From Culinary Arts to Christian Rock: James Bizak's Redemption Story EP. 16

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Before we get into today's video, I just wanted to
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(00:21):
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Anything, great or small, isappreciated.
Now let's get into the video.
Thank you so much for joining meagain today.
We have a special guest fromConnecticut, James Bizak.
He is a musician, songwriter,uh, future TikTok star, uh all

(00:47):
of the above, which is actuallyhow we we got connected.
So welcome, James.
Thank you for coming on today.

SPEAKER_01 (00:53):
Amen.
Thank you for uh having me, bro.

SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
So let's kind of dive in a little bit.
So you sent me a kind of a wholesummation of your life, where
you came from, what you weredoing.
Um, so let's start at thebeginning.
Like, who was who was James as alittle kid?

SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Me as a kid.
Um, that's a tough question.
I was always when I was younger,I was always interested in the
art.
I always loved uh drawing, uhpainting.
I was always like reallycreative in that aspect.
Um, and then there came thepoint in time in my life where I

(01:33):
had to decide a career, and Iwas always into the music, but
my parents were always like,we're not sending you to college
for music.
That's not happening.
You know, that that's a lot ofmoney for you to learn how to
like read music and stuff.
So, and then I wanted to be agraphic designer, and luckily
they were right, because backthen they're like, you don't
want to get into graphic design,you know, that's a very

(01:54):
competitive field, and now youhave AI out now, yeah, and
everyone's AI for their uh uhdesigns and all that.
So praise God that they theywere right about that.
But I always love eating, Ialways loved um food, I was
obsessed with it.
I used to watch late at nightwhen I was a kid, I would always

(02:15):
watch Iron Chef, like the thewith Japanese ones when it was
like overdub.

SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
And I was watching that, and it it just it it like
fascinated me.
So that's when I decided to toget into the culinary.

SPEAKER_00 (02:29):
Um and they didn't try to say anything about that,
like don't do that.
They were good with that.

SPEAKER_01 (02:35):
My mom was my mom was like full for it.
My dad, he he's like an engineerand stuff, he's always on the
technical side of everything.
He's like, How are you gonnamake money doing that?
You know?
Um, but then that's when thefood network was really blowing
up.
So he was started watching that.
He's like, Oh, this looks cool.

SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
And then I was like, yeah.
So then I decided that's where Iwent to school.
I went to culinary school.
Um and but in the background, Iwas always doing music, always
studying, working on that, whichwas a huge passion of mine for
sure.

SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
So your dad said it was okayafter you started watching the
Food Network.
So he kind of saw that there wassome sort of possibility or at
least a probability that a lifecould be like you could support
yourself in this field.

SPEAKER_01 (03:28):
Yeah, he started he started to see the the value in
it.
Um and then once we started likevisiting schools and stuff, we
went to CIA, then we went toJohnson Wales, and he just saw
the whole production and youknow how organized, how
everything was just very it wasflashy, I would say.

(03:49):
And once he went there, they'relike feeding them all the food
they're making.
He's like, Okay, I can see, Icould see how you could be doing
this.

SPEAKER_00 (03:55):
Like, wait a minute, wait a minute, I could actually
enjoy this.
Yeah, yeah.
So now, how does that branch?
Like, what what age were you,and kind of walk us through the
food.
You so you obviously went tocollege for it, right?

SPEAKER_01 (04:09):
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (04:10):
How long was that college?
Was is it a two year, is it afour-year?

SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
I went for four years.
Okay.
I went for culinary arts andthen the the food service
management, like business aspectof it too.

SPEAKER_00 (04:21):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (04:22):
Like accounting, all that stuff, reading PLs, all
that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 (04:27):
So really the the business side of it, you
actually probably are using inthe music as well, right?
Wouldn't it be the same stuff asfar as business side?

SPEAKER_01 (04:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
Um right now there's not a wholelot of business going on other
than I'm putting all of my, youknow, I'm putting all my money
into it now.
I'm like sowing my seed into myministry.
I haven't got really help fromanyone.
Every everything that I'veacquired, you know, I I worked

(04:58):
hard in the kitchens to providethat for myself, provide all my
recording equipment, all myinstruments, you know, all that.
So that's something that I'mdefinitely, you know, I worked
really hard at to get.
So God's been having me on thisjourney for years, like just
teaching me over time.

SPEAKER_00 (05:18):
So you said a couple of churchy words.
You said ministry, and then youjust said God.
Is it is it safe to assume atleast some sort of influence, or
what and you said you said yourchildhood, you talked about the
the business side of it or thethe dream that started
cultivating inside of you.
What did your relationship withGod look like at a young age?

(05:38):
Were you in church?
Were you kind of churched, orhow did that look?

SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
So as a kid, as a kid, I went to Catholic school.
So I I had um I definitely had ageneral understanding of God and
Jesus and how that worked, youknow?
But it was more it wasn't likenow I have a relationship with
the living God.

SPEAKER_00 (06:03):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
And that's what my life thrives off of.
Like everything I do, I prayabout it, I talk to God about it
before I make any decisions or Ido anything like that.
So in the past I didn't reallyhave that.
I had a sense of God, but Ididn't actually have the
relationship with God.
It was more of just like afigure or like this is a you see
a crucifix, like, oh Jesus, likeyou know, God's around you, but

(06:28):
not as strong as it is now in mylife.

SPEAKER_00 (06:30):
Like a distant and a distant understanding, not an
intimacy with him.

SPEAKER_01 (06:34):
Absolutely.
It was like more of a concept, Iwould say.

SPEAKER_00 (06:38):
So when you were going along your journey, as far
as like uh, so you go to collegefor the four years, you
graduate.
Now, do you stay local or do youmove away and live the dream in
New York?
Like what does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 (06:48):
Oh, I I moved, I moved away, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (06:51):
How far away did you go?

SPEAKER_01 (06:53):
Once I left the Ness, I was in Rhode Island.

SPEAKER_00 (06:56):
Okay.
How was that?

SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
Yes.
It was good.
It was it was a greatexperience, you know, just being
out on my own, and you know, Ifeel like everyone needs to get
out and be on their own.

SPEAKER_00 (07:09):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (07:10):
But, you know, I got kind of like chewed up and spit
out because I didn't have um anyfoundation, like strong
foundation, yeah uh with theLord.
So, you know, once I went tocollege, I just started living
in the world, and thatcompletely took a backseat, you

(07:30):
know.

SPEAKER_00 (07:30):
Like that's exactly the the same thing that
literally verbatim the samestory.
I went to uh Orlando uh to acollege called Full Sale, and
it's Studio Engineering is whatI was going for.
And I was married at the time.
Um, we had our first child, andI went from a small town of like

(07:53):
17,000 people to Orlando, and Ikind of already had a drinking
problem.
But see, I was like raised inthe church, like my dad was a
pastor my entire life.
My parents, I was one of the fewkids that my parents were still
married, you know.
My dad was a pastor in town, soI was very, I guess you would
say, sheltered.
It wasn't a bad thing.
Like I was, but I was just beinga Christian young man.

(08:16):
But once I got out fromunderneath my mom and dad and I
went to Orlando where they justcouldn't drive down the street
and get me, it was a totallydifferent story.
And I ended up getting arresteddown there with the DUI uh for
drinking and driving.
And and then my first wife leftme because you know, I was I was
at the club all of the time.

(08:37):
Like all the time.
And I was like, hey, you want tocome?
And she was like, No.
I was like, well, that's yourproblem.
And then I would go anyways.
Terrible husband, piece of crap.
But but I I didn't know how tobe a because I was like 21, 22,
I had no clue how to be an adultyet.
I had no clue really how to be.
I was newly married, had no cluehow to be a husband.

(08:57):
I didn't know how to be aChristian.
And even though I was raised inchurch, like it makes a a big
difference.
It will test who you really arewhen you're not around the
people that you kind of leanedon for your Christianity and
your relationship with God.
And that's what happened to mebig time.
So I fully understand that.

SPEAKER_01 (09:17):
Yep, extremely similar story, extremely similar
story.
You know, I left the net I wasvery sheltered as a kid.
Um that it was like a battle inhigh school to do anything fun.

SPEAKER_00 (09:29):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (09:30):
Uh what I thought was fun.

SPEAKER_00 (09:32):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (09:33):
Um, but yeah, once I went to college, I kind of just
like was in the world, you know,drinking on the weekends.
Oh, let's try smoking weed now.

SPEAKER_00 (09:43):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (09:44):
Everything I was against, everything I'd always
talk against.
Um in high school, oh, youshouldn't be doing that, you
shouldn't be doing that.
Went to college, started doingall of it, you know.
Just fell into Satan's hands, Iwould, I would definitely say.

