December 11, 2025 • 39 mins
What if one phone call could reroute your life’s soundtrack? That’s the energy running through our sit-down with Courtney Williams—a bass singer who grew from church harmonies in Tennessee to the Navy Sea Chanters, then stepped behind the mic as the announcing voice at four presidential inaugurations. His stories take us inside the craft and chaos of high-stakes ceremony: the long cold wait in the Capitol, the script that kept changing as dignitaries arrived out of order, the rush of nailing an introduction that millions would hear and none would forget.
Courtney walks us through turning points that feel both unlikely and inevitable. A UT scholarship made him realize opera wasn’t his path. A Marine Corps commitment almost took him one way, until the Sea Chanters audition took him another. Along the way, mentors opened doors, ensembles sharpened his technique, and recording sessions taught him the small decisions—vowels, blend, breath—that make a chorus feel like one voice. Then came the moments that live outside the rehearsal room: introducing Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson at Obama’s inauguration, getting the quiet call to record the Super Bowl intro, and performing at the Pearl Harbor premiere on the deck of a ship in Hawaii.
The heart of this conversation is service through sound. We talk about the mission of military music—honoring the fallen, lifting the active force, and bridging the public with those who wear the uniform. Courtney shares the jolt he felt every time the Armed Forces medley brought veterans to their feet, and how sacred texts within choral repertoire can gently minister to a divided world without a sermon. Today, that same purpose guides his work in Charleston as executive director of Lowcountry Veterans Home, where he helps homeless veterans stabilize, find benefits and jobs, and step back into life with dignity.
If you love music, military stories, or the way one steady voice can move a room, you’ll feel at home here. Press play, share it with a friend who needs a shot of courage, and leave us a review so more people can find these stories.
Just Keep Singing
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_05 (00:00):
Inauguration's over.
It's a week or so later and I'mwalking around the Fort Myers
commentary getting groceries andmy phone rings and it's
Beyonce's people.
He was getting ready to do theSuper Bowl halftime show and
they said we heard you at theinauguration.
We'd like for you to do theintro for Beyonce.
We've already got it recorded bysomebody else, but we'd like for
you to do it.
KC (00:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (00:20):
But I didn't tell him.
I didn't say a word.
KC (01:02):
Welcome to Still Singing.
I'm Casey Armstrong and as manyof you guys know I've had the
opportunity to sing in a numberof different ensembles, from
universities to communitychoirs, professional ensembles,
and professional quartets.
Today I'm gonna introduce you tomy good friend Courtney
Williams.
Courtney and I met through a mannamed Lynn Draper, where
Courtney was a Junaska singerbefore I was.
(01:24):
I took his place, he joined theNavy C Chanters.
Anyway, I'm excited for you guysto meet Courtney today and hear
what he's doing now here inMount Pleasant, South Carolina
with his lovely wife and kids.
See a bit.
(02:20):
How's it going?
We did it.
We did it.
We did it.
Thanks so much for letting mestop by your new place.
I say new, relatively new place.
Fairly new.
A couple years, I guess.
I don't know.
Here in Mount Pleasant, SouthCarolina, man.
It's great to have you.
So remind me when you retiredfrom the Navy band.
So I retired in May of 2022.
(02:40):
Um okay.
Okay, so May 22.
And that was 27?
26.
26 years.
SPEAKER_05 (02:48):
Yeah, man.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
It was a good time.
Man, uh, you know, you miss thepeople, you miss some of the
stuff, but retired is nice.
KC (02:56):
It is, man.
Um, so tell me about the new jobhere in South Carolina and uh
what's going on, man.
SPEAKER_05 (03:03):
Well, now that I'm retired from the Navy, I'm I'm
working two jobs.
I'm a real estate agent here inthe Mount Pleasant Charleston
area with the firm real estatecompany.
Okay.
Um, and then I've also recentlybecome the executive director of
an organization called LowCountry Veterans Home.
Oh.
And um we have a house on JamesIsland here in Charleston, and
(03:23):
we provide transitional housingto homeless veterans.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
It's a really, really specialjob getting to help these guys
that have had their strugglesand help them get back on their
feet and back into society.
Wow, man.
Yeah, I didn't realize that.
I think so.
Is that fairly it is?
I I I got involved with theorganization as a board member,
and then just this year theexecutive director stepped down
(03:45):
and we needed somebody to fillthe role.
So I jumped in and I've beendrinking from a fire hose trying
to learn a job.
KC (03:50):
I bet, man.
Yeah.
That's a great service to thosein need.
You know, I mean, the VA isgreat.
There's there's so many greatoutlets for veterans, but it's
funny how some people can slipthrough the cracks.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (04:01):
We actually have a partnership with the VA.
So we work really tightly withthem to help these veterans out.
So we provide the services thatthe VA can't.
We get them off the street andinto the shared living
environment.
Hopefully, it's a 90-day programwhere we get them kind of
stabilized, find them a job ifthey need it, help them make
sure they're getting theirbenefits, and then get them back
out of their own.
KC (04:24):
Yeah, man.
Well, good on you for that.
So you and Stacy are here, andthe boys, man, I heard them
earlier.
Yeah, they haven't made itdownstairs yet.
SPEAKER_05 (04:31):
So tell me about these kids, man.
So I got we got two boys,Raylan, who's 10, and Stone,
who's seven.
Stone is our little gentlegiant.
He and Raylan are about the samesize, even though they're three
years apart.
But, you know, we live here inCarolina Park in Mount Pleasant,
and it is just a dream for kids.
I mean, they ride their bikes toschool most days.
They get the freedom that weused to have as kids, and you
(04:52):
kind of feel like you lost.
KC (04:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So our neighborhood's cool forbikes, but then you get off our
neighborhood road, it's likethere's no shoulders, there's no
sidewalks, you know, S-curveseverywhere.
SPEAKER_05 (05:04):
They have to cross a fairly busy street to get from
the neighborhood to the school.
Yeah.
But they have crossing guardssitting there every morning and
every afternoon.
Perfect.
We actually found this placeback in 2017.
Stacy and I came down here on ananniversary trip.
By Sunday, we were looking atopen houses in this
neighborhood.
And we were like, hey, when Iretire, this is where we're
coming.
This is it.
KC (05:23):
Yeah.
And just driving in here, youknow, it's a bob and weave
through the neighborhood, andit's beautiful.
We've got the lakes and thesidewalks, of course.
It's great, man.
Yeah, it's it's a reallyspecial.
Congratulations on this, man.
This is great.
Um, so you know, I know you grewup in Tennessee.
I've met your folks through theyears, but tell me how you found
music or how how did music findyou or you know tell me about
(05:43):
that journey.
SPEAKER_05 (05:44):
So I I mean, I grew up singing in the church, but I
was raised Church of Christ.
So singing was ensemble,congregational, a cappella.
Right.
But there was a guy that went tochurch with me that sang bass in
a barbershop quartet.
And even as a kid, that's what Iwanted to do.
I wanted to sing bass.
Yes.
And so I would always sit nearhim and try to sing like him.
(06:05):
And uh I think he was a doctoror a dentist or something, it
was his trade, but he enjoyedsinging.
So did that, and then when I gotinto middle school, I started
playing trumpet in the band.
Yes.
And enjoyed that.
And then I went to a tiny littleschool.
It was uh in Greenbrier,Tennessee.
Uh-huh.
And there was a new banddirector that came in, and he
(06:25):
was responsible for the middleschool and the high school and
the chorus.
Wow.
Yeah, yeah.
It was a lot, and there hadn'treally been much of a chorus, so
he was trying to build thatprogram up in the high school,
and he didn't have enough guys.
So in seventh grade, I startedsinging with the high school
choir.
And really, you know, that waswhen I fell in love with Sanger.
Had your voice changed yet inseventh grade?
I don't know if you and I haveever talked about this.
(06:46):
My voice was always kind of low,even as a kid.
KC (06:49):
Even as a kid, okay.
SPEAKER_05 (06:50):
But it just dropped.
And when you meet Raylan, you'llhear because he's got the same
thing.
Like as 10 years old, he's gothe's got some gravel.
Uh oh.
So I didn't have the real lowdown stuff at that point, but I
was always.
KC (07:02):
Okay.
So yeah, obviously your musicteachers found you.
You grew up singing Church ofChrist, everybody's just kind of
involved.
Yeah.
And you had your mentor throughchurch.
Okay.
Yeah, that's cool because Idon't think I've ever asked that
because I think you're like me,like my parents can sing melody.
I mean, they can sing along, butthey weren't in the choir.
And my dad will tell you hecan't sing anything.
So my dad's like, I can onlyplay the radio.
(07:24):
Right.
That whole thing.
Well, my dad sings low lead.
Like he'll sing everything downthe octave.
Hey, that's that's a good spotto be in.
I love it.
All right, man.
So I see you're wearing your UTorange.
It's gang day.
Is it gang day?
Because you spent some time atUT.
I did.
It sounds like prison, but Ispent some time.
I did my time there.
SPEAKER_05 (07:41):
Yeah.
So tell me how did they find youor so?
I guess the summer between mysophomore and junior year and
high school, I was lucky enoughto be selected to go to
Tennessee's governor school.
Okay.
At MTSU.
And while I was there, one ofthe voice teachers was Lynn
Helding, who was a professor atVanderbilt.
KC (07:58):
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (07:58):
So then once I got out of governor school, I'm back
in Greenbrier.
Well, Greenbrier's 45 minutesfrom downtown Nashville.
