A Conversation with P.O.D.’s Sonny Sandoval – HuffPost 8.6.12
Mike Ragogna: Uh-oh, Sonny Sandoval’s on the phone.
Sonny Sandoval: Hey man!
MR: Sonny, your new album is titled Murdered Love. So just how murdered is this love?
SS: Oh my gosh, that’s so heavy, huh? It’s so heavy and deep. (laughs)
MR: Nah, I’m not sensing a lot of murdered love on here, although we need a little history on the song “Lost And Forever” just to be sure.
SS: “Lost And Forever”… When we finally decided to jump off our hiatus, the guys started fiddling around a little bit with some ideas. They came up with a groove and stuff. We got together and finished the song. We actually did a bunch of demo stuff. I just wrote the lyrics. It basically just has to do with my infatuation with the afterlife, always thinking about eternity and the eternal. Sometimes, you get caught up a little bit and you tend to lose your mind-set in it.
MR: We just joked about it, but on the title track, “Murdered Love,” you are making a bigger than not statement, no?
SS: I’m a man of faith. It’s a dark and eerie song. It’s taking from the whole idea of crucifixion. The scriptures say the sky went black and the ground cracked open and the religious bell was split into two. It’s kind of a desperate, almost hopeless moment–right on that moment, the death on the cross. I have my faith and I believe in Jesus, so it was more about what we did to love. God is love.
MR: And, to me, it also can be interpreted as what we sometimes do to relationships as well. Sonny, a somewhat relative song would be “Babylon The Murderer.”
SS: Yeah, this album is real kind of Armageddon-ish, apocalyptic. But, if you’re into reggae music, you associate Babylon with the world, world evils and corruptions. It’s a common phrase in reggae music.
MR: Right. Sonny, let’s talk about your background.
SS: I grew up in a crazy family. My grandmother and mother were from Italy, so I was raised Catholic. That kind of just meant going to church on Easter and Christmas. I saw a radical transformation in my family when they started going to a Christian church. I watched them fall in love with God. When I was 19 and my mom passed away from leukemia, it got me thinking about a lot of stuff. You know, I’ve always had a love and respect for God, but I didn’t want a religion, I just wanted to walk hand-in-hand with God. For me, in my faith, it does that. There are so many faces of Christianity these days; sometimes people get lost. But it really just has to do with my relationship with Jesus.
MR: What moved your family from Catholicism to another kind of Christian following?
SS: Young family, drug dealing, crazy family, and to just watch the love of God penetrate their minds and hearts, one by one. It wasn’t a religious thing, it was more of this experience when they were falling in love with the Lord. So the day my Mom died, I just said my own big boy prayer. I said I want to walk with you, I don’t want religion, that’s too confusing, I just want to walk with you and I’ve been on this journey for 20 years.
MR: And you took your relationship with God it into your music. How did you make that kind of a creative commitment?
SS: I had no dreams or aspirations of ever being a rock band. I liked the hardcore scene and my cousin was in the band and Marcos (Curiel) was in a different band, playing different keg parties and stuff. They had asked me to be in the band. You know, it’s already crazy that I’m “Christian” and all of my friends think I’m crazy and to be the singer of this band is just as nuts, but it’s a tool and an avenue to scream about my faith and my conversion. And we just started playing parties and took it a little serious and it was just part of the natural process of it.
MR: You realize with hits like “Alive” and “Youth Of A Nation,” you’ve had a big effect on Christian youth in America. As that was happening, do think Christian parents were feeling, because of your material’s messages, it was safer for their kids to go to your concerts over others?
SS: We were never Christian enough for the Christian community, and we were too Christian for the world, if that makes sense. We didn’t market ourselves as a Christian band because I didn’t know of such a thing. We just make music for people. I am grateful for the Christian community that has come support us over the past 20 years, but once we hit the mainstream, it was just that. Parents and kids have to decide what they listen to. We never tried to be the Christian superheroes or the spokesperson. Whether you’re Christian or not, you would listen to the music and the lyrics and be moved by it. I feel they are. I feel this music is bigger than the four guys in the band.
MR: On the other hand, for sure, you’ve had an influence over a lot of Christian kids growing-up. And you were very popular with many Christian youth groups. How do you feel about having been an influence?
SS: I’m humbled. It’s a humbling thing. If we can inspire and encourage somebody, whether they’re a Christian or not, I take it as an honor. I’m so grateful for all of those kids who have been listening for years. Ultimately, I know it’s God and whatever God’s doing in their lives.
MR: Sonny, in addition to your hits, you had a fun excursion in a movie called Little Nickystarring a certain Adam Sandler. And the soundtrack featured P.O.D. recordings “Southtown,” “Rock The Party” and “School Of Hard Knocks.”
