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We share stories of how the blood of Jesus has transformed ours and others' lives.
Denalee Bell:
Hey, everybody. Welcome to the Soapy Box. I'm Denalee Bell and this is Tyler Bell. I'm excited to talk to you about my favorite subject today, one of my kids, Tyler Bell.
Tyler Bell:
That's me.
Denalee Bell:
We're going to discuss his journey. He works in the music industry. He is an artist, a producer, and an engineer. And I want to discuss with him his journey within that, at his age in this time as a Christian, as a not, I guess in the beginning, maybe not a very active Christian and how you've evolved as a Christian in your music and get a feel for what it is like for people and how you want to pursue your interests going forward, given where you are with God.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Okay?
Tyler Bell:
Cool.
Denalee Bell:
Is that right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
All right. I thought we would just start out. Can you tell us just a little bit about your journey with God, how you found God or when you became a Christian?
Tyler Bell:
I think like most Christians, you start growing up in a family that is Christian and I believe that I had faith at a very young age and I got baptized when I was eight. I just looked at the photos yesterday with Nicole. It was-
Denalee Bell:
Oh, you did that? That's so cool. I have a story about that. I don't know if you remember this or I've probably told you this before so I wasn't... I was a Christian but I also didn't have a great relationship with God when you got baptized. And so, when you wanted to get baptized, I got scared. I was like... I was trying to talk you out of it. Sorry, God. But I was like, "Dude, this is a big deal. This is a big thing," and you wanted to do it.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah, and you had your Jesus rules t-shirt you were wearing to school.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I was eight wearing a Jesus rules t-shirt. It was awesome.
Denalee Bell:
I was so scared for you. Okay. The first time I sent you to school in it, I thought, "Okay. I'm going to get a call. They're either going to kick him out of school or some kid's going to be mean to him and I just..." You're just so bold. You went, mom was scared, and you did the right thing.
Tyler Bell:
I didn't think twice. I thought everybody loved Jesus.
Denalee Bell:
Isn't that awesome?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
That's so awesome.
Tyler Bell:
Yep.
Denalee Bell:
Raise your kids that way.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Planning on it. But yeah, I think I had a good faith when I was younger and as I became a teenager, I became a little more focused on the world and learning who I was in the world and finding my identity in the world because that's what I thought, "Oh, that's what people did." And I went to other things for validation like drinking, drugs... Bad behavior, let's leave it at that. And I think the more that I separated myself from God and took a step into a different lifestyle without him, I fell into a deeper, darker state.
Denalee Bell:
Mm-hmm. You seemed really depressed in some of those years.
Tyler Bell:
I was really depressed for a long time. I was really depressed for a while and I didn't know my worth. I didn't know my value. I didn't know who I was or what I wanted to do. And then, I found music and that was really cool because it did take me a step away from that. At least, I had direction at that point.
Denalee Bell:
You found a passion that you could relate to.
Tyler Bell:
I found a passion. I found what I thought was a purpose and I still believed in God. I never did not believe in God. I was just, I would say, had a dead faith. I wasn't involved in my faith. I wasn't actively praying every day. It was just only when I needed it the most. Thank you, God.
Denalee Bell:
Thank you for your relentless pursuance of all of us.
Tyler Bell:
Yes. I was still feeling like there was a void there. Obviously, a void that only Jesus could fill. And even though I felt like I had my passion and my purpose, I still felt depressed like there was still something that felt wrong with me. Things in my life were chaos and I was bringing and creating chaos in my life.
Denalee Bell:
What was your music like at that time?
Tyler Bell:
Depressing. Pretty much stuff that I have released now.
Denalee Bell:
Okay. So I found interesting about your music at this time, it was so good but it was so dark but it was this live documentation of where you were at the time.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Uh-huh. I like to think of music as a journal that I've created for myself as an artist. I think that before... Music that I have now is... I think I've gone through different stages of my life where I felt like a dark thing and I focused a set of music around that dark feeling. Like my first tape was stuck and I felt stuck in my life. I felt like I was at this point where I just couldn't achieve anything, I couldn't move forward in my life, and I was just... I don't know. Just lost. And then the next one was The Hall of Shame where I was very shameful and I felt like I felt these two things for a very long time and there were just dark points that I had without God in it. That was a result. That was the fruit of me having a dead faith, I felt like.
Denalee Bell:
What-
Tyler Bell:
But my music was very focused on that, my music was very focused on myself and who I was in those moments.
Denalee Bell:
I mean, it's art. It's reflecting where you are in life.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And that's all my music-
Denalee Bell:
And sometimes it's not pretty, right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Or it's-
Denalee Bell:
If you looked at my journal, you'd see some darkness sometimes too.
Tyler Bell:
Yep. And it's either that or just being an ignorant person and just talking crap. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Right. Well, feeling out who you are, right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I make rap and hip hop and, obviously, a big point of that is to be a large, loud, and bold, boisterous personality. You know what I mean? And I think that just not knowing who I am, I wanted to fit the mold, I guess.
Denalee Bell:
Well, and I think sometimes, and I think maybe this is what your 20s are for, it's to put your toe in the water and figure out who you are and to try things and to see what works and what feels right, right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Denalee Bell:
And learn how to be led by God.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
So what made you think of music? What started you down that journey of music?
Tyler Bell:
I always saw friends that made it. They had Ableton. They downloaded an illegal version of it. Buy all your software, don't steal it.
Denalee Bell:
It's wrong.
Tyler Bell:
It's wrong. But I always thought it was the coolest thing, I just never thought I could do it. And then, I remember I was like, "Screw it, man. Let's get Ableton," the little version. And then, I started learning it and I thought it was cool. And then in college, when I first started college, I really started to want to learn about it in a deep, obsessive way. And so much so that I was like, "This is all I can think about. This is all I really want to do." And fortunately enough for me, you guys were able to support it and be like, "You should just pursue this. Why not?" and I think that's a huge blessing that I've received-
Denalee Bell:
Well, I-
Tyler Bell:
Have parents that support a music career.
Denalee Bell:
So sometimes God gives me a word over people, and you know this but this is for the people watching, not always but sometimes I just see this word over people and I have to get it out. And I saw that music over you and I don't know that I fostered all of it great but I knew we had to support it because that's where God wanted you.
Tyler Bell:
It's cool. It's cool. I think there's a lot of people that think like that or are going to university studying something they don't care about. And I think it's really cool because I think everybody can achieve whatever they want to do as long as they apply themselves and love it.
Denalee Bell:
I think so too.
Tyler Bell:
And I think that... I heard a funny thing like... What is it? Everybody says like, "If you love what you do, you'd never work a day in your life." But I think it's more like if you love what you do, you can work harder than everybody else.
Denalee Bell:
That's true and you can work hard. So I don't actually have anything in my life that I can work as hard as you do at. I've seen you work when you were first learning, especially because you were still living at home back then. You would work on beats, just creating beats. And sometimes, it would be 16 hours.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. It was fun. I had a lot to learn.
Denalee Bell:
It was so cool.
Tyler Bell:
I knew I had a lot to learn. I was just excited to be doing it. And I think another thing that happened, which was not a great thing because I had some interesting parts of who I thought I was happened down the road was I made my identity like a producer or a rapper or I made my identity that position and career.
