Episode 26: Tae Lewis | The Voice for a Cause

On This Week's Episode of The Ranch and Table: We explore the behind-the-scenes of NBC's The Voice with contestant Tae Lewis. Diving into his audition experience, choice of coach, and growth in the music industry so far. We discover the intense preparation, challenges, and potential rewards of the talent show journey, and talk about Tae's upcoming concert in collaboration with Lee Wells to help the ranchers in West Texas. 

Transcript

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  Welcome to the ranch and table podcast,  where we discuss all things related to our Texas ranch and  our ranch to table restaurant located in downtown Rockwall.  I'm your host, Lee Wells. 

Welcome everybody to another episode of the ranch and table podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by my friends at Sterling T.  Did you know that Rockwall has a 9, 000 square foot warehouse dedicated to tea and tea blending?  They import tea from the highest quality organic and conventional products all around the world. 

China, India, Egypt, right here in Rockwall. So if you want to go out to sterlingtea. com, use our product code WELLS20, it'll give you 20 percent off. and thank them for sponsoring us today. Today I have with me at the Wells Ranch Studios, quite a guy Tay Lewis. What's up y'all?  He is a contestant on the NBC show, The Voice and welcome, man.

Thank you. Thank you, brother.  How you feeling, bro? 

I'm great. I'm great. I have I've gotten to know you over the last few days over the phone, last week or so. And then all day today, we've hung out and  got you a burger. 

Yes. And I'm getting it. It's already 

got you some, got you a burger and got you some dessert.

And yes 

if y'all have not came down to Wales here  and like in Texas, y'all got to come for real. I'm serious. It's some good food. I got the items right now. I'm telling y'all for real.  

It's good stuff. We. We work hard. We try. 

You can tell. You can definitely tell that y'all worked super hard in the restaurant.

A whole lot, bro. Cause that, I don't make no sense how good that food was, 

like. I guess when you do the beef yourself and take care of all the scratch made items, it does make a difference. It's not just out of a bottle. It does. I can't drink or eat ranch out of a bottle anymore. Stuff like that.

Did you really do that? You eat it, in a salad or whatever. Oh. No, I don't drink it.  

It's been a long 

week, man. It's been a long two weeks. I've been working too hard. 

I was like, come on now. We got 

to talk about that. I don't even know what day it is.  Man, we've been working on Wildfire Relief.

And so you're in town for a concert tonight. I am. I am. I'm excited about it. Wildfire Relief.  It is sold out.  

It's sold out, y'all.  But, y'all can still come. It's just gonna be packed if you're trying to get in. 

They're not  gonna see this till it's over anyway. Oh okay. If they missed it by now.

If you missed it. But you're in town for that, so we're recording this on the day you're here. So just to give people an idea, everyone thinks that being an artist and doing music and all the things that you do that it's glamorous and sexy and all that stuff.

But you got up at two 30 this morning to get on an airplane. 

That part. No, I really did. I got up here at two 30 this morning. And then I was like, I got to take a shower because I'd be ripping and running the whole time. So I had to get up, take a shower, and then I had to be gone from my house by 3. 45.

Yeah. Got the lift and then got to the airport at 4, 4. 15 ish. Huh. And got on the plane. And we was rolling away. So that way we can be here on time. Cause this is what the artist's life looks like. So if you want to be an artist, this is what it looks like. I'm telling you, you're gonna be tired all the time, but that's a part of what a creative is.

I love the journey though. I ain't gonna lie, bro. I love it. I love it. I crash though when I get home, but that's all. It was, that's the fun in it, you know what I'm 

saying? So you got on a plane this morning and you'll, you've been doing, we went to eat and then we've been doing stuff. You had a zoom call with a radio station just a minute ago here.

And then we're doing this and then we're going to go straight from this. We'll probably end up. At the venue, getting set up, sound check, and then you'll be there till, 9, 30, yeah, 10, whatever. Get everything packed up and then to the hotel and in bed by hopefully midnight. Hopefully! To get up again at what 

time?

Oh! What time is our flight? Our flight is nine. Okay. No, I forgot. It's a seven. It's seven that more. Yeah. So it's not that bad. It's a direct flight. 

Yeah. But yet no time to just kick back. Yeah. And so almost a 24 hour turnaround right back home. And then what are you doing tomorrow and then the next day?

So it just 

keeps rolling. Yeah, because tomorrow I have a workshop I have to go to. As soon as I get back, I have to go to a workshop and I have an A& R meeting. What's that? We don't know. Oh, it's a songwriter's workshop that I have to go to. And basically I'm going to be talking to some people from Warner and they're going to be like basically talking to us about songwriting, what it takes, the tips and stuff to, to be a songwriter on labels and stuff like that.

Yeah. But also they're going to be listening to a glimpse of our music. And so I wanted to tap in and get there. But also like literally after that, I have an A& R meeting with the label. So there's a lot that's going on. And 

what's an A& R meeting for those that don't know? 

So an A& R meeting is basically the artists in relations meeting.

So the person, I think that's what it is. Artists in Relations. I think that's what it is. I don't know. Yeah. I'm not an artist. I think that's what it is. I think it's Artists in Relations. So basically, the A& R person is, person that is in charge of the label. Whoever is in that label, they are in charge of that.

And we're going to be talking, they're going to be talking to me about, a little bit about what I do and who I am as an artist. Hope to see you soon. What it take, what I've been doing so far. So it's been, I would say it's been an amazing experience being able to talk to them now that I am like on the show and we'll talk a little bit more about it, but it's just been, it's been crazy, ever since I've gotten on the show, it's been a lot of communication.

So 

tell 

people we're right now we're in the first part of March. Yes. About midway 

through March. Yeah. Yeah. Almost March is done. 

Yeah, so we're when did you get, when did this journey start for you? 

Yeah. So you talking about like for the voice. Okay. So  the journey started in February of 2023. 

