Week Four and Five (because I am an excellent procrastinator) as told by Stephanie Liana Kulla.

Oh my dear friends... How terrible I am, I have left you for far too long. 

I have grand excuses as to why,  but it seems that the first paragraph of every blog consists of my apologizing to you for some form of lacking in my delivery to you. So let us just assume, and why not, make it a tradition of sorts, that I will more than likely always be late, and always have something to complain about in this first paragraph. Alright so I do believe that is out of the way for this week. I will be covering about two weeks of our adventure since I failed to report to you sooner. But there will be brevity in some parts I promise. 

Alright where did I leave you.. Ah yes, we were driving across the country, I hate Kansas, stayed the night in Boise. I remember, you remember? 

So we arrived in Kent at around midnight, Raul and Matt had already arrived at the hotel and were asleep in their beds. So we all climbed into clean beds not pre-slept in by bus drivers for the last time this week. We woke up and headed into Seattle for the morning. We walked around Pikes Place Market in the unusually sunny warm weather. Folks I am convinced that Seattle is lying to us, every time I have been there, it is bright and sunny, they just want to keep all the beauty to themselves… selfish. Anyway we had an enjoyable morning and afternoon in Seattle then headed back to Kent for the show. The next day, Oh this day of days was the most intense and important day on the entire tour. So we were on our way to Portland, and there is a beautiful rest stop along the way called Multonoma Falls. SO naturally, our eyes, which had up till that point only seen those white and yellow lines racing by at a glorious pace, where hungry for something different. We pulled into the parking lot all sleepy eyed with full bladders, and went to take care of that ::ahem:: and we walked up to take a picture of the glorious waterfall. It was raining fairly hard so we didn’t stay long at all. We walked back to the van… and this is where this lovely afternoon took a very drastic turn for the worst dear reader. When we approached our van, Matt announced that all of our things had been stolen! at first, I did not believe it. I thought Matt was messing with us, till I walked up to the van to see the inside emptied of all of our backpacks, purses, wallets and laptops. Our stomachs dropped and our hands covered our mouths to stay the screams of frustration. Bandits! Thieves! Were were taken for fools and in the corse of a mere ten minutes, we had been robbed! I know, it is a truly crazy and unbelievable thing, but as we all got on the phone with the police, credit card companies and insurance agents… it felt very real. So we waited for the police to come, and we filed a report with him… then we realized that we still had a show that we had to get to, so with heads hung low, we crept out of the parking lot with heavy hearts, probably never to return to Multnoma falls. We arrived at the venue and news had spread to everyone on tour of our terrible incident. And as we sulked into the stadium many of our tour mates rushed to our aid. Asking us what we needed, offering up everything from whole lap tops to much needed hugs and consolation. I must say dear reader, I have never felt such a sense of community and Christianity as I did on that day, Which is why I said earlier that this day was the most important day of the entire tour, at least for me. It was such an amazing experience seeing everyone band together and come around us in love to see us through this trial. That is what Christ called us to. He called us to love and to be the hands and feet. I am happy to report that our faith is real and it was applied to us and filled us to overflowing. And so, although we were tossed by the waves of the unexpected, we were lifted up out of the storm by community and faith that Jesus had a plan and that He would redeem the situation. Sp we spent the night in Portland at a very strange nifty hotel, our spirits refreshed and our hearts in a place of trusting and surrender, a posture our circumstances brought on, but one that in remembering, were convicted to remain in. The next day we were off to Spokane, our last show before we could finally return for a few days. The Spokane show went so well, considering the events of the day prior, we were so ready for what the Lord was going to do, and very much relying on Him for strength. A position that we should always be in. After the show, we all jumped in the van and I drove us through the night. Watching blacked out hills back lit by the blue cold light of the moon rush past, we were worn out, we were beaten down, we were burnt out, but we were going home. Home, a place and feeling that hadn’t graced our souls for over five weeks. 15,000 miles of road had replaced the feelings and presence of home in our lives… and we could not wait to taste the sweet Nevada air once more. 

