September 23, 2025 • 41 mins
Freestyle legend Judy Torres joins Michelle Barone RED for an honest, high-energy conversation about the grind behind the spotlight. From Bronx roots to packed arenas, Judy opens up about building confidence, navigating career pivots, caring for your mental health, and staying authentic when the world wants a shortcut. You’ll hear the stories behind the music, the moments that shaped her voice, and practical wisdom for creators, parents, and anyone chasing a dream. If you need a nudge to keep going—or a reminder that your story matters—this one’s for you.
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Mental Health America of Dutchess County: Dedicated to promoting mental health and providing comprehensive support services to individuals and families. Learn more and find resources at https://mhadutchess.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to ri D.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Reddit's Michelle Barone, your host, alongside my girl, my niece,
Ashley McPherson, my co host.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:07):
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
MV?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm doing good? All right.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
So I don't know if you guys know this, but
we have like mb over here is a little bit
of a musical prodigy, as i'd like to say, and
she knows everything music.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
And today's guest is I feel like this is one
of your favorite guests.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Like she's been talking about this forever, trying to get
this guest on.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
So today we're really excited.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, my girl, Judy Torres, the freestyle queen.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
We love you.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hi, guys, I can't believe you're really here. I've been
trying for two years to get you here. So what happens? Well,
we just kept missing each other, you know.
Speaker 5 (00:40):
All right, We're here now, that's what's important.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hey, guys, Before today's episode, I want to talk to
you about something you met Ashley and I care a
lot about mental health.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Taking care of your mental health is just as important
and taking care of your physical health and mental health.
America of Duchess County is the perfect place for that health.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Absolutely, Mental Health America of Duchess County is super empowering
and helps so many people with so many problems.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Honestly, it's pretty amazing seeing how mental health actually affects people.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I mean the guests that we've had on the show.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
We've talked about mental health in almost every episode, and
it's a serious topic.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Now's the time to prioritize your mental well being. If
you're suffering from anxiety, depression, or anything mental health related,
visit Mental Health America Duchess County at MHA Duchess dot org.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
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(01:55):
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Speaker 1 (02:19):
So, Judy, you've been doing music for how many years?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Thirty eight? Woow, not counting, I'm counting thirty eight.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, it's crazy, radio, music, acting, TV, everything, You've done
it all.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
What's been your most prideful moments?
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Oh? Gosh, well, you know what. I know, people want
to hear like a certain show or something, but when
you ask for a prideful moment, yep. I think some
of the most prideful moments were moments that I had
one on one with a fan where they're talking to
me after a show and they tell me something that's
really touching. Or sometimes I've I had a fan one
time was like really depressed, like I thought it was suicidal.
(03:01):
So I said, stay right here, don't go anywhere, finish
taking pictures, and I sat down with him and I
talked with him, and to me, those moments I'm proud of.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
You know, it's so funny you say that because I
saw your perform at Renegade Stadium last year and you
say the anthem, you crush it as always, and you
come out and there's a slew of people around you
and you gave every single one of those people time
and attention, love, respect, and it was just so beautiful, and.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
You know, thank you. As you were saying that, I'm
recalling that, you know.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
You know, I feel I feel like this one day
it's gonna be over.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, one day.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
They're not going to ask for pictures anymore. They're not
going to ask for autographs. So for me, it's if
they ask, it's an honor, you know, And I feel
like I don't want to say no. Like sometimes you're
taking pictures and there's a lot of there's a long line,
there's like a hundred people, and you just finished performing.
You're still sweating your tie, your feet hurt, you know,
you're like, oh my god. And I feel like sometimes
(03:54):
security will say Okay, she's done, and I said, no, no, no,
don't do that, because the number one fan is not
the first fan, it's the hundredth person on the line
because they had to wait the longest. So that's why
I don't want to say no. I really I only
say no. I only say no if I feel like,
you know, I'm in danger. Sometimes I have like two
or three shows in one night. Sometimes if they don't
(04:17):
put me on on time, I'm pressed for time. But
I always let them know I can't take pictures today.
Please forgive me. You know that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, You've always been great with the fans, and
for thirty eight years you've been doing so much. Radio
has been been a big part of you know, your life.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And you've been hosting on k T. You you are
the voice of New York City.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I love turning it on and listening to you, and
I know you connect so well to your audience.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
All Right, she's a fan fan.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I'm telling you, I hear about you all the time.
I feel like I know you because I hear about
you so much.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
But what year were you born if you don't mind.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Two thousand and two?
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Two thousand and two, okay, So okay, So she wasn't around. Okay.
I was scared that she was born, you know, like
like like before I started singing.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, no, she's she's she's a youngin. But my husband
and I my husban came up to keep them from
the Hudson Valley from Queens, and he started playing these beats.
We were in like sixth grade, and I'm like, what
the hell is Stevie b What is this?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
And I'm like, Judy Torres, I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Like, I never heard of these people, And all of
a sudden, that was the thing of summer.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yeah, it really was, It really was, and it was
It was a It was a magical time because you know,
when when I recorded No Reason to Cry, which was
my first song, we did we weren't in a fancy studio.
We did it in someone's apartment. We did it in
my producer's apartment. A matter of fact, we recorded it
in his bedroom, no way. And I remember when I
(05:35):
was walking, I thought we were going. In my head,
I imagined a big studio. I was thinking Mariah Carrey,
you know, the microphone coming down from the the ceiling,
with glass pane windows and parquet floors. And so my
producer Mickey picks me up.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
He goes, you ready, Juice.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
They used to call me Juice. You ready, Juice, Come on,
We're gonna go to the studio. I'm like, okay, okay.
So we get to Elfin's house, which is his partner,
and and he's like, take your coat off, and I'm
like why. He's like, well, you know, I said, I'm
going to the studio. He goes, yeah, we're at the studio.
I'm like, we are. I'm looking at his living room,
like we are. He's like yeah, I just walk down there.
And then they opened the door and it says betterroom.
My sea up.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Bet.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
It's like, oh my god, I heard about these stories
about producers trying to sleep with the artists. Oh my god,
what am I gonna do?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
What?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
My heart fell? And then I realized, no, it really
was the studio.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Were there any found proofs?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:27):
And when I did my when I did my One
Woman show, one of my one of my most favorite
scenes was talking about that whole episode because someone would
flush the toilet and I had to start again, you know,
so his mother's grave that, you know, dinner's ready, do
it again, and you didn't do just you know, now
with auto tunes and all this stuff, you can record
(06:48):
one word. You know, back then they didn't have that
the whole so you messed up. You started the whole
thing all over again. And so then mister Softy came by,
it was just like ah the cat would me owt
or what are You're like, oh my god, this song's
never gonna get done. But so it's one of my
favorite memories. You know. It was a lot of fun,
and we we did the music out of sheer love
for the music. And then you know, to know that
(07:09):
you have a song that you recorded in someone's bedroom
and it's on the radio and you're like what how
And everyone was so excited about it because they were like,
I don't understand what's this sound?
Speaker 1 (07:19):
I don't, I don't what is this?
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Who is this? You know? I was the same way before,
No reason to cry? You know, Naobi was already out.
T K was already out, Sweet Sensation was already Cover
Girls was already out. So I'm like, wow, first time
I heard Naobi's record, who is this?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
You know?
Speaker 5 (07:35):
So it's just a magical time because it was a
music that nobody knew before, nobody understood it.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
And they were all like what is it?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
And for Latinos everywhere, it was like wait a minute,
their hispanic shut up?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
So it was fun.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It was so different.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
It was kind of like New York built, and it
was very New York, very New York built, very Northeast.
It was like, you captured the cultural essence of this city.
And that's what I love about, you know, And you know,
I always wonder why did it not end? I mean,
it still lives on and please you still sell out
freestyle concerts all over the globe. But how come the
music was stopped being made?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Right?
Speaker 5 (08:12):
There was there was a I mean, there's a lot
of reasons we could. We could blame people, if you
want to, let me blame a couple of people. Now,
part of it was radio. Yeah, okay, So Hot one
of three started. First, Hot one of three played our music.
Hot one of three supported freestyle. Then Hot one of
three turned into.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Hot ninety seven format change, and.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Then they changed the format. They made this big announcement
from now on, we are hip.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Hop hip hop and we were like, what.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Now, we had no music on our on the radio
for a few years. And KTU comes back around ninety
eight and they start playing freestyle and they're playing local artists,
Angelo Venudo, Kim Sazi, Radio, Raina, Lucas, Pradu, et cetera.
So it was a that was another a magical time
because it felt like, oh my god, it was like
a renaissance, like it came right back to.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Rebirth when record was another song of the song so
amazing and she did you know that was a whole
nother rebirth and.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
It was a new age rebirth right exactly. But then
it was all again.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
Yeah. The beautiful thing was that the station was was
supporting local artists if you were from New York. Not
that you you know, they put on anybody's song because
they had to test it and things like that. But if
you were from New York, they gave you a shot.
Ye you know, even if you were an independent label.