Denalee Bell:
So yes, you were very narrowly focused on who you wanted to be and who you thought you were at the time. And what do you think has changed since then? How do you feel now?
Tyler Bell:
So I think as I got into a relationship with Nicole, we both decided to pursue God
Denalee Bell:
It's God.
Tyler Bell:
And doing that, I learned a lot about faith, what it means to actually be a Christian, learning sound doctrine and understanding what the New Testament says. I mean, I started there, I just finished it or about to finish it. But I think that I found my identity in these things for so long and I didn't know my identity in Christ.
Denalee Bell:
So what were you finding your identity in?
Tyler Bell:
Oh, what was I finding my identity in?
Denalee Bell:
Uh-huh.
Tyler Bell:
Who I thought people would like me as so like-
Denalee Bell:
Okay. And who was that guy?
Tyler Bell:
A successful rapper that had all the cool things in his life and lived a grand life and had all these cool stuff and-
Denalee Bell:
Like a lot of... Was there a materialistic component?
Tyler Bell:
It was materialistic.
Denalee Bell:
Did you want fame?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I just wanted people to like me for so long and I think I always wanted people to like me and I think that's why I behaved the way I did in high school and growing up.
Denalee Bell:
So early on, do you think fame was a driving factor?
Tyler Bell:
I think part of it. It wasn't the only thing though. I just liked the actual work of it. I thought it was fun to create something like there's something... I think the most rewarding part about music is right after you finish something and you get to listen to it and enjoy it by yourself. I think after that-
Denalee Bell:
Was money a driving factor?
Tyler Bell:
Oh, yeah. I mean, I made music but I didn't know how I was going to get money doing it. I just thought it just lands in your lap when you're an artist.
Denalee Bell:
Okay. So where do you see yourself now as being your driving factor? It seemed, to be honest with you, when you were younger, when you first started this many years ago, you wanted that image.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. So-
Denalee Bell:
Is that fair?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. It's funny.
Denalee Bell:
Sorry. That was-
Tyler Bell:
I think I'm a person that grew up with privilege and I got... All my role models were people that came from the hood and my friends were people that had hard upbringings a little bit. And I felt like, "Why do I deserve this? Why should I be able to have a successful musical career?"
Denalee Bell:
And even some of the artists you worked with maybe had it a little harder.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. For sure. And for me, it's like I haven't had a whole lot of intense hardships in my life. I think just more emotional things, self-identity things, and relationship things were just the harder things.
Denalee Bell:
I think it's all relative.
Tyler Bell:
I think it's relative. You know what I mean? And I think you can't say one person's pain is harder than another person's pain but there was a factor in there that made me think that I didn't deserve it or I didn't had this story that made me this type of way but-
Denalee Bell:
Did you find that you were maybe more inauthentic in your music at that point?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. So I think there was a lot of truth in it that you might not want to hear but a lot of-
Denalee Bell:
I really want you to say it was all inauthentic. Just joking.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I have some harsh music. Especially at the beginning, because I just represented about an alter ego, I think, of someone. Like an identity that I wanted to-
Denalee Bell:
That you wanted to be.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Or who you wanted to be perceived as.
Tyler Bell:
Or who I thought I wanted to be but not actually though because it's out of my comfort zone and it's obviously a bad place to be. I don't want to be a person that's having sex with multiple girls, doing drugs all the time, and living a shallow life.
Denalee Bell:
At that point in your life, did you want to be perceived as that? Did you feel like that was-
Tyler Bell:
I don't think that was it.
Denalee Bell:
What was typical in that musical drama so you wanted to fit in?
Tyler Bell:
I wanted to have more girls in my life. I wanted to have a lot of money. I wanted to have adventurous times and not stress about money. I think it wasn't like what it made me look like other than someone that attracts people to them. And I thought that by having these things, that would happen and I just wanted to be loved, right?
Denalee Bell:
I think that's probably the story of the world, right? We all want to be loved so we sometimes grasp at incorrect things to make people love us.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I agree.
Denalee Bell:
I would say now your focus is a little bit different and where you're headed with your music. So I think the music industry is quite evil and so-
Tyler Bell:
Me too.
Denalee Bell:
Do you? Okay. And so for me, I had watched a lot of rappers online when you were... Because your music's good and I thought, "This kid's going to make it," and I was almost worried that you would blow up and get a label to sign you or something crazy and lose who you were. And then, I started watching these rappers on YouTube talking about just how evil it is, people who had been in the industry. And I think anytime you're looking for fame and power, even though that isn't what you're doing, that's what you would get to achieve your goals of having extra money-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I wanted the benefits.
Denalee Bell:
These things come with it and I think it changes who you are as a person if you're not super grounded.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. What I did was like, "Oh, I'm a producer," so I put that hat on for a while. I'm strictly a producer but I dabble in being an artist. What does a producer look like? What does he have in his life? What does he wear? How does he act?
Denalee Bell:
Oh, okay.
Tyler Bell:
I'm trying to mold myself into this archetype, right?
Denalee Bell:
Instead of just being you.
Tyler Bell:
Instead of just being me because I didn't know how to be me.
Denalee Bell:
Well, I mean, again, that's part of your 20s and also a part of knowing who you are in Christ, right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. For sure.
Denalee Bell:
Is to figure that out. So I see that when you very first started, it was rap only. It was it. But just in the last few years, you've really opened up all different music genres. You're playing guitar, you play a little piano.
Tyler Bell:
I haven't released any of that stuff yet so-
Denalee Bell:
You haven't?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Okay.
Tyler Bell:
Everything that's released now is... I only released... I haven't released much and I go through this thing where I have released music and I hate it. I don't... Only a couple songs I like that I've released. And then as I release them, I have mountains of new songs that I have along the way that I've made that I think are far superior. And then as I release them, I don't like them anymore. And then, all my stuff... When I explain to people the music I make and they're like, "Oh, I like your new song that you made." I'm like, "Ah, man. All my new stuff's way better." You know what I mean? That's how my brain works because I just don't... Everything's upgrading every time I make a song. But now, it's definitely expanded a lot. So everything out right now is rap-
Denalee Bell:
But you're open to other influences which you were not before.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. So now... I mean, I'm just listening to country, bro. Screw it.
Denalee Bell:
That's awesome.
Tyler Bell:
I'm listening to Christian music, I'm listening to a lot of rock and punk music and stuff, and just all these different things.
Denalee Bell:
I think you can learn a lot from listening to different types of music. I mean, not all good for sure.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Denalee Bell:
So do you have any desire to get a record label or do you want to remain independent?
Tyler Bell:
I don't know if it's fair and if it makes sense.
Denalee Bell:
I don't know if that's a thing. Is it?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. There's different kinds of deals that you can do where it seems like a little bit fair and I want it to be more of a mutual partnership rather than a loan. You know what I mean? I think that I would like to be able to participate, get money, but I don't want to be-
Denalee Bell:
Owned?
Tyler Bell:
Owned. I want to be able to have freedom. I want to be able to-
Denalee Bell:
As an artist, to do the music you want?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
I don't think that's a thing.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Is it?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. There is. There's some deals.
