Full Transcript for Singer Songwriter Michael Veitch Discovers The Secret O Life From James Taylor

huge massacre, basically an Indian massacre. And 37 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:06.120 I think we're still paying off the debt, to tell 38 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:09.150 you the truth. I mean, it's rough sometimes here. 39 00:02:09.169 --> 00:02:12.490 I can so relate with that, Michael. And the reason 40 00:02:12.530 --> 00:02:14.490 why is because, I mean, being here in Carolina, I'm 41 00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:17.030 down here in the Catawba Nation area, as well as 42 00:02:17.090 --> 00:02:20.310 the Cherokee but there's so much history there. Just, just 43 00:02:20.389 --> 00:02:23.009 not even two miles from my home are these huge 44 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:26.069 rocks that back in the 1400, the native Americans lived in. 45 00:02:26.449 --> 00:02:28.729 I do believe the land is speaking. And that's the 46 00:02:28.770 --> 00:02:31.150 reason 32 years of my writing will go right back 47 00:02:31.210 --> 00:02:33.090 into the earth because I'm just here to borrow it 48 00:02:33.110 --> 00:02:35.050 for a moment, but it's going back in the earth. 49 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:37.750 We're all just here to borrow it. 50 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:38.669 It's so true. 51 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:44.030 It's absolutely true. I'm, We're on the same page with 52 00:02:44.069 --> 00:02:44.930 that one, for sure. 53 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:47.909 You do so many things with this album in the 54 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:51.530 way that, I mean, it's so inspiring and it really 55 00:02:51.569 --> 00:02:54.250 got me to explore even deeper. And that's what I 56 00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:56.439 love about what you're doing here. I mean, because, I mean, 57 00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:59.580 all the years that I have played Walk Away Renee, 58 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.819 did I ever think that this was a true crime song? 59 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:07.620 Never. Never. You know, look, she spoke to me from 60 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.340 beyond the grave. What can I say? 61 00:03:09.370 --> 00:03:09.439 Oh. 62 00:03:09.939 --> 00:03:13.150 I mean, I you know, look, we were finishing up 63 00:03:13.189 --> 00:03:16.909 the record. That whole thing in Minneapolis happened. I have 64 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:20.150 family out there, you know, and there's a you know, 65 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:23.969 it's personal with me. And, you know, it just I 66 00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:28.449 looked at Julie. I said, you know, something keeps telling 67 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:31.150 me to listen to Walk Away, Renee. I didn't even 68 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:34.050 know the song. I mean, it was a it was 69 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:36.729 kind of like before my time a little bit, you know, 70 00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:40.819 and and we put it up and we started listening 71 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:43.439 to it. And we both started like, you know, geez, 72 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.159 this is. holy moly, we really have something here. We 73 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:49.360 have to get this out. And so we did. 74 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:51.860 Well, you inspired me to do a show. I do 75 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:55.159 a show, a podcast with Alexa from Amazon, and you 76 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:58.280 never know what Alexa is going to say. And the 77 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:01.090 thing is, as we were talking about, you inspired me 78 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:04.270 to go in and do research about what are listeners 79 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:07.030 really asking for when it comes to these songwriters. And 80 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:09.409 I said, are we going back into the albums and 81 00:04:09.509 --> 00:04:12.000 listening to the lyrics of the songs and we have 82 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:14.340 the inside sleep. And I feel like that that's what 83 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:15.919 you did, Michael, is that you went in there and 84 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:18.139 you said, look, I'm going to look a little bit 85 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:21.399 deeper than what the average listener does because people need 86 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.240 it right now. And I mean, my God, I mean, 87 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:26.459 what you do with the music you do. I mean, you, 88 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:28.759 you take me to a completely different level and I'm 89 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:30.490 a jock of 47 years here. 90 00:04:30.509 --> 00:04:37.600 Okay. Well, thanks. Yeah. You're making me feel like I 91 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:38.879 hit the lottery here. 92 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:44.279 You did. In my book, you did. I mean, even 93 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.019 with the Secret O' Life, I mean, were you thinking 94 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.759 of James Taylor when that came together? Because, I mean, 95 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.040 I got that James Taylor vibe. And once again, that's 96 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:54.189 all Carolina. He lived here. 97 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:58.050 I got to meet him afterwards. And I had already 98 00:04:58.189 --> 00:05:00.850 opened a whole bunch of shows for Livingston Taylor. 