnson who booked us up at the Montpelier, ID Tabernacle. They made sure that the venue was stuffed to capacity with people, plus some, then they and their wonderful friends feed us like kings after the show (LOVE THOSE CREAM FILLED CREPES!). Shall I continue? I must. Then we drive to Logan where Tony and Aimee McClellan put our crew up for the night in their home, with all of their kids sleeping on their parents floor upstairs so we can have their rooms in the basement. Aimee, as always makes sure that we are fed and happy. Then we go to Sky View High School where the venue is 100% SOLD OUT plus some. We, again, meet some of the most wonderful and beautiful people after the show! Then get this, the Cottam's, a family who we love so much from Farr West, UT insist that we stop by their restaurant (Bella's in Farr West) on our way from Logan to SLC that night after the Logan show. We show up after midnight where they have the grills fired up and the tortilla's piping hot and they feed us the most fantastic mexican food we have ever tasted. Again we drive out of Farr West at 2:00 AM so full we could barely walk but with hearts full of love for good people. Wait, there's more. The next day, as we are driving 5 hours south to Tuacahn, we stop at the Chevron station in Beaver where Matt Lopez introduces us to a man named Rick Jarvis who was greasy under the hood of a car. Many years ago, when Matt and Jenny were newlyweds, they had car trouble in Beaver. This man went so far beyond the call of duty to fix their car, make them comfortable and get them safely on their way...it is a long wonderful story that Matt has blogged about on the Due West blog. However, this particular day Matt just wanted to stop and hug Rick one more time and introduce NTB to another good man. Rick, we salute you for your generosity and kindness! May it come back to you tenfold. Then we roll on into St. George, where Kevin Warnick and the spectacular staff of Tuacahn Amphitheater treat us like royalty, not because they have to, but because we have opened their spring season three years in a row and we love them like family. Seriously good people! Talk about good people, the wonderful people of Marv's burger and icecream shakes joint in St. George once again fired up their grills at midnight after the Tuacahn gig and the beautiful women of Marv's fed our crew and friends burgers and fries to die for...and most of all the best BLACKBERRY OREO SHAKES on planet earth!!! I am fairly sure that heaven will have a restaurant where Bella's and Marv's (Marvell's) are combined and we will eat every meal there and never get fat in our pink Marv's t-shirts! Love you Marv's! Then, we roll on up to Cedar City where, again, we are taken care of in every way...meals, accommodations, smiles and love every minute by Pam Smith and a host of her kind friends! The list of people and good deeds from this past week goes on and on, but let me say that two wonderful women, Aimee and Pam, came to every show this week to work the merch tables for us. They handled the crowds and the money and asked nothing in return. Every till balanced out perfectly and they had their beautiful smiles in high beam every second! Jeremy Moon, who once again came down to Tuacahn to shoot pictures of the shows, never ceases to amaze me with his charitable time devoted to Nashville Tribute. Jeremy has built our website from scratch and he maintains it at no charge...ever. We could never have an online presence without him. Thank you JM! Greg and Sharon Farmer may take the cake. They live in Clarksville, Tennessee. They drove all the way to Montpelier, ID to run sound for our show (no joke). They then followed us to Logan and then on to Tuacahn in St. George to take care of our technical needs and to hang with the tour. They are precious souls and lifelong friends. I could go on and on an on about so many good people. If it weren't for the long list of GOOD PEOPLE that constantly give of themselves, we could never possible reach the people that we do in sharing the message of THE RESTORATION and the rich history of our beautiful Saints. Our hearts are bursting with gratitude! The people we have become reacquainted with this week and the ones that we have met for the first time have made us better people, enriching our lives with every smile and kind deed. We love you all...the good people along the road! God bless you all! - Jason Deere

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Every Other Tuesday

A few months ago I was called as a ward missionary. It’s always funny to me how callings bring me exactly what I need to experience in my life when I receive them. What a blessing to me this calling has already been! As my bishop extended the calling he asked that I work with my ward mission leader to be as creative as possible, working “outside the box” to encourage our ward members to fill the empty seats of our sacrament meetings with their neighbors and friends. We tried something different that has really seemed to work. We put together a night in early December and called it MORMON HISTORY THROUGH MUSIC. It was to be held in a member’s home, and it was to be an opportunity for non-members to learn about American/Mormon history in a casual, low pressure environment; to enjoy some great desserts and hear some good music and learn something about the history of a friend’s religion. We set up chairs in the large living room of the Anderson’s home in our ward. The time to begin was 6:00PM. Dress was casual, even though it was Sunday, which made all attending comfortable. The only way for members of our ward to attend was to bring a nonmember with them. We anxiously prepared for that day in hopes that someone, even one person would show up. To our amazement, members of our ward brought 25 nonmembers to the event. Dan Truman, Brad Hull, Tim Gates and Matt Lopez all once again brought their talents to the event, joining me and we did our best to teach and testify through our music. It was a wonderful night. The non-members attending stayed for more than an hour afterwards asking question after question and learning things that lifted so many misunderstandings that they had before. As luck would have it, the couple that I invited to the event have continued to ask questions and are now taking the discussions with the elders.