Denalee Bell:
Is it?
Tyler Bell:
I think there's some deals.
Denalee Bell:
Okay.
Tyler Bell:
And it depends on-
Denalee Bell:
Well, you know, you talk more to these guys than I-
Tyler Bell:
But it's less about your musical integrity and it's about your marketing now.
Denalee Bell:
Well, you live in the best of times to do something like this where you can do it on your own and you can market it or you can find somebody to help you market or you can-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
We live in the best of times for music in some ways and in some ways not. Because in the olden days, they had the record come out and then the marketing people went and just pushed the radios to play it and then they got paid. So it's all about money, pay to play. But I guess it's similar to now because people pay to play on Spotify, right?
Tyler Bell:
Kind of. Through-
Denalee Bell:
Playlist?
Tyler Bell:
Playlisting but it's not a very reliable service. There's different avenues you can go about it and you can get placements on even Spotify playlists if you pitch it to them. But most of the time people, or not most of the time, but a lot of people are going to third party playlists to have a big audience. An audience that... Not an actual audience, maybe it was robots or something. They're spending money and then they're getting about 8,000 views. But the thing is you're just paying for views at that point, you're not paying for fans really. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Let's talk about the dark underbelly of the music industry because you have friends in it, you're in it, you hear stories about it. I hear stories about it. Doesn't it concern you to be part of the industry that really does promote a lot of evil? Let's use Travis Scott for an example. He's an easy one. Or Lil Nas or is it Nas? Just joking.
Tyler Bell:
Lil Nas X. Like Doja Cat, right? And you'll see like-
Denalee Bell:
Sad. It's sad.
Tyler Bell:
So the way that it looks like is she doesn't believe in Christianity but there's a lot of people that do that don't respect her message or have held her down or she has received a church hurt of some sort.
Denalee Bell:
Do we know this or we can say-
Tyler Bell:
No, I mean, I'm just... For example... I mean, there might be a reason. It looks like that. And then, it seems she went so far the other way for a publicity stunt almost is what it feels like-
Denalee Bell:
I hope that's what it is but it's-
Tyler Bell:
But there's been a lot of weird conspiracy stuff behind it like She had a birthday with a Free Mason sign on it and it was supposed to be like an Eyes Wide Shut or whatever birthday-themed party but-
Denalee Bell:
Which is-
Tyler Bell:
There's no free masonry in there and the cake was based on it. I don't know. Whatever.
Denalee Bell:
So this is what I think of the Doja Cat.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. The Doja Cat.
Denalee Bell:
So I saw the video recently on social media and it was so much Satanic imagery, so much that it's being promoted as a Satanic video, right? Whether you believe it or not, it's promoting and putting it out there. And I'm seeing this as a normal trend now which would not ever have been in my time. I mean, Madonna pressed the envelope for sure when she did her stuff in the 80s but it was very sacrilege and very... I guess I was a kid so I didn't think it was a big deal. But looking back on it, I cannot believe that society was just okay with it like this is definitely happening. And now, it's not just the one Madonna out there, it's a lot of them. What's that kid's name? Sam?
Tyler Bell:
Sam Smith?
Denalee Bell:
Yeah.
Tyler Bell:
Oh, he did the Unholy song. So it's interesting like... So artists that I've watched do this is Playboy Cardi and he started repping a lot of upside down crosses and they might've made a different meaning for it than what a normal Christian might think of. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Do you think in any way promoting the devil is a good thing?
Tyler Bell:
No, but they like dark imagery and I liked dark imagery for a long time and I still do because I think there's an aesthetic, right?
Denalee Bell:
Do you think it opens you up to darkness though?
Tyler Bell:
I think it does. So it depends what kind of darkness it is though like I like dark furniture.
Denalee Bell:
Okay. I get that. I think when we open up our world-
Tyler Bell:
But it's dark words, dark.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I mean, I think-
Denalee Bell:
You know too-
Tyler Bell:
It opens yourself up, obviously. But it's interesting so-
Denalee Bell:
Satanic imagery to promote it, for him, it feels like it opens up your world to darkness and all of the people seeing it.
Tyler Bell:
So his label Opium, he signed more people and they rock a lot of upside down crosses and people ask them like, "No. Satan stuff, we don't rock with it. That's not cool," and they're like, "I believe in God but-"
Denalee Bell:
Well, Satan does believe in God.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But it's stuff like that where it's like... And in the comments people are saying, "Bro, you believe in a fairytale and blah blah blah," or, "Just because he's rocking this doesn't mean he's a bad person, bro. Just listen to his music, bro, blah, blah, blah." You know what I mean? And it is becoming normalized across the whole way, I see a lot of people making this weird switch that's like you don't know whether or not they're on some dark stuff.
Denalee Bell:
I don't know. I feel, as myself, if I was a musician, I am a Christian, I love Jesus, I could not do it. I couldn't.
Tyler Bell:
But-
Denalee Bell:
Did you know in some of these contracts they're not allowed to say Jesus?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
It's in their contracts.
Tyler Bell:
Uh-huh. I think it's interesting like... I feel like there's a publicity stunt almost in it-
Denalee Bell:
Could you do that?
Tyler Bell:
To shock Christian viewers.
Denalee Bell:
Could you do that as a publicity stunt?
Tyler Bell:
No, absolutely... Well, because I have a faith in it-
Denalee Bell:
That's what I'm saying.
Tyler Bell:
And a loyalty. But they don't have a faith and a loyalty, right?
Denalee Bell:
That was my point.
Tyler Bell:
So to them it's like, "Whatever. It doesn't really mean a big deal." And Christianity is an easy one to point your fingers at and be like, "No, you guys are messed up." You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Well, I don't know that I think they're messed up. I think they're lost and I think Satan is whispering in their ears.
Tyler Bell:
People are pointing fingers at Christianity because it's the top religion and there's been a lot of church hurt and a lot of stuff that people haven't taken more than five seconds to actually research. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
That's truth.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Yes. So you wouldn't rock that kind of imagery.
Tyler Bell:
No. Well, like-
Denalee Bell:
But you have in the past.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Well, I mean, nothing Satanic, right? But I don't know, just dark stuff, I think, is cool. I like-
Denalee Bell:
Like skeleton stuff.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Like skulls. I got a skull tattoo right there.
Denalee Bell:
Oh, I didn't even realize that for some reason and I see you a lot.
Tyler Bell:
But to me it's like... And clothes and fashion and stuff, I think it looks cool. You know what I mean? But it doesn't mean it's... Just because I'm wearing it, I don't think this tattoo means I'm opening a door, right?
Denalee Bell:
Okay. So I don't know. I don't know for sure but I don't want to take those risks because I found that opening the door in just small ways like watching a movie that I shouldn't have when I'm convicted by the Holy Spirit brings something with it that I don't want in my home.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But there was intention with this, right? There was an unintentional thing that happened to you when you watched TV.
Denalee Bell:
No, I'm just saying, and I'm not saying that skull was wrong-
Tyler Bell:
No, I know but I don't think that this opened a door.
Denalee Bell:
I don't know.
