00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, we're at Halladay's Home Studio here.

00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:03.100
<v SPEAKER_1>It's beautiful.

00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:07.540
<v SPEAKER_1>And so yeah, you guys are playing Press Play coming up pretty soon in May.

00:00:08.020 --> 00:00:09.180
<v SPEAKER_1>We're happy to have you.

00:00:09.940 --> 00:00:14.480
<v SPEAKER_1>And I guess maybe I thought a good place to start would be, obviously, you guys are a musical family.

00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.840
<v SPEAKER_1>Can you tell me what your relationship was like to music growing up?

00:00:18.060 --> 00:00:22.240
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes, I grew up in the North Country above Cut Bank, Montana.

00:00:22.700 --> 00:00:29.840
<v SPEAKER_2>And I …

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, we're at Halladay's Home Studio here.

00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:03.100
<v SPEAKER_1>It's beautiful.

00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:07.540
<v SPEAKER_1>And so yeah, you guys are playing Press Play coming up pretty soon in May.

00:00:08.020 --> 00:00:09.180
<v SPEAKER_1>We're happy to have you.

00:00:09.940 --> 00:00:14.480
<v SPEAKER_1>And I guess maybe I thought a good place to start would be, obviously, you guys are a musical family.

00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.840
<v SPEAKER_1>Can you tell me what your relationship was like to music growing up?

00:00:18.060 --> 00:00:22.240
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes, I grew up in the North Country above Cut Bank, Montana.

00:00:22.700 --> 00:00:29.840
<v SPEAKER_2>And I went to a little country school where the question wasn't, are you going to be in the orchestra?

00:00:29.860 --> 00:00:31.840
<v SPEAKER_2>The question was, what are you going to play?

00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.540
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I had great experiences from that.

00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:37.220
<v SPEAKER_2>My family also liked to really sing in the car a lot.

00:00:37.660 --> 00:00:48.080
<v SPEAKER_2>And my mother, she commented about how the rest of the family would be singing the melody, but even as a little tiny kid, I'd be singing the harmony, and she'd look at me like, what's up with this kid?

00:00:48.820 --> 00:00:56.560
<v SPEAKER_2>And so when I got to high school, I formed a quartet with some of my best friends, then got into an R&B group with some other cutback kids.

00:00:57.020 --> 00:01:03.920
<v SPEAKER_2>But then when I got to University of Montana, I auditioned and made it into the University of Montana Jubilee, which Halladay was also a member.

00:01:04.320 --> 00:01:12.600
<v SPEAKER_2>And that really jumped out of my career, and that's where I met Steve Riddle, and we formed the Mission Mountain Wood Band, toured nationally for all those years.

00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:22.640
<v SPEAKER_2>And then I went to Nashville to do a songwriter thing, and then came back to Montana because this is where my heart lives, and I really wanted to write songs about the big sky country.

00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:27.860
<v SPEAKER_3>So my story kind of started somewhere in the middle there.

00:01:27.880 --> 00:01:31.160
<v SPEAKER_3>Dad was on tour in Montana.

00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:43.440
<v SPEAKER_3>I think he'd already come back from Nashville before I was born, and I was kind of born in the middle of a tour, so I think I was born, and a couple days later, I was on tour, so.

00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:49.840
<v SPEAKER_3>And I always felt at home on a bus.

00:01:50.020 --> 00:01:59.100
<v SPEAKER_3>You know, there's just something about being on the road that I just have always loved, and so I started playing music when I was pretty little.

00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:05.140
<v SPEAKER_3>Me and dad started singing together from when I could sing, and he had me on stage when I was about three years old, and.

00:02:05.160 --> 00:02:06.680
<v SPEAKER_2>Started me on.

00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:20.440
<v SPEAKER_3>And I always enjoyed music, because I always, dad always had this really great way of making it something that we would do just for fun together when we're driving and just kind of singing along together.

00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:23.960
<v SPEAKER_3>It never felt like an obligation or something like I had to do.

00:02:23.980 --> 00:02:28.000
<v SPEAKER_3>It always just came from a really joyful, loving place.

00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:31.440
<v SPEAKER_3>And so I continued to do music.

00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:34.080
<v SPEAKER_3>I actually toured with my brother's band for 10 years.

00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:43.380
<v SPEAKER_3>He had a rock band for a long time, and we had some really great and wild experiences with that group.

00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:53.040
<v SPEAKER_3>But pretty soon I decided I wanted to come back to Montana and I just grew up so spoiled with the clean air and clean water that we have here.

00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.680
<v SPEAKER_3>That was kind of tough, honestly, living elsewhere.

00:02:57.100 --> 00:03:01.940
<v SPEAKER_3>So I started writing country music and playing a lot more banjo.

00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.400
<v SPEAKER_3>Dad had a banjo laying around that wasn't getting any use.

00:03:04.420 --> 00:03:10.500
<v SPEAKER_3>So I started picking that up and released my first solo album in 2015.

