A December GRD Update (alternately titled "The Big News We Have Been Waiting To Share")

Hello wonderful (and patient) GRD fans!

December has been such a busy month for us...between holiday parties, work commitments, moving to Savannah, and raising children, we cannot believe Christmas is in one week!

What's that you say? Moving to Savannah? Oh, you didn't know?

Yes, it's true. One of the members of our GRD family is moving to Georgia in just a short time.

We'll let him tell you about it in his own words...

Dear GRD Bloggers,
I hope everyone is getting ready for the upcoming holiday season. Is it just me or does it seem like there is too much to do and not enough time to get it all done? This particular season will be especially crazy for me and my family. The reason for this being that, starting in January, I will be starting South University's Physician Assistant program in Savannah, Georgia. This has been something that I have worked hard for over the years and it has finally arrived. The program is a 27 month year round Masters program after which I will be entering the crazy world of practicing medicine (scary!). Unfortunately this comes as bitter sweet news in that I will no longer be able to be the drummer for Grace Reigns Down [or the Shout worship team]. I have been working with this group for the better part of 8 years now, and it is remarkable how much it has grown. I remember the first Shout service that was just Chad on guitar, Jaclyn singing, me on the drums, and about 10 people in the pews. From that it has truly evolved into what it is today. I know that the only reason things have grown so dramatically is that God has a plan for this group. The funny thing is that only He knows what that plan is and the best we can do is follow the path laid before us. The support and love from all the people who have come to our shows, sent us invitations to come worship with them at their home churches, and those that come to Shout have really blessed my time with this group. It is a very hard thing to have to leave the group right now and go off on my own career path. These group members are very dear friends to me and I will miss every single one of them. I always told myself that God blessed me with the talent to drum and what better way to use that gift than to spread the news of His love with as many people as possible. I thank everyone for allowing me to do just that as the best way I knew how. The drumming position has been left into good hands and I am confident that this group will continue to grow and share with people the most important message ever delivered. I cannot say thank you enough to the band for being so supportive of my choices and yet trying to keep me involved through countless bribes. This is God's path for me and I pray that GRD will continue down their own path with the attitude of giving God the glory for using them as messengers of His word.

JD ~ out

We are truly blessed to have had Jason in the band, and we wish him nothing but success for the future. We are so proud of him in so many ways, and yes, we will come up with creative ways to keep him involved with GRD. :-)

Stay tuned as we will soon announce the newest member of the GRD family...

God Is There...and on YouTube, too!

Thanks to our friend, Dave Berry, for putting together this great video for us!

God is There is available on our brand new EP, Grace Reigns Down.

A Big THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to everyone who came out to our CD release party / March of Dimes concert. We had a lot of fun playing for you (and the glow sticks looked AWESOME from the stage!!!)

Your support and words of encouragement mean the world to us. We look forward to seeing you at another concert soon. God bless!!

Drum Roll, Please!

Thanks to everyone who entered our second GRD contest...


We appreciate all your support!


So without further ado...
[by the way, here is Brooklyn sporting our BRAND NEW t-shirt design!]

Congratulations, Jan! See you tonight!

Tonight's The Night!!

Hey guys! Looking forward to seeing you all this evening and enjoying some great music from The Brad Ratledge Band and Grace Reigns Down! Fighting a bit of a cold so I hope I don't squeal any notes up on stage. If I do, I apologize in advance. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day and can't wait until 6:00

A sneak peek...

The CD Release show is just one day away! We hope you are making plans to come see us on Saturday at 6pm!

Now, for the last finishing touches on the artwork...

ONE MORE PRE-SHOW CONTEST!

This contest is for all our fabulous Facebook fans out there!

Visit our Grace Reigns Down Facebook page and leave us a comment on our wall between now and Friday at midnight. Your comment enters you in a contest to win our brand new GRD t-shirt and a copy of our EP album.

As a bonus, if you send someone new over to our page to "like" us and comment on our wall, they will get entered into our contest and YOU will get a bonus entry (but make sure they tell us you sent them over!).

