Transcript

Introducing Dream Guest: John Cooper, Founder of Skillet

[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story.
Today we get to talk to a dream guest of ours, the founder and lead singer of the Christian rock band, Skillet, Mr. John Cooper.
Oh my gosh, you guys. John had so many great stories.
Like what are award shows are actually like in person and how hard it is not to make a mean face with a TV cameras on you, but your name is not called.
My favorite stories were John talking about what his parents thought about Christian rock music and taking him to a Petra concert when he was a kid, plus a hilarious story of Skillet trying to make a music video that looked like the band Kiss.
But the fire in Pyro got a little out of control. This was such a fun conversation, and you guys, we can’t wait for to hear this episode with the founder of Skillet, Mr. John Cooper.
I’m Kevin. And I’m Stephanie. And during our marriage, we have dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery, Then doctors telling us that children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis.
However, today we live a life completely healed and restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible.
And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day.
Welcome to Tell Us a Good Story.

Plea for Support and Engagement

[1:16] Okay friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the button on YouTube and Apple podcast or give us a review five stars, please in our world This is super super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us Thank you for sharing our post across your social media that really helps with engagement and with us getting guests Yes, so hey if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, Please share us with your friends.
But regardless, thank you for listening to tell us a good story All right, Steph, are you ready for this?
Oh my gosh, he’s Southern! I didn’t know he was Southern!
He had a little twang going. He does. He absolutely does.
Well, friends, our next guest is the lead vocalist, bassist, songwriter, producer for Skillet, which is one of the best-selling rock bands of this century.
The band was recently invited into Pandora’s Billionaire Club after garnering two billion streams.
Amazing. And he is one of the two original members of the band.
And ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to tell us a good story, Mr. John Cooper. John Cooper!

[2:21] Welcome! Hey guys, how’s it going? Oh, fantastic. Good to be with you.
Thank you. Oh, we’re so excited to have you. Okay, John, thank you for saying yes to us.
And one thing as I was reading about you that jumped off the screen at me, John, was I came to find out you had an even stricter childhood than I did as a pastor’s kid, and you couldn’t listen to Christian rock either.
So, can you tell Steph the story of growing up in a very religious household and what they didn’t allow you to do?
This is very similar to me, but even worse. Okay.
That’s really funny, it’s good to meet somebody that knows what it’s about, like I don’t know, did you go to any Bill Gothard seminars?
I did not. Okay, alright, well if you had, you’d be laughing, anyway.

[3:08] Well, let me give the whole story, so my mom was a piano teacher, and a voice teacher, and a flute teacher.
Oh my gosh. Yeah, but I never played flute, I want that on the record. I never played flute.
So music was always in my house. My mom was singing opera all the time, singing choir and playing piano and stuff like that.
So I just was like, oh yeah, we’re like a music family. That’s just what we do.
And I remember when I was about five years old, my friend down the street, he’s like, hey, we got MTV.
And I was like, what’s MTV? And he’s like, it’s music television.
And I was like, what is that?

[3:48] And so he turns on MTV. And I see my very first music video I ever saw which was beat it from Michael Jackson and It’s like the best thing I’ve ever heard. Yeah Blown what is this?
And I go home and I’m telling my mom about this amazing song and of course because I’m a kid So I think I’m introducing my mom to something she’s never heard of and come to find out she’s heard of Michael Jackson And she gave me a holy butt whooping for singing Michael Jackson, singing the devil’s music, praising the devil, singing the song, beat it.
And I just really didn’t understand. I just had in my mind, okay, you don’t steal, you don’t kill people, and you don’t listen to any music that’s not like church music.

[4:39] So years down the road, when I was in about fifth or sixth grade, all my friends started listening to metal, to rock music.
Of course, this is the 80s, so if younger people are watching this episode, they might not understand that it used to be ubiquitous.
I mean, you couldn’t go to the mall without hearing Bon Jovi and Metallica.
I mean, metal was pop at the time, so it was everywhere. And all my friends were listening to metal, and I remember complaining to my friend, I was like, dude, my mom would never let me bring this Metallica tape.
It wasn’t a CD, it was a tape.
They would never let me bring this home. And he said, well…
You know there’s Christian rock music? And I said, no, I didn’t know that.
How come nobody told me? So he gave me a Petra tape.

