Revolution Calling: A Conversation With Skillet Frontman John Cooper
By Darren Tromblay
Christian music’s largest tour — Winter Jam — will hit Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines this Friday, March 21, bringing with it an eclectic mix of music genres, from Christian hip-hop maestro KB, the country leanings of Anne Wilson, pop from Colton Dixon, as well as Newsong and Michah Tyler, to name a few.
Tickets are in the form of a $15 donation at the door.
Those jonesing for some hard rock in the lineup won’t be disappointed either with the return of arguably the reigning heavyweight hard rock band in the genre — and the event’s headliner — Skillet.
Last fall, the band released “Revolution,” its 12th studio album, and their first recording as an independent after fulfilling a previous record label contract. ListetenIowa caught up with Skillet frontman John Cooper recently to talk about the that big step, participating in Winter Jam No. 6, and what the future holds for the band.
LI: You’ve recently moved from Wisconsin to Nashville after 20-something years. Why the move?
JC: It was a lot of things. My daughter got married, and she was looking to move as well. I’m from Memphis, so it’s closer to where I’m from. And it’s better for music. My manager has been trying to get me to move here for 20 years. (Laughs)
LI: What number Winter Jam is this for you guys?
JC: It’s our sixth. I just really love this tour. We’re playing a new set, with a new production. We have a new album out, which is our first independent record, so it feels like a rebirth of Skillet of sorts. I think it’s the best show we’ve done, and we’re getting a lot of good feedback about it. Playing these new songs is fun. Younger people are being exposed to rock music, and it’s just really exciting.
LI: What keeps bringing you back to this tour?
JC: One of the reasons is that it’s so diverse. You’ve got gospel, country, worship, pop, rap, a little bit of everything. You get to play in front of a lot of people who don’t know you, and I think that’s a lot of fun. I’m really into family, and I think there’s a re-awakening to that way in America. People are looking for things to do with their family that are safe and affordable, and Winter Jam is both. You know when you come here you’re going to hear a bunch of music without the eff-bombs. (Laughs)
LI: Talk about your latest album, “Revolution.” I know you keep tabs with what’s going on across the nation politically and otherwise. Was the album, or its title, a result of that?
JC: The album title isn’t referring to a political revolution, and that’s why I put this little reference on the album cover which is 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says, “These things remain: faith, hope and love. The greatest is love.” What I’m talking about is more of a spiritual revolution. A revolution of values, and love, and acceptance. Being willing to talk to people who disagree with you. Certainly politics is one of those things. We need a spiritual awakening in our country. We have the highest rates of teen suicide, the highest rates of depression. A couple of years ago, the Surgeon General announced a pandemic of loneliness in this country. That was just two years ago. We aren’t in a good place.
LI: What do you attribute this to?
JC: I think that social media is quite harmful for young people. The vitriol, the yelling, the cyber-bullying, kids being told their lives aren’t worth living and they should kill themselves. All of these things are really bad. I think we need a spiritual awakening. I love America, I love American liberty, and I love freedom of speech. While I do recognize that is a political argument, I wouldn’t call it a partisan argument. I just like freedom of speech. I want that for everybody, no matter who you are. We just need to wake up, love each other, and listen to each other. We have to do something for the young people.
LI: Speaking of politics, we’ve had a change in the administration recently. A lot has happened in a short period of time. Are you seeing anything indications of change out there in your audiences now mirroring that, one way or another?
JC: Over the last year, I think I’ve been seeing a shift toward a far more positive outlook. I wouldn’t say it came with this administration necessarily. I noticed Skillet’s Spotify numbers began going up drastically about a year ago. Lots of new fans who are excited, and we’re meeting new people at shows. And they are all kinds of people. When I say something about God, there are people cheering in the audience who are the same people who might be smoking marijuana. (Laughs) It’s like a really weird mixture of all these different things. I do think there’s a more positive outlook and generally a little bit more acceptance. (It’s) people who don’t generally like the tyrannical approach of shutting down people who disagree with you, or trying get them fired and things like that. As far as a lot happening, I’m just going to be honest and say I haven’t spoken about any of this on my podcast, because the truth is, it’s all kind of above my pay grade. (Laughs) I don’t fully understand what’s happening. Some things I see I really like. I like the concept of saying, “Guys, we know there’s so much corruption in politics, whether it’s right, left, center, whatever. All of them.” I don’t like any politicians, really. I’m a little Libertarian when it comes to that. For me, it’s more of a cultural thing. I’d like us to accept each other a little better and not freak out when somebody disagrees. I don’t mind when someone says they hate my religion. I don’t hate them back. I don’t care. It doesn’t effect me. I don’t like all the cancel culture stuff, and getting people fired, and all the bullying.
LI: I enjoyed your appearance on the Steve Deace show recently.
JC: Oh, yeah!
LI: He’s of the opinion — and I hope I’m not misquoting him here — that where we are as a society begins with the church. Are you of that same opinion?
JC: I do agree with that. I believe that the church is instructed to train the world unto truth and righteous. Not out of hatred, out of example. By word and deed. I think that if the church doesn’t care about truth, and doesn’t care about justice, then I think the world will go that way as well. The church is supposed to be a prophetic voice to the world, to help and to bring righteousness, and to bring the light of the law of God. That’s how I’ve understood it anyway. So I think we are supposed to do that. I do believe the church has a responsibility. When you see rampant injustices in our history pages, like slavery, you wonder why churches weren’t speaking out against it? Why weren’t more Christians doing something about this? It doesn’t make sense to me. I think a lot of people were apathetic, and I think there are a lot of issues where people are like that right now. I think we each have to decide what our part is, in word and deed, to help change the story.
LI: Have you ever thought about dipping your toes into politics in any way?
JC: No, I don’t think it’s a calling of mine. I don’t think I’d be good at it. (Laughs) I think I just have a genuine feeling that it is so corrupt that it just doesn’t feel like it’s for me.
LI: How about a sequel to your book, “Wimpy, Weak and Woke”? Anything like that in the works?
JC: No, I don’t think so. I will say that while doing that book, I did have a deep sense of calling to do it. It took a lot of out me. It was a dark, hard time. And then the amount of vitriol I got back from it, you just have to be really prepared for something like that. (Laughs) I don’t think I was. I just don’t have a real burning to do that again right now. I feel a real sense of just focusing on the music and doing the most good that I can do through it. I think that’s what I’m best at.
LI: Looking forward, what’s on the Skillet itinerary in the coming year?
JC: We’re doing a lot of touring this year. We’re going overseas, but I do know that we are going to begin writing some new songs, but there aren’t any plans as to what that will look like. Now that we’re independent, though, it may be, if we’re excited about something we’re writing, we’ll probably just record it, and maybe we’ll release some surprise songs before you know it.
LI: When you guys stepped out and on your own and out from a record label standpoint, was that a scary proposition? Or was it simply time to do it?
JC: I think it was time. There was a measure of wondering whether or not we were ready for this, because there are some downsides that we needed to consider. But no one was scared. I think we’ve been pretty self-sufficient anyway with how we’ve made our records and in controlling the narrative of Skillet with artwork and videos and social media. We felt pretty good at being able to navigate that ship. To be perfectly honest, it’s been absolutely wonderful to be able to release music when you want to. If I believe in a song, I want to release it. And if it doesn’t go good, I can’t blame anyone else; it’s on me. (Laughs)
Winter Jam 2025
When: Friday, March 21
Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines
Doors: 6 p.m.
Show: 7 p.m.
Tickets: A $15 donation at the door
