Candid Conversation with Adrienne Barker, MAS

Hi everyone, I love Shane. Happy Monday! And what date is this, Shane? This is April 27th. Yeah, the 27th. Crazy, amazing. So I am with my great beautiful friend with the biggest heart, Shane Harbin. Oh, and Shane— I met Shane, I'll just tell it quickly, the story. I met Shane when I decided I was going to do America's Got Talent contest. So the American Cancer Society in Tucson, very, very great group of people. And they were okay when I said, can I do a talent contest that would be open to children and adults? And this way we could share the mission. It would be like a family event because I actually was hired to do the Distinguished Events that neither you and I could actually end up making in the fall. But that was my whole goal. And I remember Shane meeting you at the coffee shop and you looked at me and you said, Did you ever do a talent show before, Adrian?

Yes.

And I'm like, no. Oh, okay.

Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry.

I remember that, like, I, I, I've done like, um, I've done where I've taken like karate studios and different studios for Muscular Dystrophy Association and had them raise funds and then put them on a stage, but actually doing the talent contest. So, and you said yes so fast. So can you share your story, because actually I'd love to hear your story, like, well, your whole— where were you born, what brought you to Tucson, and then why you said yes to me, and then where you are now.

Goodness. Okay, um, I was born in Grenada, Mississippi. Uh, let's see, um, I was growing up competing in talent shows a lot during my younger years, and, um, I As I got older, I was invited to be a celebrity judge for a talent show in North Carolina. We were raising money for hurricane damage along the coast.

Nice.

So when I saw your post on Tucson Musicians about the talent show, I had to be a part of that. You know, there's no better opportunity than to get into use my God-given talent and for a good cause. You get what I'm saying?

No, I think you said it perfectly. That was so true. And you had someone in your family that was going through it or had a scare, and so that kind of helped you to feel— gravitate toward American Cancer Society?

Yes, ma'am. My dad was diagnosed with pancreas cancer. Or— yes, ma'am. And, uh, He had surgery and has recovered since and is doing really good.

So that is so important. And then it was about it. You were a judge too. I forgot you were the celebrity judge. So you, you took all of the behind the scenes and kind of— what did you do? Because I don't know, you were really busy. You arranged everyone.

We, um, worked through the set list, which acts went where. Um, we did the auditions. And, uh, coordinated all of them the day of in the madness that it was. We survived.

Are you listening, Luigi? That's so funny.

We were stressed in there at the end.

It was actually— it was really, really beautiful. Actually, I mentioned Luigi because he, um, what happened was so beautiful that— I mean, you can't really ever describe it. It was so beautiful, and I knew it at the time too. And, and poor Debbie, because Debbie's like, oh my God, oh my God! And I'm like, no, it's okay. Like, so what happened was Luigi was playing, he was our MC. He's really so happy, he's got a baby and his wife is so beautiful. But he was our MC for the event, and one of his last songs choked him up so badly that he had to step off the stage. And it wasn't for like 30 seconds or like a minute, It wasn't 2 minutes, it wasn't 3 minutes, it wasn't 4, it was 5. And everyone was like, oh my gosh. And then I think— did that young boy with the guitar start singing? Yes, he did. Not a very appropriate song. It was something like, like, uh, some kind of doctor song.

We both looked at each other and we were like, oh no.

And then, and then— but I mean, it was okay because it was kind of fitting in a weird way. But, and then the— but it was really beautiful, Luigi, because you could tell his heart was in it. And so that— so you did all of the back. And actually, some of the singers, uh, Caressa, she, she went on to win some other contests.

Yes, she is so talented. It was such a privilege to get to hear her. She sang Tennessee Whiskey for the talent show, and oh, brilliant. She is brilliant.

And then we had the church come on.

I don't—

I can't remember, it was Crossroads. They were so, so good too. It was amazing. I try to remember who we had because we had such— oh, oh my God, the Reckettes! Oh, that's okay.

My favorite, hands down.

I'm like, I'm like, okay, I am jealous of 70-year-olds with like legs to go die for, and they're sexy and they're 70. Sexy at 70. They should change their name. Sexy and something. It really was. You know what, the crowds didn't come out as much as, you know, I think all of us would have liked, but it was comfortable. You were playing, and that was— that you were— so people are coming up the stairs, there's Shane, this beautiful big— wasn't a Steinway, right? But it was—

I think it might have been a Steinway, actually. It might have been.

I want to say And people are like, you know, they're like, wait, is that live? Is that real music? They're like, whoa, that was, that was, and then, and then, yeah. And the celebrity judges were cool too. You were awesome. You were awesome. Who, someone was a little tougher though. I can't remember who.

It might've been me.

