1KHO 604: It's a Beautiful World | In Paradise

Summary

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Episode: "It's a Beautiful World | In Paradise" (1KHO 604)
Host: Jenny Urton
Band Guests: Jess Cates, Ethan Hulse, Jordan Wlowski (In Paradise)
Release Date: October 24, 2025

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Episode Overview

This milestone episode celebrates 600 podcast episodes by debuting "Beautiful World," a new song from In Paradise, featuring Jenny’s daughters, Vivian and Brooklyn. The conversation explores the profound influence of music on childhood development, creative careers, and community building, while offering encouragement for parents to prioritize outside play and creativity over screen time. The band shares their personal journeys, the rewards and challenges of professional songwriting, the communal nature of music, and reflects on the opportunities and perils of technology—especially Artificial Intelligence—in the creative process.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Music, Childhood, and Creativity

• Transformative Power of Music:
  Each band member traces their musical path back to pivotal childhood moments—some sparked by adversity, others by musical family traditions.
• Outside Play vs. Screen Time:
  Jenny emphasizes the importance of reclaiming childhood from screens: "Childhood is finite at just shy of 9.5 million minutes. We only get one shot at it." (00:00)
• Parental Encouragement:
  The conversation highlights how parents can nurture creativity and resilience by supporting children through life’s setbacks and encouraging non-digital hobbies.

2. Band Member Backstories

• Jordan Wlowski:
  A baseball injury shifted his focus from sports to music, leading to an early start as a songwriter and producer.

  “I was bitten by the bug early...I could not wait to get home every day and just get in my little room and record songs.” (04:20)

• Ethan Hulse:
  Overcame extreme shyness through discovering the guitar; music became both his passion and his confidence.

  “Music just became my thing...It was like this superpower…gave me all this confidence.” (10:15)

  • Ethan’s route included bluegrass roots, church performances, and a leap of faith moving to Nashville.

• Jess Cates:
  Raised in Nashville by musical parents, Jess started writing songs after a heartbreak in high school, eventually signing a publishing deal at 19.

  “We would sing the blessing when we sat down to eat...I wrote my first song at 15 after a heartbreak.” (12:00)

3. Music as a Community Builder

• Communal Roots:
  Ethan: “Bluegrass music and church music…were all about everybody joining in together, like a big campfire.” (21:26)

• Songwriting Collaboration:
  The trio describes the songwriting process as powered by deep relationships, support, and camaraderie.

  Jess: “It’s really more about the relationships…a song comes out of the overflow of just relationships.” (23:40)

• Mentorship & Generational Connections:
  Jenny shares how her daughters, through their musical pursuits, are mentored by the band, showing music’s impact across generations.

4. Navigating the Modern Music Landscape

• Nontraditional Pathways:
  The band chooses not to tour in the traditional sense, balancing songwriting, production, family life, and consistent releases:

  “We love putting out these songs…writing positive, uplifting songs and putting them out into the world.” – Ethan (30:00)

• Industry Diversity:
  Discussion about the wide range of musical careers—from performing to writing for TV, games, and commercials.

5. Technology, AI, and the Creative Process

• Benefits and Hazards of Technology:
  While tools like Pro Tools are invaluable for songwriting and recording, the band warns against overreliance on AI for creativity.

  Jess: “It’s a scary thing…the fast track to a product, but you’re bypassing the thing that brought us so much life…the hours to get great at something.” (33:49) Ethan: “So much of learning to write songs and play guitar came from just being bored and messing around with things…” (35:01)

• Expertise and Human Touch:
  AI is seen as a threat to developing true expertise, and may lead to a decline in creative depth and originality:

  “Sometimes it’s the left turn you didn’t expect that unlocks a song. That’ll always be different than AI.” – Jordan (36:21)

• Advice for Young Musicians:
  Learn your instrument and digital tools deeply, use tech as a tool—not a shortcut.

  “Your growth in your writing will exponentially go up from being able to listen back and critique yourself.” – Jordan (53:37)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Parenting Through Setbacks:

  “A lot of kids have sports injuries…Had that not happened, do you think your life might have gone a different direction?” – Jenny (05:02)

• On Overcoming Shyness Via Music:

  “It was like a superpower…gave me all this confidence.” – Ethan (10:15)

• Screen Time vs. Real Life:

  “Ain’t nothing on a screen ever gonna beat this view.” – Ethan (43:18)

• Creativity, AI, and Mistakes:

  “Experts make good left turns.” – Jenny paraphrasing Dr. Dan Willingham (36:48)

• Community, Mentorship, and Legacy:

  “Relationships…can pass through generations…and it’s just been such an absolute blessing.” – Jenny (26:00)

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Important Segments and Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Episode/Opener & Song Introduction | 00:00 - 01:26 | | Band Member Introductions / Early Inspirations | 01:26 - 15:26 | | Music as Community and Mentorship | 19:19 - 26:40 | | Band Formation Story | 26:40 - 29:57 | | Music Industry Choices (Touring, Sync, etc.) | 29:57 - 33:03 | | Discussion of AI’s Impact on Creativity | 33:03 - 41:27 | | Parenting, Childhood, and Outdoor Memories | 44:09 - 46:14 | | Songwriting Process (“Beautiful World” etc.) | 43:00 - 48:47 | | Career & Technology Advice to Young Musicians | 53:03 - 55:47 | | Premiere of “Beautiful World” | 57:07 - 60:15 | | Closing Childhood Outdoor Memories | 60:15 - 62:03 |

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Song Highlight: “Beautiful World” (Premiere)

Theme: Encourages listeners to get outside, appreciate the world beyond screens, and cherish real moments and relationships.

Chorus Lyrics (57:57):
“Ain’t nothing on the screen that’s ever gonna beat this view…
It’s a beautiful world, and I just want to share it with you…”

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Favorite Outdoor Childhood Memories (60:15)

• Ethan: Surfing every Saturday with his dad (60:26)
• Jess: Building ramps and biking/skateboarding with his brother (60:43)
• Jordan: Playing catch with his father after work (61:11)

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Takeaways for Listeners & Parents

• Encourage Creativity: Allow space for children to discover and pursue non-digital hobbies, especially music and outdoor play.
• Value Community: Music is a powerful connector—fostering friendships, mentorships, and generational bonds.
• Balance Technology: Use digital tools thoughtfully, but don’t trade process or expertise for quick outcomes. Beware of the "peril" of AI diminishing deep skill-building and creativity.
• Cherish Real-Life Moments: The memories that last are made together—outside, in community, and through hands-on experiences.

