December 6, 2022 • 67 mins
Valerie June is a GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter, musician, a yogi, healer, poet, illustrator, children’s author and all around creative. In this episode she and Norah delve into how to overcome the dark corners of your mind and use that energy for something positive. Valerie used her energy to go from watching performers soundcheck growing up, to being a celebrated artist in her own right. Norah and Val sing and play around with duo versions of some of her most special songs. Listen in for an intense conversation with a great student of life and beautiful music. Recorded on 7/16/2021
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, I'm Norah Jones and today I'm playing along with
Valerie June, just playing alone with you, just playing alone
with you. Hi, welcome to the show, Anora, and with
(00:26):
me as always is Sarah Oda. I never know what
to say, We'll just say hello. Let's just keep it on,
all right. So today's show, today's show, we have Valerie June.
She happens to be a friend of ours, which was
extra fun. These shows we've done with people who I'm
(00:48):
already friends with have been very special.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I gotta say, Yeah, you're learning a lot of things
you didn't know even though you've known these people for
so long.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, it's wild how much you get to know them
more are in these intensive little thingies we're doing. I
don't know how to explain it, but this was a
very it was intense. I felt so connected to Valerie.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, she's a very beautiful, sort of magical person.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
She really is a very unique human.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Very unique as a person, and her music as well.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, and everything about her.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Can't put her in a box.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
No, she's amazing. And I've known her through the last
two albums. I've sort of known her and watched her
make these albums and I've seen her go through all
these different phases with her music, and I just loved
playing with her finally, because we have kind of sung
together definitely before on various recording sessions, but not in
(01:49):
this sort of truly intimate way just playing songs together.
So this was a really special special thing for me.
Her new album is called The Move and Star's Prescription
for Dreamers. That kind of sums her up in a nutshell,
I feel really does. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I mean she's she's the kind of person. She's always creating, inventing, writing, performing,
She's always making it happen. She really inspires me in
that way because yes, you know, she just keeps moving forward.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I love that about her. Yeah, and learning. I feel
like she's a real sort of student of life in
that way she is. Yeah, Well, we hope you enjoy
this show. I had so much fun playing with Valerie June.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Enjoy ah, no.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Very easy. Please for me, help me to.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Brawl that I'm in the thing.
Speaker 6 (03:03):
See a stream that falls to and into fun that os.
Speaker 7 (03:11):
A king steals my chest dream.
Speaker 8 (03:16):
I know.
Speaker 9 (03:18):
There is a home inside window.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Too short with every dream of but he spreads.
Speaker 10 (03:28):
His goldly pathy.
Speaker 9 (03:30):
Lighty guys, garden too broke, keep on.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
The sudy side.
Speaker 11 (03:38):
Some coffee price see it shirt not see some sitting
breathe and following.
Speaker 12 (03:46):
And I'd be able to letty having names a school
to shiney it's right.
Speaker 13 (03:59):
Some call the fairs, some see issue nacy.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
I'm mister gree seven bies.
Speaker 12 (04:10):
I'd be able to lady haveving name Earthy Scot to shine.
Speaker 7 (04:17):
His wide game.
Speaker 13 (04:21):
I know.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Veryasy. Please for me help me to grab that. I mes.
Speaker 14 (04:32):
A stream method ganna to f that uzy key listen
is not chaddy.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I love that.
Speaker 10 (04:52):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I love that song has been in my head. I
wake up with it, And is that how you wrote it?
Let me just wake up with it, because that's how
it feels when it's in my head.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
Well, I think I was around the house, like in
the kitchen, and the song started coming and it made
me cry when I first started getting it, wow, because
I was like, chattering mind, Oh yeah, that is what
I have. It's pretty constant. And at first the song
(05:26):
was called nameless, but now it's called home Inside because
they both really capture the essence of what the song
means to me. But home Inside is better because everyone has.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
One Yeah, even if you don't feel settled in your
home home, right, and that's such an intense thing.
Speaker 10 (05:47):
Yeah, and you'll be here.
Speaker 6 (05:48):
In the world and all the busyness of it and
even of your own mind, your own doubts, your own fears,
your own insecurities or whatever, and it's like, how do
you calm that heavy white waves that come through your life?
And so the song was like a little gift for me, Yeah,
to be able to calm my mind in the moment
(06:09):
that I'm singing it.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, that's kind of how I feel with a lot
of your songs, that maybe they are your own sort
of almost like a mantra, you know, and they come
in your mind and they are sort of things that
you use and then you give them to everyone else
by singing them, you know, to us. But that's sort
of how they a lot of them feel to me, a.
Speaker 10 (06:33):
Lot of the ones lately for sure.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Yeah, I think I'm like in a place now whereas
before of receiving these songs like this way, But before
I was more in the place.
Speaker 10 (06:45):
Of just learning how to write a song. Yeah, just
learning the art of it and just anything that came.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Just breaking it down and being like Okay, that's the chorus, Okay,
that's the verse. Okay, that's going to be a bridge
and structure. But now I just like I'm not having
to think about the songwriting as much. I'm more able
to just go to a little place in the ether
and be in that space and dance.
Speaker 10 (07:11):
Channel it, yeah, and have fun.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But isn't that the best place to be.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It's what we do when we're like, that's where we
want to get when we're learning a new instrument or
we're practice and we want to get to the place
where we're just like able to soar.
Speaker 10 (07:26):
Yeah, that's where I want it to be.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
For years. It's like you developed your muscle memory and
you know how song stretcher goes, so it's not and
even if you go against it, it's great. That's kind
of the beauty of it. You learn, Yeah, you learn
the rules to break them. Yeah. I love that, and
I feel that with all your songs, but it's you know,
I feel that in the new ones too, in a
special way. Do you remember the first song you wrote?
Speaker 10 (07:53):
Well, I mean I wrote a lot of songs when
I was a kid.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Did you make sure and trees and frogs? That's what
I was wondering. You probably don't even remember the very first, right, not.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
The very first, But I do remember when I decided
I was gonna try to be a songwriter. I was
about eighteen, and I lived in Memphis, and I would
take gospel songs that I've been singing.
Speaker 10 (08:16):
My whole life, and I would hear melodies to those songs.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So wow, yeah, so yeah, that's well, that's how you learn.
That's amazing.
Speaker 10 (08:27):
M That's kind of how I did.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
It is just mixing in a gospel song with some
of my own lyrics and learning those patterns of the
songs that I've been singing for eighteen years every Sunday morning,
every Sunday night, and every Wednesday night at church.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That's a lot. That's a lot of church.
Speaker 10 (08:45):
I's eighteen, that's a lot of church.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So everybody's singing church.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
But were there instruments?
Speaker 10 (08:52):
No instruments.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
See, that's what I find is so unique about your
church upbringing. That is so different.
Speaker 7 (08:57):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
It's not that common.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
It's not.
Speaker 10 (09:02):
Because most churches want to have those instruments.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
But in our Church of Christ, you can't dance and
you can't play instruments.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So wow, yeah, and I've seen you dance now, so
that that's why you're such a good dancer. I think now.
Speaker 10 (09:19):
Dance every day, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 8 (09:21):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
That is so wild to me though that I remember
when we first stayed in the same house together over
that Thanksgiving when you were making that record and you
would dance every morning. Yeah, And I was like, well,
that's cool. That's a cool way to exercise every morning.
Just put on a cool playlist.
Speaker 10 (09:42):
And if you're on the road, you can do it
in the hotel room.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah. You don't have to find a gross gym exactly
for the outside worry about all of it.
Speaker 10 (09:51):
So even if it's just two minutes, it's usually what
I like to do.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
But for the last two months this summer, I started
to jog, and that's a different kind of energy, and
I miss my dance and so I got to go
back to it because I just feel like it makes
me feel like I can, like my creativity is a
little better when I just listen to music and I
just like move my body to what feels right in
that moment.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, it's just so fun. It just it starts your
day with such good energy. It's true, and you know,
we were talking a little bit last night, and I
wish we'd recorded it all because we were talking about
the good energy. Right, Yeah, you have really good energy.
And I'm like, was she just born with that or
(10:40):
is that something she's like turned herself into. But I
feel like you were probably born with it.
Speaker 10 (10:47):
I think we all are born with it.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
See, that's the right answer this is that's a question
coming from someone who doesn't start their day with good energy, right, Yeah,
you're right about that.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We have to like practice it though, to keep it
going right exactly.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
And for me, it's a twenty four hour a day
practice to work on my energy because I know how
dark I can be, and I know that when I
wake up in the morning, I'm generally like not happy.
Speaker 10 (11:20):
I'm not a morning person. I feel very like.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Just heavy to be in the world sometimes and know
the things that are happening in the world, and like
it has to be a practice for me to shift
my energy out of that dark space to what I
wish the world will be and.
Speaker 10 (11:38):
What I know we can be.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
And that is such an amazing way to start every day.
Speaker 10 (11:45):
That's pretty much the whole day.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
One of my favorite things growing up as you know,
with all those years of church, they would say pray
without ceasing. And I never really got that until I
started living my life with the practice of positivity. Yeah,
because I have to make that something that doesn't cease
throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
You know, you can't let it get you, the darkness.
Speaker 10 (12:10):
No, yeah, just staying ahead of it.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
It's kind of like, yeah, it'll get you, but you
can't let it take over exactactly.
Speaker 10 (12:18):
It's always there.
Speaker 6 (12:19):
But I also see it as like a fuel for
for us all Like when we have something heavier dark,
if we think of ourselves as an alchemist, then we
can see ourselves taking that negative thing and using it
as a gas in our gas tank to shift something
that's dark into a goldenner sterling thing, a golden moment.
Speaker 10 (12:43):
So versus using it as something that's just gonna keep
me down.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, I want to start practicing the Valerie. I'm gonna
call it the Valerie. I'm just gonna I know you
didn't invent it, but I'm gonna I'm gonna just use
you as much my model. I think I need that
in my life. And I was talking about your poetry
(13:09):
book as well. You have this beautiful book of poems
that it's called Maps for the Modern World, and it
is so cool because you have all your illustrations in it.
But there was one poem I was trying to read
my son because he was having a bad day, you know,
and it kind of goes to the one about the shadows.
(13:33):
Let me see, I have it right here.
Speaker 10 (13:35):
There's a lie.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
There's a lie. Yes, And it's so I'm like, if
my kids could just read this every day. Oh and
me too, by the way, Yeah, this poem reminds me
of what what you just said from your book. And
I like how it's framed with the illustration as well.
(13:57):
There is a light around every shadow. Train your eye
to see them both perspectives. Oh my god. I mean, yeah,
it's just so simple, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (14:06):
It really is, it really is.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
But that's such a beautiful way to put it.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
And then the practice, that's when it gets hard, when
it's like, wait a minute, I mean I'm deep in
the darkness now, I'm like on the floor in tears.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Hey, you want me to do what?
Speaker 10 (14:21):
See some light?
Speaker 6 (14:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
No, no, no, all hell no.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, that's why you got to practice it before you
get on the floor.
Speaker 6 (14:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
But gosh, it's so hard to do sometimes.
Speaker 10 (14:31):
And sometimes I need to be on the floor.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Yeah, I just need to be down there, and I
let myself stay there, down on the floor for a
little bit, and I know that, you know, it's like
that song we just played. I know that there is
a place for me, and that place is a light place,
and I'm gonna get back because I never really leave it.
So I trust it now. When I was younger, I
didn't trust it. I would be like, dang, I just
(14:55):
want so dark. I don't know if I'm coming back. Well.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
See, that's the hard thing. As we get older, we
find these ways to sort of cope with it. But yeah,
for my kids, especially right now, they're at an emotional
age and it's been a crazy year, and I just
I want to give them that, but I don't know how.
Speaker 10 (15:12):
So I think nature is a good way.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, just like.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Times of just practicing watching the clouds change and showing
them like how there's always sun behind there even if
there's rain, and how like even when we are in
the middle of a storm here in the city, then
you know, we're in the country right now, but when
we're in the city, maybe it's raining up here, and
(15:40):
when we're up here, then maybe it's raining there and
they can understand that, like through nature, that storms happen
in life, you know, with your own psyche and where
you are in your own space and just watching like
you know, all of nature is a good teacher, I
think for all of us, but especially for keyds. With
(16:01):
flowers and how hard it is for a flower to open.
It's not easy, yeah, but they do it.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, you can do it, and all the elements are
out there to rain on it and beat it down.
Speaker 10 (16:14):
It got to be right that it is not easy
to get a beautiful flower garden. It takes work, man, Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Can we do one of my favorite songs?
