Pitch Perfect (with Stevie Mackey)

Summary

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Furious Thoughts: "Pitch Perfect" (with Stevie Mackey)

Podcast: Furious Thoughts
Host: Kid Fury (CAKE MEDIA)
Guest: Stevie Mackey
Date: May 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This engaging episode features acclaimed vocal coach and singer Stevie Mackey in conversation with Kid Fury. Together, they dive into the world of vocal coaching, music history, Black cultural traditions, artistry, community-building, and the realities of performance. The episode weaves personal stories, humor, insights into the craft of singing, and memorable anecdotes from Mackey’s remarkable career—from singing for Whitney Houston to hosting the now-legendary Taco Tuesday gatherings.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

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The Language and World of Musicians

• On Dating Within the Industry
  • Mackey suggests that musicians often share a unique “language” and deeper connection, which can make relationships between musicians distinct.
  • Quote: “If you are a musician and you don't date a musician, you're leaving the door open to have a deeper connection with another musician. Because that's a whole language that you share.” (00:03, 39:00)

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Early Career and Imposter Syndrome

• Working for Whitney Houston
  • Mackey’s first paid job was singing background vocals on Whitney’s Christmas album. Seeing his name in the credits was a life-changing affirmation.
  • Quote: “That was the... the first time I got paid to go to a studio and work. And it was Whitney's Christmas album, one wish. The first time I saw my name on credits, I couldn't even believe it.” (01:52)
• Facing Industry Fears
  • Both Mackey and Kid Fury discuss imposter syndrome and the need to love your craft more than you fear it.
  • Quote: “You have to love it more than you fear it.” (02:43)

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Black Church Roots & Cultural Power of Music

• Friendly Competition and 'Iron Sharpens Iron'
  • Gospel traditions fostered a competitive but supportive environment, rooted in call and response, with deep historical origins in the Black church.
  • Quote: “It's a friendly, iron sharpens iron type of competitiveness that we just do in church. We go back and forth… it goes back to Negro spirituals and freedom and escaping slavery.” (03:38–04:13)
• The Physicality of Music and Its Cultural Necessity
  • The need to “move, shake, and stand up” when hearing great singing is both physical and historical—a release for a people denied expression.
  • Quote: “It's a big part of us to rely on feeling because we weren't allowed to rely on our education and knowledge. So we had to feel something.” (05:09)

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The Art and Science of Vocal Coaching

• How Mackey Became a Coach
  • He came from a musically rich family, with parents skilled in teaching and anatomy, which naturally led to his path.
  • Quote: “I'm a natural teacher. [...] If someone wants to learn it, it's like, okay, yeah. And I am a little scientist. I will figure out how to scientifically put your voice in a place and design it to be the best it can be.” (07:32)
• Coaching Style—Firm but Loving
  • Adapts style to personality; straightforward, patient, honest, but encourages self-praise and perseverance.
  • Quote: "I'm a naturally patient person, and I'm very straightforward. If you're wrong, I love to say it. Okay, you better do it again... But I never, like, yell. It's, I'm pretty calm." (08:52–09:33)
• Process of Teaching
  • Imagines the student’s show and identity; focuses on creating, not finding, oneself. Emphasizes preparation and artistry beyond technique.
  • Quote: "When you walk in, I'm gonna start seeing the show right away. How you walk in, are you an artist?...Create yourself. You don't have to find yourself, but create yourself.” (12:14–13:44)

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Misconceptions & The Responsibility of a Singer

• Work is Ongoing, Not Just During Lessons
  • Students sometimes think coaching is a magic fix. Mackey stresses the importance of self-driven practice and knowing one's musical canon.
  • Quote: "It's what you do after I coach you that counts...I want to change your habits. I'm not going to do the work for you. I'll do it with you while we're here." (14:15–14:57)
• Be Ready for Any Occasion
  • Musicians need to be able to provide the right song for any moment—funeral, wedding, community gathering.
  • Quote: "As you go through life...you're responsible for the music, and you have to see yourself as that person. Have a song in your heart and be ye ready." (15:08)

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Understanding, Preserving & Assigning the Voice

• Matching Song, Story, and Tone – The Triangle
  • Mackey’s method involves finding a song that matches the singer’s tone, life experience, and love for the song.
  • Quote: “Matching the tone. Then a story connection...then the feeling towards it...That's the golden triangle, I call it, for assigning a song to a singer.” (19:35)
• Vocal Health Discipline
  • Extreme care for his voice: no talking before noon, monitoring sleep environment, careful lifestyle choices.
  • Quote: “I don't talk before noon. I don't talk on the phone. It's a lonely life overnight. [...] I watch the temperature that I sleep in...I put my voice first.” (20:04)
• "Gym" Coaching Analogy
  • Like a fitness trainer, a vocal coach guides the disciplined practice required to maintain the real, resilient 'instrument'.
  • Quote: “People are like, why do these people have vocal coaches? The same reason they have a trainer. [...] Paying respect to your gifts.” (22:38)

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The Voice and Industry Lessons

• Singing on 'The Voice'
  • Mackey spent 16–17 seasons as part of 'The Voice' band, singing with countless stars.
  • Quote: “I got to sing with everyone. I mean, Dolly Parton, Kermit the Frog, Celine Dion, Cher...monumental moments.” (23:01)
• Lessons from Mass Audiences
  • Working on TV competitions, you learn what “regular” audiences want—a reminder that connection trumps technical perfection.
  • Quote: “It's a TV show first...You learn what people enjoy and how to please an audience that is not there specifically for you.” (25:16)

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The Joys and Meaning of Coaching

• Seeing the Best in People
  • Mackey relishes helping artists manifest their dreams, often witnessing life-changing moments in his students/friends.
  • Quote: “I get to see the best of people. [...] I love that. I turn into, like, a little dolphin...Let's all sing together. And that's the best time in life.” (25:33–26:15)
• Examples of Student Success
  • Pride in seeing students and artists like Taraji, Nicole Scherzinger, and Jennifer Lopez excel and reach their dreams, sometimes years after beginning with him. (26:42–27:37)

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Taco Tuesday: Building Community Through Song

• Origins and Growth
  • Mackey’s Taco Tuesday began as informal jam sessions and recitals for students in his home—offering both food and soulful singing. Grew organically into a renowned gathering, supporting both stars and emerging artists.
  • Quote: “We can have Taco Tuesday as a recital for my voice students...my voice students come over, we're gonna jam and make tacos...and then everybody can come over.” (29:42–30:34)
• Importance of Inclusion
  • Maintains a mix of established and new artists, cultivating a rare supportive environment for transplants in LA.
  • Quote: “I always wanted to put established and non established people together...That's how it started just to bring everyone together to feel a home.” (30:52–32:17)

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Creative Passions and Voice Acting Fun

• Hobbies Beyond Music
  • Mackey enjoys carpentry, driving, history, etymology, and has a lifelong passion for drawing and animation. Dreamed of voice acting (including doing Mickey Mouse and Elmo impressions).
  • Quote: “If I had an animated series, I would...it would definitely be about a little shy kid who...Singing is his superpower...” (36:15)
  • Mickey Mouse impression segment (36:50–37:40)

