“Life Through Song” with Jenny & Tyler Somers

Show Notes:

In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by Jenny and Tyler Somers, the singer/songwriter duo who met at the University of Delaware, where they began building a life together. They moved to Nashville in 2006 to pursue a musical career and have navigated the highs and lows of being in the music industry, all while staying true to their voice in the Christian music scene, raising a family, and working with the social justice organization International Justice Mission. They continue to tour (although not as much as they did before having children), perform, write, and produce music.

Jenny and Tyler use their platform to bring awareness to the problems of human trafficking and modern slavery. They produced two records that directly benefit IJM (For Freedom and For Freedom II), and speak about the work of IJM. Their love for Christ, their love for their family, and their love for each other are clear in everything they do. 

Resources:

Learn more about Jenny and Tyler’s music at their website, jennyandtyler.com.

Learn more about International Justice Mission.

Follow Jenny & Tyler on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Listen to their music on Spotify or Apple Music.

Transcript:

Chris McAlilly 00:00 I'm Chris McAlilly.

Eddie Rester 00:02
And I'm Eddie Rester. Welcome to The Weight.

Chris McAlilly 00:04
Today we're talking to a couple who are musicians and songwriters, Jenny and Tyler,

Eddie Rester 00:12

Jenny and Tyler Somers. They've been in the music industry since they were in college together. They've grown up together in a lot of ways. They had a moment of a lot of success. They've experienced the other side of that. They're raising four kids. And so the conversation today is about all of it. And about not just their love for music, but their love to bring real life into their music. So it was a great conversation today, one of those that really, we had a couple of things we wanted to talk about, but really it took on a life of its own today.

Chris McAlilly 00:51

Yeah, music has a... It is unique, you know, in the activities that we engage and that we love in its ability to make connections with people especially. And also there's this magical component where it can take the hardest realities, and turn them into something beautiful. And Jenny and Tyler have both written music that does this, that creates and generates hope in their audience and in the people that love their music. But they've also used their music as a way to engage matters of injustice and mental health. We talk about all of that on the podcast. That was great. Any takeaways, Eddie?

Eddie Rester 01:32

You know, I just I always love talking to people who they are who they are. And they love what they do. And they love their family and are honest about just trying to figure out how to make it all work together. And I think that's true for every single one of us, whatever stage of life you're in. You're just trying to figure out what you love to do, and how to make it all fit together. And I just love their honesty in that and their willingness to share some of that, not just in their music, but in the conversation with us today. If you're not familiar with them, you're gonna love them. But you can go to jennyandtyler.com. I think jennyandtyler.com ,as you listen, kind of check them out. You'll find some of their music. You can follow along there. And I'm sure they'd love to have you listen to some of their music.

Chris McAlilly 02:19
Thanks for being with us on The Weight. You guys probably know the drill by now, but like it, share it.

Eddie Rester 02:25 Share it.

Chris McAlilly 02:26

Leave us a review. That helps other people find the podcast. We're grateful that you're with us on the journey. [INTRO] Life can be heavy. So heavy, in fact that the weight we carry can sometimes cause us to lose hope.

Eddie Rester 02:40
But we've all come across those people in life who seem to be experiencing the same world we live in, except they maintain a great depth of joy and hope.

Chris McAlilly 02:49
A former generation called this gravitas. It was their description of a soul that had gained enough weightiness to be attractive, like all things with a gravitational pull.

Eddie Rester 03:00

Those are the people we want to talk to. On this podcast, we talk to pastors, entrepreneurs, artists, mental health experts, and many others.

Chris McAlilly 03:09
We'll create space for heavy topics. But we'll be listening for a quality of soul that could be called gravitas.

Eddie Rester 03:16
Welcome to The Weight. [END INTRO]

Chris McAlilly 03:18
Well, we're here today, with Jenny and Tyler. Thank you guys for coming on the podcast.

Jenny Somers 03:23 Thanks for having us.

Tyler Somers 03:24 Thank you for having us.

Jenny Somers 03:25 Yeah.

Eddie Rester 03:26

We're thankful. We know a lot of our listeners have loved your music through the years. But for those who maybe don't know some of your story or where you've been, what you've experienced before you got married, and then as a couple, give us just a snippet of just your history, how y'all got into music, how y'all found each other? Just the story. Yeah, tell us your life in 30 seconds. Yeah.