Now it's like if you don't have the backing of
a major record label, it's really hard to get on
the radio.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
And one of my favorite people on k T, You
and everywhere else was goom by Johnny Love Love Goomba.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
What he was like a brother to me, like a
pain in the neck. Oh my god. I'll tell you
this one story when I was on the when I
was on the k T Morning Show, he would, I
said to the to his left it was it was
speedy me goom by Michelle Vassage. Okay, so he would
take his garbage and he would crinkle up his papers
(10:06):
and he would throw it on my side. So one
day I was like, you know what, goomba, I'm not
your freaking garbage. Can go out your garbage. He'll excuse me,
excuse me. The next day I come in and he
drew tape across the board and I'm like, what is this.
He goes, that's your side, and this is my side,
and you don't cross my side. And he was always
(10:27):
teasing me, but in the end he was like my
biggest supporter when in two thousand and five I was
diagnosed with MS. And when I was diagnosed, he was
one of the people who reached out to me constantly,
really and he's like, Judy, I'm doing this comedy show.
You need to come. I was so freaking depressed because
MAS doesn't have a happy ending, and I was so depressed,
and he's like, I want you to come. Trust me.
(10:48):
I want to introduce you to somebody. And when I
got there that night, he introduced me to Montell Williams.
And Montell Williams had MS, and you know he used
to have a talk show and stuff like that. So
he sat down with me and he had the best
conversation with me. He was so inspiring. I left completely changed.
I left a different person. I left more positive. I
was like I got He said to me, MS will
(11:13):
mess with your mind. Keep your mind strong, That's what
I remember him saying. Don't let this get you down.
Don't let this take you out at all, you know.
And I started to realize, you know, I'm a firm
believer in what you believe. You attract what you think
will happen. So I got to a point where I
was like, I don't have a mess. They think I
(11:35):
have a mess. Go girl, it's been inactive for thank
you guy. It's been active for many years.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
And you look amazing. You would never know anything.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, you know you in the
beginning the way I found out as I went blind
in my right eye, That's how I found out. And
I still don't have completely blind. And it was quick,
like in two days blind. Yeah. I started with a
feeling like I have something in my eye, like an eyelash,
you know, and you can't find the eyelash, you know
it's there. So I kept telling everybody, look at by eye,
look it bye. And then it was on a Sunday,
(12:08):
when when I will Saturday. That's when it happened. Then Sunday,
I woke up and I'm driving to K to You
to do my shift. And I was at the at
the light it was red and something told me cover
your eye and one like this and I couldn't see red.
And I was like, that's freaking weird. And then I
get to k to you and about an hour later,
I'm reading the liner and I can't read it with
(12:30):
you know, without my left eye. I'm like them, I
can't read it. The next morning, completely blonde, oh my god,
completely blind, and my eye was killing me, my head
was killing me. I found out that I had optic neritis,
which means the nerve that attaches the brain to the
eye was highly inflamed.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
And so I was supposed to be in the hospital
right away. But I went to the eye doctor. He
sent me to a neurologist. I couldn't see neurologists for
four days. Nobody ever told me you should go to
the hospital. Now. I never thought to go to the hospital.
I thought maybe I scratched my corny. I'd scratched my
CORNI how many times, very painful.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And thought that was the same thing.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Yeah, so, but that was my biggest lesson. You know.
So I have a lot of I have a lot
of rules about sickness, you know, for example, don't call
it yours. I don't call it yours. Don't say my arthritis,
my cancer, my diabetes, don't say that. Don't capitalize the letters.
They don't deserve to. They don't deserve to be that important.
(13:28):
You know. Try not to talk about it unless someone
brings it up first, unless you think it's going to
help somebody, and then you know you do the right thing.
You still go to the doctor. You know, the doctor me,
we have a we have an agreement, you know, I
don't have to go on medication as long as the
MRIs don't show any new lesions. So thankfully everything's been
the same. But I never I got some vision back,
(13:50):
but not all of it. So if I had to
totally rely on this, I I wouldn't be able to
drive and I wouldn't be able to read. Really, I
can see peripherally, but I can't see central and I
don't see still really as red is red. I'm looking
at the wall right now, there's no red there.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
It's black.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
It's black and the chair is like a like a
gray Oh my gosh. Yeah, and then opened my mindes
like a wall. It's really red.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Have you gotten used to it or is it something
that you struggle.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
With the way I look at it some You know
what's funny When I park, I can't park straight, so
I never park straight. I think I'm straight, and I
don't park straight. And finally it hit me, you know what,
I'm trying to park really with one eye, so it
makes sense I would be a little bit off. Is
it sad?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
I think the only time I get really angry about
it is when I go to get my eyes tested,
because I have to explain to every eye doctor, yeah,
this eye, this happened, blah blah blah. That's when I
feel sad about it. But I tell myself, hey, I
got one good eye.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
I can thank you God. I got one good eye.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Go rock on eye, you rock the stages. One good eye.
I would have never known that, that is so.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I mean, I believe how fast that happened too.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
It happened so fast, you know. So what I would
tell people if anything is out of the ordinary. You know,
your body tells you your body's giving you signals all
the time. You know. I was getting headaches for days
before that happened, and I just thought it was stressed.
And I was highly stressed at the time, and I
was very unhappy. I was working two jobs, so I
(15:23):
was singing, but I was also a manager at a gym,
and I really I love the people, but I hated
the job because it was about money and numbers. It
wasn't about people anymore. So I wanted to get out,
but that's how I had my medical insurance, so I'm like, okay,
I'll stay. I was really miserable and then, like I said,
it just happened. It was a wake up hall, you know,
so your body will tell you. My body was telling me, Judy,
(15:46):
you're too stressed out stop doing what you don't want
to do. And I had to listen. So I had
to take a big reassessment in my life and ask
myself what's working, what's not working? And that's it. But
you know it, it was a lesson to me. Yep,
and and I accepted, and we're to me. We're spiritual
beings having a human experience, and part of the human
(16:09):
experience is that we're going to suffer. We're gonna have
some pain, we're gonna have some loss, we're gonna get betrayed,
and we may or may not have physical difficulties. If
this is the cross I have to bear, I'll bear it.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I just love your mindset and outlook on.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Everything like it really we say it all the time,
like your mindset really does like make your life, and
like we say that a lot, Like we talk a
lot about mental health on this podcast, and like that's
the biggest thing.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Like what you put out is what you received.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
Yeah, it really it really makes a difference. Because when
I was reading the books about MS, like I said,
there were no happy endings. It was like everybody dies,
or you become incapacitator, or you're handicapped, or you lose
your ability to speak, all these different neurological things. And
I had a boyfriend at the time and he said
to me, why are you reading that? You know you're
(16:55):
you're depressed. I couldn't get out of bed. I was
I was considering suicide.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
It was really bad.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
And finally he said, can you still sing? And I'm
like yeah, He's like, so what are you depressed about?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
I was like, oh, shoot, he's right, You're right. If
God had taken my voice that that would have depressed me.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
So I started to change. It took a while, but yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well, thank god you talked to Montell. Thank god Johnny
was a part of it.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
I totally give him credit for that.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Oh I love that I met him with Anthony Rodea.
He was on tour with him, and he was.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Just so fun funny.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
He was funny, he had some stories.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
He's a great He's a great guy, a really great
guy at the end, at the end of the day,
trying to be a real good brother.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, you know, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You know, I will say, you know, some people and
the Internet Google. By the way, jat GPT two calls
you the Queen of freestyle. You are my queen of
freestyle than you, and I know that. You know, there's
been so many iconic moments you performed for everyone in
every state, everywhere, and I absolutely love what you've done
(17:58):
over the last thirty eight years. There's so many people
in freestyle that have come and gone, artists, bands, musicians,
and you know, I'll see the cover girls sometimes on shows.
I will see sometimes save and others. But Judy Torres
is always there. Judy Tourus is a staple. You're somebody
that everybody knows your songs, and you know, what do
(18:19):
you think has led you to such success in the space?
You know, I think I think it's your heart. But
I would love to hear from you.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
I don't know. You know, there was a time that
before I would go on stage, I would always I
always pray, and I would say, God, if you could
just give me ten years, I would really be grateful,
you know, just ten I'll be great. Because I was
aware that it was, it could be, it could expire, right,
(18:48):
had no idea what was going to happen when Hot
ninety seven changed over the hip hop and stuff, but
I had a feeling it, you know, it was finite,
and so all of a sudden, when when it quote
unquote died, I still performed here and there once in
a while. And then one day Salabatello did a show
at a club called Exit and he had a t
(19:09):
K reunion and he had me on with a couple
of other people, and the show was sold out. The
line was around the block like three or four times,
like it was.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And we were like holy people.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
Still love freestyle. And from there we were still performing
all of a sudden, you know, getting booked again regularly.
And then then one day he calls me says, guess
what I got? Radio cities shut up? You know, like,
oh my god. I think part of it is because.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I won't quit, that's right.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
Part of it is because the people never gave up.
