Latest / Caught on the Mike... / Stephen Christian- Anberlin, Anchor & Braille, Grace Family Church

Transcript

Stephen Christian- Anberlin, Anchor & Braille, Grace Family Church · Caught on the Mike...

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Disclaimer, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Listener discretion is advised.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: Impossible.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: A day late.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: You may have heard one or all of these songs by one of my most favorite fans, Anne Verland.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Printed by my next guest, Steven Princeton.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: Steven just recently took a hiatus and gave his blessing for the band to move forward with a different singer.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: We covered that on Steven's musical journey and Steven talked about what it takes to better yourself in an ever-challenging world.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Steven Christian of Anne Berlin joins me on the podcast today.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mike.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so here is a little bit of an unconventional start to a caught on the mic episode.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to take everybody back in the Wayback Machine, the Time Machine.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: 2005.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: I'm headed down to Kansas City, Missouri to see a concert.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to see Story of the Year, Anne Berlin, and Funeral for a Friend.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: The show was fantastic.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: I was really just kind of familiar with Anne Berlin at the time, but that show made me a fan.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: I tell you without any hesitancy, and I know this is going to sound like a far-fetched story, but this is probably one of the top two fan experiences I've had in my life as both a musician myself and as a music fan.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: We leave the venue, we're walking around Kansas City, and who do I see standing outside?
2:17
SPEAKER_00: It's the lead singer of Anne Berlin, Steven Christian.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: We stand there for about half an hour, 20 minutes, just kind of swapping stories, talking a little bit about where they had been the year prior, uh, things like the Nintendo Fusion Tour, I believe, and some of the other things that they had going on.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: So that moment kind of unlocked a core memory for me.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh six months later, Anne Berlyn is doing a headlining show in my hometown, Omaha, Nebraska.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: It's with Joan Zetta, Emery, and I believe the classic crime.
2:56
SPEAKER_00: And who do I see before the show starts?
3:00
SPEAKER_00: And he kind of points at me, and I kind of point at him, and I doubt he'll even remember this.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: But he remembered me from that night in Kansas City, and that has stuck with me for darn near 20 years.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: An experience that I will never forget.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: And I will tell you that A Day Late and Paperthin Hymn have very, very deep core memories associated with my life and where I was in life at that point in time.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: And I am very proud to welcome Stephen Christian, lead singer of Amberlynn, Anchor of Braille, and pastor at Grace Family Church.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: Stephen, thanks for joining Caught on the mic, man.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, man.
3:46
SPEAKER_01: I thought it means a lot to be here, and I'm looking forward to this conversation.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: And that's uh man, that's a blast of the past.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: Just those shut remember those tours, those shows.
3:55
SPEAKER_01: That was a great time.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: So I'm ecstatic to be here.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: Man, I tell you what, I don't know how I have such photographic memory that I can tell you lineups like that.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm impressed.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: And you should have quizzed me like, who were you touring with?
4:10
SPEAKER_01: And I've been like, oh dude, I'll take some wild stabs in the dart.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: But that's awesome.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: Man, well, thank you for doing the show and making the time out, taking the time out, because I know you're a pretty busy guy.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to take up too much of your afternoon.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: But I I do want to start off by saying thank you for that moment and thank you for all the great artwork over the years.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: It's something that my friends and I still text each other about and say, hey man, I've just listened to the song and I haven't listened to it forever.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: It made me think of you like some of my past bandmates and such.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: And so I really appreciate it, man, for real.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: It's my my pleasure and privilege, man.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I look back those years with the most fondness.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I feel so lucky.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: I feel so blessed to be able to have been a been a part of that, been um just in that the entire that moment, that movement, it was all pretty incredible, man.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: So I look back with the the the the greatest, most fondest of memories.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: So let's kind of talk a little bit about kind of your origin story, how you came into Anne Berlin, and kind of what got you to that point.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: Where did you start as a music fan to becoming a musician yourself?
5:37
SPEAKER_00: And you know, that big bubble that was going on in 2005 and slightly beyond.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, I I didn't grow up with many friends.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: We moved around a lot when I was a kid, 12 cities in 12 years, 12 different schools.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: It was a it was pretty brutal.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: And so for me, music was the escape.
5:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, I would listen to bands like the Smiths, and even though that was kind of beyond my era, I I would look listen back and I really connected with Morrissey, you know, and any of those kind of loners.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: I mean, so Nico from The Underground, you know, Jeff Buckley, just kind of just like these, any, you know, it not the normal vocals or you know, the cure and all this.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: Well, obviously, when then when I heard punk rock, I gravitated to it pretty quickly simply because and I just it felt like it was the summation of who I felt I was, just kind of on the outside, always constantly looking in.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: And so gravitated towards, you know, like the poster behind you, the clash, uh, the rancid, you know, misfits, all of that kind of just propelled me into, you know, kind of the new gen of punk rock, which you know was kind of like the green day, the face-to-face, uh, bands like that.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: So from there, you know, I had a lot of friends, you know, that were heavily involved in music.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: And so I started showing up to shows, local shows at Friar Tux in Winterhaven, Florida, and if we were healing adventurous Lakeland, Florida, you know, listening to bands like Syrup and uh uh you know, a bunch of bands like that.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: So it became a social life for me more than like, oh, I, you know, when I grew up, I want to be a musician.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: It was never like that.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: It was more just kind of like proximity to friendships always included, you know, a show on Friday night or Saturday night.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: So my brother and I would, you know, jump into the car, you know, friends' cars and just kind of go.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: I know uh sometimes we'd head to to Orlando or Tampa if the parents would let us, you know, to go see, to go see shows over there.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of where the whole thing started.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: It was just more out of like proxy to a social life, never like the ultimate dream or goal.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's honestly the roots of it.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: Uh a lot of little clubs uh, you know, in the area that would that would allow for bands like you know, um, you know, like that in that scene, you know, metal or bands or something like that.
