Are you Hey friends, are you listening? This
is a podcast exploring the past, present, and
future of Christian music. My name is Joel and
I'm here with my good friend Brandon. And we
connected over mutual love of some specific artists,
but also listened to some completely different
stuff as well. And so we get to experience that
from each other while sometimes inviting some
friends along for the ride. And today, We have
a guest with us for our 10th episode, and she's
actually been a guest here before. And so we're
bringing her back in celebration of episode 10.
Brandon, who's our guest today? It's Jordan.
I feel like I'm an honored guest because not
only was I the first guest, on the show. I'm
now celebrating double digits with you guys.
So it's a big deal that you're here today. The
first guest. Well, I can't say that you're the
first guest to be on two episodes because that's
not true. You're the second guest to be on two
episodes. But but you're here and on a pretty
important episode for us. And because it's because
it's such a big deal for us to hit 10 episodes.
Today we're moving into the present. We've been
looking back at things that we've enjoyed in
the past, but you know what? Today we're like,
forget about it. We're gonna look at something
that is now, that's current, and we're gonna
look at where Christian music is today. And so
today we're going to be listening to the album
Jungle in the City by Gable Price and Friends.
And so more on that. in just a little bit, but
I'm excited to talk about it. I'll spend some
time listening to it. But before we get into
all that stuff, I think Brandon, you mentioned
that maybe you had something fun for us to do.
Yeah, I've got a game for you and Jordan. I feel
like Brandon's games are always dangerous though.
Dangerous. You don't know what kind of game it's
going to be. So since we're reviewing Gable Price
and Friends, this game is called Friend or Foe?
Concert Edition. So I'm going to give you some
stuff that you would or you may have encountered
at concerts and you're going to tell me if it's
good friend or if you're against and it's foe.
All right. Gotcha. Any questions where we start?
I'm just going to go with it. All right. Pyrotechnics
friend or foe? Well, I feel like pyrotechnics
with through a pyrotechnic team friend. But if
little Johnny is just got a flamethrower out
in the crowd, that's definitely faux I'm a I'm
a hard foe Mm -hmm on pyrotechnics. Like if you
need that stuff to make your music hit like you're
not a musician Mm -hmm. Okay, I think they're
fun Using backing tracks instead of a like live
instruments So do you want a full band behind
you or you cool with just the one person singing
and just tracks playing? Here's here's the reality
of this every band on the road right now uses
backing tracks It's just to what extent are they
using them and so I mean there might be a few
that aren't but for the most part I'm pretty
much everybody's doing it I'm definitely a foe
for the person That's like this the guy with
a guitar that has this full band sound behind
them and there is not a full band there but I
And I guess I'd rather just experience it live.
Yeah, stay with that. I love hearing all of the
little intricacies of a live show. So I am a
foe for backing tracks because I love seeing
a little guy with like a bell that he just shakes
every like 10 seconds or so. because that's what's
on the song. Just like when we went to see Sixpence
None the Richer play. Exactly. And Steve Hindelog
is up there just rocking out every little percussion
instrument. He had like a thing, a handle with
like 10 bells on it. Yeah. And he just shook
it every couple of seconds. And I was like, that's
so cool. With more passion than I've ever seen
anybody shake a bell. Exactly. All right, movie.
I will say adding in like a saxophone. I love
a saxophone, but You to hear it track like on
a track. I know I love it live. It's good. All
right matching shirts with your youth group or
church Do you even have to ask this question
I'm i'm a foe because I want to wear my own shirt
my own cool band t -shirt to this concert Yeah,
i'm definitely a foe Um, it's rock and roll,
baby Amen brother We had years ago, they made
me take off the John Rubin shirt. I was wearing
to a concert and they made me wear matching shirts.
Now, mind you, we were working the event, but
I still felt like there should have been an exception
for John Rubin. And then I lost the shirt. Were
you at our John Rubin show? No, he wasn't there.
OK, good. That's a whole other thing. Maybe that
was the Lord protecting you, Brandon. Mosh pits.
As somebody who actually used Dimash, I, looking
back on it now, they're so dangerous. And there
were lots of times where I probably would have
gotten seriously hurt if I wouldn't have just
gotten out of it. But like, I don't know. I feel
like they're fun. So maybe I'm, I may be a friend
of it. I'll call myself an acquaintance. I'm
not gonna participate myself, but I don't mind
other people doing their thing. So all right
general admission Versus like paying for like
your designated seat I'm a friend Yeah, I'm friendly
with that. I don't mind it cuz then I can move
around so like if I really love a song I can
move closer to the stage and then if it's like
I'm not a huge fan of this song I can sit kind
of in the back The thing I love about general
admission is everybody standing up the whole
time and engaged and involved and when you pay
for your own seat Too many people use their seats
and then it's like you lose some of the experience.
Yeah All right, and we get in with artist changing
the lyrics for your city I feel like I'm neither
a friend nor a foe because it some some people
do it really well and it's like but then some
people, it's just like, come on man, just sing
the song. I'm friendly to that. They're putting
a little thought into it. They're trying to fit
in. So I'm good with it. I'm all right. I will
say I'm more of a foe whenever the artist comes
out and is like, hey everybody, Charleston is
the greatest city. Because I guarantee you last
night, you just said, hey everybody, Raleigh
is the greatest city. But Jordan, Charleston
is the greatest city. I don't disagree, but if
you're going to say that the other five cities
that you just left from are the greatest city,
don't say that Charleston is the greatest, too.
How do you know they said that? I just know.