What? Yes. We're in 

24. I know.  2023. I know. 

February. Yeah. So I didn't want to audition at first. That's a year ago. Yeah. Okay. And I didn't want to audition at first. Okay. For me, in my head, I was just like, I'm not going to audition because like I've already auditioned, auditioned four times.

And they're probably going to tell me the same thing. Oh, you sound country, but no, they would tell me, oh, you don't sound country enough for us. Or it just sounds R& B and we don't know where to place you. Cause it's at the end of the day they're looking for great artists, but it's also casting at the same time.

So you have to remember. That it's not you, right? It's what they're looking for in that season. So maybe that's not what they're looking for. So every season it was like, I just wasn't what they were looking for. So I, did the audition because one of my friends told me to do it. She was like, you need to do it.

And then I had my own my, my manager at the time, he was like, you need to do it as well. Just try and see what happens. Yeah. So I went and I 

did it. And how long of a, how long of a day is that when you auditioned for the voice? Yeah, 

so I did virtual. Okay, so in virtual, so you do a 32nd to maybe a minute audition and just on a, you 

sit at your house, just in that house, like a YouTube video.

Okay. Then you send, and then you send a video in, you'll get a feedback probably like within five minutes to maybe 20. I got mine's back in five minutes  and they emailed me back and it was just like, Hey, we just saw your audition. We would love to we would love to let you know that you're advancing to the next round.

Okay. So there's five rounds before you get to that part of the other audition, like the blind audition. 

So five virtuals? Yes. Thanks. Before you get to meet somebody and go sit and stand in front of a stage? Yes. Okay. So what's the difference in like the first virtual and the second virtual and the third virtual?

What are they looking for on each one? Do you know?  

I honestly, I don't. So it's just protocol that they have to follow. 

Are they just seeing if you can do different 

songs? No. So like they already know that you can sing. So that's why they, have accepted you to move forward so many rounds, right?

They're just checking their background. They're checking to see if you're not crazy. They're checking to see if you are. I miss that on you. You know what I'm 

saying?  They need a sixth and a seventh round on you. 

Yeah, I'm a little loco, you know what I'm saying? But. No, they, they do a lot. I didn't realize for me as an artist, I don't see the logistics behind what they do and the motives of what they are trying to do for the show. But they do a lot to try to make sure that nobody is  going past the limit of like them getting sued or anything like that, because they have to cover their tracks.

Cause you have to think about it as a multi million dollar company. And so if they are having somebody on the show that, potentially feels as though that they could, want to commit suicide or something, then that's going to be on them. So they just want to make sure that anybody that they put on the show, lots of checks 

and balances.

Yeah. It makes sense. Yeah. It makes sense. It's a big. It's a big stage, lots of people watching, they can't take a risk, so they're minimizing that risk. Exactly. Yeah, that makes sense. So you go through the different virtuals and then you get to go to the live blind audition, right? Yes. The blind audition.

Yeah.  I've watched the show a little bit.  

Okay. I want to get your thoughts. Cause get everybody's thoughts on what they think about the show, but what are your thoughts? What do you think? 

I've watched the show since it came out. So I'm, I've been for 20 to 25th season now. And for the most part, most of those seasons I watched all the way through, front to back.

I would watch on Tuesday, Wednesday, because I watch on my own time. I don't watch them live I watch them on my computer with my headphones. So I can, I'm a music guy, I'm a one of the big blind, the big questions people ask in the rapid fire a lot of times is what's your secret talent or what somebody would never know about you.

And I tell them that I used to be a bass player years ago and played drums growing up. Was a band director for years. And so that's the one that people never see me doing, but the music background that I have makes me appreciate, especially that band that puts together all of those songs. That band, the Voice band is probably one of the best bands I've ever heard consistently over the years.

Oh, bro. 

They're so consistent. My bad. It's so good. So good. They're so consistent, bro. They are,  I would say it was, my band is great, but the band at The Voice was, it was different. Because, They come in and having to know everybody's song, like over 40 people's song. And they've been doing this, like it's like a machine to them basically, right?

They can play anything. They can 

play anything. And sometimes their songs, their arrangements sound better than the originals. Yes. It's more full, it's more, like there's some songs, like classic songs, a lot of people do. Like maybe something from the 70s or they'll do a, oh, I don't know, something from the 80s.

Yeah. And those people were so high that sometimes it wasn't really put together as well as it could have been. But it's a, it's an 80s song, who cares, right? metal hair bands, whatever. But these guys, when they come out and play it, it's Oh, that's the way that song should have sounded.

No, for real. Yeah. Yeah. It's really, they're they're amazing. So you get the, get through the virtuals and then you go to the live audition  that you're doing. That's basically an audition, the blinds. And what was that like when you got there? Like, how, were you there for the whole day? Yeah, so it was like a It's an all day thing.

You showed the video of the people sitting around on the couches and drinking Starbucks and all that. Yeah. That's 

the way it is? It's literally an all day thing. You get up that morning at maybe 5. 30, 5. 30 in the morning. And then once you get there, once you get up at 5. 30 in the morning, you have to be downstairs probably maybe 6.

in a convention center or something? Yeah no, it's in Universal Studios. Okay. Yeah, so you go to Universal Studios, but they have a van that comes and picks up everybody who's going to be going and doing the blind auditions. I see.  They have that van that comes and picks us up. Once the van comes and picks us up we get over there to the wardrobe.

We get on like Universal Studios lot, go to wardrobe and put us in our, our get up that we're going to wear for like our blinds. Do they give you those clothes? Yeah. So it's different because They will give it to you, but they don't give it to you till you're eliminated from the show. 

Oh, 

okay, but they're but they fit you in their clothes. Yes, they want you to wear Oh, yes, and they make you look the way they want you to look do you have any say so in that like I 

don't like this So you do so like what happens is you have your own they ask for your own vision board So they'll say, Hey, could you like give us a vision board of what you want to wear  for the show, preferably.

