TALENTS with Cody Williams

The Real-Life Ted Lasso | How JP Turned Brokenness Into Belief.

Cody Episode 13

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0:00 | 1:11:12

Some people survive their story. John-Paul Gentile uses his to believe in everyone he meets.

One of the most gifted musicians & creatives I know, John-Paul Gentile opens up in this episode about the brokenness of his own story — and how he turned it into relentless belief in the people around him. It’s a raw, joyful conversation about survival, talent, and choosing to champion others.

Learn more about JP’s work: fatheringartists.com


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SPEAKER_00

And two guys in white suits strapped me up and took me to mental hospital. This EMT guy is praying over me, and I'm so angry, and I can't get off of these straps, and I'm just spit in his face. And he doesn't even wipe it off. He just lets it drip off his face. He's speaking in tongues over me. He whispers in my ear. He goes, discipline and pay penance for everything that you've done. Since 17, I've been on part time. I was too bad too early. I know the prison, and now I know that there's something other than being the warden. Go find keys.

SPEAKER_01

The first time I ever heard Defender. Did you write that with Rita?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we I finished it with her.

SPEAKER_01

What is the the talent? What is the gift that's in your hand? Bro, I wanted to sit down with you so bad. I was so excited. When I when I started doing this podcast, I put a list together of like different people. And um, I put you you on that list, and then I stepped back and I was like, okay, I love JP. He's one of my favorite people. Is that reason enough to just go like, yeah, let's like, like, why? And I actually stood back and I was like, why would I want JP on my podcast? And I realized that I think you I'm so intrigued at your wiring, the way that you use your gifts, your talents, the creativity. Um, you are a true creative in the like truest sense, in my opinion. But um above all of those things, you carry something about when you do the thing that you do that moves me. And I can't, you know, I've been around the music world and I know a lot of musicians and a lot of artists. And there's something about you and I that that literally moves me. And it's it's hard to describe, but like when I hear something that you wrote, or I see you worshiping or doing something, like I actually get emotional. Um when you uh the first time I ever heard Defender, uh you wrote that with did you write that with Rita?

SPEAKER_00

Or did you Yeah, we I finished it with her.

SPEAKER_01

Finished it with her. But you started it out of I think you were on the drums or something. You told me that story. Um so I wanna I wanted you to unpack that story in just a second. But the first time I heard that song, I'm driving down Highway 50 by myself. And I I didn't know that you wrote it, but I was so moved. I was like, what is this song? Like I'm getting emotional as I'm driving by myself down the freeway. Like just I could feel I could feel the Holy Spirit on the thing, man. And it was like, what is going on? And then I find out you're right. I'm like, of course, like that makes all the sense in the world. And so I thought back to the when is the first time JP just moved me in the way that he uses his gifts, and it was before I even met you. You're this this this uh just very excited uh individual on a music video called Loft Sessions, just just banging on what were you banging on?

SPEAKER_00

I was banging on a bass drum.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that just a big old big old bass drum. And I remember watching that guy going, that dude's worshiping. Like that dude is into what he's doing right now. That dude is full of joy. That I mean, the skill was there, but it was way more than just skill, dude. It was like there was something that comes out of you. So my goal in this entire episode is to try to unpack for people like like what makes JP JP and what makes the what what is what's what's the wiring of JP and and and who you are and and how that's been developed over the years, because I think you have something special, but I think you've learned how to use that special thing. And I imagine that's been a journey. I imagine that hasn't been like something that you just woke up with, but I think there's a lot of people that listen to this podcast and they're in a in a spot of trying to figure out life, trying to figure out their gifts, their talents. Maybe they have something they're passionate about, but they're like, How the heck do I monetize that? And um how do I make a living doing this? And um, and there's just there's so much uh mentorship that we can say, but sometimes just hearing the story is is all you need. So um that's my goal today is to to like like dissect the life of JP and go like, dude, what makes you that way? Because it's incredible. Um, so that's a really long intro, but thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01

We uh we're we affirm each other with our feet. So if he says something good today and you see my foot go up, it's just me going, great job. That's nice. I see you've seen. So, bro, where do we start? Where do we start in this conversation?

SPEAKER_00

Uh uh, I mean, we start with lineage because I think I'll start with this. Every pioneer pioneers with a settler's heart. So I don't think I'm doing anything new. Um I'm just uh at my best, I'm trying to continue um what other people have done uh well before me or around me or beside me. Um so my dad, uh he's you know, occupationally, he's a nurse, was a nurse for like 40 years, um, but passion-wise, you know, he's an artist. And my mom uh was also a you know musician and artist. Um and so they both in their own ways, you know, encouraged me. My dad from, you know, from the sense of him never doing it and having little moments where he would, you know, draw stuff or paint things or make, you know, incredible um pieces, you know, every once in a while, every couple, you know, years, um, to my mom, who was a singer and wrote music, um, had a record deal, was ready to go to Nashville, got cold feet backed away.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

And then had kids. Um so both of them like never ended up doing it. Um, so the way that they encouraged me um and and parented that were completely different. Um so that was never like uh it was never a question in my mind if I was gonna do it or not. It was more so how that was gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um yeah, I mean my dad, I don't remember him reading me a single book growing up. He would just tell me about heaven, he would tell me about people, he would tell me about, you know, spirit realm and um creativity and color and you know, synesthesia aspect of everything before I even knew what that was. Um he would just call that heavenly or sanctified imagination, and you know, my dad was just uh he talked about creativity and taking care of people and the supernatural, um not as a theory. It wasn't like an idea.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

It was like talking about, you know, something that I could interact with 24-7. And he was it's as real as his chair I'm saying. Yeah, and he was uh and still is. He embodies that. So it wasn't um I got to see it practiced, you know, all the time. Um and my mom was very much uh, you know, a just do it, you know, very much pick yourself up by the bootstraps, you know. Um they both came from hellacious upbringings. And so when they say that God snatched them out, it was real because I could see, yeah, especially growing up, that my parents were extremely different than everybody else, you know, in my uh surroundings. I went to public school, I moved six times, so I was always a new kid.

