Unhinged Christian
Welcome to Unhinged Christian Podcast, where we dive deep into the stories and perspectives that challenge conventional religious thought. Join me, Caleb Parker, your host and fellow seeker, as we embark on a journey to explore spirituality, faith, and humanity from a refreshingly open-minded perspective.
In each episode, I sit down with guests from diverse backgrounds and walks of life. From artists to activists, scientists to philosophers, we engage in candid conversations that transcend the boundaries of traditional Christian discourse. Together, we unravel the complexities of belief, doubt, and the human experience in the context of modern society.
Whether you identify as a devout believer, a skeptic, or something in between, Unhinged Christian offers a space for exploration and discovery. No topic is off-limits as we challenge assumptions, confront taboos, and embrace the richness of our shared humanity.
Join us as we navigate the intersections of faith, doubt, and everything in between. Tune in to Unhinged Christian and open your mind to a new dimension of spiritual inquiry.
Unhinged Christian
017: Behind the Music and Beyond the Rhythm. With STIXX
Imagine hitting the road with nothing but your instrument and a heart full of songs, ready to embrace every encore and every new city like an old friend. That's the musical odyssey Stixx and I share in our latest jam session of a podcast, where the melodies of touring life play a sweet background score to stories of homesickness, the warmth of Miami gigs, and the unmistakable joy of live performances. From the balmy Florida backdrop to the soundproof booth, we discuss how the right pair of headphones can turn a recording session from work into pure magic, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the harmony between artist and technology.
Now, picture the savory delights of roadside diners and the hidden gems of local cuisine that turn a tour into a gastronomic adventure. Stixx and I swap tales of Florida's Latino good landscape, savoring the memories of flavors as diverse as the venues we've played. We don't just stop at the palate-pleasing anecdotes; the conversation spins a track through the versatile life of musicians who moonlight as DJs for weddings, bringing rhythm to those special days and nights beyond the concert hall. It's a candid look at the multifaceted life behind the mic—where creativity and culture collide in the most deliciously unexpected ways.
But every artist's journey has its roots, and ours are no exception. In heartfelt tones, we trace the paths that led us to the stage, from early drum beats to the embrace of faith through music. Reflecting on those pivotal moments when we first realized the power of a melody to touch souls, we celebrate the mentors and moments that shaped our careers. This podcast isn't just a series of notes and anecdotes—it's a symphony of experiences that resonate with the shared beats of our lives, inviting you to find your rhythm alongside ours. Join stixx and me as we unpack the crescendors edicated to the art of soun
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You don't have to wear the headphones if you don't want to. I like to wear them, just because it makes it feel more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can hear. Can we hear ourselves?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can hear yourselves. You can hear me better.
Speaker 2:Even better than real life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for me it just makes it more. It's like it gets really awkward when you don't wear them for some reason. Every time I don't know why I've done it without headphones and it's just like really hard. Yeah, and let me know if that's a good volume you could turn it down a little bit. How's that?
Speaker 2:That's good, all right, and let me know when the mic's all set. Yeah, bro, you got a little fuzzy thing right here.
Speaker 1:Is it gone?
Speaker 2:All right, my boy.
Speaker 1:All right, here we go. What's up Marvin? What's up marvin? What's up bro, how you doing good, you good man, it's awesome it's been a minute, bro.
Speaker 2:It has been a minute yeah, too long.
Speaker 1:It's probably been like what? Two years easily yeah yeah probably like two, two and a half and in that two years were you touring at all yeah, in the last two years I feel like I've toured a little bit um.
Speaker 2:I've been focusing a lot on my artistry side, on my own music like original stuff. But I've toured a lot usually in the summers that's usually when I'm most busy on the road yeah, where all do you go? Man everywhere bro across across the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, do you have a particular state you like more?
Speaker 2:I think my favorite state to go to like to tour is is has probably been florida, bro.
Speaker 1:It's just really this is so nice. I would not expect to be a florida guy.
Speaker 2:I I think I'm honestly not like, I'm not like the type person to be like, oh, I'm trying to live in florida, like you know. Know, I want to move there, like I honestly wouldn't want to live there because of how humid it is. Yeah, it's real bad, it's just. Yeah, it's not it for me, I think. But I definitely like going to visit there. If I could pick a vacation, I'd be there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's nice to visit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, exactly you on like the coast when you would tour. Yeah, so we would hit a lot of like miami or some other islands like even around, but I don't even remember half the names, bro, to be honest with you, because, like the first, so like two years ago in the summer, we hit four cities in in florida. You know that was like a good chunk of the, because the tour was probably like 16 dates and we hit four cities, but we had there was one, there was two cities, we had two shows at each, and so it'd be we'd be in florida for a good week, week and a half bro yeah.
