The Michael Knowles Show - Real Answers and Real Drinks： SKILLET (John Cooper)

00:00:00.000 Does the stereotype, rock star lifestyle, apply to Christian fans?

00:00:06.320 Well, it shouldn't.

00:00:08.700 Are we going to spill some tea? What's going on?

00:00:25.800 Hello and welcome to Yes or No,

00:00:29.020 the bibulous battle to discover who knows whom better.

00:00:33.160 My guest today is John Cooper, lead singer of the band Skillet.

00:00:36.860 How do we play?

00:00:38.060 I will ask John a yes or no question.

00:00:40.580 He will select his answer away from my prying eyes.

00:00:44.040 Then I will guess how he answered.

00:00:46.820 If I guess correctly, I get a point.

00:00:49.860 If I guess incorrectly, I lose a point.

00:00:52.540 No matter how I guess, I will probably drink.

00:00:56.180 Then it is John's turn.

00:00:57.280 Neither of us has seen the questions beforehand.

00:01:00.020 The questions cover various and sundry topics,

00:01:02.360 from the philosophical to the anatomical and everything in between.

00:01:06.440 Whoever has the most points wins.

00:01:08.600 The stakes could be higher.

00:01:11.560 Also, Skillet's new album, Revolution, is out now.

00:01:15.120 Let's get started.

00:01:15.960 John, thank you for coming on this very intense show.

00:01:19.800 It is intense.

00:01:20.960 You've already said three words.

00:01:22.020 I don't know what they mean, but we're going to fight this out of your leg.

00:01:25.420 Don't worry.

00:01:26.580 Biblius?

00:01:27.100 Something like that.

00:01:27.880 Yeah, you made that one up.

00:01:29.340 Spanish for library, I think.

00:01:30.800 Oh, good.

00:01:32.740 Good.

00:01:33.240 It's good to be here with you.

00:01:34.200 Wonderful to have you.

00:01:35.820 You are having a soft drink.

00:01:38.160 Yes, Dr. Pepper.

00:01:39.700 I am having, that is America's drink.

00:01:41.680 I am having a hot toddy because I have whatever bubonic plague has hit Nashville.

00:01:46.940 Yes.

00:01:47.080 So this is going to, it might weaken my sharpness, but it might fortify me as well.

00:01:52.580 Are you ready to play?

00:01:53.780 I'm ready to play, but I did bring you a gift.

00:01:55.900 Is it okay if I give you a gift before we get started?

00:01:58.240 It is always okay to give you a gift.

00:01:59.140 Okay, I'm going to do it here.

00:02:00.180 I'm buttering you up so that I can beat you real bad.

00:02:02.480 First of all, I'm going to give you this sweet skillet vinyl.

00:02:06.340 This is sick.

00:02:08.100 It is sick.

00:02:08.960 Every time I acquire vinyl, I feel about 14% cooler than I did before.

00:02:14.800 You should because you don't listen to proper music.

00:02:17.580 Now listen, the second thing I brought for you is my book.

00:02:22.200 Because I don't read proper books.

00:02:23.280 Because you don't read proper books.

00:02:24.900 Wimpy, Weak, and Woke, How Truth Can Save America from Utopian Destruction.

00:02:29.980 Yes.

00:02:30.380 Now the main reason I'm giving it to you is because I want you to read the inscription I wrote to you there.

00:02:35.060 You've got to read it out loud for the cameras here.

00:02:38.620 To Michael, keep up the good work and remember some women with purple hair like your show.

00:02:46.080 That's from Corey.

00:02:47.580 John Cooper.

00:02:48.740 Wow.

00:02:49.180 Yes.

00:02:49.900 So people, they might not know why that's funny, but it's funny because if you show the back of the album,

00:02:55.100 you will see my wife with her purple hair.

00:02:57.920 And she wants you to quit being mean about women with purple hair.

00:03:01.060 That's true.

00:03:01.800 And your drummer.

00:03:02.980 My drummer is the hugest Michael Knowles fan of the crew.

00:03:06.200 She has great taste.

00:03:07.060 She does that.

00:03:07.560 But her hair also is...

00:03:08.880 It's slightly purple.

00:03:09.960 It's a little, yeah, there's a hint to it.

00:03:11.520 Yeah.

00:03:11.820 So I've been instructed from them on behalf of purple haired women everywhere who love God,

00:03:17.740 love reason, love America, and some even like you.

00:03:21.060 I've been instructed...

00:03:21.980 It's a small subset.

00:03:23.160 Now we're down...

00:03:24.240 To smoke you like a Mayflower cigar.

00:03:28.200 Wow.

00:03:28.900 That...

00:03:29.220 That's from my wife.

00:03:29.880 To smoke me delightfully.

00:03:31.960 Delightfully like a potent yet refined Mayflower cigar.

00:03:36.960 I am buttered up.

00:03:38.320 All right.

00:03:38.640 Okay.

00:03:40.020 Here we go.

00:03:42.100 There's a wager.

00:03:43.600 Okay.

00:03:43.980 Have you heard that?

00:03:44.440 I'm told there's a wager.

00:03:45.740 I'm ready for whatever wager you want.

00:03:47.580 The wager I've been instructed to propose by my producers is that whoever loses has to

00:03:54.620 do a 30-second ad for the other's product.

00:03:59.060 So for you, look, that could be the music.

00:04:01.020 That could be the vinyl.

00:04:02.040 It could be the book.

00:04:02.920 For me, it could be the Mayflower cigars.

00:04:05.740 It could...

00:04:06.780 Let's make it the Mayflower cigars.

00:04:09.340 I guess it could be the show.

00:04:10.560 Okay.

00:04:11.220 You're in.

00:04:11.760 I'm in.

00:04:12.300 All right.

00:04:12.600 Was Donald Trump a better McDonald's employee than you?

00:04:32.740 It's getting intense.