Tyler Bell:
I don't think so.
Denalee Bell:
I mean, I don't think so.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I don't think so. I think-
Denalee Bell:
I don't feel in my spirit that-
Tyler Bell:
I got it with my friend on my birthday and it was just like, "Let's just get a stupid tattoo."
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. I don't know how I feel about tattoos still. I mean, I really like your tiger but it's not for me to judge. Do you know what I mean? You want a tattoo, have one. I don't care. Yeah.
Tyler Bell:
I think there's some stuff that's-
Denalee Bell:
Gone are the days that you can only be a rock star or a famous basketball player and have tattoos. Everyone has them now.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. And I think... I don't know. I mean, I get some of it but I don't think it's that deep with some of it. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
I know. I do... I think when we don't take seriously that demonic imagery, we are helping the devil out. We're saying, "Okay. We're going to normalize this and this is okay for your kids to consume. This is okay. This is just the new normal way," which is, I think, how the enemy gets into our world and more and more and it's normal or it's no big deal. And I think the no big deal is the enemy loves that. He loves that people think he's no big deal. He loves it. His work is done.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Was it the... What is it? The greatest lie or whatever. What is it? The devil ever told was that he wasn't real.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
So there's an artist, his name's Saw Baby and he has an upside down cross with 666 right here and to him, it means unknown-ism and that's what he calls it. Where it's like, "We don't know what happens after death. We don't know what's actually real and true," to him, right? And it's like a satanism thing where it's maybe like you're a God. You know what I mean? Inside. And it's interesting that he might not... He doesn't believe, right? In any of that but he went to the dark imagery to represent the enemy in that situation because-
Denalee Bell:
So he's marketing the enemy.
Tyler Bell:
It looks like you're defying against something that is well believed and I think that-
Denalee Bell:
I don't think it's that innocent even when they say it's that innocent. For you to be able to do that is a whole nother step than just saying, "I'm not sure if I believe."
Tyler Bell:
But I see kids that maybe just don't believe but wear upside down crosses because they think it's cool or wear the Thrasher pentagram shirt because they think it's cool, right?
Denalee Bell:
I do.
Tyler Bell:
Because they're skaters and that's just their culture.
Denalee Bell:
And that's become normalized in society and that is my fear and that's my... I mean, because we've talked about this a lot in ad nauseum. You're probably even sick about having this conversation here that I do think it's serious. I think we open up darkness when we're willing to tattoo 666 on our forehead.
Tyler Bell:
I know. To be honest, that's just wild like, "You're really going to print that on your body forever?"
Denalee Bell:
I mean, I feel bad for that kid. I do.
Tyler Bell:
It sucks because I like his music. And it is hard because it's interesting, all these artists that are doing this and making this weird publicity switch, it's hard because I love their music. Like Lil Uzi Vert, oh my gosh. His music is so good to me. I really appreciate it. And then, he just does this and I'm like, "Bro, I just can't listen to you like this now." You know what I mean? I can't keep... You're not-
Denalee Bell:
You can't promote it.
Tyler Bell:
I can't put you in my playlist now. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
So how do you... It feels like to me and it might just be because I'm hypersensitive because you're working in this industry and you meet artists, the whole nine yards. Does it feel like it's a growing trend to do this Lil Nas with all his devil and his blood in his shoes-
Tyler Bell:
It's still weird.
Denalee Bell:
And then, you have Doja Cat and then you have Lady Gaga with her meat press and the spirit cooking.
Tyler Bell:
It's so weird. Under Sam Smith Unholy performance, everybody's like, "You're so brave, blah, blah, blah," and I'm like, "That is the least brave thing." The bravest thing that he could have done is went up and say, "I love Jesus-"
Denalee Bell:
That would've been brave in today's world.
Tyler Bell:
That would've been actually brave. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
It would've been super brave in today's world.
Tyler Bell:
It's just like, "Wow, you just represented the devil. Who cares?" And I think it's interesting like if you don't believe, why are you choosing to represent the bad guy?
Denalee Bell:
It's an interesting-
Tyler Bell:
Why? Because it sells?
Denalee Bell:
This is what I think it is. I think... I have a couple of conspiracy theories on this. One, I think the enemies uses the music industry because that's a great way to get in people's minds and their heads in the lyrics. And I also believe that these producers and these labels, I don't think they're real great people. The way they've treated... The fruit would be of how they've treated their artists. The fruit would be of how they do things, right?
Tyler Bell:
I've met a couple studio owners and I don't like some of their-
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. I do worry that these kids might be doing it and being sold, "This is just publicity." But I do worry... Like Travis Scott, so he had that concert where people literally died at, they had an incredible satanic energy there, even people were recording from there that there was bad stuff happening there.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. There's a lot of weird synchronicities in what happened.
Denalee Bell:
And I just wonder why this is becoming such a normal trend and everyone's just accepting it in your age group.
Tyler Bell:
I think some of it can be publicity. It's because they want to live on the border of do I believe in represent God or not? And then, something like this happens. Look how much Travis Scott was talked about after that.
Denalee Bell:
I know.
Tyler Bell:
I mean, you-
Denalee Bell:
I talked about him. I didn't even know who he was until I saw the video of the-
Tyler Bell:
You got word of mouth, you got every marketing outlet talking about it, or every news outlet, every marketing source talking about it, your name is brought up. That situation, people actually died because of it and I don't know if that was on purpose. I can't say. It's hard-
Denalee Bell:
I mean, we can't know.
Tyler Bell:
We can't know. And at the same time though, you are accountable because it's your concert and your point of your whole concert is to rage, to reach new levels of rage. The fruit of that's going to be-
Denalee Bell:
That sounds satanic in itself, the hate, the disdain. And that was my other point with these other artists-
Tyler Bell:
It's hard because I like Travis Scott's music.
Denalee Bell:
It's almost like they're giving the finger to Christians, is what they're doing on purpose-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Well, it's like rebellion.
Denalee Bell:
It is.
Tyler Bell:
It's like punk rock, right?
Denalee Bell:
Oh, that's true.
Tyler Bell:
It's like punk rock where they're like, "Screw the system."
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. But they're doing it-
Tyler Bell:
But the most punk rock thing right now is Christianity in my eyes.
Denalee Bell:
Amen.
Tyler Bell:
You can't... Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
That's awesome.
Tyler Bell:
Talking about Christianity to people is like saying you love Hitler.
Denalee Bell:
It's bad right now. I don't remember a time where it was so acceptable to have demonic stuff happening and so unacceptable to be a Christian. When I was growing up, it would've been more unacceptable... Of course, I grew up in a small town in Wyoming, it would've been more unacceptable to say you didn't believe in God which I'm okay with that. Not that... I love the freedom of Christ that we choose Him.
Tyler Bell:
Well, people think it's a trap and a unfun lifestyle. Because they've been sold a lie that you can do whatever you want, you can live your life-
Denalee Bell:
And these hedonistic pleasures.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But they've also been told a lie that you'll go to hell even if... Like you can't do anything or you're going to go to hell.
Denalee Bell:
You mess up one time.
