More Cowbell Please: CCM Stories
More Cowbell Please: CCM Stories
Ainslie Grosser
Grammy Winning CCM Mix Engineer Ainslie Grosser dives into Christian music with More Cowbell Please! Hear CCM stars and industry pros like Luke Smallbone, Paul Mabury, Jordan Mohilowski, John Mays share real faith-driven stories of humor, heartbreak, career highlights and losses. The people who wrote, produced and signed some of the greats like Lauren Daigle, Mercy Me, Toby Mac, The Afters, Skillet, Hillsong United and for King and Country . Subscribe for inspiring interviews! #ChristianMusic
Remembering Bob Farrell — A Tribute to a CCM Pioneer | Farrell & Farrell
Bob Farrell — one half of the husband-and-wife duo Farrell & Farrell — passed away on July 11, 2026. He was one of Contemporary Christian Music's most gifted and innovative songwriters, leaving behind a catalog that stretches from synth-pop CCM classics like "People in a Box" and "Get Right or Get Left" to songs recorded by Eric Clapton, Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, Wynonna, Michael W. Smith, and dozens more.This is our tribute to Bob — his story, his music, and his faith.We cover:- His upbringing in Lubbock, Texas — down the alley from Buddy Holly- A marriage that nearly ended before it began — and the conversion that changed everything- How Farrell & Farrell pioneered synth-pop in Christian music alongside DeGarmo & Key- The Soviet Union tour — 25,000 people a night in Moscow and Leningrad, one year before the Wall came down- 40+ Sandi Patty cuts, the London Symphony Orchestra, and a rock opera with Eddie DeGarmo- What Bob said he wanted to be remembered for — in his own wordsI had the privilege of having Bob record in my studio around 2003. This one is personal.Rest well, Bob. The seeds you planted are still growing.0:00 Introduction — The Man Who Almost Wasn't0:38 Growing Up in Lubbock — Buddy Holly's Neighbor1:32 The Marriage Crisis & Dallas1:55 The Kitchen Table Conversion3:13 Farrell & Farrell — The Sound They Built3:51 Synth Pop Pioneers — The Thomas Dolby Moment4:56 People in a Box & The Baskin-Robbins Era of CCM5:49 The Songwriter Behind a Hundred Songs7:40 Jesus Christ Superstar, Hero & My Studio Session8:38 Touring the Soviet Union — Behind the Iron Curtain10:04 What He Wanted to Be Remembered For10:39 Jane — The Glue That Held It All Together11:41 The Legacy12:28 A Final Word — In Bob's Own Voice━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎙️ More Cowbell Please is a channel dedicated to the stories, artists, and moments that shaped Contemporary Christian Music.New episodes every week.Subscribe → https://www.youtube.com/@morecowbellpleasepodcast?sub_confirmation=1━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━#FarrellandFarrell #BobFarrell #CCM #christianmusic ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━SOURCES & FURTHER LISTENINGBob Farrell interviewed on CCM LegacyCAST (2024):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOFkupu-dQMBob Farrell interviewed on Music for the Soul podcast:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyY5QLyrcSEBob Farrell's personal video channel:https://www.youtube.com/@bobfarrell2941Bob Farrell's original YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/@SPARKYNBCBob Farrell's final personal video ("I Will Be"):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GodiVbEWlOAFarrell & Farrell official website:https://www.farrellandfarrell.netCCM Magazine tribute:https://www.ccmmagazine.comCCM Classic — Farrell & Farrell artist page:https://www.ccmclassic.com/artist/farrell-and-farrell━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Jul 22
14 min
Stacey Wilbur | Song Plugger, Songs You Almost Never Heard and TIM publishing
