Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile is buying everyone she knows a mattress. Amy hangs with the singer-songwriter and talks about how 'The Pick of Destiny' got her in trouble on stage, her favorite 'SNL' era, and getting a BioMat from Alanis Morissette. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Marren Morris and Brandi CarlileExecutive producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and booker Kat SpillaneOriginal music: Amy Miles Use coupon code ‘EATCESAR10’ at Cesar.com for 10% off Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://Allstate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking which group chat you're typing in before hitting send? Next thing you know, you sent a scalding hot take about the restaurant to the group with the person who picked it. Yikes. Yeah, checking first is a good idea, so check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois.

• 0:36Amy Poehler?

  Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We have the talented, funny, warm, incredible Brandi Carlile joining us today. And boy, I feel like we became really good friends in this interview. And we talked about so many good things. We talked about her music and meeting her heroes. We talked about hair and the changing hairstyles and how that defines you. We talked about her new record, Returning to Myself, and how great it is. And we may have even harmonized a little bit. So get ready for that. But before we start this interview, we always talk to a person who knows our guest and wants to give me a question to ask this guest. And boy, we have a star in her own right, an incredibly talented singer, songwriter,

• 1:20Amy Poehler?

  musician from Texas, Maren Morris. Maren, you know from all of her hits, from The High Women, which she performed with Brandi, and she's just incredible. And we are so thrilled to have Maren with us today. So Maren, hi, can you hear me?

• 1:40Amy Poehler?

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• 2:25Amy Poehler?

  Hey, Maren.

• 2:27Speaker 01

  Hi.

• 2:28Amy Poehler?

  How are you? Where are we talking to you from?

• 2:30Speaker 01

  I am on tour right now in the UK, so I'm playing a show in Manchester tonight, so I'm backstage.

• 2:36Amy Poehler?

  Oh, gosh, you're in pre-show mode.

• 2:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, but I got ready a little bit earlier today to look OK for you. And yeah, it's kind of nice weather today, like breezy, good walking weather. But yeah, I'm excited.

• 2:53Amy Poehler?

  We're talking to Brandy Carlisle today. I really appreciate that you're here to talk to us about her because the work that you you did together

• 3:06Amy Poehler?

  with the High Women was so special. When did you first meet Brandy?

• 3:12Speaker 01

  Well, thank you so much. I remember when I met you at that Beatles event. You had mentioned that you loved the High Women album.

• 3:20Amy Poehler?

  Loved that record.

• 3:22Speaker 01

  I think a few months later, I was on The Tonight Show talking to Jimmy, and he brought up the picture of us. And I was so embarrassed because I was crying when I met you. I'd already had like three glasses of wine. Oh, my gosh, you were so sweet to me that night.

• 3:36Amy Poehler?

  Of course, it's such a pleasure to meet you. I love your music.

• 3:39Speaker 01

  Thank you. But yeah, the High Women record, that was like pretty early in my relationship with Brandy. I think we just clicked. And we met randomly at this event in Nashville where I was receiving an award for something, but they were also doing a bunch of duets that night. And so I remember Brandy and I both sang

• 4:06Speaker 01

  Carole King, also Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman." And having been a Brandy fan since probably junior high, being able to sing that song with her and just go toe-to-toe vocally was so fun. I think it was probably a few months later, Brandy called me. And I get, it was like the day or the week my second record was coming out and I was at 30 Rock, I was at the Tonight Show like randomly and um, just in the dressing room, about to go on, she calls and she's like, "I'm putting this girl group together and I want to know if you want to be a part of it. It's going to be me, Amanda Shires and Natalie

• 4:46Speaker 01

  Hemby." And I was like, "Uh huh." And she goes, "It's kind of like a tribute or extension of the Highwaymen, like the Willie Nelson, Chris Christopherson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, um, record." And I was like, "Oh my, I'm in." I didn't really have any more questions. I didn't have any questions.

• 5:07Amy Poehler?

  Amazing.

• 5:09Speaker 01

  And it was just, yeah, like a sort of microcosm event because we did that one album. We did a few shows. We did like Newport Folk Festival, brought out Dolly Parton, which was insane. Um, but a lot of these really major career moments, uh, like that I treasure, that are my crown jewels, are the, the Highwaymen experiences.

• 5:31Amy Poehler?

  Uh, what was it like singing with Dolly Parton?

• 5:34Speaker 01

  You need to interview her. I think that would be...

• 5:36Amy Poehler?

  Okay.

• 5:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, sure.

• 5:38Amy Poehler?

  Dolly, Marren said that we would be great together.

• 5:40Speaker 01

  She just moved from the long list to the short list.

• 5:43Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. Dolly, anytime, anywhere. Um, yeah, she's a, just a, a legend and a, and a real hero of mine. What was she like to be around?

• 5:53Speaker 01

  I think very few people, I'll include you in this, um, exceed your expectations when you have such a, a surveyed, like, history, watching someone or being inspired by someone from afar. So, yeah, just exceeded expectations is, uh, really punctual. I love that she...

• 6:15Amy Poehler?

  Of course she is.

• 6:16Speaker 01

  Because I put such a precedence on being on time.

• 6:19Amy Poehler?

  Oh, wow. Of course, Dolly is very punctual.

• 6:22Speaker 01

  Actually, she was early.

• 6:24Amy Poehler?

  Oh, of course she was. Can you imagine running late for Dolly Parton? That is a stress dream. Like, can you imagine just like in traffic and you know Dolly's waiting for you?

• 6:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, just disappointing her. I just think I'd probably quit music.

• 6:39Amy Poehler?

  Totally. You just say, you just call ahead and you say, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it in time. I quit. I quit music, Dolly."

• 6:47Speaker 01

  But no, she's so lovely and she's obviously just hysterical, dressed to the nines. I, I mean, I assume she's maybe doing her own glam because this is like sort of a not filmed day in the studio, but she's putting us all to shame because she's in full hair and makeup, like eight inch heels. We're both quite short, so we bonded over that.

• 7:13Amy Poehler?

  How tall are you?

• 7:14Speaker 01

  I'm 5'1".

• 7:15Amy Poehler?

  Ooh.

• 7:17Speaker 01

  How tall are you?

• 7:18Amy Poehler?

  I'm a towering 5'2".

• 7:20Speaker 01

  Oh dang.

• 7:21Amy Poehler?

  And what's it like down there?

• 7:25Speaker 01

  Also, this is something that I hope that I take away when I hopefully do this decades and decades on is that she sings every one of her songs in the original key of the year it came out.

• 7:38Amy Poehler?

  Dang.

• 7:40Speaker 01

  A lot of people have to, as they age, and sometimes women, our voices mature at like, I think they say like 35 or 36.

• 7:48Amy Poehler?

  I think about that with songwriters, that are people starting to be aware in their 30s and 40s that they need to sing in lower keys.

• 7:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I've found out the hard way, like.

• 7:58Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, when you go out.

• 7:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, and then you have to do it live and you're like, I made this way too high and fast.

• 8:03Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 8:06Speaker 01

  But, yeah, just incredible singer. Brandy like really made it happen. I feel like she's, she's reached out to these icons over the years and brought them into a space where we can fall in love with them over and over again.

• 8:22Amy Poehler?

  That's what I want to talk to her about, is she is really good at exactly that, drawing out the heroes of hers and of ours and kind of bringing them in and making them feel comfortable. Like she's, she feels like she's, you said it yourself, she's like a doer. She makes things happen. She's a producer. She's also a good host. You know, she's just making people feel comfortable, but also, which I really relate to, just quietly making them do things without them knowing that they're being pushed. Like, she's a pusher to get things done, but everyone feels good when that's happening. That's a rare combination.

• 8:57Speaker 01

  I think that being able to go witness something. Really communal and almost like church, but for people that want to come together in a way that feels inclusive and safe for all. And yeah, just connect through these magic vibrations. I think, you know, just that's, that's her, her rare gift.

• 9:18Amy Poehler?

  That's so cool. Okay. So do you have a question that you think I should ask Brandy today?

• 9:23Speaker 01

  I'm just wondering as she watches her girls get older and she's making music and touring and collaborating and achieving these incredible dreams she has.

• 9:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, the integration of family throughout that, um, I feel like has always been really at the forefront for her and Catherine. And I'm just wondering, like, as her girls get older, because my son's now five and a half,

• 9:51Speaker 01

  like, what, what is it like when they go to shows now? Like, are they excited to be there? Are they proud? Are they over it?

• 9:59Amy Poehler?

  It's a great question. And actually, it's a question, you know, it speaks to the bigger idea of like being a working mother. How does your kid want you to, you know, divide your time? And, and how do you divide your time? And how do you make your kid feel really seen? And, um, and also how do you pursue your dream and not, and be like a good model for what it looks like to be a woman who loves to, you know, loves what she's doing. So it's, yeah, it's, it's a question I think working women are always asking each other. And I think that's what women do so well, is they say, how do you do it? And what are you doing? And how did it change? And what did, how did five look different than 10? And yeah, great question, great question. Maren?

• 10:42Speaker 01

  I'm obsessed with you.

• 10:43Amy Poehler?

  I really appreciate that you're talking to us on the, um, before our show. Thank you for that.

• 10:49Speaker 01

  No, thank you.

• 10:50Amy Poehler?

  It's so good to talk to you. Have a great show. Break a leg. Okay. See you soon. Thank you again.

• 10:58Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. That's smart. Not checking the meaning of a word all the kids say before using it yourself? Not smart. Not slay-worthy. Yeah, checking first is smart, so check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary, subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. Brandy Carlisle is here, and we're talking already about SNL because you love doing SNL.

• 11:32Speaker 02

  I love it, yeah.

• 11:33Amy Poehler?

  And you love the time pressure.

• 11:35Speaker 02

  Yes, I think watching all those people thrive under pressure is just, it's a really unique thing. You don't see that anywhere else.

• 11:41Amy Poehler?

  I know. And we were saying that like the idea of like a minute or two in SNL time feels like years.

