Kelly Moneymaker Interview
June, 2007
In June of 2007, Kelly and I talked on the phone for about 50 minutes for our first interview.
John R. Troy: When did you first get on the path of being a singer?
Kelly Susan Moneymaker: I was two years old, and I was running around the house singing. My mom said that she thought she left the radio on, and discovered that I was singing Just Call Me Angel of the Morning. My dad asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said I wanted to be a singer, so I knew pretty early on, and I feel blessed for that.
JRT: And I read somewhere that you liked to write poetry.
KSM: Yes, I wrote poetry all through school, and had a few poems published in junior high and high school, and I felt that it really helped with my songwriting.
JRT: Did you like to write free-verse, or did you write formal "iambic pentameter"
KSM: Well, it was for school so whatever they told us to do, we did! (Laughter) But when it was on my own it was a lot of free-verse.
JRT: Did you take any formal training in school, such as music classes.
KSM: I played drums in grade school, and played sax in junior high and high school. I never took formal voice lessons in school. When I moved to LA I took a few lessons with Liz Sabine who teaches a power-method. I took two or three lessons with her, but as we discovered I didn't really need them.
JRT: When you say power, what do you mean?
KSM: She taught Axl Rose how to sing, so it's more about learning how to use your diaphragm as a speaker cone, so that you get more volume. Anyone who knows me knows I have a lot of volume. (Giggles) So I didn't really need that kind of help.
I also had a neighbor when I lived in Seattle—his name was Maestro David Kyle. I was broke, and I couldn't afford his lessons. I used to see a lot of people lined up outside his door. One day he heard me singing when I was in my garden, so he came over to me and said "Do you know who I am?", and I said "Yes, I know who you are". Then he said "Well, be here tomorrow at noon". So he gave me a free lesson, and that one lesson really helped my singing so much.
He was just a wonderful teacher, and he taught me a lot about breath control. He gave me the most information in one lesson...it took me a whole year to go through and train myself in all the things we touched upon in that one hour.
JRT: Skipping back a little bit, you grew up in Alaska, right? What was it like growing up there? We "hicks" from the "lower 48" tend to look at Alaska as just snow and igloos. (Laughter) How was life up there? Was it isolated?
KSM: We were isolated up there but I didn't know any better. (Giggles) It was wonderful up there. It used to get really cold in the winter, it used to get around -65°F in the winter, but global warming changed that.
JRT: And you must have experienced the "midnight sun" effect, as your label is named "Midnite Sun Records".
KSM: Yes, June 21st is the longest day of the year. Up there the sun just dips down below the horizon and then comes right back up, so it is up for 24 hours, and never gets dark. And it’s a beautiful summer night, the weather is nice. Everybody thinks of Alaska as just ice and cold, but we have the most stunning place to be during the summer. We have these festivals during midnight sun celebration, and a lot of bands would play all night long during this time, and it was the best…it was like an Alaskan version of Woodstock. It was really fun.
JRT: And then you experience the reverse of that in the winter, correct?
KSM: Yes, during the winter solstice, December 21st, we have no daylight at all.
JRT: Pretty interesting growing up there. When did you decide to move to Seattle, Washington? I remember you saying that in prior interviews.
KSM: I was already touring on-and-off for different bands. I made my first CD—I wrote and recorded songs when I was 12 and 13, then I went to Seattle to mix them when I turned 14. I worked with Rick Fisher, a manager/producer who had worked with Heart, and also managed Michelle Grey. So I didn't actually move there until I turned 16, but I was doing a lot of running back-and-forth between Alaska and Seattle and road gigs. I went back to Alaska to finally graduate, since I was still working on independent study.
JRT: So you were still in school at this time, sort of like how kids who actors get their education in Hollywood.
KSM: Yes, exactly. Now kids have private tutors and do it that way, but I did it via independent study. So I would occasionally have to return to take important tests, etc. It was the best of both worlds, actually. I learned a lot on the road, because when I was on-stage I was still a minor, so I either had to be on-stage or in the dressing room. So when you’re bored and in your dressing room what do you do? I did my homework, that's what! (Laughter). I had nothing else to do so it was good. (Giggles)
JRT: What type of music did you record? And what type of tours did you do?
