Chris: 0:01

We're here, man, he did. We're at the, at the. So house, man, you know they got to get the vibe going bro.

Nate: 0:06

Oh god, you could probably hear the wind in the background. I hope this audio is gonna be great.

Chris: 0:09

My producer is gonna be like yeah, where were you? This is episode four coming at. You live from the Miami soho house. Oh yeah, with my man, nate Diaz, aka the king of Miami.

Nate: 0:23

No, no, no, all that.

Chris: 0:25

Oh bro, he. I've only been here less than 24 hours and he's taking me to more spots. And then I could even Imagine.

Nate: 0:32

I do love this city. The city is really fun.

Chris: 0:34

We're at the beach house, bro. That's a soho like you're the governor of the so house massive right here.

Nate: 0:39

Yeah this, but I didn't. I didn't know this big. This is actually my first time at this one.

Chris: 0:44

The V is awesome. The V is like you can see and see everything Miami Beach right here, yeah, um, so look for, for the listeners that don't know who you are, tell me. I want to start with like, how you got into music, because we can talk about accolades and what you've done and People would know you if we start there. But I'd like to start with, like, the origin story. Yeah how did Nate the young Nate Diaz get into music and what was that journey like?

Nate: 1:12

So I grew up in a super small Puerto Rican Pentecostal church and all I remember when I was younger was watching my dad play drums and and I was just fascinated by it. And so by the age of three I had my own little drum set and every Sunday we put it next to my dad's real drum set in church and I was just looking at him and I'll play along, and so drums is actually my first instrument and I fell in love with music through that and I was just gravitated towards it. It wasn't like anything that I had to think about, it was just like I Just love this thing, like of course I'm gonna do it. And I started to learn different instruments growing up in church. My grandfather was a pastor, so it was just like whatever instrument need to be learned so that we could fill a hole, I learned it's typical young church also.

Chris: 1:55

Why does every great musician or artist start on drums? I like it is like the origin of ever I.

Nate: 2:02

Don't know. One starts on like piano, like everyone starts. I think it's cuz the easiest to pick up like yeah, start the first thing you're probably geared towards is rhythm, not necessarily like anybody trying to learn chord shapes at the age of five.

Chris: 2:16

Like I got a chord shape for you, here's a snare hit.

Nate: 2:19

It's easier to make noise there.

Chris: 2:20

Yeah, so alright. So church, a lot of artists who have also like in all genres. I feel like church is a lot of times the start of it. So you grew up in church, you're up learning a lot of Different instruments. Fill in the gaps. Like when did you step out in? Like, okay, this is the next part of that journey, like you're out of the church and you're doing music.

Nate: 2:42

Yeah, I think I've that became a realization for me, because this is actually funny. I don't think I've ever talked about this. Yeah, yeah, on any podcast. Okay exclusive, I'm getting the exclusive. But I actually went to an art school for middle school in high school, wow.

Chris: 2:56

Yeah, so I'm from. I'm from that part, yeah.

Nate: 2:58

I don't really tell people but, that's when it got like out of the four walls. Yeah, it was when, like, I wanted to go to this art school. So bad, but I also wanted to up my chances of getting in and there was a major and a minor, and so I Didn't know how to, because I learned how to play all my instruments in church. I didn't know how to read music, but I really want to go to this art school.

Nate: 3:17

Yeah so then I was like I need to learn how to read music, so I started playing the trumpet.

Chris: 3:22

Bro, I didn't know that part. Yeah, that was the reason why you went to it. Okay.

Nate: 3:26

Yeah. So then I picked up the trumpet because I was like I'm gonna join band, I want to learn how to read music, and so I started playing trumpet like three months before this audition, and I Made that like my major because I ended up just like really loving it and I was grinding at it.

Chris: 3:41

Wait, what did what inspired you for trumpet? Was it just like, okay, I can learn this.

Nate: 3:45

Got three, three things that I had my uncle played, yeah my uncle played, and so I was thinking about band, but I was, like I already played drums at church, so I don't want to play here like, I want to play something different here what he played.

Chris: 3:54

Did he play like jazz or was he? Yeah, he played everything. Yeah, yeah.

Nate: 3:57

He didn't did marching band, he did jazz, he did classical everything.

Chris: 4:00

So, like you knew, miles Davis, like you're, you're already down that road.

Nate: 4:03

I was like this fourth grade, sorry, this fifth grader who was like, yeah, this is another way to get into this art school as well. Like, yeah. I'm loving it, and so I learned how to play. And then somehow I got in. I got into this arts school, even that only been playing trumpet for three months.

Nate: 4:18

But I was obsessed with it and I get tonal vision when I get like falling in love with something, and so that's what it was like like stepping out of that, like taking that just from church and like just actually just using it and like what did you learn first on trumpet?

Chris: 4:29

like what was the first song you're like okay, oh, hot cross buns.

Nate: 4:32

Well, I cross buns, if you know. You know, I know, yeah, I play hot cross buns and I played that thing. I mean, I really played it out. My parents are so sick of me I Don't know how they put up with it.

Chris: 4:45

Yeah.

Nate: 4:46

Yeah, but that's yeah, I was hot cross bond out of my mind, that's crazy.

Chris: 4:50

So you got in the school, did you? How long you stay in the school?

Nate: 4:54

All the way to college, yeah, yeah. And then you went to.

Chris: 4:57

Liberty, right, mm-hmm, yeah, so. So pick up there like what, how did that? You say you got through art school, then you go to Liberty. Did you go on scholarship for music or did you go? No, just.

Nate: 5:08

I had like a very small academic scholarship. Yeah, I was honestly just prepared to go into debt.

Chris: 5:15

It was a major was debt.

Nate: 5:18

And also I was studying my doctor to physical therapy there. Yeah so like music was just something that I did so much that I never thought of doing a degree for it. Yeah, it was just. It was like more of a passion than it was so how were you doing in college?

