When you hear the laughter and stories that come from a life spent on the road, you can't help but lean in a little closer. That's exactly what you'll get when you join me, Skip Clark, as I sit down with the incredible Georgia-native, Michael Lee. Amidst shared remedies for the notorious pollen season and anecdotes of family music heritage, our conversation journeys through the perils and joys of touring life and the drive that keeps a vocal performer's heart beating for the next gig.
It's not all bright lights and applause; there's a kinship that forms when you talk shop with someone who knows the grind of travel and the sweet victory of a sold-out show abroad. In sharing tales from Arkansas to Norway, Michael and I delve into the nuances of the music industry, the evolution of a musician's path, and the candid moments that remind us why a song can feel like coming home. Whether it's about the next project or the resilience of a community in the face of adversity, this chat is sure to hit a chord with music aficionados and casual listeners alike.
To wrap up, we get personal, touching on the profound influence of family and the cherished roles we play offstage. Michael opens up about his love for baseball, the heartfelt work his wife does with individuals with Down syndrome, and the importance of cherishing every moment with loved ones. So, if you’re ready for a dose of heartfelt conversation and insider music talk, you've got a backstage pass to our latest episode. Tune in for the camaraderie, stay for the stories, and perhaps you'll walk away with a new artist to add to your playlist. Good night from Skip Happens, where every chat is a chance to connect with the soulful side of life.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
When you hear the laughter and stories that come from a life spent on the road, you can't help but lean in a little closer. That's exactly what you'll get when you join me, Skip Clark, as I sit down with the incredible Georgia-native, Michael Lee. Amidst shared remedies for the notorious pollen season and anecdotes of family music heritage, our conversation journeys through the perils and joys of touring life and the drive that keeps a vocal performer's heart beating for the next gig.
It's not all bright lights and applause; there's a kinship that forms when you talk shop with someone who knows the grind of travel and the sweet victory of a sold-out show abroad. In sharing tales from Arkansas to Norway, Michael and I delve into the nuances of the music industry, the evolution of a musician's path, and the candid moments that remind us why a song can feel like coming home. Whether it's about the next project or the resilience of a community in the face of adversity, this chat is sure to hit a chord with music aficionados and casual listeners alike.
To wrap up, we get personal, touching on the profound influence of family and the cherished roles we play offstage. Michael opens up about his love for baseball, the heartfelt work his wife does with individuals with Down syndrome, and the importance of cherishing every moment with loved ones. So, if you’re ready for a dose of heartfelt conversation and insider music talk, you've got a backstage pass to our latest episode. Tune in for the camaraderie, stay for the stories, and perhaps you'll walk away with a new artist to add to your playlist. Good night from Skip Happens, where every chat is a chance to connect with the soulful side of life.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
go, hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of skip happens. Skip clark, your host from uh the wolf here in the queues. This is where the podcast is. Uh, well, it's our hometown, syracuse, and uh. But you know what? We take time out once or twice, three times a week. We talk to a lot of the independent artists, a lot of the well-established artists and just about anybody anywhere. I got a big guy over here. Look Look at that Dude. You know when we went on, michael Lee is with me tonight we went out and he goes, hey, big guy. And I said, hey, be careful.
Speaker 2:I hear that all the time myself.
Speaker 1:I'm the big guy man. I'm the big guy, michael Lee, how are you? My friend? It's good to see you. It's a pleasure to meet you. Finally.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, good to meet you. Glad we finally got this worked out where we could make this happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, let's get right to it. Where are you right now?
Speaker 2:I am at home. I've been on the road all weekend. I live in Georgia. Go brave, we done talked about that, but I'm a Georgia boy and I'm up in the northwest corner. There's a little town called Chattanooga, tennessee. I'm about 35 minutes south of Chattanooga and I'm about an hour hour and a half north of Atlanta. So you're in a good spot, yeah up in the mountains, mountains, you know, up in the, I'm in the hills.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what was the weather like there today?
Speaker 2:hot, it's surprisingly hot. And man, um, I tell everybody, I mean you talk about this too. I, I tell everyone, you know, every time I open my mouth it comes out of my nose anyway. But right now, with my sinuses from all the pollen, oh dude, oh dude, it's terrible. It's even worse, man, I've been so congested and stuff the past couple weeks. It's been crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they say right now it's yesterday, today, tomorrow, although it was only about 57 today, but still it's still dry. Everything is growing, everything's pollinating. It's just like, like you know, you go to work and you sound like this because I have to go on the air today.
Speaker 2:It's like and I don't need any help to sound like that man, I sound like that anyway I love it, I love it what do you do as an artist, though?
Speaker 1:what do you do is that do you drink like lemon, maybe like a lemon flavored water, or warm water?
Speaker 2:Warm coffee I've drank a lot of coffee anyway Just something warm, and then, yeah, water with lemon, fisherman's friend.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And, honestly, one of the best things I've found that helps me is the icebreaker mints the cinnamon ones and man, they open me up really good.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and I just can't even imagine. It's one thing, me being on the air, that's the whole different side of it, but you being on that stage and having to, you know, just belt it out night after night, after night. It happens, man, it happens, it happens.
Speaker 2:It happens. That's why this is called Skip Happens, by the way.
Speaker 1:Because no matter what you do, sooner or later Skip's going to happen, but there's nothing you can do about it. You just kind of flush it and you move on. So that's pretty much it. So let's talk about you. You say your home is in Georgia, You're living in Georgia as you mentioned just minutes ago. What's the drive like? Do you get to Nashville very often?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, man, I'm two and a half hours out. No, I, you know, we set up appointments to ride and stuff like that, and anytime I have to do anything with a label or my publisher, publicist or anything like that, you that I get a day's notice on some of that stuff. Like when things come up and I have to be in town, I can be there a day's notice. I can leave out and be there.