Alright, folks! Good luck, and we hope to see you all at our CD Release Show THIS Saturday at 6pm at First Lutheran Church.

(For Real Now) And the winner is....

Sorry for the delay GRD fans, but we did conduct the t-shirt drawing this afternoon.

Thanks to all of you who became followers (or stayed a follower- ha ha) and left a comment!

We let a very cute crew member do the honors...

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Dee!!! We will give you your t-shirt at the show on Saturday, or if you cannot make it, we will be happy to mail it to Gladys for you.

Didn't win this time? Don't worry, because we will be having a Facebook contest this week...so stay tuned!

One more day...

You have one more day to enter our first ever GRD t-shirt contest! Click here for the rules and enter! Contest ends at midnight Friday night!

Want to see something pretty awesome?

Then check out K-LOVE's Community Calendar. :-) (You'll have to also type in zip code 27410.)

(And don't forget to enter our t-shirt giveaway HERE!)

Exciting Blog Contest!! Win a FREE GRD T-shirt!!

We are excited to announce our first-ever GRD Blog Contest!


Here's what you have to do:

1. Become a Blog Follower. (To do this, just scroll down the righthand column and click "Follow.")

2. Leave a comment on THIS POST about why you love GRD.

3. Do both these things before Friday, November 12th at 11:59pm.



*We'll hold a random drawing on Saturday, November 13th, and announce the winner then!


**The winner will receive a FREE newly designed GRD t-shirt! We'll even mail it to you if you can't make it to the show, so anyone can join in the fun and enter the contest!!! Good luck!

Brad Ratledge Band to Open for GRD!

Hello Guys!

We are excited to announce that Brad Ratledge Band will be opening the show for GRD's CD Release Concert! Brad and his band have played many venues and have a full length album as well.
You can view more about the Brad Ratledge Band on their myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/bradratledgeband

They are guaranteed to rock the house and will be a great start to a wonderful evening on Saturday November 20th. Please come out and support both bands along with the March of Dimes. We are looking forward to seeing all of you there!

Meet the Band: Emily Bump

No, we didn't forget about our 6th band member! And we know once you hear her crisp, melodic vocals, you won't either! Meet Emily Bump, background vocalist for GRD. In addition to lending her voice to our band and First Lutheran Church's morning worship team, Emily is a working mother of 1 (and a half) - Zoe, age 4, and a baby boy, in utero. :-)

This 32 year old Ellenboro, NC native (what? you don't know where that is?) loves gardening and spending time with family and friends. Here's more about Emily in her own words...

How did you start playing with GRD? As a member of First Lutheran Church and a frequent go-er of the Sunday evening Shout service, Luke and I felt led to get more involved in God's ministry. We told Chad and Jaclyn how interested we were in helping them, and here we are, many years, later as part of the Shout team.

Why did you start playing with GRD? As one of the other band members mentioned earlier, it evolved from the Shout service and a little jam session at our favorite Church Retreat Center in Arden, North Carolina. Playing music with friends, laughing out loud, and saying "Hey, one day we could be spreading God's word doing what we love."

Favorite food: What do you mean favorite? I have to choose one? LOL

Favorite band/singer: I love "ALL" types of music. Two of my grandfathers played in blue grass bands, my dad sang in a quartet in Church when I was younger, my mom has always been part of the choir, and when my family gets together for the holidays it has always been out favorite past time to sing old gospel hymns and Christmas carols. Besides bluegrass, I love country, rock, alternative, R&B, everything really. Some major favorites are Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alanis Morrisette, Michael Jackson, Pink, Casting Crowns, Third Day, Mercy Me, "Demon Hunter, Love ya Yogi", Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, George Straight, Elvis, Dean Martin, Frank Senatra, etc. My list could go on forever.

Pet Peeve: You mean what is not my pet peeve? I am pregnant, right?

