Home Free - A Heartfelt Moment

This post may be emotional - consider yourself warned.

Saturday a week and a few days ago Home Free was scheduled for a show at the amphitheater in the small town of Kearney, Missouri, USA. This show was the first Home Free show in Kearney and Fries were traveling for hours and hours to be there for it. Kearney, MO was the home town of a very loved and special Home Fry (Home Free fan for the newbies on my blog), Mr E, who had been looking forward to this show for a very long time. Sadly Mr E suddenly passed away only days before the show.

Mr E and his lovely wife Mrs L were already a big part of the fan groups when I started my Home Free/Home Fry journey almost 3 years ago and there were many times I smiled and/or laughed at one of their comments. Mr E loved Home Free and he loved taking amazingly good pictures of them and share with the rest of us fans that weren't lucky enough to be able to attend a Home Free show. Mr E's pictures were so amazing that the Guys of Home Free frequently shared them and praised them, and they were so amazing that they inspired other Home Fries to take up photography just so they could take great pictures of Home Free. Those Home Fries went on to taking their own amazing pictures that they graciously share with the rest of us, and those pictures now inspire even more Home Fries to take up photography as a hobby and passion. All thanks to Mr E and his amazing pictures of this group of Guys. Mr E, thank you for starting what I see as a Home Fry culture. We, the non-photographers of the fan base thank you, and I'm sure that those you inspired thank you just as much. Mrs L, my love goes out to you, thank you for sharing Mr E and his talent with the rest of us.

The day of the show started out, sunny and warm, with a Fry Hog Roast Fry Meet (Fry Meet is when Home Fries meet up to have fun and get to know each other, usually before or after a show but can be at any time and place). In the middle of all the fun and yummy food the Guys of Home Free show up with flowers and condolences for Mrs L, and of course to have some of the lovely food. There are pictures of the guys sitting there eating and chatting with the Fries, being just like every single one of us, showing us that the Fries matter to them. They see us and they care about us.

The weather that started out so lovely changed and by the time the Guys were about to start the 4th song of the show their manager Luke took them off stage. By then it wasn't just raining but the sky was filled with thunder and lightning making the stage with it's electrical equipment and the open area where the audience were sat/stood potentially dangerous. 

In the hopes of the weather picking up and the show starting up again most of the audience stayed and took shelter under a pavilion up a wet grass slope. After having waited some time they could see the five Guys of Home Free walking up the same wet grass slope through the rain, and with thunder and lightning all around them. Instead of having one of the arrangers, or their manager Luke, announce that the rest of the show had indeed been cancelled they wanted to break the bad news to their fans themselves. They could have just jumped into their tour bus and drove off and let someone else handle it. But they didn't. They could have been asked to be driven to the pavilion, but they chose to walk through the rain - just like their fans had done - to break the bad news. They could have left it at that, or long before, but they didn't. 

What they did was to express their deepest regrets that the show had to be cancelled. What they did was to climb up on picnic tables in a pavilion with the thunder and lighting having it's own concert all around them. What they did was something that makes me love them even more than I already did. What they did was to yet again show the world what a class act they are. What they did was to set an example on how to care for your fans. What they did was to sing the most heartfelt and astonishing rendition of How Great Thou Art I have ever heard - off-mic. They sang it from the bottoms of their hearts, they sang it for the 770 fans that were sticking around in the bad weather in the hopes to see more of them. And I think, although this is entirely me thinking and I have no proof of it being true, they sang it for Mr E. Whatever reason they had for singing it with so much passion and heart it worked. There are plenty of videos on YouTube from every possible angle, some will show the lightning around them, some will not. You will find a video below starting when the Guys start to speak to their waiting fans and all the through the song. Also below you will find the official Home Free video and the studio recording of it. The official video and version, filmed in the Austrian Alps, takes my breath away, but this live version beats it by far.

