Watch: Cody Carson’s most powerful stage speeches
“In this amount of time until we die, why not make it something worth living?”
[Photo via: Cody Carson/Instagram]
When describing Set It Off frontman Cody Carson, one word comes to mind: passionate.
Ever since he was just a teenager filming YouTube covers in a messy dorm room, he has exuded an infectious level of enthusiasm that we just can’t help feeling along with him. For over a decade now, he has embodied what it means to care deeply about your dreams.
If you’ve been to a Set It Off concert, you’ve definitely heard one of his trademark inspirational speeches. At least once per show, he imparts his motivational wisdom on fans through an honest, emotional talk.
“One of my favourite parts of the set is not when we’re singing songs, but at one point I give myself a couple of minutes to reach out and speak to our audience. It’s always been about a certain topic. When we were first starting out, it was about chasing your dreams, or going through bullying and how to overcome it. On this last tour, it was about how beautiful it is to be able to let out these emotions, that they’re not judged. I truly find it important to be able to voice that to them during our shows. It’s weird, because put me in any other situation, I’m not going to give a passionate speech! For some reason I get this feeling like I need to say something, and the moment after the speech is done there’s just this energy, it’s hard to describe. It’s this feeling of connection between us.”
– Cody Carson for Rock Sound
No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you’re going through, Cody has a message for you.
ON THE TOPIC OF…
…hard work and passion:
Video transcript:
But before we started this band, we would go to Warped Tour as friends, and we would come here every day and stare — every time — and stare at that inflatable, waiting for our favorite band to go on, standing where you’re standing, to watch that band play as fans. So here’s the thing I want you to keep in mind throughout the whole day: there was no fucking difference between you or anyone else you see play today on any stage at all. There’s no fucking difference! We’re just a bunch of kids! We stood there, watched our favorite bands, got inspired, started a band, and grinded our asses off for, as you know now, eight years. All we could think about was how awesome it would be to play on this stage.
Now, we’re not looking for a pat on the fucking back. That’s not what I’m looking for. What I want you to take away from this conversation is this: Some of you out there have something in the back of your mind you wanna chase. It may not be a band. Maybe it is. And it seems next to impossible. It seems really fucking hard. What I encourage you to do is stop thinking of it as impossible. It’s not gonna be easy. No. It’s gonna be fucking hard! But you want it bad enough, you have the passion enough, you have the work ethic. Work your ass off, and make your dream fucking a reality! Because it will happen! So thank you guys for coming with us for so long, and to be able to play in front of people like you who actually give a shit about music means the fucking world, so let’s have some more fun!
…being yourself:
Video transcript:
…for the way you look? Don’t be afraid. Raise it up if it’s happened to you. Look around. Look how common this is. This isn’t a joke, this isn’t a scam, this isn’t a ploy. I’m saying this for a specific reason. When I was growing up, I wasn’t the most popular kid in the school. I was, uh, I was that kid that dyed spikes green and wore a tank top over his green T-shirt. I was that kid that would go to rock shows while everyone else listened to the “98.7” when it was the rap station. You guys know what I’m talking about.
But my point I’m trying to make is that everyone’s different. A lot of people try to conform to the norm. [Laughs] I know that rhymes, but it’s so true. They see people being the “popular kids” and they just want to latch on and be that person. But some people here, I’m looking at you. You know who you are. And some of you are afraid to say who you are because you know people are going to chastise you for the way that you dress or act.
And what I’m encouraging you to do is, tonight, be a freak with us. Be the weird one in your class. Be the person that doesn’t conform. Be the person that you know that you are! Because it’s beautiful that way. That’s your personality. This song is dedicated to those jerks that made your life a living hell growing up. It’s called horrible kids.
[singing a cappella] Horrible kids, would you look what you did? It was your ignorance that formed a beast with your wits.
…spreading love:
Video transcript:
We wrote this song before gay marriage was accepted as legal in the United States, and we’re so fucking happy that it is the way it is now. But as soon as we feel that acceptance is coming, then we start to see more violence towards people for maybe their sexual orientation. But not only that, but for their race. For how people look. For the gender you identify with. Why in the fuck does it matter that someone’s different than you? Why the fuck does it matter that you’re uncomfortable with someone that’s not actually affecting you at all? We wrote a song about that.
[music starts]
And I’m never gonna tweet it when shit’s bad because that would go against what these [unintelligible], but “money talks and trouble sells.” The media feeds on the bullshit that’s going on. I’m not a critical guy. I’m really not. But I am sick and tired of people feeding on misery. I want for once, in this three minutes and thirty seconds, for us to not focus on any hate. For none of you guys to focus on any delineation because of how different people may be. Can we just, for once, have a community like we have at shows? Where no one’s different. We’re shoulder to shoulder with people we’ve never met, sweating our asses off, and enjoying the sounds because we know this is where we fucking belong! If you feel that, then link arms with the person next to you, whether you know them or not. And sing this with me.
[performance of “Wild World”]
…following your dreams:
Video transcript:
…everything to follow the one thing that we knew that we wanted to be. This is what we wanna be. This is what we wanna do. And you’re a part of that. There’s people in this crowd right now, in that balcony, right here. You know exactly what you wanna be for the rest of your life. You’ve already had that figured out. Some of you don’t have the courage to go for it. Some of you are trying to go for it, and you have people telling you not to do it. This song is about those people. If you have someone over your shoulder telling you that you should be something else, fuck that person. You have one life to live. I’m not gonna say that stupid phrase. You know what it is.
[audience: “Y.O.L.O.!”]
But what I will say is, in this amount of time until we die, why not make it something worth living? Thank you all for being here. It means a lot to us. This song goes out to the people who are chasing the things that they love, and the people that are still deciding if they wanna do it or not. This song is called “Dream Catcher.” So please, put your hands up. Everybody, there is no shame in this. You paid money to go to a rock show! Put those fucking hands up! Let’s go.
[performance of “Dream Catcher”]
…getting through hard times:
Video transcript:
We wrote this song after something really catastrophic happened in our lives. A long time ago, one of the members of the SIO family took their own lives. And it’s something, when it happens to somebody that you don’t know. But when it happens to somebody that you’ve had many conversations with, and you had no idea what they were going through, it can be absolutely devastating. And I’m not just saying that for you to look out for your friends, but for you to look out for yourself. And I’m not gonna stand up here and act like I don’t get in deep depressions ‘cause I absolutely do. Life’s a rollercoaster, man. You’re having the greatest day of your life, and then three days later you’re down in the dumps and you have no idea how you got there. And sometimes you can feel stuck. And I know you know what I’m talking about.
But here’s the thing I wanna say more than anything: if you feel stuck, if you feel down there, you’re not. I know it just sounds arbitrary, but what I mean by that is this. The only way to feel that low means — the only way to feel that low is because you’ve felt something incredible before. It’s by comparison. So there is another side to this. There’s another side to this. You gotta keep pushing. Keep pushing. Keep fighting. There is something. That’s why they say “get through something,” ‘cause there’s something to break through to get to the other side. So be there for each other, and lift each other up, and lift yourself up. And thank you for lifting me up through all the shit that I’m going through. I appreciate it.
[audience: We love you!]
Love you, too. Speaking of the word “love,” this song is called “You Are Loved.”
[acoustic performance of “You Are Loved”]
Have you been in the crowd for one of Cody’s famous speeches? Which topic was your favorite? Share your stories down below!
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