Are you listening? This ain't no quiet thing
We're screaming out our lungs Hey! Are you listening?
Hey! Are you there? Hey! Are you listening? Or
do you just not care? 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, and we
connected over a mutual love of some particular
artists, but also have different tastes when
it comes to music. So we get to experience some
new stuff from each other and invite some friends
along for the ride. Brandon, we have a friend
who's going to join us in just a little bit,
but how are you doing today? I'm doing really
good. I discovered something this week that made
me really happy. Oh, I can't wait to hear about
it. Um, so recently I've noticed that whenever
I would drink something with a lime flavor, I
could not, could not stand it. I'd have to spit
it out. And I thought that I was starting to
develop a hatred of lime and it wasn't intentional.
And, um, but then I tried a, um, one of the energy
drinks I enjoy. They released a like lime flavor.
and i was like all right this is the final try
and i tried it and i really enjoyed it so me
and lime are back on good terms the love is back
um what are you gonna do with all those other
lime things though they're still kicked to the
curb one of them is just like sitting in the
fridge and it's so weird because it's like lime
and dragon fruit but the lime is just so like
it's like a weird uh film on like your tongue
and your throat if you drink it there can only
be one Only have eyes for that one. OK, well,
that sounds awesome. Well, I'm really grateful
that you were able to to patch things up in that
sense. Yeah, I'm excited for today. We get to
have some fun conversations. But before we get
into all those things, let's talk about what's
been in the news. Brandon. Big news got dropped
this week, at least for me, maybe for you. A
couple of artists that we like have new music.
One released new music and one announced new
music, I believe. Is that right? So I'll cover
the announced. So one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot,
announced that they have a new record coming
out called Forever Now this summer in June. This
is, I don't even know. I've been listening to
Switchfoot since their first record. And I think
I've bought every single one of them since then.
So I'm excited. What about you? What's your level
of excitement when it comes to a new Switchfoot
record? I think I'm really excited. I think Switchfoot
was a band that for years, I would love the singles
off the album, but then really enjoy the deeper
cuts. But I think I've kind of come along. So
when I saw the news, I was excited. because I
think that that that immediately kind of stands
out as, oh, that's a you assume that's definitely
a top 10 list, you know, top album of the year,
like maybe like album of the year. Yeah. So I
feel like there's actually like a lot of kind
of anticipation and pressure on a release like
that. Yeah. Who's to say? I don't think they've
put out a bad record. I definitely enjoy some
more than others, but I don't think they've ever
put out a bad record. And so, yeah, we'll see
how this one. goes. I think there's a single
coming out pretty soon. That threw me off because
I thought the single was out, so I spent like
10 minutes trying to search for it. I think it's
later on this month, so yeah, I'm looking forward
to that hitting. Phyllis, send on the other one.
Yeah, so Jason Dunn's side band, Dunner, they
released an album just kind of like, I mean,
I feel like it's out of the blue because I don't
remember seeing anything about it. and um haven't
listened to it yet because they released it and
it wasn't on like Spotify so I started thinking
maybe it's just like an exclusive but now it
is uploaded to Spotify so I don't know it it's
weird because I've never thought about how like
how that stuff works where if you're late like
I wonder how many listens you miss if you're
late or if you're I mean that might have been
their design where it was like we're just gonna
release this a couple of days later to see what
tracks but yeah because I know like there's been
bands that like midnight you'll check like if
Toby Maxx releasing something then midnight that
single will be on Spotify or Apple or whatever
and um So I just thought that was it was interesting
that it wasn't like immediately on there Or at
least when I checked this would have been probably
like at noon or so on Friday I don't think I
knew about Dunner. Is this he's released stuff
under this name before? Yeah, I think when he
when he left there's this really interesting
thing where it was like like Jason Dunn, then
there's Dunner, then there's I think it's like
Lights Go Down or something. So there was like
when he left Hawk Nelson, there became kind of
his solo stuff, but also probably three or four
like side projects going on. And so it was really
interesting to see. But I also felt like a lot
of it was releasing like very similar stuff.
So it wasn't this weird thing where it's like,
well, Donner over here is the punk thing. But
then stars go is like country like Jason Donner,
whatever. Why the different avenues? Yeah. What's
funny is I feel like I saw in the last couple
of weeks that he announced a solo record that's
coming out and then all of a sudden just shatter
dropped this record, which apparently isn't the
solo record that he has coming out. So. Just
surprising us all over the place. We need to
have Jason done on so that he can explain Set
the record straight. I think is really cool.
I got to see his um, I don't know if it's like
acoustic coffee shop tour or whatever Last January
and it was one of it's one of my favorite shows
I think I've ever gone to yeah, like it was just
that good of a show. There's a lot of storytelling
a lot of stories behind the songs and I I love
that stuff. I feel like sometimes like the stage
and lights can be distracting. So it's cool when
you feel like you're just sitting with this person
and they're just telling you stories. Yeah, I
love that too. I think it's awesome. All right.
Let's talk a little bit about what we've been
listening to lately. For me, I think I'm still
struggling a little bit with like When is this
new music going to start kicking in pretty and
we're getting announcements of it, which is great.
But, um, but it's been rough this year so far
to kind of get there. I will say though, this
week, um, strings and heart, a band that I've
talked about on here before, um, just released
a new single called eyes on him. And, uh, it's
a cool little jam. And so it's fun, fun to get
something new. It came, um, I just actually got
my vinyl. Copy of their record plastic wine.
I think they just released those but it's fun
that they're like putting new music out. Yeah
to you so Yeah, it's cool. Yeah. Well if you're
looking for some other stuff to listen to might
I suggest colony houses audio tree sessions,
okay? Audio tree it's pretty cool. There's been
a few bands me without you last bison I think
tedious and brief another one I listened to It's
really cool. It's just them kind of in just like
a jam session where it's them playing some of
their stuff, but it has that like It's live but
I feel like it's this kind of mixed where it's
not like live of a show You have all this applause.