So I got a scholarship to go toVanderbilt for pre-college voice
lessons and theory classes twodays a week, my junior and
senior year.
So it was great.
A fantastic opportunity.
Absolutely.
But as I was getting ready tograduate, Miss Helding decided
(08:19):
she was moving to a differentschool.
I don't remember where she wasgoing, but wherever it was, I
wasn't interested in followingher.
So I auditioned it, Austin P andUT.
Okay.
And I wound up getting ascholarship at UT and went
there, but it was an opera-basedscholarship.
KC (08:34):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (08:34):
And I figured out pretty quickly that opera was
not where my heart was.
KC (08:38):
Right.
I agree, man.
I know you hear it as much, ifnot more, than I do, but people
are like, man, you should singopera.
And I tell them, I'm like, Ising just enough opera to know
that I don't want to sing operafor a living.
SPEAKER_05 (08:48):
Man, when I hear somebody really doing it well,
it's so impressive.
And I am so blown away by thatlevel of talent and commitment
that it takes to do that well.
But it just doesn't speak to mepersonally.
Like I enjoy listening to it,but it's not something I want to
pursue.
KC (09:02):
Right.
I tell some people that, youknow, I don't do it because I'm
too lazy, but it requires a lotthat goes into it before anybody
sees the final product.
Yeah.
And so maybe early on it mighthave been a time thing for me,
but I'm with you.
It wasn't calling me.
It just wasn't calling me.
SPEAKER_05 (09:17):
But while I was there, I was studying with
George Bitzis.
Right.
Who was one of the originalGinaluska singers.
That's right.
So quartet.
Right.
So that's where I found outabout Glenn and Ginaleska.
Yes.
That makes sense.
Yeah.
Talking about basic training forthat's everything.
That's opened up the whole roadto everything else that came.
(09:37):
So I gotta jump back and tellyou how I got involved with
Glenn.
Because I got a call from Glenntoo.
Right, right.
And he wanted me to sing forhim.
And I was in Nashville.
Like I wasn't gonna go toChattanooga or whatever.
So I wound up meeting Jim Broganin the parking lot of some, I
don't even remember where itwas, and just sang for him and
his Camry.
And he signed off on me and toldGlenn I was good enough to come
be a Gentileuska singer.
KC (09:57):
So y'all met on 40, probably somewhere.
SPEAKER_05 (09:59):
I don't remember where it was now, but I think it
was a green Camry.
And he and I just sat in his carand talked because I had no idea
what late Gentileuska was.
And I remember him saying, Haveyou seen Dirty Dancing?
It's kind of like that.
You're like, so I'm like, let'sgo.
KC (10:16):
Oh gosh.
All right.
Yeah, this is all comingtogether.
Was Didi in the car?
No, she wasn't in the car.
Okay, so Didi always claims,like, well, we got Courtney.
SPEAKER_05 (10:25):
I mean, that's true.
That was yeah.
I think I talked to Dee Dee.
I think she set up the meet withGemini.
KC (10:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
By the way, Kara's working atBrogan Financial right now.
Oh, that's great.
She started there this summer.
That's awesome.
Uh working over there.
Can you imagine?
She's having a blast.
That's great.
Yes.
So I don't think I met you, butthe first time I saw the Jen
Waskins singers was the Decemberconcert of 95.
Okay.
So just before you joined theNavy.
Right.
And you were up there with JohnDominic, Jim Brogan, Michael
(10:53):
Smith, Jay Craig.
Yeah.
I mean, it was That was a goodgroup.
Do you remember AngelaRobertson?
Yeah.
She was Glenn's assistant.
Right.
Angela was in my studio atWestern.
Oh, okay.
So she was the one that I thinkyou had by that concert, you
already knew you were going tothe Navy.
SPEAKER_05 (11:10):
So it's a convoluted journey.
Yeah.
So, like I mentioned, I realizedat UT that opera wasn't for me.
And so I left UT and I went backhome and started working just a
retail job trying to figure outwhat was next.
And what I kind of thought wasnext for me was a military
career of some sort.
Right.
You know, and and what I haddone was I had depped into the
(11:32):
Marine Corps and was gettingready to go to the Marine Corps.
My plan at that point was to dofour years, get my GI Bill, go
to school, figure out what I wasgoing to be when I got on type
thing.
And then somewhere between thatDecember concert and January of
96, I was singing at a church inNashville, and one of the sea
chanters had sung there when shewas a graduate student at Vandy.
(11:54):
Okay.
So the C chanters were lookingfor a second bass.
She called back to the choirdirector and said, Do you know
anybody that might fit?
And so the choir director waslike, Oddly, yes, I do.
So I got cold called.
I was working a retail job inRivergate Mall, and I got a call
at the mall from one of the seachanters.
And at that point, I knew aboutthe singing sergeants.
I'd never heard of any of theother military courses.
(12:18):
So I jumped on a plane, flew toDC, and auditioned for the job,
and then I had to get out of mycommitment to the Marine Corps.
Oh wow, yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, so was that tricky?
It was a little hairy.
You know, at the time I didn'tknow much about military
structure to begin with, but Ihad to go sit down with a Marine
Major who was head of recruitingfor the Nashville area, and he
(12:38):
looked me in the eye and said,I'm not in the business of
recruiting for the Navy.
You made a commitment.
I expect you to live up to it.
And uh I talked to some otherfolks and got some good counsel,
and and we found a way to get meout of that.
Yeah.
And I was able to go into theNavy.
All right.
KC (12:52):
Man, okay.
I now remember you telling meabout you were on track to go
into the Marine Corps.
Yeah.
But I had forgotten about thatlittle detail.
Man, yeah, that would be kind oftricky.
I mean, I know how maps andrecruiters and all that was so
intimidating.
I went through it twice, youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
Right.
KC (13:08):
Okay, at that Christmas concert when I first saw you
guys, you thought you were goingin the Marine Corps.
Right.
So the reason she invited me wasbecause she knew you were
leaving and was like, hey, comecheck this group out.
Glenn's gonna need a new basethis summer, blah, blah, blah,
whatever.
But here's the truth.
I came and watched that concert.
I said hi to Angela.
She did introduce me to Glenn,and I remember telling Glenn,
this was incredible.
(13:28):
I have no business being a partof Oh, that's crazy.
I was like, I can't do this.
I mean, I showed up by myself.
I mean, it was only 20 minutesfrom Western or whatever.
Right.
I showed up to the concert, setbetween two older ladies.
I mean, it was Lilake.
It was Lilake.
And I was just like, holy crap,you know, you weren't using any
music.
Everything was memorized.
Yeah.
And so I loved it, but I wasintimidated.
(13:50):
I was like, there's no way Icould do this.
Because I was fairly new.
I did the trumpet playing vocalswitch at 19 in college.
Right.
I was still just so green.
I was like, man, I can't dothis.
So I told Glenn, I was like,hey, listen, I I really
appreciate the invite.
Thanks for the ticket.
I just don't see that.
I mean, and I walked away likethat's not an option.
Right.
And so fast forward, you hadalready been swept up by the
(14:13):
Navy by that time.
And then I think in March orApril, he called me and was
like, hey, come sing for me.
And I was like, so the rest ishistory.
But okay, that answers a lot ofquestions.
I'm glad to learn some of this.
And anybody that's watching willappreciate that too.
So you came down to visit in thesummer of 96, probably a long
weekend or something.
You had I had just gotten out ofboot camp.
SPEAKER_05 (14:33):
So I had gotten out of boot camp and went straight
to DC.
Okay, kind of signed up.
Kind of got settled in, and thenI waited until the van took
block leave and took just tookleave with them because I
wouldn't want to miss anythingat that point.
KC (14:45):
Yeah, no, I understand.
SPEAKER_05 (14:46):
So then I flew home and got my car and the few
things that I had, you know, andthen was driving back to I'm
like, I gotta go see my mybuddies at the lake.
KC (14:57):
Okay, so that was when any of you guys that have ever sat
through a KC concert.
So when I say my buddy came backfrom the Navy and told us about
the job, this is the scenario.
I was running with Mark Tilly,you slept on our couch at the
ghetto, uh, which was theaffectionate name for the
lodging there for the singers.
And uh basically I kind ofpicked your brain about what it
(15:18):
was that you were doing.
SPEAKER_05 (15:19):
Uh what is funny now, because like I realized at
that point I was only like threeweeks into the actual job.
I had no idea what it was.
KC (15:26):
Well, but you were still further along than anybody else.
So I think any of us, all thesingers that were kind of a
little bit curious.
I mean, I knew I was, becausegrowing up, you see the bands,
and you said you heard about thesinging sergeants.
I hadn't even heard about thesinging sergeants, so it was
just the bands.
You saw the bands at theinaugural parades.
If you watched that as a kid,you saw them on the PBS specials
(15:47):
and this and that.
You know, if you ever visitedArlington, you maybe caught a
glimpse of a band.
You see buglers on the T.
You know, there weren't thatmany state funerals that I had
watched, so I was not familiarwith the choruses at all.
So having you sit down, youknow, we chatted about that that
weekend was a big deal becausethat was in '96.
And so in '99, fast forwardafter you've been there three
(16:09):
years, yeah.
I called you up and was like,hey man, what's going on?
Are there any other people?
And at that time, you're likesinging sergeants, you need
somebody.
So I came up and auditioned forthat job and the rest is history
there too.
So by the way, I I went to the80th anniversary of the singing
sergeant.
I saw that being advertised asan upcoming.
That's great that you gotta go.
(16:29):
So what happened with theshutdown?
