Today began much cooler, with a hint of rain in the air, and the sky overcast. Hmm. Rain today? I hoped not, with Sarah Masen and Third Day on Main Stage.

This day began the "business" that is Cornerstone for those of us covering the festival, especially this year. We drew up an elaborate schedule to try to include many of the bands appearing on the Label Showcase Stage, and press conferences with the bands appearing on Main, Compassion, and the Encore stages. If the schedule worked out perfectly, there were still things that we would be missing. We decided, though, that the emphasis should be on getting performance shots of as many of the up and coming bands as possible, even if it meant not seeing the whole show, or having to cut short a press conference.

As an example of the schedule, our first stop (after the showers, of course) was at the press tent for the Sarah Masen press conference at 12:30, then to the Label Showcase where we would catch Kosmos Express and Honey, then back to the press tent for the MxPx press conference, then back to the Label Showcase..... And in the midst of all this, Rick was determined to get "liners" from the bands, too.

As an aside, since Rick has taken over the controls of Solid Rock, there have been many changes in the show. The production crew has grown from being Rick, Randy, and myself to include Tad and Kip, as well. The show has established relationships with WAY-FM, the new CCR station in Kalamazoo, and with the Rock, the "coffee-house" showcase on the east side of Kalamazoo. To see that the show is not only surviving my departure, but is growing, is both painful and gratifying. I think that this must be something of a hint of what it will be like to watch Chelsea and Alicia mature and grow, to see them leave the relative safety and security of our home and to venture out into the waiting world.

We got to the press tent in time to catch the last few minutes of the Electrics conference and grab a handful of M&M's. Next up was Adam Again, then Sarah Masen. I sat and listened in on the Q&A session with the members of Adam, while Rick, Kip, and Tad set up the tripod and camera in preparation for Ms. Masen. It was interesting to hear the guys from Adam talk about their experiences from many years in the industry, and as I sat there, I developed more respect for this band.

After Adam Again left, the people in the tent broke into small group conversations while we all awaited the arrival of Sarah. She was scheduled to be there from 12:30 to 1:00, and, with no one scheduled the half-hour following her, I was hoping to get a few minutes of quality conversation with her afterwards. I had brought with me a print-out of the 'zine interview I had written, and I was anxious to hear what the plans were for a new release, etc.

Soon, though, it was 1:00 with no sign of Sarah. I told Rick that it was good that there was no one after her, so she could be late. Then, Terry K., the press coordinator for the festival told us that apparently no one had told Sarah or her management that she had the press conference scheduled. So, they were seeing if they could find her and get her here, or if they could reschedule it. So much for our carefully planned schedule! We waited until the next group, Focal Point, came in for their half-hour, then left for the Label Showcase.

We watched Kosmos Express and Honey, managed to grab liners from Honey at least, and made a thorough tour of the Label Showcase exhibition area. While I was at the exhibition area, I ran into some of the on air personnel from Radio-U (Columbus, OH), and made contact with the VP of Rustproof Records, a label featuring bands from the Columbus area. I told him that I would contact him regarding an interview for the 'zine, and made sure to get his card.

Then we caught All Star United and Plumb on the Label Showcase. Afterward, Rick approached Tiffany Arbuckle of Plumb to ask about an interview (or at least a liner.) This led to another "Cornerstone catch phrase" when Tiffany suddenly got a panicked look on her face and said, "Uh, I ...have to go over there," almost ran out of the tent. Of course, Rick being Rick, took it with good humor. (Rick later told me that he kept wanting to call Tiffany by the name Eve, because the actress who played Marcia Brady was named Eve Plum.)

Later, watching Soulfood 76, Rick pointed out a girl who looked uncannily like Jan Brady. Well, like Jan Brady would look if she was having a really bad day. Now, if we could only find a Cindy Brady look-alike we could play Brady Bunch tic-tac-toe!

It rained off and on all afternoon. Just enough to make things slippery and a little muddy. The rain cleared in time for Main Stage, though.

On Main Stage, Sarah Masen was awesome. She had the full band backing her, and played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. After the show, we stood in line to talk to her, and when I finally got to the front she actually recognized me from the interview in November. Actually, her words were something like, "Hey, I know you! You gave me marbles." (I had given her a couple of marbles, at the suggestion of the re:think PR guy.) Well, still it was nice to know that I made an impression. I gave her a copy of the article, and she promised to read it. Then she told us that she would be staying for part of the festival, with some of her family and friends, and that if we ran into each other, she would like to chat for a while (but off camera, sorry Rick.)

Later, after Third Day and Iona, we stopped by to get some footage of MxPx, and stayed to listen to Havalina Rail Co. Havalina could only be described as Folk-Industrial. Very strange and disturbing combination, though they played a good version of Amazing Grace.

When we got back to camp, the sky was clear again, and Rick pointed out the Milky Way. Looking up and seeing it for the first time, I realized again how amazing God really is.