Maya de Vitri: Embracing Creative Freedom

In this episode of Curious Goldfish, host Jason English interviews Maya de Vitri, formerly of The Stray Birds, about her deeply collaborative solo career. Maya shares insights into her creative journey, the evolution of her music, and the challenges she's faced transitioning from a band member to a solo artist. She also discusses balancing a career in music with practical life demands, her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her current projects. The episode concludes with Maya performing two heartfelt songs, "Ribbon" and "Working Man."

00:00 The Collaborative Solo Journey

01:11 Introduction to Curious Goldfish Podcast

01:43 Maya de Vitri's Musical Evolution

02:01 Balancing Creative Career and Practical Life

02:06 Insights into Songwriting and Performances

02:39 Interview Begins: Meeting Maya in Nashville

02:55 A Week in Maya's Life

04:13 The Starbucks Experience

05:21 The Reality of Being a Musician

06:14 Producing Records and Service Jobs

07:49 Musical Family and Career Decisions

13:41 The Stray Birds and Americana Music

17:59 COVID's Impact on Creativity

20:36 Recording 'The Only Moment'

25:02 Exploring Song Interpretations

26:24 The Evolution of a Song

27:23 Touring Challenges and Strategies

31:05 Balancing Roles as an Independent Artist

37:20 Transitioning from Band to Solo Artist

44:36 Curiosity About Rest and Community

49:23 Musical Performance and Reflections

Maya De Vitry: know, the solo

thing is such a misnomer, I

2

think, because it's been the most

collaborative era of my creative life.

3

Yeah, because at every

4

turn, I can pivot and collaborate

with these people here, it's given me

5

agency to say, Okay, I need to stop

the tour right here so that I can

6

produce this record for this person.

7

Or now I'm gonna co

write with these people.

8

Or I'm gonna have this

special guest on my record.

9

I'm gonna take these people

on the, on the road with me.

10

I wanna do this one solo.

11

it's it's all fluid.

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It's so With the band, the Straybirds,

where it was three people every time.

13

The same three people getting on stage

and it was like a, more specific sound.

14

And I think for me, it was scary to, lean

into something that was not specific,

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Jason English (Host): Welcome to

curious goldfish, a podcast community

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where music and curiosity come together

through interesting conversations

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with the music makers of our world.

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I'm your host, Jason English.

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You can find curious goldfish and all the

major podcast and social media platforms.

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And of course we have all of our content

on our website, curious goldfish.

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com.

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MacBook Pro Microphone: Once a key member

of the claim band, the stray birds.

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Maya de Vietri has now ventured into

a deeply collaborative solo career.

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That is truly coming to its own.

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And this episode, we dive deep into

Maya's journey, from her early days

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of music to her current solo projects.

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And the beautiful chaos of

balancing a creative career

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with life's practical demands.

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MacBook Pro Microphone-1: She shares

insights into her songwriting process, her

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performances, and the unique challenges.

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She's overcome along the way.

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Few artists are as talented as Maya.

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And I'm honored that she not only sat down

with me in Nashville in late summer of

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2024, but she also performed two songs.

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One is called "ribbon," from her

latest album, and the other is my

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personal favorite, called "working man.

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An ode to life and Appalachia

and an indictment on the 1%.

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From Nashville, Tennessee.

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Here's my Let's dive in.

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Jason English (Host): Maya,

it's a pleasure to meet

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you.

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meet you.

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Thanks for coming in.

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We're here in Nashville.

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And I'm at a songwriters retreat.

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And, uh, you're, you live here.

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And I.

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Big fan.

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And I'm like, Hey, do you

have time for an interview?

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And you were kind enough to do this.

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So I really appreciate

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it.

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Maya De Vitry: Sure,

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Jason English (Host): Well,

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tell me something good about your week.

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Maya De Vitry: let's

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see.

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We just got a new hot water heater.

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Jason English (Host): That's big.

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Maya De Vitry: Yeah,

it was, it is very big.

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And, uh, my boyfriend and

I put it in ourselves.

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Jason English (Host): Okay,

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Maya De Vitry: So it was kind of fun

cause we had to figure out how to like

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get, I mean, it's like really big.

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I had to figure out how to

like get it up to the 16 inches

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or whatever off the ground.

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And, like, he was like,

people built the pyramids, we

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can figure this out.

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We were like,

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you know, putting one piece of wood

underneath it, and then tilting it

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this way, and then another piece of

wood this way, and tilting it this way.

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It was actually really fun.

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Jason English (Host): All right.

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Is that, that's Ethan.

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That's All right.

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All right.

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Cool.

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All right.

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So he's, is he pretty handy

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Maya De Vitry: He's extremely handy.

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He did most, he did most of

the, um, the actual handy stuff.

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I just did the kind of

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like, you know,

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motivation, and a little bit

of like, Problem solving when

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he was starting to get tired

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Jason English (Host): right.

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All right.

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Well, that's big.

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Yeah.

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Hot water heaters aren't, aren't,

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uh, aren't easy.

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So,

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Maya De Vitry: um, like freshly

aware of like a hot shower and like

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how nice that is So I would just say

it's like a really good of my week

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Jason English (Host): Okay, perfect.

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Uh, that's, that sounds,

that sounds great.

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Um, so obviously we have

a lot to talk about.

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I just have a one sort of

like icebreaker question.

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If you don't,

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if you

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don't mind, what's the most annoying drink

that you've ever had to make at Starbucks?

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Maya De Vitry: Um, I really never

liked making the shaken espressos

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Jason English (Host): Okay.

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why is that?

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Maya De Vitry: I don't know it's

just like a lot of steps To, I think,

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I'm like, I think people just want

this because it has a long name, it

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sounds nice, but it's kind of like,

like, most things are like the same

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ingredients just in a different order,

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and

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Okay.

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and I think, like, when I would get

like, you know, like You know, in a,

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in a dark place about it, every once in

a while there, I'd be like, gosh, like

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they're just having the same thing.

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It's just taking me like 10

minutes longer to make it or not 10

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minutes, but you

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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yeah

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Maya De Vitry: um, but I really, my

favorite thing to make was the ones where

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you put the little like sprinkly thing

on top, like a little bit of cinnamon

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Jason English (Host): can

decorate it a little bit.

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Maya De Vitry: but then

you just put the lid on it.

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And you hand it out anyway and nobody sees

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Jason English (Host): Perfect.

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Okay.

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Um, well, thanks.

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Thanks for that.

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I guess, you know, a common misconception.

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So I'm not a musician at all.

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I don't, I don't play, I don't sing.

