Coolest Gift Ever...

In addition to the awesome band reunion weekend my wife, Jennifer, gave me for my 40th birthday, she also made me a quilt from the old t-shirts of various bands I've played in. They are: Fulmer Middle School and Airport High School Bands, Presbyterian College Wind Ensemble, Children At Heart, Legend Seven, and the Mt Horeb United Methodist Church Praise Band. Of course there were other bands, but they didn't all have t-shirts, so they don't appear on the quilt. This is so cool.

"Sweet Jesus"

"Sweet Jesus" by Gary Chapman

Children At Heart Reunion

In preparation for my Big Birthday Gig this weekend, I found some old photos of my college band, Children at Heart. Mike, Coley, Paul, and Greg will be coming in this weekend to join me, along with Alan and Stan, for a gig at the WaterShed on Saturday night. We've all been working on the songs via iPod and an online file folder site for sharing chord charts, but with only have a couple of times to rehearse together before performing, so we anticipate it being more fun than "good", but either, way it will be awesome.

We're Getting the Band Back Together...

With my big 40th Birthday "Band Reunion" Bash coming up, I keep thinking about this commercial and this classic movie clip.

Save the Date

I'm turning 40 in January, and my wife is giving me the coolest birthday present I can imagine. She's letting me get the band back together ("Honey, you remember the Vortex"). Well, not actually THE band, but a bunch of my best friends that I love jamming with. Many of them have agreed to come from far away to spend a 4 day weekend practicing and playing a couple of gigs with me. The dates and locations are still tentative, but Saturday night, January 26th will be a full concert (probably at a local coffee house) and Sunday morning, January 27th, we'll lead the praise and worship music at the 9AM service at Mt Horeb United Methodist Church.

Here's the line up:

• Me - Bass, BGVs, and maybe some keyboards
• Mike Vaughan - Lead Vocals
• Coley Mynatt - Drums and BGVs
• Paul Reaves - Guitar and jokes
• Alan Green - Keyboards and BGVs
• Shane Martin - Guitar and Vocals
• Stan McAfee - Guitar

Also, I'm going to try to get some of my local friends to sit in on a few tunes with us: my pal Tim has already confirmed. I'm also going to ask Barney, Jim, Tye, Suzanne, etc. It's going to be mayhem and we'll need a crowd of sympathetic fans, so please mark your calendars and try to come and support us. More specifics will be forthcoming (look for posts labeled "40th Birthday Bash")

UPDATE: The dates and locations are confirmed. 1/26/2008 at 7:30PM at The WaterShed, in Lexington and 1/27/2008 at Mt Horeb UMC's 9AM service.

Tranquility...at last

Today's schedule:
1:30am - Finally arrive home after fighting the USC/Clemson post-game traffic
7:30am - Sound check at my church (Mt Horeb UMC)
9am - Play bass for Contemporary Worship Service at my church
11am - Home for a quick nap and lunch
1pm - Back to Mt Horeb to play in a funeral (for Chris Conner. Rest in Peace, brother Chris.)
2:30pm - Race across town to Eastminster Presbyterian Church
4:30pm - Play keys for Contemporary Worship Service at Eastminster Presbyterian Church
6:30pm - Dinner with the family at Harbor Inn
8pm - Blog
8:05pm - Collapse from exhaustion

Keys To The Future?

Last night I rehearsed with the Eastminster Presbyterian Church Praise Band. My buddy, Jim, and I are filling in this Sunday for their evening contemporary service (Jim on drums and me on keyboards and bass.) It's been a while since I played keyboards and although I was rusty (really rusty), I still had a blast. I am especially looking forward to the service because the minister is my brother-in-law, Amos, and this will be the first time I've ever played in one of his worship services.

It's going to be a busy weekend with Thanksgiving in Johnston on Thursday, Thanksgiving part deux lunch in Greenville on Friday, Praise Band Cookout Friday night, Blogger Brunch Saturday Morning, Carolina/Clemson game Saturday evening, and 2 Church gigs on Sunday. Plus I want to squeeze in some mountain biking, tree-trimming, rehearsal time, and a nap. So much for a long relaxing weekend, huh?

Children At Heart (more blast from the past)

Here's a bunch of really cheesy video's my old college band, Children At Heart, around the time we first formed in the late 80's. These were recorded by a Media Arts Class, at USC, as a class project, so the set and light might look a bit goofy. However, the clothing choices were our own selections. Believe it or not, we eventually got MUCH better (at music, not dressing) and moved to Nashville to pursue a full time rock-n-roll lifestyle.

Children At Heart (left to right):
Mike Vaugahn, Lead Vocals;
Paul Reaves, Guitar;
Greg Sheehan, Lead Guitar and BGVs;
Coley Mynatt, Drums and BGVs;
George Nicholson, Keyboards and BGVs;
Todd King, Bass (on video clips) later replaced by Gayle Godkin (pictured to the right);
and Danny Linney, Sound Technician (not pictured ... ever)

"I Will Rejoice"


"A Few Good Men"


"Armed and Ready"


"Strong & Courageous"

Blast From The Past

Here's a video clip from my glory days playing keyboards with Legend Seven. This is us at the 1994 American Christian Music Awards. We were nominated for Best Rock Group/Duo of the year. Petra won it. Rock On!