99 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:00.930 Oh. 100 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:05.069 And I was friends with Kate Taylor, who lived on 101 00:05:05.110 --> 00:05:07.050 the vineyard. I spent a lot of time on the 102 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:10.930 vineyard for a while. And, you know, so I said 103 00:05:11.050 --> 00:05:14.269 to James Taylor, I said, you know, you know, I've 104 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:17.879 opened for Livingston and I know Kate. And he says, well, 105 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:24.379 now you've got the hat trick. And I just, you know, 106 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:27.899 I mean, I had grown up, you know, listening to 107 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.980 his records and and wearing them out. Okay. I mean, 108 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:35.259 that was, that was the thing. And actually, you know, 109 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:38.230 20 years, 25, 30 years later to be sitting there 110 00:05:38.290 --> 00:05:42.370 talking to him, you know, I have to feel something, 111 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:45.970

you know, there's a higher power that is pushing, pushing 112 00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:50.759 things along. And so, you know, secret of life, I 113 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:53.360 went looking for a James Taylor song and I wanted 114 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.000 something that really kind of spoke to the spirit of 115 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:01.199 the record, you know, and, and that song is, uh, 116 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:04.860 I've never covered it before. I've never performed it before, 117 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:07.939 but I just said, Oh, this is it. This is 118 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:08.379 the one. 119 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.709 So didn't you like being with Livingston Taylor? He's been 120 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:14.050 on the show so many times and I just love 121 00:06:14.089 --> 00:06:18.209 the way that he embraces a vision that we tap into. 122 00:06:18.509 --> 00:06:20.930 It's like he, it's like I I've been to the 123 00:06:20.990 --> 00:06:23.350 field in the top of the mountain. I've got something 124 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:25.379 I'd like to share. And he puts it in his music. 125 00:06:26.230 --> 00:06:31.470 Yeah, well, he's a teacher, you know, and that comes 126 00:06:31.550 --> 00:06:35.300 across in his performance. But when you sit backstage and, 127 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:39.939 you know, talk about the news of the day, he's, 128 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:43.040 you know, he's the same person. I mean, he is a, 129 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:48.560 he's a brilliant guy. The whole family, brilliant. And, you know, it's, 130 00:06:50.290 --> 00:06:53.490 you know, we're blessed. I mean, being a songwriter is, 131 00:06:54.350 --> 00:06:58.709 and having done, done it as long as I have, um, and, 132 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:01.170 you know, being able to work through, I mean, look, 133 00:07:01.250 --> 00:07:04.769 I'm the guy, I had to write 200 really bad 134 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:08.300 songs before I wrote my first good one. I, they 135 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:12.939 didn't come pouring out, you know, and, uh, uh, and 136 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:17.740 then to find myself sort of circling back and hanging with, 137 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:22.120 with people, you know, that, uh, They were my influences. 138 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.319 It's just, I mean, that's the gift. That's my reward 139 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.410 for this whole, all this effort I've put in my 140 00:07:28.449 --> 00:07:28.870 whole life. 141 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:31.670 Please do not move. There's more with Michael Veach coming 142 00:07:31.730 --> 00:07:36.550 up next. The name of his album, Discovered. We are 143 00:07:36.610 --> 00:07:40.550 back with singer-songwriter Michael Veach. All of your gifts have 144 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:43.670 then become gifts to us on this side because you 145 00:07:43.730 --> 00:07:46.589 gifted my life with a quote from Bernie Sanders that 146 00:07:46.990 --> 00:07:50.060 I did not know until you shared it. And if 147 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:51.939 you don't think I don't want this on a poster 148 00:07:52.019 --> 00:07:55.959 or a T-shirt or something, songs can be beautifully built 149 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:59.660 and socially awake. Why did it take all of these 150 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.399 years for me to hear that quote? And I'm going, amen. 151 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.730 That's exactly what music does. 152 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:10.689 Well, Bernie, you know, Bernie's a gift. And, you know, 153 00:08:10.709 --> 00:08:14.949 we forgive him for having grown up in Brooklyn, being 154 00:08:14.990 --> 00:08:18.240 a Vermonter. We let him in. And I'm glad we did, 155 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:22.199 because he not only did he shake up Vermont, but, 156 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:25.120 you know, he continues to shake up the country. And 157 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:28.889 we need more people like Bernie. And I think we're 158 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:32.899 seeing more people like Bernie coming forward. And You know, 159 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:34.960 I gave it a shot. I mean, I ran for 160 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:39.639 state Senate when I was in Vermont. You know, I 161 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:42.460 endorsed by Bernie Sanders, no less. I mean, I got, 162 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:48.960 you know, he came down and campaigned for me. But, 163 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:51.419 you know, I had to make a decision at that 164 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.820 point in my life. I had to say, look, you know, 165 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:58.820 if I win the election, I'll go politics all the way. 166 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:01.620 And if I lose the election... I'm going to go 167 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:03.980 music all the way. And of course, I lost the election. 