00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:15.020
<v SPEAKER_3>And toured the state pretty well in the years after that.

00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:21.780
<v SPEAKER_3>And then just kind of wanted to continue to branch out musically.

00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:26.020
<v SPEAKER_3>So I've been in a big band recently, a lot of jazz.

00:03:26.320 --> 00:03:28.380
<v SPEAKER_3>I was in a rock band for a couple years.

00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.420
<v SPEAKER_1>So you picked up banjo first, is that right?

00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:35.060
<v SPEAKER_3>No, actually I started with piano when I was six.

00:03:35.660 --> 00:03:39.740
<v SPEAKER_3>And only played it until I was about 13.

00:03:39.760 --> 00:03:43.580
<v SPEAKER_3>And then I started playing guitar, acoustic guitar at 15.

00:03:43.940 --> 00:03:47.280
<v SPEAKER_3>And then I started playing bass when I was 18.

00:03:47.880 --> 00:03:50.240
<v SPEAKER_3>And banjo didn't happen until I was about 25.

00:03:50.320 --> 00:03:53.560
<v SPEAKER_3>So it's probably one of the last instruments to add to the group.

00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:57.060
<v SPEAKER_1>Do you have a preference, your favorite that you like to play on?

00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:58.520
<v SPEAKER_3>That's tough.

00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:05.920
<v SPEAKER_3>Well, I would have to say playing stand up electric bass has really been fun for me.

00:04:05.940 --> 00:04:17.720
<v SPEAKER_3>I've been doing a lot of, just because my voice resonates from such a like higher, softer place that just sing along to like a deep bass line is really, it's really fun for me.

00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:19.560
<v SPEAKER_3>So that's probably my favorite.

00:04:19.760 --> 00:04:20.340
<v SPEAKER_3>That's cool.

00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.920
<v SPEAKER_1>Do you feel that resonance with those big basses?

00:04:22.940 --> 00:04:25.300
<v SPEAKER_1>I always like love the resonance you get from those.

00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:26.840
<v SPEAKER_3>Oh yeah, definitely.

00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:32.320
<v SPEAKER_3>And you can just like, bump, bump around and just have some fun.

00:04:32.340 --> 00:04:39.800
<v SPEAKER_3>I have to kind of change it up every once in a while because I get creatively kind of bored, I guess you could say.

00:04:40.520 --> 00:04:47.420
<v SPEAKER_3>And I miss playing jazz because dad was in the jubileurs when he was in college, so he encouraged me to join the jubileurs when I was in college.

00:04:47.440 --> 00:04:50.360
<v SPEAKER_3>So it was like eight voices singing in jazz together.

00:04:50.380 --> 00:04:55.600
<v SPEAKER_3>And I just really missed that kind of the harmonies that we could hit together.

00:04:55.620 --> 00:05:09.700
<v SPEAKER_3>And so it just kind of came together with the second story in 101 Central, my friend Meredith Patterson started her own production company called Mary Productions and started putting together shows there.

00:05:09.760 --> 00:05:11.720
<v SPEAKER_3>And we love performing together.

00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:14.880
<v SPEAKER_3>So it was just a natural alliance.

00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:25.420
<v SPEAKER_3>And yeah, from there, well, I guess probably the biggest transition was when things got so wild in 2020.

00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:36.320
<v SPEAKER_3>I had probably one of the biggest tours of my life set up and I just had to like watch it fall apart and totally fell apart.

00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:51.020
<v SPEAKER_3>And I ended up teaching elementary school at Deer Park that year, which was kind of like my backup plan, I guess you could say, like if music wasn't going to move forward, then I could always be a teacher.

00:05:51.040 --> 00:06:01.440
<v SPEAKER_3>And while I loved teaching and I absolutely loved Deer Park Elementary, it was one of the sweetest country schools I've ever worked with.

00:06:01.960 --> 00:06:06.160
<v SPEAKER_3>My heart was kind of broken a little bit, just in the sense that I was like putting my dream down.

00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:10.800
<v SPEAKER_3>And so kind of got fired back up.

00:06:10.820 --> 00:06:16.840
<v SPEAKER_3>I taught elementary for two years and then got fired back up to kind of get back out there and go for it.

00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:17.980
<v SPEAKER_3>So yeah.

00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:25.380
<v SPEAKER_2>And I think that's a lot of the reason we started the trio because full bands really weren't working during that timeframe.

00:06:26.440 --> 00:06:29.320
<v SPEAKER_2>But singles, duels and trios were.

00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:33.400
<v SPEAKER_2>So I think that's really what jump started our trio idea.

00:06:33.840 --> 00:06:34.320
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah.

00:06:34.780 --> 00:06:39.380
<v SPEAKER_1>Was that the first time you guys, I mean, at least professionally had played together in a group like that?

00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:44.040
<v SPEAKER_3>No, I've been back in a dad on bass for a long time.

00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:52.080
<v SPEAKER_3>Probably started playing with your group probably way back in like 2009 maybe.

00:06:52.260 --> 00:06:53.940
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, it's tough for me to remember exactly.