7:51
SPEAKER_01: So we became familiar with those people um, you know, that kind of ran the clubs or or or at least put on the shows, the promoters and stuff like that.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: And then so from there, started a punk rock band with with uh Dion Rexroad and Joey Milligan and Nate Young.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: And those, you know, those guys would eventually become form Amberlynn.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: And so in in 2002, 2003, I mean 2002, sorry, and then in 2003, kind of put out our first our first record there with Tooth and Nail in 2003.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: Man, that's amazing.
8:24
SPEAKER_00: The moment where you said you moved around a lot as a kid, I was the same way.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: I was always the new kid in school.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Every two to four years, we were moving around, and it was the same exact thing.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: It was connecting with people through either music or martial arts, and because it was an easy vessel to socialize and find my identity.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you were talking about some of those bands.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: I have this playlist that I created on Spotify where it's called, Yeah, I get it.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: I'm weird.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: And it's like it's got the cure, it's got uh the Smiths, it's got Win in Rome, a band that you guys have covered, Depeche Mode, another band you guys have covered.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: So I love the fact that you and I have this very similar kinship, and maybe that's you know, that kind of bleeds through some of your art sometimes, and maybe that's where people make those correct connections.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: So we talked about 2005, and I think about what I consider the MySpace era of 2005 to 2009, and that genre of music blowing up from the moment that Never Take Friendship Personal blew up to everything that kind of came after, it came really fast, didn't it?
9:44
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, yeah.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: Like just feel like kind of getting onto a raft going just downstream, you know.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: You're just you're just holding on, you know, you're just kind of trying to navigate the waters.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: I think we did good.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think we did very well in some areas, and I think we did horrific in other areas.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it but it you didn't have time to even collect your thoughts, you were just moving down the down the stream.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that was uh that was an era.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: For you, what was the high point of that era?
10:15
SPEAKER_01: Man, so many things.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: I think the the the number one feeling, I mean number one that I walked away that I think the high point was having a place to belong.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think like you just hit it, you said something to the effect of, you know, hey, I think a little bit of the of your your music kind of holds that childhood.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: Right, you know, I always wanted to be in a gang.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, even at 12 and 13 to 14 years old, I thought for sure I was gonna go to West Point Military School.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: Not because I was like super into guns or violence or war, but more because I always wanted that, always missed out.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, even today, like there's a native, uh, there is a native New Zealand dance.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the Haka.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, I'm not even sure if I'm saying it right.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: But if you want me to cry, just let me watch that.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: Because I often that's that encapsulated everything I wanted out of a childhood and just a sense of belonging.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: And I think like that, get at what that period of time, 2004 to 2009, was the most innocent years, you know.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: We, you know, naive years, the most collective we were as a band and as a unit, finally having friends.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: You know, I I have a friend named Murray Byrne, and he once told me, he said, I can't be friends with a man unless he has a little pain in his eyes.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: And I think that I finally found a group of people with pain in their eyes.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm not sure if you could sing some of the lyrics or even enjoy punk rock or Morrissey if you didn't have some sort of uh traumatic experience in your childhood.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: So it just that all kind of culminated into those years.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: And I think the pinnacle being never take friendship personal for me, as far as maybe not the best record, I'm not saying that, but it was the best era of the of any of our records.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, just again, very like just um, you know, exploring the world for the first time, you know, really finding myself, finding my people, all of that kind of culminated around never take friendship personal.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I get that because a lot of the people that I talk to, specifically creatives in general, and having my own creative experience and releasing albums myself, you kind of have this point where it's an inflection point where you know that you're making the art for yourself, and it kind of flips a switch in you internally, and you know, I am doing the this, I am doing the right thing for myself.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of artists get a little further down the line to where they start questioning their sense of sincerity in the art that you're doing and the art that you're putting out.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: And I would imagine with as much as you guys put out in such a short period of time, because I was going through the discography and I'm like, you know, I never really thought about it, but Amberlynn churned out a lot of stuff in a really short window of time that had to have been conflicting from time to time as well.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: Oh, a hundred percent.
13:08
SPEAKER_01: But you what you got to remember that, like again, we never were promised tomorrow.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: We we had no clue if the band was even gonna be or the genre was gonna be or the music.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: And so for us, it was like quick while people still care.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: That was kind of the logic.
13:23
SPEAKER_01: But as far as like lyrically, yeah, I think it was it was definitely taxing, you know.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: I they say you have your entire life to write your first record, and I love that because that is absolutely true.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: But from there, life becomes very much cyclical as far as like you get into the van, you show up to the venue, you unload, you play a show, you get back into the van, you you know what I'm saying?
13:42
SPEAKER_01: Like it just becomes and so or I would say around Never Take Friendship, I'm sorry, sorry, New Surrender.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: I was just like, I was going through a mental chaos because here my record label was saying, Hey, if the if this record fails, it's your fault, Steven.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: So you've got to make sure that this is the best record you've ever put out.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm, you know, part of me was like, Well, I want to, I want to appeal to the masses.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: But then I've said, well, everything that got me here was very very much the opposite.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: And so it was very much a conflicted record all the way through for me.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: And from that point on, I was like starving to uh for for topics of songs.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: I could write you a song about anything, a cup, uh, you know, a you know, uh a two social justice issue.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: I don't care.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: But I need I've gotta I've gotta believe in that topic.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: And so it, you know, as as a band grows and gets older, and not just like ages and like the how old the members are, but like age of the band, like you you have so many experiences, like you're just kind of like looking and dredging for topics.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: And I always told my friends, I was like, Don't tell me too much, man, because you are gonna find yourself in a song because you're gonna just want to stay away at some point.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: Like, don't tell me if you don't want it to end up on a record.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, that is the same exact experience that I had in the last project that I did.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: Churned out two albums, no problem.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Band goes to write the third album, and I'm not even listening to music in the genre that we were playing by that point in time.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, where I was just like a creative desert.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Like, I could I had writer's block in the worst way possible, and I'm sure you're a very similar way.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: I am my own worst critic.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, all the bandmates were like, Man, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, well, it's not good enough for me, it's not making the statement that I want to make.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I totally get that, man.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: Holy cow! Oh man.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: So 2014, you guys take your first hiatus, and one of the things that I really respected about that is you made no secret of the fact that it had to do with stations outside of life in music.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: So going into that first hiatus, where was your mindset?
