April 3, 2025 • 30 mins
Join @thebuzzknight for the episode with the great American Actor Jeff Daniels. He is known for his diverse work on stage and screen, switching between comedy and drama and is the recipient of many awards. He is also an accomplished singer, songwriter musician, dating back to the time in 1976 when he bought a Guild D-40 guitar and moved to New York City. If you haven't heard his brilliant music go to https://www.jeffdaniels.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk. It's cumulative.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You know, an artist gets better with each project, with
each year, with each decade.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
That's how it's supposed to.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Work, if you're learning from the people ye're around. And
I have been fortunate to be around some great people
over the decades.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast, where Buzznight talks
with musicians and insiders about their love of music and
from time to time he's lucky enough to speak with
great actors that are also great musicians, and today that
person is Jeff Daniels. Jeff's musical journey is impressive. He's
(00:37):
a skilled guitarist and songwriter. He has released multiple albums
that showcases authentic Americana sound and his storytelling prowess. Let's
join Buzznight with his guest, the legendary Jeff Daniels. Now
I'm Taking a Walk podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Jeff Daniels, Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 5 (00:58):
It's so nice to have you on.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Ue to be here was so Since this is called
taking a walk, I do want to ask you if
you could take a walk with somebody living or dead,
who might that be and where would you take a
walk with him?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
That's good? You know what.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Robert Johnson, and I know he wasn't the only one.
Charlie Patten and Sonhouse and Skip James, but Robert Johnson,
and I would love to just listen to him talk
about the blues where he got it. You know, the
(01:41):
famous story of the Crossroads, which sounds more like you know, marketing.
You know, let's make up a story about yourself that
that you made a deal with the devil and you
came back all of a sudden, you're playing differently.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Justin get inside his head. Would it'd be great?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And I know I'd walked down Highway sixty one with
them and just listen.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Ah, that would be awesome. Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Well, folks, could hear you play at fifty four below
in New York City on April the seventh, And that
sounds like it's going to be a pretty amazing place
to be.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Can you talk about the first.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Moment that you remember you were deeply connected with music?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Well, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
There were a couple things early on. I mean, I
I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, Chelsea.
I still live there, and you know, just public high
school and they do high school musicals, and so I
was around it I was in choir. I was one
of the boys who could actually carry a tune, which
qualified you in that town. And same thing with the musical,
(02:59):
but it wasn't until I got I.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Think I said.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
One of the early ones was when Arlo Guthrie's Alice's
Restaurant album came out, and that song Alice's Restaurant, which
was so different from you know, in the sixties, even
before Woodstock.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
It was, you know, the Turtles.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
For me, it was the Turtles, the strawberry alarm clock,
Dave Clark five, Oh the Monkeys, Oh the Monkeys, you
know it was, And then all of a sudden it
was Led Zeppelin and the who Elton John's eleven seventeen
seventy and that was the rock side Grand Funk Railroad
Jay Giles band. But then I heard Alice's Restaurant and
(03:40):
it was just Arlow with that guitar that just stayed
with me, and he was the first concert I saw.
I couldn't drive, so my parents had to drive me
to the Masonic Temple in Detroit, and the marijuana smoke
before Arlow even came out was like, you know, the
fog of London. It was just everywhere and for my
(04:04):
parents to sit there and basically try not to breathe
because if they did, you know, they might get stoned.
But I got to see Arlow and that mattered. That
stayed with me because when I moved to New York
in seventy six, I bought an acoustic guitar and threw
it in the back of the car and just took
(04:26):
it with me. I knew three chords, that was it,
but I just whatever it was he was doing. It
was similar to seeing Dog Day Afternoon with al Pacino.
I saw it six times I was in college, and
I remember thinking, whatever it is Pacino's doing, I need
to go and learn how to do that. And that
(04:48):
met New York. It's the same thing with Arlow. Whatever
he's doing underneath Alice's restaurant, I got to.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Figure out how to do that. And that led me
to fingerpicking.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
That led me to back in the late seventies early eighties,
the tablature books of people like Stefan Grossman and Doc
Watson and James Taylor, you know, and that I discovered
Robert Johnson and the Blues, and that was that was
a turning point.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And you when you were in New York City got
to see a bunch of shows at the bottom Line.
Doc Watson was one of them that really made an
impact on you. Who were some of the others that
you saw either at the bottom Line or some of
those other great clubs in the village.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I was aimed at the acoustic guitar, so I
you know, I missed the whole talking heads thing, and
I just wasn't. I wasn't into the jazz scene at all.
It was the acoustic guitar. And I saw Doc Watson
at the bottom Line with t Michael Coleman on bass
and Merle Watson his son. He was so fast, Doc
(06:03):
d Merle were so fast with the flat picking.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
And then he's blind.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Doc Watson is blind, and you're just going good God.
And then I saw Stevie Goodman, and that was a
huge thing because there was no band. And Stevie Goodman
was five foot five inches tall maybe he's five'. Six
just this little, guy the big the big dreadnought. Guitar
(06:29):
he had seemed bigger than he. Was But, god could
he hold an. Audience and with his, humor you, know
he was one of the guys that quietly gave me
permission to be. Funny you didn't have to try to
Be James taylor or. Something you, KNOW i need to
(06:52):
be serious and. IMPORTANT i need to move To nashville
and write important. Movie, no you can also be. Funny
Stevie goodman taught me. That arlow taught me. That Christine
lavin taught me That Cheryl. WHEELER i wasn't Into loud
And right And, wainwright but you know he's certainly. Qualified John,
prime you know those guys that use their sense of
(07:14):
humor in their writing to kind of pull the audience. In,
yeah those guys were a huge, influence AND i was
able to see a few of them when they came
Through New.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
YORK i love the Song Roads Signs. Is it is so,
Beautiful it is so. Colorful can you tell that story
when you first perform?