Okay. Okay. And so what I usually do, what I did was I sent them a vision board of like people like Midland or Jimmy Allen or.  And so they were just like, okay, we can run with this because we've seen this before. We know what it looks like. But I also gave them a vibe of Bruno Mars.

Cause I love the way that Bruno Mars dresses as well. But 

A country Bruno Mars. A country Bruno Mars. Okay. So that's what 

they would do. That's different. It's nice. So I told him, I said, let me wear something like that. And they clearly. Executed. You're going to like, when you see my battles, like they clearly executed what it was supposed to execute.

Like for, you were happy with it. I was very happy. So the lady I had for  my wardrobe, she trying to think who she did wardrobe for. She did wardrobe for Erica Badu, Lauren Hill. She did, Some stuff for Reba. She's done some stuff with maroon five so she's yeah. She's worked. She knows what she's doing.

She knows what she's doing. She's done a lot of stuff with rappers as well. Okay. So she, rappers ain't R& B singers, so she, she's done a lot. She knows what she's 

doing. So maybe give her my number because I need some help with my wardrobe a little bit. I wear, I just wear a bunch of fishing shirts. I wear fishing shirts like this.

Okay. Yeah. Hey. And I wear jeans. I even wear jeans to church. That's a good get up dog. Thanks. I'm comfortable. I'm with it. I'm with it. I don't have to worry about, my buttons popping or whatever. I can just I don't have to sit up like this all 

day. I'm comfortable. Oh my gosh. I hate that. I hate when I see people wearing stuff like that.

Do they look uncomfortable? 

Yes. They're like, I'm sorry you look like that. Sorry 

you feel that way. And I'm like, now you know that shirt is way too tight on you. 

Put it up. Yes. You're slouching, man. I can see you're not comfortable sitting. Exactly. So they will give you all the stuff, but after it's over, after the show's over, so it is yours.

They give it to you. 

Yeah, they essentially give it to you, they just make you wait until the 

end. Yeah, they just box it up to you and say here's your, it's like when you get laid off at a job, here's your pink slip and your box from your desk. Basically. Yeah, so here's your pink slip, you didn't make it. 

Here's your box of clothes, get out of here. No, that's what it basically is. You're going to be escorted off by security now. No, for real. I've just been fascinated by this process, and we'll talk more about you and your music here in a second. Okay. But I'm just fascinated by the process because I've watched this for so many years.

Yeah. And you don't see the behind the scenes, and so maybe someone else is bored, maybe they're excited. I don't know. It's my show we just wanna talk about it. 

They, they'll be all right. I know there's some people that's probably oh, I gotta watch this. I gotta see this , because, 

I think I can't be the only guy that wonders about.

How that works. It's such a, it's such a machine. It's such a big machine. I've talked to some guys that have tried out and before talk to some guys that have made it pretty far. It's just I think it's interesting to talk about and how else are we going to know they're not going to just like they're behind the scenes is we're going to stay with you on this commercial and show you them move stuff off the stage.

And that's all the behind the scenes, which is cool that they do that. But so when you're, you go through the wardrobe and you, how was it  when you walked out on that stage? And you had your guitar,  how many times did you tune your guitar before you walked out on the stage?  

Am I wrong? Probably like four or five times.

You just make sure? Yeah. You just make sure one more time? I gotta make sure one more 

time. A lot of it too is because it was very cold in the room. Guitars are not very good when it's cold in the room. 

Yeah, temperature and humidity mess with them, right? 

Yes. Yeah. So I had to keep, I had to keep tuning it so that way it can stay in tune while I was up there performing.

But  I think my main focus is like me just performing because I was so focused when I got on stage. When I first got on stage, I was so focused on, I got to make sure That I'm playing the guitar really well because I want them to see that I can do both. But we also have to remember that the voice is showcasing the voice.

The voice. Yeah. Sure. And not the guitar. . 

Yeah. But on that, on, I know that for that moment is for sure the voice. But I've told musicians before, I used to have music at my restaurant on Thursday nights, live music, and I've told some young people coming up. Don't neglect your guitar, because if you can't play that well, it will distract you from singing well,  right? 

Yes. Yeah, so if you're not And 

you know how to, you can know how to fake it you know what I'm saying, playing the guitar. 

I was, I watched I watched Blake Shelton play a real song, like on a, like a, It was on a porch somewhere or something. He can really play, but I didn't know that because when he sings, he doesn't play half the time and half the time he does George straight the same way.

I'm sure he can play the guitar, but on stage, it's more of a, it almost is more of a prop sometimes. 

It's, I'm gonna be honest, it's for me sometimes. It's a prop for me. Yeah. Like I just do it because.  It's a prop, but it also showcases But you can play. 

Oh yeah, 100%. You can play, yeah.

Yeah. You're a musician that can play the guitar. And so I think that sometimes the people, especially if they're doing an acoustic set  and it's just them and their guitar. Yeah. If they're not very good, who else you got to fall back on? You can't stop playing that part. You've got, you are the music.

Yes. There's no backing tracks. There's  nothing. I've told people before you're, you got a good voice, but don't neglect that, that tool, that skill, because the more you can forget what you're doing and doing it well, the better you can make sure that whole thing happens. Oh, 100%. Yeah. But on that, on the.

How was it standing out there when they, did they count you down or how does that work? Are they in your ear counting you down or? 

So  there's a guy Chris, I love him. He's dope. Chris is the staging director. And so he'll come over and he'll say, all right, you ready to go? And I'm like, yeah. So he'd be like, all right.

So then he'll go back to his pointer and he'll say, artists, you'll hear it. He'll say artists entering now. The next artist is entering. I heard that on the show. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the point where we have to  go in when he says the next artist, so the door's open, so the door's open 

and automatic, right?