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On Karaoke and Overdone Songs

• Karaoke is Not For Singers
  • Both dislike karaoke, preferring authentic singing or communal listening over performative, unserious renditions.
  • Quote: “Singing is not a game to me...It's not fun to me. Sorry. I don't like being negative, but I don't like it.” (44:16)
• Songs He’s Tired Of Hearing
  • Overplayed: Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and classic diva songs at auditions.
  • Quote: “There's the song I'm tired of. Everyone singing is crazy. I remember when I remember...please forget” (46:02)

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Performance Casting: Acting vs. Singing

• Stunt-Casting in Musicals
  • Sometimes, casting a great actor with an imperfect voice brings more believability and impact than a technical singer would.
  • Quote: “Disney has always hired actors to play roles that sing...I want to believe you that you're a villain...If you're a good actor, you can sell me a song better than the singer who just sings really well.” (41:42–42:45)
• Examples Cited: Pat Carroll as Ursula, Catherine O’Hara as Sally (“Nightmare Before Christmas”)—perfect in their own way, not overly “singy” (42:55)

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Looking Forward: Personal Artistic Growth

• Working on Own Music
  • For only the second time, Mackey is focusing on original work—venturing into songwriting and recording across genres.
  • Quote: “I'm working on original music. And it is a journey. I'm not a big songwriter, but I am...learning to love it and to really just leave something here on earth.” (48:35)
• On Artistic Courage
  • Embraces the importance of being scared and pushing yourself creatively.
  • Quote: “You have to scare yourself. You start getting to a place in life, you're not scared of anything. You're not pushing. Go get scared a little bit.” (50:05)

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Standout Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “[Seeing my name on Whitney credits] changed my whole life...I believed in myself more.” — Stevie Mackey (01:52)
• “You have to love it more than you fear it.” — Stevie Mackey (02:43)
• “When everything's taken away from you, whatever's left becomes better. You can't take music away from anyone.” — Stevie Mackey (06:51)
• “You naturally down yourself and you criticize yourself. [...] Praise yourself. What did you do well?” — Stevie Mackey (08:52)
• “Have a song in your heart and be ye ready.” — Stevie Mackey (15:08)
• “Matching the tone, then a story connection, then the feeling towards it—that's the golden triangle.” — Stevie Mackey (19:35)
• “Paying respect to your gifts.” — Stevie Mackey (22:38)
• “Sometimes the better you sing, the less I believe you.” — Stevie Mackey (42:46)
• “I always wanted to put established and non established people together.” — Stevie Mackey (31:50)
• Mickey Mouse/Elmo voice sequence: Humorous impressions showcasing Mackey’s voice acting talents (36:50–37:40)
• “You have to scare yourself…Go get scared a little bit.” — Stevie Mackey (50:05)
• Social Clip: “I'm a survivor to work hard. Come on, Pluto.” (Mickey Mouse sings Destiny’s Child) (50:35)

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Noteworthy Segments by Timestamp

• 00:03 | Musicians and the “language” they share in relationships
• 01:52 | First paid gig — Whitney Houston background vocals
• 03:38 | Competitiveness and call/response in Black church tradition
• 05:09 | History of musical expression as resistance and necessity
• 08:52 | Coaching style and teaching philosophy
• 12:14 | The process of working with new students and focusing on artistry
• 15:08 | Responsibility, readiness, and knowing songs
• 19:35 | Mackey’s golden triangle for song assignment
• 20:04 | Extreme voice preservation practices
• 23:01 | Experiences singing with stars on ‘The Voice’
• 29:42 | The origin and atmosphere of Taco Tuesday
• 36:50 | Mickey Mouse and Elmo voice impressions, animation dreams
• 41:42 | Casting actors as singers for emotional believability
• 46:02 | Overdone songs and audition song fatigue
• 48:35 | Mackey’s current focus on original music
• 50:05 | Embracing fear and pushing creative boundaries

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Episode Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode is rich with warmth, humor, and vulnerable storytelling. Stevie Mackey’s candidness about his journey—from imposter syndrome to owning his space as a coach and artist—offers both inspiration and practical insight. His deep respect for the cultural roots of music and the communal aspects of creativity makes this a must-listen for anyone passionate about performance, artistry, or finding community through art.

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For more vibrant conversations, subscribe to Furious Thoughts and watch out for Stevie Mackey’s upcoming musical projects!

Transcript

[Kid Fury]

As if you dated singers.

[Stevie Mackey]

If you are a musician and you don't date a musician, you're leaving the door open to have a deeper connection with another musician. Because that's a whole language that you share. They think if they pay all this money to come see me that I'm gonna do the work for them.

[Kid Fury]

How so?

[Stevie Mackey]

Well, it's what you do after I coach you that counts. Yeah, I want to change your habits. I'm not going to do the work for you. I'll do it with you while we're here. You have to want this so bad.

[Kid Fury]

Let's do a warm up now. Warm me up.

[Stevie Mackey]

All right.

[Audience Member]

Oh, y. Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Go. Breathe and go.

[Audience Member]

Oh, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

M Feels good.

[Kid Fury]

Welcome back to Furious Thoughts, ladies and germs. I'm here with one of my faves. Chances are if you listen to music, music with words, then you have heard of this gentleman, seen his face before. Very, very happy to be sitting with the talented and iconic Stevie Mackey. Welcome to the show, friend.

[Stevie Mackey]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Kid Fury]

He's already getting started. All right, see, this is how y' all do. Well, I've been a fan for a while. I know a lot of your work. We have some mutual friends as well. Because I'm one of those people who has a lot of friends and family that sing. And God kept me very far away from it. He was like, you just tell jokes, nigga, because that's none of your business. We don't need your vocal praise. But I know with you or what I've read is that you. Your first paid job, like, official job, was singing background vocals for Whitney Houston.

[Stevie Mackey]

That was the. Yeah. The first time I got paid to go to a studio and work. And it was Whitney's Christmas album, one wish. And the first time I saw my name on credits, I couldn't even believe it. And I said, this is something people get paid for because I've been singing free in church my whole life. You don't get paid a dime. And so to. To be invited to do that was just. It changed my whole life just to sing background. And I was just so happy. And then I believed in myself more.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. Than being, like, scared or nervous or. I dealt with imposter syndrome a lot when I first got into the industry. And you saying, like, being excited or, like, loving being passionate about the art more than nervous is what gets the job done.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah. You have to love it more than you fear it.

[Kid Fury]

Got it.

[Stevie Mackey]

You have to love it. Cause you're gonna fear it. Yeah. But you have to love it more than you fear it. And then you'll never give up on it because you have to be excited about it. Excitement is a big part of happiness.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. What. How would you say working with one of the greatest voices of all time

[Stevie Mackey]

so.

[Kid Fury]

So early in your professional year, how does that, like, develop the rest of it?

[Stevie Mackey]

Well, seeing. Seeing my name on Whitney credits made me a believer in me, and I said, I am good enough for this. I have it. I have what it takes. I'm new and I'm young, but I can. I'm competitive at singing.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

I'm only competitive in singing, not. Not in anything else. Like, I love to lose at everything else. Like, please let me lose so I can go back to singing.

