We didn’t just sit around twiddling our thumbs during the hiatus. Life happened. And as we have a tendency to do on this show, we grabbed our drinks, fired up some cigars, and ping-ponged back and forth on the shipwrecks and successes of recent memory.

Here’s a taste of what went down.

The Brews & The Beards

You can’t have a show called Brews, Beards, & Shipwrecks without checking in on the essentials. Nomadik was sipping a Rodenbach Classic—a sweet-tart Flanders Ale that he described as “refreshing... low ABV and super digestible.” He specifically didn’t want that American IPA vibe where you drink one and feel like you “just ate a loaf of bread.”

I’ve been sticking to my Athletic Brewing Company beers lately. I was sipping on their Free Wave, an non-alcoholic hazy IPA that hits the spot without the hangover. Nomadik brought up the genius of non-alcoholic coffee stouts. He reminded me of a brilliant morning routine: “I’ve done that before... in the morning, I had a cigar and one of those non-alcoholic coffee stouts, and it was fantastic. It’s like a cold brew [coffee], but just fizzy.”

Note to self: Buy more NA coffee stouts.

As for the beards? Nomadik is out here smelling like Church. He threw in some shea butter and frankincense oil, making him smell like he just walked out of a Paschal (Easter) liturgy.

Me? Well, I recently broke my beard oil bottle and haven’t replaced it. So, naturally, I reached for the tallow skin cream. It warms up nicely in the hands and goes into the beard great, but as I confessed on the show: “For the first few minutes of the day, I smell a little beefy. There is a slight beefy odor.”

Nomadik’s immediate response? “Is that Lenten?” (It was not).

Flavor Fest 25: A Christian Hip-Hop Family Reunion

I finally made it out to Tampa for Flavor Fest, hosted by Urban D and Crossover Church. It was the 25th anniversary of the Christian hip-hop conference, and 12-year-old Jamey would have peed himself.

There were absolute legends in the building. PID. Mike Peace. KJ-52. Watching PID rock the mic was incredible. They aren’t just coasting on nostalgia; they proved they still have the bars and the energy to move a crowd.

But another real highlight was the networking. I met Urban D (Tommy Kyllonen) for the first time. As an Orthodox guy walking into a hip-hop church, I felt a little out of my element at first. But in a wild twist, I found out Urban D has a Greek Orthodox background in his family tree. (I totally failed to mention I was Orthodox at the time—opportunity missed!)

I was also down there promoting the new Royal Ruckus record, Let’s Be Together Today. It was a stark reminder of how the industry has changed. I didn’t have CDs of the new album to hand out. I brought old CDs and T-shirts, but telling people to “go stream it” just feels different. As Nomadik pointed out, “For me, half the thing I love going to concerts is getting the concert merch... if I go to a show now and there’s no merch, I’m like, what’s going on?”

Fatherhood, Fitness, and Dropping 60 Pounds

Nomadik and I are at opposite ends of the parenting spectrum right now. He’s navigating life with a 21-year-old and a 19-year-old, trying to balance guiding young adults who are working and navigating college. Meanwhile, the Bennett family expanded two months ago with a new baby girl.

The sleep deprivation is real. My coffee is stronger, my beard is wilder, and the perspective shift is real. Which brings me to my health update.

Over the last six months, I dropped 60 pounds. It wasn’t just about aesthetics this time. I had some health scares, some hospital visits, and some new medicines that forced the issue. As I put it on the show, my motivation changed: “I’m about to have two children under five. I know what it’s like to lose a dad when you’re little, and I don’t want to create a situation if I can help it.”

I’m lifting heavy, skipping the marathon training (which weirdly made me gain weight), and feeling better than I have in a long time.

The Locust and The Future

Nomadik dropped some heat of his own. He’s stepping into a new space job-wise, and on the music front, the Shadow of the Locust crew is grinding on Mighty Army Cometh Volume 3. It’s about 75% done, featuring the whole squad, plus a new member, Ilmerillion.

I’m actually featured on a Locust track for the first time ever, and I got to record it in the studio with Jeremiah Dirt producing me on the vocals.

As we look ahead, we’re planning to bring Brews, Beards, & Shipwrecks back more consistently. We want more guests, more stories, and more insights into living well.

Until next time: Keep your glass full, keep your beard oiled, and keep navigating those shipwrecks. Peace.

Thanks for reading Jamey Bennett's Brews, Beards, & Shipwrecks! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

On this episode we are running an interview Chunjay did on a podcast called Indie Music Live! They discuss the Summer of the Cicadas album and play a few songs as well. This gives Chunjay a chance to talk about the writing process of the album as well as the history of Royal Ruckus. This was originally 2 episodes of Indie Live but we smashed it into to one dope Brews, Beards, & Shipwrecks episode. For those not familiar with the Summer of the Cicadas album, this is a time to get familiar. For those who are, this is a time to get reacquainted with a trust fantastic piece of art. If you like what you hear make sure to like and subscribe as well as share any and all episodes you found impactful to you.

Follow us on IG:

@brewbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

and be sure to check out IndieMusicLive on IG @indiemusicplus

Also make sure to check out summerofthecicadas.com the cat caught up on anything Cicadas related as well as royalruckus.bandcamp.com and buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus to help support the recording of the new EP's. Thanks for tuning in!!

Nomadik Vagabond

Q-Unique takes us back to his Bed-Stuy beginnings, where the pulse of Brooklyn’s hip-hop history—think Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, and the Beastie Boys—shaped his flow. He drops knowledge on the Arsonists rise, talking about their organic blend of breakdance, graffiti, and lyricism that set them apart in the ‘90s golden era.

From 12-inch singles to European tours, Q breaks down how the crew carved their lane. We also get into his solo hustle, the rebrand with the “Legacy Series,” and how personal tracks like “Father’s Day” still hit hard. Plus, Q opens up about weavin’ spirituality into his music, from “Come to Jesus” to his rock ventures with Stillwell, and what’s next with new tracks and a heavier sound. Q also lets us peek behind the curtain on what's going on with Stillwell, his other rock projects, as well some tracks with Sonny from P.O.D.

Tune in for a convo that’s straight-up Brooklyn—raw, real, and layered with wisdom. Whether you’re bumpin this for the bars or the bigger picture, Q-Unique’s got the mic, and we’re riding the beat with him.

This one’s for the heads who love real hip-hop and real talk—don’t sleep on Q-Unique’s story.

Connect:

Plug in and vibe with us on http://instagram.com/brewsbeards or at http://brewsbeards.com. 

Follow Q-Unique on @mr_q_unique on the socials as well as      q-unique.com for the latest on his music and moves. Hit us up on @brewsbeards to chop it up about the episode!

Thank you for tuning in!!

• 
  Braille breaks down his come-up in hip-hop and the moments that shaped his sound.
  


• 
  How faith flipped the script on his life and led him to the pulpit.
  


• 
  Balancin’ the mic with the mission: stories of juggling artistry and ministry, in the midst of life transitions!
  


• 
  What’s next for Braille—new music, new sermons, and keeping it 100, as the kids say..
  

We have our first ever hybrid episode! We had the pleasure of chopping it up with Cookbook of the legendary L.A. Symphony and producer extraordinaire Surebert! Combined they make the team of Portlangeles. While Cook was in Texas and Jamey was in Florida, Nomadik And Surebert were huddled up in an undisclosed location in Portland, Oregon fighting wi-fi issues.  The main thing discussed was the recording and performing of their latest effort "PortLangeles 2" We had a blast recording and talking with people who we consider homies. They took us in to the recording processes of both albums as well their history as a duo and how it felt performing live together for the first time.

Connect with us:

@brewsbeards

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

and check Cookbook and Surebert on IG:

@surebert

@cookbookthepr

We hope y'all enjoy!

Nomadik

Lynch shared exciting details about his current projects, including a new album with his group PID, and his innovative "The Script" project, which translates Bible books into rap verse. He's also working on "All Skills No Frills Part 2" and continues to organize collaborations between Christian and secular MCs to create Scripture-based rap that elevates hip-hop's vocabulary through sacred texts.

The conversation culminated with the announcement of Lynch's forthcoming "Proverbs Daily Blitz" app, scheduled for release in March 2025. This digital tool will help users engage with the book of Proverbs daily, building on Lynch's successful social media initiative of the same name. He also discussed his solo single "The Crucible," which explores the transformative nature of spiritual trials, and shared how his experiences as a minister, mentor, and artist continue to shape his approach to creating Christ-centered hip-hop. 

https://preachas.com/

http://royalruckus.bandcamp.com

http://brewsbeards.com

The second half of the show Cas Metah talks about how he stays so productive as well as his thoughts on the different scenes within hip-hop. He shares his experience on trying to break free of being typecast as a certain type of emcee.

We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making it!!

Cop "Criminal Blinded" by J.Rawls and Cas Metah:

Digital  https://polarentllc.bandcamp.com/album/criminal-blinded

        https://killacasmetah.bandcamp.com/album/criminal-blinded

Vinyl https://www.fatbeats.com/products/j-rawls-cas-metah-criminally-blinded-ep

Also be sure to sure to check out other music by Cas Metah at his bandcamp: https://killacasmetah.bandcamp.com

And to get other projects by J. Rawls check his bandcamp: https://polarentllc.bandcamp.com

We are truly appreciative of theses dudes for taking time to chop it up with us.

And of course be sure to check us out on Instagram 

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

and to keep up with Cas Metah and J. Rawls you can peep their IG's:

@real_cas_metah

@jrawls82

Peace!!

Nomadik

IG:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

and

you can find Ohmega on IG @brokinnglish(music) and @brokin_nglish (design)

Also be sure to hit up ohmegawatts.bandcamp.com for music as well as mix cloud.com/ohmegawatts for music. Last but not least ohmegawatts.com for all things Ohmega Watts related.

Remember to share and subscribe and hit up brews beards.com and royalruckus.com and royal ruckus.bandcamp.com for all the fresh tunes!

Nomadik Vagabond

We discuss a variety of things—losing her husband to cancer, difficulties in families, depression, losing my dad in a car wreck, and even the blackouts of World War II.

She was a gem of a woman, and I'm excited to share a little bit of her perspective with you.

I love you, Grandma.

Jamey Bennett

BrewsBeards.com

We're back like we never left! Hopefully y'all remember a few episodes back the we had on Jeremiah Dirt and Illustrate, well you can consider this part 2 where we chop it up with Illustrate solo and get to hear more of his story and why he does what he does. We have the convo about being a rapper who's a christian vs. a Christian rapper and if there is a difference. he shares with us insights into the Colorado hip hop scene as well as what it was like linking up with Fros'T and Ahmad of 4th Ave Jones. As many of you may (or may not) know Illustrate is a member of the hip-hop collective Shadow Of The Locust (see September 2023 episode for that convo), he shares with us how he met Jeremiah Dirt and Calmplex of SOTL. This spurs Illustrate and Jamey to both share some Jeremiah Dirt stories which are worth the listen alone! Wrapping it up Illustrate lets us know what he's up to know as far as crew and solo projects. 

We hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Wanna hit us up?

Peep us on Instagram:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

@justjamey

and you can get at Illustrate on Instagram:

@illustrate1

and be sure to peep the @shadowofthelocust IG page as well

Wanna hear or purchase Illustrates music? Hit up illustrate.bandcamp.com as well as locustfist.com

Peace and a Blessed New Year to all!

Nomadik Vagabond 

By Joshua Gibbs and Jamey Bennett

The average man knows little of cicadas, thinks rarely of cicadas. And yet on the rare occasion he hears the word “cicada,” his mind invariably drifts off into those few truths about the insects which he was taught in grade school: the cicada lives underground for seventeen years, emerges briefly, dies. A certain kind of man cannot recall such claims without immediately thinking of himself, staring into the distance, and wondering if he is truly a man, or if he is, in fact, a cicada.

The life cycle of a cicada appeals to a man.

When I was a child, I was taught that cicadas slept for all those seventeen years. Sadly, not every naturalist is still convinced of this, though poets yet carry a torch for the truth. To sleep for seventeen years, to wake briefly, soon to die…how sweet would life seem if it had been anticipated in dreams for so long?

The poet is neither convinced that nature has commanded the cicada to spend so long underground. The poet knows the cicada has chosen to stay underground all these years, and that he might emerge from the earth when he pleases. The cicada has said, “It is better this way,” though his residency with the dead, in Hades, is not obligatory and not tenured. The cicada is free and stays underground by choice. It is purely coincidental that seventeen years is the given term of these cicadas.

Someday, these cicadas will have their Che Guevara, their Óscar Romero, their Picasso…and he will sleep for thirty-six years, or fifty-nine, or ninety-one years. We suspect the creature who makes company with Hades himself for seventeen years might be capable of doing so interminably. Have we numbered every cicada emerging from the ground? Have we truly kept track of their departures, their arrivals? Have we only said they sleep “seventeen years” because we tired of putting hash marks on the cell walls? “No one will count longer than this.” Who can say? The death and lust rattle you hear this summer’s eve might be a millennium in the making.

The life cycle of a cicada appeals to a man.

The man wants to believe that he, too, might only have been sleeping up until now, and that the emergence from the death of sleep this very morning might be the inauguration of a brief, golden age. “Will I now truly live? Has it always been a slumber and am I only now waking?” The man wants to believe this is true. He has long been underground, and no matter his activity, he recasts all his labor as nothing more than a patient biding of time. A man interprets patience into the long haul of his already-lived life. “I was always waiting.” A man longs to see the light of day as though he were a cicada, fingers emerging from the dirt, and then hoisting himself out. A man longs to see the world as a kind of egg from which he hatches after a beginning-less gestation period.

“It will all end soon,” says the cicada man, although the cicada man is forever caught between the contradiction of a thing beginning and a thing ending. Is this the seventeen year slumber or the two months of waking? The question cannot be answered, and every bottle of wine might be the last before death; and every bottle of wine might be opened, poured, and break on the tongue as a revelation— not the end, but the beginning of the end. After a thousand years of sleep, what kind of death is possible for the cicada? The cicada is the resurrection creature. The chasm between life and death narrows to crossing points suddenly, unpredictably.

While science has said the cicada wakes only to procreate, the poet knows the cicada wakes simply to live. Is a life of sixty days less meaningful than a life of sixty years? Meaning is not discerned in quantity; a moment in the soul is without end. The man who imagines the cicada emerging only to procreate falsely intuits sudden verve, anxiety and desperation in the cicada. How could such be true of a creature with the patience to wait forever? The sixty days of a cicada’s life are the sixty years of a man’s life. The creature which spends so long in preparation for life accomplishes much living once he has begun. A man needs sixty years to accomplish so little because he prepares for nothing. He is thrown into life and he does not know what it is about. The man longs to live a year as thoroughly as the cicada lives a single day.

The cicada reviews its life many times as it begins to die. Death comes as a surprise to the cicada, just as it comes as a surprise to a man. The cicada has not counted on going to sleep again, so soon, but his eyelids are heavy and the day is late. From the cool shade of the branches of a tree, Thanatos comes to the cicada in the same solemnity with which he approaches a man. The weightless, spiritual scythe of Thanatos passes through the cicada’s legs and then his arms and then his head, and then the cicada body enters his eternal stillness as the dry machine-like fruit which clusters about the limbs of a summer tree. His soul returns to the earth, and he knows sleep again. He will emerge again when it suits the Spirit. Like the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, like the Shulamite, the cicada will rise and go about the city and present himself to the King. And the King will be overwhelmed.

We hope everybody is doing just great! On this episode we had the pleasure of sitting down with Major Chisholm of Creative Liberty podcast. Major came on Jamey's radar through Whiskerino (which was a beard growing group, look it up if you don't know), and they further developed their relationship the last couple years through taking time together to explore life without alcohol.

To kick the episode off we get into the beard talk, which was a rather robust conversation on facial hair. Next we move into the beverage portion of the episode-shoutout to Rambler and Spindrift sparkling waters, as well as Athletic Brewing and Sober Carpenter brewing to help us get some flavor without the alcohol.

Lastly we get into chopping it up about Jamey and Major's journey into living alcohol free. They share how they encouraged each other and what it took to maintain sticking to their commitment.

We hope you dig it!

Socials:

@creativeliberty (Majors IG)

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond 

Check out Major on YouTube

Check out our "Unvarnished" episodes on YouTube where you get to see our beautiful faces and get to hear all the stuff that gets edited out.

Outro song: Royal Ruckus- "The Great Beard Rebellion"

Peace y'all!

Nomadik Vagabond

We got a treat for y'all on this episode. This one's been a long time comin', but without further delay we present the multitalented Sivion of the legendary Deepspace 5 crew! As you'll be able to hear, we really enjoyed this conversation!

