BEAUTIFUL MINDS
February 5, 2009
The record is coming along. Erin Gillman from Smile Politely came over the other day to see how it was going. She wrote a little article about that.
http://www.smilepolitely.com/music/beautiful_minds/
Enjoy!
-Nic & Heather
TWO SHOWS, TWO INTERVIEWS
December 4, 2008
We have two very special shows this weekend. They will be our last shows this year.
WHITE ELEPHANT SONG EXCHANGE
Friday, December 5 @ 9PM
Mike N' Molly's
Champaign, IL
w/ Lovely Houses, Peter Adriel & Ryan Groff
Saturday, December 6 @ 9PM
Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union
Urbana, IL
w/ David Bazan & Starflyer 59
Also, for your reading pleasure. An interview with Smile Politely and another with The Buzz (scroll down to the bottom of the article).
Happy Holidays!
-Nic & Heather
ALL BETTER...ABOUT TIME FOR AN UPDATE
November 18, 2008
Hello Friends! In case you hadn't heard, that whole recovery process went pretty smooth. Yay for that!
Thanks again to all of you who expressed concern and especially to those who brought us dinner. It was really great to see that warm, compassionate, just-wanting-to-reach-out-and-do-something-to-help side of so many people.
Heather and I have been playing shows here and there this Fall, but we've mostly been working on recording a new album. The album is very close to being finished, so I feel like I can talk about it now. I started sending finished tracks to my friend Steve in Milwaukee for mixing this week, and things are sounding good.
There will be updates on that and more early in 2009. Just wanted to post something to let everyone know we are both alive and well. Barring any head injuries or other unforeseen circumstances, we should be out and about plenty in the coming year.
Be well and have a great Holiday Season!
-Nic
I ALMOST DIED, OR SO I'M TOLD...
June 23, 2008
Some of you have heard about my accident by now. If not, here's what happened -
It was Father's Day, and to celebrate, we were hanging out at my Dad's house at Lake Bloomington. The day had been a pretty typical June day in Illinois – a bit windy, but mostly sunny and nice. We had just come in from boating when a storm popped up. Everyone was heading inside to avoid the rain, and I was trying to secure some patio furniture that was flying around outside on the deck. My last memory was checking the grill to see if the burners were still going. They had blown out. Moments after this, I was struck on the back of the head by a large tree limb that had apparently been shook loose by the intense winds that were blowing all around me. I learned later that some neighbors actually watched a funnel cloud touch down on the lake nearby picking up smaller boats and tossing them onto the shore. I spent six days in the head-trauma unit at BroMenn hospital in Bloomington, IL, before coming home to Urbana on June 20th. My injuries include a broken scapula (shoulder blade), a cracked skull, a few broken ribs, and a punctured lung. Aside from twelve staples in my head, nothing could be casted.
I look pretty good on the outside. I'm just really messed up internally. I'm taking iron supplements, and my blood count is slowly returning to normal. The pain medication is doing its job, and I feel a little better each day. My injuries have definitely set me back a bit. I can't exactly play guitar right now because my left shoulder is pretty out of whack, and singing is pretty painful because of the broken ribs and punctured lung. I had some projects I wanted to do around the house this summer, but those will also have to wait. I'm wise enough to know that not all of this is bad.
There is probably a reason why all of this happened, and I trust that I'll figure some of that out in time. For now, I am thankful that my injuries were not worse than they are. The doctors told Heather that if she had attempted to drive me there in a car (which was a serious consideration since 911 did not answer the first three calls made to them), they were not sure I would have made it. After being "near death," I can't say that I really thought about dying throughout any of this. But it is strange to hear that others thought I was close. It's just a bit more than a week later and I'm thinking clearly, moving slowly, and feeling like I have a lot to be grateful for right now.
Thanks to all of you who sent me cards, flowers, balloons, honey-bears, and more. Thanks to all of you who have kept me in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks to all of you who have visited me at home and in the hospital. I have felt very loved throughout all of this.
Sincerely,
Nic
NIC HAS BEEN BADLY INJURED
June 18, 2008
As many of you know, Nic was badly injured by a tree that fell on him on Father's Day. We were visiting Nic's dad at Lake Bloomington when a severe storm popped up suddenly in the late afternoon. We started grilling burgers just before the storm came, and Nic was trying to gather up a few things before seeking shelter in the house. A tree fell and hit him from behind, knocking him out and throwing him to the ground. He has no recollection of the accident or of the following 30+ minutes. Once Nic was in the house, we realized that he was quickly loosing massive amounts of blood.
He has spent the last couple days in the hospital becoming stabilized and starting the recovery process from a three inch laceration in the back of his head (repaired with 12 staples), a fractured skull, a severe break in the scapula (left shoulder blade, a large and very difficult bone to break), several broken ribs, and a slightly punctured lung.
We've been overwhelmed and grateful for the amount of love and support that has been shown to us by friends and family. In fact, we have had so many visitors that the nurses and doctors have currently requested that hospital visits be kept to a minimum. (While we have felt very loved by everyone, the doctors want to ensure that Nic gets adequate rest.) Nic is anxious to begin physical therapy and is in need of time to focus on that. He would love to continue to receive notes of encouragement and anything else you would like to send to either the hospital or our home. We are hoping that Nic's condition will be more stabilized and he will be able to return home within a few days.
Nic is in hospital room 589 at BroMenn Hospital in Bloomington, Illinois. Our home address is: 1101 East Washington Street in Urbana, Illinois, zip code 61801.
While we're sad that Nic will most likely not be able to return to work for some time, our new record will certainly be delayed, and a number of other things (vacations, landscaping projects around the house, and so on) will be postponed, we are thankful that they will be able to happen eventually.
For all that has happened, we are both very comforted knowing that it could have been MUCH worse. Although Nic is in a lot of pain right now, it can and will be overcome. Hopefully life will be back to normal in due time.
SPRING IS HERE!
May 14, 2008
And summer is quickly approaching. May is a busy month in our lives. Heather's Birthday is May 13th (yesterday), there's also Mother's Day, graduations, weddings, anniversaries (our 5 year anniversary is May 31st!), and so on. All of this keeps Heather and I running a lot this time of the year. Along with this, I've been working in our yard a decent amount. We purchased a house last year. It sits on two and a half lots which were mostly overgrown with volunteer trees when we bought the place. The forest has been thinned, and now we are trying to rebuild it with intentional plantings and landscaping. It's a lot of work, but it's a new creative outlet as well, and when it's all done, I look forward to relaxing on my patio (which I need to build) and laying in my hammock (which I need to hang). Our garden has been producing some amazing salad greens since it came back to life in March/April, and for this, we are very thankful. We're getting ready to put some more seeds in the ground. Feel free to invite yourself over to our place for dinner sometime in July, as I anticipate we will have lots of fresh food to share by then!
On a musical front, we've been playing shows fairly regularly, debuting some new songs, and recording when we can. We are both very excited about the direction of our music these days. It seems like it's the music we were always supposed to be making, but we just weren't ready. I am not sure when a new album will be finished, but I have a good feeling that our patience and persistence will pay off with this one. We've been recording at home, and so far, things are coming together nicely. We should have something to show you all by Fall for sure. Probably not a completed album, but at least a song or three. A taste.
Thanks for your patience and your friendship. It means a lot that you'd stop by and read this post. I hope the Spring has found you well, also.
Peace,
Nic
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