00:04:35.980 No.

00:04:37.460 Yeah.

00:04:38.060 No.

00:04:38.600 No.

00:04:39.280 No.

00:04:39.600 Why?

00:04:40.260 It's easy to be a good employee when you only work for 15 minutes.

00:04:43.200 You haven't been there long enough to screw up yet.

00:04:45.420 Yeah.

00:04:45.820 You know what I mean?

00:04:46.220 He smiled at everybody.

00:04:47.340 He dressed good when he did it.

00:04:49.300 He batted 1,000.

00:04:50.240 The customers loved him.

00:04:51.660 It looked like he did the fries right.

00:04:53.960 Yes.

00:04:54.180 Were you a good McDonald's employee?

00:04:55.820 I think that I was a good McDonald's employee for three, three and a half years.

00:04:59.880 Yeah.

00:05:00.240 Correct.

00:05:00.360 So, you know, but yeah, you're going to do some things wrong.

00:05:03.920 You're going to burn some things.

00:05:05.800 You're going to yell at a few people.

00:05:07.740 I yelled at a customer.

00:05:09.280 Only a couple of times, but she just drove me nuts.

00:05:12.140 You want to hear the story or not really?

00:05:13.260 Yeah, yeah.

00:05:13.460 She literally comes up at the front desk.

00:05:16.160 They always have me work in front because I'm a nice guy.

00:05:18.220 Uh-huh.

00:05:18.680 But she comes up and I said, I'm John.

00:05:20.920 I've got to take your order.

00:05:21.660 She's like, are you listening?

00:05:23.360 It was an old one.

00:05:23.920 Are you listening?

00:05:25.480 And I said, yes, ma'am.

00:05:26.380 I'm listening.

00:05:26.420 Wait, this is in the drive-thru or this is like to your face?

00:05:28.180 Front desk to my face.

00:05:29.860 Are you listening?

00:05:31.120 And I said, yes, ma'am.

00:05:32.600 And she said, because every time I come, I say what I want and they ask me questions and

00:05:37.020 I don't want questions.

00:05:38.380 And I said, yes, ma'am.

00:05:39.400 I'm listening.

00:05:39.980 She's like, I want a quarter pounder with mustard and pickle only.

00:05:45.900 And right then I could see what was happening.

00:05:47.740 But you see, a quarter pounder is actually comes with cheese.

00:05:51.240 Right.

00:05:51.700 Is it a quarter pounder with cheese?

00:05:53.600 And I don't know.

00:05:54.360 It was almost like I was playing a yes or no game with her.

00:05:56.580 I know.

00:05:57.040 She was testing you.

00:05:58.080 And I thought, I'm going to have to ask her so I don't screw this up.

00:06:00.960 And I said, all right, now, did you want cheese?

00:06:02.940 And she's like, oh, my God.

00:06:04.860 And she's like slapping the.

00:06:06.600 And she went nuts.

00:06:08.460 And so anyway, long story short, we got the order, gave it to her.

00:06:13.120 And she's opening it.

00:06:14.220 She's opening it at the front counter to make sure it's right.

00:06:17.200 And it was correct.

00:06:18.880 Mustard and pickle.

00:06:19.800 And by the way, she did not want cheese.

00:06:21.500 And that's why she always says it messed up.

00:06:23.000 What kind of a psycho orders a hamburger in the late 20th, early 21st centuries?

00:06:28.900 Just without any cheese?

00:06:29.620 Without cheese?

00:06:30.420 Who does that?

00:06:30.840 I don't know.

00:06:31.820 I've never even heard of that.

00:06:33.440 Well, Ben Shapiro may, actually.

00:06:34.880 That's a good point.

00:06:35.960 Don't you know your own friends?

00:06:37.740 You're right.

00:06:38.400 I didn't realize this woman was Jewish.

00:06:39.980 You're such a bad person.

00:06:40.740 She wanted a kosher McDonald's burger.

00:06:43.700 And purple hair, people are good, too.

00:06:45.760 Now, listen.

00:06:46.780 So she opens it up.

00:06:48.600 And then she's like, you call that mustard and pickle?

00:06:51.000 No, there wasn't enough.

00:06:52.220 And so I got so mad.

00:06:53.620 I went to the back.

00:06:54.620 And I grabbed the huge thing of pickles and the huge thing of mustard.

00:06:57.780 And I brought them to the front.

00:06:59.380 And I looked straight at her.

00:06:59.900 I was like, tell me when to stop.

00:07:01.780 And I was just squirting.

00:07:03.340 And all these women behind her were laughing so hard.

00:07:06.620 And it made it worse because they were laughing at her.

00:07:08.720 Yeah.

00:07:09.000 Donald Trump did not do that.

00:07:10.340 No.

00:07:10.980 He's a better employee than me.

00:07:12.160 He is.

00:07:12.300 He had curated customers, to be fair.

00:07:14.060 But fair enough.

00:07:15.960 You're up.

00:07:17.280 All right.

00:07:19.160 Do you think that strict parenting can cause kids to love what they can't have?

00:07:26.360 Strict parenting can cause kids to love what they can't have.

00:07:32.280 Okay.

00:07:32.760 So in other words, I'm not letting them do certain things.

00:07:35.780 And now they want to do those certain things.

00:07:37.560 Yeah.

00:07:45.320 Certainly.

00:07:46.120 Woo!

00:07:46.880 Because of the word can.

00:07:48.840 It's not always.

00:07:50.360 Right.

00:07:50.560 But it can.

00:07:51.080 I had friends, like in college, you know, raised in a very strict environment.

00:07:54.680 Me.

00:07:54.880 I had my first cigar at 15.

00:07:57.480 My mother would, I was Italian.

00:07:58.780 I could have a glass of wine at Christmas when I was six years old, probably.

00:08:01.740 And I never really got that into being, like, blackout drunk.

