Jonathan Stewart, an aspiring musician, was granted a wish of a lifetime on Monday, November 10th with the co-operation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® and Tooth & Nail Records. Stewart’s wish included spending time with the rock niche label Tooth & Nail Records and attending Underøath’s sold-out concert at Seattle’s Showbox as a VIP guest.

A Make-A-Wish® Day: (Left to Right) Ken Stewart (Jonathan’s father), Jason Hockney, Sue Stewart (Jonathan’s mother), Tyson Paoletti, Annie Crandall, Lori Gerlach, Micah Johnson, Casey Crowell, Jeff Carver, Brandon Ebel, Aaron Gillespie, Scott Carlton, Brandon Day, Spencer Chamberlain, Tim McTague, Jordan Butcher, Chris Dudley, Chad Johnson, Jonathan Stewart (in the front with the black coat and light jeans), Jim Worthen, James Smith, Chris Stewart (Jonathan’s brother), Grant Brandell, Jonathan Dunn. [Click image to enlarge]

Stewart was referred to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® for a wish as he dealt with osteosarcoma, a malignant form of bone cancer. He finally was able to travel from his hometown of Taylor, Michigan to Seattle for his long-awaited wish. Requesting to have Tooth & Nail Records as part of his wish was easy for Stewart.

“I chose Tooth & Nail because they fit my style of music and beliefs, and they produce some of my favourite bands,” he said. “Ultimately, I would like to be signed by them or a company like them.”

His Make-A-Wish day included visiting the label office, touring Compound Studios with producer Aaron Sprinkle (Copeland, MxPx, Hawk Nelson), members of Underøath and Randy Torres of Project 86 as well as hanging with the members of Demon Hunter. As another fun-filled surprise, Stewart was presented custom Underøath soda bottles from Jason Hockney of Jones Soda. Stewart also enjoyed dinner with Underøath and the label.

“We are honoured that John would choose Tooth & Nail and Underøath for his wish,” shares label president Brandon Ebel.  “It was a very special day for our staff and the band.  John and his family are very humble, down to earth people.  He listened to brand new mixes from MxPx, played the video game Rock Band with Underøath, recorded a podcast with myself and The Almost, and was there when Underøath was presented their new box sets.  John and his family will be in our prayers.”

Expounding on being a part of Stewart’s wish, Chris Dudley (keyboards/samples) of Underøath stated, “Hanging out with John was awesome.  We took him on a tour of our record label, then we went to a recording studio and we actually recorded a song with him.  He played guitar, his brother played drums, I sang, Spencer played guitar.  It was one of our favourite days on tour, just because it’s crazy for us to think that someone who is hooked up with Make-A-Wish would have their wish to be able to hang out with us for the day.”

Executives from Cold Stone Creamery, one of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s sponsors, also took part in the wish as part of their 16-city tour visiting various franchises and supporting the foundation’s wish-granting efforts. Stewart and the members of Underøath sampled ice cream on Cold Stone’s tour bus after dinner.

Underøath’s latest release is Lost In The Sound Of Separation, available in regular and deluxe editions. Find out more about the project at the band’s YMZ artist page.

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