Aly & AJ Michalka on Their Disney Channel Legacy, Joining WHITE LOTUS & New Music

Summary

Just Trish – Feb 26, 2026

Guest(s): Aly & AJ
Main Theme:
Trisha Paytas welcomes Aly & AJ—Disney Channel icons, alt-pop duo, and real-life sisters—for a deep dive into their two-decade career, musical and personal growth, life on tour, nostalgia, creative control, activism, and the evolving entertainment industry.

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Episode Overview

This lively, candid episode features Trisha in conversation with Aly & AJ. They reflect on their journey from Disney stardom to indie musicianship, touching on viral moments, industry insights, motherhood, deep sisterly bonds, activism, and future ambitions. The trio keeps the mood upbeat, funny, honest, and occasionally vulnerable, offering plenty for both longtime fans and fresh listeners.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Aly & AJ’s Viral TikTok Resurgence

• Discovering Social Fame Again
  • Aly & AJ recount how “Potential Breakup Song” became a TikTok trend during the 2020 pandemic, sparking a new generation of fans. They first heard about it from friends who began sending viral videos.
    • “We didn’t have TikTok when 2020 hit and 'Potential' had a resurgence.” – Aly (03:20)
    • AJ describes their initial confusion: “Just lost millennials...so lost.” (03:54)
• Their Own TikTok Approach
  • The duo often crafts TikTok content themselves, sometimes with idea suggestions from friends, while Aly takes the “momager” role in keeping their social presence lively.
    • “Ally's our TikTok momager. She’s the one.” – AJ (04:36)

On Touring: Bus Life, Meet & Greets, and Mom Life

• Aly & AJ love bus tours for camaraderie, routine, and comfort, compared to “fly-in, fly-out” travel (05:36).
• They credit their success to a well-tuned tour schedule that allows for social media, meet-and-greets, and downtime (05:17).
• Bringing Family on Tour: Aly brings her toddler son, Jack, on the road with the help of their crew and a tour nanny.
  • “He has, like, status now, which is funny.” – AJ (28:44)
• Meet-and-greet logistics: always pre-show, “before your makeup’s all gone and you’re sweaty!” (05:08)

Child Star to Adults: Finding Creative Control

• Hiatus Reflections: They took a 10-year break from music (2007–2017) to focus on acting, returning revitalized.
• Music vs Acting: Both enjoy acting but treasure the immediate, authentic connection that live music offers.
  • “The instant gratification and love you receive in real time…” – Aly (07:56)
• Creative Power
  • Acting’s lack of control (editing, marketing, casting) inspires many to become producers.
    • “That’s the hardest part about being an actor...Your creation could be really brilliant, but in, like, the wrong setting.” – AJ (08:31)

Revisiting Nostalgia: Disney Era, Reboots & What-Ifs

• Disney Channel Memories:
  • Discussing the legacy of movies like “Smart House,” “Xenon,” and shows like “Phil of the Future” (“a little under the radar” compared to Hannah or Lizzie) (12:40).
  • They note some Disney projects “don’t age well at all,” but others have become cult classics (10:35).
• Reboots & Offers:
  • They’d be open to a reunion, but point out most former cast members are now in different fields.
  • AJ confirms she was offered “Hannah Montana” after “Phil of the Future," but ultimately aged out and felt she’d done all she needed with Disney (13:45).
    • “I know it was very soon after ‘Phil’ wrapped...I was like 16 and a half, maybe 17.” – AJ (13:45)

Early Careers: Starting Out and Sibling Dynamic

• AJ booked her first jobs earlier (Aly had braces—a “no” for casting then). Aly scored her first SAG credit via a Montgomery Ward commercial (17:14).
• Sisterly support, no rivalry: “It’s always been this kind of balance...The pendulum has swum back and forth.” – AJ (65:55)

Motherhood & Home Birth

• Aly planned a home birth; it was “like a dream.” They discuss misconceptions about home births, parenting on the road, and how TikTok sometimes demonizes alternative birth experiences.
  • “There's actually quite a low percentage of home births that go really bad...less than 1%.” – Aly (21:33–21:56)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

Pop Culture, Biopics, and Nostalgia

• “If you go back, you'll watch some [Disney movies] and you're like, this actually doesn't make that much sense as a storyline.” – AJ (10:35)
• On biopics: “Honestly, I don't really like watching biopics. I’d rather watch a doc on the artist.” – AJ (41:05)
• “I feel like every show [since 2018] was a Pride show.” – Ally (56:03)

Advocacy: Gun Reform & Mental Health

• Aly & AJ speak candidly about surviving a 2022 mass shooting on tour and their resulting activism.
  • “We both survived a mass shooting out on tour back in 2022.” – AJ (45:17)
  • “Now we’ve been able to really share our story and raise money for Everytown, March 4th.” – AJ (45:31)
• Gun reform priorities: reinstating the assault weapons ban, closing loopholes for ghost/3D-printed guns (48:09).
• Linking gun reform and suicide prevention—especially in LGBTQ+ communities, via the Trevor Project.

Songwriting, Legacy, and Voice Work

• Favorite songs: “Rush,” and “No One,” meaningful for both fans and LGBTQ community (54:33).
  • “No one feeling like, you know, I'm struggling to maybe find who I am in this world and who I want to be. And it's like, I don't want to be anyone but myself.” – Ally (54:33)
• On keeping “Potential Breakup Song” fresh: “You forget [the hardships], right? ...You're like, I could do this again.” – AJ (26:50)
• On writing: they’ve written all their own songs, often even as teens, confessing “Potential Breakup Song” wasn’t about a specific breakup—they just tapped into the emotion (54:00–54:26).
• Aly encourages Trisha to do voiceover: “You would crush...You don't have to worry about glamming and what you look like.” – AJ (61:07)

Future Plans, Tour, and Broadway

• “We'll still be touring. We'll still be making records...Maybe there's a Broadway show, two of you.” – Aly & AJ (77:41–77:47)
• Both express a desire to do Broadway one day, though they’re not die-hard musical theatre fans (67:34–68:20).

Pet Grief, Unconventional Comfort

• Ally shares an emotional story of using “freeze drying” instead of taxidermy for her late Shih Tzu, Willow:
  • “The dog is as is, but is in this thing for six months and then pulled out.” – Ally (74:34)
  • Trish responds warmly: “To me, I think that is so comforting.” (75:16)

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 03:07 — Aly & AJ discover TikTok trend
• 05:36 — Life on tour, bus routine
• 07:11 — Their 10-year musical hiatus
• 13:45 — AJ discusses turning down “Hannah Montana”
• 17:14 — Childhood auditions/SAG card stories
• 19:16 — Aly’s home birth story
• 21:38 — On home birth safety, debunking myths
• 24:36 — Hypnobirthing, pain, and recovery
• 27:14 — Touring with Aly’s baby
• 44:23 — Gun reform activism; surviving a mass shooting (Sacramento, 2022)
• 52:06 — Healing through music after trauma
• 53:31 — Songwriting process (“Potential Breakup Song” story)
• 54:33 — Favorite/self-defining songs and LGBTQ+ resonance
• 61:07 — Trish and the group discuss the simplicity and skill of voiceover
• 65:55 — Sisterly dynamic: no rivalry, always balance
• 73:41 — Ally’s pet grief and freeze-drying
• 77:39 — Where do Aly & AJ see themselves in 20 years?
• 78:40 — Tour info/plans; closing encouragements

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Final Thoughts/Tone

Playful, supportive, and insightful throughout, the episode offers a solid mix of nostalgia, pop culture commentary, personal anecdotes, and real discussions about change—both in their industry and the world. Trisha’s awe at Aly & AJ’s enduring relevance and adaptability unites the conversation, while the sisters’ sincerity and humor shine. The episode closes on optimistic notes about creative growth and sisterhood.

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For fans of Disney nostalgia, pop music, sibling dynamics, and honest conversations about life in the spotlight, this episode is a must-listen.

Transcript

[Ally]

ABC Wednesdays. The Emmy winning comedy scrubs is all new.

[Trish]

This is a whole new chapter for me. No more sad sack.

[Ally]

That's what I'm talking about.

[AJ]

I want both of our sacks to be fun.

[Trish]

You two idiots are perfect for each other.

[Ally]

From executive producers of Ted lasso and shrinking.

[Trish]

We were all a part of this victory. Now get those nachos out of the preemie warmer. Nachos.

[AJ]

Feels like there's more applause for the

[Trish]

nachos than my speech.

[Ally]

The new season of scrubs Wednesdays, 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu.

[Trish]

Close your eyes. Exhale.

[AJ]

Feel your body relax and let go

[Trish]

of whatever you're carrying today.

[Ally]

Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts.

[AJ]

Oh, my gosh.

[Ally]

They're so fast.

[AJ]

And breathe.

[Ally]

Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order.

[Trish]

Oh, sorry.

[Ally]

Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contact.

[Trish]

Like they say Walt Disney's like frozen or something. I've heard this. Maybe that. Do you guys know anything about it?

[AJ]

I don't. I wish. I wish.

[Trish]

You're like, tell me, is the channel.

[Ally]

The channel hasn't told us.

[Trish]

White Lotus? Yes.

[AJ]

Do you watch white Lotus? I mean, who doesn't?

[Trish]

Who doesn't? This is the biggest show.

[Ally]

Not everyone does.

[AJ]

Not everybody does what?

[Ally]

There was rumors you were going to join.

[Trish]

I think I started those rumors. Did you show it up? I like I could be on the show. Was it true that you were offered Hannah Montana? Her name is Trish. She's got the additional gossip. Filthy rich riddy and pink Hot topic queen. And that's what everybody thinks. She's just Trish. Yay. Welcome back to the just Trish podcast. We are so excited. Today's guests are icons in their own right. Disney channel stars and also about to go on a tour just to few days. The icons, Ali and aj. Hi. Hi. This is so exciting.

[Ally]

It's so good to be here.

[AJ]

You.

[Trish]

This is like so surreal to see because I feel like we talked about you on the show so much and then we saw you guys lip sync a TikTok from the show and we were gagged. We're like, ali and AJ know who we are.

[AJ]

Full circle.

[Ally]

When. When you guys were talking about easy A and you hilariously were like, who's Ali Mashaka?

[AJ]

Ally Machaka.

[Ally]

I love every Every single person.

[Trish]

Ali Mashaka from Ali and aj. Emma Stone is perfect. That's crazy.

[Ally]

It's so funny the way you say it. We were cackling. Cause, you know, people know us more as Ali and AJ as opposed to, like, Ally Machaka. AJ Machaka. And we were like, literally. I mean, this is all thanks to our lighting tech who goes on the road with us.

[AJ]

He's a huge fan, and he goes

[Ally]

away shout out to Jacob Wesson. So he was the one who saw this originally and sent it to us and was like, you guys need to duet to this. So then we did the lip sync, and then this is how we're here.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. No. You're iconic. We used, obviously, you sound the potential breakup song, like, so many times. Like, I mean, when that was big in 2020, where did you guys ever do the trend? Like, the one where you, like, do the awkward millennial pauses?

[AJ]

Yes, we did it.

[Ally]

And we met the moms.

[AJ]

I mean, we've seen, like, all of the ones that, like, you know, blew up. We were. We were watching or we were sent them. You know, like, at first, we didn't know what was happening.

[Ally]

We didn't have TikTok when 2020 hit and potential had a resurgence.

[Trish]

So how did you find out about it?

[Ally]

Friends.

[AJ]

Friends. Like girlfriends being like, have you seen this? Or just sending a video being like, this is a really funny one. And we were like, what funny one? What do you mean? Like, this is one of many, right? We were confused.

[Ally]

Like, the one in the dental chair with the baseball players and then the moms in Chicago and then the girl on the train in London. Like, there were so many that were starting to take off, and we were like, we need to join this.

[Trish]

Is that when you joined then?

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

And was your first one that?

[AJ]

Yeah, first one was that.

[Trish]

Love that. What were you thinking?

[AJ]

Were you like, we were so confused. We were like, we don't understand how this platform works.

[Ally]

Just lost millennials.

[AJ]

So lost. So lost. And then. And then over time, like, we got the hang of it and we were like, oh, this is not, like, supposed to be perfect. It's supposed to be funny and raw and real. And I think that's the term of TikTok.

[Trish]

It is so good. And your tiktoks are like that. Like, I was, like, looking because you have, like, a joint TikTok account. Do you come up with the ideas of yourself or do you have someone be like, you should do this because you're so on it. You're so on the button with everything that's like, yes. I feel like all the sounds you use are so, like, wow.

[AJ]

It's a mix. Like, we have some people that will, like, text and be like, hey, what would be some good ones? But, like, a lot of times it's just us seeing something funny and we're like, oh, we should do that, you know, or something served to us. And then Ally's our TikTok momager.

[Ally]

Like, she. She's the one.

[Trish]

Oh, really?

[Ally]

She's the TikTok stage mom.

[AJ]

Like.

[Ally]

Like, I mean, I say that, like, lightly, but, like, when we're on tour, she'll be like, we gotta make a TikTok. I got three ideas. And I'll be like, okay, let's do it.

[AJ]

I'm like, we got 20 minutes. Let's do them.