SPEAKER_00 (09:59):
Yeah, for sure.
It's it was almost like, youknow how you go on vacation and
nothing is real.
It I mean, it is, but it's likelife isn't real.
The normal people that arethere, so you can kind of do
anything, and it's like beoutside the box, be a little
more adventurous, whatever,because your normal life isn't
like this.
That's kind of how it felt whenI went off to college and like

(10:20):
went to another state, went tothat side of the country, and
and like everything was justkind of a weird, kind of new.
It's like, well, nobody's herethat knows who I am.
I can reinvent myself, and itwas a bad reinvention.

SPEAKER_01 (10:34):
Absolutely.
I was just right right as youwere saying that, I was thinking
in my head, it's like, oh, I canreinvent myself.
No one knows all the dumb thingsI did in high school or
embarrassing moments.
Like, no one knows about any ofthat.

SPEAKER_00 (10:45):
So, in this time, where was it that was it during
this time, was it after thistime?
What what part of your yourjourney did you really like
start actually developing youryour relationship with Christ?

SPEAKER_01 (10:59):
I would say about so I'm I'm 33 now.
Um I would say about five yearsago.

SPEAKER_00 (11:07):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (11:09):
Um Christ.

SPEAKER_00 (11:14):
Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 (11:16):
This is probably this is probably a little longer
ago than this is probably sevenyears ago.
He planted the seed, I'd say.
I remember I was alone, it wasafter college.
I was living.
I had a girlfriend when I leftcollege, and then we're playing
house together, we had anapartment after.
Like when I say I was living inthe world, it's like I was doing

(11:39):
everything that you're notsupposed to do.
So we broke up, I moved out onmy own.
And when you get out of when youget out of college for culinary
school, you don't just like getout of school and you're like,
I'm the chef now.
You don't know that.
You don't know that.
Yeah, you don't know this.
So you're getting a job startingoff at the bottom.
You're starting off as a linecook, like as if I didn't even

(12:02):
go to college, to be honest withyou.
And you have to work your wayup.
So you don't start making moneytill like three or four years
in.
So now I'm out, I'm out inMassachusetts now, living on my
own in this like sketchyapartment in Attleboro,
Massachusetts.
You hear, was that a gunshot?
You know, is that a is that ashopping cart getting pushed

(12:23):
down the street right now?
It's two in the morning.
Very scary, yeah, very scaryenvironment I was in.
So I started drinking a lot.
I didn't know what else to do.
I felt so alone, I felt soanxious, I felt so depressed.
I was in uh another state bymyself now.
I'm like, I was just drinking.

(12:44):
I was just drinking a lot.

SPEAKER_00 (12:46):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (12:46):
Um and I called my my brother called me one night,
and I was just so upset, Ididn't know what to do.
You know, I was like, I don'teven want to be alive anymore.
I called my brother up, mybrother Matt, and over the phone
he led me to Christ.
Like he planted the seed.
Um, and that's what kind of gotthe ball rolling, but it
wouldn't be till like four orfive years later till I actually

(13:10):
um really started living livingthat life, you know, I'd say the
past two and a half years, threeyears.

SPEAKER_00 (13:17):
Oh really?
Yeah.
So so what does that journeylook like?
Like are you still doing thechef thing today?
Are you still?
Oh, you are?
Okay.
And so in your in your walk,like or while that seed was
planned and um you went tocollege for food.

(13:41):
You're still doing food today.
Where where does it connect alltogether that music came in the
picture?
Have you always been musicallyinclined as a kid?
How did that come about?

SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
So when I started playing guitar at a very young
age, probably like 10, my dadactually showed me my first
couple chords.
So it was always like it wasalways an escape for me, almost
like it was my little obsession,you know.
I just loved music, I wasinfatuated by it.
So at the time, you know, youhad um, what was it,

(14:15):
ultimateguitar.com.
So you can go online and look upthe tabs.
So that's how I learned how toplay guitar when I was like
maybe like 12, 13 years old.
So I'd just go on, I'd belearning tabs, I'd be learning
songs.
Um, and then um I had a littleband in like middle school.
But then in high school, me andthese guys got together and we

(14:38):
started like a pop punk rockband.

SPEAKER_00 (14:41):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (14:42):
And um that's when I got to go to a recording studio
for the first time.
You know, we wrote some songs,we put out um an EP, and it was
like, whoa, we were playingshows on the weekends.
It's like, wow, this is awesome,you know.
Like this, you get a littletaste, like, oh, this is what
what it must feel like to be arock star.
Like, this is awesome.

(15:03):
Like uh, you're playing thesesongs that you wrote.

SPEAKER_00 (15:07):
So everything you everything you were doing is
songs you wrote.
It wasn't other people's stuff.

SPEAKER_01 (15:12):
Yeah, yeah, no, I wrote them with my friends,
yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (15:15):
Okay, so that's that's pretty talented right
there.
Like it's hard enough to playother people's stuff and be good
at it, but to get peopleinterested in your stuff that's
fresh and new and they don'tknow, it's a lot harder than
people think it is.

SPEAKER_01 (15:30):
Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
And but none of this was Christian based.
You were just singing like lovesongs or or whatever you felt
like writing, like Yeah, likesome like really worldly stuff.

SPEAKER_01 (15:40):
I threw I definitely threw hints of God in there in
some of those songs, I know forsure.
Um, but no one in my band, noone in my band was really.

SPEAKER_00 (15:50):
That sounds like today's Christian modern
Christian music.
You just throw hints of God inthere, you don't have to say
anything about Yeah, yeah.
So like uh now do you stillwrite with any of those guys or
are they a part of the pictureat all?

SPEAKER_01 (16:04):
No, we haven't taught we haven't we went our
separate ways like aftercollege, you know.
I think it was like freshmanyear of college.
We we broke up.
But that's when in my dorm room,I had my little recording rig
and my laptop, and I would sitin there and just be writing
music on the weekends.
Um, like I would say my freshmanyear, I was going out and

(16:24):
drinking um and stuff like that.
But after the first trimester,when the grades came back and my
parents were calling me, like,whoa, what is this?
You just gotta you just gotta D.
You just gotta be inquantitative analysis.
And like in high school, I wasalways in like honors classes
and stuff, and I was like, A'sand B's, that was it, to avoid

(16:46):
all the conflict, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
Dude, that first that first semester of being
somewhere else, I mean, youmight as well expect that it's
gonna be one of those, like,you're not getting the grades
you thought you did, justbecause the new acclimate like
now, if you're a uh a socialperson, if you're not, you may
stay the same.
But for me, it was like I wasgonna see what was going on
every night.

(17:08):
I wanted to see, you know,meeting all these new people.
Let's go hang out.
I'm a very social person.
Everybody always was inviting meto go everywhere.
So I'm like, let's do this.
I've never been in a place likethis before.
This place is huge, and uh yeah.
I felled out of two collegesthat way.

SPEAKER_01 (17:24):
Yeah, there's probably a lot more to do down
in Orlando.

SPEAKER_00 (17:27):
There, yeah, there's too much to do.
There's too much.
Like, I I frequented this oneplace.
It could fit probably 200 peoplein there, and it was uh like you
know what dubstep is, right?
Yes, okay.
So that was like my favorite,favorite type of club to go to.
Like I was like, you know, and Iwas I was uh what is that scary

(17:51):
scary sprites?
What is it?
Uh Skrillex, you know what thatis?

SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
Yeah, that came out when I was like in college.

SPEAKER_00 (17:58):
Me too.
That's what I was so uh so thatwas like a cool little era.
Have you ever heard of a guynamed Steve Aoki?

SPEAKER_01 (18:06):
Yes, that's the guy that throws the cakes at people,
right?

SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
Okay, so this is how people thought I was the owner
of clubs because I went there somuch.
And when Steve Aoki would playat this club I was at because I
knew the owner and the peoplethat put on the night, I would
always hang out with him.
And there was like the VIPsection up next to, and I would
just go up there with the DJswhile they're playing their
thing and just go up there andhang out with the little seats

(18:31):
behind him.
I had no clue who anybody was.
I didn't even know Steve Aokiwas as big as he was.
I had no clue.
I was just, I would usually, onmy birthday night, I walked in
and this dude gave me a massiveuh glass of coke and rum, I
think.
He said, Here you go, buddy,have a fun time.
And I just walked through andwent wherever I wanted to.
Like you had to have wristbandsto go in certain areas.
I never had to have anything.
I just but I was there all thetime.

(18:53):
I ended up making friends withpeople, so it was one of those
alluring lifestyles where Ididn't have to try for anything,
and so it kept me like bound.
And so until my life startedfalling apart, my wife left me
and took my son, and and I wasyou know, failing out of
college, obviously, because Iwas always out, and it's really

(19:13):
hard to focus the next day whenyou're hung over.
And I saw your face, you'relike, Yes, I know.
So yeah, it's uh thank the Lordthat he saved me.

SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
So thank him every day, praise him.

SPEAKER_00 (19:27):
So it was your brother that kind of got you on
this path to Jesus.
So he was the one that plantedthe seed.

