WEBVTT - Babyface 0:00:02.000 --> 0:00:13.160 And Money. We all take val. We are the authority 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:21.279 R and B. I'm just starting off with the closs clap, 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:26.600 starting off with the class. We don't started show off 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:28.520 with the clown. I don't know, we don't do it, 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:32.960 but talking to didn't clap. But my name is Dank, 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.320 I'm Jay Valentine and this is R and B Money, 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:41.960 The arm by Money Podcast is the authority kind nobody 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:45.920 say say, nobody saying that, but we are no the 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:53.680 official authority on all things. Are in a god boy, 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.720 we would. We're having a building um, and I'm not 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:03.480 gonna labor long the intro. I'm just gonna say, the 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:12.920 greatest singer, songwriter producer of all times, all times, all times, 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:20.959 it's the Kinneth baby Face Edmonds in the building. Thank you. 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.880 I like who y'all talking about. You know who we're 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:28.520 talking about. You're walking here with that kind of sweater, 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:34.480 and I know who got label owner label Yeah, you 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:40.000 gotta gotta. It's gotta sound better than the Lady Mogul. 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:46.240 I mean we are, we are following in giant footsteps. 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:50.280 You understand what I'm saying. And so this moment right 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:54.680 here is like um surreal and in real life and 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.960 we've we've we've we've had our moments in our relationship 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:00.440 for a long time. But um, for you to come 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.520 here and sit with us, man, we are I mean 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.320 truly beyond honored. Well, I was honored to come and 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.200 see with you guys. Thank you, bank you. Why why 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.680 wouldn't I I'm a major fan so and have been 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:16.799 for years. But you know that, sir, So it's a 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.040 I think it's wonderful what you guys are doing and 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.600 what you do and what you bring to the culture 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:25.960 and to R and B and keeping in your lives. 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:29.760 It's it never died in the first place. So and 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.600 uh so I'm honored to be here. I want to 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:36.200 start off with a story and then we'll come we'll 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.519 get into the the nuts and bolts and the nicks 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:43.600 and crannies. Um, you called me one day and you said, Tank, 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:49.680 I'm doing a Christmas party pretty you know, pretty huge 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.679 deal for some cool people, and I'm going to play 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.680 and sing, and I'd like you to play for me 0:02:56.040 --> 0:03:01.720 and sing as well. And excuse me. The way I 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:07.720 translated that to my mom was baby Face just called me. 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.560 He said, I'm the greatest. He said, I'm the most 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:15.040 special artist, singer, songwriter, producer he's ever seen in his life. 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.440 And he can't do this without me. That's how it translated. 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:24.360 Don't or if that um And he's the baby, I'm 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:30.880 the face. That's basically what he said. And that's you know, 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:35.360 that's the that's the story I told. And so we 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.280 get into rehearsal over at the amazing studio that we 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.600 should have a room in and we should have a 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.360 room there, and and and I don't know why. I'm 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:48.280 a pocket I'm a pocket player when it comes to, 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.760 you know, being a musician playing people. I'm a pocket guy. 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:52.800 I'm the guy that holds down the fort. It's always 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.800 been my role in a in a band since I 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.920 was a kid. And for some reason, I just felt 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:04.120 the need to dazzle you with my with my piano 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:08.480 and takes and my dexterity and all of my information 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:10.880 within the one key you had me playing it. And 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.880 I'm just I'm just tickling the ivory while you're you're singing, 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:16.719 and you're just kind of looking like, you know, I'm 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:19.159 thinking it's like, yeah, he's killing it. I'm thinking that's 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.719 the look you're giving me. And then finally you're like, God, 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:27.440 we said bah, right, right, do the whole thing. And 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.480 then you look at me You're like, yeah, yeah, I 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:40.040 think I think less of you more of me. And 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:44.799 I said, yeah, yeah, that's the that's a that's about rights. 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:51.240 That's what you heard. Remember that, those those were the 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:57.279 real words. But even in that moment, man, it was 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.920 like you know, it was school was in session pretty much, 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:03.240 and we got there and we did that event, man, 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.920 and I think I saw Dustin Hoffman. I was like, 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:10.200 where are we? And I appreciate you, but just even 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.520 thinking of me in that moment, man, and not firing 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:18.760 me that you weren't fired. There were that night. There 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:23.440 was Warren Batty, there was a Barbra Streis saying, uh, 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:25.880 everybody was in that audience. And I have to tell 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.440 you that, um, because I've done it a couple of 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:31.000 times with them, because I'm a friend of Carol Bear Sager, 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:34.240 that's who we did the party for it. So but 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:38.880 I have to tell you that to this day, Um, 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:43.160 