[Ally]

She's good at it.

[Trish]

That's impressive. So, like, you get glam done and then you're like, we got time to do a TikTok before performing.

[AJ]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Trish]

That's a lot of energy. Do you guys do meet and greets at your shows?

[Ally]

We do.

[AJ]

Yeah, we do. We do it before.

[Trish]

Wow. So what time? Because I did, like, a mini tour. Not like your guys's tour. I did a mini tour last year and you have to get there at like 2pm to, like, glam do the meet and greet. I never have time to do tiktoks. Like, that's amazing that you have such a schedule.

[AJ]

Did you do your meet and greet before or after?

[Trish]

Before, Yes.

[AJ]

I feel like after. You're just, like, tired. You're tired. You did your thing. You're sweaty.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

You know, you're like, who wants to, like, meet people like this? Yeah.

[Trish]

Your makeup's all fresh.

[Ally]

I feel like we have a really good schedule now on lock because we've toured so much that we have a very clear idea of, like, when we're gonna arrive. You know, we're fully glammed already. We jump into soundcheck, then we do our meet and greet, then we go hang out and eat, and then we come back for the show. So, like, we found time to, like, not only do stuff for social media, but, like, also just have a life and, like, go get a meal.

[Trish]

Wow. Cause you guys do a bus tour, right? Yeah. Always have done a bus tour. You never done the In N Out.

[AJ]

Always bus.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

Wow. Other than, like, if it's a one off and you're flying into that city and then you just. I see.

[Ally]

We love living on the bus.

[AJ]

We love the bus.

[Trish]

I need to know about this because that sounds like a dream. We always did a fly in, fly out on the weekends and stuff like that. Sounds like a dream to do a tour.

[AJ]

You would have fun, like decorating it, I'm sure. Really, you would probably go nuts.

[Trish]

Okay. Because I. Are you all on one bus?

[Ally]

We're usually on two, but for some tours, if it's like a smaller tour, smaller run, we'll do one bus.

[Trish]

Are you together on a bus or are you have your own buses?

[Ally]

Together?

[AJ]

Together, yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. And so you, like. I guess my fear would be, like, getting sick of anybody, I guess.

[AJ]

But yeah, I mean, that's always the risk that, you know, people drive you a little nuts. I guess that's what days off are also for. Where you can be like, okay, I'm gonna go and, like, do my own thing for the next eight hours and like, I'll see you later this evening, you know, when bus call happens.

[Ally]

But it's a fun life. Like our band and crew, it's like family. Like, at this point. Our drummer, who's now been with us for a while, I text him the other day and I was like, get ready. We're gonna be flossing every night before bed. Cause he's the guy that gets me to floss. He was dying. He was like, oh, you know what? I'm at CVS right now. I'm literally buying floss sticks. I was like, hell, yeah, Ben. Like, that's the comrade. It's so dumb. But these people become your family. Like, they really do.

[Trish]

You spend so much time on this bus. What number two are. Cause you did six studio albums. What number two are you guys on with this new one, Places to Run?

[Ally]

Oh, my gosh.

[AJ]

I don't know. I mean, I think probably at this point there's been, like, probably a dozen.

[Ally]

Yeah. Easily. I think, since coming back to music in like 2017. This is probably like six.

[AJ]

Yeah, this is probably like six.

[Ally]

So. Yeah, so probably like six. When we were younger.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. What was the hiatus? You said you came back in 2017 and your first album was 20 years ago. So how long did you guys take of a break?

[Ally]

10 years.

[AJ]

We took like a 10 year break, which is kind of crazy. It almost doesn't feel like it was 10 years. Cause we were working on all the acting stuff. So, like, a lot of the projects I think that people associate us with happened in that timeframe. Funny enough, outside of maybe a couple Disney things. But really, anything that was post Disney is all the Stuff that we kind of did in that timeframe.

[Trish]

Wow. Do you have a preference, acting or music?

[Ally]

I really love both, and I have such a heart for both. But the music is really. It's really where it's at for me. Like, being on stage, live every night, playing in front of fans, it's so much fun.

[Trish]

You get, like, a rush.

[Ally]

The instant gratification of that and that love and energy you receive in real time, like, being on a set is great, but then you might not see the project for months later, and you might be really surprised by how it turned out. It might not be anything you imagined, which can be kind of a sad thing.

[AJ]

I think that's the hardest part about, like, being an actor is that you have no control, like, at the mercy of how they roll out the film. Like, whether that's, like, the edit or the cast or, you know, like, when it's put out, how it's. How it's marketed. Like, all those little tiny things that you, like, have no control over, which

[Ally]

is why so many actors end up becoming producers.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

So then you get a say.

[AJ]

Yeah. So you can have a little more control or why they are like, I want to be a producer and I want to also direct it, you know, like. So I think that's the hardest part of being an actor, is that you're creative, but it's not all your creation. You're like a little small puzzle. And your creation could be really brilliant, but in, like, the wrong setting. You could be like, this was a great film. Like, it was a great script. It read great, you know, on set, chemistry and everything worked. But, like, the edit of the film, like, just doesn't do it justice or whatever, you know?

[Trish]

Is there any projects you thought of that you're like, this could have been great. That come to mind? You know, you don't have to say if you want.

[AJ]

No, there's definitely. There's definitely things that, like, I think in hindsight, I. I'm, like, still proud of, but I feel like there's an even better version of what that project was out there in my mind. I'm like, oh, that if we'd only splurged on these things, or if they had focused more on this part of the storyline and instead didn't focus on this weird thing that took all the characters in this strange course.

[Ally]

I feel like Ally's totally right that you really don't have a lot of control at the end of the day, but I feel like everything I've been in, anything that I Felt on set, I kind of had a feeling. Wouldn't be great. Ended up not being great.

[Trish]

Oh, interesting, interesting.

[Ally]

And then anything that I thought was really wonderful actually ended up being really solid. So I actually feel like I've dealt with it.

[AJ]

It's almost like you saw it coming. You're like, yeah, this is gonna be a weird scene.

[Ally]

Yeah. I don't think there's been one project where I'm like, oh, this is gonna be amazing. And then I saw it and I was like, what? But that happened. It happens a lot.

[Trish]

But that's good. You're, like, committed. You're like, ugh. You feel weird about it. You're like, I'm still gonna commit to it. I'm still gonna do it.

[AJ]

Like, I'm here. I'm here for another 30 days.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

Or you might love the character and you're like, this is a great opportunity for me. But I don't know if the director knows what he's doing. But we're gonna have fun.

[Trish]

Let's go. You know what'? Over time, as you guys have probably seen now you've been, like, in this industry for, like, 20 years, is like, sometimes they become, like, cult favorites, you know?

[AJ]

Yeah, that's true.

[Trish]

Like, something you may not think was, like, all that amazing. I think we see that a lot. Even with Disney Channel. It's like, it was a lot of stuff. Was amazing. But, like, re. Watching, like, a Cowbells, for instance, you're kind of like, that's kind of eight, actually. You know, because you think of, like, silly Disney movies, and you're like, it's kind of.

[AJ]

There's ones that are, like, really bad, that are, like, unwatchable.

[Ally]

There's some that don't age well at

[AJ]

all, some that don't. But I feel like there's some. If you go back, you'll watch someone. You're like, this actually doesn't make that much sense as a storyline.

[Trish]

But then others.

[Ally]

But others.

[AJ]

And then others, you're like, okay, this works.

[Trish]

Oh, I'm like, Smart House. Xenon.

[AJ]

Like, all those throw and throw. Smart House. I haven't seen Smart House in a really long time, but I feel like Xenon. We always loved Xenon.

[Ally]

Like, but Smart House is Katie Siegel. So it's like, that's true.

[AJ]

Legit, legit actress.

[Trish]

And that the boy that was in it, he was in Luck of the Irish. Remember that once. Did you know him? I loved him. Didn't know him, but I know he was older than you guys.

[AJ]

I feel Like, I feel like a good one, for example, was like, now you see it. That doesn't all have a good wrap up. The way that that movie is like, it's kind of missing some stuff. You're like, are there some scenes that were cut and there weren't? It's just like, that was the script.

[Trish]

Oh, interesting.

[AJ]

That's a good point.

[Ally]

That one loses me a little bit

[AJ]

in terms of script.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

Somebody mentioned that online. They were like, did you ever realize, like, there's like, not that much magic actually in this magic movie?

[Ally]

There's hardly any magic.

[AJ]

Yeah, actually, you're really right. Probably because we didn't have a great budget for it.

[Trish]

No budget. That's so interesting.

[AJ]

But you know what?

[Trish]

I think the.

[Ally]

The isn't there a now you see

[AJ]

me movie that like the magic movies. Yeah.

[Ally]

They could have taken from that, right?

[AJ]

That's true. They could have.

[Ally]

But it's like there's inspiration there. And they made like three.

[AJ]

You're right. There's three. Yeah. I don't think I ever saw them. It's all magic, right?

[Ally]

I didn't either. It's all magic. And I think they had a budget for magic.

[AJ]

It's like Dave Franco, Isla Fisher.

[Ally]

Yep. And the dude from Social Network.

[AJ]

Yes.

[Trish]

Jesse Eisenberg. Yes. Oh, my God. That'd be crazy if it drew inspiration from Disney Channel.

[AJ]

Who knows?

[Trish]

With all the nostalgia happening. Obviously Hannah Montana is doing their 20 years. She's like doing something now. Did you see she's in her full Hannah Montana.

[AJ]

I saw paparazzi photos of her in a wig.

[Ally]

I was hoping she would do that.

[Trish]

Would you guys ever do that? Revisit, like, fill the future reunion or Cowbells two?

[AJ]

Sure. I mean, so much of the cast are in different, you know, like, careers now, which is actually really interesting. Like, not everybody ended up staying in the business, but. But we're all still buddies. Like, me and Raviv and Amy are like buddies. We message, we text, we hang out just as people.

[Trish]

You're never like, let's get a reunion together.

[AJ]

I mean, I don't know. I feel like Phil was successful, but it wasn't at the level of Hannah or Lizzie. It was kind of like it flew a little bit under the radar. I think it was also like, it was a quirky show given that it was about a boy from the future. Since it's very specific.

[Trish]

Cause I was very not in touch with the Disney Channel after I'm a little older.

[Ally]

I think people would want to read it.

[Trish]

Yeah. Phil of the Future was definitely one that was on the radar. So I.

[AJ]

You underestimate. I don't know if Disney. If you're. If you're into it. I don't know what the storyline would be. It's like, Phil stayed in the.

[Trish]

Or he.

[AJ]

Or he comes back and I don't know. Yeah.

[Trish]

What year was it? We.

[Ally]

KE2, I think.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

That would be epic.

[AJ]

We've talked about that more and more.

[Ally]

Or like, it's our daughters who now work in the factory.

[Trish]

Wait, that's actually so cute. Oh, my gosh. That reboot should happen, especially because you guys. You guys could sing in it and stuff like that, you know, do a whole new album and soundtrack.

[AJ]

It could work. It could work. We could be. There could be a storyline where, like, I don't know, they became musicians or something after saving the dairy farm.

[Trish]

I don't know. Wait, that's so cute. It's giving Hannah Montana itself. Yes. Pitch it. Was it true that you were offered Hannah Montana?

[AJ]

I was. I don't. I mean, I. I know it was very soon after Phil wrapped and they were looking for, like, the next shows. And I think at that point, like, I was almost. I was like 16 and a half, maybe 17. So definitely older, I think, than Miley was probably at that time. And I don't know, I just felt like it didn't make sense. Like, I think it was all meant to be the way it is. And this is for so many projects. Like, you look at people that were, like, originally supposed to be cast in it, and then it goes to someone else and you're like, whoa, that's so weird. But that was supposed to be that way. So I feel like, yeah, there's no regrets there. I just didn't.

[Ally]

I don't.

[AJ]

I don't know, for whatever reason, I didn't feel like I. I needed to spend more time at the chann at that point. I felt like I had done what I kind of needed to at the channel and was looking for, you know, different projects also. Yeah. At Disney. And I know I always say the channel. Everyone

[Ally]

who's been on the show on TV there always says channel.

[Trish]

Like, it's so weird.

[Ally]

It's. I hear it from.

[AJ]

Maybe it's because of the way that, like, it's talked about. Like, that's just like, the channel.

[Trish]

Okay.

[AJ]

It's so funny. You're like, what's the channel?

[Ally]

Yeah.

[Trish]

So you were just done being Disney, right?

[AJ]

Yeah. It does sound like a cult. Yeah. And I think, like, at that point, too, I had Done. You know, a show where, although it doesn't even actually seem like that long. It was. I think we did two seasons, so it was like two ish years, you know, plus the pilot or whatever. So it was like, maybe, you know, contractually, like three years of having been, you know, on. On the show.

[Ally]

It's a long time for a younger,

[AJ]

which is a long time for a young kid. But in my mind, I'm thinking three years is nothing, you know?

[Trish]

So you're like, 14 to 17 when you did the show.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

And those are, like, pivotal years. Those are, like puberty years. It's like growing up and changing and hormones and. Wow, that's so wild. And you were gonna be. They had pitched maybe that you'd be the friend, Emily Osmond's character.