168 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:06.450 Well, do you not think that the music has a 169 00:09:06.470 --> 00:09:08.470 bigger impact anyway? Because in this way, you don't have 170 00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:10.409 other members of the House or Congress that are going 171 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:12.049 to sit there and try to veto a song. You 172 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:13.429 can put the song out here and all of a 173 00:09:13.450 --> 00:09:16.090 sudden we're all for that. I mean, for generations, we'll 174 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:19.090 find it and we'll come back to it going. So 175 00:09:19.149 --> 00:09:21.649 who was this, Michael? Let me tell you. In fact, 176 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:23.610 I got a conversation with him. You're not going to 177 00:09:23.649 --> 00:09:25.230 believe how cool this guy is. 178 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:31.820 Well, I agree that, you know, once you create the 179 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.360 sound waves and you send them out into the world, 180 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.059 they're going to resonate forever. I mean, just look at 181 00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:40.740 the Beatles. You know, that's the prime or Elvis or 182 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:46.840 Frank Sinatra. They're still resonating. And, you know,

it's, you know, 183 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:52.610 that's the gift of doing art. Politics is, you know, 184 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:56.129 it's more of a chess game. politics and i'm a 185 00:09:56.149 --> 00:09:59.149 chess player as well so that appeals to me but 186 00:09:59.750 --> 00:10:05.370 you know it's the music is, you know, I think 187 00:10:05.409 --> 00:10:06.269 it keeps me young. 188 00:10:06.809 --> 00:10:07.009 Yeah. 189 00:10:07.629 --> 00:10:12.070 Whereas politics kind of. ages me prematurely. 190 00:10:12.529 --> 00:10:14.809 So are you like me though, Michael, in the way 191 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:16.929 that there are times that you find yourself going, ah, 192 00:10:16.970 --> 00:10:18.950 let me just go back about 10 years and find 193 00:10:19.009 --> 00:10:21.129 out what I was putting down. And then you listen 194 00:10:21.169 --> 00:10:23.879 to it and you go, oh God, what was I thinking? 195 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.500 Oh my God. And then, I mean, do you find 196 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:28.299 yourself in a situation like that? And do you let 197 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:30.620 just time have its own place and not touch it? 198 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.840 Well, what I'm finding when I go back and listen 199 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:37.759 to stuff I did years ago is that I was 200 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:42.440 actually I'm doing a little bit of time travel and, 201 00:10:42.659 --> 00:10:45.600 you know, I hear these songs and I, some of 202 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:48.480 them resonate today. I mean, you know, I have a 203 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:52.759 song called happy 4th of July that, uh, you know, 204 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:56.019 it's got a line about, they shoot us on main street. 205 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:59.639 And I wrote that song, you know, 10 years, 12 206 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.740 years ago, you know, it's like, and here we are 207 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:06.490 today and they're shooting us on main street. And I'm like, Whoa, 208 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:12.309 you know what? You know, part of the goal of 209 00:11:12.350 --> 00:11:15.509 a songwriter or an artist or a poet or whatever 210 00:11:16.149 --> 00:11:21.970 is to tap into that, you know, universal consciousness. And 211 00:11:22.029 --> 00:11:25.009 sometimes we do it and sometimes we don't. And the 212 00:11:25.049 --> 00:11:29.500 good songs, the ones that kind of write themselves, I think, 213 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:33.600 are cases of where, you know, you've actually tapped in 214 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:38.509 to some bigger thing. And, you know... I've been lucky. 215 00:11:38.769 --> 00:11:43.409 I've been lucky over my career. I've got some songs 216 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:47.259 that I think truly have tapped. And, you know, I mean, 217 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.500 that's the goal. You know, that's what I set out 218 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:53.889 to do. And, you know, you hope that it works. 