Country Boys Update: Cody Perkins
KET talked with Cody Perkins and Chris Johnson, the subjects of David Sutherland’s film Country Boys, in May 2006.
Cody Perkins is putting all the pieces of a solid life into place. He has married Jessica, and he graduated from Mayo Technical College on May 2. He has a job lined up as a service technician with B&B Heating.
But the first thing he tells you about is his band, Seven Rise Up. This Christian metal band is as intriguing as Cody himself, a soft-spoken, immediately likable young man with tattoos emblazoned on his arms and legs and spike-shaped black earrings protruding through both earlobes.
“I am still playing with the band,” he says, “and Youngside Records is helping to distribute our album The Battlefield. The band has done some touring and has 15 to 20 performances planned for the summer.”
When he’s not working, Cody enjoys BMX bikes, comic books, and spending time with Jessica, who is graduating from Lindsey Wilson College in December with a degree in clinical counseling.
Country Boys changed his life “a lot,” Cody said, adding that the change has been “95 percent positive.” He’s been asked to speak at conferences and recently at a church in Chicago, “and our band has gotten some radio time because of the show.” A trip to Los Angeles for the first viewing of the film was also an unexpected perk.
The local notoriety he received has also led to some funny moments. “I was delivering pizzas, and one guy said to his wife, ‘Honey, our pizza guy is on TV.’”
Cody’s message to viewers is to “go through life with an open mind and not shut any doors.” And he is following his own advice: “I will probably die here [in Prestonsburg], but I don’t think I’ll stay here,” he says. “We will venture somewhere. I don’t know where, and I don’t know why. We’re just waiting for Jessica to finish school.”