I have asked a few of the Fries that were there to share some of their thoughts and feeling about the experience. All of these Fries are experienced Home Free show goers that have been to multiple shows with the knowing that these Guys already were to be considered class acts, and that they will always get their money's worth. Here is what they said;

Melanie - "I'm sure from all the posts you can gather how much this moment meant to me as well as the rest of the fries. This was my 40th concert and even though it was only four songs it was my favorite. Them slogging through the rain up the hill to the pavilion to hop up on picnic tables and sing for us all was my most favorite Home Free moment ever. I can only imagine how the whole concert would've gone because Austin especially but also all of the guys were so excited and feeding off the energy from the people..."

Abby - "The whole weekend was just such an amazing example of how incredibly giving these guys are to their fans. They didn't have to give those beautiful flowers to Mrs L or come to the hog roast to hang with their fans or dedicate the concert to Mr E, but this last action not only giving us this last song but deciding to walk up that hill during the storm just like we had was their way of saying we not only appreciate you but we are part of you. It expressed their love for their fans in a much more meaningful way than just words could ever have done"

Marcia - "I was at the Kearney show hoping that the rain would stop but I guess the powers that be decided that this was the perfect time to show the people at that concert just how special the men from Home Free are. They could have been driven up to the pavilion but they decided to walk thru the rain, up that slippery wet grassy slope the same as we did to show us that they are just regular folk and to show their solidarity with their fans. My heart swelled with pride watching them coming toward us. They keep doing things like this and we just love them more and I didn't think that was possible but they keep proving me wrong as they did Saturday evening."

Mary - " I was overwhelmed with love and admiration when I saw the guys walking into picnic shelter during the storm to sing for us. I felt in that moment, the fans are who matter the most. It was the most beautiful rendition of HGTA that I've heard. So many emotions were in the air that night. I felt honored to be a Home Fry, and to know such talented and amazing people I will never forget how I felt listening to them sing in a thunderstorm. The joy they bring to my life is indescribable."

Sarah wrote this to the Guys - "The words and sounds that came from you with the storm in harmony in the background-absolutely breathtaking. I just stood there in witness fighting back tears. Not tears of sadness, just tears of the pure emotion your music brings to me. The individuality of your voices so powerful and then when they all come together it triggers feelings deep within reminding me why I am there. Why I drive 10 hours to watch you sing. Why I listen to you when I am having a bad day and why when I am having the best day. You are five others have posted pictures and videos. I am just happy I was there to experience that incredible moment. Thank you for all that you give to us."

Eleanor wrote this to the Guys - "Y’all… this weekend was amazing. Branson was wonderful, but just a usual fantastic Home Free show. However, Kearney was inspired. Starting with y’all’s appearance at the Fry Hog Roast, the first 3  songs (could really tell tht was going to be some kind of party!) then followed so quickly by the disappointment of the storm! Then when the situation was the bleakest… Y’all walked up, through the rain and personally gave us the news that concert could not continue, but then you gave us a tremendous gift. This connection with your Fries is why we love you. Hang onto it as long as you can. Thank you so much."

Here is what Rob and Austin shared on social media afterwards;

Rob - "Although it was unfortunate the show was rained out last night, I was able to experience one of my favorite moments singing with Home Free. Coming out and singing "How Great Thou Art" off-mic for the people huddled under the pavilion for shelter, hoping the storm would pass was amazing. Everyone was so quiet all you could hear was us singing and the 'rolling thunder' in the background. I'll never forget it. I'm sorry for everyone who got a very short show from us. Thanks for being so understanding and thanks for making such a sweet memory for us under that pavilion."

Austin - "Even though we only sang three songs before the storm cut us short, last night was one for the record books. To everyone who stayed, thank you. Getting to sing one last song acoustically, under the shelter: well, I won't ever forget how your love and applause made me feel."