KSM: When I was that young it was mostly rock. When I was 13 I did a rock-and-roll show in the middle of a country show. I toured with Monta Faye and the Travellers, and I would do a 30-45 minute set to help break up her show, since it was a long night. It was great; she was a perfect example on how to conduct yourself on-stage. She was very gentle and supportive of my desire for a music career. I really had a great time, and the songs I wrote were definitely rock!
JRT: About how much success did you have at that time? I doubt you would be on the Top 40, but I'm interested in how successful you were at that time.
KSM: My first CD—I had a song on it that was country-themed, and I was asked to perform it at the Grand Ole Opry, but I didn't have the money at the time to get out there. Then I won "Best Female Rock Vocalist" in Alaska for 3 or 4 years in a row—I thought it was such a big deal at the time (Laughter).
JRT: I heard in one of your first radio interviews that you worked with The Tubes, correct? What did you do for them?
KSM: Well, first, I was in a band called Boytoy, with Michelle Grey and Pamela Moore. That was really my training ground. I'm so lucky that those two women were such wonderful teachers and nurturers and I was in the best possible situation a teenager could be in at that time. I just tried to learn as much as I possibly could. The band was great, we were like a family. I was so young, I graduated early at 16 because of my independent study...I was young, naive, and alone, so it was wonderful, they were my family away from home. They are still very important people in my life today. Michelle was the reason I started opening for the tubes because she was a "tubes girl". Boytoy ended up opening for The Tubes, and that was a great experience. And then she ended up later marrying Todd Rundgren, and that's how I ended up working on the Nearly Human album.
JRT: That's a perfect segway to my next question. (Laughter). You also said in that early interview that you worked with Wayne Newton and Connie Stevens in addition to Todd. Can you tell me what you did for each of them?
KSM: Well, with Wayne Netwon I did the show Into the Night With Rick Dees when I first moved to Los Angeles, so I was doing background vocals. He was such a nice man, a gentleman, a perfect experience. I also got to meet Billy Vera since he was the band leader at that time on the show. And then Connie Stevens—Connie is like my mom. She's wonderful, I've done stuff on and off with her for many years. She's like family.
JRT: Didn't you meet your husband Peter Reckell at a party for her?
KSM: Yes, we were part of this benefit, called CES, Community Entry Services, it benefits handicapped people in Wyoming, and Connie hosts a fundraiser for them every year which I go to. And Peter was at that show as a guest speaker, so we met after the show, he asked me on a date, and that was it. I was very fortunate. I almost didn't make the plane...
JRT: So you almost had a whole other history if that was the case...
KSM: Yeah, like "Sliding Doors" (Laughter)
JRT: Well, did you do mostly singing with Connie and the others, or any playing of instruments?
KSM: Mostly signing. I love to sign all kinds of singers. My influences growing up were rock, R&B, and funk. My dad was a big fan of soul singers, so I have those influences. My brother was heavy into rock, so I just had a great variety growing up. And I play sax, so I loved listening to all kinds of music and have a lot of influences. I've also been lucky enough to sing with people I've admired like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and George Clinton.
JRT: Getting to your start of working with Exposé, were you looking to be part of a group, looking for a new gig, doing session work, what was going through your mind.
KSM: I was establishing myself as a session singer, doing live gigs for cover bands, and I did have an original band called Blue Tattoo, with Stuart Mathis (who now plays with LeeAnn Rimes). To be honest it happened by accident. Jeanette has a friend named Chaille Percival. Chaille and I met through a mutual friend, and she said "With your personality, you really should meet my friend Jeanette, they're looking for a singer for Exposé," and I knew who Exposé was...
JRT: Yeah, I was going to ask if you were familiar with Exposé, if you'd say "Oh, I love their music", or if you'd say "Exposé Who?"
KSM: I was familiar with their work because I did cover Let Me Be The One and Come Go With Me in a Top 40 band in LA. Chaille said "You really need to meet Jeanette, I think you'd hit it off". So I decided to meet her, even though my own band was getting interest at the time.
I met Jeanette at Jerry's Deli in LA, and we ordered iced tea and ended up talking for about four hours! I just met her but I felt I had always known her—it was a real spiritual connection. So I was asked to fly out to New York to meet Annie, and I was supposed to be gone for a weekend but ended up being gone for two-and-a-half years! (Laughter)
JRT: Now, up on an interview at your website, you said that being in Exposé was very controlled, that you weren't allowed to write or produce or anything like that. Can you elaborate on that?
KSM: Yes, it's true. There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen. The production company had a lot of control, and then when Clive Davis had his own vision of where he wanted us to go, it was a long process...