Speaker 10 (16:29):
Eers? Okay, this song?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
So when we when you made that your last album,
you made it in Vermont, I do yeah, And this
is the first song I heard from it. And I
happened to be there because my husband was playing on
the record with you and several other of the band
(16:57):
members had family obligations, but happened to have the week
of Thanksgiving off, So you guys made the record over
Thanksgiving week. So I and my son came and a
friend of mine came up to just sort of you know,
hang out in the house while you guys recorded so
we could all had Thanksgiving together.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
That was fun. It was so I got it. I
feel like it was on Thanksgiving night after we ate
and after the dishes were done, you guys went in
and you did something and then came back and invited
us to come listen. And this was the song. And
it was the most beautiful thing. It had that nighttime
(17:36):
recording energy.
Speaker 14 (17:37):
It really did.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It really did.
Speaker 10 (17:39):
It had a nighttime energy.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
It was beautiful and you open the record with it,
which I loved because it it just had that thing
which is so hard to get in the studio. Sometimes
it's true and then other times it's it's like songwriting,
you just kind of have to hope it happens, and
when it happens, be rolling it's true.
Speaker 6 (18:00):
Right. I think that's part of the joy of working
with Matt mary Nelli was that he brought together the
cast of characters. He knew we're going to energetically have
a moment like that, and we had several moments.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Well, the whole record is beautiful and it's great, but
that and this, this song just opens it with the
perfect you know, it was just so great. Hearing it
in the studio for the first time, being like the
first to hear it too, was just a special thing.
So this is called Long Lonely Road, and I love
this song. So can we play it? Will you play it?
Speaker 7 (18:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
And I'll play a little bit good piano.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Alien the church bureaus, Grandma, the best Jesus road.
Speaker 7 (18:55):
Guys rose a star and.
Speaker 10 (18:56):
Stove about the one way baby. So the dog guitar.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Cast after that, all for the call.
Speaker 10 (19:10):
We're gonna hit the dusty row.
Speaker 9 (19:14):
Before we risking bear Hello, Spin alone, Spin a long line,
long lonely root.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Pipe, signed to spread and us spas hard work and
hands fitter, sign up.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
To sunset pain. This body worked to the crown.
Speaker 9 (19:51):
Folks thought we had and made because we always kept
to face.
Speaker 8 (20:00):
Spending out the bills were paid. It's that groan and
there every day, spin.
Speaker 10 (20:10):
Spinning, long long.
Speaker 13 (20:13):
Lean along long, long, long lonely road.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
My mine mine.
Speaker 15 (20:24):
Spend alone, been alone, long bend along long, long, long
lonely roads, spanning alone.
Speaker 8 (21:00):
It's been alone.
Speaker 13 (21:01):
Long, been a long, long, long long, My my mis.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Been alone, been a.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Longe long, been a long, long, long long.
Speaker 14 (21:40):
It's been a long time since I saying that song, good,
God just made me think about my dad.
Speaker 10 (21:47):
I'm sure, just a crazy thing to sing a song
and then go back in time.
Speaker 16 (21:57):
See that's that's intense, and just feel like so grateful
for everything he did for us, and excited that I
get so see grand for her ninety six birthday.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
I know that's good.
Speaker 10 (22:11):
Okay, we did that. Sorry, if I'm gonna cry all day,
it's the Lord.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
You might have to get a.
Speaker 10 (22:20):
Box of tissues if that's gonna happen. But I think
it's not gonna happen. Oh and then here and you
play it on the piano. I think it just did
something all different to me.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Oh, so which one would you like to go to?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Let's try with you? Yeah, I love this song. Yeah,
this is a cool song.
Speaker 10 (22:52):
That's a good one to do. Yeah, well I wrote
that one in the first man.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Matt Oh yeah, uh yeah, yeah, I can kind of,
I thought.
Speaker 10 (23:03):
So I had to love energy around me, so a
lot of love songs came.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
Can I have a stance?
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Shall we take a chance? So do long pine?
Speaker 10 (23:42):
Or to sartur Pine?
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Is it dussy dove? Is it tot the top plan
of mine?
Speaker 8 (23:49):
A tree?
Speaker 4 (23:50):
You grow a love song great.
Speaker 14 (23:59):
And basketball sod even true and a basketball so.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
D may be read, may be reviewed.
Speaker 17 (24:22):
Gotten bastards for redoping much better.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Riser came on the well be my.
Speaker 11 (24:37):
An it baspar how deep and truth, and a bastabar so.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
D may it be read, maybe read.
Speaker 12 (25:26):
Very week rose any day we use heaven none long.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
We kept this set larn strong.
Speaker 18 (25:34):
You read by a song, but we kill all off
tous come gone on, the worst be gone, and impassibar.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
So deep and true, and impassabar so deep may be weak.
Mabb miavi with you.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I love that one. It's so it's like a bird
on my shoulder, you know.
Speaker 12 (26:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
I love the way you played the piano on it.
It's a similar to a xylophone. The sounds, the way
that there's space, and the playfulness.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Well your guitar parts so cool. I was trying to
play with it, like dance with it a little.
Speaker 7 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (26:49):
It's good.
Speaker 13 (26:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
Let me think what happens when I do it. I
just see people like two people dancing together, doing all
their little moves, yeah, and growing a beautiful love and
being judged by others about what they're doing and not
(27:13):
caring just going and falling in love anyway.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Well, it's such a beautiful like beginning to love, prayer
or blessing or something. It's like that feeling at the
beginning where you just it's just captures it, you know completely.
Speaker 10 (27:29):
I love songs because.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
I love love. Oh, I know what you mean. I
love It's funny love songs. When you were a kid,
did you hear I mean you guys listen to music
at home?
Speaker 10 (27:43):
Yeah, so my father listened through a lot of music.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah, like a ton of music, right, yeah, Like, so
love songs when you were a kid. Did they mean
anything to you? Did you understand them?
Speaker 17 (27:57):
Not so much.
Speaker 6 (27:58):
I would think they were more worry about love but
me and family members, or like between me and were
at home or things like that. And so when I
listen to love songs now, I try to do that
where I don't just make it about me and a lover,
but also it could be a best friend or some
you know, your craft that you love, or how can
(28:19):
that love be translated to other things? Because I think
there are a lot of times coming from the blues
background and loving that where the song wasn't about what
it's actually being sung, you know, with the lyric contents,
or it was more about a hidden message.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
So right, and that's like the cool secret song stuff
that you don't want to actually tell anybody, right, But yeah,
I remember whenever, whenever our son was born, we heard
all these songs about love in completely different ways, like
like ze Brian Wilson song God Only Knows. I never
thought about that song not being between two lovers, know,
(29:00):
but of course it's like God, it could be anything.
But for me when we had the baby, it was
very like a lot. It went deeper all of a sudden.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, And it makes you wonder.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
Well. I like the idea of views and love because
you know, metaphorically, because people are open to it. So
you write a song about love two people dancing together,
the whole world could be looked at that way.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Can we create something like just beautiful and not think
about the heavy judgments or dark energies their negativity?
Speaker 10 (29:41):
How do we?
Speaker 16 (29:43):
You know?
Speaker 10 (29:44):
Love is huge, just so vast that I can't even
wrap my mind around.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I know, it's such a it's such a like thread
to life that you don't think about all the all
the time. But it's like, hello, just do that and
you be a little better. Yeah, even if it's with
your crouchitty neighbor. Yeah, send them some love. Yeah, I
love it.
Speaker 10 (30:05):
I'm gonna write a song for you.
Speaker 12 (30:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Yeah, don't don't be crotchety. So growing up listening to
records that your parents put on, your dad mostly or
your mom too.
Speaker 10 (30:18):
My dad he would play music, usually out in the car.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (30:23):
That was like his man cave the car.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
That's amazing.
Speaker 10 (30:26):
So he would go out there and bop okay.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Without even going anywhere.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Yeah, he would not go anywhere.
Speaker 14 (30:35):
He would just like he had like a soap whoofer
in there, and like he would just bump in the drop.
Speaker 8 (30:40):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Now I'm picturing it because I got I met your dad.
I met your dad when we were in Memphis. I'm
picturing it.
Speaker 6 (30:49):
He loves music and he would just go be like, okay,
five kids and your wife in this house.
Speaker 10 (30:54):
I'm out. I'm just gonna go sit in my car
and listen to some music.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So we are you allowed to go out there?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (31:00):
I didn't care.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
It wasn't like nobody can come with me. Yeah. Yeah,
So you guys went out and just hung out in
the car and listen to music.
Speaker 10 (31:07):
Yeah, blues, mostly gospel blues and R and B.
Speaker 6 (31:12):
That's what he loved, okay, And he knew that I
love doll journners and music. And he couldn't understand that
until the end. Till close to the end of his life,
he was like, Oh, I get it now, that's it.
Before he was like, why do you listen to music
that's not this?
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, he just didn't get it.
Speaker 10 (31:31):
Yeah, I'm like, I listen to everything.
Speaker 6 (31:33):
I love Bobby blue Byan, I love Johnny Taylor, I
love like Tupac, and I love Dolly Parker, Yeah, Tina Turner.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
And he didn't give a lot of it. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 6 (31:46):
And I think a lot of times people haven't had
in their minds that we can't listen to that because
that's not for our color.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah that's crazy.
Speaker 10 (31:56):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
But I mean everybody sort of subscribes to that at
a certain point and then let's it go.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
I think it's changed a lot now because of the
Internet and just having access to whatever we want. We
can listen to music from any country anytime period.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Isn't it crazy? It's like it's almost too.
Speaker 10 (32:15):
Much, it is.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I can't hear everything I want to hear now, but
it's amazing. But if you're stuck. It was funny because
our kids when we listened to streaming and everything, and
we got them at FM radio recently just for fun
because then they don't have a choice. And it's how
we grew up. You know, find something on the radio,
(32:38):
but you're not like searching on a computer for you know,
or like a smartphone for a like a smart playlist.
I don't know. It's just less thinking involved, which is
kind of nice, and you just hear what's there, what's
being played. Yeah, but back when we were growing up,
that was fun.
Speaker 6 (32:59):
I know.
Speaker 10 (33:00):
Oh yeah, they must think we're ancient. I know, I
know what you listen to FM radio?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
When did you How did you discover the music that
wasn't your dad's music? Were you older?
Speaker 6 (33:13):
No, if you grew up in Tennessee, then if you
go to the Walmart or to Bigs's Barn or anywhere Kroger,
they're going to be playing something different.
Speaker 10 (33:24):
That's not necessarily what.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
You would hear. Yeah, it's just kind of in the air. Yeah,
that's how I was in Texas. It was like I
didn't I didn't think that I listened to a lot
of country music growing up, but it was in the water.
Speaker 10 (33:37):
Yeah, it was like everywhere. It's part of me.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
Yeah, it doesn't matter at the airport, no matter where
you go, exactly, music and and that just surrounded me.
And if I hear a good song even now, I
don't care what g on the radio is.
Speaker 10 (33:57):
I love good songs. I just love them, That's what matters.
Speaker 6 (34:00):
So I just collected all the good ones and I'd
play him around the house at school.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
My parents be like, what going on?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Did your siblings do the same.
Speaker 10 (34:09):
Or were you more of the they did?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
They did.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
And my brother Jason, my older brother, loves country music.
He actually was playing it around the house before I started. Okay,
and then Patrick, my younger brother, plays too.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So yeah, when did you guys get instruments? Well we
didn't really.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
My grandfather had a guitar, the one I'm singing about
in Long Lonely Road, that was in the closet for
my whole life till I was fifteen, and I begged
him for it.
Speaker 10 (34:41):
I begged him all day at a holiday, please Granddad,
can I have it?
Speaker 6 (34:45):
Please?
Speaker 9 (34:45):
Granddad? Can I have it?
Speaker 10 (34:46):
And grit and he was now you can't have that
because all the kids knew.
Speaker 6 (34:50):
There's about fourteen grandkids and when they all knew, for
all of our lives, don't touch the guitar in the closet.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
But it never came out. No one ever played it.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
Yeah, and I had an interest in learning it, and
so finally it was like midnight and I was still please,
and my grandmother was.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Like, Clyde, give her that guitar.
Speaker 10 (35:10):
You won't play that guitar. It's been there for twenty
years and you ain't played it. So he gave it
to me.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
And I didn't learn how to play it until I
was in my twenties and he was already gone, so
he never got to see me play it.
Speaker 10 (35:24):
But he actually started this, He started all of it, yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Just keeping it in the closet. Yeah, and you never
heard him play it.
Speaker 10 (35:34):
No, he couldn't play.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
He couldn't.
Speaker 10 (35:36):
But he got it from the yards there.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Yeah, okay, and I think he told himself one day,
I want to learn it, but no, and then we
didn't have instruments in the house. But when I started
playing the guitar, then my younger.