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Closing Sentiments

"Music, like outdoor memories, lasts a lifetime. It builds community, creates joy, and gives kids a chance to shine beyond the pull of screens. Give your kids time, patience, opportunity—and watch what grows."
— Jenny Urton, near closing (62:08)

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Listen to "Beautiful World" by In Paradise—featuring Vivian and Brooklyn—now available on all streaming platforms.

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Transcript

[Jenny Urton]

We are celebrating 600 podcast episodes this week with something really special. 600 podcast episodes in we are going to be updating the opener, the opening song for the podcast with an incredible brand new song that you are going to love. It fits this audience so well. It is called Beautiful World by In paradise and it features our older two daughters. Vivian is playing guitar and Brooklyn is singing background vocals. So stay tuned and the brand new song will be debuted in this podcast episode. Toward the end, you can also check out in paradise on Apple Music and Spotify and you can also check out our daughters. Their band name is called Two Better Friends. The name comes from lyrics from a song they wrote that says you've never seen Two Better Friends. I know this is going to be one of your new favorite songs. Listen in, share it with friends and head on over and leave a podcast review if you haven't already. We are celebrating 600 episodes this week.

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[Jenny Urton]

My name is Jenny. What is my name? My name is Jenny Urton, the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. This is a really special and actually very unique I have three of the most incredibly talented, well respected with a rap sheet of success musicians here. Welcome to Jess Gates, Ethan Hulse and Jordan Wlowski. Welcome to the three of you.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Thanks for having me.

[Jess Cates]

Thanks for having us.

[Jenny Urton]

This is such a thrill. I'm a huge fan of your band. It's called in paradise. But the three of you have incredible backstories and you have done so much work with so many artists on your own. And additionally, I think it's really incredible that you are doing music in a way that at least to me seems slightly different than what other people are doing in terms of not feeling like you have to tour and putting out music that is just there for people to enjoy. And it's really positive and really uplifting and about really, it's really catchy. But about topics that are really relational and hands on in real life. Like about the memories that we're making, the people that we love and the know, the people that we're fans of. But I would love to actually kick it back a little bit. Mostly we're talking to parents a lot. We're talking to parents. And so often there's these threads that go all the way back to childhood. Maybe it's based off of creativity. Jordan, I know a little bit of your story where you're like, I just sat through school, and all I wanted to do was get home and make music. And my brain was always making music. And I know, Ethan, you talk about you are a shy kid, you know, and here you are making all this music. Just, I don't know as much of your backstory, but if we could kick it off, maybe. Jordan, we'll start with you and just talk through, like, go back. Go back a few decades and talk about your path to becoming a professional musician.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, it's a crazy one. It's a classic story of, like, something bad that happened to me was when I was in the fourth grade, I had a kid fall in my leg. And I was really into sports at the time. And this accident that I had, like, basically from that, like, I had to have 10 surgeries and I couldn't do sports anymore. Like, literally, I was, like, done after this.

[Jenny Urton]

And someone just fell on your leg?

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, and I slid into a basis. Kid fell on my leg, and it broke the growth plate in my leg. And so my right leg continued growing, my left leg didn't. So I had to figure out, you know, I remember, like, a year sitting on my butt, basically, and trying to recover, and I couldn't do sports anymore. And I was like, man, I feel like even at this young age, my world feels over, you know? And I remember getting a good guitar and instantly just connecting with it. And it was almost like I saw the path, like, immediately. It was like I grabbed a guitar and I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, I just connect with this so much, you know? And so literally from that accident, basically, I started playing guitar and then bass and then drums, and I started recording all by myself and did my first record when I was 14 years old and got a song on the radio when I was 14 years old on the. On the local. Like, I grew up in Florida, so it's the local Jacksonville, like, alternative station. So it was like I was walking through high school, and, like, everybody's like, dude, your songs on the radio at age 14. It was like this thing, you know, and I just. I was. I was bitten by the bug early, you know, And I literally just could not wait to get home every day and just get in my. My little room, my little bedroom and just record songs. And. And that was my path. Like, I went to college for Music dropped out of college and, and had a record deal a year later. So yeah, that was my path.

[Jenny Urton]

Do you think how you not had. I mean that's. A lot of kids have sports injuries, but they last, you know, three months or you know, they get back in the game, they sprain their ankle. Had that not happened, do you.

Do you think your life might have gone a different direction?

[Jordan Wlowski]

I think it's very possible because at a young age I was really inclined in baseball. Like I was an all star player and I just kind of always a dreamer though. Like I always saw like I want to be a professional baseball player, you know, and then, and then I couldn't do that anymore at a very young age and, and instantly connected with music. So it was a, it was a cool blessing in disguise, I guess.

[Jenny Urton]

A dream shift. And now all of these songs, the people number one song with Toby Mack, Nothing Sweeter just came out. How good is it with Chris Tomlin? And then Moo. This is the part that I never would have thought about. And we talk a lot about different career paths that the three of you have. Music that are in TVs and movies and there's music in video games. And I never thought about that, that there are all these paths forward. Think about in commercials of. Of all of these different opportunities and all of these mediums that need music. 2021 producer of the Year Dove Award nominee.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, that sounds right. I mean, I wish I had you everywhere I went. This is just an awesome.

[Jenny Urton]

I think of it from a mom's perspective. You know, if your mom listening in and your kid has this devastating injury or something happens where they can't follow what they believe their life path is. And then I would imagine she was very relieved when you took a liking to music and were able to pivot. Okay, so Ethan, then you, shy kid, went on to be a music, a worship leader, which that's a pretty interesting path. And then took a really big life turn, moving from California to Tennessee. And four time Grammy nominated and Dove award winning songwriter after moving to Nashville in 2000. This just sounds like I'm reading boring things. You've worked with Zach Williams. Torn Wallace has been on our podcast. Danny Goki, Jeremy, Camp Corey Asbury. I mean the list goes on and on, on and on and on. And also you've had songs on Dancing with the Stars in America, Ninja Warrior and America's Got Talent. What a fun thing.

[Jess Cates]

Thank you.

[Ethan Hulse]

Oh, this is fun. This is fun. Keep them going.

[Jenny Urton]

Okay, well, so tell us. So, okay, you, you know like, how does a shy kid. I talk to a lot of moms that are kind of nervous about that their kid is shy, and they're, you know, they're 10. They're in fourth grade or fifth grade, and they seem, you know, a little concerned about, well, they might be a Grammy award winning everything. You know, just give it a decade or two.

