Speaker 1: Music saved me.
Speaker 2: Growing up listen to a bunch of different types of
Speaker 2: music music killed me, so I knew it was a possibility,
Speaker 2: but I had no.
Speaker 3: Idea my music was going to be able to do that.
Speaker 2: I was really just writing things that I was going
Speaker 2: through or my co writers or producers, and we were
Speaker 2: just putting it out because it made us feel better,
Speaker 2: and we were just hoping people would connect.
Speaker 4: I'm Len Hoffman and welcome to the Music Saved Me Podcast,
Speaker 4: the podcast where we talk with musicians and songwriters about
Speaker 4: the deeply healing powers of music and discuss their personal
Speaker 4: challenges and inspirations. On this episode, we talk with an
Speaker 4: artist and singer songwriter Jake Banfield, whose latest country track,
Speaker 4: Cadillac Coop, is currently climbing the.
Speaker 1: Charts as we speak.
Speaker 4: Jake has endured highs and lows throughout his life, and
Speaker 4: he's continuously and selflessly dedicated himself to promoting the importance
Speaker 4: of overcoming those battles through life altering moments and never
Speaker 4: really be afraid to ask for help. And that's exactly
Speaker 4: why we wanted Jake Banfield as our next guest on
Speaker 4: the Music Save Me Podcast.
Speaker 1: Jake, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, what a great intro. Thank you
Speaker 2: for that, and thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: It's our pleasure.
Speaker 4: Let's start off by having you give us a glimpse
Speaker 4: of what shaped you in life that made you become
Speaker 4: such an advocate for discussing mental health issues. You weren't
Speaker 4: supposed to be doing what you're doing right now, were you.
Speaker 2: No. Yeah, so actually it came out of nowhere. I
Speaker 2: really actually grew up playing sports. I played baseball, football,
Speaker 2: and really dedicated a lot of my life to basketball.
Speaker 3: I played for about.
Speaker 2: Eighteen years, and as an athlete, it just wasn't a
Speaker 2: popular thing to speak up about if you were dealing
Speaker 2: with mental health.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: I was kind of the jocket guy where I'm just
Speaker 2: going to not talk about it and then everything's going
Speaker 2: to be okay. I'll go get shots up, or I'll
Speaker 2: go play a game and we'll figure it out and then.
Speaker 3: So that's just how I lived for a lot of
Speaker 3: my life.
Speaker 2: And then I got to college and went to got
Speaker 2: to play college basketball and ended up having an injury
Speaker 2: and that was the first kind of big injury I've
Speaker 2: ever had. And then I end up in the dorm
Speaker 2: room in my dorm room by myself. My teammates are
Speaker 2: at practice and working out, and that was the first
Speaker 2: time I was alone, not with family, not with like friends,
Speaker 2: and I was just very depressed. And then't it was like,
Speaker 2: I really need to speak up because this is an
Speaker 2: awful feeling, and that's what I finally did.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I started doing music right then.
Speaker 2: That was my way to kind of cope, and like
Speaker 2: that was my therapy session, was writing songs about what
Speaker 2: I was going through. And that's when I started speaking
Speaker 2: up and it was one of the best decisions I've
Speaker 2: ever made.
Speaker 1: How did you know writing songs was going to help you?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think because I was still a little too
Speaker 2: scared to speak up to people, and I knew I
Speaker 2: could if I could write a song about what I
Speaker 2: was going through.
Speaker 3: I grew up listening to a lot of different types
Speaker 3: of music.
Speaker 2: I didn't know really how to write a song, but
Speaker 2: I knew how to like a melody.
Speaker 3: I knew melodies and that type of vibe.
Speaker 2: So I think that that was my easiest way to
Speaker 2: be by myself still and get out what I needed
Speaker 2: to say. And then I was able to post it.
Speaker 2: And I still wasn't really having the conversation with people yet.
Speaker 3: But I was able to post it and people were
Speaker 3: relating to it.
Speaker 4: So yeah, posting a song or putting something out there
Speaker 4: that you created is like is like birthing a child,
Speaker 4: and you have no choice but to receive whatever you
Speaker 4: get back. So was it instant that you got that
Speaker 4: immediate response that people were connecting.
Speaker 2: It wasn't instant. It was I really and it was scary.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie because I I you're right. I
Speaker 2: didn't know if people were gonna think it was terrible
Speaker 2: or if it was okay. I didn't What I didn't
Speaker 2: know is it was real. It was how I was failing.
Speaker 2: And that's all pretty much I could do from my side.
Speaker 2: The rest was out of my control, and I wouldn't.
