Black Lips’ Swilley discusses father’s recent coming out
Son of Mega-church bishop has never felt closer to his family after his father came out as gay in front of his congregation
- http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1223504
- Jared Swilley of Black Lips
If you missed last week’s minor media frenzy that broke out over Bishop Jim Swilley’s church service in which he comes out as gay to his Church of the Now congregation, Scott Henry has a video of the service posted on Fresh Loaf.
?
Jim Swilley is the father of Black Lips bass player and frontman Jared Swilley, and he’s about as charismatic a speaker as they come. After watching the video, it’s impossible to deny the uplifting nature of his talk, regardless of sexual orientation or religious affiliation. Over the weekend I had a chance to catch up with Jared, who was in New York, tracking the next Black Lips record (set for a possible April release date on Vice Records) with producer Mark Ronson, and talk about his father’s coming out.
?
Chad Radford: You’ve been out of town playing shows and recording, but I assume that you’ve watched the video of your dad’s church service in which he tells his congregation that he’s gay.
?
Jared Swilley: Yeah, I watched it the day after it happened.
?
Church of the Now seems to be pretty progressive. His congregation was very supportive — they’re not Southern Baptists!
?
Yeah, it is a pretty progressive church, especially now. My dad’s philosophy is kind of what you call “inclusionist.” It’s a universal thing and basically he doesn’t really believe that people are bound for Hell. He’s got a pretty positive message.
?
My dad was born in the ‘50s, in the deep South, to Protestant celebrities in the South, so you can’t really get any more hostile than that, at least in this country. In Uganda they’re trying to make homosexuality a capital punishment. And apparently you can get in trouble for not outing someone if you know they’re gay.