Chris: 5:31

Were you playing like with?

Nate: 5:33

just that your worship team at the at the school found out that I led worship. It was like I had a friend, tiana. Yeah, tiana was on the worship.

Chris: 5:42

Shout out to.

Nate: 5:43

Tiana balls. She's killing it. Love you. Um. They found out through her that I was. She was like yo. You got to listen to this kid lead worship. You grew up with me like because we're both from the same town. Yeah and then they reached out to me and asked me to like just be a part of the team.

Chris: 5:57

Okay, can we just talk about that for a second now. He says the same town, but it's actually the states about, as big as. Most cities Delaware. For some reason, like you're out of there, tiana, like there's so much talent, it's come out of Delaware.

Nate: 6:11

It's weird that there's a lot and it's specifically within our age group. I feel like a lot of our friends and I mean there are some of the most talented people that I know are actually still in Delaware, just like.

Chris: 6:20

Missing, like I know you. Tiana, adrian, there's whole Delaware collective, drew, drew, that's right yeah.

Nate: 6:26

Drew, like people like that, like great songwriters and worship leaders and singers. It's interesting. I think it's because Delaware is so tiny but it's surrounded by major metropolitan areas. Yeah, like we can get to DC in two hours. We can get to Philly in 30 minutes. We could take the train into New York, be there in two hours. We can go to Jersey. It's like 15 minutes away. You can go to Maryland Baltimore is like an hour away, like but then you have this weird little place in the middle. It's essentially a speed bump in the Northeast and it's just chock full of people that are Inspired by everything around them but don't have necessarily the means to get out of what they're in.

Chris: 6:57

Yeah.

Nate: 6:58

But they have the like, they have the talent, it's just the resources.

Chris: 7:00

It's like the suburb to all the major metropolitan.

Nate: 7:03

It's like Delaware suburb state literally, it's just one little, it's just one. I want to see big. It's just one little suburb in the middle of a bunch of big.

Chris: 7:10

That's funny, man. All right, so you're in Liberty. Tiana's pushing you out, she, she called you out. She, she raised the flag, you start doing stuff there. So how did it, how did your journey continue through Liberty and post Liberty and into music?

Nate: 7:23

Yeah. So, like I said, I was very much a student who was like I'm gonna graduate as soon as I can so that I don't have to like pay off as much debt. Yeah, I'm gonna move back to Delaware help my parents with the church that they planted, and so it was never in the cards to do anything music related for a vocation, like though I didn't even have a reference point for that, because church has never got big enough for people to get hired there, and where I'm from, like barely the pastor would get a salary sometimes.

Nate: 7:47

Yeah but never from a music perspective, like worship leaders or just like music in general, even outside the church, like no one's doing music and succeeding where I'm from. So it was just like I'm gonna. It wasn't even even in my mind. So what, basically, what happened is the synopsis is I just kept doing it like I did. I just always loved it and it was just such a massive part of my life. But then I was also working towards like a full-time, like Vocations, secularly.

Nate: 8:09

Yeah um until I became a part of like Maverick City and Maverick City Musica and helping build tribal and all that.

Chris: 8:16

And I did that. Sorry, let's go back there. How did how'd you get?

Nate: 8:19

you know it was crazy during COVID, yeah, and this is gonna be really funny, but call of duty is actually how I met. Tony, tony and JJ Yep, because my one of my best friends, philip. We're playing call of duty a lot and Philip at that time had just gotten on the team for math because he was doing Helping them with merch and designing their clothes and all that but, at the time I was still small, like it was just blowing up, so they need to help, like running social media.

Nate: 8:45

So he was doing social media too and because he was doing social media, when Mav followed me I thought it was filled it fuck like sorry, I thought it was like when they would DM me and stuff. Because Phil followed me from the Mav account, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, cuz Tony and Jay were like, hey, you have a lot of young worship leaders. Like, if you have young worship leader friends, just follow them. Like we would love to like get to know them, we'll do whatever, whatever, because it wasn't that massive. Yet there's a say we just want to connect with young dope worship leaders.

Nate: 9:11

And so Phil followed, of course, all his friends. Yeah, and I was one of them. And because I was playing a lot of war zone on call of duty with Phil and Tony and JJ were playing we end up playing a lot and they didn't know that I was the same guy that they were sliding up on on social media. And in my mind, when they would slide up on a video of me of leading worship, I thought it was Phil up sliding up, but it was Tony the whole time, yeah, and so they didn't connect it to that Nate from Delaware that they would play Xbox with is the same Nate Diaz that they were like Showing love to on Instagram, like these little worship clips that I would post yeah, and what they do and like was those were those just worship clips from church or just?

Nate: 9:47

like people would tag me, like if they saw Me leading on campus and I was like repost or something and it was like I like surely this guy With all this carnage and like kicking everybody's butt on this game.

Chris: 9:58

It's not the same worship leader.

Nate: 10:00

And we would play with Nate more, so they were coming from Delaware because we would get confused.

Nate: 10:05

But, then they I got a text. One day, a fall of 2020, in September, I got a text and it was like it was Tony. It was a screenshot of a text that Phil sent me and it was like yo, I saw this guy leading like at Phil had just promises, was blowing up at that point and Phil sent a video of me and Tiana leading promises to Tony and he was like tell Nate, I want to see him at the bubble. And I was like.

Chris: 10:33

that's how Phil and Tiana were dating, right? They weren't even engaged or married yet, they're just dating.

Nate: 10:39

And he was like, I was like what the heck is the bubble? And then a week later I got put in a text with Bo Bo Kett yeah.

Chris: 10:48

Shout out Bo Bird man oh Bo.

