More Cowbell Please: CCM Stories

Ainslie Grosser
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Grammy Winning CCM Mix Engineer Ainslie Grosser dives into Christian music with More Cowbell Please! Hear CCM stars and industry pros like Luke Smallbone, Paul Mabury, Jordan Mohilowski, John Mays share real faith-driven stories of humor, heartbreak, career highlights and losses. The people who wrote, produced and signed some of the greats like Lauren Daigle, Mercy Me, Toby Mac, The Afters, Skillet, Hillsong United and for King and Country . Subscribe for inspiring interviews! #ChristianMusic

  1. Apr 30

    The Newsboys Break Their Silence — In Federal Court | Full Lawsuit Breakdown

    The Newsboys have filed a sweeping 204-page federal antitrust and defamation lawsuit in Nashville — and the defendant list will stop you in your tracks. Wes Campbell and the Newsboys are suing The Roys Report, journalist Jessica Morris (a previous guest on this podcast), MercyMe and all five band members individually, Micah Tyler, World Vision, and a Netherlands-based private equity firm called Waterland — along with the three major Christian concert promoters they allegedly acquired to form a monopoly. I break it down block by block — no opinion, just the facts as alleged in the public filing. KEY POINTS COVERED: - Who the plaintiffs are - All four defendant groups explained in plain English - The $50 million deal at the center of the antitrust claim - The three Fargo claims the complaint makes against TRR and Jessica Morris - Why the timing — 14 days after police closed the Tait criminal case — matters - Jessica Morris's Instagram response - What this lawsuit is NOT (it is not a trial of Michael Tait) Full complaint available at newsboyslawsuit.com and tcalawsuit.com. Case number 3:26-cv-00484, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee. All information sourced from publicly filed court documents and established reporting. These are allegations. All parties are presumed innocent. More Cowbell Please covers CCM stories with depth and integrity.

    13 min

  2. Apr 25

    Nick Rad: Mixing Toby Mac's Most Personal Album & Building a Career From Milwaukee

    What does it take to mix five number one records on one album — without ever moving to Nashville?Nick Rad has been doing exactly that from Milwaukee, Wisconsin for over two decades.He started as the drummer in Christian punk band Hangnail on Tooth and Nail Records — touring with Stavesacre and Ghoti Hook, recording at the legendary Blasting Room with Bill Stevenson, and watching a young Aaron Sprinkle record what became one of Christian music's most beloved songs at 1:30 in the morning.Then he walked away from being an artist — and built something extraordinary behind the desk instead.8 Grammy nominations. Credits on records by Toby Mac, Skillet, Matthew West, Rachel Platten, Melissa Etheridge, MisterWives, Leanna Crawford and more. Five number one songs on Toby Mac's Life After Death — the most personal record TobyMac has ever made.All from Wisconsin.In this conversation we talk about:→ The Hangnail and Acceptance years on Tooth and Nail→ The session that almost changed everything (and the one he almost missed entirely)→ How he built a world-class mixing career without moving to Music City→ Mixing Toby Mac's grief — and what it means to serve an artist through loss→ His philosophy on mixing, references, and why the word "organic" drives him crazy→ What he'd tell every young engineer coming upThis is one of my favourite conversations I've had on More Cowbell Please. I think you're going to love Nick Rad.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction1:12 How Nick Rad Got Hooked on Music2:24 Forming Hangnail & Getting Signed to Tooth and Nail Records3:49 Touring the Christian Music Festival Circuit5:37 Joining Acceptance & Learning From Aaron Sprinkle8:04 Recording With Rebecca St. James9:51 The End of Acceptance & Finding Faith12:35 Starting a Mixing Career in Milwaukee13:30 Landing First Clients (Including Skillet's Ben Kasica)15:39 Moving to LA — and Moving Back Again17:47 Mixing Melissa Etheridge18:45 Networking & The Fallout Boy Story22:03 Mixing Toby Mac's Life After Death23:29 Working With Skillet24:31 Faith in the Music Industry25:01 Does Location Matter? Milwaukee vs Nashville28:17 Learning the Craft & Hearing Your Mix on the Radio30:54 Revision Counts & Serving the Artist32:26 Nick's Studio Setup & Gear33:42 Plugins, Workflow & Mixing In the Box39:44 How to Get the Best From Your Mix Engineer41:38 Nick Rad's Mixing Philosophy44:45 Mix Prep & The Sonic Revelation That Changed Everything48:15 How to Turn Off the Engineer Brain50:03 Closing Thoughts━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎛️ Find Nick Rad:Website: nickrad.comInstagram: @nicrad and @nickradovanovic━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━More Cowbell Please is positive Christian music stories — for CCM fans and the people who make the music.🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell

    52 min

  3. Mar 28

    Steve Taylor CCM's Greatest Lyricist — The Prophet in a Plaid Suit (Repost)

    (Reposted - spotify issue!) Was Steve Taylor the greatest lyricist contemporary Christian music ever produced? We think so — and in this episode of More Cowbell Please, we make the case. We attended a recent Steve Taylor concert and came away convinced this man never got the tribute he deserved. So here it is. From his origins as a preacher's kid in Northglenn, Colorado — forbidden from listening to secular music until his mid-teens — to hearing The Clash at Biola University and changing CCM forever, this is the full Steve Taylor story. We cover: ✅ His biography and origin story ✅ The songs that rattled the church — Guilty By Association, We Don't Need No Color Code, I Want to Be a Clone, Meltdown at Madame Tussauds, On the Fritz and more ✅ His role shaping the Newsboys' greatest era ✅ Founding Squint Entertainment and launching Sixpence None the Richer ✅ His film career including Blue Like Jazz ✅ The Dead Sea Squirrels — his new animated series with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki ✅ Concert footage including the band — Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mark Lee Townsend and John Mark Painter ✅ Why CCM needs more voices like his today Whether you grew up on 80s Christian music, work in the CCM industry, or you're just discovering Steve Taylor for the first time — this one's for you. 🎵 Songs Featured:Guilty By Association | We Don't Need No Color Code | On the Fritz | Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's | Dead Sea Squirrels Theme 🎸 Band: Steve Taylor | Peter Furler | Mark Lee Townsend | John Mark Painter | Caroline Francis | Kelle | Libby Cates | Kennoniah Dean Bellile 📺 0:00 Cold Open — "We Don't Need No Color Code" 0:26 Introduction 1:21 Origins — Preacher's Kid from Colorado 1:47 Discovering The Clash & New Wave 2:55 The Estes Park Signing 3:28 First Record Release 3:47 CCM in the Early 80s — The Landscape 4:38 "I Want to Be a Clone" 5:14 "This Disco Used to Be a Nice Cathedral" 6:08 "On the Fritz" 6:39 "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" 7:15 The Controversy & His Critics 7:32 "Guilty By Association" (Live) 8:50 "We Don't Need No Color Code" (Live) 9:54 "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number's Up" 10:22 "Sin for a Season" 10:39 "Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's" (Live) 11:04 The "Some Band" Lineup 11:31 Peter Furler 11:54 Steve Taylor & the Newsboys 12:25 The Iconic Suit & the Museum of CCM 13:10 Chagall Guevara1 3:35 Squint Entertainment1 3:54 Blue Like Jazz & Film Career 14:05 The Dead Sea Squirrels 15:53 The Randy Newman Moment (Live) 16:39 "Hero" & the Woody Allen Story 17:28 Steve Taylor's Legacy 18:04 Where to Find Steve's Music 🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641