Speaker 5 (07:36):
That and we're sort of urged.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
On, YEAH i, Again i'm an. Actor So i'm an
actor who has a guitar in his, apartment and that's
where it needs to. Stay you are told early on
to stay in your. Lane you want to be a,
musician you want to be a, singer, songwriter then drop
the acting and go do. That but there are plenty
of us out there trying to do what you're doing
(08:00):
as a little. Hobby so there was always kind of
a you, know stay in new lane. Thing and you,
KNOW i used to open my show with If William
shatner CAN i can, too you, know just to kind
of cut the critics off ahead of.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Time BUT i just did it for. ME i.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Would go to see people Like Stevie goodman And Doc, Watson,
Arlow Stephen, Grossman keV, Mo, Kelly Joe, phelps And i'll
never be as good as.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Them does that mean you?
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Quit you?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Know John prine wasn't that fancy on the, guitar but he.
Could he wrote, imagery and SO i would just sit
in my apartment and try to do. That in the late,
SEVENTIES i was doing a play Called fifth Of july Off,
broadway And Lanford wilson was the, playwright And lanford was a.
MENTOR i had never been around real, play, living breathing
(08:57):
playwrights UNTIL i went To Circle rep and every single
one of them was rewriting a second. Act it was,
thrilling And lanford would go on to win A Poet
serprize for playwriting play Called Tally's folly and.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
In nineteen seventy.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Eight i'm sitting there between shows the Fifth, july playing
you know a SONG i wrote with bad lyrics Because
i'm you, know twenty three AND i don't know. Anything
AND i look up and he's in the, doorway leaning
against the doorframe and he, goes you write.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
SONGS i, said.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah he, goes let me, help and he hands me
a piece of paper and on the paper was a
poem called Road, signs about a bus trip he had
taken as a young man From, Lebanon, missouri up To
chicago to become a graphic, artist which didn't work, out
so he took another bus To New york and became
(09:52):
a poet serprize when he. Playwright BUT i think he
had a collection of, poems and hearing my bad, lyric
he went back to his apartment and went through some
and pulled this one out and handed it to me and,
said see if you can do something with. Us and
it's more of a poem than a. SONG i repeat
the chorus a couple, times but it's it's, unusual but
(10:15):
in it is the imagery that Only Landford wilson could.
Write and that's what separates him as a. Playwright it's
what Separates John. Prime they're just. Definitive the Only prime
would Write.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Hello in there that.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Way Lyle love it's another, one you.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Know LYLE'S i.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Mean his take on the world and his the just the,
rhymes but also the, construction the structure of the, songs
the how he says what he. Says that's What lanford
had on that page called road. Signs and SO i
threw some chords on.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It And.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I'm kind of BECAUSE i never think of myself being
very good back in the late, seventies BUT i pretty
much play it now the same WAY i played it
For landford back in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Eight he, goes, yeah that's pretty. GOOD i like. That,
well nothing happens.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Man twenty years goes, by and NOW i have a
theater company In, Chelsea michigan called The Purple Rose Theater,
company and we Bring landford out to write a, play
a new play for our company of. Actors we'd been
open about eight or nine. Years we had developed a
good group of, people AND i thought they he could
look at them and, go, YEAH i can write for,
(11:33):
them just LIKE i used to write For Circle. Rep
so he brought him out and after seeing a performance
of a play so he could see the, actors who
went out to a bar and there was a guy
in the corner playing covers and nobody KNEW i. PLAYED
i played on my back, porch staying in my, lane you,
know And. Lanford the guy put his guitar down to
(11:54):
take a, break And landford, said go play road. SIGNS i,
said no that they're, no nobody KNOWS i, Played. Lanford
i'm not get up, there and he's one of the
few people that with fort CAN i you, KNOW i
have to do. It SO i got up and, played
and people are, going are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Me i'm going, well.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And that became why don't we put you out Between
christmas And New year's and sell tickets and raise some?
Money but NOW i had to learn how to do,
That and that's WHEN i learned how difficult it is
to do What arlow does And Stevie goodman did Cav
mo sitting there with just his, Guitar christine lab and
holding an audience or ninety minutes with her wit and.
(12:39):
Musicianship there ain't nobody to save. You you. Know you
don't look to the guitar player and say take, it
it's just. You SO i had to get good real,
fast And i've worked real hard on that end of,
it so that you, know after about three years of
doing those holiday, SHOWS i was able to kind of
go out AND i had an agent Named Jim fleming
(13:01):
Still do who came and, said you, know you could
do this if you wanted. TO i, said, well my
acting career at that, time like two thousand and, three
two thousand and, four was slowing. Down maybe this is
What i'm going to. Do and SO i started. TOURING
i would go play clubs all over the, country opera
houses sometimes thousand, seaters BUT i loved the. CLUBS i
(13:25):
love the two hundred. Seaters the place is like fifty
four below In New, york where they're just right.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
THERE i kind of love. That you, Know i'm.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
FORTUNATE i don't have to make my, living have something
that's entertaining and can hold an audience using some of
my skills as an actor on a stage who knows
how to work an, audience skills as a playwright That i've,
become OR i learned about how to structure a set
so that it builds to. Something i've learned how to do.
(13:56):
That AND i have spent the time and have. PLAYED
i Think i'm over six hundred gigs, now which is
pretty good for a guy with a day. Job SO
i enjoy, it and i have one hundred percent creative,
control And i've got a show that not only entertains
people but pulls them.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
In so Al kayline is such a beautiful tribute to.