I have a feeling. That's good. OK, I have a surprise
game that I haven't even warned you about, but
I couldn't ignore it since we're talking about
Gable Price and friends. And so it's a game that
is based on this idea to name a band with a person
and whatever their band is called. Okay. And
so I'm going to give you some now, I, because
there aren't too many of these in the Christian
marketplace, I pulled some from the general.
Market too, but I'm gonna give you some and you
need to tell me if it's a real band or not a
real band Okay, okay based on the names I was
thinking do I have to come up with these because
all knowledge of bands have left my brain In
this moment, so I'll start with some easy ones.
Okay Hootie and the blowfish. Yes. Yes. Okay
Cool and the gang Brandon yes Yes, that's correct.
Brandon knows nothing about like funk music.
So We'll do another one sly and the family stone
Yeah, no, that's a TV show isn't about this isn't
it this Sylvester Stallone TV show No Is that
a band it is bad All right, let's do a Christian
one Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Steve Taylor and the Danielson foil. Yes.
Yes. I'm just basing it off of Brandon's answer.
I know that he worked with Danielson, so. Captain
Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters. I want that
to be true. Yeah. I'm going to say no. No, and
yeah, what do you think? Yeah, it sounds like
a local band to be honest You guys need to go
watch the movie that thing you do This is both
true and false because the band the wonders Play
in a movie this band called Captain Geech and
the Shrimp Shack shooters So yeah, it's great
My favorite movie of all time. It's phenomenal
Okay This is a real throwback. Maybe. Jeff Moore
and the Distance. I'm going to say yes because
you said it was a real throwback. You kind of
gave away. I'm going with yes, Jude. Yes. Jeff
Moore and the Distance. Classic Christian band.
All right. Let's do just one or two more. Judah
and the Lion. Yes. Yes. Yes. Katrina and the
waves. Yes. No. It's yes. Walking on sunshine.
Yep. Oh, I thought that was like based off of
like the hurricane and I was like, I don't know
if that would name my band after a tragedy. All
right. So the fun thing about that game is they
were all yeses because so many people do this.
Why? Why does so many people name their bands
after a singer? And then they're like, oh, and
that's the distance over there. It's an interesting
thing. Brandon in the hush puppies. I feel like
it's just a fun, fun way to name a band. Yeah.
Makes it easy. At least Gable Price and Friends.
Tell me this, do you know, have they had like
a has the friends part of it like changed a lot?
Been different people over time? I think they've
had one guy left. Last year, I think or it might
have been early this year. I think the guitarist
like stepped out Yeah, so so not like a ton of
turnover This isn't just like a thing where gable
price is whoever I want to use on this record
You're gonna bring these people in it make it
really sad if cable was like it's you're just
a friend. I don't need you Yeah, I kind of feel
like that's you get a little bit of that though
with with Separating yourself from your band.
Yeah I don't know. Interesting. All right. So
I'm looking forward to digging into that. But
before we get into it, let's find out. All right.
So there's a lot that's happened in the last
little bit. A lot that's happened with the Gospel
Music Association, the GMA. So they had the annual
Dove Awards that took place. But did you guys
hear about what else happened? So they opened
up downtown Nashville, a museum called the Museum
of Christian and Gospel Music. It's like this
huge museum that they opened up down there. So
there's all kinds of stuff in it from like a
striper display to Carmen's Bible and boxing
gloves from the champion video. um it's like
history of christian music so i'm thinking one
day we probably need to record a podcast episode
from um from this museum i feel like that'd be
a pretty fun thing so we need to work on that
maybe it only makes sense maybe we can get a
sponsorship yeah we could go to nashville yes
exactly yeah i say we because i'm lumping myself
into this sounds like a fun time but that's pretty
cool but then the devil words happened did you
guys see like who won different categories i
read the list of them yeah i saw a couple of
like different um acceptance speeches and stuff
from people anything that like surprised you
or you thought was cool or i felt like uh force
frank taking home like artist of the year was
kind of i don't know it i felt there's mixed
feelings about it you think so yeah yeah i would
definitely say that he Just popularity wise like
probably won that pretty easily I think that's
the I think the both sides of it is that I look
at what he's doing and in my mind an artist of
the year is someone who's like Reinventing stuff
and I feel like there's nothing like like the
industry hasn't been changed by it, but at the
same time it's like Is his music is everywhere?
Like if you went right now and asked people to
name a Christian artist, I feel like someone
like him or like Brandon Lake. So it's like,
on the other hand, it's like, it can't all be,
it's like a movie. When movies win these big
awards and you've never heard and they've made
like 10 ,000 at the box office, you're like,
okay, well, there's something to be said about
the movie that did generate, you know, $30 trillion.
So yeah, let's be honest the artist of the year
category at the Dev Awards has probably never
been super cutting -edge Sadly, but I think it's
always like who's the most popular who has the
most listens I just I go back to 2010 is when
there was a shift you saw John Rubin get snubbed
in two categories and I think ever since then
we've just definitely yeah I think the shift
happened before 2010. But yeah, the only two
people that I would think would even possibly
win that award would be Forrest Frank or Brandon
Lake. And it'd be interesting to compare like
their streams on Spotify. I don't even have a
clue, honestly. So I can research that and check
that out while we talk about some other things.