We kicked this one off with what we were drinking, and then move into the beard care section of the episode. After we dissect the finer things of creams and combs we chop it up about parenting and career paths before discussing Siv's history in music and how dual love for the sax and the mic. He's got a few projects in the works that we're excited about, which leads us to discuss the labels he's been on how those connections were made.

After the music talk we get into the deep waters (see what I did there?) of the music industry and its effect on the youth and society, as well as the evolution of the "Christian" hip-hop scene.

Lastly we get into the shipwreck of the show where Sivion shares with us some health issues he's been dealing with for the past few years, how it's been affecting his life, how he's coping with it, and how he was able to take something negative and turning it into something beautiful. This truly was a blessing to have this conversation. We hope you're as encouraged listening to this episode as we were having it.

Check us out on Instagram:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

@sivionds5

Be sure to hit up illect.com or illect.bandcamp.com to pick up music by Sivion (including his latest album Str8 Shot) as well as plenty other quality releases. 

Song at the end was "What It Is" by Sivion produced by Malex off the latest LP "Str8 Shot" on Illect Recordings

Apologies for the technical difficulties!

Be sure to like, share and subscribe!!!

Peace!

Nomadik Vagabond 

We hope y'all have been enjoying your summer! Over here we've been soaking it up! On this episode we have a dope conversation with Illustrate and Jeremiah Dirt of Shadow Of The Locust. We get to talk about Illustrate coming into SOTL and his history in hip-hop. Jeremiah drops some jewels for the up and coming artists as well as the "old heads".

Shadow Of The Locust dropped a new album on July 4th, so we talk about that and some of the behind the scenes recording processes for that and how some of the songs came about. This was really a family reunion minus the barbecue!!

Hit up Royal Ruckus Bandcamp and Shadow Of The Locust Bandcamp to support the artists!!

Y'all will love this one!

Please support the music!

royalruckus.bandcamp.com (Come On And Wakeup LP with bonus bandcamp only joints!)

shadowofthelocust.bandcamp.com(where you can cop the A Mighty Army Cometh 2 album(

jeremiahdirt.bandcamp.com

illustrate.bandcamp.com

and of course brewsbeards.com 

Y'all can hit us up on IG:

@brewsbeards

@justjamey

@royalruckus

@nomadikvagabond

@shadowofthelocust

@illustrate1

@jeremiahdirt

Peace ya'll

Nomadik Vagabond

We gotta cover beard care! So the three of us chop it up about what we're doing for the health and beauty of our facial hair.

Finally Johnny shares with us how the loss of his son inspired him to start the Creative Coping podcast and writing and performing spoken word pieces. He shares how being creative helped him process the stages of grief and how he was able to translate that into teaching school kids about spoken word and poetry. helping them unlock the creativity within them.

Thank you all for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the episode!

peace,

Nomadik

You can find Johnny Anomaly on Instagram;

@johhny_anomaly @creativecopingpod 

and you can check his spoken word pieces at johnnyanomaly.bandcamp.com. Also be sure to check out his podcasts wherever you get your podcasts at.

As always you can find us on instagram at:

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

also be sure to hit up www.mrrogersoftherapgame.com to peep the new Royal Ruckus EP as well as royal ruckus.bandcamp.com to download music and cop merchandise.

Lastly hit up locustfist.com to peep the new Shadow Of The Locust album "a Mighty Army Cometh" (also streaming on all major DSP's) as well as custom ink.com/fundraising/amac2 to cop a shirt to help support the new album as well.

On this episode we're playing an interview Jamey did on the Creative Coping podcast with Johnny Anomaly in September 2019. Jamey shares how he got into hip-hop, the current state of the genre and his thoughts on it, as well as the art of storytelling in hip-hop and the importance of saying something. He shares some of the creative processes behind creating music, specifically the Royalty Check & Unexpected Joy EP's.

Johnny and Jamey then talk about Jamey's involvement in the Samson Society, which is a community of men who are serious about authenticity, humility, and recovery.

Lastly he talks about his experience with grief and depression, and how the songwriting process on Unexpected Joy became like survival for him. Tune in and be sure to share this episode with anybody who you think could benefit from it.

Peace and infinite blessings!

Nomadik Vagabond

Be sure to check out the Creative Coping podcast and follow 

@johnny_anomaly on IG

@creativecopingpod also on instagram

as always be sure to check us out at brewsbeards.com

and of course give us a follow on the socials:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

@justjamey

The original episode can be found here: https://creativecopingpod.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/faithfulness-in-the-struggle/

The show has since been renamed The Johnny Anomaly Show, and can be heard here: https://open.spotify.com/show/47jMDe46LCREmcGs9cvyzY?si=45a76c4838c243e6

She updates us on what's been happening with her since the last time she was on the show. We set it off getting right into deep stuff. She share with us what it's like living with loss and how grief is something that is connected to love. We talk about family life and how that affects how we measure time.

Elissa then lets us in on what a post divorce life is like, how it disrupts routines, and how to rebuild after.

We wrap things up with her giving us the story of her remarriage and what life is like trying to create new rhythm.

Be sure to check her out on Facebook and Instagram @elissbjeletichdavis and her website www.elissabjeletichdavis.com as well as her podcast Everyday Orthodox on Ancient Faith Radio.

Be sure to follow us on IG:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

@justjamey

Of course http://brewsbeards.com

And lastly hit up buymeacoffe.com/royalruckus to support the new EP and of course www.mrrogersoftherapgame.com to stream the new album with links to purchase!

Peace!

Nomadik Vagabond

On this episode we bring you and interview Chunjay did on a radio show called "The Jiggy Jaguar Show" on iHeart Radio. He discusses with them the meaning on some songs from "World's Okayest Rapper" EP (produced by CookBook), and shares some stories about the recording process and lyrical content.

It's pretty much like audio liner notes, so you'll get some idea of how Jamey gets creative, and learn some more details on the recording of the EP. There are shipwrecks behind the lyrics, and he gets to discuss it on radio. Tune in and turn it up!

The new Royal Ruckus record Come On and Wake Up! comes out January 21, 2023!

Nomadik Vagabond

On this episode we get to sit down with author, trauma-informed coach, and fellow podcaster Nicole Roccas. She takes the time to share with us how she got interested in the theme of time, how vast a subject it is, and how it affects our lives. We deep dive with the concept of time and how the idea of what time is has changed through the years.

This leads us into her experience with trauma and how she started her journey as a trauma-informed coach helping other people through some of the difficult things in life. She shares how trauma has  effected creatives and artists and what she does to speak into their lives with "trauma-informed creative coaching."

This truly was a special conversation and we hope it helps you.

To learn more about what Nicole does and her works visit her website :

http://nicoleroccas.com and her IG @nicoleroccas

and of course hit us up on IG:

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

@brewsbeards

Share http://brewsbeards.com with a friend!

Peace!!!!

Nomadik Vagabond

We got the pleasure of chopping it up with Mike Landsman, a pastor, hospital chaplain, and husband & father. He gives a glimpse into his daily routine as a hospital chaplain and shares with us the joys and challenges he faces dealing with people who are often terminally ill.

After jumping right into the heavy stuff we discuss his upbringing as a pastor's kid, his time in the Word Faith Movement (https://www.equip.org/perspectives/word-faith-whats-wrong-with-the-word-faith-movement/)and how he was introduced to the early church fathers and the impact their teaching has had on his life. 

He is also co-host of The Areopagus podcast on Ancient Faith Radio with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick. He shares his experience being a non-Orthodox Christian on an Orthodox Christian platform.

This leads us into how Orthodox Christianity and the early Church Fathers have impacted him, how he has implemented some practices from early Christianity to enrich the worship life of his own church, and what it's been like to touch "multiple Christianities."

Lastly Pastor Mike shares what his pastoral role is like being "the new guy" at an established church with over 200 years of history—and the challenges and joys that come with it.

Thank you all for tuning in! Remember to share and subscribe we want as many people to hear these shows! And of course you can follow us on IG

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

and if your nice you might be able to follow Pastor Mike on IG @landspersona

and if you wasn't to hear any of his sermons or contact him go to zionstoneucc.com

And as a treat we play the new Royal Ruckus song "Recording In Progress" produced by DJ Sean P!!

Check out the new music video here: https://youtu.be/2dwsH2_nloo

Also hit up http://buymeacoffe.com/royalruckus to support the album!!

Peace and all the Love!

- Nomadik Vagabond

Did you dig the last episode? We hope so, because this episode is almost like part 2 of the last one. You know how sometimes you hear an episode of something and it leaves you wanting more? Well we got you covered. Back in December of 2021 Jamey sat down (again) with Elissa Bjeletich Davis on her podcast Everyday Orthodox (see last episodes show notes to see what the show is about) and catch up and discuss recent developments in his life.

They kick it off by talking about the backstory of how Jamey met his wife. He shares the incredible story of his wife's journey into her faith and how they met and how they are bringing two cultures together to make something beautiful. One of those beautiful things is their son. Jamey gives a glimpse into how he transitioned from a single man to a husband and father.

Next they discuss his other podcast "Bad Books Of The Bible" where Elissa and Jamey have wonderful dialogue about the origins of the show, the content, co-host (shouts to Joel Miller!) and the purpose of the show.

Everyday Orthodox is a live call in show so you get to hear Jamey getting put on the spot by a few callers. Definitely worth there listen.

Be sure to look out for the new Royal Ruckus single "Recording In Progress". Video dropping November 19th! 

And as always be sure to share, subscribe, and tell a friend!!!

Follow us on Instagram:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

Be sure to check out the "Everyday Orthodox" podcast on Ancient Faith Radio-https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/everydayorthodox

or the Ancient Faith radio app.

Give Elissa a follow in Instagram :

@elissabjelitichdavis

And last but not least, don't forget to hit up buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus to support the new Royal Ruckus EPs!!

Peace, Love, and Blessings!

On this episode we run an interview Jamey did on Everyday Orthodox, hosted by Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a show about regular people and their journey into the Orthodox Christian faith. Some are creatives, some are clergy, and many are regular people sharing their story.

Jamey was in Austin at this time for the release party of Unexpected Joy and was able to swing by her studio and discuss Jamey's journey to Orthodox Christianity from evangelical Christianity, as well as his family's background in Mormonism—and how church history played a part in his journey.

They also get into Jamey's experience in the recording industry, specifically the "Christian" music scene. They delve into the identity crisis of Christian musicians and getting pigeonholed.

The last part of the show is the two of them discussing the Unexpected Joy EP, what the creative process was like and the inspiration for the songs. As is typical on the show this episode is deep, yet fun at the same time. Hope y'all dig it!! 

Peace!!

Be sure to check out the "EveryDay Orthodox" podcast on Ancient Faith Radio - https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/everydayorthodox - or the Ancient Faith radio app.

Give her a follow on Instagram @elissabjelitichdavis

and of course hit us up on IG:

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

Don't forget to hit up buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus to support the new Royal Ruckus album!!!!

The songs in this episode are from "Unexpected Joy" and"Royal Check" by Royal Ruckus

1. There Is No God

2. Christos Anesti

3. He Spread His Arms

4. You Know Who I Am

What's up good people of planet earth!? We got another RARE conversation episode, and this one is super fresh. Before Cookbook started Felipes Garage with Murs and the newest iteration with King, E. Green, Adonis, and Nesto, and the short lived reintroduction of the reformed Really Tho!?! podcast, he had a show called Stereo-Types—named after the first Cook & Uno album.

Well this was an episode where Cook invited Jamey (aka Chunjay, aka Mr. Royal Ruckus) to talk about cussing in hip-hop songs. They discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of the "clean version" of a song.

Cook and Jamey share stories about growing up and navigating being young Hip-Hop heads, trying to listen to their music in Christian households, and how they maintained their love for the art and did what they had to do to listen to those raps! Tune in and turn it up!

Peep the IG accounts:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

And hit up

www.royalruckus.com 

www.buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus  and www.royalruckus.bandcamp.com

brewsbeards.com

Peace!

1.Rootsounds Intro

2.Sivion - Here We Go (Trucker Hats & PBR remix)

3.Sintax The Terrific & DJ Kurfu - The Shining Wire (ft. Manchild)

4JustMe - Holster

5.Sivion, Sintax,MuzOne, & JustMe - Raw

6.MuzeOne - Father Time

7.Sareem Poems - Bless The Child

8.Sivion - Older Now (I Made It mashup)

9.JustMe - Tell Your Crew

10.Page One & DJ Because - Crazy Leg Sweep

11.Sintax The Terrific & DJ Kurfu - Of Venison Meat

12.Scribbling Idiots - Told You So (ft. Masta Ace)

13.Sev Statik - Illectricity

14.Caramel Skillington - Legends Of The Fall

15.The Battery - Break

16.Sivion - For President (Of The Year mashup)

17 Imperial & Kinetik - Zone Out

Hope y'all dig it and if you like what you hear hit up illiect.com or illect.bandcamp.com to cop some CD's, Vinyl, Tapes, and downloads.

You can follow them on IG @illect

and of course be sure to give us a follow on IG:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

And last but not least! be sure to hit up buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus and support the new Royal Ruckus works inspired by the life of Fred Rogers. You can donate anything from $5 to $250 and there are a variety of perks. All this money goes to help pay for studio time, hotel rentals, car rentals, etc. 

Thank You all for tuning in, sharing, subscribing!

Nomadik Vagabond

"It's how I make sense of the world."

Rick discusses with us the impact of music on his life and shares with us the beginnings of him playing music, the plethora of instruments he plays, and how his faith impacts his songwriting process.

"We should have music about divorce and drug abuse. Sometimes Christian Music feels so inauthentic."

We discuss the crossroads of faith and music, and the tension of being real and sharing your faith in the world and not sounding cliché.

Lastly we move into some of his newer projects, including recording an unreleased Rich Mullins song, how he started the Mr. Rogers Say twitter account, as well as his latest song "As I Walk These Halls."

"You're here to witness to these people."

We discuss the lyrical inspiration of his latest single and how being a hospital chaplain has effected him.

And of course we finish up the convo with a discussion about Mister Rogers, his impact on our lives, and the world. Rick shares with us how Mr. Rogers helped him in a dark time in his life as well as his chaplaincy and life.

Thank you all for tuning in!!

Remember to share this podcast or any episodes that might be your favorites with someone who you think will enjoy it. Or just grab a friends phone and subscribe for them. they'll thank you for it later.

Closing song: Rick Lee James " As I Walk These Halls"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEVtjB2KVrU 

Check out Rick at:

http://rickleejames.com

http://rickleejames.bandcamp.com (He's got vinyl!!)

and @rickleejames on IG and other socials. And be sure to check out his podcasts as mentioned above. 

Be sure to check out https://www.buymeacoffee.com/royalruckus to help support the new Royal Ruckus music campaign.

Also: http://royalruckus.com

http://mrrogersoftherapgame.com

And of course you can us on IG:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

Peace, Love, & Infinite Blessings!!

Nomadik Vagabond

On this episode we have a “just the two of us” episode. Jamey and Nomadik take some time to catch up, check in and talk about some things that have been in our minds and hearts. 

We each brought a few things to the table to discuss and took some time to go deeper into those subjects with each other. As always, we discuss what we’re sipping and Nomadik kicks it off talking about the recent collaboration he was blessed to do with Mestizo Coffee and Dudley Perkins.

Jamey discusses the Ukraine crisis and the direct effect it’s having on his life personally. Bouncing off that Nomadik shared the importance of gratitude and how it can shape your thoughts and actions. Jamey brings us into the recent baptism of his son and the beauty of it. 
To riff off that Nomadik brings up Mister Rogers and the importance of joy and how it can spread and even in the tough times we can share kindness.

Lastly we move into beard care and some of the different techniques we’ve been implementing in our daily routines. We finish it up with a little discussion about integrating different aspects of life.

And to bring it all home we play an EXCLUSIVE world premier of a song Jamey wrote for an insurance conference called “Expert Opinions”....it's a lot of fun, and you don't want to miss it.

Nomadik

https://mestizo.coffee/product/the-tonic/

coupon code: shipwrecked

They chop it up about music, faith, and, (surprise) beer! Who knew how similar craft beer and music world are, but as the conversation goes on you hear the similarity of songwriting and brewing beer. You'll get insights into the beer industry and brewing, as well as some beer education as well. And naturally, this was recorded inside a brewery!

After the beer talk, Matt talks about growing up in a Southern baptist household, playing music in the church and how it was actually a positive environment for his growth, and how that led to him being in a band, moving to L.A., forming a new band, rejecting a record deal and sticking to his guns.

We close the show with the shipwreck of what led to his divorce, how he's dealt with that, and we finish with his beard care regime and of course one last tasty brew!

Matt isn't really on social media so if you find him cool!

If you live in Atlanta go check out Monday Night Brewing and grab a brew!

You can of course find Chunjay and myself at in Instagram:

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

@brewsbeards

Peep out Monday Night brewing on IG @mondaynight

Outro song is Run The Jewels "Blockbuster Night 2"

As always, like share and subscribe!!