Speaker 1:You're there by 7, you're there by 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and plus I gain an hour. I'm on Eastern time.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right too.
Speaker 2:Central time, so I gain an hour anyway. Oh, that's right too. Central time, so I gain an hour anyway. Yeah, well, that's to your benefit and plus, honestly, there's a lot of songwriters and artists in my area that I can link up with and through Zoom calls and stuff like that. Back in 2020, when COVID hit, people started utilizing that kind of stuff and it just made it easier all the way around. Social media changed everything anyway.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah. Covid changed everything. Everything, even more so for social media because of the COVID. But I mean, look what we're doing right here, so it works out. We probably would not have ever had the chance to meet unless I went to a show where I saw you somewhere. Now we can at least get together and chat and find out about each other by doing it this way, and that's, that's a result of covid yes sir, pretty much there's good things happen out of everything and I know it's still.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of positive changes happen. But you know, of course there's some things that you know I wish would kind of go back the way it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know. You know, I agree with you a hundred percent and we talk about that every day. If only, if only it was like it was 20 years ago. Right, you know, I mean it sounds crazy, but it's a fact. I get it. Yeah, absolutely. So tell us about you a little bit. How long have you been playing music? When did you start? How'd you get your start and bring us up to date?
Speaker 2:My whole life I've been around music. My granddaddy on my dad's side, him and his brothers had a country band in the 1960s and they traveled all over the Southeast and they actually did some stuff with mgm records. So growing up I was always around music because, especially on my dad's side of the family, they all played everybody and, uh, have family reunions. Everybody had a guitar or something you know and was doing something. Then my mom and dad, they had they actually traveled with a gospel group in the in the 80s and early 90s. They they travel around and did gospel music and so I've always been around it. So when I, when I become, I first started singing in church with my mom and dad, and then, you know, I tell everybody it was just always a part of my life, you know, and started singing publicly when I was like 14. And then I started singing in nightclubs when I was 17. Wasn't even old enough to get in these places.
Speaker 2:My dad would have to go and sign waivers to actually get me in because, I was only 17. And he would take me in. Of course they knew I was there to entertain and and say hey, I won't let him drink, I'll watch him.
Speaker 1:and um, kind of take. You're not the only one that has done that, though, michael. Yeah, I other artists, you know it's like oh, I used to get in, like it, hang on a second here.
Speaker 2:Sorry, nope.
Speaker 1:Nope, it's my daughter calling me. Told her.
Speaker 2:I said honey honey, I have a podcast at eight o'clock.
Speaker 1:What time is it it's?
Speaker 2:805, 805. I'm just saying hey, man, but listen hey I got two daughters man there you go, you know baby. Hey, if baby girl needs you, you need to take that man I know that you know she's, uh she's.
Speaker 1:She's giving me three grandkids, so it's not exactly my baby girl anymore, but she's still my baby girl oh, they always gonna be your baby girl, always, always.
Speaker 2:Oh I, I grew up, you know, like I said, and I started singing in nightclubs when I was 17 and tell everybody when you're, when you're 17, and they offer you 100 bucks to stand up and sing for a couple hours. That's pretty enticing. That's easy money and plus it's fun. So I did that, so my whole family. Like I said before, I grew up in the music scene around my grandparents and my mom and dad and I mean I could have been a plumber. The only thing I knew about it, you know, hot on the left, coat on the right and stuff runs downhill. You know, I know that part, but it's I know. I know more about stage presence and stuff like that than I do plumbing. Yeah. Plus I get over me when I try to work on pipes I'm not gonna work on pipes purple stuff, the primer.
Speaker 2:I get that. Oh no, no, no.
Speaker 1:I say, honey, you can do it, or we hire somebody. I'd much rather pay the extra, have somebody come in and do it right? Sure, I may get the job done. It may be okay for a couple of days, then it will start leaking again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I can do it, I know how to do it and you know I'm not above word, but man, I'd much rather play the guitar.
Speaker 1:So I have to ask you, michael, if you're not playing the, as you would say, the guitar? Yeah, um, I'm just teasing you, dude, I have a an upstate new york accent, so, but, um, if you weren't playing the guitar, what do you think you would be doing?
Speaker 2:Man good question.
Speaker 1:Not plumbing.
Speaker 2:I contracted with the power company for a long time with Georgia Power down here in Georgia. We did a lot of work with those guys and from everything from you know, cutting route of ways to bring in new power lines and stuff like that, but also man I've been, I've always done music and but I played sports in high school and so, honestly, if I didn't pursue music I probably would be coaching somewhere. That that would have been a bigger passion for me In which I got the chance to do that with my kids, my daughters and my son. I have coached their teams in the rec league and stuff like that, but once they got into to high school and middle school, of course they got into right the school coaching and stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. So what sport? Oh, I love football, man, and I love baseball.
Speaker 1:You look like football guy to play basketball.
Speaker 2:You know I I. You look like a football guy. I'm calling it to play basketball. I might just shoot a three every once in a while, as long as I was wide open and nobody was in my face holding their hands up. But football I was a defensive guy. I played.
Speaker 1:You look no offense. I mean you're a big guy and you look like you'd be that type to play, maybe defensively.
Speaker 2:I played defensive end. I played defensive end. I played defensive end and outside linebacker and that's what. I played, and on offense I played tight end a little bit and they put me at pulling guard some, but mainly I was the defensive guy, mainly that's what. I got recruited for anyway.