It's more of them just in a room playing it Yeah,
and um, I feel like those things are always turn
out really good. I feel like they have like the
heart of the the real release but they also have
like a different spin on it yeah so yeah i love
audio tree stuff one of my favorite bands pine
grove has an audio tree maybe two sessions um
yeah they do really good work over there so that's
cool all right well let's check the mail bag
All right, it's time to check the mail. Today's
question comes to us from friend and friend of
the show, Chris Mims. This is kind of a lengthy
one. He asked this. Where is your line of demarcation
for classic rock? If you listen to your local
classic rock station, you're likely to hear Chili
Peppers, Foo Fighters and Linkin Park alongside
the likes of Zeppelin, the Eagles and the Beatles.
Where is your delineation? Um, so where do you
draw the line when something becomes classic
versus like still kind of now And I guess take
that and put it in the ccm world a little bit.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that um 10 years before you
were born So I think that if it's or or I would
say maybe even before you were born like it's
classic So I think for me like I would see like
anything in the 80s. It's like classic. Yeah
But I also think that something like in the 2000s
could be classic, like for someone younger. Yeah.
So I think that it honestly, it's kind of just
up to person to person would be my opinion on
there. Yeah. It's funny you say it that way.
I was playing a song actually from our guest
today for my kids this week and And I was playing
it. And the first question my kids asked, they're
like, is this new? It's like, if it's music that
dad listens to, then it's old music. It's classic
music. So that is an interesting way to kind
of think through it a little bit. Yeah, I don't
know. I feel like the 80s is usually that line
for me. Like, if it came out in the 80s or before,
then it's classic. But I'm kind of the old guy
in the room. Um, I can definitely see where like
a lot of bands I listened to in the 90s. Those
guys aren't young anymore And a lot of them are
still hammering stuff out. But um, but I can
see where I mean their their tours these days
are like Everybody's old that goes to them. So
I think that's like there's recently people have
been like, yeah 2001 was like 25 years ago so
it's like you think as a kid like my mom would
like play like Bon Jovi or something. Yeah, it's
like, oh, this is classic, but it was probably
10 maybe 15 years old. So I don't know if that's
like if you're stepping away from people. I don't
know, because I feel like no one wants to admit
that like they're getting old. But I also sit
there sometimes and I think like, yeah, the 2000s
were like fresh and all and adventurous. But
I'm also like for like our Our nephew whenever
we talk to him about like there's a time before
youtube It's like that's he like he cannot fathom
Right a time where there was no youtube where
it was like you have to watch the show at five
o 'clock And that's the only time you can watch
it because for him it's like no I can watch this
any time I want and any episode I want right,
you know Yeah, that is fascinating for sure Tivo
came along and changed the whole game We got
dbrs So Mims asks a follow -up. He said, as a
follow -up, do you feel the Christian music machine
has forgotten much of the older music, even worship
music from a decade ago, even though still fully
embracing the worship music trend? It's kind
of a big question to think through. One, have
we like forgotten the stuff in the artists of
the past today? Like if we walk up to a random
person in our churches that listens to Christian
music. Do they know anything about some of these
old artists or are they pretty much just stuck
in whatever worship music exists today? What
do you think about that? Yeah, because I mean,
like so pulling up. Wow Hits 2006, so 20 years
ago, you like you have your Stephen Curtis Chapmans,
you have your Mercy Me's and all. there's also
a lot of names on here where i feel like your
average person doesn't know an audio adrenaline
or barlow girl um i mean even jars of clay i
feel like when's the last time you have heard
them played on um whatever uh super chick like
there's a lot of um i feel like it's kind of
this i i think there's a cynical answer then
there's like the other answer yeah and i think
cynically it's like if you can't make money,
why would you promote that? So it's like, you
know, if you have a record label, you're gonna
push, you know, I don't know, Mercy Me is like,
man, they were the groundbreaking band. But then
if you own the rights to audio adrenaline, you'd
be like, yeah, these were actually the guys that
were trailblazing, you know. So I think that
it comes down to sometimes like, how can you
make like money and all? But I, I don't know.
I feel like there's a there's a place to do it
like I think radio you like that's where I where
where I look at like I think that sometimes there's
a cynical thing but then I think like radio you
I think they do a really good job because on
their regular station they have a good mix of
old and new and I mean they've always played
people like 21 pilots just as much as gable price
and friends or john rubin and they even have
a station that's just dedicated to throwback
so it's all stuff that's like Don't know maybe
like ten years or older or whatever But I mean
like you'll see like a Jones Etta and afters
and you know, these bands pop up so I feel like
it's like It has been forgotten, but I think
that not everyone has forgotten about it. Yeah,
I definitely think the people I grew up like
in the church and This was what they're like
the soundtrack of their young lives definitely
remember this stuff I wonder how much they go
back. Sometimes I'll look at like streams on
Spotify or Apple Music. Just to get a sense of
like, are the artists that like I loved growing
up like still like still relevant today in the
scheme and like I'll go look up the streaming
numbers for like a DC talk and I'm just amazed
at like how little it is compared to some of
the stuff that's out today with I mean, with
them being the hugest thing in Christian music
for years, how it seems like some of that is
so forgotten today. I feel like, too, it's like,
it's all about, like, you have to, like, play
ball. Yeah. And I think that for some of those
artists, it's kind of like they... I think good
and bad, there's artists that don't want to change
with the times. And so it's like, you know, we
talk a lot about how back in the day, all these
songs are about, like, oh, we're gonna go, like,
kill the enemy, and we've got, like, the gun
of God or whatever, you know, like, but there's
a lot of, like, war imagery. Yeah. But it's like,
nowadays, it's like, oh, maybe that's maybe there's
a better way to do that. So it's like, even looking
at example like that, there's people that hear
that may go, oh, that you're watering it down,
you're making the message weaker. There's other
people that are like, yeah, we've we found a
better way to do this. So I think that sometimes
there's bands that record labels are like, we
don't want you to be authentic. And then I think
there's other record labels that sometimes, like
the labels, they're not asking you to be fake.