• 11:47Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 11:48Amy Poehler?

  Because I've done live things where they get you ready and they put you at the side of the stage and you're like, I know I have two more awards before my award or whatever.

• 11:57Speaker 02

  Which is like 40 minutes.

• 11:58Amy Poehler?

  40 minutes. They're getting you out of your seat. You're like, at SNL, you'd be having dinner uptown.

• 12:03Speaker 02

  Exactly. They don't even come into your dressing room or give you a warning at two minutes. That's like...

• 12:08Amy Poehler?

  I know. Brandy?

• 12:10Speaker 02

  Hi.

• 12:11Amy Poehler?

  Hi.

• 12:12Speaker 02

  I love you so much.

• 12:13Amy Poehler?

  Oh, my God, same. I love you. I was very, very excited to talk to you today. And you know, there's a million things I want to talk to you about today, but I want to stay in the present for a second because I'm loving your new record.

• 12:25Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 12:26Amy Poehler?

  I love all of your music, but this one feels very, very, it feels like, not to imprint myself on it, but it really feels like it's speaking to me. And you know, it's Returning to Myself, came out in October. As we start today, I want to ask you about the push and pull between being like introvert, extrovert, your push and pull between being a connector and wanting community and like needing time to yourself. And I was kind of joking with someone and I was saying, what I love about Brandy's new record is, is it feels like it's like, can I have five minutes to myself, please?

• 13:03Amy Poehler?

  That's what it feels like.

• 13:04Speaker 02

  That's in the subtext and not very many people have seen that about it, but you have.

• 13:08Amy Poehler?

  And, and I, you know, when I, when I've been learning about you, it's like, you know, you have definite benevolent, natural captain energy. And you like to bring people together and you, you know, you live with a lot of people, you have a lot of people around. You live a life that's very big and has a lot of people around. And I love that a lot of the songs on this record are about, can I just like figure out what I, what I actually want? Like, who am I in real time and when I'm alone?

• 13:33Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 13:34Amy Poehler?

  Is the music about that? Is, is the record about what is it like to be alone?

• 13:40Speaker 02

  Well, it's definitely about who am I when I am alone?

• 13:43Amy Poehler?

  Who are you when you're alone?

• 13:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, I have sort of yet to figure that out.

• 13:47Amy Poehler?

  Same.

• 13:48Speaker 02

  And really?

• 13:49Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 13:50Speaker 02

  Is it because you prefer the company of other people and then don't take the time?

• 13:54Amy Poehler?

  Yes, I, yeah.

• 13:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's the thing. So I don't know.

• 13:57Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 13:57Speaker 02

  And I've got to an age now where I've learned that that's sort of seen as maybe unevolved in some ways.

• 14:03Amy Poehler?

  Hmm.

• 14:04Speaker 02

  And I got kind of self-conscious about it.

• 14:06Amy Poehler?

  Hmm.

• 14:06Speaker 02

  Within the last year or two and went, oh, am I, do I have a made up mind? Am I a bit unevolved that I haven't learned who I am when I'm alone?

• 14:17Amy Poehler?

  That's so, have you ever thought about doing a silent retreat?

• 14:20Speaker 02

  I have thought about it.

• 14:21Amy Poehler?

  Does it scare you?

• 14:23Speaker 02

  It just really turns me off. Like, I just find that appalling.

• 14:27Amy Poehler?

  I do too. It's like, what? Eight days of no talking?

• 14:32Speaker 02

  Oh, a waste of time.

• 14:33Amy Poehler?

  I'm doing a podcast and you can tell I like love talking.

• 14:36Speaker 02

  So why?

• 14:36Amy Poehler?

  But yeah, it's like, okay. And I'm always fascinated by people who are silent in general. I'm always fascinated by people who stay still. I, I do find you have a stillness. You're not a, again, I'm just getting to know you, but I, but I, I don't feel like you have a. Hectic energy.

• 14:57Speaker 02

  No, I don't think I do in terms of, other than just committing to a lot of things all the time.

• 15:02Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 15:03Speaker 02

  And that would my, so my wife would tell you that I am, I am chaotic in that way.

• 15:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 15:07Speaker 02

  But like, not to bring up, um, uh, trim carpentry right away, but yesterday I had the day off.

• 15:14Amy Poehler?

  Have you heard about, we've been talking about trim carpentry on this episode.

• 15:17Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:18Amy Poehler?

  Kate McKinnon.

• 15:19Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 15:20Amy Poehler?

  Big fan of trim carpentry and said she spoke to you about trim carpentry.

• 15:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. And, and then I heard that you are also a fan of trim carpentry, but are intimidated by working with wood.

• 15:31Amy Poehler?

  Big time because Nick Offerman.

• 15:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:33Amy Poehler?

  Friend of the pod, friend of mine, also incredible woodworker. I'm sure he's into trim carpentry.

• 15:38Speaker 02

  Sure. As you would be.

• 15:40Amy Poehler?

  That just seems to me like next level. What does trim carpentry have to do with what we're talking about?

• 15:45Speaker 02

  Well, the reason I was gonna, I had the day off yesterday and I just spent six hours caulking window trim, just trim carpentry for just six hours. All I was doing was caulking, just filling in gaps with like a bronze colored caulk and nail holes and kind of perfecting the appearance of the carpentry. And I was doing it with this guy that I used to play in a band with when I was a teenager. And he's like, well, I guess he's one of my best friends. We only see each other once every few years, but when we do, we just get together and don't talk.

• 16:18Amy Poehler?

  Wow, that's nice.

• 16:19Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm. There's like a bag of Fritos involved. There's like a bad radio station and there's just some curses of, you know, occasionally when a mistake is made. And I wouldn't have done that day. That's not how I would have spent the day if I had had the option, option to do it alone. I wanted to spend the day with him not talking.

• 16:38Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 16:38Speaker 02

  And so that's how I do my time with other people. I'd rather be together, but that doesn't mean that I want to like, lay myself down across the puddle like a jacket to spend time with you. We may not talk.

• 16:53Amy Poehler?

  You know, your music reminds me of this feeling and the record does too, which is that feeling when you're in another room and you can hear people talking, like there's a party.

• 17:02Speaker 02

  I love that feeling.

• 17:03Amy Poehler?

  Me too. Because I like the party. I want the party. I want people around, but I want to not be talking.

• 17:10Speaker 02

  When's your birthday?

• 17:11Amy Poehler?

  September 16th.

• 17:12Speaker 02

  I wonder if that's characteristic of your sign.

• 17:15Amy Poehler?

  Why are you? What's your sign?

• 17:16Speaker 02

  I'm a Gemini.

• 17:17Amy Poehler?

  Oh.

• 17:17Speaker 02

  June 1st.

• 17:18Amy Poehler?

  Okay.

• 17:19Speaker 02

  It's a very outward person.

• 17:21Amy Poehler?

  I can't understand Geminis.

• 17:23Speaker 02

  Really? Yeah, that look you just gave me.

• 17:26Amy Poehler?

  Every day, it's like, what are we get? What are we getting?

• 17:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, I know.

• 17:29Amy Poehler?

  What are we getting? What's the real deal, Gemini? Twin city?

• 17:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, I know. And I don't know. You tell me.

• 17:35Amy Poehler?

  Did you feel like when you were a kid, I mean, you have eldest daughter energy?

• 17:39Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm.

• 17:40Amy Poehler?

  You are, like I said, you are, you're a doer.

• 17:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:43Amy Poehler?

  You like to get things done and you kind of quietly motivate people in ways that they don't realize they're being pushed.

• 17:51Speaker 02

  Stop it!

• 17:52Amy Poehler?

  Game, recognize game, game, recognize game. But, okay, you grew up in the middle of nowhere.

• 17:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 17:58Amy Poehler?

  Was it quiet where you were? And were you alone a lot?

• 18:02Speaker 02

  It was chaotic.

• 18:03Amy Poehler?

  Okay.

• 18:03Speaker 02

  And I still live in the middle of nowhere. But it was chaotic, you know?

• 18:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 18:07Speaker 02

  Moved all the time, lived in tiny places. A lot of times, people lived with us.

• 18:11Amy Poehler?

  Mm-hmm.

• 18:12Speaker 02

  Lots of friends over, lots of jam sessions, just lots of chaos all the time, unpredictable

• 18:18Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 18:18Speaker 02

  environments. And I really thrive in those. And I still have this, like, did you have, what was your childhood like?

• 18:25Amy Poehler?

  Well, suburban in many ways, but small house and everyone very kind of on top of each other.

• 18:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:32Amy Poehler?

  And we were kind of the house where people would come through.

• 18:34Speaker 02

  Hmm.

• 18:35Amy Poehler?

  So it's nice that way because people would come over, but busy house.

• 18:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 18:39Amy Poehler?

  And I felt like, you know, I wanted to do a lot of hiding, like a lot of like going into the woods and going like, you know, getting on my bike and just like,

• 18:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:47Amy Poehler?

  like balancing quiet time and, and busy time. But, but a lively house full of a lot of love.

• 18:53Speaker 02

  Yeah. I just realized my house, like, when we started driving, my house felt like Saturday Night Live.

• 18:59Amy Poehler?

  No way. People moving giant pieces of furniture.

• 19:02Speaker 02

  Everything to the last second, tons of pressure. Anything could change. Nothing is guaranteed.

• 19:07Amy Poehler?

  Do we have a lot of ADHD in the house?

• 19:09Speaker 02

  I mean, probably.

• 19:10Amy Poehler?

  Undiagnosed?

• 19:11Speaker 02

  Entirely. I would think. I mean, I would think it's like everyone would be, would fall into that.

• 19:16Amy Poehler?

  Waiting until the last minute.

• 19:18Speaker 02

  So that explains why I love being there so much because I'm like, why am I just thriving in this environment?

• 19:24Amy Poehler?

  You're just crushing like right before the deadline.

• 19:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, just loving it.

• 19:27Amy Poehler?