Speaker 3: It wasn't instant. It was kind of.
Speaker 2: A just a build, a slow build, and then one
Speaker 2: really connected and then it brought in other people and
Speaker 2: then it started.
Speaker 3: It started growing pretty pretty quick.
Speaker 4: An epiphany from a basketball player to a songwriter, like unbelievable.
Speaker 4: There's a song you wrote called Take This Pain. I'd
Speaker 4: love for you to share with us a bit about
Speaker 4: that song and how it came to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that that's one of my favorite songs we've ever
Speaker 2: we've ever done, just because I remember I remember thinking
Speaker 2: I could do it my own way, and that's what
Speaker 2: that song is about. It's about calling out to like
Speaker 2: a higher power something to just take away this. I'm
Speaker 2: done trying to do this myself. I'm done trying to
Speaker 2: act like I have all the answers. I need someone
Speaker 2: to take this pain because it's not going away.
Speaker 3: And I think a lot of people feel that way.
Speaker 2: So we wrote that song in like forty five minutes,
Speaker 2: and it was really fast, but it kind of just
Speaker 2: flowed out.
Speaker 3: It was natural, it was real, is what we were feeling.
Speaker 2: And people seemed that one was a quick one when
Speaker 2: we when we posted. When I posted that on social media,
Speaker 2: I think it's as it's as vulnerable as I could be,
Speaker 2: and people were relating to it. So yeah, I love
Speaker 2: that song and I'm glad it's been able to reach
Speaker 2: people and help people.
Speaker 4: For sure, At what moment in your life did you
Speaker 4: realize I mean, obviously you can see there was a
Speaker 4: connection with your music and your song and being vulnerable,
Speaker 4: but when did you realize the healing power of music?
Speaker 4: Was it there?
Speaker 1: Epiphany? Or did it happen overnight?
Speaker 3: It was kind of an overnight.
Speaker 2: I had known that growing up listening to a bunch
Speaker 2: of different types of music music killed me, so I
Speaker 2: knew it was a possibility, but I had no idea
Speaker 2: my music was going to be able to do that.
Speaker 2: I was really just writing things that I was going
Speaker 2: through or my co writers or producers, and we were
Speaker 2: just putting it out because it made us feel better
Speaker 2: and we were just hoping people would connect. So it
Speaker 2: kind of was like a little overnight video that where
Speaker 2: I woke up. I went to sleep and I woke
Speaker 2: up and a video had went irol and comments were flooding,
Speaker 2: and it was all about I'm going through this, I
Speaker 2: needed this, this is saving my life. And it was
Speaker 2: a it was a lot to take in, and it
Speaker 2: was just like, wow, this is uh, this feels really
Speaker 2: good that I'm able to help people that are going
Speaker 2: through the same thing that I've been going through or worse,
Speaker 2: or you know, just just helping through music. It was
Speaker 2: it was insane, honestly, to to have music heal me
Speaker 2: and then to be able to put out music that
Speaker 2: can heal other people.
Speaker 1: Wild feeling, you know, you brought something up.
Speaker 4: I'm going off script here, but my questions are flowing
Speaker 4: with what you're saying. And in my mind as you're talking,
Speaker 4: I'm thinking, you're young, you're starting out. You weren't even
Speaker 4: supposed to be what you are. You were going to
Speaker 4: be this big basketball star and your life changed. You
Speaker 4: write all these songs that connect with people. Do you
Speaker 4: ever feel that you need to keep that secret sauce
Speaker 4: with the songwriting going? I mean, you understand now how
Speaker 4: a lot of artists have to stay relevant or keep
Speaker 4: connected to their fans, and that could lie in and
Speaker 4: of itself, could be a potential pitfall for you as well.
Speaker 1: So how do you navigate that? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I have I try to be as real as possible
Speaker 2: because I do have my ballad side, the mental health
Speaker 2: side where I'm going to advocate for it at all times.
Speaker 2: I also have a very fun side where I love.
Speaker 2: I'm a happy guy. I love happy music. So I
Speaker 2: think if you go back and look at my catalog
Speaker 2: from the beginning, when I had no idea what I
Speaker 2: was doing, there was pop music, there was happy music,
Speaker 2: there was sad music. That's kind of my life. It's
Speaker 2: just a little bit everywhere. But it's real. So I
Speaker 2: like to write in seasons, is how I call it.
Speaker 2: So whenever we're in March, like March time, we're going
Speaker 2: to be writing for summer because it's a few months away.
Speaker 2: At the end of summer, we're going to start writing
Speaker 2: the slower ballad type vibes because it's because it's seasons
Speaker 2: and it gets cold and people are just they get
Speaker 2: bundled up in the house and they want to.
