Mental and physical damage is expected when you lock eyes with your passion. Nothing in this world has ever come easy and in the springtime of 2016, the largest task I’ve ever faced would meet me and walk me to the exit sign of the world. 

March 9, 2016 Jacksonville, FL. We had been on tour with our friends in Saving Abel and as most know or most will soon learn Shallow Side has never been the ‘take it easy’ type of group. We’ve lived, loved, lost and found ourselves in the hardest of ways. This day, in particular, came on an off day on the beach where the sun and Knob Creek would become my own worst enemy. 

Well, let me back up, first off, I’m my own worst enemy. Secondly, I know my weaknesses and exploit myself for mine and others gratification. 

With the weather in perfection and the drinks heavily flowing I found myself searching for a familiar face as I crossed bars and streets. Then, all of a sudden I came to. In the puddle of blood my face was laying in I could hear Heath saying ‘Boat, hey man! Look at me, can you hear me!?’ 

I opened an eye to see the blood dripping from my nose and ear. Blackout. The second time I opened my eyes I was in a hospital emergency room.

It seemed exactly like a movie because the second I came to in the first emergency room I zoned in on the phrase ‘swelling, and trauma unit stat. Bam! Blackout. A third time I woke up in the ambulance as they are trying to keep me awake explaining I’ve had a severe skull fracture and brain hemorrhage. The only words I could muster up were, ‘am I going to make it’. Reading the room is a talent I have. Far greater than any other ability I’ve been blessed with and that night, the silence needed no talent. It said everything without words. They had no clue. 

They’d scan my cat a few times more and continue to wake me in trauma 1 as other patients came in. Limbs missing and blood-curdling screams would ring out as if the nightmare had become all of our realities. The humans that work in first response are more than the rest of us and that’s a fact. \

After two days in the ICU I walked out of the hospital on my own and made my way home to Nashville where I’d spend another month terrified of doors, sharp objects, countertops as well as the ever-daunting question would I be able to perform again. Touring as much as we have I’ve been lucky enough to meet some real heroes that went through some extremely difficult situations in the military. A lot with similar injuries. TBI was my diagnosis and I found comfort with combat heroes who would explain things will be different for a bit but you’ll find yourself again. 

I went through that difficult couple of months with extreme headaches and flashbacks that made sleep impossible and conversations difficult to follow. Continuing to push through we hit the road again and I never revisited the situation until we hit the studio with Elvis Baskette. The riff was there the chords progression screamed triumph and I felt it was my duty to explain in song that life will inevitably take us all. What will we do with the time that’s allowed? Strip down, fully exposed balls to the wall. That’s the only way to make things work. Pure and wholeheartedly, because when it’s all said and done this will all have made no difference unless you start sounding off your own alarm!

Listen here!

   Happy Monday y'all! First off, I would like to give my condolences to the families of the horrendous church shooting in Texas, killing 26 and wounding over 20 more. These senseless acts are becoming far too reoccurring and to say that it is shameful is an underestimate! Like many Americans, I grew up in church, and the fear of someone coming through the doors and opening fire on an innocent, unsuspecting crowd of church-goers was never a thought that crossed my mind. I'm sure these people were the same and it is beyond words that it was the reality of the situation. 

     I can't even really begin to wrap my head around what causes someone to want to open fire on a crowd of people. Nothing mattered at all to this guy, male, female, pregnant, children, he only wanted to kill, and I just cannot find the point to where you even start to try to understand why or any kind of reasoning. The fact that he didn't turn the gun on himself and he actually made an attempt to escape leads me to believe that he probably had intent to do more harm than he accomplished and those guys that went in hot pursuit are heralded, and rightfully so, as heroes. Their pursuit may have saved many more lives and they deserve the highest of rewards for their actions. 

     In my opinion, this is domestic terrorism. Any act such as this is domestic terrorism. Terrorism is not just about a religion. It is tied to that often times, but not always. Many people lost their lives in this act, as the Las Vegas shooting also, and because of this now many Americans have fear of doing something they love or going somewhere because they are afraid of an incident such as this and that is what terrorism is and does. 

     One thing that is certain is that we have too much hate going on and far too much neglect for people who tend to lose their ability to process their emotions. It seems as if this guy is someone who lost his head a while back, but where do you draw the line with violent tendencies? I'm not sure on this, but I know we have to start somewhere. It can be a number of things. We have to start making a change in culture at some point, and it takes time to do that, but we can either change it for the better or change it for the worse because it will inevitably change. It's up to us to try to steer which direction it goes. 