Speaker 1:Do you ever miss home when you're out there, or is it too much?
Speaker 2:fun man. I miss home sometimes, bro, but sometimes I don't, you know what I mean. Yeah yeah, especially, especially when you're in in a city like that, when you're in miami or you're in like somewhere that's super nice. Yeah, the food is amazing, right, the vibe is amazing, like food.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, what kind of food they got in florida, bro, all latinos, all the latinos, I feel like, live in florida. So you got all the latino food, like the puerto rican, the cuban, the mexican food. You got everything, bro. Everything. It makes sense to me because you know all the all the islands live are like, so close to florida so you know they're, they just yeah, that makes sense to me. They just pull up in a boat. Hey, I'm here.
Speaker 1:No, I just can't. I bet the food's good. I just didn't never thought about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would be all it's super good, bro, super good. So anytime I'm in Florida, I I tried to well, I make this a habit across the board when I'm on tour, but especially when I'm in Florida, my focus is always to go to, like all of the, the local joints.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean rather than like a chain or something right, yeah, those are always better. Heck, yeah, you got to go to the local places.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, bro.
Speaker 1:And so then, when you're not on tour, you're just making your music.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when I'm not on tour, man, I like to work on my own music. I also do, you know, work on stuff for other people. Some of my clients right now are independent artists. Some are smaller, some are bigger, bigger, different genres, but there are maybe like two or three that are, um, you know, signed, signed artists. But yeah, aside of working for their stuff, I'm doing my own thing, man, working on my music, writing, producing. Sometimes I might just be writing stuff or making stuff just for fun and you never know what comes out of it, right, I'm not always intentionally, oh, I've been there in the studio and how it goes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly you know what I mean. Yeah, so that's, that's usually what I'm doing. You know when I'm home and then I dj. You know, a lot of people don't know I dj, but I didn't know you dj yeah, were you djing back when we were all hanging out, or? That would have been a little later, I think, when I started to really to really do it, do it for real.
Speaker 1:When I bought the turntables, I bought the board, oh you got your own, I got my whole setup, so you're an independent DJ. Yeah, yeah, dude. Yeah, man, that's sweet.
Speaker 2:What do you do? Weddings? Half of my stuff are actual shows with some of the artists I work with. So the reason why I started DJing right was because I mean, for a lot of these, especially hip-hop, r&b and Latin artists, I would DJ for, I mean I would drum for, so that's what I was known for.
Speaker 1:I remember those days.
Speaker 2:I would mainly do that right, play drums. But there came a point where it was there'd be shows or dates where we could go to and they could bring me and they could afford it. But it wouldn't make sense to bring a whole drum kit, because you know how it is with that too. I can't.
Speaker 1:Just I don't come in a case with a guitar and I just unpack it and, oh, I know it's a whole car.
Speaker 2:It's a whole car easily so so you know, I would. What ended up happening was, yeah, we realized that like, look, there's some shows and some dates. I can't come if I'm just gonna drum. So I'm like, well, I've always, you know, seen people, you know dj, that also play drums, or dj that play guitar, or I've seen that across the board. I don't I don't know why, but I've seen that and that kind of inspired me a little bit. And on top of that, because I produce music, it felt, it felt like it would be natural to be able to sync, you know, like genres and and scratch them or, like you know, fade them. You know what I mean because I know tempo.
Speaker 2:Well, because I play drums yeah I started incorporating that into my shows man, and and it was like it was super fun. One and then two.
Speaker 2:I think the artists that I worked with were like oh, dude, like you should keep doing this and you know, get better and keep, because they found value in it right, and I also found value in it myself, aside of it being fun and just another thing to know which is crucial in the music industry. Yeah, man, so that's kind of how I started djing and then I did shows first, but then I started taking on weddings because I I met, you know, a lot of people on the road and they're like, hey, you know, do you, do you know any djs that would dj my wedding?
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, I just I could do it. You know what I mean, so I got into that and that's a whole nother game. But it's if you know what, what to do, and you just learn the ropes like you're straight you're good.
Speaker 1:Do you have your own sound system too that you bring when you dj?