16:01
SPEAKER_00: And this was shortly after was it after New Surrender that that had happened?
16:08
SPEAKER_01: Um no, it was uh New Surrender came out in 2009.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: So was Lowborn?
16:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Lowborn was our last record that came out in 2014.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: 14, that's right, that's right, that's right.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: It was 2013, and I was playing a show in London, England, and I was, you know, before the show, you know, you could walk around.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's London, you would probably want to go see that.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, we had been a few times, but I'm just sitting there and I'm staring at the ceiling of my hotel room midday, and I'm just thinking to myself, I don't want to be here.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be anywhere remotely here.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: I want to just be home.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: I want to be where my kids are and where my wife is.
16:44
SPEAKER_01: And that's just that was more the impetus to where I just, you know, and that night was the night I just told them.
16:50
SPEAKER_01: I told the guys, I was like, hey, you know, I'm gonna give you one more year of my life, and it would, you know, so I can set you up to win financially.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: But after that, man, I I want to go home.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: And and and it was and it was, you know, it was so hard of a decision because on one hand, I had worked so hard to get to this moment, internationally recognized, major label.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: I mean, go down the list of every dream that some little kid could have had or or thought of, or you know, the wildest dreams, you know, the the money, the success, the notoriety, the fame, the people, the you know, finally had my group.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: I had it all, like all of it.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: And yet the most valuable people, the most valuable cultivating I've ever experienced, I couldn't share any of it with.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: And it just was killing me.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: I mean, um, you know, it was definitely like a wrestling match internally, but it just like, you know, why have the the quantity of life when you didn't have the quality of life?
17:56
SPEAKER_01: You know, to that point, I had missed my grandfather's funeral and weddings and funerals and and graduations and birthdays and my kids' first steps and first words, and all of it was just kind of like, what are we doing this for?
18:09
SPEAKER_01: I I, you know, there was nothing.
18:11
SPEAKER_01: I felt like I had done it all in the music realm.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: There at some point, like it would be, you know, it was becoming my paycheck, but not definitely not my passion.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: My and so I felt like anything after that, as far as like if we had stayed a professional band after 2014, I felt like it was just for show.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: It was just for a paycheck paycheck, and and in no way was there any passion attached to it.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, it would have been just phoning it in, and I think that people see through that, and it just didn't feel like that's where I wanted to be at that moment.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: And so it was tough.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it definitely severed a lot of relationships internally in the band.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, all of them, you know, and but I knew that I was making the right decision long term, you know.
18:58
SPEAKER_01: No offense, Mike.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: We've met more than once, but you're not gonna be there on my deathbed.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: And so I can't, you know, I can't do this for you.
19:06
SPEAKER_01: And it's gotta be what matters most.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: To me, that was obviously my faith that goes, you know, you know, anywhere, but it was for the my family and and my my close friends, that that's what it was all about, you know, and so that's kind of lead that led up to the decision.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: But it was an exhausting, grueling 2014.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, when I when I played the last show at House of Blues, and we could have played a much bigger venue just because it was our last show, but it was very cyclical for me.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: That's kind of where all Abraham all started, was at that House of Blues.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: And so um as I laid there crumpled on the ground, you know, I I I believe that some people in the audience probably was like, wow, what a good show, what a showman.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: But it wasn't, man.
19:49
SPEAKER_01: I was exhausted.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: I was mentally, physically, socially, spiritually, all of it just exhausted.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: And as I lay there crumpled on the floor, I literally, if everybody just was quiet, I probably could have slept for like a solid 12 hours at that moment.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: That's how just gone I was.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, so it was exhausting.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think it was that moment was a culmination of like years just building up to that moment.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Man, that honesty and transparency, I think people more people need to have conversations like this because they're gonna find a lot more commonalities.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: How did your band members take it immediately?
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Because I know when I walked away, it was the same exact reasons.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: I were I was right about to walk into a rehearsal, and it was a guitarist, a bass player, and myself, I was the vocalist, and I sat in the car and I said pretty much exactly almost verbatim what you just told me.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: I was like, it is time for me to give this portion of my life to my family and to my loved ones and re-prioritize everything.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: And the funny thing was, is I looked in the back seat where my bass player was sitting, and it's like the sense of relief just washed over his face.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: And the guitarist who was in the driver's seat, he was like, Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're the one that said it.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: It was like, well, three of us came to the same conclusion, and then we went in and to the rehearsal space and talked to talked to the the drummer and the other guitarist who didn't take it quite as well.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: Right.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: So how did that conversation go for you?
21:32
SPEAKER_01: Not great, you know.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: But I knew that, you know, when I told them, number one, I did have the sense of relief like you're talking about.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: You know, it was just like, you know, telling them the truth.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: But they I think that that a lot of them expected it.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: They just didn't know when.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: You know, it could have been that, you know, it could have been that week or it could have been two years later.
21:50
SPEAKER_01: They just knew that it was coming soon.
21:53
SPEAKER_01: Uh but on top of that, I mean, just sad.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: You know, like the the the fact is we worked this hard, you know.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: So we were 17, 18 years old when we started in this journey.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: And so to leave, like almost like when there was still money on the table and tours being offered and you know, all this stuff.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: And I look at bands like a Taking Back Sunday or Sales Center, all these people that have kind of have kept up kept it going.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: Even Emory has done a great job of kind of rebranding and recalibrating.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: And Bayside is hitting some of the biggest numbers of their career just in the last three years.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: And I just, I, you know, I didn't feel that same way.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: And so I think, and first so a lot of frustration, a lot of heartbreak.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: You know, and I don't think the I'm not sure if the guys would mind me saying this or not.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: That's you know, that's you know, uh, but it's but when we broke up and we played that last show in 14, I don't think I talked to the guys for at least three to four years.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of that was just, you know, number one, um I was I was not great to be on tour with that last year.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't a prima donna, I didn't fight, we didn't yell, there was no yelling.
