This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Take a walk Nashville. Hi, this is Sarah Heraldson, your host of Take a Walk Nashville. And tonight we are at the iconic music venue, Third and Lensley, right in your downtown Nashville. And I'm here in the green room today with our guest Wendy Moton. She was on the women behind the lyrics episode with us on Take a Walk Nashville. And she is about to go on stage with the time jumpers here and a bit they perform here at Third and Lensley. Every Monday night in Nashville and there's just such a stellar lineup of award-winning musicians in the time jumpers. Wendy thanks for being back on Take a Walk Nashville. Thank you for inviting me. This is exciting. It is. How long have you been with the time jumpers? I would say this is six years. I've been in math for six years, which is I never thought this could happen. Yeah, that's amazing. And so in that six years, do you perform every Monday night and do you guys rehearse every week and change up the set list? We rehearse, which is really ironic, but when somebody wants to add a new song, they just bring it in, they put a bring your body a chart and then we just try to do it that night. Wow. Just like tonight, I probably try a couple of songs that I haven't done before. But these guys, they make their living as session musicians. And so it's easy for them to pick a chart, read it and play. Yeah, very fun. And Ben Skill used to be a part of the time jumpers and he was the one you introduced you to this group, correct? Yes. This is because of him that he's terming onto this path. And I think we've never talked about it, but I think that he probably felt when he was going to the Eagles, that he didn't want to leave them. I'm not good. They needed anybody. We're here before he became a member. And then he was a member for like 13, 14 years. And I mean, he just started saying, you know, when I started touring with him, he was like, come sit in with us. I'm like, sit in with Earth. Come sit in with the time job person. And then I love the music, love the musicianship and love those guys. So I would just sit in every once in a while and they'd say, I know, they were just like, hey, we're going to add you to our team. I don't know that's something they didn't have to do. I don't know. I'm so glad they did. Yeah. Yeah, I recommend anyone who's visiting Nashville, especially on a Monday to check out the time jumpers at third and lensly. And I kind of want to circle back to the beginning of your career. So you grew up in Memphis and you always say that you watched Soul Train and he all growing up. And we're drawn to all sorts of genres. And then you had to deal with EMI and the 90s releasing coming out of the rain, which was a top five hit on billboard adult contemporary chart. What was it like to you when you relocated to Nashville 30 years ago and got your first label deal? Well, it happened like I got my record deal first. I was still in Memphis when I got the record deal and it was during the Whitney Houston era. So it was with the Selenium or I carry and I will consider myself number four. But every label was looking for Whitney Houston. So the only way I got to Nashville was because my guy, David Santos, vice-president of the stars, was like, hey, I'm going to move to Nashville. I'm like, Memphis people don't live in Nashville. What are you talking about? So it was not a bad move because I was a recording artist. So it didn't matter where I lived, but we're in the same state. So it wasn't too strange to be in Nashville other than I only knew it from country music. But moving there 30 years ago was still a little traumatizing. But I moved here for love and we're still here. It was two together. It was a lot of different Nashville 30 years ago. Now it's all new and new restaurants and people are from everywhere. There's other place, but there's still a small town element here. Yeah, and definitely embracing other genres besides country music now too. Yes, that was not in existence 30 years ago. Right. And from there in your career, you became one of the most end-demand background vocalist you toured with Kulio Eglacea, Martinemick Bride and now Van Skell. Was it kind of a strange transition going from an artist with a label deal to a background vocalist? No, because I didn't know what I wanted to do. So when those opportunities presented themselves, it gave me a chance to make a living while those towns still trying to figure it out. And you're going to have to work one way or the other. You're going to work at a department store or you can same background for somebody else. So I said, let me just try that. And I used every experience to learn something from these icons. And so that's what it was really about. Every time I said yes, I, the goal was to learn something new. That could take with me and add to my arse with all of things. And it gave me, probably some time, because I didn't know if I wanted to be a solo artist anymore. I didn't know if I want, I love music enough to stay in it. So those gigs gave me opportunities to stick around to figure that out. And I think it's so important that you bring that up because it's not always easy for artists just to get a label deal and go forward from there. A lot of artists and creatives have to do other gigs or side gigs while they're trying to make it as a solo artist. And like you said, it can bring you so much experience. Yes. And that's what it did. And it gave me a realistic idea of what I really want out of my journey. You know, I could check some things off. Do I need a $3 million maintenance G five, six, every year? Do I need that? No, I don't need my private jet. Okay, good. That's the last question. You know, so it gave me a chance to check some things off. Right. To help me, you know, really figure out where I want to be and what I don't want. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And Vince Gill, he's been such a huge mentor in your career as well. And person in your life, he produced your 2020 solo country album. I've got you covered. And it was this project that gave you the courage to enter the show, the voice in your 50s, correct? Yes. I just don't think that had I not done that record with Vince because Vince, he chose the songs that they have this session. I mean, I want to do I know. So that was already stressful. So he's like, oh, let's do each season. And I'm wondering, like, what is each season? Like I've never heard it before. It's a Dolly part and do it. And so he would play the song. He had chosen all the musicians. We did it at his house and he would choose a song. And then they would play it like two times. Somebody would write a chart. And then they're ready to cut. Now I've never been in that kind of situation before because, you know, I'm not used to jumping in on live gigs, but on record sessions, you usually have a little bit more planning. And so he called the song and I never heard it before. I was like, can I make my own, can I get a lyric sheet and like make my notes? And I told myself that I was not going to be afraid today. Like I don't care what happens. I'm going to jump in today. I will not be the weakest link with all these iconic musicians in the room. So if I don't know, I'm still going to jump in. And Vant said, because you don't know these songs, you're truly going to make them your own. That was the psychology behind that, which was breathier. I wouldn't have been able to come up with that. I was terrified. But I was like, I'm just going to jump in. And if I don't know the melody well enough, I don't know the song at all. And he said, well, that's what the magic is. And then you'll make it your own. That's an interesting perspective, isn't it? And I was like, OK, there was a method to his madness. And so obsessing over, he's likely an over analyzing and, you know, not even finding yourself in it. So that process really helped me think more like an artist again for the first time. And so I decided I would trust my instincts for myself. I do it for all the other people that I work with. That's why I get the call because I know I can deliver. But as a solo artist, I hadn't had to use that in a while. And so that gave me an opportunity to say, yes, I'm ready to do that again. I'm ready to trust my artistry, just trust my instincts. And that was the first step. Trust your voice. Trust my voice. Yeah. Well, I always made a living with my voice. So I never worried about that. But as you know, being out front, it takes a whole other mental challenge. It's a, just speaking of mental challenges, you know, it's, it's hard enough being on live TV with the voice. And I'm sure a lot of people know the time in the show when you fell on stage and you broke your elbow, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I like having to go right on TV right after that, after falling on stage, how did you overcome that? Or how did you deal with that at least? Well, going on the voice after everything that I've done was a big decision. And this was post COVID. So we weren't sure we would ever get a chance to be in a, in a place where you got other people sitting there without mask on. So I said, when the world opens back up, you know, what am I going to do? And so I decided that I needed television. Okay, what can I stomach because everything is real heavy TV? And I'm from the era that you don't talk about yourself at all. And you don't boast. You don't brag. And so I was like, okay, I need TV is obvious because I don't have a team. I don't have a label or agent management. I don't have a machine. And so I decided I was going to send a video in to the voice. I didn't tell anyone. And I said, if they accept me, then I know that's the path I need to take. If they don't, because I got way too much experience, then I will have to find another way to make a living. And sure enough, it took a few months. So I didn't even tell David. Well, my significant other for thermo beers, I don't even tell him that I said the video because I know who's going to say he was going to say, why are you doing that? That can't teach you anything, but I knew I had nothing else, nothing. So I sent the video in and I said, I'll just keep it to myself because then if they reject me for whatever reason, too much experience, whatever, then I can live with that. Nobody will be like, I thought you were going to be on the wall. Well, I was like, I don't want to live with that. So I said that video in and