SPEAKER_01 (19:32):
So has he always stayed the straight and narrow,
or did he have um no, because hehe he went through the similar
he went through a similar thingI went through in college with
the drinking and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 (19:44):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (19:44):
Uh but then he was he was over that, and that's
when he he found Christ, hebecame baptized and he was going
on this this journey.
Um and that's what led me to it,because he saw what I was going
through, and and he knew he wasstill struggling a little too

(20:05):
during it, but you know, he knewthat there was something at the
other side of what I was goingthrough.

SPEAKER_00 (20:11):
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
I love how God will set that up.
Like things that that we'regoing through now usually are so
that we can turn around and helpthe next person who's going
through the same thing and liftthem up to where we are.
So on your on the um on the uhthe mixing side, so you said

(20:32):
you've been producing, mixing,and mastering music since you
were a teenager?

SPEAKER_01 (20:37):
That's when I started learning, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (20:39):
So what was it that drew you into music?
Like you just got with thoseguys and you started doing it,
or like and what what was yourfirst instrument and what drew
you to that instrument?

SPEAKER_01 (20:50):
My first instrument was the guitar, and my dad, oh
man, my dad was obsessed withthe Beatles, okay?
Like he claimed all the vinyl,he was playing it constantly.

SPEAKER_00 (21:02):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
So he played guitar when he was younger, he just
dabbled.
It was a hobby, so he had hisold, he had his old guitar, and
he um he gave it to me, and thenhe showed me some chords, and I
just like ran with it, you know,because at that time, like Green
Day just put out American Idiot,which was like Blink 182 was

(21:24):
out, and it was just so cool,and I was like, I want to be
doing that.
Um so you know, I learned musicand um was like I have to be in
a band.
These guys look like they'rehaving the time of their life.
So I started doing that, but itwasn't till when it wasn't until

(21:45):
we actually went into the studioand recorded.
We were with the engineer, hisname, his name is Ivan Fiello,
so I'm still friends with him tothis day.
He's out in California now doingthat full time, but I just I saw
what he was doing.
I was so like everything we'redoing, I was just really soaking
it in.
You know, what he was doing withthe computer, how he's mixing,

(22:06):
how he's making things sound,how he was setting up the
instruments.
And I just really soaked thatin.
And after that experience andbeing in the studio with him, I
was like, I want to do this.
Like, I want to do this.
This looks like the coolestthing I've ever seen in my life.

SPEAKER_00 (22:21):
Well, how did y'all get connected to somebody who
had a studio that was like a prothat how how did that even
happen?
Or are you just that good inword spread?

SPEAKER_01 (22:28):
He was he was in the he was in the area, you know.
It doesn't matter if you're uhit doesn't matter really what
your talent is if you guys areputting money together.

SPEAKER_00 (22:39):
Oh, that's true, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (22:40):
So pay someone to go do a studio.
But we weren't we weren't likewe weren't that we weren't that
bad.
I listened back to it now andI'm like, ooh.
But always we were enough to getin there and like cut some songs
with this guy, and uh yeah, eversince that experience, that's
what changed my whole uh I wouldsay projection into doing music

(23:05):
after going through thatexperience, and then YouTube is
out.
I started learning off YouTube,I started learning um well just
over time, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (23:17):
So if somebody was was right now, just now breaking
into the music space, youlooking back at your own story,
what would you what would youshare with yourself, or what
would you share with those whoare just now getting into it or
even thinking about getting intothat music space?
Like, what nugget of wisdomwould you say, look, watch out
for this or do this, or don't dothis, or don't think this way,

(23:40):
or just do it and see whathappens?
Like, what would what would besome wisdom that you would share
with them?

SPEAKER_01 (23:45):
Oh God, do not think you're all that.
Do not um think you're betterthan you are, you know.
You have to kill your pridegoing into this.
So I would say be a sponge, uh,remain teachable and just keep
your eyes open and learn fromeveryone around you that you
possibly can.

(24:05):
You take, you know, you youwell, what's the saying?
You you chew the meat and youspit out the bone.
There's some things you couldsee that you're like, I don't
like that.
But the things you do see, justabsorb it, you know.
Don't be afraid to ask peoplequestions.
The worst they could say, I'mnot telling you that, that's my
secret.

SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (24:23):
You know, but yeah, remain teachable, ask questions.
Just surround yourself, surroundyourself with people um that you
honor and respect.
You know, if you're if you're inyour circle of doing music and
you you think you're the bestone in the room, you need to
find a new circle to be in.

SPEAKER_00 (24:43):
Yeah.
You know, if that makes sense.
Yeah, I tell my like I tell myson all the time, like who you
surround yourself with is whoyou're gonna become.
And so if you're the smartest inthe room, if you're the richest
in the room, if you're thetalent most talented in the
room, you're never gonna go upbecause you have no one helping
you get to that next place.
And uh, I th when I firststarted photography in in 2012,

(25:06):
2012, I well actually not me, mymother, she she knew I had an
eye for photography, and she andmy dad were like, you know what?
We will buy whatever gear youwant.
Look it up, uh, do yourresearch.
And at that time, research to mewas the best, is the most

(25:31):
expensive.
Not thinking that it didn'tmatter, and I thought, because I
had a six thousand dollar camerathat I was going to be the best
photographer in the world.
I really did.
Now I ended up accidentally by aweird connection.
Uh there's this guy named GarySinise.
He played Lieutenant Dan on umForrest Gump.

(25:52):
I got I got to meet him uh up inthe Dallas area.
It was in an American Airlinehangar, it was a military thing,
and it was a meal, and so I gotto shoot the event, which was
pretty cool, but I did it forfree.
So because somebody knewsomebody that knew somebody,
they said, Hey, we'll give youthis chance.
You can you know use all thephotos, obviously, they're

(26:14):
yours.
And so I got to go around andmeet all the important.
I met a was it a four-stargeneral, and was there one
five-star?
Or maybe he just died.
I don't remember what it was,but anyways, it was a really
cool event, cool opportunity.
And if I would have known, I wastaking photos and they would be
blurry, and I'm like, oh, thatone didn't that one didn't work.

(26:37):
Not knowing that it wasn'tworking because I didn't know
what I was doing.
And I thought because I had iton auto mode that I was a
photographer because some of myphotos came out.
So looking back, yes.
That's that would be one thing Iwould tell myself, like you you
should have actually studied andlike prepared.

(26:59):
But I just thought because Icould get by, I did the same
thing in school because I couldget by, I wouldn't give it my
full attention or the full try.
And it has bit me in the butt.
So now people like this guyasked me the other day, he said,
Why do you work so much?
Why do you always like supereverything you do is like
excellent?

(27:19):
You're like, you you always tryand you you don't you don't stop
until you get the result youwant.
I said, Because I spent thefirst half of my life just swing
like just barely getting by.
I'm making up for lost time.
Like I've had enough time ofjust getting by.
So that's good advice.
That's really good advice.
So now did you have anythingelse to add to that or no?

SPEAKER_01 (27:40):
I would say I would say my demeanor and my ego
definitely like um made me missout on some opportunities that
would have been pretty neat.
Yeah, you know, because when youthink you're all that, people
don't they're like this guy'snot all that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (27:59):
So you now you said that you're you're drifting
away.
College was kind of a turningpoint.
What were the so you think thealcohol, was it friends that you
had?
This is kind of touching onmaking the connection.
Was it people you weresurrounded with that was kind of
doing this stuff that got youkind of in that direction of

(28:20):
leaving God behind completelyand just doing your own thing?

SPEAKER_01 (28:24):
I think it was partly myself too, because I was
so sheltered, you know, as akid.
You wanna you wanna you thinkthat's what life is?
You want to experience thatdrinking, um, you know, going
out, partying and stuff likethat.

SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Because that's what everybody tells you.
I mean, that's what everythingis put on display.

SPEAKER_01 (28:43):
Oh, and I feel bad for the younger generation now
because like social media, yeah,you you turn it on and it's just
shoving it in your face.
We had kind we had Facebook, waslike kind of new when I was in
college.
It was out for like three years.
There wasn't Instagram yet, likeSnapchat came out halfway
through I was being in college.

(29:04):
We had Vine back then, if anyoneremembers that.
If anyone remembers what thatis, it's like t the first
TikTok.
But it's just getting shoveddown your throat today, and it's
just so exposed.
But you know, I got exposedenough from what I saw that it's
like, okay, I'm away from myparents, I want to live my life
now.
I thought that's what being anadult is, you know.

(29:26):
Yeah.
Smoking a pack of cigarettes aday, uh, you know, getting out
of class, cracking a beer, youknow.

SPEAKER_00 (29:34):
Because that's what adults do on the internet or on
the on the shows, everything.
They come home, they drink abeer.