The word of the night’s success reached the mission president of the Tennessee Nashville Mission and he called me the week after. He asked if he could attend the next one that we did. I said that our ward mission would be honored. In February we had the next event at the Beaird’s home, and we were thrilled that 34 members brought 51 nonmembers! Incredible. Our members were brave and we love them for it.

The mission president asked me after the event if I, and perhaps others in NTB, would be willing to do some events like this in other units in the mission…in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. We decided to do events a couple of times a month, every other Tuesday, trying to reach as many of the 60 units in the mission as possible this year. Some of these rural wards and branches will only have one person sitting in a living room, others may have many, but whether it is just me, or me and as many of my NTB brothers as are available, I know that we will do our best to testify of the Restoration, praying for the Spirit as we do it, in hopes that hearts may be softened and changed.

Here is what this experience has taught me so far. Sometimes we, as members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, limit our good works to activities and callings that only fall within the assignments given to us in our wards, stakes and communities. Of course, it is a wonderful thing to fulfill our callings and obligations in our church and community. However, each of us has particular talents, unique to us. The Lord has planted those in us, to only be enriched and expanded as we magnify them. Is it not true that we should have one foot FIRMLY planted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the other foot FIRMLY planted smack dab in the middle of the world? Being “in the world, but not of the world” has never meant running and hiding from the world, safely in our little Mormon bubbles, free from all contact with the ever-present, worldy souls around us. No, the term means that we associate ourselves with the world, our neighbors, relatives and business associates, and we not only are gleaming examples of God fearing Latter-day Saints, but we testify with confident humility EVERY time the Spirit moves us to do so; regardless of the company we are keeping. If we use the guidance of the Spirit, as we communicate with our leaders, and with their blessing, we can operate “outside the box” in the ways we serve the three missions of the church. Of, course, the REDEEMING THE DEAD mission of the church doesn’t allow for much creative thinking because we are so blessed with the divinely structured use of our temples, and for that I am thankful. But, with regard to the PERFECTING THE SAINTS mission and the PREACHING THE GOSPEL mission, I believe that we are entitled to inspiration from the Spirit that may lead us to unique and influential ways to accomplish the Lords desires for his wards and stakes. I believe that if we are humble, and we communicate with our church leaders and work within the blessings of their guidance, that we can accomplish a synergy within our wards, stakes and communities that will open up opportunities that we cannot even fathom.

Let us pray to know our talents. Let’s pray to know what the Lord wants us to do with them. How can we become instruments in His hands, playing a tune that no one else on earth can play exactly as we do? The Lords currency is people. We are how He gets things done. We can be pennies, nickels or dimes if we do His will our way, but if we surrender all and do His will, His way, then we may be amazed to find ourselves much more valuable to Him than we ever dreamed of. That’s my prayer :o)

All my best from Nashville…Jason Deere

Thinking of Australia

I've been thinking a lot about Australia lately. It as a unique trip. I always thought that the day I finally went to Australia that it would be the "vacation" of a lifetime. It had it's wonderful and beautiful moments, but it was a hard trip on all of us. ABSOLUTELY worth it in every way, but trying all along the way. It truly felt like we were on missions again. The people were fantastic, the landscape breathtaking but the challenges unusual. The ups were up and the downs were down and the fluctuation between the two were frequent. However, I wouldn't trade those experiences for the world, and neither would anyone that was over there with me...I am sure of it. Tim, Matt and Brad stopped everything in their lives for almost a month. Ron Saltmarsh sacrificed much to come on that trip, as did Cali and the kids. Greg and Sharon Farmer took their year vacations from their jobs, plus some, and hauled sound and stage gear from town to town, one after another, setting up, running sound, tearing down...repeat...without a single complaint. Darren Dixon, our friend from Sarasota, FL, left his wife Jenny and eight kids, and his many business ventures, and came with us to be our tour manager for the month. Not one person received one dime of compensation for the trip and each of them, and their wives and children did without to make it happen. I AM HONORED TO KNOW SUCH MEN AND WOMEN! I am priviledged to rub shoulders with individuals who place the gospel as a priority. They teach me every day to "seek ye first the kingom of God". I love each of them so much. My sweet wife Sonja, and my kids Josie, Maddy & J Davis; I will forever be thankful for your patience and faith in all my running around out there. I pray that you are blessed for it. Coming home is the greatest feeling. Hats off to Australia! - Jason Deere

