Who says women can’t do whatever they want whenever they want and make a huge difference in people’s lives? You can even be a world-renowned female Elvis impersonator! Imagine getting your master’s in music after being a music and dance instructor, author, and motivational speaker and ramping it up to a new level to front your son’s rock band at the age of 57! Joan Minnery did just that. She got North American acclaim as a female Elvis impersonator and has never stopped. Her motto is Sing it loud, sing it proud – whatever it takes! Joan describes herself as a pint-sized blonde glitter Dolly Parton. Her son’s award-winning band is called SIVLE which is Elvis spelled backwards. They play everything from the 50s to current-day rock along with Southern Rock and original music. In addition to Elvis, Joan can also sing like Bette Midler or Janis Joplin. Get inspired and entertained by Joan's story and learn why she calls herself the Little Engine That Can in this episode with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro.

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#Elvis #ElvisImpersonator #FemaleElvisImpersonator #SIVLE #JoanMinnery #Music #ShelleyJohnson #ShelleyMJohnson #KathyTuccaro #WomenRoadWarriors

This is Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Ticaro.

From the corporate office to the cab of a truck, they're here to inspire and empower women in all professions.

So gear down, sit back and enjoy.

Welcome.

We're an award winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights.

No topics off limits on our show, we power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need.

I'm Shelley and this is Kathy.

Who says women can't do what they want whenever they want and make a huge difference in people's lives.

Imagine going back to get your master's in music after being a music and dance instructor, author and motivational speaker and ramp it up to a new level to front your son's rock band.

At the age of 57, Joan Minery did just that.

Her motto is sing it loud, sing it proud, whatever it takes.

She also got famous as a female Elvis impersonator.

Joan describes herself as a pint sized blonde glitter Dolly Parton.

Her son's band is called Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.

They play Everything from the 50s to current day rock along with southern rock and original music.

Joan refers to herself as the little engine that can.

5ft 2 inches of peppy dynamite.

This pint sized energizer bunny is a beacon of energy as she entertains with her son's band and does motivational showcases in music, vocal and dance fitness classes across North America.

Her undergraduate degree is in child studies with a diploma in Early Childhood education.

She's received awards for her volunteerism and health advocacy.

We've got Joan with us today and we're looking forward to learning more about her.

Welcome Joan.

You are amazing.

Thank you for being on the show.

Woohoo.

Thank you.

Quite the rock star.

Thank you.

Homework.

Holy moly.

Wow.

I'm exhausted just listening to all the stuff.

A lot.

Holy.

Yeah, it's.

It's a lot.

It's.

I know sometimes when, when I'm talking about myself and I certainly do love to talk about myself, but when I am reading my bio or someone else is reading it, I just think, wow, I did all that.

Oh, I forgot I did that.

Oops.

Well, I forgot about that.

Yeah, it's.

It's been, it's been a whirlwind.

I love every moment that I'm alive, but.

And I've lived every moment that I've been alive, so.

And we're not over yet.

I'm just getting started.

There you go.

So how did all of this begin?

And what gets you up in the morning?

Well, way back, way, way back in, in the 90s, I started line dancing.

And I've always entertained, I've always sang, but I never sang professionally or did anything.

But I started line dancing and just, I really got hooked and I really got hooked on line dancing.

And our team at the time wanted to enter a line dancing competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

And it was my idea.

And I just, at the time, Billy Joel's song All Shook up from Honeymoon in Vegas had just come on the charts.

And that was the big line dance song at the time.

So we were going to do the competition to that song.

But I say, why don't we do a tribute to Elvis?

Why don't.

And the next thing, the whole thing mushroomed.

Next thing we were talking about, let's get Elvis jumpsuits, let's get Elvis wigs, let's get sunglasses.

And then we, we brought in an Elvis impersonator to teach us how to do Elvis moves and Elvis dance moves.

And the next thing, myself and our team captain at the time choreographed an Elvis inspired blind dance.

And hence the Graceliners were born.

That's where it all started.

Wow.

Yeah.

When we went out on that stage, five women dressed as Elvis and we never hid the fact that we were women.

Most of us were quite bodacious.

And so we never hid that we were just women, female line dancers dressed as, as Elvis.

But when I went out and I was in the front and I stood across the stage on my knees and I knew we had something, I looked at that all American crowd and I went, if we can put this American crowd who love, you know.