00:08:06.060 Or I never went to the hospital or anything for drink.

00:08:08.360 But I had friends in college who did.

00:08:09.640 A bunch of them.

00:08:10.400 And I noticed a lot of them came from very strict households where they were told,

00:08:14.440 you can't, you can't, you can't.

00:08:15.400 And so they go crazy when they're free.

00:08:17.100 And so that doesn't mean you want a permissive parent either.

00:08:20.660 What you want is you want a little jujitsu.

00:08:23.320 You want it to seem like you want to grasp loosely.

00:08:27.560 You know, so the kid, he's got a little wiggle room.

00:08:30.700 But then if he steps out too far, then he's, you know, smack it down.

00:08:35.100 A gentle, a gentle slap.

00:08:36.940 A G-S.

00:08:37.660 Reminds me of a song.

00:08:38.440 Everything reminds me of a song.

00:08:40.220 And that's like, hold on loosely.

00:08:42.760 Yes.

00:08:43.180 But don't let go.

00:08:44.640 Yeah.

00:08:45.140 You know who that is?

00:08:46.240 That, well, I thought you just invented that.

00:08:48.440 No, no, that's a real song.

00:08:49.520 Who is it?

00:08:50.300 I'm going to say.

00:08:50.920 This is part of my new drinking game.

00:08:52.780 Is it Gustav Mahler?

00:08:55.700 No, it's not.

00:08:56.600 Is that a real bass?

00:08:57.220 Is it Stravinsky?

00:08:58.220 I don't know.

00:08:58.580 Hold on.

00:08:59.540 You need that vinyl I gave you.

00:09:01.680 You really need it.

00:09:03.080 All right.

00:09:03.420 That's 38 Special.

00:09:04.660 Okay.

00:09:05.060 My next guess was going to be Cardi B.

00:09:06.540 So, okay.

00:09:07.020 It's 38 Special.

00:09:07.880 Okay.

00:09:08.180 All right.

00:09:08.460 That's fair.

00:09:09.340 Okay.

00:09:09.840 Yeah.

00:09:10.220 No, that's right.

00:09:10.640 You got to hold on loosely.

00:09:11.820 Hold on loosely.

00:09:12.420 But don't let go.

00:09:13.340 Don't let go?

00:09:13.900 Don't let go.

00:09:14.240 Okay.

00:09:18.440 There is a video prompt here.

00:09:21.340 Watch this video first.

00:09:23.960 Do we have to?

00:09:43.620 Do we have to watch that?

00:09:44.780 Can we get it again?

00:09:45.760 Can we get more sitar?

00:09:47.400 How have you made a living doing this?

00:09:49.900 Making people watch that.

00:09:51.340 That's my day job.

00:09:53.220 This is just my hobby.

00:09:56.100 Okay.

00:09:56.360 So, this is for no points, I'm told.

00:10:00.400 Can you name that song?

00:10:01.740 Can I name that song?

00:10:02.780 Yeah.

00:10:05.420 No.

00:10:07.220 The Inner Light by The Beatles.

00:10:09.240 Is it?

00:10:11.060 Okay.

00:10:11.540 I was about to say, it definitely reminds me of the 60s Beatles stuff.

00:10:15.400 That was my George Harrison phase.

00:10:16.780 Okay.

00:10:17.280 Well, that's okay.

00:10:18.260 I mean, you got to love The Beatles.

00:10:19.840 Okay.

00:10:20.320 Now, this is for the real point.

00:10:22.440 All right.

00:10:22.800 Hit me.

00:10:23.080 So, now you got to answer.

00:10:24.740 All right.

00:10:25.240 Does Skillet need a sitar collaboration for the next album?

00:10:31.180 Okay.

00:10:31.720 I see where we're going.

00:10:32.220 You got to give your honest answer here.

00:10:33.980 My honest answer.

00:10:36.680 I mean, I already know the answer.

00:10:37.660 I'm feeling the pressure.

00:10:38.560 You already know the answer.

00:10:39.600 And the answer is obviously, yes, I will do it.

00:10:43.240 That is my answer.

00:10:44.200 Yes.

00:10:44.320 Is it?

00:10:46.980 But there's a good reason.

00:10:48.440 Yeah.

00:10:48.620 Why?

00:10:48.860 There's a good reason.

00:10:51.040 Because Metallica had a sitar at the beginning of, what's the song called?

00:10:58.020 I think it's WAP.

00:10:59.680 Yes.

00:11:00.840 Yeah.

00:11:01.060 Ben Shapiro needs to now do a version of Metallica's.

00:11:03.980 All of a sudden, I can't think of, is it Wherever I May Roam is the one with a sitar, right?

00:11:09.380 Yeah, it could be.

00:11:10.720 Yeah.

00:11:11.280 In a Gata De Vita.

00:11:12.140 Yeah.

00:11:12.820 What is it?

00:11:13.940 I think it's in a Gata De Vita, right?

00:11:15.220 In a Gata.

00:11:16.520 Is it?

00:11:17.100 No, it's not.

00:11:18.120 It's not.

00:11:18.620 It's not.

00:11:19.160 That's Iron Butterfly.

00:11:20.200 But all of a sudden, I can sing it.

00:11:21.980 I was totally willing to sacrifice a point just for the gag.

00:11:26.100 Just for the gag.

00:11:27.100 But I get it.

00:11:28.600 John, you tell me when.

00:11:29.580 I will be in the studio.

00:11:30.360 I will get my sitar.

00:11:31.640 My kid, I think, maybe broke my sitar recently.

00:11:34.380 I'll get it fixed.

00:11:35.880 I will pay for it myself and charge Daily Wire.

00:11:38.440 And I will be in that studio.

00:11:39.520 Okay.

00:11:40.020 Whenever you need it.

00:11:40.940 All right.