219 00:11:53.990 --> 00:11:56.029 Well, you tapped into a big one here. God bless 220 00:11:56.049 --> 00:11:57.350 Johnny Cash. Hell yeah. 221 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.399 Well, my next door neighbor here in Woodstock, New York, 222 00:12:02.470 --> 00:12:07.210 is Ed Sanders from the Fuggs. And Ed is a 223 00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:15.700 co-writer with Steve Taylor of that song. And they've had 224 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:19.639 a long career. My older brothers were big fans of 225 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.299 the Fuggs, but I was more of a fan of 226 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:26.000 the solo Ed Sanders. He had a record, and I 227 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:28.600 urge you to pull that out and listen to it. 228 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:32.919 he had a record called Ed Sanders truck stop. And, 229 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:38.990 you know, I, uh, I was about 15 sitting in 230 00:12:39.049 --> 00:12:44.250 my bedroom with my little turntable listening to that record. 231 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:47.960 And it was one of the first records where the 232 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:53.279 lyrics like literally hit me over the head, you know? And, um, 233 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.960 And here I am in Woodstock, New York, living next 234 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.879 door to him. And he's a great guy. And so 235 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:03.620 I went looking for a Fuggs song. And I ended 236 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.409 up finding God Bless Johnny Cash. Because, I mean, what's 237 00:13:07.470 --> 00:13:08.690 not to like about that song? 238 00:13:08.730 --> 00:13:11.490 So true. Where can people go to find out more 239 00:13:11.629 --> 00:13:15.450 about this project and really dive into what you're doing here? 240 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:18.309 Because it is really quite the journey to experience. 241 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:24.419 Well, we've got a release date of October 12th and 242 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.950 it's going to be out on all the digital platforms 243 00:13:29.210 --> 00:13:30.730 as well as band camp. 244 00:13:30.990 --> 00:13:31.289 Yeah. 245 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:37.009 And so and I'm working with a publicist who's helping 246 00:13:37.049 --> 00:13:40.070 me to kind of guide me through. She found you 247 00:13:40.210 --> 00:13:43.710 and sent you to me. And, you know, and we're we're. 248 00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:48.789 you know, we're guiding ourselves forward to this release date 249 00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:55.889 on October 12th. And that's when, you know, hopefully we really, 250 00:13:56.309 --> 00:13:59.620 you know, put the word out at that point and 251 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.240 I post it all over Facebook and that sort of thing, 252 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:07.919 you know, and we get it out there. It's been 253 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:10.600 a two-year project, so I'm quite proud of it that, 254 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:13.909 you know, I was able to finish it through. I 255 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:18.090 had some adversity. I had some health issues and had 256 00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:21.429 to overcome and so forth. And here I am, I 257 00:14:21.470 --> 00:14:24.129 came out on the other side and I'm in great shape. Wow. 258 00:14:24.210 --> 00:14:25.529 Well, you're going to have to come back to this 259 00:14:25.570 --> 00:14:28.350 show and share even more stories in the future, dude. 260 00:14:28.429 --> 00:14:30.269 The door is always going to be open. So that 261 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:32.740 PR person, get her on that map and say, get 262 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:35.019 me booked again. He wants to talk more. He's got 263 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:35.799 more questions. 264 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:40.289 And with, uh, With Livingston Taylor, I'd like to get 265 00:14:40.370 --> 00:14:42.250 caught up with him after all these years. 266 00:14:42.269 --> 00:14:45.309 Oh, my God. He's got some stories, dude. I swear 267 00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:47.610 it was less than a year ago that we were together. Oh, 268 00:14:47.809 --> 00:14:51.029 my God. That man can talk. Oh, my God. 269 00:14:52.029 --> 00:14:57.600 We were backstage one time, and this is a great story. 270 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:02.059 Jimmy Buffett had flown in, and he was a friend 271 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:05.809 of Livingston Taylor's, and he had flown into Boston. And 272 00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:08.950 flipped his plane. Oh, no. And it was on the 273 00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:12.929 front page of the Boston Globe. Jimmy Buffett, he flew this, like, 274 00:15:13.610 --> 00:15:17.230 antique airplane. Yeah. And, of course, Livingston's a pilot. And 275 00:15:17.409 --> 00:15:21.509 Livingston flies all over the place, you know. And I 276 00:15:21.549 --> 00:15:23.549 said to Livingston, I said, you sure you want to 277 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:27.299 be flying as well? You know, I don't fly old 278 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:31.039 antique planes like Jimmy. I mean, it was like, I mean, 279 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:34.009 you know, it was just really funny because he's known him. 280 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.460 For years. And I don't know. 281 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:38.399 Wow. 282 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:42.799 Life is full of these circles. So true. And you 283 00:15:42.830 --> 00:15:45.610 just keep coming around and around and around again. I'll 284 00:15:45.649 --> 00:15:46.889 come around to your show again. 285 00:15:46.950 --> 00:15:50.210 Please do. Please do, man. Will you be brilliant today, okay? 286 00:15:50.950 --> 00:15:53.409 All right. You too. Thanks for having me. I really 287 00:15:53.450 --> 00:15:53.990 appreciate it.