00:06:53.960 --> 00:07:03.100
<v SPEAKER_3>It's hard to know, yeah, 2010, somewhere around there, we started playing together because bass players are sometimes tough to come by.

00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.080
<v SPEAKER_3>I think he just needed a bass player for the weekend.

00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:06.640
<v SPEAKER_3>I was like, sure, I'll give it a go.

00:07:09.400 --> 00:07:11.480
<v SPEAKER_2>Plus it's great having that high voice.

00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:14.240
<v SPEAKER_2>I've always felt that Halladay has a world-class voice.

00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.540
<v SPEAKER_2>So it was really great to have her as part of my group.

00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:24.220
<v SPEAKER_2>And then as this has evolved into our situation, she's my favorite person to tour with.

00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:30.360
<v SPEAKER_1>Tell me a little bit about, you told me earlier that sometimes people notice that you're just looking over at her and you're just proud.

00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:31.780
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, I am.

00:07:32.640 --> 00:07:37.780
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm just so proud of who she has become as a musician and as a singer.

00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.020
<v SPEAKER_2>I really feel like she has a world-class voice.

00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:49.420
<v SPEAKER_2>And I love being on stage with her because not only because of our relationship together, but because, you know, who's gonna be looking at me when she's on stage?

00:07:53.860 --> 00:07:58.780
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, I guess I wanted to ask, what draws you guys to country music, just in general?

00:07:59.140 --> 00:08:04.580
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, I feel that, you know, if you're gonna call it country music, it has to be music about country.

00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:07.760
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that's the way I approach it.

00:08:07.820 --> 00:08:31.980
<v SPEAKER_2>And, you know, there's a lot of controversy, I think, about what is country and what is not, but I've actually taken to call our music mountain standard music, because it's sort of an amalgam of a lot of different styles, from a little bit of country, western, some blues sown in, a little bit of jazz, as Halladay was talking about, some bluegrass, you know, so I just come to call it mountain standard music.

00:08:32.300 --> 00:08:32.900
<v SPEAKER_1>I like that.

00:08:32.900 --> 00:08:40.220
<v SPEAKER_1>I do think it's a little different from, you know, like the country coming out of Nashville, or like bluegrass and Appalachia.

00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:44.180
<v SPEAKER_1>And it's got that little bit of a western swing to it.

00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:53.220
<v SPEAKER_1>Halladay, I wanted to ask, so you're, do you write your own music mostly, or have you taken a break from that since 2018?

00:08:53.240 --> 00:09:01.240
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, you know, I've been on a little bit of a dry spell, like ever since 2020, when I guess my heart was broken.

00:09:03.140 --> 00:09:03.380
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah.

00:09:03.400 --> 00:09:05.980
<v SPEAKER_3>My music, I really haven't written a lot.

00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:10.800
<v SPEAKER_3>I've done some very incredible songs.

00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:15.320
<v SPEAKER_3>There was a couple songs that I wrote for a friend of mine that was going through a really tough time.

00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:23.960
<v SPEAKER_3>And I did another couple songwriting series for breast cancer.

00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:26.740
<v SPEAKER_3>And it all kind of came, I'm really good at writing what I know.

00:09:26.780 --> 00:09:36.280
<v SPEAKER_3>So it all kind of came from that place of being a little bit just like emotional around certain events and stuff.

00:09:36.300 --> 00:09:51.620
<v SPEAKER_3>I feel like I'm on the brink of a renaissance in the sense that I have so many, I still am writing ideas, I'm always writing ideas down, like melody lines or if a line catches me that feels really powerful, I'm always like doodling and recording and stuff like that.

00:09:51.640 --> 00:09:56.120
<v SPEAKER_3>But I haven't necessarily put together songs for my next album.

00:09:56.140 --> 00:09:59.280
<v SPEAKER_3>I think that phase will come in the next year or so.

00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:10.480
<v SPEAKER_2>One little project that Halladay and I were involved with is that we received a grant from the state to write seven songs based on Native American oral traditions and children's stories.

00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:13.080
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that was really a fun project.

00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:18.660
<v SPEAKER_2>And it was such a great honor for us because we realized that the tribes just don't let anyone tell their stories.

00:10:19.020 --> 00:10:23.240
<v SPEAKER_2>But I think they recognize with Halladay and I have really a heart for Native culture.

00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:29.580
<v SPEAKER_2>And so we take this into school programs as part of the Indian Education for All.

00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.380
<v SPEAKER_2>So that's been one little writing project that has come to fruition.

00:10:33.540 --> 00:10:34.420
<v SPEAKER_1>Oh, that's awesome.

00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:38.680
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, I read that you've worked previously with Jack Gladstone, one of our favorite people.

00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:43.200
<v SPEAKER_2>Jack and I have mounted two major productions together.

00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:54.340
<v SPEAKER_2>First, Western Harmony, which was to celebrate the statehood of Montana, which we toured with from 88, 89 and even 90.