So there you have! These Home Free guys; Adam Rupp, Rob Lundquist, Tim Foust, Austin Brown and Adam Chance have yet again showed their fans and the world their hearts, their love for what they do and their appreciation and love for their fans. Being a Home Fry is not a temporary thing, it is something you are in your heart, and it is that way because of how the Guys show their hearts to us. They show it with their music, their humour, the way they interact with their fans, and most importantly they show by doing unexpected things like getting up on picnic tables during a thunderstorm to sing one off-mic song for 770 waiting fans, turning disappointment into the most memorable of memories. That is a class act in it's true definition.

Here is the video you all have been eagerly waiting for. Thanks to LeAnna Reilly for sharing it on YouTube

And here is the official Home Free video, make sure to subscribe to their channel;

I'm wishing you a great, fresh new week. Make sure to smile, love and enjoy every moment the best you can, and please share this post as much as you can. Let's show the world what Home Free is all about.

Love//Carina

The Euro Fry Family

Yesterday I came home from yet another Home Free travel. This was my third one and they just keep getting better and better although it's hard to believe that it's even possible. It isn't just the Guys of Home Free, as a whole and individually, that keeps improving - everything is!

This trip made my 6th and 7th time seeing them and my 3d and 4th VIP meeting them. I can honestly say that I am already excited for the next time. The pure love and joy I feel in their presence is quite stunningly mind-blowing when I start thinking about it. It how they make us feel that keeps us coming back for more.

My first stop on this trip was Utrecht in the Netherlands and my second stop was Girona, Spain, but in this first blog post about my trip I won't get into any details or stories about either of the shows or the VIPs. This post is dedicated to my extended family, to the Euro Fry Family as we call ourselves.

Back at the end of 2015, after the very first European show was announced I decided to start a special group for the Fries going to that show, and the later added shows, on that very first tour in this part of the world. I felt we needed a place where we could get to know each other better, a place where we could plan and discuss things like when we would arrive, which hotels we would be staying at and what clothes to wear without interruption from other Fries, and without posts about it getting lost in all the other posts. After that first tour we decided to keep the group for those that had been there and for future shows. We decided to keep it dedicated to only Europeans or to others going to any Euro shows. We felt we wanted and needed a place to ourselves to grow our own culture here in Europe.

We became a family even before we met that very first time. As you might have read in previous posts I wouldn't have been able to go to those first 2 shows, Birmingham and London 2016, if it hadn't been for a couple of amazing Fries making sure I got tickets and even picking me and my partner in crime, my sister Helena, up at the airport and driving us 3 hours to Birmingham.

Today our Euro Fry Family has grown to almost 200 members, and we expect it to keep growing.

This family is filled with so much love and joy it is almost difficult even for me to understand it, and I'm all about that love! This past weekend I have met Fries from all over Europe; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Poland and probably more I can't think about right now. Please let me know in the comments if I met you and you're from a country I missed. I am used to multiple nationalities hanging out together since I live in a tourist area and have friends from all over, but this was still quite amazing.

I have gotten and given so many hugs and I have laughed until I cried more times than I ever have in such a short period of times. I have shared hostel and hotel rooms with people from a total of 4 different countries. I shared a flight with 4 other Fries from one show to another. I shared some of the best memories I will ever have with these people and I am so incredibly grateful and happy to have them all in my life. We slept little, talked a lot, laughed more, sang loud and loved from the depths of our hearts.

And we owe it all to 5 Guys that share their time and talents with us with joy and love. I know we are all already eagerly waiting to hear about the next time Home Free will come to see us - maybe even more so we get a chance to see each other than to see them. And we will all do whatever we can to see them again.

To my Euro Fry Family - you know who you are - I love you, you are amazing and I am so grateful I get to share this unbelievable experience with y'all. Thank you for being a part of this crazy life!

I loved being at Home Free's first show in Spain, just as I loved being at their first show in Europe last year, and I have so many things to tell you about that experience, after I told you all about the Utrecht show, in an upcoming post.