00:11:41.520 This isn't even fun for people to watch so far because we're so in line together.

00:11:45.840 We're so close, we can almost finish each other's sandwich.

00:11:48.680 Never mind.

00:11:48.880 Yes, we can.

00:11:50.040 That is Wherever I May Roam, Metallica, which is a great song.

00:11:54.960 Okay.

00:11:57.840 See, everything is a song for me.

00:11:59.160 You can play the sitar.

00:12:00.200 Yeah.

00:12:00.420 No, that didn't look real to me.

00:12:02.980 You know the secret?

00:12:03.900 Actually, sitar, to play it 75% to what you imagine sitar to be is actually extremely easy.

00:12:10.620 The hardest thing is to hold it, actually, because you're only fretting like one or two

00:12:13.960 strings.

00:12:14.440 The rest are drone or sympathetic or whatever.

00:12:16.240 Oh.

00:12:16.480 Now, if you want to be Ravi Shankar, that's a little.

00:12:18.280 I'm not quite there yet.

00:12:19.280 Right.

00:12:19.680 But it's not that hard.

00:12:21.360 That's why George Harrison could pick it up with a bunch of hippies in the 60s.

00:12:24.000 Right.

00:12:24.520 Yeah.

00:12:24.980 All right.

00:12:25.520 All right.

00:12:25.740 You're up.

00:12:26.700 All right.

00:12:27.000 You ready?

00:12:27.880 Yes.

00:12:28.140 Oh, a video prompt.

00:12:30.420 Watch this video, Michael.

00:12:32.200 Okay.

00:12:33.340 Oh, that's.

00:12:34.500 Wow.

00:12:34.800 This is the meanest show I've ever been on.

00:12:36.860 Wow.

00:12:37.220 I've been treated so bad.

00:12:38.780 I came in here.

00:12:39.960 Michael looked directly at me and said, oh, when are you going to do hair and makeup?

00:12:43.860 Yeah.

00:12:43.980 No, I just.

00:12:44.860 It's literally what you said.

00:12:45.800 After they did hair and makeup.

00:12:46.360 Because I wanted you to look like that.

00:12:47.820 Now, is that boy George?

00:12:49.220 Who are we looking at here?

00:12:50.580 That actually is Jim Carrey with blonde hair.

00:12:53.740 Right?

00:12:54.340 It kind of does look like Jim Carrey, doesn't it?

00:12:56.560 It does.

00:12:57.000 That's.

00:12:57.760 What year would that have been?

00:12:59.080 That is the year 2000.

00:13:00.700 Okay.

00:13:00.940 In the year 2000.

00:13:02.420 Yeah.

00:13:03.100 Remember that show?

00:13:03.580 There were a lot of things happening.

00:13:04.740 Look, if we avoided Y2K and all we got was bleach tips, that's fine.

00:13:09.260 That's okay.

00:13:09.820 So what's the question?

00:13:11.900 I can't believe you're playing.

00:13:14.280 I'm never coming back to the show again.

00:13:16.300 I might not come back either.

00:13:17.540 There you go.

00:13:17.960 Since fashion comes in cycles, will this look make a comeback?

00:13:36.240 Yeah.

00:13:37.120 It will.

00:13:37.520 I'm sorry to say, but that will come back.

00:13:39.640 Because right now, actually, it's going to come back soon.

00:13:42.120 Because I remember when I was a kid, the 70s were back.

00:13:45.360 And that was a little while ago.

00:13:46.500 Now the 90s are back.

00:13:48.140 You look, just the cut of trousers, everything.

00:13:51.540 90s are hip and cool again.

00:13:53.060 Which means we are less than 10 years away.

00:13:56.700 We are.

00:13:57.440 From your hair looking like that again.

00:13:58.660 Everything.

00:13:59.240 In fact, on the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar.

00:14:03.760 Yeah, yeah.

00:14:04.240 Do you see his flare jeans?

00:14:06.500 Mmm.

00:14:06.900 70s and 90s, actually.

00:14:09.720 Because Ginko jeans were really big at the end of the 90s.

00:14:12.020 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:14:12.720 And so everything comes back.

00:14:14.240 It's coming back.

00:14:14.900 Everything has been done.

00:14:16.180 That's from a book called Ecclesiastes.

00:14:18.020 That's all from the back.

00:14:19.100 Everything.

00:14:19.880 Nothing new.

00:14:20.680 It's all coming back.

00:14:21.680 People will do stupid stuff again.

00:14:24.760 Even though I'm not saying that my hair was stupid.

00:14:26.700 No, it wasn't stupid.

00:14:27.720 No.

00:14:28.000 No.

00:14:28.380 It was.

00:14:28.820 But I wasn't saying that.

00:14:30.060 Eat, drink, and be merry.

00:14:31.340 It's also from Ecclesiastes.

00:14:32.200 Tomorrow we die.

00:14:33.000 You know, I will tease you no longer.

00:14:38.720 My best-selling game, Yes or No, which is exclusively available at the Daily Wire shop, it is expanding

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00:15:21.240 I feel like that's going to save marriages.

00:15:23.540 I agree.

00:15:24.580 I really do.

00:15:25.160 Even in the pre-order.

00:15:26.040 Even in the pre-order.

00:15:26.880 It's already.

00:15:27.600 Does the stereotype, rock star lifestyle, apply to Christian bands?

00:15:42.140 It's getting serious, bud.

00:15:47.980 No.

00:15:51.180 Really?

00:15:52.200 No, man.

00:15:53.280 I hate losing that point.

00:15:54.780 But no, really?

00:15:56.300 Well, it shouldn't.

00:15:58.960 Yeah.

00:15:59.700 But unfortunately, it does.

00:16:01.500 So since I have this hot toddy here, are we going to spill some tea?

00:16:03.880 What's going on?

00:16:06.760 I don't know if I should.

