A little bit of background before I get into details. :)
Our WHOLE family absolutely loves Family Force 5. Even Ian (2) gets into their music. For weeks, all he would want to do is watch their Wobble video on youtube. After Wobble, it was Cray Button. After Cray Button, it was the MAKING of Cray Button. Ian will STILL walk around, grunt, and say "doo doo" just like Crouton.
Who is Crouton, you might ask and what kind of NAME *is* that? Well, they explained it like this; in Atlanta, you have a ton of rappers with their 'gangsta' names. So they decided to come up with their own.
Solomon Olds - Soul Glow Activatur - Lead Singer/Guitar
Jacob Olds - Crouton - Drummer/Vocals
Joshua Olds - Fatty - Bass Guitar/Vocals
Derek Mount - Chapstique - Lead Guitar
Nathan Currin - Nadaddy - Keytar/Rhythm
Okay, now that you have the background, lets move on.
When we heard they were coming to St Cloud, we bought tickets the same day. VIP tickets at that which included a meet and greet with the band! We purchased Austin (11) a ticket as his birthday present. He's been thinking about this day for quite some time. He's talked about playing drums for Crouton ever since.
The concert was last night. We left the four other kidlets with trusted sitters, grabbed the tickets and headed out.
Yep, VIP baby. We were able to meet the band and have them sign a few things. It was kinda rushed, but hey, it was still cool.
From left to right, the band members are Fatty, Nadaddy, Soul Glow Activator, Chapstique and Crouton. See the HUGE grin on Austin's face? |
From there we headed to the merch table. Yes, had to get some goodies! Three t-shirts and two ZOMBIE bracelets. We had to get a little something for Nate.
Austin was bummed that he didn't ask Crouton if he could play drums for him. I said we could certainly get in line again and ask. So we did. He was rather nervous, but I told him the worst that could happen was he would say no. But you know what, he was cool with it!!
On Crouton's custom kit. See the III on the snare and the FF5 symbol on the kick? Pretty sweet! |
For the record, I asked before I took the video. ;)
Crouton was VERY supportive and said Austin did a great job. I know Austin was nervous and holding back a little, but he still did awesome. Crouton also gave him a few suggestions. He said Austin could use anything around him to make beats, since he doesn't have his own set yet, like pillows and boxes. We really appreciate the time he took to talk to him and us. What a nice guy! (do you see that my son got to play drums for a rock star?!)
From there it was time for the general admission to come on in. We stood around and talked with some friends from church that were there. Then, our good friends Kyle and Holly came in with their kids and nephews. We also ran into a few lovely young ladies from our church. Their dad was running video for the concert. Super cool gig!
The awesome group of kids that went to the concert. Love these guys! |
We were able to chat with Ryan, the lead singer for Silverline. He had his youngest daughter with him (almost two?) after their performance. He was very easy to talk to. He told us a bit about their band, his family (expecting blessing #4!) and road life. God is doing great things in their lives. I'm excited to see where these guys go.
Next up was Rapture Ruckus, a group from New Zealand. They told the crowd they were excited to be in the states, the place where all their favorite TV shows originated (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full house). I got a HUGE kick out of that .
When FF5 hit the stage, there was SO MUCH excitement in the crowd. I REALLY wish I had a better camera with me, but alas, most of my pics were from my phone.
Chapstique |
Solomon's son, Cash, came on stage a few times. He's an adorable little guy and LOVES the stage.
Austin spent a good portion of their stage time watching Crouton play drums. I think he's excited to keep drumming!
After the concert, we had the option of going to FF5's after party. Well, see, Todd and I aren't quite the young spring chickens we once were and weren't sure if we wanted to stay. But we did. We figured we'd check it out.
We waited in line for a bit and we noticed that Austin was fading. It was about 9:30. He's certainly NOT a night owl. Add to that, that the only thing we had eaten since lunch was a candy bar, and he was NOT ready to party.
It was a room with a small stage set up. Rather 'intimate' in size and close to the band members. Soul Glow had a small DJ set up. It was a dance party with the whole band. Man, if I was just a few years younger, I could have rocked it. Oh, and I was totally wearing the wrong shoes. Not any jumping up and down for this mama
Todd went to the vending machine to get Austin something to eat. However, he still wasn't feeling good afterwards, so we decided to head home. Well, a quick stop to pick up some burgers and THEN we headed home.
We had such an amazing night. Certainly not one we'll forget any time soon.
Austin's signed drumsticks, signed pass, bracelets, and drumsticks that Crouton gave him. They were 'gently' used. LOL |