Someone obviously that was a big part of your. Life
WHEN i listened to that, SONG i was only on
the porch in the stadium In detroit one time to
(14:35):
see a, game but it made me feel LIKE i
WAS i was watching him play AS i was there
on that porch At Tiger. Stadium talk about the creation
of that beautiful song and what Mister kayline meant to.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
You, well he was a baseball player for The Detroit
tigers in the mainly the, sixties and he was part
of The World series champions in nineteen sixty. Eight AND
i was nine years old in nineteen sixty four WHEN
i kind of discovered The, tigers and he was my.
Hero he was my childhood, hero and it was all
(15:13):
things Al. Kline friends of mine Had Norm, Cash Willie,
Horton Bill, freehand BUT i Had kline and you want
to be. Him you, know you're playing sandlot. Baseball you
want to Be. Kayline he passed away a month INTO,
covid not FROM.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Covid but he.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Was he was in his eighties and he passed, away
and it hit me because that's you, know it's when
your childhood hero.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Dies you know a little bit of you does.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Too and SO i just wrote the song for me
AND i sent it to a friend of mine who
also plays a guy Named Devin, skillion who used to
be one of the anchors at the local you, KNOW nbc.
AFFILIATE i, said, look here's THE i Know kylne. Died
(16:05):
you know him, better knew him better THAN i. Did you,
know if you like, it you, know play, it put
it in your. Set BUT i think you could kill this.
Song and blah blah. Blah it was just give him the.
Song and he came back and he, said you, know
we're going to put together a visual tribute On sunday
morning for K, line and couldn't we put this song underneath?
IT i said, sure and it, was you, know it
(16:27):
was four minutes, long the video tribute and the, song
and there were grown men crying all over the state
Of michigan that, morning and then a few days, Later
devin texts me and he, SAYS i got a call From,
Cooperstown New. York they heard about the, song and, they you,
(16:47):
KNOW i gave me a name of somebody to, contact
and basically it, was can we have the handwritten lyrics
to your song El kline to include in his display In,
cooperstown proving once and for, all there's more than one
way to get into The Baseball hall Of, fame which
is the joke at the end of the patter at the,
(17:09):
intro and THEN i go into, it but it's it's you,
know it's for anybody who's been lucky enough to pick
the right person for a childhood. Hero sometimes they don't
end up so. Well they end up in, prison or
they disappoint, us or they fail us or. Something kline.
Didn't AND i got to meet him AFTER i started doing.
(17:32):
MOVIES i was able to kind of celebrity my way
backstay back in the, stadium and Suddenly i'm meeting Out
caline and he couldn't have been, nicer and you, know
his ability to handle his fame even after he was
done playing.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
With grace and.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Appreciation of how people felt about, him you, know because
it's not always, easy especially in the days of you,
know guys jumping.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
In hey CAN i get a? Selfie? YEAH i do.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It take a. Long, hey come, on come, out he's
gonna do a fell you. Know held that guy he
didn't have to deal with. That but but it's it's
a great.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Lesson it.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Was he was a great lesson in how to handle
it because it is thrust upon. You when he passed,
away he was. Revered and, uh that's kind of how
you want to hand up is like L kline the
way he handled.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
It SO i picked a good.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
One it's.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
Beautiful and AS i was listening to it again before
talking to, YOU I i couldn't help but think in
an era where the true gentleman don't exists as, much
he certainly seemed like a real gentleman with you, know high.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Ethics actually got to do.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
A little work around my Radio nielsen arbitron measurement days
with his his, Son, mark who you may, know who's
a pretty influential marketing guy there up in your neck
of the. Woods and he couldn't have been any nicer as.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
Well so he raised he raised a good son, also you, know,
yeah he.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Was he was a class. Act he really.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
WAS i, mean we're look social media and you know
the video, games it's all about the, celebration the entertainment.
Factor you go into the end, zone you gotta do a,
dance you hit a home, run you've got to you,
know you, know strike somebody. Out But kayline was just
doing his. Job this is What i'm supposed to. Do
they're paying me to do. This and he doesn't celebrate
(19:49):
himself the way that that players.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Do now it's you, know it's a different. Time people.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Are they want different things out of their. ATHLETES i get,
that but you, Know Barry, sanders you, Know kayline Was
Barry sanders Before Barry sanders Was Barry. Sanders Barry sanders
was A Detroit lions running back and he would run
into the end, zone turn around and hand the ball
to the. REF i think it Was barry who, said
act like you've been here, before not like it's the
(20:16):
first time you've ever scored a touchdown or knocked down
a pass that was intended for a receiver that you
were being paid to, cover you, Know And kayline was
of that era where they just kind of did their,
job and if they did it with, excellence it was
even more, wonderful at least for me to see him
make that incredible catch that saved the, inning laying over the,
(20:41):
fence catching the ball and then running in without the beating.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Of the chest and all. That you, know.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
But you, know you get, old you miss things that
aren't here. Anymore so you'll be right back with more
of The taking A Walk. Podcast welcome back to The
taking A Walk.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
PODCAST i was privileged to get to see you at
the amazing performance Of To kill A mockingbird.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Was just absolutely.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Unbelievable can you take our audience back to the moment where,
YOU i guess for the crew members and your fellow
actors came out and did the amazing all.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Rise, yeah that was a gift to the cast we.
