P.O.D.'s SONNY SANDOVAL: 'I Think That My Faith Is Offensive To A Lot Of People'

In a new interview with the Not These Two Fucking Guys podcast, P.O.D. frontman Paul "Sonny" Sandoval spoke about his recently released book, "Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds", in which he talks about walking a unique path between being in a world-famous rock band and his long-held faith as a born-again Christian. Regarding the fact that P.O.D. is often labeled a "Christian rock" band, Sonny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We come from the hardcore scene where it was never broken down like that, because everybody is about something. Whether you're vegan or whether you're straight edge or animal rights, social justice issues, whatever — that's what I love about hardcore, is you have the right to say what you wanna say, no matter what. And we don't have to agree, but we all respect it because it's you — it's passionate; you love it. So once we came into the rock and roll scene, it was a little different."

He continued: "We never came out and said, 'Oh, we're a Christian band.' We were just kids and I was new in this faith. And we had that mentality: 'Well, hey, if this is what I'm about and I love God and I wanna scream it, then I'm gonna do it.' But I don't think it was until we got into the mainstream — which I don't think we were ever really meant for the mainstream. Thank you that we get to still tour 33 years later and we've made a living off doing this, but for whatever reason, we got into that mainstream and we've always been just an underground type of group. And maybe it was too much for most people, but in the rock and roll industry, I think we all love our sex drugs and rock and roll, and so whenever you come out with a positive message or something that's a little bit… I come from reggae music and bands that have something to say and that speak life. But maybe that doesn't really mix with metal and rock and roll. I believe it should."

Sonny added: "I think that my faith is offensive to a lot of people. And so a lot of times I feel like people are trying to put us in a box because they're trying to say, 'Well, don't listen to them' or 'They're not as good as this band or that band because they have Christian beliefs' or whatever. But that's never been the forefront of what we do. But that's why I write a book, that's why I have conversations with people, because I love sharing my faith. I'll never compromise or back down from what I believe in, but the music was to reach everybody and to make everybody smile. I'm not telling you how to live your life. There's no agenda here. I'm just trying to be me and be authentic. But I think we get put into a category. And, unfortunately, I have my own problems with the institution of Christianity, so it sucks when I get lumped into this religious hypocrisy that's been happening for decades and centuries. Stuff that I absolutely hate, I'm getting lumped into this, and so I always feel like I have to defend myself."

When the interviewer noted that the members of P.O.D. always had that mindset that they "just wanted to reach a bigger audience", Sonny concurred. "When I got asked to be in this band, I didn't know that there was Christian music," he said. "That's like saying, 'Hey, do you know a Christian mechanic I can go to, because I'm a Christian…' And I don't give a damn if he's a Christian or not; I want him to fix my car or my kids' car. I don't want my kid's car stalling on the freeway when he drives or she drives. So I don't really care what you believe in — fix my car. But I get it. I guess as we went along, we did see that there was a Christian music industry and there's a Christian industry over here and there's all this stuff. But to us, that's — I mean, whatever. That's not something we ever wanted to be a part of. We just wanted to make music for anybody to listen."

"Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds" was released on February 25 via Baker Books.

In a separate interview with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, Sandoval stated about his book: "This is such a fast-forward look. I can honestly write four more books with just the details alone, and the stories alone, which are great. It's rock and roll. But as you kind of read through the book, it's, like, I never intended to be in rock, or I never intended to do this for a living. It just wasn't until I found my faith that I wanted to be vocal about it. I just wanted the people around me to know that I changed.

"My love for Jesus, it's not what the world thinks," he explained. "We've done such a bad job at painting the picture of Jesus, and that's to our own fault. Being Christians, sometimes we come off as we've got it all figured out, and that's not the case. That's not why we have faith. We need a savior; we need God. And when I discovered Jesus, it was just something I wanted for my friends and in my community. And when I was asked to be in this band, I said 'no' at first, 'cause it's not something I wanted to do, but I knew it was a way to just be vocal about the things that I believed, and obviously that took off to what it is.