00:16:10.000 Let me call my manager and find out.

00:16:12.580 How?

00:16:13.120 Because I, you know, rock star lifestyle, you think like Led Zeppelin, you know, doing

00:16:17.280 speed balls with like 500 groupies.

00:16:20.120 Right.

00:16:20.500 Burning guitars and stuff.

00:16:22.260 Right.

00:16:22.560 Crash and hotel rooms.

00:16:24.160 Yeah.

00:16:24.800 I mean, I think that what you're dealing with is the same thing as this.

00:16:28.380 Everybody does stupid stuff.

00:16:30.540 Yeah.

00:16:30.760 And a lot of people present that they present as something that they are not, whether it's

00:16:35.340 hypocrisy or whether it was just a game or whether they fell into sin, whatever may

00:16:42.120 happen.

00:16:42.840 Laps in judgment.

00:16:43.320 Laps in judgment.

00:16:43.400 And unfortunately, I was naive when I first got into the scene.

00:16:49.740 I just thought, everybody's going to be totally like-minded and it's going to be whatever.

00:16:55.200 And then you get into it and then you're like, oh my gosh, I think he's hitting on my

00:17:00.320 wife.

00:17:00.880 Yeah.

00:17:01.140 I'm pretty sure he's hitting on my wife.

00:17:03.360 Same thing in politics.

00:17:04.600 I don't know if you know that, if you've been around.

00:17:07.140 Once or twice.

00:17:07.960 I honestly haven't been that much around the whole political world, but in the last few

00:17:13.100 years I have been.

00:17:14.440 And I'm like, you mean the same guy that keeps talking about God and country is here and

00:17:18.920 I'm fine.

00:17:19.500 This kind of seems like a grift to me and this is just about making money.

00:17:23.980 And so, you know, some of that stuff is really disheartening.

00:17:26.760 So I'm sad to say the answer is yes.

00:17:29.760 I've talked to members of the federal legislature who have told me something like half of the

00:17:36.240 members of Congress are sleeping with staff or lobbyists or whatever, you know.

00:17:41.780 And I actually had this thought the other day.

00:17:43.420 I was at a political event and it's really nice.

00:17:45.500 You know, you go to an event, it's all these people who really like you and they come up

00:17:48.540 and they're really adjunctory and they want to talk to you and take pictures.

00:17:52.280 And I thought, you know, this is funny.

00:17:53.320 Now, I am in the most niche kind of circumscribed fringe version of that kind of a culture.

00:18:03.600 Now imagine you're Mick Jagger.

00:18:06.840 How on earth, Norm MacDonald made this point.

00:18:10.200 He said, you know, people are saying Tiger Woods is unfaithful to his wife.

00:18:13.940 But statistically speaking, he said an average guy has about five chances in his life to cheat

00:18:19.660 on his wife.

00:18:20.140 Tiger Woods has about 500 chances every 15 minutes to cheat on his wife.

00:18:26.480 So Norm's point was, statistically, Tiger Woods is the most faithful husband in the history

00:18:30.920 of marriage.

00:18:32.200 Much more faithful than any normal married person.

00:18:35.160 And so I could see it because, you know, you're a Christian band.

00:18:38.240 Hopefully that puts some limits on like your fans and stuff.

00:18:40.800 But you're still a rock star.

00:18:42.840 Right.

00:18:43.100 You're still a rock star.

00:18:43.960 That's a crazy lifestyle, power dynamic, you know, and all of the temptations probably

00:18:50.520 attend to that.

00:18:51.500 Yep.

00:18:52.100 Pride is going to get you no matter who you are in the end because we all have a bent

00:18:57.260 towards that.

00:18:58.580 As you know, as well as anybody, St. Augustine taught us this.

00:19:03.540 We have a bent towards sin.

00:19:05.180 We are wanting to do sin.

00:19:06.580 And if we are not ordering our lives properly, ordering our loves properly, we will give in

00:19:11.800 to that sin.

00:19:12.740 And so I think some of the naivety for me, it was difficult.

00:19:16.060 I mean, I might sound really stupid to some people, but I really was that naive.

00:19:20.040 I just thought we're all going to be in this together.

00:19:22.360 I want to ask you this and you tell me if you agree.

00:19:24.220 Yeah, yeah.

00:19:25.620 Whether you're talking about politics, your friends, whatever, business, music business,

00:19:30.360 I would much rather be with people that are not like-minded and know that they're being

00:19:36.080 real with me.

00:19:36.840 In other words, I would rather be with the bands that I know they probably would sleep with

00:19:41.360 my wife and I know that about them and they're not pretending and we can be kind of like

00:19:47.140 friends.

00:19:47.900 I like that a lot more than the wolf in sheep's clothing.

00:19:50.840 So I don't like the subverse.

00:19:52.300 I can't stand it.

00:19:53.420 Because you know what you're dealing with there.

00:19:54.680 You got to know what you're dealing with and I really can't stand that.

00:19:57.840 Yeah, yeah.

00:19:58.220 That's a great point.

00:19:59.520 And I think that's why a lot of, I think that when 16 happened, 2016, I think that's

00:20:04.260 why a lot of people were kind of like, I don't know why, but I kind of like the Trump

00:20:08.580 thing, I don't know why, but something about it is refreshing, like, okay.

00:20:13.460 There's no artifice.

00:20:14.460 Yeah, I don't really like that he said that, but I kind of like that he's willing to say.

00:20:18.080 Yeah, yeah.

00:20:18.500 I know that he believes it.

00:20:19.760 It kind of blows your mind.

00:20:21.020 Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

00:20:21.760 But you're kind of sick of it.

00:20:23.560 I don't like pretense.

00:20:24.860 Because that's the thing.

00:20:25.640 All the guys who speak in nicer ways than Trump or whatever, virtually all of them think

00:20:32.280 what Trump thinks would do worse than anything Trump is talking about doing.