[5:22] Petra is an awesome Christian band. So I brought it home to my mom, once again, replaying that I thought I was introducing my mom to something that she’d never heard of.
Mom, guess what? There’s Christian music. And my mom freaked.
I mean, it would have, it was as if I just brought home like a satanic altar or like an idol or something. And Christian music was even worse than secular music because it was wolves in sheep’s clothing.
They pretended to do it for Jesus, but they truly were like devil worshippers in my mom’s mind.
And so Christian music was outlawed. They didn’t like me wearing black.
They would not approve of my beard or my hair or my music or my clothes.
Anyway, it just kind of became a really funny thing, but I always laugh about it. But my mom loved Jesus.
She had really good intentions. She really believed it was evil, and she wanted to protect me from something she thought was wrong.
And so it’s a really hilarious story that I tell, and not to say anything bad about my parents.
Hey, they love me. They look out for me. I think they were wrong about this one, though.

John Cooper’s Decision to Pursue Christian Music

[6:30] The joke is, like pastor’s kids growing up, we had our first dance to, Our God is an Awesome God, right?

[6:38] That’s because we were so sheltered. You were very sheltered.
I totally understand where you’re coming from on that, John.
Okay, I have a question. What were your parents’ reactions when you decided to drop out of college and go into Christian music?

[6:53] Sure, sure. Well, there’s a few things that happened, and so I’ll tell you my story, if that’s okay, since you like stories. Yes, please do.
All right, so when I was in sixth grade, my mom got really sick, and she was gone for like two weeks.
And I was like, all right, what’s going on? We found out that my mom had cancer.
So she began fighting cancer.

[7:16] So I don’t remember how old you are when you’re in sixth grade, but I think that’s like 10 years old or something like that.
And she ended up having, you know, surgery, chemo and all that sort of stuff.
She ended up being declared cancer free as I was going into my seventh grade year.
But about a year later, her cancer came back, kind of like with a raging vengeance.
She got sicker than she had been before.
This cancer had kind of spread to her lymph nodes and all sorts of stuff.
And so during that sixth to ninth grade season, you know, all people go through a difficult time in life no matter what, because you’re finding out who you are and your own identity.
And do I agree with what my parents teach me? How am I different from them?
And you’re deciding who you’re going to be. a lot of times for the rest of your life, your identity.
So that was already a difficult time. We were arguing about Christian rock music, things like that during that time.
My mom died when I was a freshman, so I was 15 years old.
She died from cancer, and there’s a pretty cool story prior to her death, really only by about, I’d say four months before she died.

[8:27] And that was that Petra, the band I was just talking about, which was my introduction to Christian rock music, Petra was coming in concert and all my friends were going and my parents weren’t letting me go.
And I was just, I was really angry. I was just like, this is ridiculous, you know?
And so I think my mom realized she’s not doing very good.
This was a big deal. So my mom said, okay, you can’t go with your friends, but I’ll tell you what, I’ll get the tickets.
We’re going to go as a family and when, not if, when Petra starts praying to the devil or sacrifices an animal, then we’re going to leave the concert.
So I think my mom thought, this is the way my son can see that I love him and then he’ll see that this is really evil.
So we went to the concert, one of the best nights of my life.
We get in the car afterwards and my mom says, all right.
I don’t like Christian rock music, but I believe that those Petra boys love Jesus.” And I said, okay.
And so Petra was okay from that point on.

[9:36] And then years and years later, when it came to doing Christian music, I just felt this burning passion in my heart to do for other people what Petra did for me.
And what Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant and Striper and all these great Christian bands, And even secular metal bands, music gave me hope.
Music helped me through these really difficult times when I felt absolutely alone.
No one in the world understood me. My mom died. I’m fighting with my dad.
No one knows what I’m going through.
But you put on music and music heals. Music is a real help to people.
And that’s what really was burning in me to do music.

[10:15] Hello, friends. I’m Craig Clausen, and I help Kevin and Steph with all the tech stuff for the show. But today, I have a request for you.

Request for Listeners to Call and Celebrate 200th Episode

[10:22] Kevin and Steph will soon be recording their 200th episode. In the podcast world, this is a big accomplishment.
According to Forbes, only 8% of podcasts uploaded over the past week had created more than 10 episodes, let alone 200.
And we want to celebrate with you. We would love for as many listeners as possible to give us a call at 614-699-0604.