No, I don't think so. You're positive. Actually, I think every, I think that what I heard back was that, thank God that the, because you're not gonna grow if you're told, oh, that was beautiful, thank you. So we had said you have to like, you know, speak from the heart. And I think that Carissa was the one that said to me too, like, I needed that because she could take all of that good information to go back. That's really important.

She's a force to be reckoned with. She is amazing. I want nothing but good for her, without a doubt.

Yeah, I heard her daughter was so sweet too.

Yes, precious.

It really was a good event. We had the extra rooms for the, for like the green rooms and for the makeup. I actually— oh, oh, and the— were you there for the end when the commercial was done for the show?

Yeah, absolutely.

Oh my gosh, sometimes you just can't control everything. But so I'm thinking of doing a talent show for my girlfriend Maria Davila, the founder of Healthy Souls, and we were trying to do it online. And I don't think my marketing is like tight enough because I don't think people understand, because you have to, you have to advertise for the auditions and then the show comes afterwards. And do you mind if I send it to you to look at? Because I don't think I'm doing a good job of— I don't know if it makes sense to people that it's auditions.

Oh gosh, well, you know, I'll help you however I can. Talent shows are like my favorite thing in the world, so they really are.

So now you are— so you and I also, do you miss the mountains?

Oh my goodness, I miss it so much. I remember Right before we met at the coffee shop, when you responded to my reach out about the Western Talent Show, I was a little bit discouraged. The music industry in the Tucson area is a little bit hard to get into. They're very close-knit. They've known each other for years. And you kind of have to work around that, you know what I mean? And I wasn't really finding— I was trying to find like a band to work with or anything really. And to see that and to be able to do that was— it gave me courage and it kind of reassured me that I made a good call by going up there. And so I just have to tell you, it meant a lot. And thank you.

Oh my gosh. I love Tucson. I miss Tucson itself. And Rudy's there, my son Rudy. I don't remember if you met Rudy. He worked at the hotel, right? Remember that? Where everyone was so nice about like events, you know? And you took your— you took the piano and you carried it in the truck and then you took it out. That was crazy at the time. Oh my gosh, we're gonna talk about piano in a minute. But, uh, that— but there is something beautiful about Tucson. It's just that, that mountains to me, and the people. Come for the mountains, stay for the people is what I say.

The people.

Oh, I don't know if you met my daughter Alana. You want to say hi? You want to say hi, honey? She's so shy. Hey, Alana!

I remember.

Shane, if she's— yeah, anyone? 14-year-old for sale? No, come here, come here, come here, come here! Say hello to Shane! Stop being silly, Shane. This is Alana. This is Shane. Shane's my friend. He lives in Tennessee now.

Memphis now. Yeah.

Memphis. Memphis. Oh my gosh. Tell us about Memphis. Tell me about Memphis.

Well, right now it's a little bit shut down, but if you want to hear the blues, jazz, it's a great music scene. Lots of wonderful music. And, you know, that's what I'm all about. So I'm—

Oh, that's so nice. Have you driven by— have you driven downtown Memphis in the last couple of weeks?

Yes. Well, you know, I don't drive, but I did go down there. I went down Beale Street and everything shut down right now. It's a little bit sad to see. No, no live music to be heard right now.

But is it really? I asked that question because I went to St. Augustine yesterday in the car, just driving. But I was surprised how many people were out. I mean, you know, okay, boating. I mean, the streets are busy and people were out in the restaurants. You know, it just, it It felt weird. Like, okay, are we in a— of course I'm in this car, so who am I to say anything?

But yeah, but it's a little bit disconcerting. You know, we're supposed to be healthy and away from each other. So, um, but I can't knock them too much. I went to a park a couple of days ago just to get some fresh air. You know, I needed some sunlight and some fresh air.

So exactly, that's how I feel sometimes, just that need. So Shane and I were talking, so go back for a second. I have been doing some Zoom meetings with the North Miami Beach Chamber, and there's a man in the chamber that plays the guitar. And so they have like a networking meeting, so he kicks it off with his guitar, and then a few people will speak and introduce themselves, and then there's a break and he plays again, and he'll take requests. It's very, very, very cool. And I would have had you do that But we have a little situation now, and I have an idea that I think Shane and Logan are gonna do, and I'm hoping that we can get some help here. So what do you think, Shane? Absolutely. You want to describe it? I love this idea.

Yes, ma'am. We've got a few kinks to work out for sure before we want to get Shane a piano.

Do you want a piano that you could travel with, or one that would just stay, stay in your place? Like, what are your thoughts of that?

I've been working on an You've heard a lot of it from in Arizona. It's been in the making for a couple years now, and the best quality to be able to do that would be mic'd live piano. So that would be better.

