the start of something new

2009 is gone. and along with it, a freaking decade! wow. its crazy to think that 10 years ago i was just leaving high school. i hadn’t traveled much, let alone never been out of the country. had no idea what i was going to do with my life, other than hoping to be playing music. and now, looking back over these 10 years i’ve been blessed with experiences i will not soon forget.

before graduating college (after a nice 8 year time span!) i have been fortunate enough to visit japan, south africa, italy, the dominican republic, canada, mexico, almost all 50 states and um…disneyland? i’ve seen many things, heard many stories, and lived many adventures. again i say, i’ve been very blessed.

looking at the tail-end of this decade brings us to here. it brings us to me, owning a camera, photographing bands, telling their stories through photos….who woulda thunk it?!?
i don’t want to point out all the things i’ve accomplished (because then i’d post all the things i DIDN’T accomplish and that list would be way too long). i don’t want to brag about who i know, how fun life is, yada yada yada. i know that i’m fortunate to do what i do. its not every job you wake up stoked to do, let alone one that puts you front and center for some amazing performances.

that being said, i truly want to thank some people for helping close out an amazing decade. these people inspire me, influence me, have opened doors for me, given me breaks, chances, encouragement, challenges, love, rides to the airport, couches to sleep on, good times, and stories i’ll be telling my grand-kids some day. for all this…i am forever grateful.

THANK YOU: my family, amanda,  mxpx (mike, tom, yuri, james, tommy rat, moses, michele), the rocket summer (bryce, tara, seth, tommy, matt, nick, stu, brownie), relient k (ethan, john, jon, matt, matt, derek, tyler, james, travis, scott), tat (tatiana, nick, jake, holli) dizmas (zach, josh, nick, clay, jon, joey), mike shea, norman wonderly, alternative press, james mead, mark hoppus, craig owens, motion city soundtrack, anberlin, bayside, sever your ties, sherwood, lakes, the blanks, dashboard confessional, tumbledown, house of heroes, underoath, the honey trees, ragged jubilee, switchfoot, avner, phinehas, jeff newsom, sarah shreves, andy barron, nicole rork, megan picturetaker, i shot chad, dave hill, bryan sheffield, ryan russell, karey michelle, cameron ingalls, joshua caine, chris phelps, cale glendening, kevin russ, the rhoads’, the auers, these numbers have faces (justin z), to write love on her arms, invisible children, rock for health,  michael schneider, chris youngblood, kristina grossman, alex collins, gabe and goodie 2 sleeves, ephraim clothing, transparent productions, biola university, rock harbor, tooth and nail, island def jam, solid state, josh hernandez, jason frenzel, jonny miller, joe long, koda,  jeremy wells, ping, kelsea olivia, the anthony’s, abbey and alley and all the kind and wonderful people who reach out to me via twitter, facebook, myspace, my blog, emails….

(haha now i know what band guys feel like…i probably forgot someone and they’ll get pissed at me. sorry!)

thank you for caring about what God is doing with my life. it is a humbling experience daily. lets see what 2010 has up its sleeve, and what doors it will open to the next 10 years.
may the Lord bless each of you in your ventures. have the courage to step out into unknown territories. don’t settle for mediocrity.

see you all soon
-j.scott