WEBVTT - Skip Bishop: Radio Legend. 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:16.959 Caroline. She's a queen of talking. She's getting really not 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.079 afraid to feel. It's so so just let it flow. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:27.760 No one can do with c Carol sounds Carol. I'm 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:32.960 here with no exaggeration and no why one of my 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:37.159 might be one of my top three favorite people in 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:39.479 the world. I have to say Michael and Sonny obviously 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.720 in the top two with you, but then I got 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.720 my family to you know, but besides, you are like 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.440 one of my favorite people that has ever walked this earth. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:52.000 Skin Bishop. Okay, you're telling me that I'm right under 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:56.880 Sonny and Michael. I mean, you're you're up there. It's awesome. 0:00:57.120 --> 0:01:00.280 That's really good about myself. Right now, I'm canceling my 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.520 therapy appointment for the week. You just saved me a 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:12.679 d bucks. Okay, what's your handle? Well for anyone's mom 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:17.880 is at caroline hobby. Let's see how that goes. Wat 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:22.120 you see what happens? Skip. Why don't you tell everyone 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:26.160 how we began our love? Well, I will tell your first. 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.679 I always had a crush on you since you were 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.720 in you know, like you know, appeared in my life 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.080 as a well. Actually we met at al Gore's house 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.280 a great place to start. Yeah, that is we met 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:44.360 at al Gore's house where uh I was there with 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.840 uh Sony. When I was with Sony as opposed to Skip, 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:52.720 was the head of promotions for Sony Records for years 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:54.280 and years and years and years and years and years 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:57.360 and years and years. He's broken all of your favorite singers, 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.559 songs acts. He's like alleged end in the music. Come on, 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:05.320 you are listen. When you've earned a legendary status, you 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.480 might as well just claim it. Well, I think the 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:11.920 legendary means that you're an elder statesman. And you know, 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.000 even though my hair may be white, I actually put 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:17.760 this color in. You know, this is this is not 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.960 natural white hair. I have this. I pay for this. 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.040 Oh I love it. And my hair is red and 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:28.400 it's called it's called platinum Moonlight. Why do you go 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:34.640 from red to frost? It gives me some credibility. I 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:40.680 like it. I like it anyway, So, uh Stealing Angels, 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:46.040 which in at the time, right, you guys were playing 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:48.359 a set at al Gore's house and I was there. 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.919 It was a fund raiser and I'm like, oh my god, 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:56.760 these this band is just awesome and who is that girl, 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:01.799 you know, like Marlo Thomas. You know Marlo. You don't 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:06.799 know who Marlowe Thomas is Thomas, He's that girl. Check 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:10.640 your history books, you child. It was a tremendous Marlo 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:14.960 Thomas is the daughter of Danny Thomas, who had a 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.120 who had a show called That Girl. It was a 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:25.280 sitcom for years and called that girl. Marlow was that girl. Anyway, 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:29.880 this night at our buddy else place, we're all hanging 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:33.320 out with it with President Gore, who really won the election. 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:37.480 But that's another conversation trouble because back then, like Taylor 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:39.680 Jen and I who was in Stealing Angels, we were 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:43.720 obsessed with like putting every recording everything, putting everything on 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.200 social media or whatever social media existed back then. So 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.200 we were like filming doing us. We got in big 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:50.040 trouble of the Secret Service because we weren't allowed to 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:54.720 do that. Huh. I kept coming and going, chatting up 0:03:54.720 --> 0:04:00.600 the kitchen staff. The kitchen staff was fun. A uh, 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.160 look a couple of cooking tips and got a couple 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:07.080 of three drinks out of the deal. U. I will 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:08.960 tell you, okay, I can tell you this really fast. 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.000 One thing Al Gore said that I have never forgotten 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.880 from that performance was someone asked the question, how much 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:19.120 how much information do the American people really know about 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:25.359 what's going on in government? And he said, yeah, I 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.800 can believe that. I gotta tell you he I got 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.640 a moment or two to chat with him, and uh, 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:37.320 he's a cool dude. Yeah, cool dude, he's smart, he's 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:42.160 you know, lives in Nashville. That makes you even cooler. Uh. 