     As we all mourn another tragedy across the country, let's all strive to help us step forward as a society. We may not have the ability to prevent an act that happened a thousand miles away, but we can strive to make our own respective communities a little bit better and piece by piece, little by little, that will help make the difference. Love one another, don't hate someone because you don't see eye to eye on something, don't judge someone by their skin color, sex, religion, political affiliation, or anything else that may have been an issue in the past. We don't even have to like everyone, that's normal, but if you want to, you can get along at least, or not wish harm on them. Take care of each other, folks, and I will see y'all soon, if not, sooner!

Hello and happy Monday y'all! I hope everyone's weekend went well. We spent ours in sunny Florida! Everyone else is all excited about fall time and colder weather and the changing of the seasons, not in Florida. It is still warm and sunny there, which is much more of my cup of tea! Today seems like a tour story type of day so that is what I'll do. I'll take you way back, as usual, with this one. It was the middle of summer, we were in Florida, touring around in a suburban, and we didn't have AC, to say that we were severely in need of a shower is severely understated! We were down in the pan handle of Florida and we had the day off so we had been bouncing around and beach hopping all day and we found ourselves in the lovely Panama City. One of the guys had grabbed their shower stuff and found a beachside shower head, made for rinsing off sand from your feet and sandals, not actually for taking a shower, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Not long into what would have been a much needed shower a cop interrupts and, rather rudely, informs him that you can't actually shower there and that it is illegal, so that option was shut down pretty quick. At this time I had braids in my hair in an attempt to transform these braids into dreadlocks over time. After seeing the beachside shower attempt go haywire, I decided to take measures into my own hands, so I grabbed my shower stuff and made my way down to the ocean and decided to take out the braids and wash my hair and bathe in the ocean. After doing so I made my way back to the suburban where the rest of the guys were eyeballing a hotel room that was open. A few minutes later we figured out that the room was vacant, so what do you think we are about to try? You guessed it! We are about to take turns going in this open room and showering and hope we don't get busted. I'm not condoning illegal activities by any means, but when you need a shower as bad as we did, you'll do almost anything to get one, plus we weren't hurting anyone or anything. We ended up successfully completing our shower rotation without interruption, and we felt like brand new men! I'm certain we were just shimmering in the sun and smelling like freedom and excellence after that glorious shower, at least we felt that way. Sometimes when you need something in a desperate way, you will do almost anything to get it, and that was certainly the case on that day. We didn't have money for hotels but we had the swiftness to get what we needed and no harm, no foul. Again, I'm not condoning criminal activities, but I think that was justifiable given how bad we needed a shower and we left them a small tip for using the shower. I think that makes us crafty, not criminals, even though it may not have been perfectly legal. We promise not to stink on this next tour, so come out and hang out with us and let's finish the year in style! Cheers folks!

     Happy Monday folks! I hope everyone has had a great weekend. First off I would like to extend my well wishes to the Favors family, a crucial piece to the Shallow Side operation, and long time friends of ours. Ronda had to have open heart surgery last week, which is always extremely scary and dangerous, but she is recovering like a true champ and gets to go home today. She has a long and tiresome road ahead of her but that woman is tough as nails and I have no doubt in mind that she will be back to as strong as ever in no time!

     Grit is a term that we, southerners, use from time to time, and in this instance I am not referring to a small piece of stone or the breakfast side. It can be defined as a personality trait fueled by motivation to achieve a goal (in short). It is similar to hardiness and resilience, and although it is not a commonly used term across the country, it is still a huge piece to being able to overcome tough times and push forward. In Ronda's case, she has a lot of it and always has, that's why I know she will power through this tough recovery and come out on the other side ready to swing hard as ever!

     It is extremely important to have these characteristics to get through the tough times. Every situation is different, though, so there is no formula except to do the best you can and try to learn from the things you can do better at. A year ago today I was faced with a situation where I had to use said "grit" to push forward as well. My situation was not even in the ball park of what she is going through, so I'm not comparing it as her recovery is much worse than mine was, but I must admit that mine was not walk in the park.

     Doing physical therapy is something that always is a challenge, especially after a surgery. It is crucial in recovery though, because if you want to get function back in the affected area then you have to use it and find your limits and push those limits which is usually a painful and uncomfortable process. In my case, it was day to day, twice a day. If I could make at least a little progress every single day then I was on the right track to getting back to playing drums, where I belong. It was one of the most painful things I've endured in order to do that, but the old saying "no pain, no gain" was the epitome of what I had to do to get back healthy, and thankfully I made a full recovery from the shattered collar bone (I just have some internal bling now).