Well, I know you're American, but Americans love Elvis.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

If we can put them on their feet, we have got something.

Now the captain of the team at that time was only with us for that particular show.

And then she, she moved west and so I took over and I went ballistic with it.

Morning, noon and night, I ate, lived and dreamed the Graceliners.

And we were featured in the National Examiner.

We were contacted by Oprah Winfrey.

We were on tabloids all over the world and we started traveling and yeah, the next thing we found out, we did not know at the time.

There is a whole Elvis world out there.

Oh yeah, there's Elvis basketballs, there's concerts.

Well, we could know this.

And we Started getting invited and we started becoming celebrities.

That's so cool.

That's.

That's where it started.

So that was in.

And so the dance team itself.

Then I started singing within the dance team.

So I started singing as, as an Elvis impersonator or an Elvis tribute artist as they like to be called now.

And that's basically where it all really began.

I always sang and I've always danced.

I have always dreamed of being just an actress and a singer and a dancer and all that, but I had never done it.

So I found myself.

I was 29 and on this dance team and we were just, we really, really had something huge and it took off and yeah, that's where it started.

So I had a question.

Elvis line dancing.

Obviously he was known for his wiggles and stuff.

How exactly do you do an Elvis line dance?

That's right.

Yeah.

Well, it's that he has.

We started, we really started watching all of Elvis videos.

Jailhouse Rock obviously because he choreographed that entire routine.

But yeah, I got a lot of living to do like his early stuff.

And we really started watching his dance move.

So we started incorporating that.

So you know, the most well known there's line dance in the world is Electric Slide and the Tush Push.

So what we would do is we would take line dance steps and we would like, we do like a great white to the right and then we do an Elvis move and then we do a great fight to the left and then we throw in a couple that need Wiggles and that.

But it, but we started, we, we started to a country in western song.

But when we started our show, the Graceliner show, it was all to Elvis music.

And our three and a half minute routine ended up into a 45 minute show.

And then we were traveling.

We were like at Denim and Diamonds in New York.

We were, you know, we were featured on cnn.

Like we were, we just went crazy.

But yeah, we were, we would dance as Elvis, we looked as Elvis and then I started singing and things just kind of mushroom from there.

And then lo and behold, I started winning a couple of Elvis competitions.

So very cool.

Yeah.

Male dominated world did not go over very well at first.

But I, I think once they realized that we weren't trying to be, we were, we were, we were just moms and moms and grandmothers just having some Fun.

And, you know, I just like, said, okay, well, we'll enter the contest.

And I started winning or placing, so.

And that's, that's, that.

That's where it all started.

And this is one thing after another.

And I left the Great Sliders after three years.

I formed a brand new group.

I really wanted to sing and the girls wanted to dance, so they didn't.

The whole singing thing, you know, they, they weren't singers.

But I, I really found my voice by then, and I'd had a couple of people say, you know, John, you really need to be singing as yourself rather than singing as Elvis, because you have to change your voice.

And so I started a brand new 50s and 60s group called Memphis Motion.

And I was with that group for 13 years.

And that's where the singing part of my career started.

Wow.

And.

And just completely mushroom because then, you know, I, I started my Janice Joplin tribute.

And I love Bette Midler and, and all the.

I, I'm a.

I'm a very big Broadway voice and.

Yeah.

And it's just that the more that more that I sang and the more I went out there, the more I.

I realized I was doing exactly what I was meant to do.

So the dancing led to the singing, and the singing is where I have been from that moment to this.

So you've got a wide range.

Bette Midler, Janis Joplin, Elvis.

That's quite a juxtaposition.

That is.

Oh, gosh, I know.

I tried it all.

I don't do it all well, but I'll sing anything people ask me.

Is there a song that you can't saying is.

Everyone says, you know, John, you're so talented.

And I said, yes, I cannot and I have tried, and I will not change the key.

I cannot sing Think by Aretha Franklin.

Cannot do it.

It sounds horrible.

That is.

That is the song that has eluded me for my entire life.

But yeah, and that's.

And of course it's by Aretha, but I can sing other stuff by Aretha, but not that song.

That's.

That's my nemesis.

Well, you know, I would say that you have tackled a lot of other very complicated styles, you know, so that's pretty amazing.

And you refer to yourself as the little engine that can.

I can see why you really have.

Where did all of this take you 20 years hence from being at an Elvis line dance group.

What did you start doing after that?