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's. It's actually interesting because. And I wonder if all of us kind of have a similar thing and so many. So many musicians, songwriters, producers, artists in Nashville have a similar thing where it was just like, when they found music, it was their thing, and it just changed the entire course of their life. And that was definitely the case for me as well. Like you said, shy kid. It was like, to the point where my parents would introduce me and I'd be hiding behind my dad's leg. I didn't want to talk to adults. I was just so painfully shy. And in school, it was really difficult to ask a question or anything like that. And found the guitar. Actually. My dad plays banjo, and so the music's a little bit. In my family. And he's a banjo player. He's a bluegrass musician. And a lot of kids have. Or, like, people my age have, like, classic rock dads. I did not have a bluegrass dad. This is very, very different, the music in our household.

[Jenny Urton]

I don't know one person that owns a banjo. And we just bought our first. We just bought our first banjo.

[Ethan Hulse]

Really fun.

[Jenny Urton]

I was like, does anybody actually play these? But they do. Your dad does.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Oh, they do.

[Ethan Hulse]

They do. My dad does. Yeah, he loves it. He loves it so much.

[Jenny Urton]

You have to wear little things on your fingers.

[Ethan Hulse]

You do. I don't even know how to use those, though. It's too weird.

[Jenny Urton]

It's too weird. All right, back to you.

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah. So there was a banjo in my house. I would pick it up and mess around with it and would go show my dad and be like, doesn't this sound like this song? And he's like, sure, I don't know. But he could see there was an interest there. And I had been asking for guitar. My dad happened by this garage sale in our neighborhood, and this lady was selling all of her son's stuff who was moving off to college, and she had an electric guitar and didn't know what it was worth or anything. And my dad only had 10 bucks in his pocket and said, I'll give you 10 bucks for this. And she goes, sure. I'm just trying to get rid of this Stuff. So he bought that. They tried to hide it for Christmas for me, and I ended up finding it hidden in the closet, and I would go in there and play it. All that to say very quickly, as soon as they got me in some guitar lessons and stuff like that, which was at our church, there was a guy who volunteered, and he just sort of gave me free lessons in between the first and second service. And I picked it up really fast, and music just became my thing. And. And when you talk about the shyness thing, it was like. It was like this superpower that happened when I picked up an instrument or just was something I was good at immediately. And it was like, gave me all this confidence. And, yeah, I would. Again, that guy was teaching me guitar. He would play songs for the kids at church, for the Sunday school classes, and. And he started inviting me up there to play with him. And so. Because I could play the songs with him. And I kept doing that through the years. And eventually when I was, like, in junior high, someone didn't show up to or couldn't sing, and they were just like, you're gonna. You need to sing the songs. And I was like, I can't sing. And I just stepped up and sang them, and suddenly I could do, you know, again, it was just like this. This thing that I could do. And, yeah, it was. It was this, like, amazing gift from God. And. And I've always seen it that way. And I just sort of knew from. From, like, early age that it was just the path I wanted to be on. So, yeah, dedicated my life to it. And then, yeah, definitely twists and turns with led worship for a lot of my life at a church. And then right. Right out of high school, got. Got hired at a church, stayed there for eight years. And my wife and I met there and then just had this stirring of, like, songwriting and all this stuff and decided to take a risk and move to Nashville and just try it out, see if I could make a career of it. And.

[Jenny Urton]

And you sure have. And you sure have. From Shy Kid who's gonna hide behind the dad's legs and up onto the stage leading worship. And then, Jess, you have over 100. You've recorded over 100 songs. This is like Backstreet Boys. I mean, come on.

[Jess Cates]

What?

[Jenny Urton]

Martina McBride. I mean, these are all like a Nick Lachey. This is just incredible. And then a bunch of Christian music. Chris Tomlin and Passion and Elevation, Worship, Ben Rector. These are just incredible names, same as everyone else. Like, placements with Hyundai and Fortnite and Samsung and Hulu. And there it. Music is an element to almost every form of media.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

So it just goes to show that there's a lot of opportunities Tunis out there.

What's your story?

Does your music also date back to childhood?

[Jess Cates]

It did. You know, I grew up, I actually grew up in Franklin, which is south of Nashville. So I grew up in the music city, which is, which was kind of unique. Um, so my, my dad and my mom were very musical. My dad was a songwriter early on in Nashville. So I kind of knew that that was a path, you know, Um, I mean, it was, we would sing the Blessing, you know, when we would sit down to eat. And so it, it's funny cuz there was a little bit in middle school where I just kind of was like, no, they were, they were one. My family was wanting to sing together. I was like, I'm not going to sing with them. This is, this is dumb. And then, you know, I, I dated a girl at church and pretty soon she broke my heart. And this is where songs are born. And so I, I, I remember being with my friend, I was like, let's just write a song about it, man, I'm so sad. So like at 15, I wrote my first song. And so from that point on, it wasn't really like I knew I wanted to be a songwriter for a career. But through high school I just started to really, you know, meet a lot of people who were doing music as well in high school. And so I would play piano for the talent show for great singers. And then I just kept writing. And my senior of high school, well, between my junior and senior year, I had met Michael W. Smith and randomly he asked me to come start working for him. And so I, he, he had a studio right in downtown Franklin. And so I would go into work every day and just see Michael go in and write songs and come out and say, hey guys, come, come listen to this. And it just really inspired me that I, you know, and being in that studio, so many people just came through that were doing records. And at the time, you know, Rocket Town Records was going. And so Chris Rice and all these different guys and great artists. And so I, I was like, I want to do this. And so I just started to write songs and ended up showing some of my songs to some people, some songwriters that were actually doing it and they were like, and they just really started believing me. Took me to my first, you know, you know, a publishing deal. And so I signed a publishing when I was 19 and then just been a blessing to to do it for this long. As the elder of In Paradise.

[Jenny Urton]

Thank goodness to the girl who broke up with you. Yeah, you on your career path. What incredible stories. You know, it's just such a tricky day, I think day and age to be a parent because they there's screens everywhere and they are co opting attention, they are co opting time and creativity which are a lot of the pieces that you need to be a musician or be a creative person or an.