Most interesting place you have ever visited: Concentration camp in Germany

What do you want to be when you "grow up?" I would like to work as an advocate for abused victims. That has been a lifelong dream of mine.

What inspires you? My daughter's open mind and willingness to soak up everything that relates to Jesus/God. She opens my eyes every day.

Favorite vacation spot: Wherever we are headed....beach, mountains, I don't care.

Right or left handed? Right- unless you make me mad... then both.

Most embarrassing moment: Singing in a contest in Atlanta and they started my music in the wrong spot in the wrong key and let's just say, it didn't go very well. I was really young and had memorized my song and notes, so I sang what I knew.

Proudest Moment: The birth of my daughter

Favorite GRD song at the moment: Believe

What makes you smile? My daughter smiling at me and laughing and when she says "Good night, Jesus. I love you."


Well, that wraps up our "Meet the Band" posts! So, now that you know a little bit more about the 6 that make up GRD, come "Meet the Band" in person at our CD Release Show on November 20th!

G.R.D. & M.O.D.: Working Together For Stronger, Healthier Babies

If there are two things that GRD knows how to do well, it's making great music and making great babies.

GRD band members are the proud parents to Brooklyn, Zoe, Callie, Jake, Reagan, and soon-to-be born, Baby Silas. We have been incredibly blessed with perfect, full-term, healthy babies. And we thank God everyday for these small miracles.

1 out of 8 babies, however, is born too soon. That's 13 million preemies born world-wide. And even if these precious gifts survive those first few challenging weeks, they may still face a lifetime of serious effects.

Did you know that November is National Prematurity Awareness month and November 17th is National Prematurity Awareness Day? That's why Grace Reigns Down is proud to announce that we are partnering with March of Dimes for our CD Release Show on November 20th! We are so excited to have this opportunity help raise awareness and financial support for March of Dimes as they work towards their mission of "helping moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies."

Please come out to our show on November 20th at 6pm at First Lutheran Church (3600 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro). You can hear some great music, support two great missions, and I heard rumors that there may even be snacks. :-)

Hello Everyone! Audrey and I just wanted to share our appreciation with you all for your thoughts and prayers with the arrival of our new daughter, Reagan Nichole. She is a shining light in our lives and is ready to add her love to the GRD family. We have been laying low the last couple of days trying to get acclimated to only receiving 2 hours sleep per night, but it is all worth it. I am ready to get back in the saddle and play some music for you all with our upcoming CD Release Concert. There may even be some brand new songs in the mix.
Love you all. God bless!

Meet the Band: Jaclyn Johnson

What does a busy working mother of two children (Brooklyn- 5 and Jake- 1) do when she has a few free moments in her week? Start a band, of course!

How did you start playing with GRD? My husband (lead singer, Chad) and I were leading the Sunday evening worship service at First Lutheran Church. We enjoyed playing together (and really clicked with) the other musicians/worship leaders, so we wanted to try something "more" with our music.

Why do you play with GRD? Not only is it a wonderful way to spread God's word, but it's also a great opportunity to spend time with my husband and some of our best friends.

Pet Peeve? Having two children, I can't really afford to have a lot annoy me. :-) I'm becoming more flexible with age.

Hobbies: blogging, scrapbooking, knitting, playing with my kids

Proudest Moment: Marrying my high school sweetheart and bringing two healthy, beautiful children into this world

Most interesting place ever visited: Germany and Austria (specifically all the spots on The Sound of Music tour)

What do you want to be when you grow up? I am living in the moment and enjoying life as a full-time Membership Manager for the Girl Scouts, as well as being a full-time wife and mom at home.

What inspires you? When people do things solely out of the goodness of their heart, expecting nothing in return

What makes you smile? Brooklyn and Jake can definitely make me smile with their funny faces and crazy noises. And I married a pretty funny guy, too. :-)

Favorite Vacation Spots: Disney World, New York City, anywhere on a Carnival Cruise Ship, and Ocean Isle Beach

Favorite GRD Song of the moment: Lifted

Meet the Band: Jason Diehl

"Nothing has been made more apparent to me in these past few months than the truth that completely relying on God and trusting in His plan is how prayers are answered. God knows what is best for you always and will guide you in the right direction if you let go of the human desire to be in control of everything and let Him work in your life."