SPEAKER_01

Um where did you grow up?

SPEAKER_00

I grew up in the Philly area. Okay. Philly boy. Yeah, so it was it was a big shift of like my parents are very different than all my other friends' parents. Um, and so I was always the new kid, and always being the new kid gives you kind of like a uh a crash course in sociology, you know. So you see patterns, um, but you also have to fight with the reality of you being uh your age. So I want to fit in and I want to be, you know, a part of groups, but there's all these groups that I want to be a part of. Um and so I learned the commonalities between, you know, this group and this group and this group, and yeah, they were all segregated, but there were so many commonalities and they were all invisible, you know, whether it's pride or shame or the need for love or you know, the need to be heard or seen. Um yeah, so that that really shaped me.

SPEAKER_01

You saw the the patterns of people, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, 100 while also being uh one of them. Yeah. So I was aware of even though this is the same thing over and over again, and I don't really care to talk about Jordans or you know, this style or this movie, or it was so uh surfacey, you know. Um I still wanted like to learn it just to be with them, uh just to be a part of a group.

SPEAKER_01

Community.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah. So I spent I spent a lot of time by myself uh growing up, um, and learned how to mingle and be, you know, whatever I needed to be with whoever. Um yeah, so that was a that was a huge formation process. And music and you know, and art were always um were always the places that like that and family, those were the only constants. So wherever I moved, wherever I went to, family, music, and art were the things I could always and video games, you know. Yeah, you gotta throw that in there. Yeah, I mean, it's big to this day. Me and my brothers are still on Discord, you know, most nights. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Did you play Halo back in the day? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. See, I wasn't a massive gamer, but I loved I got into Halo, and you know, back in the day it's when you'd like combine the two consoles.

SPEAKER_00

Land parties, dude.

SPEAKER_01

And do those land parties. So um my buddy lived in an apartment below us over, and so I got like a 50-foot cable and we would plug that in. Dude, I would stand in line when Halo 2 came out, played in tournaments inside GameStops.

SPEAKER_00

My brothers played in tournaments like Battlefield 2 and Halo 2.

SPEAKER_01

This is why I love you so much.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. The reason why we got into games so much was because we had a friend uh named Teddy that uh everybody needs a friend named Teddy.

SPEAKER_01

Listen, that's a great Teddy is a great name.

SPEAKER_00

Teddy is the jam. Uh he uh, you know, in church, you know how you have like the play dates and mom and dad and their parents, you know, they're gonna go, you guys are gonna play. Yeah. And we were like, I wasn't gonna just naturally go, you know, be with him. Um he had a you know, hard time walking, and we were all athletic. And so we were like, you know, it just wasn't a natural thing, but they put us together uh to have like a play date one day, and I came to his house, and Teddy had like from floor to ceiling, like Sega Genesis, Nintendo, SNES, Atari. He was that kid, like this dude had he knew all the codes, he knew the cheat codes, he knew everything. And I walked into his house and was like, what is this? Like, this is insane. And uh I mean, he's one of like our dearest friends of this day. Are you serious? Yeah, he's he's the absolute jam. Uh, but he like really brought the video game aspect to us and um us being you know athletic and artistic, uh video games was the way to connect to him and found out that like he might be one of the most interesting men ever.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So video games became a way that we always stayed connected no matter you know where we went. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So anyway, those are the that tangent. So where did you pick up um songwriting? When did you start playing instruments? You play a lot of instruments. What do you you play, what do you play?

SPEAKER_00

You know how to play I I tinker. I can I can figure out anything that you can, you know, hit or strike. I don't really know how to do any kind of woodwinds.

SPEAKER_01

But tinker really means um I I've watched him tinker. His version of Tinker and my version of Tinker are two very different versions. His tinkering is like professional level, my tinkering is really tinkering. But thank you. You're humble. I appreciate that about you. Well, I I started on a good job.

SPEAKER_00

I started hey, there it is. I started on piano because my mom wanted to get me into piano um and couldn't stand the the teacher. Um, but we always had a piano at the house, and then later on I wanted to play drums because that felt like the coolest thing. Um, but my mom was like, I'm not gonna like if you're not gonna play drums first. If you're gonna play the night, you know, another instrument, it's gotta be violin.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

So I was like, what? So I started playing violin begrudgingly, and then there was this gal in the orchestra that I judged as being, you know, hoody-toady or just like better than people, and like bullies because I had to constantly deal with bullies.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, you needed the the justice bone in you coming up.

SPEAKER_00

So I went home and practiced, and then you know, ended up becoming first chair and sitting with her. Turns out this lady is amazing, she's so sweet, she had a really strict upbringing. Like I was just flat out wrong. Um, and I fell in love with the orchestra and had an incredible um violin uh teacher as well, and she was so gentle and kind and just whimsical. Um so I ended up loving the violin, but then after a couple times of moving, um, I think I went to a middle school and I was getting beat up, and so I was like, I can't have this violin anymore. Like this thing is a target on my back. So I gave up the violin um and then ended up getting into uh a little bit, yeah, snare drum and whatnot, and just always trying to get closer to the drum set. Um and then uh and then I picked up a guitar. Um I had no idea what my mom, my mom had this guitar in her closet, and I was like, what is this girl guitar? Taylor? Like what what is that? I don't know anything about guitar. And she said, you know, if you get good, I'll give you this. And this was like an 89, you know, 810 Taylor.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um, that she was gifted when she was about to go to Nashville. Um, so yeah, I just started kind of picking up instruments. Yeah. Um, and for me, it's every instrument uh gives you the ability to express something, you know, differently. Just like clothes, you know, friends and locations. Yeah. Um, so and it's all striking. I mean, drums is percussion, you know, percussive, piano's percussive, guitar is percussive, you know, um violin, it's still striking, you know. So all of those kind of movements um I liked. And then that kind of just turned into people giving me stuff. Like uh have like a sitar that someone gave me and dulcimer, and uh yeah, it kind of became a thing of like, well, I don't know what to do with this. Do you want it? I'm like, yes. Yes, yes, I would love to.

