happy new year!

Mobile Blogging from here.

I have spent New Years day driving from VA to OH. Last night we played Liberty University's Winterfest. We had a good time and there were about 7500 people there. It's still wierd to me that we drove ten hours to play thirty minutes. It's still not as bad, though, as the time we flew to Sacramento , CA to play for fifteen. I'm not sure why, but this blog sounds robotic. I think I left my brain at the Wingate hotel where I only slept for four hours last night. Maybe I should get some more sleep.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Twitter on the side

I have now added Twitter to my sidebar, so you can check my "Twitters" out from my blogspot.

Today we're in Vegas. We went down to the strip this morning and walked around a little. It was pretty random. Within a couple hours, I bought a winter jacket in the middle of the desert and saw our old bass player arrest somebody (check out my Twitter). Happy Birthday to me.

Twitter

Today, I signed for Twitter. It's super easy to use with my phone. Check out my page at http://twitter.com/matthammitt

TOMS (shoes for tomorrow)

I'm in the van with Carlos from TOMS shoes. He told me Blake, the founder of TOMS had checked out our blogs. In response I thought, "Better blog!"
This weekend, we started "We Need Each Other" the tour. We've had three great shows so far and our fans have raised over $60,000 for building wells in Africa (mochaclub.org). Also, we have partnered with our favorite shoe company, TOMS, to help put shoes on little feet that need them (tomsshoes.com). They will also be my "shoes for tomorrow" when we perform a benefit concert for Extreme Makeover Home
Edition.

"Papa Louie"

A couple of weeks ago I stood at my Grandfather's bedside as he passed into eternity with Jesus. He had been suffering from breathing complications after a recent heart surgery. "Papa Louie"(pictured left), as my daughter Emmy lovingly called him, was a really simple guy who loved to talk about cars, my travels, and his grandchildren. He was a man of many words, few of them food for thought. We adored his simplicity and never questioned his love. I'll miss him greatly.

If you'd like to hear some of the songs I chose for his viewing and funeral, I published an "imix" at itunes named "Funeral for Grandpa"


Louis G. Hirth, 75, of Toledo, went home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, from The Toledo Hospital. The oldest son of Louis W. and Luella F. (Brown) Hirth, he was born on July 7, 1932, in South Toledo, where he spent most of his life. He was a veteran of the US Air Force and it was while serving in the military that he met the love of his life, his wife of 50 years, Clara, who preceded him in death on March 17, 2005. Louis owned and managed Hirth's Sohio, located on the corner of Arlington and Woodsdale, during the late 60's and early 70's, with his father who preceded him in death in 1985. He had previously managed the Sohio station on Spencer Ave. He loved cars and he enjoyed collecting scale model vehicles. He was a generous and loving father, grandfather, great-grand-father and brother, who will be greatly missed by family and friends. He attended Calvary Assembly of God for the past 15 years. Survivors include daughters, Gail (Gary) Hammitt, Etta Hirth of Enterprise, AL, Pam (Jon) Hughes; grandchildren, Aaron (Tara) Hammitt, Matthew (Sarah) Hammitt, Yasmenda (Jay) Neal and Solomon Hughes; great-grandchildren, Ian, Ella, Emmy and Claire Hammitt, and James Fordham Jr.; sisters, Laura (Russell) Watters of Lakeside, CA, Carole Curtiss and brother, Daryl Hirth; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; older sister, Delores Floro, and younger brothers, Larry and Jerry Hirth.

about time

It's been too long since my last post. First thing, Claire is healthy and more or less problem free. She has been on a sleep apnea monitor, but its only a precaution. For a while, things felt really chaotic with Claire being sick, spending time with my wife and two-year old Emmy, and the band stuff. I'm now getting a grip, thank God.
Today we played at Atlanta Fest. The show was good, but I was equally excited that Chick-Fil-A served the meals backstage. I can't get enough of their chicken. Tonight we drive to Nashville, then on to Louisville in the morning. Hopefully it won't be as hot there. Oh yeah, thanks to our producer, Chris Stevens, for letting us use his Suburban.

Where do I start?

It's been a few weeks since my last blog. My mind has been other places. On April 30th,at 5:17pm, my wife gave birth to our second daughter Claire Lillian Hammitt. the labor and delivery went very well, and our baby was seemingly healthy. After a week at home, I departed for England to perform at a one day music festival called the Ultimate Event. That evening I called Sarah to say goodnight and was surprised by the news that she was in the hospital with our new baby Claire. Claire had developed a fever and wasn't eating well so they went to the ER. Turns out that she had an ear infection which is very rare for a newborn. So my wife and I have spent the past week in the hospital waiting for all the tests and treatments to be completed. The latest report is that she will be fine, but they have discovered that she has sleep apnea. So they will hopefully send us home tomorrow with a breathing monitor. Being in the NICU has really opened my eyes to how blessed we are. So many babies and parents deal with much more than we have been through. Please keep us and all these babies in your prayers.

Cedarville, OH

I woke up this morning at 3:30am. The band and I are flying back to Ohio to play our last show of the Third Day Live tour. Our wives and and kids will be there, so it will be a good day.

Last weekend, the band shot a video for our song "Whatever You're Doing" in downtown Tulsa. We had to carry our gear up four flights of rubble. I posted a few pics so you could see the place. The guy down on the street in the orange shirt owns the building. He also owns a well known club called Capella's across the street. David Cook from American Idol is one of his bar tenders. I don't watch Idol, but it's a good little factoid if you do.

I'm in the Albany airport drinking a hazelnut latte from the Coffee Beanery. We are flying to Sacramento for an Aquire the Fire event. Larry the cleaning guy is rambling about the Yankees.

Turkey at Tropicana

Last night we went bowling with December Radio at Tropicana Lanes St. Louis. The bowling alley made me take off my skullcap and excessively long T-Shirt. At first I was bummed, but I think it it freed me up to bowl a good game. As you can see in the picture I BOWLED A TURKEY!