I mean, I.

We really want to know, how did you start fronting for your son's band?

I mean, that.

That's amazing.

Yes, that.

That is.

It was.

It was an unexpected thing.

I'm a motivational speaker and I had.

I had also written a book.

I used to be extremely heavy, and I wrote a book about my walking my way back to me and about my weight loss and had overcome a lot of adversity, some, you know, abusive relationships and toxic toxicity in my life.

And so I wrote this book.

And so I was putting on this motivational presentation here in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario.

My son and his band partner at the time, Brad Bridges, and my son's name is Bill Minery.

They were in a band, in a rock band.

And I had asked them if they would come on stage with me so we could sing.

I forget what song it was they were singing.

I know I sang Can Help.

Fallen in Love, for sure.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter.

I'll think about it as we're going on.

But I'd asked them if they could play it live because I didn't want to sing it to tracks.

And so they did.

And then they also.

Then I still have a line dance team, so we came on and dance to a Don't Be Cruel as well.

But anyway, so they.

We were singing and we had a lot of.

Lot of success on.

On that particular stage.

And as I was coming off the stage, my son said to me, mom, I think we should form a band.

Was my son at the time would be 25.

And I said, what is it, Mom?

I think we got something here.

He said, that was great out there.

He said, I, you know, I love performing with you and, you know, we need a, you know.

You know.

I said, would you have a band?

He says, yeah, we have a band.

He says, but I think we should form a band.

And I went, you want to form a band with your mom?

What?

I was like, what?

Exactly.

And.

And so I said.

And then.

And then Brad came off the stage too, and he says.

And he said, yeah, I'd be down for that.

I think that's really cool.

He says, we know we all get along.

We get this great sound.

So we are.

I remember this vividly three days after that particular performance.

So we were only doing all the songs at the time.

We went downstairs and the very first song that we did as a band in our basement was Creep by Radiohead.

And I had never sang Creep before, but I had.

I had seen it performed on American Idol by one of the contestants.

And all three of us had this epiphany moment, this.

And we Were all in tears, all three of us.

We realized that the lyrics applied to our lives.

We had all been called creeps.

We had all been felt.

We.

We had all felt like creeps at times and that and people who, you know, wouldn't date us or wouldn't acknowledge us.

But it was amazing, the sound.

And that is the song that really catapulted the band because we were doing covers predominantly in the beginning.

And the next thing we.

So we worked out a 45 minute show.

A lot of oldies, a lot of Beatles love, huge Beatles band, a lot of Elvis, a lot of Beatles, a lot of ccr, Janis Joplin.

And then we would always like the catalyst would always be creep.

We died.

It's just the.

I guess it's just the way because of my Broadway background, I wasn't singing that song as a rock and roll singer.

I was singing it as if I wrote the song myself that it was.

And it's.

I was singing the story and we just felt it and every time we played it and the more we played it, the more people were being really affected in the audience.

And we had a lot of men like just not visibly like bawling but crying like they were just like, wow.

Like we, we have.

And they were sharing with me, you know, how they, you know, walked up to a girl and asked her out on a date or asked her to dance in high school and always get lost crate, you know, and, and you know, looking at them and it had brought back that memory.

So that's where we just started getting bookings.

And the more and more that.

That we were out the.

The better of known we were becoming.

My son decided on the name I was not because I, I just like, you know, my whole life has always been about all this.

But he said, no, Mom.

He said, it has to be that name.

It has to be Sybil.

He said Elvis is responsible for everything, everything musical to do with our family.

It has to be that name.

And so I say okay.

I said, I said, well, you guys are.

So you want to.

So you want to be in a band with your mom.

You want to call it Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.

All right.

It's great.

Yeah.

We, we've had a huge, wonderful run.

And my sister Anne, we started writing original music and we, we got.

We got booked for this massive festival here in Brantford, Ontario at the time it was called what the Fest.

It's now called Crew Fest, but at the time it's called what the Fest.

And the criteria was it had to be original music.

Well, we didn't have any original music.

So we was like, that's it.

We're going, we're going to get together.

And so my son Bill, my brother Bob, my sister Ann and myself.

So we got the four minories are writing music and then Brad, obviously Brad is with us as well.

And so we started, we wrote original songs for, for that show.

We did really well on the show.

Then we recorded them.

Brad went on to do.

He joined another band and then, you know, it's wonderful, wonderful man and an amazing drummer.