SPEAKER_03

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00

So that's that's been the um, you know, the journey is I would I'd have an you know, I'd have a house if I could, just filled with stuff I can't pronounce.

SPEAKER_01

Instruments. Yeah. Instrument. You're so good. I think the uh anything I've ever seen you play, you play in such a unique manner. There's something about it when I watch you play something, it feels like it's coming from somewhere. It doesn't, it feels deep. It doesn't feel like, oh, watch what I can do. You know, where does that come from? Was and was it was that developed over time or was that just always something that was the creative in you?

SPEAKER_00

I think it was always my search for finding, you know, uh either my people or that language, you know, that itch. Um with guitar I used to play on my chest when I'd go to bed because I had so many, you know, nightmares. I couldn't remember a good dream I had until I moved to Reading. Uh so I'm in like my twenties by the time I have my first like good dream.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um, so I had so much spiritual warfare, so many nightmares. I hated going to sleep. Um because it was the only time where I couldn't defend myself. Um and so I would just play guitar and just kind of lullaby myself um to bed and um with piano, the same thing. It was like survival for me. Um and playing music just got me closer to other forms of music, you know, people that played. Um so to me it was never about the skill set or being great or being seen as something. It was uh I had to. Um it was the only thing that like stopped the noise that um you know, I could I could play. Um yeah, so when it comes to really any of the instruments, they're all different um you know, they're all different balms you know, to uh to protect or reflect, you know. Um but yeah, survival, I would say.

SPEAKER_01

Good lord. Did you uh what year did you move to Reading?

SPEAKER_00

2009. Okay. Moved to Reading 2009. I uh I'm one of the the many that that saw Kim uh sing how he loves. Um but before that, uh Randy Clark and Bill Johnson came to my church um that I was going to back home uh called Washington Crossing. And I thought Bill was like the intern. Like I didn't know anything about him at all.

SPEAKER_01

He looks a lot like an Indian. Right?

SPEAKER_00

I was like, look at this guy, still going after it. It's so inspiring, you know, never stop.

SPEAKER_01

He's got real potential.

SPEAKER_00

And my dad uh was like, hey, if he gets up, stop everything you're doing. I was like, okay. I'm only like a year or two fresh back into the church at that time. And so he spoke, and growing up, you know, if something's important, it's loud in Philly area. And uh he never raised his voice. And I remember sitting next to my mom and he's speaking, and everything that he's saying is hitting me. And I'm looking around, and it everybody's face is kind of just like, huh? And my mom leans in and goes, what it's like he's from a different universe. And as soon as she said that, I was like, that's where I'm from. Like I feel like he's speaking a native tongue of mine. Like I understand everything he's saying that I've never talked about. Somehow I instantly get this.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um and it yeah, it just it rocked me. And then I had a friend who, you know, the um the intercessors, the sweet, sweet fire breathers. Uh, we were about to go play a set, and uh there's music in the background, and as they're praying for us, I'm like, who is this like Tony Braxton sounding like voice that's just low and thick? And um, and he said, you know, oh, this is Kim, Kim Walker. And I'm like, Oh, I thought that was like, is that a dude? Is that like an Asian guy? Like, I don't know, I don't know anything about this. No, it's this, it's you know, da da da da, Jesus culture. And and he hands me the CD and he goes, just listen to this. Um, because I had a real hard time listening to any kind of you know music that was being given to me. Like, you need to listen to this, this is the right thing. Like, um, and I listened to it and just balled my eyes out, and then went online and found out, you know, there was something called a school of worship. I'm like, I didn't know you could go to school for worship. I'm only like two years back, you know, in the in the mix. Um, and so yeah, when I found that out, I applied um and got accepted and then went out for that, you know, I think it was three weeks or four weeks back then. Um and ended up bumping into uh this guy that was in front of me that was wearing like skinny jeans and like a the deep SV neck and like toms but no socks and you know guitar, and I was like, you know, and I'm like in Northeast, you know, yeah, it's very like you don't like say something's cute or you know, you don't like express really that much. Uh so I was like, who is this guy? And it turned out we ended up living uh in the same garage. So like his name was Matt Stinton. Okay, Matt Stinton. Him and I ended up uh we were we were literally going to the same like room. Uh so it was just so sweet how the Lord orchestrated all that. And then from there, uh I went to go home because basically that entire time that we were there, I was like, I'm gonna meet a bunch of incredibly talented people. I'm so excited to go to this place. And no matter what I did, uh I tried to play, I tried to do whatever, wait in line. Every single time I just kept getting like, you know, the class is ended, or we're not gonna hear your song, or da-da-da-da-da. And I was like, Lord, what is going on? Um and he just said, like, I didn't bring you here like to be seen, I brought you here to promote. I want you to tea, I want to teach you how to see and how to promote, bring out. Um, and I'm like, okay, we're like three weeks in. I'm exhausted. Who do you want me to start with? You know, who do you want me to start celebrating? And uh he said, Matt. I was like, what? Like this guy in confidence has shared so much with me about how long his life has been going without being seen, and like this is the time where it's gonna happen. And everything he said he wanted happened, like verbatim, every single day. Uh, and I was judging him so hard because I'm like, he's getting everything he wants, and I'm like, over here in the background. And so when the Lord said that to me about him, I was like, oh, this is nothing to do with him. This is everything to do with my heart posture. Wow. Like, checkmate, okay. Uh, and something broke off me. Uh, because I recognized, like, in this funny way, uh it was this challenge of like, hey, you go do this, this will break this off you. Um, so I just started celebrating every time something happened to him for the last week. And uh he ended up saying, you know, I'll only come back if like Brian himself asked me to come back. I was like, okay, dude. Uh and sure enough it happened.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

