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| Yours truly with Jerrod Cunningham (IATP make-up, no mask) at Kingdom Come Festival, 6-17-23 |
One of my current favorite bands is I Am The Pendragon. I got to know their lead singer Jerrod Cunningham.
JR: Welcome to the blog! How did you come to know Christ, and what got you interested in music?
JC: I actually come from what most people would call a dysfunctional home life growing up. We struggled a lot with poverty, homelessness and few times and drug/alcohol issues with abusive step-dads over the years. In the midst of all of it, my mom was very intentional about getting all of us boys plugged into a local church gathering. From a very young age, I latched onto the word of God and when the Bible tells us that we are the children of God, that He is our Heavenly Father, as a boy growing up without knowing my earthly father, I took that at face value. Of course, that didn’t mean that my walk with God through the years was always a straight path and there have been many layers of healing, repentance and growth, but Christ has been the constant in my life when everything else was a storm of change and dysfunction.
Music was always being played in our home. My mom used to be one of those people who would record 15-20 seconds of her favorite worship or praise song at the beginning of her voicemail recorder and on the regular trips to my grandmas, we would be listening and singing along to music for the entire ride. My mom always listened to gospel and praise CD’s, which didn’t appeal strongly to me, but I didn’t know what else was out there. When I was very young, I was introduced to rock music through movies. The main ones were “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” where they play KISS’s “God Gave Rock’n’Roll to You” at the very end and the soundtrack to Young Guns 2 which was done by Jon Bon Jovi. “Blaze of Glory” was my first “favorite song.” I didn’t find out about Christian rock music until middle school when I was introduced to bands like Project 86, P.O.D., Zao and many others. From that point forward, I was hooked.
JR: You're in not one but two different bands! Could you tell us the story behind I Am The Pendragon and XIII Minutes, including the origin for the band names? I have no idea what a Pendragon is, but am I correct to think it's a little more permanent than a Pencildragon?
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| XIII Minutes, l-r: Jamie Kucinski (drums), Preston Bell (bass, BGVs), Jerrod Cunningham (lead vocals), and Thomas Wheat (guitars, BGVs) |
JC: I’ll start with my most recent venture, XIII Minutes. Since I wasn’t around when the band originally formed, I wasn’t a part of naming it, so I can keep that explanation short and sweet! A couple of the founding members had also spent time working as physical trainers. There is a statistic that a person can maintain a baseline of health if they would be able to commit to 90 minutes of physical exercise a week. Well, divided by 7 that breaks down to about 13 minutes a day. They took that stat and applied it to our spiritual lives; what would it look like for people to commit to 13 minutes of spiritual disciplines every day? Rather than diving head first into a 3 hour prayer and Bible reading plan that you are probably not going to be able to stick with, just focus on spending 13 minutes with God everyday and see what He does with that.Almost exactly one year ago now, I sent my audition track over to Jamie and the guys to try out for the position of lead vocalist. I had known the band since 2017/2018 and played a couple of shows with them. I loved their music and had seen some of the successes and challenges they had faced. When Jamie told me that the vocalist they were relaunching with realized he needed to step down just as they had started their comeback, I decided a 5 1/2 hour drive wasn’t so bad and asked him if he would allow me to audition. My goal with XIII Minutes is not to mimic anyone that has been in this role before me, but to honor what they have done and help forge a new chapter for the future of the band.
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| I Am The Pendragon (IATP), l-4: Darryl Cunningham (no relation, guitar), Jerrod Cunningham (lead vocals, guitar), Kevin "Moose" Busch (bass), and David Martin (drums). |
IATP is the project that I started way back in 2010. I ripped the name out of a C.S. Lewis novel called “That Hideous Strength.” The line in the book is the culmination of a test of riddles that narrow those who can answer to the final one only being known by one single person; the Pendragon whose name is Ransom. I read the line and thought to myself, “Man, that would be a great band name!” Then, almost as quickly as I had that thought, my mind began auto populating with an entirely separate and unrelated sci-fi, end of the world narrative story that made me feel like if I didn’t start writing it down that instant I was going to explode. Out of those scribbles was birthed the concept band known as I Am The Pendragon. The title of Pendragon in literature goes back to Uther and Arthur Pendragon, the ancient and somewhat mythological high kings of England. Yes, that King Arthur. It was their surname, and then it became more of title of leadership in the Lewis story. In my mythos, it’s a title of leadership in the forgotten tongue of dying world. At first it is understood to be about one man, but as more is revealed in time, they find that the true fulfillment is far more expansive than anyone could have thought.