But he left and we brought in Dan Taylor who has been with us now for four years.

He is our resident drummer and guitarist.

He plays rhythm guitar, also plays 17 other instruments.

And, and yeah, so we, we're now, you know, it's Dan and Bill and I.

My brother Bob sometimes plays with us, although Bob is, he's more folk oriented.

So like if we're doing a coffee house or like a type of folk type of venue, then he'll come out.

But it's mainly just Dan and Bill and I and we've just released another album of all original tunes.

That's a lot more fun than retiring, don't you think?

Yeah.

Gosh, yeah.

Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.

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Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.

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We want to help as many women as possible.

Joan Minary has an incredible attitude and gives back to people through music.

Her energy is nonstop and so is her talent.

She's been a female Elvis impersonator where she's gotten North American acclaim.

She won Elvis tribute competitions as a woman.

She was even contacted by Oprah.

People love her as an actress, singer and dancer.

She wowed the crowds doing Elvis line dancing with the Grace Liners.

She eventually went on to form the group Memphis Motion.

After years of doing that, she wasn't about to stop there.

At the age of 57, she decided to front for her son's band, which is called Civil or Elvis spelled backwards.

Along with original music, they play a lot of Elvis, Beatles and CCR and a lot of other oldies.

This year, they won first place gold for the International Singer Songwriters association for the best band single for Sing It Like Pearl.

That deserves a huge round of applause.

If you haven't heard Joan, she's got a big Broadway voice and she wows crowds all over.

She can even sing like Bette Midler and Janis Joplin.

If that isn't enough, Joan's also a motivational speaker, teacher, and author.

Joan is also an ordained chaplain with Channel of Peace Ministries.

Her aim is to spread peace through music, self awareness, grace, fellowship, goodwill, and community involvement.

Joan's accomplishments are truly amazing, especially with her son's band.

Joan, you guys are really, you're a sensation and you're kind of following in the footsteps of like the cow cells, which is what the Partridge Family was based on.

It's really on usual.

I would think that you could do really well on some of these competitions like America's Got Talent or something like that.

I mean, I think people could really dig what you're doing.

Well, we, we get a lot of wonderful feedback from our audience.

It's my son is Interracial and looks absolutely nothing like me.

So I am blonde and blue eyed and big and short.

And he, if I could compare him to anyone, including body wise, he looks like the Rock, you know, it looks like Dwayne Johnson.

So a lot of people go, well, who's he?

And I'll go, that's my son.

And they'll go, what?

My son.

And, and, and he's, you know, he's got these great big huge arms.

But we, once they find that out and of course when, when my brother Bob's out too, but it's just like, wow, what a wonderful family thing.

And some people, I remember people when we first started, they were, they weren't making fun of him.

They were, they were insinuating that I was making him do it.

And it was like, oh, you gotta play with your mom, right?

And he'd go, no, I want to be here.

I love, I love being here.

I love being with my mom.

I just, I just love it.

So like.

And he's very defensive of that.

And so, but that was how it was in the beginning.

Now it's like, wow, this is so cool.

And we've had so many parents who have come out going, wow, I wish I could do something with my child like this.

Like, you know, and I, you know, now it's not how I expected things to be.

And I know he does have other musical endeavors and other musical projects as well.

And he's a, he's a heavy metal guitarist at heart and.

Oh wow, that's quite the contrast.

Yeah, yeah.

A massive, massive Metallica and Van Halen fan.

And that's, that's where his roots are.

But yeah, he does, but he's grown up on Elvis and the Beatles, so he always knew it.

But he's very, he's very in tune, pun intended, with what I love.

And so, and because like we are really, we are very, very close.

We're a lot like Elvis and his mom.

Very pretty.

Yeah, yeah.

And yeah, so he just like, oh no, if you, you want a guitar player, well, I could just say, why would you hire anybody else?

You hire me.

I want to be up there with you mom.

I love it.

And you know, we have a, we have a very funny camaraderie on stage because, you know, like sometimes like, you know, I'll tell him to do something and I have to remember that he's not my son when we're up there.

He's my bandmate, but I still kind of talk to him like he's my son, you know, or he'll just offhandedly say, mom, stop that.

But, yeah, we have a huge following.

We have a lot of fun when we're on stage.

He's very quiet.

Dan is very quiet.

But sometimes I wonder if they're so quiet because my personality is just so gregarious.

