Night of Day of Fire

Last night I put on my rocker pants, tight black Tee and leather jacket and headed out to a rock club in Michigan City with my friend Joseph Byler—about 15 minutes from home. Every once in awhile I need to get my rock on. I don’t do as much head banging anymore—it’s not the same without the hair—but I do enjoy a good and loud adrenaline rush on occasion.

Joseph is a dyed-in-the-wool hard rocker and when my friend Rachel at the local radio station hooked me up with tickets to a rock show Joseph was my obvious choice in comrades.

Last nights offering? Day of Fire.

Day of Fire have been touring with Daughtry and are now on a tour with fellow Nashville musicians—Ligion (originally from Cleveland).

It wasn’t too long ago that Josh Brown of Day of Fire was the front man for Full Devil Jacket making appearances with Stone Temple Pilots, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Incubus, and Nickelback. But, it was their set at Woodstock '99 that landed them on to tours with Chevelle, Type O Negative, Slipknot, Fuel and Creed.

My first intro to Josh Brown was when I saw Full Devil Jacket play with Creed in California after winning tickets on the radio.

Fast-forward a few years.

From the Day of Fire website : : :

Those days ended when Brown found peace with God. He was compelled to walk away from everything that controlled his life - fame, money, and addiction. He resolved to share his experience. Brown joined with Gregg Hionis, a friend back in his hometown of
Jackson, Tennessee, to record Day of Fire in 2004. All of the energy
that he once poured into songs of despair with Full Devil Jacket exploded into songs of freedom through Day of Fire's first album. Ambitious musical visions, built to fit the power of the message, turned Day of Fire into an unforgettable, Grammy-nominated, Dove Award winning debut.

In the ensuing time since the debut album's release, the band's faith deepened with greater understanding. Along with this understanding, the ambition of the band evolved as well. With a new resolve, Brown, Hionis, guitarist Joe Pangallo, his brother Chris Pangallo on bass, and drummer Zach Simms, set out to create an aggressive rock record with an uncompromising message.

I had a fun time at the “volume of 11” show but the greatest part for me was the surprise two-hour conversation we had with Josh Brown. My friend Joseph and I had the privilege of hanging with Josh and talking about life, God, family, hang-ups, church, baby girls (our daughters) and rock and roll.

I appreciate Josh’s passion for what he is part of and his willingness to put his family above it all. I appreciate his transparency and authenticity. I appreciate where he has come from and his heart for his audience. He was very approachable and I saw him hanging with many kids and shooting pics after the show.

It’s not everyday you go to a rock show with a high-profile artist and hang in the back drinking a beer (Brown drank water) and get acquainted. What a treat it was. We exchanged email addresses and are going to try and hook up next time I am in Nashville.

If you like your rock served high energy, check out Day of Fire.