Nate: 10:51

And Tony, and it was like a Google doc and it was like, hey, fill this out like quarantine for five days and then come to Atlanta and then, long story short, I didn't know what it was Like. I really didn't know what it was until the day before we left. It was just like they sent an email and they're like hey, we know there's a lot of confusion regarding what this is. Just basically, welcome the Maverick City, like as a family, like welcome to the Maverick City family. And I just lost my mind. I was like what is happening? Because I was watching their videos before they blew up. Like me, tiana and Phil would get around the video and watch videos of Dante singing my Soul Sings, when it only had like a thousand views.

Nate: 11:24

Yeah, you know, and so you were there for those.

Chris: 11:28

I was at this man Hummel Beginnings and that's why I like starting with the origin story, because we can start with the Maverick City part and the music. But it's like I love hearing the journey to that, like you had no trajectory, or like massive strategy, like this is where I want to end up, but God had a different plan.

Nate: 11:43

I've just always been a lover of the presence, and that's all I know is like I had to pour my oil out and then, even after the bubble, I remember telling myself, if this is the last thing I do, this was the coolest thing I've ever done and I just have loved it. That week marked me so much like getting wrecked in the presence and also just being so inspired by so many of the people that were there and it turns out like three years later I didn't know that I was going to be friends with them. Still, you know, like the Rhino phase of the world, tion, all these people that I just love so dearly.

Chris: 12:16

I mean three years later, like you guys were, you've done music. You're at elevation doing rhythm stuff with elevation rhythm.

Nate: 12:23

I didn't even write at that point. I had written one song in my life and I vowed to never do it again, because I was like I hate this, I hate doing stuff that I'm bad at, and I was like I'm a horrible writer, why would I ever do this? And then, when I went to the MAVCAMP, I wrote a song with Johnny and Siri and Tiana, and the chorus of that song actually made it on a song that recently was released. Wow.

Chris: 12:46

What song was that?

Nate: 12:47

It's called Put a Moth in the Spot.

Chris: 12:51

So many songs From the guy who vowed to write songs.

Nate: 12:55

Dude, it was on the most recent house fires record. Doe sang it.

Chris: 12:59

It's great, yeah, but um, you said Doe sang it. Yeah, doe sang it. She can sing anything, bro. So we'll come back to the song. You remember it? Yeah, because this is the power of song podcast.

Nate: 13:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how I got in the song.

Chris: 13:14

That song. So how did you? So you get in, you're at the bubble and then tell me the journey from that to, like, elevation, elevation of rhythm music, like how did that happen?

Nate: 13:27

There were two. I met someone named Stephen Brewster at the bubble. Yeah, and this is, like I said, october of 2020. And then, after the bubble, it was just like cool, that was insane. I'm gonna go back to Lynchburg, virginia, and go back to being a student after the most like beautiful four days. I treated it as like a retreat, like that was incredible, like I'm gonna remember that week for my whole life and almost in my head I was just like I'll never go back. Of course not. It's like Maverick City, like it's blowing up right now.

Nate: 13:54

It felt like they invited you to like, felt like I want to award, like you know, when you like. Went on the.

Chris: 13:59

You got the Golden Chicken to Hollywood.

Nate: 14:00

Yeah, it's like when you went on a free cruise by scratching off like a McDonald's. That's what it felt like, and so the journey to that is like to elevation. I met someone named Stephen Brewster at the bubble. Shout out to Brewster, shout out Brewster, man Love you. And time just kept going. I went back, went back to working at the bagel shop, doing school, full time, studying business, and about maybe eight months later, so much had transpired in my life. Mav ended up becoming a part of it and like helping develop, like the Spanish side of it, and then also being a part of helping developing in tribal and so much songwriting and like releasing music and I, at one point it was, I was doing that more than school and work.

Nate: 14:42

And that's when it became like, oh, I think this is becoming my life. But I also like couldn't do it out of Virginia. Like it was like I was driving eight hours to Atlanta, like it was all the time. And then, if you fast forward a couple months, I basically felt the Lord telling me it was time to move. But I was like I don't know where and out of me and Bruce had been playing phone tag for easily six months and never been able to get a hold of each other, like he would call me. I would call him, never picked up, like we'd be like, hey, let me hit you back busy right now.

Nate: 15:10

And it was like but some random Tuesday I felt the Lord requiring and there's a lot to this story, but the synopsis the Lord just kept requiring these massive steps of obedience on my behalf till it got to the point where the Lord is like okay, now give up your scholarship and drop out of school. Wow. And I was like what do you mean? I was the first person in my family to graduate straight out of high school, from college. Like this is a massive part of my family, like my grandmother's an immigrant. My parents were born like here, like out of all my cousins. No one had done it yet and I was like it was a big part of my plan. And the Lord was like no, like put that on hold, like I have something. And it was terrifying. And so I called my team the worship team and I left and then I unenrolled from school.

Chris: 15:54

That's a big step.

Nate: 15:55

Yeah, yeah, with no plan. And then, immediately as I hung up the phone, I got a call from Steven Brewster. He was like you guys actually connect and we actually talked, he was like what are you doing this summer? And I was like, well, I, I mean, I'm just gonna stay in Virginia and work at this bagel shop. You know, it's crazy. I was so afraid of the future that I actually had, without telling anybody, applied for the elevation internship.

Nate: 16:20

No way yeah, yeah, yeah even though people were like I actually told two of my room, actually told two of my friends and who were not good friends. I realized they're like you're above that, you're doing math stuff, what are you doing an internship for? And I was like uh, shut up.

Chris: 16:34

Yeah.

Nate: 16:34

I don't care, like my future is at risk right now. I need to do something. And then I get a call from Steven Brewster. It was like yo, what are you doing for summer? I was almost staying in Lynchburg is gonna work, really. I think I live here now, so I'm just gonna work. I don't know how long I'm gonna live here. And he eventually Connected me with Wade Joy. Shout out Wade, love you, yeah. Who at the time was over all of Russia?

Chris: 16:55

And people that don't know.

Nate: 16:56

Steve.