But, yeah, we just love what we're doing and we're having just monumental success with our band and we've just produced this brand new album and released it.

The title song was written for my dad, who was a World War II veteran.

And as he would leave, he would tap on the table and he'd go, attention, ladies and gentlemen.

And everybody would stop because my dad was so well known in the bar because he's a veteran.

And he would go, bless this house and everybody in it.

And everybody would raise a toast and they would cheer and off he would go.

Well, when he passed, they put up a plaque in his corner and it says, you know, his name was also Bill.

Bless this house and everybody in it.

We had kind of.

Not that we had forgotten about the story, but, you know, we had, you know, involved and gone.

And I looked at him and I said, you have been sent from heaven.

This is like man falling from the sky.

We are literally writing an original album and we've been looking for the song.

You have just written the song for us.

So we wrote this song about my dad beating at McGonagall's, tapping his cane and saying, bless this house and everybody in it.

And it turned.

It's turned into.

It was going to be a rock song.

It's turned into a country groove hit.

But that is all about my dad.

And that's the title of the album as well.

So it just.

Just things kind of fall into our laps at times.

And that was.

Yeah, yeah.

So that's.

That's wonderful.

That's the name of our album and we're having great success with it.

It sounds like part of what brings all of this together is you've got an organic synergy, but you.

You have a message about life.

The things you're doing really resonate with people because it's real.

Yeah, I.

I'm.

I'm unapologetically me.

And, And I am real.

I'm short, I'm overweight.

I.

But I'm also.

I'm a mom who just absolutely loves her son and will do absolutely anything for him.

I spoil him crazy.

I have a wonderful boyfriend named Keith, and.

But I teach music and I teach.

I teach dance, but I'm always just me.

And I love to have a lot of fun and.

And I'm incredibly honest about myself and my struggles with my weight and my struggles with past relationships.

And I think that resonates with a lot of people.

And I think when I'm on stage, although I covered in glitter and I have really, really, really big blonde Dolly Partonier, but they see a mom, they see a mom, they see someone who's real and, you know, someone who, you know.

Yeah.

Sometimes struggles to pay the bills and, and, you know, sometimes doesn't always drive the way she should.

Yeah.

And.

Yeah, just.

Just out there just trying to.

I'm.

I'm living my dream.

I.

For my entire life, I wanted to be an actress, I wanted to be a singer, I wanted to be a dancer.

Life got in the way.

Marriage and some hardships in the family.

And it just seemed when I was in my 40s and I finally decided to take care of my health, life really changed for me.

I lived a very.

I was always said way before 44, I was the loudest person in the room and I was the Comic Con stage, but I was the loneliest person in the entire.

In the tiger, the entire room, in the entire venue.

And I have never been happy in a romance.

I've never.

I've never met anyone who's of any substance.

And that's Keith.

And then the romance started.

And he was at the back of the class, then he was in the middle of the class.

He came to the front row.

Yeah.

And then the next thing, we were on the dance floor together.

And he's been my.

He.

I waited for him.

I met him when I was 44.

We got together when I was 46, and I waited for him for 46 years and I would wait another 46 if I knew I was going to meet him.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

That's the kind of stuff movies are about.

Yeah.

And it's funny, when he started talking to me, I kept saying to him, you know, I know your voice.

I don't know what it is.

And I kept thinking, does it remind me of an actor or a newscaster?

And so I would always get him to talk to me.

And I couldn't figure it out.

I've heard your voice before.

I know your voice.

That day that he told me the three words he said, I love you, my soul just ignited.

I went, that's the voice.

I have heard this voice in my dreams.

Wow.

I knew I knew that voice, but I couldn't put it together until I heard him say, I love you.

I know what you are.

Absolutely my destiny.

Absolutely.

You know, some say the line dancing led to the music, and the music led to Zumba and then weight loss and everything.

And I really, honestly believe that my entire path and all the hardships was all meant to come together for, for me to meet him.

Because then I appreciated what I, what I had and I was healthy and I was ready to permit myself to be happy finally.

And what a gift I got.

So I have the most amazing man.

I'm in a fantastic band.

I have a wonderful, supportive family, and I am teaching music, I'm teaching dance, I'm teaching fitness, and, and doing exactly what it is that I've always wanted to do.

And, and yeah, I'm a late bloomer, but yeah, I was like 60.

Yeah.

Who cares?

Bring it on.