  But that helps with performing, I think, because you just. You know, you can only have like so much time in the day where, I mean, some people spend their whole day getting ready for their performance, but you just have to kind of create like a countdown for the performance. You can't stay performance ready all day.

• 19:44Speaker 02

  No, and I mean, depending on like what your zone is and like what kind of performer you are too, the, the, the element of like risk involved gets really, um, can get really heavy. Like, I know exactly how to sing. Like, so if I'm, it just almost doesn't matter how high the stakes are. Like, if I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna be okay. But I have this theory that, that, and I mean, I could be wrong, and this is not to downgrade anybody else's prose, but I think that like musicians are obsessed with comedians. Have you not noticed that?

• 20:22Amy Poehler?

  Well, here's my theory.

• 20:24Speaker 02

  Okay, tell me.

• 20:26Amy Poehler?

  Every comedian wishes they were a musician, and every musician thinks they're a comedian. Because I can't tell you how many musicians have been like, "I'm really funny," and I'm like, "Okay."

• 20:40Speaker 02

  Well, I'm glad they think that.

• 20:43Amy Poehler?

  But no, we, we get along. We get along.

• 20:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 20:46Amy Poehler?

  Because I think we really appreciate what the other does, and there's a similarity, but also we sometimes feel like I, like I love, I, my, some of my favorite memories of SNL is watching musicians. Like, I just am in awe of what musicians get to do. But what do you think? Why do you think we kind of love each other?

• 21:04Speaker 02

  I think that, you know, musicians kind of worship comedians because of the risk that they're taking. Like, we know what it means to do our thing and then have that die to no reaction. And, and then I think comedians just, just think they're at the top of the pyramid. They don't wish they were anyone else, because they're so intelligent.

• 21:27Amy Poehler?

  Well, and they also are, like, the cockiness, to your point, you have to be cocky to get out there and bomb, or you're really in trouble.

• 21:34Speaker 02

  I mean, what do you do? It's like, it's like, I, like I said, I can sing no matter how, how the stakes are. And if I'm gonna play 12 songs, it's not the 12 songs I'm afraid of. It's the 15 seconds in between the songs of what I have to say in that moment.

• 21:46Amy Poehler?

  Get out of here!

• 21:47Speaker 02

  That's what I'm afraid of.

• 21:48Amy Poehler?

  Okay, that's, that's why I'm not a musician, because I would have no problem with that, but the singing.

• 21:54Speaker 02

  Yeah. So if we like recreated the Indigo Girls, like if we were a band together, your banter and my singing would be unstoppable.

• 22:05Amy Poehler?

  You know, this is early in the interview, but I want to talk to you about your heroes. But can we just talk about the Indigo Girls for a second?

• 22:10Speaker 02

  All day, long.

• 22:13Amy Poehler?

  Okay. First of all, the fact that one of them was called Amy was already like a dream, Emily and Amy. They, you just, you've heard them like when you were like a teenager, right? 14, 15, and you say like, they really motivated you to pick up a guitar. I mean, you were singing, but

• 22:33Speaker 02

  100%, yeah.

• 22:34Amy Poehler?

  What was it about them when you heard them? Cause I have a theory about what it was for me, like what I, why I was, and it's the same way I feel about your music. So go ahead, you first.

• 22:44Speaker 02

  Well, I heard their voices first in that film Philadelphia. They were covering that Rod Stewart. I can tell by your eyes that you've probably been crying forever. And I was like, what is that tone? Like, they don't sound male or female. They don't sound like they're singing to the same people that everyone else is singing to. There was just something galvanizing about their voices and the way they were making music that just like pulled me out of myself as like a 14 year old, made me curious about who they were. Wasn't even one of their songs.

• 23:22Speaker 02

  And that's when my friend from school, Brianna Greco, loaned me her Swampophilia CD. And I was like, what is this? Listen to these harmonies, like who's singing when? It's staggered, it's out of, it's amazing, you know, and the drums really, I was just, I became so obsessed with their musical complexity and harmonies that I just became devoted and a disciple. I went to everything they ever did. I sat in the line all day, like from morning till night as a major fan, still a major fan. What drew you to them?

• 23:54Amy Poehler?

  I guess sometimes it feels like there's different artists. There's artists that are in their own simulation, their own kind of world. And you get to come in and peek, but they're in their worlds, like

• 24:05Speaker 02

  Right, like and it has a style of dress and a style of speak and like a presence, there's a culture around that artist.

• 24:10Amy Poehler?

  And you can visit their world and you're, and you get to just peek in. And then there are artists, and I consider you one of them. Who are relaxed and honestly confident in their talent, just like the Indigo Girls. And they say, come in, come over, like, come over here.

• 24:26Speaker 02

  I love this.

• 24:26Amy Poehler?

  And they felt that way. We wanted to sing every one of their songs. I knew their lyrics. I felt like I sounded like them, which everybody who sings the Indigo Girls think they sound good. They don't, we don't. And it's the same with your music. Like, when I sing along to your music, I'm like, I think I'm really good because there's a spirit behind it that isn't,

• 24:48Amy Poehler?

  that's inclusive and that doesn't like shut the door.

• 24:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 24:52Amy Poehler?

  It's really, it's hard to explain, but do you know what I'm talking about?

• 24:55Speaker 02

  I know exactly what you're talking about. They're so unaffected. They sound like grown ass women. They always have. So like when they open their mouths to sing, their actual voice comes out. They're not trying to please men or a certain kind of women. They're not trying to sound like anybody else on the radio. There was just something so human about, even with the clothes they wore and the way that they presented themselves.

• 25:15Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 25:15Speaker 02

  And you're right, that does invite you in. And also the Indigo Girls, they come to you. Like, they're famous for like touring the small towns and the sheds and the community theaters.

• 25:25Amy Poehler?

  Do you know me and Dratch played them on SNL?

• 25:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, I do remember that.

• 25:28Amy Poehler?

  Me and Rachel Dratch, one scene, it never, it never came back. I don't know. And it was the Lance Armstrong comedians, comedies Lance Armstrong was the host. And Neil Young was a musical guest.

• 25:41Speaker 02

  What a night.

• 25:41Amy Poehler?

  And we had Neil come into the Indigo Girls scene and we just were like, I think we were just pretending we were doing a talk show, probably, like, you know, and it was us and like 14 dogs.

• 25:52Speaker 02

  Yeah. That is exactly how Amy lives to this day. I think she's probably only got eight or nine right now, but.

• 26:01Amy Poehler?

  And I feel like, we'll move off the Indigo Girls, but I just have to say that it feels like as an alto, as a surprising alto.

• 26:14Amy Poehler?

  Because you would think, I don't know, I think my voice, I think my voice is lower than it is, but I think it pitches quite high. But switching, to your point, switching back and forth, like wanting to decide if you want to sing Emily's part or Amy's part.

• 26:29Amy Poehler?

  Can we sing? Can we sing? Can we sing? Okay, let's sing Closer to Fine.

• 26:33Speaker 02

  Oh, girl.

• 26:35Amy Poehler?

  Sorry, let me get my lyrics.

• 26:36Speaker 02

  Not only could we do Closer to Fine, we could do a deep cut. We could do anything you want.

• 26:40Amy Poehler?

  Okay, here we go. I'll try to do Amy's part.

• 26:43Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 26:44Amy Poehler?

  You start.

• 26:46Speaker 02

  From where?

• 26:46Amy Poehler?

  "I went to the doctor." Here we go. On three. One, two, three.

• 26:49Speaker 02

  What key are we in?

• 26:51Amy Poehler?

  I don't know.

• 26:53Speaker 02

  I went to the doctor.

• 26:55Amy Poehler?

  I went to the mountains. I should be lower.

• 26:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, so I think your "I went," that's you. "I went to the doctor."

• 27:02Amy Poehler?

  Okay.

• 27:02Speaker 02

  Okay?

• 27:03Amy Poehler?

  Yep.

• 27:03Speaker 02

  Two, three, four. I went to the doctor. I went to the mountains. I looked to the children. Traveling a little bit, just a little bit.

• 27:13Amy Poehler?

  A little bit? I'm off?

• 27:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:14Amy Poehler?

  Are you off?

• 27:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:16Amy Poehler?

  Fucking hell.

• 27:16Speaker 02

  You were, you're right there, though. You're in the zone.

• 27:18Amy Poehler?

  Let's go again.

• 27:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, okay.

• 27:19Amy Poehler?

  Two, three, four.

• 27:20Speaker 02

  I went to the doctor. I went to the mountains. I looked to the children. I drank from the fountains. Girl, you got it.

• 27:36Amy Poehler?

  Look at how good you are, Brandy. You're making me feel so good.

• 27:41Speaker 02

  If I had a guitar, we would do nothing else but cover In the Go Girls for the next hour.

• 27:45Amy Poehler?

  I'm totally sweating.

• 27:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:47Amy Poehler?

  I'm so sweating.

• 27:50Amy Poehler?

  That was so exciting. Who, but who was, who was the first person that told you you had a good voice? Because when someone says, "You have a good voice," like, you remember it for a lifetime.

• 28:00Speaker 02

  No one's ever asked me that before. I think it was my Grandma Dolores or, or my mom. And then definitely me. I really felt like I had a good voice.

• 28:12Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 28:12Speaker 02

  I was like, seven years old.

• 28:14Amy Poehler?

  You have the fucking great voice.

• 28:15Speaker 02

  But I didn't. When I listen back to it now, I'm like, what is that?

• 28:19Amy Poehler?

  Oh, at seven?

• 28:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, you know, but I actually got on stage for the first time as like an eight-year-old. I got in like a community theater show. Called the Northwest Grand Ole Opry, where we reenacted the Grand Ole Opry.

• 28:33Amy Poehler?

  So cute.

• 28:34Speaker 02

  And you'd go on Wednesday night and you'd teach the Opry Band your song, and then they'd get you out on Friday and Saturday. And I was like the only kid. And I did Tennessee Flat Top Box by Roseanne Cash. And I just remember like the very first time I did that, I walked out on stage and I wasn't nervous. I had glasses on and I can remember the lights in my glasses and seeing the kind of silhouette of like 300 people and being like, this is where I belong. This is the safest, most understood and loved place I could ever be. Like, this is my job now. And it just never, it never went. That just stayed.