they still talk about that night that you performed and 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:48.320 how beautiful your rendition of the Christmas song that we 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:54.479 don't remember which Christmas song we did, but um, they 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:58.440 still Carol still talks about whoever that guy was, he 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:02.160 had the most amazing voice, and I said, that's why 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:07.880 I brought him, because the emotion that these things with, 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:11.840 it's not just not just moving the notes, but it's 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:16.640 how you approach it. And from from being able to 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:20.800 say sing any word or or any lyric, if the 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:23.400 melody and the emotions out there, then you can just 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:27.040 write right, you know, go right back by you. And 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:30.480 you did not disappoint that night. I still get browning 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.640 points from years ago from bringing you to that spot, 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:38.680 so I appreciate a little more you. It's about you. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.520 I don't remember saying those works more me. That's not 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:45.839 even in my vocabulary more me. But that's how you 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.680 heard it. I probably I probably just said maybe don't 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:53.160 play as much, and you took it as like you no, 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.560 brother face, you definitely say no, that's how you remember those. 0:06:56.760 --> 0:07:01.280 Those words aren't in my vocabulary more me. We were 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:06.680 in a very complied face. I understand, I understand, but 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:13.840 more met. So again, when I tell this story, he's 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.480 the baby on the face. I'm the greatest ever. Um 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:20.680 we we we we love to we love to start 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.120 at the beginning, face like we love to say or 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:28.239 love to ask, when was the first time someone said 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:33.760 to you or that you realized that you had something special, 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:42.960 something special? The gift. I don't know if I ever 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:46.400 thought of it as a gift. It's just something that 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.480 you do in terms of like even just picking up 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:53.240 a guitar and then and then kind of singing and 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:57.400 doing it kind of just what comes natural, not necessarily 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:01.200 being a piano star guitarist, just kind of like learning 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:06.520 enough to play to accompany myself. UM, singing in um 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:10.000 m hm um in high school, like when I was 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:14.040 in sixth grade, we had a singing group in sixth grade. Um, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.560 nobody else could sing, but she still had a group. 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:22.640 It was like give me in the hole still, Michael Trust, 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:29.160 Teddy Gaines and um, um McClure something Larry McLure and uh, 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:35.200 and we sung. We sung Smokey Robinson's uh saw you 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:41.760 there m in front of our our class and um 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:44.800 and I'm a Girl Watcher and those were two songs 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:49.720 that we were singing right there and exactly. Yeah. Yeah. 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.200 We tried to get We tried to get Kim Cunningham 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:53.640 to walk by when you do the whistle farce, She 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.160 wouldn't do that. I still remember these names. I know 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:58.760 the names are there. But so that was the first 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:00.720 time we stood in front of the I stood in 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:06.160 front of the crowd, the class, and they thought we sucked, 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:10.439 So I won't say that. I felt like I had 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.120 a gift at that point. Um. And then the second 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.520 time that I remember standing in front of an actual 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:23.839 audience was at my brother's high school. Melvin he was 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:25.440 he had a group at the time called the Soul 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:30.880 Innovations and they were there was a good band, and uh, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.120 they were going to do this homecoming thing and right 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.760 the Jackson five had just come out, so you had 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:37.360 I Want You Back and Who's Loving You? And they 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:39.240 wanted to do one of those songs, but nobody had 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:43.840 the voice, so we had to. So Melan brought myself 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:48.200 and Kevin in the living room two you know, go 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:52.800 for who could sing Mike's part, Michael's part, and so 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.800 we had to sing Who's Loving You? And Cavn sing first, 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.160 and he walked out room and I came and sang, 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:04.360 and unbeknownst to me, I won. And I would not 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:07.960 win with giving on today period because given voices, crazy 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:14.840 super high, super high, crazy and um but um, I won, 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:17.240 and so I got to go sing at the home 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:19.640 coming and I got to sing Who's Loving You? And 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:22.280 this was like, I'm in sixth grade at this point, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:25.240 we sing my high school girl. High school girls were 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.600 scared to death. But um but I I know. They 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:32.080 used to play I want you back. When I walked 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:33.880 up to the stage, they would play I want you back. 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.080 And I remember just being so nervous and so scared 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.520 that when I hear when I would hear that and 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.000 walking up there. And I walked up there and sung 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:47.280 the song, and you know, people gave me love and 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:49.360 and I can't believe that I actually did that because 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.679 I was way too shy to everything. I could do 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.640 anything like that and to this. For the longest time, 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:57.600 every time I would hear I Want you Back, I 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:02.600 get nervous again. Nervous. It's like, you know, just this thing. 