[Kid Fury]

How does that work? Because the girls will be side by side, love each other very dearly, and then when the singing starts, it's like, I. I got you.

[Stevie Mackey]

I think it's a. I think it comes from church that's growing up. It's the gospel background that makes you competitive. And it's a friendly, iron sharpens, iron type of competitiveness that we just do in church. We go back and forth because of call and response that goes back to Negro spirituals and freedom and escaping slavery. Like, it's an old school thing to call in response. And when you're calling and responding and if I call, if I do something, you better do it.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

You know, you better go for it. So it goes back. It's a part of our history and our. It's a part of our communic.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And so doing it in church sharpens you. And the older ones would do it to me.

[Voice Impersonator]

And I was like, yeah, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

I would just, like, start going. I was like, okay, yeah, all right. I got this. So that's what I mean by. By that type. It's fun. Oh, yeah.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And. And you love the person more that you're going back and forth with. You understand them and you can trust them. You learn to build trust like that with someone.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I. The church comparison definitely adds it up for me. Would you say that there is a science to why Negroes move, shake, and stand up uncontrollably when we hear great singing? I think I talk about this on the podcast before. We can't shut up. We can't hear somebody singing and sit still.

[Stevie Mackey]

There is so much history about that. When. When a whole group of people isn't free except for the hours of Sunday between this and that, they give you time to do everything. We put everything into church because that was our free time. That was the only free time. So it was the time to talk about the announcements, what's happening in the community, eat together, and it's going to go on for as long as we can. Stretch it so it is. It is a part of our history to do that. And also the confusion of the different religions that were surrounding us, the ones that we were, you know, had come from. And some of them were Christian, some weren't, some were whatever. And we were trying to adopt new things and learning new things. We were trying to just put stories together without being educated to read. And it was a crime to read and write. So we'd sometimes write songs that were even jumbled up and mixed up. And Moses went to the. To the valley and he parted the Red Sea. Then Noah was there, and the mountain and the. And the ladder to the wheel. And the wheel. We would just start writing of what we heard because that was the best we could do. And so it's a big part of us to. To rely on feeling because we weren't allowed to rely on our education and knowledge. So we had to feel something. So it goes very deep. And I'm very careful being critical of anything in our culture like that, because without knowing where it came from and knowing that we literally were broken down to nothing and then built ourselves back up.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. It's something I've always loved about us, and it's always felt clearly very specific.

[Stevie Mackey]

Well. And when everything's taken away from you, whatever's left becomes better. You can't take music away from anyone. You can take everything away. You can even take family away, but you can't take music away. Very good. That becomes stronger. And so we've been through a lot to sound this good.

[Kid Fury]

We have been through a lot to

[Stevie Mackey]

sound this good looked as good. Well.

[Kid Fury]

So becoming a vocal coach, how. What hit you to come to the realization of I can do this and I should do this?

[Stevie Mackey]

I have no idea.

[Kid Fury]

Work.

[Stevie Mackey]

I. I don't know. I. I didn't want to be a vocal coach or a teacher. I didn't really know. I wanted to draw cartoons and voice them and make sounds. I loved animation and Disney characters. I wanted to just have fun like that. And. And I would have loved to work for Disney and done Mickey Mouse or something. But I was able to change my voice and mimic and mimic every voice I heard and copy it. And I was fascinated with sound, so that made me learn where it came from. And I think my dad Being the physical therapist and knowing the muscles and how they recover and my mom being a school teacher. I'm a natural teacher. Those. Those things, the environment of everyone singing in my family, my parents singing, and all of it put together, it's like my default thing to teach music. It's the easiest thing I can do. And if someone wants to learn it, it's like, okay, yeah. And I am a little scientist. I will figure out how to scientifically put your voice in a place and design it to be the best it can be.

[Kid Fury]

Got it. So I want to know what your. What is your coaching style? Are you soft? Are you like, J.K. simmons and Whiplash, where you just holler at people? Be honest now. There's no wrong answer.

[Stevie Mackey]

You take a sip. Okay. I. I do base it off the personality, because you can't, you know, beat someone into learning if that's not their style. I'm a naturally patient person, and I'm very straightforward. If you're wrong, I. I love to say it. Okay, you better do it again. Yeah, do it again. And be patient with yourself. Praise yourself. What did you do? Well, you know, because you naturally down yourself and you criticize yourself. So I think of myself as a. As a calm. The only time I'm mad, I'll bang on the piano. If I'm really frustrated, like, get on the note, and I'll just hit the piano. But I never, like, yell it like that. Like, no, it's. I'm pretty calm.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, I'm pretty calm. I don't mind an instructor of any kind getting me together with intention and with love. Like, I'm someone who. I wouldn't have a problem with a bang on the piano or, you know, fierce honesty. But I think maybe it's because I come from those people.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, you straighten up. It's like a little kid. It's like, okay, okay.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

If they see you, be serious. I have to show my passion.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

I'm passionate about this because I take it seriously.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And if you don't, please go do something else.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, I think I was. Also. You came from, like, the. The backing of. I'm gonna say this thing to you, but I also am making it clear that it is from a purpose, a place of love, and to help you, it is. Rather than just leaving you in the confusion of whatever this instruction felt like.

[Stevie Mackey]

In fact, I love you for doing it, and I'm gonna do it with you. So I'm not just telling you I'm holding your hand through it, and that's I'm. I'm. You know, you're driving the car, but I'm instructing you how to drive the car, right? And so how to drive it. The best way to keep us safe, you know, to keep it going for a long time, to make it last. So that's all it is. I'm doing it with you, and I warm up with you, right? I don't just tell like, I do it with you.

[Kid Fury]

Let's do a warm up now. Warm me up.

[Stevie Mackey]

All right. So your voice naturally sits around where mine does.

[Kid Fury]

Okay.

[Stevie Mackey]

I'm gonna say, oh, yeah.

[Audience Member]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Kid Fury]

One more time.

[Audience Member]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Come on, come on. Go. Breathe and go.

[Audience Member]

Oh, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Do it one more time. Breathe with me. Go.

[Audience Member]

Oh, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

It feels good. Let it out. Yeah, yeah. You have a voice in there. You have very good pitch. You have very good tone. You just didn't want to sing.

[Voice Impersonator]

I did it. I didn't believe in myself.

[Kid Fury]

Well, what is like a. Like a break down the process? Like, you have a new. A client, a new student. What is the process, the breakdown that they can expect when they come to learn from you?