Speaker 1:But you got the Braves hat on. Oh yeah, Well, back up, back up. You said you got recruited.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, well, well, back up, back up. You said you got recruited, uh, small schools. I didn't get any big schools, I got, I got recruited to some day three, some smaller schools.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter, that's cool and that's actually part of my musical uh testimony to say, um, I was, I had committed to a school right outside of Knoxville, or right outside of the Smoky Mountains, outside of Knoxville, a little small school called Marible. I had committed to them and I'll never forget the conversation, going and talking to my dad and I had just had knee surgery right out of high school, oh geez. And so I went and talked to my dad in his bedroom, we shut the door and I said man, I don't think I'm going to play college ball. I said I really don't, I don't want to.
Speaker 2:My knee hurts all the time and I said I don't. He said what do you mean? You've got an opportunity a lot of people don't get to do. And I said, man, I'm going to Nashville. I said I really enjoy singing and he said well, you can do that, but you better believe, you're dang sure going to work too, but it's what you want to do. It's not like you pay the bills buddy, exactly, but it's all in here.
Speaker 1:It's what you have a passion for, and if you love singing and you love doing that, end of it, why not?
Speaker 2:You know, like you say, you had your knee operated on right out out of high school. So, come on, it's bound to happen again. And I messed it up bad enough that right out of high school I had or in high school my senior year had knee surgery and then two years later they had to go back in and fix some stuff. So I mean I don't think I could have played, even though I had the opportunity. I don't think I could have played anyway. Of course, things have come a long way since then, but I don't know. I get you, I don't regret it one bit, I enjoy it. It's just cool to look at the letters sometimes and say, hey, I did, I had the chance.
Speaker 1:That's right. No, that's right, and never get rid of it. You'll always have it, so that's cool. So your football team is what? Who?
Speaker 2:Georgia Bulldogs I thought so, and unfortunately the Falcons. You know we we've not been too good the past few years If it's a Georgia sport team, you know I look the Braves. I know you got your met. When you went to get your Mets hat, I pulled something else that I that's probably. Oh no.
Speaker 1:Oh, no, okay, okay, what do you?
Speaker 2:got. That's my autographed Chipper Jones rookie card.
Speaker 1:Dude.
Speaker 2:And it's a PSA 10 and it's the only one of this card that's autographed, that's certified by PSA. So you know what Chipper Jones named his kid right?
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:Shea Because he owns that stadium.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, my God, dude, that is freaking awesome. That is awesome. No, we're a big baseball family and I mean I even got the balls on the table here, so we're a big baseball family.
Speaker 1:I am one of the pa announcers for the mets here in the queues, because we're the triple a so it's something like you being a singer I love doing that and I love doing this, you know, right, um, just, it's always so much fun, but this isn't about me, it's about you, so we need to talk more about you. So so you said you've been traveling, you've been on the road, you've been playing. Yeah, tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2:Man I've been, I go, I just got back. I got back home yesterday. I left out on Thursday, got home yesterday or really late Sunday. Let me rephrase I got it. Yes, yes, Sunday.
Speaker 1:I had the Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2:I had the best days to all come together because I have been on the road all weekend and went out to Arkansas, did some stuff with some friends of mine in Arkansas and it went really, really good. I go to Arkansas a lot, go to Texas a lot, Of course, Alabama being right here close to Georgia, Virginia got some places in Virginia and Nashville, and Norway I travel a lot. I've been to here close to Georgia, Virginia, Got some places in Virginia and Nashville and Norway.
Speaker 1:I travel a lot.
Speaker 2:I've been to Norway four times you mean like Norway, norway, yes, all the way over in Europe.
Speaker 1:Was that like a sea-to-sea thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, do what.
Speaker 1:Was it like a sea-to-sea? You know how they have the sea-to-sea. A lot of the artists will go and play in England, but this is something.
Speaker 2:They got a couple festivals over there that I've been to and it's kind of cool. Man, it's wild to see the following I have over there. The last time that I was there, I actually headlined the show. They had a big Christmas show and I headlined it and I couldn't believe they had me headlining it and I was kind of like I don't know how good this is going to be. So we fly over. I actually get to take my mother with me on this trip. How sweet. So we get over there and find out I'm headlining and I said, well, how how'd it do? They said, oh, it sold out and it, it really you know it. I was like, wow, that's pretty cool. So I, I go to, I go to norway. I think I've been there four times now. Oh, wow, wow and uh. So I travel, man.
Speaker 2:I got to tell you, yeah, yeah, oh, it's beautiful. Actually, I'm going back in in August. This will be the first time I've went during the summertime, so I'm excited about that, and my wife is going to get to go with me in August, so we're going to do that how nice.
Speaker 1:How does it do you ever take? I mean, you say you're taking your wife with you on the one coming up in August, but what about these trips over the weekends? For example, you went to Alabama and places like that. Do you take the fam with you? I mean you got the wife.
Speaker 2:Sometimes we go to they go to Texas with me, they go to Virginia, kentucky, like this but this weekend when I went to Arkansas, I had to go by myself and that was a long that's that's kind of why I'm still trying to think about what was going on, because it was a long. It was a long weekend, but it was a great weekend.
Speaker 1:Do you drive yourself out there?
Speaker 2:I did this time. Yes, sir. You pull the trailer behind you honestly, they had everything there for me, only the only thing I had to take was me and a guitar dude, that's awesome yeah, that's freaking awesome.
Speaker 1:Yep, it was good. You know, I hear these stories. I talked to so many artists. I hear these stories that they got, for example, a four econo ford, econoline van and they got the you know the six by eight trailer8 trailer behind it and they're hitting up all these cities. They haven't exactly made it to the tour bus status yet, absolutely. But here they got a full front end, back end, they got it all.
