NOW INTRODUCING, for your viewing & potentially eventually listening pleasure...

the KINSEY GRACE REVIVAL BAND

You've probably never heard of us....

But you definitely want to.

Influences: Gungor, Sufjan Stevens (but not Age of Adz), Vampire Weekend, Streetlight Manifesto, mewithoutYou, Freelance Whales, NEEDTOBREATHE, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Page CXVI, Tally Hall, Regina Spektor, The Avett Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Mario Kart Love Song (the song, not a band), Noah and the Whale, All Sons & Daughters, Ella Fitzgerald, Trololololol guy, Vocal Spectrum, The Civil Wars, The Carpenters, Rick Astley, Gregorian chant (the type of music, not the band), The Weepies, Brooke Fraser, Mozart, Bon Iver, She & Him, Matt & Kim, Lecrae, Nyan Cat, Sixpence None The Richer, Mumford and Sons, Nickel Creek, Straight No Chaser, John Denver & The Muppets, Jenny & Tyler, Andrew Bird, Ingrid Michaelson, Cake, old Disney movies (the movies, not a band), The Partridge Family, The Addams Family, Rocky Votolato, Haydn, Slow Club, David Crowder Band, Ben Folds, Anais Mitchell, Brett Dennen, Billy Holiday, David Bazan/Pedro the Lion, The Marvelous Breadfish, Harry Connick Jr., Julia Nunes, Iron & Wine, Matisyahu, The Beatles, Jesus (the Savior, not a band)

Namesake: Meet Kinsey Grace! [last name: Wallace]
Purdy, ain't sheh?

In actuality, her name is complete happenstance. Her parents just picked random letters! It works for some. The band is not named after her. 

Anyway, on our EPIC road trip of spring break 2011 [see pics HERE! And again right HERE!!] we stopped in Kinsey, TX to delight in organic falafel and meet the ambassador of Rottnest Island. As we were driving out of town, we noticed a cardboard sign pointing down a desolate gravel road. It read "GRACE REVIVAL - live music!" and on a whim, we took the fated turn down the road. We parked the small red car out with the others in a field, and followed the roadside lanterns about 200 yards. Under a massive yellowed canvas tent was a most glorious sight. Surrounded by candles and an attentive, reverent crowd, the small band sang in glorious harmony as a lone mandolin plucked out a simple yet compelling countermelody. The specific hymn escapes me, but so much is still so clear. As we slowly approached the back of the large tent, the smell of spring at dusk settled around. I stood amazed beside my friends, afraid to blink or make a sound in fear of it disappearing as a dream. The band finished the second verse and the whole group joined in for a chorus. An acoustic guitar and a cello began to sound from the stage, and our captivation deepened. We joined in, melding in the smooth, praise-filled melody. Even the grasshoppers joined in worship. The tent seemed to sway with emotion as those within were consumed with thanks, fellowship, and His glory. Love soared straight through that yellowed, tattered canvas and up and beyond. The hymn decrescendoed gently and ended with just those on stage humming with the mandolin. After a small sigh and a smile, the band picked up their array of instruments and started in on a quick-paced tune. It was a giddy folk tune, catchy and fun and completely unfamiliar. We went to find seats near the back, but were grabbed by strangers and thrown into a clapping, dancing circle of joyous people. After a few wonderful tunes proclaiming the beauty of Light and unending joy, the cellist grabbed Kinsey's hand and drug her on stage. She handed her a triangle. The guy on fiddle came to me, Josh, and Ed. He smiled a huge smile and corralled us on stage. We were handed random percussion instruments and the band played a medium tempo song. In the euphoria, our nerves were consumed and we simply played from the heart. It honestly wasn't that good, but it didn't matter. After the hilarious experience, the fiddle guy led the 4 of us off stage and told us how thankful he was for our good attitudes and high sprits. We stayed into the night, praising in hymns or fast folk jams and chatting with all and being amazed. We had somehow found an improbable pocket of wonder; this was no longer Texas or a world we knew. As we drove away hours later, we had little to say. Each of us had plenty to contemplate in our own heads and hearts. We were simply overcome with Awesome. 