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.600 And you know, you go back in your you know, 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.400 history books to that election and it was funky. You know, 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:49.520 remember we didn't know who was the president for the 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.680 longest time, and it was like Al Gore's every president. 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.520 No he's not. Now it's George Bush. No, no, wait no, 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.760 And and it was it was crazy days. I mean, 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:06.880 of course we were compared to what now, it's completely bizarre. Anyway, 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.919 So we're at OL's house. We're all at OL's house, 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:13.080 hanging out, hanging out in the kitchen. You're taking pictures 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:15.919 with your phone that you shouldn't take, you know, getting 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:20.680 national security problems. And Steely Angels did a set and 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.120 knocked it out of the park and I and I 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:27.400 came up to you after the show and I introduced 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:31.039 myself and said, you guys were absolutely fantastic, and we 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.120 became friends on that day and we used to see 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:39.200 each other around and I'd go, hey, you're Caroline and Thomas, yeah, 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:43.839 you're that girl. And that's how we became buddies. And 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.479 then years later after you like okay, you appeared on 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:53.039 national television on the Amazing Race with uh with your lovely, 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:59.160 lovely twin sister, Uh, Jennifer who it is just family 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:04.880 too now. Uh. You guys came into my life because 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.960 we were all working under the same little conglomerate and 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:11.520 then we all worked for the same record company when 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:15.360 oh they were the best. They were the best. I 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:17.680 brought you over to the little label that we had 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.840 called Hit Shop. You were already working on the publishing 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.960 side as a writer, right, a song plugger. Oh that's right, 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.680 you were the song plugger. Jen was a writer. Yeah. 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.760 And then you guys started calling, right, I come and say, 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:33.760 do you know so and so, you know Johnny Chang 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.240 and Houston. Oh yeah, I'll call Johnny And you'd call 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:42.240 Johnny and he played the record for you and I thought, idea, well, 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.560 it was incredible. You guys were the best to promotion 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:50.240 people ever. And everyone listening. A promotion person is when 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.640 you hear your your favorite artist on the radio playing 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.080 and you're hearing your song that you love. There's a 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.480 whole team of people on that artist label who go 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.760 around to radio stations across the country and get that 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:07.000 song added to radio stations. And so no matter what, 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:09.800 no matter what I mean, it is like, it is 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.960 a serious job. It is hard for and Skip it 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.200 has been in charge of promotion staff for years and 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:17.080 years and years. Like I said, he's legendary. And so 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.680 I happened to fall into this amazing experience where I 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:23.840 was working in a publishing company and you were running 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:26.720 the label. And then Skip, because Jen and I had 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.040 been artists together and stealing angels, we had all these 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.560 radio connections and we had all this just this history 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.080 with radio that was so positive that Skip had this 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:40.960 brilliant idea. Well, you know, we let you guys work 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.960 as one. It was well, it was a duo. It 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.520 was like almost like being an artist duo. It was 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:51.440 an artist duo. You guys would go out, travel together, 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:55.760 put on events together, do all those things, and you 0:07:55.800 --> 0:08:01.320 would come back with buckets of airplay because really good, Yeah, 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.120 you walk in with those relationships, with your charm, with 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:08.080 your smarts, with your persistence, and you guys, you were lethal. 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.360 No one could no one could there there is no 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:16.000 resistance allowed or possible when you guys went in. Well, 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.000 I know that Jenne and I used to have it down. 