Peace and all the love!!

Nomadik Vagabond

We hope you are living blessed! On this episode we our joined by Paul Robertson of the Drums & Rums podcast. As many know Chunjay and Nomadik Vagabond are both drummers, so it only seemed natural to have a fellow drummer, imbiber (is that even a word?), and podcaster on the show.

We discuss everything from distilling and brewing methods to drummers and multi-genres of music. We just let the rum take us where we needed to go. It was refreshing, fun, and freeing.

What a great way to kick off the year with something light, but still able to get deep on some things. (And yes this was recorded in the late fall, we just thought this would be a great episode to jump off with for the new year.)

Also stay to the end to get a special surprise just for our listeners.

Peace, love, and positivity!!

Nomadik Vagabond

Be sure to check us out at:

royalruckus.com

brewsbeards.com

You can check us out on Instagram at:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

Be sure too see what Paul's up to on drumsandrums.com and give him a follow on instagram at:

@drumsandrums

make to like, share, and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform

and outro song was "Bust a Move" by Young MC from the album "Stone Cold Rhyming" 1989 The Bicycle Music Company

* Both Nomadik and Chunjay have covid.

We have a special announcement around the 37:37 mark. You'll want to hear that.

Share http://brewsbeards.com with your friends.

- Jamey

He talks about the beginnings of his journey into his new faith, while simultaneously discovering  "church rap" and "rap rap." When he discovered apologetics he tells us how hip-hop it was, and how it was son some "Malcolm X, NOI, 5% vibes" and how he had to G up for his. As his outlook and perspective started transitioning, he went from apologetics to philosophy and started selling theology and philosophy books after shows.

"The more philosophy you do, there are more appeals to intuition."

Next we move into how he went from seminary and trying to battle on MTV, not being able to do it, but getting other blessings from it....like writing and working in television! 

But what about the coffee?

"I had a coffee conversion experience."

When he has his first cup of black coffee, he realized he hasn't been drinking coffee. he also realized that there was a deficit in the latino community with quality coffee. Enter Mestizo Coffee.

"The reason why I'm doing this at all is to connect with people."

Of course we talk about his super dope coffee and artist collaborations with L.A. MC LMNO of the Visionaries crew, producer/MC Peace 586, and the upcoming collaboration with Dudley Perkins.

Listen in and turn it up!!

Music in this episode:

Souls of Mischief -"93 'til Infinity (instrumental) from  1993 album of same name.

Bookworm Brown -"Heaven and Earth" from the 2005 album of the same name.

Be sure to hit up http://Mestizo.coffee, cop some coffee and merchandise! (Also stay tuned fro a discount coupon for listeners.)

Follow Mestizo on Instagram @mestizocoffee

and peep Carlos' music as Bookworm Brown.

Of course you can peep us at BrewsBeards.com.

RoyalRuckus.com for all your ruckus needs.

and of course you can find us on IG:

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

Peace,

Nomadik Vagabond

"Now that I'm trying to live as an Orthodox Christian, I don't think the old me is representative of that at all."

Raphael shares with us his thoughts on his given name vs. baptismal name (we talk about the definition and what that is, don't worry!) and the meaning of a name.

"When you think of Punk Rock you think of rebelling and bucking the system..and what has the orthodox Church done for 2000 years?"

We discuss faith and music and how they intersect and diverge, as well as what certain music, genres, and songs mean to us.

"You got a  song that really touches you, how should that be any different than these liturgical songs?"

We move into Raphael's shipwreck and how that has affected him and shaped his attitude on the importance of forgiveness.

"I'm a huge fan of praying for my enemies... we have to forgive everyone... you have to practice forgiveness."

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed doing it! It was truly a pleasure to sit down with this brother and share our hearts. Hopefully it will encourage you like it did us.

Be sure to like share and subscribe! 

Songs played:

Raphael Fiedler - "Prison"

Cypress Hill - "Hits From The Bong" (instrumental)

Follow Raphael on Instagram and check his Youtube channel to see reviews on some of the latest and greatest Orthodox Christian books.

IG @orthodox_review_

https://www.youtube.com/c/OrthodoxReview

And of course y'all can follow us:

@royalruckusofficial

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

Also don't forget to hit up the Royal Ruckus bandcamp and cop some merch, our boy Jamey just had a baby and needs to buy diapers!

Peace and Love!

Nomadik Vagabond

"I'll be real with you, I can't stand that trap stuff."

Soup shares his thoughts and feelings on music today vs. the artform when he was in the industry.

"It's a different hustle now."

We discuss what it's like to create and distribute music vs. how it was when he was hustling in the music biz in the 80's/90'/and early 00's.

"The industry just started changing."

Soup shares his thoughts on the shift in the music industry and how he has had to adapt to those changes.

"There were times when we were 75 deep."

Soup talking on the unity in the early years of his career and working together within the small community fo holy hip hop, and how they would work together and promote each other.

"After the gig to me that's the real ministry"

He talks about how when he would tour and have people tour with him he expected them to be available after the show to talk and interact with people instead of just performing and calling it a night. You'll hear him talk about tour stories with Peace 586, Dynamic Twins , Gospel Gangstas, and P.I.D. and maybe hear some antics and tour pranks (like one involving a doorway, bucket and unexacting member of a certain duo). 

We also go into DJ'ing, producing, and how he was preparing to be performing again for a gospel hip-hop documentary called "Mic Drop" You get to hear him talk about what he had to do to get his instrumentals from his albums so he's not rapping over his vocals! We also discuss the book he has written called "Through My Windows" which is his story/biography and also a little history of the "gospel" hip hop scene. 

"With all this social media it should be easier for cats to be loving on each other."

You can hear us speaking on the state of hip-hop today and the unity and lack thereof.

"If it wasn't for Cookbook that record would've never came out"

We get into the recording process of his 'Eargasmic Arrangements" album, the collaborations he had on there and how they came about, and how this was his most highly bootlegged album! We then go into him speaking of late friend and producer Gene Eugene, how they recorded together and built a friendship and how they were on jam master jay's guest list at the House of Blues!

Lastly we discuss his latest venture of starting "Limelight Bar & Grill" in Jamaica. How he saw the opportunity and wanted to build a place to hang out and it's proximity to some historical Jamiacan sites, and how he's using it to take care of the locals.

And you will definitely hear the reverence and plain joy we had speaking with this man.

Thanks for listening in! Be sure to like, share, subscribe, and let us now what you think! Hit our DM on instagram and we will get back to you!!

You can follow us on instagram at:

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

and peep Soup the Chemist on IG at:

@soupthechemist

Also be sure to pick up his book "Through My Windows" and peep his bar and grill in Jamaica @limelightjamaica. Also make sure to peep his back catalog on all the streaming services and if you feel hit up iTunes to download or Amazon to maybe purchase a hard copy. Of course make sure to check out RoyalRuckus.Bandcamp.com to cop some merch or downloads. Also be sure to check out Soups discography with SFC and solo albums. You can find them on Amazon. maybe your local record store, wherever you stream and download music. Make sure to cop some of his music, support a legend!

S.F.C./Soup discography:

S.F.C. "Listen UP!" 1989 Broken Records

S.F.C. "A Saved Man In The Jungle" 1990 Broken Records

S.F.C. "Phase III"  1992 Word/Epic Records

S.F.C. "Illumination" 1994 Brainstorm Artists

Sūp The Chemist "Dust" 2000 Uprok Records

Soup The Chemist "Eargasmic Arrangements  2003 Beesyde Records

Songs you hear are:

Myka Nyne "7th Seal"

Soup The Chemist "Starving Artist"

Volume 10 "Pistil Grip Pump"

Outro track- Sūp The Chemist "Language of Imagination"

Peace!! 

Nomadik Vagabond
—-

Mentions

Peace 586

Victory Outreach

Dynamic Twins

Gospel Gangstas

JC & the Boyz

Brainwash Projects

Fred Lynch and PID

Gospel hip-hop documentary

Sharlock Poems

KRS-One

Gene Eugene

Run DMC

Aerosmith

Jon Gibson

Adam Again

Cookbook

Limelight bar and grill

He brought his friend Alberto along, who was a lot of fun too.

We talk about eating crickets, rapping and preaching on the street, a bit about theology, and quite a bit about hip-hop. We also have the usual chat about beard care and brews.

Featured song: "Christos Anesti" by Royal Ruckus, Unexpected Joy EP
https://song.link/unexpectedjoy

Featured song: "Happy Hardcore" by Vocab Malone

Alberto Nungaray Meraz
@urban_apologetics on Instagram

Vocab Malone
@vocabmalone twitter fb insta
@streetapologist twitter fb insta
http://youtube.com/vocabmalone 

Jamey Bennett aka Chunjay of Royal Ruckus
www.jameyb.com 
New podcast www.badbooksofthebible.com

@NomadikVagabond instagram

@brewsbeards instagram

Mid-show plug for The Areopagus Podcast with Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Pastor Michael Landsman, which features Chunjay on the most recent episode.

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/areopagus/the_areopagus_goes_to_mars_hill

The life cycle of a cicada appeals to a man.

Royal Ruckus has created a two part album called The Summer of the Cicadas (streaming everywhere), which was released in 2017. 

In honor of 2021's cicada summer in much of America, we are releasing this episode containing four distinct interviews about the album and about the symbolism of cicadas. Jamey sits down with various interviewees and covers a ton of topics...fasting, faith, hip-hop, creating music, and a bit about bugs.

The life cycle of a cicada appeals to a man.

We read the infamous cicada essay.

• https://summerofthecicadas.com/cicadas/

Ancient Faith Presents...

• Featured song: Time for Us (featuring Bonafied of Grits)


• https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/features/royal_ruckus

The Outlet - Da Gr8 FM

• https://www.instagram.com/dagr8fm/


• Featured song: "Lost Boys" (featuring CookBook & Eligh)


• Featured song: "Departures" (featuring Jeremiah Bonds & KC Jones)


• Featured song: "The Waitress Song"

Food, Faith, and Fasting

• https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/foodfaithfasting/interview_with_jamey_bennett

Indie Music Live!

• https://indiemusicplus.com/


• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajNWaizHp9g


• Featured song: "Summer's Last Call"

Follow us on @brewsbeards on instagram and share http://brewsbeards.com with others.

Thanks for listening, drop that 5 star rating, and send questions or other feedback to jamey@jameyb.com.

Episode produced and mixed by Chunjay.

Also check out: http://badbooksofthebible.com 

Welcome to another D.I.T.A (Diggin' In The Archives) episode. We take a step back in time to 2017 on Ancient Faith Radio's the Areopagus podcast, with Father Andrew Stephen Damick and Pastor Mike Landsman, where they interview Chunjay about his his family's history with the Mormon faith, growing up evangelical and exploring Protestantism, and what eventually led him to the Orthodox Christian Faith. Plenty of fun banter to make you smile!!!

Follow us on instagram at:

@brewsbeards
@nomadikvagabond
@royalruckusofficial

and you can find the Areopagus podcast on Ancient faith radio

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/areopagus

or wherever you listen to podcast. You can find them on facebook and you can find father Andrew on instagram at @asdamick.

Closing song- Royal Ruckus "Still" from the album "Summer of the Cicadas".

Peace,

Nomadik Vagabond

The Areopagus podcast appears courtesy of Ancient Faith Radio.

On beards: "Mine was growing nice and girthy."

Sev lets us in on what his beard-care regime is and how he treats his beard for the east cost weather. He shares how he sees the brotherhood being formed through beard culture, and how it can reenforce positive make relationships.

"I had one kid in the stroller, then I had one kid walking next to the stroller, while I'm holding my son on the way to the park."

Sev shares with us his journey of fatherhood and what it means to be a father, and juggling family life while holding down a job and his music career. 

"They both hit at the same time."

We get into the early years of his music career, how he got into two crews simultaneously, and the recording process of those projects. He also shares about the Albany hip-hop scene and how he came up and still represents for the 518!  "You have to represent where you're from so people know."

"The churches were always segregated, but the community's always integrated, because we were poor."

Next we move into Sev's spiritual journey growing up in the Catholic church, the influence of the 5% Nation, and what eventually led him into Freemasonry. We wrap it up with what he has taken away from his spiritual journey and how he applies it to his life now.

Peace,

Nomadik Vagabond

Follow us on instagram 

@brewsbeards

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

and you find Sev on instagram

@sevstatik

also peep what he's been doing with the Albany youth. On youtube look up Fly Write "Fly Write" and also his latest project on bandcamp at:

http://und3rstanding.bandcamp.com

We kick it off with Joey talking about how he doesn't really feel inclined to rap anymore:

“I’d rather just dis through conversation and actually say what I want to say as opposed to make it try to rhyme.”

“It’s a lot of work when you try to say something.”

“I’m not even trying to invite you to think differently. I think conversations should work this way: I should hear what you say, and say, ‘You know what, I understand, what you’re saying and I understand how you came to that point. I might totally disagree with you, but I get how you got there and I understand what you’re trying to say. I think that is not heard here, you cannot even get there here with a lot of people.” - On California

“I think they just gave up hope.” “Were they in Los Angeles? Maybe that’s where I need to move!” - Joey on Bakersfield

“Pee underwear on my head!

-Joey discussing some interesting parenting techniques.

“My mom sowed the seed of Jesus and I think that’s kinda what’s bearing fruit. And my dad sowed the seed of education, he was from Africa…”

-Joey on what his parents instilled in him even through tough times.

Peace y'all and hope you enjoy the episode!

Nomadik Vagabond

As always be sure to follow us on Instagram

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

@iamjoeythejerk

Closing song "Burn It To The Ground" by Royal Ruckus featuring Krum and Joey The Jerk off of the album Summer of the Cicadas. (Go cop it at royalruckus.bandcamp.com)

As always be sure to subscribe, rate (5 Stars!), review, and share with your friends, family and random people on the bus!

"Definitely never got into beer, I always thought it tasted like pee pee."

We start off discussing beverages as usual and then get into music and his early days experiencing homelessness as a kid and teenager, how the Rasta community in San Diego cared for him during these times, and how he found a love for the Scriptures and reggae music. This also leads us to discussing dreadlocks and the meaning behind them.

"You have an enemy and it's not God."

We also get into how his faith in God sustained him through difficult life experiences: homelessness, abuse, divorce.

"God fixes things."

We move into music discussing his 20 plus year catalog and you get to hear an impromptu debate on who the best/favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan is! 

Thanks for listening and as always be sure to share with your family, friends, and even enemies!

And as always like and subscribe and follow on Instagram:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

and you can find Jeremiah Dirt on instagram:

@jeremiahdirt

@shadowofthelocust

And be sure to hit up

• http://jeremiahdirt.com


• http://shadowofthelocust.com


• http://jeremiahdirt.bandcamp.com


• and http://shadowofthelocust.bandcamp.com


• to get some good music in your life! 

Lastly hit up http://royalruckus.bandcamp.com to get more music and fresh gear as well!

The songs you heard were:

Dirt  "A Chapter A Day" from the album "Plague" Rescue Records 1999

Dirt  "Blunted Edge" from the album "A War to Restore" Syntax Records 2000

Eric B and Rakim  "Microphone Fiend"  UNI Records 1988

Jeremiah Dirt ft. J. Givens and Illustrate "Feel the Break" from the album Rebel Lion 2018

Peace and Blessings!

- Nomadik Vagabond

"I realized the lockdown took away my only social outlet, which was shows." 

We discuss how the pandemic/quarantine/lockdown has changed the way we socialize. Quiet Entertainer takes us on his journey of 100 cups of coffee with 100 people, how the idea came about, and how he changed his original purpose of the plan after one cup of coffee with a friend. 

"They were all drinking beer and I just wanted to fit in."  

Quiet Entertainer talks about how he hasn't found a beer yet he has liked and also how he got into hard cider and what brands and flavors he prefers, and how he's trying to track down a watermelon flavored cider. (If y'all know of any or got the connections let him know!)

"I'm a pretty good listener, so I default to being quiet."

Lastly we discuss what he has gotten out of the 100 cups conversations and how he has noticed how much people are needing somebody to talk to and what it can mean to just listen.

That's it for this episode... until next time. Peace and Blessings

As always, like share, and subscribe.

- Nomadik Vagabond

You can find us on instagram

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

and Quiet Entertainer can be found at

@quietentertainer on Instagram and his music can be found at:

quietentertainer.com

quietentertainer.bandcamp.com

and streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and everywhere else.