They're just saying like, hey, don't go on your
platform and make a political statement. It's
not saying you can't support this candidate.
It's just saying, hey, that's not gonna help
anyone. Yeah, I think you're right. Then the
whole play ball thing, because the artists that
you have seen continue to have success. One,
they're still out there doing things. Yeah. But
they've just kind of learned to fit the mold
of like where the industry is today to write
songs that can be played on K love, you know,
and let that be kind of what you do. And so I
feel like it does require putting yourself in
a box a little bit to continue to find success
and not be forgotten. Yeah. But yeah, I don't
know how all this is going to play out. What
I do love is seeing a lot of those artists from
back in the day come back together, start making
new music. Yeah. And so there is a move to kind
of recreate what once existed. And but we're
going to have to, like, find the space for it
and figure out, like, where is the stuff getting
played and who's going to be listening to it?
Yeah. And I think you only have a finite time,
too. So it's kind of like if all you do is play
like the old stuff. I don't know that. That's
why, like I said, I think that it goes like there's
there's good and bad, like it both makes sense
that you need to innovate. And I mean, a great
example is working like at a senior center. I
tell people all the time that I feel like my
job is how can I take like proven ways of doing
stuff, but also infuse like new like new new
school ideas to that. Yeah, because it's like
you don't want all these people to be left behind
But also like you can't operate a business or
social media like you did 20 years ago. Yeah.
Yeah, I hear that I hear that good question chris.
Um, we also have a comment coming from friend
of the show andrew Um, he comes at us with this
comment. Bojangles now has iced coffee So for
all of our everybody who follows the show just
for the latest bojangles news Um, there you go.
Don't they have like shrimp too? I know it's
the bow jangler. It's there. What is the bow
jangler? Fish? They have a fish sandwich? Joel,
what would it take for us to do like a live podcast
from a bow jangles or the parking lot of a bow
jangles? I'm in. What would our listeners have
to do? You know what's interesting about this?
If you go to a bow jangles, at least the ones
that I frequent, Today, they're playing Christian
music over the radio inside the store. Um, so
I feel like there's a fit there. All I'm saying
is that we need to have, they also have the Bose
house salad. We just need to find when Andrew's
free, we need to fly Zach Patton over to South
Carolina. We just sit down and yeah, all the
money that we make from this podcast, we'll just
put into playing tickets and they go right there.
Send us your donations. We'll go to Bojangles.
Joel will personally order the Bojangler and
eat it, too. Well, sure. If Bojangles chooses
to sponsor our podcast, then then we can make
something like that happen. So we just need Bojangles
and energy drink sponsor and we'll be good to
go. I'll just stick with Bojangles. Well, Andrew,
thanks for keeping us up to date on all of the
Bojangles happenings. So this is the place for
you if you're into Christian music and you're
into fried chicken. You found the right spot.
If you have a question or a comment, you can
reach out to us at heyareulisteningpod at gmail
.com and we would love to chat about it on the
podcast. All right, let's play a game. Alright
Joel, so this week we've got a new game, and
it comes with good news. I love good news. We've
got five bands that are going to be volunteering
at our church. Oh, sweet! So I've got the five
areas they want to be in, and you've got to match
where they're going to be at. So I'm going to
give you the five areas. The problem is that
you don't know the five bands I'm going to ask.
So, when I give you the first band, you're like,
for instance, like, Toby Mac's not on here, but
if I was to say Toby Mac, and you say Kids Ministry,
you can't use them again. So, the next band could
be Forrest Frank, and you're like, oh, man. So,
you don't know who's coming next, okay? I'll
give you your five areas, our safety team, kids
ministry, greeting team, youth group, and tech
team. Okay. All right, so their first band that's
gonna show up and volunteer are good friends
with colony house I'm gonna go tech team tech
team. Okay You just think they're gonna know
their way around the computers and what I'm creative
guys Okay, the pearly end of technology. All
right. Our next person is I'm not sure how familiar
you are with her but Tyrion She was a member
of Toby Max's Diver City band. She was a vocalist
there and now she's doing her solo stuff on Gotoe
Records. Okay, remind me the other areas I have
left. You've got safety team, kids ministry,
greeting team, and youth group. Okay. If it helps,
I think Tyrion, I think she's like 20 or maybe
I would say or like she's younger than 30. Safety?
Wait, I'm not answering the question I'm thinking
in. Safety, kids, youth, and... What was the
other one? She's 29 years old. Safety, kids,
youth, and... Greeting. Okay. Let's put her in
youth group. Youth group? Okay. 29 is a good
age. All right, Gable Price and friends. Uh,
greeting team. I was thinking, I feel like they're
perfect for that. Yeah. All right. So you got
safety team and kids ministry left. Okay. Okay.
Got it. Strings and heart strings and heart.
Uh, kids, kids ministry. Yep. It's going to be
really interesting to see who's doing safety
team. All right. Yeah. So we have one final person
and this is the safety team. Okay. Okay. grace
graber Awesome grace. She seems tough. I think
she can handle it I think that's good. So yeah,
we got safety team grace graber, uh kids ministry
strings and heart greeting team gable price and
friends Youth group tarion and rounding it out
is colony house Doing the tech team. All right.
Yeah, i'm I feel pretty good about all this.
