Honor Society and The Wonder Girls: A Bonus from Jonas

Thanks to ABBIE SLAMAN for her support and sponsorship of the blog today.

For more information about sponsoring the blog go to www.livealifeworthcelebrating.com

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The daily quest, of course, is to meet the Jonas Brothers. On the blog comments, on twitter, on Facebook it is one of the most important and frequently asked questions from the fans. How do we meet the Jonas Brothers?

I am approaching the "60 Jonas Brothers concerts in two years" mark. I have never met the Jonas Brothers and at this point, I am not sure what I would say to them. What do you say to three young men who have brought healing, connection and expansion to your life and the life of your daughter and so many others? How do you express that in 30 seconds? Although I would like to think I would be composed and focused, I probably would just stand there and cry in gratitude. So, the point is that I am living in the now of what I am experiencing and I know that I may never be able to truly share this with them.

And for now, something very special has been happening where I can express my gratitude and joy every day. It is with another group of the extended Jonas family.

The surprise gift of the tour this summer has been the opening bands for the Jonas Brothers. They have been a bonus from Jonas and a way for us to connect and expand our experience.

As we travel across the country this summer, Honor Society and The Wonder Girls remind us of what it was like two years ago when we first started to follow the Jonas Brothers. It was easy to get meet and greets during the first three concerts we attended during the summer of 2007. Pre-order a Jonas Brothers CD and get in line for a meet and greet. Pictures or poster signings and you would also get to touch their hands! Hannah pre-ordered two CDs and one time, at Six Flags in Largo, Maryland she was able to go backstage with friends of ours, the Pruchas. The Pruchas were JB fans about six months before Hannah.

Becca Prucha, was one of the lucky girls to be called on-stage during the song Hello Beautiful. They could do that when the venues were small. Here is the link to remember the early days. (The first two minutes are a bit rough and I know that Kim, the Mom, who is was recording this, had tears of joy running down her face.) Look at the early logo on the drum, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyb9ekFhCGw

The band Honor Society and international singing stars the Wonder Girls have been so much fun. The accessibility has been amazing. We have had the opportunity to meet them at Verizon in-store events and enter contests to easily win meet and greet passes. We see The Wonder Girls outside almost every day before the show around 4 or 4:30pm and after the show. In Asia, they are mobbed. Here they are starting over and we are lucky to see them up close.

If the concerts are still coming to your town, look on www.myspace/honorsociety.com, for the latest on the Honor Society free events. I know that they have Verizon poster signing events in Houston and Tampa. They have about six more Full Moon Crazy Shows. We have paid $10-$25 per ticket for these great shows. At the Verizon events there are contests for JB tickets, Full Moon Crazy show tickets, Sound checks, shirts, and CDs. Each place is a little different.

Follow the band on twitter and you can see other events. Like yesterday, Honor Society was at a movie theater, played an acoustic version of "Where are you now?" and signed posters or a shirt or one of anything you wanted signed. The movie Bandslam is released around the country today. The Honor Society sings the song, "Where are you now" for the movie.

In LA, there was a Verizon in-store event at 3785 Wilshire Blvd in L.A. and then a PPP- Pinkberry Yogurt event to come and hang out with the band. Twitter is the best way to get the up-to-date location of events.

I also want to draw your attention to all of the free stuff that happens at the concerts. For example, yesterday, you could have paid $8 to park next to the AT&T center in San Antonio, Texas or parked farther away for free or taken a bus and come to the parking lot center.

Mike and Ike’s has a green screen where you can get a free picture to download off of the computer. They put Jordin Sparks in the picture with you.. And lots of free Mike and Ike’s sample packets of Lemonade and regular flavor.

Burger King has crowns to color and free apple fries (apples cut into the shape of fries.)

Verizon Wireless had a recording studio tour on the bus. (they may return at the end of the tour in Ohio but right now they are with Soldier Boy and then Taylor Swift. Possibly there for a few shows in the end. Will update when I know.) and dance contests. You have to have a ticket for most meet and greet and soundcheck passes. But, I just found out that the Jordin Sparks meet and greets are sometimes available even if you don't have a ticket. Go to the Mike and Ike's stand and ask.

The Wonder Girls come out to the parking lot and dance at most of the venues. Verizon has a meet and greet contest for Honor Society. Learn the Honor Roll to See U in the Dark and win the meet and greets.

Look for Road dog softball games with the Jonas Brothers in some towns. I know I keep saying Twitter, Twitter, Twitter, but it really is the best and fastest way to get the information. The bands all tweet on the go.

Or follow Hannah and me on Twitter. (www.twitter.com/hannahhylen or /AHylen ) We do our best to update the latest news and changes.

Honor Society has The Full Moon Crazy concert as a pre-party or after-party It is always like a nightclub setting. It may not be a place for 10 year olds. New York was a very dark, nightclub scened but in LA there were a lot of families that came and it was a lighter, brighter atmosphere. For older teens and up, it is a great, great show. The guys have incredible energy. They really own the shows at this venue. Jonas Brothers have popped in to sing one song and support them along the way. Check out the local venues and decide if it is a place you want to go. Hannah and I will be at all of them. Come dance with us!

You may like bands other than the Jonas Brothers. Follow the fan sites. Follow the band on twitter. Ask information about the free activites. And maybe you will find other bands to fall in love with the way we have fallen for Honor Society and The Wonder Girls.