Brad, Matt, & Tim stopping on the road between Tamworth and Tuncurry

Jason

Matt

Jason performing at the Hoyt Theater in Sydney

Jason, Matt, & Brad

NAUVOO & AUSTRALIA

What an incredible year the last 12 months have been! Challenging no doubt, for everyone that I know it seems, but for Nashville Tribute it has been a wonderful ride. We did several of Sheri Dew’s TIME OUT FOR WOMEN conventions in some wonderful cities and met some incredible women. We did NTB shows all over the country, from Sarasota, Florida to Sacramento, California. We had the honor and pleasure of being invited to Nauvoo in July of 2008 to perform for all of the missionaries who were currently on assignment in Nauvoo and we also had the pleasure of doing a show especially for the talented staff and crew of The Nauvoo Pageant. We sat with joy and amazement as we watched them perform for us the night before. Then the next night we were in the Nauvoo Visitor’s Center theater sharing our show with them. Man, we love you cast and crew!

Brother and Sister Widsonet were so kind and helpful to allow us the privilege of spending some quiet time in some of the church owned tourist spots in town, and we express a special “thank you” to Lachlan Mackay and The Community of Christ who were so helpful in allowing us onto their properties for some very special experiences.

Nauvoo is a special place. I must stop and say that I am sitting in the parking lot of a soccer complex right now, my daughter is getting ready to play another game in 30 minutes. I have a sweatshirt rolled up in the window to block the sun so I can see my laptop. My heart is pounding as the Spirit is filling this car to the point where I can’t help smiling. Why, because I am thinking of the thoughts and feelings of Nauvoo last year and I once again am reminded that I am a member of a blessed dispensation. Halelujah! (There’s my grandmother’s Baptist coming out in me :o)

While in Nauvoo, we met Kim Smith, the great, great granddaughter of Emma and Joseph. What a treasure she is. We had previously met Gracia Jones, the first direct descendant of Joseph and Emma’s to join the church since the martyrdom. Through them we ended up meeting Michael Kennedy, another direct descendant who is currently the director of the Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Family Society. Through a miraculous series of events, me and Ron Saltmarsh, Brad Hull, Tim Gates, Matt Lopez, Darren Dixon (our tour manager for the trip), and Greg and Sharon Farmer (our incredible sound and road crew for the tour) got on a plane in September of 2008 and flew to Sydney, Australia to do three weeks worth of shows. Unfortunately, Dan Truman was out with Diamond Rio and couldn’t join us over there (We missed him!) Elder David Osborn and his wife Robyn, who were in the church’s PR department in Sydney at the time, helped us with contacts to set up some shows in various locations in New South Wales. We played and testified to some people we will never forget. We performed in many locations in and around Syndney, New Castle, Tamworth, Tuncurry/Forster and probably a few more towns that I am forgetting at the moment. We also performed at three of the Australian premiere’s for the movie Emma. The highlight, without question, was spending a few days with Robyn Mah, one of Joseph and Emma’s many descendants who now live in Australia, and her family. Alexander Smith, son of Joseph and Emma, had a daughter who married a young Australian man in 1870 in Independence, Missouri and move to settle Tuncurry, Australia. Robyn and her family were a delight. They are not members of the LDS church and they shared with us many family stories and history. They took us on a breathtaking riverboat ride into the bush where we enjoyed cooking by a wonderful Balinese lady. We shared with them our testimonies and our appreciation for their relatives who restored the fullness of the truth in the 1830s and 40s. Then we did a show for their family reunion in Tuncurry. Life changing experience for us! We will never be the same. The people of Australia were gracious and kind and we loved every minute of it!

Special thanks to Darren and Jenny Dixon who helped sponsor the Australian tour and who made that experience possible. And most especially, thank you to all of the Nashville Tribute Band members who made the trip, and to their families, for they took a month off of work, free of compensation of any kind, to share their testimonies. I love you guys forever for that! - Jason Deere

Brad, Jason, & Matt playing "Emma" on the steps of the Mansion House in Nauvoo