The singers showed up, you know,out of uniform, volunteered.
I think all but I don't know,maybe four or five were able to
be there.
And so they sang, they sounding,you know, gosh, these all the
groups are like I'm so glad I'mnot auditioning to try to win
one of those jobs now.
Man, they're like, it's so likeit's just so good.
(16:51):
Yeah, it's so good and clean,and the new group sounds great.
I've heard the C channelsrecently, they're killing it.
The Army course is now mixed,right?
And it looks like they're closeto being balanced.
I mean, they hired quick.
That's great.
They were able to go overstrength, and so you know,
soldiers course is doing greatstuff.
Do you know the field band hastwo rappers?
I did see that.
SPEAKER_05 (17:11):
I haven't heard them.
I've heard one thing, it wasvery brief.
I think I saw it on socialmedia.
KC (17:15):
I guess I will say this the field band was like the first to
do these new social mediathings.
Yeah, they were cutting edge,man.
Like all the rest of us werelike, oh, we're crap.
I don't know, I don't know if wecan do that.
But you know, it's just been sofun to watch these bands adapt
to the new whatever it is that'syeah.
And I'm with you, man.
I'm like, thank goodness Iauditioned when I did it because
(17:36):
I'm glad I'm Rutaka.
So that's how, you know, thisguy's the one that just came
back and slept on my couch andtold me about the military
courses.
Anyway, so during your careerwith the Navy, you were in the
Sea Chanters first, of course.
And then at some point, when didyou switch over to the concert
band solo announcer?
SPEAKER_05 (17:56):
It was right around the same time that you made the
switch to the Army.
Because I remember I had justfound out that I had won the
spot to become the announcer forthe concert band, and solo was
for the concert band.
And you called me up and said,Hey man, Army Chorus has got an
opening for a lowdown.
Are you gonna go for it?
I think I might do it.
And I was like, No, I just gotthis new opportunity, I'm gonna
stick with where I am.
I was like, Okay, good, okay,good.
KC (18:18):
So 04, okay, so that was about eight years in.
SPEAKER_05 (18:22):
Yeah, it was it was early 04.
So I think I did my lastofficial gig with the C
Chanters, the holiday concert of03.
And then in January of 04,started with the concert band.
KC (18:32):
That was a lot.
So you're soloing with the band,you're announcing every concert,
and you're also producing thetours, right?
SPEAKER_05 (18:40):
Or part of the team, or I was part of the team.
I advanced some of the tours atthat time.
I was also at that time runningproduction for the band.
That was one of my collateralduties, was setting up those big
shows throughout the year.
Throughout the so the Fourth ofJuly, Navy birthday, holiday
shows.
All right.
I had a lot of support withthat.
But that was one of the thingsthat they were like, well,
here's your opportunity, andhere's some of the things that
(19:01):
go along with it.
Oh, by the way, yeah.
KC (19:03):
Yes.
Okay, so one of the things thatwe all were in love with was
when you got the opportunity toannounce be the voice of the
inaugurals.
Yeah.
Obviously, you're doing allthese concerts.
Did somebody hear you, or was ita how did the inaugural team
find you?
SPEAKER_05 (19:19):
Start.
Okay.
I was doing the concerts forsure, but one of the other
things that I started doing inthat announcing job was I was
announcing a lot of the higherlevel ceremonies for the Navy
side of things.
So anytime our Chief of NavalOperations, I think you've Army
Chief of Staff, is that what youmean?
Yes, yeah.
Anytime their counterpart fromanother country would come
visit, we would do ceremoniesfor them.
(19:40):
And I would always announcethose.
And through that, there was aone star that was the commandant
of Naval District Washington,who then went on the inaugural
committee.
And so I did four inaugurations.
Every one of them was differentas far as how I got involved.
But this first one, they said weneed an announcer, and he said,
I have a guy.
And I just got the call andsaid, You're gonna do this.
Tell me, was that That wasObama's first.
(20:02):
Obama's first.
Okay.
All right.
So that was your first of four.
Yes.
Wow.
So then for Obama's second, theyhad each service send somebody
to audition.
So we all went to the Capitoland did an audition.
And then there was another onewhere it was just more of a hey,
you did this last time, comeback.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
And then of course the last oneI did was Biden, and that was
(20:24):
just a weird one because it wasin the middle of COVID and
everything was strange.
KC (20:27):
And so we're all back home watching and listening, you
know, because it depends on whatstation you're watching.
You know, so many people talkedover, but we're all listening
and just thinking, Man, we'reglad we're not having to
announce all those differentnames and stuff.
Did you have to do your ownresearch or were you coached so
many of those?
SPEAKER_05 (20:43):
So there was always somebody from the Senate, one of
the staffers, that was veryconnected, and as you might
expect, we had a lot ofrehearsals going after that.
Right.
But I remember the first one.
The craziness of the first onewas I had this huge script, and
I was standing right by the doorthat all the dignitaries would
walk through.
But the command post, the peoplerunning the actual inaugural,
(21:04):
were in a conference room justoff of that.
So they couldn't see who wascoming down the hallway.
So I've got a talk back mic withthem, and then I've got my
record mic.
Either the Marine Band's playingor they're playing Pipedin
music, but either way, it'sbeing amplified.
And the people weren't coming inthe right order.
And so I would be on thetalkback mic going, hey, we're
jumping to this house I'm gonnaannounce in five, four, three,
(21:26):
jump on my other mic, ladies andgentlemen.
Like it was nutty.
Dude.
But then, you know, once I gotat that point president-elect
Obama announced to the dais, Iwas kind of done.
So I got to go into the commandpost, which was overlooking the
dais where they were swearinghim in.
And I could see all the way downthe mall.
(21:48):
I was watching camera flashesgoing off by the Washington
Monument.
I'm like, I don't know whatthey're taking a picture of, but
it is so cool to see.
Felt like Forrest Gump, didn'tyou?
KC (21:56):
That's right.
Like I've done just enough liveannouncing to know that I can do
it, sort of.
In the low stress.
So did you just fall apart, likeat some point when you were back
home and you take your belt off,and you know, just like so.
Did it ever hit like that?
SPEAKER_05 (22:13):
You know, one of those funny things.
At that time, I was single.
I was living on a boat on thewaterfront in DC.
I remember that.
And the way I got to theCapitol, so I met everybody at
Fort McNair at like two in themorning, and we rode over to the
Capitol at like I think ourreport time was three or three
thirty or something like that.
And I didn't make my firstannouncement until I think ten
o'clock.
Yes.
So I'm just sitting in theCapitol, and we're in full dress
(22:34):
uniform in January.
It was cold.
And so I sat around for hoursand hours and hours waiting to
go.
And then it was go time, and itwas like two hours of just
intense.
KC (22:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (22:43):
And then also at that point, I was announcing the
inaugural luncheon, whichhappens in the rotunda as well.
In the Capitol, anyway.
So I did that, and then we'redone.
But the command post guys haveto get to the parade.
So they left and went to theparade.
I didn't have a ride.
So I walked from the Capitol inuniform back to the boat.
To the boat.
Or actually, I think back toMcNair because my car was there.
(23:05):
Oh, yeah.
And then I had to drive.
They had that front locked down.
And so I had to talk my way backthrough.
I was like, listen, I was justat the I'm I'm safe.
KC (23:14):
You're like, ladies and gentlemen.
You know, it's like, so that'sthe behind the scenes still.
Think about all the White Housegigs.
You know, it was incredible.
You're like, what am I doinghere?
How is this happening?
Yeah.
But you know, we're sneakingthrough the back door, holding
in the you know, the closetdownstairs.
And it's the typical, you know,sneak in through the kitchen and
out, we're the help, man.
(23:35):
Yeah.
And we're there when they needus.
And so it's funny to hear thesestories, but we were all proud
of you, man.
Like announcing thoseinaugurals, man.
That's so crazy.
SPEAKER_05 (23:42):
So I got another how the military life kind of
affects what you're doing on theoutside.
So it was at Obama's second thathe had Beyonce as one of his.
So and so I got the opportunityto introduce her and Kelly
Clarkson, who was the nicestcelebrity I ever met.
I mean, I'm standing theregetting ready to introduce, and
she walks up and she shakes myhand, she says, Hi, I'm Kelly.
Yeah, I know.
Yeah, I'm aware.
(24:03):
Which is funny because at thetime, my dad was her postman.
And I didn't think to even bringit up.
Because she was living inNashville at that point, or
Hendersonville, and so dad washer postman.
But inauguration's over.
It's a week or so later, and I'mwalking around the Fort Myers
commissary getting groceries,and my phone rings, and it's
Beyonce's people.
She was getting ready to do theSuper Bowl halftime show, and
(24:24):
they said, We heard you at theinauguration.
We'd like for you to do theintro for Beyoncé.
We've already got it recorded bysomebody else, but we'd like for
you to do it.
That'd be amazing.
And that wasn't a Navy gig.
I got paid for that one.
I mean, not that I didn't getpaid for the Navy stuff.
So I was like, Great, let's dothat.
So it wasn't a live announce.
I went to a studio andpre-recorded it, you know, had
conference stand with them inCalifornia or whatever.
(24:45):
But I didn't tell anybody.
Because they had already saidthat they had somebody else
doing it.
I'm like, what if I telleverybody?
And then they told me.
KC (24:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (24:52):
So I didn't say a word.
And it just happened that thenext day was a Navy band weigh
in.
And so Stacy and I are sittingon the couch.
I didn't have any Super Bowlfood.