And I was like, I can't, I can't come back. This is too good. This pole place is too trippy, you know. So I go to the the prayer house, I think it was second to last day, and this guy's sitting there, and he walks out and he looks at me and he goes, Are you JP? Are you John Paul? I'm like, Yeah. And he looks up at the sky and he goes, Fine. And I'm like, hey, what's up? And he goes, I've been waiting here for hours. Like the Lord told me to just sit here and wait for a man with two first names. I have I haven't been to church in years, you know. Like, I've been struggling with this. He just won't stop. So I've been sitting here, and then I just got to the point where I'm gonna wait just a little bit longer, but now I've done I've done everything you've asked me to, I'm out. And he's like, as he was leaving, I was walking up. Um, and he goes, the Lord has like put this on my heart, just told me to wait here and ask you one question. What are you afraid of?

SPEAKER_01

What are you afraid of?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And I'm like, the first thing that popped in my head was Benny. I was like, Benny Johnson. He goes, why? I'm like, because she's prophetic. And he goes, What do you think that means? I'm like, that they see all my secrets, they see all my dirt, like she's gonna see that I'm like a monster and that you know I've done a lot of damage and hurt people growing up. And um, and this big jack, like you look like a biker dude. I mean, he did have a bike, but like big MC looking like guy, just starts like tearing down his face as he fixes up my collar and he goes, No, son, no, no, no, no. Just fixes up my shirt and he goes, He's she's gonna like you're not afraid of her. Um he goes, that's shame. He goes, She's gonna see all the parts that you forgot about. The parts that uh you're afraid to welcome back in. He goes, They've always been there. He goes, now I know why I was supposed to be here. Like he goes, uh you think you need you think you need to learn through discipline and and pay penance for everything that you've done growing up. And he goes, You're gonna learn through joy. You're gonna get discipline through joy, I promise you. Gave me a kiss on my forehead and just left.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

And uh, and that just was like that was my deepest fear. It felt everything felt too good. I didn't feel like I deserved to be in any place like this.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, you know, because I did drugs, I did all the stuff, jail, mental hospital, tried killing myself, like blah, blah, blah. Like I said, I moved a lot, so I was always, you know, kind of by myself in my head. Uh I shot my cousin on accident uh when I was 11, and that started this downward spiral, um, where I was just dreaming of killing myself and getting out. Um, because the shame of everything that happened. Um and from 11 to about 17, uh, I just wanted to escape. So I didn't have I didn't think of like dreams or visions, or I didn't think of what to do with my life. I didn't think of who I was gonna get married, I didn't think of kids. I just thought who was gonna be at my funeral. And so anybody that I met that was really sweet, um, I'd write in my funeral book and be like, they get to come. Wow. They get to come.

SPEAKER_01

As a teenager, this is what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, from about 11 to 17.

SPEAKER_01

Uh that's all I was Who gets to come to my funeral book? Right.

SPEAKER_00

Right. Um, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Bro, that's dark.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So uh all the way up to, you know, uh 17, you know, started drinking heavily, started doing drugs, um, whatever I could get a hold on, and uh and I loved it because it felt like it was a community that was accepting me.

SPEAKER_01

Um probably an escape.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah, it just stopped emotionally the voices, all the noise, all the the pressure, and I felt like I screwed up so early uh that I just wanted to get out so you know God could pick another John Paul. Like, give all these gifts. I know that I'm skilled and talented, and da-da-da-da-da. I know you put so much on me, um, but I screwed up too soon. So let me get out of here. Let's do a read, pick somebody else. Um just let me get back with you. Let me just get out of here, you know. Um, so yeah, all the way to uh 17, my high school, I guess my senior year, I tried killing myself about like five times. And uh, and every time something happened, some miraculous thing happened, and uh by the end, that that fifth one, um uh I was running into the woods, you know, my dad ran after me. I tried jumping them, and um I was just you know super drunk. And uh anyway, my next door neighbors knew where I was going. They called the cops, the cops came, uh, but it was late at night, and so I slipped off this little ledge that I was kind of had a rock waiting for my dad. And um I slipped, they caught me, got in a fight with the cops, they locked me up, uh, but I was too drunk, so they took me to the hospital to detox me. And then at the detoxing, after detoxing, this uh, you know, psych guy came and evaluated me. And after he talked to me for a little bit, I remember him just looking at my parents and going, like, sorry, your boy's not gonna come home. Um, and two guys in white suits, you know, strapped me up, you know, and then took me to um took me to a mental hospital.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. You're 17?

SPEAKER_00

Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, senior year. And I remember going, I'm in the ambulance, going to this ward, um, and I'm 17, so I'm not in the adult one, so I'm about to go to the children's one.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um, and there's this dude, uh, that this EMT guy, and he's praying over me. And um, and I got beat up a lot growing up, but specifically my first like initiation was just getting beat up a lot by uh these specific like black kids when I was in like early elementary, um, and just for being white. And so it's crazy. Lord just always has these stories, right, that that flip. Um, and this this black EMT guy is praying over me, and I'm so angry, and I can't get out of these straps, and I just spitting in his face, and he doesn't even wipe it off. He just lets it drip off his face, and he's speaking in tongues over me.

SPEAKER_01

Are you kidding?