[Stevie Mackey]

First thing I'm gonna do is try to imagine your show. If I've never been to your show, if you've never done a show, I'm going to be the one to imagine your show. I have to, because I have to believe in you the most. Got it. So I'm trying to see your show. What is your stage? Who's on stage with you? Keys, guitar, Cajon, you know, dancers. Is it just you sitting in a stool? Like, what is this show and who wants to go right? Who's there? Because you can control this. It's up to you. What do you. Where do you want to sing and who do you want to be to be there? Who do you want to be listening to you. That's kind of where you start because that's where you're going to be living. That's your life. You're going to be doing this thing. Where is this show and what kind of sounds are you hearing on stage with you? Then we know to put that in your music and kind of work backwards from there, right? So I have to see the show. That's number one. When you walk in, I'm gonna start seeing the show right away. How you walk in, are you an artist? You dress like an artist. You know that's all part of the show because we actually start hearing with our eyes in a weird way, just like we taste with our nose. Your senses are shared. So if I look at something, I'm expecting something to sound like something. So, yeah, if you walk in looking like an artist, like, I'm okay. I have a respect for that, and it's an invitation to make me want to pay attention.

[Kid Fury]

Got it.

[Stevie Mackey]

So look like the artist when you walk in. Please be that so you can feel like that. Yes.

[Voice Impersonator]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Create yourself. You don't have to find yourself, but create yourself. You know, be. Be something. And so I respect that. I respect that. I want to know the show. I want to see it. I want to see the artistry. I want to see why you care, what you want to sing about, what you care about. Why do you feel responsible to do this?

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. Why? What is a common misconception that students have when they come into coaching?

[Voice Impersonator]

Ooh.

[Stevie Mackey]

Well, I think they think if they pay all this money to come see me, that I'm going to do the work for them.

[Kid Fury]

How so?

[Stevie Mackey]

Well, it's what you do after I coach you that counts. Yeah. This hour and a half or whatever it is. That's nice. But what. What are you doing henceforth? You know, what are you doing after this? And so it's. I want to change your habits. I'm not going to do the work for you. I'll do it with you while we're here. Then I go on to the next person. But you got to have the habit of working. You have to want this so bad. And I think the biggest issue I have is singers not knowing songs. You have to know songs. You can't just think of yourself as a singer and not know songs.

[Audience Member]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's like being the doctor on an airplane and somebody says, I need a doctor. You're gonna feel the responsibility to get up and put your skills to use.

[Kid Fury]

Right.

[Stevie Mackey]

Even if you don't have all your tools with you.

[Kid Fury]

Right.

[Stevie Mackey]

You feel like, I gotta get up and do something to help. And that's how you should feel as a singer. A sense of responsibility. That no matter what life situation you're in, if something happens, you're the provider of the song. As you go through life. The funeral, the wedding, the ups, the downs, the happy, all these moments, you're responsible for the music, and you have to see yourself as that person. Have a song in your heart and be ye ready. Bottom line, I love me a singer, too.

[Kid Fury]

That's like, maybe put on the spot or something. And like do you know such and such song? Hit it. That's classic.

[Stevie Mackey]

Don't you love that?

[Voice Impersonator]

I love that.

[Stevie Mackey]

Because the old school singers knew songs, they needed to know songs because they learned and they had to be able to just get up and sing.

[Kid Fury]

Yes.

[Stevie Mackey]

If you cannot just get up and sing a song, how do, how does anyone gonna know you're a singer?

[Kid Fury]

They just be like, look to the pianist and say, do you know the song?

[Stevie Mackey]

Right, right, right.

[Kid Fury]

We can get started when you're ready.

[Stevie Mackey]

Get started. I'm telling you, any old school singer, even the singers that were just like, okay, they knew songs and they were ready. Like you just, it was part of acting, was part of just being a, a person who got on a stage. You just knew a song if you, even if you're a comedian back then.

[Kid Fury]

Yep.

[Stevie Mackey]

It was just a part of entertainment.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

So it was just how it was, you know, you got to know songs.

[Kid Fury]

Hey family, this is Kid Fury coming to you in a moment of truth. I have been spending a little too much money on cool anime lady figurines. And while I do not regret it, someone has to do something about it. And I believe that someone is Rocket Money. You see, with Rocket Money, I can set budgets and goals, get personalized insights and regular reports, and I can receive real time alerts for large transactions, upcoming bills, refunds, and low balances. Which essentially means that there are no further excuses for my foolishness. Users who create a financial goal with Rocket money save over $70 on an average within the first 30 days. And I would like that, thank you very much. Rocket Money can also track subscriptions and has the ability to cancel unwanted ones within the app with just a couple of taps, saving users over $880 million in canceled subscriptions. So all of those educational tarot card apps that I have on my phone that I'm not using, we can help save my life and my pockets with Rocket Money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel unwanted subscriptions and monitors your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] Furious that's RocketMoney.com Furious RocketMoney.com Furious Go get your Rocket Money on and let them know. Kid Fury said hi. How often do you feel like when you are coaching someone you get to help them understand their voice, not just like maybe like history to their voice or the type of voice they have or for maybe like what genre or sound one of My favorite things that I've seen you post is when you were talking about Billie Eilish's voice and you compared her to classic jazz singers. And I was like, oh, yeah, that's what's happening here.

[Stevie Mackey]

Why do we feel something from her? Because she does remind us of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn, and she has this tone and this vibrato. That's beautiful. Yeah. It's just in current production. Yeah. In. In the 2000 and 20s, it's. But people are. You know, there's new voices, but there's a song for every tone. Right. Even if you have a tone that sounds like, you know, you can sing what a wonderful world, I see trees of green. You know, Come on now. There's a tone for. There's a song that. And that's a part of assigning songs. That's a big part of it. I can assign you a song because there's been a tone on earth similar to yours and people have enjoyed it. Now, let's find that song and then let's. Let's see, that's one thing. And then do you. Can you align with the story? That's the. That's the other end, the story. Can you align with it? Doesn't mean you've been through it, but can you align something in your life with the story? And then, like, the third part of this triangle is. Do you love it? Do you like this song? Like, do you actually like the way the chords feel? And, you know, so those three. That's the golden triangle matching the tone. Then a story connection.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Then the feeling towards it. Do you actually like it? Then you'll learn it better and sound better on it. So those. There's enough songs out there. Those three points of the triangle, that's the golden triangle, I call it, for putting. Assigning a song to a singer.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

That's a big part of. It's not just singing. We have to go through songs and assign. Assign songs to your voice.

[Kid Fury]

Right. What are.

[Audience Member]

How do you.

[Kid Fury]

How would you say you preserve your voice? Like, what's the regular routine?

[Stevie Mackey]

I don't play with my voice. I don't play. I don't talk before noon. I don't talk on the phone. It's a lonely life overnight. I generally try not to talk before noon. And I don't enjoy talking on the phone a lot unless it's to my family.

[Kid Fury]

That's fair.

[Stevie Mackey]

Brody, Rishi, they know. I will try to get off the phone with everybody, like, okay. But also I watch the temperature that I sleep. In. In my room, I have a thermometer by my bed. If it gets too cold, I'll sound like when I wake up and I have to warm up from scratch. Like, I have to watch everything, you know, my diet, what I'm eating, of course, the water, all that stuff people talk about. But I put my voice first.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

I'm not gonna stay up all night. I can't.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

I'm not gonna do shots. I'm not gonna be smoking. I'm not going to be doing any of these. I. I can't do it.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

You have to say no to stuff.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And align the rest of your life around your talent. Because the talent came free. The talent's a gift. Okay. You got the gift. Blah, blah, blah. That's from the heavens. Thank God. Now what.

