Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 289: Pokey LaFarge

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

Watch out Los Angeles, Andy Frasco is BACK. Listen in as he breaks down the psychedelic weekend he had at a friend's wedding (Mazel tov, Rachael & Hunter!), and what's more: we're treated to the gift of fan-favorite and Andy's hetero life partner (plus recently married man) Dolav Cohen! You know him from his highly opinionated sports yelling, but now you get to hear a softer, sweeter side to this marvelous human being. And on the Interview Hour, find out who's been ripping off our guest: the legend AND Artist, Pokey LaFarge! He's a true gent with nary a foul thing to utter toward another human soul. We should all be so lucky to witness this fine fellow ushering in new music and maybe even a handful of little baby Pokey's to walk the Earth someday soon. We're psyched to partner up with our buddies at Volume.com! Check out their roster of upcoming live events and on-demand shows to enrich that sweet life of yours. Call, leave a message, and tell us if you think one can get addicted to mushrooms: [phone]  Check out our new album!, L'Optimist on all platforms Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, the band and/or the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com Check out our good friends that help us unwind and sleep easy while on the road and at home: dialedingummies.com Produced by Andy Frasco, Joe Angelhow, & Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Mara Davis Dolav Cohen

All right, and we're live. Andy Frasco's World's Savin' Podcast. I'm Andy Frasco. How's your heads? How's your minds? Are you staying out of trouble? Are you not letting a gray day in Los Angeles just fuck your day, right? We're gonna have a great day. I got pokey Lafarge on the episode. Sorry, there's no video for this first opening segment.

I've just been celebrating my friend's wedding and it just turned into Monday and I just forgot to do the opening segment. But I'm here with the man, the myth, the legend sports with Dolov himself. Dolov Cohen, how you doing today, buddy? We're doing wonderful. Happy Monday, Tuesday. It's Monday today, but tomorrow

at pub. Dude, what a great wedding. Our buddy Hunter, we celebrated a wedding. It was so beautiful. It was so fun probably dude what a great wedding our buddy hunter so we celebrated a wedding it was so beautiful it was so fun um it was a great time wow incredible wedding incredible friends it was amazing we're still here in downtown raging it up yeah we got a hotel we got this nice hotel in downtown la um i can't talk for doll but I've been I had a little acid the last two days and I've just been roaming around the city

and I'm having fun went to Korean barbecue just smiling like like some school girls for real man we were cracking up taking shots

it was kind of weird seeing food get made like carcass food like meat like I could see it's like sizzling and stuff. I could probably be a vegan after this

weekend. For real, dude. That shit was trippy as fuck. I was seeing you look at this meat getting fucking fried on the Korean barbecue grill. Acid's a great drug, but it's also a very thought-provoking drug and you're like whoa i should be more conservative about um just the stuff i put in my body and as

i say that we're we're drinking sake and we're drinking you know but um i felt like we went a bit early we watched a movie about what did we watch um about the Michigan sign stealing shit. Oh, that was good. It was good. Fucking cheaters, dude. Fucking cheaters. That's what I'm saying. Don't be a cheater.

You don't need to cheat in life. Get out there. I don't know if it's cheating, though. Because everyone's doing it. But they had a guy that was clearly doing illegal shit and sending people to schools to steal footage and signs and shit. Oh, yeah, that's actually fucked up. That was cheating.

My sister went to Michigan. I've always rooted for Michigan. And then Harbaugh just fucking bailed and said, I'm going to the pros. Peace the fuck out. I'm getting out of here before I get in more trouble. Look at him now. He's a professional coach.

Man, the world is crazy. What are we going to do? We got to not be a pushover, but we also have to be nice. I was talking about that this morning. You have to be nice. Even if you're having a shitty day, still be nice. Right? Yeah. That's my motto. I'm a nice guy.

You got to be nice, be good to the world, and it'll be good to you back. It doesn't matter what religion you are, what race you are, what color of your skin. It doesn't matter about that. If we wake up with violence, we're going to spread violence. If we wake

up being nice, maybe we could change someone's day. Right, Dolov? That's right. So what are we going to do today? We're going to San Diego. We're going on a little fucking California adventure. We're going to San Diego to visit our friend Marina

and my sister and my niece and nephew for a day. And then I'm mastering my record. I'm almost done with this thing. So I'm pretty excited. It's going to be a beautiful week. Frasco's here in L.A. We're hanging. We're partying.

We got the Same Same Festival this coming weekend. Oh, yes. If you're in Southern California, come to the Same Same but Different Festival. I'm just staying in L.A. all week. So any of my L.A. friends who listen to the podcast, hit me up. Let's have some fun. Alright, guys. Enjoy Poke... Hey, Chris, play some Poke Lafarge.

Poke, he's the man. More religious than I thought he'd be. He's a religious man. You know, he... His story is amazing. He was a big alcoholic, and it was ruining his life. On the bottom, he found religion to

help him get through and you know i didn't know much about the christian religion he kind of briefed me on what what's gucci and like and made me um appreciate religion you know if it could save anyone's life then i'm all for it so you you're going to love this interview. And, yeah, I'll catch you next week with J.J. Gray, baby. Yes, J.J. Gray. I'll be back in Denver. It's Hulaween the following week, I believe. Yeah, it's Hulaween. Crazy.