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.040 They would kick you off, like oh, and then your 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:07.480 heart starts going. And every now and then, if it 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:09.840 hits me right, you could do the same thing. But 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:11.560 that first time, I'm just getting on the stage. So 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.520 did I feel special? I don't know that I felt 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:20.840 special yet then neither um until a couple of years later, 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.960 this kid I'm named Emmanuel came up to my house 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:25.520 knocking on the door. I asked, my mom, just a 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.319 kid that sounds just like Michael Jackson, but only better 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.360 live here and live here in this house. Because he 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:33.840 was trying to start a band. And so the rumor 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.960 was there was his kid that sung just like Michael Jackson, 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.800 but only a little better, you know, and was out, 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.000 and so he came to see if, you know, maybe 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:46.400 I could join the group. At that point, my voice 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:49.760 had changed, you know, and I couldn't sing like Michael anymore. 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:53.000 And uh, I went an audition for them, and they 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.720 laughed at me because I had and had the voice anymore. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.520 But I could write songs. And I had a little 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.200 song that I wrote, and I started singing this when 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.200 I wrote, And then the dad came down upstairs and said, 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:06.679 who's that singing? And he goes up, whoever that is, 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:09.480 y'all need to y'all need to get him, because he 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:12.600 better than all y'all. So then I got in the group. 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:19.400 At that point, to the father, sometimes you ain't got it, 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:27.200 he got maybe you can manage you. So, but all throughout, 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.000 when you sit there and ask the question when you 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.000 feel like you have a gift, I don't know that 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.240 when when your basic personality is being humble and not 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.920 not not being about you, you don't ever think of 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.480 it as a gift till till much later to where 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.120 you where everybody recognizes what you've done and you and 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.600 you look back at and you say, Okay, you know, 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.679 I thank God that I had this gift. But I 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:55.560 wasn't walking around thinking that I had something. I just 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:58.719 was doing what I love to do. Um, and it 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:00.719 was and it came natural for me to do it, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.040 and I always wanted to be better. I didn't never 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.360 felt like I was the best at everything. Uh. I 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.480 always felt like I had to work harder. I didn't 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.240 try to be you know, to to compete with other people. 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:13.520 But I never felt like I was like the best 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:20.120 one in the room. Wow. So so you're going through 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:24.240 high school and are you are you making records at 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:26.000 this time that you you know, you can write, you 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.640 know you can sing, you got the instrumentation. See that's 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.280 a different time. That's like, you know, um, back then 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:34.800 when I was going to you weren't really making records 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.120 at that point, and you weren't even doing demos. You 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.319 had to get in the studio, and that was a 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:44.160 real unreally, that wasn't reality to get in this to 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.240 you know, you could you you could write songs and 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.480 put them on a little tape recorder, you know, little cassette. 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.880 And I had a lot of little ideas on cassettes, 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.480 you know that I would do write songs. But yeah, 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.600 I was writing songs throughout high schooling, you know, because 0:13:57.840 --> 0:13:59.760 I kept on falling in love and then write a song. 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:06.680 But the girl on you know about that all the time. 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:08.800 I used to always fall in love in the strip club. 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:10.920 That was where I fell in love. I wasn't falling 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:15.280 in love though I was falling I mean, like, so 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:18.600 T Payne wrote Your Life, he wrote My Life? Are 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:23.320 you kidding me? I would fall in love? When does 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:28.160 the professional call come? The professional professional call? Where somebody 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:34.040 became somebody you know somewhere A and R somebody this point, 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:38.320 you're still in Indian app I'm Indian, I'm they're in Indie. 