• 29:15Amy Poehler?

  Wow, and so the audience told you that you could sing? Like, in that moment, the audience was like, yes, we accept you here. You're great. And you knew it. Oh, so great.

• 29:24Speaker 02

  And the whole thing, they would come up to you at the end of the show and you'd sign their program and you'd sign your little autograph. And I just remember thinking, yeah, no, this is it. This is my job.

• 29:33Amy Poehler?

  Wow, that's awesome. I mean, that's a, that's a good example, too, of like feeling calm in stressful situations. I tend to get, like you, I'm not so nervous when I'm doing something. Sometimes after it's done, I have like this discharge of nerves. Does that happen to you?

• 29:51Speaker 02

  I was reading an article in The Guardian. That is, it was such a smart article and it made me feel so like stupid, but kind of proud to be stupid. Where it basically says that like that what you're talking about is totally necessary in terms of performers. These like, it's such a unnatural thing to have your psychosympathetic nervous system to do what we do. That you have to lack an element of contextual intelligence to do it.

• 30:21Amy Poehler?

  Baby, I lack it.

• 30:23Speaker 02

  I lack it. And they liken it to like people that can do penalty kicks and like free throws. It's like, we have this thing where we don't think anything could go wrong.

• 30:33Amy Poehler?

  Totally, and I'm just, and I kind of dissociate in a way of like, whatever, babe, what's the worst that can happen? I get fired?

• 30:39Speaker 02

  And then if something does go wrong, so if you do miss the free throw or you do miss the penalty, which you do all the time, you don't think, well, of course I did. Chances are I would. It's a tiny ball, tiny net. You just go, "That was weird. That'll never happen again." And it's like that repetition of stupidity is what gives us our gift.

• 30:59Amy Poehler?

  It's so true. I mean, like, SNO is a really good training ground for that. Live performance in general is really good because you have a mistake. Does this happen to you when there's a tiny mistake? Not a terrible, like, you don't want something bad. But when there's a tiny mistake, do you get a little energized?

• 31:17Speaker 02

  Yeah, because you're like, "I gotta save it. I can do one. I can't do two."

• 31:21Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, and it's a little bit exciting.

• 31:22Speaker 02

  Yeah, because two mistakes? No. But one is like, kinda good.

• 31:26Amy Poehler?

  Do you remember a mistake that happened when you were performing? And you just, you know, I don't know, like, a mic went out? Or someone didn't come and get the, like, and you just had a moment of, like, pure excitement and that, like, the tingle of that?

• 31:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, but it happens so often. There isn't, like, a notable one. There's this guy I know that does guitar solo, like, this, like, guitar solo master. He's a dude that, like, I've toured with. Just because if I can have this happen twice in a show, it's like, takes the show over the top. So this dude, and he will never admit this, but like, he'll start out his guitar solo with, like, a couple of, like, maybe stock licks? Or just like a couple of notes that are like, "Oh, those are tasteful." And then he'll make a mistake. And you, then it rallies everyone to his, to his support. Like, we rage to his side and we go, "Oh, oh no, he's, he might not have this."

• 32:16Amy Poehler?

  Oh, so good.

• 32:17Speaker 02

  Like, "Oh, God." And then he looks a little frazzled and he shakes his head a little bit. And he kinda does the next lick and it's okay. And by the end of it, he's just shredding. And you realize that there's no way he could ever make a mistake. But that mistake drawing everyone in, not just to listen to him, but to, like, you wanna support him.

• 32:35Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 32:35Speaker 02

  And then his victory becomes your victory. So one mistake does that in a performance or a song. Two mistakes is like, "She's not prepared."

• 32:43Amy Poehler?

  It's so true. And you're absolutely right. The way you take in the mistake, like, "Ha ha."

• 32:47Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:52Amy Poehler?

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• 33:34Amy Poehler?

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• 34:19Amy Poehler?

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• 34:48Amy Poehler?

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• 35:22Amy Poehler?

  I've always felt this about the way you perform and seeing you like the way you talk about yourself and your music and your art and the way you look at the business of it all. It's supposed to be fun. And if you're relaxed, we're relaxed.

• 35:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:37Amy Poehler?

  If you're having a good time, we're having a good time.

• 35:39Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:39Amy Poehler?

  It's like if the bride has a good time at the wedding, it's a fun wedding, like period, the end. But it's a hard lesson to learn, which is try to, I mean, telling people to relax is really hard.

• 35:49Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:50Amy Poehler?

  How do you relax when you're about to perform? How do you like, how do you just, you just, it just comes natural and always has?

• 35:56Speaker 02

  Well, I used to drink a little bit.

• 35:58Amy Poehler?

  Sure.

• 35:59Speaker 02

  And if you

• 36:00Amy Poehler?

  Sure, that works.

• 36:00Speaker 02

  Drink a little bit and then you stop drinking a little bit before you go on stage, then it's like starting over from never having drank a little bit. So that sucked.

• 36:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I don't drink anymore. It's like I can't, I can't handle it.

• 36:11Speaker 02

  I mean.

• 36:12Amy Poehler?

  Like I just, I just get too drunk too fast. I have no tolerance.

• 36:16Speaker 02

  I think I drink a lot of things really fast, like I'm like a camel.

• 36:19Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 36:20Speaker 02

  No, I know what you mean.

• 36:21Amy Poehler?

  Like just a little bit and suddenly you're like, oh, I am not on my game.

• 36:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 36:26Amy Poehler?

  Like I'm not a shark.

• 36:27Speaker 02

  Right. And then it's like the spiral afterwards. That's the thing I can't deal with. And then like pretend the spiral just happened in front of like, you know, a few thousand people.

• 36:34Amy Poehler?

  Oh, yeah.

• 36:34Speaker 02

  And then like whatever you say, like you have to like stand by that the next day. So that's not.

• 36:39Amy Poehler?

  Right. We're back to the few minutes before, between the song.

• 36:42Speaker 02

  Back to the few minutes

• 36:43Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 36:43Speaker 02

  Between the song.

• 36:44Amy Poehler?

  Right.

• 36:44Speaker 02

  Where you decide to get like overtly political in like an unironic way or you just, you make the joke and, you know, you were in the pick of destiny.

• 36:54Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, tenacious D.

• 36:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. I might tell this story again. I just told this story on Stern.

• 37:00Amy Poehler?

  Oh, you already told them. I don't want any Stern. I don't want any sloppy Stern seconds.

• 37:04Speaker 02

  I don't want any Stern seconds, but you were in the film.

• 37:07Amy Poehler?

  But you gotta tell, when you, I love Howard, but when you're on Stern, you gotta give Stern a good story. Like, you gotta bring some meat to Howard Stern.

• 37:14Speaker 02

  I'm gonna tell you the story and you can edit it out if you want to, but I just think that you appreciate this because we are on the subject of drinking and then getting onstage in front of people. So, I thought everyone had seen The Pick of Destiny. And I mean, I don't mean to be offensive, but like, not everyone has seen The Pick of Destiny.

• 37:28Amy Poehler?

  And for people who should, people like, this is Jack Black and Kyle Gass's Tenacious D.

• 37:32Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 37:33Amy Poehler?

  So, Jack Black is in a band called Tenacious D, which made a movie called The Pick of Destiny, which is a real cult classic.

• 37:40Speaker 02

  It's a cult classic, but it was my favorite movie and I had memorized every line. And these guys, because this was like how I, you know, I was in bands like this. They have to win the battle of bands because they have to pay their rent, but they're never gonna win the battle of bands without The Pick of Destiny, which is like a piece of the devil's horn or toenail or something.

• 37:55Amy Poehler?

  Sure.

• 37:56Speaker 02

  So, and it's like, but to win the battle of bands, they have got to learn a couple of moves. And one of the moves is called the rock slide. The other move is called the cock push-up.

• 38:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, they used to do cock push-ups onstage.

• 38:08Speaker 02

  They used to do cock push-ups. And so, my audience didn't see The Pick of Destiny, but I believed everyone had seen The Pick of Destiny.

• 38:16Amy Poehler?

  Right.

• 38:17Speaker 02

  So, I was in Las Vegas, I was onstage, and I was having a few drinks, and I decided to jump off the drum riser. And my

• 38:25Amy Poehler?

  Brandy!

• 38:26Speaker 02

  knees, the knees just didn't hold. They just buckled. And so, I kinda like went on my knees and I kinda styled it. And I did like the rock back on the knees thing. And after the song, I stood up, and this is, this is why I'm afraid of the 15 seconds between the songs. And I said to the audience, I said, "Well, now that you've seen my rock slide..."

• 38:45Amy Poehler?

  Now it's time for my cock push-up? This is a good, this is a good story for Stern.

• 38:50Speaker 02

  And that, that didn't go over. Nobody knew. Nobody knew why Brandy was telling, you know, a couple thousand middle-aged lesbians that she was gonna do a cock push-up.

• 39:06Amy Poehler?

  Do you have a

• 39:07Speaker 02

  So I don't drink anymore.

• 39:09Amy Poehler?

  Are you done drinking? Are you done drinking?

• 39:11Speaker 02

  I'm not done. I'm done drinking. I'm working.

• 39:12Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Also, I just think it gets harder as we get older.

• 39:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:16Amy Poehler?

  I just think it's like, everything is harder and everything is better.

• 39:20Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:20Amy Poehler?

  Like, what's good about getting older?

• 39:22Speaker 02

  Well, I mean,

• 39:24Amy Poehler?

  What do you think is good about getting older?

• 39:26Speaker 02

  I travel with this migraine medication in my pocket at all times.

• 39:30Amy Poehler?

  Not a sponsor, not a sponsor.

• 39:31Speaker 02

  No, it's unsponsored, but that's just there.

• 39:34Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 39:34Speaker 02

  Okay, so I can't really drink.