God, this thing is flying, dude. It's already almost November, dude. It's still September. Oh. Oh. All right, well, I've never gotten this much sleep. I don't even know. I think I'm, like, slowing down time. I was snoring last night like crazy.

Oh, my God. This guy snores like a fucking animal. I was terrified. I couldn't believe it. Like, when did that happen? I was exhausted, though. You were, but I don't know. I was, like, I was scared that you were going to, like,, when did that happen? I was exhausted. You were, but I don't know. I was like, I was scared that you were going to, like, choke or die.

Really? It was that bad? It was pretty fucking bad. Oh, my God. Fuck, my snowing is getting worse. All right, I got to take care of that, too. I got to take care of myself. I'm slowly becoming, I'm taking care of my brain.

I got to take care of my health. Let's give a shout out to Hunter and Rachel. Yeah, Mazel Tov. Incredible, beautiful wedding. Amazing, amazing people and speeches. And the ceremony was unbelievable. Yeah. And we love them.

Ha Entertainment forever, baby. Yeah, he was my DJ partner when we were 13, when we were DJing bar mitzvahs. He was my, we call it Ha Entertainment, Hunter and Andy. And now he's all grown up. He's got a beautiful wife, Rachel. And it was just an amazing wedding. All right, guys, I love you. And I'll catch you next week.

Enjoy pokey and be good to people. Bye. You're so over, over, over Find a man Find a man Bye. Watch me walk The street I stroll All right. Wow, we have a real, real legend. I know. I had fun researching this guy.

Pokey, how you doing, buddy? This guy's an artist. Yeah. Yeah, Andy, I'm fun researching this guy Pokey, how you doing buddy? This guy's an artist Yeah Yeah Andy, I'm an artist, okay Not a legend No, I'm good I guess at 41 You can start to achieve that

Legendary status, plus of course You're 27 and you're dead Yeah, there's something else You are I'm letting it fly this morning boys 27 and you're dead. Yeah, there's something else. I'm wetting it fire this morning, boys. I had my mate like four times over. I'm ready to go. Oh, well, let's talk some shit. Why is Charlie Crockett ripping off

your style, brother? Oh, wow. You really are. That's a hard question. That dude is said you. That's a hard question. You know, that dude is, no, he's, man, he's authentic as it comes. I'd love to meet him and pick his brain because I hear from rumblings that he's kind of had similar start to his career that I did, you know, playing on the street and stuff like that. But, you know, he's doing his thing man

he's killing he's doing a great job i i hope what he's doing is encouraging to a lot of younger artists you know because like somebody like him that can that can that's playing traditional country music that can really like make it big honestly um i think it's encouraging though people like him people like sierra farrell um who are the very few artists out there i think you need to take a high road i know for myself like every art every record i do is kind of different so i make it even harder for myself and i embrace that as an artist that I'm not going to jump from box to box or I'm not going to bore the lines, this, that, and the other thing.

If I had to give advice to young artists, I would say, hey, if you want to have an easier time in the music business, play it safe and stay the same. If you want to be an artist, that's not the game. That's a great way to end up playing weddings yeah which there's nothing wrong with that yeah that's hilarious yeah but you know that's that's the that but you know those people if you want to evolve and you want to change you're going to lose fans yep and at the same time that's how you become a legend that's how you

create genres that's how you become bob wills or bill monroe these people who create genres you know i mean none of those guys were virtuosos i'm not virtuoso you know like otis redink i think could sing like one octave and he's the greatest soul singer of all time you know so you can do anything you know you really can't do anything You really can do anything You just gotta do it The hypocrisy of fans saying You know Oh your records all sound the same

And then once you change You're like fuck this Why is this guy changing It's pretty insane how there's like You know The fans dictate your livelihood. Yeah, well, you know, I think music and food are so interconnected, Andy. It's almost like McDonald's tried to have a spinoff and do fine dining or something.

McDonald's tried to have a spinoff and do fine dining or something like people want to people want to go out and they want you know they want what they go to a restaurant and they they know what they want they get the same thing every time you know they sit in the same place every time and uh you know when things change up they freak out I mean everybody's kind of like that to a certain extent right right and um you know it's it's up to us to keep pushing it back you know it's like tension it's like the bass and drums yeah okay right you just gotta gotta keep it moving man you know and and we gotta we gotta take we're the ones that are creating that tension so therefore we have to we have to be accountable and bear the brunt of that you know so it's like i used to get i was kind of bent out of shape there for a while like when i

left my old band but even before that i was starting to kind of change in there 2017 with a record that really flopped and then i i parted ways with my old band for a plethora of reasons and you know really blossomed creatively since then i've lost a lot of fans because they want to see those people when i get that and they're connected to people i get that but mostly i think it's a musical thing but the music changes because you change right people don't like when you change they don't want you to change if you got to stay a drug addict you got to stay depressed and you got to stay mopey whatever your thing is they want that thing they want that cheeseburger they want that fries you know so