A good piano. And then, so, so we're talking about— if this— I'm hoping that Shane is willing to donate his time, as we all saw through the American Cancer Society. And if you look through Shane's Facebook page, Shane Harbin, award-winning pianist and composer. You'll see some more videos. There's never enough videos of Shane like that. Obviously, Shane, you know that, right?

I, I should like update them though. A lot of them are old. Shame on me for not taking better care of my videos.

Yes, I'm slapping you right now. Like, here you go. Really, you're bad. But we're thinking of having a, um, doing a crowdfunding on Indiegogo, and Shane will donate, uh, hours to the community for donations to getting him a piano and also, uh, lessons online because that's what he does. So the lessons online. So I think that's a brilliant idea. And I think— and, and so I, I have a feeling we could get this done. So we— next time we talk, you have— and then you can offer the ability to be that person that like any— like a Zoom call can have because it's fun to have, you know, these quarantiny calls, which I always drink water, by the way. I'm boring because I don't know, my belly doesn't like liquor. I love beer, but I haven't even been drinking lately. But anyway, so like that kind of thing where you're just, you know, all of a sudden Shane plays for a minute and then boom, boom, boom. So, but anyway, so tell me, so you're in Memphis right now, and before COVID-19 you were looking for, uh, some work. And you're— you have— you're, um, like, describe yourself so that you describe how you want to describe yourself. How do you mean? Well, how do you describe yourself, Shane Harbin? You are award-winning pianist, which you started at what age?

Oh gosh, about 4 or 5. Yes, ma'am.

And did you just sit down at a piano? How does that work?

Okay, um, I was very, very curious about the piano. Um, my great aunt had one in her home, and we'd go visit her often, all Thanksgiving and Christmas. All the family gatherings were at my great aunt's house. And I would peck at it every chance that I got. It just intrigued me. And it kind of just went from there. I was obsessed with it. And I still am. It's been a while since I've gotten to play lately, but I love it.

But when you were playing— I know we want to get you the piano. When you were— so does someone say to you, oh my gosh, Shane, you're like, playing music, like you're not pecking at it, you're actually— you did a song. Like, how did your— because you are— you, you use your ears? Like, how does that work? You're musically inclined? What is that?

I am.

Like, some people—

I started learning by ear, and then I got classically trained later on, so I can do both. But I have a good ear because of the way that I learned to start with.

It, it surprises me. So I had piano lessons growing up, and, uh, You know, I don't even understand how someone can be trained by ear because it didn't come naturally for me. I had to like really understand the keyboard. It's like reading a new language. You understand the keyboard, the notes, putting them together while you're smiling and trying to be entertaining. And so I do not play the piano anymore. And the guy probably was happy when he was let go. I think my mom had him because he was good looking and she was like, oh, you have an hour to teach Adrian. So can you play for 30 minutes and let her like practice? I'd like this for 10. Kidding, my mom passed away. But I, I liked to play. I was like, can you play for me? It was like having a private lesson because I stunk at it anyway. So like, if you don't have that talent to hear, it's so much harder.

It can be learned though.

It can. I mean, it is beautiful. What other instruments do you play?

Oh gosh. My second instrument is the bassoon. I know that's really random, but when I was in high school, they were missing out on a bassoon player, so they didn't have a bassoon teacher. So they were like, do you want to take a whack at it? And they gave me a bassoon and I taught myself the bassoon. And any instrument that I can get my hands on, I'm going to just pick it apart. It's like a machine that you've got to know all the parts to. I'm just obsessed with it.

Excuse me for one second. Hey Siri, can you show me a picture of a bassoon?

Pardon my language, but it looks— it's the one that looks like a giant bong.

Um, hey Siri, hey Siri, I'd like to see a picture of a bassoon that looks like a bong.

Just a sec.

I, I have the male British.

Find any matches in your photos library. Here are some images from the web.

Oh, oh no. Oh, maybe I should not have the, the, um, English guy playing the British man because he never understands anything I say. All right, I gotta look that up. How do you spell a bassoon?

Is it B-I-S-S-O-O-N?

Wow. Wait, so it looks like a bong. I could picture that. And then does it have, um, well My son works at the Earth Healing. He's— they're busy as heck in Tucson. They're— he does medical marijuana. So he's like really, really busy. We'll talk offsite on that one. But no, so, but like, is there— is there— is there like keys, like, or is it a string instrument?

It is a woodwind and we call it a color instrument. It's a relative to the oboe and the English horn. It's a double reed instrument. So that means that it has two wooden reeds clasped together that you get your sound from, as like a clarinet or a saxophone only has a single reed.

Okay, so it sounds difficult to play. What do you— do you have a bassoon in your house?