     Grit is something I believe everyone has, you just have to be able to dig deep enough within yourself to use it for better. It is something that is applicable to daily life, not just situations of injury and recovery, I just thought I would share a little about my situation as a year ago, I had to have it to get through. Laying down and giving up will never get you to the other side, no matter the situation, and we must always have our eyes on the road, not in the rear view mirror! Take care of yourselves, folks, and remember to keep the Favors family in mind. See y'all soon out on the road!

   Happy Monday folks! I hope your weekend went well and everyone is safe from the Hurricane on the Gulf Coast. Today I want to use as a little Motivation Monday. I want to share a poem with you by Heartsill Wilson, yet further popularized by the college football legend, former Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Bear was said to have carried this poem around with him everywhere in his wallet and he read it every morning, and often to his players as a way of motivating them to strive for success.  

"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. 

I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important, as I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it. 

I want it to be a gain, not loss, good, not evil, success, not failure, in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it." 

     We are all guilty of dipping our heads from time to time when life is weighing heavy. Those are the days when we could all use a little "pick me up". That varies from person to person on what exactly it is that can be your own catalyst. The moral of the poem rings through, no matter the case, however. Every single day is important because we will never get to relive it. It can be used in a positive way, a negative way, or simply squandered, which is still not a positive direction. With all the chaos going on lately and tragic events that seem to be out of our hands, this can be an extremely useful mindset to have in the pursuit of happiness for ourselves, as well as others. 

     It takes zero talent to put in effort at something. When we started the band we had absolutely zero knowledge of the industry and we were highly questionable from a talent standpoint. We had drive, however. We had determination, we had all the intangibles to go out and pursue a dream that sounded like a fairy tale to some people. Toughness, grit, and persistence helped us get through the many barriers standing in our path. Those barriers are still here, though. They do not just go away according to how far you make it, and we still carry that mindset with us, knowing that we still have countless barriers ahead of us in our career, and in life in general. One thing we have learned is you can't be a victim to your circumstances. It's not always good, and you have to find a way through it. It's not always bad either, and you have to find a way to strive for better even when times are good. 

     Today is a new day. What we do with it is our choice. Let's embrace the day. Let's embrace tomorrow, the day after that, and by the end of the week hopefully our circumstances will be a little bit better due to the fact that we set out to make every individual day better. Opportunity doesn't usually just fall in our lap. Opportunities are normally something that is created, then we have to go seize it. Let's use the day for good, and not squander it, and see how the results are looking in a month from now by having this mentality every single day. See y'all soon and happy motivation Monday!

     Hello and I wish I could say happy Monday, unfortunately that is not the case today. I have been at a loss for words, but I will give it a try anyways and hopefully not make a fool of myself.

     Today is a horrifically tragic day in the pages of American history. I'm sure everyone is aware of the event last night in Las Vegas where a coward opened fire on a crowd of concert-goers and killed around 60 people and wounded hundreds more. I would first like to extend my condolences, thoughts, and prayers to the families of everyone affected by this barbaric action. I hope that justice is properly served and the families may find peace as time goes by dealing with their losses.

     It takes a severely sick individual to have so much hate in your heart that you want to kill strangers and innocent bystanders. These were people just like you and I. All they wanted to do was enjoy some great live music and companionship with their friends. Unfortunately it hits home very hard to the tight-knit music family. I'm also very saddened for everyone involved in the concert's production, the band, the crew, and all the staff that endured this attack while trying to provide people with an event that should have been the exact opposite of the outcome.

     I have heard multiple narratives on the motive of the killers, and setting our differences aside, I chalk it up to a monstrous act of hate. One way or another, hate is what caused this infamous shooting. What makes someone have so much hate in their heart, I am not sure, but we could certainly use a lot less of it in our society. Most people have a sense of compassion, and we grieve the same whether it's a shooting a a gay night club, at a rock show, or at a country show, the above descriptions are irrelevant and we all feel the same sadness regardless of the scenario. The fact that select twisted individuals want to murder innocent people is simply something I just cannot seem to wrap my head around or even attempt to understand.

     I'm not sure what the cure is for situations like this. We are all susceptible to these situations, sadly. We shouldn't live our lives in constant fear, however. It is difficult to shake off an event such as this, but through the whirlwind of different emotions, we still have to find a way to continue the normal daily life. Live it to the fullest and make the most of every opportunity that is created. As we all join hands around the nation, let's remember to love one another. Even though hatred had a drastic impact to so many lives last night, love will conquer and have the final say. May the victims Rest In Peace and the others affected find comfort as time goes by and feel the love from fellow Americans abroad.