00:10:54.800 --> 00:10:56.500
<v SPEAKER_2>And then we went our separate ways.

00:10:56.520 --> 00:11:01.820
<v SPEAKER_2>And then we came back together for a Lewis and Clark oriented show called Odyssey West.

00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:06.020
<v SPEAKER_2>So Jack and I still perform together, usually up in the park during the summer.

00:11:06.040 --> 00:11:08.160
<v SPEAKER_1>Oh yeah, they're at America Speaks.

00:11:08.280 --> 00:11:11.140
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes, and Jack's still one of my greatest friends.

00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:16.860
<v SPEAKER_1>So are you working on any other kind of writing projects, any other kind of musical projects outside of that?

00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:17.720
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, we are.

00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:23.740
<v SPEAKER_2>We're putting together a new Songs of the West program, which we hope to debut sometime this fall.

00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:26.940
<v SPEAKER_2>And so we're very excited about that.

00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:36.780
<v SPEAKER_2>It'll be a multimedia type of a show with Images of the West and, of course, our and my wife, Bonnie, who's such a great photographer.

00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:38.220
<v SPEAKER_2>She's got such a great eye.

00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.580
<v SPEAKER_2>And so she's going to help us put together this multimedia piece.

00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.640
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I'm very excited about that.

00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:47.900
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, we have the Wacolts in September.

00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:48.640
<v SPEAKER_3>I believe it's-

00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:50.060
<v SPEAKER_2>September 21st.

00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:51.200
<v SPEAKER_3>21st.

00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:57.420
<v SPEAKER_3>And it's called Songs and Stories from the West, A Love Letter to Montana.

00:11:58.280 --> 00:12:03.880
<v SPEAKER_3>And it's just like, there's so many beautiful songs that dad has written over the years about Montana.

00:12:04.060 --> 00:12:14.200
<v SPEAKER_3>And it really felt like a great time to kind of put them together and showcase just some of the poetry that he's written about the state.

00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:15.360
<v SPEAKER_3>And yeah.

00:12:15.920 --> 00:12:18.380
<v SPEAKER_1>What inspires you about Montana?

00:12:18.920 --> 00:12:20.420
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, Montana is my muse.

00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:32.180
<v SPEAKER_2>I guess the pivotal moment for me was, well, when I was in New York City with Mission Mountain Wood Band, and we were staying with Steve Riddle's older brother, Dick Riddle, and he was just writing a musical about Charlie Russell.

00:12:32.640 --> 00:12:37.380
<v SPEAKER_2>And so it was Dick that kind of gave me the idea that it was cool to write songs about Montana.

00:12:37.900 --> 00:12:41.380
<v SPEAKER_2>And then when I was in Nashville, I had some success down there.

00:12:41.400 --> 00:12:45.400
<v SPEAKER_2>I had quite a few cuts by Michael Martin Murphy and even one by Loretta Lynn.

00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:56.940
<v SPEAKER_2>But I remember I was sitting in a group with some songwriters and we were doing the normal Nashville songwriter thing where you take a cliché and make it into a love song.

00:12:57.820 --> 00:12:59.960
<v SPEAKER_2>And I thought, you know, this is so boring.

00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:01.500
<v SPEAKER_2>These are disposable songs.

00:13:02.020 --> 00:13:15.460
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I decided then I was going to go back to Montana and write about the history of this country and the wide open spaces and just the awesome, you know, scenery that we have here and the people that live here too.

00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:18.160
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that's been my journey since then.

00:13:18.420 --> 00:13:22.540
<v SPEAKER_2>We got back here in 1990 and it's been such a great reward for me.

00:13:23.140 --> 00:13:27.640
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, I think that this beautiful place just inspires all sorts of creative people.

00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:29.840
<v SPEAKER_1>So I need that for sure.

00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:31.840
<v SPEAKER_2>This is where my muse lives for sure.

00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:32.640
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah.

00:13:32.920 --> 00:13:39.320
<v SPEAKER_1>So another exciting event coming up at the Wachholz this fall, I saw that you're going to be involved with the Montana's Got Talent.

00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:40.980
<v SPEAKER_1>Can you tell me a little bit about that?

00:13:41.000 --> 00:14:02.680
<v SPEAKER_3>Yes, well that was kind of a little bit of a result of I've been teaching more and I've got a lot of students and I just kept hearing from the parents, like we really need a showcase that's like some of the incredible talent that's coming up in Montana and I just started thinking about it and I was like, what a wonderful idea, that would be the best time ever.

00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:08.620
<v SPEAKER_3>And also a reason I think for Montana is to come together and like cheer each other on.

00:14:08.640 --> 00:14:13.280
<v SPEAKER_3>I really feel like we kind of need that, our state in a way.

00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:20.980
<v SPEAKER_3>So yeah, I sat down with the Wachholz and they were really excited about it, the idea and possibility.

00:14:21.260 --> 00:14:30.620
<v SPEAKER_3>And so I'm using the talent show, Montana's Got Talent, to kind of jump start a couple of projects.