I do not. I played it in college. I was on a bassoon scholarship at Northwest, so—

oh my God, that's a huge deal. All right, we're looking for a bassoon for Shane too, so I'll have to add that. And then what else do you have? What do you have in your— what else do you have? Do you have a guitar? Do you have any musical instrument?

I have an acoustic guitar. I've loaned it out. I'm a big believer in if you're not playing an instrument, pass it on to someone else. Because for me growing up, it was my outlet for expression. It was my safe haven when life wasn't going quite right. It still is today. But a big part of musicians is passing on instruments. And I've been given several instruments over the years, and it just— it's a special thing to me anyway.

Um, Shane, that is really beautiful. I, I've never heard that before, and I think that is a really beautiful gift to give. That's really a beautiful saying. That— thank you for saying that. Wow.

Passing it on, you know.

I really do believe that people that have artists and musicians have, uh, are smarter than the rest of us. I've always said that because you have to— there's certain things that you have, that creative side of you that you're able to, uh, to do, play, and also healthy because it's really good for you health-wise, right, to be playing or to be creating artwork.

Well, not only that, it's great in education too. It teaches in Scientific studies show that it reinforces your math skills, your reading, your multitasking ability, all of it. It should be in education without a doubt.

I wonder if more sales of musical instruments and craft supplies during the COVID-19 because more people are home. So I bet I haven't really read that, but I bet you that that is a possibility that there's more people playing. Do you remember Corey Spector? Did you ever, um, the name?

I want to know.

Um, I wanted him to join, um, the talent show, and I think that he wasn't able to, but I've been following him in Tucson. So he does, um, Tuesday night— tomorrow night he's doing the piano, and then there's another night where he plays the guitar.

Nice.

And so it took him a while, he said, to make sure that, you know, when you're playing live on the internet, anything can happen with the sound. So, but it does sound good. I'll send you the link next time he plays so you can hear it. It is— anyone that plays like that during this time where you don't, you know, like the whole thing, all the concerts online, it's really beautiful. Which, did you see the, um, concert, global, um, the Global Care, I think it was, Global Relief?

I believe I saw parts of it. Yes, ma'am.

Elton John was playing. And, um, oh, who else? The, um, oh my God, what the— what's the Beatles? The Beatles, Paul McCartney. It was very different too because they're playing, they don't have like the whole band, so the sound was really different. Yeah, it was really beautiful. Lady Gaga, uh, and, uh, and Mariah Carey and, uh, they played at the end. I was— everyone was sobbing, it was so beautiful.

Lady Gaga is another brilliant one. She's classically trained in piano as well. I don't know. Most people don't hear that.

Yeah, I love when she plays the piano and she said with, with— and she'll do that with like Elton John, or she'll do that with, um, who's the other guy, the older man that— no, there's someone else that she will play with. Neil Diamond, is it? No, I can't think of it. Really, really, Shane? No, you're oldies.

You don't know who Neil Diamond was?

She played with, um, there was a bunch of— she would play with him and there were older songs, but she is so beautiful. Did you ever see her biography?

Yes, it's beautiful.

It really is. To think that she— because she suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. She has— he has so much pain. And watching her in her— an episode where she's in so much pain and crying because she she's thinking of all the people that don't have the ability to have people helping them like she does. So instead of just like being like taking in all the massages and all the things, she, she like, you could see her heart goes to everyone else. That— I love her. Love, love, love, love. That was, that was amazing. All right, so tell me, so I want to hear a little bit more about like what, what your future plans are, what you're going to be doing. When COVID-19— what were you doing before COVID-19 in Memphis?

I've been playing for churches and I'm starting to take students, or I was starting to take students here before that. But I don't think that children want piano lessons right now, nor do their parents want their kids out with all this going around. But after that, I'm going to start teaching again. And I hope to do some nonprofit work. You know, that's where my heart lies.

So, so wait, so when you teach, you're going to their home to teach on their piano? No, ma'am.

Um, it's kind of like I was teaching in Arizona at the Allegro School of Music. Um, there's music centers here that I teach from.

Okay, can you go into someone's home? Like, that's what we had. My parents had, um, not that there was any other options in 1975. That's, yeah, that's a lot. But, um, you know, they would have to come to your house, but they don't do that. Do they do that anymore where piano teachers go into the homes?

Um, sometimes, but I kind of feel like it's asking for trouble to a certain extent nowadays. Um, I'd rather be in a facilitated environment where there's a classroom. You see what I'm saying?

It's a little—

yes, improper.

I do. Yeah. Yeah. The only thing that's too bad about that is that sometimes the child is used to their own computer, their own piano, and also the teacher will know when that piano needs to be tuned up. Can you hear if a piano needs to be tuned up if you're playing at home on the internet through the— like this way?

