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What Up Peoples!!!???

July, 26 20102 Comments

I’m coming to you this morning from the Kansas City airport after a long couple of days of touring. Last night we played a show at the Kansas City T-Bones ballpark and had a blast.  Aaron and I sang the national anthem and then got to enjoy the game from the press box… which was amazing!!  The show was a lot of fun and we have to say thanks to Calvary 88.5, KLOVE, and AIR1 for promoting and giving us a nice crowd of about 1500-2000 to play to!!  It was awesome!!  So now we wait for the plane to get us back home. “Time-Crunch” otherwise known as Brian Coleman (our road manager) got us up extra early anticipating a crowd at the airport and so I have about 2 hours to write this blog.  Thanks Brian Coleman… (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice??) lol.

Summerfest has been awesome this year and why wouldn’t it be???  The line-up is sick!!!  Britt Nicole, Mikeschair, and Finding Favour along with the always amazing (wink, wink) Building429 for $5… well it’s insane.  Britt is amazing… and she’s as deep of a well spiritually as I have ever known.  God is blessing her because of her faithfulness.  If I have seen her back stage praying with a fan once I’ve seen it a hundred times.  To be honest… I’ve never met another artist who was more serious about the power of prayer than her… EVER.  She never stops giving from the second she shows up til the second she leaves the venue.  No matter what’s going on she really understands the power of a moment and the strength that can be found in the simple process of praying over another person.  It’s truly inspiring for an old dog like me.

I am so impressed with the character of the bands that are out on tour with us this time. These guys are young, driven, extremely talented, and yet so humble and relational in a way that has really been refreshing for us to see.  I know that sounds weird for me to be surprised by such things, but Building429 has seen its share of ego maniacs and weathered its share of rat races through the years… so in a lot of ways the last few years have been great for all of us in terms of perspective.  Knowing that this is just a moment that we’ve been given to capture the hearts and minds of an audience and then turn them to Christ has truly been a lifechanging thought.  It used to be that we would try to “wow” a crowd of people with the gifting that God had given us.  But at some point we started to realize that our gifting and talent would never impact a crowd the way that the spirit of the Lord in a room would.  And with that realization we began to build tours and sets with that as our criteria.

Our concerts look different today, in every way, than they did in the past.  Today Building429 has found its voice as an ambassador for children in need around the world.  Some people may not enjoy me talking about such things for extended periods during our events, but if you’re a Building429 fan you need to know… it is our heartbeat.   It’s not going to change.  We’ve seen things around the world that have shaken up the hearts of men that honestly sometimes feel a bit cold.  I’ve cried in Africa, I’ve struggled in Haiti, I’ve been broken in Nicaragua and that is something that I can’t write off as a “nice experience”.  No it was a GOD experience… and all of us knew in those moments of brokenness why Building429 has continued to exist through the years, as much as Bono knows why U2 exists.  U2 is a band that plays music that matters… but it is also a vessel that is used to proliferate the plight of the needy around the world.

With that said I think it’s time to tell the fans that I am now the worship pastor of Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN: www.gcomchurch.com.  I have been a part of the church for the last 4 years and watched it grow from a small gathering of 20-30 people to a huge gathering last Easter of 3100 people. As much as I’ve seen God at work in the band the last few years I have also seen God at work in my church and therefore I have decided to fill that need for the church and continue touring and record with Building429.  God is at work in my life and I can’t help but remember my father’s words as I think of the work that fills my life today:  “Son, you can sleep when you’re dead”.  That’s right I can sleep when I’m dead, but right now there are people who need the love of Jesus.  So, whether it’s leading worship on Sundays at my church, playing rock shows with Building429, or speaking on behalf of starving children around the world, the work is going to get done.

In other Building429 news we are working on a new record right now… that’s right and it’s BAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDD!!!!  You are going to be soooo surprised when you hear the new music.  We’ve begun tipping our hand to a few people around the industry and they are all blown away.  We’ve taken a completely different approach this time that is really helping us stay fresh and modern.  Everything on this record is being built off of the groove and the hook, instead of the guitar or piano.  It’s crazy cool.  I’ll have a melody idea and a lyric, and before we start playing the music we find the groove… program a beat… lock the vocal idea down and then find the music.  It’s so refreshing, and if I had to describe where we may land on this record I would say somewhere between Lifehouse and One Republic.  We’re all stoked and we can’t wait to start playing some of the stuff live… maybe even this fall???!!!!!