Speaker 10 (35:50):
Brother got interested in it.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
But you were in your twenties so get.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
He picks up music way easier than I do, and
he plays guitar and I didn't know, but he plays
piano and he writes really pretty songs.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
And you guys are just musical.
Speaker 7 (36:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I always sang you grew up musical.
Speaker 6 (36:09):
Yeah, singing though using our voice like yeah. And then
in our later age we started playing instruments.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
So when you started playing guitar, was it more by
a year at first or you just pick out stuff
that you were hearing, or did you like study a
chord book or get any lessons or anything.
Speaker 10 (36:26):
When I first started, I got a chord book and
I tried and failed. And that was when I was
around fifteen.
Speaker 6 (36:35):
And also had an art teacher who would play a
kissy guitar while we did art in high school, and
so he tried to teach me some stuff, but it just.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Like a teacher.
Speaker 10 (36:45):
He was so cool. He sounds like Jamiat, that's cool.
Speaker 6 (36:50):
So he was so cool, and he tried to teach
me some stuff, but it just didn't stick. And then
when I moved to Memphis, I met this amazing musician,
Andy Cohen, and he tried to teach me some stuff,
but it didn't stick. And I lived with my boyfriend
and then became my husband, who played guitar beautifully, and
he played it all the time around the house, and
(37:13):
he never tried to teach me because the dynamic between
us was disastrous musically.
Speaker 10 (37:19):
But I still pushed it.
Speaker 6 (37:22):
So I was around the people who played and I
was just so curious. But I have no rhythm and
I have no musical really, yeah, I find it.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Hard to believe because I feel like, you have great time.
I had to learn it it really, it really didn't
come naturally. Oh no, wow.
Speaker 10 (37:40):
Yeah, I was the one on the chilling squad in
the back like wait, wait, said to me, are you black?
Speaker 6 (37:46):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Are you a black girl?
Speaker 15 (37:48):
Wait?
Speaker 5 (37:48):
Can we go back?
Speaker 1 (37:49):
You're a cheerleader? Yeah, okay, let's go back to that now.
Speaker 7 (37:53):
Yeah for how long?
Speaker 10 (37:56):
From junior high to the end?
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So, oh my god. Yeah, I tried to be a
cheerleader in sixth grade and I was really excited about it.
My mom wouldn't let me really know. She said no,
and I was so bummed at the time, you know,
but I think it was just too expensive, Like you
had to go to cheerleading camp and you had to
get all the outfits. It was just too much. She
(38:19):
didn't want to commit.
Speaker 18 (38:21):
It was a lot.
Speaker 10 (38:22):
I didn't think about it like that.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
But that's that's kind of dancing, right, I mean, we're gymnastics,
it is. Yeah, and you didn't have rhythm on the
cheerleading squad. That's a bad thing to not have ader.
Speaker 6 (38:33):
I know.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
They always used to make fun of me, and I'd
like to see a picture also, Yeah, I.
Speaker 10 (38:40):
Got some pictures uniforms.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
I love that.
Speaker 13 (38:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (38:46):
And after that, my little sisters they decided to be cheerleaders.
So we have a lot of cheerleaders in the family.
And my grandmother used to always say cheers.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Oh really, see like a family of singing cheerleaders. Yes,
we all love to sing and cheer, but that cheering
is a positive thing. I wonder if that ties into
your you know, I don't know, maybe that's a stretch,
but yeah, maybe that's like just in your family because
of all the cheering.
Speaker 10 (39:16):
Yeah, I think you're right. I never really thought about
it that way, but sure, yeah, we definitely have that thought.
Oh man, what were you thinking it?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I say, you call me a fool, Okay, let's do it.
Call me a fool, call me a fool. I love
this song. So it's so and again it's just that simple,
like straight to the bone.
Speaker 10 (39:47):
I'm just a fool, No you're not.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
But did you grow up listening to Carl Karla Thomas.
Speaker 10 (39:54):
Unconsciously?
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yeah, like that in the water.
Speaker 16 (39:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (39:58):
And I didn't know until I got older and I
moved to Memphis.
Speaker 6 (40:02):
That she was the one who sang the song oh
yeah baby or with otis and stuff.
Speaker 10 (40:08):
But living in Memphis for ten years, that's.
Speaker 6 (40:12):
Where I like, would hear Carla's going to be at
the Cooper Young Festival, or Carla's going to be playing
a few songs down at Isaac's Hayes Club or wherever
that she would show up and so, and she didn't
do very many shows. So I saw her around town
for ten years. And then I moved to New York
(40:34):
and I never met her.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
You never did.
Speaker 10 (40:38):
But I listened basically for two years every day.
Speaker 14 (40:43):
To what a Fool Love Been by her amazing, And
when I was working on Komia Fool, I was like,
I really need to ask Boo Mitchell if he knows
Carla's number, so I could see she would sing with.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Me on this song.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
It's so cool, yeah, she did.
Speaker 6 (41:01):
And her voice is just so beautiful. It's crystal clear,
like her soprano. And she went to school yeah for
classical and sopranos sing. Yeah wow, her college degrees in
that and and so yeah, I mean she's just amazing
and she has so many stories. I want you to
(41:24):
got to meet her.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Yeah, she sounds amazing, she's so good.
Speaker 6 (41:29):
Yeah, I've met some saints in my life, Mayvis, Carla,
and Sister Peace.
Speaker 10 (41:33):
Those are my three saints. Well, also met Ama, who
is a saint from India. So I met a lot
of saints. Oh oh wow, you.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Met her yeah the actual scene Yeah yeah, technically yeah,
the literal saint. I didn't even meet her. That's cool.
Speaker 7 (41:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (41:54):
And I feel like Carla and Mavis said they have
that kind of joy energy, like.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Well, that's that thing we keep coming back to. And
Mavis definitely has that.
Speaker 10 (42:04):
Oh I got been from her.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
Yeah, it's pretty great being around her.
Speaker 10 (42:11):
She can lift the whole building of people.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
I don't know how she does it, but it's amazing,
so good, it's so good. And so Carlo is the
same she is. I want to go to Memphis with you.
Oh yeah again for sure. That was a short trip
we did, but.
Speaker 10 (42:28):
Well we'll go.
Speaker 6 (42:28):
And I mean to me, I really like Royal Studios
there now I've been just it's Willie Mitchell's studio and
everything is as he left it, so it's a little
bit like, you know, the carpets the same from back then,
the walls are the same everything.
Speaker 10 (42:47):
Yes, Bobby, that's very good.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
The records like Gold Records and People's in Al Green
and Otis Clay and all these amazing Memphis musicians on
high records, all their records are still in there and everything.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
That's such a good energy to walk into.
Speaker 10 (43:04):
Yeah, Memphis Horns.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Did you do some of the new record there?
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (43:08):
Okay, so you did this one there?
Speaker 10 (43:11):
Did it there?
Speaker 8 (43:11):
All right?
Speaker 10 (43:11):
Well should we do it?
Speaker 7 (43:13):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
I'm not gonna try to be Carlo, so I'm just
gonna feel my way round.
Speaker 10 (43:18):
Okay. They call me a food, they call me a food.
Speaker 9 (43:33):
They heard four a heart that's gone a new love bone.
Speaker 7 (43:44):
But I had it on a control.
Speaker 4 (43:48):
Controlling but it should mere grab my saw.
Speaker 7 (43:51):
Yeah, this should we go?
Speaker 12 (43:54):
Ord knock compand in on the Dowie hood in mock company.
Speaker 7 (44:00):
When I knew I had to let it go.
Speaker 4 (44:05):
Don't you know he said I could help you.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
Don't you know?
Speaker 4 (44:09):
I said I could help. Don't you know he said
I could bug and know little su could tug bribe
this new love so strongly love this new love. He
is so shun But it's a power keeps.
Speaker 7 (44:23):
Me all long.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
You ain't come, don't come.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
For your baby.
Speaker 7 (44:41):
Fear food anytime, fear food.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
Anytime, anytime, bloody.
Speaker 7 (44:51):
But I've been listening.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Things have been different. But I guess the cause it
followay them.
Speaker 6 (45:02):
When it's a Troy play thing you sent.
Speaker 7 (45:08):
Back ball or even taking me.
Speaker 6 (45:12):
Mm hmmm, laden drink and stand drunk all day, rid
me creeping.
Speaker 7 (45:18):
But this night and night got my twisted turned head
upside down.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Jest a fool dying around.
Speaker 7 (45:29):
It's making me food.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
They can't.
Speaker 8 (45:39):
For your little.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
Baked Be a food.
Speaker 7 (45:43):
Any time, Be a foon any time in a time, love,
She t me, weird by your face, be a pool time,
(46:09):
be a pool a time any time.
Speaker 17 (46:13):
Bloodydayday Daddy Dodd, weird.
Speaker 7 (46:51):
B be a pool and be a pool term And it's.
Speaker 5 (47:05):
That I had it on the control.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Yeah, yay. I love how you going that way. It's
like you are daring them to call you a fool.
Speaker 10 (47:22):
Oh yeah, you call me a fool.
Speaker 2 (47:24):
Go for it.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
I want you to. Oh my god, that little shy
with those copy harmonies, the call response. But I love it.
That's a great song.
Speaker 10 (47:40):
We enjoyed singing it.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (47:42):
Well, you know her voice whenever we get to the end,
and she's just like soaring these beautiful, high, long notes like.
Speaker 10 (47:53):
Yeah, yeah, I love it, And she could just go
higher and higher and hire and I'm just like.
Speaker 7 (47:59):
You do.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
Yeah. Her voice is so hot, so open and high. Still. Yeah,
It's crazy how some people as they get older they
keep that. And then there's Joni Mitchell. She drops like
five octaves, you.
Speaker 10 (48:11):
Know, and I love both and I love both.
Speaker 1 (48:14):
Yeah, and Dolly too. She's still up high, I know.
Speaker 10 (48:17):
Yeah, I'm like, that's a gift, it is, saying up there.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
That's a great one. When you were growing up, did
your dad promote shows?
Speaker 6 (48:29):
He did? Yeah, yeah, he promoted like the year I
was in the Bailey Prince really his first show.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
I forgot about that. I think you told me that. Really.
Speaker 13 (48:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (48:41):
I didn't get to go to the show because I
was still in there, but I guess I was there,
but I wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
Did your mom go?
Speaker 6 (48:47):
She did?
Speaker 1 (48:47):
Okay, she was there.
Speaker 10 (48:48):
She would be open with the business, so she was
always there.
Speaker 8 (48:52):
And the ant.
Speaker 10 (48:54):
People like Bobby Romack and a lot of gospel acts
and stuff.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
So some music, mostly music he would listen to though,
Oh yeah, okay, yeah, if he was a fan.
Speaker 10 (49:04):
He tried to bring the artists to our town. Well
that's so cool.
Speaker 6 (49:09):
Yeah, and he met so many artists their way, Like
he would just go to shows and meet the artist
and try to say, hey, come back to our town
if you like, because they always went to Memphis or Nashville.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
So he would promote the shows in Jackson. Yeah, and
where just wherever?
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Coliseum? Okay, so we have a coliseum there and a
civic center.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Wait, that's a big show. Yeah, okay, I didn't realize
it was like that, or college is like okay, he
would grow pretty big shows then, Yeah, he did.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
The Prince show was at the University of Martin, which
is a state college.
Speaker 10 (49:44):
Okay, so sometimes at schools if he could get her
all the ducks in a row, that's pretty great.
Speaker 14 (49:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:51):
So did you grow up going to those shows?
Speaker 6 (49:54):
As I got older, I would work the shows, so
I would set up the green room and stuff. But
at night, when over the shows would occur, I couldn't
go because I'm a kid, and yeah, they'd.
Speaker 10 (50:04):
Be like, no, you gotta stay home.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
But you would hear sound checks. I would hear sound checks,
So you grew up listening to people sound check.
Speaker 10 (50:11):
Yeah, and I knew it was just kind of a
weirdy on that side of it.
Speaker 1 (50:14):
It's a cool thing to actually witness in different.
Speaker 14 (50:19):
Seeing the speakers come in and I'm all ready get
set up and stuff the road cases.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 10 (50:26):
And being back there bag State.
Speaker 1 (50:28):
Oh that's so cool for a kid. Yeah yeah, but
that's a really unique perspective.
Speaker 10 (50:33):
I feel like idiots, you know.
Speaker 6 (50:35):
I was glad I got that, and also that I
saw the other side of it, where is the front
and and I didn't want to be on that side.
Speaker 10 (50:45):
I wanted to be on the stage side. So it
was good training.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
You knew it, Yeah, from an early age.