[Kid Fury]

Right?

[Stevie Mackey]

Now what do you do? It's all the other stuff in your life you have to get in order to become, to. To last a long time.

[Kid Fury]

Right. So it sounds like what you were just saying about, you know, when you have students that then go off into, you know, their. Their life outside of these sessions and what are you doing there? Are you hollering at your man before noon?

[Stevie Mackey]

Right. Hooting and hollering on the phone earlier in the morning. Exactly. Right. That'll. That'll end your voice. You wake up and start getting loud on a phone without warming up to the day, without a steam or anything. I mean, just. You don't even know. And then talking loud in a club. Talking loud. Not singing. Talking.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Talking loud. And most normal people don't care if they're horse the next day because it doesn't affect their life, but it affects mine and, yes, ours. You know, we speak for a living, so we have to watch it. We have to. We have to respect it and build it. Build your voice enough to where you can have a night of fun. I've built a strong voice. I can have some fun. If I miss one night of some sleep, I'm fine. My voice is resilient, so I've built it up to be strong.

[Kid Fury]

Right.

[Stevie Mackey]

So that's another side of it, too.

[Kid Fury]

Sounds like my. My trainer in the gym when we would end a session, he's like, well, quick reminder. You can't go home and eat a full bag of almond albanese gummy bears because why did you even come here?

[Stevie Mackey]

Right, Right. And then, like, trainer in the gym.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's the same thing.

[Kid Fury]

Got it.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's the same thing. People are like, why do these people have vocal coaches? The same reason they Have a trainer. Yeah. You know, you just need someone to guide you. And so, yeah, that's what it is. That's what it is. Paying respect to your gifts.

[Kid Fury]

So you were also a coach on the Voice.

[Stevie Mackey]

Okay.

[Kid Fury]

Quite some time.

[Stevie Mackey]

I was in the band at the Voice.

[Kid Fury]

Okay.

[Stevie Mackey]

I was in the band for 16, 17 seasons. I was. I was at the Voiceover. I loved working at the Voice.

[Kid Fury]

Okay.

[Stevie Mackey]

I loved it. The Voice is so. It's such a friendly environment. It was a very nice show. It paid well, and I loved band director Paul Murkovich, and I was with Karen, Denise, and Dinash, like, these great singers. Nelson took my place there, and I loved my time there, but I knew I was supposed to, you know, graduate from it and go on to the rest of things in my life. And I still go back and visit sometime, but it was one of the greatest things to be in the band, and I got to sing with everyone. I mean, Dolly Parton, Kermit the Frog, Celine Dion, Cher. There's monumental moments of that I've had to blend with each one of these people and sound like I'm in their world, and it was so, so much fun. Sounds tricky, but the Voice also has very good coaches. They have different vocal coaches. Like, Trey Lonnie is the main. The main coach. She's incredible. You know, they have a series of other coaches when they have a lot of contestants. But I enjoyed singing with. With my friends, and we'd bring choirs in and. And make the arrangements. You know, really fun.

[Kid Fury]

Is that was like singing on a reality television competition at all different. Is there, like, some contrast to singing on stage in another way or singing at an event or so?

[Stevie Mackey]

Like, yeah, you learn what everyone likes working at a. That. Something like the Voice, huh? Rather than curating your own audience that goes around and likes what you do, you learn what the mass is like. These are not music fans necessarily. These are families at home who enjoy music regularly. They're like, oh, I like that song. All right. They kind of listen to it when it's on. You know, they're not like, you know, so they'll vote. These are the people you. When you drive out of the city a couple hours, you meet these people. These are the people you're singing for, and you learned what America likes. And. And it's surprising. It's surprising. Sometimes you're like, okay, okay, I got to. I got to kind of be this to. To. To get the most fans in this situation. It's a TV show first.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

So you learn. You learn what People enjoy and how to please an audience that is not there specifically for you.

[Kid Fury]

That makes a lot of sense. What's been one of the most rewarding parts or what is often one of the most rewarding parts of coaching singers?

[Stevie Mackey]

I get to see the best of people. And I mean that like. Like a dentist sometimes sees the worst of people. Like, nobody really want to go. But. But when I. When I get to sing with people, I get to see their lives change and their eyes light up and their dreams start manifesting. So I get to see the best in everyone. And I love that. I'm like. I turn into, like, a little dolphin. I don't want to say dolphin, but I like dolphins because they're always with their friends and happy, and I think of like. Like that they're so, like, I just turn into that kind of person. Like, yes, guys, come on, let's sing.

[Kid Fury]

Flipping out of the ocean.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah. It, like. Like the Disney movie starts up. Let's. Let's all sing together. And that's the best time in life. And we're all singing together and. And I was doing that last night with Chris Martin, Coldplay. I was at a session, and then we had, like, whole singing thing after and comedy sketch thing, and we're singing, and it was just so much fun. And it's just. That's what I love about my life, singing with people. I don't even care if they're great, not great. I don't really care about all that. Nobody really cares how perfect you are.

[Kid Fury]

Just.

[Stevie Mackey]

They just want to feel something from you. Yeah, you want to feel it. Do you believe them? That's what's most important. That's what's most important to being effective. So how well can you tell a story? You know, that's. That's the. So I feel very honored to be able to see the best in people and to be able to see actors like Taraji, you know, saying and do her thing and. And it makes me so proud. And. And little Jafar on the. On Michael Jackson movie. I've worked with him for years. Like, I. You get to see people you work with really fulfill their dreams, and sometimes it takes them years. You know, Nicole Scherzinger, the dream of winning the Tony.

[Kid Fury]

Oh, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Years before it happened. And. And Jennifer Lopez, like, people who really say, I just want to get better, and I want to try to get better. You know, my people who are working at this and take it seriously. I love to see that. And I think that makes me so happy.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And singing in General.

[Kid Fury]

In general.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah. Just singing. I just sing. It makes my day. That's when I know I'm here for a purpose. When I start singing, I feel that way about jokes. About what?

[Kid Fury]

Jokes. Telling jokes. Oh, jokes.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, you do, because you're so witty and you're very quick.

[Kid Fury]

Thanks.

[Stevie Mackey]

You've. I've always watched you in the way you. Even the way you interview. Now, this is not easy. The way you think and turn things into humor and seeing everyone else kind of like, chuckle around you. They get to just enjoy the best of you. And then you get like this little. I'm funny.

[Kid Fury]

It is beautiful and it feels. God sent. Feel to make people feel something.

[Audience Member]

Yes.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yes. Bringing smiles, joy.

[Kid Fury]

All right, I want to talk about Taco Tuesday.

[Audience Member]

Yes.

[Kid Fury]

Oh, man.

[Stevie Mackey]

I have.

[Kid Fury]

I been. I've been to Taco Tuesday. I think twice.

[Stevie Mackey]

Okay. Skipping them sometime.

[Kid Fury]

I think the first time I went was. I think it was just visiting. I think Amber invited me. Riley. It was a ball.

[Voice Impersonator]

Like, it was just.