Yeah, bring.

I gotta, I gotta tell you, I'm pretty envious of the, your, your son wanting to be on stage with you.

Because my daughter, ever since she's been little, has been moment, don't sing.

It's been the absolute opposite, opposite.

And still to this day, she's, if I start to sing in the car, she'll give me the big eye roll and like, really, Mom?

Really?

Come on, man.

There's people here.

That's funny.

I, I, I'm sure there's a couple of, there's a couple of moments that he has, he has wished that I, I, I don't do what I do.

But he, he's my son Bill, that group now his nickname is BJ for Billy Joe from when he was little.

And I still call him B.J.

even though he, you know, he wants me to call him Belt.

But he has always been my biggest fan.

He, he always loved listen to his mom Saying, and.

And I think because he was so young when I was with the Graceliners, because he was only like, he was five.

And in fact, he was.

He was interviewed by a reporter from the Toronto Star, and it was.

This is kind of what catapulted us to some.

Some fame because I went across a ticker tape and he said, what does your mommy do?

And his exact response was, my mommy does Elvis.

I love it.

That's great.

Well, so that was picked up on the ticker tape.

And the next thing, like, we.

We had so many reporters contacting us, it's like, you know, boy.

And I was like, well, he's.

He's only five, so I don't.

The double entendre of that he did not understand.

He just sent mommy to us.

Elvis.

But that has been our life, so.

And I have three floors of Elvis memorabilia in my house.

And it's just.

I have always been a huge fan.

I believe that music is.

They say love is the international language.

I believe that it's music.

And I firmly, firmly content that Elvis is the epitome of that.

You know, Elvis was such an influence to all of the major rock groups and even people today that are musicians.

I mean, he made a huge impact, not only in the music industry, but with people.

And he really was very.

He included everyone, too.

Everyone, you know, in.

In spite of the fact there was pushback in the music industry, he's like, no, I want these people in my show.

And he was steadfast about it.

So, I mean, he made such a wonderful impact on humanity, a wonderful change in inclusion in all of that.

And, yes, he got some pushback certainly in the very beginning, you know, what is that wiggling?

What was it on the Ed Sullivan show?

They had to always shoot him from the waist up because.

The waist up?

Yeah.

How dare you.

How dare you move your hips in the.

The girls were having these reactions that they didn't understand what was going on with their bodies.

Oh, right.

They knew something was tingling, right?

Yeah.

Oh, mom, what is that feeling?

Then the girls are turning around and seeing their moms out with the same belly, too.

It's like, oh, we got a problem.

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Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.

Joan Minary doesn't believe in stopping just because the calendar says she's a certain age.

What is age these days anyway?

People are way too concerned with what year they were born and they make that an excuse not to do something.

Years ago, Joan made herself a household name by being an Elvis impersonator.

As a woman, she got North American acclaim and was featured by major media.

She also got huge attention for her versatile vocal styles, acting and line dancing with the group the Graceliners.

She's extremely busy these days as a motivational speaker, teacher, chaplain, and author.

She also fronts for her son's band, which is called Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.

Joan started that endeavor at the age of 57.

Her accomplishments are amazing, and she says never say no to anything.

We're glad she isn't.

She's a great inspiration.

I still think it's amazing that a lot of what Joan does now began as a female Elvis impersonator.

Joan, it was wonderful that you could take Elvis to the forefront and influence your son and get his interest in music.

Yeah.

And what you're doing now, I think you're motivating a lot of people and you're a motivational speaker, too.

I'm kind of curious, what kind of motivational speaking do you do?

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It was a lot of hard work.

But anyway, so I started speaking for Tops.

Taking off pound sensibly.

That was where my first started.

Then I started branching out to a lot of other weight loss groups.

But then my, I just, my, my topics kind of started, you know, talking about empowering women and, you know, music and movement and, you know, just a couple other things, you know, like the hospitality of community music, the focus on seniors.

I do a talk on that about the art of movement.

And I really, really started getting into this whole I am conceptual, this like the I am concept of self love and self empowerment and to live in the I am not.

I will.

And so I do do a couple of.

I have various things.

Depends on who contacts me.

I always bring it back to my story of, you know, I was in, you know, a horrible relationship and a couple of issues of abuse and domestic discord, but about, you know, how I overcame some adversity.

And it's not so much about weight loss now.

It's just that I talked about the fact that.

About self care, of how my health led to my mental health and which was like.

