Even at 28 years of age, I can have a first. Saturday brought a first I'm not sure anyone who knows me would expect. I, Jay Lowe, bought a country music CD.

Now, I know what you are thinking. I live in Nashville. I have to enjoy country music. Well, I've never been a big fan. I can sum up my country music listening in a very brief history:

- 11th Grade, Mt. Tabor High School: Karen and I break up, and I hear the Little Texas song, "What might have been," on the radio. Being an emotional wuss, I go and buy the single on tape.
- 1st year, UGA Grad School: Meghan turns me on to Dixie Chicks. I become immediately impressed with the bodies of the two sisters, and the voice of the ugly chick. I make a copy of their disc, "Wide Open Spaces". "When you were mine" becomes one of my all-time favorite songs.
- Spring 2004, Music City Marathon Concert: Ekhoff gets me a ticket to see Brad Paisley in concert. I only go with the promise of free beer. After a few beers, and several solid songs, I become a fan of the man. He writes his own stuff, he plays the hell out of a guitar and he works the crowd.
- Fall 2004, VU Athletic offices: I add all of Brad Paisley's songs to my ipod, thanks to Brandon's music library.

So as you can tell, I've spent a total of $4 on country music. Yeah, I've seen a ton of country bands here in Nashville, but they all play for free, and I usually go with a large group. So when I heard Paisley had a new album out, I figured it was about time for me to join the masses. A Saturday stroll through Le Targete' found me in the music section. I gave it a once over, skipping all of the random rap CDs. Seriously, how many rappers are there now a days? But I come across Paisley's new CD, "Time Well Wasted". There is no waste here, as the songs are enjoyable, well written and well orchestrated. Paisley isn't always the most serious of song writers, but he comes through with some emotion delivery. The song "Rainin' You" is basically a sappy song about remembering the good times with a former lover. I love it. I suppose I really am a "sap" for love songs. Sorry about the pun. But really, I listened to that song about 10 times the first time it came on the CD player. If you like country music, pick it up. If you don't, make a copy from a friend. Maybe one day you'll step up to the plate like me.

I should give another recommendation to Hootie's new disc, "Looking For Lucky". After a few listens, I don't think it is their strongest effort, but it is growing on me. "Can I see you," "State your peace," and "One love," have become my initial favorites. And hell, they recorded some of the tracks in Nashville, so I have to give them some pub for spending time and recording in the Music City.

Somewhat of a short week for me right now. I leave Wednesday for Winston-Salem, for the Vanderbilt/Wake football game Thursday night and an ARGUS show Saturday evening. If you are in Winston, get your ass to the show! It'll be a blast. We are without a drummer, for the moment, as Donovan will not be in attendance. Erich is working on a back-up plan, but everything will work out well.

Ok, we are about to get bitch smacked by Katrina. These damn hurricanes.

Mixed emotions today. Dad's going to have hip replacement surgery in October. I'm not very excited about that, but I know it'll make his days much less painful. Surgery just freaks me out, and I've never even had any. I know it will be good for him, but I hope the recovery process is simple and quick. I hope it will also light a fire under his butt to take better care of himself. There is no doubt this will be a heavy stress on both mom and dad. Marian and I will be there too, helping mom and dad deal with this as much as we can. It sucks cause we are not there, but I'm hoping to be there for the surgery ... the date is TBD.

The week has been stressful, no doubt. Work is taking its toll ... but I have to learn to deal with it. We are getting closer to our first home game (9/17), so I've got to make sure things are prepared. The staff is helping a great deal this year, which is nice. It eases some stress on my end.

Some good news on this front is that Greg asked me to be a groomsman for his wedding next year, which will take place in Norfolk on May 20th. I'm pretty pumped about that. It is close to my birthday, so it'll be nice to share some time with friends. More importantly, it will be outstanding to see Greg and Sarah share their vows. They are both great people, and I'm honored to be a very small part of such a huge day.

I'll return home next week for the Vandy/Wake game, which takes place next Thursday night. It'll be nice to spend time with family. Mom and dad also got a new dog, Sally. It will be a bit strange to come home to a new dog, but I know the dog brings joy to their lives, so I'm looking forward to meeting her. It isn't hard to enjoy the company of a dog ... unless they are just nuts, like Cali. Ha!

Sis is back at school with some anxiety about her last three months in Greenville. I understand it. She is watching other friends move on with their lives and careers, yet she still feels stuck. In actuality, she is making such headway in her career and this is just a stepping stone. She'll be a step ahead of the game in her job, and that is important these days. It sounds cliché, but the real world comes too fast. You just have to enjoy life as much as you can while you are going through it. Some times it'll be hard, others easy, others painful. But Marian is too much of a good person to let anything keep her down. She'll get over her anxiety and she'll make the best of her last few months in grad school.

Many more meetings to go to the next couple of days ... hope they aren't too long.