00:20:35.980 Like, he's just kind of being open about it.

00:20:37.800 Yes.

00:20:38.200 Yeah, that's a good point.

00:20:39.000 Yeah, I can't stand that.

00:20:39.800 Like, when Obama would talk about things like being united, and then he'd say something,

00:20:43.820 but, you know, we can't be united until all those racist white people are blah, blah,

00:20:50.780 blah, blah.

00:20:51.260 Bitter, clinging.

00:20:52.400 Bitter, clinging.

00:20:52.900 And you're like, oh my gosh, that's like the most divisive thing I saw.

00:20:57.720 And so I think people don't like that.

00:20:59.380 I don't like it.

00:20:59.560 I think we're turning a tide when people are beginning to be okay with saying what they think again.

00:21:03.580 And I particularly like that.

00:21:04.800 I don't mind being with people that don't like my religion and don't like me.

00:21:07.880 And, oh, that's cool.

00:21:09.280 We can still be friends.

00:21:10.200 At least I know where you're standing.

00:21:11.260 That's right.

00:21:11.700 That's right.

00:21:12.020 That's rock and roll, buddy.

00:21:13.240 As we celebrate the victory of our 47th president, there is no better way than to introduce the

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00:21:50.360 I got this bottle.

00:21:51.520 I said, oh, good.

00:21:52.060 Let me give it a try.

00:21:52.740 And it was kind of early in the morning.

00:21:53.720 I said, I'll just give it just a little taste just to try it.

00:21:55.620 I said, oh, I quite like that.

00:21:57.620 Oh, yes.

00:21:58.220 Wonderful.

00:21:58.600 That's great.

00:21:59.280 And I say to my producer, Ben Davies, I say, hey, you can give this a try if you want.

00:22:04.700 And then the bottle disappeared.

00:22:06.620 Just disappeared.

00:22:07.320 It was gone.

00:22:08.240 Not by eight in the morning, but it was gone.

00:22:09.840 I don't know, a few days later.

00:22:11.920 So where's my whiskey?

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00:22:42.600 Is the Earth around 10,000 years old?

00:23:03.260 I'm nervous.

00:23:04.120 You guessed correct.

00:23:04.580 Oh, I'm so happy.

00:23:06.020 I don't think, because it's 6,000.

00:23:08.780 No, I'm joking.

00:23:09.560 I don't know how old the Earth is.

00:23:10.820 I don't, I'm not like some devotee of some particular, you know, branch of evolution or

00:23:18.340 something like that.

00:23:19.120 But I'm open to the possibility.

00:23:21.100 If a geologist tells me the Earth is, I don't know, a bazillion years old, it doesn't really

00:23:27.060 affect my faith.

00:23:27.900 I don't think that's incongruent with the faith or contradictory in any way.

00:23:31.100 However, I guess the caveat on that is, I do think that the literal biblical account, certainly

00:23:40.740 of the age of humanity, is the most accurate hermeneutic for understanding history.

00:23:49.520 Right.

00:23:50.120 How's that for couching my answer?

00:23:51.500 But I think it's an important rejoinder.

00:23:53.180 I thought it was a beautiful couching of your answer.

00:23:55.480 And I couldn't agree more.

00:23:56.720 Yeah.

00:23:56.900 But I did not know that you thought that.

00:23:58.480 Yes.

00:23:58.940 Do you think, what do you think?

00:23:59.860 10,000 years?

00:24:00.600 No.

00:24:01.140 No, I agree with your answer.

00:24:03.020 Yeah.

00:24:03.300 Okay.

00:24:03.960 Is that safe?

00:24:04.880 That is safe.

00:24:05.840 That's safe.

00:24:06.140 I think that's fair.

00:24:06.860 I am completely on your side.

00:24:08.420 I do subscribe to a young earth philosophy.

00:24:13.280 Yeah.

00:24:13.640 But mainly what I subscribe to is, like we said, I do believe in a literal Genesis account.

00:24:18.800 Yeah.

00:24:19.020 I don't believe that these seven days were billions of years.

00:24:23.600 Yeah.

00:24:23.960 But if I get in heaven and I find out you were really wrong about that, I'll be like, okay.

00:24:30.800 It doesn't affect you.

00:24:31.440 Yeah, exactly.

00:24:32.400 If there was for sure, for sure, for sure, I'd be like, yeah, there's lots of stuff we don't

00:24:36.640 understand.

00:24:37.040 I also get a kick out of, sometimes the libs will say like, you're a Christian, huh?

00:24:41.760 You probably don't even believe in the Big Bang.

00:24:43.700 It's like, well, you know, the Big Bang was posited by a Catholic priest named Father George

00:24:47.660 Lemaitre.

00:24:48.400 And actually at the time it was derided by atheists as being too biblical because it was

00:24:53.220 creation out of nothing, you know?

00:24:55.100 So, okay.

00:24:56.540 All right.

00:24:56.740 Well, that's good.

00:24:57.180 And then I don't lose a point.

00:24:58.300 I'm going to drink.

00:24:59.180 You should drink.

00:24:59.800 To that saint.

00:25:00.980 Finally, you need to catch up.

00:25:02.500 That way you can be as loose as I am with that Dr. Pepper.

00:25:05.380 You got to drink Dr. Pepper while you can in case RFK changes the high fructose corn.

00:25:09.480 I know, yeah.

00:25:10.500 But diet Dr. Pepper is good too.

00:25:11.720 It's the problem.

00:25:12.200 It is good.

00:25:13.160 But it's one of the things I've liked least about Trump, one of his statements.

00:25:18.760 When he's like, I told Bobby, leave the liquid gold, but go nuts on the...

00:25:22.780 He should have said, but nut the corn...

00:25:24.900 Yeah.

00:25:25.760 Well, the liquid gold.

00:25:26.820 Leave the...

