Stickin' it to the intellectual dogmatist elite!

How about that for a title, huh? We at the Ross King World tour office like to read a lot, ok? We like to use big words. We like irony, so we write intellectually elitist-sounding sentences when trying to take a jab at the intellectual elitists.

What am I talking about?

This.

Go there and watch the "Super Trailer." Then watch all the other stuff, too. If you like Ben Stein (and who doesn't?), you'll love it. If you are tired of the government run education crisis in this country (and who isn't?), you'll love it. If you believe that there is a vast, organized conspiracy to steal away everything good and right and wonderful about the world (of course you do), this will help you know that you're not crazy.

Enjoy.

Waco, Consider Yourself Officially and Thoroughly Rocked. Hard.

Man, what a great show last night. Big thanks to my good friends Brett and Emily Mills, who hosted. In addition to providing coffee and cookies and opening their home, Brett sat in with me and Michael Steele on 4 songs. Brett and Emily are great musicians, and Brett threw down a little upright piano on “Light of the World,” “Non-Religious Me,” and “Clear the Stage,” and accordion on “Why Me Lord.” It was way cool. Brett doesn't know this, but he is now, officially my new accordion/piano player. Hope he works cheap.

And his wife, who didn't know that I was listening, was singing pitch-perfect harmonies. At some point in the night, Michael leaned over to me and said, "maybe she should sing from now on, and you can just play guitar." He's so hilarious. He definitely works cheap.

So everything was excellent, and it was one of those nights when it just seemed like everybody was really tracking with the songs and the stories and such. One thing I’m continuing to learn is that the hosts are really the most important factor in making the concerts really great. Brett and Emily really did an amazing job. They had this great combination of hospitality, flexibilty, and a kind of "this is our party and we know what to do" authority.

I’m trying to organize my thoughts on all that, because I think it might be helpful for me to have a “here’s how to host a house show” guide kind of thing; something that you could click on when you came to the blog or to my website that would really make it easy for potential hosts to know what they’re getting into. I’ll think on that…

I’ll have the DFW stuff this week, I promise. I’ve had trouble putting this one together, for some reason. Oh, wait, I know the reason: I’m a goofy, disorganized mess of a man. Anyway, it’s looking like I’m going to be in DFW around Feb 15-17, and then maybe again in late March or early April. That’s all the important stuff for the day. Here's another pic from the concert.

Waco info

Hey, if you're wanting info on the Waco show, email me here rosskingmusic@gmail.com instead of my regular address. I'm having some temporary problems with my main account.

thanks.

Question: How many times can one man rock the same town?

Answer: At least three. but probably a lot more when you consider that I only rock that town one semi-filled living room at a time.

Had a great show Friday in San Antonio. My third stop in SA on the still-going-strong Su Casa es Mi Casa tour. Big thanks to Tom and Heidi Duke, the hosts of the evening; and to Lauri Hahn, the hardest-working-woman-who-isn't-in-show-biz-but-sort-of-pretends-that-she-is, for coordinating and planning it.

My pal James Burdine, of the ridiculously talented Burdine family (you'll remember his brother from past shows and past CD's) accompanied me for the trip, rocking the percussion. James is a great musician/songwriter in his own right, and one of the coolest people on earth. Not to mention he's one of the few people I know who never judges me for having an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel Universe. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just let it go.

The show was a blast. It was pretty small -- maybe 15-20 people -- but we had a really amazing time, and I somehow walked away with more money than I usually do at gigs 20 times that size. It's really crazy how God keeps putting generous, giving people in my path. Long story there.

So that's that. I've got another show this Friday in Waco. If you're interested in that show, email me directly (ross@rosskingmusic.com) and I'll get you the info. I'm pretty sure there's room for a few extra folks.

Two more things.

First, I'm almost done with "Strange But True Vol 2," and it's a doozie. It features, among other things, Izod shirts, ethnic diversity, and trouble with the law. Sort of. You'll love it. Hopefully I'll have it up in a couple of days.