Speaker 2:uh, so I partially have a sound system. It is it's not like a full decked out one with you know, I don't have a mixed board, I don't. I have like the cables and I have like two speakers, but I don't have like the sub, like. So if it's a big enough wedding, let's say, like you know, it's a I don't know 250, right?
Speaker 2:yeah I wouldn't be able to use my, my setup, especially if it's outdoor, because it just it would. It would work, but it just wouldn't push as much as I need to. So what I've done is, um, just rent. There's a I have a good friend of mine that has actually a shop here in granville, here in michigan. It's called pro audio and they're super super dope man like really good company down to earth. They always hook me up. So, yeah, that's where I go to get my my equipment for the weddings nice.
Speaker 1:And then I have a general idea of what dj djing does when you're do live music shows. But what exactly does that add to a live show?
Speaker 2:yeah, as like, if I'm djing for an artist, what does that add?
Speaker 1:yeah, exactly what are you doing?
Speaker 2:well, so usually what you, what I'm focused on, the most priority for a dj would be to run tracks live, right? Yeah typically, you know, if I come and I'm drumming I I have a computer next to me where I can trigger them and they just run through themselves sometimes I have a pause or whatever, and play, pause, play.
Speaker 2:But with this we'll sometimes create the setup and the the set list in a way where I can fade into them. So I do a lot of the mixing into the songs or if, or I'll feel the moment. You can feel the moment a lot more with djing than than drumming, because with drumming you just have a set set list that you can't touch right because I'm you're already focused drumming over here, right. And with djing you can read the room. You can't touch right Because you're already focused drumming over here, right. And with DJing you can read the room, you can communicate back and forth with the artists and feel, if you know, okay, let's keep going with the same set list we had or let's bring it down a little bit and then come back up, right, you can just feel out the room more. It gives you more of that freedom to be able to do that.
Speaker 2:So if the crowd's getting hype, you can kind of make it a little bit louder, exactly if they're going down a little bit, you can bring it down yep, yep, and that's, that's priority for a dj, like that's their, their main job. But then it's would be like scratching right, like little effects like that, giving that scratch sound you know, of a dj, and then also, like you know, just effects. I like to use a lot of effects too and you?
Speaker 1:you just add that live right.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Oh, that's gotta be fun. Yeah, man, so it's fun.
Speaker 1:Dude, I would be the guy who overdoes it, for sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, trust me bro.
Speaker 1:There's plenty of DJs that overdo it. Yeah, and I going into this.
Speaker 2:I was like yeah, when I go to shows and DJs do that. So like I made that, you know my thing.
Speaker 1:I'm like I'm not gonna. Well, I'm sure playing drums adds to that, because as a drummer you can't overdo it either yeah you've got a, you've got to keep the beat and you can't be doing fills non-stop, because people do that too right right, exactly, yeah, it goes across the board. Yeah, so I'm sure that bleeds over into djing. Yep, so you got the idea of how to do that. Yep, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, because you're you're as a dj, you're playing like actual songs. It's not like I'm a drummer, right, playing the beat, or I'm a guitarist playing, you know rhythm no it's. It's like a whole song, so it's like you gotta know and understand that there's, it does let the song do its job and people will love that, right? Yeah, I think there's a balance. So I've learned a lot, man, from djing over the last few two years, and so it's been been awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man and what got you into, from being a drummer into djing?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think it was just. You know that, bro. Honestly, going from, like I said, like some of those artists were, just, we realized it just made more sense, yeah, you know, to bring a dj out instead of the drummer, which was me too. You know what I mean do you ever do.
Speaker 1:It made more sense no, I can't I can't do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah there's no way but like switch songs, like do one song on drums or dj, you just do one. Yeah, I just do it all on one or the other.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I also do a lot of the the live performance tracks for for artists, if I'm, if I come out as a drummer, so I'm, I'm either doing it as a dj or I'm doing it as a drummer and what about your rap career?
Speaker 1:how's like, what's that been like?
Speaker 2:dude, that's been. It's been great man. It's crazy because I almost feel like the last six months I really haven't. I haven't put out music since November, right, and so I feel like stuff has been. It's weird because I thought it was going a little slower, because I kind of took a little break from it with a lot of stuff life stuff, work stuff, music stuff but just not related to my career, like rap career or artist career, you could say. There was just a lot of stuff going on. So I kind of took a little break from it as I was. I was still working on music on the like, you know, on the side yeah um, but I really wasn't making that known to people.