Tyler Bell:
If you mess up one time, you're going to go to hell. But there's a freedom, like you said in Christ, where it's like, "Okay. I sin. I believe in Christ. I repented of all my sins and I believe in Christ. If I sin, it's a mess up. I apologize, God, but this is my relationship with you-"
Denalee Bell:
Repent. Turn away.
Tyler Bell:
"I'm imperfect. Repent. Turn away. I'm going to keep trying to turn away. But because I sin does not mean I'm going to hell." All the... There's a misunderstanding about what the faith actually represents to most unbelievers and atheists.
Denalee Bell:
I think yes and I think they're rebelling against this marketing that the enemy has done about who Christ is and who Christ's followers are. And we haven't really done ourselves much of a service either with our prideful and our righteousness, and we're going to do a podcast on that too with religious pride and religious spirit and how it really is one of the worst things to turn people away from God.
Tyler Bell:
You're representing God and now you're allowing somebody else to accept your misrepresentation because you didn't know how to deliver it right because you're religiously prideful into what you believe and you think... It's interesting.
Denalee Bell:
So as a Christian, do you feel like it's your duty to properly represent God?
Tyler Bell:
Yes, and it's hard.
Denalee Bell:
You know where I'm going.
Tyler Bell:
It's hard. So along my journey of making music-
Denalee Bell:
You knew where I was headed with that.
Tyler Bell:
I've talked about my revelry rockstar lifestyle that I didn't actually live because I just wanted to portray myself to be somebody. And then as I did this, I created an algorithm for making songs, my go-to things. My process for making music has become this different person that's dark and I'm trying to recreate my voice. I've created a voice and everything that you've heard from now is probably that voice. I mean, I think that I have raw, real stuff in some of the music that I've released that talks about my inner emotion and my soul but along with it has been talking about stupid shit. Like all I rock is designer clothes, I'll be taking these drugs and turn it up. You know what I mean? And now, I'm at a point where it's-
Denalee Bell:
Is that hard for you to write and put those kind of lyrics out there now?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
It's getting harder and harder.
Tyler Bell:
It is.
Denalee Bell:
Does God convict you about it?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah, and it's really hard so-
Denalee Bell:
So not just mom now?
Tyler Bell:
Not just mom.
Denalee Bell:
I'm just teasing you. I love-
Tyler Bell:
It's hard. It's so hard because I can see the world in a way now that's a lot different than I used to and each word counts. If I were to make my own music as an artist, each word counts and it's going to influence somebody because it influenced me in some way and-
Denalee Bell:
Oh, that's beautiful.
Tyler Bell:
It's really difficult when you create a voice and then to reshape a voice. So the next drop that I'm doing is going to be my favorite songs over the hundreds of songs I've made now. And you might not think I've made hundreds of songs but-
Denalee Bell:
I do. I know. I've listened-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. You have.
Denalee Bell:
I've heard them.
Tyler Bell:
But maybe the audience might not because I've only released so much but these are some songs that I deem as worthy enough to be respected by the world. But once I move past this point, I'm moving forward talking much more carefully and cautiously about how I represent God.
Denalee Bell:
So this is a bittersweet thing for me as your mother and also as understanding art to reflect where we are in the moment. So if you read my journals, like I said, over the last... You've seen. I have piles of them. If you saw what I wrote 5, 10 years ago, you'd go, "Oh my gosh. My mom's come so far in some ways. And oh my gosh, she really hasn't in some-"
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. There's beauty in that journey.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. But it's still who I was at the time. So if I were to turn that into a picture or into music, it's still who I was at the time but then you also have to honor God and the gift He gave you and the voice He gave you and how you share it.
Tyler Bell:
And it is interesting because-
Denalee Bell:
How do you balance all that?
Tyler Bell:
As I am getting stronger in my faith and really diving into my relationship with God, that it is beautiful to reflect on where I was to where I am now because I would never go back. I could not ever go back because it's so empty without it. And it's cool because to people that have listened to my music, they get to see somebody turn their gears a little bit and it might inspire them to do the same which is cool.
Denalee Bell:
I like that because I've seen this gradual change over time in your music and your lyrics where-
Tyler Bell:
It's got deeper and deeper and a real dark point.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. And you've been really good about not disparaging women because that is the one thing I hate about rap music is the disparagement of women.
Tyler Bell:
I try not to but it happens a little bit. I'm not like-
Denalee Bell:
Well, I think sometimes I don't understand the words you're using. You've had to educate me because sometimes I don't understand the lingo.
Tyler Bell:
I mumble rap here and there but I try not to and I know that's a big one for you. And also, I have a girlfriend that I respect. That was a part of my voice when I was growing up or cultivating my voice in music when I had these influences and these artists that are around were saying whatever. And I was like, "Okay. Well, screw it. I'll just say whatever too."
Denalee Bell:
And so, you're a very respectful person so that's what was really hard for me. Like-
Tyler Bell:
My music was not-
Denalee Bell:
"Who is that kid?" But honestly, the lyrics are so good.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
I mean, they are but they're also so bad, the early ones.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
They're like-
Tyler Bell:
The early ones are bad.
Denalee Bell:
Catchy.
Tyler Bell:
They're catchy. Yeah. It's interesting how as I'm shifting, I want to talk about that stuff less or less. I don't... But it's hard to find the right words, right? Because there is a line where I don't want to say it but Christian rap can be corny, right?
Denalee Bell:
There's some good stuff.
Tyler Bell:
There's good stuff. And as TikTok is growing and stuff, I've been seeing some real cool Christian rappers and artist, right?
Denalee Bell:
I mean, it's not my genre but I even have a couple on my playlist.
Tyler Bell:
I want to make music as well that can be real and raw to where I am.
Denalee Bell:
Mm-hmm. With a message?
Tyler Bell:
With a message and glorifies God but I'm not perfect. I still might swear a little bit in my music. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. You're on your journey. So I think part of that, even swearing or anything, you're on your journey and I... As your mom, you're an adult now. So if you ask my opinion, I'll give it to you. But I'll just tell you, my journey is sometimes after we see that scripture about swearing and we get convicted, it's a little harder to do. So as your mother, I try to give advice in a way of guidance now and not... You're an adult. I don't have to tell you how to act. I trust you and I trust that you have a relationship with God and you're moving forward and He's working all of that stuff out in you. But I do know when... Because I used to swear a lot, I do know. Because I needed it for emphasis but I feel like-
Tyler Bell:
Some people are going to-
Denalee Bell:
There are some words that could emphasize and sometimes it slips out now too. But after reading the scriptures that I have about it, I do get convicted when it slips out now.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And I think the conviction... Obviously, I'll try not to swear. I'll try not to do these things. And sometimes maybe for me, it was right in that moment and it is along the journey. You know what? I'm a bad Christian.
Denalee Bell:
No, you're not.
Tyler Bell:
No, I'm not. But if you feel like you're a bad Christian, so am I. You know what I mean? We're all bad.
Denalee Bell:
How about an imperfect Christian?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. How about that?
Denalee Bell:
Because we all are imperfect.