JR: What's your latest projects, and is there anything on the horizon? Such as, new album, new book, etc.?
JC: I am currently working on writing the first book in the IATP story. It is something that I initially planned to do as a graphic novel, taking on the writing and the art, myself. I even have the first few pages fully drawn up from back in 2012 or so. The problem with doing a graphic novel is time, though. I would not be okay with producing rushed artwork just to get the story out there and there was always something in the way. I finally decided to set that plan aside (for now) and right out the story in novel form, first. This is a considerable undertaking in itself, but at least sticking with one artistic discipline rather than trying to handle multiples at a time is allowing me to focus on the story and at least get that out into the world soon.
Musically, both bands have new music coming out very soon. IATP has the long awaited “Revisionist History” EP that is currently in pre-launch. Revisionist History was conceived when we signed onto Rottweiler Records back in 2022. Rather than launching into pt. 3 of the IATP anthology with a much wider audience base who had never heard of us, we decided to choose a selection of a few of our favorite songs from the past 2 albums, re-record them professionally and use those as our introduction. We’ve had at least a few setbacks between recording and release, 2022 to now 2024, but we are finally ready to get these songs out there!
I have already been able to get into the studio and record 2 singles with XIII Minutes. Both of them are songs that we have been hitting the road with this year, “Cult Leader” and “Stay.” One thing that I am very grateful for is that even though both bands fall into the various “Rock/Metal/Alternative” groupings, there is a huge difference in the sonic output. That means that you will definitely NOT be hearing two bands with the same vocalist that sound more or less the same but, instead, two different rock bands with their own sounds and their own feel but just happen to share the same singer. You can be a fan of one and not care for the other and that would be totally understandable because they are very different, but I do hope that rock music fans of all types will be able to appreciate both.
JR: With two bands and a book, not to mention church and family, how do you keep your priorities from having a chaotic resemblance to reality? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) What suggestions would you give to those struggling with keeping up their Bible reading and prayer and other responsibilities?
JC: First off, I love Chaotic Resemblance! I’ll get to share the stage with them here in just over a week at Renewed Fest in Columbus, KS with XIII Minutes before IATP joins all of us at KCF the following weekend!
As far as keeping priorities and responsibilities, spiritual and secular, in line, I might have a slightly skewed perspective from most that I’ve heard. Typically, I hear people talking about balance, like life is a tight rope act and the goal is the keep things even so that you don’t fall to one side or the other. I do not believe in balance. Balance is a myth. The Bible tells us to seek first - as of upmost importance - the Kingdom of Heaven and that everything else will be added to us. Focusing on balance distracts us from what I believe our true aim should be, prioritization.
At the top of my hierarchy of priorities is my relationship with and obedience to God. There is nothing that carries that weight in my life. My secondary priority is my marriage and then my role as a father. If I am not ministering well in these areas, then I have no business teaching the Word to anyone else. After family comes Kingdom work; starting with co-pastoring a Church gathering that meets in our home and the home of my co-pastor, then my musical endeavors, then my job. Those all can fluctuate in which area needs attention now.
As a pastor, I am responsible for my end of discipling those who have chosen to come under us. That is a high responsibility. If they have an emergency situation, I make time for them by clearing away other, less pressing responsibilities. People are more important than productivity. Sometimes, I am away on band trips, which is why having a plurality of leadership is important. Everything does not rise or fall on me. Thankfully, my job is ministry as well, although a very different kind. I have the opportunity to teach people how to build healthy and God-honoring relationships in all areas of their lives. Part of that is through our online channels, @askwholehearted, and part of that is live speaking in schools. Obviously, in a public school environment, I am not able to share the Gospel with students, but I am able to give them biblically influenced principles which are backed up by scientific and psychological data that has been deemed valuable enough by the districts that we work with to continue bringing me in. Music is another opportunity to reach people with truth through art.