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.040 But here's the thing. There were so many little things 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:45.360 that happened that are kind of hard to believe that 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:47.760 they happened. Even in that time period where you would 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.160 meet somebody or like Um. I told this story once before, 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.040 but when I was in eighth grade, UM, I met Michael, 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:58.160 I met the Jackson five. But I made that happen, um, 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.840 because they come to town and I saw them when 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:02.320 I was in sixth grade. I saw them do that 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:04.800 going back to Indiana concerts and saw them. I was 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.280 at that at that concert and blew my mind, and 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:10.160 that's what I knew that that's what I wanted to do, 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.040 because I could see these kids on stage doing music 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:14.960 and it was crazy. I had a terrible seat. I 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:16.400 was sitting in the back. I could only see their 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.360 face with if they spend other than that, and I 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.680 missed it off. I saw afros the whole time. But 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.240 it blew me away that that they could do that, 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:28.920 and so in my head I thought, one day I 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:31.520 want to meet them. And so a couple of years later, 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:35.960 this thing popped up where they were coming to town again, 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.720 and I was talking to myself, I gotta meet him, 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:43.120 and so I saw it in the newspaper where they 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.560 were coming to the State Fairgrounds and the promoter's name 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:48.360 was Charles Williams. So I looked in the phone book 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.960 up very Charles Williams that I could call. And I 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:55.800 called Charles and I put on this voice like I 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.520 was an adult. I used to have this. I don't 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.760 know if you knew this actor named Jimmy Stewart. I 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:07.000 used to have a Jimmy Stewart. UM used to impersonate 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.280 his voice, and so I used his voice as my 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:15.480 adult voice and called, uh, called Charles and told him that, 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:18.160 you know, my name was Mr Clayton. I'm a journalist 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:22.760 teacher at Westland Junior High School. And uh, I heard 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:28.920 that you have some checks and kids some kind of 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:30.760 play like you don't even know who you took the 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:35.320 whole thing totally. They're coming to town and and uh, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.000 and I wanted to know if uh I thought it 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.680 was I'm gonna have a journalist class and I want 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:44.720 to have some kids, so my kids interview your kids. 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:47.840 And he goes he said that's a great idea. Um, so, 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.240 Mr Clayton, so how do I how do I reach you? 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:52.960 And I said, well, no, I don't want you to 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.400 do it that way. I said, I one of my students, 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:57.760 Kenny Etmond's I want to give you his phone number. 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.720 I want you to call him and and he will 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:02.080 do the interview. I want him to do it like 0:17:02.080 --> 0:17:05.000 he's a real reporter. And he said, okay, that sounds great. 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.159 So you know, he took my number down. He hung up, 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.000 and he called me about five minutes at my house. 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.160 I picked up the phone because if my mom had 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.600 got that, that would have been in trouble. So just 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.840 from Lions and she just would have got me and 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.960 so um I picked up the phone. He goes, uh, 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:21.639 can you EV's place? Says this is He says, this 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:26.360 is Charles Williams. I said yes. He goes, so I 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:32.000 talked to you, Yes, Charles, Charles, Charles, Charles doesn't bring 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:36.720 a Charles. Yes, and he goes, So, I just talked 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:39.240 to your teacher, Mr Clayton, I said, Mr Clayton. Yes, 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:41.040 he goes, yeah, I just talked to me. He talked 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:45.360 about you interviewing the Jackson Pie. Are you serious? Oh 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:49.000 my god, are you really? He said, yes, this is good. 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:50.760 This gonna happen. I'm gonna I'm gonna check with it, 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:52.800 the security and check with everybody, see if we can 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:54.320 make it happen. I'm gonna call you back in about 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:56.320 a week. I'll let you know whether it can happen. 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.600 And UH. A week later he called me and said, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.679 you got an interview with the Jackson five. And so 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.199 in eighth grade, I went down to uh the Hilton 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:10.560 Hotel on Swealth floor and walked in and interviewed Michael 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:14.119 Jackson and the brothers were all there. And I actually 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:21.240 walked in there in eighth grade. Wow. I couldn't believe it. Scammers, 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:30.800 one could see it. We don't we don't have baby 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:34.359 face if you don't do that, get it. Yeah. So 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:36.679 I figured out how to get in there, and it 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:38.919 was just to just to be in the in their space. 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.919 And um, and I couldn't even believe I did it. Um, 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:47.399 but I did it, and um it was it was 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.160 just all part of the whole journey. Because the thing 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:55.000 is what was special about Indianapolis. There was so much 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:57.840 music around and there's so many bands. They were like 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:01.760 a thousand bands, and so there was always someone to 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:04.440 play with, someone, some band that you could join. At 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:06.879 even at a very young age in high school, junior 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.480 high school, we had bands you know that doesn't exist 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:14.240 today whatsoever at all, um, in any kind of even 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:16.000 when they were doing you know, like the Voice Men 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.359 where people are doing groups, we had bands. Everybody was 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:25.280 playing you know um yeah so um, and that was 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.000 so even with that, in ninth grade, I had a 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:33.280 band called The Elements and we auditioned for this concert 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:35.520 