Stacey Wilbur has spent over thirty years in Nashville doing a job most music fans have never heard of — song plugging. Her role: find the right song, fight for it, and get it into the hands of the artist who will make it a hit.She helped launch Worship Together. She championed Laura Story's "Blessings" when the label wasn't sure it should make the record. She worked alongside future stars before the world knew their names. And today she heads publishing for TIM — the company founded by Chris Tomlin and Jason Ingram, two of the most recorded songwriters in Christian music history.In this conversation, Stacey takes us from a small town in Michigan — where a poster of Wynonna Judd on her bedroom wall sparked a dream — all the way to the rooms where Christian music's biggest songs are pitched, fought for, and sometimes saved from the cutting room floor.She talks about a stranger who prophesied over her in a restaurant before she was even a Christian. About losing her job, hearing God say "be still," and what happened the very next day when she wrote a name on a piece of paper.She tells us about a CEO who didn't have to say anything — and chose to anyway.This is one of the most honest, funny, and quietly remarkable conversations we've had on More Cowbell Please.Stacey Wilbur / Head of Publishing, TIM PublishingInstagram: @staceyswilburMore Cowbell Please is a podcast exploring the stories, faith, and people behind Contemporary Christian Music. Hosted by Grammy-winning mix engineer Ainslie Grosser.Topics in this episode: Christian music industry, song plugging, music publishing Nashville, CCM history, Worship Together, Chris Tomlin, Laura Story Blessings, Mandisa, TIM Publishing, Brentwood Benson, EMI Christian, Capitol Christian Music Group, Bill Hearn, Billy Ray Hearn, Sparrow Records, faith and work, Nashville music careers.Chapters0:00 The people behind the songs you love0:53 Meet Stacey Wilbur1:35 Small town girl with a big dream4:51 The prophecy at the restaurant5:34 October 2nd — getting saved7:57 615 Music Row — how she got in the door8:50 The Avalon audition11:26 Worship Together / Chris Tomlin / Matt Redman11:46 What is a song plugger?12:50 The Busby & Daughtry story15:15 "It's me" — pitching herself to Gary Overton16:41 Honky Tonk Badonkadonk17:43 Brentwood Benson — "All the writers say hire you"19:05 Chris Sligh / Rascal Flatts / Cracker Barrel22:16 Losing the job — the wilderness season24:13 Who was Bill Hearn?25:19 "I know what happened to you. You matter."25:35 Seth Mosley texts the next day26:27 The panic attack (and what happened next)27:01 TIM Publishing — Chris Tomlin's crazy idea27:52 Steffany Gretzinger walks in30:09 The Charlie Kirk Memorial30:34 iTunes Top 10 worldwide — God is moving33:32 Laura Story "Blessings"35:41 "I mixed that record"36:37 Advice — dream big37:50 Be yourself / the Brian Johnson line38:50 God's strategies > AI strategies39:25 The magnificent defeat40:47 Outro
Jul 17
41 min
The Newsboys Break Their Silence — In Federal Court | Full Lawsuit Breakdown
The Newsboys have filed a sweeping 204-page federal antitrust and defamation lawsuit in Nashville — and the defendant list will stop you in your tracks.Wes Campbell and the Newsboys are suing The Roys Report, journalist Jessica Morris (a previous guest on this podcast), MercyMe and all five band members individually, Micah Tyler, World Vision, and a Netherlands-based private equity firm called Waterland — along with the three major Christian concert promoters they allegedly acquired to form a monopoly.I break it down block by block — no opinion, just the facts as alleged in the public filing.KEY POINTS COVERED:- Who the plaintiffs are- All four defendant groups explained in plain English- The $50 million deal at the center of the antitrust claim- The three Fargo claims the complaint makes against TRR and Jessica Morris- Why the timing — 14 days after police closed the Tait criminal case — matters- Jessica Morris's Instagram response- What this lawsuit is NOT (it is not a trial of Michael Tait)Full complaint available at newsboyslawsuit.com and tcalawsuit.com. Case number 3:26-cv-00484, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee.All information sourced from publicly filed court documents and established reporting. These are allegations. All parties are presumed innocent.More Cowbell Please covers CCM stories with depth and integrity.