um when you start coming at them with like you know tuna tartar you know what i'm saying with like i don't know japanese barbecue sauce they're not trying to they're not trying to get involved in all that so you you got to be willing to to pay the price for it then they love it when they try it though yeah once they try it they try it, they enjoy it. But you got to hang in there. You got to hope it comes back around. If you're really an artist, then you're in it for life. And you've got to be willing to take that dip

when you really push the boundaries. When did you feel like you took your first dip and how did you get through it in your head? Well, I could probably make this fairly succinct. I think that when, first of all, nothing was easy for me. I had to work really hard at it everybody does but again i was not a virtuoso so i really had to work hard at it i think when i finally came and started making some money and a certain amount of like accolades like i think a lot of people

when that happens when they don't come from a whole lot and they were super poor and then you start making some money, it kind of goes your head. Right. Thank God that like, it wasn't like superstardom. I never wanted to be super famous. I knew the music was playing.

It was never going to get me there or it could have killed me. But I think as that, as I ran on years, so kind of riding this wave, you know, from like 2012 to like 2016. And I realized that, man, I have everything I want. I have all the money I want, all the women I want, booze, drugs, everything's there.

And I'm the most unhappy as I've ever been in my life. And so I started like for one reason or another, I think through the life that was killing me inwardly, my heart was turning dark. And so I started pursuing darker things, darker music. I wanted to be like Tom Waits or like Charles Bukowski for a couple of years. So I made this record in 2017 called Manic Revelations. And then as a result of that and like parting ways in my old band like my and some lifestyle choices that i made my life just kind of fell apart yeah um i lost a

girlfriend that i really really loved and uh shortly after that just like being really i could be super vulnerable you know just being really uh kind of an addict and being suicidal. Through that call for desperation, I realized the only way out of it was like something in my heart was telling me that I had to look. What were you getting into? What type of drugs were you getting into that you started? Like Coke? Were you into Coke or opioids?

No, I didn't really. I wasn't really getting into into that um so much i would say mostly uh for me being you know super honest my the things that really were big for me were uh were alcohol and women yeah that was my escape. Same. Cigarettes, obviously cigarettes, but that was like a little pacifier for me for years. But, you know, just would smoke a pack a day and two bottles of wine, you know, and just, yeah, so it just was nasty stuff. And then getting super dark and, yeah, just at that point, honestly, that's when I had just spiritual ablation, my heart, you know, just calling out for Jesus. And so in 2019, I found the Lord, my life is transformed from that point on, um, creatively,

everything has sort of changed from then. That's when a big spark and a big movement in my life changed. Um, I think that, uh, you know, obviously being bold in my faith um has obviously turned some people uh away obviously my music has turned some people away but you have to kind of bear that brunt of it as people know you a certain way and know you as a certain thing that you're putting out there when you're going out there whether it's good or positive or negative and you're going out there and you're like preaching love and peace and and and acceptance and tolerance and these different things are like who is this guy you know right um but the now it's

you know it's something that i think we all naturally these are things that we're naturally uh you know born to gravitate towards grab towards the light the things and the positive and things and so um i think it's coming back around the shows that i'm playing now are some of the most special and intentional shows that i've ever played you know um because it's it's no longer about me it's about it's about people that have the show yeah what about so i was trying to answer that original question of like... Yeah. No, you got it.

No, you totally got it. And that's why I'm curious about what did you see in religion that made you want to make a change? Well, that's kind of the crazy thing. I mean, the cool thing about Christianity is it's not a religion, it's a relationship. As maybe some people out there have heard.

I haven't. Tell me about that. Yeah, so in the sense where people talk about religion and organized religions, which of course Christianity is a religion, right? But when you live a religious lifestyle, that is only part of it. You don't do things to gain the acceptance of God. You already have it. Right. You don't work to gain the acceptance of the Lord. You already have it.

He already loves you. You do those things because you want to please him. As a Christian, you are widely recreated because God loves. God is love. He created out of love so we live to love god and make god known so it's that relationship that makes us want to do those things it's not the other way around so there's all it's uh that's why it's not so much necessarily like religion the way people think about it yeah totally so like the idea of loving a higher being is the same idea of loving yourself because your soul is a higher being right

well your soul will pass away but your spirit will not um your soul is just your mind and your heart and so that passes away and then your spirit goes out from there as christians that's what we believe but as you say love yourself i think that's an interesting thing right because what when a man came to jesus that what do we need to do to get to heaven he says love god above all things right with all your heart mind body soul and love your fellow man like you love yourself yeah but how can you love your fellow man if you don't love yourself yeah if you if you don't love yourself then you're not going to love your fellow man very well and i know that very well because i used to hate myself in those dark times you know right and i would treat people but with that heart posture of using them um and abusing them and, and just, yeah, just putting off really bad stuff, you know?