JRT: If I can interrupt for a second, can you tell me what time you joined Exposé? The month and year? The timeline gets confused.
KSM: Oh, Lord. My memory isn't what it used to be, I count on Jeanette to help me with the little details. I think I joined in late 1990, because it was in 1991 when we had released the new album.
JRT: I think you're off by a year, since the third album came out in 1992.
KSM: Oh, then it was '91. (Laughs)...
JRT: Well, we keep getting a different story from different people...
KSM: That's the problem with everybody's memory, it was so long ago...
JRT: Getting back on track, I know you guys really wanted to write...
KSM: Yeah, we did, because Jeanette writes great songs, Ann's had some success in Europe with a few hits, and I've been writing since I was 11 years old, so it was really frustrating. But we had a good career, so you just have to accept what is happening. I count my blessings because I was experiencing things other people just dream of, and on top of that I gained two of the most incredible friendships in my life. Ann and Jeanette are like my sisters.
JRT: Was the record company also behind why you didn't sing lead on any songs on that album?
KSM: It wasn't the record company, it was actually the production company. At the time there was a tug of war, we had new producers with outside writers, and on the other end we had Lewis Martinee and the production company creating their songs—he was only given a limited amount of songs because Clive wanted the group to go in a new direction. So, he only wanted Jeanette to sing those songs.
JRT: Yeah, I know he wanted to use Jeanette exclusively, and I know Ann had four songs, but I was surprised you didn't get anything, at least to introduce you...
KSM: Yeah, I did end up doing a Thomson-Barberio produced song, but it was never released due to the politics between the record company and the production company. Jeanette and Ann really tried to fight for me to sing lead, which was really sweet. They are really good people, and I felt from the beginning we were a great team.
The records worked out the way they were supposed to, and it was a lot of fun. I actually got to arrange vocals and to add something to the group. I was able to contribute on that level...it is what it is.
JRT: What does “arranged” mean—what does it entail? Enlighten us musically challenged people?
KSM: It means creating musical parts. We had an arranger help us with As Long as I can Dream, because that song was very complex. But it was really fun to create and contribute to our vocal arrangements and explore harmonies, and that was my purpose when I joined the group.
JRT: Exposé is a very nice album. It's too bad it didn't do better in the marketplace.
KSM: Thank you. We're all very proud of the work. I know that it got some mixed reviews from Exposé fans, because there's a traditional Exposé sound a lot of people are fans of—and I know because I love it too.
JRT: In retrospect, I know...I know you guys like the song Angel, and it seems like every live concert I go to you perform that song. In my personal opinion, I felt there was a little too much focus on the adult contemporary side of the album when you could have done more to bridge the gap between the traditional sound and the new direction, but they didn't promote it.
KSM: Yeah, and that's probably again because there was that tug-of-war going on between the production company and the record label. We got caught in the crossfire often.
JRT: Yeah, that's one of the reasons I formed The Exposé Epistle because we couldn't get any good information about touring.
KSM: It's unfortunate things fell apart the way they did. And that's why the group ended up disbanding, y'know, due to the tug-o-war. But time has healed all wounds, and I'm just glad the group is now able to go out there and perform again, and do what they do best.
JRT: What did you like about the process of recording music videos? I know you did three Kelly (unless there are more that I don't know about).
KSM: It was an interesting process. It certainly made me respect actors on a whole new level. It was a lot of hurry up, get ready, and then wait. Sitting around and waiting for me is torture because I'm a hyper person. I felt badly for Jeanette because a lot of responsibility fell on her for the first two videos, with As Long As I Can Dream being more Ann's. But it was a great experience in a lot of ways. We had a wonderful crew that we worked with for the videos. I loved them, it was a big party in the trailer, since they were like a comedy troupe and they would always make us laugh during the down-time.
JRT: Did you have any creative input in the videos, since I read all you state in prior interviews that you had more control over how you presented yourselves—that you had less control during recording but more control during tours and in your general presentation to the world.
KSM: We were able to—we needed approval from the label but we were able to choose our own stylist and work towards the outfits we really wanted. We had a great stylist for I Wish The Phone Would Ring and we got to wear those great Vivienne Tam corsets that we loved so much—but they were incredibly hard to dance in! (Laughs) They were so restricting.