And I don't know, the grace of God, I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Don't You think it's you too.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You're always so willing and you see the ones that
are always out there, and it's just consistency.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's your heart.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
And I love performing. And also I remember there was
a time when you know, you're we were singing so much,
like three four shows in a weekend, five shows on
a weekend. It's a lot, and you're singing the same
thing over and over and over and over and over
and over and over and over again, you know, and
(20:14):
excuse me. And there was a time when I started
to kind of I don't know if it just got
used to it, or he got bored, or you know,
it's no offense to the people or the music. It's
just when you're doing the same thing over and over again,
it gets repetitive.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
It's like any job.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
And I would remember I would be performing and I
would while I'm singing, literally singing, I would think, did
I leave the candle on in the living room?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Shoot, wait, oh I gotta do laundry, you.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Know, And I started there's people.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Yeah, And I started feeling like, oh, this is not good.
I'm taking it for granted.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
And then one day a young man came up to
me and told me that his friend had passed away
in a car accident and that his last wish was
for No Reason to Cry to get played at his funeral.
And from that day on, I was like, I will
never again take this song for granted. That's amazing because
everyone has a story, you know. One of the reasons
we love music is because music reminds us. Oh when
(21:10):
I hear that story, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Where I was.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So that's what we were doing. That's the beauty of music.
It's like the soundtrack of your life. And so I
just told myself, the song means something to people in
every different.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Way, and so I have to respect that.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
And so No Reason to Cry was definitely not a
song that you thought was going to be yours, right.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
It was a song.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
It was supposed to be someone else's.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
I was.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
When I was working with Mickey Garcia. He had two
other artists he was working with, Vicky Ryan and a
girl named See Bank. And so we all the three
of us met at our manager's house, George Uscones, and
we were celebrating that we were going to record the
next day. So he made dinner and we're sitting there
and we're listening to the demos, not our demos, just
the producer singing the demos, and I hear No Reason
(21:55):
to Cry, and I'm like, that's a great song. It's
a great Oh my god, listen, I just heard the music.
I went over to Vicki and I said, girl, that song.
I love that song. And she's like, yeah, really, I
don't know. I think I like your song. So I
had a song called Love's Gonna Get You.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
So I go over to Mickey and I said, Mickey,
I really like her song, and she really likes my song.
Can we switch?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
No?
Speaker 5 (22:24):
He's like, I really don't care as long as somebody
records a song perfect.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
And that was it. That was it first, at.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
The beginning of everything, and everything that I have today
is because of No reason to cry. Yes, kat is
because of no reason to cry. My One Woman Show
was because of the reason to cry. Everything everything you.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Know, see it led with your heart. Really, you heard it,
you loved.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
It, and that's I do agree.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Like I think that is like what's kept you like
consistent and like not burnout in this industry because I
feel like it's so easy too. It's like your love
for it's like you saying hi to every single fan.
It's like you actually appreciate the relationships and connections you
have with these people. It's not just it's like something
to go and say and then go home at the
end of the time.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Yeah, you know what. And I'm very like, I guess
because maybe because I'm older now, I'm very aware that
people are getting online and like I watch these lines
sometimes I'm like, oh my god, I don't know if
I would wait on line. They get on these long lines.
They're paying their heart earned money when they could be
using the money for something else. Some people are arguing
(23:23):
with their spouses because their spouses don't want to go
and they want to go, or they're finding that they're
fighting to find parking spaces. Some people really can't afford it,
but they use the money that they would use towards
the bill to go see a show. So I'm very
mindful of the sacrifice they make. So I try to
remind myself, you know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You get up there, do good, do good, you know,
and you have the right team around you. Shout out
to Salvatello because he's been in the game a long time,
helping Ruben Martinez. So many amazing people that have helped
you along your way. And speaking of Gary Salzman who
passed and I actually had the honor of opening for.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
You at a club, Lance Glassie, and that night changed
my life.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
You introduced me to Gary and that was the first
time I ever was in front of tons of He
opened my network to the world.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
Gary Salman was a good guy.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Yeah, he managed me for nine years. Yeah, and uh,
when I found out he had passed from COVID, it
was so heartbreaking because Gary was such a tough guy.
He was like, if anybody was going to beave COVID,
it was going to be him, right, So it was
very devastating.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, it was, you know, his help was in the
end not the greatest, you know anyway, but I just
felt so bad for him.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
It was horrible. I loved everybody over there, Joey Bats
and everybody.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yeah, crazy, you guys are there. Now you're here, I know,
right here we go, crazy, here we go.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I just love Pixie Beauties. Second, I'm not ready yet.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Oh jeez, ash, seriously kidding.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Have you seen how my skin has been glowing lately?
I'm stopping.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I mean seriously. Pixie Beauty products are for every day
and they are the best. I love the Glow Tonic.
It's become a staple in my skincare.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
I love that product.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
I use it every day before I do my skincare,
and honestly, it's like Braden's my face. I want to say.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
I mean a guest commented today on how beautiful you
looked and that you were dewey and glowy, and it's
all because of Pixie.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Honestly, Pixie products just know how to make you feel
beautiful in your own skin.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
My favorite is the Pixie on the glow blush. It
is so much fun. You can just stick it right on,
take it out. It's just one of my favorites. It's
so much fun and it looks so good.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
On honestly, it gives you like a nice sunkiss glow.
I absolutely love it and it's going to be great
for summer. If you guys want to glow this summer
just like us, visit Wowow dot Pixieauty dot com. All right,
listen up, party people, Friday's at Mahoney's Irish Pub or
where the vibes are high, the drinks are flowing, and
the weekend officially begins. If you're looking for the ultimate
night out, Mahoney's has got you covered with killer drink specials,
(25:50):
live DJs, and crowds that know how to bring the energy,
whether you sipping on a nice cold beer, toasting with
a perfectly mixed cocktail, or taking a shot to kick
start the night. This is the spot to be every Friday,
starting at ten pm, So grab your crew, hit the
dance floor and make some memories. The Mahoney's Way doors
open late, the drinks are called Music's Hot.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
What more do you need?
Speaker 4 (26:10):
I'll see you guys this Friday and every Friday at
Mahoney's Pub where the weekend starts the right way.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
You know, if you were talking to a young girl
or boy artist female male artists or anyone just looking
to go into this industry. What would you say to
them today, How would you motivate them and inspire them,
and what action steps should they take.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
I think when you get signed to a label, and
now today with social media pressure and things like that,
it's very easy to get caught up in what everyone
thinks you should be. So I think it's really important
for you to know who you are, like really who
(26:53):
as an artist? What do you want to convey? What's
your intention? Why are you doing it in the first place.
You you can't do it for the money. You can't
do it for the fame. You can't do it so
people will like you, because if you do that, then
you're a prisoner to their opinions, their thoughts, and you
lose yourself and all that. So I think it's really
(27:14):
important to ask yourself, why am I doing this? And
what do I represent? What do I want? When people
see me on stage? If they could, if they could
describe me in three words.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
What is it?
Speaker 5 (27:27):
What are those three words you want? You know? For me,
it's it's important. I admit I did it in the
beginning just because I loved it and I did want
to get a Grammy, and I did want to be famous,
but the more I did it, the more I realized, no,
it's not about that, because that's that's a whole crazy machine,
(27:49):
you know. And I'm a firm.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Believer that God will only allow you.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
To get there if he thinks you should be there
and handle it if you can handle it, if you
can handle it, you know. And I just felt I'm glad.
Sometimes I'm like, I'm glad I didn't get that bad
because I don't think I can handle paparazzi. The freestyle
freaks are good paparazzi I don't need. But I think
it's important. You're like, just know what you who you are,
what you want to convey in your music, what's your message.
(28:15):
It's really important that you know that because, like I said,
not other people will tell you just what you should do,
and before you know it, you're going, so what do
you think I should do? You have no opinion for yourself,
you have no thoughts for yourself, so you don't want
to lose yourself in that.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
That's I love that.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
That's great.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
I feel like that's such an easy way to get
burnt out too. It's like if you're doing something for
different reasoning, and.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
You do get a lot of pressure. You get you
get a lot of pressure.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
I used to argue with the president from the label
all the time, Corey Robbins, I love him to death.
We used to get it. Robins used to have huge arguments,
you know, because he was passionate. No, I really don't
think that sounds that song is good for him, Like,
are you crazy? I love this song and we just
go back. But at least they were good creative arguments,
(28:58):
you know. Thankfully I was. I was fortunate enough that
I didn't have that problem that he tried to change me.
His whole thing was just keep getting better, you know.
But I saw I saw on other labels I saw
that were trying to change them. And you know, of
course they'll give you a makeover some of them or whatever.
But like I said, it's really important that you just
don't get lost in yourself. If you if you're wearing
(29:19):
something that the label gave you to wear and you're
not comfortable in it, tell them I don't want to
wear this. Give me something else, you know. That's that's
how it starts, with little things like that.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And as a young artist, you're so impressionable. You don't know.
It's a deer in headlights.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh my god, I have this opportunity, I'll wear a
diaper and you so you.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Don't know anyone in the industry either, you know.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
And you're so I do admit, you know. When I
was younger, I wanted to get in the industry so
bad that you know, if if if they offered me
a country song, I would have said, oh.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Yeah, yes, yes, guys are coming out of the country album,
you know.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But that's how desperate I was.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
But it was harder for me because I was I
was always the fat girl in the room when I
was younger, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
I was the odd girl out and I could feel that.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
I could sense it. But I was also hard of
myself because I didn't believe in myself, and because of that,
I suffered a lot, you know. But now I recognize
I'm not supposed to be anybody else but me. You know.
