"There has been a period of silence on our end, but that doesn't mean there has been no activity. In fact, quite a lot has happened. Let me explain.

August 7, marked the tenth anniversary of Cool Hand Luke's very first show. August 8, I married the girl of my prayers and dreams. August 9, I turned 30. It has been a lot to process. It has been a lot to be thankful for. It has obviously made me reflect a lot. Ten years. I had no idea that I would be playing this music with this band ten years later.

I remember playing in Woodstock, GA at a skate shop/venue called SBC years ago. It's where we sort of got our start outside of TN. We played with this band, which will remain unnamed, and all the guys in the band were either in their thirties or almost there. We were just starting out and those guys had been doing it for years. Yet, there we were playing the same small show at the same small venue in a city outside of a city. I remember talking to Jason and we agreed that if we got to be thirty and we were playing the same kinds of shows we hoped that someone would tell us to give it up.

Why am I mentioning this? I don't know. It's just been on my mind. On this end of things it all feels different. And, of course, my reasons for playing music have far less to do with "making it" or playing big shows and far more to do with glorifying Christ in whatever capacity he calls us to do it. I feel good still playing this music because I think it is where God has Casey, Joey, and me, and we all have a profound sense of peace in that.

THE NEW RECORD
But enough of my cathartic ramblings. You want to know what's going on, right? Well, here it is: We are a a little over a week away from the release of The Sleeping House, our new full-length. Despite how long it has taken for us to get it out, we're all pleased with it and we are excited for you to hear it. Some of you already have heard it because we have been selling the CDs at shows. You can also order it online at the Lujo Records online store, and it ships immediately. If you want to wait, look for it in stores and on iTunes October 14. We will be releasing an exclusive iTunes single for the song "Buy the Truth" as well. It will feature two unreleased songs available nowhere else as well as the video for "Wonder Tour". I'll let you know as soon as we get a release date for that.

THE NEW DRUMMER
For the past two years, our good friend Phil Smith has been playing drums with us live. If you don't know, I was the drummer/singer until a couple of years ago. Then I became the piano player/singer live. But I still played drums on our new record and Phil stepped in to help us out live. Phil is truly one of the most godly, humble, kind people any of us has ever known. He has recently decided to leave Cool Hand Luke because he is taking on a ministry position at a church in Asheville, North Carolina. It is bittersweet. We lose a great drummer and don't get to hang out with an incredibly encouraging and inspiring person anymore, but we get to affirm God's call on his life and support him as he takes a bold step toward the frontier of the Kingdom of God. Phil, you will be missed.

This is the reason that we have had to cancel our past couple of shows, and we greatly apologize for that. So, the big question has been, who is going to play drums now? We have a record coming out that we have to support and no drummer. We thought, prayed, and explored a few options. To make a long story short, I'm going to play drums now. I've missed it a lot. Who am I trying to kid? I'm not a piano player. I'm a drummer. So, the other question is, who is going to play piano? The answer to that is: nobody. We're going to try to make do without it. We're going to change our set a bit, work up some new arrangements, and rely on modern technology when necessary--providing it doesn't sound lame. We are all excited and morale is high in the Cool Hand Luke camp. We are a three-piece once again. We have plans to get out on the road very soon.

THE SLEEPING HOUSE SHOW
To promote our new record and to promote the idea of community and brotherhood within the body of Christ we are having an unconventional CD release show. We like to call it "The Sleeping House Show". It will be at Casey's house and you're all invited. It is going to be FREE!!!! We invite everyone to bring some food and join us for dinner before the show. If you can't bring food, then just come eat anyway. Potluck at 6pm and show at 8pm. You can get details in the show section.

THE END
If you have made it this far, thank you for caring. We love you all and hope to see you very soon. God is good and He is moving across this broken land, making all things new and building an unseen kingdom that is greater than our wildest American dreams!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Mark Nicks"

 

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