I called Stokes a few weeks ago and asked if we could meet in the studio to write. It was late at night and I just needed to be creative and release some energy. Going into the session, I was definitely wanting of create more of a ballad. We sat down and wrote just that in a song called “When The Night Comes.”

When Stokes came into the studio he didn’t say anything. He just walked straight over to the piano and began playing this soft yet energetic melody. I loved it. He began singing “When the night comes, it’s when your ghost hits me.” After that everything else just began to fall into place. I love writing those types of songs. The song is written in the perspective of a guy who has lost someone special to him (whether it be a break up or death). We have all experienced that at some point in our lives. It was very crucial for us to write the song in our view by expressing what we had done in these situations. The guy in this song is contradicting the fact that he is being tortured by the memories of a past loved one. He put up a front, but the smiles can only last so long. That is the meaning of the chorus:

When the night comes, it’s when your ghost hits me

I reach out to hold you, but every clutch is empty

And if you ever needed to see, how quickly real men come undone,

Then baby watch me, when the night comes.

We had an awesome time recording this song in the studio – check out footage in the video below. Energy is so important to me in all of our music. I’m looking forward to y’all giving it a listen to! – CJ

Making of  ”When the Night Comes”

So, I just got back from my trip to New York City and it was such a cool experience.

I will never forget pulling up the toll for Lincoln Tunnel and seeing the chaos. Of course I had expected the traffic it to be bad…but I never could have imagined it would be as bad as it actually was! I swear that we sat there for an hour and a half until we were actually able to get through it all and to the tunnel. When we did get into the city, there were people running around every which way and I couldn’t believe how fast pace everything was.  Those taxi cab drivers have some serious skill with the way that they weave in and out of lanes and through people! Finally we made it to our home base for the weekend- the Marriott on 94^th.

On my first night in NY I went over to the Hamptons with Stokes Nielson, my manager. It was awesome- kinda felt as if everything were straight out of a reality television show. We went to meet some people at “The Stephen Talkhouse,” a really cool venue that I liked a lot. It was crazy how long the line was to get in, but luckily with Tune’s (Stokes) connections we got to skip that part. It was no different from downtown Athens on a game night, ha! I loved how cool and laid back everyone was there. And also, the food I had in NY is awesome! Expensive… but definitely worth it. My mom is Japanese so I know good sushi and I’m can be pretty picky about where I eat it. But my band mate, J. Fried, and I found a great sushi bar for lunch.

Saturday night was show time and we had a gig right outside of the city. It was a high-energy show for sure- everyone was jumping around and literally screaming back the songs! Overall it was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to get back up there. Next time though, we can be sure that I won’t be driving! Never again! Ha… seriously- Nashville to New York is not a lot of fun in a van. But if that’s my biggest complaint, then I think we’re doin’ alright.

Jason (pianist), David (drums), and I about to hit the road to NY after a stop in VA – you can see the mess that 3 guys can make on a 15 hour drive in the van! Ha!

Hey y’all! Check out a cover that I did last week of Ryan Adams’ “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” I hope you all enjoy it… check back soon for some more covers and updates. Oh My Sweet Carolina – Ryan Adams Cover

Hey y’all! Wanted to give you an update on an awesome experience I had today… I literally JUST got off the stage from my first CMA Festival event! We were on the Hard Rock Best Buy stage on 2^nd Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee… right in the middle of everything. I can’t begin to describe the adrenalin rush and energy that I had when we walked out on the stage and saw everyone standing there. It blows my mind when I meet people from all over the world that came to listen to the best music in the world (country music that is!) Haha. I had such a great time today and I was able to see all of our hard work from the last few months come to life. It’s amazing how blessed I’ve been with my team and to be able to do the things I’ve been able to do in these past months. I can’t believe it all has flown by so quickly. Who would have thought that I would be here already? I hope I get a chance to perform at CMA Fest again! What a blast. Big thanks to CMA Fest 2011 and of course to all of you for supporting me everyday. Make sure to check the tour dates for our summer shows… I hope to see y’all soon!

So, May ended great and we’re off to a great start for June. On Memorial Day weekend we did the Ride for Chris! It was awesome to once again see everyone come out and show their support! Oh, and who knew doing this gig would help be overcome an irrational fear of mine? Ha I have always been afraid of clowns. However, below you will see BISKIT and I having a conversation. I was pretty proud of myself I must say. After the show, I headed down south with the family for a little R&R. This past weekend it was our first time at Static Bar and Grill! We had a great turn out! Thanks to everyone who came out. We hope y’all had a great time. We have our work cut out for us this month. I’m looking forward to some of the places we’ll be traveling to play! Also, we have CMA fest coming up this weekend! We’re all pumped to be on the Hard Rock Best Buy Stage this Friday! I can’t believe I’m being blessed the opportunity to play there already. We’ll keep y’all posted! Thanks again- CJ

All right so we played at The Alamo in Newnan for the first time a couple weekends ago, and what an awesome place! We had a phenomenal time with y’all. Thank you all for coming out and spending time with us and supporting Chris. I was so happy he and his family were able to attend. One of the favorite parts of my night, is when I looked over to my right and saw Chris and his buddies jumping up and down shouting the lyrics to “ Livin’ and Lovin’ “…that was incredible! At the April 30^th show we also recorded footage for the “Heart of a Champion” video! It looks great, and below I’ve attached just a little segment of video we captured Saturday night. Y’all we’re on it ha. The compelling energy everyone had that night definitely showed on camera! This weekend on May 14^th, we’ll be at the firehouse shooting some more. I can’t wait for you all to see the final product. Thanks for the continued support for Chris and I. I’m glad everyone is enjoying the music and message!!- CJ