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Um, I'm just a fan and you know, a lot

of us are like, oh, you know, Maya,

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toured the world, you know, done all

these things and you've got a job.

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Sometimes it's, you

know, Starbucks, right?

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So like, is that,

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is that

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always been the case with, do you

think that'll always be the case

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or, you know, I, I'm just curious.

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You got to pay the bills, you know

Um, yeah, What does that look like

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Maya De Vitry: I'm not

there anymore, but I was.

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I worked at two different

Starbucks in Nashville.

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And, uh, it's very much the

case for so many musicians here.

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Like, you know, working um, at

cafes and bars and restaurants

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for years and years and years.

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And, uh, I think it's always kind

of been the case for artists.

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It's To do other things to

figure it out right now.

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I have

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it kind

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of feels like a new Job still

I'm producing records for people.

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So it's like I'm actually getting

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paid

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Jason English (Host): that's

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Maya De Vitry: instead of paying To do

things so I've been doing that and that's

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been going on for the last, like, year

and a half, two years now, and they just

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kind of keep, the projects keep coming in.

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So every time I have a gap of time

from touring, where I would be like,

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okay, where's the dog sitting and

babysitting and barista jobs, or,

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or what, what am I going to do now?

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I have those projects on my plate.

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And so that's become, It's

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it's also a service job.

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You know, like I'm serving an artist

and helping them make their thing.

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And so, um, in a lot of ways, it's.

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not that different.

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But what I do like about actually

a miss I miss working at Starbucks

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sometimes because of the monotony of

like, you can be like doing something

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like putting, you know, egg bites in

the oven and taking them out and just

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doing that for like two hours and you

can actually like think about a lot of

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stuff.

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And but when I'm listening to like an

artist song and trying to figure out like

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what kind of bass tone

I want to add to it.

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It's like a very different,

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like, I can't really be like thinking

about something else at the same time.

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So it's, it's just way more of a focused

kind of job and now that I'm doing now.

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And as far as when I'm

not doing my own music.

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So in some ways I really, I really

like those jobs where you're just

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doing something physical and monotonous

because you can kind of like meditate

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Jason English (Host): So growing

up, obviously a very musical

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family, was it always assumed?

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Either by yourself or your, or your

parents or your siblings that you'd

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be

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doing music as a career.

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Did you ever have a point where

you had to kind of like make that

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decision or was it just sort of

like, it was always going to be

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Maya De Vitry: think it was like

very much the opposite, like

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I, um, I don't know if it's,

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pretty recently I feel like

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I've

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it's kind of become accepted

that I'm doing this as a career.

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Not by my parents really, my

parents were never really, they

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didn't seem that worried about it.

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Like, I feel like I kind of,

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escaped

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into and escaped into stumbling into

doing music as a career because they

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were still kind of distracted With my

younger siblings they were like going

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to my brother's basketball games in

high school and stuff and like not too

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worried that I had just quit college

and like Was just traveling around in a

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band and they didn't seem too concerned

about it also, my dad didn't go to

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college until he was Like he went to

architecture school and he was like 25

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or 26 And so he kind of always had this

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Value

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that like, it's cool.

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Like you go to school when you

know what you want to learn.

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Like you don't have to go when

you're 18 and You know, not

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know what you want to study.

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Like he, when he went to college,

he knew that he wanted to be an

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architect and he chose to go.

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So I always kind of thought,

well, maybe I'll go back

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at some

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point and be like, now I'm

going to be a physical therapist

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or

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Jason English (Host): I thought it was HR.

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actually.

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Maya De Vitry: that's the other one.

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Those are the two.

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Those are the two.

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Jason English (Host): funny.

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But you

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didn't, you just get a

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Maya De Vitry: really into like

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benefits and taking care

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Jason English (Host): of

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Maya De Vitry: employees.

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Jason English (Host): I guess.

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Didn't you just get a degree

in Spanish or something

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Maya De Vitry: I am two classes

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Jason English (Host):

You're two classes away.

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Okay.

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So you're

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close.

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Maya De Vitry: almost

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a college graduate.

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I'm 34.

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Jason English (Host): It's all

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good.

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Yeah, It's all good.

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Um, well, so back to the HR and

the physical therapy thing, this

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is just me, you know, as a fan,

um, the world needs your art.

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Right.

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And so like, you know, for me,

I'm in, I'm in corporate world.

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No, no disrespect to the people that

I know that work in human resources.

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There, you

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have a higher value to the world

than, you know, working out insurance

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claims and, you know, performance

management systems, you know?

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Maya De Vitry: I think it's,

it's probably like the thing, the

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question with like, did I grow up

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With

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the expectation that I was

going to be a musician or like,

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like it was, I don't know that.

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I don't

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know.

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I didn't know anybody that did this

when I was a kid or a teenager.

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Like I didn't see this as of a path.

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I didn't, I wasn't like writing

songs for long enough to even know

253

that that was a thing that you could

like, it was all kind of discovered.

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As I was starting to become an adult

and, um, like my sister, my youngest

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sister, she plays for Noah Kahan

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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yeah, That's awesome.

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Maya De Vitry: just got this job playing

in his band within the last year.

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And I feel like, I finally feel

like this wave of relief that

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like, some of the people who maybe

have always kind of questioned our

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family, like, but what, like, really,

like, what are your kids doing?

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Like, to my parents, I kind of feel

this wave of relief from my parents

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that, like, because no one, you

know, I know you appreciate my music

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and there's plenty of, you know,

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Jason English (Host): pockets,

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Maya De Vitry: pockets of people who

appreciate it, but it's not, it's not

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something that's ever going to look good.

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Like, mainstream, like, oh, I get,

I understand what they're doing,

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but because I think, you know, my

sister now is playing in Madison

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Square Garden sometimes, you know, or

like Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

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So I feel like my parents kind of,

I don't know if they feel this, I

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haven't asked them about it, you know,

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specifically,

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but I think there are like, like

some of those questions kind of.

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I've felt, for me, have

like kind of fallen away.

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Like people are like, okay, maybe,

maybe they are figuring out how

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to make a living in music somehow.

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Um, and it's, it's just interesting

because it's this perception.

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Like where I'm from, it's just not, that's

just not like, you know, you go into

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healthcare or you go into

like teaching, you know,

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Jason English (Host): sure.

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Maya De Vitry: it's, it's just not, um,

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Jason English (Host): The music

industry in Lancaster isn't a,

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Maya De Vitry: It's, it's, it's, um,

it's, uh, there's some more venues now,

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like a lot more stuff going on now than

when I was growing up there, but it music

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was always something I did for, um, like

for enrichment, like for my own joy.