So, um, Brandon Lake's song hard -fought. Hallelujah
one song of the year. Mm -hmm I I definitely
have some feelings about that one. Mm -hmm But
yeah, I don't know. Did you have any thoughts
about that? I feel like it just goes back to
like The whole population. I think I remember
like years ago. I think was like Martin was like
Martin Scorsese He was talking about how like
all the Avengers movies are like, oh these are
like trash and in my mind I was like No, I feel
like they're telling a story and yet might be
superheroes flying around. So it's like I see
both sides of it. Like I said, I feel like there's
bands that I look at and I'm like, these people
are, you know, they're they're doing something
no one else is doing. They are creating. And
I think that, you know, I lean towards those
bands being, you know, like looked at and all.
But it's also hard. Like I said, it's like, should
you be punished for producing something that
like You know brings all this attention, you
know, it's almost like you I don't know like
I feel like you shouldn't just a popularity contest
doesn't mean that you are amazing but also like
you've done something right when out of the Thousands
of songs that are being released today your song
skyrockets and gets all the success. So Yeah,
I have I I Don't I think it's a good song Mm
-hmm musically and everything. I think I just
have like a I have a problem with it from more
of a theological Stem this is gonna make me sound
a little bit like a goodie goodie or something
But I feel like the songs like trying to be edgy.
Yeah And then for whatever reason sometimes it's
those kinds of songs that come off And and when
things like this and get popular and then the
church can have these conversations back and
forth about them but but I one I just don't like
the way that it tries to be edgy like when striper
used the word hell like to hell with the devil
they're thinking theologically about how the
devil is going to end up in this place forever
and so that was like an edgy use of the word
hell but here in this song it's like been through
hell but like it's not Theological at all. It's
just saying I've been through a lot of tough
stuff in my life and comparing that to An eternity
of damnation. Um, I just think it's theologically
problematic Yeah, and so i'm like I feel like
we can do a little better and I don't know let's
just yeah, I think sometimes the church struggles
too with um like Whenever we get someone cool
that like joins our team all of a sudden. It's
like Like you look at when we went through the
time with like Kanye West stepped in and all
of a sudden it was like Oh, he's the greatest
this so cool and it's almost like we we want
to be cool so we can look and say Hey, look look
look right here. We got this cool person over
here. So I feel like whenever you have that you
want to like Publicize it, you know, it's almost
like, you know I don't know if this week if you
had someone like a you know, like a Mel Gibson
or someone walk into our church it's like part
of you wants to be like hey look we've got this
cool guy at our church but also part of you is
kind of like well why does he need to be center
of attention what makes him many different than
like the other people you know who may be here
every week serving so I think that's kind of
like weird is that it's like like I said you
have this oh this song's a hit because we're
cool and I think the church has always struggled
with a we want to out cool everyone else like
if they're not on our team then they're ridiculous
and all but then once they join in and sing like
a christian song or show up then all of a sudden
oh they're cool we're cool and that kind of thing
you know i don't know it just it feels kind of
weird yeah i hear that i hear that all right
jordan you have an update for us on i do streams
so brandon lake has seven million monthly listens
however forrest frank has 8 .8 million wow so
forrest frank does have a million 0 .8, 1 .8
million more than Brandon Lake. Seems like a
well -earned artist of the year. Yeah. So I don't
know what, I mean, to me that makes the most
sense because he's getting the most streams.
I feel like the most streams, the most listened
to artist should be the artist of the year. Whether
we like them or not. there's lots of people that
I don't like that always win artists of the year
and I'm like come on this this little like one
million monthly listen artists they should get
it because I like them better. Well with that
let's talk about what we do like. So what have
you guys been listening to lately that you've
been enjoying? I've been listening to a lot of
Joey the Jerk. He was one of the I don't know
if you're familiar with LA Symphony. Yeah, yeah,
so he was one of the members of that band and
he's did like some solo stuff He's one of those
people that like he just like will show up randomly
on someone and in particular Make sure I get
the right name for the album that way I don't
jump up the words catch me if you can it's like
his Latest or like one of his like few like solo
stuff. It was released like ten years ago, but
I feel like it's um it's an album that just uh
it meshes like it's fun but also it like has
like deep like deep lyrics and I don't know I
feel like it's cool whenever you can juggle something
and it can be like playful but also like have
some like depth to it so um I feel like it's
a really cool album that's great for me um I've
been listening to a lot of Josiah Queen's stuff
recently um But it's cool because I found him
like maybe a year ago, a little bit more than
a year ago on social media. And I was just like,
oh, this is cool. Because I think it was like
the video of him playing in the desert like kept
on coming up, whatever. I don't even remember
what song was related to that one, but it kept
on coming up in my algorithm. And I was at first
I was like, all right, scroll on. I'm tired of
seeing you, man. But then I started like listening
to him. I made I connected the dots and I was
like, oh, that's this guy. Yeah. So, yeah, I've
been listening to him. That's cool. Yeah, one
that I've been listening to the band Fine China
just came out with a new record called I Felt
Called. They're they're Velvet Blue, where Star
Flag's been releasing most of their stuff. Fine
China has been around for. long time at this
point and a band that is really good and puts
out I think this is like a double record but
they put out great stuff but never have hit like
the popularity of the band like Star Flyer but
in a lot of ways sound a lot like like Star Flyer
and so I'm enjoying that new record a lot I think
it's I think it's really good so Alright, so
let's move on and take a break and we will head
towards talking about Gable Price and Friends.
So today we're talking about the album or EP,
Jungle in the City by Gable Price and Friends.