Dear reader, I NEVER thought I would be so happy to see the city of Sparks Nevada as I was when we saw that gaudy colorful sign welcoming us in, and the skyline of our biggest little city. We were home! Home and it felt so good, it took everything in me not to drop to my knees and kiss that sweet Nevada earth. We all went our separate ways for these few short heavenly days of rest, but I can say with full confidence that our beds saw much of our weary bodies, and our tummies were met with much In-N-Out. 

Since I have your attention my dears, I will continue on to this weeks events! Considering that I have a serious issue with time management, and the fact that we got robbed and all that… not that I am at all using  that as an excuse…. haha. 

Ahem, so anyway this week has been going swimmingly well! It is a very different feel out here on the West coast, and I have to say, the shows out here have been better attended and the people have felt more energetic and into the music, which makes us love the West Coast so much more. 

On Thursday we had a show in Sacramento. So that morning we were able to wake up in our own beds, get ourselves ready, and then drive to the Sacramento show. That was a very strange feeling, but also lovely that we were so close to home. This show was very surreal for us, because all of our friends and families came, and were about to see what we have been up to for the past few months. It was great to show them that we haven’t just been twiddling our thumbs and eating twinkles. I personally got to take my parents back stage and show them the “glamor” of the stadium bathrooms and dressing rooms. I even think we spotted some puke stains on the ground at some point. Needless to say they were SUPER impressed. I now realize that sarcasm can be easily lost in translation, especially in Blog world… so Ill refrain henceforth. We left the Sleep Train Arena full of love and life, inspired by our families and friends that this is what we were made to do. Their support keeps us going, they have no idea how important their presence is to us and how crucial it is to what we are called to do. The next day we headed to Fresno, which was a hop and a skip of a drive, which meant that we had all the time in the world to eat some delicious pancakes with some folks from KLOVE. Then, with bellies full of sweet doughy goodness we drove to Fresno, and stepping out of the car into the humid warm air, we were reminded of freezing Pittsburg just weeks before, and again were thrilled to be back on our glorious coast. Please pardon this next sentence, as it is very corny and it rhymes, but it may be the truest thing I say in this entire blog…. THE WEST COAST IS THE BEST COAST. There its done. 

Well that brings us to where I am currently dear reader… thats right, on my bench in the van, driving through the sunny hills of California. We are on our way to play a show in Long Beach. Tomorrow we have our last show of the week in Phoenix, then the band drives to Colorado while I fly there to visit my best friend for a few days. 

So I believe this is where I will leave you, until next week (no promises tho) 

I do hope that my regaling of our adventures has not bored you too much… although if it had, you would most likely not be reading this. 

I would like to remind you that life is wonderful, that beauty is everywhere, and that you are loved, very much. 

Always yours, honestly,

a blunt bloggist 

Stephane Liana Kulla. 

Week Three- As told by Stephanie Liana Kulla.

Well my dear friends, It seems to be that my first blog post, which was conveniently on a Monday… was in fact an anomaly, considering  that I have not managed to meet that deadline since. Forgive me, as I am sleep deprived and lazy, as any young musician should be. 

I am currently writing to you from my bench in the van. We are on our way to Washington currently.  We just got Jean Claude cleaned for the very first time. This poor abused hunk of metal and gears deserved a bath to say the least. 

So let me fill you in on this last week, as I believe it has been the most eventful and strangely fantastical week of this tour thus far. I will pick up where I left you on the edge of your seat last week… thats right, I was doing my laundry and going to bed at 2 am. 

So, we had a rehearsal space rented in Nashville for four hours, as we needed to run through our set for this two hour show we are playing in Florida in a few weeks. Folks, playing music for two solid hours is a lot of work. Now I am NOT complaining in any way, I’m just saying, hey! it is hard! Anyway, we rehearsed, and then went to our managers office for a little debrief meeting. I would just like to pause story time for a moment to state that our managers are AMAZING! (blake or jim if you are reading this, I’m not trying to kiss up, I’m just being honest) Seriously they look out for our best interests and they want us to succeed. I am so very very blessed by all that they do for us, they are like our family, I do not know where we would be without them… probably back in Nevada playing a show in Dayton or something (sorry anyone who lives in Dayton and actually likes it.) Ok I’ve said my piece. 

