Are you listening? Well, welcome to Hey, Are
You Listening? This is a podcast exploring the
past, present and future of Christian music.
My name is Joel. I'm here with my good friend
Brandon. We connected over a mutual love of some
particular artists, but have pretty different
tastes when it comes to things. And so we get
to experience new stuff from each other and invite
some friends along for the ride today. We actually
have a friend with us today. You may know him
from his time as a writer at Jesus Freak Hideout.
He's the author of a series of books called Burlwood
Forest. He's a husband, dad, all around rad dude,
and a huge fan of the band Boys Like Girls. It's
my friend, John Showcats. Hey, John. Oh, thanks.
I appreciate that. Hey, guys, thanks for having
me. I thought you were the big fan, but I was
actually going to mention that, but you kind
of beat me to it. So I'm glad that we can we
can bond over that love of Boys Like Girls. I
still don't think I've ever listened to a Boys
Like Girls album ever in my life. Oh, well, their
new one is really different, actually, than some
of their older stuff. My kids do like it, but
I have to kind of turn the volume down in a couple
choice words. It makes sense. You should not
recommended with this podcast. All right. Well,
John, we're pumped that you're here. Tell us
a little bit about how Christian music kind of
entered into your world. Yes. So, I mean, really
for the first, I don't know, 18 years is kind
of all I listen to. you know, some of the classics
like DC Talk, Audio Journal and Newsboys, and
then of course, some other classics, you know,
like Avalon and Point of Grace, slightly different
direction. But I just grew up in church and that's
just what we listened to, you know, and just
really enjoyed that. Lots of really good memories
of singing and, you know, road trips in the car
with my family and some of our stuffed animals
singing along which i guess was just me singing
in like a weird voice but um yeah just i don't
know i just i loved it i love music um took piano
for a really long time and and kind of picked
up some other instruments like drums and guitar
along the way and just always wanted to to be
a part of it and listen to it and it's really
been a big part of my life so That's cool. How
did you get into writing for Jesus Free Cutout?
So I always want to write. I don't know if it
was just the idea that, you know, with writing,
you sometimes get to do your own thing. And I
really like that. Or just just a way to combine
two things I love to do. So just the writing
and the music. It's really easy just. Kind of
reached out and they're like, oh yeah, this guy's
great. I was like, awesome. Yeah, let's do it.
And I wrote for them for 10 years. I did, I think
it was 2006 through 2016. So hate to say how
long it's been since then, but it was a really,
really good time. And honestly kind of getting,
you know, introduced to some music that I maybe
one of. you know, picked out myself otherwise,
but also, um, just getting to meet some other
people through that, that also really love music
and Christian music specifically. And it's a
really fun community to be a part of. That's
really cool that. So you started doing that not
long, probably after, um, we kind of parted ways.
So I, Let's see. We met when I moved to North
Carolina. Emily and I got married, moved to North
Carolina for me to go to school, to go to seminary.
And we ended up at the same church and you were
in high school while I was there. And I kind
of like volunteered in the student ministry there.
And that's how we got to know each other. Do
you have any memories of those days? Oh, I mean,
I just I don't know. I just remember you were
you're the coolest. person that I ever met. I'm
not just. Well, I mean, I am kind of trying to
butter you up, but like it's just I don't know.
You just have this and still do this quite kind
of cool about you. I actually was looking back
and I'm the president of a Joel Ainsworth Facebook
club. I don't know if you know this. This may
be the first time you're hearing about this.
It's called Joel Ainsworth Enough Said. And I
started this 19 years ago and. I'm actually and
this is where our previous conversation ties
in. This is the tagline and the group I don't
know if this is like a private group or a public
group that not everyone could could go join but
it says from rock star to youth pastor. He's
the man and he's got a smoking hot wife, which
is what this actually says and it says he also
loves boys like girls. So that's that's the actual
tagline of this this Facebook group and it currently
has three members. One of them doesn't appear
to have Facebook anymore. So Maybe you could
say two, but I think it was a stronger, you know,
group, maybe 19 years ago. But yeah, just the
first meeting you like you. I just thought you're
really cool, you know, and kind of being that
young, impressionable sort of teenagers like,
man, this guy's everything I want to be. And
it just sort of, you know, became this friendship
and. Um try to go down and see you in charleston
stuff and haven't seen you in a few years. So
I don't know if this counts But we definitely
need to get down and hang out again It definitely
it definitely counts for something. So, okay
Because you keep trying to get me to move there
I was gonna say after all the snow we've had
up here in north carolina. It's kind of It's
you're you're working on me. It's getting closer,
but you told me that you also had snow so that's
Maybe not as much. It's already gone though.
So well, okay But I've been working on you guys
for years and it hasn't happened yet. So I'm
kind of thinking it's probably not Don't give
up What kind of message does that send to your
kids? You can't give up what I mean, you never
know like we talk about it all the time all the
time Yeah, so I actually get a lot of Zillow
notifications from the Charleston area because
I'm always looking at houses that I can't afford
and I'm like, oh, that's a nice one. Like it's
only one point five million. You know, which
is only only as some of them come through that
are like 10 million. Yeah, well, there are a
few of those here. Yeah, just for the record
that facebook group is still active So anyone
listening can go join. Yes, please do Is it public
or private? Uh, I could see everyone's post on
here And there are there are posts from people
who for whatever reason have left the group one
person said I don't One time Joel and Emily came
to eat at my house on Easter Sunday. So you made
a huge impact 20 years ago at Catherine's house.
Catherine's awesome. It bums me out, though,
that there's only three people left. I wonder.
Yeah, I feel like the way you said that that
makes it sound like they all died. But I think,
you know, Facebook's just been around a while
and some people just aren't as active as they
used to be. Maybe that's part of it. I can't
let's go with that. I can't help but think about
all the people that actively like chose to leave
the group. Yeah, but I didn't. I just for the
record, I didn't. I appreciate that so much.
And I appreciate it. And I and I put the Boys
Like Girls thing in there because I know they
still matter. They still matter. Well, I'm really,
really excited to have you on. You're one of
the first people I thought about when we started
this podcast of John to be a great guest. Obviously,
you know what you're talking about when it comes
to Christian music. And and I knew it would just
be a fun conversation. So that is a lot to live
up to. So we'll see. Maybe you can edit that
part out if it doesn't go well. Sounds good.
Well, you brought us an album today. Hawk Nelson's
album Letters to the President. And so we're
going to get into that in just a little bit.
But before we do that, let's talk about what's
in the news. All right, so I have a couple of
things to talk about that are going on the news
and love for y 'all's input one of the things
that We just covered in a recent episode Brandon
was This Christian music fake news stuff that's
going around on social media. Mm -hmm, and I
pointed out the Facebook page made to move which
is a fake news site all about Toby Mac. John,
if you haven't checked this out, you need to
go and check it out online. But it's essentially
a page of all AI written. fake news stories about
toby mac and there are these pages out there
about so many other artists to you brandon lake
i've seen one about now like cc winans chris
tomlin yeah they're all on my page since we talked
about it so i appreciate that you're so welcome
but i just noticed yesterday and you actually
sent me too like right around the same time that
um toby mac actually just officially responded
um to this made to move facebook page and called
it out as fake news. And so I like to think a
little bit that we had a part to play in bringing
this to his attention because I know he's like
an avid listener of the podcast. Yeah, we brought
it to Toby's attention and I think we're just
helping people. We're helping him break through
the fake news. We're helping Skillet release
Christmas music. Just helping everyone out. That's
what we do. John, did you know about these pages
at all? These fake news pages? No, I feel like
if you're on one of them, though, you've really
made it. And I think I would be flattered personally.
And I hope that all of these people join the
Joel Ainsworth enough said Facebook group. It
sounds like you really have made a difference.