It was also 115 degrees there! We had extreme weather issues—we were melting during that video. And then with I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me) under the pier, a storm rolled in—this was early September. We were freezing. Jeanette was turning purple and we were covering her with blankets, she was shivering—but you'd never know because she was such a trooper and looked so beautiful you'd never know the torture she was going through.
JRT: I've seen a few photo shoots as well...you had to go out and do that photo shoot in the desert, right?
KSM: Yeah, and that was hot too. And they were blowing hot air in our faces. And the AC in the trailer was blown out, so we had to go through all that. But that was a beautiful setting and we were happy with the results. And then we had to go back for an interview, we were late, so we flew back in a helicopter and we had a stunt pilot who decided to do a few stunts on the way back, and I thought that was quite a bonus.
JRT: Did you enjoy touring?
KSM: I used to love it, but nowadays I produce and create more than I perform and sing. I enjoy producing, and today I'm producing a lot of up and coming artists. One's an 18 year old, and one's an 11 year old. They are both very talented.
JRT: You did a promotional tour and one with a band, how long did those tours last?
KSM: We did a lot of promotional touring, for that record. That's a little rough. When you do a promotional tour you're in a different city each day. And we flew a lot, so that's harder than being in a tour bus, because you're not getting decent sleep, you're don't get decent oxygen and you don't get decent food—one time Jeanette's jaw just locked, she has TMJ, so we couldn't perform on those dates. We were falling apart at the seams at the end of that last promo tour.
JRT: I did see you on your "band" tour in 1993 in Providence, RI.
KSM: Yeah, that was a fun date...
JRT: I remember that, you sort of faked out throwing the contents of an empty cup, that was funny but then one idiot decided to throw his drink and splashed poor Ann.
KSM: Oh, (Laughter)—I don't think she remembers that! I gotta remind her of that.
JRT: Well, I remember that because she walked to the back of the stage, very calm, but I'll bet she was swearing as she wiped herself off with the towel. I think you guys also dimmed the lights at one point and snuck in through the venue. But I was curious how long the full tour lasted, do you remember?
KSM: No, I don't think the one with the band lasted that long. But we were incredibly lucky we had the band with us—that was such a fun band. We had a great time working with them. That was like another family. So, we were sad that we didn't get to do as many dates with them—but I think the label wanted us to continue doing more promotional stuff and had to pull us off that tour because of it. It was more important to do promo dates at that time.
JRT: I agree that you’ve got to remind people you're out there. So, what really happened with the Greatest Hits album? When did you do the recording for that because I think the album was delayed an entire year.
KSM: Well...I don't remember. I'd have to ask Jeanette. I remember flying out to meet with Keith Thomas. And he's a producer we all really admired. He's incredible and we had a wonderful time working with him...I just don't remember when it happened.
But I remember that I had burnt my arm badly just before I had to fly out there to meet with him. I had to treat my own burn then fly to Nashville. I met Ann and Jeanette at the hotel, we met with the producer, and after that I was able to go to the hospital. And Ann went with me. Now, I had wrapped my burn tightly and covered it up really well, and I didn't really say much, because I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. But I remember when they unwrapped my arm, Annie passed out! (Laughter)
JRT: Now your first album, Like A Blackbird...what inspired you for the motif of the album, the artwork for it. I notice it looks very Native American or something like that.
KSM: Well, I was fusing my biological heritage with my environmental upbringing. I was raised in Alaska and I'm very familiar with the native culture there, and I'm also part Samoan. So I was mixing the two since—for me that album was cathartic, it was a whole learning experience. I felt after I recorded the album and was preparing the artwork, I had realized I was actually revealing myself in ways I wasn't necessarily comfortable with, so I faced it. I wanted to bring together an inner vision of myself—the Alaskan side of me, etc., and it's sort of hidden—that's why I had a negative image of myself on the cover, because it's a reveal. And blackbirds—I really love ravens and that was why I named it that. I felt naked to the world which also explains the picture.
JRT: And on that album you pretty much crossed all styles. I think—which song has the accordion in it.
KSM: (Laughter) Never Know Me?
JRT: Yeah, that sounds like something you'd hear out of a French bistro.
KSM: Yeah, it's actually like an Italian folk song. Basically, we were so controlled with Exposé musically, that I just went off the deep end with my first solo record. I was told by many people that I couldn't mix genres, I was told that I "couldn't do this" and I "couldn't do that" and I replied, "It's my CD", and it's my self expression, and I should be able to do what I want to do. It's not a major label deal, it an independent release.