I think it was pretty good. It's gonna be an
interesting A church service. Do you know what
Sunday that is yet? Hopefully it's Easter because
we need people. So come on down to Somerville,
South Carolina on Easter if you want to meet
your heroes. How bad would you feel if one person
did show up and they honestly thought that their
favorite artist was going to be here? I would
welcome them with open arms. Maybe, maybe Jared
Byers will be here that day and we could be like,
there's a guy who's in a band. Gosh, I feel like
every time I look up Jared, I find out like five
more bands he was in. Yeah. So we got to have
Jared back on. Asking me a game one day is just
was Jared Byers in this band? That's a really
good one. All right. Well, let's transition over
and meet our guests for today. Well today is
a really exciting day for us because we do have
a special guest with us You probably know him
as the singer bass player of one of your favorite
bands idle threat Join us today and welcoming
Zeke McKinney Zeke. How's it going, man? It's
going great, man. I'm super thankful to be here
with you guys. Yeah, we are thrilled to have
you on I love idle threat so much And so this
is really fun for me to be able to have you jump
on here with us and talk, just talk through some
of the questions that have been going on in my
head. But it's fun just to get to spend some
time with you, too. So, yeah, blessing to be
here. Yeah. Well, we'll just kind of jump straight
into it. Just kind of going back in your life.
How how did music? Become like something that
you were passionate about what got you into music
to begin with? Who are some of your favorite
artists growing up just kind of all that background
stuff musically? Yeah, I well, I feel like I
could go a million different directions with
this So my dad has been a musician my whole life
and So it was very much passed down to me. It
wasn't something that I just like went out and
discovered on my own every every car ride. I
was in the car with my dad. I would get a history
lesson on every song that came on on the radio
and like, you know, this is on, you know, when
they recorded this and all that stuff like back
when I didn't care and I was six years old and
brought up in a very musical house. And so. Music
has always been an important part of my life,
even before I personally started pursuing it.
Before music, so I have a twin brother, identical
twin brother who looks just like me. My name
is Zeke, his name is Zion. We both play music.
But before we discovered music, basketball was
like everything for us. I wanted to be Steve
Nash. I wanted to be in the NBA. Like we played
school ball, rec ball, church ball, AAU. We did
everything. As I got older though, it just became
clear that wasn't in the cards for me. God didn't
make me to be in the NBA. And it was right around
that time I really just started to like fall
in love with music for me. And I picked up the
bass. I started playing bass, I started singing,
and pretty soon I put up guitar because I wanted
to start songwriting. But really what drove my
love for music was my dad. And then when I was
13, when I started pursuing music for myself,
that's when I found all of this alternative music.
It just increased my love for music. So that's
kind of like a really short summary. Yeah, who
were some of those like first artists that really
got you excited? So I guess besides the ones
that I grew up with was actually it's actually
kind of funny. So my dad's been a musician my
whole life, but he also existed in like the Christian
music side of things. Yeah. That's actually why
my family ever moved to Nashville. I was born
in Evansville, Indiana. My dad's band got a record
deal. when I was six years old. And they signed
with an old record label called Pamplin Records.
And they were down here in Nashville. And because
they signed that record deal, we moved down here.
And so at that time, I mean, gosh, I was just
full of like, our house was full of like all
kinds of music, but also like alternative Christian
music. and me and my brother, when we were six
years old, I don't know why, but we attached
to the OC Supertones. We loved the OC Supertones
when I was little. Who would have thought ska
music for a six year old? I'm a huge Five Iron
Frenzy fan, so I get it. Really? As I got older,
I kind of got out of ska. But then it was when
I was 13, I started finding a bunch of bands
on my own. And honestly, I'd say like two of
the biggest ones was probably Reliant K. And
Mayday Parade was a huge band, I believe. That
album, A Lesson in Romantics, was enlightening
for me. Just genre -wise, I was like, I've never
heard anything like this. That's awesome. I've
got to know like what your dad's band was. Yeah,
he was in a band called Spin Around. They put
out a couple of records. They're kind of like
Christian alternative funk. OK, kind of funk
pop alternative. Yeah, it was a. That's pretty
good songs. I'm a little biased, but yeah, yeah,
that was the band. I'm going to have to find
that and go check it out for sure. It might be
pretty tough to find. So so, yeah, you're you're
finding these artists that you really like. And
you said like you picked up the bass and all.
So how does that turn into you playing music?
Like, do you remember like the first time you
went to sit down to like write a song or the
first time you got up on stage to like perform
like your song or cover a song or whatever? Yes,
I do. At least the first time playing live i
remember that me and my brother both took piano
lessons growing up um for some reason it really
stuck with him and it didn't stick with me and
i looking back now i'm 31 now i i like regret
that i'm like dang dude i play piano now like
um he still does he's a great piano player but
for some reason it just didn't stick with me
so When I was in eighth grade, I was about 13
years old. My brother and some friends wanted
to start a band for the talent show, the eighth
grade. It's awesome. And one of our friends,
Brian, he played drums and another one of our
friends, Jordan, he played guitar. And so they
were all together and they were like, man, like,
OK, like Zion is like, I play keys and I guess
I can sing. Jordan's like, I play guitar. Brian's
like, I play drums. and who's going to play bass?
And Zion goes, I have a brother. And so I, of
course, was like, yes, I want to do this. And
I just really love playing bass. I just fell
in love with it. I remember we practiced our
butts off and we played How to Save a Life by
The Fred. Nice. At our eighth grade talent show.
And we won. I just remember that being like a
really like pivotal moment. I'm playing live
in front of like all my friends. And it is just
like a cool moment where it was like, wow, this
is cool. You know, I want to keep doing this.
So I really love that. That's awesome. So how
do you move from that eighth grade talent show
band into starting Idol Threat? Yeah, what does
that process look like? Yeah, that's a good question.