So here's some info that I pulled on this. Jungle
in the City is an EP by the alternative rock
band Gable Price and Friends released on August
9th, 2024. Hence, this is something that's come
out basically in the last year. The EP and its
title track were inspired by Gable Price's move
to Los Angeles in January 2024. One of the album's
producers, Aaron Broman, received a Devil Word
nomination for his work on it, speaking of the
Devil Words. So there you go. So you guys this
is new for me I've heard both of you talk a lot
about Gable price and friends and we've talked
about Spending some time chatting through them
on the podcast But this was my first time really
listening to them, but y 'all have history So
kind of fill me in on how Gable price entered
into your life Yeah, we were we went to a music
festival in April? Was it May? The Love and Life
Festival in Charlotte. So like going to it, we
knew a couple of the bands we wanted to see.
But we just kind of wanted to check out some
of the smaller bands and thinking, you know,
when you're paying that much for a concert, you
don't want to go just to see Switchfoot or whoever.
So we made like a list of just all the bands
that were going to be there that day. And Gable
Price was one that just we started listening
through them and I was like, man, this is really
cool what they're doing. And just started listening
more and it was funny because I was like, oh
man, it's kind of like, like I wonder if these
guys are like Christian or something because
there's these like stuff in there and they come
to find out like, oh, it is a Christian band.
And I think for me it was cool because like so
much of the music I love, it's like, I found
bands like, after they had already went on hiatus
or they had been gone for 10 years. So it was
cool to find a band that, oh, this band is not
only current, but they're also healthy. They're
not getting 20 listens a month. What about you,
Jordan? So we went to this festival and before
the festival, we were listening through the artists
that were gonna be there, just kind of getting
a sample of like, oh, do I wanna see them? Do
I not wanna see them? And Brandon showed me a
couple of their songs and I was like, oh, I kind
of like them. They're catchy. And then seeing
them live, I was like, oh my gosh, this is such
a good band. They're high energy performers.
As soon as they came out, it was like from the
get go, they were on top of it and just like
boom, boom, boom with the set list. And I feel
like They really drew you in and to look around
there weren't a lot of people that were standing
by the stage while we were there Yeah, so it
was really cool to see like oh This is like i'm
i'm a part of a very few people that get to hear
this right now because like there's maybe 50
people standing around if even that That were
listening to them and I was like, oh my gosh.
I feel I feel like these guys like I'm a part
of something that's like starting and yeah, but
then they've been around for a while so it's
not like I'm on the ground level but It was pretty
cool. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of feels like I get
a cool moment to step in when they're kind of
up and coming and on the rise Which is kind of
a fun thing. That's cool alright, so this is
this the first thing by them that you ever listened
to like mm -hmm. Yeah, this it will for us. It's
kind of like jumbled um because like we've listened
to really bits and pieces of like everything
so like even when people ask it's kind of hard
for us to say go check out this album because
i will say for me i even wrote down um heaven
closes doors was the first song that i ever heard
by them yeah whenever we first started listening
to them on spotify i that was the first song
that i heard by them And then from there, like
whenever they performed, they played songs from
several different albums. Yeah, that's cool.
Yeah, I think so. Let's talk just through with
that then what what are like opening thoughts
on the album like or the EP before we kind of
get into a track by track discussion? Like what
are just some general thoughts you guys have?
I know that for some people they felt like it
was kind of a shift from the other stuff they
had done. So I think that you have some Gable
Price and Friends purists that for them it might
be a departure from what we're used to. So tell
me about that because I obviously don't have
a context for it. How is it different or? So
for me, I've kind of been working my way back
through their catalog. and I think for some people
when they first started off maybe it was more
of a um like heavier with like the like a faith
aspect in it um so I think for some people they
there's been like this feeling of oh only two
of these songs mention Jesus or something instead
um so I think that for some people they feel
that way um but I mean for me I kind of feel
like it's Lot of these bands like a jars of clay
thing. Not every song has right Jesus's name
or like nor do you like need it? but yeah, I
feel like that's kind of my vibe I've gotten
from the album is that it is just kind of a Departure
from like maybe some of their like earlier beginnings.
I feel like a lot of their older stuff is more
I'd say more like alternative rock. Whereas this
one is more of like an indie rock it's got like
lighter like a lighter sound to it yeah it's
not as like electric guitar and heavy drums so
i feel like it's kind of like that and then like
you said the the lyrics are more um like it could
be about like a relationship between a boy and
a girl or between like parents or something like
a parent child relationship or something like
that um so it's not like super Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus all the time. But if you know is like I
whenever I was listening through it, I had the
lyrics pulled up and like a lot of the use are
capital Y. So it's like it's talking about like
God. So it's like that perspective. Yeah. Yeah,
I was paying attention to that, too, as I was
listening through it and it wasn't. Yeah, I noticed
that it wasn't super clear, but you could definitely
trace it throughout. Yeah. um which was cool
yeah you talked a little bit about how this one's
like a little lighter and so i don't know the
past at all the other things obviously but um
i could i could get a sense i think of of how
that was the case because there were a few moments
where i was like that hits pretty hard um and
we've talked a lot about production already on
this podcast um one of my notes just as an opening
thought for this album is it's like super produced
In kind of like a in a different way than a lot
of records. It's like really produced with like
a ton of kind of ambient feel and Reverb and
almost like you want it to sound like when you
hear them live. Yeah, but like Not like live
and natural like overproduced and live kind of
yeah and and I don't like Yeah, I think it sounds
really good Like the production on it and I get
where they're going But yeah, I was wondering
I was like I wonder if like all the previous
records sound like this or if they're a little
more Like not quite as polished and a little
more raw. So that'll be an interesting thing
for me to figure out over time It reminded me
a little bit. Have you ever heard of the band?