Closing song:

Artist: Quiet Entertainer

Album: Dream Sequencer (2012)

Song: Insomniac (remix)

You can find us on instagram at:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond 

And you can find the Pirate Monk podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. And to find out more about the Samson Society visit samsonsociety.com

✌🏼 Nomadik Vagabond 

You can find us at: 

website: http://brewsbeards.com

@brewsbeards on instagram 

@royalruckusofficial  on instagram and facebook

@royalruckus on twitter

@nomadikvagabond  on instagram 

@alexandracraig524 on instagram 

@alexandra_hope_craig  on TikTok

@candidcraigs on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thecandidcraigs

Last week you got to get to know Nomadik Vagabond more. This week we turn the tables and Nomadik take the helm and interviews Chunjay. You might learn some things about him you didn’t know and maybe some things you already knew. As always thanks for listening, subscribe, rate, review. 

Peace and Blessings,

Chunjay and Nomadik Vagabond

Find us on instagram:

@brewsbeards

@royalruckusofficial

@nomadikvagabond

Ending song from the Royal Ruckus “Summer of the Cicadas” album. Song title, “Lost Boys” featuring Cookbook and Eligh. 

This week in the first ever zoom-cast. Chunjay interviews new co-host Nomadik Vagabond. Listen in as you hear how he got on Chunjay's radar and what led him to being on the podcast. You'll also hear Nomadik's journey through life and spiritual seeking, as well as how he came to love hip-hop, and how reggae led him to the Orthodox church. Along the way you'll hear some fun banter and maybe some things you didn't know. 

Shouts out to Soup the Chemist, Fortside brewing, Jamey's homemade kombucha, and all the people tuning in!

You can follow us on Instagram at:

@justjamey

@nomadikvagabond

@royalruckusofficial

@brewsbeards

Peace,

Chunjay and Nomadik Vagabond

It's been more than a minute since I've checked in and said hello.

I'm sorry for my absence, but I've got to be honest, the things I've been doing have been quite excellent. For example, I got married, and that is incredible and required my full attention for quite some time!

And sure, there have been difficulties—my, oh my, haven't we all? 

This was a chance I had to feature some of my music, explain a few things, and hit some highlights from our history. This is the first episode with my boy Nomadik Vagabond, and I think that's quite remarkable. Enjoy.

Shout outs to CookBook, Soup the Chemist, Nomadik Vagabond, Johnny Bishop, OffRoadHipHop, DJ Sean P, Joey the Jerk, Pigeon John, and plenty of others!

Stay healthy!

Chunjay aka Jamey Bennett

On being a podcaster

On treatment for daughter’s cleft palate

On being an author and speaker

On converting to Orthodox Christianity

“There is a lot to be said by just showing up.” - Jamey

On infant death

“Why would this happen? Why would God give you a gift like that and take it away?” - Elissa

“That was the worst period of my life, obviously. It was so dark and so hard.” - Elissa

Life as a frame tale

“These things can destroy us or they can make us stronger. And that’s not always entirely up to us, but for whatever part of it that is up to us, we have to choose that and actively take that path of growing stronger.” - Jamey

“Why not me?” - Elissa

Find her on: elissabjeletich.com 

Royal Ruckus: @royalruckus @royalruckusofficial royalruckus.com

On the Unexpected Joy EP: http://song.link/unexpectedjoy

Adam Buxton Skit

"Gangsta Gangsta" (Clean) by NWA

Basil raps for us.

On Podcasting. Finding and creating content for podcasts. Deciding to start a new podcast.

Basil and Nicole explain what their podcast, Help My Unbelief, is all about.

On anxiety attacks.

“Things like doubt and struggle are not something we have to move beyond or conquer in order to have an authentic Christian life. It’s really about learning to live with hope and creativity and meaning sort of in the paradox between faith and doubt.” - Nicole

“Help me live for you with my unbelief, and surrender myself to you in my doubt.” - Nicole

Different types of belief and unbelief: PRIDE or HUMILITY.

“Your pictures of God are always too small, because God is infinity.” - Nicole

On Jamey’s personal wrestling with doubt.

Song: “I Sent You (These)” by Royal Ruckus from Unexpected Joy EP

“We’re all kind of in the same boat here, whether Christian or non-Christian, religious or non-religious, we’re all facing some of the same struggles and difficulties in life, and just trying to make sense of things. And here, in this Christian world, we are saying we see something very special in this historical figure—but something that is greater than a historical figure, something that breaks through and transcends that. The story we tell is almost too absurd to be made up.” - Jamey

“I don’t always have the faith. I don’t always feel like I could be ‘that guy’ to stand strong to the end. But I know people who have, and I know people who grasp that. And I find strength in that.” - Jamey

“How can you see Christ until you see Christ in others around you?” - Basil

On graduate school and insecurities around expertise.

Melinda Johnson interrupts us about a coffee cup.

“Faith is sort of the same way. I don’t think we ever arrive. If anything, the further in we get, the bigger God seems—the bigger the chasm seems between us and God on the one hand, and yet, the closer he seems.” - Nicole

Basil discusses the Eastern Orthodox idea of a “fool for Christ.”

Basil and Nicole encourage Christian listeners to not be embarrassed of their faith in Christ, nor of their doubt.

“The sort of natural counterpoint of being a human is struggle and doubt, and that’s a part of faith, it’s not separate from faith.” - Nicole

Help My Unbelief Podcast

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/helpmyunbelief

https://www.facebook.com/helpmyunbeliefpodcast/

Time Eternal Podcast

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/timeeternal

https://www.facebook.com/time.eternal.afr/

Time and Despondency Book

https://store.ancientfaith.com/time-and-despondency/

Closing

“I think he’s known for edgy stuff.” - Basil on Snoop Dogg

ROYAL RUCKUS STUFF

This Podcast: http://brewsbeards.com 

Website: http://royalruckus.com 

Listen to the new RR record: http://song.link/unexpectedjoy

Dig deeper: http://summerofthecicadas.com 

Shout Outs: Ancient Faith Ministries, Podcast: Time Eternal, Time and Despondency: Regaining the Present in Faith and Life (book, audio book), Help My Unbelief Podcast, Fr. Stephen Freeman, Essential Writings by Metropolitan Anthony Sorouzh, Xavier Naidoo, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Snoop Dogg, AncientFaith.com.

Fr. Stephen Freeman’s podcast episode:

https://www.ancientfaith.com/specials/ancient_faith_writers_and_podcasters_conference_2019/orthodoxy_and_shame

Tim is a GRAMMY-nominated producer and CEO of @SyntaxCreative.

[UPDATE: What’s up with Royal Ruckus?]

Catching up

Featuring songs from Tim’s long history of music production.

“Is that guy even real? I was wondering if it was your alter-ego, and you were both people.” - Tim Trudeau on Flatline/Mike and Chunjay/Jamey of Royal Ruckus ;)

Talk about cold brew coffee and on dark roasts

On how we met. And Chunjay dressing like an eighties b-boy.

A fun petty argument about what constitutes southern California

On the music business. On making deals and looking for what’s coming next.

On creating music in today’s landscape.

Chunjay uses an analogy about tacos and Taco Bell to explain why today’s rap is not good. Because of course he does.

Book recommendation: Al Mohler The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters

The Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solution by Asmus and Grudem

When Helping Hurts

Poverty Cure https://www.povertycure.org/

Poverty, Inc. https://www.povertyinc.org/

On eating Mexican food. What good Mexican food is.

Social media: Rocdomz

Final song by Royal Ruckus and DJ Sean P, "Back N Effect" from the Royalty Check EP, streaming everywhere. http://song.link/RoyaltyCheck

----

Check out what's up at http://royalruckus.com

Royalty Check EP out now! Videos available at http://bit.ly/RuckusVideo

Check out the new Royal Ruckus record, Royalty Check, available everywhere and at http://song.link/RoyaltyCheck

• Catching up!


• Exploration of Weezer's career and impact


• Review of Teal


• Check out Mike's Weezer tribute song recording: https://soundcloud.com/mpwalker/turn-me-around-a-weezer-tribute

Socials:

instagram @mpwalker @royalruckusofficial @justjamey

twitter @royalruckus @jameybennett

facebook @royalruckusofficial

More goodies

Podcast site: http://brewsbeards.com

Our group: http://royalruckus.com

Our album from 2019: http://song.link/RoyaltyCheck

Our album from 2018: http://worldsokayestrapper.com

Our album from 2017: http://summerofthecicadas.com

Our merch page: http://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/merch

http://instagram.com/mpwalker

http://facebook.com/royalruckusofficial

http://instagram.com/royalruckusofficial

#coversongs #weezer #rockmusic #musicreview

Who is Peter? And how do we know each other?

Gospel Music. On being sheltered and Christian. On Bible bookstores.

Brian Earhart, the blind pianist who taught playing piano by ear.

On touring. France.

“There’s just something cool about smoking a cigarette, drinking some coffee, and listening to some rock n roll in France.” - Peter Daily

“When I’m on tour, I’m dying to get home. When I’m at home, I’m dying to get on the road.” - Peter Daily

“I love and hate L.A. equally.” - Peter Daily

On Chunjay’s recent tour to Montana.

Peter explains his music.

“Dead Man” by Peter Daily

On being heartbroken and connecting with songs. Peter tells a story about his father on his deathbed.

“Without You” by Peter Daily

On being a minister’s kid. On being bitter at God and church.

“How long is this podcast? And can we call a minister, and the Pope?” - Peter Daily on being raised in a ministry family

“My family business was church. My grandfather was a minister; my father was a minister. So there was an automatic, you’re gonna be a minister kind of thing. But I didn’t want to be.” - Peter Daily

“It was easier to say ‘it is wrong to drink and smoke’ than to say ‘have some discipline.’” - Peter Daily

On bitterness toward church. On his father’s death.

“When you’ve been burned by the people that also profess that same belief, it’s very difficult to separate those two.” - Chunjay

On the Catholic Church sex scandal.

“Don’t get in the way.” - Peter Daily’s Dad’s message

On his accident and rehab. On the heaviness of life.

On the collaboration between Chunjay and Peter Daily.

Fun stuff! Tacos, beer, Pina Colada...

“I think there’s a place for all tacos, honestly.” - Chunjay

Chunjay’s dad rides Harleys, and drinks out of red Solo cups.

Peter Daily: Instagram @peterdaily, peter-daily.com, on Spotify and Apple

Royal Ruckus: @royalruckus @royalruckusofficial

Olivia the Chug: Instagram @olivia.chug

A Tribe Called Quest - "Award Tour"

Shoutouts: Dallas, Los Angeles, Bozeman, Missoula, Pigeon John, Ill Harmonics, Kill Bill, Nas, Sanctifunkdafied, Rootbeer, Flynn Adam, Orlando, Tom Hanks, The Burbs, DC Talk, Kevin Max, Starbucks, Tait, Rick’s Tacos and Tito’s Tacos in Los Angeles, Oliva Chug, CookBook the Puerto Rican rapper, A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, and more.

Opening
Catching up with Doug
"Back N Effect" (song from Royalty Check EP, produced by DJ Sean P)
The 10 Tips

1. Drink (or don’t drink)


2. Meditate or pray


3. Go for a walk


4. Pet your cat, walk your dog, walk the old lady's dog down the street


5. Check in with a friend who truly knows you


6. Spend your time with people who build you up, and be the kind of person who builds people up


7. Get off Facebook, or at least hide negative posts


8. Go to a concert, a play, or church service


9. Read a book, watch a comedy on Netflix, go to the movies (even alone)


10. Give back (serve food, go to shut-ins, etc.)

Still need help?

National Suicide Prevention Helpline: 800-273-8255
Mental Health Crisis Intervention: 800-991-5272
Doug Bennett's personal line: 661-202-HOPE
Chunjay's personal line: 615-336-1807

Closing thoughts
Closing song by Poor Righteous Teachers

The album drops 1/21/2019, when Royal Ruckus turns 21.

This is the audio from the recording, with the music portions of the episode cleaned up a bit.

Pre-order the album here: https://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/album/royalty-check-ep-produced-by-dj-sean-p

PODCAST NOTES EXCLUSIVE: Stream the whole album right now at RoyalRuckus.com!

Sean gives us the rundown on his background

Turntables from the thrift shop, figuring out how to make money deejaying,

“How do you be a dad? How do you have a house? And how do you be a creative, and in everything be honest and true?” - DJ Sean P

“Balance is in the back and forth, but it’s never center.” - Flatline

“Priorities are never balanced either. Right? So… You have a few, very important priorities, and everything else is not a priority.” - DJ Sean P

“It was never really an option for me to not have a creative space.” - DJ Sean P

“I feel like I never work, but I always work.” - Chunjay

Flatline on the Songs in an Hour project he did under the name MPWalker

Flatline: On taking time off work, doing small jobs, and working on music creatively

Snippet from “Flowers on Good Friday” by Royal Ruckus, Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

“Summer’s Last Call” by Royal Ruckus, The Summer of the Cicadas

“Kinda like too much freedom, gives you too much choice, therefore you can never make a choice.”

“I have a priority of life. For me it’s God, my wife, my family, my church….everything else is not on that priority.” - DJ Sean P

Sean keeps a journal and a weekly appointment with a friend for mental health

“Either I’m full of life or full of death. It’s like I need to guide this, I need to focus this thing.” - DJ Sean P

On goal setting

The Goal100 call (23 minutes)

Sean hustling those beats for cash, beat battles, and so on

BIG HIGHS, BIG LOWS

“I ended up just being in and out of these huge states of depression, and immobility. There’s a point where I didn’t leave my bed. I was frozen with fear…. I didn’t know what was going. I knew I needed help.” - DJ Sean P

Sean opens up about his suicidal thoughts.

On romanticizing dying

Flatline shares his own thoughts on the subject, along with raising kids

“It was more like stop chasing money, and start chasing mental health necessities. There’s always times you can slip in dark places. And I feel like acknowledging that is great. Also, like, talking about, so other people know that it’s okay they feel the same way.” - Flatline

“You shouldn’t keep it to yourself, you should get help.” - DJ Sean P

“I think sometimes the greatest gift you can give somebody is just listening. Or saying, ‘I get it, me too.’” - Chunjay

“This has not been a short road. I started having these ideations at 13,” said DJ Sean P. “I know what you mean, absolutely,” replied Flatline.

DJ Sean P on God’s work in your life in the midst of brokenness

“People are always going to disappoint you, and you are always going to disappoint people. It’s inevitable. We try not to, but it’s going to happen from time to time.” - Chunjay

“Weight in Gold” by Playdough (Krum) and Sean Patrick, We Buy Gold

On coffee, on technology

On types of tacos, extended discussion of tacos.

“U Know Who I Am” by Royal Ruckus with DJ Sean P from Royalty Check

On Podcasts, on mixing, and so on

“We all have insecurities. But we have to know what’s insecurity and what is poor planning.” - DJ Sean P

On his current endeavors with video and audio

“They Reminisce Over You” by Pete Rock and CL Smooth

"Phony Rappers" by A Tribe Called Quest

Shoutouts: CookBook, ManChild of Mars ILL, Playdough/KRUM, Theory Hazit, Oakcliff Coffee Roasters, The Bible Project, Stretch & Bobbito’s What’s Good, The Liturgist Podcast, The 9 Club, Just Thinking,

Intro—Who is Renata?

On teaching in general, Language Arts in particular.

How did she decide to become a teacher?

“As stressful as it may be at times, I love it.” - Renata

George Grant: “Love what you love in front of your students.”

Echinachea tea. Coffee.

On beards.

Sponsor spot: DrSquatch.com soaps and natural cologne

Two guys quit their jobs and started a soap company

Marvel and DC Movies. Batman. DC Comics. Marvel.

The Chrises and the Toms.

Chris Pratt. Chris Evans. Chris Hemsworth.

Tom Holland. Tom Hiddleston.

Spoken word poetry. Jeanette Hickman.

“I perform better when the audience is bought in.”

“Shipwreck Me”

“The Waitress Song”

On family difficulties and on real life situations put into poetry or song.

“I think as artists, even things are now scars, and are no longer open wounds, we can still feel those scars. We can still remember that pain, remember those emotions. And we can use those scars, those ghosts of our pasts, to help others in their present.”

“That’s the healing process of art. It’s healing for me to write it, and it’s healing for me to perform it. And when I do perform it, it’s healing to others.”

On surrounding yourself with others who can critique what you do.

Shout out to kidDEAD.

She likes a grammarian edit, and a stylistic edit.

“I joke that I’m like a closet romantic. I never share it.”

“Home is a Dirty Word”

“We share our scars so others can heal.”

On dealing with chronic illness.

“Dragon Slayer”

On being single and navigating the casual meetings.

Renata shares a story about telling a guy when she was uncomfortable. Practical tips for women to assert no and deter harassment.

Shoutout to Subculture Coffee.

“Hey, it makes me uncomfortable. I need my space. Give me a little space.”

Acknowledge what he said, but restate. Use body language.

Don’t be flirty with your friend.

“If we all just started respecting each other, none of those issues would happen.” - Chunjay

Renata loves tacos! Mixed chicken and beef. “At-home Chipotle.”