And that's just what it's all about. If we can
avoid AI news stories about me, though, that
would be really great. So, yeah, I just thought
it was interesting to see an artist finally finally
address this stuff, kind of head on and say,
hey, this is not good. This is wrong. And don't
listen to this. And so it's going to be interesting
to see how all this continues to play out. So
I don't know. I'd love we'd love to hear your
thoughts about that to listener So if you want
to message us and let us know what you think
about all that But I I think we we need like
a campaign of people getting on and like reporting
these pages To get Facebook's attention maybe
to shut them down. So another news thing that
popped up for me was I don't know if you guys
saw this but John James who is the original singer
for the newsboys So before Michael Tate was Peter
Ferler and before Peter Ferler was the singer
He was the drummer and newsboys had a singer
by the name of John James John James is back.
He's kind of been out of the spotlight for years
at this point Not in the newsboys, but he's got
a new book and autobiography coming out and a
new album coming out a solo album and so The
book kind of chronicles like everything that's
happened in his life. Um, I guess newsboys on,
um, and I, apparently there's been like some
dark periods, um, some dark stuff that he's kind
of walked through some hard things and, uh, the
solar record that he's got coming out is called
God of the second chance. Um, and I haven't had
a chance to listen to any of it yet, but apparently
if you pre -order the book, And you email in
a screenshot of like your Amazon pre -order to
them. They will send you a link to the album
To download which I thought was pretty interesting.
So I might might have to dig into that and check
it out Did you guys ever listen to the newsboys
and the John James days? I'd say probably because
I mean that's kind of all I listened to you back
in the day It was newsboys plus, you know, of
course point of grace and some of the Carmen
some of those classics. But I mean, I enjoyed
Newsboys most eras, I would say. So that does
sound like a really interesting read. And I might
check it out. I think his last last album with
the Newsboys was was it Take Me to Your Leader?
I think that that was him and Peter sharing,
if I'm not mistaken. I think it was a good one.
Yeah. Yeah. And then I think kind of before that,
it was pretty much just him going public, which
had shine on it and stuff like all that. All
that's John James. Yeah, then yes, definitely.
Yeah, that's good stuff. Interesting. He used
to be known because he would like in concerts
wear these like suits that were like metallic
and shiny and come out on stage. So the lights
would like shine and stuff shine. I mean, it
fit the song. I guess that was the point. I would
totally do that, except I would be wearing shorts,
because I don't really ever wear actual pants.
So it'd be like a shorts sort of suit. Well,
I did wear pants today in the snow. And actually,
my legs got colder than when I wear shorts. So
I don't even know why I did it, or when I wear
pants. I don't know. That's cool, though. When
you were first saying that he's releasing something,
I was hoping you were going to say book. I know
a couple years ago I read Mark Stewart's book,
and I appreciated that it went into a lot of
stuff that I'd never heard about. I think that's
cool because I think a lot of that stuff either
it's just not popular enough to be picked up
by a bigger publication or I think that like
I mean I think even in today's world a lot of
times if it's not necessarily like the the best
news it kind of gets buried by this or that like
for me personally I've appreciated like Jesus
Freak Hideout I feel like when something Drops
you're gonna get like, yeah, here's what's happening.
Whereas with some other news you have other websites
that sometimes is a How can we not release this
or how can we kind of ignore that this thing's
happening or whatever? And um, so I feel like
yeah i'm pretty excited to get to see what What
kind of he dives into with stuff? Yeah, it'll
be interesting too to apparently a lot of the
record harkens back to some of those early Like
newsboys days stylistically so it'd be interesting
to check out all right well let's play a game
All right. So our game today is going to be a
game of CCM 20 questions. And so I love doing
these because I get to sit on the side of the
microphone where I know what it is that I'm thinking
of in my head. But you guys get 20 yes or no
questions to ask me to try and figure out what
album that I have in my head. And so you get
to ask those questions. You can ask me when you
think you have a guess for the artist, what the
artist is, but you only get one guess on the
album for the final. So you ready? Yeah, the
pressure's on. All right, let's do it. I'm actually
going to pull up some notes on it on here just
so I don't mess things up when you ask me questions
and I can answer more correctly. So but I'm ready
to go when you are. So is the lead singer a female?
I think that's always my first question. It is.
And as always, the answer is no. So is it a band
then? Is it a band? Yes, this is a band. Was
it released? After 2000. Yes. Okay. Was it released
after 2010? No. Okay. Nears it down, that's all.
We're coming for you. It's your favorite decade,
Brandon. Yeah. Well, I love that decade. I was
young and yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I enjoyed
going sidebar. I enjoyed going through i've always
enjoyed a jesus free hideouts year end like um
best of So I was enjoying going through your
um picks for the years. So oh, yeah I should
go do that and see See what you put see if he's
still like, yeah, there's a lot of agreement.
I feel like there's some disagreement though.
So cool um Was this band on goatee records No
Were they on tooth -and -nail records? Yes Okay
And I need to go pull up like Wikipedia or something
That's probably cheating. That's probably cheating.
And not reliable I think that's six questions.
Wow, man, you're a stickler. Wow Okay, it's kind
of like Gerd's it's not like when I tell my kids,
you know Like it'll be five minutes, but it's
really 20 because they haven't noticed like the
actual number Okay, and is it Is this are they
is this album or is this artist still? Producing
music. Oh, that's a good question Yes I want
to ask if it's Hawk Nelson, but that just seems
like too obvious for this particular... That's
not a question. That's like the genie in Aladdin
when you get the free one when they escape the
cave, you know? Do they have the same lead singer
that they had back then? Good question. Yes.
Okay. Is there a number in the... uh artists
name no i mean i was really hoping you were gonna
say yes is the artist name one word yes that's
10 hmm that's a good question um have we reviewed
this artist on the podcast before no Is the artist
a heavier sounding band? I mean, that's like
a really vague question. I don't know. Feel free
to reveal more about them. I don't like I'm not
going to count that as a question because I feel
like it's a little hard to answer. um that's
why i asked it i will just say i will just remind
you they're so they're on tooth and nail not
on solid state i'd say right okay um i forget
you say that they're did we ask if they're if
it was one name or we have or he asked if it
was one word the name was where it is yes Does
it start with an A? No. Oh. Is it a... Nope,
that's kind of a... This is hard. This is hard.
Does the... Band have a piano in it. Oh, that's
a good question. Yes Does the name start with
a vowel? I feel like Brandon's really got something
on him. No. That only nears it down to 21 letters
now. But that helps. That helps. Think you guys
can do this How many questions we got left? That's
I think 14. Mm -hmm Just think through some of
the things tooth and nail band one word 2000
2010 one word piano No female vocalist. No lead
vocalist, right? not a Is is the album name multiple
words Yes Okay You said they're still releasing
stuff Yeah, I will they're they're in they're
an active band Do they know that they're an active
band? Yes, I'm not I'm not gonna count that y
'all are at 15 now I keep wanting to guess Jones
Etta, but that they literally there's some So
can I say yes or no can we do yes or no for the
band is like As long as we don't do yes or no
for the album and get that wrong Yeah, you can
ask about the artist. Is the band May? Yes. Look
at that. Yes. Wikipedia. Okay. I only know one
May album, so I'm really going to need John.
I mean, so there's their first one. Just a little
more chill. Their second one was the more piano
heavy one, is the one I'm sort of leaning towards,
which was right there in 2005. Which is right
in the zone of the... Does this album come with
a, like, storybook? No. Oh, I'm out then. Was
the storybook one was that the everglow that's
that's for brands when I was thinking oh Did
Did this album come before the everglow yes Then
it has to be destination beautiful yes, that's
19 you guys got there Good Wow, I mean I always
think of you and I think of that album because
that I don't know that guy just reminds me of
you He's just chill but but not a member of the
Facebook group Yeah, good job guys you did it
congratulations, yes, I want to go tell my kids
but I'll tell them after It was a real joint
effort. Yeah I don't know what that band is,
but good job, dad. They should. You need to,
uh, I mean, they, they would recognize like,
yeah, I, you know, kids, kids. Yeah, I got it.