[Kid Fury]

It was so cozy. And I could tell, like, obviously there's so many singers in the room and everyone is singing. You're playing piano and singing with them. And I could tell that a lot of people in the home knew each other, worked with each other. But then I could also tell there were many people in the room who had never met each other, but it was like they were almost like family. Because we sing together.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yep, we're singing together.

[Kid Fury]

Family and song.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

I had a blast. I offered to perform. Trina and Amber told me I wasn't allowed.

[Stevie Mackey]

Please don't make me laugh.

[Kid Fury]

I enjoyed being there.

[Stevie Mackey]

What song from Trina?

[Kid Fury]

The Baddest Bitch, because that's me.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, that got.

[Kid Fury]

But I wasn't permitted. I do want to know how it started. How did Taco Tuesday become a thing?

[Stevie Mackey]

Oh, my goodness, you're funny. Okay. I mean, I'm from California. We love tacos. Tacos are like our sandwiches. If you don't know, like, we eat tacos. Yeah. Love a good taco. So when I moved into my house and I was trying to find more voice students so I could pay my rent, I don't think I even had a stove. I had a little skillet and it. I could make tacos. That's what I made. And, you know, California black people tacos. Yeah. You know, fried little things and da, da, da. And they were always vegetarian because I had the veggie meat and I'm vegetarian. So anyway, I was making tacos, and I was like, we can have the taco. Tuesday as a recital for my voice students. So I was like, all right, my voice students come over, we're gonna jam and make tacos. Me, my cousin, sister, whoever, we were all just making tacos in the kitchen. And then everybody can come over. Small little crowds of just friends and we're going to sing together. Instead of a boring recital, we're going to all do it together.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

So we all start singing together a long time ago and just turning some pop songs into gospel. Everybody's going to sing background. A lot of 90s R&B that I love. It's all the genres put together. If you want to sing a Disney song, please do Broadway gospel. We're going to do it all.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, all.

[Stevie Mackey]

And so we're all. And we're all going to back you up and support you. Yeah. So it started at my house, just doing that on some Tuesdays whenever I can afford to go buy the stuff. And so we do it. And social media was fledgling and so we would videotape and then some people started uploading them to YouTube and then Instagram got video and then that was a new thing. But clips started getting around of Taco Tuesday. And then my clientele started growing and expanding to bigger, more established artists. And that culminated into just more people wanting to be there and see who was there and then hearing the really good singing. And I was. I would always include my like voice students that were that were in high school or just starting out that no one knew. I always wanted to put established and non established people together. Yeah. And that's always going to be important for me. And that's how it started just to bring everyone together to feel a home. And being from Los Angeles, a lot of people leave their home to come here and they leave their comforts and love. Yeah, they leave that. And they don't have a place out here where they feel that they can feel that feeling. And I want my house to be that. I mean, I grew up in a house like that too. My parents always had their friends over singing and stuff. So it's important to me. And I would still do it in my house if I had a way bigger house. But I don't mind doing it in different places. It's kind of outgrowing my house.

[Kid Fury]

You gotta have the space for it. Yeah, I do. I think I recognized that early too in the fact that, yeah, a lot of people come to LA for many different reasons and through many means. But being able to come to LA maybe early on and go to Stevie Mackie's place and just be a part of. It's hard, I think, to be a transplant in a place and find your community, period.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

But then to be able to find community in such a comfortable and warm and, like, communal space, because maybe you, you go in there, you might not even have to sing and just be like, oh, who is this?

[Stevie Mackey]

Notice noted. Yeah. You discover your new playlist.

[Kid Fury]

You discover a new playlist or a new song.

[Stevie Mackey]

Fantastic. It's the first time a lot of people hear they're underground artists. Yeah. It's the first time they get to hear them live before they're doing, you know, winning Grammys and doing their big shows. It's like, it's like this is where it cultivates, and we're going to support each other through and through.

[Kid Fury]

Has to be really rewarding, too, to consider that many people are building core memories at your place. Like, so many people were going to walk away from Tak Duzu and be like, I'll never forget being here this day, this night, meeting this person. Yeah, that's awesome.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, it is. When I look back on it, I need to look back on it more. I'm always like, next, next, next. But I, I, I need to, because it's, it's, it is true. It's true.

[Kid Fury]

Can you tell me some hobbies or jobs you have outside of music?

[Stevie Mackey]

Because I mostly know I like carpentry. I like, I like driving. I like researching, research, everything.

[Kid Fury]

Me, too.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, smart thing.

[Kid Fury]

Anytime I have any random question.

[Stevie Mackey]

Any question. I love etymology, the source of words and grammar. History of California and United States and the world. And I'm such a historian. I think I just, I love it. I love history. It makes me not be afraid of the future.

[Kid Fury]

I loved history in school until we got, like, I loved world history, and we moved over to American history, and I was like, well, everything else was so fascinating. That's about us in our asp.

[Stevie Mackey]

Right. Right. So I think I would be a good designer. I would. I like designing. I would do that every day. Designing houses and sets and chairs and lamps and, like, I love designing. Yeah, I love, I love it. I would love to do that. I just, I love. And I, I mean, I would, I would. There's so many lives I want to live. I'm a lot of people trying to be one person, and that's difficult. I want to draw, and I want to do graphics. I want to be, you know, I want to be a lot of things.

[Kid Fury]

If you had a, an animated series that just popped up on TV tomorrow, What would it be? What would it be about? I love animation too.

[Stevie Mackey]

I do too.

[Kid Fury]

So curious.

[Stevie Mackey]

I've drawn so many characters and cartoons over the years and I still have them and I can't. Can't say them all because it's 20, 26 and back then they were.

[Kid Fury]

I mean, I remember there's some.

[Stevie Mackey]

My sister. My close friends know my characters and. And it's. It's. Yeah, my mind has. Is crazy. I would draw my teachers and exaggerate them and then I would draw people to voice and I would, I would draw. I would just draw people and I, you know, I was a troll and I would try a little quiet just back there. Just wrong, you know, just being a troll and I get caught. Somebody sees it.

[Kid Fury]

Love that.

[Stevie Mackey]

But yeah, I. If I had an animated series, I would. It would definitely be about a little shy kid who. Singing is his superpower. And when he puts on his little artist outfit, no one knows who he is and he becomes a star and then he goes back to his quiet life. It's a kind of a spider man, but. But the artist version, I like that. That's something. That's the character I can relate to the most.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

You know, they're behind the scenes so much, but sometimes they're in front and then they go back to their retreat.

[Kid Fury]

I like that. You gotta do the Mickey Mouse voice.

[Voice Impersonator]

Ha. Pluto. Why? Ha. Well, I guess we can go to Disneyland. Well, here we go. Oh boy. Well, Kid Fury. What? Are you gonna come? Come on. Haha.

[Kid Fury]

That is. Gosh, that's freakish.

[Voice Impersonator]

Oh, well, I appreciate it, but you didn't really agree to go. Me and Minnie are about to catch the train to the castle.

[Kid Fury]

How long have you been able to do this?

[Voice Impersonator]

Well, it's been about a. Well, I've been around for almost 100 years. We're the oldest celebrity couple in existence. Ha ha.