SPEAKER_00

And he's smiling and just hand hand on my on my uh on my chest, and as he rolls me into the the ward, he whispers in my ear, he goes, You don't belong here. And just pushed me in, and it just like it stayed with me. Um, and then when I'm at the ward, uh the the guy that was over us, uh, this other black dude, he, you know, he was a producer, he said. And uh during that time, uh my my roommate, this 12-year-old uh black kid named Jamal, he saw his, I think he saw his mom killed in front of him, hid in a closet, and then he got in here, this ward for like GTA or something. So he's trying to kill himself every night. They take away, you know, all your stuff, but then they give you a toothbrush, which I think is insane. It's like, okay, we can't have shoelaces, but you give us a toothbrush. So he's shaving that down, you know, every night. And um, and then there's a kid escaping trying to get through the you know, the vents. Um and so one day I was like, well, why not just put on like a rap battle or like a poetry, something? Get everybody to just because I'm the oldest, right? Um, I'm like, I I don't belong here. That guy, that guy, that guy was right, like these are my people, you know? Like, these are my people.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Misunderstood. Just like they all they didn't decide, like they all experienced something, then it's this domino effect. Um, and so I got everybody together to do like battles, and people stopped, you know, hurting themselves and picking on each other, and they just started going to their their rooms and and writing. Um and it was this incredible experience where I got to see our whole you know wing just like completely change. Um so once I got out of there, um, came back, finished high school, had straight A's like most of my life. I was a smart kid. Yeah, I moved because of I got tested for like an IQ, you know, thing, but I graduated with like a 1.8 GPA, barely, you know. Um, but after that, it was like, okay. Yeah, music isn't like a hobby. It's like it's the language that we all can speak. There's no skill barrier to be able to um to do it. Yeah, you can get better at anything, but um this is it. This makes sense. Like, so since 17, I've been on barred time, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

You know, from 11 to 17, I was trying to get out. From 17 on, I'm on barred time, so uh I see everybody as a walking miracle.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

You know, like, and uh I'm never you know, my brother says I'm aggressively optimistic, but to me it's like um as someone who has a lot of uh anger and rage and all that kind of stuff, I get to I get to fight the good fight. And that good fight is um I don't have to be merciful with shame. Mercy for people all day. I don't have to, I get to be violent over here. With shame. And that and that's where the gentleness comes because you know when I'm working with people or encouraging them, it's like I'm talking to the person and anything else, that shame, I get to actually fight it.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

And that's exciting as a man. Yeah, you know, because I'm not I don't feel like I have to be, you know, um smushed, you know, or turn into something that somebody else deems acceptable. So um, yeah, that's where the that's where the music, you know, comes from.

SPEAKER_01

I'm I'm starting to put it together now. And uh it's almost like when you've gone through something like what you went through. You come back, you you know, you say you're on borrowed time. I think I think the perspective that that brings um doesn't solve all your problems. But it allows you in a lot of ways ways to see what matters.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And start to prioritize your life in a way that has more meaning to it in some ways, or oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um like I get to I get to torment the enemy. Anytime someone's around me, I'm gonna make him hate the day that he he messed with me. So everybody gets to actually be themselves around me. Um so yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You've got a fight in you because of it. Yeah, you've taken the fight. That you were aiming at yourself. Right. And you decided I'm not gonna lose that grit in me. I'm just gonna use it for something different.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Is that true? Yeah, and I get to use and I mean, you can never overestimate like what someone's gonna do when they're believed in.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

I have no idea. I get so bored. Like, I'm a I'm a smart guy, but that doesn't that doesn't make life easier. I wish I was dumb. That's a great life.

SPEAKER_01

Unpack that for me.

SPEAKER_00

You know?

SPEAKER_01

Unpack that for me. You you can never, what did you just say? You said you can never underestimate the power of what someone can do some when they're born.

SPEAKER_00

When they believed in. Oh my gosh. Yeah, you have no idea. I want to be surprised, right? Like, I I don't want to just be around like-minded people constantly, and we pick our leader, and then whatever that person says, we do it, and then also that's the person we blame when something goes down. Like, uh, I want to be, I want to be surprised, I want to be present, I want to be here, this adventure. Uh and I have no idea what's living inside of you that's dormant, you know. Um, but my dad and my mom are great examples of you know, when you are believed in, uh, you enter into something that's always been there, you know. And to see the faces, that's the thing, that's like my crack. Like when I see someone light up, they get younger in my eyes when they do something and we both witness it at the same time. Like, hearts are hearts, uh like they're not meant to be fixed, like they're meant to be witnessed. And so the privilege that I get to witness someone in a moment of making um is like the most intoxicating feeling ever.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know? Yeah. Um, because our bodies need to have those uh experiences like often to break those those stories, you know, of how we grew up, because otherwise, like me, on you know, you're just bound to project and repeat over and over again. Um so the uh the time that I get to spend with people unlocking that creativity that's in them, um, which I think is anybody, anybody, and everybody, uh that's the most fun experience ever, you know, because then we're we're soundtracking like this moment. We're saying we exist and we remember and we're here, and something can come out, whether it's a laugh or whether it's a song, yeah, you know, um, or a hug, like all of those things are just as important to me. Um, yeah, it's a it's it's a blast. And you were a massive part of doing that for me, you know. I remember all those years ago you told me uh loyalty will kill you, but uh commitment will free you. And I remember uh there was a moment where I was stuck in a loyalty battle with a bunch of different people, and with loyalty comes borrowed offense. Yeah, yeah, you know, but my friends don't mix, and that's by choice and and by you know how I grew up. But being committed to people freed me from everything, and being committed to music and being committed to God, it just frees me uh from everything. I'm just committed. I choose once, I'm done. Yeah, and then whether you go this way in your walk, this way in your walk, you know, um married, divorced, whatever, it doesn't matter. Like, I'm here. And I also get to be pissed off at you and go, I don't want to talk to you for a while. And then I get to come back as well, you know. Yeah, but that freed me. That really, really freed me. Um and uh I'm super grateful for that.