All right. So let's go check the mail. Alright,
so our mail today comes from a friend of the
show and past guest Andrew Blalock. He says Brandon
and Joel I think if I had to pick one CCM artist
to rescue me from an abandoned island, it would
be Rebecca st. James All seas are just wired
differently. She could get the job done Yeah,
what do you think about Rebecca st. James as
being an island rescuer we We we did a whole
segment about being on an island and who we would
we would want to be stranded on an island with
Who we would want to rescue us um, so what do
we think about rebecca st james as a rescuer?
I feel like I I don't I don't know her that well
I feel like I know a little bit of her music,
but if i'm that generation that's like Oh, isn't
isn't she like the older sister for king of country?
Shame on you I mean, yeah, Australia is an island.
So maybe I'm just being rescued off of Australia.
They have a lot of weird animals there. If I'm
not like in the city, I'm probably going to want
to leave because I don't like snakes or spiders
or anything. Hopefully she can kind of help me
out. Hopefully she can get the job. Let's do
it. Yeah, I don't I don't really know. But it's
an interesting take, Andrew. And so I feel like
she would have a nice smiling face as she's coming
to save you, which would be hopeful and good
in a moment like that. So thanks for the comment.
And don't forget, you can reach out to us with
your own questions or comments for the podcast
at, Hey, are you listening? Pod at gmail .com.
We would love to hear from you and be great.
So let's talk for a second about what we've been
listening to lately. What have you guys been
listening to? For me, I feel like I always forget
we're doing this segment, so I never have it
pulled up. So recently, one of our recent reviews,
Grace Graber, she released a punk cover of That's
Who I Praise. And I feel like she's just doing
a really good job with the covers. I know we
discussed this in the episode, her cover of Like
Everything You Ever Wanted. I feel like she just
does a really good job of kind of like, uh, punkifying
or whatever stuff. Um, so I'm enjoying that cover
and, um, I haven't had a chance to really sit
down and really dive into it, but, uh, a band
that I really loved, uh, back in high school,
Voda, which people probably remember Brian Olson.
He finished I think third on the voice a couple
of years ago. And used to be a guitarist in Newsboys.
They're back with a new album. It's called Back
to the Start. So I'm looking forward to getting
to sit down and kind of dive into that album
and seeing kind of what's in that. That's cool.
Grace Graber, I think, is doing a whole album
of covers. Oh, really? From what I have noticed
online, she said there's an album coming later
this year of just punk versions of like worship
songs or. Whatever it may be so I thought that
was kind of interesting John. Have you listen
any grace graber ever? No, no, she's checking
out I guess. Yeah, she might be up your alley
music wise. So you should check out cool. What
have you been listening to lately? So kind of
three main things In my car, it's sort of an
endless sort of rotation of 21 pilot CDs My son
really likes this and he's just like, oh, let's
see this one. I'm like we just listen that one
and then he convinces me anyway, because whatever,
but they're on actual like CDs because I don't
know. I just feel like he should appreciate the
classic way of listening to things and the class.
I probably had the only like running car that
still has a CD player. So you and Brandon have
this in common, this love for these companies.
I love CDs. I just I miss just going to the store
and. and buying, you know, flipping through the
covers. And I don't know. It's just so much more
fun than digital stuff. But that's probably for
another day. So a lot of twin -on -plats in the
car. We got a lot of Legos for Christmas and
a lot of them are Harry Potter Legos. So we were
making one the other day and we decided that
we needed to listen to the Harry Potter soundtrack
while we did it because it just felt like the
right thing to do. So just went out and bought
that which is an impulse purchase that I don't
regret and have really enjoyed that Did you buy
it on CD? No, unfortunately, no, it was another
one of those snow days like we just we keep right
keep having snow days and which are great Lego
days for sure because you can only sled so long
before like you can't get back up the hill and
You know, you're completely frozen. So a lot
of Legos on Harry Potter, but probably The one
thing that actually answers your question is
I've been listening to a lot of Forrest Frank.
So my kids really like him and we like to watch
the YouTube video versions of those. We're like,
ah, show me the video on your phone and cause
kids and phones and they're just, I don't know,
it's weird. I'm doing a lot of those, just really
getting into him and yeah, it makes pretty good
stuff. So I didn't know him until like the end
of last year for some reason. So I've been really
out of it. Cool. Yeah, he's he's pretty popular
out there these days. So yeah, yeah, that's cool.
Like again, I've been out of it. I don't know.
I feel like there's been a band that showed up
a couple of times in my like social media feed.
And so I finally I liked what I was hearing there.
And so I went and added their record on Apple
Music and it's the band Strings and Heart. Have
you heard of them? So they have an album out
called plastic wine and it's it's super good.
It's like like modern like a modern indie band
but like super super christian lyrics I really
like what they're doing a lot musically. I think
they're like a three or four piece So there's
not like a lot of members of the band, but they
do a lot of cool and creative kind of things
and so I've just enjoyed listening to that a
lot and would recommend it if you're into like
kind of like the modern indie sound they're they're
capturing it really well and doing some really
cool things and so that's an album that came
out in 2025 so it's not like a 2026 release but
but it's something that I've been listening to
a decent amount this year already and so I definitely
recommend that one It's kind of made me sad.
You know, we did our year -end best of, and there's
already been a few artists that I've discovered
their release stuff last year. And I'm like,
oh man, I wish I would have discovered this,
but I feel like there's just so much, you know,
it's like the, the G's freak hideout, like the
release things. Sometimes you go on there and
you realize there's some weeks 10 or 15 stuff
that's dropping and you're like, you can't, you
know, you can't get around to all of it, but.
It's funny the stuff that slips through the crack
sometimes. Yeah, I I can't afford to buy that
many cds You know going that round gotta get
that Actual cds, you know john they have this
thing called streaming now. Whoa where you can
you can pay for a subscription? You can pay for
a subscription and listen to anything that you
want. Yes, but why would I do that when I could
get a cd? Because if you try and buy all the
cds, it's really expensive. Well, it is but you
know Yeah, you're right The streaming thing that's
like a constant purchase here the CDs only a
one -time purchase so it feels like less Even
though it's definitely not and it's impractical
and I love it so much So I will say I I don't
think we've been we brought it up yet, but the
artists we're reviewing today Hawk Nelson I felt
like One thing growing up that meant a lot to
me was they spent so much time on their packaging
so like the friend like that one was the disk
was like a Spin like for the board game and the
lyric like booklet was a board game. So like
one was like a paper airplane That one was a
game I'm trying to think the one with like zero
on it that Hawk Nelson one it was like a giant
Fold out poster. So it was like whenever you
bought one of their CDs you knew you were getting
something that you would not get if you bought
it off of like Apple or if you stole it from
like Napster or whatever who whoever was back
in the day. Yeah. Yeah, see Joel you put That
guy had a business, the guy who made the board
game CD. And now he's probably living on the
street. And he can't afford a subscription to
Apple Music and all that. Hey, I have you specifically.
And only I'm just older than you guys. I buy
everything on vinyl that I love. So it's fine.
And I'm waiting for CDs to become cool again.
And I will be first line. I bought letters to
the president on CD when it came out. Okay, so
like that's But if it had been like that was
the only option My mom probably bought it for
me because I was in high school You might have
told me to go listen to it. I don't know probably
and I also said that about boys like girls Yeah,
I think I bought it at Lifeway for like five
bucks when it was on sale but the five dollar
CDs I grew up it was such a treat. Yeah to like
get those or you would get like a pre -order
this one and get like a five dollar coupon and
I remember as a kid, there's so many artists
I discovered like from the five dollar sales.