Yep. Yeah. And then you walk through, like you see on TV. Yes, sir. Walk up the stairs. Yes, sir. How rough, how wrong is that for them to put stairs right 

there though? Very wrong because it's dark.  It's like super 

dark. Could be a ramp. It should be a ramp. That's, that just feels wrong to me.

You're like, you go out of this lit room, right? And then you walk in this, these doors open. You're scared as you've ever been in your life, probably. And then they make you walk up the stairs in the dark. But so you walk out there. You get out there to your mark, and there's, a stand for you, a mic stand or whatever.

And then what, do they get in your ear and tell you, or do you just start playing, or how do you match up with the band when that 

happens? Yeah the band gives you your count off. So you hear 'em in their ear. No. So  that's the difficult part too. So we have the the sub roofers right there on the floor.

So floor monitors. Floor monitors. You 

don't have, are they under the underneath? 'cause you don't see 'em. They're under, they're they're under they're sub-level. Yeah. Oh, okay. I got you. So you can't 

speakers under phone. So you don't really see 'em, but you hear them. Okay. So you have to just kinda sing through that. 

And if you don't sing through that.  

So did you start out? I watched your blind. You did. All right. . Oh God. God no, you did great. You did great. Thank you, brother. For real. I'll just say it right now. I think you should win the whole thing.  I really do.  I really do.

Because I think you sing country 'cause you want to Yes. But I don't think you have to. Yeah. And I really do think that you're going to go a long ways into this. And there's some things that we can't talk about on this podcast because by, by legal, for legal reasons, they can only speak about.

What's shown publicly, right? So that we can't even talk about what's happened past what's on the screen,  network TV. So we don't want to ever get in trouble for that. But I really do feel like you will go. And I don't know, for those listening I do not know. What happens cause the lives haven't even started or in those  y'all haven't even done that part yet.

So before we leave the stage, That's dark and you've got the music coming through the speakers in the floor And you're trying to figure out how to get started  and you got four four and a half chairs. You got a high chair out there in the middle now. We got a high chair in the middle. Yeah for dan and shay  So you got four and a half chairs out there.

I'm 

just being facetious. I know, that's why I was like, really dawg? Really? 

So you got the chairs out, cause it's not really a full, you don't have five chairs cause they only moves you only have four moving, right? 

So anyway, whatever. But it counted as five chair because it's two coaches.

Five 

chairs? So you got five chairs. And all of their backs are to you.  And you're starting to get off singing, listening to the  floor,  and you're trying to get all this stuff going, right?  How hard is that? 

It wasn't hard for me  to, when I got up there. 

Because you've done it so long?  How many years have you been playing live gigs and on the stage and stuff? Seven years. Okay, so you've been doing this. You've 

been 

through some situations. I haven't played a gig since I was Maybe six. Oh, okay. Yeah. Maybe six years old is when I I started gigging and but when I was six I started gigging in church.

Okay. I would go to multiple churches and just sing and I learned over time how to sing. But also I had a mentor who was my choir direct, who was my choir teacher. in high school. She taught me and mentored me and taught me about the level of like stage presence and what to do as an artist. And she was like, I want to train you.

And so she did that and it just, went from there, but like when I went out there,  I didn't have any worries. I was just like, let's go out here. Let's have fun. And if I go home, that's okay. I'm going back home to know that like I came out here and I did it. I tried to audition and it didn't work out and it's okay, but I'm going home.

And I'm going to just go do this and whatever happens, but at least you did it.  At least you got out there and did it. And now we here. I  like it. I like it. How was it when that chair turned though? Oh man. 

That 

was more than just 

out here to see what happens. That was crazy. Now when the chair turned, I think I was more so surprised that Dana Shay didn't turn. Okay. So 



John Legend turned first. John Legend turned and then Reba 

turned. And then Reba turned a little bit later. Yep. Yeah, she was waiting on a high note or something probably. That's what 

it was. Yeah. Cause she was like, I don't know if he's confident enough.

I hear this, but I 

hear it. She was paying attention though. She was. They showed her face. She was paying attention to it, but then she was waiting on that, let me see how, let me see his range or something. Yeah.  And so those two turned around, so you disappointed in Danny Shea? 

Yes.

Okay. Because I wanted them to turn around, 

but because of their country. Yes. Being a modern 

country now. Yeah. And so I was just like, yo, it would be great if I had them as my coaches. Because they would know how to teach me whatever they need to teach me as an artist, right? Is this 

like a similar sound that you want to go for now?

Yes. 

I gotcha. So that's why I chose them, because I was like, we both have similar 

sounds. So Reba turns, you got Reba to turn. How, now, you're finishing the song, right? And you're waiting on the rest to turn, but at least you know you're on the show. Yeah. So then what happens when the song's over,  how do you pick between, Like, how do you pick, because all these guys have something to offer.

They're, they're all at a level that people want to get to in, in music.  Reba has done more than  most people will ever do in their life on music. How do you pick?  

How do, you mean in like, how do they pick? 

Your thought process. Not they, you gotta pick between them, right?

Yeah. How do you choose that? You're going through your mind. What's your matrix of. If I go with John, I could do this. If I go with Reba, it'll be like, is that what you were 

doing? Yeah. So in my mind  it was going to be either Dana Shea or Reba already. Because of country. Yeah. Yeah. 

And who's the fourth? Chance the Rapper. Okay. So I knew that John. You could have got a hat from him. I know. I 

don't understand what three means, but anyway, go ahead. 

Do you father son, I guess Father son, how he goes? Is that what it is? Is he spiritual? Yes. Okay. So that might be it. 

Okay.

That's the best explanation I've heard. 

It might. Okay. It might, that might be it. 

So you're thinking through the process of who, who who's best 

for you. Yes. Okay. So I felt like that.  Either Danishay or Reba was going to be best for me. Not because I'm country, but because they both  like both Danishay and Reba, they exemplify a way to Create more range and opportunity for me to be able to do what I want to do connections and stuff connection.