• 39:37Amy Poehler?

  Also, can we talk about these packages? I'm not gonna... How do you get into it?

• 39:41Speaker 02

  You rip it apart with your teeth because you're desperate.

• 39:44Amy Poehler?

  Well, that's because you have your own teeth. Not everybody has their own teeth.

• 39:48Speaker 02

  So what were you asking, how is it to get older?

• 39:50Amy Poehler?

  Okay, so anyway, yes, getting older.

• 39:55Speaker 02

  Every year I get older. I love being older more than I loved being younger.

• 39:59Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, me too.

• 40:00Speaker 02

  I just love it. I like everything. I like the way that my irreverence has grown and sense of humor has changed. I choose myself in more situations. I like the way my face looks. I like, you know, I like it.

• 40:13Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, me too. I mean, I don't think enough people talk about it. They just don't talk about like, I mean, 50s have, I'm 54, the 50s have been my favorite decade.

• 40:21Speaker 02

  Really?

• 40:21Amy Poehler?

  Oh, by far.

• 40:22Speaker 02

  That's what I think is gonna happen.

• 40:23Amy Poehler?

  Oh, by far. My 50th birthday was so fun. I mean, I know there's a lot that comes along with it. And especially for people who don't feel like they're in the place they should be. Like, that feels really hurt, can be really hurtful and stressful. Where they're not with the person they should be with. Or they've had a lot that they've gone through. But I don't think enough people talk about how it just can get better and better and better. We're just so, we're just so obsessed with youth, you know?

• 40:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 40:48Amy Poehler?

  We really, we really, and I love young people too.

• 40:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, me too. I love, I love young people. And I'm always like, oh, enjoy that space, be there, you know? And I have kids too. And I'm like, oh my God, be a kid, be a kid. But if I'm really honest, that wasn't my favorite part of my life. Even if, you know, I walked in front of a bus tomorrow and I got to like, my life flashed before my eyes. I think I'd probably see the last five years.

• 41:14Amy Poehler?

  Yes. Yeah, very cool.

• 41:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:19Amy Poehler?

  I mean, there's a lot of young people that love you and...

• 41:23Amy Poehler?

  Relate to you and feel seen by you. And love your music. And you do this thing, I think, for a lot of people where you bridge

• 41:32Amy Poehler?

  older artists and bring them back into this like present world. And there's a, you know, a million people that you work with, incredible artists. First of all, what is it like to work with your heroes? Like Elton John, Joni Mitchell, like when you meet them, how do you manage that feeling of Indigo Girls, where you are like, I was a young Brandy, was a fan waiting outside. And now we're together and I'm gonna, you know, I'm kind of helping produce this thing we're doing together. How do you, what's that feeling like? How do you do it?

• 42:08Speaker 02

  That's a really good question, and it's a sacred feeling. It's a really sacred feeling because like, and I guess also the older I get and the more young people do come up to me and say things to me that I remember saying to my heroes. It like I'm, I'm that kind of fan, like I'm a wait outside your tour bus kind of fan. So like, I'm hearing these words and I'm like, I remember those words. And I'm just remembering like, I'm just understanding how full circle life can be and how human we all are. I actually don't see, I don't even understand like what a fan is without the context of me, you know? Because everybody that like I, I really idolize, like I've got to be friends with. And so there is a part of that

• 42:51Speaker 02

  that never goes away. And it's sort of like sneaks up on you like deja vu or something. You'll be in an interaction that is feeling totally normal. And then suddenly one thing will flash through the room and you'll be like, oh my God, this is Elton John. And it's like, those moments are, I really cherish them. I just grab them and hold on to them and I go, yeah, yeah, you did it. You did it.

• 43:14Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. And it's, and it's also an indication that you're still in touch with that part of yourself. Like you, you don't feel like above it or beyond it or over it. It's really cool.

• 43:24Speaker 02

  Yeah. And staying in touch with that part of myself keeps me honest in my responsibility within my job too, to other people that like my music and, and, you know, buy that concert ticket and get the babysitter and, and, you know, get dressed up and go out for the night. Like, I'm really going to show up for that gig because I just understand.

• 43:45Amy Poehler?

  What's Elton like? I've never met him and he seems incredible. Like also, he's always discovering new artists.

• 43:51Speaker 02

  Yeah, always.

• 43:52Amy Poehler?

  Like, he's really into new music all the time.

• 43:54Speaker 02

  You've never met him?

• 43:55Amy Poehler?

  No.

• 43:56Speaker 02

  See, that's the other thing is, most people have met Elton. Because he's so social and he's just so, like, you will meet him.

• 44:02Amy Poehler?

  Like, a real extrovert?

• 44:03Speaker 02

  Absolutely love him. Total extrovert. But like, one of those people that's reached, uh, maybe the most iconic status that you can possibly, um, reach with absolutely no trace of narcissism.

• 44:18Amy Poehler?

  Whoa.

• 44:19Speaker 02

  I know. Like, he's competitive and he's intense and he knows he's Elton John.

• 44:22Amy Poehler?

  I love a competitive person.

• 44:23Speaker 02

  Oh, god, I know, so do I. I mean, I have a lot of it.

• 44:26Amy Poehler?

  You know, you gotta wanna try to win a little bit.

• 44:28Speaker 02

  But he will ask you questions.

• 44:30Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 44:30Speaker 02

  And listen to your answers and be just genuinely intrigued, like, by you, you know? And that's why he's discovering all these younger artists.

• 44:36Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 44:37Speaker 02

  He's just an exceptional man.

• 44:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 44:39Speaker 02

  Once in a, once in a millennium, man.

• 44:41Amy Poehler?

  And you, and you've worked with Dolly, who just...

• 44:44Speaker 02

  That's another one.

• 44:45Amy Poehler?

  What is it like to sing next to Dolly? What does that feel like?

• 44:48Speaker 02

  It's...

• 44:49Amy Poehler?

  Dolly Parton.

• 44:49Speaker 02

  She's impeccable. She does not miss. So, the standard is, like, so high. Like, Dolly is the boss. And, so, when I show up for Dolly, like, I show up on time, buttoned all the way up to the top button, and I don't miss. I know everything I'm supposed to do. And she doesn't, like, ask you to meet that standard, but it's there. Like, Dolly is high expectations and she, yeah, she's just amazing.

• 45:18Amy Poehler?

  And the work you've done recently with Joni, by Joni's side, is just so cool. It felt like you were, you were the professional and the fan at the same time.

• 45:29Speaker 02

  That's such a nice thing to say. Oh, that's such a nice thing to say. And a nice, uh, way to look at it. I felt like a student. A lot of the time, because that music was so wildly...

• 45:46Speaker 02

  Complex and inaccessible to me at first. Even though I was a fan of it, I had never had to get inside of it. And learn phrasing and learn, you know, the key changes, the melody. It's a roller coaster, the melodies are roller coasters. You don't, having those twists and turns ready. And then take that and combine it with the fact that Joni doesn't ever like to do the same thing twice. And if she thinks, if she thinks you know what she's gonna do, she's not gonna do it. So it's a really wild thing getting to sit shotgun next to Joni. And as her recovery has progressed and she's gotten more and more and more that way. And I see the spirit of who Joni Mitchell has always been, more and more every day that she delves into her own music.

• 46:29Amy Poehler?

  And it must be so cool to talk to like young teenagers who are discovering her for the first time.

• 46:34Speaker 02

  Well, they come up to me en masse. That's probably the thing I end up talking about the most and I love it. Like I never grow tired of talking about Joni and the Joni journey. But like younger people and much older people alike, that is the thing everyone comes to me and says, "Okay, look, I've got Joni Mitchell's lyrics tattooed on my arm," you know? Like really like Gracie Abrams, like that's how I met Gracie, you know?

• 46:58Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I'm also thinking about that sweet performer, Benicio.

• 47:06Speaker 02

  Oh yeah, Benicio.

• 47:07Amy Poehler?

  Who sang "The Joke With You."

• 47:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 47:09Amy Poehler?

  Many times, which is, what an incredible song. And just the way, you know, it's not easy to sing with like legends and young people, like who are kind of just starting out on their journey, like, "The way you performed with..." I'm like Chris Farley, I'm like, "Remember that?"

• 47:29Amy Poehler?

  That's my question, do you remember when you did it?

• 47:31Speaker 02

  I do, I remember Benicio.

• 47:35Amy Poehler?

  But like, that was such a beautiful moment too, it had really changed. How does a song change depending on who you perform it with?

• 47:42Speaker 02

  That, the, well, first of all, the innocence of that with Benicio, I was so impulsive back then. I, like, I would just, the school I went to, the public school I went to in the town I, I live in, a couple of times a year, I'll do something for them. I'll just go speak in an assembly or whatever, you know? It actually feels good to like be cool in that school.

• 48:03Amy Poehler?

  Because you ran out as a kid?

• 48:04Speaker 02

  Yeah, no, no one was. So I, you know, I went there and like Benicio came up and he sang that song and it was just, it was stunning. And I was like, I'm gonna be on TV next week. Come with me to New York. And I could be so impulsive. Like the stakes were like, I don't want to say they were low, but it felt like the stakes were really low. Like back then, like I didn't know what I was gonna wear. And I just took a kid from my school with me, you know?

• 48:24Amy Poehler?

  Oh.

• 48:25Speaker 02

  And I remember like, it had been no big deal to me because I'd already been doing it so much at that point, you know?

• 48:31Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 48:31Speaker 02

  And when we, they say on those, um, what was the, what was it Seth or was it?

• 48:36Amy Poehler?

  Okay, this is a great question because I tried to look it up.

• 48:39Speaker 02

  Conan?

• 48:39Amy Poehler?

  I have a laptop.

• 48:40Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 48:40Amy Poehler?

  I can't find it.

• 48:41Speaker 02

  I can't remember which one it was.

• 48:42Amy Poehler?

  It was, it said late show, which could mean 45 different shows.

• 48:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 48:46Amy Poehler?