Speaker 1:You plug and play, man. You can't ask for anything better than that. Show up and sing. That's what I like to do. That's cool. And talking about singing, so I know you've had a song that's out now, or you've had it out for a little bit, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, sir, I know Shannon at Grassroots was telling me a little bit about it. By the way, everybody that goes through Grassroots, my hat goes off to you, because these are the people that know what they're doing. They're radio people, they're musicians, they, they know they're not just somebody trying to run a business and saying they're going to promote you to radio. These are the people that they've actually been there, done that.
Speaker 2:So I've been in, they've been in the music business, like like what you just said with Shannon, she worked. She Um, like like what you just said with Shannon, um, she worked. She's the one that worked at Warner brothers right?
Speaker 1:I believe so.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, she worked at Warner brothers Say I used to work with a guy you've been in radio, you might remember him a guy named Bob Saperiti. Yes, yes, Long time ago. Yeah, I worked with Bob for years, man, yeah, sure did.
Speaker 1:I was part of a duo called Buck and Duke. I was going to ask you about that duo because it's on the bio here, which I didn't know anything about. But the Buck and Duke, let me hear it. I've got to find it. Oh, forget it. Oh, the Buck and Duke, buck and Duke. So tell us about that experience a little bit.
Speaker 2:And then you got your own label out of that too, right or no? We we kind of did. What we wound up doing is um, dude, the guy I sang with his real name is derry maddox, and um, he was a little bit older than me. Him and my cousin my older cousin were really good friends and, like I said, I started singing and going out singing publicly when I was 14 and, uh, when I was 17, I started going out singing in night. I was 14 and when I was 17 I started going out singing in nightclubs. We've already covered that.
Speaker 2:But my older cousin was in college and his best friend from high school and college was a guy named Derry Maddox and he was a songwriter too. He was a songwriter and every time my cousin would come home, he'd come see my dad and him and my dad would be in there playing guitar because that's what everybody did and he'd say man, let me play you a song my buddy derry wrote and he'd play this song. And I'm sitting there, you know listening, because you know my cousin david was. You know he was way up here in my eyes. You know he played guitar and sang and he played football. Everything I wanted to do he done, you know.
Speaker 2:So I would listen and then I would just keep hearing these songs and he'd say yeah, my buddy, derry, wrote this. So I was playing guitar and I thought, if he can write, maybe I can. And I went in and wrote my first song, trying to impress my cousin, because he was so up on his friend, you know. So wrote that song and it turned out, you know, I started writing and and um, so me and his friend linked up and started trying to rap together and my nickname in high school was Starbuck, because my dad was Starbuck. He, he was a professional wrestler. He wrestled a lot with rick flair and iron anderson and all these guys, road warriors.
Speaker 2:My dad did that is so cool starbuck and my whole life they would call me little starbuck. So we started writing together and we would, we would. His family has a farm down here where we're from, and we'd we'd go out there with our guitars and sit around a bonfire and when I tell you god's honest truth, they'd be sometimes 300 people show up in a cornfield just to listen to me and him play guitar, wow and listen to songs we wrote. Well, his dad wound up being friends with uh wilbur rhymes, which is Leanne's dad.
Speaker 1:He's always tried the tour bus.
Speaker 2:He's produced a lot of people too, and not just her, but like Steve Holy and some more people. Well, he started listening to us and was hearing some of the songs we were writing, and his lawyer was with him one night and he come up and he said who wrote that? We said we did, and plus, you got all these people that showed up to see us that night too. And he, he took us out to tyler texas and cut a three-song demo for us for curb records and, um, we wound up finishing an album and hitting the road.
Speaker 2:and man, we, we did good and through that cutting that album, that's how we met bob sapariti, gotcha and and it's right after bob had retired from warner brothers and he was starting to do independent promotion again and man, we just got on board with him. He hooked us up with some major writers in town and started writing songs with people like Pat Alger, who wrote awesome stuff, and then Aaron Barker, and then we got had some songs produced by Greg Brown, who did all Travis Triets early.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh my gosh we we just kind of got put in the in this, in this network of people that showed us how the business worked and and at that time it's kind of funny to say this, because this was before social media really just exploded the Buck and Duke duo man, we were doing better without a record label.
Speaker 1:It's happening a lot now too, but go ahead.
Speaker 2:We got hooked up with the PBR, the Professional Bull Riders. We'd go all over the country with them and do their after parties and stuff like that. And you know because I went to high school with one of the Bull Riders named Sean Willingham.
Speaker 2:He'd done really good for years and had a great career and we linked up with him. The PBR liked what we done, took us on the road with him, played the World Finals in Vegas and everything. We did that and then just had you know, like the way life happens, yeah, we kind of were still really good friends, we still rap, but there was a change that happened. He started, you know, he started coaching his kids and really spending more time coaching and bringing up, you know, his kids in sports.
Speaker 2:I started music become a ministry to me. I started going out doing ministry work through music and, um, kind of a like an evangelist type stuff deal and uh, it just we both he put it the best, me and him was on the phone talking one day about everything and and he said it's kind of wild to think about it. He said I think we both both realized our columns were completely different than what we thought they were and life just changed. Man and, like I said, he still does music too and we still rap together. It's meant to be the way it is.
Speaker 1:That's all there is to it. It's meant to be this way, and everything happens for a reason, because you guys were like this and then you kind of did your own thing. So, yeah, yeah, but it's meant to be. That's the way it is. Look at you now very successful, you're doing all right, dude yeah, great man got his own business.
