Today’s guest is Jordan Feliz and one thing we love about Jordan is that he is so honest and real. He says this, “I think people are so hungry for, for something that’s real, you know, and authentic and, and you can give them that, which is the gospel. Like I think they just crave that and they long to know more about it.” Sarah talks to him about his journey into music and the path that brought him there.
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Transcription:
Purposely: your life, God’s purpose. Listen at onpurposely.com.
Jordan Feliz: I, I’ll never forget we played with this band that was literally like forwardly satanic. We went on right after them, and I remember right after that I’m thinking, what am I gonna say after that? And I remember just walking up on stage and right before our last song is usually where I would talk, and I just said, Guys, I just want you to know that we don’t believe what the first band talked about, and that’s okay.
And they have free will to believe whatever they want to believe, but we believe in a God that loves you for who you are, and he’s gonna meet you exactly where you at you were at. And I remember just saying something really simple and, and we had like two or three people that walked up to us after the show and they were like, Tell me more about this Jesus character.
I think people are so hungry for, for something that’s real, you know, and authentic and, and you can give them that, which is the gospel. Like I think they just crave that and they long to know more about it.
Sarah Taylor: That’s Jordan Feliz, and he joins you today on the Passion Meets Purpose podcast. The passion part is basically the gifts and talents that you just, it’s stuff that comes natural to you.
You think, Huh, God gave me an extra dose of being good at this or being interested in this. And then the purpose part is how you use those gifts and talents to give back to the world. But sometimes it takes a little while to figure all that. So let’s begin our conversation with Jordan Feliz on what he did prior to making music.
Okay, Jordan. So I hear that before you had songs on the radio, you drove for Uber?
Jordan Feliz: I did, yeah. That was. Kind of a crazy time, but I, I, I started, when we first moved to Nashville, I actually valet, like I parked cars. And, when, right after I signed with Centricity, like my writing schedule started getting fuller and started writing more songs and doing more things, with music.
So I needed more like, of a flexible job. And so I ended up doing Uber and I ended up winning a car, which is kind of weird, but I, That was a random thing that happened.
Sarah Taylor: How do you win a car from driving for Uber?
Jordan Feliz: So basically it would be like if, if you were texting me like, Hey, I really need to make some extra cash or whatever, do you know of a job or anything, then I could just text you and say, Well, if you sign up for Uber, then I’ll get a referral reward or something like that.
Usually it was like a hundred bucks or something. Well, in the month, May, they had that going and you would get a submission for every person that you got to come drive for Uber. And I had one person, and literally they called, I think 160 drivers and they had them all come to this place in Nashville and they were like, Hey, you know, just come prepared to win a car if you, you know. I don’t know. They had like some prep things for us or whatever.
Sarah Taylor: Come prepared to win a car.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah. And so it was like, okay, but there’s so many of us. And I remember there was a dude that was walking around and he was like, Yeah, I had 50 submissions. And I’m like, Oh man, that guy’s gonna win. And, and they’re like, All right, well it’s time to go outside.
We’re gonna. Auction off the Prius. And so I was like, Okay. And I’m just expecting to walk outside and watch somebody else win a car. And literally that some dude walks out with this giant gold piece of paper with my name on it and he was like, Jordan Feliz, you won a Prius. And I was like, What? And it was just amazing.
It was such a cool, it was a huge blessing because honestly, my wife and I, in literally like seven weeks, was our due date for our first little girl, and we only had one car, and so it was just a huge blessing to have a car and so yeah.
Sarah Taylor: And I, I heard that right, that like some dude had like 50 referrals. So that’s kinda like 50 raffle tickets to your one.
Jordan Feliz: One. Yes. Yeah.
Sarah Taylor: You had one shot.
Jordan Feliz: Just one. Yep.
Sarah Taylor: You need to write a song about that.
Jordan Feliz: I know, right? It’s just all about like God’s favor or something.
Sarah Taylor: Speaking of your wife does hair.
Jordan Feliz: She does, yes.
Sarah Taylor: Does she do your hair?
Jordan Feliz: She does. She does my hair and it’s, it’s pretty- it’s actually been kind of weird, so she actually quit her job in January and stopped doing hair just to be a stay-at-home mom. But she’s continued doing hair. She actually just cut my hair a couple days ago.
Sarah Taylor: I was gonna say like to quit your job doing hair and be a stay at home mom is like the idea in theory until all of your friends are like, Hey, do mind still.
Jordan Feliz: Exactly. Oh man. That’s like my wife’s entire life right now, it’s text messages like, So I really miss you and I went to this other stylist, so can you come and like cut my hair at my house and I’ll pay you? And Jamie’s like um, maybe, like she’s just, she’s too sweet to say no, but I don’t think she wants to do it.
Sarah Taylor: Got it. The hair stylist who couldn’t say no.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah. Seriously.