Speaking of fall, Building429 is cranking out a fall tour called “30 Seconds to Change: A Night to Benefit Haiti”, featuring Mikeschair and another amazing band called Abandon.  Get ready to come and be blessed by your willingness to serve.  To me, the moments when I’ve felt the closest to God were the moments when I served the way that Jesus did.  Not just by saying the right things, but by actually moving and making the effort to meet people where they are with love that is unyielding.  Maybe that, for you, is a mission trip, maybe that for you is the nursery at your church, maybe that for you is coffee with a friend and the heart to listen and love, or maybe for you this fall it will be joining us for an amazing night of music and learning how you can change a life on the  “30 Seconds to Change” Tour.  Either way, MOVE. Don’t sit there… get to work.  Jesus gave us an amazing example of how to live… so let’s follow suit.  He never sat still for long, and he was ALWAYS looking for ways to intersect other lives and free people from the ordinary.  So MOVE.

With all that said I’d like to end this update with my prayer request:

This weekend my church is going to have the Ugandan Children’s choir on Sunday and, for those of you who have followed my travels, you know that I’ve actually been on the ground in Uganda.  So my wife and I have decided to open our house and be a host family for the weekend.  5 Ugandan children along with my own.  It should be fun… and I pray that my children will make some new friendships and be changed by people who have joy without all the “stuff” that we think we need to be happy!!

Jason Roy

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Haiti After Night 2

April, 30 20103 Comments

We lost internet on the 2nd night and this is the blog that I wrote the next morning:

Well last night was 100 times better… I feel a lot better and though Cortni and I both sweated all night, we woke up refreshed and ready to go this morning. Yesterday was insanely busy as we drove into the nearby mountains to 4 CDP (Child Development Program) areas and really got a bird’s eye view of what these people live like. One of the interesting things was our mile walk to the clean water source. Up a mountain and down the other side the whole way we were passing children (8-13 yrs) carrying 5 gallon buckets full of water on their heads to take back to their homes. When we got to the water source we found several eye opening things.

1) The water source was under a Voodoo Tree (Voodoo is the major religion here) and no body wanted to get near it… they were so scared of that tree.

2) Apparently the water source doubles as their shower… because most of the women and children were bathing in the 2 inch deep water and that was a first for everyone in our group. Even in Africa we never encountered such a thing, and it definitely let us know that Haiti is a place that is in desperate need.

3) The water had receded since the earthquake to the point that one of the lower wells… about 100 yards down the hill had dried up completely. A problem that we later found to be rampant in the mountains… there are huge concerns that the water tables have been messed up and the people are worried that it might stop. (Scientifically unfounded or not, the people are concerned, and that makes it a HUGE issue.)

4) The people in these CDP’s are dealing with some huge health issues, the major one being widespread high blood pressure. Funny enough, high blood pressure is a solvable issue. It is caused by the fact that they are not drinking enough water. FH (Food for the Hungry) is poised and ready to face this problem head on… but they just just need the funding to do so. Building 429 came off of that mountain last night ready to end that issue.

The Child Safety Zones are pretty primitive, but they are so important. The children go to school for approximately $30 (US) a year and not everybody can afford it. But because of the earthquake most of the schools have made tuition free for the year… which sounds great, except the government of Haiti doesn’t pay teachers. The childrens’ tuition pays the teachers and obviously they’re not getting what they need to continue teaching.

Here’s an interesting side note… School only lasts till about noon, at which point the children have to go home for the rest of the day and fend for themselves. Most of the children are walking in excess of an hour one way to and from school and they’re on HUGE CLIFFS on the walk as well. The child safety zones are set up so that the children come in and play until later in the day. Yesterday there were some 50 children in each of the zones we visited and in spite of all the decimation that was around us, (fallen houses and over run grave sites,) they were laughing and singing and it seemed as though they were able to forget about the earthquake for at least a little while.

We took them lunch at one school, which was literally croissants torn in half and juice, and it was like a thanksgiving feast. I remember that they wanted to do a program for us and all we wanted to do was feed the children. But we sat and watched for about 45 minutes while the children did their program and eyed the croissants. Finally we were able to feed them and it was really cool. Afterward we all realized that we had fed them an AWESOME lunch meal in their eyes… and it was only ½ of a piece of bread.