Speaker 2:Uh, and, like I said, he still does music and we still write songs. Uh, it's like there there was no animosity, no hard feelings, anything. We both just realized that life kind of done this this way and instead of fighting it, we'll just let it happen and that's all good for both of us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I totally get it, totally understand that too. It's pretty cool. Tell us about one of your shows. I mean, is there, is it high energy? What? Uh?
Speaker 2:I got some guys that play in the band with me. When we do full band stuff or if we're doing a festival that wants a full band, it's rocking. We do keep a lot of energy in it. We do break it down. Also, I do a lot of acoustic stuff where it's just me and a guitar and that's kind of a more intimate setting. But we still keep the crowd. Doing this, we get high, we come back down, even it out. So I mean I can do in a show whatever the venue wants If they want the crowd in there moving and having a good time we can rock all night long.
Speaker 2:If I'm reading the crowd and it's looking like they're enjoying more of the slower, traditional style stuff. That's my wheelhouse.
Speaker 1:You can feel it out pretty good the first few songs. You got a pretty good idea.
Speaker 2:I've been doing it since I was 14. There you go Exactly.
Speaker 1:That's why you're a pretty good idea. I've been doing it since I was 14. There you go exactly and that's why that's why you're a pro, because it takes that little bit and you kind of figure it all out. It doesn't take long to do. Um, what about? You do a lot of your own stuff, but do you have some really cool covers that you do, that you make them your own, oh, yeah, man, I love doing george straight.
Speaker 2:Travis tritts um man anything out of the 90s country I was gonna go there okay I mean, that's, that's really my wheelhouse. That's that's the stuff I I cut my teeth on and you know, george jones, merle haggard, keith whitley, randy travis, people like that, that's really who I am. Have you had the?
Speaker 1:opportunity to actually hang with any of those that you you know that you look up to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, man, I've, I've been able to uh to work with quite a few people. Man, darryl Singletary was a good friend.
Speaker 2:Me and Darryl we got to be buddies actually recorded a song together before he passed. I was one of the last people to record with him. Oh wow, I got to hang out with him. Of course. I've done shows with Leonard Skinner, charlie Daniels, and then we've done shows with Little Big Town and on the gospel music side of things, I've done stuff with Jason Crabb. Wow, so I've been stuff with Jason Crabb and that. So I've been blessed man. I've been able to perform and meet a lot of people and, like I said, you know writing songs with people like Pat Alger.
Speaker 2:Just you know, people can't pay the amount of money to get that kind of no exactly that kind of that kind of that, that type of person to kind of take you under their wing and show you the ropes. Man, you, you can't put a price on that.
Speaker 1:No I gotta say one of my um, one of my best radio interviews besides michael lee um was was at the um, the cma awards, a lot of years ago now. But but uh, chart, when we had Charlie, and Charlie Daniels came through and he came in and sat down and he was just the coolest guy to have a conversation with, you know, and uh, god rest his soul, but still, he was just it's part of my, my career One the the highlights where I can think back and go. Yeah, that was one of my, one of my great interviews you know, it's just something about him, amazing person.
Speaker 2:I remember the first time I met him we were doing a thing in saxton, missouri, and, uh, he was doing an event there too and we were there and um went up, gave him a cd with our music on it and I'll never forget what he said when he walked off. He held the cd up and shook it kind of like this and he said hey, fellas, thanks for the record and that always stuck in my mind of how awesome that was.
Speaker 2:I mean for him to just call it a record like that. I know I love that.
Speaker 1:I love that and and that is god. Just, you're right, that had to be so cool. Records are coming back, a bit the vinyl, but still for him to take a cd and go. Thanks for the record, dude that's one of the highlights I have.
Speaker 2:That's's a cool Charlie Daniels story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell us about the song you've got out there now.
Speaker 2:Oh, we got a song called Loving Me Comes Easy to you. That's right. I wrote this song with Randy Smith. He's actually the CEO or A&R director of PLA Records and National Independent. It's an independent label and they got an amazing thing that they're doing. They work with a lot of artists that are trying to break through and might not necessarily be getting any kind of help from anyone. If, if you've got good stuff and they believe in you, they'll come on and help you out, release singles and do that. He's done it for a couple of artists that couldn't get any traction and so he believed in them. You're not going to find somebody like what he does. And the first time we met he was telling me what he was wanting to do and he said I really don't know who to start this with. He said but man, I'd love if you would just look. He said if you'll just let me release a song on you, there'll be no strings attached. And I'm looking at him like are you sure about that?
Speaker 1:I know you have to second guess it.
Speaker 2:Wait a minute. He sold his vision to me and I was like man, there's nobody else out there doing what this man truly has a heart for people and music.
Speaker 2:And so we sit down. He had written this song and asked me what I thought about it and I said I love it. I said there's some things, of course you know, to make it mine. I'd like to go in and change some stuff and went in. We rewrote the song, made it more me and uh, went in the studio and cut it. And when we went to studio, actually micah swansberg and daniel williams produced this from diamond rio.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah yep yeah, that's that's my producers on this and uh, so we went in and that was like what are you kind of feeling for this? And I said, honestly, let's go late 90s, early 2000s, feel on it and honk it up. So we gave it that 90s, late 90s, early 2000s vibe. We gave it that and honestly, it's one of the most popular songs we've done and I think it's because people really want that kind of music still Does it sound something like this I know I had to make sure I hit the right button.
Speaker 1:See, I love that feel of the 90s. Do you have a steel?
Speaker 2:in there. Oh yeah, girl, I am so thankful loving me come so easy love that see that, yeah, if I play the whole thing.
Speaker 1:You know um, I'll get yelled at by the social media gods, yeah, saying you can't do that without permission talking about talking about steel guitar man.