Chris: 16:56

Brewster. He and I used to work together integrity music like way back in the day and a lot of the, the I would say the the success that came from a bridge with the label, I would say Brewster was a one-hand facilitate and that's what he is huge part of that man. It's a great, great networker. Check out his side. I think it's still Steve Brewster. Dot me. Yeah back when we were bloggers back in the day. Great guy, great, great creative resource.

Nate: 17:23

But, he's.

Chris: 17:24

That's cool, that he, that you guys connected, because he would have been that bridge to there?

Nate: 17:28

Yeah, he would have. I mean he connected me to elevation. I ended up going off for the summer and never coming back.

Chris: 17:33

Yeah like.

Nate: 17:33

That's how I became a part of elevation and obviously I knew some of their guys from math.

Chris: 17:37

Where was rhythm at that point? Was it a thing like was elevation rhythm going on?

Nate: 17:41

It was the youth expression of their worship team and they had released singles. Yeah but it is not what we know today, just because they hadn't released an album yet.

Nate: 17:48

Yeah like the church was. Still it was developing its sound. Still David and Tiffany were in the trenches. Yeah, I mean writing and just serving. So well, been like To the point where me getting to Charlotte and then a bunch of other people getting to Charlotte all at the same time is what rhythm is now? We're like, we're standing on the shoulders of like David and Pastor Steven and Tiff really were like fighting for it.

Chris: 18:13

That's funny me. God put you in a place with them at that point of building and what was going to be the next level up, and I feel like it math too, like you jumped into a little bit of tribal and Maverick and Realized songwriting was gonna be a thing. But tell me about how music that came came into the picture. Maverick City music. It was a thing for a couple years.

Nate: 18:34

Yeah, music is probably one of my favorite things Also. The way you say music is better than the way I say Musica if Maverick City music is one of my favorite things ever and I have met some of my best friends through it. Yeah, I mean, I just did a tour with that I'm Karen.

Nate: 18:50

Yeah, and I met her the day that we recorded Musica like the very first music album. Yeah, like we all met that day and it was like this instant click, like as if we had known each other forever. Maverick City music I was the Spanish expression of math. Yeah, we did like translated songs from math, but also just like we wrote our own stuff. And Maverick City music I came at such a beautiful time in the Latin space because it was a bunch of nobodies, yep and Like. For so long there had been a shortage of like songs in Latin America and people just started translating English stuff, which is incredible. Continue to resource the church like that. But there is something about Something that is originally written in the native language to capture the essence of the love that people of.

Nate: 19:31

Latin America. Have for the Lord. Yeah and Maverick City music. I was the first young expression of worship, and a very long time.

Nate: 19:39

Yeah and Giants in that world, like Cristina de Clario and Daniel Calvetti People at Miel, san Marcos. They came alongside Maverick City music so quickly yeah, because they had been doing it forever and doing it so well, but they were like it gave them hope for the next generation that there was this group of rag tag Young Puerto Rican, dominican, mexican, whatever, like we were all over the place from Latin America. There are a group of young kids that just love the presence and love writing songs to the Lord.

Nate: 20:05

Yeah because it reminded them of them when they were younger, and so that's what I got to be a part of that's what I saw.

Chris: 20:11

I feel like I saw it really come to a full fruition when that happened, when, when, when I saw all those greats come. Alongside a second album and that recording was like, wow, everybody was in the room from all different types of backgrounds and Careers, but they all came together to worship and a real, authentic you know, which felt like a fresh expression.

Nate: 20:31

Yeah, it's amazing dude.

Chris: 20:33

So that's the journey of Nate. I was gonna try to do that as an intro myself, but you did it so well, just narrating the, the whole experience. But, dude, I love, I didn't know the art piece, I didn't know the art school piece, I knew the true, I knew you played trumpet. I was like I love jazz. I'm like dude amazing, bro.

Chris: 20:51

But so I've got some standard questions that we dive into In the podcast. Talk about the power of songs and I would love to hear, knowing your journey in this, like what was the first song that you remember? So I think we all grew up in music, right? So the question is like what's the first song you remember hearing? But I mean it in the sense of Not your mom's song, your grandparents song or music around the house, but like what song do you remember? Like when your eyes I feel like if you're called to music and you work in music, you create music, or whatever Like there's a moment where you're like, oh, like you just went through the veil. You're like, oh, now I see music in a different lens and there's usually a song or something that happens.

Chris: 21:30

That's a catalyst for that. So do you remember like what that song is? That for you?

Nate: 21:35

Man is crazy. There's two that come to mind, and they're very different. Yeah and, mind you, I grew up in a Spanish church, but when I heard friend of God, but is like Israel's friend of God off that album.

Nate: 21:48

Yep, it changed my life, because I grew up around Spanish music and then Israel introduced me to the gospel music and I remember it just like whoa, like what am I listening to? Like I felt something came alive in me and I was like couldn't stop singing it. I couldn't stop listening and hearing new things, even as a kid. Yeah, I was like Seven, eight years old and I would ask for that song to get put on, because I was just like obsessed with the way it sounded. That one and this is gonna catch you by surprise. Yeah, guaranteed, but every there's a song by casting crowns.

Chris: 22:24

Okay.

Nate: 22:25

Yeah, called every man. All right yeah and I sang that song in church as a special, like, easy, like two, three times a month.

Chris: 22:34

This is like and here's Nate with the every man song again.

Nate: 22:39

It was just the melody Fascinated me. I realized now that that it was just so catchy to me. Yeah and so I would do it at this Spanish church. No one under new, no one understood what I was singing about, but I was just fascinated with that song.

Chris: 22:50

Yeah, I feel like that's where casting songs would sit. They were always the special moments like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Nate: 22:56

No one was singing every man in there as a second song Do you remember?

Chris: 22:59

did you guys do for negat? Did you remember Lee? Do you have you led that?