Today we go to downtown Port-Au-Prince and we are going into the earthquake rubble and disaster zones… we are praying that our hearts will be prepared… I’ll update again tomorrow.

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Haiti After Night 1

April, 27 20106 Comments

Well here’s the truth….

Cortni and I didn’t sleep hardly at all last night. We had to share a tent in an outside courtyard which didn’t seem too bad until we realized that the mattress on the floor only covered about half the floor… and that there was no breeze whatsoever in our 87 degree non-air conditioned tent. That meant that we were laying still but sweating like we were running a marathon… not cool man, not cool.

There are people sleeping on cots all over the compound and our little tent is actually quite nice compared to that I guess. Twelve foot fences with rolled barbed wire on every side of us reminded us that this isn’t Kansas for sure… and when I was quite sure that I had slept the whole night through and gotten a great night’s rest… I looked at my watch to find that it was literally 12am… and we had another 6 hours to go… with a rooster crowing every 30 seconds on the other side of our fence. Shortly after that all the power for the facility failed and they had to turn on the generator… which of course was 30 feet away from us… but it drowned out the rooster for a bit even though it was like sleeping under an 18 wheeler. Waking up ever hour on the hour was actually quite disconcerting… thinking that it was morning and finding out that it actually midnight.

I proceeded to wake up every hour on the hour to check my watch and find us no closer to relief. Ben, our camera man, asked if we had ear plugs to sleep in and then laughed when we didn’t… now I know why… that rooster was annoying and LOUD in the stillness of the night here in Haiti. My thought process is that if the rooster crows before the sunrise… kill it. So I’ll spend today trying to figure out how I’m going to do that (lol!). If I achieve no great scheme I may try to sleep with my in-ear monitors in tonight, because that was brutal.

So now we begin the day with a Bible study at 8 and then we’re headed up the mountain…. I’m gonna try to take lots of photos with my iPhone and upload them to my facebook tonight when we check back in.

In a final note… this is what I asked for… this is 100 times better than what these young children are sleeping in. At least I’m waking up with a toilet nearby, breakfast, and a shower…. the tent cities that we passed yesterday were miserable and the people have lived that way since January. These 3 days will be a good little reminder that these people need us to WAKE UP.

Pray for my wife Cortni… she gets migraines when she doesn’t sleep and honestly I am worried about that… I can’t function without food… her body shuts down without sleep and I know she only slept a couple of hours last night. Also on a separate note I came down here with an inflamed Achilles tendon in my left leg and last night it was pretty swollen… we’ve got lots of walking to do today and I’m hoping it will hold up.

Luxury in Haiti: running water, toilet, meals, and a tent.

We’re waiting on the Lord to show up, because we won’t be able to do this alone!!

Blessings,
Jason

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Back In The Swing Of Things

April, 27 20102 Comments

Hello everyone in Building 429 land, Michael here!

Hope you all are doing great. Well, it has been way too long since our last blog. We have had some much-needed time off, which has been awesome. We have been spending time with our families and getting regenerated to go back on the road to see you guys. Spending time with my wife, and of course, some fishing and surfing, makes for a great time at home. We have so many cool things happening with Building 429 to talk about.

First off, we are currently working on new music for our next CD, which we are so excited about. We think you guys are going to love the new stuff. Be on the look out for a new Building 429 single sometime this summer. We are also getting packed and ready to go to Haiti with Food for the Hungry today. Should be a really cool and inspiring trip. Please pray for our safety and for God to move in a big way.

Starting on May 13th in Thunder Bay, ON and finishing up in Vancouver, BC, we will be in Canada! We are so excited about this tour with Big Daddy Weave. Should be a really great tour, EH!!! Tim Hortons here we come!! So if you are in Canada, or just want to travel there to see us check out our tour dates on our tour section, or at Big Daddy Weave.

Also, this summer we will be playing at Summerfest, again this year. It starts in June and finishes up in August, so everyone check out our tour dates for that. The lineup this year is really great: Building 429, Britt Nicole, Mikeschair and Finding Favour! Visit http://www.fhsummerfest.com to see the tour video and full list of dates. Well, that is about it for now. Keep checking back for more exciting news!

Michael Anderson

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Hey Guys!

