The Fred and Susie team gave their first live stage performance at LIFEST 2012 in July! Follow Fred's photo blog of the event below.
LIFEST 2012 Photos
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Hey, Fred here. I got to go with the Fred and Susie production crew to visit LIFEST 2012 in Oshkosh, Wis., this year. I'd never been to LIFEST, so I was very excited to take it all in! I got to arrive in style in the F&S MINI. I felt like a star!
Our Fred and Susie booth was set up in the KidZone tent. It's the biggest tent I've been in, and it seemed to go on forever! They had craft tables set up at the back of the tent, and you could make all sorts of cool stuff everyday.
Here's David, Fred and Susie's producer. While it may look like he's trying to look cool and working hard to set up the Fred and Susie booth, he's actually looking for his glasses, which he thought he forgot at home. Fortunately, I found them in the car later!
Production coordinator Ingrid couldn't get the Fred and Susie craft table in action fast enough. We brought our fish project along with us on this trip, and kids had a great time making their own colorful fish puppets.
Here's Chris, the lead puppeteer on the show. Today, however, he's the lead fish cutter. We'd brought some extra fish puppet sheets with us, and it's a good thing we did. The kids were making them as fast as we could cut them out!
The fish table was a busy place. Here Chris now takes a turn helping fans make fish puppets while David is off cutting out more. Fred and Susie fans made more than 60 fish in the first 2 hours we were there!
This fan and her mom are both making fish puppets. In addition to our fish craft project, we had coloring pages, puzzles, and a good supply of crayons available. Our craft table was busy all day long!
As with every show, we gave away some great Fred and Susie prizes. Just fill out your name and phone number and you could be a winner! We also had bookmarks, stickers, and F&S information booklets for parents who wanted to know more about our show!
Some old friends stopped by the booth to hang out for a bit, including Swen, shown posing for Ingrid and the camera, and his brother Dean. They are have their own musical comedy act, and they were on stage several times during LIFEST.
Swen and Dean are brothers, and they also happen to be pastors. Here they are on stage doing their morning show. The F&S production crew met them last year, and because we all do music, comedy, and family-friendly fun, we hit it off great!
It's not a Fred and Susie event without bouncy houses. I just loved the giant giraffe. Unfortunately, because I'm a dog, I wasn't allowed to go for a jump or two. (I think they were worried that my claws might puncture the floor and deflate the giraffe.) It would have been fun to try though!
After being at the booth all morning, I decided to walk around and see some of the sites. I wandered over to the main stage for a bit where all the big acts play at night.
The stage was huge. I'd love it if Fred and Susie got to play on a stage that big someday! Since it was early afternoon, some of that evening's acts were doing their sound checks, so I hung out to listen for a bit.
Matthew West was doing his warmup set while I was there, and he was rock'n! Even though it was a sound check, this guy gave a wonderful performance. And, he even waved to me after I snapped this picture. It would be great to have him on our show someday! He seems like a nice guy.
Not wanting to miss a chance to experience all of LIFEST, I stopped by the food midway. There were a lot of things to try, but I found what I was after in short order - the corn dog stand! Yum!
Once I returned to our booth in the KidZone, I decided to walk around for a bit, shake a few paws, and meet some of the fans. Besides, I was on stage in a bit, and I needed to keep my nerves under control. TV work is easy compared to live performance!
As it turns out, I was able to help out the KidZone people too. They had a pair of celebrities from "another show" lined up for a photo op that day at 2, but the guys failed to show up – they didn't even call! Needless to say I was willing to help out and keep the kids happy. It was a great time!
Here's the poster for our show. As the clock pushed closer to stage time, I was getting really nervous. With television, you can take as many tries as you need to get the line right, but not with a live show. If you make a mistake, everyone knows about it! I was a bit worried.
An hour before showtime, Susie arrived at the KidZone. It was a great relief to see here because I really didn't want to have to do the whole thing by myself! Here we are posing in front of the KidZone sign.
At 3:15, we hit the stage, nerves and all. It was an historic event – the first-ever Fred and Susie Live stage show. As you can see, our show was well attended, and kids and families loved us.
Susie is a true professional. You'd have never known if she was worried or not. She had her lines down cold, and she was great at getting the kids involved in our songs. That's why I love working with her!
Me on the other hand, I did just fine. Once we'd sung the opening song, I just sort of settled into it. I did blow a couple of lines in one of the later tunes, but it just made the song a little funnier than it already is. It was a great feeling to be up on stage singing and laughing!
After it was over, I couldn't believe all the kids and families that wanted to talk. I go a lot of great hugs, and I have no idea how many Facebook pages my picture will wind up on.
Since we'd talked about favorite things in the show, many of the fans wanted to tell me their favorite things. I had a lot of fun meeting everyone, and I was sorry it was over so quickly.
Here's a photo of me and Susie, as well as with Chris, the head puppeteer. Chris was kind enough to act as my handler during the event, but I didn't really need him around. The kids were all very polite. I had a great time at LIFEST 2012. Maybe next year Matthew West can use me in his act!
Fred and Susie had a great time at LIFEST in Oshkosh, Wis., on Thursday, July 12. LIFEST is one of the biggest Christian Rock Festivals in the Midwest, and the Fred and Susie production team was in the Kid's Zone tent with crafts, giveaways, and info. The event also featured the very first Fred and Susie live show, with enough laughs and songs to make everyone happy. Thanks to all who stopped by to chat! We hope to be there again next year!


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