Speaker 10 (50:51):
You thought that I knew I wanted to be a singer. Yeah, okay,
I did, and I want it to really bad.
Speaker 6 (50:56):
But I didn't think it was possible for me because
my voice it's weird, and there weren't singers on the
radio who sounded like me.
Speaker 1 (51:05):
No, there really weren't. But that's what's so great about you.
I mean, to find your own voice. It's like the
most special thing. But when you're a kid, you don't.
You don't get that.
Speaker 6 (51:15):
Nobody in the world and the family got it. Oh,
they'd be like, you want to be a singer, saying Okay.
Speaker 1 (51:27):
That's not very encouraging. Oh no, no, yet, look at
what you've done.
Speaker 10 (51:33):
They caught me a food Yeah, no way, I dare you,
dare you? That's what I'm gonna do. You watch.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
That's perseverance, you know, like without a lot of encouragement.
Speaker 10 (51:46):
Oh yeah, that's kind of intense. Yeah man, I'm okay.
What it takes for a flower to flower?
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, basically you get it. Man. I love it. I
love your story. I have another favorite song of yours
that I would want. I would I was going to
ask if you would play it. This is from that
was your first album that you did with Dan?
Speaker 15 (52:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (52:15):
Back and how did you end up recording with him?
I he was living in Memphis.
Speaker 6 (52:23):
No, he lived in Nashville and he was just finishing
Easy Eye Studios. I think I was one of the
first people to record in there.
Speaker 18 (52:31):
Cool.
Speaker 10 (52:31):
It's a cool place.
Speaker 6 (52:33):
And I met this guy, Kevin Agunis, and I just
raised money with Kickstarter and so I needed to make
a record because I had the money, and Kevin asked.
He asked me one day at Central Barbecue and Memphis
were waiting in line to get our barbecues, like.
Speaker 10 (52:52):
Who would you like to work with?
Speaker 6 (52:55):
And I said, well, I really like the music of
Dan Auerbach. I like what he does with the like
he's would also like his solo stuff. And he was like,
I was just with him last week because they were
working on a project together.
Speaker 10 (53:07):
He was like, let me ask him if you want
to write songs with you? And he did, and so
we went to John Prime's studio because Dan studio.
Speaker 6 (53:15):
I didn't even know Dan was building a studio, okay,
but he was friends with John and he would work
out a John Studios. So we met at John Prin's
studio and we wrote Tennessee Time there and you Can't
Be Told. And at the end of our writing session,
he was like, would you like to make a record
(53:35):
And I was like sure. He was like, well, I
have a studio here in Nashville. It's almost Spanish, so
if you want to, we can go in and make
a record.
Speaker 10 (53:44):
And so we did and it was like my first
record that I've ever made. But we'd also he.
Speaker 6 (53:49):
Invited me too to sing at SuperJAM and Bonneru with him,
which is where I met like all the people like
Leon Michaels and people like that because they were in
the band Black He's in. Well yeah, but it was
also just that super gym.
Speaker 10 (54:05):
They invited like.
Speaker 1 (54:08):
The house band for that.
Speaker 10 (54:09):
Okay, I got and Doctor John.
Speaker 1 (54:12):
It was like a ton of Ohlen told me about
that was it was?
Speaker 10 (54:15):
It was amazing, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (54:17):
That's so cool.
Speaker 6 (54:19):
Just standing beside Doctor John was cool and talk about
Zian he was so Zeen really yeah that is so cool,
like bad ass sing.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
I bet yeah, he had that vibe.
Speaker 4 (54:33):
And so Dan and I met and.
Speaker 6 (54:35):
Then we ended up working on Pushing Up against the
Stone and and that was the last time I worked
with him.
Speaker 10 (54:41):
But I've I've loved everything that they've been doing.
Speaker 1 (54:44):
Yeah, they're great, but that album is great and to
have that, you know, that was your first album. Was
it weird to be in the studio after just playing
you know, do it? I assume you were doing a
lot of gigs.
Speaker 6 (54:57):
And well not I was doing a lot of gigs
like solo stuff, and I was just getting started. And
it was very weird for me to be in the
studio because I'd never like made a record myself before
my husband and I made a record at a studio
(55:20):
in Memphis, so.
Speaker 1 (55:22):
You'd had a little experience in the studio.
Speaker 10 (55:23):
Not much so not like you know, those songs that
we did.
Speaker 6 (55:29):
We had been playing on ITS shows, and I had
an experience going in and basically starting from scratch.
Speaker 10 (55:37):
And doing a record, and I was so nervous. I
was like it was like going like to me, it
was like.
Speaker 6 (55:46):
Very like going in for a procedure or something where
I was scared and nervous.
Speaker 10 (55:53):
What's the outcomes?
Speaker 1 (55:57):
But were you able to sort of shed that as
as the like time went on in the studio or
not really.
Speaker 6 (56:04):
I don't think I shadded until my second record, okay,
and even with the third record, this one, Mooning Stars
even more.
Speaker 10 (56:13):
But it's something about.
Speaker 6 (56:15):
Me with studios, like if I know I'm going it's
like this is a photograph, it's gonna last for yeah,
but that's.
Speaker 13 (56:22):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (56:23):
That's it's stressful because of that yeah, and it can't
go back. It's like the songs. Songs are kind of alive,
don't you think I do. So it's like, oh, let's
take your senior prime picture right now, but give it
to everybody.
Speaker 14 (56:38):
And I went back at the senior pictures and I'm like,
award that.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
Yeah, you know, like that's like your freshman picture Dan. Yeah,
but but it's weird. But as long as you I
started recently in the studio, I have that same thing,
especially if it's a song I really love or have
played too much. I like recording when I haven't played
a song too much. I think I get better versions
(57:04):
that way. But there's different sides to that. But recently
I just kept telling myself in the studio, like, it's
all good. It's just it's just it's just it's just
sounds and words and people will get the idea because
you're just putting them together and this is not brain surgery,
(57:26):
and wrong notes are fine, and it's just the vibe.
It has to be good, you know. I just like
tell myself that just sort of not get too caught
up and like, but that wasn't quite what I thought
it would be, you know. Yeah, it's like a whole thing.
Speaker 6 (57:42):
And I've had to do that in my career in general,
let go of what I thought it was going to be,
because when I get on stage, the sound doesn't sound
ever live.
Speaker 10 (57:55):
What I thought it was.
Speaker 1 (57:56):
Going to be was different than playing in like in
your dressing room, tied singing, and it's just so different,
so different.
Speaker 6 (58:03):
So I've had to change what making music is in
my head, like it's okay to make a mistake.
Speaker 10 (58:09):
It's okay if the.
Speaker 6 (58:11):
Sound check it sounds different than the live show. What
I'm supposed to do is just sing and play.
Speaker 10 (58:16):
And when I go in the.
Speaker 6 (58:17):
Studio, even though I still have that nervousness, it's okay,
Like you said, yeah, if we love it, just don't
feel shy saying can I do that one more time? Yeah?
Speaker 10 (58:28):
I feel like that.
Speaker 6 (58:30):
Kind of confidence for my art when I first started,
where I had that voice to say.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
Guys or girls, can I go? Can we try it again? Yeah?
Can we try it slower?
Speaker 7 (58:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (58:41):
But it's like you don't know in the beginning that
you you're a loud or something, and especially if you're
in a situation where there's someone else sort of at
the at the wheel, like a producer, even if it's
a great producer who's very kind, you just think that
there they'll tell you if you need to do it again,
and then you don't really know in the beginning that
you can also.
Speaker 10 (59:02):
Say that, yeah, it goes both ways.
Speaker 1 (59:04):
It's actually your thing, so you definitely should if you're
not feeling comfortable. But it's confusing in the beginning when
you're young and shy.
Speaker 6 (59:13):
Yeah, And I found now that most producers want you
to say, hey, ca and if you don't feel like
that was your most confident take, then they want you
to say what's on your mind. But it took three
records for me to get that confidence around making some records,
and so I feel a little better about going in
and even with this last record, learning how to do
(59:38):
stuff in logic and record a little bit on my own.
Speaker 1 (59:41):
Oh yeah, because you were home.
Speaker 6 (59:43):
Yeah yeah, So that was a whole other side of
things where I will hear musicians talk about plug ins
and gear and get so intimidated, like what's the plugins?
Speaker 10 (59:54):
And now I actually know what that is, and I know,
you know you they intoineer basic stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
That's great, I mean, that's that's the way it is now.
Even even out of lockdown. That's just the way it is. Yeah, true. Oh,
I wanted to ask you about life on the road.
Do you like being on the road. Do you feel
like that's a comfortable home for you, life on the
road as a touring musician, or do you struggle with it?
Speaker 6 (01:00:25):
After having like I've been doing that for about a
decade and having the pandemic happen where I.
Speaker 10 (01:00:34):
Finally had to be home like for a year like everyone.
Speaker 6 (01:00:39):
Else, I realized how much I enjoy being home and
so like, it's now so.
Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
Great it made you want to fine tune it a
little more.
Speaker 7 (01:00:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (01:00:53):
Yeah, and when when going for the gigs, either go
and come home sooner or pace the shows.
Speaker 10 (01:01:02):
Where I'm able to enjoy the travel a little better.
Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
Yeah maybe, yeah, take a little more control over the
joy of touring. Yeah yeah, get I got it, instead
of just like doing everything you can and getting tired
and homesick.
Speaker 10 (01:01:16):
So tired. I didn't realize until I stopped how tired
I would.
Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
I heard that from a lot of people over you know,
the whole.
Speaker 10 (01:01:26):
Pandemic, even with different professions.
Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
Yeah no, I mean it's just modern life too.
Speaker 10 (01:01:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 6 (01:01:33):
We do have a lot to do in this modern
time versus people living with the sun, you know, where
they wake in the morning with the sun and they
go to bed with the fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
They don't have to. Yeah, I know, it's a simpler thing. Yeah,
well this has been so awesome.
Speaker 10 (01:01:53):
Yeah fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01:54):
I love you. I love you, my friend, and I
love you even more after music with you. It's so fun.
Speaker 6 (01:02:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
Can we do one song to end it?
Speaker 16 (01:02:05):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
I do love this song from your first album called
Twined and Twisted. Okay, okay, well I.
Speaker 7 (01:02:15):
Thought your numb.
Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
Stuck in my phone. Oh but I can't find it
no way and the Sages space Wailer borrow time ha
(01:02:49):
got it pity to people see Lake the episode Long.
Speaker 7 (01:03:04):
Shag can key Through.
Speaker 4 (01:03:18):
I got no place and so.
Speaker 11 (01:03:23):
Shackle bound bound bound Basty.
Speaker 4 (01:03:29):
Brow sad and I gotta placing sod.
Speaker 11 (01:03:41):
Shackle bun bound bound boasty Bromla's run from my bam
(01:04:04):
mave drifting from my home, and I was thinkingnot of.
Speaker 8 (01:04:14):
Be thinking, Yeah, I'm going.
Speaker 11 (01:04:31):
That's young weez up the answer shave.
Speaker 13 (01:04:40):
We found out a mile.
Speaker 4 (01:04:47):
And everything about New.
Speaker 11 (01:04:52):
Trys trnd in Treetay true.
Speaker 4 (01:05:05):
Then I got no place episode.
Speaker 11 (01:05:11):
Shackle bound bound bound basty, he.
Speaker 4 (01:05:24):
Said, and I gotta placing the.
Speaker 11 (01:05:30):
Shackle bound bound bound Pa husty, And I got no
pleasing shackle bound bound bound pahasty.
Speaker 1 (01:06:10):
Oh that was so fun. Thanks for listening to the
show with Valerie June.
Speaker 2 (01:06:16):
Thank you Valerie for pushing away negativity being a dreamer.
We need more people like.
Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
You, Yeah, inspirational. Please check out Valerie's albums and see
if she's got any tour dates brewing. Definitely go see
her live if you're able.
Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
And she also has a children's book out now called
Somebody to Love, the story of Valerie June's sweet little
baby Banjolelely. It's brought to life with beautiful illustration by
our very talented friend Marcella Avalar. It's available now worldwide,
so go to your local bookshop and grab yourself a copy.
Speaker 1 (01:06:48):
Have a great day, y'all. This show is produced by
me and Sarah Oda, recorded by James Landry, mixed by
James Landry, lovingly packaged by James Landry. Additional engineering by
Greg Tobler, Photography by Shervian Linez, artwork by Eliza Fry,
Hey, I'm Norah Jones and today I'm playing along with
Valerie June, just playing alone with you, just playing alone
with you. Hi, welcome to the show, Anora, and with
(00:26):
me as always is Sarah Oda. I never know what
to say, We'll just say hello. Let's just keep it on,
all right. So today's show, today's show, we have Valerie June.