00:14:31.760 --> 00:14:37.280
<v SPEAKER_3>We've just been seeing a lot of arts and music funding getting cut in Montana.

00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:39.540
<v SPEAKER_3>And it is troubling.

00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:45.460
<v SPEAKER_3>I think that music education affects all of us in such a beautiful way.

00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.900
<v SPEAKER_3>Studies show it helps your social, emotional connections.

00:14:50.920 --> 00:14:52.320
<v SPEAKER_3>It helps you in mathematics.

00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:54.720
<v SPEAKER_3>It helps you in all these other subjects.

00:14:55.240 --> 00:15:00.020
<v SPEAKER_3>And so it really is an important part of a full rounded education.

00:15:00.040 --> 00:15:06.320
<v SPEAKER_3>And so we're actually just starting, in the last few weeks, Quist Foundation.

00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:21.040
<v SPEAKER_3>And our goal is to enhance music education in the state and making sure that everybody gets an education in music if they want it and also helping distribute instruments and that sort of thing.

00:15:21.100 --> 00:15:32.220
<v SPEAKER_3>So Montana's Got Talent is like the first show to kind of jumpstart this idea of how do we support music education in Montana.

00:15:32.880 --> 00:15:34.420
<v SPEAKER_1>Oh, that's so exciting, you guys.

00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:35.040
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah.

00:15:35.140 --> 00:15:41.420
<v SPEAKER_1>So beyond donating instruments and that kind of thing, do you have an idea of what that foundation will look like?

00:15:41.420 --> 00:15:43.180
<v SPEAKER_1>Like what you'll be doing?

00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:53.640
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, well, the main brunt of what we'll be doing is we'll probably have two or three yearly events that help fundraise for our in-school programs.

00:15:54.200 --> 00:16:08.920
<v SPEAKER_3>And our in-school programs will be a lot of, like we'll do songwriting workshops for anti-bullying, or sometimes we just go in and do songwriting workshops based on what the children wanna write about.

00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:15.260
<v SPEAKER_3>And actually what they wanna write about is usually the most beautiful, pure, loving topics.

00:16:16.260 --> 00:16:18.860
<v SPEAKER_3>Like being in nature and being with family.

00:16:18.900 --> 00:16:25.220
<v SPEAKER_3>And so just a lot of in-school creative kind of educational content.

00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:38.660
<v SPEAKER_3>Not only the Indian reading series, but I was actually just online the other day and I was curious to see how many schools in Montana didn't have a music teacher.

00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:44.940
<v SPEAKER_3>And I think currently right now, it's around like 50 to 60 schools that don't even have one.

00:16:45.020 --> 00:16:53.880
<v SPEAKER_3>And so if we could somehow create a program where we're in touch with them all year, but then we come visit for like a week and put on a show with them.

00:16:54.520 --> 00:17:05.220
<v SPEAKER_3>It really does kind of give children idea of what it's like to be in the arts, what a profession the arts might look like and just show them that that is an option if they are creative.

00:17:05.780 --> 00:17:18.880
<v SPEAKER_2>And I think that's one of the reasons we wanted to create this theater too, because we can do virtual shows and then schools would be able to tap into that and show those throughout their year as well.

00:17:19.280 --> 00:17:22.900
<v SPEAKER_2>I was a member of the Montana Arts Council for 11 years.

00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:31.580
<v SPEAKER_2>And so, of course, coming from a rural school, I realized that a lot of their schools lose their funding halfway through the year.

00:17:31.600 --> 00:17:37.380
<v SPEAKER_2>So this was the main thing that I really became passionate about while I was with the Arts Council.

00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:38.200
<v SPEAKER_1>Gotcha.

00:17:38.560 --> 00:17:45.320
<v SPEAKER_1>Well, and you recently have gotten an honor bestowed upon you as the Hall of Fame, the Montana Songwriter Hall of Fame, is that right?

00:17:45.360 --> 00:17:47.940
<v SPEAKER_2>It's the Montana Musicians Hall of Fame.

00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:49.700
<v SPEAKER_2>And that was such a great honor for me.

00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:55.820
<v SPEAKER_2>And of course, I owe this so much to some of the incredible musicians that I've gotten to play with over the years.

00:17:55.820 --> 00:17:57.900
<v SPEAKER_2>And it was such a great honor for me.

00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:01.940
<v SPEAKER_2>And of course, I was, Jack Gladstone was also in the same class too.

00:18:03.320 --> 00:18:06.580
<v SPEAKER_2>So yeah, that was just such a humbling honor for me.

00:18:06.600 --> 00:18:12.240
<v SPEAKER_1>So you've got another exciting project coming out pretty soon and you're dipping your toes into the acting world.

00:18:13.020 --> 00:18:20.720
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, I was contacted by a gentleman who was my videographer while I was running for the US House of Representatives, who's just a great filmmaker.

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:26.120
<v SPEAKER_2>And he asked me if I would be interested in playing the Lincoln County Sheriff in his latest film.