Jenny Somers 03:51

I'll tell you everything. So we met at the University of Delaware, where Tyler is, like, born and raised Delawarean, and I ended up there for school. So we met there, through the Baptist student ministry. So we were leading worship together mostly and playing music and writing songs together. And we started dating from there, and dated all the way through college, and we would just always play music together. And Tyler would perform, as Tyler Somers and I would back him up vocally. And then I would perform as Jenny Appe,l because that was my maiden name was Appel, and he would back me up. So it was very much like two separate artists and we would write our own stuff. And then eventually, I think the way it happened was the summer of 2006 we went to Nashville, with the intention of recording some music and just kind of checking out the town. And I said... I feel like we were initially going to record individual EP type of things. But then I was like, "Well, I have five good songs." And Tyler said, "Well, I have five good songs." And so then we just made the record together. And that was how it was kind of like unofficially officially becoming a band together. I feel like a lot of what we do is we don't really take much time to like think through and make decisions. It just kind of happens. Or we just say like, "let's just do this." That's how all of our kids happened, pretty much. "Let's just go for it!" And then later, you're like, "Aaaaah." But anyway, so that was how like... And we got married about a year later, a year after we recorded those songs and released the record, and then we graduated. We were those weirdos who I was still in college, and we got married. And in Delaware, especially, that's just like... People thought we were totally insane. Like, I remember, the college newspaper did an article about, like, interviewing me about being married in college. You probably don't even remember that. Do you? I

Eddie Rester 05:32 [LAUGHTER]

Chris McAlilly 05:32 [LAUGHTER]

Tyler Somers 06:10 I think I do.

Jenny Somers 06:10
You do? Yeah. This the first time I've thought of it in, like, 15 years.

Tyler Somers 06:11 Vaguely.

Chris McAlilly 06:16
I've never considered what people from Delaware are called. I didn't.

Jenny Somers 06:20 Yeah.

Chris McAlilly 06:21 Delawarean? I did not...

Jenny Somers 06:23 Yeah.

Chris McAlilly 06:24
I think one question I have for you, Tyler is what are Baptists in Delaware like? Are they like the Baptist in the South are?

Tyler Somers 06:35
They, it's interesting, the church that we were a part of brought in its pastors from the South.

Eddie Rester 06:44 Oh, really.

Jenny Somers 06:44 They did.

Tyler Somers 06:46
Yeah. So they had Southern accents and everything. And there were quite a lot of Southern people at the church, even though it's the North.

Jenny Somers 06:57

Well, I do remember though, they brought in a pastor at one point who was supposed to be like a mission type pastor, like locally. And he went over to the apartments across the street from the church. And he went over and was like, "We just want to love on y'all." And they were all like, "What are you talking about? What does that mean?" ,

Tyler Somers 07:17
It was like a foreign language.

Jenny Somers 07:19
What does "love on y'all" mean?

Tyler Somers 07:19

What does "love on y'all" mean? Yeah. So they had to have like a cultural introduction to Delaware. And I think they changed--in order to kind of, you know, to be all things to all people and reach the folks there. But yeah, it's interesting. I didn't put two and two together that it really was a Southern Baptist Church in northern Delaware.

Jenny Somers 07:46 Yeah.

Tyler Somers 07:47 Yeah.

Eddie Rester 07:48

So as y'all started to make music together, things kind of took off for y'all. There's this recording contract, a label signed y'all and really kind of took off. As you think about that part of your life, I mean, what part of it was amazing and exciting? And what parts of it were you kind of like, "Eh. I'm glad that happened, but it's passed"?

Chris McAlilly 07:48 That's fascinating.

Jenny Somers 08:18 Yeah.

Tyler Somers 08:19
I'd say, so maybe the most exciting part was when we put "Faint Not "on NoiseTrade, and something like 10,000 people downloaded it in a day.

Eddie Rester 08:34 Wow.

Tyler Somers 08:35

Yeah. And then an artist that we weren't even familiar with her at the time, now she's one of our favorite artists, Sara Groves, a friend of hers emailed or texted her the video to "Faint Not." And they emailed us and were like, "Hey, do you want to come on tour?" And we were like... That was unbelievable to us.

Jenny Somers 09:02 They didn't know us at all.

Tyler Somers 09:03
They didn't know us, and they asked us to come on a pretty long tour.

Jenny Somers 09:07
Yeah, we could have been even weirder than we actually are.

Eddie Rester 09:12 Yeah.