once they said yes, then I had to figure out my purpose, like what to expect out of this. And I needed to number one, know if I was still competitive, if it's still matter, number two, I didn't know. There were people that still like the type of songs I love, Sany. And then number three was I wanted to be an advocate for people over 50, if they say that we still have dreams, have things that we want to do and say. So I needed to get those things answered in the reasonable doubt because I knew once the show was over, I'm going to be on my own again. But I'll have what I need. So when I got on the show, I just left my ego at the house. And I said, I'm just going to pay attention to the challenge of the week and I should go far because if I think about all my experience, he's just going to make everybody miserable. And I'm going to be miserable too because I'm not doing it this way and not that way. So I got rid of all of that, constrain the challenge of the week. So when I did fall, I got just three weeks before the finale. I had just turned 57 on the show. That was November, November 22, 2021. I turned 57 on the show. The next day, I fed a lot of TV. I'm five, six to eight million people. So when I fell, there was only two other people on team Blake left because we're three weeks from the finale. And the gentleman, Paris, he was also on Blake's team. But he had been in the army and nobody was picking me up off the ground. Oh, none of the crew, nobody. They were all in shock. And then I heard him say, Wendy, I'm going to pick you up because I couldn't get up. They were all waiting on me to get up when I didn't get up. I said, okay, so he reached onto my arms and then he kept me up. He was the only one. Nobody else touched me. Everybody was like, look, go meet the ground. And so he got me up and I was like, okay, I looked over and I realized I'm injured. Like, oh my God, that's what a break looks like because I had never been injured before. I didn't cry. Got me up. They cut to commercial. Took me off to the stage and had me sit down and still weren't crying, or anything. I never cried. And they said, can you come back out there? And I knew why because they have it on live TV. I'm sure the network was going crazy. I'm sure the producers of the show were going crazy. Yeah. They're like, what? And I'm a true professional. Yeah, they were like, even Carson D. He's like, everybody was like, are our lives going to change before? I was just like, so I went off to the side, still in crib, and I was like, can you come back on? So I said, yes. And mainly because my family, I want to even know that I was injured, but not life threatening. Yeah. So I said, yeah. And I'm sure that help that work and all that stuff too. And so I ended up going to the hospital and, you know, the show was still going on. And then it took me about three hours before I saw a doctor or they put me in a room. And I had three phone calls while I was waiting to see a doctor. One was Venskyl. He said, I just saw the phone. Where are you? I said, I'm at the hospital. He was like, okay, would you have to stay on the show? I said, I don't know. I'm broken. I don't know how broken. Right. And he was like, well, he was still one registered. Everybody thought, because they saw me after the fall, they thought I was okay. He's like, well, you have to stay on the show. I said, okay, the second call was Leslie Fram. C-M-T-U-S-N-Fram. She called. I saw her fall. Where are you at the hospital? She said, you have to stay on the show. So I got two successful people telling me that I have to stay on the show. Yeah, me. And I'm like, okay, well, if the show allows me to stay, because I'm thinking of, I'm my way home. I'm thinking of the solver. Yeah. And then the third call was a friend, Chris Clausen, who used to be the COO of Northwest Airlines. So he used to see OO of Burger King too. And he called. And he had to stay on the show. I was like, okay, three successful people. Say, I have to say, okay, so if I like it to a room. And of course, they have somebody with me. The voice people have somebody with me. And then I asked the doctors finally, like, what's wrong? Okay, you got two broken arms. This is completely broken, my elbow. I mean, this is broken, it may fractured and broken pieces in here. So I said, how long do I have before I can't get this repair? And they were like, you got three weeks. So a person, I was like, when is the finale three weeks? I said, okay, I guess I'll stay. And then she was like, really? And so she said, let me make some phone calls. They call some people. And they were like, hey, she wants to stay on the show. So we were like, okay. And then I said, if they'll have me, because I don't know, I'm going to have splits. And I will be, you know, it's obvious that my arms are like this. I didn't have that idea. I didn't, I never been injured. So that night, when I were like six o'clock in the morning, around 3 p.m., I checked out of the hotel, went back on the set. Well, with two broken arms. And then I walked on the set. They had Blake on a screen. He was talking to me. And he was like, man, it's Blake a leg. Not your arms. And I'm like, dude, I know, I know. So if I hadn't had those phone calls, I don't