I didn't have anything exceptfor water because I had to weigh
in the next morning and waitingto hear if it was me on the
announce.
And it was, and it was supercool to see.
And then my phone blew up.
But it was a lot of fun.
KC (25:12):
Everybody's like, Was that you?
You're like, yes.
No, that was a good call, man,because it could have been.
You never know what's going tohappen.
Yeah.
Yeah, when they've got options.
Man.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I did the joint service SuperBowl 48 with Renee Fleming for I
did not do the Super Bowl 50 inCalifornia.
There was another joint one.
There was just a conflict withme, and I wasn't able to
volunteer for that.
But there's some just crazymoments.
(25:34):
So we may have already answeredthis question.
Sure.
But what comes to mind when youthink highlights what would be
like, let's just say top three,if you can even do that?
SPEAKER_05 (25:43):
Man.
So the things that I reallyremember.
So I was still in the SeaChanters when the movie Pearl
Harbor premiered.
Yes.
They did that premiere on thedeck of the USS Dennis at the
pier at Pearl.
So the Sea Chanters got to flyto Hawaii, sing for that
premiere on the deck of thatship.
We didn't get to watch themovie.
They took us down below deck tothe actual movie part.
(26:03):
But I mean that was a super coolexperience.
And that was my first and onlytime in Hawaii and to be able to
see the memorial there wasamazing.
Obviously, the inaugurationswere such a unique experience.
And then from day one until myvery last concert, it always
touched me at the end to do theArmed Forces medley and watch
(26:24):
those folks stand up with suchpride.
Yeah.
For for what their or theirfamily had done and the
sacrifices they had made.
Like I'm I'm getting chillsright now just to do that.
KC (26:34):
Absolutely.
No, I've mentioned this before.
It's so easy for us to go oncruise control, you know, as a
soloist or in ensembles.
And on the the last patrioticset of the concerts that we
would always do.
But you're right, it's like eachnight you see them jump to their
feet, even if they're not able,it's like, man, all of a sudden,
it's like this energy comes intothese guys and these families,
and and they're proud of thatservice.
(26:56):
You're right, man.
I agree with you.
It's um shot in the arm that weall need by the end of those
concerts.
And you know, something goodabout being on a stage when you
can't see the audience.
Yeah.
I like going back to the shows,I think it's a big thing.
But man, our gigs, I likedbeing, you know, in the
gymatoriums where you could seeman, a gym job could be just
what you needed.
SPEAKER_05 (27:14):
When a tour was starting to drag on a little
bit, you get a good gym job witha crowd that's rowdy, and it
would hype you right there.
KC (27:21):
To be able to see, you know, the feedback.
Yeah.
To be able to receive thefeedback from and and um that's
always big.
I love to feed off of thatversus not being able to see.
So one of the things that I've Iwant to do with especially the
military contacts I've madethrough the years, the three
reasons that the bands andchoruses exist, right?
It's number one is to honor thefallen.
SPEAKER_05 (27:41):
Especially the DC band.
That's your primary mission.
Yeah.
Doing those funerals atArlington.
Right.
KC (27:46):
Then number two is is free decor, which is supporting those
that are still serving, whetherit's through a rock band on a
deployment or whether it'sthrough getting them amped up at
a ceremony on the post.
And that second one is kind ofrarer for us in DC.
For sure.
Yes, there's always activemilitary in our audiences
typically, but it's rare thatthat's our specific target
(28:07):
audience.
But number three is important,you know, is to bridge the gap
between the general public andthat frontline soldier, airman,
sailor.
And I tell people it's not forus to have the answers, it's
just the music does the work,right?
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (28:20):
The lyric, the music soothes, it heals and just
connecters, just connecting withthe community is especially for
the Navy.
Like if you're in the middle ofthe country, you're not gonna
have a Navy base.
For the most part, the Navybases are where the water is.
And so to be able to take thatuniform into the heartland of
the country and represent theNavy was always such a special
(28:40):
thing.
KC (28:40):
Yeah, that's true.
I've never thought about that.
So as believers, I like to tellpeople choral music came from
the church or the tavern.
I don't know.
You try to do that.
I mean, but I love the fact that60% of the rep that we probably
sang, it might have been Latin,it might have been high church,
but it was like scripture-basedtext.
Yeah.
And so I love the fact that thatwould sneak in, you know,
(29:02):
because the Navy wasn't yourchurch, the generals weren't or
admirals weren't your pastors,you know, but it it was nice to
see how that snuck in.
It was received well because itwas Americana, it was spiritual
or whatever.
One of the closers that I didwas I think Battleham.
Oh, the time.
Yes.
In The Beauty of the Lilies,Christ was born across the sea
with the glory in his bosom thattransfigures you and me.
(29:23):
I think it was about the 10-yearmark.
And I was just, you know, itwasn't the job that wore me out,
it was just DC.
I get that.
It's the rat race feeling thatwas buzzing around me the whole
time.
But I remember my wife's friend,his name's Tim Farry, and he was
a major army chaplain at thetime.
And we crossed paths at a gig,and we were talking afterwards,
(29:43):
and I was like, Yeah,trafficking.
SPEAKER_05 (29:48):
You know, I was doing it.
And you chose to live a waysout.
I did.
I did.
That's another podcast.
KC (29:54):
No, but so I was doing this.
He was like, How's it going?
I love the job, blah, blah,blah.
But I was feeling a tug to be ina ministry.
I was always a weekend warrior.
Absolutely, you were, but I wasfeeling that tug like I'm gonna
do it.
And he reminded me that he says,You guys, through song, get to
sing more Jesus than I do as achaplain.
(30:14):
Yeah.
He says, I get an hour a week atthe pulpit to preach my gospel.
The rest of the week.
I'm a counselor.
Right.
Because the army is everything,the navy's everything as far as
faith and beliefs.
You know, kudos to thosechaplains that have to yield to
those restrictions.
But it's still a ministry to allthose that come to them.
Don't get me wrong.
It's still a great thing.
He just reminded me that you getwhat you're doing makes it a
(30:37):
ministry.
Yeah.
Whether it's called that or not,it is.
It's healing, it's mending, it'ssoothing, it's calming, it's
inspiring, it's all that throughmusic to these people that need
to hear it.
Yeah.
And then we got the chance toperform Brethren and do that.
Oh, yes.
Then there's we haven't gotteninto that.
I know we're close on time.
But two of the things that Iloved through the years,
Courtney, was we got to do oneGlenn Draper recording.
(31:00):
Yep.
It was like an 05, I think.
I remember we did one recordingsession, ended up to like two
CDs.
Right.
Like, he does Glenn works.
Yeah, he does like 80 songs.
SPEAKER_05 (31:08):
We got 20 minutes.
KC (31:09):
Let's get four songs done.
Let's go.
But that was an experiencebecause we had both done plenty
of sessions separately.
We've both done sessions withthe Bill Dills.
SPEAKER_05 (31:19):
I tell everybody, Bill is who taught me how to be
a choral bass.
I learned more in that firstrecording session with him than
I had in years of singing.
KC (31:29):
I know.
Did you see his post where hedoes the little guitar
childhouse and stuff?
Gosh, he's a trip.
He's still got it.
I want to do a session, man.
Even if I go to him, I was like,we need to do it.
Anyway, so we did one withGlenn, SATB recording session.
There was some good stuff we gotto do on that.
And then we did at least two ofthe Brethren projects.
Maybe three.
(31:49):
I don't remember specifically.
Christmas, How Sweet the Sound.
Patriot 3.
Yeah, yeah, three.
So we got to do those.
Of course, we also had our buddyGreg Lowry in there.
We had um Andre.
Mike Webb was there with us fora second.
Yeah, Mike Webb.
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (32:03):
You know, he's a pilot now.
KC (32:04):
Yes.
I've been seeing that.
Well, I know he got his licensebefore he got out.
Yeah, he did, but now he'sflying a commercial.
Oh gosh.
Dude, that's so crazy.
I love that.
I love hearing those stories.
Um, but anyway, those sessionswere really fun to be beside you
and sing with you on those, man.
Because, you know, even thoughwe were both in DC, we
overlapped for 20 years.
Yes.
Short of the handful of jobs.
(32:25):
We didn't sing a whole lot ofthings.
SPEAKER_05 (32:28):
One of my favorite memory, it was me, you, and
Greg.
Uh-huh.
And we got hired in FairfaxChoral Society.
Yes.
And they were doing theChesnikov, I think.
Yes.
And they had been recording andwhatever, and they just came in
and plopped us in to sing thislow stuff.
And there's probably what, 150people in that place?
At least.
And we did the first take, andthey're like, second basses are
too loud.
I'm like, we are in thebasement.
(32:50):
I do remember that.
KC (32:51):
That was at Schlesinger, right?
Yeah, it was.
Yeah.
They're in Northern Virginia.
Yeah, I was actually concerned,not knowing that space.
Okay, well, first of all, we'reoutnumbered.
Big time.
But they did bring us down frontand center.
Yeah.
Well, mostly.
Mostly.
Behind the girls.
And that's right.
They did the Chesnikov.
We also did that Luke Sarunquai.
Right.
I think those were the only twothat they really needed us on.
I think those are.
(33:11):
Did you ever get a copy of that?
I don't think I ever even heardit.
I might have a copy of that.
I'll have to send it to shoot itover to me.
But yeah, that just goes to showyou it's like you only need
like, you know, three to ahundred.
SPEAKER_05 (33:21):
Well, I always feel like maybe it's because we both
kind of grew up in the sameregion.