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:22.440 We'd be like we would just a corner. Someone like 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:25.080 you could not escape us. We were going to get 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:35.480 the ad. You know, I just googled your podcast. This 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:41.800 is supposed to be about country music artist wives. I 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.079 feature where many artists wives, which I think, what what 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.839 what what? What? What? What? What? What I saw said 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:55.960 the show is about interviewing country artists wives. That is 0:08:56.000 --> 0:09:00.800 a big part of this show. Yes, huh, I think 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:04.920 you would make an excellent wife to country star. I 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.040 mean the hair alone, there's a couple. Let's let's list 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.080 a couple of issues, and and thank you for that. 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:15.080 I appreciate that. But the couple of issues number one, 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:20.120 I'm married to too, to Diane for a hundred and 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:25.959 sixty eight years. I I'm the most boring guy in 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:30.080 the world, as meaning that I'm white and straight. You know, 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:35.320 I'm just like boring your super avant garde. Okay, but 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:39.800 taking on a country music husband is not really in 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:44.480 my It's not really in my playbook because you know, again, 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:48.320 the physical attractions not there. But I got a lot, 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:50.839 but I do love a lot of them. Got a 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.240 good looking country artists out there. If you had to 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:59.160 be the wife to one of country music biggest star, 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:03.760 which one? Who would you be married to? And why? 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:06.720 Oh my god, that's a tough, tough question. You know, 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:08.439 you have an answer right on the tip of your tongue, 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:13.760 but I don't. I mean, okay, because again I don't know. 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.960 It's not about the looks, because again, being a normal 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:24.480 boring dude, you're not. So you've got to take boring 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.600 out your father. Okay, all right, So I'm you know, 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:32.880 I would say I would look for someone with artistic qualities, 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:36.440 someone that you know, I like the granola type, So 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.520 I would I don't know, you know, I find I 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:46.319 like the complexity of Brad Paisley's writing and personality. Okay, okay, okay, yeah, 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:50.559 And I like complex people much. That's why I like you. 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:59.640 I like the granola crunchiness of of Chris Stapleton, Yes 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.079 a truth, yeah, but you know it's what about Jason 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:06.160 Isbel's he a little too complex. No, it's no, it's 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.200 way too cool. Yeah. Yeah, and I can walk down 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:11.520 the aisle together. I feel like I feel like he's 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.839 my wife. Across the room is saying, what about Chris Stofferson, 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:18.920 he's a little old for me Christofferson, No, he is 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:24.160 the one I wouldn't want to be Christo Chris Christofferson's wife. Yeah, 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.240 well I would two. As long as i'm all of 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.599 these people, I'm up for it. As long as we 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:33.400 don't have to kiss, well then I mean it's gonna 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:37.760 be a really boring marriage, right, No, god, No, we 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:48.559 can read books together, travel, cook, all those kind of things. Yeah, 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.240 no kissing. Okay, okay, okay, I mean it's a new 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.040 spin on marriage. But hey, it could work. Okay, So 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:55.600 if we had, if you had to do your front 0:11:55.679 --> 0:12:02.000 runner between Chris Stapleton, Chris Christofferson, um Brad Paisley, and 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.040 Jason Isabelle, who would it be. I don't know. I 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:08.680 haven't really gone through the list. Yeah, it's hard to think. 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.600 I've never thought about who what man I'm going to marry? 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.360 But it is I'm a modern guy and I can 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:16.880 have these thoughts. But again, you know, I'm sort of 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:22.959 comfortable in my own you know, current sexuality. Uh, it's 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:27.200 kind of hard to make that determination. Okay, Well, like, 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.719 I'll tell you who I like. Okay, I like Charles Kelly. 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:36.640 Great choice. He's fun, it's nice, he's nice, he's creative. 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.160 Yeah yeah, good dude, Good dude, he's good dude. It 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.640 seems like he's a good dude. Family Ross Kelly beat 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.360 all the other ones? Is he the number one? No? No, no, 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.439 that's You're laying out quite a list here. I mean, 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:51.320 it looks like you gotta a lot of favorite Can 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:54.320 we talk about some babes? Okay? If you had to 0:12:54.320 --> 0:13:01.480 marry one country music artists, who would it be? Uh? Uh, 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:06.200 you know, I don't know. For some reason, my wife, 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:11.160 who was across the room is sharpening the knives. Okay 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.840 about this, let's change this. Let's change this question. You've 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.640 worked with many, many, many female country music artists. Who 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:22.080 was your who was the most enjoyable experience working with? 