Speaker 2:A lot of people don't know I have a lot of music ready to go, but it's crazy, though, man, because and I say all that to say though that you know I've had a lot of bookings, bro, come up out of nowhere, just you know, for the artist side of me like a lot of people have asked like for me to come on and, you know, perform, and so it's been crazy because I haven't been promoting that side of you know of sticks per se, you know yeah I've just been promoting the drummer side of me, or the dj side of
Speaker 2:the producer side, because that's mainly the stuff I've been working on right now. But so, yeah, man, I'm really excited though, because, yeah, I got a lot of stuff in the works, a lot of stuff ready to go, um. So, yeah, this summer I'll be dropping some stuff.
Speaker 1:I'm excited about that and when you do rap shows, you do rap shows correct yeah, when you're the one rapping, yeah, yeah. What is that like? Do you have to bring a band with you or do you just bring your whole dj set up and push, play and yeah, go for it.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, that's the nice thing. Man is like there's so many ways to go about it. It all depends on and I'm sure you know this too like the room, it depends on the venue you know, it depends on, uh, what they're trying to look like, what they're looking for.
Speaker 2:That'll all determine, and that's usually that's all determined, like you know beforehand, right when we're talking details and figuring out, um, you know dates and venues and times, and all that's when you know. We, we did, I determine and ask those questions right so I can be guided, like in the right direction, or else I won't know what to come with right, I mean yeah, like uh last.
Speaker 2:What was it? Last november actually, when I released my last song, they it was more of like a show, like a bigger show, and the venue was pretty big and you know. So then I was like okay, since I knew that I was, you know, gonna be performing with a bigger artist, um, I was like, all right, I gotta bring it. So, you know, you know, and it made sense across the board because they were gonna have the right speakers for it, right, the right, they had someone running sound, they had an outputs for a guitar, for they had an output for enough for a band if I wanted. So it just made sense, I brought out my, my drummer, which is funny to say. I got my own drummer, that is being funny being a drummer.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that was interesting navigating through that. And then all guitarists. I just brought a little piece two-piece band and the rest were all tracks, because it is hip-hop or Latin music at the end of the day, and just more track heavy Right, but it's still really dope to bring those, to bring live musicians to, to an addict.
Speaker 1:It just gives it a whole nother vibe yeah, just more energy heck, yeah, bro you got your homies up with you, that's how I feel when I'm playing I wouldn't I mean you. I could probably never do a show with just bass, right, but maybe there's a way I don't know. Yeah, it shouldn't be the first right, but it is fun when you're up with the group and yeah, I don't know, it just brings a different vibe, like you said right right when did you first realize that you could rap?
Speaker 2:oh, that's a good question. I feel like easily, bro, it was like towards the end of my like high school career, I think, okay, yeah, that's when I was like, because I was I would just mess around more more, anything, right.
Speaker 2:I wasn't like trying to be a rapper, right. You know, I wasn't trying to sing, I wasn't trying to do any of that. But I think what like opened my mind to it a little bit was just the fact that you know, music is generational. In my family, my grandpa, my great grandpa, my dad, they all sing, they all play different stuff.
Speaker 1:Well, I, grandpa, my great-grandpa, my dad, they all sing, they all play different stuff, and well I?
Speaker 2:know your dad can play, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know you can get down with it, man, but yeah, man. So I think that's what kind of opened, opened up my mind to that and to that, maybe, possibility. Like I said, I was just doing it for fun, though, right, yeah, I was just, you know, trying different things, and then I think it was, what was it? It was a song called radar.
Speaker 2:It was one of my first ones, not my first one that you wrote that I like wrote, and then then I had a friend in the studio and then he hopped on it because he thought it was good and that kind of sparked a light, like kind of sparked something.
Speaker 1:You know I was like man dude.
Speaker 2:I think I think I should do this, like, give it a shot, and so I dropped, I think two or three like in a year, and I had really good feedback, especially for it being my first like few singles out, and I think that like really made me want to push, push towards it. And I think the other thing, man, was just the fact that on the faith side of stuff, I looked at it as an outlet also to be able to vocally like express, you know, my faith and to reach people like you know, even if it was just to start with friends and family or people that know me, to tell them about my story. It was a way to tell my story but also a way to, yeah, reach people Right and talk to people about my faith, rather than having to do it like one on one. It's kind of a cool thing you can do with music and so you know.