Okay, everything like that. I felt like john  wouldn't have done that. I felt like that chance wouldn't have done it as well. But it's a chess game,  so you knowing that it's a chess game, you got to play the game very wisely.  If you don't play it wisely, you're going to get cut.

Make good moves. You got to make good moves. 

And so you went with Reba? I did. Throw that shirt up real quick. I got to see it. Yes! Show people what it is. Can y'all see? Can 

y'all see it?  

They can see it. Oh yeah! Team Reaver, and it says Season 25. Did you bring me one of those?  You got to earn that, don't you?

You got to earn 

it, bro. You got to sing. You got to 

sing. I can't sing. I can't sing. I can't sing that good.  

I heard you can. 

No, sir. Okay. I can sing, but I don't, I haven't  perfected the tool  of my voice, like the instrument. Oh, okay. So to sing, you have to sing a lot and practice and keep it.

in shape, and I haven't done that. I've I've been a speaker for too long. And when I'm done speaking, I can sing better than when I start, just warming it up and, getting it going. But but I've never put the time in to to sing. When I was younger, I sang in church. And and people would ask me to sing and I did.

I can sing, but I haven't,  not at a level that anybody would ever care about. Okay. But I do hear when it's off. I hear harmonies. I can tell when the harmonies are off with sharp and flats. I can hear all of that, which is why I've enjoyed the voice, because I enjoy hearing people who can really really sing well.

Yeah. And I enjoy anything just about where someone's a professional level doing things well. Like you see those videos on the internet where people are like rolling barrels into a stack or cutting candy off at these fast paces. I love watching people do things that I don't know how they do that.

So same with singing. I enjoy the instruments, the guys playing drums. I'm looking forward to full band tonight. It's gonna be it's gonna be fun. I love it. I love a good band and it's gonna be real fun It's gonna be good. So so almost through this i'm walking through this in my mind because i've really this is almost selfish for those that are listening because I want to know but  So you get through, you pick a Reba, did you eat the chicken tenders? 

Yo, everybody been asking me that question. So I did, I ate them. Were they cold? They were very cold. I bet. They were very dry. 

I bet. They had the tater tots last time. Yeah. And I bet they were the same way. Probably, yeah. Probably so hard you broke a tooth. Can you sue Reba if you bite down on a bone and  No, I don't know.

No, probably 

not. May we signed? It's in a fine print. We signed an NDA agreement. It's a fine print. 

How was it when you got go down and greet her and 

Talk to her? Oh my gosh.  I call her Mama Reba. Yeah. And she's called Mama Re Reba. She's called Mama Reba for a reason.

Yeah. Because she nurtures you. She really cares about who you are as an artist. She is there to support you and your vision and what you want to do. She's very much a stickler about moving a lot. And really trying to just stick to the focus of what the song is. But don't 

distract your voice with your movements.

Yes. That's good advice. Some people dance so much you can't, they can't sing as well. You don't. Yeah, you don't sing as much. Yeah. Yeah. Some people play the guitar or whatever so much they can't sing as well. Yeah.  So That's good. That's good. So So  do you get to, do they start coaching right away?

Like first round, they start coaching for battles for 

the battles. Yeah. So they don't really coach. You got to think about it. They don't coach for the blinds because we're just walking out there. They just then meeting us.  So they don't have time and opportunity to coach us until we get to the battles.

And then when we get to the battles, that's when it's okay, I can talk to y'all. I can, really tap in with y'all like I want to. And so that's when she started tapping in. Really saying, okay, y'all sound great on this part. I don't have any notes on this part, but I need you to do this. I need you to do that.

So it's it's more so of like really helping encouraging us to be better. 

So if you have a battle,  And and you've got these I've seen them where they're like breaking up the different parts of the song. Like you do this part and you do this part, you do this part. Did y'all do that? Or do they tell you which parts to 

sing?

Yeah. So I did that. I came up with some of the parts. But also they already have it written down of okay, this is your breakdown part of what you should do. But they always tell us that we can change it up if we want to. Okay. However we want to change it, depending on how high or how low your partner can sing. 

Okay, so they leave it up to you a little bit to figure out the details of it. Yep. Okay. Literally. Yeah. How long did it take you to get that part and all that figured out? Two days. Okay. Yeah. So y'all sang together for a couple days and then go out and do the battle? 

Yeah, so we were there for  probably a month and a half. 

Maybe a little bit over a month, not a month and a half, just maybe a little bit over a month, just practicing and really connecting with our partner. So that way our partner can be able to know us. But just 

for the battle. Yes. It was a month to prepare for the battle 

because they teach us, you get the song, you learn it, but also you're doing interviews.

You're also doing like other stuff for NBC as well as the show. So there's a lot that's going on within that month span. Okay.  Wow. That's a lot. And then you go home,  come back. It's you find out if you made it or not. You'll find out if you made it or not, like before you go back.  So if you get a phone call or you get your itinerary, that means you go back. 

And you're still in the game. If you don't get your itinerary, that means that you gone. Oh, okay. They're going to either give you a call that day or probably tomorrow that next day.  Huh. 

Yeah. Okay. Man, that's crazy, right? That's a lot. That's a big process. Yeah. And I always knew it had to be because you can't leave, you can't just send somebody up there after a few hours of practice and put it on TV.

No,  they got too much invested in their brand and in to be embarrassed. It's gotta be good. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So with all that process, how do people mess it up?  Like I've heard some before and I'm like, how'd you forget words? How did you, how'd you miss your notes? How did you get off there and not know your flat? 

That's a, okay. That's a good question, but I also can answer that. A lot of it is because they think that it's his vacation. They think that it's just the contestants think 

it's just not taking it serious. 

Yeah. You think it's just a time to gain friendship, love on people, but forget that it's the competition at the day.