She happens to be a friend of ours, which was
extra fun. These shows we've done with people who I'm
(00:48):
already friends with have been very special.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I gotta say, Yeah, you're learning a lot of things
you didn't know even though you've known these people for
so long.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Yeah, it's wild how much you get to know them
more are in these intensive little thingies we're doing. I
don't know how to explain it, but this was a
very it was intense. I felt so connected to Valerie.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, she's a very beautiful, sort of magical person.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
She really is a very unique human.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Very unique as a person, and her music as well.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, and everything about her.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Can't put her in a box.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
No, she's amazing. And I've known her through the last
two albums. I've sort of known her and watched her
make these albums and I've seen her go through all
these different phases with her music, and I just loved
playing with her finally, because we have kind of sung
together definitely before on various recording sessions, but not in
(01:49):
this sort of truly intimate way just playing songs together.
So this was a really special special thing for me.
Her new album is called The Move and Star's Prescription
for Dreamers. That kind of sums her up in a nutshell,
I feel really does. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I mean she's she's the kind of person. She's always creating, inventing, writing, performing,
She's always making it happen. She really inspires me in
that way because yes, you know, she just keeps moving forward.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I love that about her. Yeah, and learning. I feel
like she's a real sort of student of life in
that way she is. Yeah, Well, we hope you enjoy
this show. I had so much fun playing with Valerie June.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Enjoy ah, no.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Very easy. Please for me, help me to.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
Brawl that I'm in the thing.
Speaker 6 (03:03):
See a stream that falls to and into fun that os.
Speaker 7 (03:11):
A king steals my chest dream.
Speaker 8 (03:16):
I know.
Speaker 9 (03:18):
There is a home inside window.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Too short with every dream of but he spreads.
Speaker 10 (03:28):
His goldly pathy.
Speaker 9 (03:30):
Lighty guys, garden too broke, keep on.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
The sudy side.
Speaker 11 (03:38):
Some coffee price see it shirt not see some sitting
breathe and following.
Speaker 12 (03:46):
And I'd be able to letty having names a school
to shiney it's right.
Speaker 13 (03:59):
Some call the fairs, some see issue nacy.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
I'm mister gree seven bies.
Speaker 12 (04:10):
I'd be able to lady haveving name Earthy Scot to shine.
Speaker 7 (04:17):
His wide game.
Speaker 13 (04:21):
I know.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Veryasy. Please for me help me to grab that. I mes.
Speaker 14 (04:32):
A stream method ganna to f that uzy key listen
is not chaddy.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I love that.
Speaker 10 (04:52):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I love that song has been in my head. I
wake up with it, And is that how you wrote it?
Let me just wake up with it, because that's how
it feels when it's in my head.
Speaker 6 (05:06):
Well, I think I was around the house, like in
the kitchen, and the song started coming and it made
me cry when I first started getting it, wow, because
I was like, chattering mind, Oh yeah, that is what
I have. It's pretty constant. And at first the song
(05:26):
was called nameless, but now it's called home Inside because
they both really capture the essence of what the song
means to me. But home Inside is better because everyone has.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
One Yeah, even if you don't feel settled in your
home home, right, and that's such an intense thing.
Speaker 10 (05:47):
Yeah, and you'll be here.
Speaker 6 (05:48):
In the world and all the busyness of it and
even of your own mind, your own doubts, your own fears,
your own insecurities or whatever, and it's like, how do
you calm that heavy white waves that come through your life?
And so the song was like a little gift for me, Yeah,
to be able to calm my mind in the moment
(06:09):
that I'm singing it.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Well, that's kind of how I feel with a lot
of your songs, that maybe they are your own sort
of almost like a mantra, you know, and they come
in your mind and they are sort of things that
you use and then you give them to everyone else
by singing them, you know, to us. But that's sort
of how they a lot of them feel to me, a.
Speaker 10 (06:33):
Lot of the ones lately for sure.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Yeah, I think I'm like in a place now whereas
before of receiving these songs like this way, But before
I was more in the place.
Speaker 10 (06:45):
Of just learning how to write a song. Yeah, just
learning the art of it and just anything that came.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Just breaking it down and being like Okay, that's the chorus, Okay,
that's the verse. Okay, that's going to be a bridge
and structure. But now I just like I'm not having
to think about the songwriting as much. I'm more able
to just go to a little place in the ether
and be in that space and dance.
Speaker 10 (07:11):
Channel it, yeah, and have fun.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
But isn't that the best place to be.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
It's what we do when we're like, that's where we
want to get when we're learning a new instrument or
we're practice and we want to get to the place
where we're just like able to soar.
Speaker 10 (07:26):
Yeah, that's where I want it to be.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
For years. It's like you developed your muscle memory and
you know how song stretcher goes, so it's not and
even if you go against it, it's great. That's kind
of the beauty of it. You learn, Yeah, you learn
the rules to break them. Yeah. I love that, and
I feel that with all your songs, but it's you know,
I feel that in the new ones too, in a
special way. Do you remember the first song you wrote?
Speaker 10 (07:53):
Well, I mean I wrote a lot of songs when
I was a kid.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Did you make sure and trees and frogs? That's what
I was wondering. You probably don't even remember the very first, right, not.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
The very first, But I do remember when I decided
I was gonna try to be a songwriter. I was
about eighteen, and I lived in Memphis, and I would
take gospel songs that I've been singing.
Speaker 10 (08:16):
My whole life, and I would hear melodies to those songs.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So wow, yeah, so yeah, that's well, that's how you learn.
That's amazing.
Speaker 10 (08:27):
M That's kind of how I did.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
It is just mixing in a gospel song with some
of my own lyrics and learning those patterns of the
songs that I've been singing for eighteen years every Sunday morning,
every Sunday night, and every Wednesday night at church.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
That's a lot. That's a lot of church.
Speaker 10 (08:45):
I's eighteen, that's a lot of church.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So everybody's singing church.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
But were there instruments?
Speaker 10 (08:52):
No instruments.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
See, that's what I find is so unique about your
church upbringing. That is so different.
Speaker 7 (08:57):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
It's not that common.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
It's not.
Speaker 10 (09:02):
Because most churches want to have those instruments.
Speaker 6 (09:05):
But in our Church of Christ, you can't dance and
you can't play instruments.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
So wow, yeah, and I've seen you dance now, so
that that's why you're such a good dancer. I think now.
Speaker 10 (09:19):
Dance every day, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 8 (09:21):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
That is so wild to me though that I remember
when we first stayed in the same house together over
that Thanksgiving when you were making that record and you
would dance every morning. Yeah, And I was like, well,
that's cool. That's a cool way to exercise every morning.
Just put on a cool playlist.
Speaker 10 (09:42):
And if you're on the road, you can do it
in the hotel room.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah. You don't have to find a gross gym exactly
for the outside worry about all of it.
Speaker 10 (09:51):
So even if it's just two minutes, it's usually what
I like to do.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
But for the last two months this summer, I started
to jog, and that's a different kind of energy, and
I miss my dance and so I got to go
back to it because I just feel like it makes
me feel like I can, like my creativity is a
little better when I just listen to music and I
just like move my body to what feels right in
that moment.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, it's just so fun. It just it starts your
day with such good energy. It's true, and you know,
we were talking a little bit last night, and I
wish we'd recorded it all because we were talking about
the good energy. Right, Yeah, you have really good energy.
And I'm like, was she just born with that or
(10:40):
is that something she's like turned herself into. But I
feel like you were probably born with it.
Speaker 10 (10:47):
I think we all are born with it.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
See, that's the right answer this is that's a question
coming from someone who doesn't start their day with good energy, right, Yeah,
you're right about that.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We have to like practice it though, to keep it
going right exactly.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
And for me, it's a twenty four hour a day
practice to work on my energy because I know how
dark I can be, and I know that when I
wake up in the morning, I'm generally like not happy.
Speaker 10 (11:20):
I'm not a morning person. I feel very like.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
Just heavy to be in the world sometimes and know
the things that are happening in the world, and like
it has to be a practice for me to shift
my energy out of that dark space to what I
wish the world will be and.
Speaker 10 (11:38):
What I know we can be.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
And that is such an amazing way to start every day.
Speaker 10 (11:45):
That's pretty much the whole day.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
One of my favorite things growing up as you know,
with all those years of church, they would say pray
without ceasing. And I never really got that until I
started living my life with the practice of positivity. Yeah,
because I have to make that something that doesn't cease
throughout the day.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
You know, you can't let it get you, the darkness.
Speaker 10 (12:10):
No, yeah, just staying ahead of it.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
It's kind of like, yeah, it'll get you, but you
can't let it take over exactactly.
Speaker 10 (12:18):
It's always there.
Speaker 6 (12:19):
But I also see it as like a fuel for
for us all Like when we have something heavier dark,
if we think of ourselves as an alchemist, then we
can see ourselves taking that negative thing and using it
as a gas in our gas tank to shift something
that's dark into a goldenner sterling thing, a golden moment.
Speaker 10 (12:43):
So versus using it as something that's just gonna keep
me down.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, I want to start practicing the Valerie. I'm gonna
call it the Valerie. I'm just gonna I know you
didn't invent it, but I'm gonna I'm gonna just use
you as much my model. I think I need that
in my life. And I was talking about your poetry
(13:09):
book as well. You have this beautiful book of poems
that it's called Maps for the Modern World, and it
is so cool because you have all your illustrations in it.
But there was one poem I was trying to read
my son because he was having a bad day, you know,
and it kind of goes to the one about the shadows.
(13:33):
Let me see, I have it right here.
Speaker 10 (13:35):
There's a lie.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
There's a lie. Yes, And it's so I'm like, if
my kids could just read this every day. Oh and
me too, by the way, Yeah, this poem reminds me
of what what you just said from your book. And
I like how it's framed with the illustration as well.
(13:57):
There is a light around every shadow. Train your eye
to see them both perspectives. Oh my god. I mean, yeah,
it's just so simple, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (14:06):
It really is, it really is.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
But that's such a beautiful way to put it.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
And then the practice, that's when it gets hard, when
it's like, wait a minute, I mean I'm deep in
the darkness now, I'm like on the floor in tears.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Hey, you want me to do what?
Speaker 10 (14:21):
See some light?
Speaker 6 (14:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
No, no, no, all hell no.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, that's why you got to practice it before you
get on the floor.
Speaker 6 (14:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
But gosh, it's so hard to do sometimes.
Speaker 10 (14:31):
And sometimes I need to be on the floor.
Speaker 6 (14:34):
Yeah, I just need to be down there, and I
let myself stay there, down on the floor for a
little bit, and I know that, you know, it's like
that song we just played. I know that there is
a place for me, and that place is a light place,
and I'm gonna get back because I never really leave it.
So I trust it now. When I was younger, I
didn't trust it. I would be like, dang, I just
(14:55):
want so dark. I don't know if I'm coming back. Well.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
See, that's the hard thing. As we get older, we
find these ways to sort of cope with it. But yeah,
for my kids, especially right now, they're at an emotional
age and it's been a crazy year, and I just
I want to give them that, but I don't know how.
Speaker 10 (15:12):
So I think nature is a good way.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, just like.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Times of just practicing watching the clouds change and showing
them like how there's always sun behind there even if
there's rain, and how like even when we are in
the middle of a storm here in the city, then
you know, we're in the country right now, but when
we're in the city, maybe it's raining up here, and
(15:40):
when we're up here, then maybe it's raining there and
they can understand that, like through nature, that storms happen
in life, you know, with your own psyche and where
you are in your own space and just watching like
you know, all of nature is a good teacher, I
think for all of us, but especially for keyds. With
(16:01):
flowers and how hard it is for a flower to open.
It's not easy, yeah, but they do it.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, you can do it, and all the elements are
out there to rain on it and beat it down.
Speaker 10 (16:14):
It got to be right that it is not easy
to get a beautiful flower garden. It takes work, man, Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Can we do one of my favorite songs?
Speaker 10 (16:29):
Eers? Okay, this song?
Speaker 1 (16:34):
So when we when you made that your last album,
you made it in Vermont, I do yeah, And this
is the first song I heard from it. And I
happened to be there because my husband was playing on
the record with you and several other of the band
(16:57):
members had family obligations, but happened to have the week
of Thanksgiving off, So you guys made the record over
Thanksgiving week. So I and my son came and a
friend of mine came up to just sort of you know,
hang out in the house while you guys recorded so
we could all had Thanksgiving together.
Speaker 5 (17:15):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
That was fun. It was so I got it. I
feel like it was on Thanksgiving night after we ate
and after the dishes were done, you guys went in
and you did something and then came back and invited
us to come listen. And this was the song. And
it was the most beautiful thing. It had that nighttime
(17:36):
recording energy.