Speaker 2:I looked at it as an outlet to do that which was super dope on top of me loving music, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's perfect yeah perfect combo. Yep, and have you been a believer your whole life.
Speaker 2:No, I was not. What that actually?
Speaker 1:is news to me. I didn't know that. I thought you were.
Speaker 2:No, I wasn't man. I accepted Jesus into my life when I was I would have been 11.
Speaker 1:Okay, so when I was 11.
Speaker 2:So I was young, right, yeah, so it's kind of like one of those, like I wasn't, but it's also I didn't know much Right yeah, because I was too young.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly nobody does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, but yeah, man, that's when I set the jesus into my life, that's when I got baptized as well.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, man nice, yeah, bro, and then you've just been a believer the whole time after that yeah, I would say so.
Speaker 2:I mean we all you know we especially at that age. Ups and downs, especially at that age, bro, yeah, especially when you're, like, you know, 11 or 12, or you're in those early teens, like, and you're jumping into something like this. It's kind of like one of those things like it's expected probably to have some ups and downs, right oh yeah just because of dude like school bro, like school work, like life as a teenager, I mean you trying to fit in?
Speaker 2:trying to fit in or trying, or just trying different new things and different things or whatever Right because your faith, at least for me, it's like the faith my faith isn't established.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so Because I would say I got accepted Jesus around the same time. 10, 11, in those early teens. But because I'm not super rooted, because I'm still a teenager, I think I would try to find happiness and joy in other things. So, I get that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. Yeah, bro, I was in the same boat. Yeah, bro, I think it's just a musician's life.
Speaker 1:It's got to be bro, Because we're in the same same boat. Yeah bro, but I think it's just a musician's, it's gotta be it's gotta be, because we're not the only two that have have done that yeah and so then, so we know the rapper, what happened or how did you get into drumming?
Speaker 2:was that just something you were born coming out of the womb doing man bro, I wish I feel like I'd be in a whole nother like level, bro, you know what I mean. If I was like, if I would have been like one of those like kids that started like super young, like you'll see those videos right like on youtube or whatever on instagram. It'd be like a kid like two years old, three years old, prodigy bro like you're like holy crap.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I get that with the how. Yeah, bro, especially that that one kid that plays bass yeah, I know, I can't think of his name I know, who you're talking about, though, dude. Oh yeah, it's crazy gosh dude.
Speaker 2:I'm like man, where are these kids coming from, bro? Like right, why couldn't I come through from where they came from?
Speaker 1:I always thought you did, though, because at least I'm not gonna say names because I'm not gonna control, but where, where I around, it was like there was nobody who drummed like you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it was just like you were blowing everybody out of the water.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks, man. No, I mean I can't take, you know, I can't say that it wasn't, you know, like something that was there, because I also do believe firmly for sure that it was definitely like a gift from God, bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah do believe firmly for sure that it was definitely like a gift from God, bro, you know, and it wasn't like a coincidence, that it also was generational and that I was like it was. It's a, it's a blessing, and I still think about to this day, like how I was the first generation, in a sense, to take music and and not glorify the world through it anymore, right, and kind of like cancel that generational curse per se, start honoring God through it and using it to actually like cancel that generational curse per se, start honoring god through it and using it to actually like just be a light in the world and not make a bunch of, you know, trash music. Right, that's really doing anything nothing good for people, yeah. So, yeah, bro, with drumming though, I started actually when I was 11 too. So how that happened was I, you know, I accepted Jesus into my life that year, got baptized. So I accepted him in like June, no, january, february. Then I got baptized in the summer, smart.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then in the late fall my dad, which he was the worship director at the church I was at at that at the time, he brought that up. He's like hey, man, like you know I have we got a guitar, a bass and a drum kit. You down to like learn any of these, because you know at that, bro, it was just him yeah, at church. It was just him it was.
Speaker 2:He didn't have a lot of help at that time and it was a super small pentecostal church like spanish pentecostal, and so I took that as an opportunity man, and I'm like, yeah, you'd be super fun, and I've always loved the drums, especially as a younger kid. You every young kid just stared at the drums, bro, because all you hear is noise. You know what I mean? No, but aside of that, though, for real, bro, I, I really wanted to learn drums, and I think that when he brought that up, it was like I was like yes, you know what I mean, definitely like is there anything that made the drum stand out to you other than just the noise?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think, I think, bro, like the rhythm of it, because I feel like the drums really are like the almost, like the heartbeat you could say to the music, in a sense yeah like. They're like the foundation of, of the, the music, no matter what genre. Um, because they give you the rhythm to dance to or to move to, or you know what I mean to bob your head to, and so it's.