23:19
SPEAKER_01: I was just emotionally unavailable.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: Like I was just stoic, and uh I showed up on time, I was there, I I I put on what I felt like is the best performance.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: I I mean I definitely every show I gave 110.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: There's no way you could tell me I gave 1% less at any show.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: Um so it wasn't, it wasn't, you know, no one argued, no one fought, but I definitely was like slowly recoiling out of the situation, out of out of uh and so I had to call them, you know, later on in two, I believe it was like 2019 or 18, right around there, um, and and 18, and just say, hey, I need to apologize for that last year.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: You know, I need to apologize for my part of this.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: I could have done better to be your friend, or maybe at least been a uh, you know, a sounding block and or or or you know, I could have been better.
24:08
SPEAKER_01: I could have been emotionally available.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: And um, so I that's on me.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: That but um yeah, they the friendships were absolutely strained.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: And I don't think that they're ever it'll ever be what it was at Never Take Friendship Personal Era, the friendships, but at the end of the day, I had to do what's best for my family, and I'm sure if they were in my predicament, hopefully they would have done the same thing, you know.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh they didn't have kids, uh several were married, so it's really hard to explain children to someone who has never had one.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: You know, you can't say, you know, hey, you know, you empathize, you know, like first words are a big deal, first steps are a big deal.
24:46
SPEAKER_01: I remember we were on the when I had my second child, we were on the road within two weeks, and within two months, she was on the road with me.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: And so that's really hard for a parent to be without their child, you know, and especially the early years and the early days you want to, and um, and I believe I was truly desired.
25:06
SPEAKER_01: I think if I had a superhero power, it's just being an incredible dad.
25:10
SPEAKER_01: You know, that's not to boast as brag, everybody has something, and I just love being a dad, like I love it.
25:16
SPEAKER_01: So that was really, really hard for me.
25:20
SPEAKER_01: And maybe other members are not, that's not their special superhero.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not I'm not judging.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, everybody s says what they're good at, uh, you know, but that's just what I wanted to be, you know, growing up.
25:30
SPEAKER_01: I wanted to be a dad.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: So um that was really tough.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: I I oh my goodness.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh again, it's so many, so many commonalities between the two of us here.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that your sense of strength surrounding your family comes from a combination of moving around as much as you did as a kid and re-establishing new relationships and new towns constantly?
26:07
SPEAKER_00: And a little known fact that not a lot of people know about you, you have a degree in psychology as well, don't you?
26:14
SPEAKER_01: Just an undergrad, which is just basically rote learning.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: I don't do uh outside of like pastoral counts, like I would know what to do in a counseling session.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: So But the the short and skinny is is like from your purview, like being able to prior prioritize that sense of family is probably a lot different than because I'm I'm cut from the same cloth, like I said, than than a lot of other creatives, because they don't look at things that directly or if I'm making sense at all.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: You know, because I know as a as a I'm a I'm a child of divorce as well, so my whole thing with my kids is like I do not want to repeat the same mistakes of my parents.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: So kids are 110% priority number one.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, you know, a lot, I would agree with a lot of that.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: I think when you're a kid, if you grew up very poor, there's that child that says, I will never be poor.
27:15
SPEAKER_01: And if you're from a divorced family, I will never get a divorce.
27:18
SPEAKER_01: And if you're from, and so I have a great relationship with my dad.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: He's like my best friend, you know, you know, one of my best friends.
27:26
SPEAKER_01: We talked almost, you know, twice, three times a week.
27:29
SPEAKER_01: But growing up, I didn't have a dad.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: He was always traveling, he was always gone.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh, so I think that was also one of those thoughts in England when I was there in London, is just going, oh my gosh, I'm my dad.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: I'm saying I'm doing this for because I'm providing.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: That's the word by providing for my family.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: I could provide by taking out the trash and being a trash man or maintenance man or a lawyer.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: There's so many other ways to provide than leaving.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm slowly watching as I'm becoming my dad.
27:57
SPEAKER_01: And so, and that was so as a because as a child, I was just like, I will never leave my kids.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to, you know, I'm gonna prioritize.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: So I think there's just a lot of culminations in that.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, but but definitely, definitely was a kick of, hey, I want to be, you know, as hopefully all parents say, you know, I want to be a better parent to my children than my parents were to me.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of the the the knee-jerk reaction of flipping of just the maybe it's the pendulum.
28:23
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there could have been balance.
28:25
SPEAKER_01: I don't well, I think we tried for balance with an Amberlynn, but it never it never happened.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: We were all in all the time.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't there's no way that band could have said we're gonna tour four months and then not.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I think now if we could go back with the knowledge and know-how of touring now, absolutely we could have solved that riddle.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: If we all had kids, if we all had, you know what I'm saying?
28:52
SPEAKER_01: But you know, we all decided like, hey, look, long term, this is what that, you know, I was always jealous of my friends in Nashville that were, you know, in Christian bands and country bands where they had the weekend warrior stuff.
29:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: You know, they were home Monday morning, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night.
29:06
SPEAKER_01: They left at midnight.
29:07
SPEAKER_01: They were going Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: They were home by midnight on, you know, I'm sorry, you know, like midnight on Monday, you know, Monday morning.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: So, but we we were that was not who Amberlynn was.
29:17
SPEAKER_01: Amberlynn was a seven, eight, nine month a year touring machine.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, if we were if we weren't touring, we were recording, you know, if we weren't recording, we were doing podcasts or interviews, or you know, there's something we never turned off.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't like that.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: And I think that that caught up to my wife, that caught up to my kids, that caught up to my mental health.