I didn't film any of the songs myself, but I found this video of Don't It Feel Good from Girona on YouTube. For those who don't know this is a Home Free original written by their bass singer Tim Foust. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Watching a video will never even begin to prepare you for what it's like to be there in person, but it will give you an idea of it.

So, Don't It Feel Good to be a part of this Euro Fry Family, my lovelies?

Love//
Carina

Off On A Home Free Adventure

I have been crazy busy in the last few weeks with first finding a new home to move to (found one 4 days before the end of my lease) and then moving into said home.

Right now I am boarded on a flight to the Netherlands to begin my next Home Free adventure. I'll be meeting up with parts of my Euro Fry Family in Utrecht today with the first VIP and show on Friday. It will be crazy fun!

I will keep you posted!
Time to go!

Love/
Carina

Home Free Takes You On Dates

One of the things I love about Home Free is that you never know in advance what you will get when they release a new song/video. The only thing you can be sure of is that it will be good and of high quality! 

There are so many things to consider if you want to try to predict what they will come up with next;

What genre will they pick a song from? What twist will they give it? Who will sing lead? Will they switch up the lead half way through the song? What type of harmonizing will there be? Will it be a slow song or an up-tempo song, or maybe something in the middle?

What will the video be like? Will it be a party video? Maybe we'll see some dance moves? Will it be with members of their families? Will there be hired actors, or another LEGO one? What will the setting be? 

So many questions can go through a Home Fry's mind before a release, and that is one of my favourite things about Home Free. They always surprise us - except for on the quality of the arrangement and their performance of it. I can honestly say that I love all of the songs they do for one reason or another.

This last release is certainly no exception to this. Of course, they have managed to surprise and delight us again. 

The song of choice this time is Micheal Ray's romantic country hit "Think a Little Less". For the first time we get a full song lead by newest member Adam Chance - a perfect choice! I've heard, unofficially, that they had Austin in lead to begin with, but it just didn't sound and feel right so they changed it to Chance - a great decision as far as I'm concerned - and I love Austin! 

I haven't really written that much about Adam Chance yet so I want to share some thoughts about him now; When we, the fans, were informed that Chris Rupp was leaving the group and that Chance was to step in as the baritone I didn't really know anything about him, but I knew that if the band and Chris had chosen him then he must be a great fit. As soon as I heard him sing I knew I had been right in my belief. Chance actually has my favourite type of voice; smooth and smoky, sensitive and raw, and I had the feeling that he was singing straight to my heart. I still get that feeling whenever he sings. This is something that I feel about Austin's, Rob's and Tim's voices as well. Now, you might think that I often get that feeling about voices, but that is very far from the truth. I actually don't remember ever having it with maybe 2 or 3 other singers before I felt it the first time I heard Austin sing in Ring of Fire. That's anther reason why I love this group so much. No matter who sings lead, they speak to my heart. 

And this new video is very exciting as it will take you on dates with the Guys of Home Free. We get to be their respective dates throughout the video. Adam Rupp will take you on a horse carriage ride on a cold night. Rob Lundquist will cook for you. Tim Foust takes you to the movies. Austin Brown brings you to a Sea Life Aquarium and Adam Chance sings to you seductively in a bar. I love it! 

As always the vocals are impeccable as are the harmonies. We expect nothing less from these Guys! My favourite thing, after Chance's sexy voice of course, is the twingy guitar sound in the background. I am not sure who makes it, but my bet is on Austin as he's done similar sounds in other songs. You will only hear this sound listening through a good set of ear-buds or headphones, though. But then again, you should ALWAYS listen to Home Free's songs through headphones at least a few times to hear the bass and all those little details that makes up the fullness of the Home Free sound.  

What do you think about this song and video? Which date is your favourite? I like the one with Rob or Chance best, although if the date was with someone I love, or with any of these Guys, I wouldn't mind what we did. 