Had we had been in, it the original cast had
been in it for a. Year we had to sign
for a, year eight shows a, week and there were
three of us that didn't miss a, show so we
were very proud of. Ourselves but we were coming down
(21:57):
to the last, matinee The Sunday mattin and then the
next cast would take over the Following, tuesday and it's.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
A long, haul AND.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
I didn't know what to do for the, cast and
SO i wrote this song Called All, rise which is
something That scout says in particular in the.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Play and.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
It really was just a remembrance of the year we
had spent, together knowing that in decades to come That
november Till november would be inside this, song AND i
just tried to capture some of the feelings of what
it was like for me, anyway and for others to
(22:44):
kind of have done. This you, know there's a line in,
there AND i always felt this during The atticus's closing,
argument WHEN i would turn to the, audience fourteen hundred
of the most sophisticated theatergoers and The Schubert, theater AND
i would turn to, them AND i would make the
(23:04):
audience feel like they were the twelve white jurors that
were about to Put Tom robinson. Away and you, know
AND i had, people night after night come back and
just GO i couldn't. MOVE i, mean it was the
proverbial pin drop. Moment and to get that and to
have that night after night after night On broadway is
(23:26):
Something i'll never. Forget and there's a, line couple of
lines in the. Song you, Know i'll forever feel the
stillness and the silence in their eyes and that's what
it felt like for me looking at, them talking to,
them trying to get them to Let Tom robinson. Go
(23:47):
and that song kind of just reflects all of. That
and it's a good it's a good it was a
good closing day.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Gift it's a gift that still that still lives with us,
Though SO i really thank you for. That so can
you talk about what you're working on besides the show
for you, know fifty four below On april, Seventh you've
got The audible work that you're, Continuing is that?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Right, yeah we're looking to get a season. Three we'll
see how how season two. Does IT'S i enjoy it
doing it alive and well enough on audible Dot. Com
it's it's kind of a, memoir but more of a
kind of a one man audio. ADVENTURE i tell. Stories
it's similar to WHAT i do with The unplugged, show
but IT'S i tell, stories behind the scenes. STUFF i
(24:36):
talk a lot about What i've learned from some people
who are pretty great in all kinds of, fields whether
it's writing or acting or. Music And i'm just kind
of trying to entertain people along the. Way there's a
lot of music in, it so that's kind of teed.
UP i just shot a, movie an independent movie that
(24:57):
that might be pretty. Good they're just finishing cutting it.
Now it's Called raykovic and it was a movie about
the meeting Between reagan And gorbachev In, Raykovic iceland in
nineteen eighty. Six and it's a famous meeting where they
went there for a weekend and sat in a house
(25:22):
and tried to figure out a way for the two
superpowers not to blow each other up with nuclear. Weapons
it was such a, precarious dangerous time That reagan felt
it was important that they get, together And gorbachev.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Agreed and the.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Movie is about that, weekend And Jared harris Plays gorbachev AND.
Jk simmons Plays George, schultz AND i Played, reagan and
we shot it in the same, house in the same,
room sitting in the same. Chairs the writer Director Michael,
gunn had access To George schultz and the transcripts of
(26:04):
their negotiations and their, Meetings so a lot of what
we're saying is what they. Said with where we are
now With trump and Putin it's an interesting, contrast to
say the.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Least we're sure can't wait to see.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
It our hope is to get into some film festivals
the end of the summer early fall and hopefully have
it out by the end of the.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Year but you know it could be.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Good jeff And, closing who instilled the ability to take
risks that you were so amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
At the biggest risk were were a couple of. Them
one is to leave a little town where as the eldest,
son you were supposed to run the family, business the lumber.
Company there's that risk of Going i'm going to go
be an. Actor, NOW i could have failed after two
or three years and come back AND i would have
(26:56):
landed on my feet. THERE i wasn't built for. That
that wasn't WHAT i was supposed to. Do so the
risk of just going off to try to be an
actor with the odds that are stacked against you in
nineteen Seventies New York, city which is a whole different,
deal that's a. Risk AND i guess dumb And. DUMMER
(27:18):
i know dumb And dumber was a. Risk walking out
with the guitar is a. Risk but you, know my
dad told me a long time, ago you, know and
it's not first Time i've heard it or people have said,
it but it was invest in. Yourself and so that's
What i've. Done whatever TALENT i, Have i've tried to
live a very creative, life whether it's, acting, music. PLAYWRITING
(27:43):
i feel Like i'm doing What i'm supposed to be.
Doing it may not always make financial. Sense it's certainly
not what you do if you go to business school
become an.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Artist you don't do.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
That it's a gamble to do some of the Things i've,
done But i'm still gambling on whatever TALENT i have
THAT i have continued to grow.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And learn and add.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
To it's, cumulative you, know an artist gets better with each,
project with each, year with each. Decade that's how it's
supposed to, work if you're learning from the people y're.
Around And i've been fortunate to be around some great
people over the, decades and so it doesn't really feel
(28:36):
like a risk to. ME i, mean, occasionally you, know
like If dumb And dumber had, failed or The reagan
movie fails Or newsroom had, failed you go away into.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Oblivion but they.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Didn't they, didn't and so the risk isn't that big
of a risk IF i KNOW i can pull it,
off IF i work as hard AS i have to.