Engage with Tell Us A Good Story: Leave a Voicemail

[10:47] And leave them a voicemail. Let Kevin and Steph know what Tell Us A Good Story means to you.
Or tell them what’s been your favorite episode or story.
Or just call to congratulate them.
It’s easy to do. Just give them a call at 614-699-0604, listen, to the cute voicemail recorded by the Mason Kids and then leave them a message.
And even better, your message might appear on air for the 200th episode.
I will put the phone number in the show notes for you, and please call by November 30th, 2023.
And, as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.
So, how was your dad when you dropped out of college?
Yeah, it was my mom that was, this is satanic. My dad was like, this is stupid.

Pursuing Music Against All Odds

[11:40] Satanic and stupid. He was just like, John, it’s dumb.
It’s girly. That’s a stupid thing to do. You’ll never make a living doing it. It’s a dream.
And once again, my dad, he’s just looking out for me. He’s sort of like, you’re never going to be able to make money doing music.
Most people don’t. And so he’s looking out for me. So I did go to college.
The truth is I just wasn’t cut out for college. I was failing out of school.
I couldn’t focus on my grades. I didn’t know how to study.
Music’s like playing in my head all day long. That’s the thing driving me.
And I just knew, I believed as I prayed, as I read my Bible, I just believed I was called to do music.
And I just felt that I needed to trust God to do that. So when I dropped out of school to do music, the truth is it wasn’t like I was a straight-A student giving up college dreams. I wasn’t going to pass college anyway.
And so, yeah, my dad was sort of like, you’re throwing your life away.
I don’t know why you’re doing this.
But at that point, I just said, hey, I got to do what I feel like I got to do and no hard feelings to my dad.
He’s just looking out for me, you know, and he’s right.
Most people don’t make a living doing it, but ours was a story of the blessing of God. God opened doors, we walked through those doors, and I do think this as well, I do think to be fair that I judge success maybe differently than a lot of other people do.

[13:00] To me, being successful isn’t about making money or about how big your house is or even what other people think about you or your music.
Success is just being obedient to God.
Success is saying, this is what God said to do, I’m going to obey Him, and whatever that looks like, and whatever other people think about me, that doesn’t really matter.

Success Defined by Obedience to God and Faithfulness

[13:22] The question is this, have you been a faithful steward of what the Lord told you to do?
The Bible says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be added to you.
So you get the first thing first, and the other things are going to fall into place.

[13:39] So when you started Skillet back in 96, is it true once you started to form this band, And it was only like a week later until Record Labels found you and was wanting to offer you a record deal. Is that correct?
It’s pretty close to correct. I would say that’s a little bit exaggerated.
It wasn’t a week, but it was only several months, probably three months.
And I think that the reason it was so crazy was that…
I had been playing in a different band for four years that I was really serious about.
And then there was another band at my church.
They had been playing for five, six years. And it was actually my pastor at the time that said, Hey, John, I think that you would go good with the guitar player from the other band.
What do you think about starting a side project?
And, you know, you could just record some songs and see if it’s any good.
And somebody said, And I said, yeah, and if you did, they said, you should call it skillet because it would be like cooking, taking ingredients from different bands and throwing it all in a skillet and making up something new.
And I was like, yeah, why not? That’d be funny.
I said, yeah, that’d be funny. Let’s try that. Because I didn’t think it was going to be very serious and my pastor was right.
We wrote four songs and it just went really well.
And all of a sudden, the label was interested. And I remember my pastor saying, I’m not telling you to lie, but if they ask you how long you’ve been a band, don’t say four months.

A fib about the band’s history raises eyebrows

[15:06] He said, say anything except for that. Don’t lie, but find a different answer.
And so they were like, so how long has this been going? I said, well, you know, we’ve been playing together with our bands for four years now, off and on.
And, you know, we’ve known each other and I was dancing. I was doing the dancing.
Do not say only four months, and I was dancing. And switching the subject, you know.

[15:28] So can you share the story, John, about how back in 1998, Atlantic Records wanted to make Skillet their very first Christian band on the label, and then at the last second they backed out?
Because this is fascinating how this happened and how you guys didn’t compromise at all when all these labels came to you and wanted to remove Jesus and God from your lyrics, all that. Can you share that story?
Yeah. It’s funny. I don’t get to share this story very often, but it’s really ironic because we ended up being on Atlantic Records years later.
So the funny thing is, 1998, we were working on our second album.
Actually, our second album had already dropped, and I had always felt called to do rock music.
I never wanted to do only Christian industry, if you want to call it that, Christian music.
I just wanted to play rock music, but I wanted to sing my lyrics.
I want to talk about my faith and I always thought, well, why not?
I mean, that’s, that’s kind of how rock music started.