I had a wonderful band, I worked in a studio I felt really comfortable in, with an engineer who's a friend of mine. We had a blast. We just experimented—I sang through tubes and plumbing materials and strange drum microphones I cranked through amps. It was really fun, I enjoyed recording it. At the same time I dealt with a few ghosts in my closet…
JRT: Like At the Co-op? That's a scary song. It sounds like you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown as you sing it!
KSM: Yeah, that one's kind of scary. And it's funny, people think it's about my dad but it's not about him at all, it's about a situation that happened. My dad said to me "People are gonna think I abused you!" and I said "no, I'm sorry dad; it just appears to come out that way". It was a story, and I just wanted to tell a story from a child's perspective, and it actually may mean something else to another person who hears it, it's all about interpretation. That's what music is all about, it's supposed to be subjective.
I had a lot of mixed reviews. Some Exposé fans didn't really know where I was coming from. And my family thought I certainly had lost my mind (Laughter). But at the end of the day I'm really proud of that record.
JRT: And you sort of focused on a style with Through These Basement Walls, you had a theme with that album, unlike Blackbird which goes all over the place.
KSM: Well, every album I do has a theme, a concept. That record was sixties inspired rock. I was surrounded by many people growing up, especially working with Todd Rundgren and I toured with a lot of characters on the road, a lot of wonderful musical hippies. And I also love that era in music. I love Hendrix and I love Joplin, all those bands from that era. It was slightly a tribute album for those who've influenced me.
After I did that record, I had the opportunity to write the "Bo and Hope" theme (Can’t Live Without Your Love), simply because of an accidental conversation I had with Ken Corday, the executive producer for Days of Our Lives. People seemed to like the song, so I included it on the cd.
JRT: I know you got to produce the Days of Our Lives soundtrack and write or co-write most of the songs on that album, even though others sang that. And you were the writer/producer of that project.
KSM: Yeah, that was a lot of fun. There was a new country bar on the show where they could showcase songs. I was given very specific guidelines, they wanted me to write for that specific bar and they wanted me to follow specific guidelines based on upcoming plots and scenes. So it was really challenging but it was a lot of fun. I had a wonderful time working with the cast, and I formed a great relationship with Brian Vibberts, who worked on the record as an engineer, and he and I have now formed our own production company, Orb productions, along with Mike K who's done a lot of work for Disney.
We produced an EP for Juliet Goglia, and she is probably the most talented person in the world. She's a singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and she's 11! So her talent is overwhelming, and great things are in store for that little person—with an old soul.
JRT: You seem to be enjoying more of the production and creation of music nowadays rather than being in front of the microphone.
KSM: I do, I do. I love the creative process of writing and producing. But I do enjoy performing live too and I will be performing live again soon. I'm involved in so many different projects right now. I'm producing environmentally-conscious ads (space) for NBC. It will be akin to "The More You Know" campaign. We're instructing people about simple things they can do around the house to help the environment. They don't have to spend extra money, but if people can change a few simple habits it can have a tremendous impact on the environment. I'm writing the music for that, I'm assisting with the research and production.
I'm also working on an environmental documentary, and I just built an eco-friendly house, which took me four years to finish. I have an eco-friendly recording studio with walls of hemp and recycled blue-jeans for sound insulation. I'm worked hard to ensure this house is as eco-friendly as possible. I'm an eco-head. I've been that way since childhood, my parents thought I was slightly freaky about it, since I'd make them recycle cans. (Laughter). There are simple things we can all do in the long run—it helps save the environment, your health, and even leads to financial savings in the long run.
I'm also working with a band called Big Pygmies, who I used to perform with between Exposé's last tour and the time we recorded the Greatest Hits album. But we had trouble because whenever we tried to get together somebody was always busy with another gig so we ended up disbanding. However, recently we got back together with a guitar played named Jen Leigh, and so we're recording again and we hope to have an album ready by January. It's rock-funk, and we're having a blast writing and recording it.
JRT: Are you going to sell it on your website, will the band have its own site?
KSM: I'll be sure to mention it on MySpace and my own site. I honestly am not sure how I feel about CDs nowadays. Most people today are downloading music now and it really helps the environment as well. I doubt we'll be packaging CDs.
JRT: What do you think of the business since you were in Exposé, they've been so many changes
KSM: Yes. It's become very different. It's now getting harder for major labels to compete because it's so expensive. It costs a lot to produce and market a new act, underground acts are having more success...