This is what it is all about. I'm here in Virginia Beach, VA, enjoying the beach, the friends and the music. Yet another ARGUS show, in a long history of "last shows." Although, I think we've gotten past the "this is our final show" deal. Hell, we know we'll never let it die. As a matter of fact, I hope we are 50 and playing these songs once or twice a year. I love it. I love what it means. I love that we are all honest with each other. Jay, you sound like crap today. Jay, that sounded really sweet. First off, we are friends.

There are 5 of us. Well, really six. Greg, Brian, Erich. That's how it started. Greg actually joined a little later than that first date, August 2, 1997, but who's counting. Since then, we've added Donovan. We've added Michael. Brian bowed out. It has been so much damn fun though, and regardless who is in the band, or who is playing with us that night ... we've had Heath, Ekhoff, a wrestling coach, some dude on horns in Winston ... we make it a blast. You want to have some fun? Come watch your friends play the next time they are in your area. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Yeah, we probably need to write some new songs, but damn ... DAMN the ones we've written are a lot of fun.

And then there are the folks who come to watch us act like clowns. This weekend, it was Karin and Scottie. I haven't seen Karin (or Dub, depending on how well you know her) since Erich's wedding. That was four years ago, yet she drove down from DC just to see her friends, to hear the music, and mostly ... to laugh. Scottie rode with us from Chapel Hill. Everyone should feel sorry for her. We are totally boring, and no fun on car rides.

But there have been others ... Katie and Allison driving from Chapel Hill to Nashville. Demetrius driving from Winston to Athens. The families driving all over God's Earth. Somehow they all keep coming back. That is friendship. That is the shit I live for. I'd rather have friends and family around me than anything else in this world. PITV, ARAB, 40 watt, Blue Sky Court, Studio E, Sanderspoloza ... it doesn't matter. As long as there is a stage, or a front porch, or a cleared out living room with ample power supplies ... we'll be there.

And I do hope we keep playing. Honestly, each one of the guys is way more talented than I am, but I love singing with them. That is why I want to keep it going. Once or twice a year, that's easy, right? Ok, maybe not easy. I mean hell, I'm in Nashville, Greg's in Virginia Beach, Michael in Raleigh, Erich in Winston and then Donovan in Athens. Donovan, who has more talent in his right drum stick then I do in my body. This kid should be drumming for the Stones or something. And he is kicking it with his band in Georgia. They are gonna make it. They should. He deserves it. Yet, this kid still finds time to play with us. Ok, so Virginia Beach is a long drive from Athens. It is, but to me it is so worth it. I hope it was to Donovan.

There are trips I go on where I'll sit back at the end of it and just laugh. I'll laugh about the stupid things I did or the things I saw. I'll laugh just because of the stories that will be told later. And I always laugh hardest with these guys. However, this trip ... at the end o this trip, I'll just sit back and take a deep breath and thank God for friends like this. Brian. Greg. Erich. Michael. Donovan. Karin. Scottie. I'm a lucky jackass, that is a fact.

And while I'm at it, I'll add Sarah to the mix. Sarah, welcome to the crew. As Greg's future wife, you're getting a glimpse of how silly we can be. But you are also seeing how talented that future husband is and how he cares for his friends. He's lucky to have you. We are lucky to have you. It'll be a fun ride ... and hopefully a little less abrasive than those Virginia Beach waves.

Ouch. I'm still diggin sand out of my ears.

Having a roommate that has a girlfriend is awesome. Mookie moved in this past week, and he and Lauren have already cooked me two dinners. This rules. It is about time I got some use out of this enormous kitchen. It really is huge. I don't even know where to begin when I'm in there. And it is really sad, because I'd love to learn how to cook ... I suppose I'm just impatient. Cooking takes preparation, which takes time. And then we're back to this patience thing. So yeah, it's nice having folks in the house who don't mind cooking.

Football is a month away, but we are in the thick of things right now. It's actually now as annoying as last year. I didn't quite understand the art of delegation last year. I'd feel bad about dumping things on my staff if I didn't have my plate full, but I do and they are a huge help this year. It's been one full year with our staff, and I feel like it is working well. We've all been around to support each other. I'm very proud of the way we all have worked together. It makes life a lot easier, and it makes work a bit less stressful.

So this week will be more football prep work, until I leave for Raleigh on Thursday. Erich will be picking me up, and we'll be hanging out with a ton of old friends while taking in a Vertical Horizon concert in downtown Raleigh. We'll crash in town, then Friday morning some of us will drive to Virginia Beach, VA, for the ARGUS show this weekend. I can't wait. It has been too long since we last played ... almost a year, I believe. More importantly, I just look forward to hanging out with my friends.

And we have a special reason to celebrate with one of those friends. Thursday evening, Greg proposed to his lady, Sarah. As the story goes, she said yes. Poor girl. Actually, Greg is one of the most sincere people I know. He's very caring and has always been a good friend. I imagine he and Sarah will be happy for years to come.

Speaking of marriages, today is the one year anniversary of Steve and Katie. Yes, it was only one year ago when I almost fell down the stairs as we walked out from behind the alter and the preacher dropped the ring. Ahh yes, good times.

Off to enjoy some American Dad.