Second, I've decided to start a new tradition around here. I'm calling it "Why don't people know how to talk?" That's the tentative title. I reserve the right to change it. The basic idea is that I'll tell you about a word that people are always using incorrectly. And then we'll discuss why people don't know how to talk. Or something.

Here's the first one. You know those people that sell you a house or help you sell your house? They're called realtors. And you want to know something else, they're not called real-uh-tors. Here's a crazy idea: look at the spelling. Observe:

Real.

Tor.

Realtor.

Not this:

Real.

Uh.

Tor.

So there you go. Realtor. You're welcome. Why don't people know how to talk?

Insert Clever Title Here

Sorry to not be posting much these days. The holidays kind of got me out of the habit, and then I just got busy with all that stuff that rockstar-producer-introverts like me are always busying themselves with. I’ve got some stuff coming later this week that will hopefully make up for my absence.

Anyway, here are a few upcoming things, for those who care to know:

House Show in San Antonio this Friday night (Jan 18th)

House Show in Waco next Friday night (Jan 25th)

I’m leading worship at The Vista Community Church in Temple on Sunday February 3rd.

And I’m pretty close to finalizing a short tour of the DFW/Metroplex area. I've got about half the dates tentatively worked out.

Please email me if you would like more info on any of that, especially if you're in the DFW area and would like to host or help with a concert.

Finally, I hardly ever do this, but I really think that all of you, especially any musicians, should go look at this. It’s maybe the funniest collection of videos I’ve ever seen. OK, maybe not, but it definitely makes the "Best of 2008 So Far" list, which is significant, I think. Whatever. Check it out and be careful not to drink any beverages while you do. Santana, Slash, and Jake E Lee are standouts, but they're all good enough to send liquid thru the nose.

The Great Houston Tour of '08

OK, so that's maybe a tad dramatic as a description of what happened this week. But if you came to my blog, after no posts for 2 whole weeks, and saw “I played 3 houses this week,” you’d just feel bummed out. Bummed out because my blog is so boring, and bummed out because my career is so sad.

But that would be a rash judgment on your part, honestly, because my career, though basically insignificant and certainly “earthy,” is rather exciting right now.

By way of example, I submit to you the aforementioned 3 houses I played this week (some of you will remember them, collectively, as The Great Houston Tour of ’08). They were excellent. Sonny and Casi Howard hosted me for two back-to-back nights Monday and Tuesday. Both great shows. Super-smooth Craig Weaver joined for those. We had a great time, gave away a lot of CD’s, found adequate funds in “the box” at the end of the evening, etc. All the stuff you hope for. And of course, lots of great conversation (had some great time talking with my new friend Tim Barosh, who seems to be one of the sharpest, most teachable worship leaders around) and genuine Spirit-filled connection. We had maybe 80 people between the two shows, which is big for house concerts, but it worked ok. It’s getting easier for me to know how to adjust the whole mood of things when crowds are bigger. For me, "bigger" is like more than 25.

Then, last night, my old pal Ryan Riley, formerly of Community Church, co-hosted me with some of his friends from his church. Another really excellent time. Keith Sewell sat in on percussion and harmony. Lots of really enlightening conversation and honesty at that show as well.

So it was an excellent week. Honestly, if I could figure out a way to do it, this week would be a pretty ideal template for the way I’d love to do ministry and music all of the time. I felt alive and purposed and faithful. And I made an okay amount of money. It wasn’t enough to live on, but when I combine it with the money I get from various sales and royalties, it works out ok. I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t want to travel that much all the time. I suppose I can tell you more after a few more months of this.

My goal for the week is get a good handle on the DFW shows, which I think will be in February. More on that later.

Finally, here’s something that will warm your heart, especially in this cynical age:
This guy came to the Tuesday night show, stood in the back of the room where nobody would notice him, and just hung out and listened. He didn’t try to get any attention and say “hey I’m more famous and talented than the dude who’s putting on a show,” even though that would be true. So if you’re thinking that all CCM artists are snobby and self-important, stop thinking that. It’s a horribly graceless generalization, first of all, but also, this dude is an example of kindness, humility, selflessness, and lots of other stuff that you never associate with people who spend their life on stages. So go buy his music. It’s actually really good.