I actually did a TikTok video not too long ago
where I talked about that how I was wrong. I
used to think that I wasn't pretty enough or light
(30:35):
skinned enough. I used to remember in high school, I
had a complict why don't know how blonde hair and
blue it doesn't make sense. It's not fair because my
experience of blonde hair blue white people were they were
treated nicer, you know, or I thought they were prettier,
you know. But now I realized that you came. I
was just wrong. I just realized. You know, the worst thing, though,
(31:00):
the worst thing you can do to yourself is to
compare yourself to other people. It's the worst thing. It's
okay if you can recognize someone else is doing better
than you, right, or the more successful. It's okay to say, hey,
how did you do that, because I would like to
do that too, But to physically compare yourself to other people,
(31:21):
vocally compare yourself to it's just wrong because every person
is made as a masterpiece in their own unique way,
and you have to honor that. And every time you
try to be someone else, you're shaming yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
You know what's crazy. I never ever thought you felt
that way. I didn't know that. Thank you. But I
will say like, I've always been the thick one too.
All my friends are skinny, every single one, and they
all you know whatever.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
But I don't mind. I like being who I am.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
You know, there's days I'm like, if I eat the cheeseburg,
I'm gonna gain two pounds, you know. And it's and
I teeter on health like I'm right on the line.
I'm still healthy, but if I eat too much this week,
I might not, you know. So. But I always look
at people like you, like, you know what, she's rocking
this and she's doing this, and I'm like that, yeah,
and I feel inspired because nothing's stopping you. You don't
(32:10):
need to be a size too. As a matter of fact,
I just auditioned for something awesome and they said to me,
we don't want size twos anymore. And I was like,
thank you Jesus, because you know, it's like you have
to live in your truth for so many years. I'm like, well,
I shouldn't eat and this and that. And genetics just
play a role, you know, they just do. Like my
parents are not skinny.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
They're not.
Speaker 5 (32:32):
But I don't have anything against people. I don't have
anything against botox, plastic surgery. I got light bulb on
my flanks yep a few weeks ago. But I also
accept that I'm big boned me too. That's probably the
way it's going to be. And I'm okay with it.
I no longer I used to look at Karina and
(32:56):
be like, damn, she's so pretty, she's so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You got great figure.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Oh man, I wish I was like Karina.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
You know.
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Now I'm just like, no, I'm Judy, and I'm representing
some of the thicker women out that's right, and somebody's
got to represent them, right. You know.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
It's so interesting because if people felt this way, like
when they were teenagers, like they feel so different, like
comparison is the thief of joy, and like when you
look at it that way.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
Like this girl, thank you, thank you are loving her.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Well, that's what people always say, like, oh, when you
get to your thirties or forties, like you stop caring
what people think. And it's like if you stop carrying
what people thought twenty years before, that like your life.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Would be so much better.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
True, That's what When you get older, you start to
get wisdom and you start to realize, I'm wasting time. Yeah,
I'm wasting precious time.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Putting myself down all the time is not not helping me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
You know, we call her the word assassin over here.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
But I'm good. I'm good.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
Ads like I'm not going to fight, but it's like
I might say something that I really put you in
your place.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Oh my god, as you too much. But you know, Judy,
you are a legend, You're an icon. We're gonna have
a fun TikTok to follow that. But you have done
so much in your life. I know we talked about
some of the moments in your life that have been pinnacle,
But what's been your single most iconic moment.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
It's not fair, it's too many. Now, there's really great
there's really great ones.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
I wish I was in your brain.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
That's an amazing way to feel, though, Like.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
There's really great ones. The song on the radio for
the first time, that was like pure joy. I'd never
experienced such joy and desperation to call everybody I knew
in three minutes because it.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Was the first person you called Mom really second.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Mom put a hot three. Oh I don't remember now,
probably my brother, I don't remember. I know Mom was first,
for sure. I just remember I was cooking, making trimps,
camping with my friend and I hear Hot Hot Hot
one O three new music, and and I heard the
beat and I was like no, Oh my god, that's
(35:03):
my mind. Have you ever seen the movie La Bamba? Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Hell yeah, it's like that.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
It's like this euphoria and you're just screaming. So that's
a big moment. Getting signed to the record label was
a big moment. Performing at Radio City Music Hall was
a big moment. And I did Medicine Square Garden too,
but for some reason, Radio City meant more to me.
It's such because it's classy and it has such history.
(35:32):
I mean, Medice Square Garden does too, but I don't
know something about it. When I did my one woman show,
it was supposed to be one weekend, I was turning fifty.
I wanted to do something different and I wanted to
do something to scare the hell out of me. Yeah,
but the tickets sold out in forty five minutes, and
(35:53):
the theater called and said, hey, we have to add
a Sunday met and they there's too many people. They're
really angry. Okay, we had a Sunday Mattin And when
we finished Sunday they called me like, listen, they want
to do a run. Would you like to do a run?
So I did four months. That's so cool, sold amazing
every night. That's amazing. So that was a massive thing.
(36:15):
Getting signed to a modeling agency at fifty four as
a plus size model. Yeah, it's like, okay, like you said,
they don't need they don't need a size too. No,
size two's beautiful too. But that's the whole thing we
have to embrace. I love now when I go to
plus size stores like to It for example, and I
see women who are size twenty two, twenty six modeling.
(36:37):
Good for you, thank you, because there are women out
there that have to be represented too.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
And I love size too too. It's just like killed
to look like Ashley. No, I would be zero, double zero.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
It depends in man.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
But she's perfect, and she's my niece, and she's perfect.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
She's my niece, and I'm just so grateful to have
her size zero or double zero.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
You you know, it's just it is.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So hard on you when you're you know, not the
picture perfect magazine cover woman.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean, I think it was a different time too.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
We had Jackie Goldschneider on from the Housewise and she
even said, like the.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
Whole what was that uh weight watcher?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yes, the whole weight Watchers thing like that was like
a whole thing, and like so many people like gained
eating disorders from like that being what was put out
on the internet, like everyone needed to look that way.
Speaker 5 (37:23):
It's it's hard. It's hard. And when you're watching television
and you're looking at magazines and that's all you see,
you get this brain work unspoken message that there's something
wrong with exactly.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
You know, if you could go back decades, what would
you tell yourself?
Speaker 5 (37:44):
Interesting, So the way I ended my one woman show
is me talking to my seven year old self.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Oh that's really cool.
Speaker 5 (37:52):
Yeah, I would say the number one thing I would
say is you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay.
So I suffered from depression, really really bad, and when
I was twenty five, I attempted suicide. So I'm really
happy to say that's gone, that's in the past, that
(38:13):
will never happen again.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Did you get helpful?
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Yeah, I got help for it. I did therapy for
a long time, probably longer than I needed to. But
then I liked to vince Yeah, I was like, let
me tell you what.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
Unbiased.
Speaker 5 (38:25):
Yeah, being able to speak to someone who's just there
to listen and also sometimes guide you in the right direction,
but also with non judgment and compassion. Sometimes that's the
most healing thing somebody can do for you, you know.
So I would say you're going to be okay. I
would say stop worrying about what other people think. And
(38:48):
even though you didn't get the love from your father
that you really wanted, it's going to be so many
people that love you.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
That's so amazing. Out of every single thing that you've accomplished.
Is there any like what was like the time that
you had like imposter syndrome where you're just like, how
am I in this like point? How did I get here?
Speaker 5 (39:08):
All the time? Okay all the time. It's so it's
just surreal to me. I don't know. Yeah, I'm just
I'm I'm so grateful it imposter syndroun all the time,
you know, especially when people call me the queen a freestyle,
I'm like, I'm your favorite cheek at a favorite cheek
(39:29):
got you need tourius Queen is a lot of pressure.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
I mean everyone's saying it pressure.
Speaker 5 (39:35):
It's a lot of pressure. Yeah, I'm just it's just
surreal to me, so imposter tendrum all the time. Because
sometimes I know there are other people out there that
work their butts off, and they don't. They don't make it,
you know. So I'm very grateful. I try. I try
to operate my life in that way. Just be grateful
(39:55):
all the time, love it. And then I just tell myself,
I'm doing the best can and that's all that.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It's all you can do, that's all you can do.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
You know. Mental Health America is a huge part of
RED and they've been with us for two years of
Dutchess County and they, you know, talk about this depression.
I have anxiety, you have ADHD.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
We all have.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Things and anxiety and to pay all those things and
they weigh you down. But when you can rise above
right and look at your seven year old self, you've won. Yeah,
that's when you know. You know, you go back to
your seven year old self and you're like, you know what,
I'm gonna be fine.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
You got this.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Yeah, that's when you know you've won. So thank you
for sharing those moments with us, Judy.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
I love you, I love you.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Oh my god, I'm so happy we did this.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
Oh my gosh, I'm like you hang, we love you.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Judy much. Success.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
I hope there's more music, bring it back or over.
We're all rooting for you, and we make sure you
follow Judy Tours on social media for everything Judy and
anything coming up. Thank you for joining us on Red.