00:25:27.440 Leave the...

00:25:28.600 I need to have the option to have my soda.

00:25:30.860 Yeah, yeah.

00:25:31.580 I'm a libertarian when it comes to soda.

00:25:33.360 When he said liquid gold, I think he was referring to oil, natural gas, and Diet Coke.

00:25:37.760 So hopefully Kennedy leaves that alone.

00:25:39.580 Oh, good.

00:25:40.060 So we can be postmodern in the way we see this.

00:25:42.480 We're changing words.

00:25:43.960 We're changing...

00:25:44.200 I bet that is literally what Trump...

00:25:46.040 I bet it is.

00:25:46.640 Where's the ding so we can ding so people know to go buy your book?

00:25:50.120 That's true.

00:25:51.720 That's...

00:25:52.200 Speechless.

00:25:52.940 That's the name of it.

00:25:53.280 That's right.

00:25:54.220 The score, I'm sorry to report, is one point to me, three points to John.

00:26:02.740 But anything can change.

00:26:04.240 Anything can change.

00:26:04.820 Anything.

00:26:06.020 So rapid fire, I am going to read to you, within the span of 30 seconds, three prompts.

00:26:12.120 Okay, so no chit-chat.

00:26:13.860 We're going fast.

00:26:14.680 All right.

00:26:16.620 Tattoos are a sin.

00:26:18.240 Okay.

00:26:18.680 I'm going to have to assume the answer is no.

00:26:23.180 No, okay.

00:26:23.700 The answer is no, okay.

00:26:24.380 Is it more likely that...

00:26:26.120 Is it more likely that we did not go to the moon?

00:26:33.060 I'm going to say that you will answer no.

00:26:36.980 No.

00:26:37.560 No, okay, good.

00:26:38.400 That was good.

00:26:38.980 That was a technical win, I think.

00:26:40.380 Right.

00:26:40.560 Is nicotine better than coffee?

00:26:45.700 You're going to answer no.

00:26:48.880 Ah!

00:26:49.600 Darn.

00:26:50.240 That's...

00:26:50.520 Do you have a little pouch in right now?

00:26:52.420 I don't.

00:26:53.140 No, I don't.

00:26:53.340 All right, so I got what?

00:26:54.240 I got two out of three.

00:26:56.160 That doesn't quite take me up, though, to beating you.

00:26:58.920 Okay.

00:26:59.620 You're up.

00:27:00.620 Okay.

00:27:01.160 Are you ready?

00:27:02.040 I'm ready.

00:27:02.420 Is Nickelback a good band?

00:27:08.380 Ha ha.

00:27:09.680 Obviously.

00:27:10.300 They're a huge best-selling band.

00:27:11.560 Oh my gosh.

00:27:12.600 I'm not saying it's like, you know, Beethoven.

00:27:14.600 I love Nickelback.

00:27:17.020 All right, we'll get more to that later.

00:27:18.140 Hold on.

00:27:18.460 Were the pyramids built pre-flood?

00:27:31.620 Yes.

00:27:32.420 Oh.

00:27:33.440 Phew.

00:27:35.040 Should women be in rock bands?

00:27:41.380 With purple hair.

00:27:44.540 Only the ones that listen to my show.

00:27:46.220 That's it.

00:27:46.920 That's it.

00:27:47.340 That's a good caveat.

00:27:50.380 So, he's still beating me.

00:27:53.380 Okay.

00:27:56.320 Now, I believe this is the final round.

00:27:59.880 This is worth a billion points each, I think.

00:28:02.120 A billion.

00:28:02.900 Not quite, but it's worth slightly more than the ordinary points.

00:28:04.460 Okay.

00:28:07.420 Final question.

00:28:09.700 We're going to answer at the same time.

00:28:12.040 Oh.

00:28:12.140 So, the way this will work, I'll say the prompt.

00:28:14.060 We will each put down our answer.

00:28:16.680 Then we will guess how the other person would answer.

00:28:20.000 Will we get more information on the Trump assassination attempt?

00:28:24.120 I think you will say, you got mine correct.

00:28:38.680 And I got yours incorrect.

00:28:41.300 Oh, I'm so happy.

00:28:43.300 This is the happiest I've been in a long time.

00:28:45.720 You need to understand.

00:28:47.340 That could have been the game right there.

00:28:50.960 I thought, because you're feeling really good about everything in this administration, it's

00:28:56.340 shaking things up, and we can say what we think and all that.

00:28:58.960 I thought you would think that Trump is going to get to the bottom of that now that he's in charge.

00:29:04.140 I just think that the deep state is really good at not digging too far into things.

00:29:12.160 I agree with that.

00:29:13.320 I absolutely agree with that, and I know that you're a cynic.

00:29:16.960 And so, I knew.

00:29:18.560 Just a realist.

00:29:19.300 I say a realist.

00:29:20.800 I feel the same way, but I guess that means that I'm cynical about that as well.

00:29:25.780 Yeah, I don't think we're going to get it.

00:29:27.000 I don't think we're going to get it.

00:29:27.660 Okay.

00:29:28.040 No, the deep state is too real.

00:29:30.180 It's too deep.

00:29:31.380 This is my last chance.

00:29:32.660 Is it safer to ride along with Skillet on tour than with Professor Jacob in his Camaro?

00:29:47.700 My producers are asking if I want to fill you in on the lore.

00:29:50.120 I don't need filling in.

00:29:51.000 I don't.

00:29:51.480 Yeah, I don't want to.

00:29:52.080 This is...

00:29:52.680 I answered yes.

00:29:58.340 I answered no.

00:30:00.320 I don't know.

00:30:00.720 No!

00:30:01.000 Ah!

00:30:01.920 So, it means...

00:30:03.740 I can't give up with this game.

00:30:04.360 It means that I'm going to lose the game.

00:30:06.000 But, now that you've answered, I can fill you in.