Tyler Somers 09:13

We are weird. So I think that was really exciting. The label thing was kind of like a love-hate relationship. And I think it was for them as well. It was... We were trying to be a general market act, and so, like, getting away from the Christian kind of CM world, especially with marketing. And so, like, I think our vision, we were aligned with them, but the execution of it, for some reason, it didn't work. They threw a bunch of money at it and we had kind of all the right contacts with radio and PR and things like that. The only thing I think that would have made a difference is that the whole marketing kind of campaign behind that record didn't target the Christian world at all.

Jenny Somers 10:15

Yeah.

Tyler Somers 10:15
So it was almost like the label and we as artists were neglecting the roots from which we came. And I think that was the mistake for that record.

Jenny Somers 10:29 That was, yeah... I think..

Tyler Somers 10:30

But the next record they put out "Christmas Stories," they went back to those roots. And so that record worked out. But then we told them we were pregnant with our third kid, and they were like, "Oh. We should probably end this." And we were thinking that anyway, so it was mutual. But it was a great learning experience. But it was also kind of difficult with, like, the many people to answer to.

Eddie Rester 10:39 Right.

Jenny Somers 10:40

Well, I think that, really an artist, one of your main jobs is to care for your audience and for the people who are coming along on the journey with you. And they were just not well cared for while we were on the label is how I felt about it, at least that first record. And so I felt like our existing people were just not cared for in the way that we probably would have if we were throwing PR stuff at it on our own. It was--the word "neglected" I think was a really the right word. We kind of, yeah...

Chris McAlilly 11:47
Sorry to interrupt. But yeah, I feel like, so I moved to Nashville right around that same time. I wasn't coming for music, but a lot of the people that I knew...

Eddie Rester 11:55
Which we're all thankful, very thankful he was not going for music. Everybody.

Chris McAlilly 11:59

Oh, yeah. Nobody wanted me to. No one in the world wants me to do anything related to music. But a lot of the people that I knew in Nashville were trying to--in different ways, either set musicians or just trying to find their way into the industry. And it very much is this, like, how do you navigate the creative side of "I got into this because at some point music touched the deepest parts of my soul, my humanity, and really kind of helped me connect to that to myself and others in the world." You know, a lot of people are coming to Nashville with those kinds of ambitions or kind of deep desires. And then there's this whole business side of it, that if you're not familiar with, it can be jarring, you know, when you bump up against it. And really, it's how do you sustain this stuff and get it out? And navigating the Christian world versus the general market world, that's an interesting thing. Why, I guess why was it important to you guys to maybe reach for a larger audience and not just kind of get boxed in as a Christian kind of act?

Tyler Somers 13:13

For me, the purpose was evangelism. I mean, I feel like it's a strong desire ever since I started following the Lord, ever since he brought me to himself through Jesus when I was a teenager, just this desire to reach people who have no idea who he is. And so music, I think, is an extension of who I am, and with that, the evangelistic kind of heart, I've wanted it to be in the music. And so if you look at most of our records, there is kind of that bent of, like, if someone who doesn't know the Lord at all hears it, there might be like, "Oh, I wonder what they're talking about. I wonder." Kind of along the lines that I feel like Mumford and Sons, U2, there's a broad reach, and yet there are spiritual truths that hopefully will resonate and bring people to Jesus.

Chris McAlilly 14:30

Yeah, Christians tend to interact mostly, taught to listen... I mean, a lot of the media that gets produced, targeted marketing, especially in a social media environment, you know, all money is made when a niche audience is fed in fed by media. And I guess it seems, I guess I'm from where I sit, really positive desire to try to break out of that. As you've continued, as that's going on for over a decade, I guess what have you learned in the process of trying to use music to do evangelism?

Tyler Somers 15:12

I think that the pinnacle example for us is at concerts, where we'll kind of... I'll look at each concert as a way to introduce people to Jesus. And so we'll play various kinds of songs that I would label user friendly, as my mom would say, that are very invitational. Like, hey, there's this love. God is love. And there's this love that's pursuing even his enemies. And I might not attach a gender in the introductory phase. But I would say something like, "love of the divine, or "Hear my song for you. I will not hold my tongue. Open your heart, for I've loved you from the start." Those are lyrics that we've written. And so to get from that to a place of like, justice, actually. We feel like justice and love, the highest example of that is Jesus on the cross, satisfying the just require requirements of God, being punished on our behalf so that we don't have to be punished, doing it in love, in like, sacrificing himself. And I feel like that's what all great Marvel and Star Wars and other movies, that sacrificial love narrative is in those stories. And so just to, like, introduce this idea of justice, and modern slavery is kind of how we talk about that. And then to say, hey, this all comes together in the cross. Like, this is the most beautiful example of love, ever. So each, I feel like each concert gives us that opportunity. And I try to be aware of what the Spirit is doing, because it could be that I feel like he may not want me to go deep into the cross and the resurrection or even my story. But, yeah, I feel like the concerts are kind of that place where that happens.