This is another and Band but you ever heard of
the band Mike Maine and the branches I've heard
of them, but I don't know if I've heard of either
music they've put out a they put out a record
on Tooth and Nail that has this kind of feel
to me and I feel like right now it's kind of
like a indie rock pop like super echo -y like
that's like a it's a thing it's a vibe that a
lot of artists are running after that like I
felt kind of listening to this yeah so cool all
right any other opening thoughts I think we're
good All right. Well, let's get into track by
track First track the first song by gable price
and friends that I ever really listened to and
paid attention newspaper boat What do you guys
think about this one? Well, so whenever I first
heard it Yeah, I thought it was like a switch
foot song that had been like tucked away And
I was like have I never heard this switch foot
song? But then I realized that it was gable price
and friends and I was like, oh That's them because
it sounds very switch footy. Like I think like
the chorus, the. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's my
review. Silence. I feel like each album, it's
always like, all right, what's this first one?
How's it going to set the tone? And I feel like
this, it just has such a like. Epic opening you
do it and I just I feel like throughout the whole
song. There's just this like There's this like
urgency to it like there's these smooth verses,
but then they're just like cold action or just
this urgency I just I feel like it's I can say
it just it gets you pumped up like you listen
to this and it's like it's a song that album
that starts this way or live like a concert starts
this way it gets your attention it gets you movement
moving so yeah like I I really love it that's
cool yeah I like this one a lot so you guys don't
have a lot of experience with this band from
previous conversations but it reminds me a lot
of the band mute math Vocally, I think and even
like in some of the production and just musically
And so I think if you like this, you'd probably
dig that band a lot. Mm -hmm, but I made a note.
Yeah, there's High production there's these like
on the chorus these like kind of hits that are
like guitar and synth kind of like on top Of
the chorus that I thought were really cool course
is super Catchy. There's like this like move
thing that happens as they go into the last chorus
that I thought was cool and and the like yells
at the end are kind of fun. So yeah, I like this.
I thought it was a great opening track to the
EP. Yeah, so moving on. Next up we have Think
With Your Chest. For me, I feel like it's got
a lot of one -liners in there and I think it
works well. I think it's not as like It's it's
not like cheesy like I feel like he's saying
things maybe in a different way than you've heard
a thousand times on songs I think personally
for me though It feels like it's kind of just
a lot of like one -liners thrown together so
for me like I'd like the track but I think that
this is maybe my In my opinion the weakest track
on the album like for that reason of just that's
the main problem I have is that it kind of feels
like the layers kind of thrown in. Yeah Jordan
what did you think? I feel like it's not the
weakest track but I liked it because I feel like
it does have all of those like cliche type phrases
thrown in there but I feel like it's kind of
like a hey everybody says this but really you
should be doing this. And so like the line that
stands out is everybody's pointing out the spills
but few are cleaning up the mess. I feel like
that's such a good line because so many people
like walk by Spills and things and stuff pulled
out, but then they don't even bother to stop
and clean it up So I feel like that that is like
just such a good line for me Yeah, Brandon, this
is my favorite song I should have known I can't
wait till later where Joel tears apart my favorite
I Think it's um, I think it's fast. I think it's
fun I love how like the chorus like I think maybe
like the third chorus like yes to like halftime
Just a really cool shift that happens there Um,
yeah, I loved I loved everything about this one.
I feel like it's it's a very visual song You
can see the things that are happening. Yeah,
he's talking about Yeah, that's cool. All right
track number three mountains and mundane What
do you think joel? I love the title. Um, I think
it's I think it's cool Yeah, and there's a lyric
in there like fountain of youth fountain of you
that I thought was like a cool wordplay Um, the
chorus is catchy So this song could potentially
have been really up there for me, but I have
to like, I have to take a little bit of a beef
with one line in it that just drives me crazy.
and they use the phrase that's like a cultural
like phrase today love is love and I just hate
that phrase so much because I think it's a meaningless
throwaway thing when you try and define love
by just saying it's love that means like it's
anything it can be anything and I don't I don't
think that that's true I think that as Christians
we get a pretty defined like view of what love
is and so Yeah, I don't know where they were
going with that or anything, but I was just a
little like, I don't know. That's just a personal
like, I don't love that phrase. And so I was
super bummed when it showed up on a song that
I liked. But it immediately dropped the song
for me, like a point or so, just like hearing
it. So yeah. Yeah, I think for me, I really like
the track. I think the highlight for me is the
outro. I always like whenever someone like the
chorus and like stuff shifts like throughout
a song, you know, like you see the story change
that there's no hope, then there's hope. So for
me, the ending I enjoy, there's the going through
and it being a little bit different and off script,
it feels like. Yeah. Well, I liked it because
I really like the message throughout and I feel
like this is one of those songs where it could
be taken as like a boy -girl type relationship.
But the lyrics are capital Y for you. And then
I liked the line in there that you don't sound
annoyed. And I feel like it's such a good song
to have to show like, hey, you can keep going
to God, God's not going to get annoyed with you.
Like he shows up whenever you're on the mountaintop
and then in the mundane So I feel like I like
that message of like mm -hmm. God shows up wherever
yeah Yeah Yeah, it's I I do love the song. Mm
-hmm. I just got sad. So I usually don't like
the slower songs, but I like this one Yeah, yeah,
I hear that All right. Next up. We have jungle
in the city Jordan, how do you feel about the
jungle in the city? I liked it. I'm reading my
notes to make sure that I cover everything. And
I honestly, I just wrote the two lyrics that
I like. So a peek into mine and Brandon's world,
a lot of times we will sing this line just randomly.
It's our vocal stems. We will just say, good
luck out there. And that's it. And so like a
lot of times I'll just sing, good luck out there.