[Kid Fury]

Let me tell you something. That is really. I'm not good at impressions. That is really a fucking impression. How long have you been able to do this voice?

[Voice Impersonator]

Since Elmo's been doing this for so long. Elmo could do. Elmo likes Kip Fury. Elmo loves Stevie. Elmo loves everybody.

[Stevie Mackey]

I don't know. I love voices. I will try to do any voice. If I hear an accent. Yeah, whatever acc it is. I will study it and try to do it. I'm fascinated with accent.

[Kid Fury]

You have French accent. I wanted to learn so bad.

[Stevie Mackey]

I. It's. It's racist. No, I can't do it.

[Kid Fury]

Great. Let's move on.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah. Yeah, I can't really do it. I, I, I can. I have to learn it. Yeah. I can do a Caribbean one, though,

[Kid Fury]

but, Well, I was born into that Jamaican.

[Stevie Mackey]

Really?

[Kid Fury]

Yes.

[Stevie Mackey]

Man, I didn't know that. Come on.

[Kid Fury]

Family's from St. Catherine. Both parents.

[Stevie Mackey]

What, me, Gonzalez, are here in this hair condition building and not know that you're from.

[Kid Fury]

Let's move on. Have you. What is your opinion on singers? Have you dated singers? I mean, what's your opinion on dating singers?

[Stevie Mackey]

Dating singers? I think musicians should date each other. I think if you are a musician and you don't date a musician, you're leaving the door open to have a deeper connection with another musician, because that's a whole language that you share. And when you're a musician and you try to date outside of that, you're like, I'm gonna date someone. I don't want anyone who does this. Then you may have a connection, but I think you leave a door open, and then when you're in the studio one day and someone comes in and speaks your language, it's like, oh, it's like, that's, that's cool. We can joke and smile about the same chords and the same, you know, thing. There's a language that, that you are blessed to have and share when you are both musicians.

[Kid Fury]

That makes sense.

[Stevie Mackey]

So I, I think, I think it's an. It's a bonus. I think it's a bonus.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, that makes sense. I could see, you know, in situations like that, you can jam together and sing together and fan out about. Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's not like I'm. Let me go to sleep. I'm trying to play piano. It's like, let's go in and play a song together and hang before we go to bed. It's your team.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. As someone who's not a singer, I have dated singers and not the same sentiment. No. I'm trying to fold clothes, and now I need to break every chain. Just randomly.

[Stevie Mackey]

Like, we just. You trying to live your life, and

[Kid Fury]

they're like, oh, Jesus, there's no stopping it.

[Stevie Mackey]

No, there isn't.

[Kid Fury]

Every singer, every place. Don't stop singing.

[Stevie Mackey]

No. You can forget it. Your normal life. And then singers have their own orbit. Everything is there orbit in their world. And you have to go into their world because that's just how it is.

[Kid Fury]

Plenty of time. I'm in a perfect mood for it. I'm like, oh, there's somebody really talented in this bitch. That sounds great. And there's other times. I'm like, oh, God, I don't want to lift up my voice. I just don't feel like it.

[Stevie Mackey]

You're funny. Well, what about another community comedian?

[Kid Fury]

Hell, no. I'd rather date three singers before. Absolutely not.

[Stevie Mackey]

We can't both have jokes.

[Kid Fury]

There's. There's no. In fact, I prefer to date someone who's gonna be like, okay, can we be serious for a little bit?

[Stevie Mackey]

Can you shut your. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Realistic.

[Kid Fury]

I feel like music and song is nearly always appropriate. You know, if you're on the plane and you don't have a doctor. Well, sing to me, you know, Right.

[Stevie Mackey]

Like, right from going.

[Kid Fury]

Give. You know, let me go in song jokes. Sometimes you got to shut your ass up.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah. It ain't time for a joke. There's a song for every moment, but there's not a joke for every moment. Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

If there's no doctor and no musician on the plane, I can't come over to you and be like, don't about that weather. You know, that's straight of our moves. Right? Am I.

[Stevie Mackey]

What am I talking about, the time or the place? What do you think about.

[Kid Fury]

I had a thought on this podcast before of what I call stunt casting singers, where they put. I think this happens a lot in, like, animated musicals.

[Stevie Mackey]

Okay.

[Kid Fury]

Where they hire someone who's never sung in their life, but they're very famous, maybe like an A lister. Yeah. And we just kind of get through it.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yes. But if they're a good actor, then you buy it. What I mean is, Disney has always hired actors to play roles that sing. Like, Pat Carroll was cast to play Ursula, and she was not known as a singer. She didn't make albums or anything. But she's an actress, and when she sings. I admit that in the past, I've been a nasty.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch. You know, poor unfortunate soul. Like, I can't imagine a singer. Singer doing this.

[Voice Impersonator]

I admit that in the past, I've been a nasty.

[Stevie Mackey]

It'd be too singy. I don't want to think about you singing. I want to believe you that you're a villain who is into herself and gets dressed up with nowhere to go and has this leftover talent from the past and brings it in. I buy it. If you're a good actor, you can sell me a song better than the singer who just sings really well.

[Kid Fury]

You're so right.

[Stevie Mackey]

So that's what I mean by casting. Casting the ones who make you feel something. Sometimes the better you sing, the less I Believe you.

[Kid Fury]

That makes sense. Catherine o' Hara in Nightmare before Christmas.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yes.

[Kid Fury]

Sally's song is perfect.

[Stevie Mackey]

Perfect. And can it be more perfect? No, no, no, it can't. Exactly what I. Exactly my point.

[Kid Fury]

That's a good point.

[Stevie Mackey]

It can't be more perfect. You don't want to hear another version of it.

[Kid Fury]

Better. No, I don't.

[Stevie Mackey]

You don't believe it.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. I don't want to hear sing songy.

[Stevie Mackey]

No, you want it to be what it is.

[Kid Fury]

Exactly what it is.

[Stevie Mackey]

That.

[Kid Fury]

That makes so much sense. I see whoever was working on the music for that being like, this song from this character is. She is this way. She is this way. I would prefer you act this song,

[Stevie Mackey]

and if they're off the note, you don't even think about it.

[Kid Fury]

Right.

[Stevie Mackey]

You don't think about it. They missed a note. You don't care.

[Kid Fury]

I don't think it was until I was pretty grown that I listened to Sally's song and was like, oh, I guess she's not singing this song. She's kind of imperfect. But it was perfect. It's always been perfect to me.

[Stevie Mackey]

Exactly. Get me together.

[Kid Fury]

I want your opinions on karaoke. So here's my thing, right? I just don't like it in general. I will go because the girls want to go. I will drink and try to have the best time I can. If you can't sing, I don't want to hear you singing karaoke. And if you can sing, what are you trying to prove? It's karaoke.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's not fun to me.

