COMING SOON: Sara Groves "Invisible Empires"

The latest from Sara Groves
arrives October 18th.

I've boldly articulated my unabashed passion for Sara Groves since first discovering her music early last year. Simply put, I believe this Springfield, Missouri native to be the greatest singer/songwriter   since   Brian   Wilson.   In   fact,   even  acknowledged  modern-day  pop  messiah  Butch  Walker cowers and runs for cover like a little sissy whenever Sara Groves  enters  the  room.  (Or  at least  I imagine  that he would.)  And it gives me indescribable joy to post here that her long awaited new record, Invisible Empires will drop on October 18th. I just purchased,"Eyes on the Prize," the first single off the album from iTunes this morning, and as expected, it's epic! The video clip below is a stripped-down acoustic version of "Eyes" and is perhaps even more powerful than the full-band album version.

Acoustic version of Sara Groves' new single, "Eyes on the Prize."

Sara Groves' 2004 classic, "Less Like Scars."

(Natalie Merchant wishes she could rock the

"Sunday-go-to-meetin'-look" like Sara does!)

After numerous recent failed attempts to be granted admittance to one of her typically sold-out  concert appearances (Apparently I'm not such a "big shot" after all), I'm praying that Jesus will give me Sara Groves tickets for Christmas this year!

-Chris

Author Christopher Long's latest book,

C'MON! - My Story of Rock, Ruin and Revelation

is available NOW on Amazon.

THE "HERMANATOR"



Herman Cain

I've been an admitted political junkie since I was a ten-year-old kid collecting presidential trading cards while growing up in Springfield, Missouri during the early '70s. I follow the national and international political scene with the same passion that many Americans have for following the NFL, the MLB, the NBA or NASCAR. In fact, despite my personal love of the NFL, I'll choose The Sean Hannity Show over Monday Night Football anytime. And as I've posted previously, I embrace the presidential primary season the way the retail world embraces the Christmas holiday shopping season. 

Consequently, I receive frequent emails from friends which include links to various political-related sites and news stories. Earlier in the year I received one such email from a longtime business associate of mine, telling me about an interesting underdog candidate named Herman Cain who had recently entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Also occasionally referred to as the "Hermanator," Cain's background is based in the business world. His impressive track record includes achieving enormous success while working as a computer systems analyst for the Coca-Cola Company, Vice President of the Pillsbury Company and President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.

I found the whole "Hermanator" thing to be rather amusing and I began to pay close attention to the Atlanta, Georgia native. I was impressed by Cain's performances during the various recent televised Republican debates, but I doubted whether his candidacy would gain much momentum. I realize the "political outsider" factor has become quite appealing among voters as of late, but Cain perhaps seemed to be a little too far "outside" of the political arena to be considered a real contender.

That is, until this past weekend's Florida straw poll. Governor Rick Scott boldly stated prior to delegates casting their votes that the straw poll was so important, that the winner of the contest would likely become the party's nominee. And that made perfect sense on Saturday morning, when Texas Governor Rick Perry was the perceived front-runner. With underdog Cain's surprise upset on Saturday evening, Governor Scott was back peddling a bit in the press on Monday.

But why not Cain? His professional track record is impeccable. As many have pointed out in recent years, perhaps having sound business savvy is as vital a quality to running our country as having political experience. To me, it's his experience in business that makes Mitt Romney so appealing. And don't forget, Dwight Eisenhower had never held political office either prior to his presidency.

I want to be clear that I'm not suddenly jumping into bed with Cain now that he's become the new "flavor of the week." I've made no bones about being a staunch Michele Bachmann supporter. On many levels, I believe she's the best candidate for the gig. I'm just giddy with delight to see such a devastating blow dealt to the political establishment and the media which were all too ready to hand over the nomination to Perry -- more than five months before the official primary season kick-off -- which makes about as much sense as declaring a Super Bowl champion before the coin toss. More than ever before, our nation deserves as much time as necessary to thoroughly look at all of the candidates before calling this race too soon.

-Christopher Long
(September 2011)

Author Christopher Long's latest book,

C'MON! - My Story of Rock, Ruin and Revelation

is available NOW on Amazon.

ENTER SANDMEN

I had the distinct pleasure earlier this week of meeting with Master Sand Sculptor, Jill Harris, at my local Starbucks. I had recently discovered the amazing creations by Jill and her partner, World Champion sand sculptor, Thomas Koet, at Sandsational.com.

One of Sandsational's slogans is, 'When you want WOW!' And to be quite honest, I can't think of a better or more accurate pitch. I was immediately in awe of their incredible artistry, and since this creative team is based in my hometown of Melbourne, Florida, my journalist instincts led me to set up a face-to-face interview with Ms.Harris.