And it needed repairing.

And that's where we are in a lot of my shows.

I think I do, you know, you know, put down the fork and get moving and, you know, talk about women in Spotlight.

And right now I'm doing a lot of, you know, the.

How women are treated in the music industry because we are.

We still and are not treated equal.

We still have it.

You can see what's happening right now with Taylor Swift.

You know, she is the most successful entertainer in the world right now.

And we are so obsessed with the fact that, you know, she's at a.

At a football game and being.

And being made fun of because she happens to have a love story.

If that, if it had been the other way, no one would be worried about it.

But it's just like, oh, well, her, you know, her music sucks and she's this and she's that and it's just, oh, gosh, yeah, Kim.

And Kim, just please stop.

But you know, in the, you know, Dolly, you know, what she's going through and you know, they talk about someone who is giving back to the world, not just the community, the world.

And you know, where we, instead of applauding her for all of her efforts, we, you know, make fun of her because she's in her 70s and put on a Dallas cheerleaders outfit.

You know, hello.

She looks amazing.

She rocked that outfit.

I'm sorry.

She looked amazing.

Yeah, it's like, hello.

But we, yeah, so it's.

It's okay for our very notable actors.

We all know who they are, who've just had.

Who are in their late 70s and 80s, have just had babies where, you know, we're, you know, we're going on and on about how wonderful it is that and it is, it's, you know, wonderful that Stones have, you know, the number one album in the world and, and we're, we're telling Cher and Madonna that they shouldn't be on, they shouldn't be on stage.

They need to go home.

Go home and be grandmothers.

Yeah.

Isn't that garbage?

It's just ridiculous.

You know, it's nonsense.

The Rolling Stones are being sponsored by aarp.

Nobody's got a problem with that.

And you know, but you're right, the judgmental, the judginess with women still goes on.

It's like, why?

Yeah.

And I experience it.

I know it.

As a festival director.

I ran couple of festivals here in town when you were at the helm.

You get the.

Well, you're, you know, you're a bitch.

You know, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're not a, you're or you're, you're sergeant major, whereas.

And you, you're, you're short and you're fat or you're old and you're, you're this and you're that.

You know, they don't do that to men.

No, they don't.

No.

Oh, they're there, they're distinguished, aren't they?

You know, they're the captain, they're the.

But, but a woman in authority, automatically, she gets this.

You know, she's, she's a witch.

Okay, She's a witch with a bee.

And, yeah, and, and, and I'm not, I'm just so far removed from the, from being that, that type of person.

Very fair and very fun loving.

But when you're in charge of something, people automatically, they just, oh, she must be, you know, oh, she's hard to deal with or she's, you know, she's difficult.

And, but, and in the music industry, you know, you've got ageism and, you know, I know understandably, if I'm going up against someone and just, you know, like Billie Eilish or Taylor Swift, they're going to choose them because of their youthfulness.

But I, I find it sometimes when we're trying to get gigs, when I go in, I see it because I, I'm looking at bar owners or brewery orders who are usually, you know, men in their mid-30s.

And they're looking at me thinking, oh, I don't know if I want you singing here.

So I got, but if I send in the guys, you know, and they say, let's say, oh, okay, yeah, we'll hire you.

Yeah.

And then, and then so then they watch the band and they go, oh, wow, you guys are really good.

It's like, well, so you didn't think I was good by myself?

You.

So when I logged in here as this, you know, 57 year old woman, you automatically assumed that I was no good?

Yeah.

Isn't that amazing?

The stereotypes, the judge, the judgment calls, you know, judging a book by its cover, it seems to happen more with women.

And, you know, the word assume.

I was taught that the word assume means you make an ass out of you and me.

Never make assumptions, you know.

Yep.

And it seems to go on unfortunately with women, and I'm hoping it changes.

And certainly, Joan, with what you're doing, this is really giving the message that yes, you can and heck with all the naysayers.

Yeah, to heck with it.

I, you know, we, we got really slammed with, as did a lot of musicians and a lot of musical people because of COVID And like, we lost a lot of work.

And I was out of work for two years at the centers where I teach dance.

I closed down, which is what brought me to going back to school.

I was like, I'm never going to be out of work again.

I'm going back to school.

I'm getting my master's.

And again, I was the oldest person in the room and locked in there with all guns of blaring and went, you know, I'm here and you know, and graduated with my youthful class and had people just like literally standing in the aisles cheering me as I was going across the stage at Wilson.