Speaker 14 (17:37):
It really did.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It really did.
Speaker 10 (17:39):
It had a nighttime energy.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
It was beautiful and you open the record with it,
which I loved because it it just had that thing
which is so hard to get in the studio. Sometimes
it's true and then other times it's it's like songwriting,
you just kind of have to hope it happens, and
when it happens, be rolling it's true.
Speaker 6 (18:00):
Right. I think that's part of the joy of working
with Matt mary Nelli was that he brought together the
cast of characters. He knew we're going to energetically have
a moment like that, and we had several moments.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Well, the whole record is beautiful and it's great, but
that and this, this song just opens it with the
perfect you know, it was just so great. Hearing it
in the studio for the first time, being like the
first to hear it too, was just a special thing.
So this is called Long Lonely Road, and I love
this song. So can we play it? Will you play it?
Speaker 7 (18:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
And I'll play a little bit good piano.
Speaker 6 (18:47):
Alien the church bureaus, Grandma, the best Jesus road.
Speaker 7 (18:55):
Guys rose a star and.
Speaker 10 (18:56):
Stove about the one way baby. So the dog guitar.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Cast after that, all for the call.
Speaker 10 (19:10):
We're gonna hit the dusty row.
Speaker 9 (19:14):
Before we risking bear Hello, Spin alone, Spin a long line,
long lonely root.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Pipe, signed to spread and us spas hard work and
hands fitter, sign up.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
To sunset pain. This body worked to the crown.
Speaker 9 (19:51):
Folks thought we had and made because we always kept
to face.
Speaker 8 (20:00):
Spending out the bills were paid. It's that groan and
there every day, spin.
Speaker 10 (20:10):
Spinning, long long.
Speaker 13 (20:13):
Lean along long, long, long lonely road.
Speaker 7 (20:22):
My mine mine.
Speaker 15 (20:24):
Spend alone, been alone, long bend along long, long, long
lonely roads, spanning alone.
Speaker 8 (21:00):
It's been alone.
Speaker 13 (21:01):
Long, been a long, long, long long, My my mis.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Been alone, been a.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Longe long, been a long, long, long long.
Speaker 14 (21:40):
It's been a long time since I saying that song, good,
God just made me think about my dad.
Speaker 10 (21:47):
I'm sure, just a crazy thing to sing a song
and then go back in time.
Speaker 16 (21:57):
See that's that's intense, and just feel like so grateful
for everything he did for us, and excited that I
get so see grand for her ninety six birthday.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
I know that's good.
Speaker 10 (22:11):
Okay, we did that. Sorry, if I'm gonna cry all day,
it's the Lord.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
You might have to get a.
Speaker 10 (22:20):
Box of tissues if that's gonna happen. But I think
it's not gonna happen. Oh and then here and you
play it on the piano. I think it just did
something all different to me.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
Oh, so which one would you like to go to?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Let's try with you? Yeah, I love this song. Yeah,
this is a cool song.
Speaker 10 (22:52):
That's a good one to do. Yeah, well I wrote
that one in the first man.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Matt Oh yeah, uh yeah, yeah, I can kind of,
I thought.
Speaker 10 (23:03):
So I had to love energy around me, so a
lot of love songs came.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
Can I have a stance?
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Shall we take a chance? So do long pine?
Speaker 10 (23:42):
Or to sartur Pine?
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Is it dussy dove? Is it tot the top plan
of mine?
Speaker 8 (23:49):
A tree?
Speaker 4 (23:50):
You grow a love song great.
Speaker 14 (23:59):
And basketball sod even true and a basketball so.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
D may be read, may be reviewed.
Speaker 17 (24:22):
Gotten bastards for redoping much better.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Riser came on the well be my.
Speaker 11 (24:37):
An it baspar how deep and truth, and a bastabar so.
Speaker 8 (24:43):
D may it be read, maybe read.
Speaker 12 (25:26):
Very week rose any day we use heaven none long.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
We kept this set larn strong.
Speaker 18 (25:34):
You read by a song, but we kill all off
tous come gone on, the worst be gone, and impassibar.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
So deep and true, and impassabar so deep may be weak.
Mabb miavi with you.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
I love that one. It's so it's like a bird
on my shoulder, you know.
Speaker 12 (26:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:37):
I love the way you played the piano on it.
It's a similar to a xylophone. The sounds, the way
that there's space, and the playfulness.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Well your guitar parts so cool. I was trying to
play with it, like dance with it a little.
Speaker 7 (26:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (26:49):
It's good.
Speaker 13 (26:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (26:53):
Let me think what happens when I do it. I
just see people like two people dancing together, doing all
their little moves, yeah, and growing a beautiful love and
being judged by others about what they're doing and not
(27:13):
caring just going and falling in love anyway.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Well, it's such a beautiful like beginning to love, prayer
or blessing or something. It's like that feeling at the
beginning where you just it's just captures it, you know completely.
Speaker 10 (27:29):
I love songs because.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
I love love. Oh, I know what you mean. I
love It's funny love songs. When you were a kid,
did you hear I mean you guys listen to music
at home?
Speaker 10 (27:43):
Yeah, so my father listened through a lot of music.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah, like a ton of music, right, yeah, Like, so
love songs when you were a kid. Did they mean
anything to you? Did you understand them?
Speaker 17 (27:57):
Not so much.
Speaker 6 (27:58):
I would think they were more worry about love but
me and family members, or like between me and were
at home or things like that. And so when I
listen to love songs now, I try to do that
where I don't just make it about me and a lover,
but also it could be a best friend or some
you know, your craft that you love, or how can
(28:19):
that love be translated to other things? Because I think
there are a lot of times coming from the blues
background and loving that where the song wasn't about what
it's actually being sung, you know, with the lyric contents,
or it was more about a hidden message.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
So right, and that's like the cool secret song stuff
that you don't want to actually tell anybody, right, But yeah,
I remember whenever, whenever our son was born, we heard
all these songs about love in completely different ways, like
like ze Brian Wilson song God Only Knows. I never
thought about that song not being between two lovers, know,
(29:00):
but of course it's like God, it could be anything.
But for me when we had the baby, it was
very like a lot. It went deeper all of a sudden.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, And it makes you wonder.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
Well. I like the idea of views and love because
you know, metaphorically, because people are open to it. So
you write a song about love two people dancing together,
the whole world could be looked at that way.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Can we create something like just beautiful and not think
about the heavy judgments or dark energies their negativity?
Speaker 10 (29:41):
How do we?
Speaker 16 (29:43):
You know?
Speaker 10 (29:44):
Love is huge, just so vast that I can't even
wrap my mind around.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
I know, it's such a it's such a like thread
to life that you don't think about all the all
the time. But it's like, hello, just do that and
you be a little better. Yeah, even if it's with
your crouchitty neighbor. Yeah, send them some love. Yeah, I
love it.
Speaker 10 (30:05):
I'm gonna write a song for you.
Speaker 12 (30:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Yeah, don't don't be crotchety. So growing up listening to
records that your parents put on, your dad mostly or
your mom too.
Speaker 10 (30:18):
My dad he would play music, usually out in the car.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (30:23):
That was like his man cave the car.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
That's amazing.
Speaker 10 (30:26):
So he would go out there and bop okay.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Without even going anywhere.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Yeah, he would not go anywhere.
Speaker 14 (30:35):
He would just like he had like a soap whoofer
in there, and like he would just bump in the drop.
Speaker 8 (30:40):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Now I'm picturing it because I got I met your dad.
I met your dad when we were in Memphis. I'm
picturing it.
Speaker 6 (30:49):
He loves music and he would just go be like, okay,
five kids and your wife in this house.
Speaker 10 (30:54):
I'm out. I'm just gonna go sit in my car
and listen to some music.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
So we are you allowed to go out there?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (31:00):
I didn't care.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
It wasn't like nobody can come with me. Yeah. Yeah,
So you guys went out and just hung out in
the car and listen to music.
Speaker 10 (31:07):
Yeah, blues, mostly gospel blues and R and B.
Speaker 6 (31:12):
That's what he loved, okay, And he knew that I
love doll journners and music. And he couldn't understand that
until the end. Till close to the end of his life,
he was like, Oh, I get it now, that's it.
Before he was like, why do you listen to music
that's not this?
Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah, he just didn't get it.
Speaker 10 (31:31):
Yeah, I'm like, I listen to everything.
Speaker 6 (31:33):
I love Bobby blue Byan, I love Johnny Taylor, I
love like Tupac, and I love Dolly Parker, Yeah, Tina Turner.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
And he didn't give a lot of it. Yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 6 (31:46):
And I think a lot of times people haven't had
in their minds that we can't listen to that because
that's not for our color.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah that's crazy.
Speaker 10 (31:56):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
But I mean everybody sort of subscribes to that at
a certain point and then let's it go.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
I think it's changed a lot now because of the
Internet and just having access to whatever we want. We
can listen to music from any country anytime period.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Isn't it crazy? It's like it's almost too.
Speaker 10 (32:15):
Much, it is.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I can't hear everything I want to hear now, but
it's amazing. But if you're stuck. It was funny because
our kids when we listened to streaming and everything, and
we got them at FM radio recently just for fun
because then they don't have a choice. And it's how
we grew up. You know, find something on the radio,
(32:38):
but you're not like searching on a computer for you know,
or like a smartphone for a like a smart playlist.
I don't know. It's just less thinking involved, which is
kind of nice, and you just hear what's there, what's
being played. Yeah, but back when we were growing up,
that was fun.
Speaker 6 (32:59):
I know.
Speaker 10 (33:00):
Oh yeah, they must think we're ancient. I know, I
know what you listen to FM radio?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
When did you How did you discover the music that
wasn't your dad's music? Were you older?
Speaker 6 (33:13):
No, if you grew up in Tennessee, then if you
go to the Walmart or to Bigs's Barn or anywhere Kroger,
they're going to be playing something different.
Speaker 10 (33:24):
That's not necessarily what.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
You would hear. Yeah, it's just kind of in the air. Yeah,
that's how I was in Texas. It was like I
didn't I didn't think that I listened to a lot
of country music growing up, but it was in the water.
Speaker 10 (33:37):
Yeah, it was like everywhere. It's part of me.
Speaker 6 (33:42):
Yeah, it doesn't matter at the airport, no matter where
you go, exactly, music and and that just surrounded me.
And if I hear a good song even now, I
don't care what g on the radio is.
Speaker 10 (33:57):
I love good songs. I just love them, That's what matters.
Speaker 6 (34:00):
So I just collected all the good ones and I'd
play him around the house at school.
Speaker 10 (34:04):
My parents be like, what going on?
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Did your siblings do the same.
Speaker 10 (34:09):
Or were you more of the they did?
Speaker 1 (34:11):
They did.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
And my brother Jason, my older brother, loves country music.
He actually was playing it around the house before I started. Okay,
and then Patrick, my younger brother, plays too.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So yeah, when did you guys get instruments? Well we
didn't really.
Speaker 6 (34:29):
My grandfather had a guitar, the one I'm singing about
in Long Lonely Road, that was in the closet for
my whole life till I was fifteen, and I begged
him for it.
Speaker 10 (34:41):
I begged him all day at a holiday, please Granddad,
can I have it?
Speaker 6 (34:45):
Please?
Speaker 9 (34:45):
Granddad? Can I have it?
Speaker 10 (34:46):
And grit and he was now you can't have that
because all the kids knew.
Speaker 6 (34:50):
There's about fourteen grandkids and when they all knew, for
all of our lives, don't touch the guitar in the closet.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
But it never came out. No one ever played it.
Speaker 6 (35:00):
Yeah, and I had an interest in learning it, and
so finally it was like midnight and I was still please,
and my grandmother was.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Like, Clyde, give her that guitar.
Speaker 10 (35:10):
You won't play that guitar. It's been there for twenty
years and you ain't played it. So he gave it
to me.
Speaker 6 (35:16):
And I didn't learn how to play it until I
was in my twenties and he was already gone, so
he never got to see me play it.
Speaker 10 (35:24):
But he actually started this, He started all of it, yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Just keeping it in the closet. Yeah, and you never
heard him play it.
Speaker 10 (35:34):
No, he couldn't play.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
He couldn't.
Speaker 10 (35:36):
But he got it from the yards there.
Speaker 6 (35:37):
Yeah, okay, and I think he told himself one day,
I want to learn it, but no, and then we
didn't have instruments in the house. But when I started
playing the guitar, then my younger.
Speaker 10 (35:50):
Brother got interested in it.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
But you were in your twenties so get.
Speaker 6 (35:54):
He picks up music way easier than I do, and
he plays guitar and I didn't know, but he plays
piano and he writes really pretty songs.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
And you guys are just musical.