On Puerto Rican and Italian food at home. On Renata’s mother. On Puerto Rico. On coqui frogs.

Snippet from “Closer Than You Think” from the Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.

Reading young adult stories. “Locomotion” poetry book.

Shout out to Lecrae. Song: “Gotta Know”

#renataspeaks @renataspeaks

@RoyalRuckus @RoyalRuckusOfficial

The many uses of avocado.

17 year meth addiction.

On how adultery led Doug to Jesus.

On drunkenness.

“Wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the devil.” - Increase Mather

On heroin.

“Using with a prostitute in a hotel in the red light district That’s something I don’t want to ever forget. (14:30)

On Mormonism. On being molested.

"I Love You (and You and You and You and You)"

"Ghosts of Women Past" is somewhere in here, too.

“I carried that shame and that guilt and that condemnation for 25 years or so.” - Doug

“Unforgiveness is like you drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick. So when I was able to forgive that person...I got free, myself, which was wonderful.” - Doug

Call or text Doug at 661-808-HOPE (4673) if you need to talk.

Episode 20 with David Bunker.

Chunjay on virtue. 

“I think the best investment we can make on this earth is in other people. I don’t think it’s in stocks and bonds or property.” - Doug 

The lava flows in Hawaii.

Bennett family history.

Magdalene Hope. Rescue mission.

Oildale (a section of Bakersfield) is the meth capitol of the world.

A story about rescuing a woman and her kid.

How does a person become a trafficker? How does a person become trafficked?

Guerrilla trafficking, Romeo pimps/lover boy trafficking

"Multi-Purpose Room 2"

Rescue Grounds Coffee

Restoration Ranch Women’s Shelter

"Postcards from the Road"

Coffee talk.

Fasting talk.

MagdaleneHope.org, RescueGrounds.com

Tacos!

On Beers.

Royal Ruckus Presents... series of EPs.

“I paid for that album with my inheritance from Grandpa.” “I spent mine on methamphetamine!”

Chunjay’s mom joins the podcast. She used to live in Compton.

“World’s Okayest Rapper”

Magdalene Hope on Facebook

@MHDoug on insta and Twitter

Chunjay’s recommendation on making amends for sexual brokenness.

Snippet from: “Samson (You Are Not)” Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated album 

Editing goof-up! Back on how to make amends.

Closing thoughts, Ruckus socials.

jamey@jameyb.com

@royalruckus @royalruckusofficial

“Take the Leap” 

Anyone want to buy EnjoyingBeer.com?

On beards! Santa Claus with neck tattoos!

Pomade to hair, shampoo, no conditioner, have the barber trim the facial hair.

 “This White Life”

Chunjay continues hair car tips. The #nopoo method.

On Beastie Boys.

Closing song: “Rhymin’ and Stealin’”

Shouts: Cleansing Streams ministry, St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church (Boca Raton, FL) Sunday School, Bethel & The River Network, Breaking Bad, Beastie Boys, The Daniel Fast, Taco Nazo in Tijuana, Wolf Among Weeds IPA from Golden Road Brewery, Tosh.0, Samson Society, Treasures with Harmony, Pigeon John, NWA, House of Pain, Everlast, Lengthwise, Jesus Shack, Ben Folds.

 All music from World's Okayest Rapper EP.

http://worldsokayestrapper.com

Food. Health. GAPS Diet. Healing from arthritis. Journey through veganism. Sauerkraut. Probiotics. “A good sauerkraut should take three months.”

Mara’s music. Her siblings. Singing in church.

Orthodox Christian Chants (facebook page).

“Take the Leap” by Royal Ruckus from World’s Okayest Rapper EP.

Nerddom. On drifting away from her dad. On reconnecting with her parents. Hagia Sophia Coffee.

“Lost Boys” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

Chunjay on his step-father.

On conversion to Orthodoxy.

“Bizarre, exotic, ancient faith.” - Chunjay

On unschooling. On anabaptism. On being an awkward teenager. On Messianic Judaism.

Fr. James Bernstein and Jews for Jesus. Ancient Faith Radio. On experiencing God vs. listing beliefs about God.

Jerusalem. How we got the Bible. On being a musician and searching for a church. On leaving evangelicalism. On Anglicanism. On hiking and bonfires.

Becoming Orthodox by Fr. Peter Gillquist

The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware

On beards and manly men. On mani-pedis.

On reading and listening. The Pearl that Broke Its Shell novel.

@theveggal

@royalruckus

@royalruckusofficial

Shout out to NoiseTrade and Bandcamp.

GAPS, Arthritis, Theology, Dads, Healthy Food, Orthodoxy and Cults, Performing for God,

#gaps #gapsdiet #arthritis #paleo #health #ancestralhealth #theology #dads #daddyissues #healthyfood #orthodoxy #cults #performingforgod #evangelicalism #kallistosware #orthodoxchurch #worldsokayestrapper #sauerkraut #probiotics #coffee

David and Chunjay discuss where they are and what they are doing for the weekend. David discusses the ups and downs of therapy. On the collapse of silence. What is lacking? Sometimes it’s not stuff. On living within the evangelical subculture. Discussing whiskey.

On Jamey and David’s friendship, and the wisdom David imparted to him. On sharing stories. David is working on a project called Postmodern Hymns. On Christianity and Art. On the narrative of faith giving way to the narrative of consumption. On how Christian music has become a safe soccer mom thing. On John Reuben saying “s**t” on his new record. Lots of other stuff. :)

Kenosis - about emptying, not acquiring knowledge. On success vs. vulnerability. On being helpful to friends.

Great lines from David:

“Sex is a gift or a curse, depending on how you handle it.”

“Maybe postmodernity and consumption are not the best thing for the soul.”

“I’m an older guy trying to figure out, ‘What is my legacy?’”

“I get to be around children a lot. I find that the older I get, the more and more children make. They’re still vibrant about life.”

“In ancient cultures, there was a lot more storytelling, and people had those stories inform them.”

“As the consumption became more important than the proclamation, the proclamation got dumbed down, and the consumption went up, and so now it’s bad art, and it’s trying to talk about God simultaneously. It’s like, oh, crap, we don’t need more of this.”

“Any guy who wants to walk in integrity with his sexuality knows that he needs assistance.”

“I think self is much more communal. It’s not just communal in the sense of you’re meant to be a part of something bigger than yourself. You don’t become yourself until you understand you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. There’s a mutuality to it.”

“What part of my life am I in denial about? Because I think somehow what has happened to  me in the past when I did those things, it wouldn’t happen again. What would lead me to believe that I could somehow bypass that? And when somebody tells you the story of where they’re at, it’s a reminder of their mutual vulnerability.”

“Our culture doesn’t teach us to wait for the good stuff.”

“I was trying to act like I was angry, because that was what I was told to do. The truth is, I had to get in touch with how pervasive those acts had…affected me, made me afraid of people, made me stand-offish, made me fearful of intimacy, made me distrustful of EVERYBODY. I’m talking at a deep level. Physically distrustful.”

“And of course it fed into some of my weaknesses, like rather than be in a healthy sexual relationship, I would be more of a voyeur. I would stand apart. I didn’t know how to be in my body, because I left my body as a 6 year old kid.”

“I’ve had to realize that not going to that place and processing that was very dangerous for my soul. I didn’t know it, but it was forming in me this sense that I was what happened to me.”

“And we often tend to think like we are what happened to us. So if somebody divorces me unfairly, if someone abuses me unfairly, fires us unfairly, says something to us that’s unfair, there’s this part of us, the little kid inside, ‘Well, I guess that’s who I am.’ And then we start making decisions that affirm that. And then one day we wake up and find that we’re the perpetrator that hurt us.”

“Now, it’s more of a protecting myself by believing what’s beautiful about me, what’s beautiful and true. And not what’s dark and hidden.”

“Before I was trying to be angry because people would say, ‘Oh, he’s working on it.’”

“Do you like tacos?” “Look at me, sure.”

Lines from Chunjay:

“The intent and context. I played a couple of ‘Christian’ shows this summer, and I really am trying to avoid doing that. The must that I am writing now belongs in bars and breweries, and coffee shops where adults are. And I remember playing my first youth group in more than a decade. And I cut two songs out. It’s not that I said anything that was technically wrong, but gosh, our lead song is ‘The Waitress Song,’ and we talk about drinking rum and Coke, and asking the waitress for her phone number, and that is not what I’m trying to put in front of 14 years old.”

What are we drinking:

David Bunker: Riesling Wine

Jamey Bennett: 1816 Chattanooga Whiskey, a Yuengling

David Bunker’s info:

Find him on Facebook, and look up the notes if you friend him.

Chunjay’s info:

@royalruckus, @royalruckusofficial, @justjamey, @jameybennett, http://pledgemusic.com/projects/worldsokayestrapper

Others:

http://samsonsociety.org

http://newadamweekend.org

Featured songs:

“Never…” by Royal Ruckus (featuring Jeremiah Dirt and Manchild of Mars Ill and Deepspace5) from The Summer of the Cicadas

“The Waitress Song” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas

“Shipwreck” by CookBook and Uno.Mas from the Robertson Bullies EP

“How Does It Feel?”  by Royal Ruckus (featuring Shedlyn) from The Summer of the Cicadas

“The Chicken-Filled Donut Caper” by Royal Ruckus

Closing song: “Doin’ It My Way” by Buckshot LeFonque

Shout outs: Mary Oliver, The Waste Makers book, a men’s social group Whiskey & Iron, Randy Newman, Sixpence None the Richer, Argyle Park, Cornerstone, Burning Man, Pedro the Lion, Neal Morse, John Reuben, AudioFeed Festival, Samson Society, New Adam, Nate Larkin, Metanoia, The Samson House, Orthodoxy, Richard Rohr, Sam Kem.

At the same time, the guys talk about how short-sightedness can affect an artist’s career.

Due to technical difficulties, there are a few choppy places and possibly some sections of repeated material. It was a fun conversation.

Features songs from the unreleased Jimmy and the Zoo Crew project, and tracks from the 2011 Royal Ruckus album, Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.

Shouts: CookBook of LA Symphony, Pigeon John, Jordan Uselton, Flicker Records, KRUM, Ill Harmonics, Josh Babyar, KJ-52, Gr8 Jason, Almnc, Eugene Mirman, Spokesman Coffee & Beer, Wu-Tang, Sackcloth Fashion, Syntax Records, and Jeremiah Dirt of Shadow of the Locust.

The Christmas Episode

Winsky Fiesta Terrace in west LA

What am I drinking? Deschutes Brewery stout from Oregon

Background Music from Akira the Don’s Litmas. http://Akirathedon.bandcamp.com

Clips from

Run DMC – Christmas Is
Christmas Rappin’ Kurtis Blow
Cold Chillin’ Christmas by the Juice Crew
F**k you if you don’t like Christmas by Crudbump
Run the Jewels – A Christmas F*****g Miracle
Merry Muthafuckin Xmas by Eazy-E
Snoop Doggy Dogg ft. Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee, Bad Azz - "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto"
Puff Daddy with Run DMC, Mase, Salt n Pepa, Onyx, Keith Murray, Snoop Dogg
Toy Jackpot by Blackalicious 

Interlude – Shitter’s Full

Royal Ruckus – In The Trap of the Mountain King https://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/album/lonely-christmas 

Wet Bandits – Counterfeit Money Machine https://invisiblelibrary.bandcamp.com/album/no-sleep-till-christmas

The Santa Clause – Out of Place and Spoken Nerd 

LA Symphony It’s Christmas

Christmas by Krispy Kreme aka Froggy Fresh

We Three Kings – Pettidee, Knowdaverbs, Bonafide

Spoken Nerd Christmas Time in the Club 

LA Symphony Christmas Song

Royal Ruckus - The Christmas I Didn’t Want - https://noisetrade.com/royalruckus/17-candles

 KJ-52 – It’s Christmas Time

Thee Three Kings by Max.One, DJ Promote, Redcloud, Jeremiah Bonds, and Kaboose

Royal Ruckus – Lonely Christmas

Royal Ruckus - Sleep Now, Children

O Holy Night by Sufjan Stevens

Silent Night by Sufjan Stevens

Star of Wonder/None Shall Pass – Sufjan, DJ Tor, Aesop Rock

Favorite Christmas Rap Song of All Time? Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC

Michael Boyer, aka Knowdaverbs, sits down with Chunjay to compare notes.

How we met. How he got the idea to leave Phoenix and move to Nashville.

Clips from “The Latte, Latte Show” from Royal Ruckus’s Self-Titled album.

Rooming with Coffee and Bonafide of GRITS. DJ Form. 1996-2004, roommates, label mates, and tour mates.

Soup the Chemist album listening party—“The James Brown of Christian Hip-Hop.” The article by Chunjay: https://web.archive.org/web/20030427172424/http://www.razormouth.com:80/archives/00000012.htm

Chunjay test-drove Verbs’s Range Rover.

“Moment of Zen” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas.

How did you decide to become a rapper?

On a life-changing conversion.

“Prepaid” by Knowdaverbs (featuring GRITS and Nirva Dorsaint) from the Verbs: Unlocked album.

On becoming a Christian rapper. Started writing raps at 12. Went to an SFC show and met Soup and DJ Dove.

Following the Christian rap scene.

On getting signed to Gotee Records.

On spending too much time with your friends.

“Call of the Dung Beetle” by Knowdaverbs (featuring Pigeon John and GRITS) from The Syllabus LP.

On reuniting with the crew.

On his various records released. Chunjay once made a display for him in a store.

What caused Knowdaverbs to go out on his own. Does he have more music in front of him?

Knowdaverbs on his faith and how he desires to express it.

On being a dad and a husband and growing in faith. 

On seasons in life.

On creating art and sharing it with others.

“What Do You Think of That?” by Knowdaverbs from The Action Figure.

On battling to create your best art vs. industry pressures.

“There are things God allows us to go through to burn things into us or burn things out of us.”

Knowdaverbs on how he views success in artists, and glorying God.

On relying on God.

SHIPWRECKS!

Knowdaverbs had his confidence shaken in God about 8 years ago. He began to study to explore his faith deeper.

Wizard of Oz’s man behind the curtain.

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

Knowdaverb’s faith now.

Chunjay on his own faith in Christ and why.

Chunjay on St. Ignatius the martyr, and early Christian history.

On willingness to die as a martyr.

“Transmissional” by Royal Ruckus (featuring Spoken Nerd and Bobby Exodus) from Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated. 

On beard care. On beard oils. RR beard oil available here: http://royalruckus.bandcamp.com/merch

Knowdaverbs loves sandalwood.

Knowdaverbs loves Baja fish tacos.

Hip-hop pet peeves?

“Screen Door” by GRITS (featuring Knowdaverbs) from Mental Releases.

Chunjay on A Tribe Called Quest, and how they recorded their last record. Everyone had to be in the studio to work together!

“Think of how the listener benefits from the level of art that gets created for that situation. We used to do that all that all the time, man. Somebody would go in and just kill it, and you’d be like, ‘Hold up, give me about 20 more minutes while I rewrite my verse.’”

Podcast recommendation: Tim Keller from Redeemer Church in New York.

Reader recommendation: Russell Moore.

Social: @iknowverbs

Chunjay's Socials: @royalruckus and @royalruckusofficial 

Shoutouts: Grits, DC Talk, Out of Eden, Steve Curtis Chapman, Reese Witherspoon, Donna Summers, Tower Records, Travis Tritt, Soup the Chemist and his book “Through My Windows,” Cross Movement, Steven Wiley’s Bible Break, T-Bone, Dynamic Twins, Idol King, Kroger deli, J-King, Pigeon John, Aaron Porter, Zeitgeist movie, Baja Burrito, Blue Coast Burritos, Das Efx, Leaders of the New School, Souls of Mischief.

Background music by Gangstarr, Royal Ruckus.

Jeb Wilson of Nashville Photography Group is our guest for Episode 16.

Jeb hates spam. Can you curse on this podcast?

Punk rock kid, ska kid, hip-hop kids.

On similarities between punk and hip-hop cultures.

Did the LAPD kill 2Pac?

“Elvis Presley, Notorious, and 2Pac were way to big of ego maniacs to ever disappear.”

On the KKK marching in the Christmas parade in Oildale.

“Dial It Up” by Royal Ruckus from Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated, available at RoyalRuckus.Bandcamp.com and pretty much everywhere you can stream music.

Chunjay talks about the history of Al Pastor tacos. Again.

Catching up with Jeb.

Talking about Mike Walker aka Flatline. How Flatline quit his job at the movie theatre.

On working at Starbucks,

http://neopolis.me/post/4989953615/some-time-ago-i-worked-at-starbucks-with-my-pal

Jeb burps, and Chunjay censors it.

How he gradually found himself doing photography.

