¡Saludos de México!

We played for 80,000 peeps at a festival @ Estadio Azteca in Mexico on Wednesday. That's slightly more people than citizens of Rhode Island.

HOLA!
I'm currently writing to you in the dark from my hotel in Mexico City. I'm not sure why but the power keeps going out throughout the entire hotel. Last night Jack and I were inches away from getting on the elevator when we experienced our first blackout. My father actually suggested i bring a flashlight with me and i laughed at him. Now it's dark and i'm scared and alone.
Playing for 80,000 people was really no big deal. It was just like playing for one of your friends in your backyard...and then inviting 79,999 other people who don't understand what you're saying. We've been playing more concerts around here throughout the week. I just wish i paid more attention in Spanish class:
Hola hermosa chica. Me llamo Gregorio. Juego la guitarra como un león violento. En América yo soy un rey. ¿Querría usted comer cereal conmigo?
We spent last week in London and I did all sorts of obvious touristy stuff (pictured) but the highlight for sure was seeing Abbey Road Studios as well as the famous street crossing. Other activities included: (1) eating a cheeseburger with ham, pineapple, and egg on it. (2) paying way too much for everything...the dollar is worthless over there. (3) hearing "JONAS" chanted by fans with proper British accents.
One other observation about London; there are fauxhawks everywhere. from infants to old men. i don't get it either.
Only 5,000 pounds to call home!

Large Ben

Buckingham Palace. Our tour guide said there are 78 bathrooms in there...someone has a digestive problem.

April 10, 2008
London, UK

That's Just the Way We Roll
SOS
Just Friends
Goodnight and Goodbye
Hello Beautiful
Australia
Shelf
Take A Breath
Games
Take On Me
Still In Love
Burnin' Up
Look Me in the Eyes
Hold On
------
SOS (again)

Summertime

Fri 04/18/08 Distrito Federal, MEX Vive Cuervo Salon

Sat 05/10/08 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Sat 05/17/08 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center

Mon 05/26/08 Glasgow, UK Carling Academy Glasgow

Tue 05/27/08 Glasgow, UK Carling Academy Glasgow

Thu 05/29/08 Manchester, UK Manchester Evening News Arena

Fri 05/30/08 Birmingham, UK The NEC Arena

Sat 05/31/08 Cardiff, UK Cardiff International Arena

Sun 06/01/08 Plymouth, UK Plymouth Pavilions

Tue 06/03/08 Bournemouth, UK Bournemouth International Centre

Wed 06/04/08 London, UK O2 Arena

Fri 06/06/08 Dublin, IRE RDS Arena

Sat 06/07/08 Belfast, UK Odyssey Arena

Mon 06/09/08 Luxembourg, LUX Rockhal

Tue 06/10/08 Paris, FRA Zenith Paris

Thu 06/12/08 Bolzano, ITA Palaonda

Fri 06/13/08 Assago, ITA DatchForum

Tue 06/17/08 Munich, GER Zenith

Wed 06/18/08 Dusseldorf, GER Philipshalle

Fri 06/20/08 Amsterdam, NET Heineken Music Hall

Sat 06/21/08 Brussels, BEL Forest National

Sun 06/22/08 Mannheim, GER Rosengarten Amusensaal

Mon 06/23/08 Dresden, GER Junge Garde

Tue 06/24/08 Berlin, GER Columbiahalle

Thu 06/26/08 Frederiksberg, DEN KB Hallen

Sat 06/28/08 Stockholm, SWE Annexet

Fri 07/04/08 Toronto, ON The Molson Amphitheatre

Sat 07/05/08 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre

Sun 07/06/08 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheater

Tue 07/08/08 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center

Wed 07/09/08 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Centre

Fri 07/11/08 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion

Sat 07/12/08 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Tue 07/15/08 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

Wed 07/16/08 Marysville, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre

Thu 07/17/08 Concord, CA Sleep Train Pavilion At Concord

Sat 07/19/08 Englewood, CO Coors Amphitheatre

Mon 07/21/08 Omaha, NE Qwest Center Omaha

Tue 07/22/08 Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amph. St. Louis

Wed 07/23/08 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center

Fri 07/25/08 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium

Sat 07/26/08 Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center

Mon 07/28/08 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center

Tue 07/29/08 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Wed 07/30/08 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion

Fri 08/01/08 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain

Sat 08/02/08 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Thu 08/07/08 Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center For The Perf. Arts

Fri 08/08/08 Wantagh, NY Nikon At Jones Beach Theater

Sun 08/10/08 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Mon 08/11/08 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Thu 08/14/08 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center For The Arts

Fri 08/15/08 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

Sat 08/16/08 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center

Mon 08/18/08 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion At Stone Ridge

Tue 08/19/08 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater

Wed 08/20/08 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre

Fri 08/22/08 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center

Sat 08/23/08 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena

Sun 08/24/08 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Tue 08/26/08 Burgettstown, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion

Wed 08/27/08 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center

Fri 08/29/08 Syracuse, NY New York State Fair Grandstand

Sat 08/30/08 Allentown, PA The Great Allentown Fair

Sun 08/31/08 Essex Junction, VT Champlain Valley Exposition

1

Being home this past week has been the perfect vacation after 6 months of touring to refresh myself not only physically, but spiritually also. I got to play bass in church with my sister, who is a drummer, and my father, who is a percussionist. Afterwards we drove to Pennsylvania (yuck...take that john taylor) to meet our newest addition to the family, Gracie, and celebrate her first birthday. She was left at an orphanage in China when she was only one day old. My uncle and aunt flew out there 6 weeks ago to bring her home. She's a tremendous blessing in all of our lives and a reminder of just how great God is.
I'm a proud cousin, so excuse me while i indulge myself and show off a couple pictures. The photos were taken by my cousin Nikki who i just realized is an extremely talented photographer (i think she just realized it too.)

is she peeing on me?


i took this last one with my phone. notice the awesome pink ladybug cake.

Sorry for the miscommunication

I'm not a huge fan of iChat. i guess you could say i'm old school; i like to hear the other person when i talk to them. iChat is usually just an application reserved for old men preying on naive young boys and girls, but every once in a while, it brings together two complete strangers for magical moments like these. At approx. 6:30pm yesterday i got a random instant message from a screen name i've never seen before. Apparently there was an awesome party monday night somewhere in america. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, but the conversation is all true. i want to be friends with this kid for real. he sounds like totally stoked on life, bro.

some kid i dont know (6:31:08 PM): STEVEEE.
some kid i dont know (6:31:14 PM): DUDE HOW SICK WAS THE PARTY LAST NIGHT!?
this is greg not steve (6:31:46 PM): it was totally sick bro
some kid i dont know (6:31:57 PM): DUDE.
this is greg not steve (6:32:03 PM): did you hook up with that girl you were talking to?
some kid i dont know (6:32:11 PM): ohmygod.
some kid i dont know (6:32:11 PM): dude yes.
some kid i dont know (6:32:14 PM): she was crazy.
this is greg not steve (6:32:23 PM): what happened?
some kid i dont know (6:32:26 PM): we only made out
some kid i dont know (6:32:32 PM): i ended up dropping her off
some kid i dont know (6:32:35 PM): she was a horrible kisser.
this is greg not steve (6:32:43 PM): ah that sucks
some kid i dont know (6:32:48 PM): yeaaah.
some kid i dont know (6:32:56 PM): what about you and Tracey?
this is greg not steve (6:33:06 PM): next time dude
some kid i dont know (6:33:16 PM): ahh.
some kid i dont know (6:33:27 PM): are you going to Jason's saturday?
this is greg not steve (6:33:34 PM): yea i'll be there
this is greg not steve (6:33:42 PM): what do you think about tracey anyway?
some kid i dont know (6:33:51 PM): eh, she's pretty cool.
some kid i dont know (6:33:59 PM): i heard about all the drama between her and kelly.
this is greg not steve (6:34:32 PM): yeah, look i cant do this anymore. i dont know you man. i think you got the wrong screen name. but i'm glad at least one of us made out with a girl last night
some kid i dont know (6:35:00 PM): oh dude.
some kid i dont know (6:35:01 PM): sorry.
some kid i dont know (6:35:03 PM): bahaha.
some kid i dont know (6:35:06 PM): yeah thats pretty great.
some kid i dont know (6:35:11 PM): later.

i guess if there's a moral to this story it'd be that the internet is a scary place to hang out so be careful with how you use it. ...and that tracey is, eh, pretty cool.

