Kim – Hi Randall! I’m glad I’m finally getting to meet you in person. What’s going on with you? (sneezes) Sorry – my allergies are killing me! I love spring but it doesn’t love me and allergy meds only do so much.
Randall – I’m doing pretty good. I didn’t have to get up early today. I know what you mean about allergies. I’ve had that trouble my whole life … sinus stuff.
Kim – So what’s been going on with you lately? We haven’t talked since Christmas before last.
Randall – Yeah … it’s been a while. In the meantime the big thing that’s been going on has been the new record. We just finished it this year and we released this spring. It’s called War and Peace. We’ve sold a bunch on the web already but we haven’t done a lot media wise on it.
Kim – Now you can’t say that!
Randall – True. I talked to another publication a few minutes ago and now I’m talking to you so I guess the media thing is starting! Last spring I traveled all over the world with the band Caedmon’s Call. We went to India and Ecuador together for the Share the Well record. I wrote about half of the songs on that record. It’s been really well received critically. A couple of the songs that I wrote for them I put on my record too. That was the biggest part of last year – all of that travel. Then coming back into town, writing the songs and being in the studio with them. It was exciting seeing it all come to fruition. Then they put a great tour together and brought some musicians over from India. The album just did really well. The Topeka Kansas Journal, the Dallas Morning News and people like that gave it album of the year. All across the country publications were singing its praises. It was nice, being the main writer on it. Then there’s just living too. I’ve got my wife and two children. My wife travels with me and sings. We just did a couple of shows in Indiana this past weekend.
Kim – What do you do with the kids when you’re on the road?
Randall – We bring them!
Kim – Wow! How old are they?
Randall – They’re two and four.
Kim – A two year old and a four year old on the road … and you survive that?!?
Randall – We do! (laughs) They’re pretty good but this past weekend was kind of hard. My little boy didn’t take a nap. He just screamed a lot on the car ride. But I told my wife that I’d rather have them with me, even with the screaming and no sleep, than be by myself. One I have my family with me and also, she’s a great part of the show. She sings harmony and lead on a couple of tunes.
***Here we talked about kids for a bit and how once they get older, you find yourself getting so excited over little things like the toothpaste lid getting put back on the tube of toothpaste!***
Randall – The other day I came into my bathroom and my son was standing on the sink with my toothbrush in his mouth! Standing up in the mirror … and he said “Daddy’s toothbrush! Tastes good!” He’s the 4-year-old.
Kim – (laughs) At least he wasn’t cleaning the toilet bowl with it!
Randall – (laughs) Yeah – but he might have been doing that before hand. There’s no telling!
Kim – One of my younger girls actually did that with her older brother’s toothbrush.
Randall – I bet he loved that! The things that kids do … man … even stuff like that … you can’t help but thank God for them.