[16:28] Elvis, Ray, and of course, Ray was even before Elvis, Johnny Cash, people like they were just singing what was on their hearts, and they might sing some gospel songs and some other songs, and why not?
There’s nothing wrong with that.
Well, I was pretty naive and I didn’t realize that the industry is not really into that.
When I signed with this very small independent Christian label called Ardent, Ardent Records actually had a Christian music side and Ardent had a secular music side. So in 96, they said, hey, here’s what we’re going to do.
We’re going to release you first in the Christian side.
And then six months later to a year later, we’re going to release you on the on the mainstream side.
Then our record came out in 1996.
And within two months, they had actually closed down their mainstream side.
It just wasn’t going good. So they just crushed it.

[17:17] And then I was like, oh, no, what are we going to do? We got to look for a mainstream partner.
Well, two years later, Atlantic was interested and they began coming to our concerts.
They sent an A&R guy to come check us out, and he said, I really like this band, I want to come back. And he came with a different guy.
And he said, you know what, I really like this band, but I just feel like I need to know more about you guys. We were having conversations.
They came to see us five times. It was really weird. It was over a period of like, yeah. That’s a lot.
It really is a lot. So for people that don’t know, if they’re interested, they come once, they go, wow, we want to jump on this band.
They come again, and then they sign, or they don’t sign. They pass.
This went on for four months. So, five or six times, they kept coming with other people.

[17:58] And I kept thinking, why are they doing this? The last time they saw us, the guy pulled me back and he said, hey, I love your band.
I’ve been trying to decide how we’re gonna do this and I think I’ve figured it out.
We’re gonna remix the album. I wanna add a keyboard line on track two.
That’ll be the first single.
And then we’re gonna do this. We’re gonna get you on tour of this.
I need you to call me on Monday. Let’s get this thing going.
And this was on Saturday, okay? And I said, all right.
Monday I call. Nope, he never calls me back. Tuesday, Wednesday, after a month, we finally hear back and he goes, here’s the deal.

Atlantic Records rejects Skillet due to their Christian identity

[18:31] I can’t sign a Christian rock band.

[18:35] This is five times. And so the reason he kept coming back with other people was he was going, am I crazy or is this band really good? I mean, but they’re a Christian band.
Are they good enough that we don’t have to worry about the Christian thing?
Can we make it work? And he just said, I’m putting my neck out on the line.
He didn’t say neck. He said something else.
I’m putting my neck out on the line, if you will.
And I just can’t sign a Christian ban. It’s just too much. You guys play Christian shows and blah, blah, blah. And I was pretty bummed out.
And it was also doubly hard because about a year later was when Atlantic, the same label, signed P.O.D.
So P.O.D. ended up being their flagship Christian metal band.

[19:19] And I was like, come on, man. And of course, P.O.D. is a great, fantastic band.
But I was just like, man, why didn’t God open those doors for us?
I said, it’s all right. We’re going to keep keep doing what we’re doing.
And so the irony of the story is that five years later, in 2003, we released a record called Collide, and we end up, long story short, signed by Lava Records. Lava was through Atlantic Records.
So basically, five years later, after they had giant success with P.O.D., we end up getting signed to Atlantic Records.

[19:54] But I will tell you, I think it was good for us, because I got to see a lot of other Christian bands cross over, if you will, to the mainstream.
And I don’t mean this as critical as it sounds, but to do it in a way that I just would not feel comfortable doing.
And it’s not judgment on them that they need to do it like Skilla did, and I just said, okay, good for them, but that’s not the way that I would do it.
And as a Christian music fan, it was a bummer to me to see some of these crossover artists sort of be embarrassed about being in the Christian industry, almost like embarrassed where they came from, or maybe not embarrassed, but just not want to talk about it.
You know, and that’s up to them, no big deal.
But I just said to my manager, hey, I am not embarrassed of where I came from.
I’m certainly not ashamed of the name of Christ.
And we need to take this from the perspective of, when people say, so I heard you guys were a Christian band, rather than dancing and saying, well, we’re actually a band And we are Christians, but we’re not really blah, blah, blah.
Just say, yes, we’re a Christian band. Not ashamed of it. Jesus is the best thing in my life.
He is the way, the truth, the life. And that’s our story.

[21:05] Okay. Okay. I want to talk music videos with you. About a year ago.
Yes. If you talk about alien youth, I’m going to be, I’m going to be so mad. No, no, no, no, no.

Confirming the fiery mishap in a music video with Skillet

[21:15] So a year ago we had Andy Irwin on the show. Okay.