  It said they had the word late in it. And I thought it was Jimmy Fallon, but then it might have been Colbert.

• 48:50Speaker 02

  The show was late at night, there's a white man hosting.

• 48:52Amy Poehler?

  And if it's Seth, I should be able to find it. But I cannot find it. And also, I'm not great at looking things up.

• 48:58Speaker 02

  Well, they, in those, in these shows, which I love doing, they say you can go, you can retake if you need to, but you don't. You're not supposed to.

• 49:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 49:06Speaker 02

  So, um, but Benicio froze. And he totally froze. And we walked backstage at, at the thing and he was just crying. And I was like, Benny, I understand, you know, it's like you're so young and maybe, I don't know, I should have talked to you about this a little bit more. It's okay. Like, listen, you're not supposed to retake it, but let me go out and see if they'll let us do it again. And they did. And so the band went back out, reset up, and we, and we did it again.

• 49:34Amy Poehler?

  Brandy.

• 49:35Speaker 02

  And I just, the real lesson in that was like, if there was anything about that that was, I think, really good for Benicio's growth was that, that mistake, that failure, that moment of, you know, catastrophe turned into like a total triumph.

• 49:53Amy Poehler?

  It was so triumphant. And that makes so much sense because your joy in the way he was singing with you, like you could feel it in that performance. And it makes a lot of sense that you were like, really excited that he was nailing it.

• 50:07Speaker 02

  Yeah. And it was twice the victory because he got it together. Like that thing we have to do, we have to pull it together and just try.

• 50:14Amy Poehler?

  That's what winners do.

• 50:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 50:15Amy Poehler?

  I mean, not like it's a competition, but well done, Benicio. Can I ask you your relationship to your hair?

• 50:25Amy Poehler?

  Because it's a deeper question for me about how we all play around with our mask and femme energy, basically.

• 50:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, totally.

• 50:32Amy Poehler?

  And you, you know, when you were young, watching Lilith Fair, and then when you came out as an artist, like when I first saw you, you know, you had like long hair. And I'm curious how you have changed and how your hair has changed. And like, are they connected?

• 50:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, and that's such a like, interesting and intuitive question. Like, no one has ever asked me a question like that before, but, and now I'm very conscious of my hair suddenly.

• 50:56Amy Poehler?

  Me too. I mean, I think, I think hair is political, right?

• 51:00Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 51:01Amy Poehler?

  And it's, and it's interesting, our relationship with it, and it changes all the time, and we're telling people who we are by, through it.

• 51:07Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, somebody asked me recently about coming out, about like, when I really, truly felt like I had like stepped into my authentic self. And I just, without even thinking about it, said, "When I cut my hair. When I cut my hair." And at that time in my life, yeah, if you saw in the Lilith doc, I had like a little boy, like, almost buzz cut, like haircut. And I loved it. It was so freeing. I loved having it off my neck. I loved that my mom hated it. I loved everything about, like, that haircut.

• 51:38Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 51:39Speaker 02

  And then, yeah, and then I, I've, I definitely have played around with and felt comfortable moving in and out of kind of gender representation throughout all of my adolescence. And a lot of times, it would depend on my girlfriend, like what girlfriend I had, and like what her hair was like. But I've always liked how I looked and changing that and, and asking myself if I liked, you know, where I was at. And yeah, hair is like the first thing.

• 52:08Amy Poehler?

  It is.

• 52:09Speaker 02

  To address, yeah.

• 52:10Amy Poehler?

  You know, we kind of make jokes in, in the world where like, someone has the same hairstyle for 40 years.

• 52:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:15Amy Poehler?

  But what's behind that?

• 52:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:17Amy Poehler?

  What's behind that is like a fear of like, if I change.

• 52:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 52:23Amy Poehler?

  Will I recognize myself?

• 52:25Speaker 02

  Right.

• 52:25Amy Poehler?

  Will I recognize myself? Because so many people wanna, you know, they wanna feel younger. They wanna feel like the version of themselves when they were feeling the best about themselves.

• 52:33Speaker 02

  That's what happens.

• 52:33Amy Poehler?

  I know when so much of it is hair. And like, we make fun of like, men with comb overs, for example, right? Like, we make fun of people who like, won't let go. But like, I don't know, it's just, there's just a lot of self-esteem that comes from, um, hair. I'm not making any sense here.

• 52:48Speaker 02

  No, you're making like, too much sense. Plus, I do feel like, for me, if I wanted to grow my hair, I don't think it would grow long past a certain point.

• 52:56Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 52:56Speaker 02

  I feel like it would like, actually physically just be like, nope. You're getting a bob.

• 53:02Amy Poehler?

  Just bobs itself.

• 53:03Speaker 02

  Just gonna split at the ear.

• 53:05Amy Poehler?

  Totally.

• 53:06Speaker 02

  But no, I know what you mean. Like, that is something that comes in all the time. And then add queerness to that. You know, and like, the gender issue that you so intuitively pointed out to that. And then it can get like, another layer of complication for sure. But I have definitely seen that when a central core group of lesbians will like, sort of like, set a trend for themselves. And not alone, by the way. Usually it takes a team, like it does with me. But then you will start to see lesbians everywhere, looking... Like, I've noticed that me and Kate McKinnon are morphing into each other. In more ways than one.

• 53:43Amy Poehler?

  I didn't say it.

• 53:47Amy Poehler?

  Okay, I wanna talk to you a little bit about touring. You really nicely came, when Tina and I were on tour, you really nicely came one time and did our show, which was so nice of you.

• 53:57Speaker 02

  I don't think you know how enthused I was to get to do that. I don't think, what I did to get home so that I could do that.

• 54:04Amy Poehler?

  Oh, Brandy, thank you.

• 54:05Speaker 02

  It wasn't even a thank you thing. It was like, it's a thank you from me. I was so excited to get to do that. I love you guys so much. You said famously that like, you're, first of all, I love everything you've done. All the movies and everything.

• 54:17Amy Poehler?

  Oh, thank you.

• 54:18Speaker 02

  And Sisters was like, stop right now. Pick of Destiny, definitely. But you... You said that the best SNL cast is the one when you were 13?

• 54:27Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 54:27Speaker 02

  Not for me. It was the late 90s to mid, early 2000s. That was my, that is my SNL cast. So you guys are like everything to me and I was so excited to get to go there.

• 54:39Amy Poehler?

  We had, we had an amazing couple of years. I gotta say, when I look at our, who I was on SNL with at the time, it was crazy heavy hitters.

• 54:47Speaker 02

  Anna, Maya, you, Tina, Rachel, I mean, Will, Horatio.

• 54:53Amy Poehler?

  Yes.

• 54:53Speaker 02

  Were you, did you crossover with Chris?

• 54:55Amy Poehler?

  Chris Catan, yeah.

• 54:57Speaker 02

  Just, I don't know. I'm just, all I'm saying is I, you can cut this if you want, but I'm just such a fan. And to get to do that with you guys was huge.

• 55:04Amy Poehler?

  Just yesterday, my kid was eating mango and he was like, do you want the mango? And I was like, do you want the mango? And he was like, what? And I was like, oh, um, there's a character named Mango that you wanted the mango. I'm gonna show it to you. I was like, you have no idea. You haven't met Mango yet?

• 55:20Speaker 02

  Yeah, no.

• 55:23Amy Poehler?

  And so, but touring is its own thing and its own, you know, and, and I'm sure you have it down. You've toured a million different ways and you've figured out like how you like to tour. What do you like about touring and what have you adjusted now to make you like it even more? How do you adjust it Brandy style? So you know what I mean? Like, oh, if I'm gonna be in the city, I'm gonna make sure that I don't visit anybody and don't do anything, but just do my show. Or I'm gonna back, back time three hours from the show and make sure I have a steak or whatever.

• 55:56Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, it's changed so much because you've accumulated people.

• 55:59Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 55:59Speaker 02

  And restaurants and places and parks and walks and little, you know, urban rivers to fish in, in my case.

• 56:06Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, you're a big fisher. You love to fish.

• 56:08Speaker 02

  Yeah. So I've, I've acquired memories in each of these, each of these places. They're my place now. And so, yeah, I go there and I do all those things. And now that. I'm older and I can't sing as uninhibitedly as I used to when I was younger and I used to just blow my voice out all the time. I'm really careful about days off, so I wind up getting a day off usually in most cities to sort of experience it. One thing I can't do is sleep all day. That's not good for me emotionally. And like I said, I can't do too much drinking.

• 56:37Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 56:38Speaker 02

  And...

• 56:39Amy Poehler?

  Let's talk about sleep for a second.

• 56:40Speaker 02

  Yeah, sleep, man.

• 56:42Amy Poehler?

  Do you like it?

• 56:43Speaker 02

  Well, we gotta do it.

• 56:44Amy Poehler?

  Do you get enough?

• 56:45Speaker 02

  I do. I do.

• 56:47Amy Poehler?

  What do you do? What's your bedtime routine?

• 56:49Speaker 02

  Okay. Well, it involves a heating pad.

• 56:51Amy Poehler?

  Do you know about the Biomat?

• 56:52Speaker 02

  Yeah, you know, Alanis Morissette just sent me one. And it's life-changing.

• 56:57Amy Poehler?

  It's changed my... First of all, it's impossible to get up off of it. Once you get on, it sucks you in, like...

• 57:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, and you gotta be so careful not to bed rot when you're not sleeping. Like, don't go back to that bed.

• 57:08Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 57:09Speaker 02

  Once you get out.

• 57:10Amy Poehler?

  Do you put your Biomat in your bed?

• 57:11Speaker 02

  I mean, I've been known to.

• 57:13Amy Poehler?

  For those people that don't know, it's... There's many versions of it, but it's basically like a giant heating pad.

• 57:20Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 57:21Amy Poehler?

  That has crystals in it or whatever.

• 57:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:23Amy Poehler?

  Whatever they say.

• 57:24Speaker 02

  It does stuff.

• 57:25Amy Poehler?

  And it grounds you.

• 57:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:27Amy Poehler?