Speaker 2:We we brought in probably one of the most legendary steel guitar players left in nashville and a guy named steve henson. He actually he plays on a lot of people's stuff, but steve, he played for uh, he was a jones boy. He played for george jones, okay, played for randy travis okay, I mean seasoned, he's the real deal, like he's. He's the guy that everybody wants to hang out with because, honestly, like the country music hall of fame brings this guy into to talking seminars and stuff, because he's done everything with everybody, who's anybody, and so he, he. I feel like I'm name dropping, but you asked about steel guitar. No, please, please, please. Oh yeah, we got steel and we got, we got the man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Wow, that is, that is awesome. And somebody like him, like you mentioned who he's played with and you know he's been around a little bit, he's seasoned and played steel guitar that's a whole talent in itself. It's just and the sound of a good steel player and just, oh my god it just blows me away he's got it yeah, you know I'm looking at this.
Speaker 1:So I got the matt's hat hat on. You got the uh atlanta braves. Uh, I. I got a comment from michael james. Uh, I know for a fact that michael is a huge yankees fan. Oh, okay, this you know. I mean, I'm surprised his little uh logo there on the side isn't a New York. Yeah, yeah, and I'll tell you why it isn't right now, because Michael is a police officer.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Yep, and we back the blue and Michael. We love you. So thank you for knowing what you're doing, and it's been a tough day in the Q's because of that and, as a matter of fact, he was very close to one of the officers.
Speaker 2:That didn't make it so prayer is going for you, buddy.
Speaker 1:Yep, absolutely I. You know, we take so much for granted in life and then this happens and it really makes you think about things. So anyways, anyways don't want to get on such a downer, but you know we do. Back to blue. So what's next for you, michael?
Speaker 2:Man, we're actually probably honestly, one of the coolest things in music I've ever been a part of is getting done right now. We just got a 48-foot tractor trailer, trailer enclosed. It's being converted right now into a traveling stage. They've already got the side where the stage comes out. It's going to be fully function, fully sound, all lights. It's going to be, you know, 100 independent. We've got generators for it. It's going to have a green room in it. It's got a storage for equipment and but the side just lays down and you got a full stage full stage, full production.
Speaker 2:Actually, there's a tent cover that's going to cover the stage and we'll have lots, uh, full, sound air, full production. And you can pull up in the middle like we're talking about a corner of a while ago which can pull up in the middle of a corner field, let the stage down, turn the generators that's attached to the stage, flip them on, put on a full production concert, anywhere we want to. That's being done right now. You can go to my social page. You can go to my Facebook page and watch a video of it, right?
Speaker 1:now I will. When we get done tonight, I'll be jumping on that and speaking of that, what? Where do we go on facebook? Just do facebookcom. Michael lee music or michael lee tunes t-u-n-e-s michael lee, and that'll take.
Speaker 2:That's anything instagram, facebook, TikTok, anything you want to go to. We're on there with YouTube. Michael Lee Tunes.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that. Who's going to drive it? You've got to have a class one to drive it.
Speaker 2:Oh, my best friend does and, honestly, the guy that plays bass for me me and him have been playing together forever. He actually played drums for Buck and Duke, and now he's playing bass with a lot of bands. That's cool. He's got a CDL too, so he can drive it then play bass.
Speaker 1:Multitasking.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it. Michael Lee is who we're chatting with tonight on Skip Happens. What a great story and what a great guy. But you know, michael James is on there. We were just talking about Michael, but he says thank you and he goes. I love the Yankees, but who's your favorite Braves player?
Speaker 2:Mine.
Speaker 1:Apparently.
Speaker 2:It's a toss-up, because I wasn't old enough. I don't remember Hank Aaron. I don't remember Hank Aaron. I don't remember Phil Necro because I wasn't alive when they played. But I love Dale Murphy and I love Chipper Jones. Chipper Jones is my he's probably my all-time favorite, but I'm a big third base fan and so I like Bob Horner that's a name you ain't going to hear a lot. He played third for the Braves and then you got Chipper Terry Pendleton. But my all-time favorite me, because of where I fall age-wise would probably be Dale Murphy and Chipper Jones.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, I get you, I get you. How often do you get to go to a game, mike?
Speaker 2:It's been a couple years since I've actually got to go watch the Atlanta Braves. Now last year I had some downtime and they were out on the road, but we did go check out. See, I'm from right. I told you I'm a little north of Atlanta, south of Chattanooga. I from from the area of Rome, georgia, and, uh, they, they have one of the minor league teams for Atlanta, the, uh, the Rome Emperors, and we actually went and watched them some last year.
Speaker 1:Very cool, very cool you know minor league baseball, as you know we were talking earlier and you know, here in the queue, syracuse being the AAA affiliate of the New new york mets and city fields only a few hours away. I mean, we take train if you want and go right into new york, uh. But um, minor league ball can be a lot of fun and you see a lot of these players as they're making their way up and then again you see them as they're coming down. So you know, some of them just don't want to give it up. I don't blame them. It's their love for baseball. I get it. It's pretty cool. What do you do for fun besides baseball and football?
Speaker 2:That's about it, honestly, not to try to sound boring, but I really enjoy spending time with my family now. I guess because I miss so much time when my kids were really little and with my wife. You know, because when we were doing the Buck and Duke deal we'd be in Nashville Monday, tuesday, come home Wednesday, get home Wednesday night and have rehearsal with our band and then we might be home Thursday, but you know, nine times out of 10, we were going Thursday, friday, saturday playing, and that was every week. And so for a man with a wife and some babies, that's not much time to be a husband or a daddy and you get to be daddy and husband one day a week. It takes a good woman to love a man through that buddy and I got one.