Speaker 7 (36:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I always sang you grew up musical.
Speaker 6 (36:09):
Yeah, singing though using our voice like yeah. And then
in our later age we started playing instruments.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
So when you started playing guitar, was it more by
a year at first or you just pick out stuff
that you were hearing, or did you like study a
chord book or get any lessons or anything.
Speaker 10 (36:26):
When I first started, I got a chord book and
I tried and failed. And that was when I was
around fifteen.
Speaker 6 (36:35):
And also had an art teacher who would play a
kissy guitar while we did art in high school, and
so he tried to teach me some stuff, but it just.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Like a teacher.
Speaker 10 (36:45):
He was so cool. He sounds like Jamiat, that's cool.
Speaker 6 (36:50):
So he was so cool, and he tried to teach
me some stuff, but it just didn't stick. And then
when I moved to Memphis, I met this amazing musician,
Andy Cohen, and he tried to teach me some stuff,
but it didn't stick. And I lived with my boyfriend
and then became my husband, who played guitar beautifully, and
he played it all the time around the house, and
(37:13):
he never tried to teach me because the dynamic between
us was disastrous musically.
Speaker 10 (37:19):
But I still pushed it.
Speaker 6 (37:22):
So I was around the people who played and I
was just so curious. But I have no rhythm and
I have no musical really, yeah, I find it.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Hard to believe because I feel like, you have great time.
I had to learn it it really, it really didn't
come naturally. Oh no, wow.
Speaker 10 (37:40):
Yeah, I was the one on the chilling squad in
the back like wait, wait, said to me, are you black?
Speaker 6 (37:46):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Are you a black girl?
Speaker 15 (37:48):
Wait?
Speaker 5 (37:48):
Can we go back?
Speaker 1 (37:49):
You're a cheerleader? Yeah, okay, let's go back to that now.
Speaker 7 (37:53):
Yeah for how long?
Speaker 10 (37:56):
From junior high to the end?
Speaker 1 (37:58):
So, oh my god. Yeah, I tried to be a
cheerleader in sixth grade and I was really excited about it.
My mom wouldn't let me really know. She said no,
and I was so bummed at the time, you know,
but I think it was just too expensive, Like you
had to go to cheerleading camp and you had to
get all the outfits. It was just too much. She
(38:19):
didn't want to commit.
Speaker 18 (38:21):
It was a lot.
Speaker 10 (38:22):
I didn't think about it like that.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
But that's that's kind of dancing, right, I mean, we're gymnastics,
it is. Yeah, and you didn't have rhythm on the
cheerleading squad. That's a bad thing to not have ader.
Speaker 6 (38:33):
I know.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
They always used to make fun of me, and I'd
like to see a picture also, Yeah, I.
Speaker 10 (38:40):
Got some pictures uniforms.
Speaker 6 (38:44):
I love that.
Speaker 13 (38:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (38:46):
And after that, my little sisters they decided to be cheerleaders.
So we have a lot of cheerleaders in the family.
And my grandmother used to always say cheers.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Oh really, see like a family of singing cheerleaders. Yes,
we all love to sing and cheer, but that cheering
is a positive thing. I wonder if that ties into
your you know, I don't know, maybe that's a stretch,
but yeah, maybe that's like just in your family because
of all the cheering.
Speaker 10 (39:16):
Yeah, I think you're right. I never really thought about
it that way, but sure, yeah, we definitely have that thought.
Oh man, what were you thinking it?
Speaker 1 (39:30):
I say, you call me a fool, Okay, let's do it.
Call me a fool, call me a fool. I love
this song. So it's so and again it's just that simple,
like straight to the bone.
Speaker 10 (39:47):
I'm just a fool, No you're not.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
But did you grow up listening to Carl Karla Thomas.
Speaker 10 (39:54):
Unconsciously?
Speaker 1 (39:55):
Yeah, like that in the water.
Speaker 16 (39:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (39:58):
And I didn't know until I got older and I
moved to Memphis.
Speaker 6 (40:02):
That she was the one who sang the song oh
yeah baby or with otis and stuff.
Speaker 10 (40:08):
But living in Memphis for ten years, that's.
Speaker 6 (40:12):
Where I like, would hear Carla's going to be at
the Cooper Young Festival, or Carla's going to be playing
a few songs down at Isaac's Hayes Club or wherever
that she would show up and so, and she didn't
do very many shows. So I saw her around town
for ten years. And then I moved to New York
(40:34):
and I never met her.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
You never did.
Speaker 10 (40:38):
But I listened basically for two years every day.
Speaker 14 (40:43):
To what a Fool Love Been by her amazing, And
when I was working on Komia Fool, I was like,
I really need to ask Boo Mitchell if he knows
Carla's number, so I could see she would sing with.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
Me on this song.
Speaker 4 (40:57):
It's so cool, yeah, she did.
Speaker 6 (41:01):
And her voice is just so beautiful. It's crystal clear,
like her soprano. And she went to school yeah for
classical and sopranos sing. Yeah wow, her college degrees in
that and and so yeah, I mean she's just amazing
and she has so many stories. I want you to
(41:24):
got to meet her.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
Yeah, she sounds amazing, she's so good.
Speaker 6 (41:29):
Yeah, I've met some saints in my life, Mayvis, Carla,
and Sister Peace.
Speaker 10 (41:33):
Those are my three saints. Well, also met Ama, who
is a saint from India. So I met a lot
of saints. Oh oh wow, you.
Speaker 1 (41:43):
Met her yeah the actual scene Yeah yeah, technically yeah,
the literal saint. I didn't even meet her. That's cool.
Speaker 7 (41:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (41:54):
And I feel like Carla and Mavis said they have
that kind of joy energy, like.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Well, that's that thing we keep coming back to. And
Mavis definitely has that.
Speaker 10 (42:04):
Oh I got been from her.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
Yeah, it's pretty great being around her.
Speaker 10 (42:11):
She can lift the whole building of people.
Speaker 1 (42:13):
I don't know how she does it, but it's amazing,
so good, it's so good. And so Carlo is the
same she is. I want to go to Memphis with you.
Oh yeah again for sure. That was a short trip
we did, but.
Speaker 10 (42:28):
Well we'll go.
Speaker 6 (42:28):
And I mean to me, I really like Royal Studios
there now I've been just it's Willie Mitchell's studio and
everything is as he left it, so it's a little
bit like, you know, the carpets the same from back then,
the walls are the same everything.
Speaker 10 (42:47):
Yes, Bobby, that's very good.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
The records like Gold Records and People's in Al Green
and Otis Clay and all these amazing Memphis musicians on
high records, all their records are still in there and everything.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
That's such a good energy to walk into.
Speaker 10 (43:04):
Yeah, Memphis Horns.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
Did you do some of the new record there?
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (43:08):
Okay, so you did this one there?
Speaker 10 (43:11):
Did it there?
Speaker 8 (43:11):
All right?
Speaker 10 (43:11):
Well should we do it?
Speaker 7 (43:13):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
I'm not gonna try to be Carlo, so I'm just
gonna feel my way round.
Speaker 10 (43:18):
Okay. They call me a food, they call me a food.
Speaker 9 (43:33):
They heard four a heart that's gone a new love bone.
Speaker 7 (43:44):
But I had it on a control.
Speaker 4 (43:48):
Controlling but it should mere grab my saw.
Speaker 7 (43:51):
Yeah, this should we go?
Speaker 12 (43:54):
Ord knock compand in on the Dowie hood in mock company.
Speaker 7 (44:00):
When I knew I had to let it go.
Speaker 4 (44:05):
Don't you know he said I could help you.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
Don't you know?
Speaker 4 (44:09):
I said I could help. Don't you know he said
I could bug and know little su could tug bribe
this new love so strongly love this new love. He
is so shun But it's a power keeps.
Speaker 7 (44:23):
Me all long.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
You ain't come, don't come.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
For your baby.
Speaker 7 (44:41):
Fear food anytime, fear food.
Speaker 4 (44:44):
Anytime, anytime, bloody.
Speaker 7 (44:51):
But I've been listening.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Things have been different. But I guess the cause it
followay them.
Speaker 6 (45:02):
When it's a Troy play thing you sent.
Speaker 7 (45:08):
Back ball or even taking me.
Speaker 6 (45:12):
Mm hmmm, laden drink and stand drunk all day, rid
me creeping.
Speaker 7 (45:18):
But this night and night got my twisted turned head
upside down.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Jest a fool dying around.
Speaker 7 (45:29):
It's making me food.
Speaker 2 (45:35):
They can't.
Speaker 8 (45:39):
For your little.
Speaker 4 (45:40):
Baked Be a food.
Speaker 7 (45:43):
Any time, Be a foon any time in a time, love,
She t me, weird by your face, be a pool time,
(46:09):
be a pool a time any time.
Speaker 17 (46:13):
Bloodydayday Daddy Dodd, weird.
Speaker 7 (46:51):
B be a pool and be a pool term And it's.
Speaker 5 (47:05):
That I had it on the control.
Speaker 1 (47:16):
Yeah, yay. I love how you going that way. It's
like you are daring them to call you a fool.
Speaker 10 (47:22):
Oh yeah, you call me a fool.
Speaker 2 (47:24):
Go for it.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
I want you to. Oh my god, that little shy
with those copy harmonies, the call response. But I love it.
That's a great song.
Speaker 10 (47:40):
We enjoyed singing it.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (47:42):
Well, you know her voice whenever we get to the end,
and she's just like soaring these beautiful, high, long notes like.
Speaker 10 (47:53):
Yeah, yeah, I love it, And she could just go
higher and higher and hire and I'm just like.
Speaker 7 (47:59):
You do.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
Yeah. Her voice is so hot, so open and high. Still. Yeah,
It's crazy how some people as they get older they
keep that. And then there's Joni Mitchell. She drops like
five octaves, you.
Speaker 10 (48:11):
Know, and I love both and I love both.
Speaker 1 (48:14):
Yeah, and Dolly too. She's still up high, I know.
Speaker 10 (48:17):
Yeah, I'm like, that's a gift, it is, saying up there.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
That's a great one. When you were growing up, did
your dad promote shows?
Speaker 6 (48:29):
He did? Yeah, yeah, he promoted like the year I
was in the Bailey Prince really his first show.
Speaker 1 (48:38):
I forgot about that. I think you told me that. Really.
Speaker 13 (48:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (48:41):
I didn't get to go to the show because I
was still in there, but I guess I was there,
but I wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
Did your mom go?
Speaker 6 (48:47):
She did?
Speaker 1 (48:47):
Okay, she was there.
Speaker 10 (48:48):
She would be open with the business, so she was
always there.
Speaker 8 (48:52):
And the ant.
Speaker 10 (48:54):
People like Bobby Romack and a lot of gospel acts
and stuff.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
So some music, mostly music he would listen to though,
Oh yeah, okay, yeah, if he was a fan.
Speaker 10 (49:04):
He tried to bring the artists to our town. Well
that's so cool.
Speaker 6 (49:09):
Yeah, and he met so many artists their way, Like
he would just go to shows and meet the artist
and try to say, hey, come back to our town
if you like, because they always went to Memphis or Nashville.
Speaker 1 (49:22):
So he would promote the shows in Jackson. Yeah, and
where just wherever?
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Coliseum? Okay, so we have a coliseum there and a
civic center.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Wait, that's a big show. Yeah, okay, I didn't realize
it was like that, or college is like okay, he
would grow pretty big shows then, Yeah, he did.
Speaker 6 (49:40):
The Prince show was at the University of Martin, which
is a state college.
Speaker 10 (49:44):
Okay, so sometimes at schools if he could get her
all the ducks in a row, that's pretty great.
Speaker 14 (49:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:51):
So did you grow up going to those shows?
Speaker 6 (49:54):
As I got older, I would work the shows, so
I would set up the green room and stuff. But
at night, when over the shows would occur, I couldn't
go because I'm a kid, and yeah, they'd.
Speaker 10 (50:04):
Be like, no, you gotta stay home.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
But you would hear sound checks. I would hear sound checks,
So you grew up listening to people sound check.
Speaker 10 (50:11):
Yeah, and I knew it was just kind of a
weirdy on that side of it.
Speaker 1 (50:14):
It's a cool thing to actually witness in different.
Speaker 14 (50:19):
Seeing the speakers come in and I'm all ready get
set up and stuff the road cases.
Speaker 6 (50:25):
Yeah yeah.
Speaker 10 (50:26):
And being back there bag State.
Speaker 1 (50:28):
Oh that's so cool for a kid. Yeah yeah, but
that's a really unique perspective.
Speaker 10 (50:33):
I feel like idiots, you know.