February, 16 20106 Comments

What a whirlwind I have been living in for the last few months. I
remodeled a basement, went on tour, led worship at church,
Building started a new record, I got sick, I got better and now I’m
blessed to be resting at home for a few short days before I head back
out on the road again. Now there’s no way for me to bring you
completely up to speed but I will say this. The tour has been amazing
and all of us in the band agree that it is the best tour we’ve ever
assembled in our career. Chris and Conrad, Mikeschair, Britt Nicole,
and Building429 for $5 bucks has been a hit on the road and we have
never been more pushed as a band as we have been on this tour. It’s
just nice to have that amazing of a line-up…. it’s nice right until
you realize that you have to go on after all of those guys.. and then
for a few moments it can get in your head. Nonetheless it is a blast
just the same.

Michael, Jesse, and I have been having the time of our
lives on the road, and naturally we found our way back into the studio
as it’s getting to be that time again… the coolest part though is
that for the first time we did a lot of the recording in one of our
home studios which made it a blast!! We’re working with a good old
friend named Jim Cooper right now and I’m actually going to be busting
out some vocals tomorrow on a couple of the tracks… of course we
will post some snipits soon for you guys to check out!!

After having a successful session in our own studio we have kind of
come to the decision that it may be time to do more of the same… and
with that in the back of my crazy head I decided to do something that
I hadn’t done in 10 years with a friend of mine. “REMODEL”. Now the
problem with such a thought is that I was doing the work with my buddy
and that I will work till I die and in an effort to get my studio
finished off we worked around 160 hours in 9 days to get it all done.
Yeah that’s right, about 18 hours a day, but it was worth it. By the
time it was done we had 2 closed in rooms, with new hard wood floors,
a new bathroom, tiled, new electrical with all direct grounds, and all
new acoustic paneling installed. Which leaves… all the trim, all
the painting, and all the cleaning up… which will probably be
happening for the next year… cause people we DESTROYED my basement.
Keep watching our “from our phones” section of the front page cause
I’m gonna take some pictures and post them today or tomorrow.
Honestly though I don’t remember the work being as hard when I was
framing houses back in ‘98. Oh well I’m feeling my age.

Then that leaves this weekend… the weekend that I got so sick that I
almost had to go to the hospital. Now I have to say that the last
time we played Fayetteville, NC (Which happens be kind of a hometown
to me) I was having horrible vocal trouble. Sinuses were jacked up
and I had to go see a doctor to get straightened out…. but I never
thought I would go back to Fayetteville and be MORE sick than before.
To be clear, my voice was fine, but I was not. I spent the whole
night on the bus asking our driver to pull over so I could throw up
and use the bathroom… NOT FUN. What’s craziest is that 3 hours
before bedtime I was F-I-N-E FINE (in the words of Aerosmith). So I
didn’t sleep all night, then I woke up and continued the sickness
straight to the hotel and then came showtime. And that’s when I
twittered my call for prayer. Honestly I’ve been REALLY sick in shows
before, but that night I was dead. I apologize to you guys in
Fayetteville because it was all I could do to close my eyes and just
try my best to keep standing in the same place. All that said it was
a God night in spite of my weakness and He was glorified! Thank you
again to all of you who pray for us and continue to pray for us and
keep your eyes peeled for more updates to come soon.

Blessings,
Jason

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Happy Holidays Everyone!

November, 26 20095 Comments

My wife and I finally got home for Thanksgiving today… Thanksgiving day that is, around 2pm in the afternoon. Life has been crazy for sure. We came off the road just in time to hop back on a plane and fly to North Carolina for a memorial service in honor of our dear friend Ronnie Coleman. The last time we saw him before he passed he reminded me that I was to play “You Carried Me” at his funeral, and there was never a question that I would be there with my beautiful wife to honor one of the most amazing men we had ever known. I’ve got to say that after watching a family that I’ve known and loved for the last 8 years walk through the mourning of their loss and then turn it into, not only worship and celebration, but a challenge… I am a different guy. I left his funeral thinking, Lord I’ve got some work to do. I think that was the message of his life: We’ve got work to do… we’ve got love to give, and we have hope to share… that was Ronnie, and I see it echoed in his family that he leaves behind. Which brings me to the other amazing thing that happened to me on the last night of our tour… well, last Sunday.