Nate: 23:03

At that age. Yeah, we didn't have enough instruments. This is before stems and everything yeah and on top of that, it wasn't like we only saying Spanish hymns, like it was either salsa stuff made in this stuff like slow ballast stuff. Now it like you weren't allowed to bring anything new to the church.

Nate: 23:19

Wow one time I try to sing another song. The guy who was playing is we didn't play guitar, he played quattro. That's how Puerto Rican we were. Yeah, he put his thing down. He said he wasn't gonna play until we started singing coritos again, like all the hymns. Wow, and then approve a point the next week he came in led worship and he only did all the hymns. Yeah he did 20.

Chris: 23:39

I was trying to explain this to a friend that I was like I was talking about Israel. You know we're friends with Israel and his wife, adrienne, loves the old coritos.

Chris: 23:47

Yes a part of the worship anywhere. And I was trying to explain this to a guy. I was like I said you, I don't speak Spanish, I want to learn it, I said, but you could feel it. So I said I don't know what they're singing, but man, the energy and like the feel, because when you say hymns you can think of, like a very old traditional, the church musical style, about my bra, it's like coritos is different. It's way different than that.

Nate: 24:07

Yeah, it's like a vibe. Yeah, I don't know how to describe truly out of when. I, when I think about it in English, I'm like there is no Like. It directly translates to like little songs.

Chris: 24:17

Yes, like that's the direction I do it just but man, it's like vibes.

Nate: 24:22

Yeah it's like these old songs about the power of God that would just go on forever. Yeah, that were upbeat like everything was fast and like salsa. I'm an anger.

Chris: 24:32

Such a vibe, all right.

Nate: 24:33

The first ones I remember hearing for real.

Chris: 24:34

So you heard that and what was the first song you heard outside of the Christian genre? You're like, okay, this is listening to music. Now I'm hearing it differently, like what was that? Mmm, oh.

Nate: 24:46

You know what's crazy? I wasn't allowed to listen to anything other than Christian music.

Chris: 24:49

You're not the only guest who says that.

Nate: 24:51

I wish. And I went and I backtracked and I went back and was able to listen to music that was being released over those years. But I was also just listening to a lot of rap for real, Like if I was sneaking away from my parents to listen to something and go be bad with my cousins. It was hip hop.

Chris: 25:07

Alright, so what was the hip hop then? What was the?

Nate: 25:10

Man.

Chris: 25:11

What era of hip hop would that have been?

Nate: 25:13

Oh, Waka Flaka was the king at that time. Hard in the paint. Hard in the paint. But Waka Flaka was going crazy and I remember my mom found out that I listened to it and I got whooped.

Chris: 25:24

So that was the end of that era.

Nate: 25:26

Don't mess with his mom she's yeah, please, don't, please, it's not worth it.

Chris: 25:32

That's funny. What pulled you into rap? Was it like? The vibe, the feel, the culture Was it? Everything is different.

Nate: 25:40

Everyone was rocking with it. I think also the fact that my cousins loved it so much and I looked up to them.

Chris: 25:45

You're like alright.

Nate: 25:47

I was like oh, I like what you like. Whatever you like, I'm gonna like.

Chris: 25:50

That's funny, my older sister I remember. The first music I remember listening to was back in the 80s and she was Durand, Durand, Thompson Twins, Boy George, all that stuff. And I was like and I remember hearing it I didn't have that exact feeling. I wasn't trying to sneak music either, but I was like this is. I liked it.

Chris: 26:07

But I was like then I started getting into hard rock, the metal, and went down that whole path and it's interesting when you start, that's usually as an influence to whoever that you look up to is listening to you like oh, I like that. That's the thing. So you talked a little bit about this. The first songs that impacted you, those two, how would you say, like that, a Friend of God, how did that impact you musically? And you say you didn't ever set out to be a songwriter. Did that plant seeds for you to, like you think, move into songwriting? Or how did you? Oh yeah, how'd that impact you?

Nate: 26:45

I think that it changed my appetite musically, which in the long run allowed me to be a songwriter, because hearing Friend of God exposed me to a whole new sound and that's how I went down the rabbit trail with, like gospel music and like that, like hearing people talk about God in a different way and then play to God in a different way and just play in general. You feel me Like that has impacted me to this very day, like I didn't have language for it when I was 8, 10, 11, 12 years old. Right, but it impacted me so much it opened my ear to a whole other world and I was able to go explore that world. And in the process of exploring those I found other stuff.

Chris: 27:27

Yeah, yeah.

Nate: 27:28

Even what mainstream stuff like it's just. It changed everything for me Truly.

Chris: 27:34

So you had that trumpet years in art school. How did jazz?

Nate: 27:40

influence you. Oh my gosh, so much it taught me about control. I was doing so many types of different music at such a young age that I was like how do I do jazz and sound like I only do jazz but then sing in church? And sound like I only sing in church but then play classical music and sound like I only do classical music? And I took and I was like I really took pride in the fact of doing this well, like whatever's in front of me. I want to be versatile.

Nate: 28:06

I wasn't saying that at 10 years old, I couldn't, didn't know what that word meant, but I realized that's what my desire was. I was like I want to play jazz trumpet like Miles Davis, but I want to sing in church like Israel Houghton, but I also want to sing in church like Davidia, but I'm these guys that were just dropping coritos at the time. And I also want to sing in church like Cristina Declario, but I want to sing in English like Casting Crowns, like all these. It was so eclectic what I was taking in that it produced in me the desire and later on, the ability to do that myself.

Nate: 28:40

And when we talked about it today, at breakfast, like there's so many things that I'm doing and even writing like because I can hear different stuff, because I had the. God just saw it fit that I would be introduced to so many things at such a young age.