Soon after we formed the Kinsey Grace Revival Band. An EP is in the works, and the picture below is our potential album art. Stay tuned. : ]

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. - Hebrews 12:28-29

Alot no have time for this.

Alas, it's late and I have reading yet to do. E dovrò finire i miei compiti italiani!!! 

For your enjoyment, here are 2 pictures I took on my phone since school started back up. To understand the first one you'll have to click HERE and read this. Surrriously, do it now; you'll never regret it. Then the pic might at least make you chortle. 

This is from the first lecture in Honors Physics and Human Affairs. My notes are little messy/frazzled... But I was so bored in the lecture it was a bit hard to stay fully awake. Cue atrocious handwriting. [I apologize for the highly inaccurate Alot. Drawing is not exactly a gift of mine.]

This next one is a slyly taken one of my Physics-n-HA lab TA. He's an interesting fellow... Jeans, Super Mario light yellow shirt, a denim jacket a different color from the jeans and a bit too short, black dress shoes with no socks, and a dab of fingernail polish on every fingernail. Yeah... His hair could belong to a girl. I wouldn't call him precisely pleasant, but he's nice and helpful enough. It will certainly be an interesting semester in there. 

Creeper pic FTW. 

"If you don't pay attention and if your imagination isn't pretty much engaged, you're going to miss things and you're going to miss opportunities for it to be as compelling and as creepy as it can be." - Bruce Greenwood

.... or miss how creepy I can be...........

A friend loves at all times. Hummus not required.

I lied about delving into the root of our obsession with social media. Today I pondered as I wandered on better things. 


Though I woke up at 4am, it has been a fruitful, joyful, non-zombie day. I did doze uncontrollably in a few of my classes, but no longer than a few moments. It seemed my body was either fully up and hyper and alert or teetering on the verge of comatose. 


Tonight was a lot of fun in the Hogwild band! Perhaps the game should not have been as close as it was, but it did make for a more exciting night. I got Hogwild member of the game! It was tweeted, pic and all by @HogwildBand. But alas, I will not see that for a while! A definite highlight was the B-squad tryout. Bobby and I went for it tonight. SUCH a blast. Dancing, whooping, laughing, and so much lawl. We made callbacks! 


Something I realize more every day: I have good friends. 

They like guacamole. And cilantro-lime rice. And cookie cake. And smoothies. And really most things I cook.

Some of them love hummus and chai tea... but not all. (see below) 

They aren't all in this picture, albeit a good one. Below I speak for/about those shown and those not, both for ones in Fay and very far away. I do believe you know who you are. ; ] 

The Lord has given me quality companions with whom I consider it a supreme honor and huge blessing to serve, love, and confound with riddles. We break bread (often with honey) and sometimes couches. We stomp too loudly and play games while cats chill in the refrigerator. They knit me scarves, squeeze acidic things my broken hands can't handle, burn brilliant CDs, pick perfect limes, steal free apples, dance at Hogwild games, troll wholeheartedly, turbokick like crazy, rally for games of spades, share tasty music, write forever long emails, wear shirts about trombone, write letters and postcards from far off places, travel the country, debate Caddo/Osage, journey on the bike trails, learn through ministry, give amazing hugs, and occasionally take out the trash. I love having them as a reason to open my kitchen and small home, practicing one of a great many callings He has been good to give me. For them I will continually lay down my life, following the Example, and hoping to share perfect Light and glorious Love all along the way. They are my Brothers, my Sisters, my sincere friends. 


For them and much much more I do praise Him all my days.

What a luxury it is to poop with the door open.

It is day two of my social media fast. What an interesting time it has been... 

I am certainly not the most savvy Facebook creeper among my friends, nor am I the cleverest tweeter. I know I am by far not as obsessed with either as many poor souls are, yet this short break from our ultra-connected digital world has been very revealing. It is an absolute wonder to observe and marvel at my habituated self throughout the days. My finger scans the area of my phone where Facebook once was; my eyes and mouse flit across the bookmark bar for the familiar blue icon; some strange desire in me yearns absently for the newsfeed. By far the most intriguing and most disturbing are the deeply ingrained Twitter reflexes buzzing in my brain throughout the day.