    18 min

  4. Mar 28

    Steve Taylor: CCM's Greatest Lyricist — The Prophet in a Plaid Suit

    Was Steve Taylor the greatest lyricist contemporary Christian music ever produced? We think so — and in this episode of More Cowbell Please, we make the case. We attended a recent Steve Taylor concert and came away convinced this man never got the tribute he deserved. So here it is. From his origins as a preacher's kid in Northglenn, Colorado — forbidden from listening to secular music until his mid-teens — to hearing The Clash at Biola University and changing CCM forever, this is the full Steve Taylor story. We cover: ✅ His biography and origin story ✅ The songs that rattled the church — Guilty By Association, We Don't Need No Color Code, I Want to Be a Clone, Meltdown at Madame Tussauds, On the Fritz and more ✅ His role shaping the Newsboys' greatest era ✅ Founding Squint Entertainment and launching Sixpence None the Richer ✅ His film career including Blue Like Jazz ✅ The Dead Sea Squirrels — his new animated series with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki ✅ Concert footage including the band — Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mark Lee Townsend and John Mark Painter ✅ Why CCM needs more voices like his today Whether you grew up on 80s Christian music, work in the CCM industry, or you're just discovering Steve Taylor for the first time — this one's for you. 🎵 Songs Featured:Guilty By Association | We Don't Need No Color Code | On the Fritz | Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's | Dead Sea Squirrels Theme 🎸 Band: Steve Taylor | Peter Furler | Mark Lee Townsend | John Mark Painter | Caroline Francis | Kelle | Libby Cates | Kennoniah Dean Bellile 📺 0:00 Cold Open — "We Don't Need No Color Code" 0:26 Introduction 1:21 Origins — Preacher's Kid from Colorado 1:47 Discovering The Clash & New Wave 2:55 The Estes Park Signing 3:28 First Record Release 3:47 CCM in the Early 80s — The Landscape 4:38 "I Want to Be a Clone" 5:14 "This Disco Used to Be a Nice Cathedral" 6:08 "On the Fritz" 6:39 "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" 7:15 The Controversy & His Critics 7:32 "Guilty By Association" (Live) 8:50 "We Don't Need No Color Code" (Live) 9:54 "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number's Up" 10:22 "Sin for a Season" 10:39 "Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's" (Live) 11:04 The "Some Band" Lineup 11:31 Peter Furler 11:54 Steve Taylor & the Newsboys 12:25 The Iconic Suit & the Museum of CCM 13:10 Chagall Guevara1 3:35 Squint Entertainment1 3:54 Blue Like Jazz & Film Career 14:05 The Dead Sea Squirrels 15:53 The Randy Newman Moment (Live) 16:39 "Hero" & the Woody Allen Story 17:28 Steve Taylor's Legacy 18:04 Where to Find Steve's Music 🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641

    18 min

  5. Feb 26

    Stu G - The teenage QUEEN fan that shaped a generation of Worship sounds.