Anyone who’s been to our shows or read my blog knows that my wife and I have wholeheartedly embraced World Vision and their mission. You may have heard me speak at length about what it’s like for my wife and I to sponsor 3 children and how we challenge people to listen to their hearts and take a leap of faith to find that when God uses us… a lot of times he uses us in spite of ourselves and our weaknesses, (i.e. Moses and his speech… Paul and his past). You wouldn’t believe who the last three people to sponsor children on our tour were.

1) One of my crew

Honestly these guys hear about child sponsorship all the time and I worry that they get immune to it.. but the last child out of my hand in the building that night went to my good friend Johnny who had served without failing the entire tour. He didn’t miss a night of my speaking about WV.. mostly cause he had to run the sound board while everyone else stepped out to get a break… but when I counted down my last 10 children… I never thought that I would say zero after giving the last packet to him. It was truly an amazing moment.

2) My 6 year old son Avery

Ok I know what you’re thinking… “Yeah right, where’s the money gonna come from?” Which is exactly what I was thinking when I met him at the table. He said, “Daddy I want to sponsor a child that’s my age.” Ok son, but don’t you understand that we already sponsor 3 kids? “Yeah daddy but I really think I need to do it, those kids need some help and I’ve got lots of money at home in my room” BTW he has a jar full of quarters that he was talking about…. And I almost started arguing with him until I preemptively heard what he would probably say next: “But daddy, you said it doesn’t matter where the money comes from… cause if God calls you to do it then you have do it, RIGHT?” In that moment I realized that God was telling me that I had a blessing and a chance to teach my son and allow him to know that it’s alright to lead with his heart. And so after about 10 minutes and 40 child packets my son picked out a boy named Enerst from Zambia. He filled out all the paper work himself and today my family sponsors 4 children. My son will get his first allowance this month and he will begin a relationship with this young boy that could last the next 14 years!!!

3) Our nanny… and her quote said it all. “Well my gosh, if a 6 year old can do it then I know I can.”

Wow what a night… it was truly amazing… and it made me proud to say that our son showed me something first hand that I would be reminded of a few nights later at a funeral service for an amazing man. Ronnie Coleman’s life was about love. I left his funeral thinking, Lord I’ve got some work to do. I think that was the message of his life: We’ve got work to do… we’ve got love to give, and we have hope to share… that was Ronnie, and I see it echoed in his family that he leaves behind. I see it in a 6 year old boy who doesn’t know how, he just knows that he must. My son is the man… and he’s inspired me. How about you and your children/ family… what have they done that inspires you?

Happy Thanksgiving,
Jason

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Rough Nights

November, 1 200915 Comments

Recently we had one of those nights when it was hard to see what God was doing in the place. It was a tough show for sure… but in God’s own way He showed me the reason at the end of the night. It’s not that the show wasn’t good… it was just one of those shows where you feel invisible on stage, like maybe they’re not listening to you. The back rows seemed to be having fun though, so that made it cool. You know… 10 years of doing this thing and you learn a few tricks on how to have fun in spite of a tough crowd… and they usually work:

Tip Number:
1.) Try to make Jesse laugh by making stupid faces during the show.
2.) Throw at least 1 bottle of water at Michael
3.) If the front row isn’t into it… use the old spray water over the crowd trick… that always gets people’s attention (and the band laughing too for that matter).
4.) Play a guitar solo, where you never play a solo… preferably over a bridge
5.) Throw down a filter cover… “Hey man, nice shot”… it always makes you feel better… even if the crowd doesn’t get it.
6.) Play a bluegrass version of any song… tonight’s was “Space In Between Us”
7.) Tell the lighting engineer to strobe everything
8.) Concentrate on Jesus… and play for an audience of 1

Ok so the show was over and then it was time for me to talk about World Vision… which is usually a part of the evening that takes on a life of its own. Long story short, even that part of the evening seemed to fall flat. When I asked people to raise their hands to sponsor a child, it felt like 5 hands went up, and I was totally disappointed. After all that was done I went backstage and felt really crummy for a while… wondering… “What did I miss? What part of tonight was wrong?”

Fast-forward to load out: I walked into the room after signing autographs and a tough-looking dude said, “Man, killer set brotha… You guys rocked”. Hmm that was nice. Then another guy with a similar compliment. Suddenly I’m walking through 10 guys who are all telling me how great we were… and I start thinking… these guys look different. Hmmm, I shrugged it off and kept walking… but a guy stopped me and told me that they were ALL from an addictions program in the area.