Yeah, those were a real bargain How much are
CDs these days? a lot Yeah, the harry potter
soundtrack was a little more than I Bought uh,
but kind of already had in my head. I was like,
you know Got this whole lego. It's 500 pieces.
I need the whole soundtrack I'm not going to
say how much it was, but it was worth it. And
I would recommend that you make the same choice.
So I'm not the only one. Also, though, could
you not just pull up YouTube and play the soundtrack
on YouTube? Yeah, but it really gets you out
of the mood when you feel like you're in the
Gryffindor common room and then it does this
commercial for some sort of drug. You know, it's
talking about death and all the side effects.
You're like, yeah Yeah, I get it. I don't I don't
pay for you to be there. So I understand All
right. Well on that let's transition and talk
through This album that we're covering today
So today we're talking about the album letters
to the president by the band Hawk Nelson, so
this is the debut studio album I'm released by
Christian pop punk band Hawk Nelson. The album
was released on July 13th, 2004 on tooth and
nail records. It was later re -released on October
4th, 2005, which I think is actually the release
that I bought with six additional tracks and
three exclusive tracks as a deluxe edition. Jesus
Freak Hideout, but not John gave this album.
Two or three next CDs after that. Yeah. Gave
this album four and a half stars. Um, so let's
kind of talk about our opening thoughts. Um,
maybe like how we, this came across, um, our,
our ears, how we started listening to Hawk Nelson,
where we heard him for the first time. I don't
know. What do you, what do you guys have to say?
Um, so I first heard Hawk Nelson. I don't know.
It was. I didn't know I was hearing Hagenhausen.
I just, I heard, uh, every little thing somewhere
online, probably somewhere illegal, not like
Napster or any of those. I don't know what the
statute of limitations is for illegal downloading,
but, um, I heard that song and I was like, I
didn't know who it was. Uh, it was just a random
file that I came across that I liked. I was like,
this is a great song, it's catchy. Um, and so
I actually had to do a lot of 2004 research.
to figure out who it was. You know, like Googling
the lyrics. I think it was Google back then.
It was like Ask Jeeves or something. I don't
know. And just like search every old school way
there was. And finally figured out it was Hawk
Nelson. I was like, oh, this band's pretty cool.
And just really just jumped into it from there.
You know, got the CD. Didn't know there was a
2005. One that had more songs. So I'm going to
have to look for more CDs today. I'll sell you
my copy. OK. OK. Yeah, we'll do that. We'll do
that. Yeah. But yeah, I don't know. Really just
started listening to him from there once I figured
out who it was and just really, really enjoyed,
you know, this this particular album, just some
of their other ones, too. For me, I found them
on Winter Jam. I feel like, growing up, that
was like, before you had like the Spotify's and
all, like, even for us, the nearest like, like,
life way was an hour from us. So, growing up,
there wasn't this like, easy access to find like,
new Christian music. And I remember even at this
time, like, my mom was like, hey, beware of like,
YouTube. but she let me go on Facebook, so it
was just weird. Like, hey, we can't trust someone
on YouTube, but Facebook, that's safe over there.
And so, like, even finding music videos was like,
you'd wake up Saturday morning and hope you found
something on, like, first it was like MTV, and
then they had, I don't know if you guys remember
the Gospel Music Channel? Like, there was this
like 24 -7 Christian music channel that ran for
like five years, and they would have different
ones. So one was just random music videos. One
was dedicated to like rock. One was dedicated
to like, you know, rap or whatever. So I remember
finding them at Winter Jam and I was like, oh,
this is cool. This is different. Like I've never
really experienced like pop punk. And then I
think it was being at home and just randomly
seeing their friend like that music video and
just like I said, thinking This is different.
I haven't seen a band like this before and So
that kind of just jump -started like jump again
and kind of discovering not only them but also
other people in the pop punk genre That's cool.
I can't remember for me what it was that That
made me when I saw this record Outlife way pick
it up. I probably had heard some of it before
Some of their stuff before but I think I was
just intrigued probably won by the $5 price tag
on it but always helps yeah but it looked like
a good deal because it was like 20 songs for
like five bucks and i'm like well i might as
well uh just pick this thing up and see how it
goes because i liked pop punk um and so um and
and yeah it was it was a it was a fun album to
kind of dig into and listen to i think something
about the name too just kind of like caught me
like oh there's this christian punk band that's
talking about like letters to the president that
they would write. And I'm like, that's gotta
be interesting to see what it is that they're
gonna say. So something about that. I was a little
taken back by that's pretty much the theme of
like one song on the album and the rest of it's
about girls, but you know, boys like girls. They
do, yeah. So relevant in every conversation.
So cool. Well, let's kind of walk by this track
by track and kind of dig into it. First track
on the record is California. So what do we think
about California? I feel like this is probably
Hawk Nelson's most famous track, maybe, which
I feel like it's really weird when you kind of
like look at this song and you compare it to
anything after Jason left because like this is
just such a good comparison of there was like
You know, like we brought John James earlier
and I feel like Newsboys, there's a huge shift
from like Peter to when Michael took over. And
I feel like with Hawk Nelson it's the same way.
But I feel like it's super catchy. And I think
that, you know, as someone who knew the band,
It got me excited kind of like nostalgia going
but I think from a perspective of someone who
wouldn't know the band I think that you would
go into okay if nothing else, I'm gonna get Just
like some fun songs on there. Yeah. Yeah John,
what'd you think? I I really like this song I
had been on, you know, Mr. Trip to California
like fairly Kind of around that time, you know
when I picked up the album And so I was like,
oh yeah, California, I've been there and I had
a really good time out there. And I was like,
yeah, let's pack up and move to California. I've
got some friends out there now, too. And it just
really got me excited. And since then, I'm like,
oh, the cost of living and the politics and all
that. But back then, when I was younger and naive,
and it's still just a great song. It's just like
Brandon said, it's just fun. It's a fun song.
Like when I discovered Hawk Nelson, I mean I
was a big fan of Reliant K. I was kind of like,
oh, it's like a second Reliant K that I can listen
to now I have two bands. So yeah, I loved it.
I thought it was great. Yeah, that's cool. It
is just a fun opener song. Yeah, I never thought
about it in the context of that Bakersfield trip,
but yeah, that was a fun trip. Yeah, I like this
one. It's super catchy. I like the guitar at
the beginning I feel like it kind of is a great
setup to the album like the theme of the song
California fits the vibe of the song. There's
even like surf guitar that like Happens in there.
And so yeah, I think this is a great a great
way to kick off the record Next we move to things
we go through John, how'd you feel about that
track? It's another good track. I thought you
know the the actual sound of the the song It's
sort of in contrast just kind of some of the
bummer things that they talk about. Mm -hmm You
know, it's a really Just jumpy, you know energetic
song, but then they're just talking about you
know things we go through and it's just Life's
hard sometimes and and that's why you need God
you need him on your, he's always on your side,
but you need to, you know, just trust him. Cause
there's been just divorce and, and, you know,
it's hard grown up, but just pressures of life
and all that. So it's just, yeah, it's, it's
after the first song's really fun. It's, it's
kind of maybe a more serious and content song,
but It still sounds fun. So it's really relatable
and and easy to get into. Yeah. My favorite thing
about this song is when they start the verses,
there's like this like softer guitar that plays
under it. That's not just like the like pop punk
rhythm guitar. And I love that guitar tone and
that guitar part. I think it works really well.
Um, that's my big standout thing. I also wrote
down for this. They love gang vocals. Um, because
they do them on almost every song on this record.