Sarah Taylor: You toured for years with a rock band.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah . Yeah, that’s a, Oh my gosh. It feels like a different life. But I started touring when I was 17 years old and I got approached by a band that was from a town that’s about 30 minutes from my hometown, and they needed a singer and they were like, Would you like to do this?
And I just felt like God was just saying do it. And, so I passed up on quite a few college opportunities and my parents were super not happy about it, but I just really felt like God had his hand on it. And so, it was actually kind of like a medal band. And so we got to go into, like venues and talk about the gospel on stage and they kind of created like this fire in my heart and just passion for talking about Jesus on stage and sharing the gospel with people, and now here I am.
Sarah Taylor: Tell me more about that. For a person who’s listening, thinking the gospel at a venue that’s not a church? Go ahead and open someone’s eyes as to how much Holy Spirit is going on there.
Jordan Feliz: Well, you know, we used to kind of have this thing where, because all five of us in the band, we were all believers and so, It’s biblical where three or more are gathered, you know?
And so for us, we’ve thought we could just bring the church into the venue as much as like, I mean, we, we believe God is everywhere, you know? And so the thing is, is we would just, I mean, and it’s shocking how much we would like walk into a venue and it would just be like, I’ll never forget we played with this band that was literally like, so forwardly satanic in like all their music and stuff, like, they would like do scary stuff during the show.
You know, stuff that was like, Oh my gosh, like, what is this? And we, I remember playing that night and after them we, we, we went on right after them. And I remember right after that, I’m thinking, what am I gonna say after that? And I remember just walking up on stage and right before our last song is usually where I would talk and I just said, Guys, I just want you to know that we don’t believe what the first band talked about and that’s okay.
And they have free will to believe whatever they wanna believe, but we believe in a God that loves you for who you are and he’s gonna meet you exactly where you were at. And, and I remember just saying something really simple and, and we had like two or three people that walked up to us after the show and they were like tell me more about this Jesus character. And it’s funny because there are people we would run into that had never even heard of Jesus before. You know, they had just heard of God, you know? And you’re like, How do you live in America? And you dunno who Jesus is. You know, You’re just like, that’s shocking.
But you know, I just. I think people are so hungry for something that’s real, you know, and authentic. And when you can give them that, which is the gospel, like I think they just crave that and they long to know more about it.
Sarah Taylor: How did you transition from that band to what you do now?
Jordan Feliz: So I basically, right after the band wrapped up, I took a job at a church as a worship leader, and I kind of-
Sarah Taylor: What a stark contrast.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah. It was-
Sarah Taylor: Like what was that resume like? What was that meeting like? Like you walk in, I’d like to be your worship leader. Where did you play last? And you tell them.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah. I tell them, Oh, we were, we actually just broke up in Denver, Colorado playing this hole in the wall. I think it was called the Black Widow Club or something super weird. But you know, it helped because, the new head pastor that had just started the church, who, him and the worship pastor were the guys who took me out to lunch. He used to be in a Christian rock band called Dogwood back in the day. And so he was like, I love that you’re grungy and all this other stuff.
And he’s like, You should totally just come. It fits the, you know, the theme of our church and you know, I just think it’d be great. And I never thought of myself as a worship leader. But, over that year I just fell in love with that. And I also felt like God had just started kind of giving me songs and I didn’t really know what to do with them and I didn’t know what that was about.
And, I got a phone call from a friend who’s now my manager, and he was like, Hey, I’m gonna fly you to Nashville and I want you to write some songs with some people, and I believe that you could do something in Christian music, which I had never even dreamed of. You know, I kind of grew up listening to ccm, so I just never thought that was a realistic thing for me though in my life.
I went to Nashville and fell in love with Nashville. Long story short, my wife and I ended up moving a year later. And from day one, literally from day one, we- just God was opening doors. I met, I met a lady, her name is Jennifer Deibler and, I was, we were walking down a road-
Sarah Taylor: FFH?
Jordan Feliz: Yes.
Sarah Taylor: Okay!
Jordan Feliz: Yes, yes.
Sarah Taylor: I had to, I had to go back into the catalog of my brain cells.
Jordan Feliz: Yes. So we met her within the first like three hours of being in Nashville. Literally walking down the road and this lady behind us just goes, You guys look like you’re in a band. And one of my best buds had moved with me and my wife and, and he was like, No, this guy just, you know, he’s a songwriter.
He’s so good. You gotta check his stuff out. I’m like, David, please stop. Cause I’m so not that person. And, she was like, Well send, I’m gonna give you my email, send your demo to my husband. And I was like, Cool. And she was like, We used to do Christian music. We’re in a band called FFH. I was like, Oh, no big deal. Like you were in FFH. My parents have like every one of your records. Are you serious?
Sarah Taylor: Oh, I bet they loved that!