He had just graduated the program… he was an ex-con with ties to gangs, and big time drugs, but he wasn’t mean or even intimidating… he was cool when he talked about his struggles. How he was adopted, and that he watched he father die in front of him when he was 5. How his step sisters hated him and how he felt worthless which led him into gang life and drugs. His life spiraled out of control until he ended up spending 36 months in prison on burglary charges. He did his time and then got out and back into “the Life”. He enrolled in the addiction program after he was forced to go to a shelter because he ran out of gas and, while there, he went to a service where he heard his brother’s testimony of 20 years of addiction but salvation and ultimate freedom through Christ. SAWEET!!! Drug free for the last 16 months he is a HERO!!!!

After talking to him one of the other guys asked me about how many kids we sponsored… I told him 34 and he just said “cool”. So after a brief farewell I said goodbye and then I realized that they were all loading our junk out for nothing…. And then it occurred to me that maybe I should give them each a CD for helping… but would they like it???? Nahhh they’d probably not dig it… wait a second… so what would be the first song they would hear? “Not Gonna Let You Down”… how’s that go again?

If you could run, where would you run to now?
Where would you hide, now that the truth is out?
And I know, the fear you feel
And I know, this is real

But Please don’t run from me
Cause everyone needs somebody
Please don’t run from me now
I won’t leave you
You’re never alone wherever you go
Please don’t run from me now
Cause I’m not gonna let you down

This is the hope, that you’ve been longing to know
Cause God is alive, and He’s never left you alone
So hold on through your tears

But Please don’t run from me
Cause everyone needs somebody
Please don’t run from me now
I won’t leave you
You’re never alone wherever you go
Please don’t run from me now
Cause I’m not gonna let you down

So come back, come back to life again
Where we can be forgiven
Cause we’re almost home
So don’t you ever let go
This is what we’ve been waiting for
He is the hope that heals the world
We’re almost home so please.

How dare I think that tonight didn’t matter. That was the first song we played in the set… and the first one that they’ll hear when they listen to that CD. God, my attitude has been adjusted.

Jroy!!

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Our Upcoming Record

October, 13 200911 Comments

Well Hello Studio!!!

Tonight finds me alone in my studio working out some songs for a friend that I just finished recording a couple of weeks ago. Having a studio is a great lesson in patience… something that God continues to work on me with in every facet of my life for sure. Studios are weird though… you could spend 50,000 fast and never even come close to the amount of gear that you would need to keep up with the BIG studios, but it’s still fun to test your abilities with less. I’m still a believer that a great ear will beat a great piece of gear…. So I’m still listening hoping that my ears are getting better!!

Good news folks… this week Building429 set some time to be in the studio at the end of the year!! We’re pretty stoked about it to, cause we’ve got a super strong start on this one already and here’s a cool tidbit of inside info: Building is going to be working at my studio (Havery Studios) this time and I’m so excited. Now like I said, my place is semi-smallish compared to others and it’s a work in progress, but I’m still super excited to have all the boys up to Clarksville to get some stuff thrown down in December.

So what’s the vision for this next Building429 record I wonder? Hmmm well let me give you some of our thoughts. Building429 was built first and foremost on GREAT songs… and of course on the massive rock sound that was “Glory Defined.” We made our first records with nothing to lose and everything to gain. It was a much simpler time when we signed our first record deal. Record labels were much more profitable, and there was less fear involved in what was done in the studio. Today everyone seems to be scrambling to find the “thing” that will work for them and their careers. Funny thing about Building429 is that we know what works for us and what doesn’t. When we take a look back to the records we made before our record deals… when no one was involved but us and our hearts. We were and always will be passionate about playing rock ‘n’ roll music that is big and loud and fun for the fans to roll the windows down and blast out the window flying down a country road. We’ve taken our side trails here and there that have led us away from that from time to time over the years, but the band is pretty sure that this is the vision for the next record.