Speaker 2:I've always thought that was so cool and I've always just loved the sound of drums. Like, aside of the noise stuff, I genuinely always loved like just the sound right of drums, because you know they all have their own sound. You know what I mean then there's millions. Like I feel like there's so many type but there's so much, so many type of drums really out there, right?
Speaker 2:yeah and so, yeah, man I was, I was like super down. My dad was like okay, my dad wasn't the best at drums, which is funny, that was, I picked the instrument that he wasn't the best at, like he knew it yeah, but he could only teach me like the very basics, bro, that was all about he knew.
Speaker 2:And so when he, you know, brought it up, I was like, okay, I'm done. He was like, all right, well, I only know the basics. So you're gonna have to like either teach yourself or I can find, because he had musician friends right or we could get someone to help. You know, help him out. But nah, bro, it was crazy, because after he taught me the basics, I ended up teaching myself. So I loved going to concerts one, two. I always loved going and watching, just like some of the friends that he played with or jammed with were great, and so I'd go and just shadow them in a sense.
Speaker 1:Some of the drummers.
Speaker 2:Some of the drummers, yeah yeah, and so that was that was where I got a lot of my, my, my, you could say my style of playing was from watching people and also going to concerts, and my style of playing my style of playing really does come from, though, from all the genres I listened to, because, since I was a kid, I loved listening to everything, bro, everything right that's the best way to learn yeah, bro, you can implement all types of genres into your playing dude it's like a one-of-a-kind style.
Speaker 2:One-of-a-kind style bro, it's not this generic.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean yeah, style and so um, yeah, bro, that's, that's really how that came about, how drumming started, and I was pretty much self-taught. Later on down the road I got classes from a few like super dope drummers that I really looked up to and I was like super honored to be able to do that, but it was just like a one day, you know, one-time class opportunity with some of these guys that I grew up listening. But yeah, that was how the drumming came, bro, and I actually after after I left that because I did leave that church at some point me and my dad did we went to. Nothing bad happened, it was just time sometimes time.
Speaker 2:Yeah so, and then you know after that what happened is he started going to another church because he had got married, remarried and and then I started going to Central Westling, which is in Holland Pretty big church, and they had a middle school. You know little like youth group type thing they had, and that's where I started to like play with a band right, and that was when I learned how to play with a clique and, like metronome, learn how to play with a guide and people in your ears.
Speaker 1:Oh, you had to play with the ears, yeah.
Speaker 2:Learned what that was. Yeah, it was crazy, because I even at that little church, but we didn't have that. We played with a wedge, with a monitor. You're right, yeah, we didn't have no click, no guy, nothing like that. So it was. It was definitely new for me. But I'm grateful, man, because because I learned all those things at such a young age, right, that as I grew and learned and played with more people and got more advanced and played with you know, and started playing like bigger stuff, it was like super useful to be able to have that bro. So, yeah, man, that's how that came about. But I didn't start doing shows until I was 16. So when I was 16. So when I was 16 is when I started doing shows.
Speaker 1:So about five years into playing.
Speaker 2:Yep, that's a good, good amount of time, yeah, yeah yeah, man, and it was like small shows, right, but it was still like shows and it was like super exciting, like you know, being a teenager and being able to say I'm doing shows. You know what I mean it was always super cool man.
Speaker 2:It is, and I shout out my boy kivi. He was the one that actually brought me out for the first time. That was the first show I ever played, was with him and it was hip-hop and at that point I I had been actually going to the edge hip-hop church over here in grand rapids you were there for a while.
Speaker 1:I was there for a minute, bro, yeah, okay quite a few years.
Speaker 2:He was really one of the first you know people to bring me in bro, like there and teach me some of the the ropes of the music industry and guided me in the right direction. But yeah, he, you know, wanted, he really loved how I played. I think a lot of them liked how I played and so, and at that young of an age I was like down for whatever right yeah, I was like I don't care, I'm coming.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So, yeah, bro, I started, like you know, playing the shows with him and then everything just built on top of each other, Like it was either I'd meet someone or he'd meet someone, or he'd connect me, or the person I'd meet at a show or a festival or whatever they'd connect me, and then literally do like God started making all these connections for me. And I never had to promote myself. I never like I'd post stuff, right on social media but I never had to promote myself.