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:23.880 I'm not saying you want to marry her, but who 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.360 did you love getting to know and working with and 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:33.480 pushing their career into stardom? Um? That's got that's I 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:36.400 will tell you I did really for a lot of reasons. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:40.600 Enjoy working with Miranda. Would you love about Miranda? Yeah? 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.600 I loved her edginess, and I loved that she was 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:48.199 very you know. We uh we went and ran New 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.280 York and did some promo stuff with her and her 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:56.840 fantastic manager, Marion, and I just came to really enjoy her, 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.920 both of them. Their sense of humor there, uh, there 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:06.800 the take no prisoner's attitude. Uh, it's fantastic. I really 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:11.840 liked working with Carrie because Carrie, please she I have 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:16.360 to tell you, she has her eyes on the prize. 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.320 She was She was very focused. She knew exactly what 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:25.480 she wanted to do. She is talented to to to 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:29.640 be two for the entire planet to hear her voice 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:33.400 and know how much talent she had. How did she 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.160 go about doing that? Because I feel like a lot 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.680 of artists want to achieve that, but they don't get 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.240 the level of Carrie. What did you do? I'll tell 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.840 you what she did. She did, I'm gonna three words, 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:50.160 work really hard. She would do whatever we asked her 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.520 to do do in the early days and there I mean, 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:54.640 I'm sure I'm sure she still does That was her 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:58.520 m o. But it was like, Okay, we are going 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:03.640 to have to spend Saturday calling sixty radio stations and 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:08.040 doing sixty interviews back to back. Okay, all right, you 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:12.760 know and whatever. It was a we're gonna have to 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.000 fly into this city and we're gonna have to go 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:19.320 meet with these people and do that. Okay, whatever it takes. 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:23.160 She was always there, and she was she was on 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:27.640 point and smart and driven and focused. That's exactly who 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.800 she was. And it was you know, it was just 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:35.000 and that voice. Good God, I'm mighty. So a lot 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.640 of people say Carrie Underwood is really shy, which like 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.520 when you see her on TV, she doesn't seem shy, 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:42.840 but like knowing her the way that you know her, 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:48.920 is she shy? Yes, she definitely is. She's quiet, she's private. Uh, 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:52.680 she is all those things. And I think shy is 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.640 really a good thing. Some people missing misinterpreted as her 0:15:56.720 --> 0:16:00.200 being stuffy, but she's not. She's just you know, she's 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.400 shock and she when but when the red light comes on, 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:08.040 the stardom comes out, and you know, she knows what 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.520 she wants and how she's gonna get there, and um, 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.200 and she's just she's a she's a very private person, 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.200 and and there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:23.800 of people that are it's you know, it's you know, 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.160 tons of people are like that. She's if it was 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:28.280 her choice, She's not gonna walk around and shake hands 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.640 and kiss babies every everywhere. But when there's a job 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:36.560 to be done and a commitment made, she never backs down. 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.840 That's amazing. Maybe I never made it as an artist 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.120 because I am opposite of shy. Maybe I should be 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.680 a little more shy, and that would your You know, 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:51.400 your your person Your personality is you're doing what you 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.680 should do. Your stage, your your your your, The entire 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.000 world is yours. All you need is a stage to 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:01.080 get out there and be the lovely, charm and hilarious, 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:06.239 funny person that you are. I love that you think 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.159 I'm funny because I always feel like I'm not funny. 