[Ally]

Yeah, well, that had. After Ally kind of not pushed back, but kind of showed that it wasn't necessarily the route she wanted to take. That was how they kind of sweetened the deal.

[AJ]

They were like, maybe she could be the sister. And it was like. Or I mean, the friend. And we were like, but we're sisters.

[Trish]

I kind of love that, though. That's so fun. Your nepotism is great, too.

[AJ]

That would have worked.

[Ally]

I feel like it was total sister nepotism.

[AJ]

Like, that totally could have worked, but then you wouldn't have been singing, and we actually sang. So that would have just felt weird. Or at least I think in the moment, it felt weird.

[Ally]

I think also Ali was like, how am I going to get away with being Ally and AJ And Hannah Montana and Ally Machaka. And Ally Machaka in the show. She has to wear the wigs.

[AJ]

It's wearing a lot. I'm like, three, four different people wearing.

[Ally]

So Ali was like, I don't know if I want to do this.

[AJ]

And then the character in the show. So I would have been like, four people.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

That is.

[Ally]

Which went by Miley.

[Trish]

Right?

[Ally]

Didn't she go by Miley?

[Trish]

She was Miley Cyrus and also Miley Stewart.

[AJ]

Right.

[Trish]

And then Hannah Montana. So she had to be like, all three, as it had to be, like, seven people. Yeah, that is.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Was anyone trying to push you in that direction? Like, this is it. Or like, they just didn't know at the time that it'd be like. Or you're just like.

[Ally]

No one knew.

[AJ]

I don't think no one knew it was gonna be that. I think they were just like, you know, it was like any other pilot, you know, that comes through Disney, but

[Ally]

the head of Disney Channel definitely wanted Ali to do it, like, they. I would say they pushed for that.

[AJ]

Who we're still, like, buddies with. Like, we just saw him for lunch the other day.

[Trish]

Wow, that is so wild. And then, so you guys. You talked about how loving music. You started young. You guys were both. You both played instruments. Like, lots of instruments. Right. So who goes into acting first? I assume you go in because you're older.

[AJ]

Well, weirdly, AJ Ended up actually booking before me. So, like, when we, I guess, got agents, we were still quite young, but she started booking, like, way before me, like, a good couple years.

[Trish]

Wow. Yeah.

[Ally]

Because you had braces, which also, like, at the time, like, that just wasn't good for camera, which I feel like.

[AJ]

I feel like kids now would be more embraced. Like, yeah, they, like, they have funky teeth. Like, they look like a kid, but, like, you know, whatever. It was 20 years ago. It was like, they weren't into it. No.

[Trish]

Isn't that crazy? Yeah. They wanted you to have, like, flippers and, like, the perfect teeth and wild.

[Ally]

So I booked a commercial, which is what first got me, like, my SAG card. Although the commercial never aired. It was like a.

[AJ]

It was.

[Ally]

The company went under.

[Trish]

Oh, it doesn't exist anymore. Was it toys, food?

[Ally]

It was Montgomery Ward. It was like an old department store.

[Trish]

Yes.

[AJ]

Really old department.

[Ally]

So the commercial was supposed to air, and then the company went under, and

[AJ]

AJ was, like, so excited, you know? Cause it was like a national commercial. But I got my Sackcard. It's really funny.

[Trish]

Did you get paid?

[Ally]

I got paid.

[Trish]

Okay.

[Ally]

I got paid.

[Trish]

Sometimes those companies go under, and, you know, when you need the money.

[Ally]

I got paid, but no residuals. Cause it didn't air.

[Trish]

Right. Wow.

[Ally]

But then I ended up booking, not long after that, a show on CBS for two years, a drama called the Guardian, which was. I was the only kid on it. It was like a show about a law firm between a father and a son.

[Trish]

How old were you when you booked that?

[Ally]

12.

[AJ]

Wow.

[Ally]

Yeah. And I'm still really good friends with me.

[AJ]

You might have even been younger when

[Ally]

I first booked it.

[Trish]

Maybe 11.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Wow. 11 years old. And you're like, I did it for two years with adults.

[Ally]

All adults.

[Trish]

Wait, how does that feel for you? Cause I know you love acting, obviously, but are you like, this is a lot.

[Ally]

I was definitely intimidated at first, especially because they were just such incredible actors. But they ended up all becoming, like, my mentors and my acting coaches. I mean, that was my. I was going to acting class every day for two years on set just because of these people. So it was really. But I was definitely intimidated at first. I was a kid, I was super nervous, but. But I. To this day, I'm really good friends with the creator and he's. He's amazing.

[Trish]

That's. It seems like a pattern. Like the head of Disney Channel. You like friends with. You stay friends. That's like, good. That says a lot about you guys, the fact that it's like, long lasting. Have you guys ever done memoirs?

[Ally]

No.

[AJ]

No.

[Trish]

Never wrote written books? No. Wow, I'm surprised with all the lore you have. I want separately too.

[Ally]

We have lower separate together.

[AJ]

We have some lore together, but I

[Ally]

really do need to write one about her home birth story.

[Trish]

Your home birth.

[Ally]

That's.

[AJ]

It would be a good. It would be a good story or my birth, like, journey.

[Trish]

Have you never talked about it?

[AJ]

I mean, I talked about it on, like, social media, like, you know, posting like a Instagram thing. But, like, people don't probably know, like, the whole beginning to end of it all, which is interesting.

[Trish]

So you just had your first son two years ago?

[AJ]

Yeah, first.

[Trish]

She's gonna be too soon, right? In April. We have kids the same. My daughter's gonna be two in May. So you had a home. Did you plan a home birth? Was that your plan?

[AJ]

Yeah, it was planned. And it kind of switched from being like a hospital birth to then being like, no, actually, I'm feeling like this is supposed to be the way I'm supposed to do it, which, you know, everybody has their own preference. Some people will feel more safe in a hospital. Some feel like, you know, the birth industry has been kind of, you know, become a business, which it is, you know, so it's hard. It's like, it's a thing that's very personal. And for us, for whatever reason, we just. We felt like we wanted to bring him into our home in this way. And it ended up being like a real, like, dream birth, which was pretty cool.

[Trish]

So it was a beautiful experience. I didn't know if it was like, something traumatic.

[Ally]

Thank God, no. And I do think there's a memoir there. It was beautiful.

[Trish]

It was all really positive, which is good. I think I'm so on that side of TikTok for some reason still. And I think they scare people into not having 100%.

[AJ]

100%.

[Trish]

So to have like a good. Because that is. Did you. Were you unmedicated to just draw it?

[AJ]

Yeah. You can't really do anything. There's no medicated birth in a woman.

[Ally]

I wasn't there. Yeah, I met two days later.

[AJ]

I wasn't there.

[Ally]

I met you two days later.

[Trish]

What do. I feel like you would be there.

[AJ]

I feel like there's a version of her.

[Ally]

People are always shocked. And I'm like, you know what?

[AJ]

She's not leaning over, being like, you could do it.

[Ally]

That was for her and her husband. Like, that was. You know, that was a moment.

[Trish]

That's so funny. Yeah. People just know you as such a duo that it's like, why were you out there?

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, my God.

[AJ]

No, I think. I think you're right, though. Like, TikTok, you know, Instagram, even, like, you know, I don't know. TV shows and movies do depict home births going bad, which is really sad because there's actually quite a low percentage of home births that go really bad. Like, I was talking to my midwife and my doula about it, and they were like, well, in most cases that we've experienced, at least, like, 10% of the time we're transferring somebody to a hospital just because they kind of got tired and they're. They're ready to get some help, you know, some pain management, like an epidural or something. And she's like, really, like 1% or less is an actual, like, emergency. Emergency. So it's actually quite low, I think. It's just. It's not demonized.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

And it's not normalized in our. In our side of the world. So I think it's just more of like a. Oh, my gosh, this must be scary and dangerous.

[Trish]

Yeah. That's how we are always presented, too. I always love the idea of, like, a water birthday. They were like, no, it's, like, so scary, but you could totally do it. I know. I love the idea.

[AJ]

Like, I love.

[Trish]

And did you do the pictures and everything? Were you, like. Were you in a big. Where did you.

[AJ]

Yeah, I did tub.

[Trish]

I love when people do that from their house. Just, like, in it.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

No medication.

[AJ]

Yeah. You can't really do anything. Like, the only thing I think you. If you wanted to, like, medicate, it would be like having, like, a glass of wine or something.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

Because they can't smoke if you wanted to, because at that point, the baby's cooked and, like, they're ready to come. So it's not like you're doing something harmful for them.

[Trish]

Wow. You can just light up.

[AJ]

Yeah. I know. I didn't end up going that route,

[Trish]

but, like, people online.

[AJ]

People online were like, if that's something that's soothing for you or like a glass of wine. Okay. I was like, interesting.

[Trish]

My doctor was very saying, like, get drunk. Yes, but a glass of wine, don't get drunk. Yeah, we're not saying not medical advice, but, you know, that is. So was it. I mean, I've been through three births, but like, was it painful? Because it's different for everyone. Some people like, no, it was euphoric. Was yours painful? Thank you so much to Home Chef for sponsoring today's episode of Just Trish. Well, it's wintertime and it's cold. And I want nothing more on a cold, dark evening than to have some warm, cozy food. I don't wanna take out where it's gonna be cold when it arrives. And sometimes I just don't know what to make or I don't have the time to do it. That's why I love Home Chef's oven ready recipes. So you can just pop it in the oven, things are prepared for you. It's delicious, it's comfort, it's quality food straight to your home. We love to see it and it is affordable. So check out Home Chef today, Home Chef makes cooking simple, fresh food delivered, easy recipes to follow and meals that actually taste great. They do take my word for it and people really do love it. Home Chef is rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe. Is. It is easy to follow. If I can follow it, so can you. They've worked with chefs like Gordon Ramsay and there are always new ones to discover. To bring restaurant quality recipes straight to your kitchen. You'll find these Chef inspired recipes across Home Chef's culinary collection. Classic meal kits and express options, each designed to help you feel confident in your kitchen. Whatever kind of day you're having, Home Chef has you covered. From classic recipes with fresh ingredients and 30 minute meals to oven ready trays and quick microwave lunches. There's even a dedicated family menu for easy four or six serving dinners. And it's not one size fits all. Home chef has over 30 meal options each week with choices for different diets and tastes. Plus, it's affordable. Home Chef customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries. This is amazing. It is perfect. If you're a single person and you're like, I don't want to cook for just for me. I don't want to do a takeout fee just for me. It's perfect. We're a family of five and it's wonderful because there is something for everyone and it's easy. We love something that can save time and money. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off and free shipping for your first box, plus free dessert for life. Go to homechef.com Trish that's homechef.com T R I S H for 50% off. That's five, zero, half off, first box and free dessert for life. Home chef.com Trish must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Thank you so much to Home Chef for sponsoring today's episode.

[AJ]

I mean, it's funny, I. I did, like, hypnobirthing classes, like, in advance leading up to it, thinking, you know, maybe I'll be able to utilize this, which I did in certain aspects. But I was definitely not hypnotized during my own birth. And I think I was thinking, like, oh, I might be in this, like, Zen, like, hypnosis. I was like, no, it's probably so hard. You felt it.

[Ally]

It's probably so hard to apply that I bet there are people who train for years.

[AJ]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ally]

To even get to that.

[AJ]

Also, I wasn't somebody that meditated before, so that maybe wasn't also helping me. It wasn't like I was some, you know, meditative guru sitting there being like, I've been doing this.

[Ally]

When she told me she was gonna get into hypnobirth, I was like, wow, that's amazing. It just didn't feel like Alex.

[AJ]

It was not my normal day to day.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

But I was like, that's great.

[AJ]

But I definitely felt like I felt the contractions. If you're, you know, getting specific. It's like, yes. Those moments that, like, it was really like that riding that wave, and it just felt like they were, you know, coming so fast and then they would subside, and then you'd have, like a minute to kind of, like, catch your breath and then maybe back. But my labor was technically quite short. Like, from the time I think I was in active labor to delivering was like under seven hours.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

Which is kind of. I mean, I think for like, a first birth especially.

[Trish]

Yeah, that. Wow. But that's still a long time. Seven hours is kind of weird.

[AJ]

What about you? All three, I assume, were different.

[Trish]

Yes. Well, I ended up having C sections. We tried. I tried natural Ish. I definitely wanted that epidural as soon as I could get it. I definitely was.

[AJ]

You're like, give me the drugs. Yes.

[Trish]

And I weirdly did a meditative thing, too. I was really into it when I was pregnant. I probably meditated, like, 12 hours a day. Like, I would just sit out there and just like, meditate that's great. Yeah. Because I wanted to be offline. I was like getting a lot of hands. I was like, let me just be offline and meditate. I was going through stuff. I was like, I need to. So I was. I was in that same sphere. I didn't know there was a thing. What's it called?

[AJ]

Hip Hypnobirthing.

[Trish]

I never heard that. Which I guess is what I was trying to do.

[AJ]

You and your partner or your partner can help you get into a hypnosis state.

[Trish]

Yes. Yeah, we were kind of. We were there for all the pregnancy. My pregnancy was so easy. I'm like, this is so easy. Like, no pain, nothing. Never. Everything was perfect. And then. Yeah. When the contraction started.