SPEAKER_01 (29:40):
Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (29:43):
I had a guy ask me the other, because like in in
the way that we believe in ourchurch, we don't preach that
drinking will send you to hell.
It's in the Bible.
I mean, Jesus' first miracle,that's a big one people use for
for arguing for alcohol.
But what I say is this the closethe first of all the the

(30:05):
lifestyle that is a part of thatworld is not godly no so if I if
I want to be closer with God andI I want to mature so my my
mission and vision for thechurch is I say it almost every
Sunday spiritual maturity likebringing maturity back to the
church house bringing biblicalliteracy back to the church

(30:29):
house like we should be able tonot get upset when people
challenge our faith but weshould be able to defend it and
so when you begin to mature inthings you don't ask necessarily
is it a sin?
Because things that could begood aren't necessarily good for
you and all of the thing andsomething that you may need to
get rid of in your life isn'tnecessarily a sinful thing, but

(30:53):
it's not for you in this seasonand it's not healthy for you,
and it will actually hinder youfrom growing and and going in
the direction that God actuallywants you to just because you
wouldn't let go of somethingbecause it's not sinful.
Like that doesn't always meanit's it's good for you just
because it's not sinful.
And so that uh that argument of,well, that was Jesus' first

(31:17):
miracle.
One thing I know is that thecloser I get to God, the less I
want anything to do with theworld.
Not not reaching out to them,but I I don't want to mirror
them anymore.
I want to mirror Christ.
I don't want to look like them.
I don't want to cozy up to themand be buddy buddy and and and

(31:38):
there be no separation orthere's no distinction between
who I am inside and who theyare.
So the the closer I get to God,the more I realize.
Uh was it the prophet Elijahwhere he he was the presence of
God was revealed to him and hehe just said, I am undone, I am

(31:59):
unclean.
And that's how we shouldapproach our lifestyle with with
Jesus, is that we know we'reunclean, we know we are not
worthy, we know that we areunrighteous compared to his
righteousness.
Like it the Bible says, ourrighteousness is like filthy
rags.
And so when we approach our walkin that way, it makes us walk in

(32:22):
fear of the Lord.
I think fear of the Lord needsto be back in our lives again
and not just a box to check offthat we went to church or we we
gave some money to to littlegirl.
She has got her foot underneathmy door and she's like trying
to, baby, come and get her,please.

(32:42):
All right.
She's quick, she'll sneak off.
But the closer I get to God, thefurther away I I have to move
away from the world.
Not that I don't reach out andwitness to them, but I need to
be healthy first.
It's like when you're in anairplane and they say, put on
your oxygen mask first, so thenyou can be able to put on help
other people.
And that's what the church needsto do again.

(33:03):
We need to get healthy again sothat we can actually not be
tempted by sinful nature, not betempted by the sinful things of
the world, so that we can beeffective when we do go out and
witness.
Because if not, we're going toget drugged back down.
We're gonna, we're gonna idolizethat lifestyle and and try to
argue.
Like my leaders at the church, Ihave a some people think it's

(33:24):
kind of weird, but and it's notlegalistic.
We're we don't have the spiritof religion in our church.
But I do make them, if they'regonna be a leader, I do expect
more of them.
And I make them sign and datebecause if there's ever an
argument of, well, I I'm doingthis, not a mess up, but a
lifestyle, there's a bigdifference.
And I say, listen, you're inagreement that this is what the
word says, this is what webelieve, and as such, you're

(33:47):
going to live your lifeaccording to the word of God, so
that there's no reproach on theministry of this church.

SPEAKER_01 (33:53):
And so that in Titus, right?
When you're talking about theelders.

SPEAKER_00 (33:57):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So there's there's a we're goingto be judged more when we speak
out, when we are teaching theword of God, and and even when
you're singing about God, likewe're we're we're not just a
normal person consuming.
We are now a level up, in mypersonal opinion.
We we are we are now we putourselves of a higher

(34:18):
requirement because we arebearing the name of Christ in a
teaching manner, in my personalfor me, anyways.
Uh now you can you can splithairs and kind of argue on the
music side of it, but in a way,you are like if you have
scripture or you're talkingabout God, you are teaching or
even helping um what do you callit?
Uh musical counseling in a wayin some of your music.

SPEAKER_01 (34:43):
Yeah, no, I I agree with you.
I wouldn't say that there's adifference.
Um, because you're you are heldto a higher standard once you
are a reper you'rerepresentative of Christ.
If you're putting Christ's nameout there, you have to have a
clean vessel.

(35:03):
Like we're not perfect, right?
You know what I'm saying?
But you have to you have to bewalking with Jesus daily.
I wake up every day, my prayeris uh it says to pick up every
day.
We have to wake up and we pickup our cross and we Jesus.
You know.
Uh I always I always pray, I'mlike, Holy Spirit, take over my

(35:25):
mind, my heart, control my eyes,my ears say, Father God, um,
help me to be more like you.
Help me to be more like youtoday.
How can I shine for you?
You know, even when thingsaren't going well.
It's just looking for uh evenwhen the crap is hitting the
fan.
It's like you have to find thatpositive in that moment because

(35:45):
now that everyone around you,even at work, they know you're a
Christian, they're gonna see howyou react.
They're gonna be watching Youknow, they're gonna say, Oh,
this guy's a Christian, he talksabout God all the time.
See how he acts now.
So it's you are held to a higherstandard because you don't you
don't want to make Christianitylook bad.
And it seems like from what I'mseeing on Instagram and social

(36:07):
media, there's a whole lot ofthat going on right now.

SPEAKER_00 (36:10):
Yeah.
You know, I think in the Bibletalks about the great the great
revival and the great fallingaway, and I think we're seeing
some of that right now.
Like there are people who havebuilt now people have opinions
about mega churches or whatever.
Honestly, if God's in the middleof it, I don't care.
Like there was thousands thatPeter preached to, there was

(36:32):
thousands that Jesus preachedto.
I mean, they were having church,they they were, you know, yeah,
they were preaching and peoplewere listening.
But it's when man startsbuilding their own kingdom,
eventually the kingdom falls.
And I think that's what we'reseeing right now.
People have been building theirown kingdom, they've been making
everything about themselves, notnecessarily on purpose.

(36:54):
I fully believe that everypreacher, every elder, we're all
men.
We're all, you know, we're allwomen and men that are flesh and
bone, and we can stumble and wecan fall, and they're just doing
it on a bigger stage.
But at the same time, there hadto be some point to where
accountability was not asimportant to them.

(37:17):
And that's that's dangerous whenwe as believers think that we
become untouchable because ofwhat we feel that we've
accomplished.
And that that's very dangerous.
Like I uh I try my best tocultivate humility every single
day.
And I tell I tell uh the peoplethat that does our media, that

(37:41):
uh does our photos for theservice, I'm very vocal.
And if I put anybody on thechopping block, I put myself
first, always.
And so I told them, I said, ifyou ever, if you ever catch me
not being humble and soundingproud, because what are they
doing?
They're taking pictures of meevery Sunday.

(38:01):
We're creating shorts and reels,we're putting out for the Sunday
service and the message.
People are telling me how muchthey love the service, how much
they love, because I'm also theworship leader now.
I don't want, I'm not gonna staythat way.
The Lord's gonna send somebodyone day.
Yes, Lord.
But but right now I'm doing thatand I'm I'm preaching.
And so everything about theservice is I I have people sing,

(38:23):
but it's kind of I'm the leaderand I'm the face of the church,
pretty much.
But I tell them all the time,you don't listen to what I say,
pay attention to what I do.
And if I step out of line, Itell my board members this if I
step out of line and I'mpreaching something that's not
the word of God, you check me.
Don't don't sit on it, check me.
Come to me, let me know.

(38:45):
If I'm if I'm acting proudbecause I'm, you know, it can
get in your head.
If you got your picture takenall the time and people are
loving on you and telling youhow great you are all the time,
it's it can be a task to stayhumble in that kind of
environment all the time.
And so I tell them, listen, if Iever, if I ever even talk wrong,
even my brain's somewhere elseand I speak to you in the wrong

(39:07):
way, the the pastor is the giftto the church, not the other way
around.
And so I've got to check myselfand make sure that I'm staying
who I am supposed to be and whoI'm called to be, which is a
servant to the people.
And so now, speaking of which,um, how do you being successful?

(39:28):
I don't know how many followersyou have across your your stuff,
but you're you're singing,you're, you know, people are
loving your stuff.
How do you stay humble and stayfocused on Christ and not get
distracted from all the probablyopportunities that present
themselves to you because of thesphere that you're in?

SPEAKER_01 (39:50):
Well, I'd have to say it's it's definitely um I've
only been doing this for twoyears.
Um God, God saved my life.
I was like spiraling like out ofcontrol.
I actually gave up music for awhile.

SPEAKER_00 (40:04):
Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 (40:05):
And I thought it was over with.
Um when I became when I got myfirst chef job, it was a really
like high-profile company.
And I was trying to do the musicand I was trying to do the chef
stuff at the same time.
And, you know, they're seeing mysocial media and they're like,
listen, you you can't you can'tdo both.

(40:26):
You have to decide are you gonnabe a chef or you're gonna be a
musician, but you can't do both.
And it it was kind of crushingto me because music was my
passion, you know, but I workedso hard for years to become a
chef, and that's what was makingthe money.
I was spending money on music,you know, I wasn't taking any in
at the time.
This is probably like uh sixyears ago.