Well, there was a lot of years, not a lot of
years, but just a couple of years from like 13
to 16 or really, really hard years in my life.
But I ended up. Gosh, so much happened. I was
13. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 13. I
discovered my love for music when I was 13 and
my parents got divorced when I was 13. That was
really, it was really hard. It was really ugly
divorce. And I think that only like, like grew
both of those things, both of the other things
of like wanting Christ, wanting like the security
and the peace he was offering me outside of my
family. But then also like, would get lost in
this world of alternative music, you know, and
it safe place to go where That this music understood
all of these crappy feelings that I had, you
know so for a couple years like I just started
really Like getting better music started discovering
more music more bands and when I was in high
school I went to I went to public school for
one year and then finished out high school at
like a private Christian school. It's called
Izzo Harding and Antioch and Nashville. And there's
pretty much only one other guy that I knew of
in that school who liked the same music that
I did. And that is JJ. That is our drummer. So
me and JJ went to high school together and we
discovered that we liked the same music. He started
introducing me to some other stuff, much heavier
than May Day Parade and we're like, we just like,
we just always in high school, we were always
like talking about the music that we liked and
we were like, man, one day, one day we're gonna
do this ourselves. So it kind of started with
me and JJ's friendship, but it didn't really
become like real until Ernie joined the picture
and Ernie plays guitar and does the screaming
vocals. Yeah. Throughout high school, we had
tried to invite friends in to like start like
a group, but none of them like really like wanted
it as bad as we did or were as committed or maybe
weren't as good. And it just didn't work out.
But then, so this is like the last piece that
really made Idle Threat begin was Ernie. I went
to church with Ernie. I noticed that Ernie, he
was a year older than me, so I wasn't super close
with him. I knew of him, but he had tattoos and
gauges. And so I profiled him. I was like, I
do. And there would be times where we'd be we'd
be playing in the worship band and during rehearsal.
he'd start playing like a geodose riff or something
and i was like okay all right that's the guy
so um i asked him to come jam with us sometime
and it just it just clicked and we were like
let's do this let's do like and we all wanted
it and that's really when idle threat was was
i think yeah so you guys have a pretty diverse
sound um you know you spoke a little bit about
it about it but um what are the influences that
drive that dude um so i definitely like the lightest
guy in the band like i like like emo and pop
punk and stuff like that um jj um he kind of
got me into some heavier music he was really
into metalcore at the time so that's when he
introduced me to like gosh the dead worst proud
uh august for today. Like I just got into a bunch
of those bands, Christcore bands. And Ernie,
Ernie was also into some heavier stuff. He was
really into like Norma Jean, Maylene in the Sons
of Disaster. Gosh, he also loves Manchester Orchestra.
So that's kind of on the indie alternative side
of that. So we're all just kind of eclectic.
But I think I've always driven like the the really
melodic side of it, like wanting to sing and
wanting to not not. I'm definitely not not against
any heavier aspects, but I feel like it's really
born out of us being eclectic and then clashing
together and then just working it out. Yeah,
but that's where it comes from, for sure. I feel
like that's part of what I've been wondering,
too, is because you have both of these elements
that Um, I, so I can play like an idol threat
song to my kids or, um, or even to somebody like
at our church and, um, play something like Simon
and they're like, Oh man, this is a great song.
And then I'm like, I'll play something else off
the record. And it's like, Oh, same band. Um,
and, um, but like, You guys, the blend of those
things like work together so well and what you're
able to do. And that's part of what I was wondering
is like, yeah, how what how is the tension like
when it comes to putting these songs together?
So it's cool to kind of hear some of that. I
like the idea of like fighting it out. Yeah,
I was going to say sometimes it really locks
in and we're like, yeah, that's great. Other
times, tension is the best word to describe it.
Yeah. Just like arguing, just like, no, that's
dumb. It doesn't fit. And then we just keep working
until we find something that we're all excited
about. That is what makes the sound of Idle Threat.
Yeah, I love that. And I think that's where all
the best things come out of is tension. Because
I think none of us want, if you guys were...
all the way this way, then you'd be missing so
much and same both ways. Like I feel like that
about life and just life in general so often
that we never like to live in tension. Like tension
is uncomfortable for us, but I feel like a lot
of like even following Jesus, what he calls us
to is to pretty much live a life of tension all
the time. Like how do I live a life of grace
and truth at the same time? Um, it's it's a constant
fight for tension. Um, and that exists in our
relationships with people too. And so I, I, um,
I think it's fun to see it like in practice in
your music. I think it's cool. Yeah. I once,
um, I once heard a really wise man say he was
a brilliant musician. He used to be like, like
MD at our church. He wasn't like the worship
leader, but he'd be like the music director and
he'd be the guy that like in our ears, he'd be
like saying like, go to the five quarter, the
six quarter, whatever. But he said, music is
all about tension and release. And the more time
I think about that, the more I realize that he's
right. It's true. Like those moments, what makes
the moment of release in a song so good is the
tension that built up to it. And then I just
think about how applicable that is to life and
the way that God made it. Like no one, none of
us would know the joy. or how sweet release feels
if you hadn't felt the tension that preceded
it. Otherwise it wouldn't feel good. It would
just be, that's it. Release is so beautiful because
of the tension that precedes it. And it's the
same with the way that got me in life. Yeah,
it reminds me of one of your new tracks, Evermind,
that I think there is this a little bit chaotic
build intention -filled build up to this moment
and then release hits in a big way. I feel like
that's such a good example of that. I love that
song. How did you guys then get from there? How
did Tooth and Nail come into the picture? I'm
always fascinated, especially these days, to
see new artists. coming on Tooth and Nour. I've
been listening to the Nour albums for years and
years and years. And I feel like a few years
ago, I was like, what's new? I don't know. Yeah.