[AJ]

It's happening.

[Trish]

Yes. And I was screaming and it was awful. Once I had the epidural, I was great. I was someone that was like, woo, this is easy peasy. Second one we did planned C section. That was real easy. Walk in 10 minutes, the baby's out. And then third one came like three weeks early. And again I was in screaming pain. But, you know, it's worth it. You forget it, right? You forget it.

[AJ]

You totally forget.

[Trish]

You're like, I could do this again.

[AJ]

It's weird how your mind does like a mind wipe on it. I think it's part of done it three times now.

[Ally]

So it's like, how crazy.

[Trish]

But then every time you're like, oh, no. When it starts to happen, you're like, oh, no, we got to do this again. Because it is life risking. And we. I did tubal gation this last time because I was like, I probably could. I would want to just keep getting pregnant. I'm like, I need to stop.

[AJ]

Because you're like, we're done now.

[Trish]

Yes. Yes. So that is so interesting. And now you bring. You brought the baby. What's your son's name?

[AJ]

Jack.

[Trish]

Jack. You brought. Love that name. You brought Jack on the road with you guys last tour and he'll be

[AJ]

back out with us. This. This tour too.

[Trish]

I need to know how this is. So how does this work?

[AJ]

I mean, it works with like a great little village that we have. I mean, I think it helps that like our crew is so sweet and, you know, just awesome around him and are down to like help. You know, we have a nanny that comes out on the road just for like the tour.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

And she helps from like four till midnight. She is kind of when she's on the clock, but like before that, it's like me, aj, my husband, we're all kind of wrangling him from when he wakes up until 4:00'.

[Trish]

Clock. Wow. Cause that's a lot of energy too, to, like, have to take care of your baby. And then it's a lot. It's so.

[AJ]

And he's like, walking. I mean, I was saying to, you know, friends that were asking, like, how, like, how are you? How are you doing it? And I was like, honestly, I was like, the easiest version of a tour would be like, him pre walking because he's not like, getting into stuff. And, you know, I'm like, actually, a newborn baby on tour. Sounds great.

[Trish]

Yes.

[AJ]

I'm like, give me a four or five month old baby. Great. That would be brilliant.

[Trish]

The worst time to travel, they say, is like the one and a half to two, because they're just starting. That happened with our two year olds in New York. Just running all over the plane. Just cannot get them to sit. But at least it's fine. Like a bus. You kind of rock to sleep.

[AJ]

Yeah, exactly. I feel like once he's in, I mean, he's a really good kid. Like, even as many flights as he's taken over his lifetime, it's kind of crazy. He has, like, status now, which is funny.

[Ally]

Wow.

[AJ]

At 2. But, like, I feel like there's that age where you can kind of reason with them a little bit more. And I feel like when he's like three, he'll be able to kind of understand more. Like, okay, we have to be like, we have to be good on this flight. And, like, you know, we're gonna get snacks and it's gonna be special. And this is like a fun adventure, you know? So like, the older they are, I mean, you know, like, you can explain it to them better.

[Trish]

Yeah. We only have a three year old and she's better, but my, like, brother will have like 7 and 8. They're so easy at that age. So you're like, yeah.

[AJ]

You're like, I'm waiting for those.

[Trish]

The trenches. Yeah. But, you know, enjoy it while you can. Are you babysitting?

[Ally]

Yes.

[Trish]

I love watching because to me, like, before I had, like, babies, I was like, I'm so scared of babies. But you're just, like, so natural. Because I think it was Entertainment Tonight. I think you handed off Jack to AJ and you're like, are they actually gonna. You're gonna babysit him?

[Ally]

I do. I do all the time. He's never stayed ali still breastfeed, so he has never, like, stayed at mine exclusively alone. But as soon as he's ready to do that, I'm down.

[AJ]

I mean, it would be funny. Like, I mean, we should try it. It'd be an interesting. It would be an interesting experience to see, experiment, to just see AJ be like, okay, you have, like, 24 hours with him.

[Trish]

Like, it's hard. Even my own baby. It'll be better if I could.

[AJ]

It'll be. It's gnarly.

[Trish]

Yeah, it'll be a lot.

[Ally]

But in terms of watching him. Yeah. Like, if Ally has to go do

[AJ]

something, she's like, I'll watch it for three hours.

[Ally]

I'll do it at the. Whatever. He's so.

[AJ]

He loves her.

[Ally]

We're so close.

[Trish]

Oh, I love that. Yeah.

[AJ]

He, like, knows her face probably better than anyone outside of me and my husband.

[Trish]

He probably senses, too, like, also you guys, like, now that I'm looking at you guys together, you guys actually look a lot alike. Do people ever confuse you as, like, twins?

[AJ]

A lot of people say twins. We actually don't feel like we look alike.

[Trish]

Yeah, it's like, I feel like so much your eyes smile.

[AJ]

I think our eyes. I think that's, like, our eye color.

[Ally]

We either get that we look like twins or we get that people don't even know.

[AJ]

We're like, don't even know where.

[Ally]

We're like, it's very weird. We don't get in the middle.

[AJ]

People will ask us, you know, like, someone maybe who's older and doesn't know about the music. They're like, when did you guys start becoming a band? I'm like, no, no, we're sisters.

[Trish]

That is so funny. It's like, where did this come about? Yeah, 2026. It's crazy. 20 years and you guys are still, like, thriving. Tour, baby. White Lotus. Yes.

[AJ]

Do you watch White Lotus? I mean, who doesn't?

[Trish]

Who doesn't? This is the biggest show.

[AJ]

Not everybody does.

[Trish]

What?

[AJ]

I mean, not everyone.

[Trish]

I think everybody. It's like, the biggest show, right?

[Ally]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Everybody loves this. We were so good because we had been talking, I think, through someone, you know, like, we have a book or someone was talking, and we're like, oh, my God. Ali and AJ want to get them on. And then as soon as we saw the White Lotus, we're like, oh, not gonna happen. Yeah.

[AJ]

Oh, that's funny.

[Ally]

Literally, before this tour, I'm not kidding. I, I, we messaged our publicist. We were like, hey, so, like, we don't want to do this on Zoom. We want to do it on person.

[AJ]

After an age old, we were like,

[Ally]

let's make sure we can get in With Trisha before tour. So we made this happen.

[Trish]

We made it happen. Crazy.

[Ally]

This is not like I booked something,

[AJ]

so I don't know. Because we knew that AJ would be off filming and it would be like, she's not back for a long time, so.

[Trish]

Yeah, she does. Before. We were just talking before. It's like six weeks tour, then you're like, no. And then you guys go back again. Like, December, you're ending here in Anaheim. I saw. I was like, oh, my gosh. This whole year?

[AJ]

Yeah, you. I mean, if you can come.

[Trish]

I was looking for us. I was like, where can we go? Because you guys start in Charlottesville or Virginia. Is that where you're at? Yeah, yeah, this. I was like, can we go there? Because you guys are going to like. I love Indianapolis. That's like one of my favorite places to go. Like, you guys there. I love all the places you guys are going. I was like, this is amazing.

[AJ]

You just fly out.

[Ally]

I would come on the three.

[Trish]

Can I tell you 100% would I have a great husband who's like, yeah, he is. He is great that way. And I 100% would. Because sometimes the LA shows, it's like, you know, you get all the like. Like celebrities or influencers.

[AJ]

Right, right, right.

[Ally]

So go ahead.

[Trish]

Yeah, you want it.

[AJ]

That's not true.

[Trish]

I don't think so.

[AJ]

I don't think so.

[Ally]

It's not lack of la. Come to the Anaheim one with your sister. With your sister.

[Trish]

Oh. And she loves. Because she's like, she's a little younger than me, so she's like in that age range and she loved a fill the future. She's like such a big. I know I should have had her come today. I don't know why.

[Ally]

I don't.

[AJ]

She's based in la, too.

[Trish]

Yeah, she's. So she also, like, you said village.

[AJ]

Very close.

[Trish]

My mom's down there and we have everybody. Because it does take a lot. Can you share anything? Audition process or anything? He posted a picture with Mike White. Yeah. So you met in person?

[Ally]

Yes, we met in person. We met in person. I can't share anything necessarily about the character, but the auditioning process was actually really fun and positive. And, you know, as an actor, you kind of do this all the time. And I just got asked while I was on tour, like, will you tape for this? And I was like, absolutely. I had taped for season three for Amy Li Wood's character.

[Trish]

Wow.

[Ally]

And she was like, perfect for that. So it made so much sense. But so they asked me back, which Was great. And I taped. We had a day off in Marfa, Texas. So my drummer played a character in the show. Allie played a character in the show. My brother in law, her husband filmed it and we just did it in a hotel room.

[AJ]

And she didn't have to go in like eight. You know, some people have to go in like eight times. That wasn't hers.

[Trish]

I had one self taper.

[Ally]

It was one self tape. And then we had to wait quite a bit of time. And then like two months later, they were like, we want, you know, Mike wants to read for you. Read with you. Will you come in and do a zoom? And so it was just me and two girls. And then I found out like two days later after that zoom.

[Trish]

Oh my God.

[Ally]

It was crazy. So it was a very quick process in a way. And I think Mike just knows. He just knows as soon as he sees it. He's like, that person's right.

[AJ]

Wow.

[Ally]

He's just really smart.

[Trish]

Did you like cry? I feel like that's like one of those moments where it's like life changing because you've done so many iconic roles. Obviously both of you have done iconic roles. I couldn't even imagine the biggest show in the world. And it's like, oh, my gosh.

[AJ]

Well, especially when you get like so many no's over the course of your career. And there's so, you know, there's only so many yeses that you get and then you get one that you like really wanted. You know, like that's, that's, that's when it really like sinks in.

[Trish]

The biggest one. Yeah. Cause like, well, obviously doing it for 20 years, there's. There's slow parts to everyone's career. So it's like probably there's a minute obviously to Goldberg's, which was huge and went on so many seasons, but still there's those highs and lows. And so for it to go be like the highest.

[Ally]

I haven't, I haven't been on set in three years. Like, we've been just focused on music. So it's like to have that opportunity and for that to come back in my life, I was like, this is a really beautiful moment.

[Trish]

Like, I'm super, super France too. Yeah.

[Ally]

There was rumors you were gonna join.

[Trish]

I think I started those rumors. Did you start it? I'm like, I could be on the show.

[Ally]

I'm not gonna lie. I texted my agent. I was like, no. I was like, is Trisha joining the cast? She was like, I don't think so.

[Trish]

No, no, no. Definitely not well. You know, I've only booked two shows in my whole life in the past year, and they're both HBO Max. So I was putting it out there. I was like, may.

[AJ]

Two other shows.

[Ally]

She's in the new season.

[Trish]

And I did one more show for HBO Max this past year, and I can tell you. But it was really fun. Yeah. So I did that one. That comes out soon, though.

[AJ]

Soon.

[Trish]

So I thought maybe I'm on a streak. And granted, I play myself in both of these versions, but I love it. But just in case they needed an influencer or whatever. I was like, no, I'd love it. I'm available in case there's like a last minute dropout. I'm there. No, but that's my.

[Ally]

I love Mike now. I'll come back.

[Trish]

It's my favorite favorite. We had Lucas Gage on here, and all I can ask is questions about White Lotus. Cause I'm just. It's everyone's favorite favorite. Everyone loves it, and everyone just becomes. That's so exciting. Oh, my gosh. I'm very happy for you. I love to see it. I love it. I always got so excited and. But the touring is again, the thing you guys are focusing on for the next six. Six weeks. Are you preparing? How are you preparing for it? You guys are probably done.

[AJ]

Rehearsals are over. Rehearsals are over.

[Ally]

I mean, essentially we did this show September, October, November. So we feel like very locked into this tour.

[AJ]

So this is an extension, just like hitting more markets. Markets that we don't usually get to because they're not like a major market. They're like a city that, you know, doesn't always get a tour to come into town, which is actually really cool.

[Ally]

It's fun for us because a lot of these places we haven't hit either in a really long time or at all. Like, we're playing like Portland, Maine, for the first time, and. Which is awesome.

[AJ]

Wyoming.

[Ally]

And Wyoming for the first time.

[AJ]

I know. I'm like, we've never played Wyoming in our entire career.

[Ally]

Wow. So I'm excited. So we. We already felt really locked into this show, but we ended up doing another round of rehearsals earlier this month with the band and crew just to polish everything up.

[Trish]

Okay.

[Ally]

And so I feel ready on a musical level. I don't feel ready on a personal level. Like, I haven't packed.

[Trish]

Right.

[Ally]

And we leave in two days. Cause I've been prepping too, for the show. So I'm kind of like, yeah, but I'll figure it out.

[Trish]

That's what I'm Packing tomorrow.

[AJ]

I'm packed.

[Ally]

I'm packing tomorrow.

[Trish]

You're packed.

[Ally]

She's packed.

[AJ]

Baby's packed, Husband's packed.

[Trish]

Yeah. That's a lot.

[Ally]

I packed day before.

[AJ]

It was gnarly. Yeah, but I did it. I did it.

[Trish]

You have to really, like, prepare ahead of time.

