New Year's Eve!

I remember when we were driving in a van on the way to one of our press gigs and our manager asked us if we had any plans for New Years. I remember thinking 'Oh *@!*', that's my anniversary with Mary and she would be so bummed if we weren't together. Then the boss started explaining what the gig was, one song in Times Square for a million plus people.....I was instantly torn between being at home with my family or playing the biggest gig in the world. So then I asked him what are the chances of being able to bring my wife….He said no problem!! and it was on!!!

So three days ago we pull in to NYC to perfect New York weather. We were greeted by a driver holding a sign with our name on it and taken to a hotel 1/2 block from where I would be playing. Talk about perfect! We went and had an incredible dinner at a French restaurant and hit a couple bars but hit the sack early. The next day we woke to a packed Times Square where we were hoping to walk around and shop a bit. But tooooo packed. We ate at Bubba Gumps for the first time and watched the madness unrolling from above. We barely made it across the street in time for rehearsal. The rehearsal was awesome and there were already so many people there. I couldn't imagine it getting any more packed. After that we made it back to the hotel and I tried to meditate for awhile before the show, but the music was soo loud from times square that it was hard to relax. I was so excited. Then the call came.

So we got ready and were escorted to Planet Hollywood, which would be our base camp. The band members were led away and our friends and family were able to watch from Arnolds private theater. When we got to the stage, we were waiting for the band onstage to end.

The crowd was soooo loud, I couldn't even hear the music 30 feet away. My heart began to race when they said it was our turn. We headed up the stairs one at a time and one by one our jaws dropped as we hit the top of the stairs.

1.4 million people!!!!!! focused on us. It went so smoothly, it was like a dream come true. A dream I've been dreaming for 23 years. I saw myself on the jumbo tron while I was playing and I was watching Chris hit every note perfectly. We were all rockin. Directly in front of us were 30 TV cameras and photographers from all around the world to capture the best day of our lives. The song was short and sweet and I was police escorted in time to kiss my wife for our anniversary. Priceless Thanks again to all the Daughtry fans for making that dream come true.

I will never forget that day.

Josh Steely