We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Carnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi James, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of being an entrepreneur or creative is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

Sure, as the vocalist for a Christian metalcore band we’ve played two shows at a bar and another in a nightclub. So after I shared about Jesus on stage, a person at the show came up to me and said he enjoyed our set. As he began to talk more, I could smell the alcohol coming off his breath, so much so that it reminded me of when I used to struggle with alcohol. We began talking and I asked him “do you know God?” And he said “I’m a Christian, I go to church.” He began to share that his brother died a few weeks before the show, and he turned away from his faith. But our show made him want to pursue Jesus again. I prayed over him, and he began to share a lot of personal things that you wouldn’t normally share with a stranger. But my boldness on stage is what made this person decide to open up, and decide that day to make a change in his life. It was impactful for me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Yeah, so while I was a student at CU-Boulder, I was cut from the football team and developed a drinking problem. I had a friend who had been in a band called Finding Neverland and I always mentioned to him that I would be interested in doing music someday. Well Finding Neverland had been on hiatus for almost three years, and my friend found himself in a drinking problem as well. Hence why we were hanging out. But as we were both talking, we eventually came up with an idea to start up the band and I would do vocals. Both of us, got help for our alcohol addictions and used the band and the music to further our relationship in following Jesus. We now have played some local shows in Denver, and released songs on Spotify, Apple Music. We also run a podcast where we teach our fans scripture.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yeah, following Jesus has completely turned my life upside down and gave me hope and a purpose when I was once suicidal. My goal is to use any talents or jobs that God gives me, to share on the hope and life changing transformation that Jesus provides.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Yeah, my entire life up until 28 years old, I was pursuing a football career. I was a good high school player, and then went on to play at two small schools, before transferring to CU Boulder to pursue my dream of playing on a Division I football program. However, I was cut twice from the team, and during that time I began to grow more and more interest in music. I did not understand why, until I researched my grandfather (who passed away before I was born) and I learned that he was a professional drummer/singer for big acts like Elvis Presley and Buck Owens. Once I learned I had music in my family, I decided to pursue music more seriously. It’s still no where near I want it to be, but the vision and direction is still going forward. It felt so uncomfortable letting football go, because that was my identity. I’ve never felt like a real musician since I only do harsh vocals, but the journey has been great so far.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jamesvcarnes
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/jamescarnesfootball

Image Credits

Jess Sutton