(40:49):
So I stopped I stopped doingmusic for a while, and it it
just crushed me so much deepdown.
This is around the time thepandemic happened, okay?

SPEAKER_00 (40:58):
So a lot of crushing then.

SPEAKER_01 (41:00):
Yeah, so being exposed to so once I was out of
college, once you're actually inthe restaurant industry, that's
when you're exposed to all thepartying and the alcohol and the
drugs.
That's when it gets real.
You're out of culinary schoolnow, okay?

SPEAKER_00 (41:15):
So is it kind of like college again, like the
same kind of introduction, likejust new to all the way worse,
though.
Really?

SPEAKER_01 (41:21):
Oh, yeah.
It's where because people aredrinking at work all day and
stuff.
Oh, you know?
Yeah, you're it's like you're init.
Uh when you're at that highlevel, they don't they don't
care about you and they don'tcare about what you're doing,
they care about the results.
So however you get to thoseresults and you're holding your
stuff together, they can careless what you're putting into

(41:44):
your body.

SPEAKER_00 (41:44):
Wow.

SPEAKER_01 (41:45):
That's a harsh reality.
Um so then the pandemic thepandemic happened.
I was drinking so much from themoment I woke up to the moment I
went to bed for probably abouttwo years straight.
And this is when um I'm gonna goback to the beginning of this
question.

(42:06):
Um this is when God met me, andGod was like, James, I want to
use you.
I actually had an encounter withJesus.

SPEAKER_00 (42:16):
Wow.

SPEAKER_01 (42:17):
It was in this room, too.
It was about two and a halfyears ago.
He's like, you have to stopdrinking, you have to put all
that stuff down, you have tostop smoking.
I want to be able to use you, Iwant you to do music.
I I know you've been frustratedabout doing music and striving
for that for years, and ithasn't been successful.

(42:37):
Why don't you do it with me?
Why don't you do music with me?
Why don't you do music for thekingdom of God?
And that's when my whole entirelife changed.
And that's that's when I quitdrinking.
I I was just I'm two years soberas of last week.

SPEAKER_00 (42:55):
So you quit drinking immediately?

SPEAKER_01 (42:59):
Like two months after, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (43:02):
How how was that?
Like was it was it somethingthat was like super hard?
Or like what was the processthat because some people I know
some good people that that arein my church?
Some of them still drink, someof them still smoke.
Great people, but they can't letthat bondage go, or they can't

(43:23):
get out of that bondage.
So what what was it thatmotivated you to get out of
that?
Or what was it, what was thatbreaking point that the ch you
felt like the chains fall off?
When why would why was it twomonths and then you stopped?
Or did you kind of taper off andthen it was you were able to
quit, or how did that how did itlook?

SPEAKER_01 (43:41):
Once you have once you seek Christ, the living God,
and his spirit, and youencounter that in the full glory
of it, you don't want to do itanymore.

SPEAKER_00 (43:53):
And that's the answer I was looking for.
That is what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 (43:57):
That's all listen.
It's like when you're hearingthem, yeah, and it's like what
is this, what is happening rightnow?
Something inside of you changesthat I I can't live that life
anymore.
I can't do it.
Um so I kept drinking after thatexperience for a couple of

(44:20):
months.
I I I went back to what I what Iwas doing and I hated it.
Yeah, I hated every second ofit, and I wanted to stop, but I
couldn't.
Like I was like, I I'm notdrinking today.
By the end of the day, I went todrinking, so I knew my will was
in the right place.
I didn't want to do it anymore.

(44:42):
Um so then it came down todeliverance, and that's where it
all changed because I realized Idon't want to do this anymore.
So why is this still happening?
All the doors that I opened incollege from drinking, smoking,

(45:03):
having sex, looking atpornography, going to strip
clubs, gambling, yeah, I openedthe door of my of my soul to the
demonic realm, and I had alegion of demons in me.
Okay.
So I came across, I think it oneof my friends, you know, we're

(45:25):
talking.
I talked to my friend, she sentme this thing.
Uh, it was Greg Locke.
He had a deliverance.
It was a deliverance handbook togo through it.
And I was like, you know what,I'm gonna give this a try.
And I went through that, I wentthrough that handbook.
I was I went down to Floridabecause I wanted to quit
drinking.
I went down to Florida to myuncle's house for a week, and I

(45:47):
went through that handbook onhis deck, and literally, I'm
going through it.
And like demons were coming outof my body, like they were
manifesting out of my body.
Like And you're just byyourself, and I was by myself.
So awesome.
And right before I prayed, I waslike, I was like, Jesus, I was

(46:11):
like, please be with me duringthis.
I know I'm alone right now.
He's like, and I just heardyou're not alone.
And that's when I opened, Iopened that file up and I
started reading that book.
I never drank again since thatday.

SPEAKER_00 (46:23):
Wow.

SPEAKER_01 (46:24):
Yeah.
Never smoked ever again.
I had demonic oppression over mylife.
And people don't like to think,people don't like to think, oh,
you can't have a demon orwhatever.
Well, if you've never beendelivered, then if you've never
submitted to God and surrenderedyourself, you sure as heck do.
Because your pride is thinking,your pride is opening a door and

(46:48):
allowing the enemy to have legalrights to still manipulate you.
So once you fully surrender andsubmit, that's when the change
happened in my life.
And that's where I was be able,I was able to be free from that
bondage.
Um, and that's that's how Iovercame drinking.
And for drinking every day fromfrom morning to night, and I

(47:12):
stopped like that and didn'thave any alcohol withdrawal.

SPEAKER_00 (47:15):
That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 (47:17):
Um symptoms, that was that was God, that was
Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 (47:21):
That is so cool.
That is that is a lot cooler ofa story than I thought it was
gonna be.
That's awesome.
I love it.
I love it.
Yeah, because we're not allchurches talk about it, not all
churches preach about it orteach about it, but uh the last
men's Bible study, we actuallytalked about deliverance and
about healing and uh what wasit, healing ministry, and

(47:42):
deliverance, and how a lot ofthese things actually go hand in
hand.
Like God wants to not onlyminute uh minister to people,
but he also wants to set themfree and deliver them from the
bondage.
And you you hit the nail on thehead.
Uh, there's one guy in my churchright now, he is like I I
haven't responded to himactually in a couple hours, but

(48:04):
he is this is the the story, andI'm gonna have him on the
podcast because he's he's got aphenomenal story.
I we just had 12, it's a recordfor me at once, 12 people this
last Sunday get baptized.
And there was this this man andwife, they're they're our age,
um, and they have two littlegirls, and they all got baptized

(48:30):
together as a family.
And every we out of all the 12,all of them that as soon as they
sit, so we have this littlething, and and we we built it to
where you can stand down in it,and then you can sit down.
That way you're not likestanding up and getting dunked
and your foot slip.
You just kind of sit and thenyou just kind of lean back.
Well, as soon as every personout of all 12 got inside of

(48:52):
there and their feet went downand they sit down, all of them
began to break down crying.
And this one guy would not puthis hands down, he just kept
worshiping, and he was just likeit was such a sweet moment at
the end of service, and it was agreat service, but it was like
it was so cool.
It's like, God, you are soawesome.
This guy that had that was withhis family, he just he had been
in and out of church here for awhile.

(49:14):
And there was just something, heis not a talker, very quiet, and
definitely standoffish.
His wife was more engaged thanhe was the last time they were
coming to church.
And so he started up, they left,and I God took God told me in my
spirit that if they will castout the stronghold in their

(49:36):
house, because they come tochurch and they boohoo in the
altars and they cry and theywant God to fix the problem, but
they won't cast out the bondageand they won't get rid of, and
they won't have, they won'treceive the deliverance.
Nothing will change in theirlife.
They will constantly bestruggling in the same way, they
will constantly be be in bondagein the way that they are,
drinking alcohol, pills,marijuana, all this stuff.

(49:57):
And this guy's dad goes to ourchurch, big old Mexican boy.
He's got a mullet.
I don't ever mess with anybodywith a mullet.
And so he's been the dad's beentalking to me.
He's like, Man, I've been I'vebeen praying for my son because
the dad is there because the sonthree years ago prayed him into
the church.
And so then the son left withhis family, and so now the dad

(50:21):
is praying for him to come back.
This guy, I'm talking about theway he looks in the face has
changed.
When he actually got deliveredand gave everything over to God,
he didn't desire the alcohol.
Now he's still struggling withcigarettes.
He texted me last week and hewas like, Man, I feel bad

(50:42):
because I was smoking two packs,but now I'm down to one pack and
I got three cigarettes left atthe end of the day.
I said, Praise the Lord, that'sprogress.
I said, keep on going.

SPEAKER_01 (50:53):
Oh, amen.
Yeah, that was hard for that.
That was hard to get rid of.