Eddie Rester 17:58

In a minute, I want to talk about your commitment to justice and particularly the International Justice Mission that y'all are part of and have worked with through the years, but I wonder if there's a song, and this could be different for both of you, a song that you just never get tired of singing. Maybe a song that has deep roots or maybe it's a fairly new one that for you is one that 30, 40 years from now you're still going to be singing this song because it just is a part of who you are and an expression of your faith and life. I wonder what that song would be.

Tyler Somers 18:34
Yeah, for me, it's it's either "Faint Not" or "Waters Roll." Both of those are justice songs.

Jenny Somers 18:43
Are we talking about our songs?

Eddie Rester 18:44
Yeah. Y'all's songs. Yeah, y'all's songs. Yeah, yeah, y'all's songs.

Jenny Somers 18:47
I was thingking, like, I have this other song. Okay. Yeah. Okay, so "Faint Not" or "Waters Roll."

Tyler Somers 18:55 That's what I would say.

Eddie Rester 18:56 Okay.

Tyler Somers 18:56

Yeah, both songs are... One is based on Galatians which is "let's not grow weary of doing good." And then there's another. "Waters Roll is based off of Amos 5: 22, 23, 24, something like that, where it talks about like, "Get away from me with the noise of your songs. I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like an ever flowing stream."

Jenny Somers 19:28

I think the one that stands out to me, like as I'm thinking about it now. I haven't really thought about this before like what song of ours would I still need to be singing in 30, 40 years or something. And it's called "Walk with You." And it's just about how the Lord or family or friendships or people in your life, how they can walk with you, journey with you through hard things, and how you can walk with others in that way, too. And I feel like that song has been very meaningful and something I will want to remind myself of.

Chris McAlilly 20:10

I think both "Faint Not" and "Walk with You," one of the things that I see in the lyrics of both of those songs is just hope, just the importance of not giving up. And then also, one of the things I was thinking about, as you were talking, Tyler, just about the experience of a concert, as opposed to just listening to music on a radio or putting out a single that you listen to, that you stream or whatever. The experience of being in the place together, and there's something that happens in the live experience of a concert. I've been reflecting on this, you know, through the pandemic. Eddie and I preached to an empty room for, I don't know, however long, I'm sure you guys...

Eddie Rester 20:55 Too long. Forever. Yeah.

Jenny Somers 20:56 Yeah.

Chris McAlilly 20:56

And so, you know, the remarkable thing is that people actually spent time watching worship or spent time watching live concerts that were streamed during the pandemic. But I remember my wife, we actually, Eddie and I went to this concert together. It was the Indigo Girls. It was just right around the corner. And they were... I'm not a big Indigo Girls fan, but my wife is. And so I didn't really know their music that well. But what I was able to kind of watch, it was like, participant observer, watching the artists, the music, and the crowd just interacting with one another. And it's like alchemy or something that happens. And I guess, I don't know, the experience of singing those songs, I can imagine how powerful it would be that you're singing the songs that are pointing people in direction of hope. You know, don't faint. Don't give up. You know, it's got to be a powerful experience. I've never had the experience of being on the stage as an artist. What does that feel like when you know you're connecting? You know, when you know you're actually offering hope to someone. How does that feel when you're on stage?

Jenny Somers 22:14
I think I feel incredibly encouraged when that's happening, and like we're doing what we're supposed to be doing.

Tyler Somers 22:23 Yeah.

Jenny Somers 22:23
Yeah. Like, yeah, I think that's really it.

Tyler Somers 22:26

Yeah, the two words "mutual edification" came to mind. Yeah, it kind of like Paul. Paul's like, hey, I really want to come. I want to, like, lay hands and impart some spiritual gift to you. And he's like, really, actually, I just want to be encouraged. Like, I want to be encouraged, edified, you know. I think my most powerful musical connection with anyone happened at a nursing home when I was in high school, and I was singing I think it was "Amazing Grace." And there was this elderly lady in the back, and we made eye contact for almost the whole song. And there was something about communicating with that person through song that, like, I mean, even right now, I'm thinking about it, I'm getting goosebumps. And that's scriptural, too. We're commanded to sing to one another. It's so powerful when it happens. And we get a little taste of that at concerts. It's hard to... Like, if I stare at one person during a concert, it can get awkward.