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And, and I loved the challenge

of like, I was playing

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classical violin in high school

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and.

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I loved being a part of an ensemble

and like, just that you could get

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on a stage with a hundred other

people and make this performance.

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Like I was like, it's like

we're in Jurassic Park.

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We're making the sound of Jurassic Park.

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You know, you get to like play

the soundtrack or something.

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And it was just an

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unbelievable feeling.

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But I wasn't thinking about like,

how do I translate this to a career?

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Cause I didn't really want

to do classical music.

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I didn't really want to

play in an orchestra.

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So it's taken me some time to

figure out, you know, how to,

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I don't

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know what to do with my, with,

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Jason English (Host):

Well, you you make songs.

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that's what

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Maya De Vitry: Yeah,

That's what I do now, but,

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Jason English (Host): it's important.

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It's

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Maya De Vitry: but it's still

taken me like 10 years to catch up

309

and accept that that's what I do.

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Jason English (Host):

sister with with Noah,

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uh, and with Noah,

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Maya De Vitry: Yeah.

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Jason English (Host):

you know, the big venues.

314

I mean, you've had the opportunity

to play World Cafe, right?

315

Mountain Stage a few times.

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Totally.

317

I mean, those are,

318

those aren't

319

just small little things, you know?

320

So yeah, what was that like and

like, did you, did you understand

321

the significance of that?

322

Uh, at the time, were you nervous?

323

Maya De Vitry: I think that there's, you

know, when I was, um, When I was in the

324

Stray Birds, which was the first band I

was in, we toured for like seven years and

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there were some moments of, of reaching

these bigger stages that, that were just

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even

327

like very surreal.

328

Like, wow, there's like a couple

of thousand people out there or

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something, you know, or even playing for

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a hundred people, but not in

your hometown was like, Oh my,

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like,

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where did these people come from?

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And I remember we played, um, in

Denmark at the Tundra Festival.

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And it's an incredible festival.

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And

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they,

337

I just like that, that there were

some really surreal, beautiful moments

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of just feeling like out of body.

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Like, how did I get here?

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Cambridge Folk Festival in England.

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It was, it was totally surreal.

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And like people knowing the songs and.

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It was amazing.

344

And then, I got to see Sturgill Simpson

at the festival in Denmark, and then

345

like, two years later, I got to serve

him in the drive thru at Starbucks.

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And I was like, you're

Sturgill, aren't you?

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Ah, I like your music.

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Here's your, here's your

green tea latte, or whatever.

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He didn't order

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Jason English (Host): He

didn't order the, one,

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Maya De Vitry: he?

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didn't.

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He didn't get a shakened Okay.

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Alright.

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Jason English (Host): you

mentioned the stray birds.

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I'm I'm not going to ask a lot about

that other than the fact that a comment,

357

you know, when you think about Americana

music that they will that band will

358

have a an important place in the history

of Americana like you understand that,

359

right?

360

Maya De Vitry: I mean.

361

when I'm, it's, I think it's hard to have

perspective when you're in it, you know,

362

and like, for me, I didn't even know what

We didn't know what the word Americana

363

was when we started that band in 2010 or

364

but I do know that, um, there's like a,

I'm already meeting like a generation of

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folks younger than me and they're like,

Oh yeah, we play Dreamin Blue at our jams.

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that's really cool.

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So

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Jason English (Host):

what's, what's been more,

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uh, fulfilling.

370

You

371

mentioned the, sort of the desire

to play in an ensemble and the joy

372

that you that, or the solo journey

that you've started a few years ago

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Maya De Vitry: know, the solo

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thing is such a misnomer, I

think, because it's been the most

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collaborative era of my creative life.

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Jason English (Host): That's awesome.

377

Maya De Vitry: Yeah, because

at every, like, at every

378

turn, I can pivot and collaborate

with these people here, or I can

379

Um, it's, it's given me agency to

say, Okay, I need to stop the tour

380

right here so that I can produce

this record for this person.

381

Or now I'm gonna co

write with these people.

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Or I'm gonna have this

special guest on my record.

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I'm gonna take these people

on the, on the road with me.

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I wanna do this one solo.

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I'm just gonna go out by myself.

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Now I'm gonna play with

these instrumentalists.

387

it's it's all fluid.

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It's so With the band, the Straybirds,

where it was three people every time.

389

The same three people getting on stage and

it was like a, um, a more specific sound.

390

And I think for me, it was scary to,

391

like lean into something that was

not specific, like sound wise.

392

Cause it's, it's,

393

I think genres are like

kind of comforting.

394

If, you know, to at least be like, okay.

395

It's within this, but as, as I've kind

of leaned more and more into like the

396

idea of just, I'm a singer songwriter

and that can, that can live in the

397

Americana world, that can live in the folk

world, that can live in the rock world.

398

That's whenever I'm in

Europe, I'm country music.

399

There's, that's,

400

Jason English (Host): that's

401

Maya De Vitry: all I am.

402

So it just depends.

403

Jason English (Host): Um,

404

so we'll get to the, the new album,

The Only Moment I do have a question

405

about Violet Light so I think that was a

pretty long process during COVID, right?

406

I was thinking about that as awful as

COVID was for so many different reasons.

407

Imagine the art that was sort of created

during that time that we probably would

408

have never heard or seen, you know, it's,

it's pretty wild what that unleashed

409

from a creative perspective, right?

410

Totally.

411

Maya De Vitry: Totally.

412

I mean.

413

I was, I was going, I had just started

taking classes going back to school and

414

that was that point where I wanted to be a

415

physical therapist.

416

I was so burned out from music.

417

So like, had COVID not happened, I would

probably be like finishing physical

418

therapy school right now or something.

419

Jason English (Host): classes away.

420

Maya De Vitry: Yeah, I'd be

two classes away from that.

421

Um, but now I feel like it gave me,

it gave me a path to, uh, Almost

422

like a, it's like, like a chair

that it was like, I only had one

423

leg or something or two legs before.

424

And I have like more legs to stand

on because I feel more balanced

425

in what I can give and receive.

426

And in music, like I feel so

much more confident in studios.

427

And when I'm like, I was

able to play my own music.

428

before,

429

but then writing with other people,

that was kind of a growing thing.

430

And then producing for other people

has become a thing now because of what

431

I learned in COVID, like being able to

slow the process down for a year and a

432

half and think about bass tone and drum

tone and the parts that I could imagine.

433

And, um,

434

that really just changed.