And that's part of what led me to you guys. But
how did that whole thing happen? How did to happen?
Yeah, it's kind of a crazy story there. So we
know some guys in Nashville. who are also on
Tooth and Nail, they're in a band called Loyals.
And we know one of the guys in the band and we
reached out to him because basically we had done
our first EP, Grown Tired. A little secret, we
did an EP before Grown Tired, but we deleted
it. They always tell you to put the first book
in a drawer and never release it. Yeah, so we
did our first EP and then the second one, which
is Nothing is Broken for Good, we were definitely
feeling, I guess, a lot of like good tension
growing up in the band or like we feel ready
for the next step. We really feel like this is
a really great batch of songs. We believe in
it and we want to pitch it. We just want to shoot
it out there and to see what we can do. And so
we pitched it to a few labels that we were interested
in. And of course, Tooth and Nail was one of
those. We all grew up with the Tooth and Nail
bands. And at Tooth and Nail, we had a connection
through our friend. But basically through him,
it was kind of like a cold email. you sent them
the EP and uh we're like and basically within
within 24 hours they replied and they were like
hey like let's talk and so we just started talking
um and the lord led it to where it is today which
is kind of crazy it's really cool to like i mean
all the bands that you named earlier that you
know your bandmates are into and stuff um are
bands that come from that like as a heritage
and so even seeing you guys at furnace fest a
year and a half ago it's cool because it's almost
like we're here with so many of these bands that
impacted and influenced us and now like we're
getting to play the stage too i can't imagine
what kind of feeling that is it was it was awesome
that was one of our favorite shows we've ever
got that was like one of the peak moments of
idle threat for sure and just to be like At that
point, we were almost almost 10 years in and
still be having like peak moments. It was just
a blessing. And just we were so thankful and
we had a blast. That's awesome. I'm curious.
You guys went to Furnace Fest on your own volition.
I did. Brandon hasn't been. But who are you there
to see? It must have been more than one. Artist.
Yeah, no, a lot of a lot of I went twice in the
in the reboot, went to the first one and then
to not the last one, but the one before. And
so, yeah, I mean, a lot of bands that I grew
up loving, like Five Iron Frenzy, the Juliana
Theory. I'm trying to think who I went to see
even that time he was there. May was there the
time before. Stretch Armstrong. Yeah. Yeah. Bands
like that. That's cool. I miss like the highlight
for my when I was in the band that I was in,
our highlight was getting to play cornerstone
is my my next to last show with my band before
I left to go to seminary. And and and so it was
fun being at Furnace Fest because it It kind
of felt like stepping back in time a little bit
to something that used to exist. That's like
hard to create, even though it's a little different
now. But but yeah, it was cool. Yeah, Cornerstone
would be really cool to play. I wish it was still
around. I know me too. Dad played it in his old
band. And so I've been as a little kid. But I
always I always see those those old sets from
some of my favorite bands. like tint and I'm
like oh man you guys got to play um you've played
audio feed though and I kind of feel like in
some ways audio feed is like the maybe the new
cornerstone it just needs some more years so
yeah yeah it kind of like rose up out of the
ashes yeah Keep waiting. There was that one the
one of those years a few years back that they
were like star flyer 59 is playing audio feed
and we were all like what we've got to go and
then It didn't happen Yeah That would have been
incredible So you guys you made a big splash
with your album blurred visions Um, can you tell
us a little bit about making that album? Yeah,
uh What do you want to know? I can type it Yeah,
just like um, obviously you you get signed to
teeth and now um, you have this ep like what
kind of led you guys in what? You're thinking.
All right. This is our first tooth and now release
like what what what was the pressure that you're
feeling and like Yeah, how do you feel about
that one? It wasn't like we didn't feel a lot
of pressure from like tooth and nail but we did
we went in very aware that like debut album is
a trigger that you only get to pull once. So
we went in kind of like that was our pressure
but like this is our debut full length like we
haven't done a full length yet and we want it
to we want it to say something you know. that
to be powerful and so that the pressure was kind
of from ourselves I think we just we put a lot
of pressure on ourselves not not in like a like
vindictive way like you guys better not suck
or just like a like we really want to do without
excellent music we want to impress ourselves
you know so yeah That's cool. I feel like from
like from a listener standpoint tooth and nail
seems like a band that there's a lot of create
like creative freedom with bands So is there
any like parameter you're given where it's like
you have to give us ten songs or you have to
give us At least one radio hit or something like
that. Like is there like a checklist? That's
like hey, we need you to provide us with this
or is it like we believe in you and just Like,
go create what you guys want to create. I mean,
a little bit of both, but not what you think.
Like contractually, like we have to provide 10
songs. Like that's part of what is like us presenting
to them a full record is at least 10 songs. But
as far as like creative freedom goes, like we've
never had anybody say to us like, we need you
guys to Chill out with the screaming Never has
that have we need you guys right catchy like
come on like or you know, they never said like,
you know or anything like that like we need a
more radio -friendly they just They just say
like go make like go make a record, you know
You guys sit in a really interesting spot for
them because Probably if some of your bandmates
had their way maybe you would end up being a
solid state band instead of a tooth and nail
band. But you pull you pull things back a little
bit across the line. And so being a tooth and
nail band that plays the shed at Furnace Fest
is kind of a cool, a cool spot to be in. I feel
like in a lot of ways. Yeah. Like I said, man,
that was one of the coolest moments of all of
Idle Threat. We're all just so pumped because
everybody knows the sheds the best stage at first.
I love the pond personally, but I went to see
a few of my days in the shed. That's the one
that we didn't get to play. So yeah, we played
the main stage first year, 2022. Well, not first
year of the fest, first year we played. Yeah.