“When it comes down to it, it’s something my grandfather used to say, ‘Hard work pays off.’”

Biggie documentary: http://www.aetv.com/specials/biggie-the-life-of-notorious-big

“When people aren’t doing well in business stuff, the first thing I look at is, ‘What’s your work ethic?’ Are you putting in the time?”

On awards that Jeb has won for photography.

On making music videos.

On setting goals. Weekly Goal100 accountability phone call with Cookbook of LA Symphony.

On making checklists and setting parameters. Recommended app: EverNote.

On going to movies and art museums for inspiration and ideas.

On Flat Earth view of Antarctica. On BOB raising money to prove the earth is flat.

“Sunshine California” (Demo) by Royal Ruckus from Seventeen Candles, available free at NoiseTrade.com/RoyalRuckus

Chunjay and Jeb leave the taco truck and go back to Jeb’s  house for a chat.

Chunjay is drinking a Dogfishhead 60 Minute IPA. 

On craft beer and breweries. On bourbons.

Lemon juice + bourbon + honey = nommmmm

On carbonated coffee with bourbon.

The AudioFeed Festival, and Jay Newman.

A fun story about California rappers Royal Ruckus being on tour in Michigan in a Dodge Caravan with no scraper, no heater, and only blankets.

Actress and model Savannah Clare Edwards; a former student of Chunjay’s when he was a teacher; a model for Jeb; and featured in two Royal Ruckus videos. Janelle, we need to know: who do you love more?

“Shipwreck” by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from The Roberson Bullies EP.

“My dating life makes the Titanic look like a small tugboat going down in the Kern River.”

On the current dating landscape.

Chunjay’s theories on why dating is so messed up right now. 1. People are maturing later. Extended adolescence. 2. Use of pornography or hookups and how it sabotages relationships. 3. The illusion of extra options.

On embracing the single life. On traveling alone.

Olivia Chug gets a shout-out by Chunjay. Jeb groans.

On Chewbacca, Star Wars, and Disney.

On giving back to the community. On serving the homeless.

Jeb’s favorite taco is a spicy carne asada taco. Against cheese on tacos. “I want to taste the pigeon and the cat fully on the taco.”

Podcast recommendation: The Son of a Gun Podcast (Josh Vietti), The Robcast (Rob Bell), Tactical Talk (Allison Barrie), This Is Why You’re Single (Laura Lane and Angela Spera).

Jeb’s socials: @thejebwilson on instagram

Chunjay’s socials: @royalruckus and @royalruckusofficial

Favorite song? “Juicy” by Notorious BIG.

Shoutouts: NWA, 2Pac, Notorious BIG, working as a Starbucks barista, Yazoo, Turtle Anarchy, Mayday Brewery, Dogfishhead, Spoken Nerd and Invisible Library Records, Big Bang Theory, Twins featuring Danny Devito and Arnold Schwartzenneger, Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Romance-Aziz-Ansari/dp/0143109251), The Walking Dead.

Background music by Metal Fingers, Special Herbs Vol. 12.

Little Cuban cafe, on KJ discovering Cuban colada coffee. KJ does not enjoy pour over coffee.

Chunjay eating a Cubano sandwich.

On what KJ-52 is up to: crowdfunding new album, videos, documentary. Adding public speaking to rapping.

“I’m coming from the perspective of a 42 year old man. I’m not coming from where I was when I was 25 and came into the industry….I’m an old MacBook Pro with updated software.”

KJ-52’s struggle after his record deal with Essential ended. Shopping to Nashville record labels. Ended up with Tooth & Nail/Uprok. 

KJ on Flicker Records: “Then they turned round and signed you guys, and I was so ticked off.”

“Revenge of the Nerds” by KJ-52 with Pigeon John from the KJ-52 Remixed album.

On figuring out his niche, and finding a way forward. On catching criticism for things he did.

On his “backpack rapper” origins with Sons of Intellect and Shadow of the Locust.

“I always looked at every record as ‘starting over.’”

On his platform, not just “youth group rapper.”

History: Goatee led him to Todd Collins. Todd took him to Essential.

On the KJ-52/Royal Ruckus tour of Maui in 2001.

On Royal Ruckus: “You two were the most interesting, hilarious, weird people I’d ever hung out with in a long time. And I think because of that, I was like, ‘I’m really drawn to these guys, cause they’re so bizarre, but so like, genuinely themselves.’ And I think that resonated with me.”

On getting sunburnt in Hawaii.

“Cheese Rappers in Paradise” (Demo) by Royal Ruckus from Seventeen Candles. Available free at noisetrade.com/royalruckus.

On crossing paths with each other in Nashville, TN and Bakersfield, CA.

“I’ve played in Bakersfield so many times.”

Headlining the “White Privilege Conference” in the middle of Iowa.

Awkward experiences on tour.

“Moment of Zen” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas LP. Listen for KJ-52 and T-Bone reference in the song.

“I helped Kirk Cameron get through the priority line at Delta.”

“Shipwreck” by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from The Robertson Bullies EP.

“Once you’re about 10 years in [the music industry], you become irrelevant.”

On a near-career shipwreck. Paraphrase: I went from getting a couple grand shows to getting $250 a show locally, if I was lucky.

Finding alternate ways to survive and stay in his own lane. Graffiti. School assemblies. Being a pastor. Rapping still.

“It’s like I wrecked the ship, took the wood, and built a house.”

“Fight Music” by KJ-52 featuring Lecrae and Propaganda, from the album, Mental.

On KJ’s lack of facial hair.

KJ loved street tacos in Baja, Mexico, and Korean-fusion tacos in San Francisco.

KJ recommended podcasts: What She Wants (formerly Ask Women), Sexy Marriage Radio, Stuck in the 80s, and The Cypher Show.

KJ on women: they don’t want men to be nice, they want ALPHA.

“I realized how technically challenged some of my fanbase is. So I was like, ‘How can I make this as simple as possible?’”

KJ52 Podcast. @kj52 at twitter and facebook, @kj52instagram for insta.

“Let me say, and I dig your podcast, too. Because I like how you explore back stories.”

On having something to say, and less to lose. On having John Reuben on his documentary and not being able to use it.

“It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock was the game changer song for KJ-52. The second would be “Welcome to the Terradome” by Public Enemy. Third: “Ain’t No Joke” by Eric B. and Rakim. De La Soul: “Me Myself and I.”

Shouts to Propaganda, Pigeon John, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Pillar, Pax 217, Rebecca St. James, producer Tedd T., Todd Collins, Flynn Adam, Krum (Playdough), Jesus Shack, Spirit West Coast, Kirk Cameron, Tako Cheena in Orlando, NF vs. Lecrae album sales, John Reuben, Cookbook from LA Symphony, Jars of Clay, more.

15 years since Self-Titled!

Review of last episode.

Chunjay’s hotel for the night.

On the origins of Chunjay’s name. Church camp. Chunjay’s first release was a cassette under the name of Cleva-MC.

First Cleva recording was professional. Next record was on a 4-track with a punk band buddy. Working with Yoda from Royal Ruckus.

On the collaboration with J-Dog, and the beginning of Royal Ruckus. Chunjay: “We made a rap song about how we tried to make a rap song and it didn’t work out.”

“Why don’t you join our fake rap group?” Chunjay to Flatline.

On the haters and our album Love Us or Leave Us.

Flatline was building a Royal Ruckus website from scratch.

Pioneers of internet music.

7Ball Magazine, Cameron Strang, Relevant Magazine, and the beginning of us talking to record labels.

Royal Ruckus History: Cleva-MC, then Cleva and J-Dog, then Cleva and J-Dog and Flatline, then Cleva and J-Dog and Flatline, then back to Cleva and Flatline.

On Flatline getting grounded. On seeing his father in his own interactions with his kids.

We started talking to record labels.

Working with Pigeon John.

Shout to “Pocket Lint and Spare Change” album, available free at NoiseTrade.com/RoyalRuckus

“A Las Chinas” from the Coalition compilation and Pocket Lint album by Royal Ruckus, co-produced by Pigeon John, featuring The Skalastix. NoiseTrade.com/RoyalRuckus

Fun LA Symphony facts about “Seabreeze,” “Move On.”

How we decided to make a demo with Pigeon John.

On Pigeon John’s enjoyment of intellectual theology.

B-Twice showing up late for a show.

On exploring tours, on-off shows, and major label interests.

On good deals in hotel rooms, and Chunjay’s 21st birthday party. A bucket of Heinekens.

Chunjay “We negotiated a record deal before we moved to Nashville, but we did not sign it until we got there.”

Decision to sign with the label.
Flatline opens up about his discomfort with the Christian industry, but how production quality helped him feel comfortable. 

Flatline: “We felt like we would have a little more room to be ourselves.”

On being youth group kids, being young, and trying to figure out our identity as a group. Our songwriting process at the time.

On praying before a performance and taking shots of tequila.

On writing Self-Titled.

Next Best Thing.

On deaths in the family. On gratitude in the midst of heavy life stuff. On the decision to write for the Christian industry, but remain who we are.

Geeky Music for Kidz.

Wink and a Nudge. On sexuality. On Chunjay having a shipwreck. Flatline tries to make Chunjay feel better. On Josh’s dynamic production.

Irate Caller #1.

On hip-hop record interludes. On how to listen to a record in a post-skit world.

Check It Out.

I Had a Dream.

Let’s Start a Boy Band.

On writing and producing this song with Pigeon John.

Coffee shop stuff. On drinks we hated making.

Latte Show.

Mike and Jamey arguing over a piece of pizza. Other stuff about the writing of that song and the album. On pop culture.

Double Take.

Bob Went Crazy.
On telling Bob we wrote a song about him.

MP Free.

On Napster and free music. On anticipating the transition to streaming.

B-Side Rock

On critiquing the Christian music industry.

Multi-Purpose Room

On posse jams.

Background music: J-Dilla, MF Doom, Flatline, and some of the folks listed below.

Shouts: Sackcloth Fashion, MP3.com, Q-Tip, Josh Babyar, John Hayden Miethe, Flynn Adam, Pigeon John, Bob Herdman, Old Navy, N-Soul Records, TruHipHop ListServ, Mars Ill, Future Shock, Opry Land Hotel, Audio Feed, The Giant and the Taylor, Everyday Sunday, Wyclef Jean, Run the Jewels, DJ Sean P, Sesame Street, Moby, Weezer, Carson Daily and TRL, Talladega Nights, etc.

What are you up to?

Coffee making

Nashville songwriting at Starbucks, and all walks of life in Starbucks.

On celebrities at Starbucks. BEN FOLDS!

A Ben Folds meet-up?

“Arrive at Something” (original version) by Royal Ruckus

Meeting Moonhooch, clip from Number 9. Clip from “The Waitress Song” by Royal Ruckus.

How Ben Folds inspired some of our songs.

One of Chunjay’s favorite songwriters is Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie or The Postal Service.

Flatline on producing beats: “We don’t sound like hard-hitting gangster, New York rap, by our beat standards, but having that inspiration…okay, this really changes everything.”

“You have to prove you’re a creative person in the hip-hop scene because there is so much biting going on.”

On natural talent in music. On our history together and training in music.

Flatline: “There’s only so much mumble rap I can get with before I can be like, ‘I don’t have enough cough syrup to drink to keep up with you bro.’”

What are we drinking? Flatline discusses Wild Gift Coffee in Austin, TX. On Mexican Coffee.

Memory lane: coffee tasting like wine tasting.

Extended discussion of how to enjoy coffee.

French press. Hand pour.  V-60?

Flatline loves Indonesian and Mexican coffees. He explains why.

“Indonesian coffee tends to be earthy, mushroomy, musty, moist smelling. It doesn’t smell sweet, usually.”

“Gimme Dat” by Cookbook and Flynn Adam from the Best in Class EP.

On organic coffee and fair trade designations. More about coffee. Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Sam Adams Pumpkin ale. Guinness and other ales.

Chunjay on Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach. Both gentlemen discuss Guinness beer and other drinks.

“Cafe Marata” by Royal Ruckus. Shouts to Mase and Alice Cooper. Shout to Sphereofhiphop.com

Flatline’s favorite taco: Al Pastor. On breakfast tacos. On Chunjay gaining weight in Austin eating tacos, drinking beer and liquor, and working on the album. Chunjay on the origins of Al Pastor: Lebanese immigrants brought the style to Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_pastor

On beat production and dope hip-hop.

Flatline and Chunjay growing up together.

Pete Rock beat instrumental inspiration. Remix of Juicy by Notorious BIG. Flatline shows his cards.

“Behind the Scenes” by Royal Ruckus from Pocket Lint and Spare Change (Deluxe Edition).

On making beats together, and writing to other people’s music.

On Flatline’s beats vs. buying beats online.

How Royal Ruckus makes music together. On solo projects together. On Shadow of the Locust and other side groups.

On hatred of phone calls.

Chunjay: “Only sociopaths make phone calls without texting first, unless you’re a telemarketer. What do you want?”

Royal Ruckus anniversaries: 1 year for Summer of the Cicadas, 15 years for Self-Titled, 20 years for the group.

On The Royal Ruckus and booking shows.

Closing song: “The Chicken-Filled Donut Caper” by Royal Ruckus from Pocket Lint and Spare Change (Deluxe Edition).

Background beats by Flatline, Cookbook, Ben Folds, Moonhooch, Pete Rock, Panos Kiamos.

Extra Shout-Outs: Taboo Tales Podcast, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bill Gaither, Jimmy Wayne, Lance Bass from N*Sync, Pattie Griffin, RZA from Wu-Tang, Beastie Boys, Herb Alpert, Flatline’s dad, Delinquent Habits, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Soul Assassins, DJ Muggs, DJ Lethal, Funkdoobiest, Wu-Tang, UMC’s, Liquid Swords by GZA, Groovebox drum machine, Panos Kiamos, Tom Green’s “Undercutters,” Dr. Laura Schlessinger, The Royal Ruckus, AudioFeed Festival, The Giant and the Tailor.

Pornography, Guinness, and Authentic Friendship

Introduction.

Taking walks with friends. 60 minute walk daily. Real talks and seeking clarity on life’s issues.

How Chunjay met Nate. Public speaking class.

On coffee. On beer. On mystery taps.

“Gentlemen, what we are witnessing here is kidney success and bladder failure.”

Nate shares his story, which includes hardcore pornography and prostitutes, while serving as a pastor.

“I quit a hundred times.”

“I was doing irrational things for non-rational reasons trying to solve the problem by rational means, and I could never think my way out of it. And I would pray to God to take it away, to fix me, always asking him for a private solution to my private problem.”

“Probably would have made me into even a bigger a*****e than I was, and I wasn’t even aware I was an a*****e.”

“My biggest problem was, and remains…practice in false modesty.”

“Jon & Stacie” by Royal Ruckus with Pigeon John from Pocket Lint & Spare Change album, available for free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

“As best as I can figure, reconstructing it later, I probably spent $300,000 on pornography and prostitutes. And really, the tragic part is that I spent my children’s childhood and 20 years of my wife’s wife, and 20 years of mine, going down that road, trying to meet a need I didn’t recognize.”

Snippet of “Shipwreck” by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from the Robertson Bullies EP.

On burdening one’s wife with sexual struggles.

“I didn’t bring my true self into those relationships. I brought the person I thought they needed, or the person they would like…. What was missing from my relationship with God was never God, it was me. I always sensed some religious persona.”

“He Spread His Arms” by Royal Ruckus from the Pocket Lint & Spare Change (Deluxe Edition) album, available for free from http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

Introducing Tra Jones, who walked in.

What is The Samson Society?

“What I thought was a unique story turned out to be pretty damn common…. I never told my story to a guy who hasn’t done something sexual he’s ashamed of… I’ve never yet met a man who doesn’t have something in his life that is bigger than he is.”

“What I’ve found is that when I could tell my story, that made it safe for him to say, ‘Ya know, I’ve never told anyone this before…’”

“Even though I’m calling a guy who’s an idiot, he’s NOT ME!”

“In the Trap of the Mountain King” by Royal Ruckus from The Lonely Christmas EP.

Tra raises a question about loneliness and isolation.

The Trinitarian reality of God.

“We’re never complete, and we’re never fully happy, until we’re connected.”

On finding someone to marry.

“There are things I need that my wife can never give me, that I can only get from another man. And there are things that my wife needs, that I can’t give her. We all need to be part of a larger community.”

“This Disney idea that’s sold to us by Hollywood that you don’t need anybody else. All you need is that one person to complete you…is b******t. And couples that buy it die.”

“Summer’s Last Call” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP

Pornography as the DRAGON of our time.

“In sexual arousal, and in climax, our brain is flooded with chemicals.”

On chemicals during orgasm.

“Over time I can bond with phantoms to the point where I lose my ability to bond with human beings.”

The problem of Virtual Reality Porn and such.

Neglected infants die.

