MICAH L. JONES
Prophet Newz: Have you ever been told your music is from the devil?
Paul McCoy: Oh yeah… yeah, anything with scream, I’m covered in tattoos; I’m told that all the time. That… that’s one of the things that really is kind of frustrating cause, it’s like you don’t know the band, you don’t know me personally so, and a lot… I find it so tough cause, a lot of times people are so stubborn and so closed minded to anything… anything that’s not just completely cut from the cloth and just… I mean, it’s just frustrating. People come out and say… one night we’re on stage I was playing this big festival, wasn’t a Christian show, just a big festival and I was jumping around and I always do this—(Paul lifts his hand into the rock horns gesture)—to say like rock on you guys, you guys are awesome tonight, yeah! This kid pulled me aside, he was so mad at me, he was so mad and I… I mean it was just natural instinct, I do it at every show, it’s not… it’s not an “I love the devil move” you know. He pulled me aside, there was this huge line of kids that wanted autographs, he was the first one in line, arms crossed, “can I talk to you.” I was like “hey man let me get through a couple of these real quick” so, they don’t stand around, step off the side just hang out here for just a minute. So, I got through three or four more autographs. He pulled me aside, he was like “I just want to talk to you about something you did, when I came in here I was a 12 Stones fan, I’m not leaving as a 12 Stones fan cause you did this—(referring to the rock horns gesture)—and this is a sign of a cult, it belongs to the devil and you by doing that to all these people, you’ve condemned them and you’ve… you’ve made them realize that that’s okay to do” and I was like man I promise you I didn’t mean any wrong, I’m not a devil worshipper, I don’t mean yeah go do, go do drugs party and its not what I was doing. I said “man I’ll be honest with you, if that… if that small of a thing really takes everything I’ve ever said in my lyrics, everything you’ve ever seen about us live, if that one hand gesture—which I didn’t flip anybody off—it was… I gave the rock horns you know what I’m saying? If that one thing changed your entire opinion about my band and what we’ve done and what we’ve tried to accomplish, I just want you to know that the next show you come to you’re probably gonna see it again, it’s not out of spite, it’s just… it’s just how I am on stage, I’m not being disrespectful to you. I would never look at one kid that… that thought of this, no one else in my seven years of doing this has ever come up to me and said you know what I’m not a fan of yours anymore cause you did the rock horns, it doesn’t matter what you’ve said in your lyrics, it doesn’t matter what you’ve shown, it doesn’t matter… the community support you’ve done, “I’m not a fan anymore.” Those are the real frustrating moments, when people… they see me and they see me all tattooed up and they’re just like “your in a Christian band,” I’m like “no I’m not, I’m in a band that has a very, very positive Christian message behind it and take it as you will take… take the message that’s there and it’s there for you to take so, I don’t know… it’s frustrating.
Thomas Jones: I particularly like asking that question because I became a Christian when I was a teenager, which was one-hundred years ago—(laughter between everybody)—and that was back when Christian rock was just beginning and I went to a band… their name was DeGarmo and Key and uh… I don’t know if your familiar with—
Paul McCoy: Yeah, I know them.
Thomas Jones: And they used to tell stories how they used to play in the back of a pick-up truck until people would start throwing things at them, telling them the same thing, that their music is of the devil so, I find that interesting because it just shows sometimes how people are ignorant.
Paul McCoy: And that’s the frustrating part and that honestly gives a lot of really good God fearing, good people, good Christian people a bad reputation makes… makes a lot of bands not want to be in a Christian market because sometimes and this is just pure honesty, like I said I grew up in the church I’m one-hundred percent committed to that but, some of the most judgmental, closed minded people I’ve ever met have been Christians and it makes it hard for people who aren’t Christians to want to be like that. When you see that and the… and like the guys in my band they see this everyday, people coming up just fuming mad because for whatever reason your just like “man, you’ve got to just lighten up dude, this is not the holocaust, this is not some crazy religious war we’re in, this is a rock band that you have the ability to go online and buy the CD. Look at my lyrics, look at my thank-you’s, look at everything I have to say before you make a quick judgment, just because I’m tattooed or—I honestly think its funny music aside, I will be walking through the grocery store with my little girl and she is beautiful, loves life, angel of my world, I’ll be walking through and these old people are like “that poor baby.” I used to have a huge Mohawk and I’m tattooed and I’m carrying my beautiful daughter and they’re like “she’s just going to have a terrible life” and your like “you don’t even know me man” like we’re jamming out eating mac and cheese watching Hanna Montana, we’re not going home to sacrifice a lamb or anything. I like tattoos, I like being bright and colorful, I’m not… I don’t have any hail Satan tattoos on me.
Prophet Newz: If you weren’t in a rock band and you had nothing to do with music, what do you think you would be doing for a living?
Paul McCoy: I would probably open a restaurant. I love cooking. I love… I just… I mean, actually between the second and third record we weren’t sure we were going to get another album. I went and worked in a restaurant, big floppy hat and all. I love cooking so, actually me and my guitar player Eric helped run the same kitchen, he did all the… I was the sous chef… it was a pasta restaurant so, I did all the pastas and sauces, he did salads and desserts and appetizers and it was just funny between the second and third record, I looked over at him and be like “how did we get here man, aren’t we supposed to be on a stage right now?” The funny thing is it was in our home town so people would come up to one of those big open kitchen windows where you can watch the cooks work… big open window kitchens and people would walk by and be like “aren’t you the dude from twelve stones?” And I’m like “yeah” and they’re like “and your cooking my food, that’s pretty weird and cool at the same time” so, but I tell you what, I saw a lot of empty plates come back. So, I was doing something right… had my special ingredient going… it was working I guess.
(Everybody laughs)
Prophet Newz: When you are not touring what do you do for fun?
Paul McCoy: Hang out with my daughter uh… my wife.
Prophet Newz: I was going to say is the wife included?
(Everybody laughs)
Paul McCoy: Yeah, yeah, yeah she’s on my hip at all times so, I was just uh… but honestly, when I’m home that’s one of the benefits of this job is I’m gone a lot but, when I’m home, I’m home. I don’t have to go to work at nine a.m. I don’t have to… I don’t have to do anything when I’m home. I have free reign, it’s like five months off on the money that I make on the tour I can use to pay for the months that I’m off so, I have… I am still making money when I’m home. If I want to check my daughter out of school and take her to the zoo I can do that. A lot of times I can just… it makes it a lot easier, especially my wife when I’m gone. She works a full time job well… she works a part time job now and she goes to hair school and takes care of our two year old so, she’s like superwoman in my eyes so, when I come home I’m cooking, I’m doing the dishes, I’m doing the garbage, I’m changing the diapers, I’m walking the dogs, I’m doing everything I can to let her put her feet up so that next time I have to go out and I’m gone for five months I can go “love you thanks for everything honey,” be out the door you know. So, she’s actually here with me today. We played a show in New Orleans last night, our home show so I was just like “you know, you never traveled with me, I have been doing this forever just never any room” and we got rid of our crew bands… I was like “we got room now, come ride the bus with me for a day because we are going back tomorrow” so….
Prophet Newz: So you have your wife and daughter?
Paul Mccoy: Just my wife, my daughter is with my parents right now.
Prophet Newz: That’s right you said that.
Paul Mccoy: It would be tough to have her out here.
PROPHET NEWZ 2008
TO BE CONTINUED....