 Happy Monday y'all! I hope everyone's weekend was great, I know ours was. Home shows are a lot of fun and this one was no exception! There is a lot of negativity going on in the past couple of days in the media and on social media with the protests and NFL and all that madness, so I would like to take the time to not discuss that, but tell a good ole fashion tour story instead. 

     Once upon a dark and gloomy afternoon in Cincinnati we showed up to this mall to sell CDs, because that was our thing. When we walk in there is this huge playhouse for kids, but after looking around, we realized we were probably the only people in this mall. Naturally, we began causing a riot in the play area, throwing toys at each other, running at warp speed (everyone but Seth, he's slow) and screaming like kids because we were acting like kids after all. After we had enough fun at the play house, we decided to embark on an epic game of hide and seek. This mall was massive and everything was closed and we were the only ones inside so we decided to make an event out of this. 

     After about a half hour of hide and seek we were just getting our legs stretched out and we were getting competitive at this point. I can't recall who was "It" but we decided to all hide in the same spot and then take off running at the same time to see if we could all make it back to base before getting tagged. We counted down and fired out of the gates like an Olympic 100 meter dash, our ears were peeled back, heads down, and we were digging hard for the finish line! We rounded the last turn before home base and was met by a security lady on a Segway and all of us had to dive and hit the ground to avoid plowing her over on her Segway. Obviously she was not happy, nor was she as impressed by our speed, although I beg to differ, we was blazing that trail! 

     She asked us what we were doing in the mall because everything was shut down pretty much and there was not much business to be done in there. We politely told her we are a band from Alabama and we have a show in town tonight so we was trying to promote for that and make some new friends but seen the place was abandoned so we thought we would have a little fun with it. As the conversation went on we finally told her that as we travel the country we always stop at malls and sell our CDs for a couple dollars a piece and that's how we make money to eat during the week because money is really tough and gas is expensive and we are just starting out so we don't make very much money. After a solid hour or so of just talking she said that she was coming to the show later which we would hear often, but people would rarely ever show up. 

     She showed up right on time for doors and even went the extra mile. She brought us a gift card to Olive Garden and some dry goods to snack on and even bought us a round of beer! It's funny how you can start off on the wrong foot with someone and then after you talk a little bit you end up liking one another. I don't think it's necessarily about having something in common, but more about the fact of finding respect for one another. 

     We are all different and like different things, different hobbies, listen to different music, but that doesn't mean you can't get along with someone. There are different types of almost anything you can think of, and it's like that for a reason, we all come from different walks in like and like different things and that's okay.... She said she had never been to a show, but she had a great time and was "definitely different from her normal weekday." Let's all get along and have some respect for one another and disregard all the crazy things happening in the NFL and in the news. Take care and we will see y'all out on the road soon!

     Happy Monday y'all. I hope everyone's weekend went well. We have a home show coming up this weekend and I can't help but think back to when we first started playing shows in our hometown of Cullman, Alabama.

     We have played at many different venues in Cullman, but we started out playing the small side rooms at the Civic Center. We would mainly play to our friends and family starting out, but the more we played, the harder we promoted and our shows grew larger and we moved our shows to a bigger place called the JC Arena. The JC served us well for a while and we had some incredible shows there. We would always make it a point to bring in bands from out of town to introduce new bands to our scene.

     Eventually the shows got to the point of almost being out of control at that venue. It was a dry county, meaning there was no sale of alcohol, but people would show up with coolers full of alcohol and have a tail gate party outside and the cops would show up and rain on their parade and ours as well. We decided that it wasn't worth the risk of getting in trouble with the law and quit having our shows there.

     Now we have moved our shows to the concert hall at the Civic Center, which is newly renovated, and an extraordinary venue. Cullman has been a growing city for the past few years with the sale of Alcohol now being legal. We have a vastly successful festival every summer and restaurants and bars are opening right and left! It is still. We to us, though, to be able to play our hometown and for people to be able to show up and buy beer legally and carry on like everywhere else in America and it is nice to see how things have came together and are set up for a thriving music scene.

     We fully intend on building on what we have and making the rock scene in Cullman a desirable stop for both fans and bands. It has been a long road but has shaped up nicely. The way it keeps building is by getting out to a show and supporting the scene whether it is local, regional, or national acts. I cannot wait for this weekends show and I know we have a lot of people traveling from out of state to be a part of the show. I wish everyone safe travels, no matter the distance to attend the show. Long live Rock N Roll!

