Excerpt: Breaking Stereotypes - Chapter 15

“I am so ready man. We talked about getting married in high school but it was never anything serious. I literally took it as a joke but she never knew that.” I explained.

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“It would have seriously hurt her feelings.” I said walking toward the door. I waved my hand at him to follow me outside. I closed the door quietly after he came out. I started sipping on my coffee some more as I started shivering a little bit.

“She was completely in love with me and I just was unsure of my future. After I moved to college, I mean, I just didn’t think I would see her again. She was going to stay in North Florida and I knew I was going to be traveling the world.” I stopped and started thinking about the past. Christian started off toward the stage as I followed. Our interview was schedule to start in just fifteen minutes.

“Are you more in love with her now than you were then?” Christian asked.

“What?” I asked quickly.

“Are you more in love with her now than you were then? It seems like it is so. When we went to school together, you and her had a connection but it wasn’t like this.”

“Well yeah, we had a connection but it was definitely not like it is now. We’re both devoted Christians now in the same line of work. Back then; we were just dating to say we were in a relationship. I loved her but it wasn’t like it is now.”

“What’s different?” He asked quietly giving me the stink eye.

“If I had to choose, it would be the fact that we are both fully-immersed Christians now. You see, love… Love is more than holding hands and giving gifts for special occasions. I’ve cared for her when she was sick. I’ve cared for her when she has been turned down for jobs and I was there when her grandmother passed away last year. In high school, I was just there but the difference between then and now is prayer and knowing the value of a relationship and the true characteristics of it. Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy and love does not boast.” I explained making reference to 1 Corinthians 13.

“Sammy told me once that you can’t love someone fully until you’ve seen them at their worst.” I concluded.

“Will you ever tell her about your feelings in high school?” He replied.

“I don’t know. ” I said as I stared at him. We both arrived at the tent to find Zach and Dakota already talking to the radio show host. Zach turned around and waved at us to come in. I took a seat as Rooster Lewis extended his hand.

“How are you sir?” He said shaking my hand. Rooster was a huge radio personality that was aired on morning radios all over the nation.

“I’m fantastic Mr. Lewis!” I replied.

“Thanks for having us.” Christian added.

“How did you guys get in here? I thought you were all still in the bus?” I asked Zach and Dakota.

“We walked by you and Christian while you guys were talking still.” Dakota explained. “We didn’t want to bother.”

“Guys, since we have five minutes left, do you want to go ahead and record?” Rooster asked.

“I thought we were going to be live?” Zach asked in confusion.

“No, the interview won’t be played until 11 AM. You see, if we played live and one of you slips up and talks about a secret album recording that nobody knows about then everyone knows.” Rooster explained. “I doubt you guys have anything secret going on at the moment. It’s just company policy.”

“Our stage manager, Chris Souza is in the hospital with his wife right now who is fighting cancer.” Dakota explained. “It’s not really a secret but no one really knows right now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that guys.” Rooster said making eye contact with all of us. “I will definitely be praying for your team.”

“Well, we do appreciate it.” I said.

“Let’s get started shall we?” Rooster said he handed us all large earphones. “Put these on. You will hear the countdown, the introduction and some of your music. I will introduce you guys and feel free to talk at anytime after your introduction.”

I put on the earphones to hear a loud click symbolizing the time left until the recording started. Our song, Tired started playing from the chorus. Rooster started talking after the first few lines.

“Hey, this is 88.9 - Rock & Faith! I am Rooster Lewis and we are in downtown St. Louis, Missouri – Just under the arch. As most of you know, we have been advertising the Establishment 94 Tour that Breaking Stereotypes is on. Well, tonight is the night my friends. It is January 5th and I am literally backstage right now in a tent with Breaking Stereotypes. Guys how are you?”

“Rooster, we are fantastic. We are in St. Louis, Missouri. Just about to play under one of the most famous structures in the world.” Dakota said into the microphone.

“I saw somewhere that you guys kicked off the New Year in Daytona Beach, Florida. How crazy was that party?” Rooster replied.

“Oh man, it was totally awesome!” Zach exclaimed as I barged in.

“It was really cold in my opinion. I’m glad that the crowd stuck with us until the end. I don’t know… I don’t know about them but things were heating up on stage the whole night so I wasn’t too bothered by the weather. Daytona Beach has always been a great place to be.”

“Daytona is a beautiful place indeed. Tell me about the tour so far. Is there anything special for the audience tonight?”

“Well, this tour is our 3rd biggest tour since Breaking Stereotypes started on the road. We’re hitting fifteen different states with over 30 stops in big cities like Raleigh, North Carolina or right here in St. Louis. We’re not going to give away any secrets about the show tonight because some your listeners may be on their way. We don’t want to spoil the fun.” Christian said grinning.