WORK i learned that from people Like Meryl. Streep there's
a big difference between good and, Great and the difference
(29:11):
is that good is a close cousin to good, enough
and the people who are great in whatever field outwork
those who are satisfied with just being. Good AND i
Remember meryl how hard she, worked how prepared she was
coming in every. Morning you know the people That i've
(29:32):
worked with like. That you Know Doc watson doesn't sit
on that stage and just do. That there are countless
hours getting that good so that he can if you
put in the, time and you know a lot more
than you did than he used. To, yeah it might
(29:52):
be a risk to, some but to, you it's, no
it's not as. Big it doesn't seem as big as
of a. RISK i GUESS i just challenge those who
want to pigeonhole or Label i'm constantly challenging that BECAUSE
i KNOW i can bust.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
That So, jeff thank you so.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Much fifty four Below april seventh In New York. City
check it, Out And i'm so grateful for all.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
The gifts that you continue to give. Us Jeff, daniels thank, you,
thanks BUT i appreciate.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
It thanks for listening to this episode of The taking
A walk. Podcast share this and other episodes with your
friends and follow us so you never miss an. Episode
taking A walk is available on The iHeartRadio, App Apple,
podcasts and wherever you get your.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Podcasts
Taking a Walk. It's cumulative.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
You know, an artist gets better with each project, with
each year, with each decade.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
That's how it's supposed to.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Work, if you're learning from the people ye're around. And
I have been fortunate to be around some great people
over the decades.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast, where Buzznight talks
with musicians and insiders about their love of music and
from time to time he's lucky enough to speak with
great actors that are also great musicians, and today that
person is Jeff Daniels. Jeff's musical journey is impressive. He's
(00:37):
a skilled guitarist and songwriter. He has released multiple albums
that showcases authentic Americana sound and his storytelling prowess. Let's
join Buzznight with his guest, the legendary Jeff Daniels. Now
I'm Taking a Walk podcast.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Jeff Daniels, Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 5 (00:58):
It's so nice to have you on.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Ue to be here was so Since this is called
taking a walk, I do want to ask you if
you could take a walk with somebody living or dead,
who might that be and where would you take a
walk with him?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
That's good? You know what.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Robert Johnson, and I know he wasn't the only one.
Charlie Patten and Sonhouse and Skip James, but Robert Johnson,
and I would love to just listen to him talk
about the blues where he got it. You know, the
(01:41):
famous story of the Crossroads, which sounds more like you know, marketing.
You know, let's make up a story about yourself that
that you made a deal with the devil and you
came back all of a sudden, you're playing differently.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Justin get inside his head. Would it'd be great?
Speaker 2 (01:59):
And I know I'd walked down Highway sixty one with
them and just listen.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Ah, that would be awesome. Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Well, folks, could hear you play at fifty four below
in New York City on April the seventh, And that
sounds like it's going to be a pretty amazing place
to be.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Can you talk about the first.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Moment that you remember you were deeply connected with music?
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Well, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
There were a couple things early on. I mean, I
I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, Chelsea.
I still live there, and you know, just public high
school and they do high school musicals, and so I
was around it I was in choir. I was one
of the boys who could actually carry a tune, which
qualified you in that town. And same thing with the musical,
(02:59):
but it wasn't until I got I.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Think I said.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
One of the early ones was when Arlo Guthrie's Alice's
Restaurant album came out, and that song Alice's Restaurant, which
was so different from you know, in the sixties, even
before Woodstock.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
It was, you know, the Turtles.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
For me, it was the Turtles, the strawberry alarm clock,
Dave Clark five, Oh the Monkeys, Oh the Monkeys, you
know it was, And then all of a sudden it
was Led Zeppelin and the who Elton John's eleven seventeen
seventy and that was the rock side Grand Funk Railroad
Jay Giles band. But then I heard Alice's Restaurant and
(03:40):
it was just Arlow with that guitar that just stayed
with me, and he was the first concert I saw.
I couldn't drive, so my parents had to drive me
to the Masonic Temple in Detroit, and the marijuana smoke
before Arlow even came out was like, you know, the
fog of London. It was just everywhere and for my
(04:04):
parents to sit there and basically try not to breathe
because if they did, you know, they might get stoned.
But I got to see Arlow and that mattered. That
stayed with me because when I moved to New York
in seventy six, I bought an acoustic guitar and threw
it in the back of the car and just took
(04:26):
it with me. I knew three chords, that was it,
but I just whatever it was he was doing. It
was similar to seeing Dog Day Afternoon with al Pacino.
I saw it six times I was in college, and
I remember thinking, whatever it is Pacino's doing, I need
to go and learn how to do that. And that
(04:48):
met New York. It's the same thing with Arlow. Whatever
he's doing underneath Alice's restaurant, I got to.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Figure out how to do that. And that led me
to fingerpicking.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
That led me to back in the late seventies early eighties,
the tablature books of people like Stefan Grossman and Doc
Watson and James Taylor, you know, and that I discovered
Robert Johnson and the Blues, and that was that was
a turning point.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
And you when you were in New York City got
to see a bunch of shows at the bottom Line.
Doc Watson was one of them that really made an
impact on you. Who were some of the others that
you saw either at the bottom Line or some of
those other great clubs in the village.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, I was aimed at the acoustic guitar, so I
you know, I missed the whole talking heads thing, and
I just wasn't. I wasn't into the jazz scene at all.
It was the acoustic guitar. And I saw Doc Watson
at the bottom Line with t Michael Coleman on bass
and Merle Watson his son. He was so fast, Doc
(06:03):
d Merle were so fast with the flat picking.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
And then he's blind.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Doc Watson is blind, and you're just going good God.
And then I saw Stevie Goodman, and that was a
huge thing because there was no band. And Stevie Goodman
was five foot five inches tall maybe he's five'. Six
just this little, guy the big the big dreadnought. Guitar
(06:29):
he had seemed bigger than he. Was But, god could
he hold an. Audience and with his, humor you, know
he was one of the guys that quietly gave me
permission to be. Funny you didn't have to try to
Be James taylor or. Something you, KNOW i need to
(06:52):
be serious and. IMPORTANT i need to move To nashville
and write important. Movie, no you can also be. Funny
Stevie goodman taught me. That arlow taught me. That Christine
lavin taught me That Cheryl. WHEELER i wasn't Into loud
And right And, wainwright but you know he's certainly. Qualified John,
prime you know those guys that use their sense of
(07:14):
humor in their writing to kind of pull the audience. In,
yeah those guys were a huge, influence AND i was
able to see a few of them when they came
Through New.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
YORK i love the Song Roads Signs. Is it is so,
Beautiful it is so. Colorful can you tell that story
when you first perform?