Chris: 28:53

Musically, so good man, I think there's. That's the thing I love about song and music is the power of that of influence, and I love artists like yourself that can be influenced but not be an echo, that can create something that's original. Out of that influence, that, that kind of like, you take in all the colors and the in the you know, the crayon coloring box or whatever crayons probably a bad example all the paints that you know. You have all the colors to work with from influence, but then you create your own picture and you create your own thing.

Chris: 29:28

So what was that first song? You wrote Like what do you? Do, you remember?

Nate: 29:32

Yeah, it's actually. It was a song called oh. It was described it was. I wrote it during COVID.

Chris: 29:43

Yeah, so wait, how old were you when you wrote your first song?

Nate: 29:49

20. Wow, that was 20.

Chris: 29:51

So you went that long leading. I thought writing songs was so lame.

Nate: 29:57

I thought writing songs was so lame.

Chris: 29:59

Why did you think it was lame?

Nate: 30:00

Because I went to school with musical theater kids.

Chris: 30:01

Yeah, Because you were above the songwriters.

Nate: 30:03

I was like you know, I just thought they were weird. All the songwriters I knew, like they were trying to write for Broadway and they're like 16 and it was so bad and their whole personality trait was like I'm a songwriter, yeah, and I was like you're weird, that's what you are.

Chris: 30:18

Like we don't live in a musical.

Nate: 30:19

I was basically a jerk is what I'm trying to say.

Nate: 30:21

I was a jerk. And then I was like I would hear melodies and sing stuff all the time, though I didn't recognize that I was writing in small increments. So I was 20, it was COVID, I was bored, and then my friend started writing, like Tiana was writing and my friend Mariah was writing, and I was like I want to try this. I'm sorry. I wrote my very first song and it's about the journey of it's the disciples that were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus presents himself and it's like from their perspective. And it's actually crazy because the chorus of that song you know that song that I recorded at the travel night with Ryan O'Faith, King of Heaven, that's the chorus of the very first song I ever wrote.

Chris: 31:02

Gotcha.

Nate: 31:04

And me and Ryan just tweaked the melody a little bit.

Chris: 31:07

Shout out to Ryan.

Nate: 31:08

Shout out Ryan O'Faith. That's my dog for real, that was the first song I ever wrote Wow 2020.

Chris: 31:14

2020. And you've got, I mean hundreds, over a hundred songs that I know that you've started or in some form or fashion or have been put out. What are some of the favorite? Like if you had like hey, these are some favorite songs I've worked on, yeah, what are those and why are they your favorites?

Nate: 31:33

You know, because you kind of arrived at songwriting late later in the game oh, 100%, yeah, man, there's a song that I wrote with Benji Kort and Blake Wiggins that I love, called Look Around, and it's one of my favorite songs, but also one of my favorite rites.

Chris: 31:51

Okay.

Nate: 31:52

Because it was the first time I ever wrote with Benji. And you know, benji, he's incredible. Benji goes if Benji's got a notepad with him and a pen and a guitar and we had just had like a time of worship and Benji was like, hey, I don't know, you know you just spitballing ideas, right. And you're like when you get into the writing room and Benji goes, hey, I had this idea. And literally just says the craziest stuff ever, which is the first verse to that song and it's so insane.

Nate: 32:23

I love that song because it was like it was like one of the first like hymn type songs I wrote. Yeah, I have this song that's not released yet, called no One Like you. That is one of my favorite songs because it just feels it's like, it's like Look Around, it just feels like timeless. So there's this song. The bridge of this song that I wrote with some people on rhythm, called All Along, is one of my favorite things ever. Also, it was the first time I wrote with one of my really good friends, josh Holiday, and I wrote it with Tiffany and Jane. It was just great, great, right, I think those are three that stand out to me for sure.

Nate: 33:04

And All Along. I did not expect it to stay. I just think about. I think it was more the right, because I remember us being stuck on a bridge and I literally went to the bathroom and I was like I got an idea, like what is that? Yeah, those are definitely some of the songs I've loved a lot like being a part of.

Chris: 33:22

That's cool man. So this is a great follow-up question to that. We live in a genre and work in a genre, create in a genre that I think has the highest ability to impact people with the power of what a song can do. It gives language to seasons that are people that are in ministry testimonies that we've seen tons of. So how would you and you've actually been involved in that on a lot of different levels, from a bilingual side, from an early church side, musician, songwriter but how would you explain to somebody what you've seen, what I would describe as the power of what a song can do and the power of that?

Nate: 34:07

I think that I've seen it personally, Like what you sing informs what you believe, and what you believe will then express itself as your reality.

Chris: 34:22

Yeah.

Nate: 34:24

I've seen that happen in my own life and I've watched it in real time happen to people Like, as they sing something, it hits them.

Chris: 34:31

Yeah.

Nate: 34:31

And when it hits them, they believe it. And then, months later, when I'm able to hear the story of there was this moment and whatever service or whatever moment there was, it became real to me, Like it can truly unlock your heart to certain things and unlock your mind.

Nate: 34:46

The power of song is one of the strongest powers I've ever seen at work, because it can touch your soul and make you feel things like you said, give you language for seasons of life. Give you language for even like if we're talking about specifically, like congregational music, what you sing and what you are literally putting words in people's mouths that will inform the way they think about God for the years to come. It literally informs their theology. Yeah, and so it's. The power of song is. It's a very weighty responsibility to be a songwriter in the church specifically.

Nate: 35:17

Yeah, and it's an honor because of that it's a very present, weighty like thing.

Chris: 35:24

I feel like David didn't realize it. As you know, he was a king, he was a warrior, he was also a songwriter, and I love that. The the biggest book in the Bible is a collection of songs.

Nate: 35:35

Yeah.

Chris: 35:36

Jesus actually quoted those, the book of Psalms, the most, because that's what the people knew that he was talking to. He was talking to the everyday person and every day, in the way of like they weren't Pharisees or what we would call pastors or, you know, ministry leaders. These were people that didn't have access to the Bible and but they had. They knew the songs of David because the songs.