So we went to our manager’s office for a quick meeting and then headed out of town, we decided to head to columbus a day early because, yes... once again your deductive skills are exceptionally accurate… a snow storm was heading our way. Now THIS is where our lives got exceptionally ironic my friends, because it was not two hours into our journey that we got trapped in a snow storm in Kentucky. You may have read about it on USA today. Thats right, we drove straight into the jowls of this ice monster with full confidence that we were being responsible and precautionary. HA!

So we sat there… bumper to bumper, the break lights of a hundred cars trailed in front of us, glowing and blinking, painting the white snow like a florescent river that flowed into endless oblivion. We sat there, we talked, we slept, we ate a plethora of sodium filled, partially hydrogenated snacks and for twelve hours we existed like this. After a painstakingly long and tedious path off the highway and into Elizabethtown, the six members of I Am They creeped into the parking lot of a Days Inn. Then all of a sudden, our rubber wheels were no longer pushing us forward.. the faint smell of burning rubber wafted through the vents, and the sound of a small cat screeching for attention flooded our ears… we were stuck. Trapped like rats! On a sheet of thick of ice just FEET away from the motel, our van decided that enough was enough and it wouldn’t go a foot fu ther. Well played Jean Claude, well played. This moment was honestly laughable, we knew even as we were down in the ice and snow digging out our tires and pushing that beast over that hump of frozen water, that this was a memory that we would never forget, that this was an adventure and it was one that we got through together. And so, with frozen toes and fingers, we tramped through the snow to our motel rooms which were, of course, in the farthest building on the back side, on the second floor, with only precariously icy stairs to get us there. But we got there nonetheless, for we were determined my dears, we had made our toes and hands and hearts the promise of a clean bed and sleep, and gosh darn it, if we are not men of our word, than what are we?!? The clock read 6:15am, we closed the shades to keep out the sunlight that was swiftly coming, and slept. 

Day two trapped in Elizabethtown, we woke up at around 2pm with growling tummies and headaches from the bazar 24 hours we had just survived. I would love to report that the madness ended there, but that would be a fallacy. We emerged from our sleeping dens to fill our bellies with something other than pringels and trail mix, and discovered that most of the business and restaurants were closed, due to the fact that no one could get to work, and the places that were still open were being run by faithful employees that had been there for over 20 hours. All I have to say is thank the good Lord for Waffle House, for it fed our bellies twice over. We ate and went back to our rooms to sleep, because the next day we were to brave the snow and head to Pittsburg. Oh yes, I had quite forgotten to mention dear reader that the show in Columbus Ohio was canceled due to the fact that the entire tour cast and production crew were trapped in the antarctic that this Kentucky had become. So back to our beds we went, expectant of the painstakingly slow journey that awaited us with the coming of the sun. And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.

 On our way to Pittsburg we were thrilled to not be in Elizabethtown anymore, because (contrary to the cinematic feature) it was so dull we thought we may go crazy if we were to be trapped there a day more. But no! we sped down the freeway to a much more exciting and thrilling locale. Helllllooooo PITTSBURG! We were so grateful to be back into the groove of playing a show, all of the setting up and tearing down seemed like a privilege compared to our last three days of captivity. The city of Pittsburg, with is roar and bomb of industry, its grand old buildings color block with eras past, was very good to us. It’s frosty air froze our tushes off… but we weren’t in Elizabethtown anymore! We slept sweetly across the river, our hotel looking out across that icy current, peering into the concrete maze all lit up like christmas presents underneath a great pine tree of promise and potential. The sun coaxed the night back behind the hills once more with the promise of rebirth, and we made our way back to Kentucky. No don’t you worry, Louisville this time. We arrived at the venue, the scent of cow manure and hey hung thick in the air. We were playing in the convention center that was also hosting a cattle show. Perfect. I will say this dears, this scent did remind me of home, and tugged on my heart with longing for the damp valley of washoe and the towering sierras. I am happy to report to you that the Louisville show that night was the best show we have had so far. Everything went off without a hitch, the technology didn’t fail us, the people were kind and loving, and the air smelled like sweet sweet cow crap! Who could ask for anything more! After the show we all headed to the hotel to get some much needed rest for tomorrow the dads (Matt and Raul) would fly home to spend some mandatory  time with their families, and Adam, Sara, Justin and I would start our drive across the country. 

