PipemanRadio Interviews John Cooper of Skillet at Aftershock 2023

0:04 Hey, you have THENTO censure for se Wow crazy you whycoup America. It's time for the Adventures of Pipe Man on W four c Y dot com West Pomp Beats, his number one internet radio station. Here's your host, the Pipe Man. Tell me, I'm not crazy. That's a psycho in my head. I say that, making it till I come the s A s I Radio Side Bastore Season Ride. It's the Pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio. And I'm here with It's John Cooper with Skillet. What's up everybody? I said after Man, I'm gonna see you again. Oh, it's great to see you. Last time we were together, it was one hundred and four degrees outside. But that tent.

1:08 I was telling your guy man that tent, it was ridiculous. That was some of the hottest I've ever been. Oh man, We're just dripping doing those interviews totally. And my eyes were burning the whole time I was talking to you. I couldn't even like look because I was my eyes were burning, you know. But that's part of the gig, right, you know, like power through it, you know. And I always talk about how do bands go and perform like that. You know, it's like you have to, but you die afterwards. I'm sure. Man. When I hit the stage, I got so much adrenaline I didn't even notice it, you know. I'm just like, it's time to unleash the beast up here.

1:49 We got a job to do. And then and then it's after the show, or maybe like towards the last ten minutes, I'm like, oh wow, I'm not starting to feel so good. Right, that was a hot one. But it's good to see you again. And people that can't see us, they don't know that your hair is not blue this time. I know, right, it's not green this time. It's normal where you go. And the last time he said, hey, last time I saw you, it was red, I was telling MBAs. So I've been like you. I've been on tour. I've been on festival since August. So when I was coming here, I was all faded and stuff, and I'm like, fuck it, I'm just taking just for men and doing it myself.

2:30 You know what, We're gonna rebel by being normal, right, We're gonna rebel by going oh natural, that's the new rebelling. That's it. But it is funny because like so many people I know, they don't even recognize me. They're like, hey, I only know you was the guy with the weird hair, that sort of thing. Right there you go. If I shaved my beard, no one would would remember what I look like. I know I always look weird, like I've been shaved my beard in forever, but I look weird to me without a beard. You used to my son's and my son said, dude, about three months ago, He's like, don't ever shave. He's like, you just you look terrible without a beard. I said, wow, son, I've had women tell me that. Well, I don't know which one's worse. You're your own kid, or or the or the ladies. Uh well, keep just keep the beard.

3:16 Well, my kids, when they were younger, there was one time, like for one day, I shaved my beard and like, oh my god, grow back. You look so weird, like they were freaking man. When I first grew my beard, we were doing a Q and A at a festival and they could just ask fan questions. And this young lady she got the microphone. She's like, she's like, I just want to say, you look terrible with a beard, and everybody start laughing at me, and I said, hey, I said, look, I hear you. I know that. I know the girls don't really like it, but they do. Women do. That's what I said to her. I said, girls don't like it, but women do. And it was it was like drop the my It was hysterical. She was laughing hard. It was killer funny. So there you go. There you go. But we came to tell the other things besides beards, even though it's fun. Yeah, there is one more beard thing. I'll tell you know, trip you out.

4:11 I had a go team most of my adult life because I couldn't grow a full beard till I hit fifty. Like I am not shitting you. Bus wouldn't grow. You can even see how this is so much thicker than this. This never grew till phially keeps you looking young. There you go, got a babyface. Same went to sunglasses. That's right, all pictures are with sunglasses. So let's talk about what you guys are up to now, yes, tell me? Yeah, yeah, Well man, it is great to be back at after shot. We've had a busy, busy year. We kicked off the year on this awesome tour called rock Resurrection tour with my friend's Theory of a Dead Man sainting Sonium, which is killer to be torn back with Adam from Santa Sonia again. We toured together in about two thousand and seven with Three Days Grace, and then we toured with Theory and I was asking Tyler, I said, bro, can you remember what year it was? And neither one of us can. It's either twenty eleven or twelve. Who can remember this stuff. The point is is it was great to be back with Theory because they're just cool. They're just nice people and no headaches, no stress, nobody's arguing about whose gear goes on, I love blah blah blah. It's like, hey, we want to do a killer tour. If the tour wins, we all win. And everybody everybody just agreed. It was magic. It was honestly magic. And so the tour went so good that I said, me and Tyler were like, why aren't we doing this again? So next week we leave on the second run, which is longer than the first run. The first run we did twenty three gigs. This one's thirty two, and Santa Sonia is back out with

5:42 us. So just a killer year seeing the fans. People are so happy to be back at tours. People are just thrilled. Everybody wants to pretend that the last few years never happened. Let's move on. I love that. Move on and that's what we gotta do. Just move on. I'm so happy that we have live music. We need it so bad, the world needs it. Like, yes, that's why people were so pissed off because they didn't have live music, Like that's our therapy. Well, and yeah, it is there. One hundred percent agree with that. And I also think that music has the ability to cross boundaries with people that you're like, I can't stand this person. They don't vote like me, they don't believe me, they don't believe in the same god I do, or whatever whatever that boundary is all. Well, you know, you turn on Michael Jackson and you find out everybody likes it. You turn on its Alka, everybody's like, well, okay, I don't care you vote for let's let's rock out. Music brings people together. And you know, I'm a personal believer that everybody should have freedom of speech. I don't care what you believe.