And so I like that. Start of it. That's cool.
So it's just it's catchy. I feel like it's like
yeah And then the where he sings like fathers
and mothers sisters and brothers. Mm -hmm. It's
like I like that part Yeah, I this song makes
me think of that meme where it's like the everything's
on fire But the dogs like got like a coffee mug
and he's just like sitting there Like this is
fine. Yeah, like this whole song is like a playful
look at just all of the chaos and um i enjoy
that it's kind of this like um like an opposite
of the first track where there's this urgency
and chaos in the verses and then the chorus it's
like hey it's it's gonna be we're gonna be okay
it's gonna be okay everything's fine um and yeah
i i think it's cool whenever someone can take
something about like hey this is everything is
like burning to the ground but hey I'm still
happy about it. Whenever someone can take a song
with that kind of message and make it into this
Playful like dance -along sing -along song. I
think it's pretty impressive Yeah, so my thing
at this point in the ep is there's a lot of playful
dance -along sing -along songs um, and it could
be that I haven't spent a lot of time with it,
but I think at this point I was like this song
feels like the last one and the one before it
and the one before it and Um, I think I was getting
ready just to like want something like that feels
a little different But it kind of still felt
the same And so most of my notes were just like
this is a great song, but it doesn't do anything
that the other songs like weren't already doing,
you know, I mean, so um Yeah, I liked it. But
yeah All right track number five fall in love
with the light Speaking of a shift I wrote down
that I was thankful for the shift in speed and
in tone. Yeah, what'd you guys think about this
one? I think for me it just it feels so sincere
and a lot of times there's this it feels like
people just sit down and say Let's write a song
about depression. Let's write a song where it's
just this very fake It's almost most almost as
if when you're dealing with someone, you know,
like a family member that's sick And someone
just says, well, you got to praise the Lord.
And it's like, that's cool. But that just seems
like it doesn't feel personable. You know, or
just I pray for you. I'll pray for you or whatever.
So for me, it feels like this song is someone
being genuine and talking about their struggles
or trying to help a friend. I almost expect the
behind the scenes of this to be. Gable price
or someone from the whoever like wrote the lyrics
to say oh this is inspired by me Reaching out
to someone who was struggling. Yeah So that's
what stood out to me with the track is that just
felt very sincere Yeah, cuz like the the line
that I wrote down that stood out for me was let
it hurt you have permission and I feel like there's
so many people like in the Christian world where
it's like, oh, I'm uncomfortable because you're
not you're not doing great and your mental health
is not good right now. And I don't know how to
fix it. So I'm just going to say that I'm praying
for you, but I'm going to run away because I
don't want to deal with this mess. But that's
not what people need. And that's what the song
is saying. Like, hey, I'm going to sit down with
you and we're just going to sit here. We're going
to we're going to talk it out. It will be OK.
But you can you can hurt. You can have your moment.
As long as we just don't stay there. Yeah, so
I feel like that I liked that but I don't love
slow songs. So I don't I don't love it, but It's
it's a good lyric message song Yeah, I thought
it was good. Um, I thought the verse was great.
I like the melodies I've already talked about
how I was thankful that it was a little bit of
a shift and so Yeah, I like this one a lot Just
asking a question real fast, for you Joel, so
you made a comment about it feeling very produced.
Whenever you are listening to an album where
it is you're saying like they're sounding the
same and it is also feeling very produced, like
is it enough of a shift when you go oh this still
sounds produced but at least it's slower or are
you almost expecting it to say Just give me this
like raw acoustic song in the middle of all this
or something like do you want I don't I don't
think that would have fit Well, um, and so I
think an album needs to sound like a cohesive
album And so I think this balances that really
well with Really slowing things down but still
kind of keeping the feel of the record And so
I thought it did a great job of that. Yeah Next
up is heaven closes doors Joel, what are you
thinking about it? Um, yeah, this is a good one.
Um, I like the like there's like a palm muted
guitar. Um, it brings a little bit of the production
stuff to the forefront of the conversation though,
because there's so much production happening
that like you almost don't even hear it or feel
like what the guitar part actually is. Yeah.
Um, because there's just so much on it. And so
um I just thought that was interesting but and
then the chorus is like huge on this one um so
um I think it's a cool song um I think again
like I just was feeling like a little like lost
in the production of it all and um it's probably
gonna be a recurring theme for me on some stuff
but It just felt similar to a lot of the previous
stuff because of that. And again, I will say,
it's new for me. And so I know the more time
that I would spend with this, the more differentiated
this stuff would become for me. But just on a
couple of listens through it, it kind of runs
together a little bit. What are you doing? So
for me, like I said earlier, this was the first
song that I was ever exposed to with them. So
I liked it and I liked the the catch of like
having closes doors just to open a window. Yeah,
it's cool. So I liked that line. And then also
where he talks about like it's so lovely on the
ground or it's like sometimes we get stuck. And
we think, oh, man, it's so great to be down here
because it's easy. So I'm just going to stay
down here. But this is a song to say, like, no,
because even though the door was closed, a window
is going to open. So you need to go through the
window. But then also, like musically wise, I
like the breakdown before the chorus starts with
the guitar. So I liked that where the chorus
is this big, like, yeah. Cool. Yeah. So for me,
I feel like I need to give a disclaimer because
I feel like there's a very like personal attachment
to this. So like I, I find it like, I like that
it's very haunting, like at the beginning. Like
I think it helps separate a little bit is that
it's like, it does feel like it's this like haunting.