Without a doubt. If you— if I hear a piano, I can tell you whether it's in tune. I've been fortunate enough to get— fortunate enough to have perfect pitch. So I can tell if something's out of tune.

So Shane, isn't that ability to— now that could be something what you could do is you could offer people that are home and playing and like all of a sudden they're like, is this sound good in the house? Someone in the house is like, sounds a little off, that you can then— that they could share with you. You can maybe have them do something and say, this is what you need. That could be some— maybe there's a, um, a way to make money helping people to see if their pianos— what about guitars? Is there any other instruments you could see if they're tuned by listening?

Absolutely. You can hear it in it. You can just tell. Um, it's like, it's like another sense, I guess you could say.

So why not— what if you did virtual tuning, virtual instrument tuning by Shane? I actually, I think it's a really good idea because people want to know, and, and And not that I'm skeptical, but sometimes you think to yourself, well, if I bring it to the guitar shop, they're going to tell me it needs to be tuned whether it does it or not, right? Like, I mean, it's kind of like an oil change. Okay, I'm going to bring it to, you know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry to be that way. And I'm not like, I'm just saying that if I had the ability, and even if it wasn't a huge amount of money, if you're listening in for $10, you'll listen to someone and say, you know what, you definitely need a tune, and these are the keys then they have— they're a little bit more empowered to find someone and have that information. I think that it could actually be a good, good, good way of a new business too for you.

Possibly. Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.

And you could put it on Facebook. You could have, um, a tuning— oh, what happened to your computer?

No, I do want—

wow, are we in a nightlight? Um, like, whoo, it's like doing a little All right, tell me, do you like that idea? Yes or no? Really be honest.

I can tell if something's out of tune.

Um, I think you should use that skill. People say now is the time, use the skill. Just don't have it be that expensive, you know. Maybe the most expensive— if you only need a few minutes to do it, you know, unless you have to type up a report or give it to them. I, I kind of like this idea, Shane. I think it's— if I had that ear, I would do it. Oh, you know what I have right now? All right, let me see if I can move this. I can't. So what I have is— I'm gonna try to do this— is a display of promotional products. So what I, I thought I would do, because our suppliers are doing this, so you can actually go into a trade show booth. So now I could be like, highlight your business with this huge, like, literally really big highlighter, or, uh, one of my favorite products right here are—

nice.

Hey, how you doing? This is not a real filter. Anyways, I thought I would set that up and do some marketing strategies for people, which I think is kind of cool. We'll see what happens with that. So we're all trying to figure out ways that we can share our talents with other people. All right, so now COVID-19 is going to be over, you're making a little money tuning on the internet, and then what do you— where's the first place you're going to go in Memphis?

Gosh, um, absolutely love a lot of places downtown. Um, I've gotten to play at the Peabody, uh, for the American Cancer Society before a couple years ago. Um, it's— they have immaculate instruments and it's absolutely lovely to play down there. Um, play on Beale Street. I'd love to be able to collaborate with some musicians and play down here on a regular basis in a band setting. It's fun to play solo piano, but it's more fun when you get to play with other people, you know.

So yeah, so how do you get into— how do you break into that? Do you have to like like, are there ads out there? Or there is a, there is a website where people are looking for something about music gigs or something.

Yeah, absolutely. And, um, the Facebook, you know, groups and all kinds of stuff. You know, there's different ways of outreach, but, um, probably a higher priority for me is to start working with nonprofits down here like we did in Arizona.

You know, I love that. Offering your—

I have a couple of charities that I work with every year, like the Children's Mansion in Tupelo. That's a yearly thing. They have a—

what do you do?

They have an awards ceremony. It's a program where they take in children in the system and provide them with opportunities as far as College and higher. It's beautiful what they're doing over there. Um, I play for their award ceremony they do every year, and I will write their award ceremony music every year.

Wait, what? You're—

I will compose music every year.

Are you playing in the beginning before it comes in? Are you playing in like in between? Like how— where, where are you playing?

Before they come in. While they're coming in for the whole ceremony. I'm the music for all of that.

So, you know, I live in Daytona Beach. I'm trying to think of the last time that I've actually been to an event where someone— well, you know, you have a lot of the, um, the, like, the reggae music because we're at the beach. So a lot of that, that music there, which is lovely. But sometimes music can be very loud. So what I love about the piano is that the, you know, especially when it's a beautiful piano, people will center around that. But that doesn't mean across the room that someone can't have a conversation with someone else if they don't love music.

That's a different atmosphere for sure.