[AJ]

She has more people, and I'm trying to, like, shove in, like, more items in one suitcase as opposed to two. I always would do, like, one suitcase and then a small mini suitcase. That was, like, my glam suitcase. And instead, I'm putting it all in one. I don't know how I'm doing it.

[Trish]

Yeah, it makes sense to have one girl.

[AJ]

It's hard.

[Trish]

Do you not have. Do you pack all your own clothes and makeup and stuff, or do you have, like, a stylist that comes with you?

[AJ]

We. We pack all of our wardrobe on, like, vaults, so they're in, like, a. Like, a wardrobe case, you know, that gets rolled off the truck.

[Ally]

Right. So the suitcases are just our personal.

[AJ]

The suitcase is just personal. But, like.

[Ally]

But we pack our own glam.

[AJ]

Yeah, we do our own. We do our own hair makeup for shows.

[Trish]

No way.

[AJ]

Ye. Where'd you learn?

[Trish]

How did you guys learn to do that?

[Ally]

I think just being on so many sets.

[AJ]

I think I'm being on so many sets.

[Trish]

You've learned so much just watching. Yeah.

[AJ]

And it's not even like I would be like, I want to be a makeup artist or hair. Like, it actually sounds. I don't think I'm good at doing someone else. It's like, I can do my own self, you know?

[Trish]

You guys look amazing on stage.

[AJ]

That's why it's, like, so amazing.

[Trish]

Oh, my God. But that probably makes it so much easier than you have to sit for a long time.

[AJ]

It kind of makes it easier, and it's like, it's good. It's better for our budget. It's one. One or two less people that you're bringing out and putting in a hotel and salaries and in a way, like, I kind of find it a little bit of a moment to just kind of meditate, you know, like, doing your own glam, in a way is, like, calming. Yeah.

[Trish]

It's like your own time, too. It's like your me time away.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

So I don't mind it. I like it. I think we'll always do that when we're out on the road, you know, for other things. Like, it's nice if you get, like, glam done for a red carpet or something or photo shoot. But for stage, I'M like, it's not really necessary. It's us, you know, makes it easier for everyone.

[Trish]

And the new album, it is very different music. I listened to it.

[Ally]

Cause I didn't know.

[Trish]

I didn't know you guys released the album last. What was it? Last May. And it's such a different vibe. And it's like, kind of like 70s, I guess. A little, like, retro. Sure, yeah. Which is like, okay, obviously, you guys. Me too. We're in the 70s. How come that is your inspiration? What gave you that such a different route from, like, pop to pop? Yeah.

[AJ]

I think part of it was maybe just like, recording it in Topanga Canyon, which, you know, has so much music history from that era. Specifically, you know, owning houses in Laurel Canyon. Like, I think there's just a tie to the music scene in California during that time, which was so explosive in the kind of 60s and 70s. And so I think the music has kind of gradually shifted to being inspired by those eras and by the bands that made music back then. And. I don't know. I think the music. I mean, it's always gonna be rooted in, you know, pop music. I think, ultimately, because pop is what we grew up on, and pop is popular and is, you know, it has so many hooks and things that you. You want to sing, which I think is. Is really wonderful about pop music as a genre. But I think the production is kind of the things that we've been able to build out around the music to feel more like the place we're in now. And I think the music that we listen to now, as opposed to, you know, what we were listening to in 2004.

[Trish]

Is there a specific band from that era that you would draw inspiration from or that you think this album kind of reflects?

[AJ]

I mean, there's not, like, one band, I think, that we listen to a

[Ally]

lot of, like, Beach Boys.

[AJ]

Beach Boys is probably the biggest one in terms of, like, a band that we grew up listening to. Wow. As young girls. Just over and over. I don't think that the music sounds like the Beach Boys.

[Ally]

No, I don't.

[AJ]

And I don't. I think the Beach Boys are their own thing. But. But it's cool that that's a band that has obviously influenced the music over time.

[Ally]

And then, like, Heart.

[AJ]

Yeah, Heart.

[Trish]

Fleetwood Mac.

[Ally]

Like, there's definitely people that we listen to that I think have just naturally influenced us again. It's hard. You don't even want to say, because they're like legends that are, like, untouchable.

[AJ]

You're untouchable.

[Ally]

But still, I think it's infused in the writing.

[Trish]

Is there a biopic you could play the role of anybody. Who would you play? Like, because biopics are so big right now. Right.

[AJ]

Everyone.

[Trish]

Like, I think Mama Cass1 is coming into production. Is there somebody you would love to play even if you don't look like or sound like the person?

[Ally]

I'd see an Ann Wilson.

[AJ]

I mean, that would be sick.

[Ally]

We would die.

[Trish]

Do you know if there's anything happening

[Ally]

or you're supposed to be.

[AJ]

There was supposed to be. Yeah.

[Ally]

There was for a while, a heart biopic in pre production. I don't know what ended up happening with.

[Trish]

But they never approached you though?

[Ally]

No, no.

[AJ]

I think. I feel like that's. I mean, that's a hard one too. It's like Anne has such a specific vocal. I mean, unless they're wanting to use her voice.

[Trish]

Sometimes they want that they can sing.

[AJ]

Right.

[Ally]

Or they can blend the voice with the actress so they can do it. They can like blend, which I think

[AJ]

is the original singer, which is smart to do. It's funny, I. If I'm being completely honest, I don't really like watching biopic pics. Really. I would rather watch a doc on the artist and all the behind the scenes footage. And it's also.

[Ally]

Biopics are hard because they always take place in a moment in time where you're like, that's not the most interesting part we could be telling about this person. Or they shovel way too much into a two hour film and you're like, oh, you just gave me like their moment.

[AJ]

They blew up to when they, you know, had their descent and now they're, you know, like they miss a lot. Yeah. I feel like they could almost just focus in on like a week or something, you know, Like I thought that was one thing that they did really well in the. The Marilyn Monroe movie. That, that Anna de Armistead. No, no, the other one.

[Trish]

Michelle Williams.

[Ally]

Michelle Williams.

[AJ]

It was just. It was just in a week.

[Ally]

That was beautiful.

[AJ]

It was just a week of her life, which I thought was really interesting. Or a couple weeks or something of her life. I think there's ones that are well done.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

But a lot of times I'm like, it's missing a mark. The Dylan one was cool in the

[Ally]

sense that it was all about like him becoming, you know, plugging in.

[Trish]

Right.

[Ally]

Like playing electric guitar, not just being an acoustic.

[AJ]

It wasn't his entire career.

[Ally]

It wasn't his entire career. It was the show, which was cool.

[Trish]

Yeah. Yeah. Because I I'm someone who know nothing about Bob Dylan. And you watch the movie, you're like, I love Bob Dylan now. You know, it's cool, though.

[AJ]

But it's cool that it can, like, expand your mind in that way, you know, where you're like, oh, I'm even more of a fan of the music than I thought I was.

[Trish]

Yeah, I thought that with Queen, too. I remember watching Bohemian Rhapsody. Like, I know they did all these. And then you're like, oh, I love it. And then you, like, know their story and what they stood for, the advocacy of it all. And I thought it was. Yeah, but I get that too. Like, sometimes just watching.

[AJ]

I don't know, I just love a doc. I think that's maybe just. I'm like, music doc. I'm like, give me, you know, the Nina Simone doc. It's, like, perfect.

[Ally]

I haven't really made the Amy Winehouse scripted film.

[AJ]

You know, the doc is like. It says everything about her.

[Trish]

Yeah, that was. Those are beautiful. That was. That was a beautiful name. I don't think they should make a. Are they. Were they making a movie on her?

[Ally]

They made a boxer.

[AJ]

I don't think it did great. Yeah.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

I feel like it's a hard person to capture.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[AJ]

And it's not even like you're. You could do an amazing performance of it still. But it's like, I don't know, someone like her.

[Ally]

She's such a, like, spark playr's really talented.

[AJ]

Yeah, she is. But someone that, you know, has to step into a role like that, like, that's such a. That's such a hard thing. I would almost be like, I don't want the pressure of having to hold that. You know what I mean?

[Trish]

Especially, like, the dark parts of someone's life, you know, it could come across as like, a mockery or like, you know, exploitation.

[AJ]

Exploitation. That's maybe the hardest part of it, is that it can become exploitated.

[Ally]

It also seems unfair if the person's no longer alive and they can't.

[Trish]

Like, a part of it.

[AJ]

Kind of. Yeah.

[Ally]

Like, you know, Bruce Springsteen was, like, very much a part of the movie that Jeremy Alan White did. So that was kind of cool. You know, it's like he was a part of it.

[AJ]

Right. Or like a family that has maybe the rights. Is able to be, like, something. Yeah.

[Trish]

You would not want an Ally and AJ biopic one day.

[AJ]

I don't know. I don't think so.

[Trish]

No.

[Ally]

I mean, gosh, in 30, 40 years, if we matter that much.

[AJ]

If we matter, then that's great.

[Ally]

That's cool.

[Trish]

People, I feel like, would love to see it.

[Ally]

Would you ever do.

[Trish]

Cause documentaries are so big right now. Like, Becky G. Just did one. Would you guys ever do. Because it's kind of like the modern day, like, reality show, but, like, nice. A nicer format. Would you ever. Have you guys documented anything on the road? Anything these past couple years with all the stuff you've been doing?

[Ally]

We've documented a ton, but we've never put together, like, a docu film of our life on the road. And I do actually think it would be fascinating. Like, we have so much footage from 2017 on that her husband's been able to document. That I feel like would be great for, like, a Disney documentary, you know, like a film documentary.

[Trish]

They're so big.

[Ally]

I do think there's something there for sure. We just have to. To put it together and sell it.

[Trish]

But it goes. I don't know how you have time for everything, because I also saw that you did. You were just in Washington, D.C. with. Was it March? Is called March 4th? March 4th, yes. Which is. I just discovered this too. Like, I wasn't aware. Like, it's amazing what you're doing. So basically trying to minimize mass shootings with, like, action advocacy. How did you guys get involved in that? Is that something you started? Did they ask you to be involved in it? How did that work?

[AJ]

That was a dm, which is kind of crazy, through Instagram that we just saw. And that. I guess the first time that we went out to D.C. with them was in 20. And it was right when it was right before the White House was switching over. So it was still. We were still under President Biden. And, you know, he went and visited the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which was really cool. That was something that was set up under his administration. And we were able to kind of talk and share ideas and thoughts about it. But I think the reason why we got as active as we are now in this space when it comes to gun reform is because. Cause we both survived a mass shooting out on Tour back in 2022. Yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh.

[AJ]

I had no idea. Yeah.

[Ally]

In Sacramento.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh.

[AJ]

So we were just kind of put in this, you know, experience, and I think now we've been able to really share our story and raise money for, you know, Everytown March 4th.

[Ally]

And we wrote a song about it, which I think is really how March 4th connected with us, because they saw the song come out and they were like, we want you to come. You know, advocate and come to the White House with us and lob. Lobby for this bill. So their number one goal is to reinstate the assault weapons ban, which, you know, we haven't. That. That hasn't been in place in a long time. And when it was, it worked. So that's the goal. That's the number one goal.

[Trish]

When you went back, you both were there, and was it January? When was it? This year?

[AJ]

Yeah, January, January.

[Trish]

So what was the steps? You were just trying to, like, re.

[AJ]

Like, you know. Yeah, we weren't there for, like, a bill. Right. Specifically.

[Ally]

No, but. But we were there to. To. I mean, being that we're California constituents, we talk to a lot of, like, California Dems. So, like, we spoke with Adam Schiff, we spoke with Mike Thompson, we spoke with Ted Lieu, which was really, really cool. And it was more to just share our story and to just keep that topic on kind of the top of the list. Because right now, it's not like gun control is just not at the top, which is insane.

[Trish]

Cause it's just all over the news, and then they try to hide it and it is. That's, like, the worst part. There's plenty of bad things about America, but that's like, it doesn't happen in other countries. And you're just like, why? And it's the gun laws of it, which. And you're the good spokespeople for it, because you wouldn't think it happened to you. Right. You know what I mean? Like, you're like, oh, you guys are celebrities. You're Southern California. You have, like, protection, security. So it's like that it can happen anywhere, which is like, totally.

[AJ]

I think that's the scariest part.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

So we've just tried to be proactive in, you know, getting people involved and donating their time and money to causes that are really, like, pushing the gun reform forward. And we talk about it every night on stage, and we just, like, stop the show and we have people donate real time. It's very cool.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Wow. That is amazing. You do a lot. You also do. I saw in your bio the National Suicide Prevention hotline you have on there. Is that something else that you guys work with or is it something personal to you?

[Ally]

Yeah, mainly with the Trevor project, specifically. So we work a lot with LGBTQ youth. And I think just being allies for the community has always just been, like, number one priority for Ally and think I. There's just something about that, as well as gun reform, that have just felt like this is kind of our Cause of death, and they coincide, you know, they really do.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

So, yeah, we've done a lot of work with the Trevor Project. We've raised a lot of money for them.

[Trish]

When you say coincide, like a crossover where you see.

