| May 14th, 2008 - THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST BASS PLAYER! |
| Ok, so maybe I am not that deadly, but I am HOOKED on the new season of Deadliest Catch, you know that show about the Fishermen in Alaska catching crab. So awesome. I have tried to pin-point what exactly it is about that show that keeps drawing me in, and I am not sure what it is, a whole season of guys being crushed by waves and pulling up 800 pounds of crab pots doest seem like it could hold your attention for hours, but it does! I am officially "geeked out" on the show. Last tuesday my wife and I went down to the restaurant in Ballard where the guys from the ship usually hang out (and they recorded an episode last season there as well). Then after a nice Halibut dinner we drove around the corner to see one of the ships, The Northwestern docked right in front of us. Yea, I know, super geek. But I am hooked what can I say.
Recently in an interview with Ethan and I a show asked what we would be doing if we weren't involved in music. And honestly I had never thought of that much, and the first thing that popped into my head was "man, I want to be a fisherman on the Deadliest Catch." But the more I think about it, I am thankful that was not my calling. Ha. But who knows what the future holds, maybe one day you will see my mug up there wrestling with some crabs, although I highly doubt it.
With tour coming up, I am hoping the bus have a DVR or some type of recorder, but I doubt it will. I am worried how I am going to stay caught up with the world of Deadliest Catch while i am on the road. But I guess that is one of the sacrifices I have to make. If any of you guys are coming out and remember to record the show for me Tuesday at 9 pm and bring it out to the show, I will forever be in your debt!
See you guys in 2 weeks! Posted by Jonathan Dunn |
| March 7th, 2008 - A PERSONAL NOTE ABOUT THE "CARRY ME DOWN" VIDEO... |
| Hey Everyone-
I wanted to share a few words regarding our newest video for "Carry Me Down." Let me start back when I was in High School. One of my best friends, Aaron Barkland and I spent most of every day together, causing mischief, working on cars, and all those other joys of our youth. Aaron was a year younger than I, so I headed off for college while he was still a senior. We stayed in touch despite being hours away, and he would always come out to the weekend shows I would play while in college, but because of the distance, there wasn't the closeness we shared in high school.
In December of 2001, Aaron took his own life, just weeks before Christmas. I don't know what was going through his mind to drive him to that point, but it is safe to assume he felt alone and that no one cared. It was a terrible tragedy and was very hard for me to deal with, as well as his family and other friends. I kept thinking that if I was only more in touch and not away at school maybe things would be different. Aaron had written me a note in high school about our friendship that I had always carried around in my wallet, and still have to this day that I used to read whenever I was feeling down and out. It's a painful reminder of the pain of that loss.
Fast forward to December 14th, 2007. We are shooting the video for "Carry Me Down" in North Eastern Washington, up at Whidbey Island. I wasn't really aware of where we were shooting and all the locations and such. The first location we shot at was a bridge called Deception Pass, which was the bridge where Aaron took his life, 6 years earlier on almost the same day. I had not been up to the bridge in those 6 years, and now showing up there unannounced was a little unsettling. Interestingly enough, we were shooting a video for a song about a funeral and the hope we have of Life after death. One of the most moving lines, for me, in the song is "Save sorrow for the souls in doubt." I pray, that by the Grace of God, one day I will see Aaron again in the sweet by and by.
I sincerely hope that Aaron's death was not in vain. I hope that anyone that might be reading this will take from my heart that you are loved not just by family and friends, but by our Creator. There are things I wish I could have said, and shared, with Aaron before his passing that haunt me to this day, and I have made it a point to lever lose another friend without sharing the joy and love we all have with our Heavenly Father. If you find yourself in a position of thinking of suicide, please find help, reach out to your friends, family, pastor and know that you are loved.
In loving memory of Aaron Barkland.