It's kind of like when you heara family singing together, their
accents kind of match, and itreally helps with those
harmonies.
I always felt like you and I hadsuch a we became one.
KC (33:34):
Right, that's it.
We compliment each other reallywell.
Absolutely.
I agree, man.
It was just it was some great,great sessions.
It was great to sing with you.
And I really appreciate yousqueezing this in, and I'm glad
it worked out.
So happy.
And um before we wrap up here, Igot a present for you.
All right.
Now, I wanted to call thispodcast Just Keep Singing.
Okay.
But it was already taken.
(33:55):
So the podcast is called StillSinging, but Just Keep Singing.
I love it, bro.
Thanks so much.
SPEAKER_05 (34:01):
You're welcome, man.
Thanks again, buddy.
Yeah.
I'm Courtney Williams, and I'mstill singing.
Inauguration's over.
It's a week or so later and I'mwalking around the Fort Myers
commentary getting groceries andmy phone rings and it's
Beyonce's people.
He was getting ready to do theSuper Bowl halftime show and
they said we heard you at theinauguration.
We'd like for you to do theintro for Beyonce.
We've already got it recorded bysomebody else, but we'd like for
you to do it.
KC (00:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (00:20):
But I didn't tell him.
I didn't say a word.
KC (01:02):
Welcome to Still Singing.
I'm Casey Armstrong and as manyof you guys know I've had the
opportunity to sing in a numberof different ensembles, from
universities to communitychoirs, professional ensembles,
and professional quartets.
Today I'm gonna introduce you tomy good friend Courtney
Williams.
Courtney and I met through a mannamed Lynn Draper, where
Courtney was a Junaska singerbefore I was.
(01:24):
I took his place, he joined theNavy C Chanters.
Anyway, I'm excited for you guysto meet Courtney today and hear
what he's doing now here inMount Pleasant, South Carolina
with his lovely wife and kids.
See a bit.
(02:20):
How's it going?
We did it.
We did it.
We did it.
Thanks so much for letting mestop by your new place.
I say new, relatively new place.
Fairly new.
A couple years, I guess.
I don't know.
Here in Mount Pleasant, SouthCarolina, man.
It's great to have you.
So remind me when you retiredfrom the Navy band.
So I retired in May of 2022.
(02:40):
Um okay.
Okay, so May 22.
And that was 27?
26.
26 years.
SPEAKER_05 (02:48):
Yeah, man.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
It was a good time.
Man, uh, you know, you miss thepeople, you miss some of the
stuff, but retired is nice.
KC (02:56):
It is, man.
Um, so tell me about the new jobhere in South Carolina and uh
what's going on, man.
SPEAKER_05 (03:03):
Well, now that I'm retired from the Navy, I'm I'm
working two jobs.
I'm a real estate agent here inthe Mount Pleasant Charleston
area with the firm real estatecompany.
Okay.
Um, and then I've also recentlybecome the executive director of
an organization called LowCountry Veterans Home.
Oh.
And um we have a house on JamesIsland here in Charleston, and
(03:23):
we provide transitional housingto homeless veterans.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
It's a really, really specialjob getting to help these guys
that have had their strugglesand help them get back on their
feet and back into society.
Wow, man.
Yeah, I didn't realize that.
I think so.
Is that fairly it is?
I I I got involved with theorganization as a board member,
and then just this year theexecutive director stepped down
(03:45):
and we needed somebody to fillthe role.
So I jumped in and I've beendrinking from a fire hose trying
to learn a job.
KC (03:50):
I bet, man.
Yeah.
That's a great service to thosein need.
You know, I mean, the VA isgreat.
There's there's so many greatoutlets for veterans, but it's
funny how some people can slipthrough the cracks.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (04:01):
We actually have a partnership with the VA.
So we work really tightly withthem to help these veterans out.
So we provide the services thatthe VA can't.
We get them off the street andinto the shared living
environment.
Hopefully, it's a 90-day programwhere we get them kind of
stabilized, find them a job ifthey need it, help them make
sure they're getting theirbenefits, and then get them back
out of their own.
KC (04:24):
Yeah, man.
Well, good on you for that.
So you and Stacy are here, andthe boys, man, I heard them
earlier.
Yeah, they haven't made itdownstairs yet.
SPEAKER_05 (04:31):
So tell me about these kids, man.
So I got we got two boys,Raylan, who's 10, and Stone,
who's seven.
Stone is our little gentlegiant.
He and Raylan are about the samesize, even though they're three
years apart.
But, you know, we live here inCarolina Park in Mount Pleasant,
and it is just a dream for kids.
I mean, they ride their bikes toschool most days.
They get the freedom that weused to have as kids, and you
(04:52):
kind of feel like you lost.
KC (04:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So our neighborhood's cool forbikes, but then you get off our
neighborhood road, it's likethere's no shoulders, there's no
sidewalks, you know, S-curveseverywhere.
SPEAKER_05 (05:04):
They have to cross a fairly busy street to get from
the neighborhood to the school.
Yeah.
But they have crossing guardssitting there every morning and
every afternoon.
Perfect.
We actually found this placeback in 2017.
Stacy and I came down here on ananniversary trip.
By Sunday, we were looking atopen houses in this
neighborhood.
And we were like, hey, when Iretire, this is where we're
coming.
This is it.
KC (05:23):
Yeah.
And just driving in here, youknow, it's a bob and weave
through the neighborhood, andit's beautiful.
We've got the lakes and thesidewalks, of course.
It's great, man.
Yeah, it's it's a reallyspecial.
Congratulations on this, man.
This is great.
Um, so you know, I know you grewup in Tennessee.
I've met your folks through theyears, but tell me how you found
music or how how did music findyou or you know tell me about
(05:43):
that journey.
SPEAKER_05 (05:44):
So I I mean, I grew up singing in the church, but I
was raised Church of Christ.
So singing was ensemble,congregational, a cappella.
Right.
But there was a guy that went tochurch with me that sang bass in
a barbershop quartet.
And even as a kid, that's what Iwanted to do.
I wanted to sing bass.
Yes.
And so I would always sit nearhim and try to sing like him.
(06:05):
And uh I think he was a doctoror a dentist or something, it
was his trade, but he enjoyedsinging.
So did that, and then when I gotinto middle school, I started
playing trumpet in the band.
Yes.
And enjoyed that.
And then I went to a tiny littleschool.
It was uh in Greenbrier,Tennessee.
Uh-huh.
And there was a new banddirector that came in, and he
(06:25):
was responsible for the middleschool and the high school and
the chorus.
Wow.
Yeah, yeah.
It was a lot, and there hadn'treally been much of a chorus, so
he was trying to build thatprogram up in the high school,
and he didn't have enough guys.
So in seventh grade, I startedsinging with the high school
choir.
And really, you know, that waswhen I fell in love with Sanger.
Had your voice changed yet inseventh grade?
I don't know if you and I haveever talked about this.
(06:46):
My voice was always kind of low,even as a kid.
KC (06:49):
Even as a kid, okay.
SPEAKER_05 (06:50):
But it just dropped.
And when you meet Raylan, you'llhear because he's got the same
thing.
Like as 10 years old, he's gothe's got some gravel.
Uh oh.
So I didn't have the real lowdown stuff at that point, but I
was always.
KC (07:02):
Okay.
So yeah, obviously your musicteachers found you.
You grew up singing Church ofChrist, everybody's just kind of
involved.
Yeah.
And you had your mentor throughchurch.
Okay.
Yeah, that's cool because Idon't think I've ever asked that
because I think you're like me,like my parents can sing melody.
I mean, they can sing along, butthey weren't in the choir.
And my dad will tell you hecan't sing anything.
So my dad's like, I can onlyplay the radio.
(07:24):
Right.
That whole thing.
Well, my dad sings low lead.
Like he'll sing everything downthe octave.
Hey, that's that's a good spotto be in.
I love it.
All right, man.
So I see you're wearing your UTorange.
It's gang day.
Is it gang day?
Because you spent some time atUT.
I did.
It sounds like prison, but Ispent some time.
I did my time there.
SPEAKER_05 (07:41):
Yeah.
So tell me how did they find youor so?
I guess the summer between mysophomore and junior year and
high school, I was lucky enoughto be selected to go to
Tennessee's governor school.
Okay.
At MTSU.
And while I was there, one ofthe voice teachers was Lynn
Helding, who was a professor atVanderbilt.
KC (07:58):
Okay.
SPEAKER_05 (07:58):
So then once I got out of governor school, I'm back
in Greenbrier.
Well, Greenbrier's 45 minutesfrom downtown Nashville.
So I got a scholarship to go toVanderbilt for pre-college voice
lessons and theory classes twodays a week, my junior and
senior year.
So it was great.
A fantastic opportunity.
Absolutely.
But as I was getting ready tograduate, Miss Helding decided
(08:19):
she was moving to a differentschool.
I don't remember where she wasgoing, but wherever it was, I
wasn't interested in followingher.
So I auditioned it, Austin P andUT.
Okay.
And I wound up getting ascholarship at UT and went
there, but it was an opera-basedscholarship.
KC (08:34):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (08:34):
And I figured out pretty quickly that opera was
not where my heart was.
KC (08:38):
Right.
I agree, man.
I know you hear it as much, ifnot more, than I do, but people
are like, man, you should singopera.
And I tell them, I'm like, Ising just enough opera to know
that I don't want to sing operafor a living.
SPEAKER_05 (08:48):
Man, when I hear somebody really doing it well,
it's so impressive.