Jordan Feliz: She was like, just totally loved it. And so I was like, That’s crazy. And so
Sarah Taylor: I mean, did you tell her you knew it meant far from home?
Jordan Feliz: No, I had, I had no idea about anything. Okay. Like I was just so, like in my own head I was like, I can’t believe this is happening.
And. I think three months into moving there, she had like sent my work tapes and stuff to like record labels and done all this stuff. And we started getting like emails from people and we’re like, How is this happening? And they’re like, Oh, Jennifer Deibler, I’m like, That’s. Crazy. Like that’s so the Lord.
Because it’s like usually, I mean, if I handed you a demo on the street, Yeah. You’d be like, Yeah, that’s adorable. We’re just gonna stick it in our car or whatever.
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Sarah Taylor: Well, you are pretty much the poster child then for, It doesn’t normally happen like this.
Jordan Feliz: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Sarah Taylor: Because after that, I mean, a lot of people know you from your song, The River, which went straight to number one. It’s your first single sent to radio. So why don’t you walk somebody through a typical conversation that like your manager or your label would have to manage your expectations. Like, Hey, new artist, here’s your song. Don’t get your hopes up. Right. Did anybody have that conversation with you?
Jordan Feliz: Oh, Yeah, like thousands of times. I mean, I, and I think what’s funny is nobody had to tell me, you know, because honestly I’d been doing this for so long and touring and where I came from touring wise, it was like a van and trailer.
Like, Hey, we’ve got a 12 hour drive tonight. Nobody’s sleeping. Or just we don’t have a hotel room for six days, and we’re just gonna take showers out, out in the tree somewhere, you know, and like, it’s just crazy. And so I was like, Oh man, I’m, I’m, I have no expectations.
But I, I really did start feeling like the Lord whenever we started writing music. He just called me to something that, in my mind, felt new, even though it wasn’t, but he just asked me to pray over the songs. And so I started really just praying over every song that I wrote. And songs started really coming out of that as like, oh, this one has something special on it, or this one feels really cool.
And it was funny because I didn’t think The River, I thought people were actually gonna hate The River. I remember Kris Love from Centricity calling me and saying, Hey, we’re gonna send The River out as a first single. And me being like, Okay, cool. But deep down in my, in myself, I was like, people are gonna hate it.
They’re gonna think it’s so aggressive and you know, all these other things. And it’s amazing that, you know, that was literally the first song I prayed over. And just seeing the way that people have just fallen in love with it. And I mean, hearing stories that like, I mean, it’s saved people’s lives. Wow. It saved people’s marriages.
I’m like, man, all from this simple truth, you know, of just the fact that we are able to like, speak with the Holy Spirit. We’re able to, to access those, living that living water every day. I think that’s just such a cool thing. It’s been a super humbling experience, you know, to go through it and talking to the label and everything and all their expectations were, you know, down here.
And so mine were even lower. So to now have this other thing happen was just- I mean, it’s just been unreal.
Sarah Taylor: Yeah. I mean, it skyrocketed to number one, it stayed there for 10 weeks. Which doesn’t often happen for a new artist. And then, you know, I’m sure a manager or a label person would be like, Don’t practice your acceptance speech for the Dove Award winning new artist of the year. You know?
Jordan Feliz: Oh my gosh.
Sarah Taylor: And yet all of a sudden they call your name.
Jordan Feliz: Oh my goodness. That was actually hilarious cuz that was a, I told you so moment for my wife and I’ve been telling people about this cuz my, so my wife and I were driving to the Doves and, my wife was like, Did you like plan anything?
And I was like, Babe, no. Like, I’m not gonna win. Like, there’s just no way I, I had it in my mind that I knew who was gonna win. There was a certain person on that list and I was like, That person’s gonna win. And I was like, good with it. I’m like, Man, I don’t, I don’t need this award to like, have something in my heart feel like, Oh yeah, this is totally great.
So I literally just didn’t practice, didn’t have anything to say. And so when they called my name, I literally stood up and I was smiling and I just looked over at my wife and my wife just went like, and she just had this look, and she gave me a hug and she kissed me on the cheek and she just whispered in my ear.
She goes, Told you . That was it. I just walked up to the podium and was like, I had no, I, I really just did not think that was gonna happen. So it was. I mean, it’s so flattering and I was just so humbled by it. And to be, I mean amongst, I mean, I feel like all the new artists that are emerging are just so incredible and they’re incredible people and they have incredible hearts and they’re so talented.
And so to even just be on that list was awesome. And to win was like, Wow, that’s crazy. But it was, it was very surreal.
Sarah Taylor: My favorite part of the whole thing is that your wife, God, and I told you so moment. What’s her name? Yeah. Jamie. Jamie. I love it. Well, speaking of family, your dad manages an at home store in Tennessee.
Jordan Feliz: Yes. That’s amazing. I love that this is a question!