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.440 Like I feel like I'm a really good laugher at 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:12.280 people who are funny, but I feel like I don't 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.600 really have a sense of humor for myself. Well, you 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:17.960 got you so fooled. You bring out my sense of humor. 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:19.880 There's certain people in my life that make me laugh 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.000 and make me funny, like you make me funny. Taylor Lynn, 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.640 my old trio mate. Yeah, people make me funny. Hear 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:31.360 one of those. Well, let me just give you an example. 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:36.360 You asked me to be on an interview about country 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.040 music wives and asked me what guy I'd like to 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:44.360 be married to. That's pretty funny. Well, you're a funny skin. Uh. 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:46.840 But we have been really important to talk about. Actually 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.560 were funy things to talk about. But yes, I mean 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.800 we're both involved. I'm recently newly involved in this incredible 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:58.320 charity that's happening that is literally one of the biggest 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:01.240 events for a lot of the now full community. Tons 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:04.160 of artists participate. It raises so much money from Mecca 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.560 School with the Little Yale Schoolhouse in Mexico. I need 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:08.920 to hear details and you need to share because people 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:11.200 who haven't heard about this need to hear about it. Well, 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.400 the Island Time Music Fest has been going on now 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:20.280 for twelve years and it's a remarkable and magical thing 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:27.200 that happened organically that has turned into this major event. 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:33.360 And what makes it so special is all the proceeds 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:39.000 go to the school. There's it's a it's a volunteer 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.760 based concert. Now you think about this, some of the 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:48.240 biggest artists in Nashville give their time. They take a 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:52.280 week off because it's a five night event. This year 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:55.560 it's only four, but traditionally on the island of Eastleu 0:18:55.640 --> 0:19:01.240 Moharris it's five nights and they could be out touring 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:05.680 making money. This is of course pre covid uh that 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.960 has that they give up this time and they go 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.440 down there and they play and raise all this money 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:17.000 for the school. Now, the school is for special needs 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:19.480 kids in Mexico. Now, a couple of things that you 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:23.879 need to think about. Number One, the Mexican public school 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:29.040 system does not have the infrastructure to educate kids at 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.960 this level of disability, so they don't qualify for the 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:37.440 public schools. Secondly, just as in the US, private schools 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:41.960 who educate kids at this level are expensive, and there's 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:44.280 a lot of poverty down there as it is in 0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:49.439 the U s and the these kids really don't, you know, 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.399 the private schools are out of reach, so they don't 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.480 really have an option except to stay home. And the 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.800 Little Yellow Schoolhouse was born from this and several people 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:03.760 got together funded a six room classroom, six student classroom 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.040 one room six students too, and brought in a teacher 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.720 to educate these kids will. Now because of the festival, 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:19.400 it's grown into half a block the school. There are 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:24.080 there is a full staff of teachers. There are seventy 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:30.840 two students. Now we have a seventy nine conversion rate 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:35.040 of educating children too there at the level of being 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:39.160 able to attend public schools. And if they still don't 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:42.399 hit that level, they stay in the school so they 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:47.119 do get quality education. And the thing, everything, every part 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:52.320 of the school, the teachers, salaries, the building, the materials, 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:57.920 and the insurance, everything is paid for by the Islandown 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:04.399 Music Fest. For all of that, we raise enough money 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:07.880 every year to fund the school for yet another year. 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:12.560 So then it's crucial. Oh, it's crucial, and it's and 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:16.200 it's beautiful and it's amazing. And every year the the 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:18.840 artists that go down to the island will visit the 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:24.120 school and it will put you in tears. They will. 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:28.880 Every year we'll have an artist that will perform, uh 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:33.240 and it's just incredible. They'll perform for the kids, and 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:37.360 then the kids will perform for for the artist and 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:41.040 it will it'll just bring you to tears. It's so sweet. 