00:18:26.540 --> 00:18:31.560
<v SPEAKER_2>And I said, but you know, the only time I've ever done any acting was in a musical in high school.

00:18:31.580 --> 00:18:33.640
<v SPEAKER_2>And he said, well, I think you'd be right for this part.

00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:40.800
<v SPEAKER_2>So I agreed to it and it was such a great experience and I didn't realize how addicting it could be.

00:18:40.820 --> 00:18:45.900
<v SPEAKER_2>And the saddest moment for me was when my last scene wrapped and there was no more scenes to shoot.

00:18:46.360 --> 00:18:55.100
<v SPEAKER_2>So that's, it's going to premiere in the, it's going to debut in Paris, France on May 17th.

00:18:55.120 --> 00:18:59.960
<v SPEAKER_2>But I think the Montana debut is going to be later that month or probably in June sometime.

00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:01.220
<v SPEAKER_2>So that should be fun.

00:19:01.320 --> 00:19:02.920
<v SPEAKER_1>Are you going to Paris for the premiere?

00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:04.140
<v SPEAKER_2>I don't think I can.

00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.480
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm still recovering from my heart surgery.

00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:10.600
<v SPEAKER_2>So I'm just going to, I'm going to play it cool until the Montana debut.

00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:17.440
<v SPEAKER_1>Well, if you don't mind just sharing a little bit about that, you recently had a pretty serious medical issue.

00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:20.220
<v SPEAKER_1>Can you explain what that was and how you've been recovering?

00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:23.660
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, it was a surprise to me and I think to the whole family.

00:19:24.040 --> 00:19:27.280
<v SPEAKER_2>But yeah, I just had quadruple bypass surgery.

00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.540
<v SPEAKER_2>But you know, I had a great doctor, Dr.

00:19:30.560 --> 00:19:33.900
<v SPEAKER_2>Maxwell, and he was very passionate about what he does.

00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:40.540
<v SPEAKER_2>He actually told me that he got his first book on heart surgery when he was in the fifth grade.

00:19:40.800 --> 00:19:43.060
<v SPEAKER_2>So I said, this is the guy I want working on.

00:19:46.060 --> 00:19:51.600
<v SPEAKER_2>And so the care I received at Logan Health was just first rate and my recovery's been going very well.

00:19:51.620 --> 00:19:55.940
<v SPEAKER_2>So we're gonna start our full touring schedule in the first part of June.

00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:59.280
<v SPEAKER_2>So I'm anxious to get back on stage and get on the horse again.

00:19:59.300 --> 00:20:00.860
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, you're just gonna get right back at it.

00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:01.540
<v SPEAKER_1>That's awesome.

00:20:01.560 --> 00:20:02.380
<v SPEAKER_1>That's great to hear.

00:20:02.800 --> 00:20:12.960
<v SPEAKER_1>Halladay, I actually read an Instagram post you made right after that happened and you said something to the effect of, this has changed, it changes things, right?

00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:14.160
<v SPEAKER_1>It's a scary incident.

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:17.200
<v SPEAKER_1>Can you tell me about how going through that kind of affected you?

00:20:17.340 --> 00:20:18.660
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, yeah.

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:29.400
<v SPEAKER_3>Well, I think the voice is a very interesting instrument because it's tied to your experiences as a human.

00:20:33.780 --> 00:20:46.540
<v SPEAKER_3>And just if something really changes your heart, and too, just like the muscles that are connected, like your tongue is actually connected to a long muscle that goes down and wraps around your heart as well.

00:20:46.580 --> 00:20:50.780
<v SPEAKER_3>So it's like, it is very personal.

00:20:50.800 --> 00:21:00.680
<v SPEAKER_3>I think that's why sometimes you can actually reach someone's heart by singing because it's a very personal vibration, especially if you're tapped into that energy.

00:21:03.140 --> 00:21:28.600
<v SPEAKER_3>So I guess, yeah, with dad's surgery, it was really, I guess, just kind of a wake up call as far as like how precious life is, and how we only get so many moments to really show who we are and share our talents on stage and spend time with the people that we love.

00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:34.540
<v SPEAKER_3>And it feels like it did change my voice in that sense of like, this won't last forever.

00:21:34.560 --> 00:21:41.780
<v SPEAKER_3>You know, it is something that is just a brief moment in time and something that is special.

00:21:41.800 --> 00:21:44.980
<v SPEAKER_2>I have to share a little incident that happened.

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.480
<v SPEAKER_2>I was having a very bad adverse reaction to opioids.

00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:54.940
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I was stuck in this loop where I called up Halladay and I said, Halladay, you've gotta come in.

00:21:54.960 --> 00:22:00.340
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to bring your guitar and you have to hit an F minor chord because it has to resolve.

00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:02.800
<v SPEAKER_2>That's the only way that I can kind of get out of this.

00:22:03.300 --> 00:22:06.560
<v SPEAKER_2>And so she realized I was having this adverse reaction.