On facing fear of rejection in a sexual relationship and how porn fits in.

Tra loves phone calls and hates texting, and finds a way to connect it to pornography. 

Anxiety in adolescents tied to pornography use.

“This strikes at the very roots of culture.”

Erectile dysfunction?

“This is having a huge effect on dating, on pursuit. Unfortunately, it’s become more about seduction and conquest than anything else.”

On anonymous sex partners among college students.

On neuro-pathways and sexual sobriety.

“The longer I got sober from porn, the more beautiful my wife became.”

On fathers and daughters.

“A woman needs to hear from a man, from her father, that she is beautiful, worthwhile, that she is seen and known and valued. And it has to be more than beauty.”

“Pornography teaches us to objectify the human form.”

“What we need to be able to do is connect emotionally. Not just to our spouse, but to our children.”

“Closer Than You Think” from the Royal Ruckus album Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.

SamsonSociety.org, virtual Samson meetings, Samson app

Closing song: Ray Stevens, “The Streak.” Not really sure how this is a rap song, but the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. 

Mentions: McCreary’s Irish Pub in Franklin, TN, Guinness stout, FightTheNewDrug.com, The Porn Myth by Matt Fradd, Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin, Discipleship.com, Beyond Accountability: Life Changing Power of Authentic Friendship by Nate Larkin, NoFap Subreddit.

Music: Funkdoobiest instrumentals.

Rain storm. Northern Liberties in Philadelphia. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Liberties,_Philadelphia

“Gone are the days where you go to a bar and there’s just the sound of conversation.”

What we were drinking: Thom had Coors Light, and plotting on French wine. Chunjay drinking PBR and bourbon, the Philadelphia “City Wide Special.” 

https://billypenn.com/2016/01/20/the-philly-citywide-special-index-whose-combo-packs-the-most-punch/

Sharing a memory of a Russian New Year mishap.

Thom’s faith past. Roman Catholicism, agnosticism-atheism, Orthodoxy. Walking out on Ash Wednesday.

“My father tried to break down my door, because he wanted me to stop reading.”

Discovering his sexuality, discovering gay bars.

On 1969/1970: “To announce that you were gay to your family then, was really paramount to saying you had a mental illness. Nobody talked about it.” 

Working in the hospital. 

Falling in love with all the wrong people. One night stands. Collecting experiences. On marijuana and drugs.

The Gay Liberation Movement. The Black Panthers.

Homosexuality in black and Latino communities. His first partner was black.

On pacifism. Bringing his partner home to his family.

On wrestling with homosexuality and faith.

“The whole concept of a gay emotional life, a gay person, didn’t exist then.”

“Were we to be in an automobile accident, and were a priest to come to our bedside, we would confess our ‘gay sins,’ as it were.”

“We are all slaves to our baptism. I can’t entirely liberate myself.”

“Certainly promiscuity, wild ‘Don Juan’ promiscuity, whether you’re gay or straight, it may feel wonderful, you get a diverse hors dvours sense of tasting of the lights when the moon is full…. But falling in love changes the speedometer.”

“I think that promiscuity whets your appetite for more promiscuity. Once you’ve opened those doors, really really wide, it’s really hard to go back and settle for one person.”

St. Mary of Egypt and promiscuity.

Visiting an older gay man in the hospital who was near death.

Chunjay introduces "Bad Haircuts" and misremembers the age of a girl mentioned in the song.

“Bad Haircuts” Demo by Royal Ruckus from Seventeen Candles, free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

Chunjay talks about Samson Society. 

Straight men with same-sex attraction. Does bisexuality exist? “Situational homosexuality.” A band-aid.

“Some straight men, let’s face it, are so tired of doing what society expects, worshiping and pleasing the woman.”

“When you go to situations where there’s no emotional connection, that feeling of let down will easily turn into disgust, because there’s no real human connection. You’ve both used each other as a way to get off. That’s when our higher selves, our spiritual nature, reminds us that we’re not total machines, we’re not sexual robots.”

How Thom found his way back to faith in Christ. Considered being a monk or a priest. An experience at a Benedictine monastery. His work as a writer, exploring reincarnation and New Age thinking.

The death of a friend.

On Western Rite Orthodoxy.

“The Lone Gunmen” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas LP.

On being a newspaper writer. Being the first openly gay writer in the mainstream press? Death threats. 

Should gay men grow beards?

On transgender issues.

On writing gay fiction.

Chunjay’s experience in 2002 with a gay bookstore. The shifting culture.

50 Shades.

My Father the Devil. Important people in Philadelphia.

Biography of writer Dominic Dunn.

Find Thom Nickels at Philadelphia Magazine online, HuffPost, Icon Magazine, and buy his books at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

On dancing to rap music. Disco dancing is great.

"Rhymer's Block" by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP. Video available at http://summerofthecicadas.com/videos

Mentions: St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Church, James Joyce’s "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Elizabeth Taylor’s film Ash Wednesday, Janis Joplin, Woodstock, Macklemore, The Pirate Monk Podcast, Milo Yiannopoulos, Bill Clinton, Thom Nickels’s Walking on Water book, The 6000 Beards of Mt. Athos book, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, Bishop Spong, The Get Down on Netflix, more.

Avocado farm in Hawaii.

We met at church. Urn of FSU.

“Within two minutes. You guys didn’t even wait. It was like a hit-up. I got tag-banged at church by two white guys.”

What is a tagging crew?

The sociology and psychology of graffiti.

The many kinds of graffiti artists. Nerds, skaters, ghetto dudes, preps, goths.

“It’s an insecurity. You’re doing something. You’re saying, ‘I’m here.’”

How Peas got into higher-level graffiti.

Self-destructive faze led to getting into more artistic graffiti. 

Tame from Artifacts.

Chunjay getting his record collection taken away by his parents. Artifacts wrecked that.
Old dudes doing graffiti.

“Instead of going to the golf course, they go buy Krylons. Rustos, actually, to be exact. Krylons suck.”

“Wrong Side of the Tracks” by Artifacts.

On the scene in Bakersfield, looking at Tame’s mural, as well as some messed up sloppy murals over other people’s murals.

“Concrete Art Gallery” by Royal Ruckus featuring Yoda.

Shipwrecks?

A break-up, some moves, a car accident.

Difficult times in Peas’s life.

How he got back into graffiti, and why he thinks it matters.

How to date a girl and tell her you do graffiti.

About God.

“Heaven’s what you make it, hell’s what you’re going through.”

“I don’t go to church… But I believe in God… A lot of the downfall in my life was me being an idiot, you know, and making wrong decisions, and taking responsibility for your actions.”

On losing a “career” several times. Looking

“When I look at my life, what did God teach me? What is the main thing that God taught me? To be humble and to be grateful and thankful for the stuff I was blessed with in my life.”

“I was a hard-headed mother f****r.”

On Jesus: “That’s still the battle for me…. We’re sinners, we’re ‘condemned’… ‘I’m a piece of s**t’…. I don’t believe that. So what I’m saying is, that one’s hard for me. But I do believe there is a God.”

“The afterlife thing? I don’t know, because I ain’t in it.”

“I just don’t know. I’m not gonna say it didn’t happen, I’m not gonna say it did happen. I’m not sure… I know there’s God. And I believe he teaches you things.”

Friend zone?

“Graffiti Art” by Sharlok Poems and Soup the Chemist from the LP Left.

Favorite taco? Cabeza y tripas.

The Taco Gauntlet.

Duck fat fries.

Temblor 661 Kolsch.

The transition from 805 to 661 in our area.

Trim beard care? Coworkers on some haterade stuff.

RZA “Can’t Stop Me Now”

Shout outs: Jeb Wilson of Nashville Photography Group, JNCO, Fear of DCV (Death Crown Villians), http://facebook.com/tacogauntlet, True Legends Thursdays, Change of Mind Podcast,

Background music by Wu-Tang.

Listen to this one. Because, seriously this is the good stuff.

Universal salvation? Steve discusses hell. “It’s a good thing I’m not God.”

Meet the girl. Get the girl. Lose the girl. Contemplate death. - Garabed Sarkessian

“The Pressure is On (Showdown)” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP

How Steve drinks his scotch, and enjoys gin and tonic.

Bourbon, honey, and lemon juice cocktail that Chunjay had.

PBR - “I’m not a hipster, but I do enough to keep them guessing.”

Steve on smoking pipes.

Steve on beard care.

Royal Ruckus hand-made beard oil for sale.

On guns, martial arts, and self-defense.

On wearing all black.

Steve’s pets. Moo the Turtle.

Steve’s podcast, Steve the Builder, and why he isn’t podcasting much right now.

“Love Slave” by Royal Ruckus featuring kidDEAD from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

On “falling in love” while married.

On an emotional affair: “It was so incredibly consuming.”

“I would have remarried my ex…. This was more about me than it was her. It was like, why am I falling for this type of woman?”

On an obsession with a woman you meet casually.

“Anytime I find myself in a relationship and something’s going wrong, something’s going screwy…it’s like what is inside of me that it’s dragging out.”

On Chunjay’s ex-father-in-law. On saying goodbye to someone forever.

On reading books. On listening to music. On watching TV. 

“I live in my own head in silence for the most part.”

“Try putting down all the books. Try putting away all the media. All the noise, all the sound, all the background stuff, and live in silence. Give that a try.”

On Facebook and getting sucked into comment-box wars.

On the meaninglessness of so much mainstream entertainment.

“Our ‘inner culture war’ is to extricate ourselves from that kinda shock that it takes for us to feel something about anything.”

Closing song: "Time for Us" by Royal Ruckus (featuring Maddy Montes and Bonafide of GRITS) from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

Shouts: St. Anthony’s monastery in Florence, AZ, Steve the Builder Podcast on mediocrity, The Lost Book of Mormon: A Quest for the Book That Just Might Be the Great American Novel, Samson Society, Costco liquors, Fr. Deacon Aaron Scott Taylor, Dragoon Brewery in Tucson, PBR, Primo (Hawaiian beer), Fire from Ashes book with Fr. Joseph Honeycutt, Father Knows Best,

Chunjay was planning on staying in South Florida.

The decision to leave. #EvacuationTour.

Coming home to Florida. Fence down. Lost food. Paleo stuff.

Seven Lakes, NC: Shout out to Matt and Patty Bianco. House show.

IOCC Disaster Relief. 92 cents on the dollar goes to the people they are serving.

Washington, DC. Shout to Peter and Jess Dimmick, and Kyle and Nik Pool.

Drinking moonshine and IPAs.

Offer: make a donation to a charity for disaster relief, send us your receipt, we will send you free stuff. Email the receipt to Jamey@jameyb.com.

Philadelphia, PA. Shout out to Yards Brewery.

Shouts to Garabed and Monique Sarkessian.

“I am of the belief that every house should have at least one piece of original artwork.”

On playing a church coffee hour. On “He Spread His Arms” from the Royal Ruckus album, Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.

Ephrata, PA: The Keiths’ show at St. Boniface Brewing Company. Potluck!

Ron Jon the rapper. Robyn Atticks. Kairos band.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick in Emmaus.

Trivia night with the Keiths.

Monongahela, PA: The Provans and Broughs.

Doing Q&As with audiences.

Stephen Maynard in Erie, PA.

Fr. Matthew Moore from Whiskerino. Chunjay’s skull beard tattoo.

The Craigs in South Carolina.

Daniel and Jenny Larkin in north Florida.

Bold City Mad Manatee IPA.

Days Inn in Fernandina Beach, FL.

Take a shot of vodka!

“Jacked up on These Girls” by Royal Ruckus, featuring KRUM and Joey the Jerk of LA Symphony.

Shout to Mara Henderson. Seeing people’s faces during a performance.

A story about Anglican priest Fr. Heath McClure, evacuation, and care for friends.

Breaking news: Landfall in Florida is inevitable.

Flatline texted Chunjay with loving comments.

On Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers clip at the end of our song “These Things Remind” from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

The 143 story.

Shout out to Jeb Wilson and Savannah Edwards.

“More of the Same” by Royal Ruckus and David Mathewes from The Summer of the Cicadas.

Shouts: McCreary’s Irish Pub in Franklin, TN, Todd Collins, KJ-52, John Reuben, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Upper Darby, The Extreme Tour, Ben-Hur movie, Waze app, Johnny Simmons,

 Music: Instrumentals from The Summer of the Cicadas

Introduction.

How we met.

Monasticism.

Demonic attacks in a monastery. “Logosmoi” and the ego.

“F**k it if it didn’t happen again.”

“Jerusalem Syndrome”

Steve plays Jesus.

Olivia Chug makes herself known.

“Shipwreck” by Cookbook & Uno.Mas from The Roberson Bullies EP

Steve has an affair.

“It was at that point that I knew that my own sense of who I am and my own sense of my spiritual life and my own sense of how to be a Christian is never to be trusted.”

“I never doubted my Christian faith. For me that has just been a given in my life…. I have never really thought about “Am I saved?’”

“I know that there is a god. I don’t experience God. I don’t, in a sense, consciously think about God.”

Steve works in absolute silence.

“I don’t consciously pray. I just live in a sense of this presence of God. It’s there. It’s nothing spectacular. It isn’t even something that I feel.”

“I am grateful for the good things, and I don’t look for the judgment of God in the bad things. I’m grateful for the good things, and I wrestle through the bad things. But I don’t attribute them to a malevolent or benevolent god who is looking at my life going, ‘Oh you did good there, Steve, here’s your brownie.’”

“We Are the Music Makers” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

All things are meant for our salvation. We should look to difficulties as opportunities for growth.

“If I start attributing good and evil to God, then it almost puts me in a position of manipulating God for less of one and more of another.”

“Am I going to take this as an opportunity to be loving and kind, or am I going to be a jerk?”

Chunjay talks about Samson Society.

“When somebody comes in broken and needing help, those are actually the people that are the most helpful.” - Chunjay

“Samson (You Are Not)” by Royal Ruckus featuring Brotha SouL from Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Chunjay on daily devotionals.

On the importance of prayer and the struggle to maintain it.

Steve’s struggle with church services. On structured services.

“This year, Lent just sucked.” - Chunjay

Steve’s multi-generational household.

Steve talks about his grandchildren.

Steve’s priorities.

On excommunication and adultery.

“I screwed up big. Really big.”

On Church of Christ practices related to marriage and divorce.

“Everything I believed about myself was all turned to crap. And I kinda realized I was full of crap.”

“Next Best Thing” by Royal Ruckus from Self-Titled. Available for free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

Steve on being driven out of a church.

“I don’t think I could walk away from God and Christ permanently.”

“Easily Forgotten” by Royal Ruckus featuring Pigeon John, from Pocket Lint and Spare Change. Available for free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

DJ Trey-Qel from Future Shock

Intro
How we know each other
The name DJ Trey-Qel-Drama comes from Star Wars!
Liner notes!
How Future Shock started from three different rap groups. One crew, a family.
“I started stealing records from my parents and scratching them, ruining our turntables, trying to make the scratch sound.”
How Future Shock came together with the Tunnel Rats with the help of Pigeon John.

“A Place Called Hip-Hop” by LPG, beat by DJ Trey-Qel and Peace 586.

Where the podcast was recorded: Newport Beach, CA on top of a house right on the beach.
Reminiscing about a Bible study one night in Oceanside, CA where the whole Future Shock crew was present.
Jayson was a DJ *AND* a rapper. “Once you’re an emcee, you’re always an emcee.”
Chunjay wanted to be a DJ but became a rapper, and Trey-Qel wanted to be a rapper but became a DJ.
Hyborean Warriors side crew, featuring Man of War, Sintax.the.Terrific, Absent Minded, Sundance, Gypsy (RIP), and Trey-Qel.

“Rejected” by Man of War with the Hyborian Warriors.

Time for shipwrecks! Divorce. Self-righteousness?
“We were married and we took those vows and everything. But looking back on it, it was as though we were high school kids dating for a long time who broke up.”
“It’s a shipwreck, ‘cause it really IS a shipwreck. I became a man out of that, that really woke me up. I was thoroughly humbled.”
Going through a divorce at the same time as Ajax.

“The Wind” from the Fashion Expo project by Trey-Qel and Ajax of Future Shock.

More about divorce.
Jeremiah Dirt’s album release party, LA Symphony, and Future Shock.

“San Diego” by Brainwash Projects

Shadow of the Locust’s three volume release.
Royal Ruckus and the liner notes fiasco, as well as naming our album “Self-Titled.”
Dax’s party house with open mics, Pigeon John, and a battle between Raphi aka Shamesworthy and Poetic Lee, Soup the Chemist, etc.

“Can’t Wait” by SFC featuring Poetic Lee from A Saved Man in the Jungle.

Chunjay met SFC when he was 12 at a Christian bookstore.
The time that Soup the Chemist came to Nashville and stayed with Royal Ruckus, along with a bunch of others.
What are we drinking? Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA, Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout from Oceanside, CA, with Pig’s Nose Blended Scotch Whiskey.