Jonathan Dunn
Isaiah 42:5-7
Posted by Jonathan Dunn |
| February 20th, 2008 - LIVING SACRIFICE! - BY JONATHAN |
| As I am sure everyone here knows, this summer we will be hitting the road with Living Sacrifice, and some other amazing bands. I wanted to spend a few minutes and share why touring with Living Sacrifice is such a privilege and an exciting experience. I am sure there may be some of you who haven't heard Living Sacrifice, or may not know the importance that LS played not only in so many people's lives, but specifically Demon Hunter and me personally. The summer of 1994 (if I am doing my math right) was a life changing time for me. I knew I was a Christian, but had a hard time associating with any of the Christian culture. My parents would buy me the newest Christian tapes (yes, it was tapes back then), but none of it sounded like "me" nor did it sound good compared to my Metallica tapes. I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I thought i was the only person alive who was a Christian but liked to ride skateboards and listen to heavy music, and I started to develop quite a chip on my shoulder towards Christians. That summer my parents shipped me off to summer camp, probably hoping it would straighten me out a bit, and I went with a chip on my shoulder and a grudge on my back. When I made it to the cabin that was going to be my home for the next couple of weeks, I met my counselor: a dude with a mohawk who loved thrash and skateboards (how's that for providence!). I can't remember his name and have no idea where he is, and i doubt he has any idea how much of an impact he had on the rest of my life, but he did. I spent a few weeks with him sitting in the cabin, listening to Vengeance Rising, Mortification, and....Living Sacrifice. That summer I found out I was not alone in the world. I found out there was people that believed like me, liked music like me, and weren't ashamed of what they were. The first stop on my way home from the camp was to pick up a Living Sacrifice record, "Inhabit." And from that summer on I knew what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to be what Living Sacrifice was to me, someone who lives their life in faith, and whose art shows their faith. Back in 2002, on the first DH tour, we got to play LS's final show in Little Rock, AR. That was a HUGE honor for me. Now, seeing that we will be reliving that for nearly 6 weeks this summer is a humbling experience, and such a great honor to me personally to share the stage with LS. If you are not familiar with Living Sacrifice, now is the time, go buy their entire catalog and start studying up before we hit your town. And if anyone knows the guy who was a camp counselor back in 1995 with a mohawk in Washington State, tell him I owe him.
See you this summer,
Jonathan Posted by Jonathan Dunn |
| February 12th, 2008 - DO NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBORS.......TOUR! |
| Last night I went out to see Emery, along with As Cities Burn, at the Showbox here in Seattle. Good show, lively crowd and a good performance by both of the artists I went to see. But I must admit, knowing the Demon Hunter tour is coming up fast, I was a little envious being on the floor and not being on the stage. As a band, we definitely look forward to touring and given that we aren't touring all year round, those times when we do go out are priceless for us and hopefully for the fans as well. I was already excited about this tour coming together, but after last night, I don't think it can come soon enough. I am excited and hope to see each and everyone of you out at the shows! -- Jonathan
Posted by Jonathan |
| February 12th, 2008 - NEWS FROM ETHAN |
| Hunters!
First of all let me say that I hope you are all as excited about the "Stronger Than Hell" tour as we are!
And speaking of the tour, I wanted to let you know some important information and I wanted you to hear it from me first. I have accepted an offer to play drums for the band Relient K! THIS DOES NOT MEAN I AM LEAVING DEMON HUNTER! Far from it! Demon Hunter will always be important to me and I'm still in the band.
What it does mean, however, is that due to conflicting touring schedules, I may not be on-stage at all of the Demon Hunter shows this summer. As many of you know, I have been the guitar tech for Relient K for a while and they are all really good friends. I am looking forward to getting back on tour with an instrument I haven't toured on in a while. Everyone in Demon Hunter has a full-time job apart from the band. This is now mine!
Demon Hunter's good friend and guitar tech Patrick Judge will be filling in for me at any and all of the shows that I am unable to perform at this summer. He is a great guitar player and I know he will do a great job filling in. He is beyond excited about the opportunity. Please be nice to him!
It will not be easy for me to miss any part of the Demon Hunter tour. I will miss the guys and seeing all you hunters every night! I will miss the massive pits I get to see from above! I have a bunch of shows with Relient K this spring before the DH tour, and once I leave the DH tour, I will be headed out on Warped Tour with Relient K for the rest of the summer. There's alot of bands on that tour I can't wait to see and hang with. I hope some of you will come out to a RK show and say hello.
I want you all to know that this decision, by no means, puts me out of Demon Hunter. I am still in the band, still will record on albums, be in photos shoots, videos...etc. It just means I might have to miss some shows here and there when we do tour.
Keep me in your prayers, I will be on the road a lot this year with Relient K (and DH!) and hope to see some of you along the way! You'll be able to get updates on where to see me at my website, ethanluck.com!
Thanks!
Ethan Posted by Ethan |