Tour for the Cure Part I

I would be remiss not to apologize for my absence from the blog in recent weeks. I can't turn up a great excuse, and while I was prepared to blame laziness I just considered the last month of work and feel anything but. So lets just say I was neglectful and hope I have learned from my missteps. :)

I figured I'd return with a tour wrap up. The short story is simple, the shows were amazing. For me this tour was a bit of reeducation in how to headline a show. I know it sounds crazy after so many years, but truthfully aside from the one-off shows we did in the spring it's been a long time for me. That being said it was a lot of work and a lot of learning and it was an experience that could only take place on a stage in front of a large crowd. Usually I am very self conscious being so vulnerable in front of so many people, but there was a humanity to this tour and it's audiences and I am so thankful for the ability to go through that reeducation without having to hide. I found that my body was not immune to what it's gone through this past 18 months nor was my mind. There were definitely times when the usual tour sickness would make it's rounds on me and leave me terrified I may be really sick again, there were nights my lungs didn't hold up and I would leave the stage feeling like I had just run a marathon. (Not that I've ever run a marathon or have any idea what doing so might feel like :) Still, with the hardships considered it was worth every minute. Not only did the tour help me to reclaim some confidence I had lost it taught me that sometimes the only thing you can do is wrestle your demons. Not to say they didn't occasionally get the best of me on this run, but while there were moments I felt too tired or sick to finish the tour it was not hard to see the impact of what we were doing nightly and it kept me steady. I am still waiting to get the final numbers on what the tour brought in for the dear jack foundation, but that will be posted in part II and I have a feeling it's going to be very impressive. To all of you who came out and supported us on this run as well as those involved in the light the night walks I am so thankful for your involvement. I also have to thank my management, label, agency and all the promoters on this tour who bent over backwards to turn up extra money anywhere they could. They did this knowing that it would end up in the hands of people who will be fighting to make sure that blood cancers become more treatable and eventually cured. In a business that is characterized by it's evils I have truly found a team of people who not only do what they do because they love music, but like you who came to the shows, they have huge hearts and I am honored to work with each and every one of them. In closing I would like to dedicate this tour to two incredibly strong young men who I met over the course of the past few months and whose attitudes throughout their battles with cancer were unwavering and positive. Both were gifted musicians in their early 20's and both had incredible friends and families who adored them and saw in them what it is to be truly courageous. When I found out that both men, Brad Andreas and Chad Harjer had lost their battles within four days of each other it became clear what we were doing this past month and who we were doing it for. It is in their names that I will donate earnings from this tour and with their families in my heart that I will aggressively pursue research for this disease. No one deserves to be taken so young but both Brad and Chad will live on in the purpose of everything we do with the Dear Jack Foundation going forward.

Comments

[nora]

omgosh andrew! i can't wait to see you tomorrow in Boston! you are amazing and my inspiration! yesterday i had surgery on my mouth, and even though it was a minor surgery it still hurt. as i sat in the dentists office, very anxious and nervous, the lady at the desk said they would let me listen to my ipod while i was being "worked on." so, when i sat down in the chair i put on my music, and guess who i listened to for the 45 minutes in my surgery, you! with each pinch and poke they made i squirmed until suddenly all the pain stopped. now i dont know if it was the novicane or the thought that ran through my head that very second that made the pain disappear. i thought of the pain you have gone through, and how you were able to get through it and that if you could be so incredible and strong, so could i. you must undestand i am not saying i am anywhere near as amazing as you are, (and nobody will ever be) but that you helped me out so much! thanks for everything, especially the concert you are going to perform tomorrow night at the tsongas arena which i will be attending stiches and all!

keep on rockin' mr. rockstar!!!!!
<3 nora

[loretta]

do u fart...ever?

[Alaa]

If I cant get tickets to the show at Auburn Hills I will seriously be so upset :( keep your fingers crossed for me.

Andrew, you are amazing and I never forget you in my prayers. Thank you for always being there when no one else is.

Alaa

[SARABETH AND NORABETH]

OMFGGGGGG, AMAZING JOB TONIGHT IN LOWELLL!!! we were the onces screaming really loud at random parts. sara stared a scream at once point and she was stoked. nora's mouth hurt the whole time... BUT IT WAS FUCKING CRAZYY AHHHHH. but we couldnt get good pictures of you because we were in the back of the mosh ((hey, atleast we broke nora's mom's rules for you)) and you moved around alot, BUT IT WAS SOOOOOOOO HOTT!!!! hehe, loved the wave, loved the wave, very good. and im liking the beard, grow it like Santa, dye it white, let little kids sit on your lap and say, "i don't exist." with that scary face that you made to the bassist tonight ((yes we caught that silly billy)) hott shirt too by the way, we are total preps at school ((yes, we did spend thirty dollars on abercrombie tank tops just for the concert)) and so we were excited when you wore a collard shirt, thanks for not popping the collar;) i understand this is like a fucking essay, but jesus this night sooo deserves it. it was sara's first concert ((nora when to jingle ball last year, before sara, she was one of those, so don't blame her, she didnt know any better.)) we were really excited when you played dark blue. oh and we were waiting when they were setting up the stage and we were like, hmmm i wonder what he is going to open with and nora was all like, "i bet he will start with im ready" and i thought bruised AND YOU STARTED WITH IM READY!!! ahh, how did she know? i think us three are like telepathic, dont even get us started on what we have in common with each other (sara and nora that is) but like... sara has the same shoes as you and like a bazillion other things and nora can read your mind. thats just crazy.

keep on rockin mr. rockstar,
sara and nora<33

PS. dont judge, we're only thirteen.

[Deandra]

Andrew,
My 2 friends and I drove to Rochester from Buffalo to see you at RIT on Friday. You obviously made all the glitches we had driving worth it!! You were AMAZINGGGG- you kicked panic's ass! Loved the red shirt, you looked great. Thanks for playing La La Lie-- It's my friend Janna's favorite and we had so much fun rocking out to it!! I can't wait to see you again (be it a something corporate or jack's show!) and hopefully you'll have a meet and greet or something. I'm not going to lie, we waited out by your bus for a little while. ;)
Keep on rocking you fucking rockstar

[Kristie]

Well... thank you for allowing us the oppertunity to help out in any way that we could. It is great to see music helping out different causes... The panic tour was awesome. We were some of the lucky ones who got to hang out with you for a little in Charlotte. We had a blast. Any more thought on the Dark Blue video?? see you on the next tour..