435

everything in like how I

436

could

437

balance my life.

438

So.

439

It's I guess it's just a human thing

where we kind of look back on things

440

that were really hard and they

get glazed Over anyway, and we're

441

like, oh, wow, it was really good.

442

So in this moment, I'm like,

yeah, that was a really It was

443

like a it was a really really

444

Fruitful time even though it was Have a

lot of sadness about the distance I was

445

from Um, from my family, just physically,

like living here and my family, um,

446

some family members, um, in Pennsylvania

at the time who've now passed and, um,

447

so there's, I have a lot of sadness

about other parts of it, but that part,

448

the creative part was really good.

449

Jason English (Host): amazing how

our brains black everything out.

450

Or not everything, but a lot of

the stuff as time passes, you know?

451

Yeah.

452

Yeah.

453

Um, alright, so the violet light and

then now the only moment, I guess,

454

what's What's the big distinction

in your mind in terms of the process

455

or the outcome of the of the music

456

between those two albums

457

Maya De Vitry: So, Violet Light

was a collection of songs that was,

458

it all started with me playing guitar,

or in some cases, I guess, banjo,

459

totally alone, solo, just me playing

and singing in our basement studio.

460

Ethan, my partner, um, engineering,

and he had sort of built this

461

studio slowly, and it got nicer

and nicer throughout the process.

462

And so I would kind of lay down that

463

bit of the first track and

then we would add things.

464

And so we were able to send parts to

people all around the world, really like

465

friends who were even like living in

different countries or from different

466

places and living in across the United

States and just Some people would stop

467

by our house and would add a harmony

vocal or something, but it was very

468

pieced together like that, like layer

upon layer upon layer over time.

469

And that's part of what allowed me to kind

of learn the process and really slow it

470

Jason English (Host): Yeah

471

of that, I

472

Maya De Vitry: And then

coming out of that, I felt

473

really excited about recording.

474

And I thought I can, I

want to try to produce

475

my

476

own record.

477

I wanted And I wanted to play

478

live with a

479

band and I wanted to go into a studio

and just kind of just play the songs

480

and have it go down way more quickly.

481

And so

482

like a couple days after we finished

Violet Light, we went into a studio

483

and started making The Only Moment.

484

So we started The Only Moment in 2021.

485

Jason English (Host): a

Sunday at the studio that

486

my friend Alex Wilder

487

Maya De Vitry: we started

488

Two days, um, a Saturday and a

Sunday at this studio that my friend

489

Alex Wilder works at, and he has

access to it on the weekends, so.

490

Booked the weekend and went in there,

and then we did one more day in, I

491

think in July or August of that summer.

492

And,

493

and then it kind of simmered, and so most

of what you hear on, on The Only Moment

494

was

495

played live by a band.

496

In the summer of 2021, and then there's

these subtle layers of like, I played

497

a lot of synth on it, just these

like layers that kind of, I think,

498

to my ear just were little, little

layers and things to sweeten up things

499

pull things together, um, sonically,

and then I added a string part.

500

We added my friend Phoebe Hunt as a

harmony vocalist, so that happened later.

501

She wasn't there in the original tracking

502

sessions, but she'd come in over

time and be like, Okay, now let's

503

have you sing harmonies on this song.

504

Okay, moving on.

505

Now let's have you sing

harmonies on this song.

506

And we did that.

507

That took two years of just kind of coming

in a day here, a day there, finding time

508

when, when, you know, when we were both in

509

town.

510

And

511

so it was, It was kind of a combination

of, you know, all playing in one

512

room together, and then a few

layers here and there of overdubs.

513

But it was patient in the same

way, that Violet Light was very

514

patient.

515

And The Only Moment was very

516

patient

517

Um, and then in the midst of The Only

Moment, I recorded the Infinite EP,

518

which was like, we did it in one day.

519

The whole entire

520

thing.

521

Like, it was a marathon session.

522

We were there until late,

late, late in the night.

523

But that was it.

524

It was like, okay.

525

And now we're gonna release it.

526

And so that happened.

527

I think I was, I was like,

feeling myself so far to one side

528

of kind of simmering projects.

529

And I was just like, okay.

530

Let me just kick something out the door.

531

And so, none of it makes sense.

532

When you see the releases all

lined up, chronologically,

533

it's

534

like, the idea of

535

chronologically is very

loose, you know, because

536

Jason English (Host): linear.

537

Yeah.

538

Maya De Vitry: it's not linear.

539

yeah.

540

Jason English (Host): okay

541

good.

542

Uh,

543

so can I ask you about a song on the new

544

album?

545

Sure

546

lot of great songs.

547

The one that, uh, I don't know if track

order ever matters, you know, uh, when you

548

put that together, but Ribbon is the last

549

one on the album

550

That to me, that's the one

that I, I, I keep playing.

551

And I don't

552

know.

553

Not that I need to know what,

what the context is, but I'm

554

going to ask you, uh, but

555

like every time I listen to it,

I feel like there's a different

556

meaning that you could apply.

557

I guess.

558

Could you explain the background of that?

559

And

560

in your mind,

561

what, you know, what was the context?

562

Maya De Vitry: 2018

563

I don't

564

know.

565

I, I myself have been through so

many new, new interpretations of it.

566

Like, I don't know.

567

Some songs I have a very, very clear

memory and I know I was thinking

568

about this situation or this person.

569

Um,

570

I don't know.

571

And I don't think it

matters to me anymore.

572

You

573

know, like, but it's so

574

It's it is crazy.

575

Like, they're, I truly.

576

I truly feel that

577

Every song

578

I've written I could never write it again.

579

Jason English (Host): Okay.

580

Maya De Vitry: Like I'm, because it's like

it was only like the collision of the way

581

I was feeling and what I was observing

at that moment in time and then it comes

582

out and

583

um,

584

Jason English (Host): well, some,

585

Maya De Vitry: I don't know.

586

Jason English (Host): yeah,

587

no, that's, that's fine.

588

I mean, that's, it's

just, it's, it's haunting.

589

It's sweet.

590

It's melancholy.

591

It's hopeful.

592

I don't know.

593

Yeah.

594

Maya De Vitry: I do think that

one has, um, the, the groove, like

595

the, the way the drums feel on it.

596

That's all Don Billett.

597

That was his kind of design and

like his suggestion in the studio.

598

I definitely remember that.

599

And that what, that's

what really made it feel.

600

I think that, I don't know that,

that I ever would have, that,

601

that the song itself would have

like had that feeling all those.

602

ways that you could feel about it

without the exact kind of gentle

603

rock band treatment that it has.