SPEAKER_00 (50:57):
Yeah.
Because I used to do it too.
I mean, I used to be a methdealer in the little town I was
talking about.
I was a meth head and I wouldsell to people at restaurants
and and hotels.
I would go and give them alittle envelope, but God set me
free.
But uh, anyways, back to thisguy's story.
And once he started likeactually giving everything to

(51:18):
God and allowing deliverance tobe in his life, now his whole
family was back in church andthey got baptized Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 (51:26):
Praise God.

SPEAKER_00 (51:26):
Like, people people need to understand that just
saying yes to Jesus, like wehave these little cards.
I don't know if I have one here.
I just so a lot of people willsay like the sinner's prayer or
something like that.
That's not biblical.
There's no scripture that saysif you say these words, now
you're saved, but it gives a mapof how you live your life.
Like confess with your mouththat Jesus Christ is Lord.

(51:48):
And then so on the back of thislittle card to invite people to
church, I give five things thatthe word says that makes you
saved, and scripture to back upeach one.
So when they read that, theywill know mapped out before them
what what their life should looklike if they are saved, so that
the fruit will actually be thereinstead of just mouth service.
And so I think we need to getthat.

(52:10):
Um I'm I'm ranting a little bit,I apologize, but I just your
story was was awesome.
So now, are you married or areyou single?

SPEAKER_01 (52:20):
Um, I I'm in a relationship now that's actually
a new thing.

SPEAKER_00 (52:25):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (52:25):
Um God had me, you know, building myself up for a
long time to get ready for that,you know.
And you know, my prayers, Iwould say, for the past couple
years were more always forprotection, protection from the
enemy.

SPEAKER_00 (52:45):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (52:45):
Guiding.
And then I came across theBible, I forgot what verse it
is, but bring your um bring yourum request to God through prayer
and petition.
And I I always thought it waskind of selfish, like I'm uh
like I'm a little whiny kid,like God, please, I need this or
want that.
But then it says in the Bible topresent your request to God.

(53:08):
I was like, you know what, maybelet me try.
Let let me try this.
And I prayed, I was like, God,please, you know, if it's your
timing, I I'm enjoying my lifewith you.
But it would be nice ifeventually, you know, you send
someone in my life, you know,whatever that is, whenever that
is, that would be great.
Um, and then it was literally acouple weeks later, um, I met

(53:32):
this girl and things are goinggreat, and just praise God and
it is on his perfect timing.
So yeah, I'm very excited aboutthat.
Um, having you know aChrist-centered relationship.

SPEAKER_00 (53:44):
That's awesome.
So um talking about your music,so is it and and this sounds bad
on your on your music side,what's what's your motivation?
What's your inspiration?
Like, you obviously know how towrite songs because you did it

(54:04):
before you ever came to Christ.
So what are you using now inyour new music that is on your
TikTok, then the new music thatyou're you're writing now, the
new music you're recording?
Like, what is your inspiration?
What are you drawing from?
Is it like more experience ofwhat you've been through to try
to touch somebody?
Are you a are you a you labelyourself as a Christian artist

(54:28):
now?

SPEAKER_01 (54:29):
Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 (54:30):
Okay.
I'm asking that because somepeople are like, well, kinda,
yes, but kind of not.
And I I don't know how ununmuddied the waters are with
your with your music.
Like, are you like straight upabout God?

SPEAKER_01 (54:44):
No, I'm I'm I'm 100% all in all my music that I've
released thus far under uh thisproject has all been about God.

SPEAKER_00 (54:54):
Now what you say the project, what's the project?
Is it name something?

SPEAKER_01 (54:58):
It's just um just my name, James B Zach.

SPEAKER_00 (55:02):
Okay, so you're just coming out with now.
Are you putting are you whatplatform are you more active on?

SPEAKER_01 (55:09):
Um the most streams I'm getting are from Spotify and
Apple Music.

SPEAKER_00 (55:14):
Okay, so they can just look you up on there, your
n your first and last name.

SPEAKER_01 (55:17):
Yep, and uh TikTok is where I'm the most active on.
I feel like TikTok, um they're agreat platform because they give
you a shot.
It doesn't matter who you are,or it doesn't matter um how much
notoriet no notoriety you have.

(55:38):
Yeah, if you have somethingthat's good, it's gonna get out
there.
You know, I feel like Instagramsometimes can be a little shady.
Like I could put a video out onTikTok and oh, it has six uh
6,000 plays, and the same oneyou put on Instagram, it's got
like 250.
So there's something going onwith these platforms, like they

(56:01):
want you to be posting every dayand stuff, and I I didn't I
didn't become free from bondageand living in the world and be
saved by Jesus Christ to nowbecome slave to a platform.

SPEAKER_00 (56:14):
Yeah, same here.

SPEAKER_01 (56:15):
Um yeah, so uh, whenever I post is when I post,
and if God wants whatever I'mworking on or whatever songs or
messages that I'm putting outthere, if he wants it to be
known to people out there, hewill make that, he he will
reveal that, you know.

(56:35):
So I put all my faith in God.
Like at first you get excited,you're like, oh, why isn't this
getting plays?
Or like you start getting like adopamine hit from the likes and
stuff like that.
And then I had God had to checkme and be like, Whoa, you're
getting a little off-centeredhere now.
This is becoming an idol in yourlife.

SPEAKER_00 (56:55):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (56:57):
Dang, it is.
So I had to take a break for alittle bit.
You're right.

SPEAKER_00 (57:01):
Again, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (57:03):
So God really had to um work on my heart posture and
and realign me again before Istarted going back to posting um
again.

SPEAKER_00 (57:15):
I did the same thing with this podcast.
Like, I actually I started likeI was it was almost a full-time
job, and I was working, and in2020, I slowed it down because
we came from the Tyler area wewere at, and we moved over here
into Longview here in Texas.
And being the full-time pastorand working a full-time job, my

(57:38):
wife was like, You've got tostop.
Like, you're just because Idon't have to do anything.
Like, I can sit there and editand get things ready.
I'll sit there until it's done.
Like, I just I I am thatfocused.
And so I was live streaming, Iwas doing different topics of
like current events and whatkind of um what does the Bible
say about this that happened inour culture today or this week

(58:01):
or whatever, and and all thisstuff.
Or so I was doing that in a livestream.
So two hours, three hours livestream.
Then I would take the livestream, I would chop it down
into smaller bits of just topicsonly, and then I would spread
those out throughout the month.
And then I would take shorterones of that and do, and so I
was like multiplying everything.
I was posting five times a dayalmost, and my wife is like,

(58:25):
You're spending all your timedoing this.
And I was though, so you'retalking about stats and stuff.
I was watching the watch hourson YouTube because I was getting
so close.
You have to have 4,000 watchhours to even monetize on
YouTube.
Oh, yeah.
I was close, and then it's like,you know what?

(58:48):
I'm chasing something that's notI don't get paid to do this.
Why am I chasing after somethingand giving it all my time?
Yes, I think it's important.
So I scaled it back to doing onea week, and then we moved over
here, and God has been blessingmy business and the church is
growing.
So now my time's even less, andlike almost every night of the

(59:12):
week we have something at thechurch, and then I'm working
full-time every day.
So it's just like I don't havetime for this.
So, like, you know what?
I'm gonna do what um the Biblecalls restraint and
self-control.
I'm gonna just do one a monthand it's gonna be a good one.
And so, my actually my preferredway of doing it, I teach the

(59:33):
Bible on there too.
I'll I'll go through umscripture and things like that,
but my favorite thing to do iswhat we're doing right now
interviews.
Like I love that.
I love like getting to knowpeople and talking to people.
And and I actually started thispodcast interviewing people as a
platform for people to telltheir story.
So I'm like, you know what?
I'm gonna look at some people onTikTok and I'm gonna see if they

(59:56):
want to do some interviews.
So I've just been sending outthings and you send a message,
I'm like, Yes, I got one.
And your music.
Okay.
For everybody listening rightnow, you've got to go check this
guy out on TikTok, okay?
Look up James Bizak.
He is like I if I don't likeyour music and I'm very picky,
I'm not going to interview you.
And this guy, he's got it.

(01:00:17):
So now I see your stuff onTikTok, and I think I was
looking it up a minute ago.
Is your stuff that you'reputting out right now, is it is
it just you?
Or do you have people that youthat you're playing with?
Are you doing all the music?

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:33):
I'm doing, yeah, I'm writing all of it.
Um, I'm playing all theinstruments um and recording it
all and mixing and mastering itand putting it out.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:44):
Yeah, because I was looking through your stuff and
I'm like, I don't see anybodyelse.
You are literally a one-manband.

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:50):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:51):
Dude, that's phenomenal.
So you said guitar was yourfirst instrument.
So you just kind of went offfrom there and just now did you
learn out of necessity or for apassion for music?

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:04):
Oh, a passion.
And then shortly after that, Ilearned drums.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:09):
See, drums was my first instrument.
I was six years old.
My dead my parents got me afirst set of drums.
It was like a a cheap CB700 pawnshop purchase.