And I am so blown away by thatlevel of talent and commitment
that it takes to do that well.
But it just doesn't speak to mepersonally.
Like I enjoy listening to it,but it's not something I want to
pursue.
KC (09:02):
Right.
I tell some people that, youknow, I don't do it because I'm
too lazy, but it requires a lotthat goes into it before anybody
sees the final product.
Yeah.
And so maybe early on it mighthave been a time thing for me,
but I'm with you.
It wasn't calling me.
It just wasn't calling me.
SPEAKER_05 (09:17):
But while I was there, I was studying with
George Bitzis.
Right.
Who was one of the originalGinaluska singers.
That's right.
So quartet.
Right.
So that's where I found outabout Glenn and Ginaleska.
Yes.
That makes sense.
Yeah.
Talking about basic training forthat's everything.
That's opened up the whole roadto everything else that came.
(09:37):
So I gotta jump back and tellyou how I got involved with
Glenn.
Because I got a call from Glenntoo.
Right, right.
And he wanted me to sing forhim.
And I was in Nashville.
Like I wasn't gonna go toChattanooga or whatever.
So I wound up meeting Jim Broganin the parking lot of some, I
don't even remember where itwas, and just sang for him and
his Camry.
And he signed off on me and toldGlenn I was good enough to come
be a Gentileuska singer.
KC (09:57):
So y'all met on 40, probably somewhere.
SPEAKER_05 (09:59):
I don't remember where it was now, but I think it
was a green Camry.
And he and I just sat in his carand talked because I had no idea
what late Gentileuska was.
And I remember him saying, Haveyou seen Dirty Dancing?
It's kind of like that.
You're like, so I'm like, let'sgo.
KC (10:16):
Oh gosh.
All right.
Yeah, this is all comingtogether.
Was Didi in the car?
No, she wasn't in the car.
Okay, so Didi always claims,like, well, we got Courtney.
SPEAKER_05 (10:25):
I mean, that's true.
That was yeah.
I think I talked to Dee Dee.
I think she set up the meet withGemini.
KC (10:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
By the way, Kara's working atBrogan Financial right now.
Oh, that's great.
She started there this summer.
That's awesome.
Uh working over there.
Can you imagine?
She's having a blast.
That's great.
Yes.
So I don't think I met you, butthe first time I saw the Jen
Waskins singers was the Decemberconcert of 95.
Okay.
So just before you joined theNavy.
Right.
And you were up there with JohnDominic, Jim Brogan, Michael
(10:53):
Smith, Jay Craig.
Yeah.
I mean, it was That was a goodgroup.
Do you remember AngelaRobertson?
Yeah.
She was Glenn's assistant.
Right.
Angela was in my studio atWestern.
Oh, okay.
So she was the one that I thinkyou had by that concert, you
already knew you were going tothe Navy.
SPEAKER_05 (11:10):
So it's a convoluted journey.
Yeah.
So, like I mentioned, I realizedat UT that opera wasn't for me.
And so I left UT and I went backhome and started working just a
retail job trying to figure outwhat was next.
And what I kind of thought wasnext for me was a military
career of some sort.
Right.
You know, and and what I haddone was I had depped into the
(11:32):
Marine Corps and was gettingready to go to the Marine Corps.
My plan at that point was to dofour years, get my GI Bill, go
to school, figure out what I wasgoing to be when I got on type
thing.
And then somewhere between thatDecember concert and January of
96, I was singing at a church inNashville, and one of the sea
chanters had sung there when shewas a graduate student at Vandy.
(11:54):
Okay.
So the C chanters were lookingfor a second bass.
She called back to the choirdirector and said, Do you know
anybody that might fit?
And so the choir director waslike, Oddly, yes, I do.
So I got cold called.
I was working a retail job inRivergate Mall, and I got a call
at the mall from one of the seachanters.
And at that point, I knew aboutthe singing sergeants.
I'd never heard of any of theother military courses.
(12:18):
So I jumped on a plane, flew toDC, and auditioned for the job,
and then I had to get out of mycommitment to the Marine Corps.
Oh wow, yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, so was that tricky?
It was a little hairy.
You know, at the time I didn'tknow much about military
structure to begin with, but Ihad to go sit down with a Marine
Major who was head of recruitingfor the Nashville area, and he
(12:38):
looked me in the eye and said,I'm not in the business of
recruiting for the Navy.
You made a commitment.
I expect you to live up to it.
And uh I talked to some otherfolks and got some good counsel,
and and we found a way to get meout of that.
Yeah.
And I was able to go into theNavy.
All right.
KC (12:52):
Man, okay.
I now remember you telling meabout you were on track to go
into the Marine Corps.
Yeah.
But I had forgotten about thatlittle detail.
Man, yeah, that would be kind oftricky.
I mean, I know how maps andrecruiters and all that was so
intimidating.
I went through it twice, youknow.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
Right.
KC (13:08):
Okay, at that Christmas concert when I first saw you
guys, you thought you were goingin the Marine Corps.
Right.
So the reason she invited me wasbecause she knew you were
leaving and was like, hey, comecheck this group out.
Glenn's gonna need a new basethis summer, blah, blah, blah,
whatever.
But here's the truth.
I came and watched that concert.
I said hi to Angela.
She did introduce me to Glenn,and I remember telling Glenn,
this was incredible.
(13:28):
I have no business being a partof Oh, that's crazy.
I was like, I can't do this.
I mean, I showed up by myself.
I mean, it was only 20 minutesfrom Western or whatever.
Right.
I showed up to the concert, setbetween two older ladies.
I mean, it was Lilake.
It was Lilake.
And I was just like, holy crap,you know, you weren't using any
music.
Everything was memorized.
Yeah.
And so I loved it, but I wasintimidated.
(13:50):
I was like, there's no way Icould do this.
Because I was fairly new.
I did the trumpet playing vocalswitch at 19 in college.
Right.
I was still just so green.
I was like, man, I can't dothis.
So I told Glenn, I was like,hey, listen, I I really
appreciate the invite.
Thanks for the ticket.
I just don't see that.
I mean, and I walked away likethat's not an option.
Right.
And so fast forward, you hadalready been swept up by the
(14:13):
Navy by that time.
And then I think in March orApril, he called me and was
like, hey, come sing for me.
And I was like, so the rest ishistory.
But okay, that answers a lot ofquestions.
I'm glad to learn some of this.
And anybody that's watching willappreciate that too.
So you came down to visit in thesummer of 96, probably a long
weekend or something.
You had I had just gotten out ofboot camp.
SPEAKER_05 (14:33):
So I had gotten out of boot camp and went straight
to DC.
Okay, kind of signed up.
Kind of got settled in, and thenI waited until the van took
block leave and took just tookleave with them because I
wouldn't want to miss anythingat that point.
KC (14:45):
Yeah, no, I understand.
SPEAKER_05 (14:46):
So then I flew home and got my car and the few
things that I had, you know, andthen was driving back to I'm
like, I gotta go see my mybuddies at the lake.
KC (14:57):
Okay, so that was when any of you guys that have ever sat
through a KC concert.
So when I say my buddy came backfrom the Navy and told us about
the job, this is the scenario.
I was running with Mark Tilly,you slept on our couch at the
ghetto, uh, which was theaffectionate name for the
lodging there for the singers.
And uh basically I kind ofpicked your brain about what it
(15:18):
was that you were doing.
SPEAKER_05 (15:19):
Uh what is funny now, because like I realized at
that point I was only like threeweeks into the actual job.
I had no idea what it was.
KC (15:26):
Well, but you were still further along than anybody else.
So I think any of us, all thesingers that were kind of a
little bit curious.
I mean, I knew I was, becausegrowing up, you see the bands,
and you said you heard about thesinging sergeants.
I hadn't even heard about thesinging sergeants, so it was
just the bands.
You saw the bands at theinaugural parades.
If you watched that as a kid,you saw them on the PBS specials
(15:47):
and this and that.
You know, if you ever visitedArlington, you maybe caught a
glimpse of a band.
You see buglers on the T.
You know, there weren't thatmany state funerals that I had
watched, so I was not familiarwith the choruses at all.
So having you sit down, youknow, we chatted about that that
weekend was a big deal becausethat was in '96.
And so in '99, fast forwardafter you've been there three
(16:09):
years, yeah.
I called you up and was like,hey man, what's going on?
Are there any other people?
And at that time, you're likesinging sergeants, you need
somebody.
So I came up and auditioned forthat job and the rest is history
there too.
So by the way, I I went to the80th anniversary of the singing
sergeant.
I saw that being advertised asan upcoming.
That's great that you gotta go.
(16:29):
So what happened with theshutdown?
The singers showed up, you know,out of uniform, volunteered.
I think all but I don't know,maybe four or five were able to
be there.
And so they sang, they sounding,you know, gosh, these all the
groups are like I'm so glad I'mnot auditioning to try to win
one of those jobs now.
Man, they're like, it's so likeit's just so good.
(16:51):
Yeah, it's so good and clean,and the new group sounds great.
I've heard the C channelsrecently, they're killing it.
The Army course is now mixed,right?
And it looks like they're closeto being balanced.
I mean, they hired quick.
That's great.
They were able to go overstrength, and so you know,
soldiers course is doing greatstuff.
Do you know the field band hastwo rappers?
I did see that.
SPEAKER_05 (17:11):
I haven't heard them.
I've heard one thing, it wasvery brief.
I think I saw it on socialmedia.
KC (17:15):
I guess I will say this the field band was like the first to
do these new social mediathings.