604

Because it started out, I do know

it started out much more like a kind

605

of, almost that you, you, if you

heard it in like a song circle or

606

something, you'd assume it would be

kind of more of an acoustic band maybe

607

playing it or something like that.

608

Definitely not like an electric

guitar and a Wurlitzer and

609

drums

610

Jason English (Host): kind

611

Maya De Vitry: bass.

612

So, so I do think that's kind

of been a cool transformation.

613

Jason English (Host): Okay.

614

So you're about to go on tour for, I

don't know how many dates specifically,

615

but it's dozens, it feels like.

616

What's, uh, what's a good outcome

for you for, out of that tour?

617

Maya De Vitry: To not want

to quit touring at the end.

618

Jason English (Host): Okay.

619

Maya De Vitry: Yeah, no, a good outcome.

620

Um, it actually is for me to

just feel, to set myself up

621

to

622

feel present for every show.

623

Jason English (Host): How

624

hard is that?

625

By the way?

626

Maya De Vitry: it's really hard.

627

Um, because there's so much out of

my control, there's so much that's

628

unknown, like, that could happen, that

could come up, you know, along the way.

629

But,

630

I think, I've, I've

memorized the calendar.

631

Like I've, I sit and I, like I

do all of the tour logistics and

632

the tour management and stuff.

633

So I, like I have a booking agent.

634

So

635

someone who's

636

you know, I'm talking with to put

the dates together and book contract

637

it with all the venues and stuff.

638

But I actually just like sit with the

calendar and I, I'm thinking like,

639

okay, like what's it going to, okay.

640

Now picture myself in Chicago on this day.

641

Do I want to be in an Airbnb?

642

Do I want to have a, is it, will it be

important to have a kitchen that day?

643

Would it be better if we were in

hotels and we kind of, the band got a

644

chance to feel a little more anonymous?

645

Do we want to not have a

common space living room?

646

Do, like, I, I am extremely, like,

647

a little bit of a freak.

648

Um.

649

And, just trying to like, in that way,

trying to kind of predict, but I have been

650

on tour so many times that I kind of can

feel like where things are going to, where

651

people are going to start to feel a little

bristly and need a little more personal

652

space, um, and, and where I might need to

like, sort of step away and be like, guys,

653

I just kind of need to be in my own zone

654

for a Couple

655

hours and take a walk by

myself or rent a little, rent

656

a bike and kind of ride around.

657

Jason English (Host): Does it help to

uh, when you put the set list together,

658

does it help to shake it up a little

bit to make make sure that each show is

659

a little, feels a little bit different

660

Maya De Vitry: Yeah, I started,

um, last fall I started just using

661

a song bank instead of a set list.

662

And so it's totally different every

663

night.

664

Just kind of have the 20 songs

written down that we might

665

play and then That's one of the things in

my goal of staying present for every show

666

is to be able to like read the room

and see what's happening and take

667

in like the energy of people and

then we can Pivot right there in

668

that moment and and be like, okay,

actually, let's do this thing now.

669

Oh now let's

670

Let's have just Joel and I play a song.

671

let's bring things like really really

672

Jason English (Host): a

light show or something.

673

Like it doesn't,

674

Maya De Vitry: yeah, yeah, yeah, and it's

but it's more fun for me because it's you

675

know It's a small scale what I'm doing.

676

We don't have somebody like

Coordinating like a light show or

677

something like it doesn't it can be You

678

That, that is the, the light show, kind

of, is the, playing with the space on

679

the stage and playing with the energy

and the volume and, okay, now we're

680

going to really rock out, okay, now

we're going to be really small, kind of

681

just those kinds of

682

Jason English (Host): Okay.

683

So your fear is, fear is into the,

uh, the solo stuff, which again, is a

684

misnomer, uh, as you described, which

is, which is a great way to put it

685

Where are you at as an artist today and

where do you, where do you want to be?

686

Maya De Vitry: Where I'm at today is

687

that

688

I,

689

I am, I get tired

690

of

691

all the hats that I wear.

692

Yeah.

693

And I, because I'm really carefully adding

people to my team and I'm so, I really,

694

really love to be an independent artist.

695

I'm really happy to not be on a label,

um, like that I'm my own label and,

696

but I, I do get tired of the momentum

of switching the hats sometimes.

697

And I get, like, the transition

periods make me nervous.

698

Of, like

699

going from, like, thinking through

the tour and being the tour manager

700

in my head and, you know, booking

all the logistics and the flights.

701

And, I mean, if you open up, like, the

app on my phone for Southwest, it's

702

just, like, an entire page of flights.

703

And it, and, and it's, like, And

then having to switch over and

704

like, think

705

about the creative stuff and

what I really want to do.

706

I get nervous about, like, sort

of becoming a musician again,

707

like going out there and being

able to sink into the music.

708

But when I do get to be on stage and

be playing, I'm like, This is it.

709

this is the thing.

710

Like, I'm not, I don't want to just

have a desk job in music admin,

711

which is most of my job right now.

712

You know, this summer is mostly admin.

713

Like that's why I was able to

get right back to you and be

714

like, let's do this podcast.

715

Cause I'm just at home right

716

Jason English (Host): give it right back

to you and you're like, what's next?

717

Totally.

718

very important

719

Maya De Vitry: Totally.

720

Totally.

721

So I think that that is really challenging

for me is that I don't have all the help

722

that I would like, but I don't know.

723

I don't, it's difficult to find the right,

um, kind of the right compatibility and

724

the right, like the right timing of,

um, bringing, bringing people in and,

725

or, or how to, Cause it's like a, it's

like I'm running like a tiny taco truck.

726

you know?

727

It's a

728

business.

729

But it's like, okay, do I need somebody?

730

like a separate person to like do

this whole thing as their whole job

731

or like as part, do I need to hire the

person who does that for their company?

732

And you know, does just someone to do the

tour accounting or like things like that.

733

So I think those things are really hard.

734

And

735

I think for a long time, musicians

have been kind of told like, like

736

hand

737

all that to other people and like,

738

You

739

don't want to,

740

Be burdened with those things, but

for me, I'm like, but do we say

741

that to everyone who like runs a

742

business like You want to open up a taco

shop and they're like hand everything

743

to a management company hand everything

to like It's just a different thing

744

so I love learning the ropes of all

these different things and I love

745

Feel like when I like I have so

much compassion and respect for my

746

booking agent because I have done

747

a worse job at her job.

748

Like, she's doing a great job, you know?

749

Jason English (Host):

you've been in her shoes.