00:22:06.580 --> 00:22:10.280
<v SPEAKER_2>And she said, Dad, it's just, you're gonna get through this.

00:22:10.580 --> 00:22:15.500
<v SPEAKER_2>So she had her guitar with me and she and her husband, Matt, kind of talked me through this.

00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:18.620
<v SPEAKER_1>And so that's funny.

00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:20.460
<v SPEAKER_1>Did you eventually play it?

00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.180
<v SPEAKER_3>We never found the exact chord we were looking for.

00:22:23.280 --> 00:22:26.360
<v SPEAKER_3>We played like every chord that we could think of.

00:22:27.860 --> 00:22:36.680
<v SPEAKER_3>But I think it was just a moment to realize, we haven't found the right frequency because we're in a certain state.

00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:37.720
<v SPEAKER_3>But yeah.

00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:38.480
<v SPEAKER_1>That's funny.

00:22:38.820 --> 00:22:43.100
<v SPEAKER_1>So now, do you really savor those moments and you guys get to perform with each other?

00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:44.160
<v SPEAKER_2>Absolutely.

00:22:44.360 --> 00:22:45.620
<v SPEAKER_2>It's just the best moments.

00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:49.980
<v SPEAKER_2>To me, that's what musicians live for, for that moment.

00:22:50.000 --> 00:23:00.860
<v SPEAKER_2>When everything comes together and the audience is into it, and you get that energy where it's a give and take with the audience, and all of a sudden everybody just leaves the earth.

00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:02.660
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's the moments I live for.

00:23:03.020 --> 00:23:03.420
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah.

00:23:03.660 --> 00:23:04.460
<v SPEAKER_1>Oh, so great.

00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:06.800
<v SPEAKER_1>So you're hitting the road in June.

00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:09.480
<v SPEAKER_1>Are you hitting the road with him or is that a separate?

00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:13.340
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, we do actually have a couple tours through Montana this year.

00:23:13.360 --> 00:23:17.820
<v SPEAKER_3>We're totally excited to get out into Eastern Montana again and play some shows out there.

00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:19.900
<v SPEAKER_3>It's actually been a little minute since I've been out there.

00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:28.040
<v SPEAKER_3>And we love visiting like Great Falls and Butte and I think Remembrance Day and Showdoe a little bit.

00:23:28.580 --> 00:23:30.540
<v SPEAKER_3>Man, they know how to have a good time out there.

00:23:30.560 --> 00:23:37.380
<v SPEAKER_3>It's just like such great folks and some of our best shows we've ever done have been out there.

00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:39.080
<v SPEAKER_3>So it'll be fun to revisit.

00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:41.780
<v SPEAKER_1>What else have you guys got going on this year?

00:23:42.620 --> 00:23:47.000
<v SPEAKER_3>I will be playing with Second Story Band and 101 Central.

00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:50.220
<v SPEAKER_3>That'll be going on every Wednesday and Thursday.

00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:55.320
<v SPEAKER_3>And mostly just promoting Montana's Got Talent.

00:23:55.360 --> 00:24:08.580
<v SPEAKER_3>I'm thinking I need to head out into Montana and maybe hold a couple of live auditions and shake some hands and visit some theaters and just really look for the next shining star that's waiting to be plucked.

00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:14.440
<v SPEAKER_2>One show that I really, I'm doing a residency with the Road Scholars Program.

00:24:14.820 --> 00:24:16.340
<v SPEAKER_2>That's spelled R-O-A-D.

00:24:16.860 --> 00:24:20.060
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's people that come from all over the world to experience Glacier Park.

00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:32.780
<v SPEAKER_2>And then at the end of the week, I'll do two programs for separate groups at Lake Macdonald Lodge Auditorium, sharing my songs about Montana and of course our public lands, which I'm really passionate about.

00:24:33.260 --> 00:24:36.140
<v SPEAKER_2>And they're such great audiences and they're really appreciative too.

00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:39.000
<v SPEAKER_2>So that's one I'm doing every Friday throughout the summer.

00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:42.520
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, so you'll be in the park quite a bit, hanging out.

00:24:42.520 --> 00:24:44.340
<v SPEAKER_2>What a great place to commute to, right?

00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:46.160
<v SPEAKER_1>Right, yes, definitely.

00:24:46.560 --> 00:24:53.580
<v SPEAKER_3>So Starlight Academy is an online music academy with many, many instructors.

00:24:53.600 --> 00:25:01.760
<v SPEAKER_3>I'm gonna have instructors that are licensed music teachers and I'm gonna have a mix of instructors that are professional touring musicians.

00:25:02.740 --> 00:25:10.580
<v SPEAKER_3>And so it'll be a really kind of fun, eclectic mix of like, if you wanna learn an instrument, like this is where you go.

00:25:10.620 --> 00:25:14.480
<v SPEAKER_3>Like you just need to sign up here, like we'll have every instrument that you wanna learn.

00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:18.060
<v SPEAKER_3>If you need to learn music theory, you can learn that too.