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:22):
Yeah, I think my my first kit.
That's it's funny.
My first kit was from my dad'sfriend, his son.
He's like, oh, he's he's notplaying the drums anymore.
So they brought him over.
Then before you know it, Istarted becoming obsessed with
the drums.
And we lived in a ranch.
And my mom was like, I came homefrom school one day.

(01:01:42):
This is very scarring.
This is probably what made mewant to do music even more.
Like, I'm gonna show you.
I came home, the drum set wasgone.
I'm like, Oh no.
Where's the drum set?
She's like, Oh, we didn't knowyou played it anymore.
We gave us the kids across thestreet.
I'm like, what do you mean youso what do you mean?
What do you mean you don't thinkI play it anymore?
I play it all the time, youknow?

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:04):
Oh, I forgot.

SPEAKER_01 (01:02:06):
Yeah, exactly.
You know, so that always I thinkwas my drive to do music too.
It's like, well, they're sayingthey don't want me to do it, so
I want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:17):
So, how how much did you have to actually work for
it?
Like, was it a a gift kind offrom the get-go, or was it
something you really had tostrive to actually get it down?
Like for me and my son,actually, which is pretty crazy
that God blessed us both and heallowed that to be a part of my
son as well, that I get from mydad, is like very quickly I

(01:02:39):
picked up on the drums of how toplay.
I'd put my little head though,headphones on and the little
cassette player and the littlewalkman, and I'd play in my
room.
And then my dad, he was thepastor of a church and he plays
keyboard.
And so he let me bring one pieceof the drum, the snare first.
And when I learned it at thehouse, I could bring it to the
church.
So that was like my motivationto actually try to do better is

(01:02:59):
so that I can be able to play atthe church.
And eventually I got the fullset, and then my dad had this um
old guitar, acoustic guitarunderneath his bed, and I pulled
it out.
And then one day I just came inand I was watching videos and
looking at their hands, and Iwas hearing it, I could hear it,
and then I would put my fingersto where it sounded right and

(01:03:20):
matched them, and I came inthere and I played a you know,
very simple, like a little songfor my parents, and they had no
clue I could even play.
And so it was just like thisinstinct in my son right now.
The kid can run circles aroundplaying piano from any adult.
And actually, he rotates out onour worship team, and he he's
about to be 17 in November.
And he's doing the same guitarnow.

(01:03:41):
He can just hear it and pick itup, and he just he has a gift.
So praise God.
So, what else do you playbesides those?
So, you obviously you playguitar, you play drums.
Um if you can play guitar,usually you can play bass.

SPEAKER_01 (01:03:56):
Yeah, I play bass too.

SPEAKER_00 (01:03:58):
What else?

SPEAKER_01 (01:04:00):
I played guitar and then drums, I just had the
drums, and um I was justwatching people play drums, and
I knew the beats in my head, soI just start I I taught myself
how to do that.
Um but even with the guitar, Inever I never took a it was a
single guitar lesson in my life.

SPEAKER_00 (01:04:17):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:04:17):
Um, I I learned off YouTube, and everything is by
ear.
Um, so I taught myself guitarbasically by ear, just hearing
songs and starting to play it.
I would say I'm more of a rhythmguitarist, I'm not like a
shredder.
Like I could play some leads.

SPEAKER_00 (01:04:35):
Um Yeah, I can figure it out, but I'm I'm more
like the rhythm.
Like uh maybe putting a littlebit in there, but mostly it's
it's just the rhythm.

SPEAKER_01 (01:04:43):
Yeah, I'm I'm I'm primarily a rhythm guitarist
because even the band I was inwhen I was a kid, we we had a
lead guitarist, it was nasty.
So I never really needed tolearn it.

SPEAKER_00 (01:04:53):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:04:53):
So over time, when I started doing my own music, I'm
like, oh, I need to startlearning how to do leads now.
Like I'm pretty decent.
I'm not like slash or somethinglike that.
But I don't even learn the I'velearned enough to like to to um
be able to provide the song forwhat it needs for what I'm
doing.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:12):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:13):
And then piano, same thing by ear.
Like, if I need a piano part anda song, maybe I can't play the
whole part.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:20):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:20):
So I'll I'll track the left hand and then I'll
track the right hand and combinethem together.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:25):
Yeah, I can't do the if my hands ain't doing the same
thing.
To me, it just makes my braintwist.

SPEAKER_01 (01:05:33):
You know, like I'll be able to find the chord and
play it, but then once you startputting the other hand in, it's
kind of like And see that'swhere my son passes me up
because he just he can do it, itjust makes sense to him.

SPEAKER_00 (01:05:44):
The way he actually learned was he had a um uh my
wife's cousin was 15 at thetime, and he was living he was
living with us full-time.
He's from my first marriage, andso he lives with us now.
And it was the first summer, andthe little cousin was taking
piano lessons, and so while shewas watching him during the
summer, she taught him what shewas learning.

(01:06:05):
And by the time summer was over,he had already passed her up and
was going far beyond anythingshe was able to do, and he's
just taking off with it.
It was it was literally like agift from God, it was pretty
cool.
So, what what category or whatgenre would you consider your
music like that that you'reputting out right now?

SPEAKER_01 (01:06:25):
What I'm putting out now, I would say it's more like
alternative rock, almost likesome I would I want to say emo,
because that's like a lot ofmusic I grew up listening to.

SPEAKER_00 (01:06:34):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:06:35):
Maybe with a couple like little like metal um
inspirations with the drums.
But really, I I guess whatever II feel when I spend time with
God and um whatever I I'mhearing, whatever he's
supernaturally like downloadingto me, that's pretty much these

(01:06:57):
songs come from time in thesecret place with God.
Um, and whatever he reveals tome in my head, I'm doing my best
to capture it into my computer.
Like what he revealed to me iswhat I'm trying to put into the
natural realm, if that makessense.

SPEAKER_00 (01:07:16):
Yeah.
So what now you have because II've I've written songs before
years ago, they weren't theyweren't Christian songs.
I wasn't really fully living forGod then, but uh I have songs
that I've written that have beenmy favorite.
So out of the songs that youhave written, either thus far or

(01:07:36):
maybe in the works right now, doyou have one that sticks out
that is your favorite?
And and what why is it yourfavorite?
Like what is it, what is it thatthat made it your favorite, and
what is it that was pulled outof you?
Was it a season?
Was it something that happened?
Was it the deliverance?
Like what emotional or part ofyour heart were you pulling from
when you were creating thatsong?

SPEAKER_01 (01:07:57):
If I had to pick one of my favorite songs right now,
it'd probably be the last songum I released called Back to
Life.
It was it's a testimony.
It's a testimony of how you knowGod took a dead person who was
dead to sin and brought him backto life.
But at the same time, it's likea hybrid song, it's like a
testimony song, but then it's aworship song and worshiping God

(01:08:22):
and the power of his blood, thethe transformation, the
transforming power that hisblood has in our lives.
So I I really it's funny peopleask me, oh, what's your favorite
song?
It's like the last one I wrote.

SPEAKER_00 (01:08:38):
No matter when, it's just the last one.

SPEAKER_01 (01:08:40):
Yeah, so if you ask me two months from now, what's
your what's your favorite song?
I'll be like, the last one Iwrote.

SPEAKER_00 (01:08:47):
You know?
So um on the on the theobviously the last one you
wrote, what can people who aregoing and looking you up, what
can they expect?
Like, do you have stuff?
I'm assuming you have stuffright now that you're working on
that's gonna come out.
Uh, can you give a little hintor a little bit of nuance with

(01:09:10):
like it's gonna be about this,it's gonna be, or if you are
dealing with like some songs arevery specific in in their
purpose.
Is there any songs that arecoming out that you're like, if
you deal with this, this song isfor you.
If you're feeling this way, thissong's for you.
If you don't know God, thissong's for you.
Or if you're doubting who God isor who you are in God, this
song's for you.

SPEAKER_01 (01:09:31):
So right now, I would say what what to expect.
So when God revealed this wholeyou know, plan for what we're
gonna do, I thought I was gonnabe doing like worship music and
all that.
And I wrote a couple songs thatwere like more worship songs.

(01:09:52):
Um, but God was like, James,James, James.
There's literally thousands ofpeople doing this already.
And they and I'm not trying tothrow shade or anything, but you
could play a lot of these songsfrom this church and that church
and that church or this guy andthis guy, and they they all
sound the same.
Like it sounds like they're allwritten by the same person, and

(01:10:14):
it so I think a lot of them areactually written by Steven
Fergus.
Yeah, I think Brandon Lake, likeand pretty much.
I'm not just throwing shit.
I love these songs.
Um I I I I think they'rebeautiful songs, but they all
sound the same.
And it's like, God's like, Iwant you to do something that's
different.
There's a whole generation ofpeople out there that listen to

(01:10:36):
metal music, hardcore music,yeah, uh, uh punk music, and
that there if you see how manypeople are at these concerts,
they might not be popular on thecharts, but if you see how many
people, lost souls who are likeinto witchcraft and into
Satanism and who are atheistsand who are agnostic, there's

(01:10:57):
not a lot of music that'sreaching out to that crowd.
And there's so many people thatare lost there.
So God's like, we're gonna makesome kick butt stuff, yeah, some
in your face fast stuff.
Um that first off, it'll bedistinguished from the rest of
the crowd, you know, and itmight not seem popular at first,
and you're gonna have to workthrough that.