[Kid Fury]

I don't like it.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's not fun. Singing is. Is. Is not a game to me. I sing, and I'm not gonna play around. I know if I go up there and then I'm taking it serious, and y' all are like, oh, to sing, you know, don't stop believing. Yeah, I'm trying to sing. Whitney, seriously, you know, y' all could play around and do that on your own, Be Usher for the day. I. I really. I don't think it's fun. I don't want to go. It's loud. I don't want to hear it. I start. My brain goes crazy. I want to coach them, but then kick them off the stage at the same time. It's not fun to me. Sorry. I don't like being. I don't like being negative, but I don't like it.

[Kid Fury]

Agree with you.

[Stevie Mackey]

I don't like it.

[Kid Fury]

I don't like it either.

[Stevie Mackey]

If you want to be a singer, go get better. So go do it in your home and. Or go have fun. I don't care what people do. Go do it.

[Kid Fury]

Why can't the club just be karaoke?

[Stevie Mackey]

You drunk singing there Anyway, Just play the song. Put the words up.

[Kid Fury]

Yes.

[Stevie Mackey]

While we're dancing. Don't give anyone a mic. No. Play the full song with the vocal and put the words up so we can see the words. That's fun.

[Kid Fury]

Especially because I can't hear you. Good.

[Stevie Mackey]

Right? Good. Let's all just have fun together and sing it together. Great.

[Kid Fury]

We're on the same page.

[Stevie Mackey]

We are.

[Kid Fury]

Is there a song that you're tired of hearing people sing?

[Stevie Mackey]

I mean, everyone's talking about. They're tired of. Can we talk about? But if you could sing it. I like to hear it, you know?

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

If you're Tevin Campbell, Avery Wilson, Duran, Tank,

[Kid Fury]

that's the.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, yeah. No, but if you could do these songs. Do them. But there are certain songs that everyone just thinks everyone likes, and they're like, I'm gonna sing this. And then it's like. Okay. To be very honest, there is. There is. There's the song I'm tired of. Everyone singing is crazy.

[Kid Fury]

Which Crazy?

[Stevie Mackey]

I remember when I remember. Please, please forget

[Kid Fury]

when you lost your mind.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah, that one's. That can go to rest. Crazy is like. And that's like the jam session. Like, crazy. I mean, there's. There's more, but, like, crazy is like, the top of my list of, like, I don't care if you could sing. I don't care what I don't want to hear anymore.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

Don't want to hear it.

[Kid Fury]

But I feel like there are songs. I've heard of songs being, like, having, like, an unspoken ban at certain audition shows and stuff.

[Stevie Mackey]

Like, I. Wait, what do you mean? What do you mean?

[Kid Fury]

I think. I think I've heard a rumor that Simon Cowell doesn't want to hear people saying I will always love you. Or maybe doesn't like hearing people sing Mariah Carey songs or something.

[Stevie Mackey]

No, because so many people go in there and want to sing these songs. These are not live singing songs, really. These are like, unless you're at the top 1% of singers who can just go in an audition and kill it. Please don't. Yeah, Please don't change it all the way and make it. I'd rather you be. Make it low and with the guitar. Change it up. Don't try to sing it like them. It's just not going to be as good. There are a few, very few singers that can do these Songs, the big diva songs. Very well.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah, it's.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's hard. And I can see why Simon's head hurts because he's there all day. Listen to every little kid coming and singing these songs 12 hours a day,

[Kid Fury]

like, oh, God, here, go Always wanna

[Stevie Mackey]

be my baby or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd rather you tell me a story that is believable to you. If you're a kid or teenager seeing something that you really feel right now, even if it doesn't have all the high and low and all the long, all the singy stuff, make it believable, and I'm there with you.

[Kid Fury]

You're right. Because sometimes, like, obviously, I will get up on my feet for the biggest singing, but I get lost sometimes when someone hits me with some. Some vocals I don't expect, or a song or a tone. Especially, like, the point that you just made your own way. Don't try to sing it like this person who has the version we love.

[Stevie Mackey]

Don't. The song is good enough to change. And sing it yourself. Sing it the way you feel like you're gonna sing it.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

And that takes creativity. That's not easy.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

You know, you gotta feel it different.

[Kid Fury]

Okay, well, can you give us an idea of what's going on with you this year, what we have with the future? Because I asked you before, you said you were happy to be home. Sounds like you're gonna have time to work here.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

Feet on the ground.

[Stevie Mackey]

I mean, I am. I'm focusing on my own music for the second time in my life. First time was during the pandemic. I mean, I made my Christmas album.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah.

[Stevie Mackey]

But now I'm working on original music. And it is. It is a journey. It is a journey. I'm not a big songwriter, but I am. I'm diving into that with some very talented people. So I'm learning to love it and to really just leave something here on earth. Yeah. I want to leave art here. This is important to me. I want to take time and record and do whatever I feel. Every genre. I want to just. I'll do a Disney R B album. I'll do a gospel spirituals album. I'll do my yacht rock album. That's my fave. I love it. Musical theater. Like, I want to do all these things, and I'll just, like, sing all these songs and. And I don't care where they go. Everyone can have them for free. Just take them. I just want to leave them here. So I do feel responsible to work on my own stuff. Right. Now. So that's what I'm spending my time doing.

[Kid Fury]

About time.

[Stevie Mackey]

Bout time.

[Kid Fury]

Yeah. This.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

How you feeling about it?

[Stevie Mackey]

It's scary. It's very safe knowing that you're just gonna go work with everyone else every day. But when you're the boss of your own stuff, it is like. It's a new level of judgment.

[Kid Fury]

But I've heard you say before, like, you know, everyone gets nervous. Like, that's a part of it and is not going to go away.

[Stevie Mackey]

Yeah.

[Kid Fury]

But it's necessary.

[Stevie Mackey]

It is. You have to scare yourself. Yeah. You start getting to a place in life, you're not scared of anything. You're not pushing. Go get scared a little bit.

[Kid Fury]

Go get scared a little bit.

[Stevie Mackey]

That's what I'm telling myself.

[Kid Fury]

I think that's the perfect place to leave it. I think that is a perfect place to end this. I will say, though, I will be expecting, like, a Mickey Mouse Presents the Survivor album, Destiny's Child, maybe.

[Stevie Mackey]

Oh, gosh.

[Kid Fury]

Maybe Mickey does some looting.

[Voice Impersonator]

I'm a survivor to work hard. Come on, Pluto.

[Kid Fury]

That's. That's the clip. That is the social clip.

[Audience Member]

Please.

[Stevie Mackey]

That's so embarrassing.

[Kid Fury]

Oh, my God. Thank you for coming on my podcast. It's been an honor.

[Stevie Mackey]

It's really fun. Can I come back when I have music to show you?

[Kid Fury]

Please?

[Stevie Mackey]

Okay.

[Kid Fury]

Please do. I think everybody will be looking forward to it.

[Stevie Mackey]

Thanks. Okay.

[Audience Member]

Yes.

[Kid Fury]

Everyone give a round of applause to Mr. Stevie Mackin. Thank you. Got me, like, maybe I should do

[Voice Impersonator]

a little thing and come on and sing.

[Kid Fury]

Okay. I changed my mind. I can't do that. All right, guys. Thank you for watching. Listening to Fearist thoughts. Make sure you give me a like, subscribe, Go check out the rest of the episodes, and I'll see you next week. Boom.