Apr 30
12 min
Nick Rad: Mixing Toby Mac's Most Personal Album & Building a Career From Milwaukee
What does it take to mix five number one records on one album — without ever moving to Nashville?Nick Rad has been doing exactly that from Milwaukee, Wisconsin for over two decades.He started as the drummer in Christian punk band Hangnail on Tooth and Nail Records — touring with Stavesacre and Ghoti Hook, recording at the legendary Blasting Room with Bill Stevenson, and watching a young Aaron Sprinkle record what became one of Christian music's most beloved songs at 1:30 in the morning.Then he walked away from being an artist — and built something extraordinary behind the desk instead.8 Grammy nominations. Credits on records by Toby Mac, Skillet, Matthew West, Rachel Platten, Melissa Etheridge, MisterWives, Leanna Crawford and more. Five number one songs on Toby Mac's Life After Death — the most personal record TobyMac has ever made.All from Wisconsin.In this conversation we talk about:→ The Hangnail and Acceptance years on Tooth and Nail→ The session that almost changed everything (and the one he almost missed entirely)→ How he built a world-class mixing career without moving to Music City→ Mixing Toby Mac's grief — and what it means to serve an artist through loss→ His philosophy on mixing, references, and why the word "organic" drives him crazy→ What he'd tell every young engineer coming upThis is one of my favourite conversations I've had on More Cowbell Please. I think you're going to love Nick Rad.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction1:12 How Nick Rad Got Hooked on Music2:24 Forming Hangnail & Getting Signed to Tooth and Nail Records3:49 Touring the Christian Music Festival Circuit5:37 Joining Acceptance & Learning From Aaron Sprinkle8:04 Recording With Rebecca St. James9:51 The End of Acceptance & Finding Faith12:35 Starting a Mixing Career in Milwaukee13:30 Landing First Clients (Including Skillet's Ben Kasica)15:39 Moving to LA — and Moving Back Again17:47 Mixing Melissa Etheridge18:45 Networking & The Fallout Boy Story22:03 Mixing Toby Mac's Life After Death23:29 Working With Skillet24:31 Faith in the Music Industry25:01 Does Location Matter? Milwaukee vs Nashville28:17 Learning the Craft & Hearing Your Mix on the Radio30:54 Revision Counts & Serving the Artist32:26 Nick's Studio Setup & Gear33:42 Plugins, Workflow & Mixing In the Box39:44 How to Get the Best From Your Mix Engineer41:38 Nick Rad's Mixing Philosophy44:45 Mix Prep & The Sonic Revelation That Changed Everything48:15 How to Turn Off the Engineer Brain50:03 Closing Thoughts━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎛️ Find Nick Rad:Website: nickrad.comInstagram: @nicrad and @nickradovanovic━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━More Cowbell Please is positive Christian music stories — for CCM fans and the people who make the music.🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Apr 25
51 min
Steve Taylor CCM's Greatest Lyricist — The Prophet in a Plaid Suit (Repost)
(Reposted - spotify issue!)Was Steve Taylor the greatest lyricist contemporary Christian music ever produced? We think so — and in this episode of More Cowbell Please, we make the case.We attended a recent Steve Taylor concert and came away convinced this man never got the tribute he deserved. So here it is. From his origins as a preacher's kid in Northglenn, Colorado — forbidden from listening to secular music until his mid-teens — to hearing The Clash at Biola University and changing CCM forever, this is the full Steve Taylor story.We cover:✅ His biography and origin story✅ The songs that rattled the church — Guilty By Association, We Don't Need No Color Code, I Want to Be a Clone, Meltdown at Madame Tussauds, On the Fritz and more✅ His role shaping the Newsboys' greatest era✅ Founding Squint Entertainment and launching Sixpence None the Richer✅ His film career including Blue Like Jazz✅ The Dead Sea Squirrels — his new animated series with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki✅ Concert footage including the band — Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mark Lee Townsend and John Mark Painter✅ Why CCM needs more voices like his todayWhether you grew up on 80s Christian music, work in the CCM industry, or you're just discovering Steve Taylor for the first time — this one's for you.