SS: One of the cool things about this rock industry is you never know who’s listening. At that time, Adam Sandler, really loved our record. He was a P.O.D. fan. He wanted to throw our music in his movie and do the soundtrack. When you get awesome opportunities like that, it’s cool, man. At the time, he was a big fan rock fan. There were a lot of fans from that genre–Incubus, Def Tones…a whole bunch of bands were in that process.
MR: Sonny, 9/11 was the release date for your Satellite album. Sure, there were other releases on that date, but looking back, what are your thoughts about that day, about thsat period of our nation’s history?
SS: If anything, at that point, we couldn’t care less about the band or the music, it had nothing to do with that. But, we were proud that “Alive” was already at the top of the video charts and on MTV, and it was a confirmation of the direction of the music, the hope, and the love that we put in the lyrics. It did mean something at that time. Out of all the music and bands that were played, we were one of three artists that were focused on. Our world was in a desperate place, and our world was looking for answers. At that time, nobody cared about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Nobody cared about the Slipknots of the world; Lil’ Wayne wasn’t around then; nobody cared about the entertainment side. I was proud that we had a song called “Alive” on the top of the charts and it was about being grateful for every breath that you take.
MR: Looking back at your Satellite period and now looking at your new album Murdered Love, what do you feel are your personal and creative jumps that have occurred since then?
SS: That record (Satellite) went through the roof and our experiences grew. We were blessed to play in front of so many people around the world. That was 10 years ago. There are so many good and bad things. You know…this industry has taken such a turn. The lack of passion…it’s not about the music anymore, about the next hit and the next bubblegum group they can sign. It loses the whole reason why I got into this game, because I know music is powerful. I took time off to get away from music and in that time do a lot of soul-searching and be home with my family and really fall in love with the music again. When it felt right, that’s when we decided to get back together and write this record.
MR: So this record is really a reunion.
SS: Yeah, pretty much.
MR: How does this reunion feel so far?
SS: It feels great, man. We never really left. We were doing a lot of stuff that was outside the industry like charity events and outreach that was more selfless that wasn’t about the brand or about money or free shows, because we wanted it to be about the music.
MR: Cool, Sonny. What advice do you have for new artists?
SS: Obviously, we’ve been in this game for 20 years, not that I feel like a new artist, but I do feel like the underdog starting all over again. It goes the same for a new band. You have to love what you do. If you’re into this to try to be a rock star and try to be famous, there’s no hope in that. It’s all kind of meaningless. You’ll learn that as you experience this game. You’ve got to stick with it because you love it, you love-making music. You’ve got to appreciate the fact that there are people out there that are listening to you that care about your band, and that’s a humbling thing. Take it from me, being in this game 20 years, don’t get caught up in all of the hype. It will leave you empty.
MR: Beyond empty, dude, and I’ll add something to that. To me, the whole conscienceless climbing thing for success with its “ends justifies the means”/”take no prisoners” approach, no matter what good people get hurt, mocks creativity and debases art. Then again, who doesn’t want to be a Kardashian, and yes, I’m kidding. But that’s just an old person talking, right Sonny? (laughs)
SS: That’s how it will be viewed, you’re just old. But it’s the truth. Stay humble through the journey, enjoy what you do, and don’t let it get the best of you.
MR: The latter’s the challenge. But the great ones are conscious of life lessons along the way, especially like how to treat people right.
SS: Yeah.
MR: Okay, this discussion kind of brings us to the question what is your relationship with God these days?
SS: It’s better than it has ever been. That’s why I had to step away from the band and music. Here I was this young kid trying to figure out this Christian thing. There’s a different Christian faith all over the world. Sometimes it gets confusing. It became this routine and I didn’t want this routine. I dove into the scriptures and I got awesome accountability and I feel more free than I ever have and that’s the journey, walking in the presence of God, and being in love with God and not just getting caught up in religion and what you think you’re supposed to do; also, just soaking in the grace and the mercy that God has for every single one of us.
MR: So here’s the most obvious question. “P.O.D.”–how did you guys come up with the name?
SS: When we were teenagers, we were trying to think of a heavy, hard name at the time. Everybody like Metallica and Slayer had the one word terms. Payable On Death is actually a banking term, when someone passes on, what someone leaves behind. We related that to Jesus on the cross, and by his death, our sins are paid, the debt is paid. We have salvation if we want it. We got tired of saying Payable On Death, so we went to P.O.D.
MR: Thanks, man, for sharing with us about your music and faith. Sonny, all the best with the record and your life.
SS: Awesome, buddy.
Transcribed by Brian O’Neal