So… it’s 3am… here at my spot on earth… and I’ve been listening to Fuel for the past hour… figuring out which songs I want to use…
I decided on the album “Angels & Devils” from 2oO7… it’s the first album featuring lead singer Toryn Green… instead of Brett Scallions… and honestly… it’s a great one… loaded with badass songs…
I chose two for you…
🎶 “I Should Have Told You” 🎶 “Angels Take a Soul”
Former Godsmack drummer Tommy Stewart was announced as the band’s new drummer… but was unable to perform on the album due to other commitments… so Josh Freese and Tommy Lee performed drums in his place.
Also it’s cool how Toryn joined the band… there’s a bonus video about it below… check it out…
Also I have a famous friend who’s friends with Tommy Lee… well… he used to be my friend… we don’t talk anymore… story for another time…
When I was a kid… I wore Superman underwear— ’cause he was my hero… 🦸♂️
Then I got older— and found out Superman wears Chuck Norris underwear 😄
But here’s one most people don’t know…
Many of your favorite artists— across every genre—
they’re secretly wearing Elton John underwear.
…
I’ve been a fan of Elton since I first picked up a guitar as a teenager… and over time—I started noticing something…
the greats… they all love him too.
…
I saw an interview with Axl Rose once— they asked what he listens to… no pause— he says “Elton John.”
Then one night… I was watching one of the late night shows… I believe it was Letterman…
Dave Grohl walks out solo with an acoustic guitar…
starts playing “Tiny Dancer”… He gets the audience to sing along…
one of those moments you don’t forget.
And later… I found out Dave Grohl loves him some Elton.
…
So I started paying attention… and it’s everywhere. Across all genres… many have Elton in common.
His music is loved… admired… and listened to by his peers…
Fuel’s no different. Brett and Carl… they feel the same.
…
Elton… bruh… you’re the man! 🙌…
…
So today—
I’ve got two for you.
…
🎵 Innocent Something Like Human — 2oO0
🎵 Daniel (Elton John cover) Something Like Human — 2oO0
…
I love this cover of Daniel… it’s great… and it holds a deep place for me… I sang it on my guitar earlier tonight
But back in 2o12… I was hanging out with my friend Nathan… We were roommates… he was younger than me… like my little brother… so anyway… this song started playing…
Nathan told me how much it meant to him… said it reminded him of his older brother, Daniel… who had passed a few years earlier from a drug overdose…
Well… in 2o14… I lost Nathan… also to drugs…
I knew his brother too…
So now… when I hear this song… I don’t just hear it—
…
I remember them both…
…
Also “Innocent” is one of my all-time favorite songs… I’m not sure what it is about it… but it just gets better and better every time for me… and I love when the drums kick in around the 1-minute mark…
Also I’ve included a bonus interview with Carl & Brett… it’s really cool… I think…
So before Fuel was even Fuel… they moved through a couple early names like… “ReelTooReal”… and “Small the Joy”… before everything finally settled into place.
…
And right at the center of it all—
was Carl Bell.
Lead guitarist… but more than that—the architect.
The one writing the songs… lyrics… music… structure… building the sound from the ground up…
and even producing along the way.
…
Because Fuel… was never just a band…
it was Carl Bell’s vision— brought to life through the voice of Brett Scallions.
…
Today—I’ve got two good ones for you 🎧🔥
🎵 Falls On Me — Natural Selection (2003) 🎵 Sunburn — Sunburn (1998)
…
I’ll be here a while with these guys… hope yall enjoy 🔥
Hemorrhage (In My Hands) 🎵 Leave the Memories Alone
More Fuel… just for you…
I’m gonna be here a while… because… they’re incredible… and there’s just too many great songs… honestly… they’re one of my favorites… top 3 easy…
So here’s a cool recent story…
My uncle… he’s one of a kind… musician… singer… painter… writer… pilot… great cook… tells the best jokes… haha… super funny… just a straight up… Rockstar Renaissance dude…
He’s dealing with a rare form of cancer… and he calls me most every day…
So last time we were talking… music… bands… he asks me— “you know that band DIESEL?”