🎵 Songs Featured:Guilty By Association | We Don't Need No Color Code | On the Fritz | Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's | Dead Sea Squirrels Theme🎸 Band: Steve Taylor | Peter Furler | Mark Lee Townsend | John Mark Painter | Caroline Francis | Kelle | Libby Cates | Kennoniah Dean Bellile 📺 0:00 Cold Open — "We Don't Need No Color Code"0:26 Introduction1:21 Origins — Preacher's Kid from Colorado1:47 Discovering The Clash & New Wave2:55 The Estes Park Signing3:28 First Record Release3:47 CCM in the Early 80s — The Landscape4:38 "I Want to Be a Clone"5:14 "This Disco Used to Be a Nice Cathedral"6:08 "On the Fritz"6:39 "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good"7:15 The Controversy & His Critics7:32 "Guilty By Association" (Live)8:50 "We Don't Need No Color Code" (Live)9:54 "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number's Up"10:22 "Sin for a Season"10:39 "Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's" (Live)11:04 The "Some Band" Lineup11:31 Peter Furler11:54 Steve Taylor & the Newsboys12:25 The Iconic Suit & the Museum of CCM13:10 Chagall Guevara13:35 Squint Entertainment13:54 Blue Like Jazz & Film Career14:05 The Dead Sea Squirrels15:53 The Randy Newman Moment (Live)16:39 "Hero" & the Woody Allen Story17:28 Steve Taylor's Legacy18:04 Where to Find Steve's Music🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641
Mar 28
18 min
Steve Taylor: CCM's Greatest Lyricist — The Prophet in a Plaid Suit
Was Steve Taylor the greatest lyricist contemporary Christian music ever produced? We think so — and in this episode of More Cowbell Please, we make the case.We attended a recent Steve Taylor concert and came away convinced this man never got the tribute he deserved. So here it is. From his origins as a preacher's kid in Northglenn, Colorado — forbidden from listening to secular music until his mid-teens — to hearing The Clash at Biola University and changing CCM forever, this is the full Steve Taylor story.We cover:✅ His biography and origin story✅ The songs that rattled the church — Guilty By Association, We Don't Need No Color Code, I Want to Be a Clone, Meltdown at Madame Tussauds, On the Fritz and more✅ His role shaping the Newsboys' greatest era✅ Founding Squint Entertainment and launching Sixpence None the Richer✅ His film career including Blue Like Jazz✅ The Dead Sea Squirrels — his new animated series with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki✅ Concert footage including the band — Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mark Lee Townsend and John Mark Painter✅ Why CCM needs more voices like his todayWhether you grew up on 80s Christian music, work in the CCM industry, or you're just discovering Steve Taylor for the first time — this one's for you.🎵 Songs Featured:Guilty By Association | We Don't Need No Color Code | On the Fritz | Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's | Dead Sea Squirrels Theme🎸 Band: Steve Taylor | Peter Furler | Mark Lee Townsend | John Mark Painter | Caroline Francis | Kelle | Libby Cates | Kennoniah Dean Bellile 📺 0:00 Cold Open — "We Don't Need No Color Code"0:26 Introduction1:21 Origins — Preacher's Kid from Colorado1:47 Discovering The Clash & New Wave2:55 The Estes Park Signing3:28 First Record Release3:47 CCM in the Early 80s — The Landscape4:38 "I Want to Be a Clone"5:14 "This Disco Used to Be a Nice Cathedral"6:08 "On the Fritz"6:39 "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good"7:15 The Controversy & His Critics7:32 "Guilty By Association" (Live)8:50 "We Don't Need No Color Code" (Live)9:54 "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number's Up"10:22 "Sin for a Season"10:39 "Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's" (Live)11:04 The "Some Band" Lineup11:31 Peter Furler11:54 Steve Taylor & the Newsboys12:25 The Iconic Suit & the Museum of CCM13:10 Chagall Guevara13:35 Squint Entertainment13:54 Blue Like Jazz & Film Career14:05 The Dead Sea Squirrels15:53 The Randy Newman Moment (Live)16:39 "Hero" & the Woody Allen Story17:28 Steve Taylor's Legacy18:04 Where to Find Steve's Music🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641
Mar 28
18 min
Stu G - The teenage QUEEN fan that shaped a generation of Worship sounds.
