The Road

After being in the music industry (I’m not really sure what that means) for almost 10 years, until a month ago I had never toured. I wasn't in Evanescence when they started touring the record we made, and since then my main job has been writing for other people. So August has been a pretty awesome month for me with the EP coming out and having my first taste of what life on the road is like.
For friends of mine that have spent years touring, a 3-week leg may seem laughable; but to me it felt daunting getting everything put together. From assembling a band and crew to budgets and gear to travel and logistics - the weeks before the first show were pretty maddening. But once everything was put into place, once we stepped out onto that stage in Orlando, it was 3 weeks that I’ll never forget.
I’ve played shows before, so I know what the feeling of being on stage is like; but that's usually been a residency or some weekly gig where the crowd is predominantly the same each time. So practicing a set of music so much that it becomes second nature, spending so much time with the songs that they begin to take on their own life on stage as opposed to trying to mimic a recording - that was completely new to me and so artistically fulfilling. To say nothing of hearing a crowd's response to songs that they've never heard from an artist they didn't know. And having a new crowd every night to win over was such an inspiring challenge.
I don't think we could have lost our touring virginity (yeah, I said it) with a better group of guys. Opening up for Daughtry (yeah, I said that too) was unbelievable. The fans were great, the music was great, and the band and crew were awesome to us and very cool to be around. There was just as much laughing, as there was music while we were out. Good times were had by all.
So for all of the new friends and fans that saw us for the first time with Daughtry - welcome to this community. There are message boards at davidhodgesonline.com and soon at davidhodgesmusic.com. Right now here is where most of info and music is coming from, but davidhodgesmusic.com should be a full-on hub for everything soon.
And for all those friends and fans that have been along for the ride for a while - it looks like it's really happening. Thank you for all your help, support, and encouragement over the years. It was great to meet some of you on the road (Andrew, grace, Kasey, etc.), and I’m looking forward to touring closer to the rest of you soon. Not to sound like a sales pitch, but the more this music gets out there, the faster we'll be getting new music to you. So keep it coming!
We’re putting up a clip of Vegas when Chris surprised us on stage and sang a song that he and I written together. Hope you guys like it. Later in the set Joey (the drummer) came out as well, but I’m sure you can find footage of that floating around somewhere - it's well worth hunting for. :) Can’t wait to get back out again!

dh