And I think that, hold on, I had my notes pulled
up and it deleted. um, but yeah, I just I feel
like that and I feel like the story and I know
for me when I first heard this like I was really
in a point in life where it's like Okay, I doors
need to be closed and it's where where do I go
now? and I remember hearing the song and just
feeling Like I was like gable price is singing
to me. Yeah, so like I remember like the first
song the first time hearing this just like Tearing
up because I was just like this is what I'm going
through. This is what I need to hear and you
know for me With the window part about like oh
like climbing through a window or something for
me. I even just took it as Hey, sometimes it's
not even that like you're going to walk through
sometimes. It's just you're able to like Look
through the window and see what is on the horizon
so for me it was cool to take it as Hey, maybe
there's not a call to action right now. Maybe
there's just a I need to be patient in the waiting
so to me that's That's why I feel like when you
have a like a emotional attachment to a song
It's you can kind of be blinded by if it's you
know, you kind of like don't see the like flaws
or whatever but also to me it's just it's just
cool to celebrate a song because there's songs
for me that I might think are Cheesy or like
bad, but I know that they change someone else's
life or whatever So to me, it's just it's always
cool whenever an artist can put something out
that just Impacts someone that much. Yeah. No,
I think that's cool. I I love the beginning of
it to you. I think I love that i think i just
wanted to be able to actually hear the guitar
a little more than in the but i get the sense
of like the haunted kind of kind of stuff i do
think it's a cool song and i think the message
of it's great so so we wrap it up with deep the
human um so i'll say for me i felt like it was
a simpler song and it was that slow down and
i think kind of what you said earlier is that
all the songs because even even the songs like
um fall in love with the light it's still it's
not like a slow and let's sit down it's still
a like energetic yeah so for me i think it was
cool to if you're looking at this album as like
if this was a concert to me it was cool to have
this if you were at a concert and it's just like
you're dancing you're dancing you're singing
blah blah blah but then the final track is just
this kind of like Metal like mellow like fade
out. Yeah, so for me it worked because I felt
like I was I was enjoying kind of like where
they were going and I enjoy enjoy the Slowdown
like part of it. Yeah For me, I had to look it
up because I actually wrote down I missed some
words in my That's not right, but the lyric that
stood out to me was Ain't it brave it ain't that
brave to hide yourself. No gosh. I am messing
it up That is the lyric actually is that it's
like ain't it brave. Oh gosh. I'm messing up
It ain't that brave to feel nothing and it ain't
that strong to hide your suffering I was trying
to mix those lyrics up by it ain't that brave
to suffer But the lyric is that it's not strong
to hide your suffering. And I like that lyric.
Gosh, I am butchering this song. Whenever he
talks about, like, show some grace. And I feel
like I need the grace right now because I'm butchering
it. You're doing great. But yeah, I feel like
I liked those lyrics. But it's one of those where
I feel like it's a little bit slower. And I've
already established that I don't like slow songs.
So I feel like it wasn't the greatest song to
end with. I feel like you need like maybe a good
like, I don't know, maybe like an upbeat type
like song at the end. They beg to differ. They
want, I guess they want to make you... Like feel
relaxed at the end. So maybe that's why they
put the slow song. So with what Joel was saying
earlier about how he's like, all right, give
me a break. Are you saying like for this one,
if you had seven tracks of just boom, boom, boom,
like you you're good with an album with that.
Absolutely. That's exactly what she wants. I
curate my playlist to be that. Yeah, I certainly
have playlists like that. And most of my playlists
probably feel a little That way. Yeah, no, I
liked this. This was different in, I feel like,
a really good way. I also thought, even in its
simplicity and differentness, it was really like,
I liked the I, I, I, I'm only human kind of thing.
It was catchy still, even in the sense of it
being there. I think the thing that I wanted
from this song is I felt like it was the whole
song was kind of like, um, it's okay. You're
human. Like you're going to make mistakes. Um,
but there was like no, there was never like a
push to like, but like do better or grow or anything.
It was just kind of like, it's okay to stay where
you are. And I just kind of, I agree. Like it,
we are human. We are broken and it's, it's okay
to be in that state and be in that place. Um,
but We have a savior who left heaven to come
and rescue us from that brokenness. And so while
we are broken people, we're being made new day
after day. And so there is a sense of growth
that's happening as slow as it may be. And I
just wanted a little glimmer of that. And see,
I feel like if you're looking at this as a whole,
like I said earlier, If the song was at a different
place, I feel like if you switched Heaven Open
Stores with Deeply Human, because it's like,
hey, we make mistakes. It's okay. Everybody is
human. And then end it with a, hey, you're down
here, but you got to climb through the window
because something better God has in store for
you. So I feel like if those two would have flipped,
it would have been better. It's hard to argue
with that, Jordan. Exactly. I'm not saying get
rid of the slow song altogether. Put it in a
different place. All right. So that is Jungle
in the City by Gable Price and the Friends. Final
thoughts on that? Or do you guys want to jump
straight into ratings? Maybe just jump in. I
feel like a lot of times my final thoughts are
at the rating. Or it's just a wild card. I enjoyed
it, but here's the one. I'll share a final thought
with my rating, I guess. We'll go ahead. Well,
I feel like I wrote down an overall theme. I
feel like throughout the EP was to wear your
heart on your sleeve. Because I feel like they
said something about like your heart. And it
being on your sleeve or like showing your heart
or like where your heart belongs or stuff like
that was kind of throughout the whole EP. Like
there was at least one mention of it in every
song. So I feel like that's kind of the overall
theme, which I think is good because I feel like
it's needed. I feel like a lot of people, they
don't show their hearts and they don't wear their
hearts on their sleeve. They kind of keep things
hidden because they have to stay strong and they
don't want to show vulnerability. So I feel like
that's a cool overarching theme. So what's the
scale that we're rating in out of? Because I
haven't even thought about that. One out of 100.