Um, but, um, but yeah, it's good. I love that
guitar. Um, I think I could definitely see where
someone could think that it's too much of a shift,
but for me, I enjoyed that it showed a more serious
side right off the bat. Cause I think a lot of
times bands like a Hawk Nelson, if you have like
10 tracks, you'll have eight of them are this
fun fun fun and then you have two that it's almost
like it just comes to such a halt or it's so
different that it just feels very out of place
that it's like all you've been singing about
is girls but then you have a track where they're
like oh man let's talk about this thing that
happened to a friend or let's talk about this
you know this um this big thing that's going
on in the world or whatever um like social issue.
So I enjoyed that kind of right off the bat.
You knew that you weren't just going to get a
full track of California. But also it was you
can talk about more stuff without it being this
huge shift. Like there's a balance between the
two worlds. Right. Yeah, that's cool. All right.
What about track three? Every little thing. So
again, this was the first one that I heard and
didn't know was them so I spent a lot of time
Researching this song and you know being a teen
guy. I was like, man, you know girl that here
another song about girls, but It was totally
relevant for me. I was like this is exactly what
I'm looking for. This is fantastic You know girl
loves Jesus and I mean, yes sign me up and if
it didn't work out between them, you know, it's
like Maybe he can introduce me. It was an awesome
introduction to Hawk Nelson. I loved it. I thought
it was totally relevant to my life and I just
really enjoyed it. It was great. That's cool.
Yeah, I think this one works really well. The
melodies are good. I like the... Like there's
a solo in there. I like the hand claps. It's
like the traditional thing that you do on like
a Super pop pop punk song like this. Yeah, you
got a key change that happens lots of good good
Things that are happening and it's also it's
just like if you have a Christian pop punk album
I feel like you're required to have a song like
this on it. Just like the stereotypical. Can
I just find like the girl that loves Jesus? You
have to write songs like this. There's so many
MXPX songs like this. It's Reliant K. It's just
required. It's got to be there and it's there.
There it is. Yeah, I feel like it's just your
classic fun song about a girl. I feel like it's
not trying to change the world or change music
or whatever. I feel like it's there just to be
this fun little song singing about a girl. So
I feel like it like it does what it's supposed
to do on there. Next, we move to From Underneath.
Joel, how do you feel about this track? Yeah,
so this is a different this moves in like a different
direction, right? Because it's an acoustic song.
Even though you still got the same. This is the
good thing about pop punk. Like you can you can
strip everything away and just have an acoustic
guitar and accomplish the same thing. As I was
listening to this, I'm like, they could have
done this full band like this. It's the same
kind of songwriting. It's just stripped down
to an acoustic guitar. But like, I think that
that that drop fits because they're dealing with
some like much heavier stuff in this song. And
so the pulling back helps carry that. I. I was
trying to do a little research on this, but I
felt like, um, I felt like maybe this, this is
something to do with like his dad or something.
Um, I'm not, not super sure. You guys may have
more insight on that, but, um, just musically
and the vibe of the song, I felt like worked
really well and, um, and fits well with the fact
that they're dealing with some heavier stuff.
Yeah, the standout part to me in the song was
the I guess kind of bell sort of sound at the
start. Mm -hmm Like I don't know something about
that I you know, I was in band growing up and
I had this like massive bell kit that I had to
lug to school on the bus and For some reason
in high school No one else could read music in
the percussion section So like anytime there
was a song that included bells like that was
that was always my song. They were like, oh,
yeah you go over there do that and so you know
not just kind of the heavier content but just
that it immediately started with something that
was really relatable and that way to me i was
like oh this is fun you know bells and uh it
just stood out still stands out like when i was
re -listening to it um for this i was like oh
it's the it's the bell song this is great um
i i feel like hawk nelson just does acoustic
so well Like I think that maybe, maybe my favorite
Hawk Nelson release was they're like, I think
it was like the lighter sides one that they released
with a crazy love, but it was just like all just
acoustic stuff. And I just, I feel like they
do it so well and it's cool when you can have
these like full band stuff, but then you can
also do acoustic and do that well. So it just
stood out because even just like live like I've
seen I saw Huck Nelson when they were touring
and then I've gotten to see Jason Dunn twice
solo and I feel like honestly like I would put
both shows like kind of the same and I feel like
that's such a testament when you can have something
that is just a lot of like production and all
this stuff and then you just have a guy with
a Guitar and a harmonica, you know and you're
still being like I'm I'm loving this or I feel
like I'm still getting this that same song Even
though it's without all of the electronics and
backing stuff and all. Yeah. Yeah, it's cool.
Yeah, it's a good one All right track five is
the um title track of the record letters to the
president What do we think about letters to the
president? I had a question for y 'all. Um Whenever
like I guess as someone that like I said, I got
into their like friend like that So I probably
listened to this album Maybe like 2013 or 2014.
Yeah, so when this first came out like was this
controversial at all like the stuff that they
were Talking about or they were like, oh you
can't say, you know like crackhead like or something
on because I mean like I know for me there was
like I Remember like neon horse was pulled from
stores. I remember like I tried to go by John
Rubin's Sex drugs and self -control and I was
told by Lifeway we do not sell that kind of stuff
But then I went and found it and I was like actually
you do it's right here. But so I was wondering
like was that something that it all was wow this
is pushing the envelope or was it like no they're
just singing like that's there's nothing i don't
yeah i mean as someone who ran the music department
out of life uh -huh um i feel like um certain
edgy stuff is allowed as long as it's disparaging
of like Sinful stuff and sinful people. Mm -hmm
But like if it's like edgy for any other reason
then it's not allowed and so I don't think that
there were any issues with this just because
I feel like it's like It's like talking down
to all the right stuff that it's okay for Christians
to talk down to you. Okay. Yeah, I don't know
Yeah, I mean I I really liked I thought it was
a bold song the first You know, I kind of had
to figure out. I was like, wait, you know, the
president and they're talking about the parliament
and I was like, wait, what? Well, as they were
Canadian, I was like, OK. But that Tommy is a
crackhead is probably my favorite line on the
whole album. It's because it was it was just
really like, wait, what? You know, it catches
your attention and it really makes you think
just kind of like the rest of the song. So I'm
glad it was in there because it was memorable
to this day for me just. Just thinking about
this album and that song specifically. Mm hmm.
Yeah, I like this one a lot. I'm I'm still a
little confused by the. The whole like, I'm like,
why, why doesn't he just write a letter to the
president? You know what I mean? It's like, which
I guess the song like sort of is. And because
he's like, but for now. I'll start with something.
Yeah, I think like is the song the starting with
something like um I'm just a little like unclear
on all of those kinds of ideas I I think and
I don't know if that's what they're going for
but I think that my interpretation would maybe
be a Like I need to write this they need to change
this but then it's like maybe like, you know
the change starts like with you, like type of
thing. Maybe it's like, you know, I think about
like today, or I think about stuff that I'm like,
this is wrong, or this needs to be changed. And
I think like, well, I could, you know, I could
go outside and go stand outside the White House
and yell, I'm probably gonna get tackled. But,
you know, but you know, like, you start thinking
about like, the little things where it's like,
you have a problem with that, where can I step
in and say, you know, I, you know, instead of
Shouting or writing letters. I could step in
but I don't if Jason was here He might be like
that's not at all what I mean and be quiet I
Get the feeling that he probably would agree
with you on that. I just don't know how like
I Don't know. It doesn't like come across super
strong in the song. Uh -huh It feels more just
like a we're just gonna kind of question everything
which is yeah, it's very punk rock to like question
everything Just hope that Tommy has gotten clean
and that he's no longer a crackhead It's been
a long time. I hope he's doing okay We need a
few Yeah, yeah, I can do Tommy. That would be
a good song. Actually. I haven't That's what
I would ask more than anything else until John
mentioned it I even think about like oh what
if that was a real person like that completely
changes the song if This is like, yeah, we just
were thinking about stuff Versus if they were
like no, these are real people that we know and
i'm like, oh this song Gets way more serious
than no doubt So next we move to right here So
what were your thoughts on right here? Yeah,
I this this is a song that fits here It reminds
me of the kind of songs that I wrote when I was
young It's like when you're young and you are
Trying to find the girl or whatever then you
want to write songs that are gonna try and make
the girls Swoon and this just felt like that
kind of song Yeah, yeah, it's just really fun
to sing to especially in the car especially from
a CD specifically and I I still love to sing
this song I had Well, this is more of an excuse.