So not saying that you're a rude person, but it's a competition. Yeah. And knowing that it's a competition. You have to be on your P's and Q's about everything. You have to be working hard the whole time that you're there. If you're not tired afterwards, then there's something wrong because you should be practicing your song, getting out there, practicing around other people.

Practicing like 24 seven because you are like, you are there for a reason to compete,  to be able to win. 

You're there to win. Yeah, absolutely. Oh man. I enjoyed the walkthrough of that. I hope other people did because I don't know that. How else you are going to find those things out other than, on the ranch and table podcast of all places.

Yeah. 

Yeah. I'm listening. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm going to be very transparent with you. That's how we do. That's I'm just that type of person. 

Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting to me. Let's, we, let's back up how we know each other. Okay. So I have a friend He and I have worked together for over 10 years now, and J.

J. Higgins is a super guy, amazing guy. He did my book cover for me, for my book that I wrote. Yay! And look at that. Yay, j.! He laid it out, he laid it out nice. He is a Let's get in the frame here. He did a great job And I don't know about the picture that they tried to photoshop that picture to make it look better but it doesn't look like me anymore, but anyway, he did a great job laying that out.

What? That's me? Is that supposed to be me? All right. JJ tried out as well for the voice and they showed him last week or last week. Yeah. Last week they showed it last week. And so JJ Higgins go listen to his blind audition. And he did a great job.  Can I say this online? It seemed like it might have been a half step low. 

I don't know. Can you pick your key?  

Yes, but I think that was in his range. 

You think so? Maybe just getting in there and doing things. I was listening to something one time and it just sounds different on the other side.  But he tried out and did a fantastic job. He is a great singer.  JJ is, he's one of the, you've been around him to know how he 

sings. 

Phenomenal. I think he's one of the best. That's why I was very shocked that he didn't get it. He didn't get it on. He didn't get on there. So here's a funny story. So I was backstage and I heard JJ go on stage and he was singing. And I heard, and so they have the, they have it closed off to where we can't really see like what's happening out there in the audience. 

So I didn't even know. Okay. If he got a chair turn, okay, or I didn't know if he didn't because the way that they were Yelling the audience was it sounded like he did But then he texted me and told me that he didn't I was like what? 

Yeah,  I watched it and  I think there's even an article out about most powerful blind audition of the season is what they said. 

There's an article about it. I didn't read it. I've been too busy doing these other things that I've been doing with the wildfires. But that was like the most powerful. They said he was the most powerful audition of the season, but he didn't get it. And so I don't know. I don't, I, you just, I've watched the show enough.

I scratch my head sometimes and I'm like, why in the world? Maybe they're hearing something I'm not hearing through my speakers, through their speakers in the chairs. Like their speakers are in the chair, 

right? But I think a lot of it had to do with that they didn't know the song. And I talked to JJ about this too.

I don't think They weren't familiar 

with his song? I don't think they were familiar with the song. Ah, yeah. 

Because if you think about it, Return to Pooh Corner that's a Winnie the Pooh song. So not a lot of people listen to Winnie Pooh like that. Winnie the Pooh. They didn't listen to him.

They don't listen to him now. And some of the songs that he had, he only had that one song out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we listen to that song when we were young. I feel like that was his biggest struggle is that  they couldn't see range. All they saw was like, they couldn't get past the range bar.

They just only harped on  him bringing this song in  and I just didn't know it. I 

think even John said, why did you choose that song? It was like he was. It was almost  puzzled, like puzzled by it, but I don't know why things like that happen. It doesn't make sense. But I tell you what, J.

J. has taken this so well, and I knew he would, because he's a great guy. As always. He is a great guy, and he's taken it well. He put out there for people to watch and, follow up and all that, and he had the best perspective. He said, I may not. have gotten on the show, but that doesn't mean this is over, and I did what I wanted to do to talk about their boy and talked about how that came about. So it was a beautiful story. They have an amazing testimony and story, and I'm glad they got to share that. I just wish that  I wish they could have heard. The different, like I've heard some of his stuff on YouTube and it's just the man can sing.

Yes. The man can sing. Yes. And like you said earlier, maybe it just wasn't something they were looking for right now at this time or something like that because everyone really that goes on that show,  once you get past all those auditions and those virtuals and all that. They know you can sing before you ever walk out on the 100 percent Yeah, and they're Remember in the day, back in the day, when American Idol used to have like bad singers and that's how they  got their publicity out?

Yeah. The Voice has never done that. No. They've always respected The Voice and  showcased great voices. I don't know, I just, I feel bad for him, but he is, he's taken off with it. That's it.  Turned it to the best he can and he's a great guy, but I don't know. I, some of these things, maybe someone in a back office in a producer's room, I don't know.

Hears something that maybe they hear something. I don't know. Yeah. It just doesn't make sense, but I think he should have gotten on.  

I think he should have too. Yeah, I do. 

I think he should have. I think he should have made it. Let me ask you this. If we don't know, any of this at all it's not even finished.

Yeah. But what happens if you win?  

If you win, you get 100, 000. Okay. But then also, you get a recording contract.  You'll get signed under Republic Records. Okay. And that's pretty much the grand prize. So 

what happens to you when that happens?  Because you already have some music going. 

If I win, I'll be basically locked into a contract  

But they'll produce your music? 

Oh yeah, for sure. Ten songs?  What's the concept? So there's five different options. Okay. It's like distribution like four other stuff I can't pronounce. But 

So they'll handle different parts of your music career, is what they're saying? Yes. Okay, I gotcha. Yes.  So that would really, that's a huge opportunity.

Yeah. And I also see why  they're so picky about who gets on there.  Because if that's the prize, you better make sure someone can capitalize on that. How would you approach that opportunity differently than the other 24, 23 people out there? Talk, talk about that. Cause that's where I'm really going with this. 

How are you going to 

handle that? Like strategically, It would be so different. Like for me I would have a lawyer set together. That's what I have right now. I have a lawyer together to negotiate my contracts, right? Make sure that my contract is where I can be able to have some sort of freedom to be able to put out a record for them.