Sarah Taylor: You haven’t been asked this one.
Jordan Feliz: Never in my entire life.
Sarah Taylor: Well, then let’s talk about.
Jordan Feliz: All right!
Sarah Taylor: Hit me. Hit me with it. What’s in that HomeStore?
Jordan Feliz: So it’s basically, Like almost a Costco for furniture.
Sarah Taylor: Excellent.
Jordan Feliz: And like decorative, like home decor stuff. So they have couches and instead of, I’m, I’m trying to think like maybe you go to West Elm, or you go to like, Pier One, or Ethan Allen or somewhere, and they’ve got like a selection of like 10 chairs. And they’re all like $500, you know, where you go to At Home, they’ve got a selection of like 350 chairs and they’re all like $90. So it’s like kind of like, almost like wholesaley, but they have like great stuff and-
Sarah Taylor: What’s the best deal there that nobody knows about?
Jordan Feliz: The Best deal? Oh man. They have great pillows. I know that, I don’t, I don’t know
Sarah Taylor: If your dad hears this, he’s gonna be like, son.
Jordan Feliz: He’s gonna be like, Listen man, I’m gonna send you the inventory sheet. You gotta study that so you can answer these questions better next time.
Sarah Taylor: For someone that wants to check it out and maybe order online, where do they go? Jordan!
Jordan Feliz: Athome.com? I- Isn’t that what Google is for? Hey, go to google.com and then you just type in at home and then that will-
Sarah Taylor: at home Tennessee. Okay.
Jordan Feliz: Oh my gosh this is the best,
Sarah Taylor: Worst place you’ve ever slept while on the road?
Jordan Feliz: Oh, it’s hard for me to answer this because there’ve been so many, Probably the worst place I’ve ever slept on the road. So I slept in the back of a van on the top of – there’s a base cabinet called an Ampeg 810 eight 10, and there was a piece of cardboard over the top of it, and I slept on that with a blanket over me.
And we were literally in somewhere, in Virginia, and it was snowing outside, so it was just freezing cold and there was, we didn’t have money to keep the van on. So we were just freezing in there and I slept in there and that was probably pretty, pretty bad.
Sarah Taylor: What’s the square footage of the thing- were you cuddled, like in the fetal position?
Jordan Feliz: Kind of, yeah. It was kind of easier. I remember just sleeping on my back like that was the easiest way to do it. Cause it’s just like laying on hardwood floors or something, you know.
Sarah Taylor: What do you think about in those moments as you’re trying to fall asleep?
Jordan Feliz: Why am I doing this? Why can’t I just go home? You know? I don’t know. Just so many different things. But I mean, I think it also there’s moments like that, that just build so much character for like, being grateful for, for the, the process of, of getting to where I’m at right now. And today, you know, the fact that we get to, to sleep on a tour bus instead of sleeping on a floor or in a hotel room, or, you know, I mean, we, we never got hotel rooms, so it was always like at, at a host home maybe where they’d let us sleep on the floor, you know, or you know, we would just sleep in the van and, you know, so, I think it just puts a lot of perspective and character into what we get to do now, and I’m really thankful for those times.
Sarah Taylor: I’m thankful for it too. And also it shows that, you know, if your bus ever breaks down or you’re in a pinch, you know what you gotta do.
Jordan Feliz: Hey. Yep. For the side of the road and let’s go sleep in the desert or something, I guess.
Sarah Taylor: Oh, Jordan Feliz, that’s our time. Thank you so much. I think my favorite part is just the way that you pray over your songs, and that’s something that you didn’t come up with, that you just felt like the Lord impressed it on your heart.
Jordan Feliz: Yeah. Oh man. Thank you. Yeah, it’s been a huge thing. For me and even my, my entire family and our entire crew, you know, like, cuz I think now that I’ve spread that onto everybody that we work with, like, I feel like that’s a huge part of what we do now. And, I feel like it was so God-breathed. . So it’s, it’s been amazing to see the blessing in all that, and to also just, even if there isn’t a blessing, it’s just, it’s kind of just nice to do.
Sarah Taylor: Yeah. It’s just, it’s very counter-cultural, right?
Jordan Feliz: Yeah.
Sarah Taylor: Normally an artist could take credit for, Well, yeah, I wrote a hit song and it’s like, No, I prayed over this because it’s the Lord that does the work.
Jordan Feliz: Oh man, that’s so good. It is so literally right on the nail. It’s amazing. It’s exactly what I. I love it. Thanks for having me.
Our thanks to Jordan Feliz and his team with Centricity, including Kris Love who brought him out for the visit. Thank you to Rebecca Beckett and Luke Swanberg, our content producers, and. Scott Carro, our wonderful audio producer. Couldn’t do it without him. Couldn’t do it without you, obviously. Thank you so much for listening to this episode, and you know the drill. I’m gonna see you again in two weeks.
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