750

Maya De Vitry: I've been in her

shoes, and she's so much better than

751

I am and so much more organized and

I have so much respect for her, and

752

so I really love It's very interesting

to me, to like, be able to see all

753

the gears turning, and see what

it takes, and know what it takes,

754

and appreciate what it takes.

755

Jason English (Host): to get

756

Maya De Vitry: And then, but that is

why that is the biggest challenge for

757

me then, to get on stage and be like,

okay, now, I get to be fully present.

758

I've, I've earned

759

being

760

an artist, and you know, and it's,

I think another challenge is, for

761

where I'm at right now, is when.

762

it's,

763

challenging to me when I get feedback from

people or like questions like, um, wow, it

764

looks like you have a really nice summer.

765

Like, you have so many weeks off.

766

And I think it's really challenging to

hear that because I took, I took about

767

four days off over the Fourth of July.

768

And that's, but other than that, like,

769

I'm like any other person and

I'm going, like I'm working

770

every day in some way, you know?

771

And it's, so I think it's challenging to,

that as if the tour is the hardest part.

772

But it's like the tour, when I

get to the tour, I'm like, YES!

773

Oh my gosh, I get to, this is really

hard, but like, I get to play music now.

774

I have worked so hard for

all these pieces to align.

775

We have been strategizing for how to

get me from here to here for months

776

and we figured it out and now we're

going to do this and the t shirts

777

have been ordered and the things have

been shipped to the right places and

778

Jason English (Host): places

and Importing, exporting,

779

Maya De Vitry: yeah, like all

these behind the scenes things.

780

So I think that's challenging.

781

Like where I'd like to be.

782

Is that some of that stuff is a little

more automated or smoother or I have

783

Like some really key people and some

really key roles helping me with some

784

things

785

Jason English (Host): that makes sense.

786

Um, so you mentioned being on the

stage is sort of your happy place.

787

I I heard an interview where you,

you were talking about, Uh, Like the

788

physicality of things, the mental state

emotions, and like, you know, tensing

789

up a little bit and learning how, maybe

how to hold the guitar differently And

790

which is.

791

Again,

792

you've grown up playing music, lots of

different instruments, musical family,

793

mountain stage, world cafe, stray

birds, like all these things, like

794

it's, for me as a fan, it's shocking

to hear that that would be a challenge

795

for you at some point, I guess.

796

Tell me, tell me, did, what

did it take to realize that?

797

And how have you kind of navigated that?

798

Maya De Vitry: think it was, it was

part of the transition of being in

799

a band to this idea of being solo.

800

And, um, I really struggled with,

um, like for a while I really

801

struggled with thinking that people

were, like I think I had inflated.

802

the importance, like you're saying,

like the Stray Birds are going to

803

be important in Americana music.

804

and,

805

and that's like its own, I

wasn't thinking in that way.

806

It was more like the, I had inflated

the importance or of that band

807

in

808

my own life.

809

And that, and I had

inflated this idea that

810

some of those fans were angry.

811

That we didn't exist

anymore or angry at me,

812

Jason English (Host): Oh, got it,

813

yeah.

814

Maya De Vitry: um, for, because I was

the only one who kind of continued on.

815

Like I had so many songs inside of me and

I just kept going and I started releasing

816

solo records and I kind of didn't look

back, but I did look back in the same way.

817

I was like, I would be playing

my new songs, but feeling like,

818

because like, because The Stray

Birds was such a controlled.

819

environment.

820

It was so,

821

Jason English (Host):

comfortable probably,

822

Maya De Vitry: it was, It

823

was, um, it was comfortable in some ways

824

and it was also extremely

825

uncomfortable in other ways.

826

And I think that that

827

really, there was this really disturbing

828

balance.

829

Jason English (Host): you

830

Maya De Vitry: for me and like

being on stage in that band and

831

being in the day to day and the

interpersonal dynamic of that band,

832

it was disturbing how comfortable I

was with the kind of, the specific kind

833

of discomfort that it required of me

834

in

835

myself and in what I was giving

and, and that I kind of couldn't

836

be creative outside of that.

837

It was like a very, um, It

was a very controlled space

838

and a very, like, real wall,

839

kind of

840

like, you can't play outside of

this band, like, that kind of, uh,

841

an atmosphere, um, an attitude.

842

And

843

so I think shaking that off, you

know, was like, I still was in that.

844

Like, I would get on stage and it

would just be like, You can't do this.

845

Like, you can't

846

be like, You, you, you ruined something.

847

You,

848

you've, it

849

doesn't matter.

850

Like, like, it was a new, In some

ways, I was more comfortable than ever.

851

It's like I'd swapped places.

852

Like, my

853

spirit, my spirit was like,

So, so comfortable in my new

854

songs

855

Where my spirit had just been like,

856

Jason English (Host): it.

857

Yeah.

858

Maya De Vitry: you know, in the old thing.

859

But now I'm on stage and I'm like,

860

physically

861

I'm leading.

862

I never saw myself as the front person.

863

I've seen reviews.

864

I've seen, um, like articles and

stuff that have described me as the

865

lead singer of the Stray Birds and I

866

never, ever saw myself that way.

867

So, um,

868

when I suddenly for the first

time in my perception was the lead

869

singer or was like leading the band.

870

It's like, I could feel this void

871

on

872

like either side of my body.

873

Like,

874

but who's got my back up here.

875

Even if there were other people on

stage, it was like, people were coming

876

to see me and my name was on the thing.

877

And it

878

like,

879

I had gotten so comfortable being on stage

in the context of a band, and then this,

880

it was just, it just felt so different.

881

And like, from the outside, like, when

I'm thinking about it, I'm like, that's

882

Jason English (Host): your

883

Maya De Vitry: it doesn't, it's all

in your head, you know, like, but,

884

but that, there had been like a really

big switch in that comfort, discomfort

885

Jason English (Host): I was on

the bass in the Stray Birds.

886

It was

887

in last tour that

888

Maya De Vitry: Yeah.

889

Yeah.

890

And now I am so, I feel like,

so we, I played Union Transfer

891

in Philadelphia.

892

Great

893

venue.

894

I was opening for the Wood

895

Duo, um, just one other person on

stage with me, Joel Timmons, who tours

896

with me a lot as my guitar player.

897

And my former bandmate, Charlie,

who played bass in the Stray Birds,

898

was in the audience in October 2023.

899

And in, like, February 2018, or January

900

Birds ever did, we played at Union

Transfer, opening for the Wood Brothers.

901

So I was like on the same tour.