I said… nah… not ringing a bell…
He goes— “yeah… DIESEL… they sing that song Hemorrhage…”
I said— “Oooo… you mean FUEL bro…”
He pauses… “…yeah… FUEL!” 😂
He said they’re awesome…
I told him— yeah… you’re absolutely right… and started throwing him a few more songs to check out from them…
So… here’s two of them…
🎵 Hemorrhage (In My Hands) 🎵 Leave the Memories Alone
Hope you enjoy…
Also… I’m easing you into them… right now you’re getting milk from the baby’s bottle… later on… you can graduate to the red meat 🍖😋…
Also… Fuel had two different lead singers… over time… Brett Scallions and Toryn Green… Brett was first… Toryn came later… I’m a Brett fan… but Toryn is cool too… hemorrhage is Brett era… leave the memories alone is Toryn…
These next two — “Fully Alive” 🎶 “All Around Me” 🎶 — (acoustic versions)
are both from their debut self-titled album Flyleaf (2005)… and man… that record was something special. Made fans out of a whole lot of people… me included.
Somewhere along the way I drifted from Lacey Sturm for a bit… but about a year ago, I found my way back — right around the time I started my YouTube channel “bryanforchrist.”
All I do over there is make Christian music shorts — so if you’re ever bored one day… come check me out. I’ve got a few Flyleaf ones up there too 🎶
And quick tip — on all my shorts, you can get to the full song: tap the little thumbnail in the bottom right… then when it redirects, go up top left and tap the larger thumbnail — that’ll play the whole track. It can look a little tricky at first… but once you see it, you got it.
Now as much as I love Flyleaf… I’ve never actually performed any of their songs myself 🎤
That’s about to change.
I think this week… I’m gonna learn “Circle” 🎶 (from their second album Memento Mori — 2009)… it’s probably my favorite from them… hard to choose though
So again… thank y’all for listening… for reading… I appreciate you — and I’m always thinking of you 🙏
Have a blessed day…
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Man… I’m so loaded up with music and bands… sometimes I just sit there like… who’s next?… there’s just too many…
But yeah… Fuel… one of my favorites. They’re a little different… some songs are slower… easy… almost laid back… but when they decide to… they can come in hard and rock the absolute crap out of you.
I’ve seen them a few times… but here’s a cool one…
I lived in Leesburg, Florida from 2o16–2o21… little old house… about two blocks from downtown. Leesburg is known for Bikefest every year… bands playing all week long…
And I’m not kidding… I could always hear it all from inside my house… loud and clear.
So it’s 2o17… I’m laying on my bed one day… windows open… just chilling…
Then all of a sudden…
music cuts through the silence…
this band starts rocking… hard… sounding really good…
I’m laying there like… hold up… who is that?…
then it hits me…
duuuude… it’s Fuel !!! 😁🥳😎
So yeah… I just laid there… in my bed… and listened to their whole set that evening…
super cool.
…
I got two for you now…
🎧 Shimmer — Sunburn (1998)
🎧 Bad Day — Something Like Human (2oO0)
Shimmer is the song that put them on the map… these 2 are a little more chill… in coming weeks… I’ll let them rock harder for you… thought I’d take it easy on you for starters 😏…
Hey yall… happy Sunday… today I have two more from Flyleaf for you.
Both of these songs carry a lot of emotional weight. Cassie was inspired by Cassie Bernall, one of the students killed during the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, and reflects on the courage of standing firm in faith even in the darkest moment. So I Thought looks at a different kind of struggle — that painful realization when someone you trusted turns out not to be who you believed they were. Together, they show two sides of Flyleaf’s writing: faith under fire… and truth after betrayal.
♬ So I Thought Album: Flyleaf Year: 2005
♬ Cassie Album: Flyleaf Year: 2005
John 16:33 (KJV)
“In the world ye shall have tribulation… but be of good cheer… I have overcome the world.”
..For this week’s Hidden Gems from the B-Side, I’m digging into the catalog of Flyleaf — a Christian rock band that brought raw emotion.. powerful spiritual themes into the rock world in the mid-2000s. Led by the incredible voice of Lacey Sturm, one of my favorite singers, their music never shied away from pain, redemption, and the search for truth.
The band came out of Texas — the same region that gave us rock legends like Pantera and ZZ Top — proving that powerful music can rise from the same soil in very different ways.
🎶 Circle Album: Memento Mori Year: 2009
🎶 Again Album: Memento Mori Year: 2009
Both songs come from their 2nd studio album…
As a bonus, I’m also adding a video of Lacey’s testimony, where she shares the powerful story of how Christ transformed her life.
Hope y’all enjoy… 🎸
👇 💯
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”