Michelle you can find me at Michelle Barone online.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
Guys can find me on ashmrac Feers and two HS
on all socials.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
All right, we'll see you soon.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Thank you, Bobby,
Welcome to ri D.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Reddit's Michelle Barone, your host, alongside my girl, my niece,
Ashley McPherson, my co host.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:07):
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
MV?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm doing good? All right.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
So I don't know if you guys know this, but
we have like mb over here is a little bit
of a musical prodigy, as i'd like to say, and
she knows everything music.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
And today's guest is I feel like this is one
of your favorite guests.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Like she's been talking about this forever, trying to get
this guest on.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
So today we're really excited.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yes, my girl, Judy Torres, the freestyle queen.
Speaker 5 (00:30):
We love you.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hi, guys, I can't believe you're really here. I've been
trying for two years to get you here. So what happens? Well,
we just kept missing each other, you know.
Speaker 5 (00:40):
All right, We're here now, that's what's important.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hey, guys, Before today's episode, I want to talk to
you about something you met Ashley and I care a
lot about mental health.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Taking care of your mental health is just as important
and taking care of your physical health and mental health.
America of Duchess County is the perfect place for that health.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Absolutely, Mental Health America of Duchess County is super empowering
and helps so many people with so many problems.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Honestly, it's pretty amazing seeing how mental health actually affects people.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I mean the guests that we've had on the show.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
We've talked about mental health in almost every episode, and
it's a serious topic.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Now's the time to prioritize your mental well being. If
you're suffering from anxiety, depression, or anything mental health related,
visit Mental Health America Duchess County at MHA Duchess dot org.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
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Speaker 1 (02:19):
So, Judy, you've been doing music for how many years?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Now?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Thirty eight? Woow, not counting, I'm counting thirty eight.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, it's crazy, radio, music, acting, TV, everything, You've done
it all.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
What's been your most prideful moments?
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Oh? Gosh, well, you know what. I know, people want
to hear like a certain show or something, but when
you ask for a prideful moment, yep. I think some
of the most prideful moments were moments that I had
one on one with a fan where they're talking to
me after a show and they tell me something that's
really touching. Or sometimes I've I had a fan one
time was like really depressed, like I thought it was suicidal.
(03:01):
So I said, stay right here, don't go anywhere, finish
taking pictures, and I sat down with him and I
talked with him, and to me, those moments I'm proud of.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
You know, it's so funny you say that because I
saw your perform at Renegade Stadium last year and you
say the anthem, you crush it as always, and you
come out and there's a slew of people around you
and you gave every single one of those people time
and attention, love, respect, and it was just so beautiful, and.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
You know, thank you. As you were saying that, I'm
recalling that, you know.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
You know, I feel I feel like this one day
it's gonna be over.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, one day.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
They're not going to ask for pictures anymore. They're not
going to ask for autographs. So for me, it's if
they ask, it's an honor, you know, And I feel
like I don't want to say no. Like sometimes you're
taking pictures and there's a lot of there's a long line,
there's like a hundred people, and you just finished performing.
You're still sweating your tie, your feet hurt, you know,
you're like, oh my god. And I feel like sometimes
(03:54):
security will say Okay, she's done, and I said, no, no, no,
don't do that, because the number one fan is not
the first fan, it's the hundredth person on the line
because they had to wait the longest. So that's why
I don't want to say no. I really I only
say no. I only say no if I feel like,
you know, I'm in danger. Sometimes I have like two
or three shows in one night. Sometimes if they don't
(04:17):
put me on on time, I'm pressed for time. But
I always let them know I can't take pictures today.
Please forgive me. You know that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, You've always been great with the fans, and
for thirty eight years you've been doing so much. Radio
has been been a big part of you know, your life.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And you've been hosting on k T. You you are
the voice of New York City.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
I love turning it on and listening to you, and
I know you connect so well to your audience.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
All Right, she's a fan fan.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I'm telling you, I hear about you all the time.
I feel like I know you because I hear about
you so much.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
But what year were you born if you don't mind.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Two thousand and two?
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Two thousand and two, okay, So okay, So she wasn't around. Okay.
I was scared that she was born, you know, like
like like before I started singing.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, no, she's she's she's a youngin. But my husband
and I my husban came up to keep them from
the Hudson Valley from Queens, and he started playing these beats.
We were in like sixth grade, and I'm like, what
the hell is Stevie b What is this?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
And I'm like, Judy Torres, I'm.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Like, I never heard of these people, And all of
a sudden, that was the thing of summer.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yeah, it really was, It really was, and it was
It was a It was a magical time because you know,
when when I recorded No Reason to Cry, which was
my first song, we did we weren't in a fancy studio.
We did it in someone's apartment. We did it in
my producer's apartment. A matter of fact, we recorded it
in his bedroom, no way. And I remember when I
(05:35):
was walking, I thought we were going. In my head,
I imagined a big studio. I was thinking Mariah Carrey,
you know, the microphone coming down from the the ceiling,
with glass pane windows and parquet floors. And so my
producer Mickey picks me up.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
He goes, you ready, Juice.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
They used to call me Juice. You ready, Juice, Come on,
We're gonna go to the studio. I'm like, okay, okay.
So we get to Elfin's house, which is his partner,
and and he's like, take your coat off, and I'm
like why. He's like, well, you know, I said, I'm
going to the studio. He goes, yeah, we're at the studio.
I'm like, we are. I'm looking at his living room,
like we are. He's like yeah, I just walk down there.
And then they opened the door and it says betterroom.
My sea up.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Bet.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
It's like, oh my god, I heard about these stories
about producers trying to sleep with the artists. Oh my god,
what am I gonna do?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
What?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
My heart fell? And then I realized, no, it really
was the studio.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Were there any found proofs?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
No?
Speaker 5 (06:27):
And when I did my when I did my One
Woman show, one of my one of my most favorite
scenes was talking about that whole episode because someone would
flush the toilet and I had to start again, you know,
so his mother's grave that, you know, dinner's ready, do
it again, and you didn't do just you know, now
with auto tunes and all this stuff, you can record
(06:48):
one word. You know, back then they didn't have that
the whole so you messed up. You started the whole
thing all over again. And so then mister Softy came by,
it was just like ah the cat would me owt
or what are You're like, oh my god, this song's
never gonna get done. But so it's one of my
favorite memories. You know. It was a lot of fun,
and we we did the music out of sheer love
for the music. And then you know, to know that
(07:09):
you have a song that you recorded in someone's bedroom
and it's on the radio and you're like what how
And everyone was so excited about it because they were like,
I don't understand what's this sound?
Speaker 1 (07:19):
I don't, I don't what is this?
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Who is this? You know? I was the same way before,
No reason to cry? You know, Naobi was already out.
T K was already out, Sweet Sensation was already Cover
Girls was already out. So I'm like, wow, first time
I heard Naobi's record, who is this?
Speaker 2 (07:34):
You know?
Speaker 5 (07:35):
So it's just a magical time because it was a
music that nobody knew before, nobody understood it.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
And they were all like what is it?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
And for Latinos everywhere, it was like wait a minute,
their hispanic shut up?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
So it was fun.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
It was so different.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
It was kind of like New York built, and it
was very New York, very New York built, very Northeast.
It was like, you captured the cultural essence of this city.
And that's what I love about, you know, And you know,
I always wonder why did it not end? I mean,
it still lives on and please you still sell out
freestyle concerts all over the globe. But how come the
music was stopped being made?
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Right?
Speaker 5 (08:12):
There was there was a I mean, there's a lot
of reasons we could. We could blame people, if you
want to, let me blame a couple of people. Now,
part of it was radio. Yeah, okay, So Hot one
of three started. First, Hot one of three played our music.
Hot one of three supported freestyle. Then Hot one of
three turned into.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Hot ninety seven format change, and.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Then they changed the format. They made this big announcement
from now on, we are hip.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Hop hip hop and we were like, what.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Now, we had no music on our on the radio
for a few years. And KTU comes back around ninety
eight and they start playing freestyle and they're playing local artists,
Angelo Venudo, Kim Sazi, Radio, Raina, Lucas, Pradu, et cetera.
So it was a that was another a magical time
because it felt like, oh my god, it was like
a renaissance, like it came right back to.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Rebirth when record was another song of the song so
amazing and she did you know that was a whole
nother rebirth and.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
It was a new age rebirth right exactly. But then
it was all again.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
Yeah. The beautiful thing was that the station was was
supporting local artists if you were from New York. Not
that you you know, they put on anybody's song because
they had to test it and things like that. But if
you were from New York, they gave you a shot.
Ye you know, even if you were an independent label.
Now it's like if you don't have the backing of
a major record label, it's really hard to get on
the radio.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
And one of my favorite people on k T, You
and everywhere else was goom by Johnny Love Love Goomba.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
What he was like a brother to me, like a
pain in the neck. Oh my god. I'll tell you
this one story when I was on the when I
was on the k T Morning Show, he would, I
said to the to his left it was it was
speedy me goom by Michelle Vassage. Okay, so he would
take his garbage and he would crinkle up his papers
(10:06):
and he would throw it on my side. So one
day I was like, you know what, goomba, I'm not
your freaking garbage. Can go out your garbage. He'll excuse me,
excuse me. The next day I come in and he
drew tape across the board and I'm like, what is this.