29:36
SPEAKER_01: All of it was just uh, you know, it just took a toll.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's crazy because if you look at a lot of the bands from that era, they are kind of adopting this micro-tour weekend warrior model.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: I know I had a really great conversation with Adam Russell from Story of the Year about it, about how the obligation of touring isn't as heavy as it used to be, and more so in the past two and three years, but it's still pretty heavy.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: It's still a commitment, regardless.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: So Anberlynn or your position in Anberlyn as it stands right now.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Is this a permanent hiatus or have you completely left the band?
30:26
SPEAKER_00: What is that status as of 2023-2024?
30:30
SPEAKER_01: Mike, I don't know.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: I I truly don't know.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: I would love to say I don't know.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I can't, I I learned in 2014 when I said I will never take the stage again.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: That was the dumbest remark I could possibly make, you know, because since then you obviously we toured and put out a record, and so I'm not I'm not gonna I can't discount it.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: But what I will what I can say is right now, today, I am so happy.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: I am so content.
30:57
SPEAKER_01: Life is so rich and sick.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I I don't, you know, today I'm gonna say I'm super happy with the moment I woke up and made breakfast for my kids feet away, to when I dropped them off at school, to when I went to go saw their, I saw one of my daughters had a play this morning, took her out to lunch or to breakfast with my mom and dad, my in-laws, my sister-in-law.
31:21
SPEAKER_01: We all, you know, all of us kind of just at breakfast.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: Then I went off to work, hung out with the staff.
31:26
SPEAKER_01: It was so fun, had a great time.
31:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh, got to come home early, took off early so I could be on this podcast.
31:33
SPEAKER_01: Then I'm gonna go to ribs with some friends right after you say goodbye.
31:36
SPEAKER_01: I'm going, you know, ribs, spend the after the early evening with the family, tuck them to bed into bed today.
31:43
SPEAKER_01: I mean, come on, man.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: And then tomorrow waking up for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: I I I'm literally like, I don't touch my life.
31:50
SPEAKER_01: It's so even.
31:51
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I heard somebody once say, like, don't mess with happy.
31:54
SPEAKER_01: And right now, I am so content.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: And I love, uh, got to hang out with Christian two days ago.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: We recorded something for a project we were working on.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: And uh, I love Maddie Mullins.
32:03
SPEAKER_01: I love everybody involved in this.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: And when they tell me they're touring, there is, I can safely say there is 0% jealousy or coveting or bummed, or like, oh man, I'm looking at the list of their, you know, all these dates, and in no way I'm going, oh, I made a bad decision.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, dude, praise God, go at it, guys.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, ah, dude, I was stoked.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: That is the most touring we have done since 2000.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: Like, Amberlyn will tour more than you than this year than we did since 2014, and I could not be more ecstatic for those guys.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: I love that.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: I love all of this.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: Something I value is self-preservation, self-care, and being able to um I I like the the analogy that I like using frequently is the uh mask in the airplane analogy.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: That is, if you're in an airplane, they always tell you to put the face mask on yourself first before you put it on any of your kids.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the thing you cannot be a good parent if you are not taking care of yourself, and it sounds like you're doing that, and I absolutely love that, and I respect everything that you are doing for yourself.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: Speaking of which, that's a great segue to talk about your foray into I threw that in for you.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: I threw that in for you.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: That that's a great segue to talk about your foray into Brazilian jujitsu.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: When did you find that?
33:45
SPEAKER_00: And how did you find it?
33:46
SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, like my my two brothers, Paul and Tim, they've been doing it for almost like one of us doing it for like eight years, and the other one's been doing it for five, and they've always tried to give me into it.
33:56
SPEAKER_01: Oh man, you're gonna love it.
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Trust me, it's the best.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: And then um, you know, I had a good friend, Alex Corrales, he's he's just a phenomenal dude.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: And he uh when we met, honestly, about two and a half years ago, we're in a small group together, and then maybe three years now, and then you know, he was ex-MMA, been been training in Jiu-Jitsu, and um as well as is uh Brazil Jesuit and MMA in Oregon for like 16 years, won tons of belt, as belts and all that stuff.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: He's been trying to get me into it.
34:25
SPEAKER_01: And then one day, you know, I'm watching like Jorge and Masvidal fight, and I love I'm a huge fan.
34:30
SPEAKER_01: I think he's just he's so fun, he's got the personality and the skills to back it up, and uh just just how willing he is and just I don't know, just his whole the whole thing, the whole persona, and just so I mean I know he doesn't sound humble, but when it comes to like showing the due respect that of the people he's just to show respect to, he's just got it, you know what I'm saying?
34:52
SPEAKER_01: Knows knows the game, all of it.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: And I was just like, dude, I'll I'm gonna try it.
34:57
SPEAKER_01: And so about I want to say about five months ago now, I called Alex and I was like, all right, Alex, like if you if you're serious about like training, I'd love to train.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: And he's like, I'm in, let me coach.
35:08
SPEAKER_01: So him and this guy named Sage, uh, who's who could who Alex kind of trained up, they're kind of leading up, spearheading a few guys.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: And it's not big, it's like six of us, and we just train every Tuesday and Thursday at 5 30 a.m.
35:21
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, I wanted I wanted a goal.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: I'm not good at just kind of like you know, meandering through life.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: I've got to have a goal.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: And so in June, I signed up for a tournament.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: So I'm fighting my first jujitsu tournament in June.
35:35
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I don't I'm not going in there like I'm gonna crush dudes.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: But what I am gonna say is like I want that feeling of like that moment when you're about to jump out of an airplane and skydive, that fear.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: I want to feel that.
35:47
SPEAKER_01: I want to feel like that tension in the room of just kind of like, okay, here we go.
35:52
SPEAKER_01: And so that's why I'm doing it.