Speaker 1:You got one, that's what matters. Is she into music at all, or does she know what you do, or you know sometimes?
Speaker 2:that helps. She's not into music, now her dad was. Her dad actually played keyboards with a lot of gospel groups and she grew up on a bus. Her dad played with a group called the Gospel Brass for a long time and she would load up their whole family, would get on the tour bus and take off and be going on weekend trips with them so she knows she's been around it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was gonna say so. She's been around it, so she kind of probably knows pretty much everything there is to know about doing it, she was getting into. Yes, yes, yes and she loves you otherwise so, and you know it's gonna make it happen. Yeah, she's giving you a great family, so I'm working to work together with that. That's giving you a great family, so I'm hoping you work together at that. That's pretty awesome, michael Lee. If somebody wants to get ahold of your music, is it Michael Lee tunes? Is that what you said?
Speaker 2:Well, you can go to my website michaellitoonscom and get it there, but I'm on every streaming platform you can pull up Michael Lee. I've got an album called tattoos. Pull. Pull up Michael Lee Tattoos and it'll take you to everything. Honestly, that's one of my biggest albums I had, so it'll pop up first, probably, and it'll take you to everything that's on Spotify, itunes, amazon, everything you can every streaming platform. Pull up Michael Lee Tattoos and it'll definitely take you to everything else I have form. Pull up my tattoos and it'll definitely take you to everything else I have.
Speaker 1:Um, I got three or four albums available on on streaming networks had that many dude and wow, that's quite the library when you think about it. Yeah, four complete behind me there's, there's my. I was I was gonna ask you about that because I see the big one. I'm looking at it, so it's it's kind of like, well, everything's backwards here, but right over your should, the big one with Michael Lee on it. That's pretty cool. And then I do see the littler, littler one. So you've done well for yourself, dude.
Speaker 2:I didn't have that big one made. Someone made that for me and it was a bio deal and it was a gift from someone.
Speaker 1:Dude, that's awesome, though, so yeah, yeah, I know I got here. You can't see it where I am, but in my podcast studio and all the years I've been doing radio we get almost like what you got behind you. We always get those from the labels and I've got them all around the walls here. So, yeah, you know, and I got a couple of guitars that I do not know how to play, but they look good I got them that way too.
Speaker 2:I got a couple that I really don't want to play, way better than I am.
Speaker 1:I've been playing for so long oh, my god, you can play with your eyes closed. I don't even know how many strings around to get. No, I do. There's six. Well, sometimes 12, unless you're a bass. Then there's four I don't I?
Speaker 1:that's not, never mind, forget it, I'm not even going to go there. Um, michael lee, it's pretty awesome chatting with you, my my friend, getting to know you a little bit, and I look forward to hearing, um, a little bit more from you and, uh, I hope to see you somewhere and I'll make it a point to come up and say hello and, absolutely, we get to nashville quite often and I don't know how often you're actually there or if you play any gigs. I'm there.
Speaker 2:I'm there a good bit and anytime I need to be there. So if you are coming down um, it was the promotion get with the publicist and the promotion team we are going to let me know and if I'm in town I'll come up and we'll get. We'll grab lunch or dinner. Man, all about, grab a cold one for you at CRS this year.
Speaker 1:I've been at CRS for the last 22 years. Well, I wonder how we missed each other, man Cause. I was there too. It wasn't meant to be. Nope, nope.
Speaker 2:Were you in bar lines.
Speaker 1:I don't even remember where all of our bar lines is the bar in the Omni hotel. That was like my office.
Speaker 2:I was down there. Um, I did a couple interviews down that way, where am I at, where am I at? And I was thinking so yeah, I was down that way.
Speaker 1:No, I don't. Yeah, they did do some interviews. I know there were some other people doing those and and, but that's one thing. I stay away from the interviews at CRS because I don't want to be committed to all that and I don't want the artists to be committed, because they need to. It's a way for you to network and get to see people and meet people and all that there's. There's other times we could do interviews, for example, what we're doing here tonight. Well, yeah, I respect your time and I respect who you are as an artist.
Speaker 2:So right back at you, man, that's, that's cool, cause they're, you know I know, don't have to explain, totally get it.
Speaker 1:But Michael Lee, it's been pretty awesome. If you're ever in the Northeast as well, I just, if you're coming through Syracuse for whatever reason want to come and watch the Mets play. I mean just saying.
Speaker 2:Maybe we could come up there when they play when Atlanta comes to town.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, the city field. We could do that, that'd be cool. They do play each other. I got that right right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they do. Yeah, okay, the Mets just came down a couple weeks well last week. That's right, they Mets. Just came down a couple weeks well last week.
Speaker 1:That's right, they didn't finish.
Speaker 2:You said they didn't finish. Right now the Mets are up. They're up in the series right now. We got a rain delay, though, and we are going to make that date up, and I hope and pray that we at least tie the series with you guys.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. It's going to be fun. It's always fun. Baseball is great. I love it. Cold one and watch a great game. Uh, michael lee, thanks for joining us here tonight and skip happens, it's pretty awesome. Thank you so much. You know, it's all about good conversation and that's that's what I do, and I really enjoy it.
Speaker 1:And you know what I just noticed I don't know if you can see it, oh, I gotta go this way. Way over up there in the corner is my I did a podcast. Do you see that on your screen? It's like a little boy bending over a young man. That's my son, really. Yeah, we do. We do a podcast called I don't know if you can see it or not it's called uh, zach attack with dad and my son is 23 and down syndrome. So, like sunday nights, we sit down here and we do a podcast called zach attack with dad, and I forgot to take it down last night. I just noticed it.