The next morning I woke up with 500 miles stuck in my head, perhaps it was my subconscious mocking me with the many miles our lives were about to cross over and the time it would consume. With the persistent and peppy lyrics still ringing in my head, we rolled out of the parking lot of the comfort in and set our corse for Topeka Kansas. Dear friends… I do not think I have ever been more bored or upset with landscape than when driving through Kansas. It took everything in me to not scream “WHY GOD?!?” at the top of my lungs when every few  minutes or so. I would look at the clock thinking hours must have gone by, and realize that it had only been a few minutes. Kansas if flat as a pancake y’all… and at least twice as big as a pancake. A friend from the tour warned us that we would hate our lives driving through Kansas, and boy was he right. So we pushed on, painful mile after painful mile (by the way I know I am being unusually cruel to Kansas, but I promised you honestly and frankness and that is what I shall give you.) Plus I triple dog dare ANYONE from Kansas to disagree with the fact that driving through your state stinks. Ok off the soap box of sucky Kansas, we arrived in Topeka…. wait I’m not done railing on Kansas yet. Ok Topeka WHERE ARE YOUR CIVILIANS? This “town” literally looked like it had just been hit my a zombie apocalypse. The four of us were not only in fear for our lives, afraid that a hungry zombie was lurking around every corner, but we were just plain sad. Mini corn dogs and terrible tacos for dinner… bed. Another day, another day that we were not going to be driving through Kansas. Let me just say, there is nothing that will make you appreciate landscape like driving through… well you get it. Our destination was Laramie Wyoming. So we drove, trees and hills rushing by like some glorious smeared oil painting. Peering out of our bug gut splattered windshield, we wondered at the vastness of our great country. We were amazed by the miles and miles of uninhabited land. Wyoming was a beautiful drive, the landscape is starting to look more and more like home, just heading towards the west coast is making us heart sick for our families and our beds. We stopped in Denver Colorado for  dinner and some excellent ice cream of course. We arrived in Laramie and buried our heads into fluffy white pillows and dreamed dreams of the day that we would not being sitting in a moving vehicles for ten plus hours every day. And in the morning we were off to Boise! We had developed a system of rotating drivers.. the three of us (Justin cannot drive dear reader, due to his record) and so we each drive a little each day so as to not wear ourselves out. I just wanted to say this so that you were not concerned for our safety. We got into Boise safe and sound and ate some fantastic food. We stayed at a friend’s parent’s house, and I must say that I was green with envy over this home. It was right out of a magazine, I swear the only thing that was missing was the scent of fresh baked cookies wafting through the air and I would have promised my first born in exchange for that little slice of reality heaven. We enjoyed not sleeping in a hotel room. And now I bring you to today… because I have no work ethnic or time management skills, I am using my “time away from the wheel” to write to you dear reader of our many senseless adventures. Today we slept in and tumbled out of bed and went to get some food and then we cleaned Jean Claude, because he was VERY VERY dirty (I’m sure you can imagine.) Now we are on the road to Kent Washington. We are set to pick up Matt and Raul from the airport, and all head to the hotel tomorrow. We have almost completed our journey across the country, and I couldn’t be more elated! 

I now realize that I have said too much, and must stop before I start ranting about Kansas again. 

Forgive me dears for my silly brain and the way I express it’s frustrations in my uninteresting words. 

I will try to do better next week. 

Till then, I remain truly and tiredly yours. 

Stephanie Liana Kulla. 

