Nathan Oswalt: I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and I've spent the vast majority of my life as a resident of Vancouver, Washington (where I still live today). I grew up in a solid Christian home and around a strong community of fellow believers. Music has always been a major part of my life, from enjoying my favorite songs on Christian radio stations in the car as a kid to writing and creating my own original songs. In between, I've wrestled with chronic depression and anxiety for the majority of my adolescence and part of my early twenties, culminating in a particularly rough stretch from April 2022 to July 2023 during which I suffered through two severe suicidal depressive episodes (the last of which occurred just weeks after the release of my second original single, "STILL GOOD"). Through it all, God has been faithful and patient with me, and He has carried me in His arms every step of the way, even when I couldn't see it. Since then, "Jesus Saved My Life" has become the official slogan for both my creative endeavors and my life in general. I started songwriting as more of a means of thought-processing and fun creative expression, but now it's evolved into both a personal lifeline and a more serious pursuit (which I hope to turn into at least a side-hustle) as I share my testimony with others by carefully crafting high-quality, sonically diverse alt/pop tracks with thought-provoking and life-giving messages rooted in Biblical truth.

A few other fun facts about me:

1) I was homeschooled through high school, and I graduated from Academy Northwest - an accredited, faith-based, private high school co-op for homeschoolers - in 2019.

2) I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on Cinco de Mayo in 2015.

3) In 2024, I was invited by CCM artist Josh Wilson (along with many other fans) to provide background vocals for a new song of his (specifically, "God's Not Mad at You"). Of course, I accepted the invitation. Just over a year later, I got to meet him in person after watching him perform live - and he recognized me!

4) I'm actually on the autism spectrum.

Nathan: Well, it definitely isn't easy, especially considering that music isn't even my day job! I work part-time, five days per week, on the cafeteria staff at a local public elementary school during the school year, and the amount of my spare time that I spend on music and content creation has gradually but consistently increased as I've become more serious about pursuing it as a potential future career. Honestly, more often than not, I just stumble upon inspiration for new ideas for songs and social content as I go. The EP I put out in May is called THE PRELUDE, and it's actually a compilation of my previous four singles - all remastered using DistroKid's online Mixea mastering service and grouped together in one place - so that whole process wasn't too hard. From a creative standpoint, I've actually spent the majority of this year finishing up "MAKE UP YOUR MIND." Now that it's finally done and ready for the world to hear, I'm turning my attention to the completion of some other unfinished original compositions.

Nathan: "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" was indeed inspired by a conversation with one of my cousins from a couple of years ago at a family gathering. At the time, my cousin was still in high school, and she confided in me that she had been receiving some mixed signals from one of her classmates. She expressed a sense of frustration by the lack of clarity when it came to her classmate's true intentions - were they just flirting for the heck of it, or were they actually interested in pursuing a serious relationship with her? I was deeply moved by her openness and honesty in discussing her situation, and, in typical "me" fashion, I decided to start writing a song about it. I sat down at the piano, opened up the "Notes" app on my phone, and ended up with a rough version of "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" after just fifteen minutes. When I showed my cousin what I had come up with so far, she loved it - enough to request that I make finishing and recording the song a priority. Fast forward to the present day, and my cousin is now starting her freshman year of college at the University of Oregon. Oh, and "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" is now available to stream on all platforms. ;).

Nathan: She has heard the finished song, and she still loves it!

Nathan: In 2023, after releasing my first two singles, I wanted to learn how to further develop and improve as a music producer and audio/mixing engineer, so I signed up for lessons at my local Guitar Center in northern Portland, where Elan was the lone instructor teaching music production and engineering. Over the last couple of years, he's been absolutely instrumental in helping me reach the point where I can personally handle the vast majority of the production, editing and mixing duties for my own songs - I needed a lot more assistance from other producers and engineers on all of my previous releases. You could say that "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" is the "firstfruits" of our creative partnership to be finished & released. It's been a long road, but I can conclude with confidence that it's all been worth it.

Nathan: Respectfully, you're asking the wrong person. I've actually never been on a date in my whole life - no one's been interested in me that way just yet. "MAKE UP YOUR MIND" is, in a sense, me putting myself "out there" and making my motivations and goals for a potential relationship 100% clear. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have grown up watching my parents imperfectly-but-consistently model what a Godly marriage looks like. I've also absorbed plenty of advice on modern dating from several friends and mentors throughout my life so far. The message that has stuck with me the most is simple (and I'm paraphrasing here) - "If you're going to start dating, don't do it just for the sake of having fun or just because everyone else around you is doing it. Date intentionally, with marriage as the ultimate goal, and don't start dating if you can't envision yourself potentially spending the rest of your life with the person that you're interested in."

I would add that it's critical to make sure that the person you're interested in shares your faith and values, so that you can, both collectively and individually, commit to the pursuit of deep and meaningful growth in the one relationship that matters most - your relationship with God. In today's hyper-sexualized, often self-centered modern dating culture, it's incredibly difficult for anyone - followers of Jesus included - to maintain vital virtues such as purity, integrity, and covenantal loyalty. Those who place their faith in Christ are called to seek holiness in every aspect of their lives - and romantic relationships are no exception. The late, great Charlie Kirk understood that wisdom well, and he embodied it boldly and faithfully in his own life, inspiring countless young people - myself included - to strive after his example. I look forward to meeting him in Heaven someday.

One last thing - if you're in my position and you're still waiting on God to bring the right person into your life, then please don't waste your time wishing things were different (trust me; I'm speaking from years of hard-learned experience on this one). Focus on making the most of your life as a single person, cultivating meaningful friendships with those around you, and growing in whatever areas you might need to. Continue to bring your hopes and desires to the LORD in prayer, and keep trusting that His sovereign plan, even though you might not know exactly what that plan entails, will work out for your ultimate good in the end.

Nathan: I'm currently working on another single. I can't give too much away, but I'm hoping to have it done and ready for release before the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the United States on the 4th of July next year. After taking a handful of online courses from Grand Canyon University during the 2020-2021 school year, I'm now looking into returning to GCU - this time on campus - in the fall of 2026 to pursue a degree in music production. My family and I are familiar with GCU, as my sister graduated from there in 2024. In the middle of all that, I am planning to continue working on several of the other songs that I've written but have yet to record (or, in some cases, finish recording). Nothing's etched in stone yet, but all things considered, I am looking forward to what the good LORD has in store for my future - and for whatever He moves me to create next.

Nathan: This one's easy, for a couple of reasons. My sister and I actually get along super well - in fact, she's arguably one of my closest friends - so I would hands-down prefer taking her to prom. This would also open up an excellent opportunity for me to exercise my "protective big brother" muscles by fending off any unwanted potential suitors of hers. 😂