Music, it just makes people tick. Or at least, I think it does. It makes me tick. I love music. All kinds. I like rock, hip hop, soul, jazz, classical, emo, pop, foreign, salsa, and I love drinking songs (though, I don't drink). However, I do have a favorite band, Skillet.

These guys are a Christian rock band, that tour with a lot of secular rock artists like Three Days Grace. Many of their songs sound very secular, but they all have one thing in common: connectability, which is a word I think I just made up.

Skillet is pretty big with the highschool crowd, their songs reach out to them (I'm no longer in highschool, but I was there very recently). You know about feeling let down, or like you don't measure up. The emotions and feelings are all very real and close to what normal people feel, they don't wear the "Happy Mask" like many Christian artists do. This is something that I vastly appreciate. Mostly because when I'm having a hard time coping with something, I can listen to their music, and I know that it's alright.

One night, a couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to go see them play live at F.Y.E. It was an acoustic performance, and at first I wasn't sure how I felt about Skillet going acoustic. A lot of rock bands sound amazing when they're all hooked up and distorted. However, nothing could keep me away from the four of them. I've adored them for so many years, I had to go see them, besides, the show was free.

Of course, I'm from the surrounding Nashville area, and I had never really driven downtown, so me and my friend got lost trying to get there. She directed me to a severely ghetto neighborhood which was apparently close to the donut shop where all the gay guys liked to hang out. (Why she knew this, I could not tell you.) But we got there in time to see them play.

They were awesome!

I was very pleasantly surprised. They sounded incredible. John Cooper told a story about his father, which nearly had me in tears. And I was actually able to worship with them, regardless of the fact that by conventional terms, their music is not "worship music."

After they played, my friend and I went up to go meet them. My little sister had written them a letter it said, "Hey guys, thanks for inviting me to that party last Friday. The cookies were fantastic. But next time, you'll need more kool-aid and taquitos." They all thought it was pretty funny. Except Ben, he wasn't really paying attention, he signed it and gave it back to me. He seemed pretty tired. But they were all really cool. And I'm so glad that I got to meet them.

Oh yes, and I did not get lost on the way back home.