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One of the things that I've noticed. So hopefully what's going to happen with this is, we are about to hit 14 million downloads on the podcast and 600 episodes. And so it feels like a great time to, like, professionalize it a little bit. It took a long time to actually get a real microphone. And I have this, I think, music that I licensed from. It's called art list. I guess you pay, like, a couple hundred bucks a year, and that's, like, what kicks off the show every time. So we're hoping to, like, swap it over to this incredible in paradise song. But our girls do music, and actually all of our kids do music in some capacity. But our older two girls, they started during COVID They were bored. There was nothing to do. We're in Michigan, and it was very locked down. And so they were 8 and 11, and they started playing music together. And one plays guitar and the other one sings. And it's what I've noticed. Well, first of all, it's really incredible when something grabs your child's attention more so than a screen does, it has a bigger pull, which is surprising in a day and age of screens, when screens are engineered to take all of your attention, the music still has a bigger pull, but so the whole thing is, like, really encouraging. Parents, in this day and age, if you're struggling with screen time and your kids and music is a fantastic outlet for them, whether they do something professionally with it or not. I've got a younger brother that plays piano. It's one of his favorite hobbies. He plays all the time. It's just a hobby for him, and he really loves it. But there's another piece of it, too, and I see this with your stories, is it really is a community builder. And I think that people who don't play music maybe wouldn't know that, but there are so many opportunities to use music to build relationships. And so obviously, the three of you have met over the years and built relationships with a lot of people. You've met each other, but in a world where we're really struggling with loneliness and maybe Ethan, you can kick it off. Can you speak to the part about music actually seems like a pretty isolated thing. It's individual. You're sitting in your room, you're practicing. But in reality, if you can get to a certain level with it, it becomes a key, I think, in unlocking a lot of relationships.

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah, absolutely. You know, going back to my dad playing bluegrass music, the two music that I was first, like, really captured by, bluegrass music and church music, both are really communal things. Like, it's made to the bluegrass festivals. I would Go to with my dad was. There was these jams that they would have. It's actually like, was more important than the stage watching the person up on stage.

[Jenny Urton]

It was.

[Ethan Hulse]

It was about everybody join in in this big circle. It's almost like a big campfire. Some people can't play really very well, and then some people are like pros and. But it's just like everybody joins in together. And we all know these songs together. They're folk songs. We've all. They've been kind of passed down through years. And so it's really this, like, everybody's involved, everybody plays everybody, you know, and. And church music has always been like that as well for. For me, which is like the goal of writing church music and. And leading church music is to get people to sing together. It's a very communal thing. So. Yeah, community has always been like a big part of music for me. Yeah, absolutely. And it's really like, ingrained in the types of music that I was first, like, really fell in love with. So.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah. Jess, do you feel like you know so many more people because you do music?

[Jess Cates]

Oh, definitely. I mean, that's what. Was. Even going back to that first song. I was with a buddy, you know, and that. That kind of. In Nashville, specifically of growing up here, everybody just did music together. And when I started writing, like, just professionally, that was. I mean, I. The guys would attest to this. When you. When you co. Write, there's just nothing like it when you get to just spend the day with friends even, you know, and the people. You know, we all had to meet somebody for the first time, but even those first times, it's. It's just so great to. Yes. If we come with. Up with a song at the end of the day, that's great. But it's really more about the relationships. And I love when a song comes out of the overflow of just relationships. And like, we. Jordan, Ethan and I, we love when we have a day on the calendar together. We know. And sometimes like, we got together was it yesterday, and we did a lot more talking than we actually did work. And. And that was. That's like the gold, you know, like the music is gonna come, you know, and. But that's. That's like my favorite part about it.

Yeah.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah. With what we do, it's. It's pretty crazy because we have these publishers that basically set us up every morning with a new group of people, sometimes the same people. But it's a lot of meeting strangers every day and you're. You're Thrown into a room, and you have to sit there and basically figure out their story, hear their story, and then from that, just create, you know, something that represents them right there in the spot, you know, and some amazing just friendships have been formed from that, specifically the three of us, you know, Jess, Ethan, and I. It's just, you know, being put together, and it's just like. Oh, my gosh, like, exactly what Jess was saying. It's like pure joy. Every time we get together, we have the best time. We get to make these songs that are positive and uplifting, especially in this day and age of where everything's kind of crazy outside. We get to make songs that hopefully speak to that and encourage people where they're at, you know, so it's just.

[Jenny Urton]

A joy we met you, Jordan, through music.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jenny Urton]

It's been decades. And Josh, my husband Josh was best friends with the bass player and keyboard player in your band, the Afters, named Ron. And he passed away a while back, which was just absolutely devastating. But we met you through Ron. And even, like, when we lived in our starter home, that was so gross. You, like, came and stayed there.

[Jordan Wlowski]

I used to come and stay with you guys, and it was awesome. It was such a great experience. Like, seriously, it was bonding. It was like, we're friends, you know, from then on out, you know?

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

And I look back and I'm like, oh, Jordan had a lot of grace because this was a really gross house. It had, like, asbestos siding. You know, it's just that, you know, when you have your starter home.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Okay, I didn't know that.

[Jenny Urton]

Well, hopefully you didn't eat it. As long as you didn't eat it, then I think you were right. But, you know, you see how these relationships over the years can grow into the point where now our daughters have come and recorded with you as their producer and everything is Jordan, Jordan. And our daughter, who's about to turn 16, she's like, All I want for my 16th birthday is, can I please go record with Jordan? And Josh is like, gosh, I feel bad. I'm asking all the time. You have really changed the whole course of their life. And so there's that component, even, of mentorship there, where you can pass through generations and. And it's just been such an absolute blessing. What's the story of the three of you coming together?

[Jordan Wlowski]

Eharmony.

[Ethan Hulse]

Harmony.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah, right. Harmony. Writer Harmony. So I would say when Ethan, you were fresh to town, I think, or you'd been maybe a year or so, or I can't remember when we had connected, but Ethan and I got together and just started writing a little bit. And. And I just. I knew that Jordan. I think we were writing sync songs, right? We were writing songs for film and TV at the time. And it was just like Jordan was the right. I knew we needed to write with Jordan for that. And so I think when we got together the first time, it was. We wrote Feels Like Home the first time. And then our next time we got together, we wrote Moments we Live for. And we've been trying to write that song ever since. That was 2017. And we just. We just can't seem to do it, but.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Oh, this is a hilarious story. So when I first met Jess Cates. So, okay, back to high school, I remember pulling up to this restaurant and turning on the radio and I heard this song that I didn't know Jess had done, but I later found out Jess had done. It was a song by David Archuleta called Crush. Amazing song. I was instantly drawn to this song, and I didn't even know about pop music at the time. I was, like, listening to punk rock music. But I fell in love with this song, Crush. And years later, I heard this. Jess Cates wrote that song.

[Jess Cates]

And.

[Jordan Wlowski]

And so actually, the first time I ever wrote with Jess, I actually paid him to write with me.

[Jess Cates]

Somebody paid you to pay us to write? Let's be clear.