I had sinus surgery a few years back and I don't
feel like I can sing as well as I used to. And
so that's like personally disappointing, but
I still sing just as loudly to it. And this is,
yeah, just one of those kind of simple fun songs
that just has to be on here. Yeah. And it is,
it does a great job. You sing this one to Anna
pretty frequently. All the time. I will probably
do that after we get off of this because it's
been long enough that she may be upset. Happy
wife, happy life. I feel like for me, this was
the first one that like missed a little. And
I think like there was nothing wrong with it.
I think it was just the first one that I felt
like, oh, I'd already been here. Whereas I feel
like leading up to it, the tracks were all like
a little bit different. Um, so it just felt like
I was getting more of a variety. And when this
one hit, um, and I, I think with pop punk, like
I think on the Grace Graber one, I mentioned
that there's, there's a lot of bands in that
genre that, you know, you could hear a song and
I'm going to think this could be one of 15 artists,
you know, like it can lens itself. Um, so I feel
like this was the first one that was kind of
like, okay, there's nothing wrong with it, but
like, This kind of falls into a okay. I feel
like i've already experienced this a little bit
if that makes sense Yeah, there's an inevitability
to that. Yeah a pop punk record that has um 14
songs on it. Yeah, yeah, it's just gonna start
to run together. Yeah a little bit at some point
um, and so but that's what I like about it and
I I think it really is like I and joel probably
strongly disagrees with this like when bands
just Get so different from the sound that I expect
it's like but I listen to you because of that
sound What are you doing over here? Like like
I want you know Classic Reliant K not air for
free or whatever Yeah, like that kind of stuff
like I would listen to someone else if I wanted
that so I Definitely see your point, but for
me it was like yeah, this is this is exactly
why I'm right here You know for this Speaking
of changing things up though track seven recess
does that in a pretty significant way? I'm I'm
gonna go ahead and just say I have been feeling
very nostalgic for like interludes recently.
Yeah, and so when this hit I was so excited because
I I feel like I miss the days of You know like
like something I used to not appreciate as much
but on me without you brother sister the spider
songs. I used to be like, why are these here?
And now I'm like, this is so cool, because it
feels like I'm just getting this bonus. And I
feel like there's a lot of stuff that's been
kind of that 2000s that I've been revisiting.
And I'm like, man, I miss this where they used
to be these little fun, same with like bonus
tracks. I miss there when there was this year
listening to a CD. and being like okay are we
gonna get like a hidden track on here or something
and um so when i i heard it i was like i i as
soon as i just saw it i was like i don't even
have to hear this i'm already gonna give it a
thumbs up yeah i wrote down next to this one
can i have more of this um yeah i just like i
like they went full punk rock right and uh it's
fun you've got the fast drums you've got the
heaviness Cool lead guitar. I'm like now it kind
of wish this was an actual song. Uh -huh flushing
it out, but I I really enjoyed it for what it
was, too Yeah, I like kind of hiding it here
as opposed to a secret song even though that
was the thing for a while because when you listen
to something on CD There's all this silence and
you can't really zoom ahead as well. Yeah, and
so this was just a nice it's like, you know,
it's like There's not necessarily a reason that's
here except for just fun and I mean calling it
recess like who doesn't love recess? Last year
my daughter had recess three times on Fridays,
and I was like that's exactly how life should
be this is Everybody needs recess. Yeah, it's
good to take a break from the pump. Yeah All
right. What about track eight take me? Mmm, I
like it slowing down a little bit. I feel like
it was nice So yeah, I just I felt like it was
a little nice slowdown moment Yeah, I felt like
this was my first like kind of to the record.
Mm -hmm It's it's one of those like Songs that's
like alright, we're gonna write like a love song
to God but make it vague enough to where you're
not into God Then like you won't know that it's
about God. Mm -hmm, which sounds like super vague,
but You could totally as an outsider be like,
oh yeah, this was for a girl or whatever There
parts of it that I really loved they do this
weird thing at the end though where the melody
gets off of the rhythm of the song Mm -hmm, and
I feel like it's like we're gonna try and do
something creative, but I don't I don't feel
like it really Super worked and so I don't know
not not my favorite track on the record, but
Yeah, it's not Probably not one of the standout
ones, but it's fun. It's easy to sing to Back
when I could sing and it just Yeah, I feel like
they kind of perfected especially on this album
like the you know They're not really quite like
power ballad type things, but they're a little
a little bit slower Maybe then especially after
recess, you know, you got to slow it down. Yeah
sure. Everybody's tired run around so it you
know it it works fine it's fine it's yeah uh
next up we have someone else before john how
do you feel about this track i i thought it was
so i i felt like some of the layers were kind
of random like they take the sip of my water
part you know it's like it just felt really random
but not in a bad way it was just like oh It's
a weird lyric. Um, then I had the phone call
in the middle, which was Also unique I guess
to this song on this album. So, you know, I appreciate
it for trying some different stuff and You know,
i'm easy to please I liked it. I thought it was
great Dude like so I was wondering because the
phone call didn't sound like jason. So I was
wondering like Is it another member of the band
or like a friend or like their manager or No
idea Yeah, yeah, I don't know I wish I could
say it was me and that like you guys are just
learning some really cool trivia Uh right now,
but but now so I guess we'll just say yes john.
We'll just say this. Yeah. Yeah learning it now.
Yes Yeah breaking news right here Um, and I'm
learning it now too. So this is a significant
moment in my life. I think for me, this, this,
uh, this might be my least favorite song on the
record. Um, I don't know. It's breakup song.
Kind of par for the course. Um, I feel like the
second verse is kind of weird. I don't know.
It's just not my favorite track on the album.
Currently taking a sip of my water. Just like
in honor of the song now I I like the bass. I
think that it I really like jason's voice in
it. Um, I like the I don't know if you would
call them like screams or just yells or whatever.
Yeah, um I I really like when jason does that
um The phone call in the middle. I like just
because I feel like it was random like I enjoy
just the Feel like you get away with it because
they have presented themselves as we're a band
that likes to have fun Like we want to go California
or whatever. And so I feel like you You're able
to get away with it Like because of who you've
presented yourself like I think like if this
was on a Family Force 5 album I would be like,
yeah that makes sense because there's this like
kind of chaotic energy happening so Moving on
to first time Joel, how'd you feel about that
track? Yeah, I like this one. I feel like the
record picks up a little bit for me again here
I like the guitar work. There's like breaks and
pauses that are happening in it Just feels like
it kind of moves shifts a little back in gear
for me on this one. Mm -hmm Yeah, it's um, I
It's a good song. I was still like four times
this morning trying to think of more to say,
but it's just I don't know. It's just an enjoyable
song and I nothing stood out one way or another,
but it's a solid part of the CD. Yeah. I felt
like it was it kind of felt a little repetitive,
like the track a few tracks ago, but I still
liked it. And I think that's. I think that's
nice is that it wasn't like, uh, I'm skipping
this. Like I don't like it. I'm skipping it.
It's more of like, uh, okay, you know, like I,
I get it. Cause you know, to John's point, it's
that's what you are like expecting. So it's like
the track is doing its job. Um, and so like,
you know, I might think it's a little repetitive,
but I think, you know, there's there's artists
I love that I could see someone being like they're
doing the same thing and I'd be like no no he
screamed differently a couple of tracks ago this
one is he's yelling or he's speaking like Arabic
or something like something like different with
it um next up we're moving to like a race car
um well what's funny is as a huge NASCAR fan.