(01:11:19):
Um, it's all about humblingyourself, just trust the
process.
Eventually, eventually, you'regonna get to that part when your
character is right.
Because I'm not gonna bring yousomewhere, I'm not gonna bring
you to a point where yourcharacter won't be able to keep
you there and you're gonnacrash.

SPEAKER_00 (01:11:35):
That's good.

SPEAKER_01 (01:11:36):
So just being patient in that period right
now.
So I would say that's what toexpect for my music.
It's definitely, you know, moreupbeat.
Um, this I'm actually working onan EP right now that's coming
out.
I've been in the Bible goingthrough all Paul's letters.

SPEAKER_00 (01:11:54):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (01:11:55):
Um so they're very actually centered around that.
The EP is called um the storm.
You know, it's it's about goingthrough life storm, um, just
having peace in allcircumstances, you know, when
you're dealing um with trials,uh tests um or attacks from the

(01:12:17):
enemy, you know, always justkeeping your eyes focused on God
and how faithful He is.

SPEAKER_00 (01:12:22):
Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 (01:12:23):
Yeah, so I have a song, the three that I have
right now, I have The Storm, oneis called, one's called Things
That I Hate.
I'm just based off uh Romans 7,you know, when he's like, he's
like, the things I want to do,yeah, I don't do, but the things
I hate, I do, you know.
So I think that will relate to alot of Christians who are new or

(01:12:49):
who have been struggling withthat for years, you know, to be
able to break that bondage andto be able to move ahead.
And um also at the same timethat we're called to to suffer
for for like with Christ, it's anew life or a new creation.
But that doesn't mean it's gonnabe a popular thing.
People think you're gonna becomea Christian and everything's

(01:13:10):
gonna be great.
No.
It's like you're on a you're noton a cruise ship once you become
a Christian.
It's like a battleship.
The the demonic realm doesn'twant to lose you.

SPEAKER_00 (01:13:23):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:13:24):
And it'll do anything in its power to bring
you back to where you were.
So it's all about fighting andsuffering with Christ, you know,
for the greater good.
Um just having the strength anduh dexterity to make it through
all those tough times and justknow that there is such a
greater plan for your life,there's so much joy.

(01:13:46):
You could have joy in allcircumstances, no matter what's
happening around you.

SPEAKER_00 (01:13:50):
And I think that that from Paul that it's very
simple, but it's so profoundabout like I want to do the
good, but yet I end up doing thebad.
And uh, it's very so there's afine line between never feeling
conviction, or you're feelingconvicted and you beat yourself

(01:14:11):
up all the time.
And people who struggle inareas, yes, we are called to
strive for perfection to pick upour cross daily, but that
doesn't mean perfection.
We strive for perfection, andpeople forget how good the the

(01:14:31):
demons, Satan, how good he is athis job.
A very clear-cut example is inthe Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve
had everything they wanted,everything was provided for.
He did not have to sweat fromhis brow to to provide for his
family.
She didn't have to feel the painof childbirth.
Like there was nothing they hadto fight for, everything was

(01:14:53):
perfect, and the devil stillconvinced them that they there
was something else they neededthat was beyond what they had.
And so sometimes we just gottalike, okay, I messed up on that
one.
That was my bad.
Now I gotta do it better.
Because the, I mean, he's notstupid.
The enemy knows exactly what'sgonna trip us up.

(01:15:14):
He is very patient.
He plays the long game, and sowe gotta remember that.
And nothing is new under thesun.
He he he trips us up with lust,he trips us up with pride, envy.
I mean, all these things, andit's just that's what he does.

SPEAKER_01 (01:15:29):
And it's generational, he's been studying
your bloodline for a year.
So he's seen what yourgrandfather and your
great-grandfather and yourgreat-grandfather dealt with.
Yeah, and he's studying that,and he's gonna tempt you with
the same things because it wellworked on your grandpa.
Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (01:15:45):
Yeah, he's he's been around for a while.
He this is what he does.

SPEAKER_01 (01:15:50):
Yeah, I know.
And the thing, it's funny thatyou mentioned that, the thing
that made Adam and Eve fall isSatan got them to take their
eyes off of God, you know, hegot them to take their gaze off
of God and start noticing otherthings around them.

(01:16:12):
You know, like they notice, ohmy god, I'm naked.
And they tried hiding, hidingfrom God.
Whoa, I'm naked.
They didn't even realize theydidn't realize that, you know.
They didn't realize that afterall of a sudden they realize it.

SPEAKER_00 (01:16:24):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (01:16:24):
It's because they take their eyes off of God.
So that's that's I think reallythe biggest part of this EP too
is just keep your eyes on onJesus, no matter what you're
going through in your walk.
And it'll work everythingtogether for your good.

SPEAKER_00 (01:16:42):
So we kind of talk, we'll wrap it up with this.
Um, we kind of talked about yourum your deliverance, but the the
the journey you had to gothrough, your brother planting
the seed, you go into college,you're running away, you doing
living your life the way youwanted, and then realized that
it was nothing that you actuallywanted, that it was more bondage
than it was freedom.
So, to the listener or thosewatching online, what would be

(01:17:07):
your final message, or whatwould be a message from your
experience that you would wantto share with them if they're in
a place right now of maybethey're running, maybe they're
living their own way, they'reliving a life of sin in bondage.
So now you are on the other sideliving for Christ.
What would you say to the personthat you're turning around and

(01:17:27):
reaching behind you to pull themto where you are?

SPEAKER_01 (01:17:30):
I just pray that the Holy Spirit helps me deliver
this in the in the the best waypossible right now.
Um, but looking back on that,you're not you're not the names
that the world has given you.
You are not the expectationsthat the world has given you in

(01:17:51):
your life, and that there is aliving supernatural God that has
such great plans for your life,plans to prosper you, to not
harm you, and he wants to justspend time with you, to have
time in your day just to spendwith God and to worship him and

(01:18:14):
talk with him.
You know, he's a very loving andforgiving God, and he just wants
the best for your life, and hewants to bring you back home
where you belong in your spirit,and he wants to, you know, fill
your mind with his truth andyour identity that you have in

(01:18:34):
Christ, that you are a child ofGod, you are loved, you were
bought with a price, and thatyou're not worthless, and that
whatever names people havecalled you in your life,
whatever curses people have putover your life, they they're
they're null and void in theblood of Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 (01:18:51):
Amen.

SPEAKER_01 (01:18:52):
So so you know, if you're far away and you feel
like you've sinned too much andum that God isn't gonna take you
back.
If you've been with God, youfell away and you don't think
you can come back.
That's just that is a lie fromthe pit of hell, and I cancel
that in the mighty name of JesusChrist, because God always has
his arms open, he's alwayswelcoming you back into his

(01:19:14):
kingdom, you know.
And when he forgives us, it goesinto the sea uh uh of
forgetfulness once you repent,once you ask for forgiveness for
that, he's not he will not holdthat against you.
You repented, you move forwardfor your new creation, you know.
So I would I would say don't betoo hard on yourself and don't
listen to the lie that Satan hasin your head that you're not

(01:19:37):
good enough, or God isn't gonnawelcome you back and he won't
forgive you, or whatever sinyou've done is too great to be
um unforgiven, you know.

SPEAKER_00 (01:19:48):
Yeah, amen.
Amen.
I like that.
Well, James, thank you so muchfor for joining me today and and
being willing to answer back andget on this episode, dude.
This is uh this has been anawesome episode.
I really appreciate you takingthe time out of your schedule to
to get on here and uh hopefullywe'll get you some new uh some

(01:20:09):
new fans, some new people towalk with you in this journey.
Uh anybody watching right now,there will be a a link links
below to all of James' stuff,his Instagram, his uh YouTube,
TikTok, uh ways to get a hold ofhim and contact him if you want
to reach out and become a fan.
Hopefully you've enjoyed today'sepisode.

(01:20:31):
Want to say thank you so muchfor joining us.
If you haven't yet, considersubscribing, hit that like
button, um, hit the bellnotification so you can see
every time we put out a newvideo.
For those of you who are newhere, we put out a new episode
uh the first Monday of everysingle month.
So make sure you subscribe oryou go to anywhere you listen to
podcasts.
Subscribe there, download theepisodes, and uh we thank you.

(01:20:54):
We're praying for you, and Godbless you, and we'll see you on
the next episode.

SPEAKER_01 (01:21:00):
Faith and Failures Podcast.

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