[Jordan Wlowski]

I was like, I gotta work with that guy somehow. I was like, dude, I'll pay you whatever it takes. And we ended up actually getting a sync with that first song. Hilarious.

[Jess Cates]

Wow.

[Jenny Urton]

I mean, people. It's interesting. I wrote a couple books, you know, in the past couple years, and you start to pay more attention to who's the publisher and how do they work and all of that. And, you know, a lot of people, when they hear music, they don't often think about the writers behind the scenes. And so it's interesting when you're in that world that you hear a song and you're like, well, who's involved with that? You know, we're starting to pay attention more. But there are a lot of people, a lot of people that are involved, and then you hear different people's work and you're like, well, they would be great to work with. And paradise is really a unique band because you are putting out music consistently. It is so uplifting. The one recently that I. It's so catchy, is called welcome Home. Oh, my gosh, is it catchy? It's one of my favorite songs ever. And they're. All of them are Just about these memories that we're making. But you don't tour, you know, you've got families and you're. You're busy working with all sorts of artists. Can you talk about making a decision? That. That to me, is a pretty countercultural decision in a world of musicians where you feel like you got a tour, get your name out there, be on stage, you know, do that, but you're just consistently putting this music out into the world. Was that the intention from the very beginning?

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah, I mean, I think so. It was, I think, from the very beginning, like our main. Well, at least for myself, you know, it's like my main calling, I feel like, is to be kind of behind the scenes in writing with other artists and helping them say what they want to say and sometimes getting to produce on things and whatever. And that's what I. That's what I feel like I'm supposed to do. And when we started, like Jess said, it was like we were. We were writing for film and TV things and for placements and working with our teams to get songs like that. And what is. What ended up happening with Moments We Live for was so surprising. And it's kind of broadened what we've. What we really thought this could be. And I still feel like, what. Figuring that out. I mean, I know that. That, you know, from the very beginning, it's like, I don't think this was ever intended to be like, a traditional band, like you said, touring, doing the whole thing. It's like all of us kind of feel like our role in music is a little bit different than that. But, yeah, we're. We're still just trying to figure it out. And all we know now is just like, we love doing this, and we love putting out these songs. We love writing them. It's expanded probably the. The types of songs that we write, but. But we know that, like, we just like writing really positive, uplifting songs, putting them out into the world. And. Yeah, that's. That's kind of been the thing.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah. I mean, this is like 70, millions of millions of streams across all these platforms. That Moments we Live for was like all of the reels on Instagram there for a while was like every single reel basically had Moments We Live for as that song. You know, hundreds of thousands of Spotify listeners, and the songs are coming out consistently, and you're gonna love. You're gonna love to listen to them with your family, and they're clean. And so I think that that matters. That matters to a lot of moms. It Matters to me. I wanted to ask about this, and I'm sure this is coming up a lot, and I don't want to ask it. And annoying. Like, that's annoying. I'm sick of talking about this, but I talked to a man, or actually today, who is a professor. His name is Dr. Dan Willingham. And he was talking about experts and how the difference between expert and novice is that their brain is actually structured somewhat differently. They think in terms of patterns, they think in terms of memories. Their. Their brain has formed in a way that even the mistakes they make are actually pretty good. Like, their mistakes are good because they kind of know what they're doing to a large degree. And he talked about it, like, in terms of chess players and really any type of an expert. And so I think that there is a little bit of a. Of a hazard here with AI because people can use AI to be their creativity in some ways. And, yeah, I think in the long term, that really is, especially for children in these sort of pivotal years, could put them at a disadvantage. I mean, basically, this man was saying, you need reps and reps and reps and reps. Like, the best chess players in the world have probably memorized, to some degree, 50,000 thousand board configurations. And so as professional musicians. Can you talk about the. That's a trip hazard, I think, to really start to be too dependent on AI.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah, I'll jump in. I think, you know, if. Looking back probably on all of our stories is that we. We wrote a lot. A lot of songs, you know, and thinking of Jordan, and you had to learn pro tools like the in and out of pro tools and learn those programs to actually record music. And I think, yeah, it is a scary thing because kids growing up now with AI it's just such a fast track to a. To a. Outcome to a product. But it's. You're bypassing the ax. The thing that's gonna. Number one, brought. Brought us so much life along the way.

[Jenny Urton]

And.

[Jess Cates]

And number two, just gain those hours and hours and hours to get great at something. And so, yeah, I think it's. There is a hazard with it, and we're learning in our day and age. I mean, there's a program right now that you can actually just put. We could. We could write a song and we could just put it in, and all of a sudden it's produced, like, the whole song is produced like, by past the whole, like, okay, Jordan, whatever, kick patterns or bass or. And it's just like. It's in, like, 30 seconds. It's there. And so, on the one hand, we can hear what a song sounds like right when we write it. You know, it gives the instant feedback to, is this a good song or not? But I just. I do. You know, when you think of young kids today who want to be in music and they're gonna think, you know, putting a prompt in to. To a program is actually. Is music, and it's. It's just learning to write great prompts is basically what that is, you know?

[Ethan Hulse]

Well, and I think so much of, like. So much of, like, learning how to write songs and even, like, play guitar or anything just came from, like, being bored and having time and just, like, messing around with things, you know, messing around with your friends and playing music together, putting little bands together and just trying things out. Like, that's the thing is, like, the shortcut kind of. You lose all of that, you know, you lose all of that. Like, even, like, screens in general and all that kind of stuff, too. Kind of, like, takes away, like, boredom, and boredom is sometimes, like, really good, you know, I do think, like, a lot of my, like, early years playing guitar was just, like, sitting in a room bored, figuring out songs. You know what I mean? And I. Yeah, and I still think of that even a little bit, too, because it's like, to some degree, like, songwriting is. Is this weird thing that even. Even if we tried to explain how to write a song, none of us really know exactly how it happens or how. You know what I mean? A lot of, like, the first half of our songwriting day is messing around, is we're just kind of sitting at a piano, and we're just kind of, like, playing around with melodies and different things, and someone goes, that's cool. That's cool. And, like, that's the whole process is that kind of stuff. So, like, to take that away, I don't know what happens. I don't know what songwriting is without that, you know?

[Jordan Wlowski]

And a lot of times, even in the process, it's a mistake or something that you don't expect coming will actually unlock the song. So, you know, you're talking about being an expert and everything, but sometimes it's. It's the left turn that you didn't expect that will unlock a song. And so that's part of the process, too. So that's the human part. That's. That'll always be different than AI, you know?

[Ethan Hulse]

Right, right.