SPEAKER_01

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00

So thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Well, our friendship was very uh fat. We were fast friends, I think it was 2012 that I met you when we moved to Reading. And um you you were one of the easiest friendships that I that I picked up there. Just our we could have deep conversations but still laugh and have fun. And um, and then I I just remember not having any of that context about your teen years makes so much more sense to me now. You said something when you're talking about that guy that was waiting for you. And he said, What are you afraid of? And then his res you know, you answer his response back, what did he say about joy?

SPEAKER_00

Uh Joy will actually like uh I think he said something along the lines of like what was it? Discipline through joy.

SPEAKER_01

Discipline through joy.

SPEAKER_00

Something along that. I might be screwing that up now, but it was that idea of you know, uh, I thought the things were too good to be true for me because at my core I was bad. I was too bad too early. Um And so I just need to be better. I need to be more disciplined, more you know, da da da da. But it's all an identity issue. Yeah. So I'm gonna constantly do the same habits, no matter how Much I grow up in life until I, you know, uh allow my identity to be transformed.

SPEAKER_01

The um the maybe the funniest part about that to me is that yeah, I'm realizing right now in this moment for the first time, I'm like, oh, JP is a real life Ted Lasso. That's who you are.

SPEAKER_00

That's the highest compliment.

SPEAKER_01

You are a real life Ted Lasso. And and I'll tell you what that like to me, it's that it's that belief. You know, it's it's the sign over the door. Believe. It's the, you know, um, but what's what's I've loved Ted Lasso by the way.

SPEAKER_00

Like some of those episodes I felt like I just went through a therapy session, and I was just like never in my life have I stood up in my house after an episode. Yes, the very first episode. My wife was so excited. You I can't wait to show this to you. I watched the first episode, I stood up and started clapping, and Michaela's looking at me and I'm crying.

SPEAKER_01

Like the the episode for me was maybe the last season, episode like 10 or 11, where his mom shows up unexpectedly.

SPEAKER_00

Is this first season or third season? The last season. Oh, I've only seen the first season.

SPEAKER_01

You haven't seen it? I haven't seen it. Oh my god. I haven't seen it. Dude, we need to just cancel this podcast and go watch it together because we can cry together. But there's a moment where he expresses he's learning how to express he's learning to not just be the optimist, but he's also learning to speak the truth. Right.

SPEAKER_00

And um Right, because you can hide.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And I think um I think that's why I say you're like the real-life Ted Lauso, because there's something so human about his character that is not perfect.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And you get to see the threat of struggles that he's going through while still being optimistic and we got to believe in rallying behind people. Man, I think one reason I'm so drawn to you is because you have a heart to champion people. And I think that's something that I that's something that you and I are kindred on, is like, let's do that. It doesn't mean we don't have our own internals struggles. It doesn't mean that we're we're clear on all things. But um, dude, it makes so much more sense to me now. Like I now have figured it out. Somebody needs to, I'm maybe we'll do it. We're gonna do a Ted Lasso version TV show from a musical standpoint, and you are gonna be Ted Lasso. Um, let's do it right there. There we go. We're excited about that. I'm not kidding. I think that would be beautiful because it's so powerful, dude. I would love to do that. It's so powerful to walk away from such heartache and hardship in your teen years, such a low point, to not lose that grid in you, but to to reverse how it's used. And then to that word about joy is is so significant because I I would I would categorize you as everything that I see you do has this contagious joy to it. Where I can't help but be full of joy, even just watching you on the drums, you know, just just doing whatever. It's like every time I've seen footage of you, I'm like, I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of him. And you know, I don't I don't have a reason to be the guy that's like, I'm proud of my JP, that's my guy right there. But it's I think it's because I've seen that season through you without knowing the story. I see the thread of your decisions and the joy that you carry because of some of the stuff that God's done in your life, and I'm like, I get it.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I was allowed. I mean, I'm a I'm a product of uh you know, interruptions. People interrupting my rumination and and grandmothers that are, you know, that were praying that I might never meet on this side, and people that got put on, you know, put me on their heart, that uh I did everything to try to get them away from. Like, I have tried. Uh, and there's still part of me that, you know, can easily keep everybody away and isolate because it's my most familiar. Uh, but yeah, I have been constantly interrupted and uh collided with with people that are uh like you, that are like benevolently curious and generative, uh generous with their uh curiosity. You know, that's why I was instant with you. I was like, why why are we still talking? I don't know, but he's talking uh sweet, then I'll be here. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, just just that ability to um see each other. See, just you know, I could see you. I could see the gifting, I could see the potential. And then I could see even when I met you, the gr the growing pains. Yeah and the still getting trying to get clarity on things and still um you've had, you know, since since uh reading, I feel like you've been a part of some pretty significant albums, you've been a part of some pretty significant songs. Um you're an incredible teacher. Um you now are married. How many kids do you have? Three. Three kids. Yeah. Um so proud of you, bro. Thanks. Um I uh I I I I I would love to think through I'm just I'm a little bit like speechless right now because I'm like, oh my gosh, I get it. Like I I I get it. Because life is not about figuring everything out, yeah, solving every problem, just getting to a point where it's like, and I think when we're younger and we're ambitious and we're navigating our own insecurities, our own identity, our own performance. Those things carry you, and they subconsciously affect the way that you make decisions.

SPEAKER_00

Totally.

SPEAKER_01

But there's something about taking each moment as a growing opportunity, staying curious. You know, for you, you had that word. Like what what is sort of what has been your growth trajectory? What what are like the main elements of like your own growth and your own clarity? Like over the last, you know, if you go to the last like 10, 15 years of your life, like what is what are some of the highlighted moments where you're like, Yeah, that was a that was a significant moment for me. That was a moment of clarity, or that was a moment of understanding.