He goes, that's your side, and this is my side,
and you don't cross my side. And he was always
(10:27):
teasing me, but in the end he was like my
biggest supporter when in two thousand and five I was
diagnosed with MS. And when I was diagnosed, he was
one of the people who reached out to me constantly,
really and he's like, Judy, I'm doing this comedy show.
You need to come. I was so freaking depressed because
MAS doesn't have a happy ending, and I was so depressed,
and he's like, I want you to come. Trust me.
(10:48):
I want to introduce you to somebody. And when I
got there that night, he introduced me to Montell Williams.
And Montell Williams had MS, and you know he used
to have a talk show and stuff like that. So
he sat down with me and he had the best
conversation with me. He was so inspiring. I left completely changed.
I left a different person. I left more positive. I
was like I got He said to me, MS will
(11:13):
mess with your mind. Keep your mind strong, That's what
I remember him saying. Don't let this get you down.
Don't let this take you out at all, you know.
And I started to realize, you know, I'm a firm
believer in what you believe. You attract what you think
will happen. So I got to a point where I
was like, I don't have a mess. They think I
(11:35):
have a mess. Go girl, it's been inactive for thank
you guy. It's been active for many years.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
And you look amazing. You would never know anything.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, you know you in the
beginning the way I found out as I went blind
in my right eye, That's how I found out. And
I still don't have completely blind. And it was quick,
like in two days blind. Yeah. I started with a
feeling like I have something in my eye, like an eyelash,
you know, and you can't find the eyelash, you know
it's there. So I kept telling everybody, look at by eye,
look it bye. And then it was on a Sunday,
(12:08):
when when I will Saturday. That's when it happened. Then Sunday,
I woke up and I'm driving to K to You
to do my shift. And I was at the at
the light it was red and something told me cover
your eye and one like this and I couldn't see red.
And I was like, that's freaking weird. And then I
get to k to you and about an hour later,
I'm reading the liner and I can't read it with
(12:30):
you know, without my left eye. I'm like them, I
can't read it. The next morning, completely blonde, oh my god,
completely blind, and my eye was killing me, my head
was killing me. I found out that I had optic neritis,
which means the nerve that attaches the brain to the
eye was highly inflamed.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
And so I was supposed to be in the hospital
right away. But I went to the eye doctor. He
sent me to a neurologist. I couldn't see neurologists for
four days. Nobody ever told me you should go to
the hospital. Now. I never thought to go to the hospital.
I thought maybe I scratched my corny. I'd scratched my
CORNI how many times, very painful.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And thought that was the same thing.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Yeah, so, but that was my biggest lesson. You know.
So I have a lot of I have a lot
of rules about sickness, you know, for example, don't call
it yours. I don't call it yours. Don't say my arthritis,
my cancer, my diabetes, don't say that. Don't capitalize the letters.
They don't deserve to. They don't deserve to be that important.
(13:28):
You know. Try not to talk about it unless someone
brings it up first, unless you think it's going to
help somebody, and then you know you do the right thing.
You still go to the doctor. You know, the doctor me,
we have a we have an agreement, you know, I
don't have to go on medication as long as the
MRIs don't show any new lesions. So thankfully everything's been
the same. But I never I got some vision back,
(13:50):
but not all of it. So if I had to
totally rely on this, I I wouldn't be able to
drive and I wouldn't be able to read. Really, I
can see peripherally, but I can't see central and I
don't see still really as red is red. I'm looking
at the wall right now, there's no red there.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
It's black.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
It's black and the chair is like a like a
gray Oh my gosh. Yeah, and then opened my mindes
like a wall. It's really red.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Have you gotten used to it or is it something
that you struggle.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
With the way I look at it some You know
what's funny When I park, I can't park straight, so
I never park straight. I think I'm straight, and I
don't park straight. And finally it hit me, you know what,
I'm trying to park really with one eye, so it
makes sense I would be a little bit off. Is
it sad?
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
I think the only time I get really angry about
it is when I go to get my eyes tested,
because I have to explain to every eye doctor, yeah,
this eye, this happened, blah blah blah. That's when I
feel sad about it. But I tell myself, hey, I
got one good eye.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
I can thank you God. I got one good eye.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Go rock on eye, you rock the stages. One good eye.
I would have never known that, that is so.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I mean, I believe how fast that happened too.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
It happened so fast, you know. So what I would
tell people if anything is out of the ordinary. You know,
your body tells you your body's giving you signals all
the time. You know. I was getting headaches for days
before that happened, and I just thought it was stressed.
And I was highly stressed at the time, and I
was very unhappy. I was working two jobs, so I
(15:23):
was singing, but I was also a manager at a gym,
and I really I love the people, but I hated
the job because it was about money and numbers. It
wasn't about people anymore. So I wanted to get out,
but that's how I had my medical insurance, so I'm like, okay,
I'll stay. I was really miserable and then, like I said,
it just happened. It was a wake up hall, you know,
so your body will tell you. My body was telling me, Judy,
(15:46):
you're too stressed out stop doing what you don't want
to do. And I had to listen. So I had
to take a big reassessment in my life and ask
myself what's working, what's not working? And that's it. But
you know it, it was a lesson to me. Yep,
and and I accepted, and we're to me. We're spiritual
beings having a human experience, and part of the human
(16:09):
experience is that we're going to suffer. We're gonna have
some pain, we're gonna have some loss, we're gonna get betrayed,
and we may or may not have physical difficulties. If
this is the cross I have to bear, I'll bear it.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
I just love your mindset and outlook on.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Everything like it really we say it all the time,
like your mindset really does like make your life, and
like we say that a lot, Like we talk a
lot about mental health on this podcast, and like that's
the biggest thing.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Like what you put out is what you received.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
Yeah, it really it really makes a difference. Because when
I was reading the books about MS, like I said,
there were no happy endings. It was like everybody dies,
or you become incapacitator, or you're handicapped, or you lose
your ability to speak, all these different neurological things. And
I had a boyfriend at the time and he said
to me, why are you reading that? You know you're
(16:55):
you're depressed. I couldn't get out of bed. I was
I was considering suicide.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
It was really bad.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
And finally he said, can you still sing? And I'm
like yeah, He's like, so what are you depressed about?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:06):
I was like, oh, shoot, he's right, You're right. If
God had taken my voice that that would have depressed me.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
So I started to change. It took a while, but yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Well, thank god you talked to Montell. Thank god Johnny
was a part of it.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
I totally give him credit for that.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Oh I love that I met him with Anthony Rodea.
He was on tour with him, and he was.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Just so fun funny.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
He was funny, he had some stories.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
He's a great He's a great guy, a really great
guy at the end, at the end of the day,
trying to be a real good brother.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Yeah, you know, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
You know, I will say, you know, some people and
the Internet Google. By the way, jat GPT two calls
you the Queen of freestyle. You are my queen of
freestyle than you, and I know that. You know, there's
been so many iconic moments you performed for everyone in
every state, everywhere, and I absolutely love what you've done
(17:58):
over the last thirty eight years. There's so many people
in freestyle that have come and gone, artists, bands, musicians,
and you know, I'll see the cover girls sometimes on shows.
I will see sometimes save and others. But Judy Torres
is always there. Judy Tourus is a staple. You're somebody
that everybody knows your songs, and you know, what do
(18:19):
you think has led you to such success in the space?
You know, I think I think it's your heart. But
I would love to hear from you.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
I don't know. You know, there was a time that
before I would go on stage, I would always I
always pray, and I would say, God, if you could
just give me ten years, I would really be grateful,
you know, just ten I'll be great. Because I was
aware that it was, it could be, it could expire, right,
(18:48):
had no idea what was going to happen when Hot
ninety seven changed over the hip hop and stuff, but
I had a feeling it, you know, it was finite,
and so all of a sudden, when when it quote
unquote died, I still performed here and there once in
a while. And then one day Salabatello did a show
at a club called Exit and he had a t
(19:09):
K reunion and he had me on with a couple
of other people, and the show was sold out. The
line was around the block like three or four times,
like it was.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And we were like holy people.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
Still love freestyle. And from there we were still performing
all of a sudden, you know, getting booked again regularly.
And then then one day he calls me says, guess
what I got? Radio cities shut up? You know, like,
oh my god. I think part of it is because.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I won't quit, that's right.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
Part of it is because the people never gave up.
And I don't know, the grace of God, I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Don't You think it's you too.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You're always so willing and you see the ones that
are always out there, and it's just consistency.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's your heart.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
And I love performing. And also I remember there was
a time when you know, you're we were singing so much,
like three four shows in a weekend, five shows on
a weekend. It's a lot, and you're singing the same
thing over and over and over and over and over
and over and over and over again, you know, and
(20:14):
excuse me. And there was a time when I started
to kind of I don't know if it just got
used to it, or he got bored, or you know,
it's no offense to the people or the music. It's
just when you're doing the same thing over and over again,
it gets repetitive.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
It's like any job.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
And I would remember I would be performing and I
would while I'm singing, literally singing, I would think, did
I leave the candle on in the living room?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Shoot, wait, oh I gotta do laundry, you.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Know, And I started there's people.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Yeah, And I started feeling like, oh, this is not good.