    Stu G, legendary guitarist of Delirious?, joins More Cowbell Please for a raw, heartfelt conversation.From wiring houses as an electrician to co-writing worship anthems like “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble,” “Obsession,” and “History Maker,” Stu opens up about:The early Cutting Edge youth events that birthed a movement. How U2 and Queen shaped his career.How Delirious? broke boundaries in worship and faith centered music We cover the highs and the lows, thru the end of an era then his next steps and recovery to his creative comeback, the Beatitudes Project, and life in NashvilleThis is more than a band story—it’s a testimony of faithfulness, creativity, and following God’s call through every season.Full episode out now – subscribe & turn on notifications for more CCM legends! 🕊️🎸#StuG #Delirious #ChristianMusic #WorshipMusic #CCMHistory #morecowbellplease Chapters 00:00 Intro – Welcome to Stu G! 01:26 Greetings & Fun Banter 01:55 Early Life as an Electrician 02:25 Becoming a Queen Fan 03:17 Starting with Drums03:42 Discovering Guitar 04:07 Buying the First Guitar 04:45 Taking Guitar Lessons 05:31 First Band Experiences 05:55 Phil Keaggy, Church & Conversion 08:37 Full-Time Worship Leading 08:55 The Stuart David Band 10:26 Andy Piercy Connection 11:40 Andy Piercy + Martin Smith Link 12:41 Ben Okafor & Reggae Band 14:52 Noel Richards Forum15:07 Cutting Edge Begins 15:42 Kevin Prosch Influence 18:12 Cutting Edge Band & Events 19:09 Moving to Littlehampton & Back to Electrical Work 22:10 Delirious? Officially Begins 23:46 Making 'Live and in the Can' 24:33 Naming Delirious? (The ? Story) 26:19 Delirious? Early Days 29:26 'Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?' Origin 29:47 Expanding the Reach Beyond Church Walls 32:31 CCM or Mainstream? The Tension 35:14 First Trip Into the USA 38:11 US Showcase at The Roxy 38:50 Mainstream Appearances & Breakthroughs 40:02 Napster, CD Sales Crash & Challenges 40:57 The Studio Albums Overview 44:04 Kingdom of Comfort Era 44:59 Touring Rules & the End of Delirious? 46:43 Delirious? Officially Over 47:02 New Deals & Life After 47:14 One Sonic Society 48:03 Rock Bottom, Counseling & Healing 49:13 The Beatitudes Project Begins 53:25 Touring Gigs While Building Beatitudes 54:33 Tech Issues! (Funny Moment) 55:40 Marketing the Beatitudes Project 56:57 Future Beatitudes Material 57:11 New Life in the USA for the Family 58:34 Testimonial Stories & Impact 1:02:00 Awards, Money & CCM Reflections 1:04:53 How the Name “Stu G” Came About 1:06:30 Delirious? Business Model & Independence 1:07:48 Other Gigs & Collaborations 1:08:55 New Release Discussion 1:10:54 Outro – Thanks Stu G!🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell

    1h 11m

  6. Jan 4

    Jess Cates Part 2: The Lawsuit, Losing Everything & God’s “Eagle” Promise

    The lawsuit nightmare.Running out of money.Almost homeless with a young family.And the miraculous “eagle” vision that carried him through.Jess shares how God turned the darkest season into a comeback—writing worship anthems for Chris Tomlin, Passion, John Reddick, TobyMac w Forrest Frank, and more.From pop highs (Backstreet Boys, David Archuleta) to Nashville heartbreak and redemption—this is raw faith in the music business.Next episodes coming:Stu G (Delirious? guitarist – worship music legend)Stacey Willbur (veteran CCM song plugger)Hit subscribe—you don’t want to miss these! 🔥#JessCates #ChristianSongwriter #WorshipMusic #ComebackStory #morecowbellplease 00:00 Intro 00:57 Out of Money & Almost Homeless 01:30 A Vision & God’s Word 02:59 Settling the Lawsuit 03:50 Lawsuit Aftermath04:46 Life Lessons from the Lawsuit 05:15 Lawsuit Outcome 05:41 Selling the Catalog 06:00 Nashville Deals & Humbling Moments 07:18 Forming In Paradise 07:35 Signing with TIM Publishing 08:14 Getting Back on His Feet 08:42 Random Success Stories 09:41 Jess’s Journey Through Genres 10:10 TobyMac, Forrest Frank & Jon Reddick 11:09 “Jeff Cates” & Alt IDs11:41 AI in Songwriting 15:12 10,000 Hours & 3 Guys in a Room 16:10 Career Advice for New Writers 17:50 Embarrassing Songwriting Stories 18:33 Lessons from Hard Sessions 19:38 Fear vs Faith in the Room 21:14 Changing Priorities 22:25 Finding & Living Your Purpose 24:30 Jonas Brothers Session 25:02 Martina McBride “Just Call You Mine” 26:44 Passion “The Lord Will Provide” 27:36 Song Impacts on Listeners 29:28 Goodbye & Thanks 29:35 Outro 🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell

    30 min

  7. 12/06/2025

    Hit Songwriter Goes From Backstreet Boys to Nearly Homeless | Jess Cates

    Hit songwriter, Jess Cates takes us into the realities of the craft in both LA and Nashville. From mega hits with Backstreet Boys and American Idols, to worship hits with Elevation, Passion, Matt Redman, and the who's who of CCM Christian Music. From millions in sales and billions in streams, to being broke and almost homelessAt one point finding himself needing to sue his non paying publisher. The highs and lows and song backstories you wont believe!Part 2 next week.Credits include songs withMainstream Pop:Back Street BoysNick LacheyJonas BrothersNew Kids on the BlockVertigoCliff RichardAmerican Idol ALUMS:David ArchuletaScotty McCreeryClay AikenDavid CookCountry:LeAnnRimesMartina McBrideCCM:Mercy MeTobyMacForrest FrankLeelandRebecca St JamesMandisaAvalonBebo NormanPoint of GraceSonicFloodJump5The AftersBritt NicoleBen RectorWorship:Matt RedmanChris TomlinPassion MusicElevationJon ReddickJesus CultureMatt MaherChapters00:00 Intro – Season 2 Premiere! 02:13 Welcome Jess Cates 02:27 Nashville Roots & Preacher’s Kid Life 03:19 Growing Up in Franklin Schools 04:01 First Song Ever Written (Age 15!) 04:26 Early Gigs & Talent Shows 04:46 Meeting Michael W. Smith 06:05 One Year at Belmont… Then Quitting 06:17 Writing Worship with Friends 06:54 First Publishing Deal – Brentwood-Benson07:50 How Publishing Deals Actually Work 09:45 Leading Worship on the Side 10:07 First Major Cuts (Avalon, Plus One) 11:01 Signing a Pop Deal in LA 11:27 Moving to Los Angeles12:10 Worship Leading in the Desert 12:40 Finding Family at an LA Church 13:33 Success vs Faith Tension in Hollywood 14:19 Praying in the Bathroom Between Sessions 14:58 Inviting God into Secular Writing Rooms 15:59 Real Faith Conversations with Pop Stars 16:56 The Joshua Tree Surrender Story 17:10 Jonas & the Holy Spirit Lights 18:26 “Incomplete” – Writing for Backstreet Boys 19:51 How the Song Leaked & Exploded 20:19 God’s Joshua Tree Confirmation 23:07 The Mystery of Songwriting 25:01 More LA Hits (David Archuleta, Nick Lachey) 25:14 “Crush” – From Prayer Closet to #1 27:00 The Chris Tomlin “Even So Come” Miracle 30:19 Passion Release & Life-Changing Impact 30:44 Partnering with TIM Publishing 31:37 Why Jess Left LA 31:48 The Lawsuit That Changed Everything 32:00 Running Out of Money 32:20 Landing Back in Nashville 32:50 Spiritual Breakthrough in Hardship 33:41 Almost Homeless with a Young Family 34:28 Outro – Part 2 Next Week!🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell

    35 min

  8. 11/28/2025

    The TOP 5 Radical Christian Artists Who UP-ENDED the BUSINESS

    I name the top 5 the most radical Christian music artists in the recorded music era and what they did that shocked the business. And the church. Were they right? Did they go too far? Forrest Frank has posted radical stands lately - Dropping out of the Doves, slamming AI music, refusing to listen to non christian music. It reminded me of those in the past that have done even more radical things, Sadly all but one have passed away, but each lived controversially - and i speculate they may have moderated with time and grace. Follow along as i detail the stands of Carman, Keith Green, Larry Norman, Rich Mullins and of course mr Forrest Frank. 🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/morecowbell

    18 min
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12 Ratings

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Grammy Winning CCM Mix Engineer Ainslie Grosser dives into Christian music with More Cowbell Please! Hear CCM stars and industry pros like Luke Smallbone, Paul Mabury, Jordan Mohilowski, John Mays share real faith-driven stories of humor, heartbreak, career highlights and losses. The people who wrote, produced and signed some of the greats like Lauren Daigle, Mercy Me, Toby Mac, The Afters, Skillet, Hillsong United and for King and Country . Subscribe for inspiring interviews! #ChristianMusic

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