Stu G, legendary guitarist of Delirious?, joins More Cowbell Please for a raw, heartfelt conversation.From wiring houses as an electrician to co-writing worship anthems like “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble,” “Obsession,” and “History Maker,” Stu opens up about:The early Cutting Edge youth events that birthed a movement. How U2 and Queen shaped his career.How Delirious? broke boundaries in worship and faith centered music We cover the highs and the lows, thru the end of an era then his next steps and recovery to his creative comeback, the Beatitudes Project, and life in NashvilleThis is more than a band story—it’s a testimony of faithfulness, creativity, and following God’s call through every season.Full episode out now – subscribe & turn on notifications for more CCM legends! 🕊️🎸#StuG #Delirious #ChristianMusic #WorshipMusic #CCMHistory #morecowbellplease Chapters00:00 Intro – Welcome to Stu G!01:26 Greetings & Fun Banter01:55 Early Life as an Electrician02:25 Becoming a Queen Fan03:17 Starting with Drums03:42 Discovering Guitar04:07 Buying the First Guitar04:45 Taking Guitar Lessons05:31 First Band Experiences05:55 Phil Keaggy, Church & Conversion08:37 Full-Time Worship Leading08:55 The Stuart David Band10:26 Andy Piercy Connection11:40 Andy Piercy + Martin Smith Link12:41 Ben Okafor & Reggae Band14:52 Noel Richards Forum15:07 Cutting Edge Begins15:42 Kevin Prosch Influence18:12 Cutting Edge Band & Events19:09 Moving to Littlehampton & Back to Electrical Work22:10 Delirious? Officially Begins23:46 Making 'Live and in the Can'24:33 Naming Delirious? (The ? Story)26:19 Delirious? Early Days29:26 'Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?' Origin29:47 Expanding the Reach Beyond Church Walls32:31 CCM or Mainstream? The Tension35:14 First Trip Into the USA38:11 US Showcase at The Roxy38:50 Mainstream Appearances & Breakthroughs40:02 Napster, CD Sales Crash & Challenges40:57 The Studio Albums Overview44:04 Kingdom of Comfort Era44:59 Touring Rules & the End of Delirious?46:43 Delirious? Officially Over47:02 New Deals & Life After47:14 One Sonic Society48:03 Rock Bottom, Counseling & Healing49:13 The Beatitudes Project Begins53:25 Touring Gigs While Building Beatitudes54:33 Tech Issues! (Funny Moment)55:40 Marketing the Beatitudes Project56:57 Future Beatitudes Material57:11 New Life in the USA for the Family58:34 Testimonial Stories & Impact1:02:00 Awards, Money & CCM Reflections1:04:53 How the Name “Stu G” Came About1:06:30 Delirious? Business Model & Independence1:07:48 Other Gigs & Collaborations1:08:55 New Release Discussion1:10:54 Outro – Thanks Stu G!🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Feb 26
1 hr 11 min
Jess Cates Part 2: The Lawsuit, Losing Everything & God’s “Eagle” Promise
The lawsuit nightmare.Running out of money.Almost homeless with a young family.And the miraculous “eagle” vision that carried him through.Jess shares how God turned the darkest season into a comeback—writing worship anthems for Chris Tomlin, Passion, John Reddick, TobyMac w Forrest Frank, and more.From pop highs (Backstreet Boys, David Archuleta) to Nashville heartbreak and redemption—this is raw faith in the music business.Next episodes coming:Stu G (Delirious? guitarist – worship music legend)Stacey Willbur (veteran CCM song plugger)Hit subscribe—you don’t want to miss these! 🔥#JessCates #ChristianSongwriter #WorshipMusic #ComebackStory #morecowbellplease 00:00 Intro00:57 Out of Money & Almost Homeless01:30 A Vision & God’s Word02:59 Settling the Lawsuit03:50 Lawsuit Aftermath04:46 Life Lessons from the Lawsuit05:15 Lawsuit Outcome05:41 Selling the Catalog06:00 Nashville Deals & Humbling Moments07:18 Forming In Paradise07:35 Signing with TIM Publishing08:14 Getting Back on His Feet08:42 Random Success Stories09:41 Jess’s Journey Through Genres10:10 TobyMac, Forrest Frank & Jon Reddick11:09 “Jeff Cates” & Alt IDs11:41 AI in Songwriting15:12 10,000 Hours & 3 Guys in a Room16:10 Career Advice for New Writers17:50 Embarrassing Songwriting Stories18:33 Lessons from Hard Sessions19:38 Fear vs Faith in the Room21:14 Changing Priorities22:25 Finding & Living Your Purpose24:30 Jonas Brothers Session25:02 Martina McBride “Just Call You Mine”26:44 Passion “The Lord Will Provide”27:36 Song Impacts on Listeners29:28 Goodbye & Thanks29:35 Outro🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Jan 4