Chris: 35:57

They put language to them. So Jesus quote this, quoted the Psalms more than anything, because that's who he spoke to. Yeah, and I feel like that's that's where I'm pretty fortunate to be around. Guys like you, or I feel like our modern day Psalmist, I saw the power of song with you and Karen in Atlanta on that tour man and you guys like can you share a little bit about another that whole? We would, we would text or call. You know, the night after and even before the nights you went into the night just anticipating what the Lord was going to do through song in those rooms. But can you share a little bit about what you saw in the way of, like, how God moved in that?

Nate: 36:35

tour. I mean, if you want to talk about songs in the on that run, yeah, this is the power of song that in Orlando we did like 20 songs because it was just like we just felt like the Lord leading us in these different rivers.

Chris: 36:53

Orlando was like we changed venues last minute right, yeah. So like that was a whole no, that was Tampa. So it's Tampa Okay, yeah.

Nate: 37:03

Well then, I'm getting the Tampa because this is hilarious? Because in Orlando we probably did like 18 songs, really Actually like 18, I think was and then in Tampa and we were there for like two hours. And then in Tampa we did three songs and we were there for two hours. That's just what. Like God cares so much about music? Yeah, because it's one of the ways that, like, his people connect with him. Like the Bible literally says, he rides in on the praises of his people.

Chris: 37:29

Yeah.

Nate: 37:29

And when you praise him in song, he literally can come in the room like that, and so we saw him like two different rooms back to back, though One night was like 18 and the other night was three, like the next night was three songs, and it's so wild how those songs met the heart of God's people right where they were, at two completely different groups of people with completely different circumstances, walking into the room with completely different things, and me and Karen were the exact same as the night before, but the Lord was up to something new, and how did he express that and how did he express his nature? One night it was 18 songs and the next night it was three songs. It was nuts.

Nate: 38:13

That's why it was like that in every city. It was something different, but it always came through music and even if me and Karen weren't singing like, the band would be at the forefront of, like their prophetic, and they're on the front lines of what's happening and they're creating a resting place for the Lord and their instruments. Yeah, it was nuts.

Chris: 38:35

So crazy man Dude. So I have two more questions and we'll wrap. What songs do you feel like? You kind of touched on this a little bit, but there may be some other songs, because we listened to all types of music, all types of genres. Now You're not having to sneak it around because you're a grown man now.

Nate: 38:56

Respectfully.

Chris: 38:59

So what songs, would you say, have taught you the most now as a worship leader, as a singer, as a songwriter, a musician? If you had to go through a couple of those, what would you say were the ones that taught you the most?

Nate: 39:17

As a worship leader, our job is to sing unto the Lord, and so songs that are very vertical in nature, like show me your face and like greater you, lord, and the Isaiah song, like Isaiah 6. Songs that are very vertical and unto him, that minister, unto the Lord as a worship leader, have taught me so much. Yeah, and I realized that's what I was made for. I was made for love, I was made for communion and devotion, I was made to pour my oil at his feet. As a songwriter, songs like that have really inspired me. If we're talking about, in the Christian world, songs like so Will I, where, if you sit down and you read the lyrics to that song, you're like this is art.

Chris: 40:04

Yeah.

Nate: 40:05

This is like the beauty of expression. As a songwriter, I glean from everything, so like country music all the way to reggaeton, all the way to like freaking. I was into a Boston over the other day and I was like, oh yeah, the way this guy is dancing around like melodically is so incredible. I kind of draw inspiration from everywhere. As a musician, so much of like freaking gospel music as a young person was just so inspirational to me. That marked me as a songwriter and a musician like stuff like that. Yeah, it's kind of like me, like my personality, it's kind of all over, yeah, but there are just certain things that just got me.

Chris: 40:48

What is a certain country? What's some of the bigger songs in country that is much more?

Nate: 40:52

Country is the best storytelling genre and I will die on that hill. Country has some of the best songwriters. There's a song called A Rock by Hardy, and he compares every stage of life to A Rock.

Chris: 41:03

Yeah.

Nate: 41:04

And it's like the last line of every stanza is like A Rock.

Chris: 41:07

Nice. Have you ever heard it?

Nate: 41:08

I haven't heard it yet, oh we got a listen to it in the car. It's crazy. A Rock really is crazy to me. There's a song songs like Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton, storytelling songs like Long Way Around I think is Brett Eldridge. That could be wrong. Take me the Long Way Around your Town, Like that was stuff. Like that is so dope to me that I can listen to country music. I love old country music that we were talking about like Yep.

Chris: 41:34

Yep.

Nate: 41:34

Kasey Muzzgar is a great writer too. There's a song Space Cowboy, yeah.

Chris: 41:37

Kasey dude, Kasey's got it.

Nate: 41:39

Kasey's got it, even like Dolly. Like Dolly Parton is really her for a. Like Dolly Parton was in her bag. Legend dude, a legend. You know, set out Dolly.

Chris: 41:48

Yeah.

Nate: 41:49

Yeah, but yeah, it's kind of I heard a crazy Dolly Parton story.

Chris: 41:53

I will always love you. That song was one that she read that was very personal to her. I think she read it all by herself like she's a, she's the only writer on it and Elvis Presley was gonna cut it. And but it was his manager's name, like the captain, the general yeah, that guy who's a little bit of a crook he told Dolly he wasn't gonna do it unless, unless Elvis could take 50% of the song and Dolly was like no, it's too special to me, I'm not gonna make him a co-writer on the song. So then flash forward when he, houston, cuts a song and it just goes bananas. It's like crazy man. But the lesson I'm thinking that is, as a songwriter, stand your ground, hang on to what you know, what's dear and near, and don't ever you know Dolly's. When I think about Dolly, I think about not only that song, but just I mean she has a cat along with so many great songs, don't sell out.

Chris: 42:44

Yeah, don't sell out, man it's art.

