I swear I practiced before Gloria! tour rehearsals yesterday. I did. Several times. But I get nervous singing in front of great players and singers and with those bright lights on me – even if I am only in a warehouse rehearsal space. My brain sputtered. My fingers got amnesia. And I messed up pretty much every song and speaking part of the show.

So it’s back to the piano and guitar today (in between cake baking, cake decorating, and party prep for my oldest’s sleepover birthday party tonight). It’s hard enough for me to remember words I wrote. Now I’m supposed to remember some other guy’s lyrics? What am I, a professional musician or something?

The second verse of Better Days trips me up every time. Every. Stinking.Time. I want what? Faith and huh?

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2539126[/vimeo]

And then there’s God Is With Us. He is with us, but those brilliant words by Wayne Kirkpatrick forsake me over and over again. Such a great song. Such a pity to butcher it. (By the way, I really like this video because it’s stretched in a weird and fantastic way that makes me look slightly heavier – borderline buff even. Merry Christmas to me.)

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2664451[/vimeo]

So while I’m away practicing could you do me a big favor? Could you go on over to the event pages for this tour and invite a few of your friends? Of course having more people at these shows may seem to work in favor of nervousness and against my sanity but the truth is it’s much more awkward/painful/awful for me to mess up in front of ten people than it is to fail in front of a thousand. (Never forget Waco. I won’t.)

Thanks.