What absolutely true words spoken by our right-handed drummer, Jason Diehl! Born in Greensboro, NC in June or December (depending on whether you ask his mom or Facebook), Jason is what keeps GRD young and current! When he's not spending time with his family (mom, dad, brother, sister, 3 aunts, 2 uncles, a dog, and a cat), you may find Jason eating his favorite treat (applesauce), watching movies, playing/coaching soccer, visiting Smith Mountain Lake, or "reading" books on tape.

Here's a little bit more about the man behind the drum kit...

How did you start playing with GRD? It all started with a Confirmation assignment to help get the youth more involved in activities in the church. This lead me to volunteer as a musician in the Sunday night worship service in order to satisfy my "requirements." I guess I just overachieved it.

Why did you start playing with GRD? I really enjoyed drumming for the Shout service and really saw GRD as a different outlet for ministry through music that stretched beyond the walls of the sanctuary.

Favorite band? It really varies from week to week but I steadily enjoy listening to Dave Matthews Band (because I secretly want to be Carter Beauford).

Pet Peeve? I hate it when radio stations coordinate their commercials so that every pre-set station in my car is nothing but commercials and no music.

Most interesting place you have ever visited? China was definitely an experience.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I am trying to avoid adulthood at all costs.

What inspires you? Seeing people letting go of their fears and achieving something great

Most Embarrassing Moment? During my graduate school interview, my stomach kept growling at every possible silence.

Proudest Moment? Graduating from Elon University

What makes you smile? Others smiling

Favorite GRD Song of the Moment? Surround Me

Let us introduce you to...

Reagan Nichole Clendenin was born at 2:18pm this afternoon at 6 pounds 13 ounces. Mom, Dad, and Baby are all doing great, and proud daddy, Brandon, allowed us to share this precious picture of this precious baby girl.

Congratulations, Clendenin family! We love you and are so happy that Reagan is here!

We interrupt meeting the band...

...to bring you some exciting news!

Brandon is currently at the hospital awaiting the birth of his second baby girl.

We'll update when we know more!

Praying for you and Audrey, B!

Meet the Band: Chad Johnson

Meet the man behind that killer voice!

Chad Johnson is a 33 year old husband to Jaclyn (GRD vocalist) and father to Brooklyn (5 1/2) and Jake (1). Though he has lived in Greensboro his whole life, he loves to vacation- especially to the beach and New York City! Around Greensboro, you may find this right-handed acoustic guitarist playing with his kids, playing a round of golf, or meeting friends for a "big nasty cheeseburger!"

Listening to other Christian artists inspires Chad, and favorite artists include the Robbie Seay Band, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns.

Here is a few more tidbits about Chad in his own words...

How did you start playing with GRD? I joined the band in the very beginning after playing together at our Sunday evening services called "Shout."

Why do you love playing with GRD? I have a passion to share with people the word of God and playing with GRD is the best outlet for that.

What is your pet peeve? Dealing with my own "uptightness"

What do you want to be when you grow up? Christian singer

Most embarassing moment? In college, I stepped out of a jeep front-first, and my jeans got caught on the Jeep's door, hanging me from the Jeep while students walked by on their way to class.

Proudest Moment? My college graduation; Seeing both of my kids' births

Favorite GRD song at the moment? Believe

What makes you smile? My kids

Meet the Band: Luke Bump

Who is a steak and burger eating, Nirvana music playing, beach loving lead guitarist? It's Luke Bump, lead (electric) guitarist for GRD!

This 34 year old, right-handed Ohio native grew up in a rather large family- he has 2 brothers and 3 sisters! Now, Luke is husband to Emily (GRD vocalist) and father to Zoe (4) , soon-to-be-born baby boy, and brand new puppy, Jack.