Week Two, As Told By Stephanie Liana Kulla

Hello bloggisphere!
Welcome back to another belated post from a procrastinating, sleep deprived, caffeine sustained road warrior. Yes, it is I, Stephanie Kulla, coming to you once again with tales of our many adventures across the great highways and byways of this America.
Week two out on the road has been eventfully sensational. It is so surreal, that at times I feel as if I am peering into the window of someone else's crazy life watching events and experiences unfold.
But alas dear reader, this is our reality now, a different city every day, a different hotel room every night, faces upon faces, song after song, joy upon joy.
After making a quick Target run the night before to buy some gloves (the weather man predicted temperatures of four degrees) we crept out of our warm safe beds and ventured out in the great unknown once more. Shivering our tushes off in the frosty morning air, our breath hug about like little clouds of dewy cotton, whisping in the unforgiving air. This week we were joined by a dear friend, Elizabeth Chan. A lass with many skills ranging from drummer to road manager to karate enthusiast. Elizabeth, or as I affectionately called her, Liza, joined our motley crew of bustling bodies for this week's bunch of shows. She offered up her knowledge of her experiences on the road, which we welcomed with open arms and heart, because as you know dear reader, (we haven't the slightest clue what we are even doing out here.) But lets keep that between us?
Alright, onward to Indianapolis! We played at the Pacer's stadium the first night, honestly I know nothing of the world of sports, so please do not confuse this statement with any sort of knowledge (or interest) on my part. The show went well, we are learning more and more every time we walk up onto that platform. Hearts still race with every step we take up that graded metal ramp. Every fiber in our bodies questioning weather or not these whole thing is even a good idea... Wouldn't it just be easier and less stressful to have a cup of tea and read the paper? NO! This is what we were made to do! This is where we are supposed to be! Another day, another night, and we are off to Charlottesville Virginia. As we drove through the rambling snowy mountain's of Virginia, we were overcome by it's beauty. The quite frozen ground made a perfect bed for the groves of naked oak and aspen trees covering the hillsides. The rain pattered on the windows and made for a peaceful and serene drive. The show had a few hiccups. Our laptop died, so we didn't have any tracks. We switched sets with the fellow who usually plays after us, so our computer had time to charge, and once we went on, we were short on time and had to cut a song. Oh! Technology, why do you vex us so? Why art tho so cruel? Thy cold wheels and cogs turn against us all too often! But alas! We made it through. Needless to say, waking up at five in the morning and driving for nine hours to play two songs can be slightly discouraging. But like I have mentioned before, and now have to remind myself, we are so fresh and new at this, we will make better mistakes tomorrow.
On the last day of February, we headed to Charleston West Virginia. On the night of this show, Stephanie Liana Kulla was the one to mess up the whole shebang! Yes, yes it was as if I had a brain aneurysm. I have sung these song, what seems like a thousand times, and on eve of the first of march, the space between my ears decided to become vacant for all of five seconds and I forgot to sing the first three lined of our first song. Oh the humanity! But here is the thing my dears, we musn't take ourselves too seriously. If we did that, we might all be trotting around that stage in spandex wheedling keytars, peering at our diehard fans though rose colored sunglasses. I am happy to report that we are not there (yet). Pray for us... I think I may have seen a spandex suit in someone's garment bag, I will let you know how that situation transpires. And on the first day of March we traveled to Cabondale Illinois. This show was very special for us, because one, it was Sunday, and on Sunday's the tour employees a massage therapist for the artists... yes that is right, you just put your name on a list and magical hands take away all the stress and turmoil of life on the road. You can only sleep on a  van bench for so long before your spine transforms into a pile of chunky pudding. Anyway other than message day, there were people from our label and management company coming to the show, and we were all so excited to see some familiar faces! I am pleased to report that it was our best show so far! The technology didn't go on strike and neither did my brain! We got great feedback from our friends and with the night coming to an end, we piled into the van all exhausted an more than ready for a few days of peace and quiet.
Turning over and looking at the clock and seeing a time other than 4:30 am was a foreign to me. We were able to sleep in before heading back to Nashville. We are staying at the Barcus manor, the head of A&R at our label. This family is like our own. We feel very welcomed and loved by them. We stay up late with the kids cracking up at youtube videos and eating potato chips. We miss home... We miss our families. But in this strange makeshift life we are leading of new faces and new places, we are hungry for connection and any kind of normalcy. We feel that here, we feel apart of something normal, and that is refreshing to our spirits. We are here for a few days. I am writing to you now, waiting for my laundry to dry. We are heading out to Ohio a day early to avoid getting trapped in, yep you guessed it, another ice storm. Lord what is this ice storm thing? We would love to know!
Anyway, the buzzer just sounded, and I have some folding to do!

Until next weeks word vomit.

I remain faithfully, honestly, and crassly
Your Bloggist
Stephanie Liana Kulla