that was coming in town that they were laying all 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:37.760 the local bands figure out who could open up for 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:40.399 this big concert that was coming in town. And that 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:45.439 concert was Curtis Mayfield when he had super flyouts. And 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.520 we're kids. So I'm in ninth grade and we opened 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:52.119 up for curs Mayfield. I played some originals, playing original songs, 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.720 not original songs, but playing X. I think we played 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:58.240 for once in my life Steve Wonder um. And so 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:00.879 there were moments of things that would happened. We think, Okay, 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:03.800 this is it. We're gonna make it, you know, and 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:07.600 everybody in music business we've all experienced that. Yeah, So 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:09.480 there were there were so many moments and so and 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:11.520 we so bad wanted to make it. I remember we 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.359 used to Um, We'd be walking down the street and 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:17.480 say they'd be like a stop side. So if everybody 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:21.440 runs goes, if this car gets if this, if you don't, 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:23.200 if you don't hit that stop side before this car hits, 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:26.159 you ain't gonna never make it. So we run with 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:28.000 our life, you know, to get there, so we make it. 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:32.119 But what it making it mean? Making it at that 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:35.720 point meant that you that your record was on the 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.640 radio and that people knew that you you know, that 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:43.240 you were on it. It didn't mean buying a big 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:46.600 counsel or getting a car or anything else like that, 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:48.680 because we didn't know that you really made money at it. 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:51.680 We just wanted to be on the radio and recognized 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:54.600 for your organized and that was that was making it. Um. 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.720 Didn't know anything else about it other than just wanting 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:03.040 to be no, have a herd out and and be 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:14.639 on radio, be on the radio, on radio. So it 0:21:14.680 --> 0:21:19.080 was a different time there, you know, UM, music didn't 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:25.480 necessarily mean money, and that was probably probably something that 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:31.240 we should have known would have helped later it always 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:38.600 but but there's something kind of nice about the the 0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:41.840 innocence of it at that point that it wasn't about 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:47.439 anything but the music. UM. And where that's become a 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:52.080 different thing today, I think, completely different. I literally have 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:55.280 had to have the conversation with my son about they're 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:59.239 not that rich because you know, it's it's this is 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:03.640 it's part of that the promotion. I'm like deuce. They're 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:06.360 showing you this so that they that you can help 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:09.680 them eventually get that if you can get a whole 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.640 bunch of your friends to believe that this guy has 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:14.840 a watch on that's worth three hundred and seventy five 0:22:14.880 --> 0:22:16.560 tho hollars and it's only three of them made in 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:22.640 the world, but he has one. Yeah out making Georgia 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.000 this new rap kid, right, you know what I mean? 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:27.000 But you know I get it, and that's part of 0:22:27.000 --> 0:22:31.240 the promotion. And obviously those things didn't exist at that point. 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:34.760 And like you said, that making it was turning that 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:40.320 radio down and hearing your song. So does the Elements 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:45.879 does that lead to the deal. There's so many little groups. 0:22:45.880 --> 0:22:49.239 I was in. The first group was five, second was UM, 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:53.200 Jim and I eight. Jim and I eight. We performed 0:22:53.320 --> 0:22:58.160 one UM a local TV show called Clover Power, which 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:02.520 David Letterman was the host. He was the guest host. 0:23:02.720 --> 0:23:09.840 That was like in eighth grade. UM. From there, UH, 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:13.280 Jim and I ate two LC so unlimited. Then there 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:16.520 was the Elements, and then it was Tarnish Silver and 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:21.240 then I joined UM Tarnish Silver Turn Silver. That was 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:23.240 the high school band. We played all the all the 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:25.680 gigs in high school, so we went did colleges as well. 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:28.600 Um yeah, I didn't want to be silid go no 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:35.200 tarnish Silver, that's gonna kill. What about this we're walking 0:23:35.320 --> 0:23:42.919 on buffed buff It's gonna be a problem. Thank you 0:23:42.960 --> 0:23:52.480 for that. Gotta come from somewhere. Yeah, um no. But 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:54.960 Turn we we did well. We you know, I from 0:23:55.000 --> 0:23:59.840 like my high school years, from like through um eleventh 0:23:59.840 --> 0:24:02.439 g you know, to Turn through my senior year. We 0:24:02.520 --> 0:24:05.880 played all the gigs there. And the cool thing about 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:07.880 when you're playing in those bands, that's the whole things 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:12.600 that it's, um, it's preparing you for later, preparing you 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:17.000 for his shows and you know, um and the things 0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:19.080 that you things that you think you know, like when 0:24:19.080 --> 0:24:21.280 we were when we were in Turning Silver, we played 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:24.320 our own original songs, we played stuff on the radio, 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:26.840 but it was mostly we are the school that was 0:24:26.880 --> 0:24:29.119 mostly white, so it was probably tempercent black people and 0:24:29.200 --> 0:24:31.720 mostly white. So a lot of the shows that we 0:24:32.160 --> 0:24:34.359 as you go to North Central High School because my 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:37.240 brothers went to Arlington. Yeah we lived out there for 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:41.920 a high second. Yeah yeah, North Central was that street 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:45.840