[21:21] Love Andy Irwin, and he told us a story and we are curious if this is your band.
He would not name the band, no, but we want to confirm this was you guys, all right? And then you can give us your side of the story.
So we were talking about pyrotechnics, right? He said on these music videos, he would have pyro guys come in and some of them were just like crazy off the wall, like bigger the flames, the better.
And he said they were doing a music video and the pyro guy came to him and said hey Let’s do the the flame of death or whatever and they’re like, oh my gosh, that sounds intense And so he said they do the pyro and he said the female drummer as soon as they yelled cut, Took off and ran into the trailer, And he said, he said, he was like, huh, that’s odd.
So he and John, his brother, went behind the drum kit and said, Hey, go ahead and turn it on.
And he said, as soon as they turned the flames on, it was like their face was melting. He said, it’s like we’re cooking ourselves.
So he said he ran into the trailer and apologized to the female because they’re almost set her on fire is what they did.
So we want to cover is that skillet? Is that you guys? That is definitely skillet. Yes!

The Pyro Experience: A Love for Fire

[22:36] Yes! Oh my gosh. I mean, everything’s a really good idea until you try it, all right?
So you know, I love the pyro. By that time in our career, we had done pyro for a lot of our concerts.
The difference was, and I didn’t know it at the time because I was just like really into the fire.
I was just like, make us look like the band KISS. That’s all that I want. Make us look like KISS.
And so we did that. We looked like KISS. The difference was, when we did this video, it was for the song Hero.
Those are a different kind of, it’s like liquid something, which is different than propane.
So when you see Skillet live, or when you see the band Kiss or something, it’s propane, and you get it and the propane goes up.
This is a liquid thing, and it’s a much bigger shot. And if people seen the video for, people need to go see the video for Skillet’s Hero.
I mean those flames are there. I don’t know 60 feet in the air.
Oh my gosh They’re huge and I was like, they’re really far back.
They’ll be fine because we play shows all the time, you know so we do our thing and.

Surviving the Heat on Set

[23:47] Those things were so hot and I remember thinking okay, It’s hot but it’s not as hot as what jen is saying but to be fair she was I don’t know 20 or 30 feet closer to them than I was And and I didn’t know it was that hot.
We just we did what we got to do and i’m thinking that burns a little bit But it’ll be fine and I went back there too and I was like, oh Jeepers I’m telling you man.
It was so hot and then after that The second half of the video they turn on these huge hoses like fire hoses supposed to look like you’re playing in the rain and they have all these firemen show up and they’re doing the big hoses and it’s freezing.
The rain is like so cold that you’re shaking, but you can’t look like you’re shaking in a video because that’s not very rock and roll.
So then you’re burning up and then freezing, then the flames go off and it’s so hot.
But you know what, the video’s amazing and it was absolutely worth it, but don’t tell my drummer that I said that.
She has third degree burn from the music video.
It’s worth it for someone else to suffer so that I can look good.
That’s what I’m saying. You’re fine, you’re fine.

Favorite book is the Bible, but they wrote a great book too.

[25:01] All right, Steph, I’m gonna test you again here. What is your favorite book of all time? Obviously it’s the Bible, Kevin.
Yes. Nailed it. Very good. This time you didn’t say the book we wrote called You Met Her Where. But it’s still a really good book. That is true.
And it would make a great gift for friends or relatives on their birthday or for Christmas. Friends, you can order your copy of our book titled, You Met Her Where? at kevinandsteph.com.
And we will make sure to personally sign a copy for you or whoever you want.
And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[25:32] All right, John. For all of our guests, I like to give a list of fun facts to let listeners know what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished.
And Steph is not aware of any of these, OK? So you’re going to see her genuine, authentic response on these, OK?
So keep me honest here, and this is going to spurn some stories.
So if I’m wrong on any of these, please feel free to correct me.
All right, Steph? Let’s do it. Okay, fun fact number one.
Steph, as you know, John’s wife, Kory, is in the band as well. Yes.
She plays the rhythm guitar and keyboard, and they have toured together all of their 27 plus years of marriage, along with their two children.
So I have a lot of questions about working with your wife, because Steph and I, this might be the only thing we can do together.
Only thing we can work on together, like nothing else. Okay.
So how does it work? Because she was not, But she was not one of the founding members.
So when she joins Skillet, is it like, you’ve got to have a conversation with the guys, like, hey, listen, my wife wants to be in the band.
Happy wife, happy life. How does that work? How does she end up joining the band? I think three years later.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, all right. So Skillet’s first record came out in November of 96.