It is. It's weird to me because like you'll see someone really great, like, so I remember at the talent show you're playing and I'm like, I want to go up to everyone and be like, do you not see he's playing and how beautiful it is? But some people just don't really, they don't really, you know, yeah. They don't like music. Like, we have to admit that to people. Some people don't love music. They don't feel that— I cry more with music now than I ever have. It's weird. I don't know if, if music brings up the emotions that are like bubbling in me, but during that global conference, the global whatever it was called, Global Relief, I, I really like— and I think my husband, even just thinking about music can get me crying. But I also will tell you, I cry every time I see Michelle Obama because I love her. And I like love— like, and there was a woman, uh, there's a couple of beautiful women that just— well, they have hearts so big it makes you want to like tear up. And just music just brings it all up to the top. Some people could be like, yeah, let them play, who cares.

Expression. And especially in times like these, musicians should be Every time that there's been terribleness, whether it be a pandemic or war, musicians step up and they play, you know, whether it be the Beatles, you know, they were playing to end the war, you know. So I think that that's almost an obligation as a musician, you know, to help people through the tough times. 'Cause gosh, music has definitely helped me through some tough times.

You know what? That makes me think of the Titanic. And when you hear the story of the Titanic and those men that literally played until they were the last ones, right? They let everyone get on the boat and at least have some sense of feeling that they were going to make it.

Which—

If you haven't watched Titanic—

Yes, I couldn't think of a better way to go out than playing my instrument.

And the fact that they, they understood how important it was. I will tell you, I'll share with you. So I was born in 1962, and, uh, so I must have been around 1982, '83, I think it was. I was part of the We Are the World, We Are the Children. And so I went to New York, I boarded the— I got, I got a ride to the train station, got off the train, found myself on the Washington State Bridge. I'll never forget too, because you had to wait in the mail, so you paid your money and then you would get a lapel pin and you got a little sticker and a couple things. And it was so powerful holding hands with strangers. I went by myself, like I was so brave, and just held the hands with strangers and sang that song and felt so incredibly empowered. And it was just— and that was really a time when we we needed— you're right, we needed the music to help us.

It's been there for us, you know.

So true. Well, Shane, I want to get you a piano. I want to get you a bassoon.

I don't know, you might be better off with just the piano.

Put a couple of— what do you have? You have YouTube videos? You have You have a computer with your songs that you're not— you haven't loaded up yet?

I have some content, yes ma'am. I definitely need to update though, for sure.

Let's get it. It doesn't take long. Little, you know, YouTube's easy. Create, upload, and then get it up there. Yeah, because I really want to, uh, I want to share. It's so absolutely beautiful, and it was so nice to see you. That's the thing too, it's just I love these conversations because it's so Nice to reconnect. And so I did, I did, um, I don't know if you had a chance to see it, but you could go to my YouTube channel. Emily, Emily Eldridge. Emily, a beautiful blonde, she was part one of the judges too. She's a, uh, New York and Tucson, amazing woman, amazing, empowering. And, uh, it was lovely having her too. And I had her, we talked, it was really beautiful. And let me see, are you— you say you're friends with Luigi?

Yes, absolutely. I miss that man. He's awesome.

I miss his— before he had the baby, really giving us a lot of live. I'm like, we need to like picket and have signs that say we want more music from Luigi. Like, we really need that. That was really beautiful. I love his voice. I had to see— did you His CD is somewhere in China. What? It is. Did I ever tell you what happened in China? Do we ever have that conversation?

We did.

That was crazy. But I love China. I want to go back. I really do. I love, love, love it. And I had a place I wanted to live in Cambodia called Sihanoukville. And so, so funny. So I had this 5 years ago. I found it. I'm like, this is where I want to live. The other day I went to go see what was happening. It's overblown. Everyone's like, where— like right now it's like a big major port, a major city, and it's like just everything's overpriced and it's overfilled and it's overcrowded. So I need a new, uh, place to— I want to go visit that's unique and different and live. But, um, and I, I would go to Memphis, but there's one big problem with Memphis.

Which one? What's the problem?

I don't like barbecue. I do not like barbecue at all. Like, literally.

You know what, I don't care for barbecue either, and I'm probably gonna get shamed by all of Memphis for saying that.

But it'd be like, I, I like ribs, I like the barbecue, I like the food, but just leave the sauce out of it. I don't like any kind of barbecue sauce at all.

Exact same way. I don't think it should be sweet.

Thank you, because I really do feel the same way. I don't like— so that's— but I've never been to Memphis either. I've been to Nashville, which is beautiful. So how— I wonder how far you are from Daytona Beach. Have you ever been to Daytona?

Absolutely. I used to play for Disney World in Orlando.

Oh gosh, you did? Tell us about that.

Oh gosh, um, I played at the Magic Kingdom, just piano, Disney songs.