I have been classifying my Twitter-thoughts into categories: 

1) Tweetable (restrained for this week)

     - clever

     - informative

     - ponder-worthy

     - encouraging

     - funny

     - for communication's sake

2) Thinkable (restrained for this week and almost always anyway)

     - boring observation only interesting to me

     - small only slightly quirky/clever personal thought

     - response to tweets

3) Abominable (restrained always)

     - highly odd

     - too personal 

     - rude/sinful thought

     - example: the title of this post [I was in my apartment alone and it struck me how
       special it was! How rare. How it is a blessing to be in an apartment at all this year.]

The "Abominable" category is listed as a "Twitter-thought" because these past couple of days has brought to light the extreme conditioning of which social media is capable. Would I really seriously tweet about my poop habits? Of course not. I hold nothing against my dear friends who would and do, but that is not my style. Yet, some thin blanket of Twitter covers a great many of my casual or random thoughts throughout the day. You know the type; they are almost certainly 140 characters or less. 

(note: my tweets go to my Facebook, so I am referring to Facebook posts as well, for the most part)

It all happens very quickly: 

- The subject is casually existing in the world.

- Some minor or major stimulant appears.

- Thought commences and SIMULTANEOUSLY the conditioned urge to tweet/post rouses within.

- Subject immediately deems appropriateness of thought.

- Appropriate thought is screened for quality. 

- Thought is shared on social media or discarded and kept forever private. 

This is just one common form; almost as often, the rouse to tweet comes before the thought commences, at which time the thought has a greater probability of becoming a tweetable one. As I see time and time again, far too many skip the screening step and share whatever nonsense their deluded brains stumble upon. I will primarily discuss tweets of a higher quality since I do try to generally hold myself to something higher than mere observations of my surroundings. 

So far, this is all a bit dry and analytical. Perhaps that Psych major thing is finally kicking in. But to speak colloquially:

No one cares that I can blow my nose without bleeding for the first time in weeks. That is something I would have easily posted. How much would my friends care about my early morning yoga experience?  It is somewhat laughable that hazing was so clearly happening at that 6:30 class. [Fratty guys in footie pajamas who didn't try at all or fell asleep]. The funny way my foreign physics prof says "Aristotle" certainly wouldn't have been enjoyed by all of social media. [Ah-riss-toe-tottle, slight emphasis on 'riss']. Sure, some people back at home and on campus might like to know I am one step closer to going to Italy after getting some things signed today. Maybe the general populous could get a guffaw out of a punny statement about Psychology now and then. Many would surely empathize with my annoyance at campus construction or at parking frustration. A decent number would feel a sense of pride or anger because of a well-versed tweet of Caddo pride. Someone could potentially gain much from a post referencing fruitful Scripture. Who knows, maybe through the poop tweet titling this post, someone could be inspired to think of the rarely mentioned freedoms inherent in living in an apartment instead of a dorm, where doors stay shut and small spaces contain all privacy. 

WHY AM I COMPELLED TO SHARE SO MUCH ON THE INTERNET?!

I honestly don't think I over-tweet or Facebook in excess. I think of myself as a highly average participator in social media. What has brainwashed and conditioned me so acutely? Why do I place such value in the approval and recognition of those I know? 

These questions and more - in my next blog. 

Since I cannot publish this to Facebook or Twitter until next week, I presume no one will read this. If you are, kudos! It would be quite ironic for you to share/post this. I would never know! Lawl.

I apologize for the rant and the somewhat scientifically presented interpersonal observations. I hope and think it will get more interesting; I have barely scratched the surface on the nuttiness running rampant within muh brainz. For now, I'll leave with some of what has filled my head and time in lieu of the connective sedation of social media:

It's incredibly valuable to check oneself times. To check one's time and use of it. The days are evil on their own! For now, He has very clearly told me to be slow. To sit. To wait. To cease striving.

*insert jeopardy music* 

It is in this still state I hope to be given understanding.