00:25:18.080 --> 00:25:19.320
<v SPEAKER_3>You can learn sight reading.

00:25:19.340 --> 00:25:22.560
<v SPEAKER_3>You can learn how to build a business in music industry.

00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:39.400
<v SPEAKER_3>And I'm really excited about it just because I feel like I had a couple of lessons when I was younger that were teachers, music teachers that maybe weren't so stoked about music anymore.

00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:46.740
<v SPEAKER_3>Like they were the people that maybe went for it and didn't make their goal or their dream.

00:25:46.760 --> 00:25:48.840
<v SPEAKER_3>And so there was some bitterness.

00:25:48.860 --> 00:25:59.480
<v SPEAKER_3>And I had, you know, a lot of lessons where, you know, I felt crunchy because they were crunchy and I would leave crying, you know, just like a lot of weird energy around it.

00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:06.320
<v SPEAKER_3>And what's exciting about Starlight is that it's all people that love music that have done it as a successful venture.

00:26:07.780 --> 00:26:14.400
<v SPEAKER_3>And I think one of my, well, one of my first instructors is Rob Quist on banjo.

00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:17.640
<v SPEAKER_3>And I also have-

00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:19.100
<v SPEAKER_2>No banjo jokes, please.

00:26:21.520 --> 00:26:30.180
<v SPEAKER_3>I also have Destin Braley of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra signed on and Meredith Patterson, she's been on Broadway for 20 years.

00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:33.260
<v SPEAKER_3>She's gonna help with stage presence and dancing.

00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:41.660
<v SPEAKER_3>So it'll just be a place where if you live in the middle of nowhere in Montana and you wanna learn music, you can log in and learn about it.

00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:43.160
<v SPEAKER_1>That's so cool.

00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:49.960
<v SPEAKER_1>I mean, I can imagine as a young kid learning music, it just gets you so fired up if your teacher was a performing musician.

00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.700
<v SPEAKER_1>And it's like, I can see myself doing that.

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:53.560
<v SPEAKER_1>That's really cool.

00:26:54.320 --> 00:26:55.160
<v SPEAKER_3>Definitely, yeah.

00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:57.520
<v SPEAKER_3>And it's gotta be a mix too.

00:26:57.560 --> 00:27:15.480
<v SPEAKER_3>And that's also why I loved going in the school system and just seeing, you know, on the day to day, what students are learning about music and how we teach them affects how they view it and how they see it as a possibility for their future and stuff.

00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:16.800
<v SPEAKER_3>So it'll be fun.

00:27:17.060 --> 00:27:23.400
<v SPEAKER_1>So in regards to the educational stuff, Rob, what gets you excited about being involved with some of these new initiatives?

00:27:23.820 --> 00:27:34.760
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, I think the thing that gets me most excited is that I think part of Starlight Academy's goal is to help students, you know, break down that barrier about getting on stage and performing.

00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:48.400
<v SPEAKER_2>That's a tough one because, you know, we've been involved with the Share Your Voice Foundation, which they've really, their goal while they were in operation was to get kids to perform.

00:27:48.900 --> 00:28:02.260
<v SPEAKER_2>And the director, JJ, Jennifer Julian, her point was is that the number one fear that people have is to get up in front of people and either speak or perform.

00:28:02.580 --> 00:28:06.640
<v SPEAKER_2>To put that in perspective, the number two fear is death.

00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:25.320
<v SPEAKER_2>So, you know, we just want to help students kind of break down that barrier and learn that you can take that nervousness, that shyness, and if you actually turn it around, it actually makes you perform better than you would if you were just all by yourself in a room playing for yourself.

00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:31.060
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that adrenaline just really helps you to attain heights you couldn't ordinarily do without that.

00:28:31.080 --> 00:28:37.100
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, use some of that energy, put it towards performing, and maybe not like get so recluse and nervous.

00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:39.040
<v SPEAKER_1>Yeah, definitely.

00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:48.120
<v SPEAKER_1>So, I was wondering if you guys could give us a little bit of a preview of what you're gonna play for us at Press Play, if you can just tell me a little bit about some of the music you're gonna play.

00:28:48.320 --> 00:29:08.080
<v SPEAKER_3>Yeah, well, it'll be an eclectic mix of music that we played together over the years, probably mostly acoustic, so some of the songs from my first solo album, and I love to play a little Johnny Cash, although I don't think we can do covers for this show.

00:29:10.120 --> 00:29:15.920
<v SPEAKER_3>So, probably just music that's been written about Montana by two crazy Montana folk.

00:29:16.340 --> 00:29:18.300
<v SPEAKER_1>Well, we're so excited to have you guys.

00:29:18.320 --> 00:29:28.460
<v SPEAKER_1>You guys are just immensely talented, so we're super excited for you to come play Press Play with us, so that's gonna be taking place May 3rd, so thank you guys for having me.

00:29:29.040 --> 00:29:31.640
<v SPEAKER_3>Thank you for going out to Starlight, it's so fun.