Photo by Janet MattoxSitting in my college dorm during my first “life away from home” experience the world was opening up with a lot of new experiences, and music played a big part in my growth.  My first love called with tickets to a movie that was being shown in the biology hall called Rattle and Hum, thus introducing me to my first musical love of U2.

For years I followed them from afar.  Buying their CD’s but never being able to secure a ticket to a show.  As time marched on so did my admiration for their musical genius.  Not long after moving to Houston, a friend offered to help me get tickets to FINALLY see U2 live.  Our group arrived to the venue early enough to secure a spot in the inner circle of the 360 stage.

My first night of press room GMA Dove Awards I was a little nervous, to say the least.  First time jitters and just plain not knowing what to do made me glad that I did not eat first!  Unfortunately I was not able to connect to wireless so I was not able to do the video stream that I had planned on, but one lesson learned it to come better prepared with my own wireless!! Sharing is not a Christian virtue in a press room setting. The list of winners is as follows:

40TH ANNUAL GMA DOVE AWARDS RECIPIENTS

Day Five...staying alive!

The mid-week Wednesday hump is always a tough day to maneuver through.  Its the last of the GMA events outside of the Dove awards, they last full day of contact with peers pre-press room.  The day started off early with an artist symposium discussing Christian artists in a secular market.  The discussion was  interesting and enlightening on many levels.  It was good to get the "heart of the artist" perspective on touring secular markets and maneuvering through secular interviews.  It was a highlight of my week to see all the artists together.

GMA

Day four didn't have much in store for this weary GMA traveler.  The majority of the day was spent standing and staring, mixed with a little sitting and staring.  There weren't a plethora of showcases this year, and over all attendance was down by 25% (according to the official reports.)  The evening found me meandering over to Rocketown to catch another performance by The Listening.  I had not heard/seen many of the bands that were performing that evening, mainly because the rap genre is not one of my favorites and it is where a lot of these bands fall in the industry.  However, while there I did manage to win, via drawing, an MP3 player that, as promised on twitter, I plan on giving away right here on inReview.net!

On the third day God created vegetation.  On the third day of GMA there is no time to sit and veg. The day, while uneventful ended with a big-bang at the JesusFreakHideout showcase at 12th and Porter.  I know, Jesusfreakhideout is a "competitor" of inReview but nevertheless the showcase was packed full of great performances by Danyue, Abandoned, The Listening, Remedy Drive and Seabird Music.

One of the biggest benefits of these showcases is discovering artist that you may have never gotten the opportunity to see outside of the freedom of GMA week.  I am not one to jump on every bands wagon in town, but at tonight's show I found myself looking for the hitch to The Listening.  They completely captivated me with their live show.  I have a copy of their CD that I am dying to listen too...when there is less chatter and distractions.

Day two: First official day of GMA sponsored events.  Having snagged an invite to the Jars of Clay/ CAA luncheon, I was very excited.  I LOVE Jars of Clay!  We got an acoustic listen at Long Fall Back to Earth and a copy of the CD.  The CD hits stores on Tuesday and from my early listen, it is living up to its hype.  They are, to me the deepest lyrical band in Christian music hands down!  This CD, about relationships, promises to be as deeply layered as relationships themselves are.  I promise a review (if one of my fellow inReview staff doesn't get it done before I do!) as soon as I return home.

Day one was an adventure in true JantRN fashion.  I started the day with a "blue light" special.  I did, however get to meet one of Friendswood, TX's finest.  Made it to the airport and on da-plane without much else hindering the trip.

Touch down brings me round to car rental company.  My epic dream of free upgrades and cushy cars that I am accustomed to when using Priceline.com did NOT pan out for my Southwest booked car rental.  We end up with a bright red Ford Focus, four adults plus luggage turned out to be an EPIC FAIL!  I left two at the airport while we drove out to Brentwood to our two bedroom condo rental for the week.

Had that been the end of the airport story it would be eventful enough but my @LLCoolChance spotted Mute Math strolling through (and yes I have trained him well!) he approached and made contact...very apprepo for the evening kick off.