Again, it’s about priorities, not about balance. God has to be first and foremost, every day in every decision. If He is truly at the head, I cannot be obedient to Him without loving, serving and leading my family well. If my family is falling to the wayside because of “ministry,” then the ministry is not a pleasing sacrifice to Him anyways. After my wife, then our kids, comes every other ministry. Our music has reached people who would have never come to a Church gathering, our relationship program has opened doors for millions of viewers to see how applicable scripture is to our everyday lives that my bands will never play in front of and the Church gathering is where the great commission of making disciples is walked out on an individual basis. They are all different, but all play their part. As long as I am walking in obedience to God and keeping the first things first, it’s weird, but it seems like everything else is added.
JR: I believe Christian musicians are on the front line of spiritual warfare, especially those who have an evangelistic focus, and those attacks are not just from the world but also from the church. Do you agree? Why or why not? And what sources do you have for encouragement?
JC: Yesish… haha! I do agree that bands who are intentionally evangelistic are on the front lines, but I also think that every follower of Christ is on the front lines, we just don’t always recognize it. The truth is that we live in the midst of an unseen war, with spiritual entities who are influencing and manipulating the world around us. I don’t see anywhere in scripture where we are told that some of us will be engaged in warfare and some of us will not, but instead we are all told to put on our armor and engage in the battle. If you are not actively working to advance the God’s Kingdom, then you are passively working against it. (Matt. 13:30) We are all called to go into the world, preach the Gospel and make disciples. We were all given the same mission. We have different ways of living that out, but none of us is exempt from the Great Commission.
As far as attacks from outside and inside the camp, I have had plenty of both. We have had secular bands that refused to share the stage with a Christian band. We have had professing believers openly challenge our faith because we play rock music and wear dark clothing. The thing is, we battle not against flesh and blood. For the well meaning believers who don’t understand or agree with what we do, I try to graciously walk through scripture with them and explain why it is that we do what we do.
In fact, a few years back we (IATP) played a show with Chaotic Resemblance and had a sister go onto the webpage of the church that was hosting asking how they could allow these evil bands to play in their building. A battle had already erupted in the comments section between this lady and our defenders with even another artist who had walked away from the faith coming to my defense and cursing this lady out before I even knew what was happening. I thanked him for his… colorful support but asked that he give grace to this woman, and then I started to respond, explaining our name, our clothing, our music and giving biblical foundations for our ministry approach. In the end, she said that she would not attend our event but that she would pray that God would use us, even if it was in ways that she didn’t understand. A gentle answer turns away wrath.
We should be ready at any moment to give a reason for why we believe and live the way that we do. The trick is to choose not to take offense. Again, it goes back to obedience. If I am truly doing what God has called me to do, then the opinions of man on either side of the fence have no bearing on me. On the other hand, if I am walking in error, it is a grace to be rebuked and returned to the path. If I choose to believe that that is the intention of the believers who challenge us, then I can enter the conversation with gratitude rather than offense. I have seen this approach disarm attackers time and time again, which allows us to have a back and forth discussion rather than a comments section argument. Even if we end up disagreeing about one aspect or another, we can usually come to a place where we recognize that we both serve the same King and can be content to allow Him to lead us respectively into truth. For the ones who continue with baseless accusations and refuse to deal with scripture when it is presented, then their issue is not with me and God will judge between us.
In the end, my wish is not primarily that other Christians wouldn’t attack us so much, because most don’t publicly do that. I do wish that Christians were more supportive of one another, in general. I see Christians paying tons of money to go to concerts of artists who openly rebel against our Creator but are willing to take that in as “entertainment.” Now, I’m not saying that all Christians should listen to our music and like it, but there are many very talented Christian artists in every genre who are struggling to get by as they seek to use their gifts to advance the Kingdom while Christians are willingly giving more money to someone who is tearing down the Kingdom we are called to build. If that causes anyone to feel conviction, you can assuage your guilt by giving to IATP’s fundraiser campaign at https://gofund.me/08cf9072 haha. Just kidding… but if you want to give, that would be lovely!
JR: Thank you for your time. How can we keep up with your ministries? And do you have any concluding thoughts?
JC: You can keep up with the music for IATP on social media at @iatpendragon or on our website, www.iatpendragon.com. For XIII Minutes, you can find all of our connection points on Link Tree. If you are interested in the relationship ed program, you can check us out on social media at @askwholehearted, instagram at @jerrodaskwholehearted or at our website, askwholehearted.com. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share! I am looking forward to seeing you again this year at KCF!