Eddie Rester 23:38
It can get real creepy. Yeah.

Chris McAlilly 23:42 [LAUGHTER]

Tyler Somers 23:42

But kinda like go from person to person, and they're singing and we're singing. And it's really powerful.

Chris McAlilly 23:48

Yeah, I have a--I know want Eddie wants to jump in. But I have a memory. You sharing that memory reminds me of this moment when I went with one of the members of our congregational care team to a nursing home and we were taking communion to these folks that were a part of our congregation, but that aren't a part of the worshiping body anymore, because they're in an assisted living facility. And at that particular moment, there was a daughter, a granddaughter... It was the mother, the daughter, and the granddaughter were all there together. And we had this moment where we were singing. And this particular individual was... Memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer's was a part of the dynamic. And I think it was "Amazing Grace." It was one of the old hymns, you know, the old gospel hymns. And when the mother, the daughter, and the granddaughter heard the song, this mother began singing. Through the memory loss, that was retained. And I know there's science behind that, that I've not read, but I've heard about. I've read about.

Eddie Rester 24:53 Yes.

Chris McAlilly 24:53

And it was a powerful moment of singing and really mutually strengthening and encouragement for me personally. I'll never forget that moment. It was a powerful, powerful moment.

Eddie Rester 25:07

I just feel like there's something. In fact, I was having a conversation over the weekend with some folks about post-COVID, we scattered. And when you look at institutions, it's not just church, it's AA and NA groups, Celebrate Recovery groups, all these groups that have struggled to bring people back together. And what I feel like is we've forgotten that important connection piece. That there's something that happens between, not just a song that gets song or heard, but there's something real that happens when people are in the room together. There's a, you know... Jesus tell us where two or three are gathered. And I hope that, as we continue to move in through the season, people begin to hunger for that again.

Tyler Somers 25:51 Yes.

Jenny Somers 26:01 Me, too.

Tyler Somers 26:02 Yeah, me too. Yep.

Chris McAlilly 26:05

I wonder, the thing about it is, one of the things I admire about you guys is that as you've gone through, you know, the last... You've added members of your family through time. You mentioned having kids. But I wonder, you know, one of the things I admire about you guys... There was one wedding where y'all were singing and I was one of the the pastors at the wedding. And I admired the way in which you guys incorporated your kids into your life. And I know that that can get chaotic. So it's like, we want to be together, but also maybe our kids... I wonder.

Jenny Somers 26:38
Was that the one where I ended up holding one of them through the whole time we were singing?

Chris McAlilly 26:43

That seems. Yeah, that seems right. But I remember just having deep admiration, because my kids will run up on stage during a sermon. You know, there's always that dynamic between following your passion, your gifts, your vocation, doing your thing, and then also bringing your kids into that, raising your kids. How do you navigate that? And, you know, that's a question for both of you. You know, what are the joys of that? And what are the struggles?

Jenny Somers 27:14

So something that's been so sweet about this recently is that our oldest daughter is nine now. And she really has taken ownership of the band. So when we go to play somewhere, it's not, "Well, where are where are you playing?" It's, "Where are we playing?" She sets up merch. She sells merch. At our show in Chattanooga, she sang with us on some songs.

Tyler Somers 27:45 She dressed up.

Jenny Somers 27:45 She dressed up.

Tyler Somers 27:46
She was fancier than we were. Yeah,

Jenny Somers 27:48
Yeah, I mean, she packs show clothes.

Tyler Somers 27:51 She put on makeup.

Jenny Somers 27:52

She put on lip gloss. I was like, "Do you have makeup on?" But she feels so connected to it. And you know, she's the one that when she was a baby, we did not stop. Like we were still playing 110 dates a year with her, just bringing her everywhere. And, so...

Tyler Somers 28:14
You can do a lot with one kid, especially in your 20s. I think we were a little overzealous. I kind of wished we'd slow down a little bit back then. But it actually was pretty fun, too.

Jenny Somers 28:27
And what, this song that she sang on this last weekend, I tracked the vocals to it on a birthing ball the night before I went into labor with her, and then she sang it with us at this show.

Tyler Somers 28:44
She's singing harmony with us.

Jenny Somers 28:45 Yeah.

Tyler Somers 28:46
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," the U2 cover we did with with Sarah Groves.