SPEAKER_00

Uh, I mean, literally a hundred. I would uh my goodness, there's so many. I would say when it comes to connection, um I remember a time where I was in Mozambique, um and a tribe just saw the Jesus movie, they all said, yes, we're all one tribe now. They give us their strongest guy, you know, their warrior to watch over, the new tribe that's one. And uh my group gave them me. And so it's me and you know, one of their warriors at this camp fire while everybody else is sleeping, and our job is to watch over the whole group for the night. He doesn't speak a lick of English, I don't speak whatever he speaks. I have these AirPods, and I think that I'm gonna blow this dude's mind. And so I put in these AirPods and I start playing some music for him, and he's doing this, and and I'm like, I'm thinking, like, look at this. I'm American, I got technology, I'm about to blow this guy's mind. Um, and he took them off, thanked me, gave them back, and then he grabbed his hand, or grabbed my hand, put it on his heart, put his hand on my heart, and it's it just started beating, and then he just looked up at the stars, and we both looked up together, and the syncopation did dip boop boop boop up. And after about like two minutes, they sinked. And it was like, oh, I get it. And we just kept our hands on each other's hearts for like at least an hour. We stayed up all night, not speaking a word to each other, just gazing at each other, drawing stuff in the sand, just looking at the fire, you know, all of these other things to express to one another. Um, and I just felt uh I felt small again in the most wonderful way. Like, am I unique? Yes. Uh am I special? Yes. And so is everybody else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I don't have to worry about having an extraordinary life. I don't have to worry about the latter. I don't have to worry about, you know, uh, I mean, the suspicion of lack is since the beginning.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know. Um, but I've had so many moments where people share these things with me. Getting getting married, um, and seeing her walk down the aisle like was just absolutely magnificent. I didn't even imagine that. That wasn't even a childhood dream.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

You know? Uh having my having my little girl, it's the first girl in generations in my family. Uh I saw her years before I even got married, and she was here. It just the kindness of the Lord uh was so prevalent. Having friends in in Reading just scoop me up and and hold me as I was allowed to break down. Like I was saying the intellectual thing. I think um I could speak for myself, but a lot of people that we call ourselves self-aware uh not really self-aware. It's uh intellectualization that's a trauma response. It's like if a snake bites you, uh my self-awareness would go to try to find the snake and ask why it bit me. And I could spend the rest of my life trying to figure it out. But if I don't uh find it, I'm gonna end up having conversations with this pseudo-snake and just trying to fill in the blanks. There's so many times in my life, I've continued conversations with people that aren't there, that are at the age of that certain trauma with me, and it bastardizes everything. But like real self-awareness is I got bit. Let's go get rid of the venom.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_00

You know, simple. Like spending all this time, remember my my cousin telling me one day, he's like, You're so obsessed with why you're in chains. Wow. Go find keys. Go find keys, you know, and it's that's powerful. It's freed me. Um and it gives me a way out. That doesn't mean that uh, you know, it's still more familiar for me to ask why or to uh find the meaning behind uh the event or the emotion as opposed to process it. Um but that's what you know that's what I'm walking into now with the graciousness of my wife and you know, therapy and all this kind of stuff. But um yeah, so like remember Bill saying there's no weaknesses, just strengths overemphasized. So one of my one of the biggest things I ask myself now um is where does this belong? If I don't like something about me, if I'm doing something or this habit, um, where does this belong? Where is this by design, you know, I'm doing this, but where does where does this belong in in right design? Um because it's a constant tug of war of uh, you know, giving him my life and taking it back, giving him my life and taking it back. Uh so that that awareness, you know, where does this belong right now? Am I angry at my five-year-old that's saying no? Or is the five-year-old in me that never got to say no angry? Oh, okay, I'm gonna leave and take a walk and then come back better. Okay, sweet. But I didn't show him how to process an emotion. So yeah, great. Now that now he thinks dad doesn't cry. You know, okay, so I gotta do this in front of him. So I mean, just in the last six years since we've had kids, uh, man, my kids come with all the answers.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Like, I get to grow up with them, and they give me the courage to do it in front of them, which is terrifying. But it shows me all the areas of my life, all the ages in my life that stop growing, that are all competing for my attention, just like my kids are. Uh and growing up with them, uh, I get to allow all these parts of me to be uh heard and they get to all be integrated. Um and they've taught me that, you know, failure is like it's a part of everything. It's embarrassing, it hurts my pride, but uh, you know, I fail every single day, and I get to I get to be impacted deeply by it because it shows up on their psyche. Like the tone of the Lord is shaped by how I speak to my boy. His worldview is shaped by how I talk to him, his inner critic is shaped by how I talk to him. This is crazy sobering. Like I feel like I mess up a thousand times a day. Uh, so I'm too busy to think about how great I could be or how awesome I could be. I'm too busy uh really being just like smothered under the grace that uh the Lord has allowed me to uh be here and raise my children and witness my wife and and have friends. And so yeah, I feel special as everybody else is, and that clears the board for everybody to be uh championed and celebrated, and for me to be genuinely curious about uh what's living in them. Because I believe that how do I say this, the life that you want is hidden in the one that you already have. And man, that would change our worlds musically, creatively, worship-wise, ministry, you know, family-wise. If we could uh if we could switch it from being globally acute and locally blind to, you know, to becoming aware of what's in front of us. Um that'll change my world. Yeah so therefore it'll change the world that I live in. And uh, so I feel extremely humbled to uh still be allowed to breathe air. Um yeah. Some perspective, you know, you know, good job, good job. Yeah, and then and then we play some music.

SPEAKER_01

Good job. Um I you and your wife are amazing songwriters, very gifted songwriters. Thank you. What when did you when did you um when did you write your first song? Like how old were you when like like you sat down with like maybe a team or was a part of something? Like, do you remember how old you were when you wrote your first song?