Tyler Bell:
It's a striking word, bad, but you know what I mean? I think there are a lot of people that are in Christianity who are quick to say, "That's a bad Christian right there." Well, so what? I'm not perfect-
Denalee Bell:
I think so too. I think we'll probably get some of that just on this podcast because we do on everyone. We're not perfect Christians.
Tyler Bell:
If you listen to my music, you'll think I'm actually a bad Christian.
Denalee Bell:
Well, you're a Christian on your journey and just like we are. So even on our first podcast, we said some things that... I couldn't find it but I want to go because I thought that's not theologically correct afterwards but-
Tyler Bell:
But it was cool like-
Denalee Bell:
But we're just grateful for you guys to point it out to us.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. You get to progress forward though and be more accurate.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
I get to progress forward and if you look at maybe what I've made... The last three songs I've made compared to the first three or even the middle three, there's been a lot of growth that's... God finishes work, right? We're the clay, He's the potter, and He finishes it all the time. Every time, He finishes His good work and I'm going to be finished and I'm going to keep being finished and He's going to keep shaping me into this person but I'm not perfect right now.
Denalee Bell:
I think that's... Okay. Number one problem is religious spirit and religious pride that happens for unbelievers in how they see us. The second part is they think we need to be perfect and we're not. And I would say within Christian community too, they expect you to be perfect and act perfect. And if you don't, well, they don't care if you're five minutes into your journey. You know what I mean?
And some people take a long journey to get where they need to be and I think we have to give grace for people on where they're at and know... Like for you, I know your heart and I know that you seek Jesus. I know that you spend time with Him. I know you spend time with the Word, go to church, plus you spend time with Him which is more than most. So I don't worry about you so much, even when you make a mistake. Let's say maybe you have a third cousin, I'm trying to think of somebody who makes a mistake but isn't really walking that path, I would worry more. I don't worry because I know God has you and whatever mistake, mistake you make, it's going to be good.
Tyler Bell:
And I trust that He's going to finish his work in me too. You know what I mean? And I hope-
Denalee Bell:
If we allow Him to.
Tyler Bell:
I've held so much stress and guilt and shame over the messages that I've written and even the stuff that I do make now because I'm still trying to find my voice in it that I'm just going to do as I do and have God convict me and bring me to the right thing
Denalee Bell:
And you'll learn. That's how we learn, right? We are going to model after our Father. Model after your parents, that's how we all learn. Model after Jesus. I love the old saying, "What would Jesus do?" But I mean, I use it a lot like, "Okay. How would Jesus act as a leader in this situation? How would Jesus act as a mother in this situation?" and use that as your guiding principle. If we all could do that all the time, the world would be perfect and we wouldn't even be having any conversations. We'd be gone.
Tyler Bell:
People had forethought.
Denalee Bell:
That's the beauty of it. So where do you think you're headed with your music? What's coming up? What kind of genres are you thinking of getting into or working on right now?
Tyler Bell:
The next tape I'm releasing is I think a good point where I can bring the music that I've made past. That's Mark 1, right? This is Mark 1 Twist.
Denalee Bell:
I have to just ask the question. So you have music that you're going to release that has a messaging that you don't really align with and you're going to release it. Why?
Tyler Bell:
I think it's like an homage to what this person was. You know what I mean? It's the last of this version of Twist. You know what I mean? And there's songs that are just really hard for me to let go. I don't want to just not let the world hear them because-
Denalee Bell:
Because they are a part of your life?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. They're important to me. I like them. I enjoy listening to them. I think they're sick even if the message is bad on a couple of them.
Denalee Bell:
So this is where I think I differ with you on the message. Sometimes what you're saying the message is bad or wrong and to me, when I've listened to some of them it's just like, "That's just what happened to you. You're just telling somebody what happened to you."
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But there's some songs that's coming up that's like I'm bragging a lot. There's a song called Brag and I'm just talking crap. Things like that because it's easy to brag in rap music and just talk about what you have. You know what I mean? And what you're doing and what your life looks like and I feel like a lot of rappers brag about what their life looks like.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
But it still sounds cool to me and I think-
Denalee Bell:
That's the cool sound.
Tyler Bell:
I've listened to a lot of hardcore rap music and that was an inspiration and that's the fruit of listening to it so much.
Denalee Bell:
Do you think you'll ever do a Christian album?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I think I will.
Denalee Bell:
You do?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I'm going to make a rock album. I want to make a country album someday.
Denalee Bell:
I think that'd be so cool.
Tyler Bell:
I want to make all sorts of stuff. And I think now that I am learning guitar and I'm dabbling into different genres and listening to the classics and caring about these things that I didn't before at all, I'm definitely wanting to expand what's coming forward but also continue to be shaped by the potter to glorify Him in a better way.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
Because I know that I say this now and I want to say everything after this is going to be perfect Christian music but it's not.
Denalee Bell:
It's not.
Tyler Bell:
It's not. It's-
Denalee Bell:
There's not even perfect Christian music out there. I mean, even in our church that we go to, our pastor and the worship director, they're very vigilant about what music they'll play and that it one, glorifies God and two, aligns with the Word. So sometimes we have imperfect Christians making music so the music might be great. So this is how they fix that, they change the wording so it's accurate. If it's a great song, which I love, they take out some of the stuff that isn't really aligned with the Word.
Tyler Bell:
And it's interesting because now when you make music, it's a lot less live nowadays because people don't usually use brands and a lot of people are one man bands where they have-
Denalee Bell:
It's interesting.
Tyler Bell:
A single interface and a DAW like Ableton and they make their own music in their bedroom and they release it. And it's just like a staple in time of that song that is hard to... If you made a song in the bedroom, it's a lot less likely that you're going to be playing it live that much. You know what I mean? And it is just going to get streams instead if it blows up. I think it's cool that the people at your church are able to still perform maybe classic songs that maybe have the message that they didn't want but they get to make it theirs and also God's.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
Which is cool.
Denalee Bell:
And I like that they do that. I also like that they give people grace that not everyone's where they're at which is why I like that church.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
They're there to teach and disciple. Life Church Boise, if you're in town.
Tyler Bell:
Life Church. Yeah. They got some sound doctrine, man. They got some real good stuff.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Real good teaching.
Denalee Bell:
Tyler always comes to my church when he comes to Boise and I go to his church, The Pillar in Scottsdale, when I go to Arizona and it's completely different experiences-
Tyler Bell:
It is.
Denalee Bell:
But I feel like they go well together.
Tyler Bell:
It is cool. It's cool to get both of them because-
Denalee Bell:
They're such different teachers.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. At Pillar and Preston, Preston has a very emotional relationship with God and how he's like a friend of God... Right now, he's doing a series, A Friend of God, and it's cool to feel his emotion, this beautiful relationship that they have and be inspired by it-
Denalee Bell:
It was-
Tyler Bell:
But also-
Denalee Bell:
It is very inspiring.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And then, to go to your church and be taught a biblically accurate, sound doctrine but also like that's dad and this is me as a son and this is how it works, message. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
Yep. I get revelation at both churches.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. It's cool. It's nice to be able to get both of those in my spiritual diet.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. It is nice. It is. It's hard. I feel guilty when I'm not at my home church a lot because we travel back and forth a lot but I do. I do. I'm so grateful you found a good church there.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Me too. Me too.