That's so great.

Yeah.

And I just like, no, I, I'm, I'm doing this.

I, I, my motto for the last five years has been say no to nothing.

Whatever.

I love it.

I love it.

I will.

Whatever comes up, I'm, I'm gonna do.

And when this thing about going back to school came up, I went, yep, I'm gonna do that.

And I was like, yeah, I will.

You know, and if, you know, I gotta fly somewhere or if I gotta go travel somewhere, or, you know, if we're playing a bowling alley, we'll say yes.

We're playing on a, you know, 3,000 seater, we'll say yes.

I say no to nothing.

I think that's a terrific mindset and something that everybody can take away and say, you know, she's got it, she's got it.

Joan, what would you be your advice to women if they really want to do something?

But they've always kind of said, well, I can't.

Or people have said, I can't.

It's too late.

What's your advice?

Oh, gosh, I.

What's my advice for someone who says they can't see?

I don't have that mindset.

I would tell them to quietly close the door in the bathroom and look in the mirror and look and talk to themselves.

Nobody else.

Just, you know, me, myself, and I.

And tell yourself in the mirror why you can't do it, because a lot of people can't do that.

You can't tell your.

You can say it, but when you're actually looking at yourself and it's like, now tell yourself why.

But look into your eyes in that mirror.

Look into your eyes.

And to say if, just for example, if you've always wanted to.

You always wanted to go back to school, you can put a thousand obstacles in front of you.

But when you are looking at yourself in your eyes, in the mirror, tell yourself why you want to go back to school.

And then those whys need to be yeses.

And it's like, no, no.

So you walked in here, you walked into the room saying, I can't do it.

But I want you to walk out of the room saying, you can do it, but you gotta look at yourself in.

In that mirror and just keep saying it over and over and over again.

Yes, I can.

Yes, I can.

Yes, I can.

Yes, I can.

And you need to live in the complete.

I am not.

I will not.

I was not.

I should have.

It's the I am.

And say, I am going back to school.

I am taking a dance class.

I am going to get a new job.

I am going to get my driver's license.

I am.

And even If I am 150 pounds, I am a size 10.

I don't care if you weigh 350 pounds.

You keep saying the I am the I.

Because everything you are responsible for the energy you bring into your own space.

And that's what you need to do in that bathroom.

You need to revitalize that energy, bring it back into your own space and this.

Live in the complete.

I am.

I am.

I love you.

Yeah, yeah.

Totally positive affirmations like that.

They're so powerful.

Joan, I would love to continue picking your brain here because you've got some wonderful philosophies on life, but we have to kind of wrap it up.

Totally understand that.

Where do people reach you?

Where can they follow the band?

Where can they buy the music?

You got all kinds of things out there that people can check out.

Yeah, well, to find me, myself and I just go to my website, which is joan minery.com so j o A N M I N n e r y.com so there you're going to find out about me, my motivational shows, my dance fitness stuff, my books and stuff like that.

If you want to buy our music or.

And support the band Spotify.

And you're looking for civil S I V L E and you're looking for civil from.

From Canada.

And.

Or you'll also find all of our.

The links for civil are also on my website.

Facebook.

I'm under Joan Minery.

It's just Facebook.com Joan Minery and I have a public page.

You're more than welcome to find any information about that.

Same thing.

Twitter, slash Joan Minery.

Instagram slash Joan Minery.

So it's a.

I got very easy to find, but really the best place.

Just go to my website.

You'll find out all the information there.

And if you don't find, you'll find links to a lot of our music and all of our activities and stuff that we're doing.

This is wonderful.

I really have enjoyed talking to you, Jo.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I've done a lot of talking.

No, that's good.

Oh, absolutely.

Great.

You got me energized.

I need to get into some sort of a line dance and I'm not sure what kind of swivel I'm going to be doing, but I think this is great.

Yeah.

Well, I'm really, I'm really happy to see line dancing has made a huge comeback.

Zumba took over and line dancing has really made a big comeback in the last couple years, but we're excited to be back again.

So.

Yeah, I just, I just keep doing it.

I'm again, say no to nothing and, and I'm here.

I'm again, I'm.

I'm two years off at 60 and there.

There ain't no stopping me.

Love it here.

Yeah, I love it.

Thank you, Joan.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you very much.

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You've been listening to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.

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