“Rap Is Not Music, Son” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas Double LP.

Jayson’s conversion to Orthodoxy. His questions from where he was.
Disclaimers: Non-Orthodox people often really love the Lord and are great people.
Shout out to Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick’s Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy podcast, blog, and book.
Hip-Hop Pet Peeves: Mumble rap.
We gotta pee off the top of the roof!

“Scandalan” by Future Shock from the album, Remember the Future.

What is the current state of hip-hop? You just gotta know where to find it.
https://www.latashaalcindor.com/

“Olympian” by Propaganda from the album Crooked.

Chunjay’s view on artistry and appreciating people where they are coming from.
“Is it fresh?”
An anecdote from Chunjay.
“I’m not used to being the best rapper in the building… But I was like, dangit, I want to take the microphone and dis these guys.”
Rap over your own CD.
What podcasts are you into? “I listen to a lot of finance podcasts these days.”
Adventures in Finance Podcast.
Ancient Faith Radio “Station of Podcasts”: “The Morning Offering” by Abbot Tryphon.
Chunjay shouts out to Luke Nieuwsma for visiting the monastery.
Favorite rap song of all time? Freestyle Fellowship’s “7th Seal.”

Jayson curates @BeatsRhymesCuts! Check it out now!

Shout outs: Cookbook & Uno.Mas of LA Symphony, Jeremiah Dirt of Shadow of the Locust and his albums “Plague” and “A War to Restore,” Faze, Berean Christian Bookstore, Technic 1200s, EPMD “You Gots Ta Chill,” Freedom of Soul, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Funkdoobiest, DJ Muggs, Brainwash Projects, Pigeon John, LPG, Peace 586, SFC’s “A Saved Man in the Jungle,” Dynamic Twins, The Bible Answer Man Radio Broadcast, 12th Tribe, Shadow of the Locust, Redcloud, Malachi Perez, Fros’T, Feed Magazine, Anglican Christianity, Father Andrew Stephen Damick’s Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives by Elder Thaddeus, shout to Dropjaw, Philly’s Mad Squablz, Latasha Alcindor, Propaganda and his album “Crimson Cord,” and so on.

Background music by J.Rawls, Lupe Fiasco.

Hanging out at Peter Winsky’s house.

Game of Thrones references we don’t understand.

The guys take a shot of Jameson together. They’re also drinking water.

Other drinks: Two Hearted Ale by Bell’s Brewery. Popfuji by Brouwerij West in San Pedro.

On beards. On growing hair with Flynn Adam.

Star Wars. Lots of Star Wars. More Star Wars.

“As far as me and my house, we will serve the Force.”

The political side of Star Wars.

Rogue One. Ewoks. Oh my.

About films and music: find your niche; do your thing. Add a personal touch.

Royal Ruckus Christmas Postcards

“Presente!” by Cookbook and Uno Mas from C & U Music Factory album.

Chunjay tells a urination story about him and Peter.

Peter and Cookbook talk at length about Game of Thrones.

“Phantom Menace” by Cookbook and DJ Rhettmatic from the Phantom Menace EP.

Next drink: “It smells like Tang and beer in here.” Colt 45 Pile Driver beer.

“Tang” by Bob & Tom.

LA Symphony was known as Christian dudes, right? No Christian gimmicks.

LA Symphony history. Clubs, bars, church shows, and so on.

On the unique nature of church shows vs. mainstream shows.

“Broken Tape Decks” by LA Symphony from the unreleased album, Call it What You Want.

LA Symphony as “the bad boys” of Christian rap.

“In life you choose what you do and what you don’t do. We weren’t making good choices, we were letting it happen to us instead of saying, ‘No, we dictate who we are and how we present our brand.’”

“The one rule we always obeyed as LA Symphony is basically, ‘Keep it real.’ So whatever we felt, we were allowed to talk about it. But there were rules, there were parameters…”

Cookbook’s journey out of Christianity.

“We’re all still on a journey. I don’t claim to know anything. Really.”

“Like nobody knows, really knows, what happens after you die. Nobody knows that. You know who knows? My dad. You know why? Because he’s dead.”

Clip from “Where Will I Go When I Die?” by self-proclaimed Christian rapper from the 80s, Stephen Wiley, from his album Rap it Up!

How Cookbook started questioning his Christian faith.

On questioning prayer. Living in gratitude.

“California Grit” by Royal Ruckus, featuring Cookbook, Uno Mas, and Manchild of Mars Ill from the Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated LP.

Cookbook’s feelings about death while he was a Christian.

“I don’t think that nothing is out there. I just don’t know what he or it is.”

Cookbook on why he doesn’t pray anymore.

Olivia Chug voices her opinion.

On Islam, non-Christians, and hell? Religious faith in cultures.

People who claim to know with certainly? Cookbook says you’re “arrogant and full of s**t.” J

“Blood Suckin’ Freaks” by Cookbook & Blu, featuring KRUM (formerly Playdough) from the Yes EP.

Cookbook wants to know what’s up with denominations.

Chunjay on the historical road of Eastern Orthodoxy. On Roman Catholicism.

Cookbook pushes back on Biblical authority and Christian denominationalism.

“The God of the Gaps.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_the_gaps

“I live by Biblical principles. I feel like you can bank on that. ‘You reap what you sow.’ You can bank on that, that’s true. How you treat others, you know, and giving love and all those things, you know, serving people, those things’re important and you can live by those things.”

“Little Shirts” (Remix) from the Cookbook & Uno Mas Stereo-Types LP.

“Do you ever fear death?”

“We all die, so it’s about how we live.”

“Do you ever miss the Jesus story?”
“What’s your favorite taco?”
On mofongos and pasteles.

Hip-hop pet-peeves?

Game of Thrones podcasts are awesome.

Socials: @cookbookthepr
Favorite rap song? Slum Village “Fall in Love”

Shout outs: C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Dewar’s ice cream and candy shop, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Steve Taylor, KJ-52, Lecrae, and Rootbeer (Pigeon John and Flynn Adam), Really Tho??!! Podcast, Stereo-Types Radio Show. 

Background music: The 37th Chamber by El Michels Affair, and Wu-Tang’s The 36th Chamber.

How do we know each other?
 On friendliness to visitors in a church.
Homeless hate law: food sharing ban in Philadelphia.
The ministry of 12 Baskets in Center City Philadelphia.
A similar ban arose in Fort Lauderdale.
Chunjay and Bob used to be neighbors.

“Resolution” by Royal Ruckus from The Summer of the Cicadas.

Chunjay still can’t say Bob’s last name.
Bob’s brain tumor.
Overcoming bullying.
Chunjay's anti-bullying gang in elementary school.

Clip from “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash

“It was tough. It was a real tough situation. But I think that’s the things that get you through life. When you get through obstacles, issues, struggles.”
Bob’s Master’s Degree in Elementary Counseling.
Obstacles with running.
On breaking bones.
Bob’s running medals.
On being raised Catholic and then finding the Orthodox Church.
Struggling within Orthodoxy.
Bob’s struggle with his own sexuality.

“Shipwreck” by Cookbook and Uno.Mas off The Robertson Bullies EP

Bob discusses his homosexuality and his move to celibacy.
Olivia interrupts the podcast.

“I’ve shed my past…. I didn’t abandon my friends, but I did abandon my lifestyle.”

On self-regulation, limitations, and boundaries.

What we’re drinking. Luksusowa Vodka, Austin Eastciders, Bromley tea.
On sugar and losing weight. Cutting back on sugar. Even juice!
On beards, and the beards that don’t fully connect.

Favorite rap song of all time?
 Chunjay discusses Treach as a dope emcee.
Props to “Rap Is Not Music Son”

Shout outs to: 12 Baskets Full of Hope, A Boy Named Sue, South Philly Taproom, headcheese tacos, Whiskerino, Spice-J and the Protomen.

http://summerofthecicadas.com

http://twitter.com/royalruckus

http://facebook.com/royalruckusofficial

http://instagram.com/royalruckusofficial

http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus

"Brews Beards & Shipwrecks" Theme Song by Royal Ruckus.

What’s your deal?
The difference between a “pastor” and a “priest.”
On cassocks and magic.
The calling of humanity is to be “priests.”
Interconnectedness of relationships.
Can’t you pray right now? Why do you need a church?
Part of being human is a drive for community.
Loneliness.
Experiencing the divine in nature vs. coming together in community to experience the divine together.
“It’s actually easier for me to pray in that liturgical context with other people, than it is for me to try to keep up a prayer rule on my own.”

Fr. Andrew’s childhood years as a missionary kid.
His dad was in the Navy, then they became missionaries to Guam.
Becoming Orthodox. Dad’s concerns about Orthodoxy.
No crisis of faith, but sort of hit a lull in his faith. “Once saved, always saved.”
The Baptist “Liturgy” and “Just As I Am.”
Mega church and Triangle Tim and Tina.
The Man Behind the Curtain—Disillusionment with Protestantism.
“Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats.
The search for beauty.

“Shipwreck" by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from The Robertson Bullies EP.

A conversation with a friend. Searching Orthodoxy online.
First visit to an Orthodox Church.
“I remember seeing that and having a sense that heaven met earth. That God was somehow in that room in a way that I had never been able to sense before.”
An Irish Catholic break-up story.
Seminary and priesthood and changing religion scared the girl off.
The 3-5 year crisis mark for converts.
A graduation gift: traveling to England on pilgrimage.
Meeting Met. Anthony Bloom.
Jamey’s solidifying his break with Protestantism and Anglicanism.
Anniversary of Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring.
On Mormonism.

“Departures” by Royal Ruckus, featuring Shedlyn, Jeremiah Bonds, and Kalvin Coolidge. From The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

On the Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy book.
On the An Introduction to God book.
Upcoming book: Bearing God, a book about St. Ignatius of Antioch.
The Areopagus podcast with Pastor Michael Landsman.
On religion and secularism.
On coffee: drip, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Ethiopian coffee.
On “The Latte Show” song by Royal Ruckus, from the Self-Titled LP. Available free at http://noisetrade.com/royalruckus.
Fr. Andrew recommends a latte with honey and almond syrup.
Beard care tips.
Socials!

Fr. Andrew’s favorite rap song?

“I affirm you even though I can’t stand that part of what you’re doing. For me, rap is like someone shouting or screaming in my face.”

Snippet of “Pray” by MC Hammer.

Watching 8Mile with Fr. Andrew. On battle rap.
On Weird Al.

“White and Nerdy” by Weird Al Yankovic

Background instrumentals by J-Dilla. Honorable mentions: “Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats, Michael Scott from The Office, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings, Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy book, Introduction to God book, Bearing God, Areopagus Podcast, How (Not) to Be Secular by James K.A. Smith.

http://orthodoxyandheterodoxy.org

http://summerofthecicadas.com 

http://facebook.com/royalruckusofficial

http://twitter.com/royalruckus

http://instagram.com/royalruckusofficial

They talk about Whyte Lyte's joy over adversity, challenges he has faced as a man living with Cerebral Palsy, and how he has turned CP into a force for positivity and helping others with depression, with a special interest in helping those who are at-risk for suicide. They also talk about hip-hop, battle rapping, what it means to be a "Christian rapper," and using "spitting bars" to make a difference in the lives of others.

“Brews, Beards, and Shipwrecks” theme song by Royal Ruckus.

“Shipwreck” by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from the Roberson Bullies EP.

Who is Whyte Lyte?
Chunjay talks about Bakersfield and Royal Ruckus.
What is Christian rap? What does it mean?
How Royal Ruckus figured out how to relate to that.
Whyte Lyte started making raps in church to stay alert and deal with ADHD.
Cussing in music, cussing in life?
Rapping in church vs. bars?
On Lutheran Christianity.
More on Christian rap.
Crack cocaine = “the white made me” and “the white raised me.”
Dropjaw walks in and *imposes* himself on the conversation.

"A Letter to Live #ConstantlyPositive" by Whyte Lyte. Available at https://whytelyte.bandcamp.com/

Whyte Lyte’s biological mother was on cocaine, tells his story.
Whyte Lyte spits bars.
“Know Hope”/The Color Morale metal group/suicide prevention.
Props to A. Ward, a Christian battle rapper.

Snippet from an A. Ward battle.

Battle rap and word play.
How Whyte Lyte views CP: "I have many more blesses than curses, and I throw them all on verses."
Whyte Lyte discusses how he turned "disability" into joyful abilities.
Anxiety problems, "concealed depression," and how things falling apart made everything come together.
Chunjay discusses his divorce, and how it helped Royal Ruckus make a comeback.
Chunjay outlives his father in number of days alive on earth, and introduces the next song.

"Lost Boys" by Chunjay of Royal Ruckus, featuring Cookbook, Eligh, and Chris Felix, from The Summer of the Cicadas double LP.

A discussion of beards, and Whyte Lyte's experience as a man child.
Whyte Lyte and Dropjaw's friendship.
Cerebral Palsy, friendships, and theme park advantages.
Falling and not needing sympathy.
Heart Support - http://heartsupport.com/ 
Hip-Hop Pet-Peeve: Rapping over vocals.
A cricket joins the podcast.
Google #ConstantlyPositive project.
Hope for the Day organization http://hftd.org.
Dropjaw is drinking Dos Equis Amber. 
Chunjay is drinking Guinness and cheap whiskey. On a proper Guinness pour.
Why Whyte Lyte doesn't drink.
Chunjay's Bluetooth water bottle.
Whyte Lyte loves Heath McNease.

Whyte Lyte's favorite rap song of all time:
"Nintendo Thumb" by Heath McNease from The Heath McNease Fan Club Meets Tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkUUM_RtmUrrEl_lVtPLYlZKSgbLdfqLb 

Chunjay discusses Chester Bennington's suicide and plugs http://hftd.org.

Props: Bakersfield, GalleryCat, recovery groups, Martin Luther, The Color Morale metal group, Dropjaw, A.Ward, Cash Hollister, http://heartsupport.com/, http://hftd.org, Heath McNease.

"Brews, Beards, and Shipwrecks" theme song by Royal Ruckus. Lyrics and vocals by Chunjay. Music by Flatline.

"Shipwreck" by Cookbook and Uno.Mas from the Robertson Bullies EP.

First segment:

• Who is Dropjaw?


• His interest in youth ministry and helping at-risk youth


• Hip-hop stuff on Netflix


• Acts they were playing with that night


• Crazy and amazing stuff with life


• Technology and the state of hip-hop, offering a different perspective on current rap

"Don't Feel Bad" (demo) by Dropjaw, beat by Joey Murphy.

Second segment:

• What is a Christian rapper?


• Hip-hop and rock n roll as the fountain of youth


• Artists: Be yourself, but don't be a turd. Character matters.


• Jerks who make great art


• Is Dropjaw a Christian? That's a complicated question.


• Prayer and questioning faith


• On being a Jehovah's Witness


• His conversion experience to evangelical Christianity


• On break-up rap songs


• On walking away from church and faith


• Is there power in the death and resurrection of Christ?

"Dance" (demo) by Dropjaw.

Third segment:

• Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney


• What are we drinking?


• Beards: beard care with coconut oil and other oils, brushing the beard, why we don't shave down completely, ending the war on "rugs." 


• Podcasts that inspire


• Rhymer's Block app - a tool for songwriters

"Still... (Reflections, Part 1)" by Royal Ruckus, Jeremiah Dirt of Shadow of the Locust, and Absent Minded. Music by Grizzly Beats. Lyrics and vocals by Chunjay, Jeremiah Dirt, Absent Minded.

Fourth segment:

• On artistry, positivity, and cussing in certain circumstances - "Talk your dirty mouth!"


• Hip-hop pet peeves?


• Building up other artists in the music scene instead of being critical


• Is it "hip-hop" to treat others with dignity and respect? Or do you have to be a head-hunter?


• Dropjaw's upcoming EP


• Royal Ruckus stepping away from music for a season, RR's 15 releases (mostly indie)

Shoutouts on the podcast to Bad Christian Podcast, Kanye West, LA Symphony, Pigeon John, Cookbook, Spoken Nerd, Dos Equis, Free State Stout, The Risk! Podcast (check out the best-of, and especially Ray Christian), Absent Minded, Bakersfield, Left. E. Grove, Jeremiah Dirt of Shadow of the Locust, Katy Hudson aka Katy Perry, Redcloud, Malachi Perez, Soup the Chemist, and Chunjay's brother Cory Bennett.

Featured Classic: "They Reminisce Over You" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth

http://soundcloud.com/dropjaw | http://twitter.com/dropjah | https://www.facebook.com/Dropjaw-6111569303/ 

http://summerofthecicadas.com | http://twitter.com/royalruckus | http://facebook.com/royalruckusofficial | http://instagram.com/royalruckusofficial