“Yeah, we definitely got some new toys to play with over the seven months we had been off of tour.” I replied, talking about the new fireworks Cody had received.

“Tell me about the seven month vacation you guys had.”

“I spent time at home with my wife and my son, Noah. We traveled to Florida for a week long Disney trip in October with Christian and his wife Courtney.” Zach explained.

“Disney is my favorite place to be. It was so –” Christian got cut off by Zach.

“Hey, it’s my time punk.” Zach said jokingly. “Anyways, we stayed in a cabin in North Carolina for Christmas. It was definitely a treat to be off and travel with my family and friends.”

“Christian, how about yourself?” Rooster asked chuckling.

“Man, my seven months was great. My wife and I took a two-week vacation to California, which we had been saving up for at least a year and a half. I also had written new music –” I cut Christian off this time.

“New music?” I asked. I had no clue that music was written and usually, i'm one of the first to know.

“Yes. Anyways, the California trip was really the highlight of my time off.” Christian finished up as I was constantly wondering about the new music he had written.

“Dakota and John?” Rooster asked.

“Well John and I went to New York City with our stage manager and our significant others.” Dakota exclaimed.

“Wow, N-Y-C!” Rooster exclaimed.

“Home boy, John over here, is now engaged to his high-school sweetheart.” Zach said, pushing his way into the conversation.

“Yes I am.” I replied. “New York City was really our only vacation over the last few months. Now we are here talking with you, getting ready to have the time of our lives.”

“Well I am glad you are here with us guys. We’re glad to be covering and uh… promoting your tour here in St. Louis. So when’s the wedding John?”

“I am aiming for September 20th in Nashville. It’s going to be really pretty.”

“Good ole Nashville.” Rooster said gathering papers in his hands. “They received a healthy layer of snow over there this past Christmas I believe.”

“We did.” Zach said. “It was very beautiful indeed. Being able to climb to the top of a mountain and look down on the tiny lower Broadway covered in snow was great.”

“So, as most of our listeners might know, the original guitar player for the band was Sammy Hike. Unfortunately, he passed away about four years in accident and you guys brought Christian on the road three days later. Rather quick to say the least. Christian, I’m sure you had some pretty big shoes to fill.” Rooster exclaimed. Sammy was always a touchy subject but never the less, we never forgot him.

“Yeah, those shoes were huge. John came to my wedding on Easter that year, a day or two before Sammy’s funeral services and to my surprise, he bought my two guitars, handed me some papers and invited me to record for the new album. Of course, as much as I hate how it happened, I am glad to be on the road and fill in for an all-time great.”

“Sammy sure is missed day in and day out. Not a day goes by that we don’t think about him.” Zach added.

“Guys, we asked our listeners on social media that if they could ask the band one thing, what it would be. We picked a very well rounded question. Kara from Kenosha, Wisconsin asked this: what is Breaking Stereotypes mission and goal for their audience?” Rooster explained. Everyone looked at me because I was always the one to explain our missions and dreams. Rooster looked at me with anticipation right before I started speaking.

“Breaking Stereotypes is a rock band with Christian values. We play in the secular music world and the Christian industry. We don’t stay on one side to preach to the choir, per se but we don’t stay in the secular world because Christians need us as well and we don’t write music pertaining to what a lot of the secular bands write. We write about what we believe in, not just about what we think we should write about. I believe every band in the music industry should have a large connection with their audience. You see, I don’t play music for money and I don’t play for fame. I play music to help my audience find Jesus Christ. It’s the most important thing. Secondly, I write to help them find their true selves. What are people without their own identity? Well… nothing. It doesn’t make sense to live a double life because in the end it will hurt you and those around you.” I looked at Rooster.

“Wow man. That’s really inspiring.” He replied.

“I remember very vividly back to 2015 at Night of Joy. Skillet was playing and John Cooper had stopped to talk with the audience. He basically said that Rock & Roll was writing and singing about what he believed in and that is where Jesus Christ came in. Our belief system, as a whole, is no different from what Skillet believes. It’s a legit system to draw outsiders in. It’s okay to have fun and be a Christian.” I replied.

“Well John, I thank you for sharing. Thank you all for sharing your time with us today. We look forward to tonight’s show!”

“It’s going to be extra explosive!” Zach said laughing.

“This is Rooster Lewis with 88.9 - Rock & Faith. Breaking Stereotypes, in town tonight at 8 PM. You absolutely do not want to miss this. Tickets are limited so please go online or come out early to find your spot to rock with these guys tonight.”