Yeah, they were cutting edge,man.
Like all the rest of us werelike, oh, we're crap.
I don't know, I don't know if wecan do that.
But you know, it's just been sofun to watch these bands adapt
to the new whatever it is that'syeah.
And I'm with you, man.
I'm like, thank goodness Iauditioned when I did it because
(17:36):
I'm glad I'm Rutaka.
So that's how, you know, thisguy's the one that just came
back and slept on my couch andtold me about the military
courses.
Anyway, so during your careerwith the Navy, you were in the
Sea Chanters first, of course.
And then at some point, when didyou switch over to the concert
band solo announcer?
SPEAKER_05 (17:56):
It was right around the same time that you made the
switch to the Army.
Because I remember I had justfound out that I had won the
spot to become the announcer forthe concert band, and solo was
for the concert band.
And you called me up and said,Hey man, Army Chorus has got an
opening for a lowdown.
Are you gonna go for it?
I think I might do it.
And I was like, No, I just gotthis new opportunity, I'm gonna
stick with where I am.
I was like, Okay, good, okay,good.
KC (18:18):
So 04, okay, so that was about eight years in.
SPEAKER_05 (18:22):
Yeah, it was it was early 04.
So I think I did my lastofficial gig with the C
Chanters, the holiday concert of03.
And then in January of 04,started with the concert band.
KC (18:32):
That was a lot.
So you're soloing with the band,you're announcing every concert,
and you're also producing thetours, right?
SPEAKER_05 (18:40):
Or part of the team, or I was part of the team.
I advanced some of the tours atthat time.
I was also at that time runningproduction for the band.
That was one of my collateralduties, was setting up those big
shows throughout the year.
Throughout the so the Fourth ofJuly, Navy birthday, holiday
shows.
All right.
I had a lot of support withthat.
But that was one of the thingsthat they were like, well,
here's your opportunity, andhere's some of the things that
(19:01):
go along with it.
Oh, by the way, yeah.
KC (19:03):
Yes.
Okay, so one of the things thatwe all were in love with was
when you got the opportunity toannounce be the voice of the
inaugurals.
Yeah.
Obviously, you're doing allthese concerts.
Did somebody hear you, or was ita how did the inaugural team
find you?
SPEAKER_05 (19:19):
Start.
Okay.
I was doing the concerts forsure, but one of the other
things that I started doing inthat announcing job was I was
announcing a lot of the higherlevel ceremonies for the Navy
side of things.
So anytime our Chief of NavalOperations, I think you've Army
Chief of Staff, is that what youmean?
Yes, yeah.
Anytime their counterpart fromanother country would come
visit, we would do ceremoniesfor them.
(19:40):
And I would always announcethose.
And through that, there was aone star that was the commandant
of Naval District Washington,who then went on the inaugural
committee.
And so I did four inaugurations.
Every one of them was differentas far as how I got involved.
But this first one, they said weneed an announcer, and he said,
I have a guy.
And I just got the call andsaid, You're gonna do this.
Tell me, was that That wasObama's first.
(20:02):
Obama's first.
Okay.
All right.
So that was your first of four.
Yes.
Wow.
So then for Obama's second, theyhad each service send somebody
to audition.
So we all went to the Capitoland did an audition.
And then there was another onewhere it was just more of a hey,
you did this last time, comeback.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
And then of course the last oneI did was Biden, and that was
(20:24):
just a weird one because it wasin the middle of COVID and
everything was strange.
KC (20:27):
And so we're all back home watching and listening, you
know, because it depends on whatstation you're watching.
You know, so many people talkedover, but we're all listening
and just thinking, Man, we'reglad we're not having to
announce all those differentnames and stuff.
Did you have to do your ownresearch or were you coached so
many of those?
SPEAKER_05 (20:43):
So there was always somebody from the Senate, one of
the staffers, that was veryconnected, and as you might
expect, we had a lot ofrehearsals going after that.
Right.
But I remember the first one.
The craziness of the first onewas I had this huge script, and
I was standing right by the doorthat all the dignitaries would
walk through.
But the command post, the peoplerunning the actual inaugural,
(21:04):
were in a conference room justoff of that.
So they couldn't see who wascoming down the hallway.
So I've got a talk back mic withthem, and then I've got my
record mic.
Either the Marine Band's playingor they're playing Pipedin
music, but either way, it'sbeing amplified.
And the people weren't coming inthe right order.
And so I would be on thetalkback mic going, hey, we're
jumping to this house I'm gonnaannounce in five, four, three,
(21:26):
jump on my other mic, ladies andgentlemen.
Like it was nutty.
Dude.
But then, you know, once I gotat that point president-elect
Obama announced to the dais, Iwas kind of done.
So I got to go into the commandpost, which was overlooking the
dais where they were swearinghim in.
And I could see all the way downthe mall.
(21:48):
I was watching camera flashesgoing off by the Washington
Monument.
I'm like, I don't know whatthey're taking a picture of, but
it is so cool to see.
Felt like Forrest Gump, didn'tyou?
KC (21:56):
That's right.
Like I've done just enough liveannouncing to know that I can do
it, sort of.
In the low stress.
So did you just fall apart, likeat some point when you were back
home and you take your belt off,and you know, just like so.
Did it ever hit like that?
SPEAKER_05 (22:13):
You know, one of those funny things.
At that time, I was single.
I was living on a boat on thewaterfront in DC.
I remember that.
And the way I got to theCapitol, so I met everybody at
Fort McNair at like two in themorning, and we rode over to the
Capitol at like I think ourreport time was three or three
thirty or something like that.
And I didn't make my firstannouncement until I think ten
o'clock.
Yes.
So I'm just sitting in theCapitol, and we're in full dress
(22:34):
uniform in January.
It was cold.
And so I sat around for hoursand hours and hours waiting to
go.
And then it was go time, and itwas like two hours of just
intense.
KC (22:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05 (22:43):
And then also at that point, I was announcing the
inaugural luncheon, whichhappens in the rotunda as well.
In the Capitol, anyway.
So I did that, and then we'redone.
But the command post guys haveto get to the parade.
So they left and went to theparade.
I didn't have a ride.
So I walked from the Capitol inuniform back to the boat.
To the boat.
Or actually, I think back toMcNair because my car was there.
(23:05):
Oh, yeah.
And then I had to drive.
They had that front locked down.
And so I had to talk my way backthrough.
I was like, listen, I was justat the I'm I'm safe.
KC (23:14):
You're like, ladies and gentlemen.
You know, it's like, so that'sthe behind the scenes still.
Think about all the White Housegigs.
You know, it was incredible.
You're like, what am I doinghere?
How is this happening?
Yeah.
But you know, we're sneakingthrough the back door, holding
in the you know, the closetdownstairs.
And it's the typical, you know,sneak in through the kitchen and
out, we're the help, man.
(23:35):
Yeah.
And we're there when they needus.
And so it's funny to hear thesestories, but we were all proud
of you, man.
Like announcing thoseinaugurals, man.
That's so crazy.
SPEAKER_05 (23:42):
So I got another how the military life kind of
affects what you're doing on theoutside.
So it was at Obama's second thathe had Beyonce as one of his.
So and so I got the opportunityto introduce her and Kelly
Clarkson, who was the nicestcelebrity I ever met.
I mean, I'm standing theregetting ready to introduce, and
she walks up and she shakes myhand, she says, Hi, I'm Kelly.
Yeah, I know.
Yeah, I'm aware.
(24:03):
Which is funny because at thetime, my dad was her postman.
And I didn't think to even bringit up.
Because she was living inNashville at that point, or
Hendersonville, and so dad washer postman.
But inauguration's over.
It's a week or so later, and I'mwalking around the Fort Myers
commissary getting groceries,and my phone rings, and it's
Beyonce's people.
She was getting ready to do theSuper Bowl halftime show, and
(24:24):
they said, We heard you at theinauguration.
We'd like for you to do theintro for Beyoncé.
We've already got it recorded bysomebody else, but we'd like for
you to do it.
That'd be amazing.
And that wasn't a Navy gig.
I got paid for that one.
I mean, not that I didn't getpaid for the Navy stuff.
So I was like, Great, let's dothat.
So it wasn't a live announce.
I went to a studio andpre-recorded it, you know, had
conference stand with them inCalifornia or whatever.
(24:45):
But I didn't tell anybody.
Because they had already saidthat they had somebody else
doing it.
I'm like, what if I telleverybody?
And then they told me.
KC (24:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (24:52):
So I didn't say a word.
And it just happened that thenext day was a Navy band weigh
in.
And so Stacy and I are sittingon the couch.
I didn't have any Super Bowlfood.
I didn't have anything exceptfor water because I had to weigh
in the next morning and waitingto hear if it was me on the
announce.
And it was, and it was supercool to see.
And then my phone blew up.
But it was a lot of fun.
KC (25:12):
Everybody's like, Was that you?
You're like, yes.
No, that was a good call, man,because it could have been.
You never know what's going tohappen.
Yeah.
Yeah, when they've got options.
Man.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I did the joint service SuperBowl 48 with Renee Fleming for I
did not do the Super Bowl 50 inCalifornia.
There was another joint one.
There was just a conflict withme, and I wasn't able to
volunteer for that.
But there's some just crazymoments.
(25:34):
So we may have already answeredthis question.
Sure.
But what comes to mind when youthink highlights what would be
like, let's just say top three,if you can even do that?
SPEAKER_05 (25:43):
Man.
So the things that I reallyremember.
So I was still in the SeaChanters when the movie Pearl
Harbor premiered.
