guseppi

Our job is done here boys, back to the /r/nfl cave.

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!

If you don't like this idea, you're a criminal. PLEASE do this!

First off, sorry for the length, but your music means a lot to me and my family, so thanks for reading if you do - I swear there's questions at the end if you make it that far!

Gentlemen, thanks for doing this, you may or may not know me as "The Guy who always yells 'PLAY HURRICANE!'" at all of your Minnesota shows (seriously, play Hurricane here!) I'll spare you the normal "big fan" type statements and just say that you guys have been a big part of my family's life since my wife and I met. In fact, your album releases from "The Heat" on have come to signal big changes in our lives, whether we want them to or not! Our first true date together, just after The Heat was released, was at (I believe) your first show in Minneapolis at Club 3 Degrees, we met you guys afterwards, got our discs signed, and were completely hooked from that point on. We got married in '08 (with NTB a-plenty playing at the reception), then about 3 months after Outsiders release, my son was born, who had been serenaded to "Something Beautiful" while he was waiting to join the world and to this day still perks up when he hears the song. Reckoning brought us our daughter, which is ironic because it contains the song "Slumber" and she still, even now, doesn't sleep well. That of course brings us to Wasteland, and sadly the good tidings brought with the other 3 albums didn't continue as we just found out that my wife's mother has stage 3 ovarian cancer. I will say though guys, that so many of the songs (specifically "Rise Again" and "The Heart", and "More Heart, Less Attack") have helped us through this tough time, and I've made "Rise Again" our family's theme song through this all, it really uplifts the spirits and keeps us pressing forward.

From listening to Bear's track comments on Spotify on the new record, I know you guys just wanted to stop letting things go to your heads and just get back to doing what you love most, making music, but I hope you don't forget in the process just how profound an effect your tunes have on people's lives, as has been the case with me in a very big way. Thank you for that. So anyway, this is an AMA, so yeah... questions:

• Do you guys still keep in touch with Joe? How's he doing, what's he up to these days?
• On my version of "Girl Named Tennessee" @ about the 0:49 mark, almost right on top of the lyric "She's got the prettiest shoes" I swear I hear the "T-mobile jingle" in the recording in the background. Am I just hearing things, or did someone's phone going off in the background make it past post-production? My friends and I would love to finally close the book on this one!
• Have you guys ever thought about doing a Christmas album? Your version of "Go Tell It On the Mountain" is such an amazing rendition that's always part of my holiday playlists and I'm itchin' to hear some more NTB Christmas.
• Along the same lines of the last question - any considerations for an "unplugged" album? The encore unplugged songs at your shows are seriously my favorite part and I'd love to have a whole official LP of the stuff.
• Favorite outdoor venue to play? Favorite indoor venue to play?
• Last but not least (can't let myself down after all): will you play "Hurricane" at the upcoming 6/12 Minneapolis show? I'll ask again there anyway, just to make sure you heard me ;)

Thanks again guys, keep doing what you're doing - I can't get enough! Safe travels on the rest of your tour.

Any chance you guys do any more "secret shows" like you did back in '11? Or was that just a product of touring with Taylor Swift?