"But, yeah, I live in the real world of rock and roll, and I've never denied my faith, but also I've never lived rock and roll either. [Laughs] It's everything they say it is — it's all the temptations, it's all the promises of this and that. And I guess maybe now as we've gone through it and look in hindsight, even now, I wouldn't change it for the world. I wouldn't take anything that this world has to offer. This world is temporary, and so I just wanna hold on to the things that I love, and, again, it's my faith, my family, my friends."

After Armstrong suggested that many Christians struggle with their faith from time to time, Sonny said: "Yeah, for sure. But that's what faith is. And I think it's been wrapped up in such a religious bubble that it's given people such a bad taste. And I guess when you're young, you think you have your whole life ahead and you don't think about all those things, but as you get older and my age and life starts to change — the Bible says to set your heart and mind on things above, set your heart on the eternal.

"I mean, let's just call it what it is," he continued. "If none of it is real, then I lose nothing. You lose nothing. You know what I mean? We die, we go to sleep and that's it. Life is over. We lived a great life. And I wouldn't change it. But because I do believe, I believe that there is eternity, I believe that there's a heaven and a hell. And that's not to scare anybody. I believe if God created us, he created us for more than just this temporary life. And so — whatever. It's food for thought. I'm not preaching to anybody, but if there is an afterlife, I wanna be on the right side. That's all."

Armstrong went on to describe "Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds" as an inspiring read even for those people who don't share Sonny's faith, to which the singer said: "I've tried to do this my entire career where I'm not trying to preach to anybody and tell them how they live. I'm just sharing my story, and my story is undeniable. You're never gonna convince me that there isn't a God, that he doesn't love me and that he's not for us and that we've been created for a purpose and a reason. I need to know these things. I wanna believe that there's a God that is love and that he created me for a reason and that he has a plan for my life, not only on this life, but eternal.

"I get it," Sonny added. "I understand when someone says, 'Man, I'm sick of Christianity. I'm sick of religion.' And I get it. I'm sick of a lot of that stuff too, man. But that is not the Jesus of the Bible. And once I discovered who the Jesus of the Bible was, I fell in love with him, and he's as punk rock as they come. He's as hardcore as they come. He's as rebellious as they come. But people, especially us in the States, we have this Westernized view of this European Jesus that is just fragile and just — I don't know, man — weak. And that's not who Jesus was, man. He was badass."

Born and raised on the streets of Southtown, two exits from the Mexico border, Sandoval was always going to go his own way. And as frontman of the platinum selling nu metal band P.O.D. — a group too Christian for the world and too secular for the church — he has broken every mold, defied every expectation, and reached into the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of people who wanted to belong to something but never felt like they fit in.

In "Son of Southtown: My Life Between Two Worlds", he shares how he lived on the edge between two worlds, a line he has attempted to walk with integrity.

Raw and uncut, this memoir tells his true story of growing up in the gritty beauty south of San Diego, his early musical influences and big breaks, his rise to fame and many hardships and struggles along the way.

Readers will get an inside glimpse into stories of performing in cornfields at the Cornerstone Music Festival to rocking MTV's "Total Request Live" with Carson Daly to playing in New York City just weeks after 9/11, and every unglamorous moment in between. His story will inspire readers to always be totally and uniquely them, without apology and without compromise — but with passion and integrity.

Sandoval is the lead singer and lyricist of the multi-platinum band P.O.D. (PAYABLE ON DEATH) and cofounder of THE WHOSOEVERS. He is a product of Southtown, the southern part of San Diego that approaches the border with Mexico. He is the founder and president of the Youth Of The Nation Foundation, which reaches out to children from underprivileged neighborhoods and gives them the opportunity to find their self-worth and value. Sonny is married to his high school sweetheart, Shannon, and they have three children.