So when you're womanizing, why were you womanizing? Because you were trying to find... Yeah, you're womanizing because you're, exactly, because you're depressed, because you're, you want that sensation, because you want that loneliness to be just erased instantly. You want instant gratification. We're all longing for something that only God can fulfill. And so we go and we replace it with all these things. And a lot of cases can be healthy things in moderation,

can be healthy things in the in moderation but um we put them up on a pedestal and serve them and they only serve to destroy us were you did you grow up christian like why that specific religion was it something you were revisiting or did you discover as an adult it's a good question i think like yeah it's a good question. Yeah. I think most people in the, in the, maybe, maybe not as much now, but I think growing up in the nineties, you know, I think most kids in the United States are always exposed to that to a certain extent, or at least their parents or their grandparents were, uh, quote Christians. They said they were right. Right. And, um, and so you're exposed with it to a certain extent but um for me you know it was nothing that i was revisiting because i never was a christian

it was a situation where basically as everything i said it was living uh i brought was brought basically to rock bottom and i and I didn't want to die and I wanted to live and I knew that everything I had done up to that point was with my own power And I was powerless to continue or to live really um, and so yeah, it was more of the situation where

It says jesus is knocking at the door and if you answer that door He will come in and dwell with you and you would dwell with him so it's a situation where there's that mysterious thing called the Holy Spirit where something compelled me someone compelled me to to call out to say yes so it found you almost in a ways that we were saying he was always there okay you enough He's always there you know What about Will you give us the moment That you hit rock bottom

Where were you what were you doing When you realized that you needed to make a change I was on Highway 1 January 12 2019 In Baobab. And, you know, I wanted to drive off a cliff, basically.

Really? You know, I just lost my girl. Yeah, I mean, I had already, like I said, I was pretty suicidal at that time. You know, I'd already tried to. And it's a couple weeks before that. And, yeah, I mean, I'm'm perfectly i'm totally open book i'm like let's talk i mean this is what you know totally transform and heal and overcome this crap so i'm

i just want to you know i knew pretty soon after like i've wanted to talk to people whenever given opportunity that like you don't have to go to that low point in order to turn your life around right you know you don't you don't have to like sabotage a bunch of relationships and your work and all these different things in order to turn it over so um it just that's what it took for me it's what it took for me because i really loved being bad. I really loved living that life. It's so easy to do. It's so hard to do. I remember your old records, man.

I mean, you're one of my favorite artists growing up, man. I'll be honest with you. You're crazy, man. Honestly, though, bro, you had a vintage feel. And when I found out you're from Bloomington, Illinois, I was like, Jesus Christ. This man is... I'm from not far from there. I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana, right down the road.

Wait, where are you guys from? I'm from LA, but I toured. I used to play in Bloomington Castle Theater. I used to do all of that. I play there every year on my grandparents' birthday in February. That's awesome. Dude, and Chicago Farmer is from Bloomington. Yeah, he grew up down the road in February. That's awesome. And Chicago Farmer is from Bloomington.

He grew up down the road in Delaware. That's what I'm saying. All these amazing songwriters and lyricists are kind of around that area. Corn, man. Corn and booze. Corn and sunsets, man. It'll make you think. Corn and thick women. The funny thing about that, though, guys, growing up in the Midwest is something

in your blood. I love sports. I sports I love bears I love the Cubs and all this kind of stuff and these things like you know jello and like these things you grow up with in there like you know you you love like like shag carpeting on the walls but you don't want to have it forever right and and like i think growing up in the middle west where there's like no trees it's just corn and soybeans flat and in the winter time it looks like world war one like it looks like flanders or something like it it's it's it's a blank slate it's a blank slate and and it's to me it just opened up like this like there was only and i love the midwest i would live there to this day i just live in maine now this is what we're supposed to be but it was like all everything was up for me

at that point like it was just a blank canvas to dream like the whole world is open to you out there you know and um does that make sense like when you live in the midwest i grew up there too i know exactly what you're talking about yeah and people people there are the uh there's not a lot of pretense there i'd tell that people around the world there is a humble people sometimes to a detriment, sometimes self-deprecating. It's part of the humor, a lot of funny people. A lot of funny people.

But not necessarily the most encouraging people. They want you to sort of be happy. I'm speaking objectively, but definitely with a lot of experience Nick you may understand where I'm coming from here

oh yeah when you tell someone you're going to do something but they don't want you to succeed they want you to succeed but they don't want you to exceed yes they want you to stay down because

if you exceed it then you're then you sold out yeah that small town mentality that you can get in utah you can get in new york you can get it anywhere but i just know like in the middle west for some reason it's like man you really see who your friends are i think partly is it's like it's so foreign to them that they can't imagine themselves doing it so when you accomplish it it seems like you must have cheated or you know what i mean like they don't really i don't know they don't take success as seriously i think it's like la people in new york right like a different way they react to it i mean like what's success to them having a great family fucking being happy being happy yeah mostly way happier than most of the musicians. What's success to the Midwest versus what's success to big cities?