[Jenny Urton]

And that's a point is that experts make good left turns. That's what this man was saying, you know, if you're an Expert chess player, your master, whatever is chef or something. If you make a mistake, it's not. It might, it might be a really good one, you know, because the skill sets are already there. There's this man named Andy Crouch and he talks about promise versus peril and how the technology is so glitzy and there's all this promise, but nobody ever talks about the peril. And maybe they do when it's way too late. Maybe when everyone's addicted to their screens and the suicide rates are up and everyone's depressed and has no friends, then they're going to start talking about, hey, there was some issues here. And so I thought you brought up a really good point about that. It brought so much life. Jess, is that. Did you say that along the way? It brings so much life, it brought so much community. All of that is gone. If you throw a prompt in for.

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I would imagine even Ethan, you brought up the fact of you can kind of get a glimpse of what the song's going to be immediately. That, that's actually also kind of a bummer. Like on one hand you're like okay, maybe that's good for business or. But on the other hand it takes a bit away from the specialness of the finished product.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah. The journey of it. Right. Just this.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah.

[Jess Cates]

You know, I think there's, there's actually probably in our community right now some people have embraced it fully like hundred thousand percent. And I know some people are just like, they just like they, they can't, can't go down that road at all. You know. So the peril of it is the thing, you know, it. Because it's disrupting so many industries. I was with some friends who, we were talking about just the film industry and of course the music industry. And I, I think it's, it's gonna change it unfortunately. But I think what's what in the future as it, it becomes probably some, some of the main thing what's going to be special and the things that people are going to gravitate towards are kind of the imperfect and the real and the, the songs that. Or the performances even that just are. Oh that's, that's not tuned at all. That's. You know what I mean? It's gonna actually the pendulum will probably swing further than you know, back to the 50s and 60s before we had auto tune. It's gonna, you know.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah.

[Jess Cates]

Then that's going to be the thing that, that people are going to gravitate towards.

[Jenny Urton]

I think part of the peril might be too that you start to lose the experts because it does take a long time and a lot of practice and a lot of inputs to get to that level where you are at a different level than the average person next to. You can throw a prompt into a machine and kick out a song and then over time everything just kind of becomes mediocre and conformed to the same thing because AI is just based off of what's already there.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

And people have lost their expertise. So I think all the more reason, in my opinion, to actually do the thing. And if you're a parent listening to allow your kids these opportunities to have music in their life in whatever capacity. My mom always said, this will go.

For your whole life.

And she's like, you're not gonna be 82 and playing soccer, but you can be 82 and playing the piano and doing music. And these things last a lifetime. So let's talk about this new song. It is coming out right around the time this podcast comes goes live. It's called Beautiful World. Our two daughters are a part of it, which is just such an incredible opportunity for them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a special thing. Our daughter Brooklyn sings backup vocals and our daughter Vivian got the opportunity to play guitar on this one. And they got to go to a really cool recording space. I had to miss it. I miss it. But Josh got to go and have that incredible opportunity as teenagers, and it's just been so wonderful for them. This is a song that so fits with this audience. Can you about the story behind it? And I mean, obviously the three of you must just so much value real life, real living.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ethan Hulse]

I will say, well, and we're so honored to have your daughters on it. They're amazing. And I think from the minute we wrote it, it knew. It just felt like it aligned so perfectly and I think where the ideas started happening with them, but, man, are they talented. I cannot believe. How old are they again? It's like. It's crazy.

[Jenny Urton]

15 and 12.

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah. Unreal. Unreal. They played some songs for us too, before. Before we recorded them too. And it was. It's just. It's mind boggling. They're so talented. But yeah, this, this song, I think. I think we had tried to write this title before and it may have a different. There's another chorus we tried at one point and then we kind of left it aside and we get together at least twice a month. And just one session we had and we started writing it. And I remember the line about, well, you know, Jess is amazing with melodies, probably throughout some melody. And we started running with that. But the line about, ain't nothing on the screen ever going to beat this view. And that's where for me, there's always like a line that, like, unlocks something and that just kind of set us on a course with this one. But, yeah, that one gives me chills.

[Jenny Urton]

Ain't nothing on a screen ever going to beat this view and it's so true. And I think we need that reminder. What an incredible song to give that reminder. Ain't nothing on the screen that's ever going to beat this view. It's so true. I like the line about skin your knees. I mean, that's a part of childhood that has actually kind of come and gone, and kids are not climbing trees and skinning their knees. Do you have that, like, in your background is children? I mean, everyone's different ages, so we're childhood. Screen, heavy screen, light, lots of playing outside. Well, who wants to start?

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah, I mean, I, I, I just remember that as childhood is, like, I don't remember not having skin knees. You know what I mean? It just was constant. I think it just kept reopening. You know, we're just constantly playing around the tree. I think about, I think about my son a lot, who's, who requires a lot of sensory input. And he's the kid at the park that was like, not just like playing in the sand. He was like, in the sand, you know, like swimming in it. It's all over, just dirty, just getting dirty and all that kind of stuff. And so I think that kind of, that's what inspires that for me. When I think about him and, and just, you know, he's always up and everything, getting hurt and, you know, getting dirty and all that.

[Jenny Urton]

Anyone else had skin knees in childhood? Jordan, you were injured.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Oh, man. Yeah, I was, I was pretty much laid up with a guitar in my hand, so.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah. Yeah. But kids, you know, kids these days and how people say it, but there are, I think, a lot of kids that go through life without the skin, knees and the, the sunshine on the skin and throwing your worries to the wind and feeling the grass on your feet. I mean, this song starts with get outside. So can you talk about. Because you've got the welcome home. And then you have. These are the moments we live for. And I mean, I, I definitely have some of my favorites. Like, I really like, biggest fan. I will remember this forever. Can you talk about the creative process there? Like, is it a collaboration? I mean, so probably most people looking, listening in almost exclusively would be like, I have no idea what happens when people get together to write a song.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah, a lot of times starts with the concept. And I think in life, like, I can't think about the times that I was on a screen. Like, I can't. That doesn't stick out to me as, like a life memory. You know, when I was standing at the Grand Canyon, you know, when I was, you know, out with friends, when I, you know, out in the hiking or something. You know, I was in Norway. These are the moments that. That stick out to me in life. You know, being on a beach and it's. And I think we try to sit there and kind of encapsulate all of those feelings and. And make people feel like, oh, yeah, like this is. This is what living really is, you know, And I think we.

[Jess Cates]

We.

[Jordan Wlowski]

We can get lost in the screens and all that stuff. And so I think that's. That's kind of our goal with a lot of songs is just, you know, open your eyes to what's going on around you, you know?