Jenny Somers 28:52
So it was just like this sweet...

Tyler Somers 28:54 It was amazing.

Jenny Somers 28:55

You know, it's really hard to do music together and try to tour and play shows with four. It's just gotten harder as it goes along. And you know, we talk about how the pandemic destroyed live music, and how it really slowed everything down for us. But we had our fourth baby right before it all locked down, and I think things would have had to change for us anyway in that way. But it's sweet to see that through all of that struggle, there's some really... Like Jane singing and being part of it, it's such a sweet thing. And we've talked about... We received some really great advice from... We were talking about the Groveses earlier. They talked about how they toured with their kids and they were Team Groves. And the sooner they could give each kid a job or a role, the better it was, the better the whole thing was. They were letting their kids, like, you know, create products for their merch line at one point. And I just...

Tyler Somers 30:09 Which Jane has done.

Jenny Somers 30:09

Jane has done. So the other kids aren't as interested yet. They just want to watch a movie during the show. You know, it's sweet to watch. It's been a really sweet thing to watch her really come into it.

Tyler Somers 30:21

Now, I will say that would be the high. The low, I think would just be that we have to kind of live our lives in front of people. So I have to do discipline, like, while I'm on stage. I feel like I have to be when kids are out of line. And and it's... Well, most of them don't come, though. Jane's the only one who really comes. But sometimes I have to discipline Jane. And like, it's not.... It's like, I don't want to be a different person, so I'm not going to be. But doing that in front of people isn't fun.

Jenny Somers 31:04
Well, and I think when you say discipline, it's more like Jane will just try to ask questions, or...

Tyler Somers 31:10
Like, "Jane. Jane, please listen the first time."

Jenny Somers 31:13
'Cause she'll just like insert something while she's sitting in the audience like, "Oh, yeah! And remember that time that we did this?" or something. You're like, "Jane, you gotta be quiet."

Tyler Somers 31:22

"Jane, please be quiet." It'd be a normal audience member. Things like that. But I think... nad then just, like, creating a sense of home on the road is difficult. Our kids love schedules. They thrive on schedules, and so to be off schedule, they do well until they don't do well.

Jenny Somers 31:48 Like anybody.

Tyler Somers 31:50
Like Chattanooga, the other day was--yeah, like anybody. I mean...

Eddie Rester 31:54 They're kids. Yeah.

Tyler Somers 31:55
Yes. We had a great drive down. Great show. The youngest kids watch the movie. Jane was with us. And then the ride home was probably the most difficult ride home, or drive we've ever had.

Jenny Somers 32:09
Well, everyone slept for an hour.

Tyler Somers 32:11 Yes.

Jenny Somers 32:12
And then one kid woke up screaming and all the other kids woke up. And so we had about 45 minutes of all four kids screaming in the car.

Tyler Somers 32:20 It was tough.

Jenny Somers 32:20
We were like, "What are we doing?" But not their fault.

Tyler Somers 32:24
But a small percentage of the time.

Jenny Somers 32:26 Yeah.

Tyler Somers 32:26
Like, it wasn't like that the whole time. So anyway, yeah. There are highs and lows, you know.

Eddie Rester 32:32
My kids are 21 and 19, now, so you kind of--you do get to the other side of it.

Jenny Somers 32:37 Yeah.

Eddie Rester 32:38

Where, you know, they don't scream in the car anymore. I remember one time I was carrying my first child out of Walmart literally, under my arm with legs kicking in one direction and face screaming in the other direction.

Chris McAlilly 32:56
Sometimes I wish it was socially acceptable for adults to do the same. You know what I mean?

What you're doing right now.

Eddie Rester 33:04

Yes, sweet, sweet lady walked beside me, and she said, "It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." And it was the kindest thing. At that moment, I wasn't sure if it was gonna be okay. But sometimes, sometimes you need that. Shifting gears just a little bit. We want to just hear a little bit of your heart. You talked a lot about integrating justice into your songs and the song, that's one of my favorite passages out of the Old Testament, "let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." And both of you have had a connection to the International Justice Mission. Tell us a little bit about that. How that came about, what does that mean to you? And what's the work that they're doing?