[26:40] We got married March the next year, so only about four or five months after the first record came out.
She came on the road with us when we got married so that we could just be together.
And she was helping sell t-shirts and all sorts of stuff, because at the time, like, we were doing it, we were driving ourselves in a van and all that.
So she was doing those things.
Within about seven months, we were writing music for the next record.
And the band, me and the other songwriter, which is the guitar player, we were saying, hey, we really need to kind of change the sound.
We’re adding keyboards, we’re adding this in. And so it just became natural.
It was like, hey, we need a keyboard player.
And I should have said, actually, my wife, Corrie, played in her own band before we were married.
So she was the singer and keyboard player for her own group before we got married.
And so she quit that group to go on the road with us so we could be married.
Wow. And I was like, well, Corrie is an amazing musician.

[27:39] She’s already on the road. We can’t afford to pay anybody else anyway.
If we’re going to add keys, then we may as well have Corey do it.
Even though there aren’t very many girls in rock bands, if girls rock, I think that’s a really cool look.
And so it was sort of a natural, we never really kind of said, hey, we need to have Corey in the band now.
So the truth is, is that on the second album, she wasn’t quote unquote in the band, but she was a live performer for the band.
And so by the third record, it was like, well, duh, she’s in the band now, you know, and and she’s doing all these other things.
So it kind of happened naturally in that way.

The story of how John’s wife joined the band.

[28:16] All right, so is it true, John, that when you met your future wife, Corrie, the week before, you had committed to God that you were no longer dating?
Is that true? That’s true, yes, absolutely.

[28:31] And then you go back and like, okay, hey, what we talked about last week.
Take it back, God, take it back.

[28:37] You know what, the Bible says to let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do not make oaths.
There’s a reason you don’t make oaths, because God expects you to stick to them.
So, you know, there you go. Food for thought for all the young people that make rash oaths.
All right, Steph, next fun fact. John and the band have been nominated twice for the Grammy Awards.
Their records have gone platinum 17 times.
Oh my goodness. And they’ve won a Billboard Music Award, multiple Dove Awards, and on and on.
So John, let’s Let’s talk about these award shows.
What is it like when you’re in person there, right? Because you know the camera’s on you.
Are you doing your best that when you don’t win, like you don’t yell out, dang it, or you give a mean face, or you’re smiling, you’re praying, you put your hand out, like praying for the winner. How does this work in person?

[29:27] Yeah, I know what you mean. There’s always the awkward thing when you’re like…
If i’m making a weird face, no be normal, but if i’m normal, does it look like I don’t care but then I do care But I don’t care so much that I don’t want somebody else to do Yeah, you’re going through all these stupid emotions and and it’s really annoying Yeah, I mean the truth is is you know, it’s always fun to win something But uh, I mean just because you don’t win an award doesn’t mean you didn’t make great music And if you do win an award doesn’t mean your music’s good.
All these things go into it. So the truth is i’m like Hey, I’m here, I’m enjoying this.
If we don’t win, I don’t really mind because I don’t really find my identity in that.
But I do go through the range of emotions of, what does my face look like right now? Right.

[30:12] Okay, I saw a video clip, John, and I thought this was like the ultimate power move.
You won some type of award. It may have been like a, what was it?
A K-Dub or something for your book. Mike, Michael W. Smith announces you win the award.
You go up, you get the award, the trophy. You hand it to Michael W.
Smith and ask him, here, can you hold this for me while you give your speech?
And I’m like, oh my gosh, that’s like the ultimate power move.
So did you mean to do that? Or just like, are you friends with him?
And I was curious how that worked.
Yeah, it is really funny. I remember thinking, I had this piece of paper in my pocket, and there’s no way I can do And I don’t know what to do.
And I was thinking, we’re friendly.
It’s not like I know Michael’s. It’s not like me and Michael, me and Mike are buddies or anything.
You know, I mean, I’m a he’s an icon. I’m a huge fan of Michael W.
Smith. He’s a really good man as well.
And he knows who I am. We know each other. And I think we both appreciate each other, but it’s not like we’re buddies.
And I was like, I don’t think he’ll mind. I remember doing it.
And then I made a joke and I was like, all right, my life just got made.
I just asked Michael W. Smith to hold my award.