Luke tells you more about himself below...

How did you start playing with GRD? I was playing music with the Shout! team- just a couple of acoustic guitars at first.

Why did you start playing in the band, GRD? I was already playing with Shout! and then we all kind of stumbled into this band. Grace Reigns Down was a CD title at first. Somewhere along the way, we decided to make that our band name. I thought that I was being called to witness more and my tool for witnessing is this band. I love every minute we're jammin' for Jesus!!

Pet peeve? Empty dirty cups left in the car!! For days sometimes!

Hobbies (other than GRD): Playing music any place, any time. I also like graphic art.

Most interesting place you have ever visited: Jamaica. It was crazy to see the difference between rich and poor down there. It was very eye opening.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A musician.

What inspires you? Music. Also people who are very strong in their faith.

Most embarrassing moment? Probably jamming 1/3 of "Blessed Be Your Name" WITHOUT the capo at a concert for the church. I was standing there thinking . . . . . . . . something sounds really awful!! It was me . . . . . . . . .oopps.

Proudest Moment: When my daughter was born (and soon to be here son's birth)

Favorite GRD song at the moment: "Believe" - which is so new it's not on the EP. As far as songs on the CD, I really like "Teach Me." I actually really like them ALL!

What makes you smile? Hearing my daughter or wife laugh uncontrollably.

Anything else you want to add? Just to ask that everyone pray for Grace Reigns Down and ask God to use us according to His will. Pray that we will have the opportunity to spread the name of Jesus and His love everywhere we can. To make sure that it's all about God. Thanks so much!

Thanks, Luke!

Come see Luke LIVE in concert at our CD Release Concert on Saturday, November 20th at 6:00pm at First Lutheran Church (3600 West Friendly Avenue, Greensboro).

Meet the Band: Brandon Clendenin

For those of you who have barely heard of GRD, you probably are interested in knowing a bit more about the members behind the music. But even if you see us every week, I bet you will learn something new through these new posts not-so-uniquely titled, Meet the Band!

Today's post focuses on our favorite bass player (and yours!)...Brandon Clendenin!

Brandon is a thirty year old husband to Audrey and father of 2 girls- Callie (2) and Reagan (birth coming VERY soon!). Born and raised in Greensboro, NC, Brandon currently has a strange addiction to Wheat Thins and aversion to the cello. This right-handed man loves visiting Aruba and Chicago (in the summer) and listening to the Robbie Seay Band and Incubus.

Here is more about Brandon in his own words...

How did you start playing with GRD? I began attending the Shout evening service at FLC about 5 years ago when Luke and Emily invited my wife and I to visit the church. We fell in love with the connection we felt at FLC. Shortly after, Chad and Luke asked if I would be willing to play the bass at the Shout service. It was a good fit and we all played very well together. A couple of years later we were all at an FLC retreat. We were jamming one evening in an upstairs fellowship hall and came up with the idea to start writing our own original music. We have been writing and playing together ever since.

Why do you love playing with GRD? I felt a further calling to take the chemistry we already had together as musicians and utilize our talents by spreading God's word.

Any Hobbies (other than GRD)? What else is there besides GRD??!!

Most interesting place you have ever visited: McIver Education Center. I have never been to a more humbling and gratifying place. The kids are wonderful and the memories hold a special place in my heart.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A better man

What inspires you? The love and patience of my wife

Most embarrassing moment? In retrospect...The way I proposed to my wife. Classy!

Proudest Moment? The birth of my daughters

Favorite GRD song at the moment? Grace Reigns Down

What makes you smile? My girls...and pumpkin pie...but mainly my girls...and when the Tarheels / Panthers win

GRD sings for hunger!

Hey GRD fans! Sorry we have been absent lately from the blog. Busy times right now, both musically and personally. We've had a few small shows the past few weeks, but our biggest show of the year is always the Greensboro CropWalk for Hunger. We played for a crowd of several hundred last weekend, and the day was just overall fabulous! Here are some shots from last Sunday's show thanks to our friend, Lauren!