Speaker 5 (07:36):
That and we're sort of urged.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
On, YEAH i, Again i'm an. Actor So i'm an
actor who has a guitar in his, apartment and that's
where it needs to. Stay you are told early on
to stay in your. Lane you want to be a,
musician you want to be a, singer, songwriter then drop
the acting and go do. That but there are plenty
of us out there trying to do what you're doing
(08:00):
as a little. Hobby so there was always kind of
a you, know stay in new lane. Thing and you,
KNOW i used to open my show with If William
shatner CAN i can, too you, know just to kind
of cut the critics off ahead of.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Time BUT i just did it for. ME i.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Would go to see people Like Stevie goodman And Doc, Watson,
Arlow Stephen, Grossman keV, Mo, Kelly Joe, phelps And i'll
never be as good as.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Them does that mean you?
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Quit you?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Know John prine wasn't that fancy on the, guitar but he.
Could he wrote, imagery and SO i would just sit
in my apartment and try to do. That in the late,
SEVENTIES i was doing a play Called fifth Of july Off,
broadway And Lanford wilson was the, playwright And lanford was a.
MENTOR i had never been around real, play, living breathing
(08:57):
playwrights UNTIL i went To Circle rep and every single
one of them was rewriting a second. Act it was,
thrilling And lanford would go on to win A Poet
serprize for playwriting play Called Tally's folly and.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
In nineteen seventy.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Eight i'm sitting there between shows the Fifth, july playing
you know a SONG i wrote with bad lyrics Because
i'm you, know twenty three AND i don't know. Anything
AND i look up and he's in the, doorway leaning
against the doorframe and he, goes you write.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
SONGS i, said.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Yeah he, goes let me, help and he hands me
a piece of paper and on the paper was a
poem called Road, signs about a bus trip he had
taken as a young man From, Lebanon, missouri up To
chicago to become a graphic, artist which didn't work, out
so he took another bus To New york and became
(09:52):
a poet serprize when he. Playwright BUT i think he
had a collection of, poems and hearing my bad, lyric
he went back to his apartment and went through some
and pulled this one out and handed it to me and,
said see if you can do something with. Us and
it's more of a poem than a. SONG i repeat
the chorus a couple, times but it's it's, unusual but
(10:15):
in it is the imagery that Only Landford wilson could.
Write and that's what separates him as a. Playwright it's
what Separates John. Prime they're just. Definitive the Only prime
would Write.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Hello in there that.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Way Lyle love it's another, one you.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Know LYLE'S i.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Mean his take on the world and his the just the,
rhymes but also the, construction the structure of the, songs
the how he says what he. Says that's What lanford
had on that page called road. Signs and SO i
threw some chords on.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
It And.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I'm kind of BECAUSE i never think of myself being
very good back in the late, seventies BUT i pretty
much play it now the same WAY i played it
For landford back in nineteen seventy.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Eight he, goes, yeah that's pretty. GOOD i like. That,
well nothing happens.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Man twenty years goes, by and NOW i have a
theater company In, Chelsea michigan called The Purple Rose Theater,
company and we Bring landford out to write a, play
a new play for our company of. Actors we'd been
open about eight or nine. Years we had developed a
good group of, people AND i thought they he could
look at them and, go, YEAH i can write for,
(11:33):
them just LIKE i used to write For Circle. Rep
so he brought him out and after seeing a performance
of a play so he could see the, actors who
went out to a bar and there was a guy
in the corner playing covers and nobody KNEW i. PLAYED
i played on my back, porch staying in my, lane you,
know And. Lanford the guy put his guitar down to
(11:54):
take a, break And landford, said go play road. SIGNS i,
said no that they're, no nobody KNOWS i, Played. Lanford
i'm not get up, there and he's one of the
few people that with fort CAN i you, KNOW i
have to do. It SO i got up and, played
and people are, going are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Me i'm going, well.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And that became why don't we put you out Between
christmas And New year's and sell tickets and raise some?
Money but NOW i had to learn how to do,
That and that's WHEN i learned how difficult it is
to do What arlow does And Stevie goodman did Cav
mo sitting there with just his, Guitar christine lab and
holding an audience or ninety minutes with her wit and.
(12:39):
Musicianship there ain't nobody to save. You you. Know you
don't look to the guitar player and say take, it
it's just. You SO i had to get good real,
fast And i've worked real hard on that end of,
it so that you, know after about three years of
doing those holiday, SHOWS i was able to kind of
go out AND i had an agent Named Jim fleming
(13:01):
Still do who came and, said you, know you could
do this if you wanted. TO i, said, well my
acting career at that, time like two thousand and, three
two thousand and, four was slowing. Down maybe this is
What i'm going to. Do and SO i started. TOURING
i would go play clubs all over the, country opera
houses sometimes thousand, seaters BUT i loved the. CLUBS i
(13:25):
love the two hundred. Seaters the place is like fifty
four below In New, york where they're just right.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
THERE i kind of love. That you, Know i'm.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
FORTUNATE i don't have to make my, living have something
that's entertaining and can hold an audience using some of
my skills as an actor on a stage who knows
how to work an, audience skills as a playwright That i've,
become OR i learned about how to structure a set
so that it builds to. Something i've learned how to do.
(13:56):
That AND i have spent the time and have. PLAYED
i Think i'm over six hundred gigs, now which is
pretty good for a guy with a day. Job SO
i enjoy, it and i have one hundred percent creative,
control And i've got a show that not only entertains
people but pulls them.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
In so Al kayline is such a beautiful tribute to.
Someone obviously that was a big part of your. Life
WHEN i listened to that, SONG i was only on
the porch in the stadium In detroit one time to
(14:35):
see a, game but it made me feel LIKE i
WAS i was watching him play AS i was there
on that porch At Tiger. Stadium talk about the creation
of that beautiful song and what Mister kayline meant to.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
You, well he was a baseball player for The Detroit
tigers in the mainly the, sixties and he was part
of The World series champions in nineteen sixty. Eight AND
i was nine years old in nineteen sixty four WHEN
i kind of discovered The, tigers and he was my.