We played the main stage in 2024. We got to play
the shed and that was awesome. It's really cool.
Blurred Visions. So I think I found you guys
a little bit before Furnace Fest as I started.
I was excited about going to Furnace Fest, checking
out some teeth and nail bands, but I missed the
front edge of Blurred Visions coming out. And
one of the things that I was really bummed about
is that for the longest time I couldn't find
that record on vinyl. There was the printing
and then it was gone and then couldn't get my
hands on it. And actually one of our friends
who's married to our kids director here at our
church who went with us to Furnace Fest, Three
months ago like came out on a Sunday morning
and said hey I've got something for you and he
like handed me a copy of it that he tracked down
on the internet and I was like I Still don't
even know where he found it But I'm really thankful
that I get to be on the front end on the new
record So I've already pre -ordered it ready
to go. But yeah That's fun, so so speaking of
that then Going into your kind of second Record
this new and you'll forget the sun that's coming
out How do you guys feel like do you feel like
you're in a different spot as a band? Does it
feel? Different like recording your second full
length with tooth and nail like how how's that?
How was that experience? Totally it's totally
different. Yeah, definitely feel in a different
spot as a band Her blurred visions we recorded
up in New Jersey at Barbershop Studios with Brett
Ramness. Absolute blessing. Rob Chirapa did a
lot of work with us as well. Those guys are amazing.
But since we were up in New Jersey, we like lived
there for a month. We did the whole like we are
in the studio for a month. We slept in like this
like. makeshift shack apartment above an Italian
restaurant across the street. And we lived there
for a month. And we were in the studio every
day for a month and it was really cool. This
time is not like that at all. Equally a blessing,
we were, Stephen Keats from Haste Today, he recorded
and produced the record. He lives in Nashville.
So we kind of did it like on our own time. we
were able to take a little bit more time with
it because we could go home every night. Which
was great for us because honestly, not only is
the band in different places, but I feel like
just us as people, we're just in a different
place than we were when we recorded Blurred Visions.
Ernie is married and has a son now. I got married
in 2023. Two of the other guys in the band are
in really serious relationships that I think
might turn into marriages. Another one of the
guys in the band owns a house. Ernie and I just
bought a house recently. Not together, we don't
live together. But life is just different. It's
just, we all got a lot more responsibilities
now and making that balance is kind of hard.
So yeah, there's just so much that's different.
But I also think that like, like it gave us more
to draw from this time we wrote a record, like
it gave us deeper things to draw from in all
the ways that God has blessed us with more gifts
and more responsibilities in our lives. Yeah,
it's not it's not all a curse. It's just different.
Yeah, definitely. It is very different for sure
What can we expect from this new record out on
May 8th? Good music Yeah, I mean I think this
is the best record we've ever written as long
as we've ever written Yeah I think you can expect
some of our slowest stuff, fastest stuff on this
record. Again, yeah, I think this is some of
the best stuff we've ever written. I really think
that the theme of this record is a little bit
more cohesive. And you can expect us to write
songs about deep struggles in life, perspective.
that is about glorifying the lord in the midst
of it which is sometimes hard hard to write about
and sometimes hard to do that's that's cool you
know you mentioned earlier you only get like
one one shot with your like debut album and i
feel like it's almost like even your second album
is sometimes like you know like it's it can be
a toss -up because like the one of the bands
we mentioned earlier jones etta like There are
two albums they released I always tell people
that it feels like there's like 15 years in between
them because it's like their first album It's
like if you're under 20, I feel like it's a perfect
album for you But then their second album that
came out like what a year maybe a year and a
half later is like Just way more mature and less
partying. It's almost like after college like
the songs that you need to hear and so like,
you know for me like I loved both of them and
then for other people they're like no we don't
we don't want that we just want to dance we don't
want to you know so i feel like that's um that's
that's cool to see kind of the branching out
of like how do you keep that you know sound that
people have come to love but also how do you
grow you know and not just say let's let's just
put out 10 more of what we did a couple years
ago you know you're putting a lot of pressure
brandon on zeke bringing up the second jon zetter
record right now Is that record really good?
I don't know that record. I think it's amazing.
It's my favorite record of theirs, but they promptly
broke up like right after it and their whole
career just tanked. So we're not calling that
into existence. That whole part I'm joking about.
Those guys are friends of mine though. So like,
oh, but yeah, no, it's an amazing record. I can't
wait for the new record. I'm super excited about
it. You mentioned a theme that's been going on
through our conversation, but also something
that I've just noticed from you is the idea of
faith. And we were talking beforehand, Zeke,
about how I met you at Furnace Fest about a year
and a half ago. And our conversation after you
guys played stuck out to me because you found
out that I was a pastor and you took time to
pull me aside and pray for me. And that has stuck
with me since that moment. It really ministered
to my heart. How do you keep, as a guy in a band,
I know how tough this is and difficult this is
in any kind of music industry, but how do you
guys keep faith as a central part of what you're
doing as a band? Why is that so important to
you? Well, I can just speak for myself personally.
It's just, it's everything to me. The Lord saved
me when I was 13. And basically if there ever
came a day where I was not allowed or able to
sing about Jesus, I wouldn't be doing it anymore.
So it's just the most important thing. I like
to sing about important things. And I can't think
of anything more important to sing about than
the Lord Jesus. He saved me. There is nothing
more important than where do you stand with the
Lord? So yeah, of course, I write about all kinds
of things in life. I write about losing loved
ones and write about, there's a new song on the
record about my wife. It's kind of like a love
song. There's songs about times I've been through
doubt in my faith. But the one thing that stayed
constant in all of it is Jesus. Never leaves
or forsakes me. Even when I have left, I've forsaken
him in my life. And I don't know how I could
begin to do that now for music, which is something
that he also gave me. So, yeah, that's powerful.