[AJ]

Yeah. I think because the gun reform is only gonna help bring down those rates of suicide if a gun is a lot harder to get ahold of. You know, I think people in desperate moments find ways to get a hold of something that maybe if it had taken longer for them to be processed in the system or if there was a red flag on them, they'd make a different decision. It might be a different outcome, you know, so it's kind of crazy that they're so connected in a way.

[Trish]

I guess I'm unfamiliar for audiences. Like, when you say gun reform, like, I hear about it all the time, but, like, what does it mean specifically? Like, what is it like? Because I'm so kind of, like, naive to this. Yeah.

[AJ]

I think on certain restrictions. Yeah. On a broad level, it's really restricting, like, easy access to guns. As in, like, you could just go into a shop and buy one and get it that day.

[Trish]

That's happening now. You can just go into it and get it done. Yeah.

[Ally]

In certain states.

[AJ]

Yeah. Like in California, I don't think that that's not something.

[Ally]

Or banning the ability to purchase a 3D gun online, which is also, like,

[AJ]

something that you can make or a ghost gun. Like, being able to, like, make a gun that's printed out.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

So that's not, like, traceable to. There's, you know, it's. It's kind of crazy. Yeah. And then just like. Like AJ Said, reinstating the assault weapons ban, which means, you know, these. These weapons that are really meant for war that, you know, cause mass casualty. It's not just like, a rifle or, you know, something that you would go shooting with, you know, hunting. It's something that, you know, printed.

[Ally]

Sorry, not 3D.

[AJ]

No, I.

[Ally]

What's the word? You knew what I meant.

[AJ]

Ghost gum. Thank you.

[Trish]

I had never heard of that either. Because you do wonder. You're, like, how. You know, I've been. I went to, like, a mental hospital, like, in 2019, and, like, one of the things you signed is, like, you can't have a firearm for, like, five years. So you think that they would be, like, more cracked down on that. Right. It's like, I went there for 72 hours. But these people who have obviously, like, mental illness as well, can, like, access a gun. I mean, anybody obviously can be a You know, mass shooter. But at least, you know, it's amazing you guys are doing something. Cause I feel like you hear all this stuff and everyone hears stuff. It's like, what can we do about it? And all you can, I guess, just advocate, talk about it.

[Ally]

It even feels impossible for us sometimes who are actually in. On in the trenches a little bit on at least trying to help and advocate. It even feels impossible for us, like even sitting down and talking to some of these representatives.

[Trish]

They're like.

[Ally]

My dad taught me a lot, including how easy it is to forget to cancel things. So I downloaded Experian, my bff.

[AJ]

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[Ally]

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[AJ]

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[Ally]

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[AJ]

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[Trish]

Experian.

[Ally]

We're just not there yet. Like this is not, I think it's

[AJ]

just, it's not on. Like AJ said, it's not on the top of people's list. You know, there's other things that feel like they're more dire or more important. And of course there's a lot of things in our country that, you know, we haven't gotten there yet. And you know, one day, hopefully we do. But I feel like over time, more and more also this younger generation coming up, I think gun reform is gonna matter more to them than it even did for maybe our parents generation because we're seeing more of this kind of violence day to day. So I do feel like there's hope that like Jack's generation of kids will be more likely to actually probably get something done because at that point they'll have had it, you know, because they might know somebody in their life that lost their life or they had an active shooter at their school, you know, God forbid. So I think that's maybe what it's going to take. It just feels endless because it feels like you see these pop up on the news, you know, at such a

[Trish]

frequent level all the time you see mass shooting and then just goes away,

[AJ]

like in the next 24 hours like it never happened. Which is like, that's someone's family, that's a whole community that's ruined. There's a huge trickle down effect, you

[Trish]

know, and the trauma, like you guys have survived it, the trauma you carry, I'd imagine from that could be like for kids, for schools, for you guys as adults. How has it affected your guys lives since then, since the 2022 incident?

[Ally]

I mean, I think for us the first year was really, really hard. I think being that we had each other and our band and our crew and we all survived the same situation.

[AJ]

And time has helped, I think.

[Ally]

Yeah, I do think time has healed. I think Ally and I writing about it and being really clear about getting some of that out on stage every night and performing that specific song every night has been really helpful. Something about being able to like that being kind of our journaling, you know, that personal experience being put out every night on stage to our fans has really helped in terms of just being able to recover from that moment. But there is like a kind of an unsettling fear that I think if you've experienced that will always kind of live in you. I don't think it'll ever really fully

[AJ]

go away and that you're just kind of on alert in a different way. You know, you don't want to live your whole life in fear. But, you know, you also are trying to look at statistics of like, well, it's unlikely that this would happen to me again. Although it has happened to people, you know, twice, which is crazy. So you try to go about your life and not feel like it's, you know, this like heavy shadow over you. But you definitely feel it at certain times kind of creep up or you're at a show and you're kind of like, I don't know why. I like feel kind of like alert all of a sudden or scared by like this person's presence or like. Or do they have a gun or. You know, it's weird, like what your mind will kind of of do in those moments.

[Trish]

Have to be on defense because a lot of times it's right. Your intuitions can be right. So it's like, is it? But then there's also so much paranoia because this stuff happens. It does happen, and it is a sad way to live. You were saying writing kind of is like therapeutic. Do you guys write all of your own songs?

[Ally]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Always.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Did you guys do potential breakup song?

[AJ]

Yeah. Yeah. Like back in the day, it was always us. Either us alone or was us with like another.

[Trish]

That's crazy. But isn't that so insane? Insane. It's like one of the biggest, like truly one of the biggest pop songs. It's like so wild. Like, people love it still 20 years later. That is. Do you ever think, like, wow, we're so good at this. Like, you know, like, what is your. I guess. I guess you have so much confidence from it, but, like, what is your process? Like, do you have to. Obviously, that song came from a breakup. I would assume so. Like, do you have to have.

[AJ]

I mean, no, Hilariously. At that age. You were so young. Oh, we had broken up. You know, I think we had been

[Ally]

in, like, young relationships, but, like, it

[AJ]

wasn't a specific one that inspired the song. I think we were 18 and 16.

[Trish]

Oh, okay.

[Ally]

So we had been dating, but I don't think that was about anyone, I don't think so. We've tried to rack our brains because people have asked this, and we're like,

[AJ]

I don't think this was inspired by a specific.

[Trish]

But that's even more talented, the fact that you're just like, we can get this emotion. You know what I mean?

[AJ]

You're like, we can tap into this.

[Trish]

Yes. Vibe. What is your personal favorite song that you guys write or something that really means a lot. Lot to you?

[Ally]

I think, from the past, I would say a song like Rush. I think that was kind of the start of the career, like, that song. And no one that I think have really resonated with people over the years, besides potential breakup song, which I think has just been, like, a fun way to get over an ex, but in terms of, like, no one feeling like, you know, I'm struggling to maybe find who I am in this world and who I want to be. And it's like, I don't want to be anyone but myself. It's, like, such a simple sentiment, but it. I think it's really, over the years, like. Like, informed the way a lot of people have decided to grow up. Like, they're like, I don't want to be anyone but me. And I just think that lyric has been a really powerful statement over the years. And then same with Rush. Like, I think Rush was a huge moment where it was, like.

[AJ]

And really big for the LGBTQ community, which is so cool that we didn't even know that we were writing a song like that at such a young age that it would be this become like a mantra, you know? Yeah.

[Ally]

Like, don't let nobody tell you your life is over. Be every color that you are. Like, wow. It's just really. Yeah.

[Trish]

When did you feel first embraced? Because my audience, we love LGBTQ people. We love you. We're one of you. We love, like, allies forever. Forever. And when. For years. When is the first Time you felt embraced where, like, these are my people. This is where it was it on tour. Like, where did you feel?

[AJ]

I mean, I feel like it was kind of us coming back to music.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

I mean, obviously we encountered so many people in that space over the years that we adored and people that are in our personal life, whether it was, you know, know, hair and makeup artists or our best friend Raymond. But I think when we came back from tour, it felt like, oh, this is because we were older at that point. And so we were real. We were looking at it through a different lens.

[Ally]

I think 2018, when we really started touring again, it was like. It felt like every show was a Pride show.

[AJ]

Like, it was becoming cool.

[Ally]

Like, the amount of pride flags. And there were people that wanted to get engaged on our stage that were same sex. Like, just a really cool.

[Trish]

You're like, this is. This is the. That's amazing.

[Ally]

But it really all started in the Caliber Vasis Commons.

[Trish]

Oh, we were talking. We were talking about this beforehand.

[Ally]

Calabas Commons at the Toscanova Restaurant. Our best friend came out to us there.

[AJ]

Yes. And the restaurant is still there to this day, which I love.

[Trish]

It's like the one in the corner by Sugar Fish.

[Ally]

It's right. Yes, it's right by Cafe Marmalade.

[AJ]

Okay.

[Ally]

We were talking about the Commons earlier. Yes.

[Trish]

We love. We love a. Well, we did love the Commons. It's getting reconstructed, but we don't love it.

[AJ]

I don't love that this movie theater is being.

[Ally]

Restaurant still there.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. That held, like, a special little memory. Have you guys done Pride?

[AJ]

Yeah, we've never done an LA Pride.

[Trish]

Not la. Really? No.

[Ally]

And not New York Pride.

[Trish]

So, like, part of me.

[Ally]

We've done, like, some smaller, like, markets in the Pride world.

[Trish]

I'm surprised West Hollywood has not.

[AJ]

I'm like, we should. We should do Pride markets.

[Ally]

It's so showbiz. It's like Ali Singh Channel. We're like, yeah, we're playing these different markets.

[Trish]

No, I love it. You guys are doing Bonnaroo, right?

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, so you guys have done festivals, Obviously, we have. Is it. How different is it for you? Do you like them? Do you.

[AJ]

It's fun.

[Trish]

I love it.

[AJ]

It's like very Run and Gun. You kind of have to be, like, down.

[Ally]

It's a different challenge.

[AJ]

A different challenge. I mean, unless you're, like, the headliner,

[Ally]

it is not your show.

[AJ]

It's not your show. It's like, you gotta get up there, get your stuff set and just kind of roll with It. And some stuff is going haywire and you just gotta be like, okay, we have a really good team.

[Ally]

If we didn't have a great team. Playing the not main slot is tricky as a festival opener. Like, it's just. Just or wherever your slot is, if you're not the headliner. Ali's right. It can be.

[AJ]

If you're not, the end of the night, it's like, yeah, it's just.

[Ally]

Every artist will tell you it's a run.

[AJ]

Yeah. You're pushed through. It's like, okay, like, you're done. Next set. Next set. You know, and it's all your crew guys, so they're kind of setting up your stuff a little bit differently. Or it's. It's. It's hard.

[Trish]

Yeah. Like, time it. When it. Where is Bonnaroo?

[Ally]

It's in Tennessee.

[AJ]

Yeah. Right outside of Tennessee or outside of Nashville.

[Trish]

And then when do you. When does that fit into your schedule this year? Is that what is in the summer?

[AJ]

In the summer?

[Ally]

It's kind of during shooting. So we've found a way to, like, you know, I'll go off and do that and then come back.

[Trish]

That's wild that you're able to, like, go back and forth through it all. And also being a new mom, too. It's just a lot.

[Ally]

It's a lot.

[Trish]

It's a lot to balance. Do you thrive in that? Do you think you, like. Okay, we thrive in this. Like, just doing the most and having the momentum.

[AJ]

We do. I think we do, yeah. In a way. We were discussing how, like, we really like being out on the road. We were talking about this last week and how, like, in a way, being on tour, like, simplifies our life. Because it's just tour, it's like that's all that matters is the show and, like, getting to the city, getting, like a nice meal, getting to the meet and greet, making sure Jack is happy and stoked.

[Ally]

That becomes our little.

[AJ]

That's kind of it. It's like, oh, okay. Easy. Like easy boxes to check off.

[Trish]

It's like a routine too. You just.

[Ally]

Yeah, there's no, like, big outside responsibilities at that point. I mean, they don't all go away, but when you're on the road, you're kind of like, this is it. This is all I can do to

[Trish]

get a self tape request for White Lotus. And then.

[AJ]

Hold on. I need you all.

[Ally]

We audition a lot on tour. Wow.

[Trish]

Just like in a. Like in front of a white wall or like in a hotel.

[AJ]

Yeah, hotel. Or if it's like Calls for a gas station. Then it's like, oh, well, let's go just shoot this tape at a gas station.

[Trish]

Wait, what do you mean a self tape you'll do in front of like, you'll be on location for yourself tape?

[AJ]

Yeah, yeah. If it would like require.

[Ally]

It's rare that it requires something like that. But if we were on the road and we were in some random town and we were like, well, there's a 7 11. Let's just shoot it in front of there, then we'll do it.

[Trish]

Do you guys help each other with your self tapes often?

[AJ]

Yeah, yeah.

[Trish]

That's actually so perfect to have someone else who acts. Moses always does self tapes with me and we auditioned for Camp Rock so he had to play all Jonas Brothers. He did all three of them. Oh my gosh.

[AJ]

Really fun.

[Trish]

Incredible. But he's also never seen Camp Rock and didn't realize you're trying to like

[AJ]

educate him on what the tone is.

[Ally]

Some tapes are.

[AJ]

No joke.