Tyler Somers 33:50

Yeah, we found out about International Justice Mission in college, along with many organizations. But it wasn't until after college, when Jenny's roommate from college started working for them. And then we were introduced to the idea of human trafficking really through a concert that Jenny's aunt told us about in Greenville, I think or Anderson, South Carolina. We went to that concert. We heard about a girl that was trafficked at a Starbucks in the London Heathrow Airport. And we had been to that airport. And we had possibly been to that Starbucks, and it shocked us. And so we heard about this organization that was doing something to rescue those who are enslaved, prosecute offenders, and bring about healing through social work and really bring about systemic change within the public justice system, effective change, to bring that about. And so IJM has been around for 25 years. They've rescued over 76,000 people.

Eddie Rester 35:09 Wow.

Tyler Somers 35:10

Yeah. And the problem unfortunately is not going away. The figure was just updated from 40 million a few years ago to an estimated 50 million slaves worldwide, which means that one in 50 people, if I remember the statistic correctly is enslaved. So one in 50 people in the world is enslaved. But because of IJM going in and fixing broken justice systems, the latest figures that someone from IJM just emailed me last week is that there are over 10 million people being protected because of the work of IJM. So whenever a slave owner is convicted, it sends a message to other slave owners. And whenever a justice system is fixed, then the poor don't have to worry about the police or the judicial officials being on the wrong side of the law, and so that protection effectively goes viral. Yeah, so it's incredible the work that God is doing through them. We felt like like, how can we be a part of this? And so put out a couple records called "For Freedom" and "For Freedom 2" and it all started with a single. And this is in the days of downloads. So, we put out "The Sound of Silence," a Simon and Garfunkel cover. And we told people that it was benefiting, it was fighting, the money was going to fight human trafficking. And people shared it and it generated, like, a ridiculous amount of money for the place that we were in at that time.

Jenny Somers 37:03 Even for now, too.

Tyler Somers 37:04 I mean, for now, yeah.

Jenny Somers 37:05
People don't buy music anymore.

Chris McAlilly 37:07 They don't, yeah.

Tyler Somers 37:08

Yeah. So I think I told you that, within a day 10,000 people downloaded our "Faint Not" album. I think it actually was in the first week. It was when there was a campaign on NoiseTrade. But I think that, if I remember correctly, it was something like nine or ten thousand dollars was generated within the first month of that single being out. And for us, like, that's a big deal. And for that money to be able to go and fund rescue missions. It's just like, wow, this is working. This music is doing something bigger than us.

Jenny Somers 37:43 Yeah.

Chris McAlilly 37:45

Yeah. I feel like... Yeah, I mean, there's so many different questions that I could ask about the connection. And there's a long running connection between music and justice, the work of music connected to the work of justice. I do, you know, recognizing that we have limited time, I want to shift one more and come back. You know, sometimes it's... When you look at these global problems and systemic justice in the questions of the scale of that feels completely overwhelming to people. And there's another dimension of your work where you come back to a single individual, somebody who is isolated and alone. I'm thinking about, Jenny, the breakup song that you guys have recently released, that kind of deals with questions of mental health and anxiety. Could you maybe talk a little bit about that song? Kind of how it got written in and what you're trying to do with that one?

Jenny Somers 38:49

Yeah. So after our third daughter was born, a couple months later--I have epilepsy, and I had a seizure while I was holding her, and she was totally fine. And I was fine. Like, no one was hurt. But it was this traumatic event that triggered all kinds of physical anxiety in me and emotional anxiety. And I'd never been someone who was anxious. Like I would never, I would not have identified in that way. And I'd never experienced the physical manifestation of anxiety, in your body, where you feel just like you cannot control it. And so, for me, it was one of those moments where I was kind of like, "Wow. A week ago, I was one way and now I'm this way. And I don't know. Why did that have to happen? And when can I go back to being the way that I was before?" And I think, yeah, so "Breakup Song" is meant to be a song about wanting to break up with anxiety and feeling like I really can't. And I'm not saying that I won't ever be able to break up with anxiety. But I do think that something I'm finding is that healing is not necessarily a linear thing. So I'll have really great days or weeks or months of feeling very peaceful and like it's not something that's controlling me, and then I'll have a period of time where suddenly it's just like this really big, angry thing again that's happening. And so for me, it's been kind of like learning how to just live with it in a healthy way, and, you know, recognize... Honestly, something that's been so cool about it, like something that's really redeemed this whole thing for me is being able to share about it through social media, with our fans, write songs about it, because I do think it's something that I'm discovering more and more people deal with. Like, so many people, you know. And so being able to make it a really normal thing to talk about. And I've connected with people. It's been really cool. Like, we have this little tiny platform, and social media, for the most part drives me crazy. But this has been one thing that has built community for me on social media and to share it with other moms. So yeah, the song is just meant to be kind of like a, I don't know if encouragement is the right word, but I think it's just to put it out there like, "Yeah, I want to break up with this. You probably want to break up with this, too." And just for me, it's having to learn to kind of live with it. Yeah. I don't know if that makes sense.