ah crap, the new panic album is actually kinda good

i'm embarrassed to say this, but i am enjoying listening to the new Panic at the Disco album, "Pretty. Odd." which came out last week. They were the band i loved to hate; bad music and bad makeup to go with it. but now i find myself driving around alone listening to the new album screaming, "why do you have to be so good?!?! agghhh!" after nearly running over a hobo, i realized the reason it's so good is because it blatantly rips-off the beatles' "sgt. peppers" album. it's worth noting for those of you keeping score that "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" is also widely accepted as the greatest album of all-time. the beatles were such a phenomenal band, that even mediocre bands who mimic their style 41 years later will still sound awesome. For teenagers on a steady diet of fall out boy, this will likely be their first introduction to a psychedelic influence in pop music. I hope this somehow begins a musical journey for these kids which ultimately leads to discovering the works of the fab four. "Pretty. Odd." isn't about Panic at the disco - it's a testament to how great the Beatles still are.

unfortunately this record is listenable from start to finish, which is exactly what i keep doing. i really really didn't want this to happen. but it did. cheers to you panic at the disco. well done.

everybody rips-off everybody; they just happened to rip-off the best. smart move.

Spotlight on: Joel F.

Hey blog fans!

There is a special person I work with i want you to meet named Joel. He is seeking moderate fame and therefore requested a blog entry all about him. I met this magical, mythical man roughly 74 days ago at burbank airport. Some unfortunate older lady had gotten "confused" and somehow wondered onto the runway. Joel, being the dashing nice guy with a hero-complex that he is, ran out before TSA could even get in their golf carts and rescued the poor woman from danger, just as a plane was about to land. From there, Joel has been nothing short of amazing.
The more time we spent together, the more i got to know the Joel behind the goatee. He was born on a Naval ship docked in Chile and due to his infant facial hair, was misplaced with a pack of wolves. These wolves cared for him and taught him lifelong lessons in friendship, judo, and economics. Seeking a change as a teenager, Joel moved across the world and spent countless moons working as a sherpa at K2 before finally being called up to the big leagues over at Everest. During one fateful expedition with Virgin CEO Richard Branson, the two were overcome by an avalanche without warning. Upon realization that Branson's satellite phone was out of batteries, Joel yelled at the top of his lungs and shook the entire mountain with a decibel level so loud it would rival teenage girls who attend jonas brothers concerts. A wandering pack of snow dogs heard Joel's distress call and ran him and Branson to safety. As a courtesy, Branson offered Joel 20 yachts and half-ownership of his multi-billion dollar company. But Joel, being the modest and kind-hearted man that he is, graciously declined and simply settled for a "good-time hug." He did, however take the 20 yachts. ...and a box of cigars. Vowing to never climb again, Joel searched for a new job that would enable him to travel and satisfy his deep love for pop-rock music. This search ultimately led to the Jonas Brothers, where he was hired as Production Manager and widely loved by everyone he works with. The tradition of "good-time hugs" quickly spread and before you could say "Joel please stop hugging me" everyone was spreading the good-time love with hugs.
Now ladies, i know what you're thinking...this man is perfect, but knowing my luck he's probably married...i bring good news to you! He is available and looking! He'll protect you, he'll keep your secrets, he'll be your best friend. And he'll hug you with a warming of the soul like you've never experienced or will experience in your life.

think about it,
greg

Sweet Home New Jersey

I'm home for 10 ENTIRE DAYS - and thus marks the longest consecutive amount of time I've been home in over 6 months. It's nice to be home but I barely recognize the house i grew up in. since i've been gone my parents completely renovated half of our house. I'm beginning to feel more familiarity with hotel rooms at this point (not a good thing) so this trip home is the perfect amount of time to recharge my batteries and for my parents to remember they have a son and see what he looks like.

Since the Hannah Montana tour began in October, I haven't really looked back and reflected on all that's happened save for a few quick blog entries. It's not something i like to do on a regular basis, but it's also important to see how far you've come and reminisce good times on tour. As i unpack my bedroom full of luggage i'm finding photos and other relics that bring back moments i'd forgotten about from the past 6 months. I'm grateful and very blessed by God to get to travel with so many great people. I'm happy to be home but within a few days I'll be anxious to get back out again. But for now...i stay in bed and eat cereal.