As I watch the meteoric rise this summer, I know that next year, I will be waving to Honor Society from the 3rd tier of a venue. I will remember the close connection of shaking their hands, the hugs, and the up close conversations. My life is richer for cheering them on and supporting them as they reach for their dream. They are living it this summer and it is adding to our memories of the summer tour of 2009.

On our way to Houston today. Big, fun day. Verizon store to see Honor Society. Jonas Brothers show this evening. Full Moon Crazy at 11pm.

Concert 22-Pittsburgh, PA. An Epiphany

Thanks to Christine Hammond for sponsoring the blog today. (Love ya!)

For more information on sponsoring a blog, go to www.livealifeworthcelebrating.com

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July 25, 2009

Concert 22-Pittsburgh, PA. An Epiphany



Hannah slept for the first two hours of the car ride. She spent the night at the DaGrava’s, our family friends. It was good for her to have time with Katie and with Karen, my friend and Katie’s Mom. But, she was tired.

I was all revved up with ideas of how to generate money to continue the journey. As Hannah slept, my mind was thinking and dreaming. I kept reminding myself that I had enough money for the next five days and to focus on that for now. Who to call, what action to take and when…lots and lots of ideas.

When Hannah woke up, I asked if she wanted to hear some of my ideas. First, I talked with her about vlogging, a video blog. When we were in Tulsa, we talked with a videographer for 90 minutes or so and it had been really fun to share some of the stories with him. We had laughed and reminisced and he had stayed with us for a lot longer than he originally thought he would.

As I discussed this with Hannah, she had a different opinion and we ended up arguing. I was so mad, I was ready to turn around and go back to Baltimore. When I look back at it with fresh eyes this morning, I feel the tension that was in the car with us yesterday. Both of us wanted to continue the journey, but we didn’t have the crystal ball that would give us the answers!

We worked through it over the next hour and for now, we are going to move forward and each do our own vlog. Stay tuned. I have a funny store about the Honor Society, an Oprah campaign and my passionate conversation with them about this. I will record and post it in the next few days.

We arrived in Pittsburgh with no tickets and no hope of tickets initially. Concert was sold out. We hung out and waited to see if tickets would be released. I watched the BK Apple Fries employees. There is a managing staff that travels with the tour and then they have different people who work for them at each location. The guy who was working the megaphone had no enthusiasm, no creativity. I went up to him and demonstrated. “Get your free, ice cold, apple fries. They are delicious and healthy and the Jonas Brothers Love them!” I was demonstrating and practically jumping up and down. He told me that he doesn’t like it when the girls scream and went back to talking into the megaphone like a sleep walker. Hopeless. I walked away shaking my head.

After several hours of checking for tickets at the box office, two tickets were released. We wanted to buy the cheapest seats to stretch our money, but these two seats were the most expensive. I hesitated for about an hour. Nothing else was released. Decided to go for it.

I walked over to the Marriott to use the bathroom. (Why don’t the venues have porta-potty’s outside?!? I think that East Rutherford, NJ was the only venue so far that had toilets outside for the people who were hanging out for hours! Okay, back to the story...)

I looked at the churches surrounding the Mellon Arena. You can’t miss them. They are huge and beautiful with angels and other huge statues on top of them. I saw that one of the churches was called Epiphany Catholic Church. With all of the internal thoughts all stirred up within me, I decided to walk into the church and see if I could have an epiphany myself! Epiphany=A Divine Manifestation.

There was a church service beginning. I sat down in the pew and listened to the sermon, sang Amazing Grace with the congregation, shook a few hands to “Peace be with you,” and then left feeling warm and connected. I felt the surrender in my heart. Whatever was to happen would happen. The priest even mentioned the Jonas Brothers and how they are using their gifts to create joy.

It was time to enter the venue. Hannah was already in the seat location and I thought, "well, this is pretty good. I like these seats."

She was in a grumpy mood and I was thinking about how spoiled we have become with some of our seats and seeing so many concerts and on and on. I was judging her reaction and wondering what “wisdom” I should share with her to learn from this situation. I decided to dance and sing and talk with her later.

During the Honor Society opening performance, I kept moving to different seats to take pictures. The usher was bringing people down and I had to keep moving back to my seat. Even though we were very close to one of the stages, the camera location was blocking ¾ of the stage. Hannah and I talked during the break and she wanted to go talk to the box office and complain.

It was in this moment that I had an epiphany. I had been settling for the seats we were given and I was telling myself to be grateful for what I had. Hannah was saying, we paid top dollar for these seats and the cameraman is blocking our view! We went to the box office, explained that we had paid for the most expensive seats and that there was nothing that said that there was an obstruction. Within minutes, we were assigned new seats (even though this was a sold out arena) and the usher led us to our seats. Oh, my word! We were in the third row facing the middle of the stage and were so close that I was looking into the eyes of each of the Jonas Brothers.

Hannah and I danced and danced and sang and sang. We had one of the best nights of the whole tour. I changed my perspective about my daughter this evening. Asking for what you want is not being selfish or ungrateful. She was right. If the tickets had been discounted because of the obstruction, we would have had a great time there. But, to pay as much as a front row seat and not be able to see the stage was wrong!

When we arrived at the hotel tonight, which was free because of points I have accumulated, I checked my e-mail. I am receiving an advance in salary from a consulting job I do on the side. There is enough money to keep going for another few weeks and that gives us time to act on some other things that will take a few weeks to complete. Thanks for the prayers and support.

An Epiphany tonight indeed!