Last night was the premiere of 24: Live Another Day. I haven't watched it yet as I was working on vocals for the new album. (You should click here and preorder it.)
Back in January of 2006, I was days away from clearing post at Fort Knox, where I had been stationed with the 113th Army Band. I had moved my wife and kids back home to Las Vegas because we had baby #3 on the way, and I was scheduled to move to Fort Hood, TX, to deploy to Iraq with the 4th Infantry Division Band very shortly. I was basically living at the band hall, staying up all night watching tv, then leaving as people started showing up for work. (I was outprocessing, and had other places to be. Not shamming.) January 15 was the first of a two-night season premiere of 24. I was watching, engrossed, and when my phone rang about ten minutes before the end of the show, I ignored it. Turns out, I found out it was my wife when I called back, telling me that she was going to the hospital because she was having contractions.
The next night, I got another phone call, this one about ten minutes after the second night of the 24 premiere ended, to tell me that we had a beautiful baby girl, Faith. She had come a few days early, and so I hadn't made it back home to be there for her birth.
Did you notice something there? She waited until she knew 24 would be over to call me.
This was the first of several of Faith's birthdays I would miss due to Army commitments, deployments, etc. I came home from my second deployment the day after Faith turned 3. I promised myself I would never miss another, and so far, I haven't.
What's the point of all of this? Today, I was recording the vocals for my song, "Father of the Year." This song is directly drawn from these experiences. Why did it end up that I was tracking this song on the day this show returned to the air? I don't know. I can tell you that it made listening back even more emotional for me.
I am really excited for you to hear "Father," and the rest of the songs on Connection. I am truly blessed to be able to create this music, and am thankful that I am able to share it with you.