I'm taking it for granted.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:48):
And then one day a young man came up to
me and told me that his friend had passed away
in a car accident and that his last wish was
for No Reason to Cry to get played at his funeral.
And from that day on, I was like, I will
never again take this song for granted. That's amazing because
everyone has a story, you know. One of the reasons
we love music is because music reminds us. Oh when
(21:10):
I hear that story, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Where I was.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
So that's what we were doing. That's the beauty of music.
It's like the soundtrack of your life. And so I
just told myself, the song means something to people in
every different.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Way, and so I have to respect that.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
And so No Reason to Cry was definitely not a
song that you thought was going to be yours, right.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
It was a song.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
It was supposed to be someone else's.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
I was.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
When I was working with Mickey Garcia. He had two
other artists he was working with, Vicky Ryan and a
girl named See Bank. And so we all the three
of us met at our manager's house, George Uscones, and
we were celebrating that we were going to record the
next day. So he made dinner and we're sitting there
and we're listening to the demos, not our demos, just
the producer singing the demos, and I hear No Reason
(21:55):
to Cry, and I'm like, that's a great song. It's
a great Oh my god, listen, I just heard the music.
I went over to Vicki and I said, girl, that song.
I love that song. And she's like, yeah, really, I
don't know. I think I like your song. So I
had a song called Love's Gonna Get You.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
So I go over to Mickey and I said, Mickey,
I really like her song, and she really likes my song.
Can we switch?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
No?
Speaker 5 (22:24):
He's like, I really don't care as long as somebody
records a song perfect.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
And that was it. That was it first, at.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
The beginning of everything, and everything that I have today
is because of No reason to cry. Yes, kat is
because of no reason to cry. My One Woman Show
was because of the reason to cry. Everything everything you.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Know, see it led with your heart. Really, you heard it,
you loved.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
It, and that's I do agree.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Like I think that is like what's kept you like
consistent and like not burnout in this industry because I
feel like it's so easy too. It's like your love
for it's like you saying hi to every single fan.
It's like you actually appreciate the relationships and connections you
have with these people. It's not just it's like something
to go and say and then go home at the
end of the time.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Yeah, you know what. And I'm very like, I guess
because maybe because I'm older now, I'm very aware that
people are getting online and like I watch these lines
sometimes I'm like, oh my god, I don't know if
I would wait on line. They get on these long lines.
They're paying their heart earned money when they could be
using the money for something else. Some people are arguing
(23:23):
with their spouses because their spouses don't want to go
and they want to go, or they're finding that they're
fighting to find parking spaces. Some people really can't afford it,
but they use the money that they would use towards
the bill to go see a show. So I'm very
mindful of the sacrifice they make. So I try to
remind myself, you know.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You get up there, do good, do good, you know,
and you have the right team around you. Shout out
to Salvatello because he's been in the game a long time,
helping Ruben Martinez. So many amazing people that have helped
you along your way. And speaking of Gary Salzman who
passed and I actually had the honor of opening for.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
You at a club, Lance Glassie, and that night changed
my life.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
You introduced me to Gary and that was the first
time I ever was in front of tons of He
opened my network to the world.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
Gary Salman was a good guy.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
Yeah, he managed me for nine years. Yeah, and uh,
when I found out he had passed from COVID, it
was so heartbreaking because Gary was such a tough guy.
He was like, if anybody was going to beave COVID,
it was going to be him, right, So it was
very devastating.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, it was, you know, his help was in the
end not the greatest, you know anyway, but I just
felt so bad for him.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
It was horrible. I loved everybody over there, Joey Bats
and everybody.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Yeah, crazy, you guys are there. Now you're here, I know,
right here we go, crazy, here we go.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I just love Pixie Beauties. Second, I'm not ready yet.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Oh jeez, ash, seriously kidding.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Have you seen how my skin has been glowing lately?
I'm stopping.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I mean seriously. Pixie Beauty products are for every day
and they are the best. I love the Glow Tonic.
It's become a staple in my skincare.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
I love that product.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
I use it every day before I do my skincare,
and honestly, it's like Braden's my face. I want to say.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
I mean a guest commented today on how beautiful you
looked and that you were dewey and glowy, and it's
all because of Pixie.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Honestly, Pixie products just know how to make you feel
beautiful in your own skin.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
My favorite is the Pixie on the glow blush. It
is so much fun. You can just stick it right on,
take it out. It's just one of my favorites. It's
so much fun and it looks so good.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
On honestly, it gives you like a nice sunkiss glow.
I absolutely love it and it's going to be great
for summer. If you guys want to glow this summer
just like us, visit Wowow dot Pixieauty dot com. All right,
listen up, party people, Friday's at Mahoney's Irish Pub or
where the vibes are high, the drinks are flowing, and
the weekend officially begins. If you're looking for the ultimate
night out, Mahoney's has got you covered with killer drink specials,
(25:50):
live DJs, and crowds that know how to bring the energy,
whether you sipping on a nice cold beer, toasting with
a perfectly mixed cocktail, or taking a shot to kick
start the night. This is the spot to be every Friday,
starting at ten pm, So grab your crew, hit the
dance floor and make some memories. The Mahoney's Way doors
open late, the drinks are called Music's Hot.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
What more do you need?
Speaker 4 (26:10):
I'll see you guys this Friday and every Friday at
Mahoney's Pub where the weekend starts the right way.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
You know, if you were talking to a young girl
or boy artist female male artists or anyone just looking
to go into this industry. What would you say to
them today, How would you motivate them and inspire them,
and what action steps should they take.
Speaker 5 (26:33):
I think when you get signed to a label, and
now today with social media pressure and things like that,
it's very easy to get caught up in what everyone
thinks you should be. So I think it's really important
for you to know who you are, like really who
(26:53):
as an artist? What do you want to convey? What's
your intention? Why are you doing it in the first place.
You you can't do it for the money. You can't
do it for the fame. You can't do it so
people will like you, because if you do that, then
you're a prisoner to their opinions, their thoughts, and you
lose yourself and all that. So I think it's really
(27:14):
important to ask yourself, why am I doing this? And
what do I represent? What do I want? When people
see me on stage? If they could, if they could
describe me in three words.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
What is it?
Speaker 5 (27:27):
What are those three words you want? You know? For me,
it's it's important. I admit I did it in the
beginning just because I loved it and I did want
to get a Grammy, and I did want to be famous,
but the more I did it, the more I realized, no,
it's not about that, because that's that's a whole crazy machine,
(27:49):
you know. And I'm a firm.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Believer that God will only allow you.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
To get there if he thinks you should be there
and handle it if you can handle it, if you
can handle it, you know. And I just felt I'm glad.
Sometimes I'm like, I'm glad I didn't get that bad
because I don't think I can handle paparazzi. The freestyle
freaks are good paparazzi I don't need. But I think
it's important. You're like, just know what you who you are,
what you want to convey in your music, what's your message.
(28:15):
It's really important that you know that because, like I said,
not other people will tell you just what you should do,
and before you know it, you're going, so what do
you think I should do? You have no opinion for yourself,
you have no thoughts for yourself, so you don't want
to lose yourself in that.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
That's I love that.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
That's great.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
I feel like that's such an easy way to get
burnt out too. It's like if you're doing something for
different reasoning, and.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
You do get a lot of pressure. You get you
get a lot of pressure.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
I used to argue with the president from the label
all the time, Corey Robbins, I love him to death.
We used to get it. Robins used to have huge arguments,
you know, because he was passionate. No, I really don't
think that sounds that song is good for him, Like,
are you crazy? I love this song and we just
go back. But at least they were good creative arguments,
(28:58):
you know. Thankfully I was. I was fortunate enough that
I didn't have that problem that he tried to change me.
His whole thing was just keep getting better, you know.
But I saw I saw on other labels I saw
that were trying to change them. And you know, of
course they'll give you a makeover some of them or whatever.
But like I said, it's really important that you just
don't get lost in yourself. If you if you're wearing
(29:19):
something that the label gave you to wear and you're
not comfortable in it, tell them I don't want to
wear this. Give me something else, you know. That's that's
how it starts, with little things like that.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
And as a young artist, you're so impressionable. You don't know.
It's a deer in headlights.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh my god, I have this opportunity, I'll wear a
diaper and you so you.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Don't know anyone in the industry either, you know.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
And you're so I do admit, you know. When I
was younger, I wanted to get in the industry so
bad that you know, if if if they offered me
a country song, I would have said, oh.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Yeah, yes, yes, guys are coming out of the country album,
you know.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
But that's how desperate I was.
Speaker 5 (30:00):
But it was harder for me because I was I
was always the fat girl in the room when I
was younger, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
I was the odd girl out and I could feel that.
Speaker 5 (30:13):
I could sense it. But I was also hard of
myself because I didn't believe in myself, and because of that,
I suffered a lot, you know. But now I recognize
I'm not supposed to be anybody else but me. You know.