[Jess Cates]

Yeah. And I think from a practical standpoint, we're always getting ideas.

[Jenny Urton]

That's what I was going to ask about. How are you always getting ideas?

Are you.

I would be worried I would run out of them.

[Jess Cates]

Well, that's the. That's the crazy mystery of it, I think, you know, just. God is never out of ideas, you know, and so that's. We're. We're just as amazed that a new idea comes in a fresh way to say it. And sometimes it's not a fresh way to say it. Maybe it's just a different way. You know what I mean?

[Jordan Wlowski]

Or.

[Jess Cates]

Or. But yeah, I think we. We're always like. Whether it's lyrics or, you know, I know we're always just coming up with musical ideas, and sometimes a. An idea will come out of that, you know, where I'm always just singing, like, just words when. When I'm singing melodies.

[Ethan Hulse]

And.

[Jess Cates]

And so a lot of stuff comes that way for me. I mean, a lot of people. More. I know lyricists who just look at the world. World through lyrics. You know, I look at the world through melody. And so. But my lyric friends, they're just. I mean, they're listening to conversations all the time. They're just like, always writing down a lyric. I know, Ethan, you.

[Ethan Hulse]

You.

[Jess Cates]

I know you're just as much melody, but you're always probably lyrics writing. I know you have a lot of lyrics written down, you know, both.

[Ethan Hulse]

Yeah, there's. There's just like a notes in my phone that's just like quotes that I heard or a title that I thought might be cool or. Or, yeah, just like a. Like a verse idea or. It's just like, oh, I wish I organized them better than I. Than I do, but.

[Jess Cates]

Or funny band names that you have that.

[Jenny Urton]

I have those.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah.

[Ethan Hulse]

Sometimes at the beginning of a write, though, I'm just kind of like, sometimes I don't even look at those. And it's just straight away in the conversation we're having, something clicks, some title pops out, and I'm like, we need to write that. And then sometimes it's like, what should we write today? I don't know. What are you guys feeling? And, you know, somebody or Jordan will click space bar, and he's got a track idea, and that kind of is a jumping off point. Or sometimes I'm like, I got this title. I don't know to. I don't. I don't know where to take it exactly. And then somebody sings a melody, and we start running towards something.

[Jenny Urton]

I had talked to this person who said that writers, authors so different than lyricists, but that authors, they don't. They don't know what's going to come. And so they start to write. And as they write, that's when the story comes. I thought, gosh, that was a really important part because that also goes against AI. The ideas come as you create ideas.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Love that.

[Jenny Urton]

And then more come. And so if you're. If you're not in the process of creating music and coming up with ideas, then I'm sure it would start to dry up. But it's an endless. There's an endless amount there. Just like how we serve this endless God with endless creativity. And of course, you can see that in creation, right? I'm like, we learned about this octopus. Have you seen this documentary?

It's called the octopus team teacher.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

I mean, it's just, like, remarkable. You're, like, underwater. That for. For the longest time, no one had ever seen anything underwater. And it's just like this whole world down there. You thought, yeah, this is the endless creativity of God. So you have these endless ideas. What about confetti on the floor?

[Jess Cates]

Just talked. We talked about that yesterday, actually.

[Jenny Urton]

I can delete this part of if you need me to song I've been waiting for. It is quite a powerful song.

[Jordan Wlowski]

It's a special song. I think it's special to all three of us. And we just kind of. We thought initially, like, we were gonna pitch it to, like, try to pitch it to, like, Keith Urban or something, you know, but we were. We're kind of torn on what to do with it. Like, is it an in paradise song? Because it's. So we're known for, like, the positive songs, like, moments we live for and these, like, bright songs. And this is the complete antithesis of that. It's the. It's the sad song about somebody passing away, not being in there anymore. And it's called Confetti on the Floor. And I remember. Yeah, I remember playing it for you guys, like. And you freaked out about it, Jenny.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah, well, because you had talked about this friend that. This mutual friend, Ron and I. I feel like your music, of course, is positive and upbeat, but it's just very much about life and living, and part of life is death.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

So to me, it's your song. It would be interesting if someone else did it, but I don't understand the whole underpinnings of, like, the music world. So I've just been waiting. I'm like, every day. Has it come out yet?

[Ethan Hulse]

We did just talk about it yesterday.

[Jenny Urton]

All right, well, if it ever comes out, you heard about it here, and it is just. It is such a deep song about how you still look for the person.

In the crowded room. It is.

It is a wow. I think we got to listen to a sample of it, and then I don't even know where it is now. It, like, probably it's gone now. When I had the sample, I was like. I listened to it like, 6,500 times. Such a good one. But. But the songs are a lot about just, like, the depth of life and how. And how beautiful it is. And part of what. I don't know if what makes it beautiful, but part of the fact that makes it. It's bittersweet. But life is so precious because it doesn't last forever. So partially why life is so precious is, you know, it's this limited. You have this limited opportunity to make your mark in the world and to follow the Lord and, you know, and to serve people. So. Okay, I. I got nothing. I really. I'm in the same spot as I was before. I have no information. Okay, I. I will let you know that I'm waiting for it, and I can't wait till it comes out.

[Jess Cates]

This is the push we needed, actually.

[Ethan Hulse]

I think it is. I think it is.

[Jenny Urton]

It's one of the most moving songs I've ever heard in my entire life, and I listened to it over and.

Over and over again.

So.

[Jess Cates]

Okay, we'll put it on next week.

[Jenny Urton]

It is a wow. It is a wow. 1. Talk to us in about technology. So obviously, technology plays a big role in what you do. If anyone ever has the opportunity to watch Jordan use pro tools, it's like magic. You're like, what in the heck is happening? Just everything is going this fast. It's moving all over, around, and then all of a sudden, it sounds incredible. Can you talk to young people if Young people are listening or that are interested in music, what advice would you give them? Obviously, they should have a strong background in their instruments and their creativity, and that's that side. But also there is a technology side. What advice would you give?

[Jordan Wlowski]

I think anybody that is doing music and that wants to be a songwriter should learn a program like Logic or Pro Tools. The reason being is you can record your own songs and then listen back, and your growth and your writing will exponentially go up from listen. Being able to listen back and critique yourself and just learn how to do. I mean, it's. It's invaluable to what I do every day. And to be honest, I'm terrible with computers. Like, Like, I'm the worst with computers. Like, literally, like. Like, I have to have people do things on my computers because I'm like, I don't even know how to do that. But I promised myself if I learn this program and, like, master it, that the most important thing I needed to do was learn how to use this program, because I'm so terrible with computers. So I had a friend show me how to use it, like, back in the day.

