Last Weekend ...

Hey guys!
Last weekend has a lot of stories attached to it, but now, nearly eight days away, I'm trying very, very hard to remember all of them.

Let's see ... I would tell you about the time Josh's expert braking skills prevented us from slamming into a deer on the highway, or how Danny and I spent the drive home from London brainstorming the most unthinkably violent ways to kill a cat if one forced us to kill a cat, just to keep ourselves awake (how morbid of us, eh), but all of those things happened so long ago now! I can barely remember!!

There are a couple things that DO still stand out in my brain.
The festival had a great line-up of bands, but everybody in Hello Kelly agrees that the highlight of the whole weekend was Flatfoot 56. Doesn't Flatfoot 56 sound like the kind of bandname you heard all the time back in 1999 when skater punk music was all the rage? Apparently the guys in the band are pretty young though, so maybe they ARE new. Ironically though, they DO fit in perfectly with that skater punk fringe style - but with an adorable twist. They dress like Scotsmen and sing super raunchy, off-the-way bar-chanting type tunes. At one point, they made the crowd separate into two groups and charge at each other like one of the battle scenes from Braveheart. But first he said: "May God have mercy on your souls!" into the microphone.
I was in awe.

I found it so funny that so many bands these days are using in-ears with metronomes playing right into their brains, and pre-recorded tracks pumping through the front-of-house speakers - it's pretty complicated, and everybody swears it makes the show better and more tight and entertaining. Yes, even Hello Kelly does it. But there's a certain amount of respect to be had for a band like Flatfoot 56 - they roll their road-worn road cases up on stages, plug their guitars into their amps, mutter a couple words into the microphone as a sound check and just blast into their set.
Meanwhile Hello Kelly took nearly 20 minutes to sound check.

Sigh. Two different styles, I suppose.
In-ears ARE pretty nice though, I must say. When they work, I hear my voice so super loud. I love it.

So sidenote - has anybody seen Wall-E yet? 4.5 stars?? Come on! I literally can't wait!

One other thing I remember about last weekend was how well everybody got along in the band - and I really needed that. About 15 days ago, I found out that one of my high school friends, Mike, had passed away in his sleep one night. That kind of stuff is super random and unexpected, you know? I hadn't talked to him in a long time, so I guess you could say I wasn't completely devastated - but it definitely reminded me how fragile life is. It was also really saddening because this dude was one of the most gentle, sensitive guys I'd ever met. Sigh. Sometimes life sucks pretty bad.
Anyway, I had never lost anybody close to me so I wasn't sure I was going to deal with that on the weekend - especially playing shows and being around the guys - sometimes that stuff can be stressful. But everybody got along so well, and I was in such high spirits all weekend. Amazing.

Sometimes it's easy to complain that being on the road keeps you broke and lonely and other depressing adjectives, but this weekend I was reminded of what a GOOD touring experience is. So thanks James, Josh, Mat and Danny. I know you guys had no idea what I was dealing with that weekend, but that almost makes it better. Here's to many more trips like that!!

We've just added more shows - so we're looking forward to running into a lot of you this summer at concerts! We've also got new shirts - so bring your money!!

Thanks again for all the support everybody! See you soon,

francy

A New Review

So, on Friday we played at RefuelFest in a tiny town called Delhi.
Now, before I continue, you should know that a lot of festivals in Ontario are about as successful as I imagine pepperoni pizza-flavoured ice cream would be ... but that wasn't the case with RefuelFest! It was an honour to open for Britt Nicole, fellow Canadian band Newworldson, and of course, Casting Crowns.
Here's the inside scoop: The guys in Newworldson are so charming that I even swooned a little, Britt Nicole put on one of the best female fronted shows I've seen in a long time, and even though a terrible rain storm struck as soon as they hit the stage, Casting Crowns let their lifesong sing for a whole 90 minutes.
We had a great time hanging out with everybody who came to the festival! Thanks a lot.

I just recieved an e-mail with a link to our new review on ChristianityToday.com. It's a WONDERFUL review, and when I'd finished reading it, I was overcome with gratitude for everyone who has given us a little shove to where we are now.
So, click here to read it!!

If you're the type of person who prays, we would really appreciate your prayers as we push into the summer and continue promoting this new CD. Some specific things you could pray about are: finances for the band, that radio and sales continue to go well, that new opportunities continue to open up in the USA and even in mainstream radio. And finally, please continue to pray for "Kelly", which represents anybody who listens.

On behalf of myself, Mat, Josh and James ... THANK you ALL for your support and prayers - whether you've been listening for 4 days or 4 years. We REALLY appreciate all of you and we're looking forward to touring more and more in the future so we can meet every single one of you guys!

Keep it straight - you're doing great!

francy and the HK crue