00:30:09.400 Fill me in.

00:30:09.820 I have this associate producer who has crashed like five Camaros in the last...

00:30:15.600 Is he on the couch?

00:30:16.520 Oh, there he is.

00:30:17.060 He's right there.

00:30:17.580 There he is, right on the couch.

00:30:18.420 He's crashed like five Camaros in the last six months.

00:30:22.360 This guy can't even look at a Camaro without it exploding.

00:30:25.240 So, I figure no matter how bad the bus is on the Skillet tour, it can't possibly be worse than my associate producer with an American muscle car.

00:30:33.380 Well, that's a good explanation.

00:30:35.900 And to be fair, we haven't had any crazy things happen.

00:30:40.040 It's just that statistically, we should.

00:30:42.160 It's been 27 years.

00:30:44.200 That's true.

00:30:44.560 And we're going to keep going.

00:30:45.800 The amount of time we're driving means statistically, it should be that way.

00:30:50.580 Because...

00:30:51.180 Even if he should have his license revoked.

00:30:53.040 And he should have a while ago.

00:30:54.860 But because he's like 12 years old, you're right.

00:30:56.900 Just the time scale.

00:30:58.820 Is it 27 years?

00:31:00.320 Next year will actually be our 30th year anniversary for Skillet, which is absolutely crazy.

00:31:05.940 That is crazy.

00:31:07.320 You can't tell because I went to hair and makeup before.

00:31:10.140 I know.

00:31:10.900 You're actually 75 years old.

00:31:12.500 No one knows that.

00:31:13.020 I am.

00:31:13.040 I'm 75.

00:31:13.720 That's right.

00:31:14.460 This is this Christian band thing.

00:31:15.900 When you don't do drugs and you're not drinking heavy and all this, you just stay looking young.

00:31:21.060 It's amazing.

00:31:21.580 And then the nicotine, maybe.

00:31:23.040 Nicotine's got a first shovel on it, too.

00:31:24.940 Wow.

00:31:25.220 Okay.

00:31:25.520 I got destroyed.

00:31:28.180 And if my daughter was here, you know what she would say?

00:31:30.000 She would say, ooh, you ate him for breakfast.

00:31:33.480 You see how I do it?

00:31:34.180 It's a pun.

00:31:34.820 It's a homonym.

00:31:35.800 But she started this new thing when they say, oh, I ate it.

00:31:38.840 And what they mean is like, I did real good.

00:31:40.700 It's like a new young person thing or something.

00:31:42.540 I don't even know what it means.

00:31:43.600 She's like, oh, I ate it.

00:31:46.020 Ate it.

00:31:46.720 Didn't leave no crumbs or something like that.

00:31:48.720 That's the thing also.

00:31:49.540 When you're the progeny of like a rock star, you get that kind of poetry in your head.

00:31:54.340 You know, I ate.

00:31:55.200 I ate.

00:31:55.980 Maybe so.

00:31:56.880 I don't even know what's going on with that.

00:31:59.000 Skillet's new album, Revolution, which I had until someone stole it from me, it's out now.

00:32:03.680 It's available on all music platforms and vinyl.

00:32:06.600 Check out this tease for All That Matters from their new album, Revolution.

00:32:10.380 So just leave the kids alone.

00:32:13.800 Better not break into this home.

00:32:16.580 Because where I come from, we always stand as one.

00:32:19.760 Where we belong.

00:32:21.660 We won't stand by this.

00:32:23.600 Cost you everything.

00:32:25.020 When you're at war.

00:32:27.040 These three things I die for.

00:32:29.760 My faith.

00:32:31.300 My family.

00:32:32.840 My freedom.

00:32:34.080 That's what's back in me.

00:32:35.560 Give me a reason for living.

00:32:37.300 I've got to fight for what I believe and believe in.

00:32:41.940 Love, loyalty, and faith, fidelity.

00:32:45.080 In this land of liberty, it's everything.

00:32:48.240 My faith.

00:32:49.760 My family.

00:32:51.300 My freedom's all that matters to me.

00:32:54.060 The Thief brought my album back.

00:32:56.180 Yes.

00:32:56.440 We bullied them into it.

00:32:58.300 Okay, I'm going to do the ad now.

00:33:00.380 Start the clock, please.

00:33:01.440 You must listen to Skillet.

00:33:06.260 And there are all sorts of reasons.

00:33:07.820 John, you know, sure, whatever.

00:33:09.640 You know his how to play a trivia game.

00:33:11.400 It's fine.

00:33:11.700 Whatever, it's fine.

00:33:12.500 But the reason that you have to listen to Skillet is because the drummers and wives of Skillet

00:33:19.180 have the very, very best taste, not only in music, not only in popular culture, but in podcasts.

00:33:27.000 And so people with that kind of perspicacity, that kind of precision of judgment, must be musical geniuses.

00:33:35.520 And you could greatly benefit from listening to all of their music, especially the new album, Revolution.

00:33:43.760 How's that?

00:33:44.600 That's pretty good.

00:33:45.320 But I do want to apologize for the foul language of perspicacity.

00:33:49.100 That was untoward of me.

00:33:51.220 That was untoward.

00:33:51.780 I think that's Portuguese, though.

00:33:52.680 So hopefully the audience didn't understand it.

00:33:55.160 John, it takes a really big, handsome man to admit when he was beaten.

00:34:01.200 You played a great game.

00:34:02.440 Thank you for coming on.

00:34:03.800 Thanks for having me.

00:34:04.740 Great to be with you.

00:34:15.320 Thank you.

00:34:19.200 Thank you.

00:34:20.920 Thank you.

00:34:21.480 Thank you.

00:34:22.960 Thank you.

The Michael Knowles Show - March 23, 2025

Real Answers and Real Drinks： SKILLET (John Cooper) ｜ YES or NO

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