So you were a cast member?

Oh gosh, no, not full cast member. I was like part-time play here.

Let's go. Those are great memories. Those are great memories to have. You are— God bless you. You are a— you really are beautiful. I really want to get some more music so my friends can hear you play. And this is so great to see you again, Shane.

Wonderful seeing you too. I miss you.

Let's work together. Oh, thank you.

I know we would do great things. We need to—

can we really try this? Can we try an Indigo campaign or one of the other ones?

I'm telling you, Adrian, on all the Facebook right now, I can come to Florida and we can work together. Okay, really?

That'd be great. So we have— there are not a lot. I don't know. I mean, I'm not like— the problem for me is I don't go out to like normal life. I don't go out to the, um, to like the bars or the scenes, but I will tell you, corporate-wise, people are having events and a musician, a guitar, a piano player is, is, you know, kind of— not to say it's off in the corner, but it becomes its own piece. And it's such a beautiful thing when you— and when you have someone that plays like you play, which is like just like, it's beautiful music. Not, you know, I mean, I know you could do like the Piano Man and it was really fun at the hotel, but you also compose and play music. You play classical?

Yes, ma'am, absolutely. Um, my heart has never been in the bar scene. Um, I've played corporately before in jazz and classical and my original compositions, and that's where my heart's at, you know.

We need to just market you. That's the thing. So how can I help market you? Because we really need to— because you— people will, will pay to fly you out, sit at their piano and make sure— and you could listen to the piano before you come out and make sure that it's tuned correctly for you. And because you are such a good— we had this conversation a few times— gotta get you market, like, promotion, like, get, get everything you need more. Content to share so people can hear you. And then— and not that your content is bad, but if I hear you play from, you know, it's just older now. Like, it's like, you know, like they may think he doesn't play as well. Yeah. So something more recent that we could put up, and then I'll help you. I would love to help you to see how we can get you into like the meeting planners. We talked about that, the people that plan events that— and a lot of these events are now online. So they're looking for piano players again to do that kind of like online scene where if we— if you had your piano, I'd say, okay, Shane, now take it away. And then we'd have the camera on you and everybody would be like, whoa, you really are an amazing player. So I, I, I'm telling everyone, the 3 people that are watching right now, that I will offer you my help to market you. And I think it won't be that— you already have your website. Yeah, it's just getting you into the right names of the people that are looking. That— and Shane, you're not that— you're not— Memphis is not that hard to fly you into, uh, South Florida or Daytona to play. There's not a lot of really amazing—

hour trip, hour and a half.

So when you say you did for the awards, for the charity, you did composing, what does that mean? So you created their own original song?

Yes, ma'am, I created awards music for the whole, uh, show. Um, so like a reprise, um, a prelude when people are coming in. When they announce the awards, there would be celebration music announcing it, you know what I mean?

I wonder if people realize how important—

kind of about— kind of like what you would hear at the Grammys, but My version.

That's amazing. The other thing, Shane, is that there's a lot of money having to use music that's already copyrighted. The music— there's a lot of copyright laws, right?

Without a doubt.

So the cost for someone to actually end up having to spend the money to, to do that is probably about the same as equal as paying for you. Because if you're going to— like when, when the president, when he was campaigning and he was using like the the, uh, the songs from like the Rolling Stones. He was there. You're not allowed— you can't just have an event and decide, well, I'm gonna use Lady Gaga's music, right?

Not without a copyright.

So yes, and I know that because I got kicked off Facebook. They caught me. I did Lizzy's, uh, I did a lip sync challenge and I did hair toss, check my nails, baby, how you feeling? Good as hell. Hair toss, check my— oh my gosh, I got I'm literally— it was within like 5 minutes they kicked me off. Facebook got rid of me so fast. They— so they left my words, but the video got removed.

Wow.

Which I'm not happy about. They didn't put me in jail. And you know why I don't think they put me in jail? It's because I paid for some ads, and I think they probably said, well, she spends money with us, so we shouldn't probably put her to jail because she's got a free— so they gave me a free get out of jail card. And then, yeah, and then I did two more. I did Let It Be and another one, but maybe that was, um, yeah, it was weird. And then I ended up— they kept— they allowed me to keep in, um, If I Had a Hammer. I have her in there. I don't know, but like, so if they're— they're looking because now they have the ability to just go on and find any song that you're using. So, so what— and then they just go back to that one. So If the award ceremony is being played live, right? And maybe you can get away with it live, but if they hear that music playing in the background, you may just lose that whole video content and unable to post it on YouTube or Facebook.

Absolutely.

It's not, it's not worth it, especially if it's a video of you playing.