SPEAKER_00

I was in 11th grade. My aunt just got killed in a hit and run, and me and my cousin uh we were gonna go write a song. And uh he went and wrote his version of the incident. I went and wrote my version of the incident, and mine was like she never got married. It was like on a Casio keyboard with like the strings, and it was this this whole big thing, right? And he went and came back and it was kind of funky, and I was like, What are you what what are you doing? And he goes, You really want to just you want to remember her like this? And it hit me. I was like, actually, fair point, yeah, scrap this. Like, yeah. So got his like kind of funkier vibe, and then we wrote our first song, and it was a funky song, but about like you did all these things. She got killed in a hit in a hit and run, leaving the homeless shelter uh in Jersey and got hit so bad that she got knocked out of her shoes. This dude was like almost blind, had two hookers in the truck, picked off the headlamp from her body, and drove off.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00

But they ended up finding him later on in this grocery store. And so uh, fast forward, we write this song, and uh I end up meeting a guy at school. We end up forming a band, we put it on a CD, I give it to my dad, because my dad's like, make me like a burn this on a CD for me, because that we found the guy is going to trial. So at the trial, we don't go, um, but my dad brings the CD and he comes back that night and goes, the guy heard the song. As soon as he heard the song, he confessed. And so my first you know, interaction with like writing as opposed to singing or covering is like, oh, this is this affects people. This is real. We wrote a song that's funky that's celebrating her life, and that guy just confessed to, you know, manslaughter or whatever.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Um, and we ended up forming a band. And it was this wild, uh, this wild time of like, I've only known that music uh affects and is powerful and shapes. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, yeah, I don't know anything, I don't know anything else um than that. So yeah, that was like my I'm all in.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, insane. So um, gosh, I love your stories. I could um I could just sit here forever and listen to these stories. What are you doing now? So you were at Bethel Music for years, um, and really I feel like you were in multiple roles um over the years. Uh what are you doing now and how long have you been doing it? Like what are you up to now with all this creativity in you? So now I besides being an awesome dad and an awesome husband.

SPEAKER_00

Trying. Um I I produce, I write, um I do some coaching and mentoring, but mainly me and um co-founder Eric Allen. We have a nonprofit called Fathering Artists. Um, and we've been doing it since 2012 when we were in Reading. Um it started as a songwriter's retreat um to get people just to come up and write a song as opposed to, you know, torturing themselves about wishing they would have done it at one point. Um and over the years that's turned into um courses and you know um uh more songwriting retreats and um you know curriculum and mentoring and coaching, um, even managing. Um so yeah, we've been doing that for however long math that is.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, 14 years.

SPEAKER_00

Um and when we left Bethel, it was like, okay, this was a passion project. Um because we were both deeply involved um at Bethel. Um so yeah, we decided about three years ago to go all in in that. Um and it it's been it's been awesome just seeing seeing people, you know, um get transformed and and really be developed. I think that's what I that's kind of what I'm obsessed with, you know, the discovery aspect, getting to work with people that don't know how to hold a guitar all the way to winning multiple Grammys, we all struggle with the same things. You know? Uh and none of us can do it alone. Uh, I'm not a product, I'm not self made, you know. Um I'm if anything a mosaic of people's curiosity and sacrifice and you know, unction. Um So we walk alongside uh artists at any stage in their development and give them structures and and formats for uh how to create their own rhythms and discover how they discover um and remove that pressure of uh product and outcome. Because that's all we really see. We just we're constantly seeing product and outcome, but as an artist, um especially if you're starting off, you might not be aware of what the lifestyle is.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um so walking alongside of them weekly and giving them daily exercises to do um to retrain that nervous system into like, oh yeah, this is possible. Even if it's 15 minutes a day, um, I can be unrecognizable in here and out there within six months. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. So that's fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It feels like you've taken your own journey and experience and all of those lessons learned and you've you've figured out how to package it to help people.

SPEAKER_00

Figuring it out. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01

If um people wanted to get info on that.

SPEAKER_00

Fatheringartists.com.

SPEAKER_01

Fatheringartists.com.

SPEAKER_00

We have an Instagram as well, and uh we have cohorts, we do something called Thresholds, uh, which is like a six-week yeah course that we rotate. We have a bunch of different um instructors that do that. So all year round there's something to get involved in.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, that's super fun.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, I have one last question for you, and this might be hard for you to answer. Um, I don't mean it in a prideful sense when I ask it, but I'm just really curious, like, what what is the the talent? What is the gift that's in your hand?

SPEAKER_00

Belief.

SPEAKER_01

Belief.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. God's not a theory. Jesus isn't a theory.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Music isn't theory. You're not theory. Um but I believe you. Whoever is in front of me. You're a miracle wrapped in flesh. I have no idea why he's allowing me to collide with you in this timeline, why he chose me to be in this timeline at this time. Uh but I won't ignore, I won't move past. Um and uh I'm still here, and I tried. Uh so yeah. To champion belief. Belief, you know, it happens to come through the articulation of music and words. Um and I've I haven't really practiced instruments the way that I would want to, in the way that I want to steward it and show respect and reverence for it. Um but I've studied people my whole life because I've uh tried to become one. I thought I lost it too early, too soon. Um, but that talent is uh I know the prison, and now I know that there's something other than being the warden. Um and so that mind of ours and our body can either be a sanctuary or a prison.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um and my talent is uh relentless belief. Wow.

SPEAKER_01

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he is the real life Ted Lasso. JP, I love you, man. I love you. Thank you for being with me today. Same and talking. Put five, foot five, there we go. Put it in. I love you so much. I love you. So much, so much admiration and respect for you and uh and your family. So thank you for sharing your gifts with the world. And uh, I'm gonna continue to just be one of your biggest fans on the sidelines, cheering you on, man, because I believe in you a ton. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

So much love. Deeply changed my life so far.

SPEAKER_01

Much love.