Yes.
They did that premiere on thedeck of the USS Dennis at the
pier at Pearl.
So the Sea Chanters got to flyto Hawaii, sing for that
premiere on the deck of thatship.
We didn't get to watch themovie.
They took us down below deck tothe actual movie part.
(26:03):
But I mean that was a super coolexperience.
And that was my first and onlytime in Hawaii and to be able to
see the memorial there wasamazing.
Obviously, the inaugurationswere such a unique experience.
And then from day one until myvery last concert, it always
touched me at the end to do theArmed Forces medley and watch
(26:24):
those folks stand up with suchpride.
Yeah.
For for what their or theirfamily had done and the
sacrifices they had made.
Like I'm I'm getting chillsright now just to do that.
KC (26:34):
Absolutely.
No, I've mentioned this before.
It's so easy for us to go oncruise control, you know, as a
soloist or in ensembles.
And on the the last patrioticset of the concerts that we
would always do.
But you're right, it's like eachnight you see them jump to their
feet, even if they're not able,it's like, man, all of a sudden,
it's like this energy comes intothese guys and these families,
and and they're proud of thatservice.
(26:56):
You're right, man.
I agree with you.
It's um shot in the arm that weall need by the end of those
concerts.
And you know, something goodabout being on a stage when you
can't see the audience.
Yeah.
I like going back to the shows,I think it's a big thing.
But man, our gigs, I likedbeing, you know, in the
gymatoriums where you could seeman, a gym job could be just
what you needed.
SPEAKER_05 (27:14):
When a tour was starting to drag on a little
bit, you get a good gym job witha crowd that's rowdy, and it
would hype you right there.
KC (27:21):
To be able to see, you know, the feedback.
Yeah.
To be able to receive thefeedback from and and um that's
always big.
I love to feed off of thatversus not being able to see.
So one of the things that I've Iwant to do with especially the
military contacts I've madethrough the years, the three
reasons that the bands andchoruses exist, right?
It's number one is to honor thefallen.
SPEAKER_05 (27:41):
Especially the DC band.
That's your primary mission.
Yeah.
Doing those funerals atArlington.
Right.
KC (27:46):
Then number two is is free decor, which is supporting those
that are still serving, whetherit's through a rock band on a
deployment or whether it'sthrough getting them amped up at
a ceremony on the post.
And that second one is kind ofrarer for us in DC.
For sure.
Yes, there's always activemilitary in our audiences
typically, but it's rare thatthat's our specific target
(28:07):
audience.
But number three is important,you know, is to bridge the gap
between the general public andthat frontline soldier, airman,
sailor.
And I tell people it's not forus to have the answers, it's
just the music does the work,right?
Right.
SPEAKER_05 (28:20):
The lyric, the music soothes, it heals and just
connecters, just connecting withthe community is especially for
the Navy.
Like if you're in the middle ofthe country, you're not gonna
have a Navy base.
For the most part, the Navybases are where the water is.
And so to be able to take thatuniform into the heartland of
the country and represent theNavy was always such a special
(28:40):
thing.
KC (28:40):
Yeah, that's true.
I've never thought about that.
So as believers, I like to tellpeople choral music came from
the church or the tavern.
I don't know.
You try to do that.
I mean, but I love the fact that60% of the rep that we probably
sang, it might have been Latin,it might have been high church,
but it was like scripture-basedtext.
Yeah.
And so I love the fact that thatwould sneak in, you know,
(29:02):
because the Navy wasn't yourchurch, the generals weren't or
admirals weren't your pastors,you know, but it it was nice to
see how that snuck in.
It was received well because itwas Americana, it was spiritual
or whatever.
One of the closers that I didwas I think Battleham.
Oh, the time.
Yes.
In The Beauty of the Lilies,Christ was born across the sea
with the glory in his bosom thattransfigures you and me.
(29:23):
I think it was about the 10-yearmark.
And I was just, you know, itwasn't the job that wore me out,
it was just DC.
I get that.
It's the rat race feeling thatwas buzzing around me the whole
time.
But I remember my wife's friend,his name's Tim Farry, and he was
a major army chaplain at thetime.
And we crossed paths at a gig,and we were talking afterwards,
(29:43):
and I was like, Yeah,trafficking.
SPEAKER_05 (29:48):
You know, I was doing it.
And you chose to live a waysout.
I did.
I did.
That's another podcast.
KC (29:54):
No, but so I was doing this.
He was like, How's it going?
I love the job, blah, blah,blah.
But I was feeling a tug to be ina ministry.
I was always a weekend warrior.
Absolutely, you were, but I wasfeeling that tug like I'm gonna
do it.
And he reminded me that he says,You guys, through song, get to
sing more Jesus than I do as achaplain.
(30:14):
Yeah.
He says, I get an hour a week atthe pulpit to preach my gospel.
The rest of the week.
I'm a counselor.
Right.
Because the army is everything,the navy's everything as far as
faith and beliefs.
You know, kudos to thosechaplains that have to yield to
those restrictions.
But it's still a ministry to allthose that come to them.
Don't get me wrong.
It's still a great thing.
He just reminded me that you getwhat you're doing makes it a
(30:37):
ministry.
Yeah.
Whether it's called that or not,it is.
It's healing, it's mending, it'ssoothing, it's calming, it's
inspiring, it's all that throughmusic to these people that need
to hear it.
Yeah.
And then we got the chance toperform Brethren and do that.
Oh, yes.
Then there's we haven't gotteninto that.
I know we're close on time.
But two of the things that Iloved through the years,
Courtney, was we got to do oneGlenn Draper recording.
(31:00):
Yep.
It was like an 05, I think.
I remember we did one recordingsession, ended up to like two
CDs.
Right.
Like, he does Glenn works.
Yeah, he does like 80 songs.
SPEAKER_05 (31:08):
We got 20 minutes.
KC (31:09):
Let's get four songs done.
Let's go.
But that was an experiencebecause we had both done plenty
of sessions separately.
We've both done sessions withthe Bill Dills.
SPEAKER_05 (31:19):
I tell everybody, Bill is who taught me how to be
a choral bass.
I learned more in that firstrecording session with him than
I had in years of singing.
KC (31:29):
I know.
Did you see his post where hedoes the little guitar
childhouse and stuff?
Gosh, he's a trip.
He's still got it.
I want to do a session, man.
Even if I go to him, I was like,we need to do it.
Anyway, so we did one withGlenn, SATB recording session.
There was some good stuff we gotto do on that.
And then we did at least two ofthe Brethren projects.
Maybe three.
(31:49):
I don't remember specifically.
Christmas, How Sweet the Sound.
Patriot 3.
Yeah, yeah, three.
So we got to do those.
Of course, we also had our buddyGreg Lowry in there.
We had um Andre.
Mike Webb was there with us fora second.
Yeah, Mike Webb.
Yes.
SPEAKER_05 (32:03):
You know, he's a pilot now.
KC (32:04):
Yes.
I've been seeing that.
Well, I know he got his licensebefore he got out.
Yeah, he did, but now he'sflying a commercial.
Oh gosh.
Dude, that's so crazy.
I love that.
I love hearing those stories.
Um, but anyway, those sessionswere really fun to be beside you
and sing with you on those, man.
Because, you know, even thoughwe were both in DC, we
overlapped for 20 years.
Yes.
Short of the handful of jobs.
(32:25):
We didn't sing a whole lot ofthings.
SPEAKER_05 (32:28):
One of my favorite memory, it was me, you, and
Greg.
Uh-huh.
And we got hired in FairfaxChoral Society.
Yes.
And they were doing theChesnikov, I think.
Yes.
And they had been recording andwhatever, and they just came in
and plopped us in to sing thislow stuff.
And there's probably what, 150people in that place?
At least.
And we did the first take, andthey're like, second basses are
too loud.
I'm like, we are in thebasement.
(32:50):
I do remember that.
KC (32:51):
That was at Schlesinger, right?
Yeah, it was.
Yeah.
They're in Northern Virginia.
Yeah, I was actually concerned,not knowing that space.
Okay, well, first of all, we'reoutnumbered.
Big time.
But they did bring us down frontand center.
Yeah.
Well, mostly.
Mostly.
Behind the girls.
And that's right.
They did the Chesnikov.
We also did that Luke Sarunquai.
Right.
I think those were the only twothat they really needed us on.
I think those are.
(33:11):
Did you ever get a copy of that?
I don't think I ever even heardit.
I might have a copy of that.
I'll have to send it to shoot itover to me.
But yeah, that just goes to showyou it's like you only need
like, you know, three to ahundred.
SPEAKER_05 (33:21):
Well, I always feel like maybe it's because we both
kind of grew up in the sameregion.
It's kind of like when you heara family singing together, their
accents kind of match, and itreally helps with those
harmonies.
I always felt like you and I hadsuch a we became one.
KC (33:34):
Right, that's it.
We compliment each other reallywell.
Absolutely.
I agree, man.
It was just it was some great,great sessions.
It was great to sing with you.
And I really appreciate yousqueezing this in, and I'm glad
it worked out.
So happy.
And um before we wrap up here, Igot a present for you.
All right.
Now, I wanted to call thispodcast Just Keep Singing.
Okay.
But it was already taken.
(33:55):
So the podcast is called StillSinging, but Just Keep Singing.
I love it, bro.
Thanks so much.
SPEAKER_05 (34:01):
You're welcome, man.
Thanks again, buddy.
Yeah.
I'm Courtney Williams, and I'mstill singing.
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