[31:22] That was so good. Hold this. He’s awesome. Michael Smith, he’s awesome.
And he was one of the handful of people I was allowed to listen to back in the 80s. So I appreciate that.
I think something to do with his handsomeness probably made some of the moms give in.
I’m sure. All right. Well, he looks like a wholesome guy. He’s a good boy, yes.
I bet he reads the King James Version.

[31:47] All right, Steph, next fun fact. Skillet songs have been used numerous times in pop culture.
Okay. I didn’t know it was this frequent. Okay. This is super cool.

Skillet Songs in Pop Culture: Transformers, One Life to Live, and more

[31:57] So the song Awaken Alive was on the soundtrack for the movie Transformers. Okay.
It was also used in November 2009.
In a promo for the soap opera, One Life to Live. Really? Talk about extremes, John. That’s wild.
That’s wild. The song, You’re My Hope, was featured on the popular CW show called America’s Top Model.
The song, Hero, was used in TV commercials for the NFL on NBC.
It was the theme song for WWE’s Royal Rumble in 2010.
Monster was used on MTV’s Bully Beatdown and in WWE event, Hell in the Cell.
And then one of their other songs rebirthing is the theme song for the Philadelphia Flyers when they come out on the ice So good.
Well, I want to know like when Hollywood calls you for the Transformers movie.
Are you just like, oh my gosh This is absolutely happening. Like yes, what is going through your trailer?

[32:52] Yeah, it really is amazing. I Remember when that first started happening.
I was like, are you serious? I just couldn’t believe it because people also have to remember that none of that happened until 2009, which means we’ve been a band for 13 years.
So we had had four or five records out.
And so all of a sudden, 13 years later, we became an overnight success.
I mean, the album came out, it went really big, it hit it radio, all these places were playing the music, and I just couldn’t believe it.
So I was a little bit like a giddy kid. You know, I was like, are you serious?

[33:31] Transformers. Oh my gosh, you know, and I was like not playing it cool at all.
It’s not like John at the award shows.
It was John like a like a giddy kid, you know, it wasn’t me like the deer deer in the headlights at the award show.
So I just want to let you know the way you felt when Hollywood or the Transformers movie called for your music is how Kevin reacted when you said yes to him.
If he was fist-pumping the air, screaming, jumping, he’s like, that’s what we just got! But here’s the problem, John.
I go to my wife and I’m like, Hey, you’re not gonna leave us.
John Cooper just said yes to us. We’re going to talk to John Cooper next week.
Well, we’re in Columbus, Ohio.
Steph’s like, we’re talking to the retired Ohio State football coach.
John Cooper. Why are we doing that? I’m like, no, no, the cooler, the rocker John Cooper. Like, Oh, okay.
That’s the best story. I love, I absolutely love that. Great. Good work.

Spreading the Word or Keeping Quiet

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Just disregard this message. Don’t worry about it. Forget about us.
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And to get more information about us or our entire catalog of episodes, be sure to check us out at KevinandSteph.com.
Thank you for listening to tell us a good story. All right Steph.
So, next fun fact. Currently on tour in Louisiana this weekend, Skillet, they are doing 33 concerts in the next 50 days.

[35:12] They are actually going to be in Ohio, Steph, the day this drops. No way!
In Youngstown at the Covelli Center. So we need to check our schedules for that.
So do you have any good stories from being on tour? The one I’m thinking of in particular, John, is I heard you tell a story one time about a grandma who was kind of stalking you from place to place.
Could you share that story or any other stories you have from being on tour?
Any crazy fan interactions?
Yeah, I mean, there really is not a better story than this. So yes, I will share about the stalking grandma.
And it’s also relevant because I just released a book. So, this comes out November 17th called Wimpy, Weak, and Woke.
You can get it on Amazon or you can get it at my website, johnlcooper.com.

Sharing Personal Stories to Connect with Others

[36:02] I tell this story in chapter one. And the reason I tell this story is to explain a time when I was wimpy and weak, so people don’t feel like I’m just yelling at people all the time, I’m sharing stories from my life of sometimes the ridiculous things that I think and do.
So here we go. This is now you gotta remember this is a long time ago.
I can’t remember what year I’d have to think about it But it was it was long enough ago that we didn’t have a tour manager Okay. So in other words, When you don’t have money to pay a bus driver, you got to drive your own bus when you have a problem Money for a bus you got to drive your own van.
You have to you have to tour manage your own self You don’t have any security.
You got to do what you got to do Well, we used to go sign autographs for hours after our shows because we didn’t have anybody to help Didn’t have anybody to help make a line.
You just got to go do it and one night We were uh playing a show.
I met this girl afterwards. She said she wanted to talk. There’s a young girl She’s like, can I tell you what’s going on in my life? She shared her mom was sick.
She’s being raised by her grandmother and this, that, the other.
Well, about two months later at a different show in a different town, I saw that girl and I remembered her and she was with an older woman.
And I thought, I bet that’s the grandmother because I remembered the story.