Denalee Bell:
So that's a shoutout to your girlfriend for doing that for us.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Putting us there. Yeah. But I want to make more Christian music but I also want to make just secular music that can glorify God too a little bit.
Denalee Bell:
I like that too.
Tyler Bell:
I don't want to... For me, when I think about making Christian music, I feel like I just get locked into this Christian contemporary music and that's it. That's all the music that I can make.
Denalee Bell:
Well, there's a lot of people that cross over into both.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And I would like to be able to cross over and just make music a little more freely than-
Denalee Bell:
And not be in a box-
Tyler Bell:
Putting it in a box. You know what I mean? And I think that if-
Denalee Bell:
Well, it's like our podcast. We're Christians and we're doing a podcast, right?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's cool.
Denalee Bell:
I mean, our Christianity just comes out in our conversation because we are.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. In the next project that I'm releasing, I say Jesus once. I got it in once, I noticed. But there are hints of God in there where I'm speaking about him, especially in What Cheery where it is kind of a Christian song. I did cuss a little bit but I might go revise it. But anyways, it talks about-
Denalee Bell:
Feel free.
Tyler Bell:
The shame that I've been fed from being disciplined by God a little bit. Not disciplined but feeling the conviction in myself and me not... Having a shame towards myself in those moments but it's really a sanctifying moment with God.
Denalee Bell:
So you talk about your journey from learning from shame to sanctification?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Instead of taking shame, you've learned it that it's a beautiful cleansing?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
That's so cool.
Tyler Bell:
And at the beginning it's like I see this change happening but it hurt. I feel like the same. I feel like-
Denalee Bell:
Okay. So these are a little older.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. It's about half a year ago.
Denalee Bell:
Oh, okay.
Tyler Bell:
And then at the end, it's really cool. I hadn't listened to it in a while but I listened to it again, it made me cry. I was like, "Oh, this is a good song." Because at the end where it's like, "They won't kill my shame. They might feel my pride but I know they won't love me like you." You know what I mean? It's just like it's cool-
Denalee Bell:
I like that.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
When are you going to release that?
Tyler Bell:
Probably in October, November?
Denalee Bell:
Okay. So can we put a link to your Spotify if people want to hear your music?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Hey, just give the kid grace. He's learning. He's growing, he's finding his place. I give you grace. I'm your mom. I love you.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Also on the same tape, there's a song about pride. It's called... I forgot what it's called.
Denalee Bell:
You've done a lot of songs.
Tyler Bell:
I've done a lot of songs. I can't-
Denalee Bell:
If you can't remember all your titles or your songs-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But at the end where it's like, "God, kill my pride." You know what I mean? Where it's like these subtle things where I can bring it in but still talk about my story-
Denalee Bell:
Well, that's what I feel like. Even your older songs, there's always a message in them that I get.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah, yeah. At least something.
Denalee Bell:
There's a real story and that's what I thought was always different about your rap than others. Sometimes, it just seems like there's crazy words out there that they just say to rhyme and maybe I'm just not deep enough to get it. But yours and it may be because I know you-
Tyler Bell:
I also get to explain it to you though as you're listening to it.
Denalee Bell:
This is true. That's fair.
Tyler Bell:
I like come up rap though like somebody sharpening themselves to-
Denalee Bell:
That's cool.
Tyler Bell:
Reach the glory.
Denalee Bell:
That's awesome. So do you think you'll work with other artists besides rappers? Do you think you would work at the country music?
Tyler Bell:
I want to record a band. I want to record-
Denalee Bell:
Oh, cool.
Tyler Bell:
I need to upgrade my setup a little bit, get more inputs and outputs to be able to record that many people and get enough mics too. I mean, it is an investment but I would love to record a rock band, a country band, punk band. I would love to do all of that. That's-
Denalee Bell:
Oh, that's cool. You never would've said that a few years ago.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And as I'm getting older, I'm not really liking the artist's lifestyle that much, especially as I'm coming to my faith. I don't like the idea of fame very much.
Denalee Bell:
Oh, I was going to ask you that.
Tyler Bell:
I don't like the idea of fame. I don't like being away from home that much. I like being at home-
Denalee Bell:
You're a homebody. You've been traveling a lot. He just got back from Europe.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I mean, I love to be at home. I like to be in the studio and my sanctuary and just hang out and relax and just be. I'm starting to take a switch towards focusing on engineering and production a little bit more and putting artists a little bit behind but not neglecting it completely. I still want to make music and still want to release my own music but I think I would like to much rather take a step into engineering and mixing and mastering and recording for people and living that lifestyle because I think it has a little bit more longevity in my life, I think. And I think mixing, mastering is my bread and butter so yeah.
Denalee Bell:
That's awesome. Can you give any advice to somebody who would like to follow in your steps and maybe wants to learn how to produce or where did you learn the most? Because you even went to school for this but did you learn the most from school or on your own? Can you give them any kind of advice on where to get started?
Tyler Bell:
YouTube University.
Denalee Bell:
YouTube.
Tyler Bell:
Get on YouTube but it's like you're going to learn secondhand information from somebody that they've picked up and it's not guided so there's missing parts. And it was really cool that I got to go to a fast-paced school to learn the basics and get set out on my journey to go work in a studio. But both of those things have pros and cons. I think the pros of I went to CRAS was I got to see it all. I got to see start to finish what it looks like. I got to ask as many questions as I wanted. I got to correct some of my thinking and learn about just the standard, the technical stuff-
Denalee Bell:
So it was worth it for you to go to school there.
Tyler Bell:
It was cool. I feel like I got to see everything, right? But the cons was-
Denalee Bell:
Well, and then you also also interned at a studio-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. And I also interned a studio. But I feel like the cons of school was I didn't learn a lot of mixing technique as much as I would've liked to because it was a short term thing. It's a school for audio engineers, so not producers, not an artist. It's for engineering and what it looks like to work in a studio and to be a studio person or in different realms of audio like live sound and stuff like that and video game sound.
And it's cool because it gives you different options to see what you want to do but it's not just recording studio lifestyle and how to mix a song. It's like, "Here's how a console works and here's how you get signal to start here and end here. Here's signal flow. Here's how the console works." You got to memorize a bunch of stuff in case you're in a situation that you need to know it. I didn't get to learn much theory very much as much as I would've liked.
Denalee Bell:
Did you learn that on your own?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I think... But it's hard to teach-
Denalee Bell:
Trial and error?
Tyler Bell:
It's hard to teach because it's something that you just have to grow your ears and I think that-
Denalee Bell:
Well, and you do have a gift. That's a gift too. Not that we can't grow into a gift but I'm just saying.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. You have to develop your ear and I think that YouTube is really cool in certain things for tips because you get to learn plug-in tips. Like here's how I use this plug-in in this certain type of way or here's how I use saturation to do this or compression to do this and-
Denalee Bell:
These are a lot of big words.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is for people that make music, right?
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
I think no... I think dive into YouTube and figure out your realm and decide and put all the hats on. Put all the hats on because it can only benefit you.
Denalee Bell:
What do you mean by all the hats?