If it's a recording, things— there's technicalities that make it really weird. There's certain hoops you got to jump through, um, but especially video of you playing a song that's copyrighted, uh, you could be in trouble.

Yeah, years ago I went to our South Florida MPI, had a really good speaker talking about— as an attorney talking about the copyright laws. So that's another way to tell people why you would want to have the original music Nobody can remove it on you. They can't take it. They can't. So because when you do an award show, you're marketing not just the show itself, but the sponsors, how people have it, and you use it the next year to get other people to go to the show. So it really is important. So that award-winning composer part piece to you, Shane, is, is very, very big. Not many people can do both, be an award-winning pianist and composer. So, and you'll work with different groups too to make sure you need to cover your costs, your expense, and make money because that's— that this is your livelihood. Um, but so, but you know, you're— you also will work with them. So I think that we gotta get— 2021 is the year of Shane.

Yes, absolutely.

Okay, all right, like pinky swear, put your pinky up there. Don't look at my nails. I have to hide my nail. I have to hide my nail because I can't do my nails. I can't do my hair. I can't do my nails. Everything— your hair looks amazing though. It's so thick.

It looks like a snow-capped mountain that avalanched down. It's not good.

I want to make— I want to do mine. Mine— well, I, I will tell you, I go into the, uh, I go into this— well, I get my hair cut for $15 at like good, um, must be a haircut or whatever. No, good cut. Great Clips. Great Clips. It's been so long, I forgot. So, but, um, not this Great Clips because they don't know me yet, but there's a couple like in Tucson. I would walk in and I'd be like, hey, I'm here for my BJ. And they're like, and I'm like, I just want a BJ. Oh, and I'm like, it's a bang job. I don't understand what's wrong with you guys. They would laugh like you are, but like, that's like— so that was a joke. But I guess next time I'll go and I'll see if they're funny at the Great Clips in Ormond Beach if I say that.

I've always been really, really picky about who cut my hair, but when I was in Arizona, I went to a barber shop instead of a salon for the first time ever, and it was this guy. He was great, he did really good, but he about manhandled me.

He didn't speak English and I couldn't even tell him what I wanted.

He did a great job, but it was a whole different experience.

Oh, I love that. That is really funny. I know I get my hair cut at Great Clips and for $15 and like $5 tip, it's like amazing. Like, I'll walk away with the same hair that I would pay $150 in Miami Beach. I went to a salon in Miami Beach and I didn't— I looked at the prices but I didn't say like how much. It was like $500 when I got said and done. I was like, whoa. Yeah, say the name. I was like, what in heaven's name? Maybe I spent $100 on products, so it was about $400, but it was, it was— and it didn't look any better than anything else. My hair's short in the back, but I had that weird— see, it's like Weird.

It looks like now it's like much longer.

Yeah, it's long in the front. It's just so weird. I don't know, I'm like just a mess. I'm a mess. It's gonna take me 3 weeks to get ready to go anywhere when we are, um, back. Look at the dog shears up here, and then my husband tried to cut that. That looks horrible. These look like I'm a rag doll. I could just do pigtails here, and I don't even know what to do. Or what I do— I'll show you this product. Hold on, I'm gonna show you this cool hat. Ready? Ready, Freddie? Let the light shine. Let the light shine. I wonder how many does has. This is a cool one, isn't it?

I love it.

I could be really cool. I should really wear this out. So yeah, yeah, blind, but it's cool. Anyway, so look at— oh God, I can't stand— this is the hardest part of the candid conversations. I have to look at myself. I just, I don't like it. So Shane, I love you. Let's do what we said we're going to do. We just pinky swore, so we have to do it. I think you should do the tuning. I think you should do the crowdfunding for your piano. And I think you should do— you should actually communicate that you are available for composing award-winning music for annual events.

Absolutely.

Love it, love it. And we— you're here in Daytona? Where— well, we have a small place here in Daytona. We only have 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, but there's other plenty of places to stay while you're here that we get you good price.

Family in Tampa now?

I do. That's lovely. I love Tampa. It's crazy. You could come— you could come here and watch the sunrise and then head to Tampa, have a nice lunch in Orlando, and then go to Tampa to see the sunset.

Love it, love it. I miss— that's what is beautiful.

Yeah, it is, it is. It'd be nice if the unemployment system was beautiful too, but that's another story. But anyways, I will say goodbye to you. Thank you for all your time. You're amazing. 51 minutes with you, one goes by way too fast.

It was such a pleasure to get in to visit with you. I miss you.

Oh, I know, I miss you too. But we stay in touch. And, uh, and yeah, a little bit more active on Facebook if you don't mind. Thank you. All right, have a great rest of the day. This is fun, and the computers work, so I'm going to click this button, Shane, and it's going to stop streaming and