Maybe that's the question. Well, success in show business, too, I think some people that I've experienced in the Midwest was not... That was a very foreign concept, obviously. But, look, I can't...'m not gonna blame anybody i also have to be accountable for the way that the way that i acted as a result of the success that i received largely from the support of the people can't do it alone yeah um was inexcusable i was i was not

i was not a good person in those years. I had somewhere I wanted to go and I would do anything to get to where I wanted to go. I hurt people along the way sometimes to do that. I know you don't have to do it that way. There's these two alternate things

where I think there's definitely some self-deprecation. They want you to succeed, don't want you to succeed. At the same time I was I was a dick yeah they want you to succeed with morals maybe

which is hard and you should yeah and you should man and you should and you know I think it's cool that we live in a day now where you know people in the public I do have to be accountable right definitely more we we are maybe held in some cases to an unrealistic standard it's just like saying like you know i a

christian will never make a mistake ever again right like that's that's that's an that's an unrealistic standard because you would never hold that to uh an unbeliever so it's kind of the same thing was like well just because a famous person made a mistake and did something like their career is kind of being sabotaged, stuff like that. Maybe we go a little too far sometimes, but I think in general, it's,

it's a good thing that the people in the public eye are being held accountable for sure. You ever like go back on the road, some of these towns where you used to like womanize and now you're like a born again Christian. You're like, just like tip your hat to the girl that you hooked up with yeah or like now you know it's like are they ever like do you does it get do they still come to the shows or

just like how do you approach that now no do you apologize no i haven't i haven't seen the i've been i've definitely crossed paths with people across the years. Some things that were very minor, maybe I said or did, other things maybe not so minor. And I wasn't given the opportunity to apologize. But no, it largely, people that are in your past are kind of in your past. And if I was given the opportunity to apologize if i needed to i definitely would what about uh your past music

when you're talking about like fucking drinking whiskey and womanizing and now is it hard for you to write those play those songs anymore because you're born again or yeah i fucking bet i don't i don't play them Really? Those are great songs Even with the tone of this was bad Or I'm not doing it anymore You could change the lyrics Well you know You also have to understand

When I go into a show When I write songs now What do I want to sing to a crowd what is the feeling i'm trying to give them what do i want them to walk away with right when they leave the show so that's that's a large part of the sort of the heart posture there um i also have like you know a decent amount of kids at my shows every night. Oh, wow. So it's like... Yeah, no, you can't be talking about that. There we go. Yeah, and it's like, I mean,

you know, people, their families and things like that. It's really cool. I mean, look, the song I wrote, F Me Up, a few years ago, that's a dope song. It's dope, dude. That is a dope song. Great fucking song. I just wish I didn't say the F word 20 times, you know?

Yeah. And people request it every night, and it's so sweet. And I'm like, look, you know, i don't sing this song f me up what and i would say to you because like the same reason i don't sing a lot of these other songs um quite specifically just because like look i've been there that stuff almost killed me and i did spend a long a lot of time glorifying that lifestyle. Yeah. I think it's that glorifying that lifestyle that gives it life and makes it okay for me.

I think it's important to have peace letting that go. Damn. Look at this mature man. I'm still out here talking about ketamine and fucking cocaine. I don't even really do it as much anymore. The idea of glorifying it, that struck a chord with me.

Maybe I am glorified. Do you ever wonder, though, if you sing those songs, it could act like a trigger to make you drink again, too? Ooh. Or is that not part of it? Oh, you know, I don't need to sing songs about it to be triggered to want to drink again. Okay, fair enough.

I definitely, you know, look, we don't, we drink because we're depressed. It's the drinking don't make it, drinking a drug don't make you depressed. You go when you look for the stuff because you already are. Yeah, it's the drink it drinking don't make it drinking a drug it don't make you depressed you you go when you look for the stuff because you already are yes the medicine right it's not the disease yeah it's the boa it's the band-aid over the bullet hole yeah exactly for me it's more like i'm in a place now where i'm not gonna say oh i'm good i'm cool look life is tenuous like we could all be going tomorrow of course but like i i you know i still drink a glass of wine here you know um i still live life you know and enjoy that kind of stuff it's alcohol is good for you you're just back to the moderation um yeah you know i'm i'm

married now you know she likes wine we have to have wine with dinner that kind of stuff but no in terms of like going out the full on lifestyle and things like that it's not who I am anymore and honestly being honest is important to me and being myself on stage is important to me so I'm not going to sing about things that I'm

so what about so right when you so your girl now is probably is not like your old past life. How did you approach finding a girl like that? Yes. Like, yeah. How'd you approach that?

Like, how did, did you finally, I actually found, I actually found my wife. I actually found Addie when, uh, we actually met when back in the day when I was just 2017.

We started dating when I was very much living a rough lifestyle. I tried to clean up for her, and I lasted about a year before things went back to my old ways. She made me want to be better. And she still does. But yeah, we broke up because of the lifestyle. And two years later, she came back into my life a year and a half after that we got married. Isn't that amazing, dude? Like right when you're fucking just dark hole. Like that's what I believe in the universe.

Two years later. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Two years later. Shout out to women. Yeah, shout out to women for fucking being patient. Let's fucking go. Let the universe. Two years later. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Two years later. Shout out to women. Yeah, shout out to women for fucking being patient. Let's fucking go. Dude. Let's go.

They're way more patient. He's a lot stronger. Yes. We're just a bunch of dumbasses, man. He's a lot more than me in a lot of ways. Yeah. Definitely. Did she want you to find God?