902

physical stage, the same room, everything.

903

And Joel and I just, it was like

this flowing, fluid, joyful show.

904

And it was so amazing.

905

It's like that Charlie was there and,

906

and he's been so, so supportive all these

years and like after the show and he

907

was his, his feedback of just like, wow.

908

Like you guys are, it's like, that

is, it was just so amazing to see.

909

the difference and like, because

he was like, I remember, I

910

know what we felt like this.

911

I know what we felt like on this

stage six years ago or whatever.

912

And like, you are, I'm really happy for

913

Jason English (Host): Oh my gosh.

914

How good.

915

did

916

Maya De Vitry: so every, so good.

917

Like every once in a while, there's

918

those moments where it's kind

of like the two things like

919

intersect the two layers of time.

920

And, and then I'm like,

I've come a long way.

921

Like, This is an and I'm on the

right path for myself now, like,

922

I don't want to go back to that.

923

I do know that that felt

comfortable and uncomfortable.

924

And it was the bad kind of combination.

925

And this was worth all the discomfort

of, of like all the questions of like,

926

why I had to leave or what was going you

know, or why I play with electric guitars

927

and drums now or why I I don't you know,

928

Jason English (Host): No.

929

totally.

930

Well,

931

hopefully in

932

Maya De Vitry: it was worth it.

933

Jason English (Host): well, hopefully

in those moments where you're, you're

934

thinking about physical therapy and HR,

you go back to that, which is like, okay,

935

it's, this is, this is where I need to be.

936

Maya De Vitry: Totally.

937

Totally.

938

And really, I'm like, really, I

just, I just kind of want to do

939

HR better for my own, for my own

940

music.

941

I

942

just wish I could give healthcare

to the people in my band.

943

I just wish I could, and I, you know,

I just need to figure out, like, the

944

right stretch after a long drive.

945

I need to, like, work

on my hamstrings and,

946

Jason English (Host): more self care.

947

Maya De Vitry: yeah.

948

I think I'm like, my interests

are like telling me things.

949

Maybe I could just apply

those things to this.

950

Jason English (Host): guess, um, at

this stage, you know, you're I guess.

951

Um, At this stage, you know, you're

952

34 been through a lot.

953

You're on

954

a, a great trajectory right now.

955

What, what are you most

curious about today?

956

Maya De Vitry: Hmm.

957

Most curious about, you know,

I'm, I've been really, really

958

curious about the idea of rest and

959

I have been, I found my way to

this random I really love finding

960

random audiobooks on Spotify.

961

Um, it's something called like

Sabbath as Resistance and this idea

962

of, um,

963

taking time to be, like, taking time

to really, really, like, stop the

964

work and stop The, the um, living in

965

economic water that we're all swimming

in and just being in a space of

966

Presence

967

and community with people in some way.

968

And I've like, we've been

starting to have these weekly

969

music get togethers at our house

here and just like having people come

970

and Sometimes it lasts three hours.

971

One time someone stayed for 11

972

hours,

973

Jason English (Host): for a long time.

974

And so,

975

Maya De Vitry: our friend Lily that

we hadn't seen for a long time.

976

And so just, just playing like going

around the circle and sharing songs

977

and, and talking about like why we love

this song and where we learned it from.

978

And, and like, we kind of have this

loose rule, like put the phones away, you

979

know, don't read lyrics off the phone.

980

Like just try, I don't know.

981

I'm really curious kind of about

982

like reaching.

983

It feels like reaching back, in a

way, like reaching back to a, um,

984

A, yeah, like,

985

Kind of like, like, let's, let's

make sure we're setting time apart

986

for, like, not forward motion,

not re not, like, striving.

987

And not, um, gaining anything.

988

In a material way.

989

Or in a, Like,

990

like, or not, um,

991

Jason English (Host): Yeah.

992

It's

993

Maya De Vitry: And just like letting that

all fall away and just like being with

994

other humans and like, it doesn't matter

who is on tour right now or who just put

995

a record out or who, like, like there was

one of our friends, like she had a baby

996

like two years ago and she hasn't gotten a

chance to like play lots of shows lately.

997

And, um, and it was like her two

year old was there like playing

998

harmonica, like as part of this jam.

999

And I was like, this is crazy.

00:47:18,707 --> 00:47:21,947

And, and I, you know, no one's

like taking videos or anything

00:47:21,957 --> 00:47:23,537

like it's not for social media.

00:47:23,557 --> 00:47:29,457

It's like, this is like our space of

rest and rejuvenation and like being

00:47:29,457 --> 00:47:31,027

a part of the musical community.

00:47:31,027 --> 00:47:34,697

I do have here in Nashville, but

like making the space for that.

00:47:34,867 --> 00:47:36,817

So I'm really curious to see like how

00:47:36,827 --> 00:47:39,047

that grows in the next.

00:47:39,977 --> 00:47:42,487

Like year and basically like if

we can keep it up, we've done it

00:47:42,537 --> 00:47:44,087

three weeks in a row

00:47:44,087 --> 00:47:48,097

now Um, we'll be out of town this

weekend So we're doing it again the

00:47:48,097 --> 00:47:52,137

following weekend and then there's it's

I might be able to do it like once a

00:47:52,137 --> 00:47:55,947

month Through the fall even like, you

know Because i'm even with touring

00:47:55,947 --> 00:47:57,557

like i'm i'm home for these pockets

00:47:57,557 --> 00:47:57,957

of time

00:47:57,957 --> 00:48:00,607

and it's like maybe we could do

it once a month And then in the

00:48:00,607 --> 00:48:04,467

winter, hopefully, you know every

sunday, but just things like that.

00:48:04,467 --> 00:48:05,727

I'm really curious about

00:48:06,837 --> 00:48:07,387

um

00:48:08,007 --> 00:48:08,817

Making more

00:48:10,057 --> 00:48:15,437

Uh, of a commitment to just, just

making the space and, you know, build

00:48:15,437 --> 00:48:17,457

it and they will come kind of thing.

00:48:17,677 --> 00:48:20,447

But it's not for, it's

not for anything external.

00:48:20,737 --> 00:48:21,047

It's not

00:48:21,054 --> 00:48:21,757

Jason English (Host): Just fulfillment.

00:48:21,827 --> 00:48:24,617

Maya De Vitry: just, it's just

for the community and nourishment.

00:48:24,927 --> 00:48:26,747

And I don't feel like

I have enough of that.