JRT: The business has changed, major retail chains like Tower Records have gone out of business, and I think labels have been consolidating and merging—there are only four major record labels now, correct?
KSM: Right. They have to change the way they are doing business right now. The Internet helped to change everything. And like I said, it's more environmentally friendly to do downloading. I also think it makes music more accessible. It's easier for a fan to go through and pick and choose before they spend the money.
JRT: And younger people are used to having their music collections accessible. Nowadays you can put a whole record collection on your portable music player, before you could just carry a single cassette or CD.
KSM: And everything is more and more single related these days.
JRT: I sort of feel bad about that...
KSM: Well, in a way, it forces artists to do the very best they can when they produce a new record. In the past you never knew how good an entire cd would be when you bought it. In the past, people would produce an album, and only a few songs would be good, and the rest was filler. Now, you have to make sure the songs you put out now are stellar, since they're being sold per song rather than per album.
JRT: I guess that's a good thing. Hopefully artists will rise to the challenge. I just care a lot for the people behind this and don't want them to suffer.
KSM: I think it's an opportunity for people who wouldn't normally be heard to be heard now. We're not just stuck with the same commercially backed artists. This is the rise of the indie artist. People will likely hear better music out there.
JRT: My major concern is how it gets channeled. You still need outlets to bring music to the masses, that's why people argue about things and influences like Satellite Radio and royalties, and all sorts of similar things...it will be a very interesting future, I agree with that.
KSM: Word of mouth will always keep the talented artists alive! I also just wanted to say that it's funny—a lot of people who don't know us have imagined a strange rivalry between us members of the group, or particularly between myself and Gioia. I want to state that is definitely not the case. Not true at all. I admire Gioia and like her very much and we actually get along great. I'm glad that the girls are out there and I'm here to help get it back off the ground. I flew out to rehearse with them before they did the show in Milwaukee. And I'm here to help in any way, and I want to see Exposé be successful. I would be very glad to see them get back in the studio and record new music.
JRT: Yeah, you produce them, if you can!
KSM: I'd love to do that. And we all write. Everybody writes! Gioia writes great songs, Jeanette writes great songs, Annie writes great songs. It would just be a blast if we could get to that point. And the only way that's gonna happen is if they get back out on the road and perform, touch the fans again. Get people to go out there and party to great tunes. (Laughter)
JRT: It seems to be working. I'm just disappointed that they haven't got a lot of major gigs just yet. I made the trip to Milwaukee. I just hope they get bigger gigs since it's harder right now. They've mostly been doing track shows with small sets, either for ensemble shows with other Freestyle artists or at smaller events such as the gay pride appearances. I'm just hoping to see full sets with them headlining and with a backing band...
KSM: Well, it takes a lot to get back off the ground, but they are out there, it is happening, and it's a positive move! I'm hoping to get out to one of their gigs and lend them my support. We may be doing gigs with all 4 of us on stage from time to time.
JRT: I was going to ask about that. You mentioned that before and a few fans were curious. You probably don't want to do that for just a small track show, right?
KSM: Yeah, it would have to be a special occasion. Also, I'm busy with a lot of my projects so it's harder for me to leave. And on top of that, I'm expecting my first child around November 23rd, and I'm ecstatic about it. That was another reason why I didn't want to tour so much.
JRT: Congratulations! Speaking of that, I know you did a show with Ann and Jeanette back in 2003 at that California state fair. Why didn't you guys decide to start touring then? I know Gioia was committed to her solo project she was finishing up and working on with Koch, which is why she wasn't available, but it seemed like the rest of you were ready. What happened with that?
KSM: We had a hard time getting it back off the ground. We had to work on negotiations with the production company, with new managers and agents, all negotiations kept falling apart. That's why I'm so happy the group's been finally able to get it back up off the ground. We all missed performing and the fans. It's not been easy, that's all I can say, and I'm really happy and proud that they've finally gotten it off the ground. The girls need love and support out there.
JRT: Well, I can say that the fans are extremely thrilled. And I'm doing what I can.
KSM: It's great that you are John. Thanks for the interview—I'm sorry I have to rush off but I'm going to be late for a meeting—but thank you very much for all the thoughtful and unique questions. I appreciate that.
Thanks to Kelly for the interview. I hope to do another one in the future after she’s done some more projects.