[Ally]

Our drummer is now an actor. Like we've made him just be in our tape.

[AJ]

Yeah, he's now part of the tape. It's a lot of operation.

[Trish]

It's a lot. Because you have to. You have to.

[Ally]

The other band members are like, no,

[Trish]

they won't do it. You had to have it to have that. They're very difficult. I knew into acting this past year and it's very difficult. I always thought I watched Disney channel. Like I want to be that so bad. It's so hard.

[Ally]

Well, the self tape world is really the thing now.

[AJ]

It wasn't. It's different than like going in to see a casting director in person.

[Trish]

That sounds more intimidating in person. It is.

[Ally]

But you at least have that real time feedback of like, is there a note? Is there like they might just dismiss your tape because they're like.

[AJ]

Or they only watch like 10 seconds and you're like, I just spent an hour and a half.

[Ally]

Whereas when you're in the room, they have to see it all and. And usually they're kind of required to give feedback and be like, I want you to play it this way or I want.

[AJ]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ally]

Unless they know you're not right.

[AJ]

It holds them accountable in a way, you know, so it's kind of sad that that's like, you should be doing voiceover.

[Ally]

Do you. Do you do a lot of vo.

[Trish]

I know what. I don't know what that is. But like voiceover, like cartoon. Yes.

[AJ]

I would love to. Like commercial.

[Trish]

Like how like Toyota commercial drive.

[Ally]

No, not even commercial.

[AJ]

Like cartoon. Like a cartoon. Like, little animated character.

[Ally]

I don't even think you should have a voiceover.

[Trish]

I recently signed with an agency for the first time in my life at 36. You know what I mean? So it's all kind of new to me, but I love it. I've been taking it. I'll do whatever. Honestly, that sounds easier voice work.

[AJ]

No, you would crush.

[Trish]

You don't have to worry about glamming and what you look like, but you

[Ally]

have a naturally fun, interesting voice.

[Trish]

Maybe I'll take your advice.

[AJ]

You should ask your agent if they have. If they have a VO department.

[Trish]

Is that what it's called?

[AJ]

Voiceover?

[Trish]

What does it stand for? You say things so casually, like, you don't market.

[AJ]

You don't market the channel.

[Trish]

You guys are so smart. Sometimes it is hard for me to keep up. I'm like, wow, they're so smart. I don't want to ask questions, but that's my job, to ask questions. So I was like, have you? Because I'm like, I don't know what they're saying. Like, the reform. I was like, gosh, I know this is important in ancient notes. I'm like, I might as well ask.

[Ally]

No.

[AJ]

And there's no shame. Like, I think if you don't know something, there's no harm in being like, hey, give me the. Give me the. The full rundown on this 100%.

[Ally]

And you guys are so definitely ask about voiceover.

[Trish]

Okay. Yeah.

[Ally]

Cause you have something.

[Trish]

Have you done it? You guys have done it.

[Ally]

We've done a lot. Yeah.

[Trish]

Like with Disney. Was it Disney Channel?

[Ally]

Never with Disney Channel.

[AJ]

Never with Disney. No.

[Ally]

I was on a cartoon for a bit on Cartoon Network and then a cartoon for Netflix that DreamWorks put out that was a remake of she Ra.

[Trish]

Oh, how was that?

[Ally]

It was so fun.

[Trish]

You just go into the studio.

[Ally]

Yeah, I go into DreamWorks and, like, we record for four hours, and we get an episode in, and then I come to back, you know, in a couple weeks, and we do another episode. We did, like, 65 episodes of that show.

[AJ]

Wow.

[Ally]

It was fun. But you can be in your PJs, you can hang out on the Dreamwork slot.

[AJ]

It's like, really.

[Ally]

You have their really good lunch when you're done working, because they have this beautiful catering setup. Like, it's fun life.

[Trish]

Ooh. How do you preserve your voices? Both of you singing, like, you go. Both of you have, like, your beautiful voices, obviously. But what if you lose it during a VO or, like, a tour?

[AJ]

It's hard.

[Ally]

I Mean, if you lose it, it's like you just got to be on

[AJ]

vocal rest, like, just not talking.

[Trish]

Do you do those masks those.

[Ally]

We've done those.

[AJ]

The little oxygen. Do those work that, like, help hydrate your vocal cor.

[Ally]

Because it can add moisture that you may be really dry. It can help with that if you use, like, a saline.

[AJ]

We're not, like, crazy, like, doing those, like, consistently, but if you were sick, we would do something like that.

[Trish]

Okay.

[AJ]

Or like a hot steam shower, you know, tea. All those things are vocal warm ups. All of that is, like, good, like, prep.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

We do, like, the basics for sure.

[AJ]

But if you're.

[Ally]

If you've, like, lost your voice, you're kind of screwed that night. You just have to kind of power.

[AJ]

You just got to power through. Through and just.

[Ally]

Or one sister just sings more, you know?

[Trish]

I do love that you're like, do you guys have singers?

[Ally]

No, just you guys?

[Trish]

Just us.

[Ally]

Wow.

[Trish]

Do you guys do any, like, shots of oil or anything like that? Like, you know, I think it's Cynthia the Riva who does, like, olive oil shots or something.

[Ally]

That's so smart. And we never do that.

[AJ]

It's actually really smart.

[Ally]

We do shots of tequila before the show.

[Trish]

Oh, really?

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Oh, that's pretty impressive. Just kind of go out there.

[AJ]

Maybe we should do an olive oil shot, and then the tequila should be the. Maybe the tequila dries it up.

[Ally]

I'm not sure. I don't know.

[Trish]

Right? I don't know.

[Ally]

Cynthia would be like, girl, you should not be doing that, because no alcohol does dry you out. So, like, essentially, you should not be drinking before you go on stage. But we do one shot to get,

[AJ]

like, this a little fun.

[Ally]

I like the olive oil idea.

[Trish]

Yeah, I've heard that's interesting. Do you ever get competitive with each other, with roles, with life?

[Ally]

I feel like we ever do.

[AJ]

I don't feel like we ever have even, like, in the past as, like, kids. No.

[Trish]

Wow.

[Ally]

No, it's weird.

[AJ]

It's always like. It felt very specific that someone was supposed to be the role that they are and that they booked.

[Trish]

Right.

[AJ]

And we'd never been up for, like, a role. That's probably helped. I mean, not that that would be the, like, the reason why we haven't had an issue, but we've never been up for something the same role, even though we kind of would sometimes overlap in an age where it's like, oh, you know, 25 to 30 or something.

[Ally]

We maybe audition for the same partition, but we've never gotten close. Together?

[Trish]

No, but you have auditioned for the same part, so how does that work?

[AJ]

Do you guys auditioned for Bandslam?

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

And she was like, I did.

[Trish]

Right.

[Ally]

Do you remember?

[Trish]

Yeah. Wow.

[AJ]

And she was like, I'm not right for this.

[Ally]

Are you sure it was your role or the Vanessa role?

[AJ]

I don't know. I feel like maybe it was the Charlotte role.

[Ally]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[Trish]

Wait, that's crazy. So do you guys compare notes, or do you, like, try to keep it separate? Be like, good luck. Good luck. Or do you help each other?

[AJ]

They're like, I'm gonna throw you off. I heard that they're supposed to play this character like this.

[Ally]

That's so funny.

[AJ]

No, no.

[Ally]

I feel like anytime Ali gets, like, more information than maybe I have, she would share it and.

[AJ]

Oh, yeah.

[Trish]

Yeah, totally.

[Ally]

Like, we're not gatekeepers at all with anything, even with friends. Like, I'll have friends call me up, like, recently that are like, I'm auditioning for Lotus. Can you tell me anything? And I'll help them. Like, I won't tell them confidential info because I signed NDAs, but I will tell them anything that can help with their character. Like, I just want people to win, especially if they're in our circle and if it's a sibling, like, all the way.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

That's amazing.

[Ally]

We're not gay. Creepy.

[Trish]

What is the age difference? A few years? 3 years? 2 years? Oh, wow. My sister and I are five years apart, and I always felt. Not anymore, obviously, but, like, young. We definitely were competitive, and we're definitely not in this industry. So I just thought maybe.

[Ally]

Yeah, a lot of young people who grew up really close, you know, maybe do experience that. I think with Allie and I, because we started this so early and at the same time and saw success and

[AJ]

did the same thing and saw success

[Ally]

around the same time, that naturally, it's kind of obliterated the competition.

[AJ]

I think maybe it's, like, it'd be,

[Ally]

like asking, like, Dakota and L. It's like, they're probably like, no, we both just want to. Like, it's working.

[AJ]

And I think it helped that there wasn't. I mean, there. I guess in certain moments, there's been moments maybe where someone was booking jobs more than the other one, but then it would be like, oh, then it would swap, and it would be like, okay, now this. You know what I mean? So, like, it's always been this kind of, like, balance. Like, the pendulum has swum back and forth, so it's never felt like you're just like, the sister that's, like, left in the dust, you know, Which I understand how that could be hard for a sibling. It's not our energy, but it's not. It's not our energy.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[Trish]

I also think because. Because then when you guys do come together as a duo, it almost, like, elevates the superstar that you love. Yeah. A level up.

[AJ]

Cause it's like, that's cool.

[Trish]

Like, I was telling you guys before, like, I know Ali and AJ the singers. But then, like, when I knew, like, oh, my God. From easy A. Like, to me, that's such a different Ali and aj. You know what I mean? The way you said it.

[Ally]

I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. Who's Allie Machaka?

[Trish]

It was like, so. Cause I didn't know the last name. It was so funny. You're like, I know them. Yes.

[AJ]

But you're like, I don't know this Ally Mashaka.

[Trish]

Well, I'm glad, because sometimes you never think anyone will see. But I also say, who to so many people that I know personally, I'm like, who is that? Like, I just. I. Maybe you experience.

[AJ]

Are you. Are you better at, like, facially recognizing somebody?

[Trish]

Yes.

[AJ]

Oh, for sure. Like, you know, like, oh, I know that person from thousand percent.

[Trish]

Like, we'll watch something. I'm like, oh, that's the person from Bridgerton or this or whatever.

[AJ]

Right. But you're like, I don't know the name.

[Trish]

Names always. I'm like, what? And then when someone says, there's so many. Who's the person now? There's, like, so many boy names. Dylan. There's so many Dylan.

[AJ]

Dylan's.

[Trish]

There's Dylan o'. Brien. There's so many Dylan's in the world.

[AJ]

I'm getting confused by the Dylan.

[Trish]

Yeah. So when someone says a name, sometimes I'm like, oh, my gosh. You know, this can be.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Have you guys ever done Broadway musical theater? We've gotten close.

[AJ]

We've auditioned for Broady's Gotten close on quite a few Broadway.

[Trish]

Are you musical theater fans or you just thought maybe that's the next step because we sing an act?

[Ally]

I love musical theater. I'd rather be in a play that maybe doesn't involve music just because we do music every night on stage ourselves.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

But if the musical presented itself in a really cool way and was an interesting project, of course I jumped.

[AJ]

Yeah. We're not like music. We're not like musical nerds, where we know all of the classic musicals.

[Ally]

But I've never seen Wicked.

[AJ]

She'd never seen it on stage. I know.

[Ally]

I've seen the movie.

[AJ]

I've seen the movie.

[Trish]

Wow.

[AJ]

I saw it on stage, but at Pantages. Like, not even, like, a boring production,

[Trish]

which is, like, so cool, but still amazing. Yes.

[Ally]

But we are Broadway nerds. Like, I. Every time I meet.

[AJ]

Yeah. Every time that we go and we're in New York, we try to see at least a show. It's a little harder now with my kid, but, like. Like, my husband will be like. Then you guys go. Like, we went and saw Omari together, and we loved it.

[Ally]

Loved Omari. But, like, that kind of show is the show I want to really.

[Trish]

Oh, my God. That is.

[Ally]

I don't need a musical, even though I enjoy them. Yeah.

[Trish]

That's like the White Lotus of Broadway right now, where it's like, that's the show everyone's trying to get into, so. Good.

[AJ]

Which ones.

[Trish]

Can you say which ones you've auditioned for?

[Ally]

Yeah. I got really close to Spider man years ago, the Mewtwo production.

[Trish]

Moses, very involved. He was very, like, in that realm of that world. When that was happening. Wait, that was like. Like one of the biggest, most expensive, but also maybe one of the biggest flops.

[AJ]

Flops. It had a big, Like, I think everybody had big hopes for it, that it was.

[Ally]

I think it was a flop compared to what it was what it took to make it.

[Trish]

Yes.

[Ally]

But I don't think it was a flop.

[AJ]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ally]

It was just that it didn't make up everything it needed.

[AJ]

And there were some weird things that happened.

[Trish]

People were getting injured. It was kind of a cursed show. Like, looking back, it's like those kind of shows, like I said, kind of our camp, Right. When something closes so quick, you're kind of like. They kind of ate, though. They tried. You know, they were trying to fly across the audience. They ate. Yeah, they did. Crazy.

[Ally]

They were trying to fly. And that wasn't really being done. No.

[Trish]

He was, like, flying, flipping onto the right, crashing.