Of course. But she never pushed it on me. She was religious? She was, but she wasn't walking with the Lord at the time we started dating.

Okay. The two years that we were apart, she definitely came back to the Lord, for sure. What,

you know, you say like the spirit. Does the spirit have a voice like it's like what's up poke yeah you doing butters or like hey man you know you need like what's what what was the what was the tone of the spirit you know that made you understand it because everyone has a different spirit like i have this like really low calm voice spirit i don't know if it's the lord i'm jewish but it's something that's keeping... You're in the Bible, too.

Well, Jesus was Jewish, man. I know. That's why I shout out to my Jews out there. Let's go. Come on. Most of the Bible. I love it. Yeah. But you know what I mean, though. Whatever you want to call it. Some people call it alien. Some people call it Jesus. I mean, whatever he can to get through a dark hole. Who was talking to you, and how was his approach that made you listen is what i'm

trying to say well so i would say this way um you could say it in a lot of ways um you know there's there's the sun and then there's the moon there's positive and there's negative right there's white and there's day right there's black and there's white there's alive and there's the moon. There's positive and there's negative, right? There's white and there's day, right? There's black and there's white. There's alive and there's dead, right? There's an equal and opposite thing everywhere you go, right? So wherever there's God, there's the devil, right? So where there's good spirits, there's bad spirits.

So there is a spiritual realm out there as a Christian, right? We believe in a spiritual realm. Jews would believe the same thing unless you're a seducy, right? Back in the day, they didn't believe in the resurrection, right? So there's spirits around, competing voices. there's spirits around competing voices um the enemy negativity the world right tends to scream and blank noise horns everywhere right right but the holy spirit right this is the voice of god right god j God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Triune God, right? The Spirit whispers, right? The Spirit's never going to impose Himself on anybody, right? That's what free will is, because if we didn't have free will,

I wouldn't choose to talk to you. I wouldn't, therefore, I wouldn't really enjoy it. We'd all just be a bunch of robots going through. So if we didn't have free will, we wouldn't therefore i wouldn't really enjoy it we'd all just be a bunch of robots going through so if we didn't have free will we wouldn't choose to love yeah yeah love is a choice and so um it's kind of the same thing with the with the holy spirit the holy spirit is is there all along really you just again it's that knocking yeah you just have to ask and you will receive what's the difference between the holy spirit when he was when you're really getting all fucked up saying you should have this threesome pokey versus i don't think he's saying that or they or whatever

that's but that's what i'm saying that's not the holy spirit right so you're you're basically at that point you're grieving the holy spirit you're basically taking out all the light. You're taking the love. That's the dark side. You're taking it and you're squashing it and you're filling it because you're listening to those other voices, those other spirits that are there to keep you from God. Because that's ultimately what the devil does to steal, kill, and destroy. That's his whole bag is to do everything, to just pose something that looks kind of like it would be of god and just give a slight variation a lot of cases so it's an illusion that you follow this one thing and there's just like a house a foundation when you build a foundation right but if you build it's a little bit wrong at the beginning you won't see it as you go around but

then yeah that's a great analogy yeah that's a great analogy 30 years later your house has fallen down yeah yeah yeah so the leading power of pisa is really the devil's work it is in italy hey but that's a great the great thing though is that you know is it says that in our weakness he is strong so it's like those imperfections if you look throughout the bible all the greatest heroes were people that did some terrible things. Yeah, that's my question. You talk to the Holy Spirit. When do you remember when you were talking to the devil? Of course.

When? Do you remember the moment that you're like, hey, I'm actually talking to the devil? I mean, I can think of multiple instances. It's not necessarily the way you talk you talking back you talk back in your actions so you're listening and then you're acting right well the battle happens in your mind but we the starts in your mind but everything is our actions right we're hearers and doers you know so yeah i can think of many instances where i was like oh man so so just yuck yeah do you regret writing those

songs you wrote right now you know i haven't really thought about the i have a lot of things that i regret now but i don't the songs i wouldn't say that i do i think f me up i do regret yeah um yeah i think so just because you know you you regret it because you knew you shouldn't have done it in the moment yeah like there's some things that you do and you're like man i've made a total mistake i'm so sorry i didn't intend for that to happen i don't necessarily regret that. I wish I could take that back. But there's some things I deliberately

did knowing that we're wrong. And I think most of us do. We deliberately do them anyway. And then I'm still kind of reaping that same... I pay for it. I tell people every night. But it gives me an opportunity to say, hey,

I've been there, done that, and I don't want to do that anymore. What about your old friends? Like, what are they, how do they approach this new pokey? I lost most of them. Really? Does that make you sad? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I lost most of them.

They lost you. Sorry? They lost you. Sorry? They lost you. Oh, you guys are sweet. Yeah, I mean, you know, the wise guy in the church said that Jesus often rewards growth with pruning.

Oh, man. Oh, yeah. It says that Jesus said that he's the true vine, right? And that we're all connected, right? The Jews were the people, right? That's the words people.