Nate: 42:45

It's a piece of you.

Chris: 42:46

Yeah, even if it's Elvis Presley, just don't sell out.

Nate: 42:49

I might have sold it to Elvis Presley, because there's a Whitney coming along later. Yeah, I might have fumbled if I was Dolly. Elvis said he wouldn't cut my record. He's cutting my record.

Chris: 42:56

Alright. So Reggaeton come on, give me a couple. Give me a couple songs in Reggaeton.

Nate: 43:00

Man, there's this guy who's in Puerto Rico, who, yeah, some of the stuff he'd be writing is crazy, but you can take the meat and spit out the bones. Yeah, and his name is Mora and he's probably one of my favorite writers, right?

Nate: 43:14

now in the space. Yeah, people like Camilo too, who's actually here in Miami. Camilo is an incredible writer. The way these guys write about love and put words to emotion is very inspiring. Juan Luis Guerra, who is a bachata artist yeah, one of the goats in one of the goats, the way he writes. There's a song called me Vendición, which I think is one of the best. Like one of my personally favorite written songs, it translates to my Blessing. I mean this. If you read the lyrics of the song, it's just crazy. He's talking about a girl and the very first line is I heard that the it's said that the flowers in this earth can't stop singing your name, and he's just talking about nature. And he was like. Then the next sign is like he's like the sun heard a rumor sorry, the moon heard a rumor that your smile was brighter than the sun. He came down from space just to look at you and he found out that it was true. Like stuff like that is so poetic.

Chris: 44:17

Yeah.

Nate: 44:17

I'm a big like. I mean that all Spanish music, obviously reggaeton is more like about vibing and like partying and whatnot, which there's still like really good, like love songs in there, but like honestly, I think bachata, merengue, boleros, encumbias and stuff like that. They're also like full of great writers.

Chris: 44:34

Yeah, yeah, you know I feel like those writers have the ability to take a line or two and just paint a thousand pictures with it.

Nate: 44:42

Oh yeah, especially in Spanish, because words mean more. Yeah like there's actually more value to words in the Spanish language. It's a romantic language, man, it's like it's for sure.

Chris: 44:51

Alright, so we're gonna wrap with this question, which I didn't give you early on. I was gonna hit you with this one surprising wise, so you know you've had the. I get it all the time like if you're stranded on an island, what album, what one album, would you take with you?

Chris: 45:03

And it's like we're not and so that's not the question, because I actually don't like that question. I mean, I love albums but I don't think I could be stuck with a album for the rest of my life. But we live in the streaming economy so we can have playlists, we can do whatever. So, like, if you're gonna make a playlist for yourself like what would be the top songs, because week to week I'm adding a playlist with the guests featuring some of the songs we talk about, like the ones you just mentioned, but if you're to say like, okay, these are the songs that I tend to look at it like this, like they're the songs that were the soundtrack to your life yeah, like you know, because I can go back and listen to 90s hard rock or 80s metal and so, and I can go back to that place like I remember, like learning that riff or like those little pitch and flying off the porch here. So when you think about that, like what songs, would you say like, oh yeah, these are the ones like soundtrack of 80s life.

Nate: 45:55

I'll give you five. I'll give you five. Yeah, I think yeah, anything. Oh wow, this is tough.

Chris: 46:06

And you could do like this could be a spin on it, because you know everybody has the essentials right so you go to any artist, I'll give you my artist essentials, my five artists that are essentials.

Nate: 46:15

Upper room.

Chris: 46:16

Upper room's number one. For sure, shout out to Upper Room, dallas, texas. Check them out if you haven't heard them.

Nate: 46:21

They're the best. It's the best, I love it. Shout out Nacho Libre, yes.

Chris: 46:28

Also Oscar Gambo produced your album. Yes, oscar.

Nate: 46:32

I love you, I love all of you. Jogs, julie and Oscar, gabe Sebas. I love you guys so much. Definitely everything Upper Room would be on there. Okay, because I love the presence, love the Lord. Definitely a Juan Luis Guerra.

Chris: 46:50

Yeah, would be on that playlist, I just love that guy.

Nate: 46:55

Definitely. Frankie Ruiz is my favorite Sal Cero, and if I'm on an island I'm gonna be listening to Sal Sal, so that's gotta be on there. I would say that Israel alive in South Africa. Oh bro, that album's crazy Fire. I'll take Todd Trivitz victory album.

Chris: 47:17

Yeah.

Nate: 47:18

That's four because I gotta have some church.

Chris: 47:21

You can do it in essentials.

Nate: 47:22

You can do it in essentials, yeah that's my the the fifth essential man Bro, I probably the fifth essential. This is tough, just for vibes Dude. I would you know I'm gonna put my own on there. Yes, because because I, I need it, I need it. It's like those songs, every one of those songs is like actually, like that's actually the story of my life, like, yes, get away. Only one found worthy and Fiela Mingo. That's actually like the story. Those are the four songs that represent my life.

Chris: 48:09

Love it bro. That's awesome. That's not prideful, that's actually real.

Nate: 48:12

It's like if I'm thinking about like what actually represents, like who I am. Yeah, like Garden Songs is a project that is like that's default for me.

Chris: 48:20

That's essential. Got it, man. Well. Dude, this is a great view, great time, great podcast. Appreciate you taking Love you. Thank you Taking me to the Soho House in Miami, king. I hope you guys enjoyed this and we'll. I'll get the spelling of a lot of these artists that I know you pronounce really well, but I'll write them down.

Nate: 48:43

I'll write them down.

Chris: 48:45

They'll be on a playlist. Check out Nate's Garden EP. It's amazing collection and all the stuff that he appears on on that little stripe at the bottom it appears on this importance here.

Nate: 48:55

Yeah.

Chris: 48:56

Alright, bro. Thanks for making time. Bro, love you.

Nate: 49:02

Alright.

Chris: 49:04

Stop right there.