Speaker 3: Hear some sadder music.
Speaker 2: And then and in the winter time you start getting
Speaker 2: ready for the spring break. It's all seasons, and that's
Speaker 2: just how I prefer to write.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 4: I've never heard that before, but what that totally makes sense.
Speaker 1: It's great. Well, yeah, thank you, Jake.
Speaker 4: Why is it important for you to talk about such
Speaker 4: personal challenges that you've had in your life publicly through
Speaker 4: your songwriting.
Speaker 2: I think because I know, I know whenever I was
Speaker 2: going through things, I was looking for someone to be
Speaker 2: as real as possible. And I could kind of tell
Speaker 2: when people were just doing it because it might get
Speaker 2: a lot.
Speaker 3: Of streams, But I always looked for someone that was
Speaker 3: going through.
Speaker 2: Something I felt like I was going through that I
Speaker 2: could relate with and whenever I found music like that
Speaker 2: and artists like that that were that were willing to
Speaker 2: speak up about their real life stuff, I had a
Speaker 2: different connection with them. So whenever I decided I was
Speaker 2: going to do music and I was going to go
Speaker 2: into that lane, I was like, I remember the feeling
Speaker 2: of looking for an artist that would say what I'm
Speaker 2: feeling or say something about what like similar, and that's
Speaker 2: what I just try to do.
Speaker 3: That's just it's a big deal. I want to just
Speaker 3: help people.
Speaker 2: And and you know, there's a lot of whenever you
Speaker 2: go through that sad there's just a sadness where you
Speaker 2: feel alone. And I remember being able to put out
Speaker 2: these songs and people would just feel like, this feels
Speaker 2: like we know each other like family, Like I can
Speaker 2: talk to you like you're my therapist or you're my daughter,
Speaker 2: like and that's what I want.
Speaker 3: I want people to just know they're not alone.
Speaker 2: That's probably my biggest saying because I felt so alone
Speaker 2: in that dorm room and I had people around me,
Speaker 2: it just there was a feeling inside.
Speaker 3: So I know a lot of people feel that way,
Speaker 3: and I.
Speaker 2: Just want my music to let them know that you're
Speaker 2: not going through it or You're not the only one
Speaker 2: going through it, and you will get through it.
Speaker 4: So yeah, well it's such a giving way to live
Speaker 4: your life. And speaking of that, you are not only musician,
Speaker 4: a singer, songwriter, performer, all around adorable.
Speaker 1: Thank you can help it.
Speaker 4: But you also have a podcast called A Break with
Speaker 4: Jake on which Country. I would love to hear what
Speaker 4: you talk about on your podcast. Something tells me it's a.
Speaker 4: It's a it's very creative. And who do you have
Speaker 4: upcoming that we can check out?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the podcast, I have a really cool bridge.
Speaker 2: I feel like I grew up an athlete, like I said,
Speaker 2: now I'm a singer songwriter and that's kind of a
Speaker 2: it's a unique kind of path. So I blend both
Speaker 2: and so I have artists on there, singer songwriters, producers.
Speaker 2: I have athletes on there sometimes at the same time.
Speaker 2: But we talk about sports on some we talk about
Speaker 2: the music industry, and in all every single episode we
Speaker 2: talk about mental health and how you know, I want
Speaker 2: I just want to hear what these people have to
Speaker 2: say about mental health. I mean, what's your story? As
Speaker 2: much as they're willing to share, they don't have to
Speaker 2: share much at all.
Speaker 3: But I make it.
Speaker 2: It's every episode we talk about mental health because people
Speaker 2: have different stories and maybe they don't speak up right now,
Speaker 2: but I'd just like to bring light to that no
Speaker 2: matter who it is. And we're on tour right now,
Speaker 2: so we don't have the schedule of podcasts, but I
Speaker 2: will be posting that whenever we get off a tour,
Speaker 2: and we'll start loading episodes and getting them.
Speaker 1: Out and you can take a break with Jake. I
Speaker 1: love that.
Speaker 3: That's it.
Speaker 1: You got it, Jakie.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much for joining us on the Music
Speaker 4: Save Me podcast and for everything that you do to
Speaker 4: help in the world. Because when we lift each other up,
Speaker 4: then we all win. It's a simple solution and we
Speaker 4: all have things to participate and give to that. So
Speaker 4: thank you for doing that here with us on Music
Speaker 4: Save Me. And good luck with your tour, your podcast
Speaker 4: and come back and see us.
Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am, thank you so much for having me, and
Speaker 2: I'd love to come back if you'll have you always