I had people that assumed that like this was
my favorite track or that had heard it. I never
even listened to this track until last year.
Jason Dunn was doing this like acoustic tour
and he came to Columbia and we went saw him and
I heard like the story behind the song and like
him perform it and I was like this is Really
cool and this just been sitting here for the
longest like okay But I really liked it. I feel
like it's like super catchy and I think just
like the visuals I found myself thinking of like
NASCAR races while he's singing stuff and I'm
like, oh I'm sure on YouTube. There's someone
who has put together like footage from like a
NASCAR I don't know like a Fast and the Furious
movie or something like to this song So I'm sure
that's out there, but I enjoyed it Yeah, I don't
know for some reason this was the one song on
here that just like didn't connect with me maybe
it's because I'm not a NASCAR fan which really
came ahead when I First started dating Anna because
her dad gave me one of those, you know, contract
to date my daughter or something that had all
these in depth questions, you know, including
my social security number and all these things.
Apparently it wasn't actually supposed to fill
it out. But I, you know, and her dad's super
nice and not at all intimidating now, you know,
almost 20 years later. But I, you know, one of
the questions was, is NASCAR sport? And I was
like, I don't, you know, like Because they're
in Boone, which is right outside of Wilkesboro,
which is in North Carolina, just kind of like
the birthplace of NASCAR. I was like, I don't
know how to answer this. And so maybe that's
like, even now, just sort of coloring this song.
But it definitely, stylistically, is way different
than, I think, some of the other songs. Maybe
I was just hoping for more of the same. I don't
know Maybe that makes me a bad person but I was
like this is this song's just a little different
than the other ones and and it just Stands out
but maybe not in the right way for me. I'm curious.
What was his correct answer for that that question?
He does not like nascar. So I yeah, so but not
to offend you specifically. I just I I I went
for it and I was like, well, I don't personally
like NASCAR. It's just not something that I've
been around a lot. I'm a big basketball fan,
so I was like, maybe he likes basketball. I don't
know. And so I was like, yeah, we'll go with
no. And then he's going to put me and send me
home. I don't have to drive. three hours back
to Raleigh and shame. But I got that answer right.
I mean, yeah, we're still still going strong,
even though and this is so Joel didn't believe
that I had a girlfriend for like the longest
time. He thought that Anna was completely made
up. And I'm hoping it's not slipping back into
that because we haven't come down to see you
guys. And again, she helped me set up all the
technology here because she's she's smarter than
I am. So she's very much real. And still wonderful.
And maybe she likes NASCAR now. I don't know.
But she is pretty great. Yeah. So I appreciated
that the song was different stylistically, but
a little bit like John, I don't like the style
that it was. And so it reminded me of like a
Linkin Park song or something from back in that
day, which just wasn't really my thing. This
like a little more angsty, like hard. Rock, I
don't even know what you call that. New metal,
post -scrunch, who knows? Anyways, so it's just
not my favorite genre, but I appreciate the fact
that they went for something different. I would
be really interested though to hear it acoustically,
just to get a different feel for it. I really
like, I'm honestly, I can't really think of a
song off the top of my head that I feel like
is not as good or is like, Or is better like
I don't know how I'm trying to work this like
I don't think anything Acoustic is not worse
than what like it's either as good if not better
than the original So and we get Jason to swing
by here. They're on tour now doing a I think
it's like a couple of two thousands seventh day
slumber There's someone else. They're doing like
a tour around so Yeah, interesting. All right,
it's track 12 is late show. What do we think
about late show? I kind of it's cool. Nope. Go
ahead. I was gonna say I thought going into it.
I expected it to be like just another little
interlude or something. So that's kind of surprised
that I was like, well, I guess it falls into
like song because it checks all the boxes off
of it. I felt like it it felt like just something
you would hear at a concert like randomly Yeah,
like kind of just in between songs the bands
messing around or just hey Here's a song we wrote,
you know the first song we wrote or whatever
So I feel like it it fits the Like the theme
of the album or like the other songs and I feel
like it's just different enough that it doesn't
If for me it wasn't repetitive like some of the
other tracks I felt like were so but were your
thoughts Yeah, well, I mean definitely one word
like energy is just very Energetic of a song.
It does sort of feel like an interlude. It's
I mean, it's a short track I think it's less
than two minutes. So it's maybe it's a long interlude,
but it is also a song I It's funny looking back
at it's because it's like I feel like I probably
had that level of energy then and now I'm like,
oh wow, you know, like over 20 years. I'm like,
I don't have that anymore. And I just remember,
uh, you know, when I first met Joel, it was like,
he's like the coolest person, but he's, you know,
I wouldn't use energy to describe and I feel
like now in my, my old age, you know, I'm still
trying to get that quiet cool of Joel, but also
reclaim that, the energy of late shows. Maybe
I can land somewhere in between, but it's inspiring.
Recapture the good old days, I guess. You gotta
be you, man. You are your own version of Joel.
Unless I can be Joel, and then I should be Joel.
No, you shouldn't. Joel, would you describe yourself
with energy? Do you think energy or late show
are ways you would describe yourself? No. but
I do like Late Show and the fact that it's it
it can I feel like we're they're going back to
their like punk rock roots here this is a little
bit more of a punk song versus a pop punk song
and so it it feels a little bit more like we're
gonna try to do like an mxpx song get a little
a little more punk on this one you've got the
fast drum beats which is the only time they do
that on the record where they actually sing And
so I appreciated that about it Yeah, this is
fun Moving on we move to 36 days Joel, what were
your thoughts on that one? Yeah, I like this
We're like we're slowing things down. Mm -hmm.
I Like the piano um it's fun to have piano show
up here like that's that's a cool change up um
it's like the song about being on tour and how
how hard tour is um if you're a band in this
period of time you have to write one of these
about how hard the road is um and it just made
me think like i wish there would have been a
little bit more of this kind of influence like
throughout the record maybe not like slow down
to this point but like It'd be cool to have the
piano show up some other places or or whatever.
But, yeah, I really like this one. Yeah, I'd
say this song kind of made me reconsider my whole
life, you know, because I was I was like a teenager
and I was like, man, I want to be a rock star.
I'm going to be so cool. And then, you know,
like the more I thought about it, just listen
to songs like I just I hate being in a car, you
know, like I walk my son to school now and my
daughter schools. Like a quarter mile up the
road. And anytime I have to go further than that,
it's like, oh my goodness. Like, did I pack all
the suitcases? I just feel like I'm going on
a trip. And just to think that, you know, being
away from my mom that long, like he was talking
about, it's like, I still live like, you know,
12 minutes away from my mom, which, you know,
is a lot of fun, but also a thing, maybe. But
yeah, it was like, Maybe I don't want to be a
rock star. Maybe I just maybe I could still be
a rock star but not have to do the touring part
I don't know. It just it gave me more questions
and answers. I think which Which was like mind
-blowing at that time in my life. So Yeah, I
I think for me this is Probably on my Mount Rushmore
of favorite Hawk Nelson songs It's another one
that I highly recommend listening to the acoustic
version Then you lose the piano. That's true,
but you get the harmonica in it. I think too
the first time I ever heard this was another
one I heard live and he had the like guitar and
he had like the harmonica like necklace or neck
brace thing or whatever you wear and I was just
like that's cool that he's playing that and the
guitar because at that point i was like i can't
play either one of those i was like he's doing
both those at the same time and singing that's
pretty cool um but yeah i i loved it and i think
it reminded me kind of of the second track that
you could have this like um this like deepness
and it just showed that it wasn't just this band
that's just singing about Girls and then occasionally
throwing in like a song about Jesus or whatever
I feel like it just and I know Jason's talked
to about kind of how the last years of Hawk Nelson
there was kind of this like not being the most
like authentic and I felt like this album Like
I can you can feel this like often authenticity.