6:45 If you hate me, if you hate what I believe, feel free to say it. I do not mind. It's okay to do that. But can we have something that we all agree on that we can maybe be quiet for a little while and rock out. That's music, that's sports, and it's music, and that's all we have left. So don't do not take it away from us ever again. Are gonna go real bad? You know? On that note? Like I have a brother that watches the news incessantly, okay, which I have no desire I like, And who asked me, dude? You not? Like? No, I don't really care. I've been on tour and I don't even hear anything about politics. I don't even know what's going on and don't care because what does it do?

7:26 It just makes people argue, angry, upset, Like what good comes out of it? That's all like you're saying, we just bond together, especially in this rock and metal community. I mean, we're like one family. There are no outsiders here, there are no there is no division here. We're just all inclusive, one group of a family of people for one common cause, great music, like skill it. Yeah, well thank you, I appreciate that. Yeah, that's the that's the amazing thing about music, and I know what you mean, since they get on the road and now people also have to remember, I mean, I'm not supposed to say how old I am here, but they have to remember that, you know, when skill has started, and a lot of these bands were listening to When we started, there was no such thing as cell phones. I mean, there wasn't You couldn't watch the news on your phone. There's no social media.

8:16 So you get on the road and you really didn't have a choice but to unplug, right, And I kind of think life was better because I mean, I'm not just you know, I'm not trying to just moan about, you know, all the things that had changed. There's some really wonderful things about social media. In fact, you can get music out to the entire world because of social media. It's wonderful. But man, it was kind of nice not knowing, you know, Ignorance really is bliss. Sometimes it's oh, do you just see that so and so on. Nope, I was on the road, Yeah, didn't have cell phones, didn't have laptops at the time, no internet access in the van. You know. It was Yeah, people you're up on stage and they're texting and and then you get back after why aren't you answering me? Because I'm rocking the free world? Baby, I've seen a million faces and I rocked them all.

9:09 Bon Jovi, Oh yeah, because I'm in the middle of playing rock and roll man, and ignorance can be bliss. There's no question, oh no doubt. You know it's funny. On that note. My youngest daughter, one time I was on the phone with her not that long ago. I'm like, you know, some days I just want to drive down the road and take my laptop, iPad and phone and just throw it out the window and keep driving. She goes, Dad, who U can? You're just as addicted as anybody. I'm like, yes, but I remember a time when we didn't have it, and it was a better time. There was less anger, there was less arguing, there was less worrying, less stress, less anxiety. You know. I think all this constant connection is what's creating a lot of mental illness and panic attacks and anxiety. And that's sad because that's something we need to help people with. I am in I mean, I can't aim in that enough. There's something really unhealthy about always needing to be the star of something, in needing the accolades of the world.

10:09 Young people on social media, I feel so bad for them growing up in this world because they post a picture or they post to whatever, and really what they're looking for is to belong somewhere. We used to have that in family, and we used to have that in community in our neighborhoods or are our various church you know, religions or whatever it was in the local neighborhood that everybody kind of belonged to. Now you don't have that because people are finding their quote unquote community on the digital sphere, and so they need everybody to say you're beautiful, you're awesome, great work, and if you don't get it, then you feel like crap about yourself. And that's what's happening with young folks. So yeah, you know, if I can encourage I don't want to preach to people. If I can encourage people with your families, you know, I'm sure there's people who listening to have kids and wives and husbands, sit down as a family and be that for your kids so they don't have to get it somewhere else. I love that. What's your favorite thing about being an artist? Being an artist, dude, it sounds like I'm patting myself on the back. I am not. This is the most humbling thing. But oh, you're totally humble. I'm gonna tell people because I know you, you're totally humble. So well, that's that's nice.

11:16 But dude, when you meet somebody that says like your song saved my life, honestly, sometimes I want to go. Maybe you don't know Hawaii, I'm in Skillet. I'm not Metallica. You know, like I'm not you know, I'm not at I'm not three Days Grace. I don't know. I don't know who who you think you're talking because you just don't imagine it when you're writing your own song that it would have that power, even though I know other people's songs had that sort of power for me. You don't think I'm gonna do that. So you know, we just play these air Force bases, did a whole run. It was awesome with a Hoopa stink. It was really fun. But meeting these people that serve meeting somebody that says I lost my leg in Afghanistan and I I did not think I could ever get get used to living without it, and I was depressed.

12:05 PTSD the pain was too much, And he said, but I would get up a night and I would pray, and I would turn your music on, and your music got me through to the next day. And now I am a counselor to other people in the in the military for PTSD. I'm out, you know, I start tearing up. He's teering. I think that can't possibly be true. It's the best thing about being a rock star. See. I love hearing that because, like, my son's in the military, and sometimes at festivals, if they're near where he has, he's like, can you get me tickets for me and my team? Like some of them they really need it. Yes, And oh my god, how like unbelievably over the moon gracious they are like you just made their whole life by giving them a ticket to a weekend music. Oh my gosh, here's my pledge to you. I'm going to give you my tour manager's number, and if he's ever around or his friends are ever around, all you gotta do is text us and we make that happen easy as a snap of the fingers. I will not say no. So give him a number, hit him up, say my son's coming with his bodies We'll give those dudes whatever they need. Man, nice people. I appreciate that, and like, I know you're all about that. You're like one of the most altruistic artists out there and it shows in your music. And so I'm so glad you're here at Aftershot because this is a badass festival and it wouldn't be badass without you. Oh, I can't wait. Thank you, brother, oh man,

13:35 I can't wait myself. Thank you for being once again on the Adventures of pipe Man. Yeah, thank you for listening to the Adventures of pipe Man. I'm w for CUI Radio.