Eddie Rester 42:06

Yeah, that... You know, one of the things that I admire about your music and even the conversation today is that your faith and your life grounded in the reality of whatever it is, whether it's the reality of that there's injustice in the world, there's human trafficking and slavery, there are folks that struggle to know hope in life. And there are people who are struggling with mental illness and postpartum depression and so many real things. Where does that come from for y'all? Was there... Just, is it you think it was how you were raised in the faith or you feel like it was... Because a lot of Christians struggle with being real. I'm just gonna put that out there. They wear the mask--all is good, all is happy, the world is a perfect place. Where? Or maybe there was a turning point for y'all. Where did that come from?

Tyler Somers 43:06

I think my source of that is it actually comes from both an unhealthy and a healthy place. I used to be an oversharer. I used to think that if I could just confess this deep, dark thing to anyone, then I would be free of it, which is a lie. And I think that the idea of confession, "confess your sins, therefore that you may be healed" from James 5, there's something about that, that plays into why I think vulnerability is really important. But I've taken it to a place where it... Like, I remember thinking, and I think our church does a great job of preaching vulnerability, but I've taken it to a place of if I'm not overly vulnerable, then I'm not being true to myself. And so I would even try to seek approval by being vulnerable, if that makes sense. And that's being fake, because it's not being true to who I really am. It's not being secure in my identity as a son of God through Jesus Christ. And so I have to be aware of that, even now. But I don't know. It's been a big desire for me. And I think, for me, it comes from my mom. My mom is just this incredible woman who, she's almost 80 years old at this point. But she has... I shouldn't say that. She had me when she was 40 and is of a generation that mostly hid their hard stuff. But she refused to do that for some reason. She was getting counseling when counseling was taboo and therapy when therapy was taboo. I'm grateful. I'm grateful it's not anymore, for the most part. But yeah, my mom, I think if I could point the one thing.

Chris McAlilly 45:24 What about you, Jenny?

Jenny Somers 45:25

I think for me, I don't know, you probably are somewhat familiar with the Enneagram. But, I believe that I'm a four. And so fours are just like, up and down emotionally. I've always been. When I was in third grade, I was journaling and writing poetry and all kinds of stuff about, you know, being super dramatic. And so I think I kind of can't help but write this way. And as I've gotten older, I'm just a lot less afraid. So maybe when I was in, maybe when we first started out, I would have hesitated to put out a song, like "Breakup Song," or even we have a song called "I'm Sorry," that's about, and another song "Of This I'm Sure," these songs that are kind of about marriage and relationship and how they're hard and having to reconcile. And so maybe when I was in my early 20s, I think maybe I would have felt like, I can't release something like this. But now I feel more like, well, the world needs this kind of honesty, and I'm not shocked by anything anymore. So why would this be shocking to anyone?

Chris McAlilly 46:51

I love that. And you know, one of the things that I've reflected on through my love of music through times, so much of what we consider the best music is written by 20 year olds. Over the course of time, some of my favorite songwriters are the ones who, you know, after the third kid, the label realizes, like, "Uh-oh. This is the end," you know. But the reality is, you get into... When I listen to poetry or music now, I understand it so much better than when I was in my 20s, even some of the best songs. And I feel like some of the best songwriters are the ones that stick with it through the decades and they get to levels of emotional, spiritual maturity that are just not accessible to a 20 year old. And so I'm grateful to you guys for your work. And then also just the example of doing the thing you love and you're passionate about with kids. That's so hard. So hard. But I've been, speaking of encouragement, I've been very encouraged just by the conversation today. I'm grateful for the work you do. Thank you for taking the time to be with us today. Really, just really appreciative of both of you. So thank you.

Jenny Somers 48:16
Thank you so much. This has been awesome.

Eddie Rester 48:18 It's been great.

Tyler Somers 48:19 Really helped me, too, today.

Jenny Somers 48:21 Yeah.

Eddie Rester 48:21
[OUTRO] Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, the best way to help us is to like, subscribe, or leave a review.

Chris McAlilly 48:29

If you would like to support this work financially or if you have an idea for a future guest, you can go to theweightpodcast.com. [END OUTRO]