March 1, 2011

Day 1 of being back on the road, and quite literally too. It’s been nothing but driving all day since 7 AM. These are the drives that I’ve missed though. There’s so much to see and so much time to really appreciate how gorgeous our world is. We’ve got our sights on Oklahoma City, where we’ll stay the night and then head back out on another all day drive. Alex, Marco and I will probably spend a good portion of that time playing poker like we did today. Lots of driving. Not really much else to talk about. We’ve got another four hours to go. I’m writing this from my new phone. I finally gave in and got the Verizon iPhone and I have no complaints (still got love for Droid!). After I finish typing this I plan on continuing to listen to the new Hillsong United album “Aftermath”. I had to pause it because my concentration is pretty much non-existent when music is playing. It’s one of those special albums that you find every once in a while. What I mean is that I find myself unable to browse my phone or do anything else while it’s playing in my headphones… an album best listened to with your eyes closed. I’m especially fond of the song “Like An Avalanche”. And with that said, I’m off to indulge in some more great music. Feels great to be back in action!

P.S. I’ve decided that if New Mexico had a state car, it would be a ‘96 Honda Civic with only the primer coat and a different colored hood.

explanation

I want to share something that I think is important for This Century fans to know about. I went back and forth on how to go about saying this, or if I should even say anything at all. I’ve decided that I’d rather just tell it how it is, because I know all of you will give us love and support no matter what. Besides, you’re all such a big part of my life and I don’t want to leave you in the dark about what’s been going on. As you probably know, we had to cancel the last few dates of our fall tour because my singing voice was pretty much gone. I told everyone that we cancelled due to vocal issues that I was having, which was true, but I didn’t really explain much after that. I’m ready to explain.

After canceling the remainder of the fall tour, I went home, stopped using my voice and scheduled a doctor appointment. Long story short, I ended up seeing two different doctors because I wasn’t happy with the first one I went to. My second and current laryngologist took a look at my vocal cords with a scope and confirmed what I had feared the most. I had developed a polyp on my right vocal cord. It was either caused by acid reflux (which, by the way, I had also been recently diagnosed with) or most likely, vocal trauma. When he told me this, my heart sank. Anyone who knows a bit about vocal health knows that this is the last thing a singer wants to hear. The second the news was broken to me, thousands of questions flooded into my head, yet I sat there speechless. What now? What if I have to have surgery? Will I ever sound the same again? Will I even get my voice back? It felt as though this was just too much to bear. I wanted to suddenly wake up and realize that it was all a nightmare. That, of course, never happened. But as time went on and the initial shock had worn away, I started to worry less and hope more. I never learned so much about the human voice as I did that following month.

To my relief, my second doctor told me that he didn’t want to jump into surgery right away. Surgery, after all, isn’t a guaranteed fix and has numerous risks. We decided that I would start going to voice therapy. He said that it was worth a shot, but that most people with vocal polyps need surgery if they want their singing voice back. At least there was still that chance that it could help and that was all I needed to hear. Anything to avoid surgery. I started with voice therapy in mid January and had my last session yesterday. In the past month, I’ve literally relearned how to speak and sing. I’ve noticed quite a difference in both my singing and speaking voice. After my most recent laryngoscope appointment, I found out that the polyp has, in fact, gone down significantly in size. This is music to my ears. I can’t explain how encouraging and relieving it is to hear that. So what does this mean now? Well, the polyp is still there but not nearly as big and obstructive. With proper vocal technique and sufficient vocal rest it shouldn’t interfere with my singing. So basically, on this upcoming tour, I have to be incredibly strict about how I’m using my voice and also how much I use it. This is why I wanted to write and explain everything.

I won’t be able to do nearly as much talking as I used to in meet and greets. Those of you who have met me probably know how chatty I can be at times. I still want to meet every person who comes out to our shows though. My voice therapists and I have decided that it would be best for me to come out after the entire show is over. I want to meet everyone, but please understand that I can’t talk a whole lot. Please don’t think that I’m upset or that I don’t want to talk because that certainly is not the case. Hopefully a smile and a hug is okay!

The past six months have been a crazy roller coaster of emotions for me, mainly due to the several health issues I’ve encountered. I want nothing more than to be back out on the road doing what I love because that’s what makes me happy. I don’t know why I was so afraid to tell everyone about this, but I’m glad I finally did. I know our amazing fans will always be understanding and supportive. I hope to meet you on tour very soon!

itchin’

I really need to get back on the road again. That’s all I have to say.

some news

To our amazing friends and fans:

I regret to inform you that This Century will not be continuing the remainder of this current fall tour. I have been struggling with vocal problems for the past two months. I’m sure some of you noticed a difference just by talking with me and hearing me on this tour. After canceling two shows in a row with no vocal improvement, the band and I decided to call it off to avoid further straining and ultimately damaging my vocal cords. The decision seemed obvious after trying to sing while I was warming up last night. I will be seeing a vocal cord specialist who can give me some answers as well as a vocal coach who can help me get my voice back to (maybe even better than) where it used to be. This is an incredibly frustrating situation to be in and I just want to thank everyone for their understanding and support. We plan to get this all figured out and be back in action soon. I will keep everyone posted! Much love to everyone in the towns we’ve had to cancel on..we plan to make it up to you in some way!

Thank you to ALL of our fans for keeping us strong at a time like this. See you soon!

Jo-el

chaos

So these last couple of days have been insane. I’ve never experienced playing at a Six Flags before..actually, I had never even been to a Six Flags until two days ago. These days have consisted of a lot of roller coaster riding, good catering, amazing (and sweaty) shows and tons of walking. When we decided that we wanted to ride roller coasters, I figured they would give us a pass or wristband and we’d be good to go. Instead, they had an employee escort us to whatever ride we wanted and take us right to the front of the line. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I’m exhausted tonight. We have a 14 hour drive tomorrow too, so I should go to sleep before our tour manager yells at me. Hope to see you on tour soon! Stay classy.