30 min
Hit Songwriter Goes From Backstreet Boys to Nearly Homeless | Jess Cates
Hit songwriter, Jess Cates takes us into the realities of the craft in both LA and Nashville. From mega hits with Backstreet Boys and American Idols, to worship hits with Elevation, Passion, Matt Redman, and the who's who of CCM Christian Music. From millions in sales and billions in streams, to being broke and almost homelessAt one point finding himself needing to sue his non paying publisher. The highs and lows and song backstories you wont believe!Part 2 next week.Credits include songs withMainstream Pop:Back Street BoysNick LacheyJonas BrothersNew Kids on the BlockVertigoCliff RichardAmerican Idol ALUMS:David ArchuletaScotty McCreeryClay AikenDavid CookCountry:LeAnnRimesMartina McBrideCCM:Mercy MeTobyMacForrest FrankLeelandRebecca St JamesMandisaAvalonBebo NormanPoint of GraceSonicFloodJump5The AftersBritt NicoleBen RectorWorship:Matt RedmanChris TomlinPassion MusicElevationJon ReddickJesus CultureMatt MaherChapters00:00 Intro – Season 2 Premiere!02:13 Welcome Jess Cates02:27 Nashville Roots & Preacher’s Kid Life03:19 Growing Up in Franklin Schools04:01 First Song Ever Written (Age 15!)04:26 Early Gigs & Talent Shows04:46 Meeting Michael W. Smith06:05 One Year at Belmont… Then Quitting06:17 Writing Worship with Friends06:54 First Publishing Deal – Brentwood-Benson07:50 How Publishing Deals Actually Work09:45 Leading Worship on the Side10:07 First Major Cuts (Avalon, Plus One)11:01 Signing a Pop Deal in LA11:27 Moving to Los Angeles12:10 Worship Leading in the Desert12:40 Finding Family at an LA Church13:33 Success vs Faith Tension in Hollywood14:19 Praying in the Bathroom Between Sessions14:58 Inviting God into Secular Writing Rooms15:59 Real Faith Conversations with Pop Stars16:56 The Joshua Tree Surrender Story17:10 Jonas & the Holy Spirit Lights18:26 “Incomplete” – Writing for Backstreet Boys19:51 How the Song Leaked & Exploded20:19 God’s Joshua Tree Confirmation23:07 The Mystery of Songwriting25:01 More LA Hits (David Archuleta, Nick Lachey)25:14 “Crush” – From Prayer Closet to #127:00 The Chris Tomlin “Even So Come” Miracle30:19 Passion Release & Life-Changing Impact30:44 Partnering with TIM Publishing31:37 Why Jess Left LA31:48 The Lawsuit That Changed Everything32:00 Running Out of Money32:20 Landing Back in Nashville32:50 Spiritual Breakthrough in Hardship33:41 Almost Homeless with a Young Family34:28 Outro – Part 2 Next Week!🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Dec 6, 2025
35 min
The TOP 5 Radical Christian Artists Who UP-ENDED the BUSINESS
I name the top 5 the most radical Christian music artists in the recorded music era and what they did that shocked the business. And the church. Were they right? Did they go too far? Forrest Frank has posted radical stands lately - Dropping out of the Doves, slamming AI music, refusing to listen to non christian music. It reminded me of those in the past that have done even more radical things, Sadly all but one have passed away, but each lived controversially - and i speculate they may have moderated with time and grace. Follow along as i detail the stands of Carman, Keith Green, Larry Norman, Rich Mullins and of course mr Forrest Frank.🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell
Nov 28, 2025
18 min
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