Yeah So I appreciated that with this track Yeah,
I think it's a really strong one on the record.
That's good All right. Last track of the record
long and lonely road Brandon what did you think
about this as a closer? I think it was a great
ending track. I knew you were gonna love it.
I We we just had this discussion about uh last
week's review um that I I guess like thinking
of it as a concert I think, yeah, you gotta end
with a, you know, there's this excitement and
all. You can't just end with like a, we're really
like quiet and then we just walk off stage. You
gotta end with like this, everything's going
on and I feel like this is, like I love 36 Days,
but I think that if they did like a 25th anniversary
tour of this album or something, I think I'm
not gonna enjoy it as much if they end with 36
Days. unless there was like a encore or something.
But I think that this kind of sums up and you
get to bookend it with two kind of these happy
and just, you know, like more upbeat or excited
songs. That's cool. John? Yeah, my son really
loves to shout and he loves songs where people
shout and he only has one volume. You know, when
he talks, when he whispers, it's loud. When it's,
you know, someone's asleep, he's loud. And so
just a song where people are shouting and it's
awesome, you know, just to kind of end in that
way. I think it's the perfect way to end. And
I think it's even stronger just because 36 days
is like before it. You know, it's just the contrast
between those two. And then you just get to end
with a bang. Yeah, I agree. I love that these
are the two. Last songs on the record and I actually
think the way they handled it is right. I love
that there was a drop It felt like let's contemplate
the journey a little bit Before we end this thing,
but then let's end with a bang Yeah, and I thought
that that worked really well. And so I enjoyed
that loved the gang vocals. I love the energy
Yeah, I think it was a really strong close to
the record. So a Lot of fun. All right, we did
it So that's kind of the track by track. Let's
talk about kind of our closing thoughts and maybe
ratings of the record. Um, I can start. Okay.
So yeah, I, so it's fun because I obviously knew
this record bought it a long time ago and had
listened to it. It had been though, a long time
since I had listened to it. Um, I hadn't pulled
this one up in a while. And so it was fun to
go back and listen to you. I do think though.
that since when I bought this album and spent
time with it, I long for a little more musical
depth in what I listen to. And though I think
that there are some really good melodies and
songwriting here, I just wanted a little more
texture to the album. But all that to say, I
think I enjoyed it from start to finish. And
so I'm going to give Letters to the President
by Hawk Nelson a 3 .25 out of 5. Okay. I think,
and I'd love to get your thoughts on this, John,
since, like, you have a history of reviewing
the albums and having to look at them. Because
me and Joel, we talk a lot about, like, You know
reviewing an album on like on its own without
having any other information about it. Whereas
I feel like for me sometimes I fall into a I
start comparing it with all the other Hawk Nelson
albums. So it's like sometimes it gets swayed
by Well, if there's other ones I five this one
is not you know close to that So I'd love to
kind of get your thoughts on you know, whenever
you go into an album, you know, what outside
influences or information you either pull in
or like exclude. But with that said, I feel like
for me, it was cool going back and getting to
see what their first thing was and kind of knowing
what they would become. It was cool kind of seeing
the stuff that followed them everywhere, whereas
the other stuff that's like, oh, I feel like
they played into that less, you know, later ones.
Um, but I I think that it checked the boxes of
it was a really fun album. Um You also had your
moments where like there was authentic We're
going through this or we're talking about our
faith. Not just uh, let's check that box Uh,
so I feel like for me I've got like a probably
a 3 .7. That's where i'm sitting at for it. That's
cool Yeah, so it is interesting talking about
how you review things, um Especially with with
bands like this, you know where there's a lead
singer change, you know Jason left I think I
Definitely like the Jason Dunn era of Hawk Nelson
more than the you know more CCM sort of friendly
Johnson Steingard era, but yeah, I think you
do I Think you do have to try to take it as it
is and I think looking back at something's a
little different than you know if I had been
the one to review this for Jesus Freak Hideout
in 2004 you know maybe I'd review it differently
than now but for me just kind of coming back
and listen to this album like you know I'm 16
again it's just I'm trying to move out to California
like it's I it's just it's just really good memories
just remembering like a time of Christian music
where like Christian music was cool, you know,
and it's still cool, but maybe not as many people
know that now, but just like it was, you know,
kind of around that arrow with like Anne Berlin's,
you know, Never Take Friendship Personal, like
Emory the Week's End was coming out. Like it
was just, especially for me, just discovering
all this new music and just sort of growing up
and becoming, you know, my own person. It just
conjures up those memories again of just that
time of my life. So I think For me, I would probably
give it. I don't want to get well, I'm just going
to go five out of five. It's just a time of life
thing for me. I don't know. I just. Such good
memories, I don't know, just and just kind of
how that shaped me into, you know, maybe not
wanting to be the rock star. Then I sort of went
to college and wanted to. you know, work in the
music industry and ended up like, you know, interning
at a record label. It just ended up me being
mostly uploading her CDs to digital because that
was that time of life. And then I, you know,
interned for this other record label and they
tried to get me to sign autographs for one of
their bands, even though I wasn't in the band.
And just, just it's albums like this that just
led to so many like Experiences that that I was
able to have and I'm thankful for that just kind
of made me who I am so I I'd love this album
for what it was then and and I still love coming
back to it now That's awesome. I love that. So
this rivals for you like the best of boys like
girls up there Yeah, I mean probably probably
I hate well, hopefully boys like girls not listening
to this But it's probably better You know, because
I can, I can play it straight off the CD for
my kids and there's no words that I have to like
talk over or, you know, bleep out in my own creative
way. And yeah, there's a little bit more content,
you know, approved content to it. And I really
like that about it. So that's cool. Yeah. And
I think, I think even for me, like it's important
to remember We'd have to take this as what it
is. And it's the first, it's a first record by
this band. And I wish that the first record that
I put out was anywhere close to being this good.
And I do think, man, this is such a strong like
first album from them. And obviously they continue
to go on to do really great stuff for a period
of time. And so that's pretty awesome. Pretty
awesome. Well, this has been super fun. For us
to dig into and listen to, let's kind of finish
our talk of this by looking at the lyric of the
week. Um, so I picked the lyric of the week this
week from the song from underneath, um, from
underneath, I promised to erase the past and
let my heart forgive the former you. Replace
the dark of old and start brand new. I never
thought I'd see the day I walk toward the end
of life and turn the other way. I'm reaching
out to take my father's hand. Yeah, I just love
the message of that song and that song altogether.
I thought it was really cool. So, well, John,
man, we're super grateful that you chose to come
and hang out with us and join us this week. And
I'd love to have you back on sometime. Um, where
can people find you, um, interact with you? You've
got books, you got all kinds of stuff. What do
you want people to know? Um, gosh, that's a really
great question. So I've been working on a new
book for like 10 years now. I was trying to get
it, uh, get it out before, you know, our daughter
was born and, you know, she's like seven and
a half now. So, uh, I think you could still find
my other books, Burrowed Forest on Amazon. Possibly
but probably more importantly is joining that
Joel Ainsworth enough said get that get those
numbers back up, you know Get get the numbers
back up and the participation in there, you know
pop and again after 19 really good years That
sounds like a terrible idea, but I guess people
can't find you there. So they can I'm there I
Maybe yeah, I'm not frequently there, but I could
be there more I'm going to go join it right after
this call on this podcast. Yes, we're multiplying.
But thanks for having me, guys. It's been a lot
of fun. Yeah. And of course, you guys, please
don't feel like you need to go and do that. But
you can follow us. Hey, are you listening on
Facebook? You can subscribe to the podcast, leave
us a review. And we're just thankful that you
keep showing up and keep listening. And the more
that you do that, the more encouraged we are
to keep going. And it's been fun and we're looking
forward to hanging out with you again next week.