I hope you are having a nice Easter if you celebrate it, or a good weekend if you don't. Also, if you have the chance make sure you kiss a little more and think a little less - it makes life more fun! 

Love//

Carina

Blue Looks Good On the Sky

We have waited for months for something new from Home Free. We haven't seen a new video since December when they released White Christmas. We haven't heard any new music since October when they released How Great Thou Art. But, finally, finally, finally, we could stop waiting earlier this week. 

Personally, I feel it was worth the wait, although I don't really want to wait for that long ever again. 

What they gave us is fresh and exciting and I can't wait to hear and see what else they have in store for us. 

Keith Urban's Blue Ain't Your Color is a bluesy country ballad that reached the top spot on several music charts around the world, including the US Hot Country Song (Billboard) chart where it spent 12 weeks as Nr 1. It is a great song that sticks in your memory, but I still get kind of bored with it halfway through. That's something I never get with Home Free's songs - they have a way of keeping them interesting all the way through.

So how did Home Free do covering this Grammy nominated song? I am not surprised, but as always pleased, to say that they knocked yet another one out of the park. They stayed close to the original, but still managed to give it a fresh and different twist. 

Bass singer Tim Foust and beatboxer Adam Rupp lay the - as always - solid foundation for Tenor Rob Lundquist who takes the lead. With his clear and unbelievably smooth voice Rob adds some soul to the mix of blues and country. Add the impeccable doo-wop harmonies, Austin Brown's high pitch oh-oh and Adam Chance's baritone to the second part of the song and the Motown feel was complete. 

Yes, this is a soulful, bluesy, country song with a touch of old school Motown a la Temptations or Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. And it works. It works incredibly well. Home Free's producer and arranger Darren Rust did it again! 

The Motown feel could have stopped there, but I am so happy that it didn't. The band decided to bring it to the video as well and in it we will see the five Guys standing in a straight line with microphone stands in front of them doing some slick and smooth classical Motown style dance moves choreographed by Kristin Denehy! And I am so happy I could cry. Honestly and for real! I mean, I love the old Motown feeling because it has heart and soul. I love Home Free because they have heart and soul. Bring the two together and I am in heaven - and blue really do looks good on the sky! And on the Guys of Home Free! There are so many things I love about this cover and video I could go on for ages, but I won't. I need to let you check it out for yourselves! 

But before you do - on another Home Free note; they are coming to Europe next month for 2 shows in Austria, 1 in Denmark, 1 in the Netherlands and 1 in Spain - I will be at the last 2 of them. Woohooo!! For more information and tickets check out their website. Oh, and the show in the Netherlands sold out in a matter of minutes! How cool is that!!

Also, they are working on a full European Tour for September of 2018 - to be announced in September later this year. I can not wait!!!! 

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday and I promise you that if you watch this video you will enjoy it even more - or start enjoying if you weren't already. 

Birthday Rambles

Today is my birthday! Hip hip hooray for me! 

I love my birthday, not because I get presents or eat lots of cake - that doesn't really happen anymore - but because I make it an amazing day. I love filling it with things I love doing in a chilled and relaxed way. 

This year I took the day off from work so I didn't have to get up in the morning, I'm not a huge morning person - not that I'm grumpy, I just don't like getting out of bed. I spent the day listening to Home Free and books while cuddling my kitties. They know how to wish their mum a happy birthday! In the afternoon I took a long walk along the beach walk (Paseo) before I laid down on the sand and listened to the waves for a long time, just letting go of all the thoughts. I felt the wind touch my skin and the sun warm it. It was amazingly loving and soothing for my soul. On my way home I walked with bare feet and let the waves wash over them while picking some beautiful sea shells. Life quality at it's best! 

When I was a kid I had this book for the year of 1970, my birth year, and I started thinking about that book today. It listed things that happened during that year. It made me think about what happened on my birthday, other than me being born, so here are some things that occurred on March 21. 

