Australian duo for KING & COUNTRY, featuring brothers Joel and Luke, are the hottest debut to watch this year. They will be posting exclusive blogs leading up to the release of their debut album, “Crave,” on February 28! Here, Joel writes about his journey from apprehension to friendship in New York City.

New York City, New York. 1:30 AM. Twenty-one stories high. Two blocks from Times Square. We had just touched down and gotten to the room after playing four shows in four days (Reading, Penn State, Columbus, Cleveland). You can picture it, Luke, Mod (guitarist) and me rehearsing while fighting sleep. I’m pretty sure that the cajon, harmonium, acoustic, glockenspiel, shaker and tambourine sounds bled through the paper thin walls and made our neighbors miserable. But beyond that, I could sense a sort of weight in myself, a weight of anxiousness and anticipation for the upcoming days of meetings and performances. Lined up and on the books were SiriusXM, LastFM, WEA, TouchTunes and a live audio/video session at Atlantic.

That was earlier. Now, I’m thirty thousand feet in the air, Nashville bound. Daft Punk’s “Tron Legacy” soundtrack keeps me company as I stare out the window reminiscing on the last few days in NYC, and about what to write to you.

To describe the New York trip, I want to share about the day I met “The Horse.” He was standing just outside of Central Park with a trolly attached to his back and patiently waited to haul anyone around town and show them the sites. Unbeknownst to me, Mod snapped these shots as I “introduced” myself…

1. Introduction:

2. Apprehension:

3. Friendship:

I laughed out loud when he showed me these photos. Truth be told, I was a little apprehensive to meet the mammal. And therein lies the reason I chose The Horse to sum up the trip. Because that was the precise procedure I went through leading up/during the NYC visit. I was introduced to the idea of it, which led to apprehension, which, after pushing through, led to friendship. Haha! I know it’s a loose connection, but on this side of the trip I have the full picture of how nonsensical my apprehension was, whether I was meeting someone with two legs or four!

In hindsight, the trip was excellent. I’ve never really spent any amount of time in The Big Apple until now. We stood in Times Square, took a stroll past the Flatiron Building and Central Park and marveled at the ornate architecture of St. Peters’ Cathedral. But beyond the landmarks, we got to visit and sing for people who we have come to find an affinity with. These folks have a love and passion for “the song” and for music. It was awesome.

Sometimes I feel like I approach other circumstances in my life with a certain level of apprehension and often it steals me away from purely and wholly appreciating every day, circumstance and moment.
So here’s a solution: replace Apprehension with Appreciation. Let’s try it! What say you?

joel from for KING & COUNTRY