Now anyone who has seen us live on either the “truth, hope, and love tour, or the Promise Remains Tour knows that we are a band that loves to have fun, depth, and put on a show all at the same time. Those things will be the core of this record. Now I write a ton of music for our records, but I’ve already told the boys that just because a song is great doesn’t mean it’s the right song for this record. In the past a great song might’ve trumped the genre that we were loyal to, but now we are writing with a purpose and a vision that is going to bring us back to our roots. Basically people, I’m telling you that the band has refocused on the core of who we are. We are a rock ‘n’ roll band and on this record your going find yourself singing out loud with us when you listen for the first time. You’ll probably need a pad on your dashboard to save it from all the air drums your going to be playing… and we’ll be happy to teach a few guitar lessons on youtube for all of you guys who are super interested in the guitar side. This isn’t going to be a G, C and D record if you know what I’m talking about.

I’ll finish this letter with the final thought: You will not hear this record until it’s the best thing that Building 429 has ever recorded. I promise that we won’t stop until it is that absolute best that we are capable of. So hold on to your hats cause it’s going to be a 70 mile an hour top down mid summer record!! In the meantime we’re about to set out to cross America on “The Promise Remains Tour” and you need to be there so that you can begin to catch the vision of this next record. The live show has helped us cast this vision so people… if you haven’t seen us in a while… now’s the time to do it!! Check out www.thepromiseremainstour.com for details and watch for me and the boys at your local Starbucks/ Coffee Shop in the cities that we’ll be playing, cause you know we’re gonna have to hit some up!!

Blessings,
Jason and the boys!

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Hello Myrtle Beach…

September, 26 20095 Comments

Today has been an awesome one for sure. Started out nice with the kids sleeping in for a while and then it got even better when my wife and I got to take a run together along the beach front. Pretty inspiring… so inspiring that Cortni and I ran further today than either of us had run before. Today Cortni ran 2.5 miles in 23 minutes and I made it all the way to the 5.0 mile mark in in about 50 minutes. The goal though wasn’t to run anywhere fast, but to get there with a steady approach. That is extremely hard for one Mr. Jason Roy to enjoy. However I see the value in it now. I’ve never run even close to 50 minutes straight… at least not since high school… and it felt awesome to stop and look at the watch and know that I had beaten my best by 20 minutes. Now to say that I run all the time is a GROSS overstatement… I’ve run now 7 days… that’s right just 7 days, but I’ve got to say that “the most boring sport I’ve ever heard of” actually may have me hooked.

I am an athlete, I mean anyone who reads my writings or hangs out with me knows that my heart beats for sports… especially basketball. Put me on a basketball court and I’ll run for 2 hours straight and not even realize it, but sometimes running the long race with just the road in front of you makes it pretty hard. Hmmm here’s the thought that all this is culminating with: Are you an “I need to see the results now” kind of person?? If so, you and I are a lot alike. But I would submit that what I am learning right now is that most things in life that are immediately fulfilling are also very fleeting. Let me tell you what I mean. Studies show that the best years of a marriage are at year 10 and beyond…. and that the marriage is better the longer it lasts. Interesting isn’t it, that the average length of time that people have been married before they get divorced in the US is actually 8-9 years. SOOOOO CLOSE… but not quite.

I heard a pastor say that we are such a results-oriented nation that when we don’t see happiness the way we thought it would be, we just divorce and move on… and then repeat the cycle, never knowing that the best years of our marriages were right around the corner. And how many of us have new years resolutions that last only 2-3 months and then we give up on them? You may or may not have noticed that about a year and a half ago I had put on an extra 15-20 pounds of pure muscle. I mean I was dedicated to the core… I was eating right, taking supplements, and in the gym ever single day. I was also the happiest I had ever been about my self image and I was starting, at the age of 28, to get comfortable in my own skin. I went out on a tour and didn’t make it a priority and when I got home I had lost almost all of the muscle. Just yesterday I was wondering… what kind of shape would I be in now if I had just stuck it out???

How about the Bible…. how many times have we sworn that we were going to “Get in the Word” and not fall out of it. To start off strong… to make it a full month or more, only to derail and feel further from the Lord??? Gosh that story is one that I’ve known well in my lifetime.

The funny thing is though… that the more that you read the Bible, the more you wanted to read it, right?? The more that I lifted weights the more that I HAD to get in the gym. The more that you’ve loved your wife the more that it becomes the center of your life right? And with running… here is an activity that I HATED…. that I find myself actually enjoying for a change… wow how cool is that.