[37:17] And so I had shared at that concert that night about how my mom had died from cancer and I wrote a song about it, yada, yada. And I’m like, well, after this, so there’s about 2,000 people in a gymnasium.
I’m in the middle. I’m just signing and talking to people. This woman, the grandmother walks up, she’s probably about five foot two, and she comes up to me and she just like bear hugs me and she won’t let me go.
And she’s looking up at me because she’s quite short. And so she’s looking up at me, totally pressed up against me and she’s staring at me.
And she said, that story you told about your mother, that is so powerful.
But you know I’m so proud of you and I’m gonna be your spiritual mother and you have a mother and I’m your mother and I’m Praying for you, and I wish I had a son like you and for about three minutes She would not let me go and I just sat there totally uncomfortable, Sort of like waiting to find out at the Dove Awards or at the award show if they’re gonna call my name Or they’re gonna call some some lame bands names.
I’m just joking and you’re sitting there I’m totally like eyes wide open.
Everybody’s looking. Some people are like uncomfortable and they feel bad.
They’re pitting me and I don’t know what to do because it’s so awkward.

[38:26] About six months later, we do another show.
This time, we were doing autographs behind a table, and I saw her, and I look over to my wife next to me, who signed autographs, and I say, Cory, do not leave me alone with that woman. You do not leave my side, honey.
In the name of Jesus, you don’t leave my side.
She says, okay. And so we signed autographs for about an hour and a half, because there’s like 2,000 people in line. It was so long.
And at the end, you know, people say, John, I want to tell you a story and the next person John would tell you a story.
They’re telling me stories and my wife forgot and she left me.
And so I thought I’m going to stay behind the table and I’ll be fine. She comes up.
She moves the table out of the way and she sits down right next to me and she puts her hand around my neck like this.
And she says, your mother would be so proud of you. What you do for these kids.
And I start to feel this pull on my neck.
And I’m thinking, gosh, there’s pressure on my neck. What is happening?
My mind goes in slow motion.
She’s pulling my head closer to hers. And I’m thinking in slow motion, I think she’s going to kiss me. I think that’s what’s going to happen.
This old woman is going to kiss me and I don’t know what to do.
I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
Everybody’s looking, this is so bizarre.

[39:47] Maybe it’s okay that she kisses me because no old, like, no grandma has got weird, you know, inappropriate thoughts. I’m like 25.
There’s no way that would be the case because people aren’t like that.
And maybe it’s normal. And my face, I’m telling you, is an inch away from her.
And I suddenly was like, God, this is weird as crap. What’s going on?
So I turned my head and she barely misses my lips.
She kisses me on the face. And then she looks me directly in the eye.
And she says, don’t you dare do that to me.
And I’m looking at her and then she says, Remember, John, I’m your mother now.

[40:24] True story.

[40:26] And I was like, not today, Satan. So anyway, I write that story in my book because I walked into the dressing room, I literally walk in and Cori looks at me and she goes, John, what’s wrong? You look terrible. You look white as a ghost.
And I said, you left me alone with that old grandma and she tried to kiss me on the lips.
And my guitar player started laughing and he goes, oh, grandma freaky deek, huh?
And so it became I tell the story of grandma freaky deke in the first chapter of my book to explain to people that you have to stand up for what is right and.

[41:04] Letting something ridiculous like that happen because you’re too polite is actually not good.
It is a bad thing Sometimes you’re gonna have to hurt somebody’s feelings to stand up for truth And that’s the moral the story you can buy the book on Amazon or John L Cooper calm Well, friends, please go to his website, johnlcooper.com to get that book.
It released this week. His Instagram account is John L. Cooper, or you can go to Skillet’s Instagram account at Skillet Music.
Also, he has a huge podcast called Cooper Stuff Podcast that has just exploded.
So please check that out. And we’ll put links to all this in our show notes so you can click on it and go right to all those pages.
Well, John. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. I had so much fun with you.
My mouth hurts from laughing and smiling just now.
My smile is so big right now. Thank you so much.

[41:56] It was great chatting with you guys. Thank you.

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