00:48:26,747 --> 00:48:29,657

I'm inspired to do that because my,

we've been calling it gospel hour

00:48:29,667 --> 00:48:32,737

because my dad does this with his

friend, Lefty, and they'll just get

00:48:32,737 --> 00:48:34,127

together for like an hour and they'll

00:48:34,657 --> 00:48:34,847

On

00:48:34,847 --> 00:48:36,487

Sundays and play songs.

00:48:36,527 --> 00:48:39,377

And then they'll be like, Alright, my

dad's like, I gotta go work on this thing.

00:48:39,377 --> 00:48:42,197

And Lefty's like, I gotta

get home to this thing.

00:48:42,197 --> 00:48:46,777

But they've spent an hour playing

songs together and singing.

00:48:47,127 --> 00:48:51,427

And I'm like, Gosh, the amount

of weeks that go by where I don't

00:48:51,437 --> 00:48:56,307

spend an hour, even an hour in a

month, just playing songs for fun

00:48:56,337 --> 00:48:58,257

with my friends is embarrassing.

00:48:58,387 --> 00:48:59,427

And I want to change that.

00:48:59,707 --> 00:49:01,207

And so I'm working

00:49:01,307 --> 00:49:03,157

Jason English (Host): well ok great answer

00:49:03,352 --> 00:49:03,602

Maya De Vitry: yeah

00:49:03,951 --> 00:49:06,122

Jason English (Host): appreciate

your time It was an honor.

00:49:06,122 --> 00:49:07,767

What you do is important.

00:49:08,077 --> 00:49:08,967

is an honor.

00:49:09,057 --> 00:49:10,037

What you do is important.

00:49:10,362 --> 00:49:10,872

Maya De Vitry: thank you

00:49:10,957 --> 00:49:11,747

Jason English (Host):

know that, all right?

00:49:11,827 --> 00:49:11,877

Thanks.

00:49:12,177 --> 00:49:15,550

So, um, don't go into

HR, Physical Therapy.

00:49:15,550 --> 00:49:16,102

Come on.

00:49:16,212 --> 00:49:20,182

Maya De Vitry: Now I just got to fine

tune some things in my De Vitry company

00:49:20,187 --> 00:49:21,997

Jason English (Host):

do vitriol That's right.

00:49:22,387 --> 00:49:23,777

Uh, anyway, I appreciate it.

00:49:23,797 --> 00:49:25,177

I would love it if you

could play a song or two.

00:49:25,242 --> 00:49:25,262

Yeah.

00:49:25,592 --> 00:49:26,092

Maya De Vitry: Okay, Yeah.

00:49:26,282 --> 00:49:27,332

yeah, yeah, I'll get

00:49:27,342 --> 00:49:27,892

the guitar out

00:49:27,942 --> 00:49:28,112

Jason English (Host): All right.

00:49:28,112 --> 00:49:28,582

Thanks, Maya.

00:49:28,982 --> 00:49:29,162

All right.

00:49:29,372 --> 00:49:33,381

Maya De Vitry: I wrap my arms around you?

00:50:13,059 --> 00:50:20,381

go, back you come back there to meet me?

00:50:21,237 --> 00:50:25,011

I wrap you?

00:50:25,011 --> 00:50:27,341

will the tears rise

00:50:31,930 --> 00:50:41,366

I stay Will the tears

rise up if I stay a home?

00:51:04,356 --> 00:51:09,631

ends with a ribbon around

it, I know, I know.

00:51:10,756 --> 00:51:13,921

Nothing ends with a ribbon around

00:51:18,449 --> 00:51:21,426

ribbon around it, yes I

00:51:36,346 --> 00:51:36,436

know.

00:51:39,566 --> 00:51:46,811

I try to grow the wings

I need If I try, if

00:51:48,873 --> 00:51:54,660

leave behind just a little bit of If I

00:51:54,660 --> 00:52:06,131

grow the wings I need If I try

to ribbon round Yes, Yes, I know.

00:52:49,731 --> 00:52:50,738

Jason English (Host): welcome.

00:52:50,806 --> 00:52:54,174

Maya De Vitry: the footsteps.

00:52:54,174 --> 00:52:57,542

Fucking chaos.

00:52:57,542 --> 00:53:00,910

I know.

00:53:00,910 --> 00:53:04,278

It's crazy.

00:53:04,443 --> 00:53:08,878

a river made of gold silver in the hills.

00:53:09,593 --> 00:53:14,083

There's a ladder if we find

it, but we likely never will.

00:53:14,973 --> 00:53:19,508

There's water at the bottom,

it trickles down the rungs.

00:53:19,718 --> 00:53:24,963

to to the tune of Just

enough to pay the bills.

00:53:25,859 --> 00:53:30,156

Money fills canyons in

the pockets of a fear.

00:53:30,156 --> 00:53:31,275

That's the

00:53:31,513 --> 00:53:32,473

the way it flows

00:53:33,103 --> 00:53:35,413

in the red, white, and blue.

00:53:36,253 --> 00:53:38,643

every mile of railroad

00:53:39,107 --> 00:53:43,258

the the land, He's a long life of labor.

00:53:43,678 --> 00:53:44,558

for a working

00:53:56,268 --> 00:54:04,058

It would surely be a wonder a man to

build alone all the rails and steel

00:54:04,058 --> 00:54:13,063

and dig the oil that he But the riches

of the world are carried On the back

00:54:13,063 --> 00:54:16,943

of every man who works to the bone.

00:54:17,395 --> 00:54:21,793

it fills canyons canyons in the the few.

00:54:21,793 --> 00:54:27,413

That's the way the way it flows

in the red, white, and blue.

00:54:27,658 --> 00:54:30,543

lead my mile a railroad

00:54:31,078 --> 00:54:32,033

It's the land.

00:54:32,544 --> 00:54:33,033

road.

00:54:33,288 --> 00:54:37,088

a long life of labor man.

00:54:58,396 --> 00:55:03,298

As we try to make the mortgage,

the bank gets the news

00:55:03,958 --> 00:55:08,128

check from the capital,

it all theirs to use.

00:55:08,454 --> 00:55:09,457

least it's

00:55:09,528 --> 00:55:17,283

Yes, it's always you and me Sam

They just They just don't call them

00:55:17,283 --> 00:55:19,989

handouts when they're wearing suits.

00:55:19,989 --> 00:55:27,718

And he fills candies in the pockets

of a It's the way it flows in the

00:55:27,998 --> 00:55:33,814

red, blue every mile red, white,

00:55:34,168 --> 00:55:50,365

the land a long life of you're running all

across the land Is a long life of labor

00:55:50,365 --> 00:55:54,503

Jason English (Host): for a working man