One to five. One to five? Yeah. I would put it
at maybe, I would say four. Gable Price and Friends,
this EP would be a four. I feel like it encompasses
kind of who they are as a band, kind of the message
that they want to show to people. Because I feel
like they have said it before and they're releasing
newer music and a couple of interviews that they've
done. and things that they've said, they've said
that they want to be a Christian band releasing
music. Like they're Christians that are releasing
music that it's not necessarily like Christian
music, but it's music by Christians. So it's
kind of in that lens. So I feel like this kind
of encompasses that. It kind of blurs the line
of like, oh man, this could be like a boy a boy
girl relationship But in actuality, yeah, it's
god and his children So I give it a four Cool.
I think that's a respectable rating. It's very
good. I so I realize that i've Probably sounded
like i'm a little harsher on this than I actually
like was listening to it because I really enjoyed
it um from beginning to end I listened to it
in my car with my daughter Um, and I was like,
this is pretty good. But honestly, when I put
my headphones on and really paid attention to
it, I felt like it came like way more alive.
Um, and that's where like the production really
like stood out and I enjoyed it at a deeper level
because, um, because I thought the production
maybe wasn't like what I would put on a record,
but I think it worked really well for the record.
um and so um yeah i landed i think at a 3 .5
um i really i really enjoyed this and i was thankful
to get exposed to it and um to keep listening
so yeah i i went back and forth on this a lot
because like you don't want to be like prisoner
of the moment but also since March, I've listened
to this album probably three times a week. And
I was telling Joel the other day. He's not exaggerating.
I was like, it depends on what we're calling
it. Because I was like, if it's an album, I feel
like it has to be 10 songs. Which Joel was like,
that's not a rule, Brandon. That's just a Brandon
rule of music. But I think so if you look through
the lens of an EP, I think it shifts a little
bit. Yeah. But I think for me, if we're just
calling it this release, I think for me it's
it's five stars. Wow. And like I said, it was
I didn't want to be prisoner of the moment, but
I I feel as though when something is to the point
to where you can be months into it and still
not be tired of it or like over it. It's good.
And so I think it just impresses me, too, that
we we talk a lot about how it's almost you look
to the old to say, well, that's when all the
good stuff was. And today we're trying to catch
back up. And I think with Gable Price and Friends,
it it just reminds me of a lot of the stuff that
I enjoyed from bands growing up. And it reminded
me a lot of abandoned Kansas, too, almost if
they have. their children having bands, but the
members weren't that old. But yeah, so for me,
I think that it's. Yeah, that's cool. That's
a big deal. Yeah. That this is five stars for
you. And I just want to say about that, that
I think I think it's completely OK for us to.
um let our emotions get tangled up in the way
that we like experience the music that we're
experiencing because you can't divorce those
things from each other if this is just straight
math for us um and there's no feelings or emotion
involved in it there's no nostalgia involved
in it if it's something from the past then um
then what why are we even listening to you know
what i mean and so i i think that's awesome i
love that i love that so Alright, well, let's
move from there and see what is the lyric of
the week So our lyric of the week it comes from
newspaper boat and it is it seems like everybody's
dying But is anyone just dying to live? It seems
like everybody's crying, but nobody's really
trying to forgive. There's some good lyrics on
this album. I get why for you as a lyric guy,
this is up there because there's some really
solid writing that's happening. That's really
good. Cool. I feel like it says something too,
because I'm not a lyric person, but I feel like
when it comes to Gable Price and Friends, I am
a lyric person. You wrote a lot of lyrics down.
I did. I feel like lyrically, they are really
great. And I feel like they say things in such
great ways. Because like that, I had written
that one down. I wrote dying to live in quotation
marks underneath that song on my... my notes.
So I feel like that line, I like that line. So
yeah. I love it. I love it. That's awesome. Well,
Jordan, it's been great having you back. Thanks
for having me back. Of course. You are always
welcome to join us. It's kind of fun to get through
10 episodes and kind of have that that mark behind
us. And so I kind of feel like we're actually
like doing this thing now. And this is a real
thing. The fact that people like outside of our
immediate friend group, like our acquaintances
and stuff, are talking about the podcast, I feel
like that's pretty cool. Are they talking about
the podcast? Yeah. I was telling Joel beforehand
that like my boss, LaQuinta, I feel like I need
to send a shout out to her that... Hey, LaQuinta.
Every Friday morning I walk in and she'll be
like, so bleach, huh? And I'll be like... Do
we need to buy some for the center? And Jim would
be like, ah, nah, that was so cool listening
to Jared. And so to me, it's so cool to see someone
who hears that and thinks, oh, that's cool. And
I want to jump into that. So yeah. Yeah. So you
got some buzz going. Well, if you are buzzed
about what's happening on Hey Are You Listening?
We would greatly appreciate it if you give us
a review or some stars or subscribe to the podcast
wherever you listen to it. That would be super
helpful for us just to get the word out on what's
going on. Follow us on Facebook. Twitter, share
things that are going on. We would greatly, greatly
appreciate it. It's been fun today. I'm talking
about something that's happening now in the world
of Christian music. And I'm excited about doing
that even more because I do feel like we're in
a moment where there's a lot happening. And so
looking forward to digging into that even more
as the days pass. Thanks guys. Yup. Been a good
time.