I actually did a TikTok video not too long ago
where I talked about that how I was wrong. I
used to think that I wasn't pretty enough or light
(30:35):
skinned enough. I used to remember in high school, I
had a complict why don't know how blonde hair and
blue it doesn't make sense. It's not fair because my
experience of blonde hair blue white people were they were
treated nicer, you know, or I thought they were prettier,
you know. But now I realized that you came. I
was just wrong. I just realized. You know, the worst thing, though,
(31:00):
the worst thing you can do to yourself is to
compare yourself to other people. It's the worst thing. It's
okay if you can recognize someone else is doing better
than you, right, or the more successful. It's okay to say, hey,
how did you do that, because I would like to
do that too, But to physically compare yourself to other people,
(31:21):
vocally compare yourself to it's just wrong because every person
is made as a masterpiece in their own unique way,
and you have to honor that. And every time you
try to be someone else, you're shaming yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
You know what's crazy. I never ever thought you felt
that way. I didn't know that. Thank you. But I
will say like, I've always been the thick one too.
All my friends are skinny, every single one, and they
all you know whatever.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
But I don't mind. I like being who I am.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
You know, there's days I'm like, if I eat the cheeseburg,
I'm gonna gain two pounds, you know. And it's and
I teeter on health like I'm right on the line.
I'm still healthy, but if I eat too much this week,
I might not, you know. So. But I always look
at people like you, like, you know what, she's rocking
this and she's doing this, and I'm like that, yeah,
and I feel inspired because nothing's stopping you. You don't
(32:10):
need to be a size too. As a matter of fact,
I just auditioned for something awesome and they said to me,
we don't want size twos anymore. And I was like,
thank you Jesus, because you know, it's like you have
to live in your truth for so many years. I'm like, well,
I shouldn't eat and this and that. And genetics just
play a role, you know, they just do. Like my
parents are not skinny.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
They're not.
Speaker 5 (32:32):
But I don't have anything against people. I don't have
anything against botox, plastic surgery. I got light bulb on
my flanks yep a few weeks ago. But I also
accept that I'm big boned me too. That's probably the
way it's going to be. And I'm okay with it.
I no longer I used to look at Karina and
(32:56):
be like, damn, she's so pretty, she's so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
You got great figure.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Oh man, I wish I was like Karina.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
You know.
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Now I'm just like, no, I'm Judy, and I'm representing
some of the thicker women out that's right, and somebody's
got to represent them, right. You know.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
It's so interesting because if people felt this way, like
when they were teenagers, like they feel so different, like
comparison is the thief of joy, and like when you
look at it that way.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
Like this girl, thank you, thank you are loving her.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Well, that's what people always say, like, oh, when you
get to your thirties or forties, like you stop caring
what people think. And it's like if you stop carrying
what people thought twenty years before, that like your life.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Would be so much better.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
True, That's what When you get older, you start to
get wisdom and you start to realize, I'm wasting time. Yeah,
I'm wasting precious time.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Right.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Putting myself down all the time is not not helping me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
You know, we call her the word assassin over here.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
But I'm good. I'm good.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
Ads like I'm not going to fight, but it's like
I might say something that I really put you in
your place.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Oh my god, as you too much. But you know, Judy,
you are a legend, You're an icon. We're gonna have
a fun TikTok to follow that. But you have done
so much in your life. I know we talked about
some of the moments in your life that have been pinnacle,
But what's been your single most iconic moment.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
It's not fair, it's too many. Now, there's really great
there's really great ones.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
I wish I was in your brain.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
That's an amazing way to feel, though, Like.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
There's really great ones. The song on the radio for
the first time, that was like pure joy. I'd never
experienced such joy and desperation to call everybody I knew
in three minutes because it.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Was the first person you called Mom really second.
Speaker 5 (34:40):
Mom put a hot three. Oh I don't remember now,
probably my brother, I don't remember. I know Mom was first,
for sure. I just remember I was cooking, making trimps,
camping with my friend and I hear Hot Hot Hot
one O three new music, and and I heard the
beat and I was like no, Oh my god, that's
(35:03):
my mind. Have you ever seen the movie La Bamba? Oh?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Hell yeah, it's like that.
Speaker 5 (35:09):
It's like this euphoria and you're just screaming. So that's
a big moment. Getting signed to the record label was
a big moment. Performing at Radio City Music Hall was
a big moment. And I did Medicine Square Garden too,
but for some reason, Radio City meant more to me.
It's such because it's classy and it has such history.
(35:32):
I mean, Medice Square Garden does too, but I don't
know something about it. When I did my one woman show,
it was supposed to be one weekend, I was turning fifty.
I wanted to do something different and I wanted to
do something to scare the hell out of me. Yeah,
but the tickets sold out in forty five minutes, and
(35:53):
the theater called and said, hey, we have to add
a Sunday met and they there's too many people. They're
really angry. Okay, we had a Sunday Mattin And when
we finished Sunday they called me like, listen, they want
to do a run. Would you like to do a run?
So I did four months. That's so cool, sold amazing
every night. That's amazing. So that was a massive thing.
(36:15):
Getting signed to a modeling agency at fifty four as
a plus size model. Yeah, it's like, okay, like you said,
they don't need they don't need a size too. No,
size two's beautiful too. But that's the whole thing we
have to embrace. I love now when I go to
plus size stores like to It for example, and I
see women who are size twenty two, twenty six modeling.
(36:37):
Good for you, thank you, because there are women out
there that have to be represented too.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
And I love size too too. It's just like killed
to look like Ashley. No, I would be zero, double zero.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
It depends in man.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
But she's perfect, and she's my niece, and she's perfect.
Speaker 2 (36:55):
She's my niece, and I'm just so grateful to have
her size zero or double zero.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
You you know, it's just it is.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
So hard on you when you're you know, not the
picture perfect magazine cover woman.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean, I think it was a different time too.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
We had Jackie Goldschneider on from the Housewise and she
even said, like the.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
Whole what was that uh weight watcher?
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Yes, the whole weight Watchers thing like that was like
a whole thing, and like so many people like gained
eating disorders from like that being what was put out
on the internet, like everyone needed to look that way.
Speaker 5 (37:23):
It's it's hard. It's hard. And when you're watching television
and you're looking at magazines and that's all you see,
you get this brain work unspoken message that there's something
wrong with exactly.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
You know, if you could go back decades, what would
you tell yourself?
Speaker 5 (37:44):
Interesting, So the way I ended my one woman show
is me talking to my seven year old self.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Oh that's really cool.
Speaker 5 (37:52):
Yeah, I would say the number one thing I would
say is you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay.
So I suffered from depression, really really bad, and when
I was twenty five, I attempted suicide. So I'm really
happy to say that's gone, that's in the past, that
(38:13):
will never happen again.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Did you get helpful?
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Yeah, I got help for it. I did therapy for
a long time, probably longer than I needed to. But
then I liked to vince Yeah, I was like, let
me tell you what.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
Unbiased.
Speaker 5 (38:25):
Yeah, being able to speak to someone who's just there
to listen and also sometimes guide you in the right direction,
but also with non judgment and compassion. Sometimes that's the
most healing thing somebody can do for you, you know.
So I would say you're going to be okay. I
would say stop worrying about what other people think. And
(38:48):
even though you didn't get the love from your father
that you really wanted, it's going to be so many
people that love you.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
That's so amazing. Out of every single thing that you've accomplished.
Is there any like what was like the time that
you had like imposter syndrome where you're just like, how
am I in this like point? How did I get here?
Speaker 5 (39:08):
All the time? Okay all the time. It's so it's
just surreal to me. I don't know. Yeah, I'm just
I'm I'm so grateful it imposter syndroun all the time,
you know, especially when people call me the queen a freestyle,
I'm like, I'm your favorite cheek at a favorite cheek
(39:29):
got you need tourius Queen is a lot of pressure.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
I mean everyone's saying it pressure.
Speaker 5 (39:35):
It's a lot of pressure. Yeah, I'm just it's just
surreal to me, so imposter tendrum all the time. Because
sometimes I know there are other people out there that
work their butts off, and they don't. They don't make it,
you know. So I'm very grateful. I try. I try
to operate my life in that way. Just be grateful
(39:55):
all the time, love it. And then I just tell myself,
I'm doing the best can and that's all that.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It's all you can do, that's all you can do.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
You know. Mental Health America is a huge part of
RED and they've been with us for two years of
Dutchess County and they, you know, talk about this depression.
I have anxiety, you have ADHD.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
We all have.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Things and anxiety and to pay all those things and
they weigh you down. But when you can rise above
right and look at your seven year old self, you've won. Yeah,
that's when you know. You know, you go back to
your seven year old self and you're like, you know what,
I'm gonna be fine.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
You got this.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Yeah, that's when you know you've won. So thank you
for sharing those moments with us, Judy.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
I love you, I love you.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Oh my god, I'm so happy we did this.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
Oh my gosh, I'm like you hang, we love you.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Judy much. Success.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
I hope there's more music, bring it back or over.
We're all rooting for you, and we make sure you
follow Judy Tours on social media for everything Judy and
anything coming up. Thank you for joining us on Red.
Michelle you can find me at Michelle Barone online.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
Guys can find me on ashmrac Feers and two HS
on all socials.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
All right, we'll see you soon.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Thank you, Bobby,
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