Jo James on Finding His Faith, Fatherhood & Why Music Has Lost Its Soul | CKC78

Austin singer-songwriter Jo James joins Cody and Kai for one of the most wide-ranging conversations yet on Cody Kai Cast.Jo talks about his upcoming album Everything and Nothing, a project he describes as his most honest work yet—written without chasing approval, trends, or what he thought people wanted to hear. The guys get into songwriting, The Beatles, putting in the reps, why great musicians serve the song instead of their ego, and why technical ability means nothing if the music doesn't have soul.The conversation gets much deeper as Jo discusses becoming a father through adoption, his relationship with faith, and the period five years ago when he reached one of the darkest moments of his life. He explains how an experience with God changed the trajectory of his life and ultimately inspired the title of his upcoming book, I Shouldn't Be Here.From there, nothing is really off limits: masculinity and male mental health, abortion and adoption, religion, political polarization, social media, identity, AI-generated music, and whether technology is stripping away some of the human struggle that makes great art meaningful.Jo also explains why he eventually had to stop defining himself simply as "Jo James the artist"—and figure out who he was when the music, attention, followers, and external validation were stripped away.It's music, faith, fatherhood, culture, and a whole lot of uncomfortable gray area.Jo James' new album Everything and Nothing drops September 18.#CodyKaiCast #CKC78 #JoJames #AustinMusic #Songwriting #EverythingAndNothing #AustinMusicians