Speaker 6 (50:35):
I was glad I got that, and also that I
saw the other side of it, where is the front
and and I didn't want to be on that side.
Speaker 10 (50:45):
I wanted to be on the stage side. So it
was good training.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
You knew it, Yeah, from an early age.
Speaker 10 (50:51):
You thought that I knew I wanted to be a singer. Yeah, okay,
I did, and I want it to really bad.
Speaker 6 (50:56):
But I didn't think it was possible for me because
my voice it's weird, and there weren't singers on the
radio who sounded like me.
Speaker 1 (51:05):
No, there really weren't. But that's what's so great about you.
I mean, to find your own voice. It's like the
most special thing. But when you're a kid, you don't.
You don't get that.
Speaker 6 (51:15):
Nobody in the world and the family got it. Oh,
they'd be like, you want to be a singer, saying Okay.
Speaker 1 (51:27):
That's not very encouraging. Oh no, no, yet, look at
what you've done.
Speaker 10 (51:33):
They caught me a food Yeah, no way, I dare you,
dare you? That's what I'm gonna do. You watch.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
That's perseverance, you know, like without a lot of encouragement.
Speaker 10 (51:46):
Oh yeah, that's kind of intense. Yeah man, I'm okay.
What it takes for a flower to flower?
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Yeah, basically you get it. Man. I love it. I
love your story. I have another favorite song of yours
that I would want. I would I was going to
ask if you would play it. This is from that
was your first album that you did with Dan?
Speaker 15 (52:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (52:15):
Back and how did you end up recording with him?
I he was living in Memphis.
Speaker 6 (52:23):
No, he lived in Nashville and he was just finishing
Easy Eye Studios. I think I was one of the
first people to record in there.
Speaker 18 (52:31):
Cool.
Speaker 10 (52:31):
It's a cool place.
Speaker 6 (52:33):
And I met this guy, Kevin Agunis, and I just
raised money with Kickstarter and so I needed to make
a record because I had the money, and Kevin asked.
He asked me one day at Central Barbecue and Memphis
were waiting in line to get our barbecues, like.
Speaker 10 (52:52):
Who would you like to work with?
Speaker 6 (52:55):
And I said, well, I really like the music of
Dan Auerbach. I like what he does with the like
he's would also like his solo stuff. And he was like,
I was just with him last week because they were
working on a project together.
Speaker 10 (53:07):
He was like, let me ask him if you want
to write songs with you? And he did, and so
we went to John Prime's studio because Dan studio.
Speaker 6 (53:15):
I didn't even know Dan was building a studio, okay,
but he was friends with John and he would work
out a John Studios. So we met at John Prin's
studio and we wrote Tennessee Time there and you Can't
Be Told. And at the end of our writing session,
he was like, would you like to make a record
(53:35):
And I was like sure. He was like, well, I
have a studio here in Nashville. It's almost Spanish, so
if you want to, we can go in and make
a record.
Speaker 10 (53:44):
And so we did and it was like my first
record that I've ever made. But we'd also he.
Speaker 6 (53:49):
Invited me too to sing at SuperJAM and Bonneru with him,
which is where I met like all the people like
Leon Michaels and people like that because they were in
the band Black He's in. Well yeah, but it was
also just that super gym.
Speaker 10 (54:05):
They invited like.
Speaker 1 (54:08):
The house band for that.
Speaker 10 (54:09):
Okay, I got and Doctor John.
Speaker 1 (54:12):
It was like a ton of Ohlen told me about
that was it was?
Speaker 10 (54:15):
It was amazing, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (54:17):
That's so cool.
Speaker 6 (54:19):
Just standing beside Doctor John was cool and talk about
Zian he was so Zeen really yeah that is so cool,
like bad ass sing.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
I bet yeah, he had that vibe.
Speaker 4 (54:33):
And so Dan and I met and.
Speaker 6 (54:35):
Then we ended up working on Pushing Up against the
Stone and and that was the last time I worked
with him.
Speaker 10 (54:41):
But I've I've loved everything that they've been doing.
Speaker 1 (54:44):
Yeah, they're great, but that album is great and to
have that, you know, that was your first album. Was
it weird to be in the studio after just playing
you know, do it? I assume you were doing a
lot of gigs.
Speaker 6 (54:57):
And well not I was doing a lot of gigs
like solo stuff, and I was just getting started. And
it was very weird for me to be in the
studio because I'd never like made a record myself before
my husband and I made a record at a studio
(55:20):
in Memphis, so.
Speaker 1 (55:22):
You'd had a little experience in the studio.
Speaker 10 (55:23):
Not much so not like you know, those songs that
we did.
Speaker 6 (55:29):
We had been playing on ITS shows, and I had
an experience going in and basically starting from scratch.
Speaker 10 (55:37):
And doing a record, and I was so nervous. I
was like it was like going like to me, it
was like.
Speaker 6 (55:46):
Very like going in for a procedure or something where
I was scared and nervous.
Speaker 10 (55:53):
What's the outcomes?
Speaker 1 (55:57):
But were you able to sort of shed that as
as the like time went on in the studio or
not really.
Speaker 6 (56:04):
I don't think I shadded until my second record, okay,
and even with the third record, this one, Mooning Stars
even more.
Speaker 10 (56:13):
But it's something about.
Speaker 6 (56:15):
Me with studios, like if I know I'm going it's
like this is a photograph, it's gonna last for yeah,
but that's.
Speaker 13 (56:22):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (56:23):
That's it's stressful because of that yeah, and it can't
go back. It's like the songs. Songs are kind of alive,
don't you think I do. So it's like, oh, let's
take your senior prime picture right now, but give it
to everybody.
Speaker 14 (56:38):
And I went back at the senior pictures and I'm like,
award that.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
Yeah, you know, like that's like your freshman picture Dan. Yeah,
but but it's weird. But as long as you I
started recently in the studio, I have that same thing,
especially if it's a song I really love or have
played too much. I like recording when I haven't played
a song too much. I think I get better versions
(57:04):
that way. But there's different sides to that. But recently
I just kept telling myself in the studio, like, it's
all good. It's just it's just it's just it's just
sounds and words and people will get the idea because
you're just putting them together and this is not brain surgery,
(57:26):
and wrong notes are fine, and it's just the vibe.
It has to be good, you know. I just like
tell myself that just sort of not get too caught
up and like, but that wasn't quite what I thought
it would be, you know. Yeah, it's like a whole thing.
Speaker 6 (57:42):
And I've had to do that in my career in general,
let go of what I thought it was going to be,
because when I get on stage, the sound doesn't sound
ever live.
Speaker 10 (57:55):
What I thought it was.
Speaker 1 (57:56):
Going to be was different than playing in like in
your dressing room, tied singing, and it's just so different,
so different.
Speaker 6 (58:03):
So I've had to change what making music is in
my head, like it's okay to make a mistake.
Speaker 10 (58:09):
It's okay if the.
Speaker 6 (58:11):
Sound check it sounds different than the live show. What
I'm supposed to do is just sing and play.
Speaker 10 (58:16):
And when I go in the.
Speaker 6 (58:17):
Studio, even though I still have that nervousness, it's okay,
Like you said, yeah, if we love it, just don't
feel shy saying can I do that one more time? Yeah?
Speaker 10 (58:28):
I feel like that.
Speaker 6 (58:30):
Kind of confidence for my art when I first started,
where I had that voice to say.
Speaker 1 (58:35):
Guys or girls, can I go? Can we try it again? Yeah?
Can we try it slower?
Speaker 7 (58:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (58:41):
But it's like you don't know in the beginning that
you you're a loud or something, and especially if you're
in a situation where there's someone else sort of at
the at the wheel, like a producer, even if it's
a great producer who's very kind, you just think that
there they'll tell you if you need to do it again,
and then you don't really know in the beginning that
you can also.
Speaker 10 (59:02):
Say that, yeah, it goes both ways.
Speaker 1 (59:04):
It's actually your thing, so you definitely should if you're
not feeling comfortable. But it's confusing in the beginning when
you're young and shy.
Speaker 6 (59:13):
Yeah, And I found now that most producers want you
to say, hey, ca and if you don't feel like
that was your most confident take, then they want you
to say what's on your mind. But it took three
records for me to get that confidence around making some records,
and so I feel a little better about going in
and even with this last record, learning how to do
(59:38):
stuff in logic and record a little bit on my own.
Speaker 1 (59:41):
Oh yeah, because you were home.
Speaker 6 (59:43):
Yeah yeah, So that was a whole other side of
things where I will hear musicians talk about plug ins
and gear and get so intimidated, like what's the plugins?
Speaker 10 (59:54):
And now I actually know what that is, and I know,
you know you they intoineer basic stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
That's great, I mean, that's that's the way it is now.
Even even out of lockdown. That's just the way it is. Yeah, true. Oh,
I wanted to ask you about life on the road.
Do you like being on the road. Do you feel
like that's a comfortable home for you, life on the
road as a touring musician, or do you struggle with it?
Speaker 6 (01:00:25):
After having like I've been doing that for about a
decade and having the pandemic happen where I.
Speaker 10 (01:00:34):
Finally had to be home like for a year like everyone.
Speaker 6 (01:00:39):
Else, I realized how much I enjoy being home and
so like, it's now so.
Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
Great it made you want to fine tune it a
little more.
Speaker 7 (01:00:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (01:00:53):
Yeah, and when when going for the gigs, either go
and come home sooner or pace the shows.
Speaker 10 (01:01:02):
Where I'm able to enjoy the travel a little better.
Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
Yeah maybe, yeah, take a little more control over the
joy of touring. Yeah yeah, get I got it, instead
of just like doing everything you can and getting tired
and homesick.
Speaker 10 (01:01:16):
So tired. I didn't realize until I stopped how tired
I would.
Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
I heard that from a lot of people over you know,
the whole.
Speaker 10 (01:01:26):
Pandemic, even with different professions.
Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
Yeah no, I mean it's just modern life too.
Speaker 10 (01:01:31):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 6 (01:01:33):
We do have a lot to do in this modern
time versus people living with the sun, you know, where
they wake in the morning with the sun and they
go to bed with the fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
They don't have to. Yeah, I know, it's a simpler thing. Yeah,
well this has been so awesome.
Speaker 10 (01:01:53):
Yeah fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01:54):
I love you. I love you, my friend, and I
love you even more after music with you. It's so fun.
Speaker 6 (01:02:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
Can we do one song to end it?
Speaker 16 (01:02:05):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
I do love this song from your first album called
Twined and Twisted. Okay, okay, well I.
Speaker 7 (01:02:15):
Thought your numb.
Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
Stuck in my phone. Oh but I can't find it
no way and the Sages space Wailer borrow time ha
(01:02:49):
got it pity to people see Lake the episode Long.
Speaker 7 (01:03:04):
Shag can key Through.
Speaker 4 (01:03:18):
I got no place and so.
Speaker 11 (01:03:23):
Shackle bound bound bound Basty.
Speaker 4 (01:03:29):
Brow sad and I gotta placing sod.
Speaker 11 (01:03:41):
Shackle bun bound bound boasty Bromla's run from my bam
(01:04:04):
mave drifting from my home, and I was thinkingnot of.
Speaker 8 (01:04:14):
Be thinking, Yeah, I'm going.
Speaker 11 (01:04:31):
That's young weez up the answer shave.
Speaker 13 (01:04:40):
We found out a mile.
Speaker 4 (01:04:47):
And everything about New.
Speaker 11 (01:04:52):
Trys trnd in Treetay true.
Speaker 4 (01:05:05):
Then I got no place episode.
Speaker 11 (01:05:11):
Shackle bound bound bound basty, he.
Speaker 4 (01:05:24):
Said, and I gotta placing the.
Speaker 11 (01:05:30):
Shackle bound bound bound Pa husty, And I got no
pleasing shackle bound bound bound pahasty.
Speaker 1 (01:06:10):
Oh that was so fun. Thanks for listening to the
show with Valerie June.
Speaker 2 (01:06:16):
Thank you Valerie for pushing away negativity being a dreamer.
We need more people like.
Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
You, Yeah, inspirational. Please check out Valerie's albums and see
if she's got any tour dates brewing. Definitely go see
her live if you're able.
Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
And she also has a children's book out now called
Somebody to Love, the story of Valerie June's sweet little
baby Banjolelely. It's brought to life with beautiful illustration by
our very talented friend Marcella Avalar. It's available now worldwide,
so go to your local bookshop and grab yourself a copy.
Speaker 1 (01:06:48):
Have a great day, y'all. This show is produced by
me and Sarah Oda, recorded by James Landry, mixed by
James Landry, lovingly packaged by James Landry. Additional engineering by
Greg Tobler, Photography by Shervian Linez, artwork by Eliza Fry,
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