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:43.280 And then and then at the end of the visit. 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:46.879 We all dance, the kids dance with the artist, and 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:51.000 we've got some footage of that which is beautifully heartbreaking. 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:54.080 But we take over. Now, we take over the entire island. 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:55.639 It used to be a couple of people in a 0:21:55.680 --> 0:21:59.080 bar and you know, and we'd sell some tickets and 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:02.440 everything would be But now the entire island of East 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.600 lou Maharis is booked. You can't get a hotel room 0:22:05.640 --> 0:22:08.040 there during the festival. You have to go to Cancoon 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:12.120 to get a room. And people just flocked to the island. 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:14.439 All the events are sold out and it's one of 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:17.600 the most special things you'll ever see. So people who 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:22.080 want to attend as um just participants and enjoying the 0:22:22.119 --> 0:22:25.400 concert like that's people fly there and have a vacation 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:28.439 and then just go to this correct correct and they 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:32.440 they buy like a four day pass, a five day 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:35.800 pass that. So you know, people are thrown down hard money. 0:22:35.840 --> 0:22:37.880 They're paying for you know, a hotel for a week, 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:42.119 they're paying for flights there um, and they're you know 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:44.879 buying typically two tickets each, which you know is a 0:22:45.200 --> 0:22:48.000 is a chunk, but you make it a vacation, you 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:50.920 make it a very special vacation for yourself, because not 0:22:50.960 --> 0:22:54.120 only you enjoy this amazing island, you're getting to interact 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:56.560 with artists because they're just wandering around two and you're 0:22:56.560 --> 0:22:59.240 hearing them perform, and it's very laid back, amazing setting, 0:22:59.440 --> 0:23:02.080 and you are doing something that is so so so 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:06.439 important by funding a little yellow schoolhouse. I mean, wow, Skip, 0:23:06.560 --> 0:23:08.399 this is amazing. And you are the chairman of this, 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:11.439 like you really are, like the brains behind this. The 0:23:11.480 --> 0:23:15.040 mastermind can go quite that far. I have no brains left, 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:18.280 but I am the I'm the co chairman. There's a 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:21.840 fellow named Rob Goff who is really funny. We define 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.800 music business. I'm music and he's business. He knows nothing 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.560 about the music part and admits it, but he knows 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:32.000 everything about you know. I'll say, oh, I got this 0:23:32.160 --> 0:23:36.200 great idea. We're gonna fly a hot air balloon and 0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:38.080 we're going to do this, and he's gonna go and 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:40.040 and he gets out as a little calculator and goes 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:45.520 they're not and we work well together. But he's he 0:23:45.720 --> 0:23:49.400 lives on the island most of the year. Uh. Then 0:23:49.400 --> 0:23:52.639 he lives in the Midwest in some place that starts 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:57.080 with an m uh. Uh, and he's he you know, 0:23:57.080 --> 0:23:59.639 he too does the business part, and I, you know, 0:23:59.720 --> 0:24:02.359 do the talent and the promotion in the marketing and 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:07.240 all those things I enjoy doing. But we'll tell you what, no, no, no, 0:24:07.280 --> 0:24:09.840 you you know you I'm about to like take it 0:24:09.840 --> 0:24:11.560 on a different road. So you wrap up your thought 0:24:11.560 --> 0:24:13.720 and I have another question for you. Have my thoughts 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:18.080 were wrapped up so long ago I have top the 0:24:18.160 --> 0:24:20.680 head with a hammer to get anything out of here. Nowadays, 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:26.760 how has this changed and affected your life? Well, I 0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:32.600 will tell you it it has. It's sort of there's 0:24:32.640 --> 0:24:37.760 a spiritual connection. You realize that everybody's got these talents, 0:24:38.000 --> 0:24:40.879 you know that whatever they are. I mean, if you 0:24:40.920 --> 0:24:43.520 really think about you know, everybody has the talent. You know, 0:24:43.560 --> 0:24:47.240 the people at the grocery store that check you out, 0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:51.320 they have gifts. And when you find something that you 0:24:51.359 --> 0:24:54.479 can apply your whatever it is that you can do 0:24:55.000 --> 0:25:02.160 towards making the world better, it makes a the world better. 0:25:02.760 --> 0:25:06.840 It makes you a better person. And I have found 0:25:06.840 --> 0:25:10.399 a sense of humility and I found a sense of 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:14.760 spirituality that I can get together with so many of 0:25:14.800 --> 0:25:16.639 my great friends, and I said, We're gonna all go 0:25:16.720 --> 0:25:19.680 down to Mexico and we're gonna make a difference. And 0:25:20.440 --> 0:25:26.800 these kids lives are changed because of musicians going in 0:25:26.880 --> 0:25:30.040 there and playing and giving their gifts, their their talent. 0:25:30.119 --> 0:25:33.960 They sing the songs they wrote, they performed for the crowds, 0:25:34.240 --> 0:25:37.639 and that's what they give and these kids have a 0:25:37.800 --> 0:25:42.080 chance at a normal life. Tangibly, you see it happening 0:25:42.520 --> 0:25:46.240 from the school to the stage to its to their 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:48.800 life on the island, and you see that all of 0:25:48.840 --> 0:25:51.399 a sudden, they're lifted up and it's one of the 0:25:51.440 --> 0:25:58.320 most incredible feelings ever. It really aligns your priorities. That's amazing, Skip, 0:25:58.480 --> 0:26:02.399