Master Sand Sculptor, Jill Harris

World Champion Sand Sculptor, Thomas Koet

Although Harris and Koet travel the world year 'round creating their unique art, one of the more exciting events currently on their schedule is the upcoming Art of Sand International Sand Sculpting Festival being held next month here in Melbourne at the Space Coast Stadium. The Art of Sand is a sand sculpting exhibition featuring the work of seventeen international Master Sand Sculptors. I'm looking forward to witnessing first-hand what these renowned artists will create with over 1,000 tons of sand. The festival will run from October 14 - 23 and is open to the public.

More behind-the-scenes details coming soon!

-Chris

*Author Christopher Long's latest book,
C'MON! - My Story of Rock, Ruin and Revelation
is available NOW on Amazon!

THE (UN)ENDLESS SUMMER

Although technically, summer doesn’t officially end for another couple of weeks, I think most would agree that the season really runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day -- right? Well then, this would likely be the perfect time to take a moment and reflect on what was the summer 2011. For me, it was an amazing season of new beginnings, discoveries and celebrations.

_________________________

WRITINGS ON THE WALL

As a music journalist, I recently attended and reviewed a couple of major concert events -- the Mötley Crüe/Poison/New York Dolls show at The St. Petersburg Times Forum in July and Hippiefest last week in Melbourne, Florida. My official review of the latter will post on the popular arts and culture web site, Ink19.com, in the next few days.

In other writing developments, I’ve now completed my second book. I expect it to drop very soon and I look forward to sharing all of the specifics in the next week or so.

STUDY HALL

A truly surreal experience this summer was when I returned to school -- as a student! I’m now enrolled at East Coast Christian University, located in Merritt Island, Florida. Although it will take several years to complete, ultimately, my goal is to earn a Doctorate in Theology. My first test is this week. YIKES! I’ll be sure to post the gory lowdown. C’mon, Spring Break!

In a related item, I’m proud to say that I’m done combing the New Testament, word for word, for my third time in the last year or so. If you’ve not checked out the Bible, I recommend the NLT (New Living Translation). Simply put, it’s an engaging page turner. In fact, I’ve found content in the Bible that’s so salacious, it makes an episode of Jersey Shore seem about as racy as a rerun of Full House!

My seventeen-year-old son, Jesse, also began his college experience last month. And to celebrate our “last” summer, we took a special father and son trip to New York City. We had a blast taking in all of the distinctive sights, sounds and smells of the Big Apple, and he nearly had a heart attack when his hero, Coheed and Cambria drummer Chris Pennie joined us for dinner at the world-famous Carnegie Deli. Our excursion was an incredible and memorable experience.

Coheed and Cambria drummer, Chris Pennie with my son

Jesse (L) and his buddy Sniffy (R) at Carnegie Deli in NYC. 

Where did the years go?

Me and Jesse, poolside during our adventure in the Big Apple.

THE SILVER SCREEN

I’ve also recently spent a good bit of time at the movies -- enduring a slew of barely watchable, mind-numbing stinkers including The Hangover II, Horrible Bosses, Bad Teacher and The Green Lantern. However, I have extremely high hopes for The Help, which I eagerly look forward to seeing this weekend.

I WANNA ROCK!

And what would summer be without a new musical discovery? I want to thank my pal Bradley Morris for turning me onto The Almost. Fronted by Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie, The Almost is a snappy little rock combo hailing from Clearwater, Florida. I’m enjoying them immensely and I expect to be blogging about them extensively in the upcoming weeks.

My new fave flave -- The Almost.

HOST WITH THE MOST?

I was honored to return as host of the Brevard Live Music Awards ceremony, held on August 8th at the Gleason Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida. Also known as the BMAs, this 8th annual event is the hometown version of the Grammys and was a huge success. It also  raised thousands of dollars for the Brevard Music Aide foundation.

I was somewhat enthusiastic about hosting this year's BMA ceremony!

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Among other rather dubious distinctions, I’m also known as something of a political junkie. In fact, I used to collect President cards when I was a kid. Sad, right? Consequently, I’m excited to see the U.S. Presidential campaign season beginning to heat up. Although I’d love for Hillary to jump in and completely thwart Obama’s re-election mission (and you know she’d bury him this time around), it’s not likely to happen. As for the Republicans, I confess to being a huge Romney fan. But although I would gleefully support him in the general election, I’m wholeheartedly supporting Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann 100%. And I’m confident that if the media will focus less on her stone cold foxiness, and more on the issues, it will become abundantly clear that she’s simply the best candidate. Stand by. I’m just getting warmed up.

The quite fetching and very qualified President-elect, Michele Bachmann.

PARTING SHOTS

Here’s a crazy one. I received an email last week notifying me that Osama Bin Laden was now “Following” me on Twitter. Hmm. Did I miss a major news story?

I leave you now with a final salutation -- a heartfelt quote, directly from my Starbucks barista last week...

She loves me. She loves me not.

-Chris

P.S. Now for the REALLY big question… ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

*Author Christopher Long's latest book,
C'MON! - My Story of Rock, Ruin and Revelation

is available NOW on Amazon!