BUILDING429 as a ministry and a band has been running the LOOONG race it seems for a while now. Challenges never cease to appear over the horizon, and Michael, Jesse, and I are always trying to find ways to take what we do to the “next Level”. Sometimes it’s hard knowing that what you see in your head is not what the fans will get to see at the show… I mean let’s face it guys… money talks in the entertainment world… and we ain’t rich. Sometimes it’s hard to pour your heart into a record and it not be a #1. The same goes for every single that we send to radio. That’s just honest…. but I got some perspective today from an absolutely unexpected source. I walked into starbucks about an hour ago and saw a tattoo on the baristas and asked what it was. She held up her arm and it read “I AM FEARFULLY” and then she held the other arm up and it read “AND WONDERFULLY MADE” and I thought… ahhhhhh. Thank you God for reminding me. Turns out she’s an aspiring christian artist who’s excited that she’s going to Nashville to record a demo…. “Hmm I remember those days” I said to myself. Wish you guys could’ve seen her eyes light up when I told her what I do and the band that I’m with. It was really cool… not in a “I’M A ROCKSTAR” kinda way, but in a “God is good” kind of way. Am I such a “I need it now guy” that I’ve forgotten the goodness of my God over the years?? Building429 has ministered to countless hundreds of Thousands, if not millions by this time… and is that not good enough???

The race is long… the journey isn’t easy… but the fulfillment only comes when we meet Jesus. So stick it out people. Don’t quit… don’t give up and don’t give in. Don’t relent to the world’s opinion of success, and never underestimate the power God has to put you right where you need to be, when you need it most. Maybe even when they need it most. Today I was encouraged and reminded by a tattoo on barista who loved Jesus. Today a barista was encouraged by a guy who walked in and ordered a grande vanilla latte for his wife… who understood her dream.

wonderfully_made

To whoever is reading this right now. Here’s some encouragement for you, thanks to GOD in Myrtle Beach!!: YOU ARE FEARULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE. With that in mind, GO!!!

Don’t underestimate God, people… don’t you do it. Just keep running!

Blessings,
Jason

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Promise Remains Tour: Day Two

September, 18 20094 Comments

Wow what a day. Day 2 of the Promise Remains tour was a great one. The band clicked on all cylinders today which was absolutely awesome. Still not sure about the set, but it felt pretty good… which means… tomorrow we’re gonna have to change it!!! lol. That’s right pretty good is NOT great which is what it has to be or we might as well go home… still the crowd was amazing and they seemed really excited about it. Oh we finally got Space In Between us back in the set in a super cool bluegrass style which really seemed to glue the whole thing together. But that’s not what I’m really wanting to talk about tonight.

Tonight God revealed to me the exact reason that Building429 was in Joplin, which is a rarity. Most of the time you know that God is present and never really know what need you are actually meeting. It was super cool though to meet someone who had been directly touched and even moved to tears by our music. When he walked up he struck me as the coolest guy in the room, for whatever reason, and I never expected him to open up the way he did. Now, what we talked about is between he and I, but I’ll just say that I haven’t met anyone so much like me in while. This guy was such a light in the room… I even noticed him in the front row during the show rocking out and praising Jesus. I guess I just never figured him for someone who knew intimately the feeling of pain. He said that “You Carried Me” was his song and that it was hugely important in his life during a time that was extremely hard for him. I watched his smile turn into to tears as we took a photograph with him, and then 20 minutes later I ran into him again and was just sure that God meant for us to talk for a while. As we talked he started sharing his story and the tears came pouring out… and I wasn’t at all freaked out by that because I remember holding it all inside too. I remember that the slightest things would bring out emotional moments when I was going through the toughest times in my past. Here’s the coolest thing… This young man wasn’t lost… no sir… he knows Jesus, he just doesn’t know the end to his personal story…. He’s still waiting on his moment of healing. He’s still trying to figure out why his life has been the way it has… but I think I know….. I think the guy I met tonight is going to be an eternity changer…. not just a world changer. He’s in his last semester of school and he’s on his way to being a full blown minister… and I believe that God is going to bring about some miraculous healing in other peoples lives because of his testimony. Tonight I met someone I’ll always remember. Tonight God showed up… tonight Building429’s music made a difference. I’m gonna go to bed and praise the Lord in my prayers… because this day was ordained, and God let me and a bus full of sinners love on a guy who’s gonna change the world!!!

Goodnight,
Jason

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