think I wouldn't, I wouldn't know them to keep going. Yeah, sure must go on. I just wouldn't have thought about it. I was, I was thinking, okay, well, this is it. And when I said, you know, well, they let me stay on the show. They were like, yeah, you can stay on the show. Just don't fall again. And I was like, you're gonna worry about that. I'm gonna be taking my time. But it was amazing that fall was for me because it was like, if I can do that in front of millions of people, it'd not phase me at all. Like I was still singing, still being active, never complaining, never cried, I still didn't cry. Even Blake, you just talk about it a lot. She wouldn't even talk about it, but I'm like, if I talk about it, you might as well just go home. You know, nobody wants to hear it. Yeah, you just want to keep going and focus on your singing. Focus on why I'm there. I was too close to the finish line to just stop. And thank goodness I had those people in my life who said you have to stay on the show. Cause I thought they wouldn't even want me on the show. So when I spoke to the producers the next day, and you know, I'm sure they told everybody, you know, don't talk or do too much because they don't know begin soon or what. And I didn't go down that process. I just didn't feel like going, even on my arm is crooked for life. In my spirit, it just, it wasn't a path. I just felt like it would have been a waste of time. And I don't know if I would have really reaped the benefits that people with a song that I would. I just, I just didn't see it. I saw that being like a short live type of vein where I lose instead of just going on with my life. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's great that you embraced it kept going and you've made it to run her out of the season because you stayed on. Yes. I loved it. I loved the opportunity. And it was for me that whole process of the three things I needed to know to stay on the journey because age is a factor, be it a gender is a factor in the music industry. Yeah. It's just this. And I said, I need a way to get rid of all of that noise in order to continue. And that's what happened. And then the fall was the icing. It was like, you like, two broken arms on TV for three weeks. You have everything going against you but you're still going to do it. That and just not, you know, that not being enough to stop anything. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, also. You have to be persistent. Yes. Yeah. Thank you for sharing then. Have a couple questions left for you. And now I just still fortunate to have gone to know you through the past year through I'm in behind the Leroyx and performing with you. You know, I've gotten to see you through so many different events like time jumpers. My socials at the CMA theater, Todd Runderen, last April. And I know you performed around the world. And I think I already know the answer to this question. But do you have a favorite moment or a place that you performed up? Yes. My number one ultimate performance was in front of the pier me. It's in Egypt when I was touring with Goliwag Laces. Because I was his duet partner. So I'm singing duets with one of the most amazing singers in music history. I am in front of the pier me. It's right here. This finks is right here. We're singing du love songs. And people have it a Tuxedo and stars. It's just like a starry night. And so I think we did our duet. And he was like, Todd, are you happy? And I was like, yes. I mean, I'm too young to think about it. And he said, yes. And he's like, why are you happy? And all I could do was to party. People started to clap. But that was so like, I don't know, otherworldly. Yeah. Yeah, that's amazing. I always say you never know where music can take you. I know. Music's definitely taken you a lot of places. Do you have an idea where it's taking you next? No. I just know to stay open and keep working at it and keep believing in myself and me and kind and nice and learning and being and having gratitude. Well, last time you weren't taking a walk Nashville, I asked if he had a favorite place to walk. And then he said, down, down. So this time I'm going to ask you, do you have a favorite place in Nashville, like a favorite restaurant or a place to eat? Oh my gosh. Yes, I do. I love princess chicken. The one off of Oh, I agree, Boulevard, and Noah's Bill. Because I love that chicken hot chicken medium. And I love Mac and cheese and green. Okay, yeah, I was going to ask the spice a little again. Medium. But I'm with the recipes and I want the Mac and cheese. Yeah, even medium can be pretty hot there. Yeah, I can handle it though. Mac drive all the way from spring, you'll get it. Wow. Yeah. Nice. That's how you know it's good. Yes. Oh, Andy, thank you so much for being on taking a walk Nashville tonight. And I hope you have a wonderful time with the time jumpers. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Thank you for inviting me in congratulations. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Taking a Walk Nashville with singer songwriter Sarah Harrelson. And check out our other podcasts. Music save me, comedy save me, and take a walk. Available on the IHR radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
