Update Video

Week Three Update from Brian Mulder on Vimeo.

Hey Everybody, we're in Midland, MI at Brian's family's house. We just met Brian's week old new nephew after a 6 hour drive and a two plates of home made spaghetti. We also watched a great white shark leap out of the water in super slo-mo and eat a seal on the Planet Earth DVD. We're all safe though.

Spent some good time in Philly for a house concert with the DeBoer's. The girl who hosted the concert itself is also a tour guide in Philly and she was so generous to give us a free tour the morning after we played. We took a long walk, ran up the "Rocky Steps", ate some great cheese steaks, coconut gelato, and saw some great art. We also played the "Lying game". The Lying Game is a new game that Brian and I made up and have been spreading around as we travel. Here's how it works... you catch someone in a lie (a joke or exaggeration) by holding up one finger. Then they must say ten untrue things as fast as possible. It's a lot of fun to see what silly lies people come up with. Our favorite is to launch into a big ridiculous story. It's fun. You should try it. Abraham Lincoln loves it.

After Philly, we drove down to Alexandria, VA and met up with my friends Oliver and Kate Box. Oliver is one of my best friends from college back in Oxford, MS. It was a blast to hang out with them. We watched "Earnest scared stupid". The only thing that is difficult about that movie the uncontrollable sobbing that inevitably ensues by the last scene when Earnest's dog has been turned into a piece of wood by the evil troll. You know how it is- when Earnest loses it emotionally, so do I.

Oliver is a pastor at a church in the area. They hosted a great pot-luck dinner and then we had a concert in the Sanctuary afterward. Mostly older folks but they were so open-hearted and generous toward us! Not that older folks aren't open hearted or generous. But we had a great time sharing songs and stories with them. At the end, I sang "We have all the time in the world for Love" by Louis Armstrong from James Bond as a special song for Oliver and Kate's six month marriage celebration. It was great to see my good friends.

Sarah Russo was there as well and she shared one of her songs that evening. I'm a fan already. And once everyone had gone home Oliver, Kate, Sarah, Brian and I stuck around and recorded silly improve comedy shows on my laptop for a few hours. It was a blast!

Last night we played in Hamilton, OH for a living room crowd. It was a very interactive group. They asked questions about lyrics and the stories. Several times they even shared their thoughts about certain songs. You just can't do that anywhere else but a house concert. It wouldn't fit. I keep getting more and more attached to this particular way of playing music. It's so human. It was beautiful to be in that room and have folks get into it with us. We stayed for quite a while just visiting afterward. Wonderful time!

Brian's folks have a hot tub. I think it may be hot tub time. That means this update is over. I'm enjoying the road so much though, and having a great friend like Brian along makes everything easier. Stay tuned, we'll keep updating. And please leave a comment at the end of our posts. That helps us feel connected to folks.

yours, matthew