In that label sense. I have music already ready to go. I have a EP I'm working on. I have a couple of singles that are ready to go. How many songs do you have 

on Apple now?  

Right now I have nine. Okay. Yeah. So that's a lot. It is.  I've been working, man. I've been working, but I think the biggest thing was, is that in me being on the show,  like I just wanted to capitalize, on what I've already been doing. 

Yeah, you've got some more exposure now.  You've got some more eyeballs And more name recognition. So that's really why I'm asking that hard question is okay. You see these guys Go through this process. It's grueling. You've already told us part the front end of this process is  Crazy.

Yes crazy work. Yeah, so you If you get all the way through it, there's going to be a whole lot more crazy work then what are you going to do when they hand you that trophy, if that happens to you? 

You just got to have their plans in place. That's right. You got to have a lawyer in place.

You got to have a team in place. Because if you don't have any of those things in place, They will definitely 

take advantage of you. So it's almost like you're walking out on this edge of this diving board, a step at a time, every time you get another yes. Yes. And by the time you hit that trophy in your hand, if that is how it happens, then you're ready to dive off.

But you've got a plan. Yes. That's what I wanted to hear. Yes. You've got a plan to go. Yep. To go to another level and see it happen. That's awesome. Yes sir. I like it. So if you win The Voice, I'm going to hear you on the radio. I'm going to see you in concert. You've already got the plans. You've already got the band, you've already got everything ready to go.

But that's 

what I've been doing. Especially after I finished filming or  I guess I'm not supposed to say that.  

You've been filming 

the blind and you've done 

The blind so far. 

So in between the filming, yeah. So in between the filming times that I would come back and forth, okay.

I honestly will be recording, I honestly will be doing demo work and, getting songs. Are you 

gigging still right now? Getting out in public? 

Oh yeah. Yeah. We have a gig tonight. 

Yeah. We had to ask, we had to ask permission from The Voice to do that, too. 

I have to have permission for each gig I do.

Real quick, we're here for a reason, and the reason you flew in is because we're raising money for the wildfires and the feed going out to the Panhandle. Yes. Yes. Yes. And. First of all, thank you for doing this. Of course, bro. 

I got 

you. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I really do. JJ connected us up together a few weeks ago and we started looking into it, talking, we started talking to you about it  and you immediately said, let's go.

Let's do it. Yes, sir. And and I'm going to just say this, you've come for no cost. You came to do it. You donated your time. Your band donated their time. And and that means just the whole world to us. We to me we've got the tickets donated, the hotels donated. We got all the expenses covered through great people in the area that just one lady, just so you know, one lady Ended up just putting her points on the Southwest Airlines and took care of all four tickets.

She just said I got all four of them. No big deal. That 

was nice of her. Absolutely nice. Whenever you tell, like, whenever you give her a name. Yeah, I know who she is. Okay. Yeah. I want to send her a card for 

that. Yeah, and I had another guy, he called me up. He said, hey, I got the hotels covered.

I sent you the money. And so people, when we put this out there that we were doing it, it was you doing what you did. And then they stepped up and did what they did. And of course, all the tips tonight, we're going to send your way for, we don't want you to, we don't want you to go home eating ramen noodles, so we're going to do everything we can and these people tonight at this concert, we'll take care of you.

I know that they will. But thank you for coming without having to say I gotta have this and I gotta have this and I gotta have that. Yeah. I appreciate that.  

Bro, no problem. You know I'm gonna come because especially if JJ recommended and it was like, yo, you gotta come in. You got to do this show for my bro.

Like he, I heard he heard you. And he want to know would you be interested in doing this podcast? And then it just went from there to doing a show.  And at first I was like, man, I don't know if I should do it. This is going to be a lot. But something was in me. It was like, you know what? Just go here.

Love all these people. And there's going to be moments where you're not like as an artist, that I have done shows where I didn't make anything.  I only made, and there's some shows where I only made like 200, but I had to do it, and part of the reason why I had to do it was because this is a part of the dream. 

It's a part of the dream. You have to suffer for a little while until you get to the point that 

you I tell you this, once you, if you, when you make the big money and the big breaks and you make all the money, make all the money you don't ever change that because I promise you money does not fix and does not fulfill what you're doing right now. 

Thank you. I appreciate that. Tonight's sold out. You got your first sold out show. I 

do  Yo, this is crazy. My first sold out show My first one. I don't think i've ever had a sold out show before like we got it done Yeah, and when you called me and told me that it was halfway sold out at first And I was like, what?

Tickets we had sold. I was like, that's crazy because i've never seen it happen like that. Most of the time people come in and they come in and they go. 

Yeah. The voice part of it helps The help, the voice part helps until you get your name recognition out there. The voice helps the, a lot of these people I've been following what we're doing.

So the cause helps. Maybe some of them heard your singing and that might've helped, so I don't know. It's a combination of everything, but we got it done. And so we're excited about tonight. And for those that missed it, I'm sorry you missed it. I've tried my best to get the information out there to everybody.

But let me wrap this up real quick here. We're out of time, but this is my favorite part of every show. Okay. It's called rapid fire. Okay. But let me first say this rapid fire segments brought to you by our friends at it's fake creamery. Some of the best ice cream and Italian ice in the world.

They've won national awards, local awards, and they're across the street from the Fate Fire Station, downtown Fate, and it is ice cream done right. Ask them for a 20 percent discount. at the counter and tell them you heard about it at the ranch and table podcast. All right. So you're my guest. Okay. So you get to go first, first question and a fire away, man.

Okay. So what was your favorite nineties sitcom growing up?  

Wow. You say growing up cause you're younger than I am. I was already grown in the nineties. So what was 

your favorite show? 

Probably friends. 

Really? Yeah. Okay. I would have never thought that. I thought something like Matlock or M. A.