[AJ]

He's doing Spider Man. It's like, gosh, that's a hard one. It's like, you don't have any vfx.

[Trish]

No. Yes. No. What did you audition for? Was it the Mary Jane. Jane. Yeah.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Ally]

And then I got really close this past year on Stereophonic.

[Trish]

Wow.

[Ally]

That really cool music show that, like, took place in a studio.

[Trish]

Yes.

[AJ]

It was like the recast of the second time it was on.

[Ally]

That was really cool. And a couple others. But then some shows, like, did never

[AJ]

went, you know, Nervous Breakdown or something.

[Ally]

Yeah, they tried. It didn't go. But they tried to do Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown on stage.

[AJ]

It never went.

[Ally]

No. Which is a Pedro Almodovar film that they wanted to turn into a Broadway show.

[Trish]

I do love when they do that, when they do, like, film into stage production.

[Ally]

It never worked. And Amelie auditioned for Amelie, but that never really went out on stage. Oh, maybe it went.

[Trish]

But, yes, I think that did go. I kind of remember. Maybe girl from Hamilton might have been in there. Yes. Billy Basu. Yeah, I think she was in there. You're big into. I love. I lack the musical talent. No. I like. I can't sing. And, you know, that's my. That's my problem. But I love it. Where did you audition for. Because at the time, all the Disney girls were going into Beauty and the Beast. Did you ever audition for that?

[AJ]

Never auditioned for Beauty and the Beast.

[Trish]

Everyone did Hairspray.

[AJ]

I don't think we ever auditioned for that either.

[Trish]

Wait, never? Because. Why does it feel like you did Hairspray? You never did Hairspray in any case.

[AJ]

But that feels like. That feels like that was probably around that same time.

[Ally]

You could have been the Britney Snow or Amanda Bynes part.

[AJ]

Right, Right.

[Ally]

Like Penny and.

[AJ]

Oh.

[Trish]

Huh. Huh.

[Ally]

Yeah, that didn't happen.

[Trish]

Weird.

[AJ]

They.

[Trish]

Did you ever do. Someone did Shakespeare. Did I read that on someone's Wikipedia? Like, perform one of us. Yes or no? My.

[AJ]

No.

[Trish]

No, not a film. Nothing.

[AJ]

No.

[Trish]

Oh.

[AJ]

Oh, well, maybe. Oh, maybe the Lears. Oh, that's like a take on. On King Lear. You're like, oh, really?

[Trish]

Okay. Performing Shakespeare.

[AJ]

It's like an indie movie. It's like. It's not like Shakespeare Dynamo. It's, like, inspired by. Okay.

[Trish]

It wasn't like.

[AJ]

It's a very modern setting.

[Trish]

Yeah. You weren't saying the exact. Like, the Romeo and Juliet movie with the Arnicaprio, where it was. And I was like, that's.

[AJ]

You're like, wow. Okay, cool.

[Trish]

But you guys.

[AJ]

I wish. That'd be cool.

[Trish]

Was there. Because you mentioned Laurel Canyon and Topanga earlier. Did you guys. You produced a film about Laurel Canyon? And did you guys star in that one, too? Was that indie? Yep.

[Ally]

And it took place in the home we were living in together. So her husband directed it and wrote it.

[Trish]

Oh, so he started it together.

[Ally]

Yeah.

[AJ]

And it was in the house that we were just happening to rent at the time. We were just like, we're gonna make a movie here.

[Ally]

It was our first time living as adults outside of, like, you know, our family home. In. In. In the canyon together.

[Trish]

And you all. And you live together for a couple years, and that's where you share the dog. Is that because you were saying?

[AJ]

Yes.

[Trish]

What's your dog's name?

[AJ]

Money. Penny.

[Ally]

Money Penny.

[Trish]

Love that. What is that named after? What's he named after?

[Ally]

James Bond.

[AJ]

James Bond.

[Trish]

The assistant.

[AJ]

The assistant from Miss Moneypenny.

[Trish]

Oh, okay. Okay. I have not seen.

[AJ]

She's like the secretary.

[Ally]

I call her the desk clerk.

[AJ]

She's the.

[Trish]

Moneypenny is great. I love that name. And you share this dog. Was this in. Laurel. Did you have Moneypenny and Laurel?

[AJ]

We had Moneypenny and Laurel and I now have Moneypenny. Although Moneypenny has been living with AJ and her boyfriend for a minute because it's a good separation with my. I lost my dog. Yeah. Cause AJ Lost her dog recently, and so it's helped her kind of heal having a little pet in the house. And Jack is at that age where it's like, he wants.

[Ally]

Torturing her.

[AJ]

He wants to be, like, physical. And I'm like, no, no, no. I'm like, you're gonna.

[Trish]

Actually.

[AJ]

She probably will be more likely to be hurt by you than her hurt him.

[Trish]

Right?

[Ally]

She has one tooth.

[AJ]

So, like, literally, even just the other night, like, brought him in with Moneypenny, and Money was. No, no, no. Money was just, like, in Steven's arms, and he just, like, went to, like, grab her, like, you know, almost, like, head. Like, just, like, pick her up by your head. I was like, no, no, no, no.

[Ally]

Like a stuffed animal.

[AJ]

Yeah. She's really excited.

[Ally]

She's 16 now, which is crazy. So we've had her for a while, A long time. Since she was one for life.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

But my. So my sweet dog, my Shih Tzu that I had for 19 years just passed, like, a month ago, a month and a half ago. And so Moneypenny has been, like, such a sweet, like, just recovery animal. Like, she's really helped me through it, but she was. My. Willow was my 16th birthday gift. So we just said goodbye to her. It was crazy.

[AJ]

So they're, like, our last. It was. They were really our last two family dogs.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. How do you. How are you dealing with, like, pet grief? Like, losing a pet?

[Ally]

It's been hard. It's been. There'll be moments where I'm just, like, driving, or I hear a song and I just start crying, and I'm like, what is going on? And it's. It's definitely Willow. Like, it's definitely, like, I just Miss her. I'm so used to sleeping with her every night. And since I was 16, like, it's so crazy being 35 now and being like, where's that dog who's been like, my, like, companion buddy for this long? It's so crazy. So we said goodbye to her on Martin Luther King, and I said, okay, this is the day, because I knew she was going downhill fast. But I did decide. So this is crazy. And I have not talked about this publicly, but I'm gonna talk about it here.

[AJ]

I'm curious what she thinks.

[Ally]

I am, too.

[Trish]

I am, too.

[Ally]

So I don't like the taxidermy thing. It freaks me out. But there is a company in North Hollywood that's been around since the 20s who specialize in taxidermy. But 20 years ago, they started doing freeze drying. So they freeze dry your pet for four to six months in, like, this container. And it sucks out all the moisture of the body so they don't touch the organs. The dog is not opened up and then stuffed. Like, the dog is as is, but is in this thing for six months and then pulled out. And you can have the dog in your home. And so I'm having Willow.

[AJ]

She's doing it.

[Ally]

She'll be back in my house in six months in a sleeping position with

[AJ]

her eyes closed, which is.

[Ally]

Some of my friends are really freaked out, and some are like, that's beautiful. And some are like, can you hide her in the laundry room? And I'm like, yes. So I'm doing this for me because I didn't want to bury her. And I felt like that was going to be a second grieving stage if I had to bury her or cremate her, because I was like, I just. I'm so used to her being in my home that I'm like, I'm going to do this for myself and I'm going to have her.

[AJ]

And then if you didn't like it for whatever reason, you know, you could. Then I can bury her.

[Ally]

But I was like, so.

[AJ]

Yeah, it's the work that this place does, I got to say. Like. Like, it's actually incredible. It's not. It doesn't feel creepy. Like, you kind of would think, oh, this is, like, weird. Yeah. Like, it. There's so much care that's put into, like, preserving the animal and making them look like the dog that you always, like, loved. It's kind of. It's wild.

[Ally]

And I put her in a sleeping resting position so her eyes will be closed. Like, I don't. The eye Open thing is kind of creepy to me.

[Trish]

Oh, they can do that. They can put them in any position.

[AJ]

Any. They have to. Like I said. They said that the only thing they would have to remove is eyeball. So it has to. If its eyes open like marbles. Does this feel like so like.

[Ally]

Yeah. How does this feel? So sweet and genuine.

[Trish]

People are like, no to me. I think that is so comforting. It's like trigger warning when like, you know, there's loss. When people go through like infant loss. They have those, you know, born again babies and they kind of. Or rebirth babies they're called. So they're like real life babies and they carry them with them because they like need that to heal. So I think there is. It kind of feels almost something similar where it's like you don't have to fully say goodbye. Yes.

[AJ]

Yeah. It's like I know it's the outer vessel, but it's still something.

[Trish]

Yeah, I think that's. I think it's great. I think it's amazing. It is cool what like modern technology will do and keep doing like you know, when we're older. Just. That's why I never try to fear death or anything. Not that I want to be freeze dried but like, you know, you never feed it.

[Ally]

I don't either.

[Trish]

I mean maybe, I don't know, who knows. But it's like you never know what could happen by then. You know, it's like they say Walt Disney's like frozen or something. I was like, I've heard this, maybe that. Do you guys know anything about it?

[Ally]

I don't.

[AJ]

I wish, I wish.

[Trish]

You're like, tell me, is it the channel?

[Ally]

The channel hasn't told us.

[Trish]

Like where is that?

[Ally]

Have you seen it? Where's he at?

[AJ]

Wait, and you have pets?

[Trish]

Yeah, no, actually I never had pets, so.

[AJ]

But my.

[Trish]

No, never had pets.

[AJ]

You give such an energy of somebody

[Trish]

that would have like $20.

[Ally]

That's why I wanted to tell you this story.

[Trish]

Well, so when you were saying when you.

[Ally]

But you have three kids, you don't need pets.

[AJ]

Yeah, you're good.

[Trish]

You got a lot. Well, I did have a dog, but that was the gag is I couldn't take care of the dog cause I never had a pet. Growing up. My an ex boyfriend gifted me a dog. It was like this whole thing and I couldn't take care of it. So I gave it my sister and my mom took care of is taking care of it and still. But he's six and my mom recently shared this on TikTok. So I can share it. But he also is going through kidney failure at 6. And so. Yeah. And so it's one of those things where I never thought I would feel right because, like, I didn't have that, like, connection to animals. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. It feels like a child. You know, it could. He could last longer, you know, than six months. It could be years. Yeah. And so we're hoping. Cause he's still young, but you can just see it a little bit that he's not his, like, normal self. Yeah. So we were talking about that earlier. I was like, oh, so. No. But dogs are hard to take care of, I always say. I have three babies, and I think they're easier.

[AJ]

Honestly, it's hard. It's hard to take care of pets while having a kid. Like, I think I've. Me and my husband have both said this, like, wow, this is a. Just an extra. It's another thing to. Because they're little beings as well, so, like, they need to be loved and cared for. And. And it's just hard when you have a kid because they become your number one. And then the dog's like me. Hello.

[Trish]

Yeah, that's. That would be. That would be tough. The transition of it all.

[AJ]

Yeah.

[Trish]

Well, where do you guys see yourself? So this year, you're booked in 20 years from now, because this has been 20 years since your anniversary of everything.

[AJ]

Music.

[Trish]

Are you guys gonna be doing music in your.

[AJ]

Oh, yeah.

[Ally]

Oh, for sure.

[Trish]

Yeah.

[Ally]

We'll still be touring. We'll still be making records.

[AJ]

Maybe there's a Broadway show. Two of you.

[Ally]

Broadway show.

[AJ]

I'm done with that.

[Trish]

That's it.

[AJ]

We can put that out there.

[Trish]

Oh, my God. Oh, my gosh. I love it.

[Ally]

That's the one thing we haven't really done. Broadway. Let's do it.

[Trish]

I love the one thing, energy, too. The like, that you guys are just excited because, you know, after, like, 20 years and people, like, don't want to talk about the nostalgia or they're not excited. You're, like, excited. Excited for life and excited for tour.

[Ally]

And I'm not tired by any of it. I'm, like, invigorated by it.

[AJ]

Yeah. And I feel like there's still a lot of things that we haven't experienced yet, like, in our career. So I feel like that is hopefully, like, on the other side of 20 years from now, you know, that. That we can say, oh, wow, we really did do that. Like, we did tour internationally at a point where, you know, we didn't know we were going to come back to music, and now we've done that. Like, just little things here and there. I mean, we've done a lot of touring in the US We've done stuff like, in Europe, but, like, we haven't hit Asia. We haven't hit Australia, you know, so, like, there's a lot of things on the bucket list, you know?

[Trish]

Would be really fun. That sounds so great. Well, we're so excited. Is it places to run? Right? It starts in three. It's a few days.

[AJ]

Literally a few days.

[Trish]

Oh, my gosh. Go see ally@aj on tour. See them on socials, everywhere. This is so exciting. Thank you guys so much for being here.

[AJ]

Thanks for having us all thanks to all. Thanks to TikTok for bringing us together.

[Trish]

Yes, TikTok does. Thank you, TikTok. We need to make a TikTok. If you guys.

[AJ]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.

[Trish]

All right, we find this will break up number 20 for you guys. All right, thanks. See you guys soon.

[AJ]

Bye.