 Happy Monday y'all! I hope everyone and their family is safe from the hurricane that is bearing down on Florida and the Gulf Coast, and obviously continue to keep the Houston area in your thoughts and prayers. They still have a long road ahead of them down there and can use all the help and thought they can get, as well as much of Florida. 

     Being on the road for the past 6 years, we have seen most of the country from east to west and top to bottom. We have also been in almost every element there is. We have been in the blistering heat for all of our lives, being from Alabama, but we have also been welcomed into the frigid cold up north, blizzards, tornadoes, dust storms, and even ran from a hybrid hurricane down the east coast. That Hurricane's name was Sandy. I'm sure most of you remember the devastation it brought to the northeast. This particular hurricane was strange because it was also a winter storm, I'd never heard of a hurricane that comes to land spitting out snow and sleet with freezing temperatures plus all the wind behind a hurricane. We were Flirtin' with Disaster. 

     The day before Sandy made land we were in Rhode Island with one more show left in South Carolina. We had to drop the show in SC and carve a path to Alabama as fast as possible, which almost was not fast enough. It was a 25 hour drive, and the only time we could stop was for gas, or we may get stranded in this wintery hurricane, miles from home, which was not something on our agenda necessarily. We drove through snow at first, then ice, sleet and snow mix, and the further south we made it, then it turned to rain. It was a frantic rat race basically. We were driving along side the National Guard and Army fleets, cops and state troopers were prominent on the roads also, and your not so typical everyday fleeing from a hurricane traffic. 

     We are no strangers to the wrath of Mother Nature, we have dealt with tornadoes most of our lives, and in April of 2011 the south seen a slew of tornadoes that were catastrophic on a level much larger than usual, there had not been an outbreak of that magnitude in hundreds of years, and many people lost their life or loved ones and the damage across several states was heart-wrenching. We are familiar with what can happen in times of emergency and know to take as much precaution as possible. Thankfully we were able to make it back to Alabama and out of Hurricane Sandy, but there were thousands of people affected by this storm that were not able to get out. 

     I hope everyone is safe down in Florida and the surrounding areas for Irma, thankfully it has lost steam drastically as it made landfall, but I know that thousand of people are affected by it in one way or another. Thoughts and prayers down to the Gulf Coast. As the old saying goes: It is better to be safe than sorry. That's definitely true when it comes to natural disasters. Stay informed and always make an effort to not be Flirtin' with Disaster.    

     Happy Monday to ya folks! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We surely did, playing two shows in Michigan, one of which was the final Rock show at the Foundry in Jackson. It is always amazing at the support we receive from the great state of Michigan. There are some top notch people in that area of the country and we are privileged to know many of them. It is definitely a nice home away from home.

     The first thing I want to talk about is the horrendous flooding going on down in Houston and the surrounding areas. I have been around to see some devastating events, from 9/11 to Katrina to the tornados in the south in April of 2011 to recent mass shootings, and this event is certainly one to make the history list. Please keep those people in mind as they try to help one another and save lives first off. The property damage will be astronomical, but that can be replaced, so keep them in mind as they try to save as many lives as possible and the fight is far from over in Houston and around the Gulf in general.

     Another topic I would like to chip in about is the Epic boxing match Saturday night. McGregor vs Mayweather was probably the most hyped event ever, at least in recent boxing history. I didn't get to catch the fight Live because we had a show that night so I had other business to attend to, but after we were done for the night I got to sit down and watch the fight. Regardless of who won, or who you wanted to win, it was a great contest and both guys are extreme tough and can definitely take a punch! I was rooting for McGregor, personally, and I thought he fought a great fight and did what no one thought he could do, especially in the early rounds. Mayweather may go down as the greatest ever, but you can be assured he will never forget the fight put up from McGregor.

      I am not a boxing "fan" so to speak. I grew up watching some of the greats with Tyson and Holyfield, Douglas and others and I have always been familiar with Ali, Frazier, Foreman and that whole class as well. I actually looked forward to this fight though, because it had never been done, and was a very intriguing matchup. I think it is good for both sports and now McGregor is almost limitless on what he can do moving forward. One thing you can bet on is he will always be pushing his limits, which is great to see.

     I didn't necessarily intend on turning this into a sports blog today. It just kind of came out of my head that way, so you get what you get (inner chuckle). Maybe it is a lot to do with the kickoff of college football coming up this weekend, as I am a huge Alabama fan and we have a massive opening game on Saturday. Either way, it is good to step out of the norm and talk about different things from time to time. We have some incredible dates coming up soon, so be sure to keep up with everything SS and where we are going to be in the near future. Take care of one another, send prayers for Houston, and Roll Tide.