Cornerstone Music Festival

I have been out of the loop for a few weeks, with good reason. I took some time off working for Math U See in order to go to Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois this past week. The festival is run by Jesus People USA, an intentional community in Chicago that has been around since the early 70s. Last time I was there was in 2001 with the Wycliffe World Music Band as a roadie, and this time I just went to enjoy the festival. It was a blast!
I actually did end up playing at the Impromptu Stage to a crowd of 15 people, 8 of whom bought CDs (pretty good average since 5 of the people were friends who already had my CD), but the highlights for me were Stavesacre (back together after 6-8 years), Dave Bazan (of Pedro the Lion) and Rosie Thomas. Family Force 5, Anberlin, and Me Without You were pretty cool too. And Brian 'Head' Welch (former Korn rocker). I brought my video camera, but totally forgot to carry it around with me. I couldn't find the song I wanted on YouTube, but here's someone else's video of Dave Bazan's show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19oHHGfifgU
And in this video of Brother Red Squirrel's show you can see me dancing and clapping at 10 seconds with the black shirt on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW1103I46WU

Vlog Day 62 - Yellow Springs

Today I drove through Indiana to Ohio, where my mom's cousins (Carolyn's parents) live in Yellow Springs. I took the skyway from Chicago along the lake, and then headed south to Indianapolis. Once I got into Ohio, the landscape started to remind me of Pennsylvania, though very flat.
Yellow Springs is off the beaten path but near some major cities in Ohio. It's the home of Antioch College (which has closed recently, unfortunately) a really cool national park, and has a friendly small-town feel. I went to the horse barn with my Aunt/secondcousin (I always get confused by that kind of terminology) and got to hear the brass quintet that my Uncle/secondcousin is in practice for their upcoming Father's Day performance.

Vlog Day 61 - Lucha Libre, Moody Bible Institute

I took the elevated train in to Chicago city (the Loop) from Pilsen. Down below the track there was a block party going on, and Lucha Libre was just getting started. The Mexican version of WWF, part soap opera and part fight choreography, it would have been fun to see. However, I rode the train instead and met up with my friends Anna and Emma at Moody Bible Institute, where they're finishing up school.
They showed me around the campus, which is bigger than it looks, and took me through the tunnels and around and about. They seem to know everyone and kept introducing me to people as their friend from Ghana (we grew up as fellow MKs). There was a fair being put on by the student government for students and the community, so we partook of cotton candy and popcorn and watched people on the bungee swings. They mentioned they wanted to see 'Wolverine', the latest X-Men movie, and so we walked downtown to the theater to see it - a really good film, if you haven't seen it yet. I would review it, but this isn't the place. Or maybe it is and I'm just lazy. If you comment on this post, I'll review it. Afterwards, dinner was Go Roma, a great pizza/salad spot downtown.

Vlog Day 60 - Chicago

I drove to Chicago, from Gridley (the kids made me a really great card, so just for that I have to go back to see them at some point in the future) stopping in Peoria along the way to get an oil change at Firestone. It was probably good I stopped, because they also changed the battery, which was leaking acid. Ended up being a bit more expensive but not terrible, and now my car runs again like a dream.
In Chicago I'm staying with my cousin Carolyn, who lives on Peoria street in the Mexican part of the city. We had a great time catching up - visiting Kristoffer's Cafe (which has Tres Leche Cake - very good!) and generally hanging out. I haven't seen her in 4 years or so. I love reconnecting with people, which has been kind of a theme of the trip.
In the evening I played at Uncommon Ground in northern Chicago, opening for my friends Lucrezio. Jennifer and I went to college together, and they have a really great acoustic sound. I also got to see my friends Anna and Emma, whose parents were missionaries in Ghana as well. They go to Moody Bible Institute and kindly took some video for me. It was a really vibey place, but the sound was a bit hard to get used to. We (I and the sound guy) figured it out halfway through, fortunately, and ended strong.

Vlog Day 59 - Goat Fence

I helped Duane put up the goat fence today. It was pretty windy - I had to wear my knit cap to keep my ears from freezing. Beautiful day though. It's been rainy, but it hardly rained at all today. The goats will be coming next week - they're planning on milking them and making cheese.

Vlog Day 58 - Ithaka Fellowship

I slept in today, then got up and went with Duane, his son Calvin, and his father to pick up some things from Normal - fence for the two dairy goats they are getting next week, the PA system for tonight, and some bricks and mortar for repairs around the house. We drove four across the front seat through mile after mile of fields that are empty, waiting for the rainwater to drain so that the fields will be dry enough for planting to begin. Duane's dad is full of knowledge about the area and the process of farming, so I learned a lot on the drive.
On the way back we drove part way on Route 66, which goes right through here on its way south to St. Louis. Then we made preparations for the event tonight, and at 7pm people started arriving. Here's a piece of the event - my car song 'Steer Into the Curve'.

Vlog Day 57 - Illinois

I drove to Illinois today, through Springfield to Gridley where some friends of my friend Tom Becker live. Duane and Julie host monthly talks and discussion groups in their home under the name of Ithaka Fellowship. I am their speaker this Wednesday, and was able to meet them tonight for dinner with some friends who live down the road that spent a couple years in Ghana, of all places!
Gridley is in the middle of farm country, where corn is king. Duane is the 5th generation of farmers, and moved back to learn farming from his father, who has a lot of knowledge about the land and how farming has changed over the last thirty years.