Speaker 2:So well, I will tell you what man the uh, my wife is a is a registered nurse. She's a rn and she's actually go. She's finishing up to get her nurse practitioner right now. She's actually. She's in there doing homework right now.
Speaker 1:That's what she's doing god, god bless and.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you something, something that touches her heart, and she has a. She has just a burning in her soul. She loves working with, with people with Down syndrome. She has a heart. When I tell you that that is my wife's heart is working with people with down syndrome, I am not even I could go get her right now. That would. That's her heart. She loves working with kids and adults. Anybody would down. She loves it.
Speaker 1:My son is 23 and I'll tell you when we sign off tonight. If you get a minute and go to skip, happens on YouTube.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you're going to see the one that we did last night. It's called Zach Attack with Dad. Show her that.
Speaker 2:I will, I definitely promise me, you will because, she's, that's yeah it's, it is she absolute, like she worked in physical therapy for a little while. I know we're done.
Speaker 1:No, no this is great conversation. You know what's good about this You're human dude. It's just like we are, and we have families. This is the real Michael Lee. This is the real Skip Clark.
Speaker 2:She's a registered nurse, but she also worked in physical therapy too. Nurse, but she also worked in physical therapy too. And any time I'm telling you, any time someone with Down syndrome would come into the clinic to have to do therapy or anything, she said I want them. Every time that that's her heart, man. She, she told me, she said, if that, if I ever got into into a um, into a specialist deal, that's what she would want to do.
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh Promise. She's so blessed, dude. Yep, you're so lucky.
Speaker 2:She's a good man, she's she is one of the best people in the world. She really I'm not saying that cause she's my wife. I mean, I wouldn't be the man I am without her, and that's that's's. I'm telling you when god made, in my opinion, the two greatest women he made my mom and my wife and my. My daughters have, probably, and my mother, my mother-in-law's a great woman, so I'm surrounded by great women, dude you are, and it makes you a great man.
Speaker 2:And my daughters. Man, they got the greatest women in the world to look up to. Oh my gosh, I promise you We'll go. Did you say it was on YouTube?
Speaker 1:It's on YouTube. Skip happens. You can just, you know, go to the page, the channel. I have a channel and all these get posted up there as well. This will be up there when you go, because you're doing it live. I just need to kind of trim it up a little bit afterwards, but it will be there.
Speaker 1:Uh, if you go there, let me tell you a quick story. Um, now that we're talking um, so I was married before and I got three beautiful daughters and they give me eight great grandkids. I mean, I'm a young grandpa, love it. I just nothing like it. Um, when I met my wife now she was older, later on in life, both of us and she had never been a parent, she never was married, never had kids, but she wanted to have kids we tried and tried and tried, tried and tried and tried. Nothing was happening. She had a couple of things happen and it just wasn't working. So finally it worked and, very excited, we go to the doctors and because we're both older she was a little bit older, 40, young, 40s the doctor did a test the amniocentesis, I think, is what they call it. They did the test and they called us in and said um, this child is trisomy 21 and we're like you know, we don't you know that was before we knew anything about anything.
Speaker 1:And they said, well, your child will have down syndrome. And we're like, doc, no, and our doctor was so cool that he did another test. We just had to sign off on the paperwork in case something happened. He did another test and it still came back the same. And then you only have so much time if you're going to make a decision to do whatever. Everybody's got their own beliefs. I get that, but it's like we waited and waited and then we had to go in and talk to the doctor and the doctor was like, ok, I need to know today, what are we going to do? I was like, doc, god gave us this child, we're going to have this child. And he just smiled, he grinned and said do you realize how many people come in here and don't want that? They don't want that burden. It's not even a burden, it's great, you know. It's just, it's the best thing that ever happened to Nancy and I, my wife and I. It's the best.
Speaker 2:They're the happiest people I've ever met in my life.
Speaker 1:Dude, that's what I mean. You go look at skip happens. When we get off here, call your wife and say, honey, I was just talking to skip Mark and we need to see. His son is 23 and his down syndrome Works for the Mets. By the way, in the press box, does the scoreboard, does the walk-ups, does all the PA announce? Puts it all in front of the PA announcer? He does it all. He's amazing. That's fucking cool man. He'll tell you. You could say all right, zach, washington Nationals 2018. Who is number 12?
Speaker 2:He'll come right out and tell you it's amazing, that's wow, that's wow.
Speaker 1:Shit you not he does. It's just amazing, amazing and it just you'll, if you want here again, if you watch that. Last night he makes notes before every podcast. I know we were going to be talking about music here, but anyways, he makes notes before every podcast. Last night it was all about his years growing up. He'll say 2008, main Street School. He has names, he has the years, he's got everything just right down to the exact. You'll see it If you watch it. You'll see it.
Speaker 2:I'm going to, we're going to watch it, man, like you said. You said, brother, music is a great thing and music is a great tool that can help a lot of people, but you know what? There's some things that are bigger than music, and this, this is awesome, dude, and I I'm, I can't wait to watch it and I promise you it's going to tickle my wife's you're gonna. It's amazing.
Speaker 1:I promise you she's gonna love it just let me know when you watch it, drop me an email or just leave a little comment on her there saying you know, so I know you watched it.
Speaker 2:It's cool I got you, we got you covered, buddy michael, I appreciate you so much.
Speaker 1:You're a great guy, great artist. You got a lot going for you. God bless you, god bless your wife and family and hopefully we can get some viewers to get caught on to your music and become one fan at a time and you've been doing it a little bit. You know what's going on.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, thank you very much.
Speaker 1:All right, michael, have a great night. Thank you, it's Michael Lee here on Skip Happens. Good night.