Christians, we've been grafted into that tree, right? So the dead branches that are ever there, right? Literally, no, we're talking figurative, right? Those dead branches that are there in our lives, they're just going to be ripped off and thrown to the fire right so we're pruned constantly so that we can grow so then if we're pruned what does pruning mean it's not a pleasant thing shedding pruning means we're gonna we're gonna suffer we're gonna suffer man because suffering could come from us losing our friends it could come from us losing our family it can come through sicknesses it can can come through tribulations. It can come through persecution. They can come

through a lot of different ways. And so these things, this pruning, if you will, if we stand the test and we endure, it's only meant to make us stronger. There's a reason why we're meant to have it happen. For some reason, it brings glory to God. If we actually do endure it, it actually can mean to be inspirational to other people as well. If they see us enduring the suffering well, there's a way to do it. There's a way to endure the suffering well. It's not easy. No one said it was going to be easy. Yeah, so why does pruning only happen to some people and some people just don't listen?

Well, I would say that pruning happens to everybody but the the it's a matter of perspective um you know you could say that well let's look at it this way let's look at the opposite side um the devil is never going to threaten anybody that's not a threat yeah the devil is not going to try and use anybody that's not a threat to him right okay but as soon as you're starting to come

to the Lord and as soon as you're starting to awaken in your soul that's when things the enemy is going to come at you the hardest whenever you're close to a breakthrough. In terms of pruning and suffering, I would say that that happens

to everybody. It happens to everybody, no matter how you look at it. So the devil thinks I'm a threat. Yeah, it's just natural. Yes, Andy, you're a huge threat to the devil. Or you can use you as a threat to God, actually. I think that's what he's doing to me. So I have a question.

Are you part of like a... Well, you have to understand that people that have a microphone, like we have, people that have a stage, people that have a platform, we're some of the biggest threats. For sure. Yeah. Are you part of a specific denomination? Are you like going to church on the road?

Or is this more of like a spiritual path? I go to church on the road Are you going to church on the road or is this more of a spiritual path? I go to church on the road. I go to church on the road whenever I find it. I'm a Christian, man. I'm a non-denominational. All that other stuff is... When we started this conversation,

that other stuff is religion. Exactly. You have to be a Catholic just you have to be a catholic you have to be a presentarian yeah yeah yeah what about the people who like i'm sorry we're talking so much about christianity i'm so fascinated we don't talk about we never talk about this stuff you need to learn about this you know we're not talking about like you know sex addiction when he has such a healthy perspective of it where he's not part in the religious sort of like yeah yeah extra rules part of it that's what my question is. What about the

people who take it overboard? What about the people who do it? We can agree to disagree for now. I still love you. There's no judgment here. Totally. What about people who do... What's the tongues? People speaking in tongues and stuff.

Charismatic Christians. What's that? Well, that's... Yeah, actually, Nick kind of sounds like Nick knows what he's talking about. We got a goy in the room. He's got a goy. I'm a goy. I'm Andy's goy toy. Yeah, he's my goy toy, dude.

I've done the reading. I got a lot of, I have a lot of Messianic Jew friends, man. I have a lot of, you know, there's some Christian Jews out there too. I mean, the two religions are way more similar than they are different. They are. There's just one extra guy. They definitely are. Definitely are.

Yeah. Jesus changed the game. All them other cats are dead. Jesus is what. Right. But, amen. I'm preaching now. Watch out, boys.

Sorry. No. The spirit, the tongues is a gift of the spirit. So when the spirit falls on you, that may be something that happens to you. You speak in tongues. It definitely happened to me. It did? It definitely happened to me.

When? Tell us the moment when it happened. Read the book of Acts. So read the book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit fell on them, and the Holy Spirit could only fall on the people when Jesus actually rose. Right. When Jesus said that, you know, it's good that I go. You know, obviously he's, you know, doing what he came to do, saving all mankind from sin.

But the Holy Spirit was the helper. So it could only, the Holy Spirit could only fall. God wanted to give the Holy Spirit To the people Until Jesus rose So when the Spirit falls And you Crazy stuff happens man I had demons exercised

I had There was some shouting There was some screaming There was some biting There was weeping It was gnarly You're about to move To Mississippi

You gotta get an organ In your band now Yeah You gotta get an organ You need to be three Back there man We gotta get an organ Yeah come on man Yeah man So would you consider Your music now Yeah. You gotta get an organ. You need to be three-year back there, man. We gotta get an organ, yeah. Come on, man.

Yeah, man. So, would you consider your music now Christian songwriting? Or songwriting by a Christian? I'm a Christian who writes and sings and performs music. I have, on the recent record, the last song I was considering, perhaps a Christian song, I would consider Run, Run, Run to be a gospel song. But for me personally, you know, I don't have, I haven't had peace about going forward and necessarily being like a full on gospel artist or something like that. That's not my calling. For me, me is to be

more of a bridge yeah i'm not gonna see him playing a mega church in houston anytime soon with a i mean i don't i don't know you know i mean i i would i would i would go and worship but um you know hear the sermons and stuff like that but you know honestly just creatively i would say the vast majority of of modern christian music i don't i'm not yeah i'm not driving with like i'm it's not gonna fit my my style so much so it has a real old navy sound to it you know dude i saw yeah i think i i think it's just yeah it you know whenever there's a lot of Whenever people are doing the same A lot of people are doing the same thing

I just naturally gravitate the other way Yeah You've always been OG though That's why I brought up You've always been OG I love like we're drinking whiskey tonight All these You've always been an OG to me

Every time You were so original With how you did it Now I see all those other people Doing what you did And I'm like, man, motherfucker Pokey did this first I don't know the other guy you're talking about

I'm for real, Pokey You're the fucking man who brought that Doing it in the shadows Doing their thing A lot of people are doing this stuff. It's just, it's just, you know how it is, Andy. I mean, there's so many great musicians out there. You just, you just haven't heard of them.