  And it's incredible.

• 57:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's incredible. And I love a heating pad. Like, I travel with one, you know? But my bedtime routine is, yeah, I get on the heating pad. And I take a melatonin gummy.

• 57:37Amy Poehler?

  Nice.

• 57:38Speaker 02

  And I talk with my wife and we do the debrief of the day. That's, I think, so important for... I just think that's so... I don't know. Do you do that?

• 57:46Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, I love the... I love the being able to kind of review, like, have a review.

• 57:50Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 57:51Amy Poehler?

  Of the day.

• 57:52Speaker 02

  Get out of your own head and the way that you saw yourself and your own behavior. Hear somebody else's take on it.

• 57:57Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 57:58Speaker 02

  If you're developing conspiracy theories about other people or starting to crystallize into like weird political, you know, belief systems.

• 58:07Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 58:08Speaker 02

  You learned, you went down a rabbit hole or whatever, and then you just do have a conversation with a human being that knows you at night.

• 58:14Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 58:15Speaker 02

  And it's a real head cleansing experience.

• 58:17Amy Poehler?

  And it's also a time where you can kind of decide, like, I'm gonna drag some of these things to trash and then some I'm gonna kind of take with me to the next day.

• 58:24Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 58:25Amy Poehler?

  You know? Like, some I'm gonna just kind of talk through and then they're gonna float away.

• 58:28Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 58:29Amy Poehler?

  And other things I'm gonna remember and keep.

• 58:30Speaker 02

  Yeah. And you kind of dream calibrate.

• 58:32Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 58:33Speaker 02

  And then you get...

• 58:34Amy Poehler?

  Do you wear an eye shade?

• 58:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, lately.

• 58:36Amy Poehler?

  Interesting. Earplugs?

• 58:38Speaker 02

  No. I feel claustrophobic when I put on earplugs.

• 58:40Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, same. I can't do earplugs. And eye shade, I can't really do either.

• 58:44Speaker 02

  What's your sleep routine? And do you get enough?

• 58:47Amy Poehler?

  I try to get so much. I love sleep so much. All I think about is when can I get sleep? And like, how many hours can I get?

• 58:54Speaker 02

  What's your mattress?

• 58:57Amy Poehler?

  That's where I'm, I need some help.

• 58:59Speaker 02

  Okay, I got some thoughts.

• 59:00Amy Poehler?

  Really? Tell me.

• 59:02Speaker 02

  Okay, so I'm a big mattress person. The first, the very first thing I did when I made any money was buy every single person I know a mattress.

• 59:08Amy Poehler?

  Whoa, that's such a baller move.

• 59:10Speaker 02

  It was like, it was like when Tempur-Pedic first came out. And, and I didn't have that much money. Some of them I financed.

• 59:19Amy Poehler?

  You were like, I'm gonna get this paid someday.

• 59:22Speaker 02

  Yes, exactly.

• 59:23Amy Poehler?

  That is awesome.

• 59:25Speaker 02

  But I could, because of the sleep thing, like, you know, but that was like, that was when Tempur-Pedic first came out. So I was like a big Tempur-Pedic person. I did not get paid by Tempur-Pedic.

• 59:34Amy Poehler?

  Yet.

• 59:35Speaker 02

  But I, yet, but I bought everyone a Tempur-Pedic mattress. And lately, I've really been into this other mattress called the Purple mattress.

• 59:41Amy Poehler?

  Hold on.

• 59:42Speaker 02

  So these two?

• 59:44Amy Poehler?

  I need a new mattress.

• 59:45Speaker 02

  Okay, these are the ones.

• 59:46Amy Poehler?

  And, and, and a new mattress is one of those like adult things that literally feels impossible. Like, you're like, I guess I can never get it, like, I'm really good at adulting. I get a lot of stuff done. I'm not a procrastinator. But something about a new mattress, I'm like, I guess I'll just never get a mattress.

• 1:00:03Speaker 02

  Why?

• 1:00:04Amy Poehler?

  I don't know.

• 1:00:05Speaker 02

  Well, I guess they're really hard to lift in the ground.

• 1:00:08Amy Poehler?

  Okay, what do you like about this mattress?

• 1:00:09Speaker 02

  Well, I mean.

• 1:00:11Amy Poehler?

  Sell me this mattress.

• 1:00:12Speaker 02

  Okay, uh, the Purple mattress?

• 1:00:14Amy Poehler?

  Sure.

• 1:00:14Speaker 02

  Okay, so it's anything that feels like this like zero-gravity mattress situation where you like, in my mind, I tell myself, if I'm not like pressed up against something hard and my like blood can flow freely throughout my body and my circulation is good, then I'm healing when I'm asleep.

• 1:00:30Amy Poehler?

  So you like, you don't like, do you like a softness then? You don't like a firm mattress?

• 1:00:35Speaker 02

  You know, it's like less blankets, more blankets. It's like a combination of things. But I just think that like Tempur-Pedic and Purple, these two mattresses, they provide this kind of zero-gravity feeling where if you wake up in the middle of the night, no part of you feels pressed up against something else.

• 1:00:48Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:48Speaker 02

  And also if we ever sleep in the same bed, which I feel like is a possibility. Don't touch me.

• 1:00:53Amy Poehler?

  Don't get the rumors started.

• 1:00:54Speaker 02

  I don't like to be touched by other people when I'm sleeping.

• 1:00:56Amy Poehler?

  A hundred. No touch. No, absolutely no touching. Well, me also, I'm a certain age where like I have to find cool spots a lot.

• 1:01:02Speaker 02

  Yeah, okay.

• 1:01:03Amy Poehler?

  Like, it's very hot.

• 1:01:04Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 1:01:04Amy Poehler?

  So, and I don't like to, I don't like touching. And also, I've said this many times before on the podcast, and I'm sorry, I'm saying it, but I wear a CPAP machine.

• 1:01:12Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 1:01:13Amy Poehler?

  So.

• 1:01:14Speaker 02

  Explain.

• 1:01:16Amy Poehler?

  And because I have sleep apnea.

• 1:01:19Speaker 02

  We are so hot when we go to bed.

• 1:01:23Amy Poehler?

  So is that gonna, I think that's gonna really.

• 1:01:25Speaker 02

  I mask, no earplugs.

• 1:01:26Amy Poehler?

  It's gonna, yeah.

• 1:01:27Speaker 02

  Special match to CPAP machine.

• 1:01:28Amy Poehler?

  Biomap.

• 1:01:30Speaker 02

  It's so hot.

• 1:01:32Amy Poehler?

  That's, that's, like, I mean. It's true love, actually. It's whoever, whoever can get past that is, is really true love.

• 1:01:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:01:41Amy Poehler?

  But what's in your rider? Do you have a rider? Yeah, I do. Anything fun?

• 1:01:46Speaker 02

  No, it's so boring. Like, I'm just, I'm really going off.

• 1:01:49Amy Poehler?

  That means you're a normal person.

• 1:01:50Speaker 02

  Very boring to you, like.

• 1:01:51Amy Poehler?

  No, people that are, have weird riders feel, honestly, it feels like it's a stressful way to get people to run around for them.

• 1:01:59Speaker 02

  It is.

• 1:02:00Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:00Speaker 02

  Because, you know, my best friend, her job was riders for a while. And that's kind of when I was like, no, my rider is like, normal. It's like.

• 1:02:07Amy Poehler?

  What kind of stuff you got in there?

• 1:02:08Speaker 02

  I, I need an avocado.

• 1:02:10Amy Poehler?

  Perfect.

• 1:02:10Speaker 02

  I need lemons.

• 1:02:11Amy Poehler?

  Yep.

• 1:02:12Speaker 02

  I need, uh, just some, like, La Croix.

• 1:02:15Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:15Speaker 02

  And it's gotta be cold. And then, um, like tuna salad.

• 1:02:19Amy Poehler?

  Love that.

• 1:02:20Speaker 02

  Every show, every, ever, I always have to have tuna salad and bananas. And I don't like any of those things.

• 1:02:30Speaker 02

  But they are a part of my routine.

• 1:02:34Amy Poehler?

  Gotta have to have them.

• 1:02:38Amy Poehler?

  Okay, well, the rider question brings me to, we do this thing on the show where we have people who know our guest, um, zoom with me before I talk to our guest to speak well behind their back and also to give me a question. So we talked to Marren Morris today.

• 1:02:54Speaker 02

  Oh, God, I love Marren.

• 1:02:55Amy Poehler?

  I know, I do too. And I, I mean, the High Women were, that is such an incre- such a great example of you and all of those women, of course, but like, women working together in real time to make really cool stuff and everyone saying yes right away. And Brandy being the one that's like, "Let's do it. I'm gonna make it happen. Here are the dates. Let's go." And then making this great record and performing with Dolly. Like, it just feels like that whole experience was so awesome. Was it?

• 1:03:22Speaker 02

  It was. It was not uncomplicated, but it was awesome.

• 1:03:26Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:27Speaker 02

  And just like, something I am so proud we did. And actually, it's something I think we should do again.

• 1:03:33Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:33Speaker 02

  Because it's like, that combination of women was really interesting and wild. And I want, I want that back in a way.

• 1:03:41Amy Poehler?

  Why?

• 1:03:41Speaker 02

  Especially as my, well, as my girls are getting older, I just, they were so little when I did it. And now, you know, that they are where they are. I just want us, I want them to watch us do it.

• 1:03:53Amy Poehler?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:55Speaker 02

  I think they'd really learn from it. And then our, our kids, you know, like, we did that, Maron didn't have a child yet. And, you know, it's like, now they're all so big. Mercy's big, and Sammy Jo's big, and my kids are getting big. And I just, having a, a girl on the, on the precipice of being a teenager, I think would be a really neat thing to show them.

• 1:04:13Amy Poehler?