Upcoming Show THIS Saturday!

Come check us out for the first (or the twelfth!) time THIS Saturday as we kick off the Crop Walk kick off at Christ United Methodist Church on Holden Road in Greensboro! Show starts at 1pm, and we are playing for about 45 minutes. There are other musicians playing after us, so you could even make a whole afternoon out of it (or just come and see US for 45 minutes!) :-). And did we mention...it's FREE!!!

it's real now!

A mastered CD in hand....crazy!!

Mastering the EP in Charlotte is complete!!

Hey GRD fans! I wanted to update everyone and let you all know that we now have a mastered EP! The process was quite interesting. We got to Charlotte around 10:00am yesterday morning, and were headed home around 2:30pm. With a brighter, more polished sound, we are now ready to complete our artwork and submit the EP to discmakers for duplication. It will not be long now. David Harris, owner of Studio B Mastering, was the one that completed the mastering for us. He has worked with countless artists over the last 20 years, and has a well established mastering studio. It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. To hear GRD's music being blasted in that room gave me chills. Awesome!

we are getting mastered!

Hey GRD fans,
I just talked to Chad, and he and Sean (our volunteer manager!) are currently sitting in Studio B Mastering working on our EP. We are so excited to share our music with you- our fans- and hopefully others who will soon become "GRanDS!" Grands? Get it? GRD-Fans....ehhhh....we'll come up with something great to call you! :-)

Chad will check in tomorrow and let you know how things went!

Thanks for all your continued support!

Thanks to Alan Howell at StarPath Images for the wonderful pictures he did for GRD!
I have been involved in two separate band shoots with Alan and he always does a phenomenal job. He is easy to work with and helps guide you in the right direction to get that perfect shot. We had a lot of fun that morning.

GRD Pics

We had some fabulous pictures taken by Alan Howell in downtown Greensboro a few weeks ago.
Here are some of our favorites!

Album Mix is Finished!!!

What's up GRD fans!! Luke and I finished up the EP mix yesterday morning in the studio, and it is now ready to go to mastering! To date, this is our best work no doubt. This EP will include Fly, Lifted, Teach Me, Grace Reigns Down, God Is There, and Surround Me. Thanks so much to our contributing writers for their inspiration filled lyrics that make our song writing just that much more rewarding. Our next scheduled show will be the Crop Walk for Hunger kickoff event in Downtown Greensboro on August 28th. Show starts at 1:00pm! This is not one to miss!!

I had a lot of fun at Victory Junction Gang Camp! It is a wonderful place to visit and an even better place to play music for. I hope we get to go back again sometime soon!

thank you, victory junction!

We had a great show last night at Victory Junction Gang Camp playing for all the camp staff and campers at their annual summer NASCarnival. What a great facility that provides the ultimate camp experience for special kids with health care needs! Thank you, Victory Junction, for the opportunity to share His Message through our music. We hope to come back and play for you again real soon! (A special thanks to our "runner," Tori, who kept us well hydrated and even brought us a special cotton candy treat!)



And thank you, Lord, for the great weather....it was looking a bit iffy, but the evening turned out to be dry and clear and, dare I say it, even a bit comfortable temp-wise.


We're really excited about getting this blog up and running, so we can keep everyone updated on the comings and goings of GRD. We all have access to making posts now, so I am hoping in the next few weeks, we can let you all know a little bit about ourselves as we all contribute to the blog.

Have a great Wednesday!

practice makes....

...a better band!

It was great to get back into the church last night and practice as a full band! Here are two snippets from rehearsal last night.

a new beginning

We're trying our hand at blogging! Become a follower of this blog and check back often for pics, videos, show information, and updates!

Current Updates:
We're so excited about being in the editing/pre-mastering stage of our new album (yet to be titled). Vote on your favorite album title on the poll to the left!
Tomorrow, we play at Victory Junction Gang Camp's NASCarnival celebration. We're pumped to be playing together again after time off recording the album.