35:53
SPEAKER_01: If I win, that's awesome.
35:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, it'll impress the wife.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: And if not, you know, I'll just be like better luck next time.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: And I learned a lot.
36:00
SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna go at it.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: If you if you don't win, you just have to add one more day a week of training until the next turn.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's something enriching about starting your day, having like something hard to do to start your day and overcoming that.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: Man, I'm dig into that.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
36:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yep.
36:21
SPEAKER_01: If I'm not if I'm not training resume jujitsu, I'm in the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
36:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm not trying to get I'm not trying to get like big or I'm not trying to like you know bulk up.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: I just do it because like I heard a general once say, he did this whole, and I'm sure you just Google it, but it's basically this general just said, make your bet.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: And he was not talking, and he's like, every morning, make your bed.
36:40
SPEAKER_01: You'll win if you make your bet.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: And it was a it was a great, I I highly recommend going and Googling the whole like message about it.
36:49
SPEAKER_01: But he wasn't wasn't physically talking about making your bed.
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's part of it.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: But he's more talking about the domino effect of making your day start on with something tough or something that you're gonna be consistently doing every single day.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: And that really just got into my psyche of just kind of like, you know what?
37:04
SPEAKER_01: Like, I I want to be more self-disciplined.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've gotta, I wanna, I want to do something every day.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: I so my wife hates it.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: She hates everything about everything I do is because it's 5 30 a.m.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: and I wake her up every day.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: But but she understands that self, you know, that self-discipline takes work, and it's something like is is almost the the uh complete opposite of being in a band, which is just a Peter Pan life.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: You know, you are living this alternate never land universe.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: Wake up when you feel like it, go to bed when you feel like it, drink what you want, hang out with people you want, like anybody you want.
37:38
SPEAKER_01: It's just this whole lifestyle of just self-centeredness and just me, me, me.
37:42
SPEAKER_01: And there was no, you know, any self-discipline, uh, you know, when I would find guys that are self-disciplined, I would absolutely gravitate towards them.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: Sean Mackin from Yellow Card is so self-disciplined.
37:54
SPEAKER_01: Ryan from Story of the Year, just the amount of time that he would spend just doing scales.
38:00
SPEAKER_01: And you're just kind of thinking, like, dude, you have made it.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: You've sold millions of records, your number one song in America, and I'm watching him backstage, and he's just for over an hour, just scaling and learning from these guys on YouTube.
38:11
SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, I just grab anybody that's like that, that's just like there's more to life than this band, you know, and I have there's there's deeper priorities, and I'm gonna be the best.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: Whether I turn out to be the best or not, it doesn't matter.
38:24
SPEAKER_01: I'm aiming to be that guy.
38:25
SPEAKER_01: I want to be that guy.
38:27
SPEAKER_01: So Anthony Rainier, always working on projects, always, you know, um, I've got five things in the pot, I'm doing it at the same time, I'm gonna go try them all, I'm gonna figure this out.
38:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, life is a puzzle, and I'm gonna crush it.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna figure out how to make the most of what God gave me right here.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Love that.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, yes.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: I I think that speech that you were talking about with the general is kind of the whole philosophy of win the morning, win the day.
38:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, is that whole thing.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: And uh so you mentioned Ryan from Story of the Year.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Something that not a lot of people have noticed, and I know the band has never really promoted, but he actually did an episode of American Ninja Warriors.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: So you want to talk about people that are really disciplined, and I know I haven't always been this way myself, but I I too tend to gravitate towards people that do set up a discipline for themselves, challenge themselves early in the day, and are constantly looking towards that light of betterment and everyday betterment, you know, one percent improvement everyday uh book that I got into this last year.
39:41
SPEAKER_00: Um gosh, what what was it?
39:43
SPEAKER_00: It's uh oh, it's all about it's all about improving yourself and being in and that whole 1% improvement.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: It's right at the top, top of my tongue.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: I I probably could have preached it 10 minutes ago, but regardless, regardless, you know, it it's it's one of those things where you kind of become involved with these processes and and making these improvements all the time.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: And I get prone to going into spirals.
40:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to call it depression because that kind of takes away the weight of the word for those who are dealing with depression, so I don't want to do that, but I definitely spiral.
40:17
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I'll get into my own head and that becomes a trap, and then that's then I just don't put one foot in front of the next.
40:24
SPEAKER_01: So I would say if there's anybody out there dealing with spiraling or depression, just try it.
40:29
SPEAKER_01: Try try waking up early and eating healthy.
40:31
SPEAKER_01: And I know that sounds like you know, oh, the that's stereo meathead talk.
40:36
SPEAKER_01: And it's not, it's it's it's it's not even self-discipline.
40:38
SPEAKER_01: We're not trying to be Navy SEALs, I'm not trying to be tough guy, I'm not trying to be man's man.
40:44
SPEAKER_01: It's not about that.
40:45
SPEAKER_01: It's about setting myself up to win.
40:47
SPEAKER_01: And if I can just win today, and if I can just set up Stephen up five years from now and ten years from now and 15 years from now to win, that's man, that is huge.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: And so if you just I call it like stacking days, like if you can just stack days, you know, my friend JT Corrales, this is awesome.
41:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about all the whole Corrales family.
41:07
SPEAKER_01: But my friend JT Corralis said, take a calendar, and if you can just check four out of the seven days of the week, you won.
41:14
SPEAKER_01: And what and whatever that is for you, is that eating healthier?
41:17
SPEAKER_01: Is that working out?
41:17
SPEAKER_01: Is that Brazilian jujitsu?
41:19
SPEAKER_01: Is that reading a book?
41:20
SPEAKER_01: Like, go and stack days.
41:22
SPEAKER_01: So when you look back on life, it's not just a waste.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: It's like, man, I feel healthier today because of what I did yesterday.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm more well read or I've got a better opportunity in life.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: And that's and I and I don't think college has as much weight as it did for my dad or his, you know, whatever.