Hero he was my childhood, hero and it was all
(15:13):
things Al. Kline friends of mine Had Norm, Cash Willie,
Horton Bill, freehand BUT i Had kline and you want
to be. Him you, know you're playing sandlot. Baseball you
want to Be. Kayline he passed away a month INTO,
covid not FROM.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Covid but he.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Was he was in his eighties and he passed, away
and it hit me because that's you, know it's when
your childhood hero.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Dies you know a little bit of you does.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Too and SO i just wrote the song for me
AND i sent it to a friend of mine who
also plays a guy Named Devin, skillion who used to
be one of the anchors at the local you, KNOW nbc.
AFFILIATE i, said, look here's THE i Know kylne. Died
(16:05):
you know him, better knew him better THAN i. Did you,
know if you like, it you, know play, it put
it in your. Set BUT i think you could kill this.
Song and blah blah. Blah it was just give him the.
Song and he came back and he, said you, know
we're going to put together a visual tribute On sunday
morning for K, line and couldn't we put this song underneath?
IT i said, sure and it, was you, know it
(16:27):
was four minutes, long the video tribute and the, song
and there were grown men crying all over the state
Of michigan that, morning and then a few days, Later
devin texts me and he, SAYS i got a call From,
Cooperstown New. York they heard about the, song and, they you,
(16:47):
KNOW i gave me a name of somebody to, contact
and basically it, was can we have the handwritten lyrics
to your song El kline to include in his display In,
cooperstown proving once and for, all there's more than one
way to get into The Baseball hall Of, fame which
is the joke at the end of the patter at the,
(17:09):
intro and THEN i go into, it but it's it's you,
know it's for anybody who's been lucky enough to pick
the right person for a childhood. Hero sometimes they don't
end up so. Well they end up in, prison or
they disappoint, us or they fail us or. Something kline.
Didn't AND i got to meet him AFTER i started doing.
(17:32):
MOVIES i was able to kind of celebrity my way
backstay back in the, stadium and Suddenly i'm meeting Out
caline and he couldn't have been, nicer and you, know
his ability to handle his fame even after he was
done playing.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
With grace and.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Appreciation of how people felt about, him you, know because
it's not always, easy especially in the days of you,
know guys jumping.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
In hey CAN i get a? Selfie? YEAH i do.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
It take a. Long, hey come, on come, out he's
gonna do a fell you. Know held that guy he
didn't have to deal with. That but but it's it's
a great.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Lesson it.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Was he was a great lesson in how to handle
it because it is thrust upon. You when he passed,
away he was. Revered and, uh that's kind of how
you want to hand up is like L kline the
way he handled.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
It SO i picked a good.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
One it's.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
Beautiful and AS i was listening to it again before
talking to, YOU I i couldn't help but think in
an era where the true gentleman don't exists as, much
he certainly seemed like a real gentleman with you, know high.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Ethics actually got to do.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
A little work around my Radio nielsen arbitron measurement days
with his his, Son, mark who you may, know who's
a pretty influential marketing guy there up in your neck
of the. Woods and he couldn't have been any nicer as.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
Well so he raised he raised a good son, also you, know,
yeah he.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Was he was a class. Act he really.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
WAS i, mean we're look social media and you know
the video, games it's all about the, celebration the entertainment.
Factor you go into the end, zone you gotta do a,
dance you hit a home, run you've got to you,
know you, know strike somebody. Out But kayline was just
doing his. Job this is What i'm supposed to. Do
they're paying me to do. This and he doesn't celebrate
(19:49):
himself the way that that players.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Do now it's you, know it's a different. Time people.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Are they want different things out of their. ATHLETES i get,
that but you, Know Barry, sanders you, Know kayline Was
Barry sanders Before Barry sanders Was Barry. Sanders Barry sanders
was A Detroit lions running back and he would run
into the end, zone turn around and hand the ball
to the. REF i think it Was barry who, said
act like you've been here, before not like it's the
(20:16):
first time you've ever scored a touchdown or knocked down
a pass that was intended for a receiver that you
were being paid to, cover you, Know And kayline was
of that era where they just kind of did their,
job and if they did it with, excellence it was
even more, wonderful at least for me to see him
make that incredible catch that saved the, inning laying over the,
(20:41):
fence catching the ball and then running in without the beating.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Of the chest and all. That you, know.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
But you, know you get, old you miss things that
aren't here. Anymore so you'll be right back with more
of The taking A Walk. Podcast welcome back to The
taking A Walk.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
PODCAST i was privileged to get to see you at
the amazing performance Of To kill A mockingbird.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
Was just absolutely.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Unbelievable can you take our audience back to the moment where,
YOU i guess for the crew members and your fellow
actors came out and did the amazing all.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Rise, yeah that was a gift to the cast we.