Tyler Bell:
I put artist hat on, I put a producer hat on, I put an engineering hat on, and it's really cool because I feel like I know what an artist wants because I know what I want but every artist is different-
Denalee Bell:
Well, and you work with other artists too.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And-
Denalee Bell:
So that's helpful.
Tyler Bell:
And being able to produce and see how these things come to fruition and I think I'm very happy that I got to do all of it by myself and with God, obviously, glory to God. But to be able to put all the hats on it and know all the different things and parts of it. And then, I think just get your repetitions in-
Denalee Bell:
When you say that-
Tyler Bell:
Say yes to everything.
Denalee Bell:
You mean your 5,000?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Say yes to every invitation to music, make connections. I'm not great at that. I don't-
Denalee Bell:
I know. I was so impressed the first time that you got invited to do a performance. I was so impressed because you were so new.
Tyler Bell:
Oh, yeah.
Denalee Bell:
And you went and did it and you killed it. It was awesome.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. It's the stuff.
Denalee Bell:
That's good but that's how you learn. That's how you grow.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Say yes.
Tyler Bell:
And finding a good mentor. I'm thankful for Javi in my artistry. I feel like he's mentored me in that way.
Denalee Bell:
Oh, he's cool.
Tyler Bell:
I feel like I got to find really cool YouTube teachers like Colt Capperrune. He's just got cool stuff. He does a lot of country stuff but he has a really cool studio and he reviews-
Denalee Bell:
We should probably put their... We'll put their YouTube channels on here too because they post as well.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Or-
Denalee Bell:
Javi posts, right? I've seen some of his stuff.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. And also working at the studio was cool because I got to see how they did stuff a little bit but I didn't spend too much time there because I just... Whatever.
Denalee Bell:
But to see the whole setup and how it works because you met some famous artists coming through.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. It was cool. It was cool to see some stuff.
Denalee Bell:
But I think that's also what was interesting about that was that you decided after working with famous artists or being around them, you didn't really want to do that anymore for a while.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
Because it wasn't like what you thought. They tell you to never meet your heroes.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Artists can be primadonnas sometimes and very entitled a little bit but I'm an artist too so I bet I could probably be the same way.
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. We-
Tyler Bell:
But I also put on the other hats-
Denalee Bell:
We got you. We'd tell you.
Tyler Bell:
I put on the other hats too. So it's not all artists but I think that turned me off for a while because I was like, "Man, you're treating the engineer like crap."
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. Who wants to do this for a living?
Tyler Bell:
Dude, it's like customer service kind of for whatever-
Denalee Bell:
Yeah. And that's hard, right? Dealing with primadonnas in any industry.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. But I think it depends on what level you are too, right? Because I think the more you charge, the more you value your value that you give, the less likely that people like that. I think the low... People that are willing to pay $100 for a session, a cheap session, are willing to probably be a little more primadonna-ish. You know what I mean? But if you're charging a higher session or working with higher named artists, they're a little bit less like that I feel like.
Denalee Bell:
That's good.
Tyler Bell:
They might be picky but they're rightfully picky in a respectful way. But I don't know, whatever. It's good.
Denalee Bell:
It's just what you found. That was just your experience, just curious about it. So you want to give glory to God which I appreciate. Thank you. Thank you, God, for relentlessly pursuing our family. How do you plan on glorifying God in your life going forward?
Tyler Bell:
I think in my music reflect Him and I want to bring glory to His name in my music. You know what I mean? And I want to show people how I change in music. I think that's a lot of what my music is, it starts me in a dark place and then it ends in me in a happy place. You know what I mean?
Denalee Bell:
So you're telling a story?
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Telling a story. When it comes to engineering, I want to be able to lead by example in my life to artists that come in contact with me. I want to work with Christian artists. I think that'd be cool and help them.
Denalee Bell:
Yes, I do too.
Tyler Bell:
I feel like they're reliable clients and yeah, just be able to put my hands on the stuff so that I can be a part of it so God can get it out for somebody that needs it.
Denalee Bell:
That's awesome.
Tyler Bell:
Which is cool.
Denalee Bell:
And you also do this podcast with us where I hope that we can glorify and people can see Him through us and our growth here as well which I'm so grateful because he does help me out here too. He hops on podcasts with me and-
Tyler Bell:
I make the videos. I make the reels.
Denalee Bell:
It's nice though-
Tyler Bell:
I turn the cameras on.
Denalee Bell:
Well, no. I mean, you do the podcast too so not every one of them but I like hearing your voice because I'm 50 and you're 24 so it gives it a cool different perspective on life, I think because... And interesting, our demographics are your age and my age respectively.
Tyler Bell:
That's interesting, huh.
Denalee Bell:
In who's watching us which is so fascinating to me.
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. I think that's fun.
Denalee Bell:
So anyway, so I hope that if we do make theological errors now or in the future, please feel free to share. We want to learn and grow with our brothers and sisters in Christ but I appreciate that but just be kind.
Tyler Bell:
We're also going to have an eternal security debate here soon enough. Not debate but-
Denalee Bell:
Yes. Those are a couple of our subjects coming up. We didn't realize that we wanted to do so much Christian content but I think that's both... Our hearts are there.
Tyler Bell:
It just comes out. Yeah.
Denalee Bell:
It just comes out so we want to talk... I do want to talk about a spirit of religiousness or religious pride in an upcoming podcast. And we're also going to talk about salvation, what that really looks like, and if it's-
Tyler Bell:
I had it wrong.
Denalee Bell:
Work-based or faith-based.
Tyler Bell:
Yep.
Denalee Bell:
So that's coming up. And then additionally, I have an employee/partner that works with us that has spent a great deal of time in prison and he's going to share his story and his, I guess, beautiful story of how he's grown and change his entire life, his entire family has, and what he's learned and how he wants to help other people from not going in that direction or get out of it quicker and help people whose parents have kids may be going to prison and how they can steel themselves against what's coming up and prepare themselves. So those are some of the topics we have coming up.
Tyler Bell:
I think we're also thinking about doing a Bible study.
Denalee Bell:
Yes.
Tyler Bell:
We go through the Bible. I think those are ones I'd probably end up being on but we're going to start interviewing more guests which is cool.
Denalee Bell:
Yes. We have some cool guests coming up.
Tyler Bell:
We're also on a new set if you haven't noticed.
Denalee Bell:
Yes. We're at a new set. We've moved from Arizona to Boise so-
Tyler Bell:
Yep. And then, we're moving-
Denalee Bell:
We're building our set out in the back but we're using my living room for now-
Tyler Bell:
We've got a little dog.
Denalee Bell:
And a dog but we just want to thank you guys for joining us and-
Tyler Bell:
Yeah. Thank you for listening.
Denalee Bell:
Feel free to share your story. If you're in the music business, hit him up in the notes. If you're not, if you're considering it, or your thoughts on it, if you have experience in it, please share. If you disagree with us on any topic, please share in the comments. Also, please like and subscribe. It really helps us out. Helps us build what we're trying to do here. If you believe in what we're trying to do here, if you think we deserve it, only then. Thank you so much.
Tyler Bell:
Thank you. Bye.
Denalee Bell:
Bye. I-