41:36
SPEAKER_01: But what I will sell my kids to do is like go and do it for you.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: Do it because it's more of like it'll open up opportunities, but it's more of say, if I put my hand to something, like if I put my head and my hand to something, I and I achieve it, I accomplish it.
41:50
SPEAKER_01: It's just more just kind of like, I did it, I won.
41:53
SPEAKER_01: I know what the feeling of victory is to graduate high school, graduate college, whatever it is for that for you as an individual.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: But stack wins.
42:01
SPEAKER_01: And that's what it's about.
42:02
SPEAKER_01: So it's you know, I that's that's that's where I'm at right now in in life.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: I just remember that book, by the way.
42:09
SPEAKER_00: It was Atomic Habits by James Clear.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, yeah.
42:12
SPEAKER_01: So I thought you were talking about.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I listened to that.
42:16
SPEAKER_00: I listened to that over Christmas time and in through January this year, and I was I kind of set up a goal for myself.
42:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, okay, I let the COVID weight and the COVID fitness plan maybe get a little away from me over the last four years.
42:31
SPEAKER_00: So it's time to get disciplined again.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: And uh, since February, I've I've been in the gym pretty much four or five days a week, and it's exactly what you say.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: It's like stacking those little goals, and you know, it is not about a meathead thing.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: And I find I repeat myself a lot on the podcast in regards to this when I talk about some of the MMA personalities that I've had on my show.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: There is a perception of jujitsu and MMA in particular, and I think it's a false perception based on the early conceptions of the sport, where it was kind of like human cockfighting or human dog fighting to a certain extent, where now even it is a lot more disciplined, it's a lot more sanctioned, and I will tell you that people that participate in jujitsu, MMA, any type of martial art, or anything that's difficult like that tend to be some of the most well-balanced, kind-hearted people that I have ever met in my entire life.
43:31
SPEAKER_00: Why?
43:32
SPEAKER_00: They get that aggression out in other areas of their life so they have it together in the arena of the day to day.
43:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, couldn't agree more, man.
43:43
SPEAKER_01: I I see it, I'm around it.
43:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, I've experienced it.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, just living in it, even in Albuquerque and getting to know some of those guys that John Bones Jones, you know, not I've never met him, but that whole entourage of those people, some of the sweetest guys, because they have nothing to prove, they have zero to prove.
43:58
SPEAKER_01: My first class out.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: There, they were just like, if you want to fight someone, you get come fight me.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
44:04
SPEAKER_01: You don't don't, we're not here, we're not bro dudes, we're not doing the tap out t-shirts.
44:08
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
44:09
SPEAKER_01: You want to fight?
44:09
SPEAKER_01: Can bring it on.
44:10
SPEAKER_01: But don't be stupid with these people.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: The people, the students, you know what I'm saying?
44:14
SPEAKER_01: And I look and the funny thing is, every dude, I'm gonna make sure I'm saying a factual statement.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: Every dude that I've met in MMA, I a hundred percent of them have like you're saying, are the nicest guys.
44:27
SPEAKER_01: And maybe it's no they because they know they can kill you, but they are like like come train with me sometime, Michael.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: When you meet Sage and you meet Alex, they're always smiling.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: You know, always smiling.
44:40
SPEAKER_01: And and of course they already know, like, here, I'm gonna go for your foot, I see your office, I'm gonna choke you like that.
44:45
SPEAKER_01: But but they are always happy and exciting because I just don't think they have anything to prove.
44:48
SPEAKER_01: They're just kind of like, ah, you know what I'm saying?
44:50
SPEAKER_01: Like, I can we can, you know, we could just get along with it.
44:53
SPEAKER_01: So, but they are you're saying what you're saying is like I've never seen a more self-disciplined bunch, you know, the the amount of water they drink, the amount of all of this stuff, you know, they've then and it transposes into their real life and their real jobs because they do not give up, they are relentless in their pursuits of of their business practices, you know, saying they're still getting up that early, even if they're not training for MMA, they're training, they're they're working on their business, they're and they're gonna succeed.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: So I you know, I I just suggest for anybody out there, man, please find something you get this excited about.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: And it's again, it's not about martial arts, but it is about like, man, these are some great workouts, and what that what helps your body, helps your mind, and it's almost like it's very cyclical, you know.
45:35
SPEAKER_01: Say like they you know it it all affects each other.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: The spirit affects the mind, affects the body, affects the spirit.
45:42
SPEAKER_01: It's all just and you just feel so peaceful, you know.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: But then when you turn to things like alcohol, and then that makes you sleep in, and then you missed your first appointment, and then you don't get business, and now you're struggling financially, and you're struggling financially, which leads you to more drinking, and then more than it's just like it's the reverse effect happens, you know, and and now you feel you know, you're well, you're not confident anymore because you're not doing well in your job, which you're so now you're alienating your friends, but it's because of f again.
46:10
SPEAKER_01: And it's very it's you everybody tries to make it sound so complicated.
46:13
SPEAKER_01: It's like, no, no, no, just do one hard thing, and then stack that the next do one other hard thing, and the next week just do one other hard thing, and before you know it, it's just like the confidence you will exude in business, in your personal life, in your relationships, it's outstanding.
46:31
SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I love all that.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: So, given your music musical career, where you're at now with your everyday life, and this sense of self-awareness, your faith, uh, your job, uh, the sense of servitude.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: Because I uh had a thought to myself today.
46:54
SPEAKER_00: Um people typically look at their sense of servitude and sense of gratitude as two totally different things.
47:03
SPEAKER_00: Like people look at it as servitude is hard, but gratitude is easy, when it's actually the other way around.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: Gratitude and sincere gratitude is actually the difficult part because it requires a sense of humility, where servitude is just doing something simple and doing something kind and being an act of service to your fellow man, woman, child, whoever.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: So taking all the culmination of all of these things, how does Steven perceive himself these days versus back when, 2005, when I first met you?