S. H. Or Give Me a Break. No, 

I'm a comedy guy. I like humor. 

Okay. Or like Frasier. I would have guessed Frasier. I did watch 

Frasier. Okay. Okay. I did. I enjoyed Frasier. I watched all of their episodes. All right. Let me ask you this. If you had what is your walk on song?

If you're a baseball pitcher, you're going to walk out to to some kind of an event. What's, what song's blaring? When you walk out there. On  

my mom. On my hood. I look fly. I look good. I had to think about it.  Let them know I look good. I look fly. I'm the flyest thing walking up on this, you know what I'm saying?



Yeah.  

I love that song. Okay. That's one of them songs where you just gotta, just feel yourself on that one. You know what I'm saying? And just go. Just be about it. Be about your business. 

What do you got on the second one there?  

Okay. What's one food that you can do without? 

Ooh, that's easy.

I don't eat eggs. What? I know. It's crazy. I don't eat eggs at all. Unless they're buried in a cookie or buried in a brownie. where there's no hint, but like  boiled eggs and potato salad or tuna fish or, Oh no, I'll just go. I'll eat something else.  I can't, I can cook eggs anyways. Somebody wants them.

I cook eggs for the, like the kids and my wife. Yeah, I can do it, but I don't eat 

them. That's crazy because I love me some eggs. I eat egg whites though. I don't eat regular eggs. I eat 

egg whites. Most people do and  I just never have. I don't know. But yeah, that's the one. Okay. All right. Let me see here.

Who is who is your hero?

I would say my great grandmother Willie Lee King.  She She inspired me a lot.  She encouraged you to sing? Yeah. She. My mom and dad, they, God bless them,  bless their heart. They loved that I sung, but it was a lot sometimes being in the house and I was just singing all the time.

So my mom and dad, they would tell me to be like, you need to be quiet sometimes. You don't need to be singing all the time. My grandmother, she, my great grandmother would always tell me like, no, you need to let that baby sing. Let him sing what he want to sing and just let him sing.  And she would encourage me to sing all the time.

But she just really supported me.  And even when she got older, she still was supporting me. She still was supporting the goals and the dreams that I had. But I look up to her a lot because she went through a lot as a wife, as a mother, as a friend, as a just a person in general.

She went through a lot in life born in 20 in the twenties, and so she inspires me the most of why I keep pushing. Because she kept pushing through her abusive marriages, through her relationships with people, through her children, like all this stuff that she's been through. She persevered and she kept going.

So I looked up to her and I was just like, I got 

to do the same thing. And as an artist, that's part of being successful is persevering and not giving up. Yeah.  That's why you're here today.  I love it.  What you got for me? 

All right.  What was one game you played growing up that will always be a timeless one? 

Game. Yes.  One game that you know that you've played ever since you were little.  And it's a timeless game that it'll like never get old.  



That's a 

hard one. It is because I don't play games anymore.  I'm not a big gamer. Okay. So gamer or whatever. Growing up, we'd always have Monopoly matches is what they'd turn into.

Come on, bro. Yeah, it'd turn into a 

You gotta play something else besides Monopoly. 

What's yours? Uno.  Uno, okay. Yes. Okay I'll tell you what we played for a while. We played Spoons. Okay. And cause it has a little bit of a aggression to it, I think. We enjoyed it going after that spoon.  Okay.

That last one. Yeah. Yeah. I would probably say Spoons, yeah. Okay. I got tired of Uno when I worked at MCI years ago as an engineer. Yeah. Yeah. For about a year, we didn't, I didn't hardly do anything. I just played Uno every day and I finally got sick of that and went to work for another company.  Yeah, but yeah.

All right, here we go. If you could  go back in time.  And change one  thing in history,  in the history of the world.  What would you go back and change? 

I would go back and change the  relationships that I was in the mindset of  why I wanted to be in those relationships that I was in.  Because  I guess like when you're young  and that's what it is when you're young, you're dumb. Sometimes you just don't really care. Like you just want to be in a relationship.

Yeah.  And I think for me, if I could go back in time, I would have been like, let me dodge this bullet.  All right. And but I'm also grateful that I went through those things because it helped me to realize what I need for my wife. Yeah. It helped me to realize what I'm supposed to be doing as a husband, at this point of my career. So  

I think that's a great answer. Yeah, we we all live and learn, we do, we live and learn. We got mistakes back there. Now I've married my high school sweetheart, so I've, I'm ahead of the game there. Yeah. But we still had to learn each other. We still had to figure out things.

Over the years, no relationship of any kind is easy. And if somebody says, Oh, my marriage has always been easy. Just don't believe anything else. They say this because they're lying about,  yeah, because nothing's easy. Now I can say after 26, 27 years of being together, we figured out where the buttons are.

Where the TNT is buried, where the dynamite's at, and we stay away from those areas and we just, we get along. I can say, I know what I can say to her and set her off like that. She knows what she can say to me and set me off like that. And we don't do that. We respect each other to the place where we don't. 

I think that's true for any relationship. You gotta learn how to get along and be in a relationship. Yeah. But yeah, you can also get into some toxic stuff and it's, yeah. Man, thanks for coming. Thanks for, of course, coming out to the studio and doing this. Thanks for doing this concert tonight.

It's gonna be a lot of fun. Yes, sir. If you have not checked it out, check out our progress on the fundraising that we're doing. We just crest it over. 75, 000 raised in the last two weeks for feed going out to the wildfires area in the Panhandle. leewellsofficial. com and just click on the wildfire tab there, picture, and you'll get into all of those counters, how many tons of feed and all of that.

And then come down, see us at the restaurant, downtown Rockwall, Wells Cattle Company, and we look forward to talking with you. Look forward to serving you. And if you want to get involved with the feed drive that we're doing, leewellsofficial. com and you can give there on that site. And as always, thank you for tuning in and being a part of this podcast.

And as we say so long, farewell,  goodbye.