Had we had been in, it the original cast had
been in it for a. Year we had to sign
for a, year eight shows a, week and there were
three of us that didn't miss a, show so we
were very proud of. Ourselves but we were coming down
(21:57):
to the last, matinee The Sunday mattin and then the
next cast would take over the Following, tuesday and it's.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
A long, haul AND.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
I didn't know what to do for the, cast and
SO i wrote this song Called All, rise which is
something That scout says in particular in the.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Play and.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
It really was just a remembrance of the year we
had spent, together knowing that in decades to come That
november Till november would be inside this, song AND i
just tried to capture some of the feelings of what
it was like for me, anyway and for others to
(22:44):
kind of have done. This you, know there's a line in,
there AND i always felt this during The atticus's closing,
argument WHEN i would turn to the, audience fourteen hundred
of the most sophisticated theatergoers and The Schubert, theater AND
i would turn to, them AND i would make the
(23:04):
audience feel like they were the twelve white jurors that
were about to Put Tom robinson. Away and you, know
AND i had, people night after night come back and
just GO i couldn't. MOVE i, mean it was the
proverbial pin drop. Moment and to get that and to
have that night after night after night On broadway is
(23:26):
Something i'll never. Forget and there's a, line couple of
lines in the. Song you, Know i'll forever feel the
stillness and the silence in their eyes and that's what
it felt like for me looking at, them talking to,
them trying to get them to Let Tom robinson. Go
(23:47):
and that song kind of just reflects all of. That
and it's a good it's a good it was a
good closing day.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Gift it's a gift that still that still lives with us,
Though SO i really thank you for. That so can
you talk about what you're working on besides the show
for you, know fifty four below On april, Seventh you've
got The audible work that you're, Continuing is that?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Right, yeah we're looking to get a season. Three we'll
see how how season two. Does IT'S i enjoy it
doing it alive and well enough on audible Dot. Com
it's it's kind of a, memoir but more of a
kind of a one man audio. ADVENTURE i tell. Stories
it's similar to WHAT i do with The unplugged, show
but IT'S i tell, stories behind the scenes. STUFF i
(24:36):
talk a lot about What i've learned from some people
who are pretty great in all kinds of, fields whether
it's writing or acting or. Music And i'm just kind
of trying to entertain people along the. Way there's a
lot of music in, it so that's kind of teed.
UP i just shot a, movie an independent movie that
(24:57):
that might be pretty. Good they're just finishing cutting it.
Now it's Called raykovic and it was a movie about
the meeting Between reagan And gorbachev In, Raykovic iceland in
nineteen eighty. Six and it's a famous meeting where they
went there for a weekend and sat in a house
(25:22):
and tried to figure out a way for the two
superpowers not to blow each other up with nuclear. Weapons
it was such a, precarious dangerous time That reagan felt
it was important that they get, together And gorbachev.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Agreed and the.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Movie is about that, weekend And Jared harris Plays gorbachev AND.
Jk simmons Plays George, schultz AND i Played, reagan and
we shot it in the same, house in the same,
room sitting in the same. Chairs the writer Director Michael,
gunn had access To George schultz and the transcripts of
(26:04):
their negotiations and their, Meetings so a lot of what
we're saying is what they. Said with where we are
now With trump and Putin it's an interesting, contrast to
say the.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
Least we're sure can't wait to see.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
It our hope is to get into some film festivals
the end of the summer early fall and hopefully have
it out by the end of the.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Year but you know it could be.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Good jeff And, closing who instilled the ability to take
risks that you were so amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
At the biggest risk were were a couple of. Them
one is to leave a little town where as the eldest,
son you were supposed to run the family, business the lumber.
Company there's that risk of Going i'm going to go
be an. Actor, NOW i could have failed after two
or three years and come back AND i would have
(26:56):
landed on my feet. THERE i wasn't built for. That
that wasn't WHAT i was supposed to. Do so the
risk of just going off to try to be an
actor with the odds that are stacked against you in
nineteen Seventies New York, city which is a whole different,
deal that's a. Risk AND i guess dumb And. DUMMER
(27:18):
i know dumb And dumber was a. Risk walking out
with the guitar is a. Risk but you, know my
dad told me a long time, ago you, know and
it's not first Time i've heard it or people have said,
it but it was invest in. Yourself and so that's
What i've. Done whatever TALENT i, Have i've tried to
live a very creative, life whether it's, acting, music. PLAYWRITING
(27:43):
i feel Like i'm doing What i'm supposed to be.
Doing it may not always make financial. Sense it's certainly
not what you do if you go to business school
become an.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Artist you don't do.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
That it's a gamble to do some of the Things i've,
done But i'm still gambling on whatever TALENT i have
THAT i have continued to grow.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And learn and add.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
To it's, cumulative you, know an artist gets better with each,
project with each, year with each. Decade that's how it's
supposed to, work if you're learning from the people y're.
Around And i've been fortunate to be around some great
people over the, decades and so it doesn't really feel
(28:36):
like a risk to. ME i, mean, occasionally you, know
like If dumb And dumber had, failed or The reagan
movie fails Or newsroom had, failed you go away into.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Oblivion but they.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Didn't they, didn't and so the risk isn't that big
of a risk IF i KNOW i can pull it,
off IF i work as hard AS i have to.
WORK i learned that from people Like Meryl. Streep there's
a big difference between good and, Great and the difference
(29:11):
is that good is a close cousin to good, enough
and the people who are great in whatever field outwork
those who are satisfied with just being. Good AND i
Remember meryl how hard she, worked how prepared she was
coming in every. Morning you know the people That i've
(29:32):
worked with like. That you Know Doc watson doesn't sit
on that stage and just do. That there are countless
hours getting that good so that he can if you
put in the, time and you know a lot more
than you did than he used. To, yeah it might
(29:52):
be a risk to, some but to, you it's, no
it's not as. Big it doesn't seem as big as
of a. RISK i GUESS i just challenge those who
want to pigeonhole or Label i'm constantly challenging that BECAUSE
i KNOW i can bust.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
That So, jeff thank you so.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Much fifty four Below april seventh In New York. City
check it, Out And i'm so grateful for all.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
The gifts that you continue to give. Us Jeff, daniels thank, you,
thanks BUT i appreciate.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
It thanks for listening to this episode of The taking
A walk. Podcast share this and other episodes with your
friends and follow us so you never miss an. Episode
taking A walk is available on The iHeartRadio, App Apple,
podcasts and wherever you get your.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
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