  Well, that's exactly what Maron's question was. Is she was basically saying, like, you have two daughters, you're watching your girls get older, they're coming to your shows, like, like, you know, her question was like, you know, any advice? You know, because, you know, Maron's got a little boy. And it just, and, and what we were talking about was even extrapolating from that, it's just this idea of like, a working mother, like, how do we figure out how to invite our kids into the world and show them, you know, it's such a great, it's such a great thing to watch your mom do what she loves to do. It's a big deal.

• 1:04:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's a big deal.

• 1:04:45Amy Poehler?

  And especially for young girls. So when they come and watch you, do they, um, what do you think about when they're, when they're around you when you're on tour? I know you've brought them, of course, many times on tour. Like, what are you thinking about now with your daughters and, and, and what you want them to see?

• 1:05:02Amy Poehler?

  And what do they, do they like watching you perform?

• 1:05:05Speaker 02

  The girls like watching me perform. They're both really into sports, which is mystifying to me because I never, you know, but like they were like watching the World Series and they were crying when the Mariners got defeated and now they won't ever even go to Toronto because they're so mad at the Blue Jays. And like, I have no feelings about sports whatsoever.

• 1:05:23Amy Poehler?

  Funny.

• 1:05:23Speaker 02

  But I'll take them to a game and then I'll watch them watch that. And I'm like, you know, concerts don't really register in the same place for them.

• 1:05:33Amy Poehler?

  Well, it's just like, how do you, how do you rebel when your mom's a rock star as you become a jock?

• 1:05:40Speaker 02

  Oh, I hope this is not a sign of things to come, but they, they seem more like, and this is occurring to me as I'm saying it, they seem more excited by and interested in the way I interact with fans as a person, as a public person than actually how I do music. They're more interested in the fact that I'm a little bit famous than whether I'm a good or a bad singer. And they're very interested right now in the way my music interfaces with politics.

• 1:06:10Amy Poehler?

  Oh, wow.

• 1:06:11Speaker 02

  And maybe that's why I'm so interested in, in Marren's question and in, and in being a part of like another chapter for the Highwomen, is I think they would really like it. Like their very, very favorite song from my album is Church and State. They loved the SNL performance and they're very proud of, of that, even with their limited knowledge, you know? They know that there's a struggle and that our family's a part of it. And they're very proud of that and more interested in that than they even seem to be the musical aspect.

• 1:06:42Amy Poehler?

  And they probably are just figuring that out, that, oh, my mom's art, her job, is speaking to that. I bet you they're just figuring that out for the first time.

• 1:06:53Speaker 02

  They are, they like it.

• 1:06:54Amy Poehler?

  Very cool.

• 1:06:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, and that's, they seem to be just energized about, about those kinds of things. And I guess it does sort of translate to their behavior in sports and stuff. I took them to like a Seattle Rain, a soccer game, and they were just, took on a life of their own. You know that song You Without Me from my album? Them in sports is a You Without Me moment. I don't know who they are when they're screaming those things and they're like, be aggressive, be, be aggressive. I'm like, no, don't be aggressive. But they're like, that's a chant, mom.

• 1:07:26Amy Poehler?

  Yeah. That's a chant, Mom. They're like, we're, we're, it's good.

• 1:07:32Speaker 02

  But that's so interesting, though, because I feel like you have a, you have a...

• 1:07:37Amy Poehler?

  You're, you are, you know, positively competitive and you have a, a player's attitude toward your work.

• 1:07:47Speaker 02

  I'm driven, but I'm not competitive.

• 1:07:50Amy Poehler?

  Okay, you're not competitive.

• 1:07:52Speaker 02

  No, it's actually annoy, it's annoying, I think.

• 1:07:54Amy Poehler?

  Interesting.

• 1:07:55Speaker 02

  And I think it puts me a little bit on the outs with my, some of my friends, even like my relationship with Elton. He's constantly annoyed by my lack of it, but if I'm up for an award and somebody else beats me, I mean, I'm deflated for like three and a half seconds until they get up and do their speech. And then I'm like fighting back tears from like feeling so happy for them. And like, I'll go see my own kid play soccer and I'm just so, I'm so proud of all those little girls out there. I don't even know how to root for my own kid because I'm so, you know what I mean?

• 1:08:27Amy Poehler?

  Yeah, but, but, but you, what you're, you're saying you just have a healthy relationship to competition.

• 1:08:32Speaker 02

  Maybe.

• 1:08:32Amy Poehler?

  Because awards are crazy and...

• 1:08:35Speaker 02

  They're crazy.

• 1:08:36Amy Poehler?

  Of course, and, and you go there and it's like, if you actually, you know, what is winning? Winning is just being at the show. And same with, you know, watching your, like, anyone who like yells on the sideline is like total nutbag. Okay, so our, my last question is, and I ask all my guests this, and I know you're a real comedy fan.

• 1:08:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, like real.

• 1:08:56Amy Poehler?

  Learning that. So you have, you probably have a refined taste and comedy is probably something that you seek out, pay attention to and care about. What are you listening to, watching? A video, a TV show, a movie, old, new, or like what, what makes you laugh? How are you like, in these times, where do you go when you want to feel that lift?

• 1:09:21Speaker 02

  Where do I go? I go to a few, uh, core movies. Like, I'll go to a few core comedy movies, um, without sounding too retro or old school. I mean, I love Tommy Boy.

• 1:09:32Amy Poehler?

  Oh, my God.

• 1:09:33Speaker 02

  I love... Tommy Boy. I mean, bridesmaids, everything Tenacious D. I, I loved sisters. I felt like that was a really important one for a lot of reasons. And then SNL, I, I like never miss SNL. I love SNL and I've got my favorite old episodes and my favorite kids.

• 1:09:54Amy Poehler?

  What's one of your favorite SNL sketches?

• 1:09:55Speaker 02

  One of my favorite SNL sketches?

• 1:09:56Amy Poehler?

  We can watch it together.

• 1:09:57Speaker 02

  Oh, my God, there's so many good ones. One that I come back to a lot is the, um, Liza Minnelli turns on a lamp. Did you ever see that one?

• 1:10:08Amy Poehler?

  Kristen Wiig, a total genius.

• 1:10:10Speaker 02

  That's a really good one.

• 1:10:11Amy Poehler?

  I mean, let's watch that for a second. I mean, and by the way, hilarious physical comedy, not great for podcasts, but, um, uh, okay, the, the title says Liza Minnelli tries to turn off a lamp.

• 1:10:23Speaker 02

  Oh, that's what it is, yeah.

• 1:10:25Amy Poehler?

  I mean, Wiig is so friggin funny.

• 1:10:29Speaker 02

  I know.

• 1:10:30Amy Poehler?

  And, okay, let's watch this.

• 1:10:32Speaker 02

  I'm also a huge Tracy Morgan fan.

• 1:10:34Amy Poehler?

  Tracy Morgan, okay, so this says New York.

• 1:10:36Speaker 03

  Sugar babe, it's open like a cat's and the curtain goes up in 15 minutes. We gotta screech Liza.

• 1:10:43Amy Poehler?

  Oh, sure, I'd be delighted. Just let me turn off some of these lamps. Turn her like a blow on the end of a chain, remember that?

• 1:10:55Speaker 02

  Brandy is dying.

• 1:10:57Amy Poehler?

  I'm like, city, I chopped off shrimp. I love, I love her. When she was on TV as a young kid, I was like, who, who is that?

• 1:11:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:11:09Amy Poehler?

  Liza, you're very talented.

• 1:11:11Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 1:11:12Amy Poehler?

  You should stick with it. Liza, stick with it. Stick with it, Liza, you picked the right job. And Brandy, so did you. You picked, you're just the best singer. Congrats on your voice, on this record, on all the things that.

• 1:11:26Speaker 02

  You're the best. You are the funniest, most charming, most interesting person. I really feel, I hope this is the beginning of a long friendship. Seriously.

• 1:11:35Amy Poehler?

  I know you have a lot of people live in your house. You have like a lot of people in your house.

• 1:11:40Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:11:40Amy Poehler?

  One or two more, you might not even notice.

• 1:11:42Speaker 02

  No, and if you need a trim carpenter, if you're afraid to work with wood.

• 1:11:46Amy Poehler?

  I am.

• 1:11:47Speaker 02

  I can strengthen your resolve.

• 1:11:48Amy Poehler?

  I am, I, I feel like that's, this time around, I'm probably not going to do that.

• 1:11:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:11:52Amy Poehler?

  But that's okay, God is fair, you know? Thank you so much, Rudi, this is so fun.

• 1:11:59Speaker 02

  I really loved it. It was everything I hoped it would be.

• 1:12:05Amy Poehler?

  Thank you so much, Brandy. You are incredible. And it was so, so fun hanging with you. And yeah, you know, we talked about so many good things. One thing that we spoke about, which I just wanted to kind of correct or plunge deeper into in the Polar Plunge, was the performance that her and Benicio Bryant did together for the incredible song "The Joke", which we all know as one of Brandy's best. And that was on Late Night with Seth Meyers. And Seth, I'm sorry that I forgot that. I love your work, Seth.

• 1:12:42Amy Poehler?

  I love what you do. I'm a big, big fan. But I can't remember where things, you know, air anymore. And so it sounded like it would be something that you would have done. Great, great idea, whoever, you know. I'm sure it wasn't your idea. But whoever on your staff said to do it, so smart. And I'm sorry that I might have attributed that performance to another late night show. You're the only late night show I care about. So Seth, congrats on that. And Brandy, beautiful work. And listeners, thank you again for tuning in. See you soon.

• 1:13:24Amy Poehler?

  You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaia McMullin, and Aleah Zanaris. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

• 1:13:49Amy Poehler?

  This episode is brought to you by Sephora. Holiday gifting can be a tough gig. You're frantically searching, second guessing everything, and accidentally buying your dad eye cream he's never going to use. Thankfully, Sephora is here to save us from ourselves. Whether you're shopping for a total beauty guru or someone whose whole routine is hand soap, Sephora has the perfect gift for everyone on your list. And if you're still lost, don't panic. Their beauty advisors can guide you to safety. This holiday season, we all Sephora. Shop gifts at Sephora and give something beautiful.