Yeah, totally. And I think, I mean, you know
this as well as we do. Like it's it's hard sometimes
watching like you get a sense of how hard it
is because you see some of your like heroes in
music or bands that you've really looked up up
to that have have like walked through hard seasons
and gone through difficulty and struggled to
find God at work in the midst of all those things
have been hurt by people. And for whatever reason,
they've kind of walked away from their faith
and their belief. And I just know watching the
music scene from the outside, and of course,
as a pastor who's working with people who struggle
with the same things, like how hard and difficult
it is to continue to trust in the faithfulness
of God when you see things like that happen.
But man, I would just, I want to encourage you
personally, like I'm thankful to see your heart
for that. And we'll just encourage you keep going
because I think that your voice is such an important
voice in the whole realm of music, but in this
thing that we used to call Christian music too.
So, yeah. Thank you. That's very encouraging.
You know, it can feel pretty isolating. Pretty
lonely in places like that, you know, where you're
the minority, at least in a realm like that,
you definitely, you know, where the name of Jesus
is not necessarily welcomed. So, but I just,
you know, I just I'm so thankful that someone
in my life was willing to tell me about Jesus,
even when I wasn't necessarily welcoming it,
you know? And it changed my life forever. But
it's hard, man. It is hard. The allure of the
world and the praise of man is very intoxicating.
And it snares many a believer away from Christ.
And it just reminds me of something that Paul
said in one of his epistles that, you know, if
I were seeking the approval of man, I would not
be a servant of Christ. Just kind of like basically
saying like, well, yeah, if I wanted that, I
wouldn't be a servant of Christ because that's
the one thing I'm not going to get if I serve
Christ. But that's not what I'm doing. So I just
try to keep that. first and foremost in my mind
that The reason why I do this is not to hear
people cheer for me, you know But it's a constant
thing. I have to stay focused because yeah, it
it's hard I really appreciate the current the
encouragement man meeting people like you and
getting to pray for people. It's like it's like
some of the best parts of it I love it. Well,
so Zeke, whenever you look into the future, like
what do you kind of see like on the horizon for
Idle Threat or like for you, like in the music
world? Well, it's hard to look beyond the immediate
future right now. The immediate future is put
the album out, right? Put this album out. I mean,
this this like baby that we've been working on.
that we're ready to release into the world. That's
kind of where all of our focus is. Our energy
into promoting it and getting it out there and
praying that the Lord would use it in somebody's
life to speak to them. And then hopefully playing
some shows to support it this year. And outside
of that, we're not looking super beyond that.
We know that we love writing music and we want
to keep doing that. But as far as like specifics,
Idle Threat's always been a band where we take
things one step at a time. We did not start the
band with like this great dream that like, we're
gonna do this and that and this and that. It
was literally just, we just want to do this.
Let's just write a song. like okay now let's
write an EP okay now let's like let's go play
some shows like and we just very much like one
step at a time and the lord one door at a time
has led us to where we are now so we're just
focusing on the next door really i was telling
someone the other day that i was like i'm really
jealous people who have like five year plans
because i was like i've tried to plan it's like
Last year I was trying to get a job like I left
my job I was trying to get a job these like at
Publix and the next thing I know I got offered
like a full -time marketing position for a senior
center I told people I was like that was not
on my bingo card for like my next So I can definitely
relate to like yeah, we don't know what's in
five years. We're just looking at me right now
I come up with a plan like that One of course,
it doesn't work out that way and I can go why
did I even make that plan? Why do I even try?
I think there's something biblical about that.
No one should say next year I'll be in such -and
-such city doing such -and -such thing, but God's
sovereign. He knows exactly where He wants us.
Your chip is good, but planning out a box isn't
a different thing. Well, man, we really appreciate
you jumping on with us and talking through this
and just connecting How how can people connect
with what you guys are doing right now? I know
obviously you're you're pushing for this new
record coming out What are the ways that you
would tell people hey come and find us here?
Dude, yeah, definitely Instagram Follow us on
Instagram's idle threat Nash little idle threat
in a set in SH And then I mean we're on X, we're
on Facebook. We did create a TikTok. None of
us love that we did that. Well, like, we should.
But yeah, I mean, follow us on like Instagram.
That'd probably be the best way. But more than
anything, go find us on Spotify, YouTube music
or Apple music or Amazon or whatever it is, a
title. I don't think anybody uses that anymore,
but if you do. But yeah, find us on Spotify and
listen to the music and yeah, watch our watch
our social to see if we're playing somewhere
near you and come see us. Awesome. Yeah. Yeah.
I encourage you guys to do it, especially check
out the new stuff. I'm sure that would help them
kind of running some numbers for this new record.
But but it's great. And I can't wait. I can't
wait to get that one in my hands for sure. Zeke,
man, thanks again for joining us. And if you
ever want to play in Charleston, South Carolina,
let us know and we'll see what we can do to hook
it up. Love that. Thank you guys. Thank you so
much. Yeah, absolutely. All right. well it is
time for the lyric of the week so as y 'all know
whenever we are not reviewing an album we go
into the archives of star flyer 59 to choose
a lyric so this week's comes from their song
red tide off of i am a ceo there's peace to come
it won't be long trees of green eternal song
i close my eyes and then i pray the streets of
gold the pearly gates come on jason it's good
stuff i love it i love it all right well guys
we are super thankful that you join us uh joined
us today special thanks to zeke from idle threat
for hanging out with us Hey, we would love it
if you find us on all the socials. We are on
Facebook at Hey, are you listening? You can find
us on X, you can find us in lots of places. Share
the podcast, subscribe to the podcast, leave
us a review. We're just thankful that you're
here for the journey and looking forward to the
fun stuff that we have got ahead. So we'll see
you guys next week. I'm