Right. Right. You got to dig. I think today's music business is competitive and crazy as it is. You know, it's now you can, can do anything you can do anything you know you don't have to fit into a box to succeed as much as i still think that that is the easy road that there's a path there for people if you want to take it but uh being an artist is hard and um but there's a way to make a living doing anything now more so now than there

was before. For sure. Right. You might not get rich, but you're going to get by. Yeah, exactly. Which is as good as anything else right now.

I think so. Well, I'm honored. I think so. I'm fucking honored that you fucking stayed alive to keep playing music because the world, if we would have lost you, man,

we would have lost a fucking amazing songwriter and whatever path it took to get you to stay alive, I'm just thankful you took that path, bro, because you deserve life and you deserve love and you deserve happiness and you deserve to love yourself because you are a super talent, bro. And just because no fucking girl is going to ruin my boy Pokey's life, okay? No girl, no alcohol substance, no music industry, because you're more powerful than that. I'm just thankful that you found a space in your heart to keep going, bro.

It really means a lot. Yes. You guys, I appreciate you being so open-minded and curious and giving me a space to be myself. I really appreciate it. I really do. Bro, we're in this together, bro. We should do some shows together.

You might not like it. Actually, we probably shouldn't do any shows together. I'm out of town, man. Let's do it, man. That's what it tells me. Let's do it. Might not, man. Yeah, I'll be like sucking nitrous.

You never know. You ready for pokey lafar you got a lot of christians in your crowd though man i do you have an uplifting like me you have an uplifting message like yeah like you know your message is pretty on brand yeah i approach happiness and loving yourself i just approach it in my own way and you approach everyone approaches it as long as we're approaching the good word of it, of trying to love yourself and trying to love everyone around you, I think we're all doing the same thing. Just different languages.

I don't know. Well, I certainly hope our paths cross again. We can talk about some proverbs. We can talk more and play and sing some together. I would love that. I would love that poke. I got one last question. I'll let you go.

When it's all said and done, through the ups and downs of your life, which has been unbelievable, we didn't even scratch the surface because we were talking about your new life. Through all the ups and downs, what do you want to be remembered by? Well, that is really good.

I'm preparing for the next big chapter in my life that, God willing, in the next few years, I'll be a dad. Let's fucking go. Nice. Yeah, so for me, that's ultimately what I want to be remembered I think that's been on my heart for a while to that I feel like maybe the greatest thing I'm going to do in my life is be a dad

well you're going to be a great dad brother thanks man you're sweet so I think for me I want to be remembered as a good father and all the things that go on with that. Got to get going. We just got married, but we'll get there.

Do you go to church every Sunday? Yeah. You're going to be pushing that. This is like the total night. This is your dream. It's like that 1950s family. You're pushing the trailer. Or pushing the trailer. Pulling the trailer into the pushing the trailer pushing pulling the

trailer into the church tv dinner this is like it's a full circle moment for you bro fire and brimstone baby no i mean there's there's some bits and pieces from different things from from the past but man i'm definitely uh glad that i'm alive now. I think for me, the great thing about Jesus is you can't force anybody to believe. That's the opposite of religion. You can force somebody to be religious. It doesn't mean in their heart that they believe. There's nothing like that. It's just creating a safe, loving home and different things like that.

All those things, like you said, be a good husband, good father, those things, that means. Totally. Well, I believe in you, Pokey. Keep doing your thing, baby. This is amazing. This is a great interview.

It's so nice to get a fresh perspective. Yeah, a really fresh perspective of the same things we're talking about in a different language, I feel. Yeah. feel yeah so thanks pokey i bet that was unexpected oh dude i was ready to talk whiskey and womanizing and all of a sudden bam my boys are born again christian luckily i know my bible and i can hang in there oh thank god yeah thank god i got my my midwesternern Christian co-host to help me through that interview.

I'm a Gentile correspondent. He's my Gentile correspondent. Now, Andy, this is what a Presbyterian is. In 1516, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses. Well, go get that baby.

Go put that baby in her And let's do it baby I'll talk to you soon Oh man you guys are sweet Continue your success fellas Have a great rest of your summer Later buddy Later Polk

You've just tuned in to the World Saving Podcast With Andy Frasco Produced by Andy Frasco, Joe Angel Howe, and Chris Lorenz Please help us save the world By subscribing and rating the show On volume.com, Apple, Spotify Joe Angel Howe and Chris Lorenz. Please help us save the world by subscribing and rating the show on volume.com, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening so we can spread the word and save the world.

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