47:41
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm still that same individual.
47:44
SPEAKER_01: It's just manifested in a way different outlet.
47:47
SPEAKER_01: You know, I was always I hope when people look back at the band Amber Lynn, I hope that they saw someone who was trying to be inspirational, who was trying, whether that's lyrically or conversations or the amount of stuff that we did for nonprofit organizations.
48:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if I've met another band that was that focused.
48:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we worked with everything from cancer patients to uh Habitat for Humanity.
48:13
SPEAKER_01: I mean, all across the spectrum, we just tried, you know, to write love.
48:17
SPEAKER_01: We just, you know, we we may not have done it perfectly, but we just we tried to raise money, we tried to raise awareness, we tried anything that we possibly could get our hands on, world vision, uh, you know, um, children's international on that 2019 tour.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: So we just tried.
48:34
SPEAKER_01: That's the best we knew how to do.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: And um, and and so that same individual exists here in the inspirational, trying to make sure that we I create a change in this world.
48:44
SPEAKER_01: And that starts, you know, for me, obviously with my family, you know, that's my first ministry.
48:49
SPEAKER_01: And then secondly, with Grace Family Church.
48:51
SPEAKER_01: That to me is uh, you know, something I'm passionate about, just church planting in Clearwater, Florida, and uh have an amazing staff and an amazing congregation.
48:59
SPEAKER_01: And now these people are now we're spilling over to the community.
49:03
SPEAKER_01: We work with organizations like Pineapple Project, which gives um homeless people when they get into their first house, we furna we completely furnish it.
49:11
SPEAKER_01: Uh sleep in heavenly peace.
49:13
SPEAKER_01: We build beds for children sleeping on floors, and we make sure we go into their houses and we see them sleeping on floors, we build their beds and we walk away knowing tonight that kid is gonna have the most amazing sleep, maybe of their entire life.
49:26
SPEAKER_01: And so I want to continue that.
49:28
SPEAKER_01: I hope I do that in another 20 years.
49:30
SPEAKER_01: I hope we do another podcast where I'm just like, we're still working with Habitat Free and we're not honestly what it's gonna be.
49:36
SPEAKER_01: But it's just, you know, I want to make sure that I kind of continue that on.
49:39
SPEAKER_01: So no matter where I'm at, I want to be an inspiration to those around me, kind of constantly pointing back to love God and love others.
49:47
SPEAKER_01: That's what this is all about.
49:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love all that.
49:49
SPEAKER_00: I love all that.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: My usual wrap-up question, I kid you not, and you already answered it without me asking, as I ask every single guest, what's your advice for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it was today?
50:03
SPEAKER_00: And you just summarized all of that so eloquently and so perfectly.
50:09
SPEAKER_00: Steven, I hope you do come back and do the podcast another time.
50:15
SPEAKER_00: I've really enjoyed this conversation, and I am glad to call you a friend.
50:20
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Michael.
50:20
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that, man.
50:21
SPEAKER_01: I really do.
50:22
SPEAKER_01: It's been a pleasure, a privilege, and love these kind of conversations.
50:25
SPEAKER_01: I hope that people walk away, um, you know, not learning more about me, but hopefully learning more about themselves, hopefully seeing a reflection of who they are, who they could become.
50:35
SPEAKER_01: And I'm, you know, not me.
50:36
SPEAKER_01: Don't try to become me, crap, become the best version of yourself.
50:39
SPEAKER_01: And for me, that's you know, that that starts with Jesus, that starts with your family, and that starts with you dedicating your life just to, man, making a difference.
50:49
SPEAKER_01: I I think, you know, uh, some someone more more eloquent than I said, you know, it's it's about leaving yourself in the heart of men, you know, and I think and women, I think that's so important of just kind of like who can you inspire to to create better versions of themselves as well.
51:04
SPEAKER_01: And so whether that comes through servitude, whether that comes through loving on people, whether that becomes dedicating your life to nonprofit or to to your fate, I don't know what that looks like for you, but but it is so crucial that each each one of us makes a difference in this world.
51:20
SPEAKER_01: Because man, we are here, we are a short parenthesis of time.
51:23
SPEAKER_01: You know, we are just but who can you inspire this next generation and the next people coming up to to lead this world?
51:30
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's very important to me.
51:33
SPEAKER_00: I tell you, I just had this conversation yesterday with a younger band, and they were talking about what their goal is in the music business, isn't the same as what yours or mine might have been when we started.
51:46
SPEAKER_00: They want to create a community around what they do.
51:50
SPEAKER_00: It's not about getting a record deal, it's not about tours, it's about creating a movement and community that people can rally behind.
51:58
SPEAKER_00: And I I think you and I covered that quite well.
52:02
SPEAKER_00: And that is kind of my purpose with my podcast is creating this parasocial relationship with people and having them find the best version of themselves through it.
52:16
SPEAKER_00: So, man, I thank you once again for doing the show.
52:20
SPEAKER_00: The world is a much better place with you and it, my friend.
52:23
SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much, man.
52:24
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you.
52:25
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for letting me be on the podcast.
52:28
SPEAKER_00: What a great episode, what a great guest.
52:31
SPEAKER_00: I want to thank my friend Steven Christian for doing the podcast once again.
52:36
SPEAKER_00: Make sure you are giving him a follow at Christian Music on Instagram and keep up with Amberlynn.
52:44
SPEAKER_00: They are still doing great things.
52:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to see what the future holds, just like Steven is.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're following Caught on the Mic on all social media platforms.
52:55
SPEAKER_00: Subscribe to me on YouTube.
52:57
SPEAKER_00: All episodes are now in video format as well.
53:01
SPEAKER_00: Visit me www.codonthemic.com and make sure you are giving me that five-star review on the Apple Podcast app or on Spotify.
53:13
SPEAKER_00: This has been Caught on the Mike with Michael Clark.
53:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm Michael Clark.
53:18
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thank you.