Some birthdays and events from this day over the years;

- 1685 composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born

- 1958 actor Gary Oldman was born

- 1962 actor Matthew Broderick was born

- 1963 the prison island Alcatraz was closed

- 1970 (on my birthday) the first Earth Day proclamation was issued

- 2006 Twitter was founded

Also, I am now 17,168 days old now. 

Here's a cool site if you want to check out what went on on your birthday.

Today's video is one of my favourite Home Free covers, of course. It is a cover of Maren Morris' song My Church. I not only love the melody - it is very catchy - but I love the sentiment of it. Some people mistake this song for a christian or religious song, but it is really a spiritual song and spirituality has nothing to do with religion, it is all about your heart. And this song speaks to my heart. My church is that place within where I get peace and ease, and I find that place when I listen to Home Free, walk along the beach, meditate, write, paint or do anything else that makes my heart sings. This song makes my heart sings. 

I hope you like it!

Love//

Carina

The Sound of Silence

A couple of days ago Peter Hollens released his latest video featuring Home Free's bass singer Tim Foust. This song is the most requested song, of all times, by Peter Hollens' fans. The song is The Sound of Silence, a song I am sure you have heard on more than one occasion in your life.

The song was written by a young Paul Simon, of Simon & Garfunkel, and was part of their first album Wednesday Morning, 3 am released in October of 1964. The song - a soft duet accompanied by a guitar - was a failure, as was the album, and the duo split up. Less than a year later, after the song had started to grow some airplay, the song's producer decided to add some electronic instruments to it without running it by either Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel first and even released it before they had heard it. This new version hit The Billboard Top 100's No 1 spot just as 1966 arrived.

That version is the most popular and most famous still, but in late 2015 until Disturbed covered and released a video for it, a video that has more than 196 Million views on YouTube and it's widely shared on social media.

Now, enter Peter Hollens and Tim Foust.

This new version has everything that makes all the mentioned versions great, except for instruments. True to their roots this new and exciting rendition is all a cappella, Peter Hollens style. We have heard the combination of the two voices before, when they collaborated on Misty Mountain (read my blog post for that video here), and we love them together. This song shows us we have not been wrong.

So, what's so special about this cover?

- The words are important - and you can hear every single of them clearly here. The combination of the words and melody of this song makes it easy to hear anyway, but you hear it not only with your ears, but with your heart as well.
- The feeling - honestly, this songs melody is gripping and haunting on it's own, Peter and Tim adds to it with perfection, highlights in the right places and drops back when suitable all adding to the feeling that we need to see each other's hearts more.
- The harmonies - seriously, a cappella is all about harmonies and this is no exception. These two guys complement each other no matter if they sing tenor, baritone or bass - together, when harmonizing or separately. Yes, they both do a bit of both - although Tim's bass is unbeatable.
- The power build up - building up a song at the right time and in the right place is crucial for some songs and this is such a song. It's fair to say that it's easier to do using instruments - which is what happened when S&G re-released it in 1965, the song was overdubbed using instruments to help build up the power. Disturbed uses a combination of orchestra instruments and the singer David's strong and low voice to build it up - but it's a more required taste with that kind of metal. P&T use the song itself, and their voices, to emphasize the power.
- The intensity - how they look, how they sing, how the video is made - intense in just the right amount and way.
- The dark sides - both Peter and Tim brings out a dark side that I really like, Tim especially. We are so used to seeing these two guys as loving, caring and funny guys with big hearts, and it's nice to see the (obviously innocent) darkness shine through this way.
- The end - spot on in every single way - the looks, the lighter expressions, the colour leaving, the pose - mirroring the cover picture from Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends album.

In short - this song and video has a true potential to become one of the top 3 versions of this song - to me it is already No 1. Well done, Peter and Tim! Well done!

What are your thoughts? Which rendition is your all-time favourite? Comment below.

S&G original version 1964
S&G overdubbed version 1965
Disturbed version 2015

Love//
Carina