[Jess Cates]

And he would.

[Jordan Wlowski]

There's a singer, my first band, and I would just go home and just, you know, just mess around on this thing. And it's really. For making a ton of mistakes and just learning a better way to do it and an easier way to do it. And now it's invaluable to what I do every day.

[Jenny Urton]

So it's remarkable to see it.

Your studio is in your home. And so that's another thing that's really cool and really interesting. I think in this day and age, there's a lot more access to doing things on your own and to trying things out into walking out a path that maybe you couldn't have in the past, like, if you would have had to go to somebody, right, and had, you know, so the. The bar of entry has lowered. And so if you're a young, younger person and you're interested, I think that's kind of remarkable. There's a lot of opportunities out there for you. So you. You learn the tools, use the technology for what it's meant to be used for as a. As a tool and not as a distraction. What an opportunity. Oh, my goodness. The band is called In Paradise. The newest song, it's called Beautiful World. Get outside Open your eyes Feel that sunshine Kissing your skin Throw your worries out to the wind Climb some trees Skin your knees Feel that grass on your feet again get out there and Take it in.

[Jess Cates]

Oh.

[Ethan Hulse]

I was waiting for it.

[Jenny Urton]

Yes, it's a beautiful world Ain't nothing on a screen that's ever going to beat this view oh, oh, it's a beautiful world and I just want to share it with. I just want to share it with you. I mean, it is a powerful, powerful song. Such an honor, such an honor to be connected with you and really through my kids. Obviously, I don't have the singing talent, so I don't. You know, it's. It's really an interesting life, you know, that the Lord gives you and you just don't know, like, the path that it's going to go. And often I think that your. Your children help expand your own world and especially if you give them these different opportunities to dive deep into what they're really interested in and the. The passions and the talents that God has given them. Like, I. This is the first podcast episode out of over 614 million downloads. That is. Is really because of my kids, solely. Solely because of my children and the talents that they have pursued and spent time on and really dove into and, and thanks to the three of you. So it's such an honor. The band is called In Paradise. Obviously, everyone has to make sure they're following on, so Spotify and all the places. The songs are fantastic for your family.

And before we wrap it up, here is the brand new song, Beautiful World by In paradise, featuring our daughters, Vivian on the guitar and Brooklyn singing background vocals.

[Jess Cates]

Get outside Open your eyes Feel that sunshine kissing your skin Throw your worries out to the wind Climb some trees Skin your knees Feel that grass on your feet again get out there and take it in oh, it's a beautiful.

[Jenny Urton]

World.

[Jess Cates]

Ain't nothing on the screen that's ever gonna beat this view oh, it's.

[Jenny Urton]

A beautiful world.

[Jess Cates]

And I just want to share with I just want to share with you this beautiful world A beautiful world Lay on back Watch the clouds pass Let that river take you where it wants from the morning to the setting sun yeah, don't be a stranger to your nature adventures Calling you to go into the wild and know oh, it's a beautiful world Ain't nothing on scream it's ever gonna beat this view oh, it's a beautiful world and I just want to share with I just want to share with you this beautiful world Such a beautiful world get out there and take it in oh, it's a beautiful world Ain't nothing on screen that's ever gonna beat this view oh, it's a beautiful world and I Just want to share with I just want to share with you this beautiful world Such a beautiful world It's a beautiful world Such a beautiful world.

[Jenny Urton]

We always end with the same question. Maybe we'll go in the same order as we did at the beginning, starting with Ethan. What's a favorite memory from your childhood that was outside?

[Jordan Wlowski]

Oh, gosh.

[Ethan Hulse]

Well, every Saturday. I grew up in Orange County, California. Every Saturday, I would go surfing with my dad, and that's. That's my favorite memory outside. I miss the ocean so much.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

You're not anywhere near it.

[Ethan Hulse]

I'm not right now, no.

[Jenny Urton]

Jess, what you got?

[Jess Cates]

Oh, it was. My brother and I would ride bikes and we would build ramps and we would skateboard and do all the. And so we just spend as much time in the air off those ramps. Lots of skin, knees. But I remember that just so vividly. Just all the. All the ramp building and jumping, so.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah. Do you have a pre injury memory, Jordan?

[Jordan Wlowski]

I do. My dad worked as a carpet installer. He had a carpet business that he ran and would just. He would have. I mean, his work was really, really hard. I would go with him sometimes. Very hard worker. And a lot of times in Florida, he wouldn't have air conditioning, even where he was working and installing this carpet. But I have this picture of him pulling up in his van every day, and no matter how tired he was, he would literally not even go in and get a glass of water. He would literally just grab a baseball with me and just. We toss this baseball, and I'll just. I'll always remember that.

[Jenny Urton]

Yeah. Isn't it interesting? It's like everyone's memory is with someone else.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Mm.

[Jenny Urton]

So someone else, whether it's your brother or your dad. And.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Yeah.

[Jenny Urton]

That these outdoor experiences and music, they afford a lot of full life moments and deep relationships. So a lot to think about, I think. For parents listening in, there's this woman named Melanie Hempy, and she talks about screen use, and she says all kids should have three to five hobbies, and it helps to protect them against getting sucked into this world of screens that really takes up so much of their time. So you have been so inspiring. The music is fantastic. It's such an honor to know you. I'm so thankful that for the music that you put out into the world and how it changes lives and it makes lives. Music, like, makes your life so much more fun. It's like one of the things that helps regulate your nervous system and all those things. So huge props to you for all of your success. Thank you for allowing the girls to be a part of Beautiful World. And thank you for your time today.

[Ethan Hulse]

We love you.

[Jess Cates]

Yes.

[Jordan Wlowski]

Thank you for every. Your friendship to us and for loving us so well. And we're just honored to be a part of this with this whole thing with you and your children and just. We just love you guys. So.

[Jess Cates]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Ethan Hulse]

Thanks so much.

[Jenny Urton]

Oh.

[Jess Cates]

It'S a beautiful world Ain't nothing on screen Is ever gonna beat this view?

[Jenny Urton]

Oh.

[Jess Cates]

It'S a beautiful world? And I just wanna share with? I just wanna share with you this beautiful world? Such a beautiful world? It's a beautiful world? Such a beautiful world.

[Jenny Urton]

Here we have.

[Jess Cates]

The Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Jenny Urton]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Jess Cates]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Ethan Hulse]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Jess Cates]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Jenny Urton]

Liberty Savings vary underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates.

[Ethan Hulse]

Excludes Massachusetts.

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