Speaker 2:I never like any work. I ever got or any shows or opportunities with music. They never came from myself, they were all from God and that was the craziest part.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, especially when you put in all that practice too. One person sees you playing, they bring you out to a show and it's like you don't know who's going to be there, right, even if it's a small show, yeah, and they see you playing, then it just goes everywhere. Yeah, and then everybody wants you yeah, bro.
Speaker 2:so it was like it's super dope man just to see that and just kind of like just watch it all kind of unfold, right, because I feel like that is what my drumming career has been just like me watching it unfold. Obviously, I put in the work and do my thing as best as I can, but I would never I would be very wrong to say that I got here myself or or I promoted myself, right. Yeah, dude, it was. It was one guy that opened those doors for me, but it was also to the people that believed in me and also already had me working for them that wanted, you know, they would make those connections for me or they'd put my name out there, and a big thing, bro. In my opinion, though, that really goes into being in the music industry, not even as an artist, but also as, especially as an artist, but I think as a musician because we're on that topic is, dude, just being like a good hang, bro, it's super 100.
Speaker 1:You do not want to be the guy that can't hang without people hey, yeah, exactly bro because you got to have the relationship outside of just the music, yeah, otherwise it's not gonna.
Speaker 2:It's not gonna be the same yeah, bro, and I always tell people, like you know, people that are trying to come up and they'll ask me like, how did it, how did you get there? How, what can I do? Or I'm always, I always tell people, bro, like number one advice is just be genuine.
Speaker 2:Just be a genuine, just be you yeah, don't try to pretend don't, yeah, it's not, it's not, it's not gonna work, and there's that saying. There's a saying I feel like in the industry, especially the christian industry, is like real recognizes real, and I think think that goes super far, bro, because I think that even you could even connect that in real life Like real does recognize real. You can tell when someone's trying too hard. You can also tell, though, when someone's being ingenuine. I think that that's crucial in the industry, but, just across the board, you could take that into any industry, and if you're not genuine, you're not a good hang. You're not a good hang, you're not a good laugh, you're not a. You know you can't just like literally hang out and talk and have a normal conversation with someone. It's not gonna work out.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean oh, I know what you mean, yeah so I would have that when I would play. It'd be I'd have drummers that were friends, yeah, and then I would play with drummers that were better for lack of better term than them, but I would play better with the other people because they were actually fun to hang out with. I knew them on a personal level and then I feel like people can feel that when you're playing it too, when you're locking in with, when the bass and drummer are locking in on more than just the beat.
Speaker 1:It's like there's that friendship connection in there too, right, it just gives it a whole better feel.
Speaker 2:I agree, bro, a hundred percent, especially because you and I played before together and it was always a vibe, bro, it was, yeah, it was short-lived, but it was cool, yep, yep. So yeah, no, definitely that's. I think that's what got me to where I am in my drumming career and it's and it's still. I'm still.
Speaker 2:It's funny because I'm still young, like how you know, I'm 24, so it's, it's crazy how much I've done already, where I'm at at 24 and um, just how much more there's left, because there's like way more that I can see ahead. Obviously, that's up to God, but you know a lot of opportunities always coming up when I have some, some bigger stuff in store that that I'm excited about. And I think that, like I said, none of none of those things could have ever happened without God, the people that I work with, the relationships I've built, and just trying my best to be better every day, but also just being genuine. Yeah, you know what I mean. But also just being genuine. Yeah, you know what I mean, bro. Just being real.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know what you mean. I think that's a perfect place to end this episode. Yeah, and what's crazy is you say you're young at 24. Dude, I'm 30 now. That's crazy.
Speaker 2:Isn't that crazy Bro? That's wild bro. I know, hey, you still look wild bro. I know you still look young bro. You look good man, thank you.
Speaker 1:The past couple years, to be honest, I've been taking better care of myself, eating healthy and exercising more. Yeah, Getting them gains.
Speaker 2:Getting them gains, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's something we talk about quite a bit on this podcast, because I have mostly guys come on. It's always. It's always like working out and eating. That's just the thing these days that's funny dude. But anyway, thanks for coming on, man. I thought it was a great conversation. Yeah, bro appreciate you having me yeah definitely have to have you on again sometime, but I know you're a busy guy, so thanks everybody for listening and have a blessed week. Bye, peace.