This is Later with Lee Matthews The Lee Matthews Podcast. More of what you
hear weekday afternoons on the Drive. Jason Thomas Gordon is a lead singer and
drummer of an LA rock band, King Size, also a screenwriter and creator
of Music Gives to Saint Jude's Kids. One of our Cause celebs, he
has produced a new book called The Singers Talk, the Greatest Singers of Our
Time, discussing one thing that they've never been asked about their voices. Jason,
singing is important to me because I do a lot of it. But
The Singers Talk. What inspired this in the first place, Well, thank
you so much for mentioning music gives the Saint You Kids, and He's a
lot to me. Sure. The whole journey of this began because I've been
a drummer of my band my whole life, and all of a sudden I
got forced into being the singer, really against my will. I did not
want to do it, and I ended up having to do it. And
once I got in there, I was like, Wow, this is really
rough. I used to make fun of the singers. This isn't I was
so wrong and it just set me on a path to go like, how
do you do this? How do you survive on the road, how do
you make this thing work every night? At that level? And so,
you know what, I'm already reaching out to all these artists to join up
with Music Gives and to help us raise money for Saint Jude's. So why
don't I do that with this book? So all my royalties from the book
will benefit the kids and families at Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, which was
founded by my grandfather. And I just went all right, I'm gonna make
this happen. And I started reaching out to all these singers and asking them
how they do this, And as it turns out, they were really excited
because nobody ever asked them about it, and they wanted to talk, you
know, they wanted to know what other singers were doing. We're all struggling.
So the book's fun because it's not just like a resource guide for singers
that has showed them how to do things, you know, night after dining
and make their lives easier. But it's also really fun for music fans like
me who are just you know, just want to geek out on fun stories.
Well, Jason Thomas Gordon. The book is called The Singers Talk,
and it benefits the kids and families of Saint Judge Children's Research Hospital. I've
been to the hospital several times, and my lovely wife has also been with
me. She's she's got a medical background, and we've seen the good work
that it's done, right down to protocols that would have taken years to work
their way through the FDA. But because the research hospital at Saint Jude's was
able to do research right then and there, they've come up with protocols that
has all but wiped out childhood catastrophic diseases like leukemia. Yeah, the most
common form when Yeah, when, when Saint Jude first opened up its doors,
the survival rate for the most common form of leukemia with four percent,
But because of the research from protocols to develop this sink you, that number
is now ninety four percent. So it's pretty incredible, it's really. I
mean, that's and the fact that no family pays for their treatment, their
travel, or housing or food. That's why I do this. If my
grandfather had just founded any other hospital, I'd be proud of him, but
it wouldn't be something I would want to contribute to you know, in the
same way, it's the fact that we're eating a burden on all these families
that means the world to me. Well, I, along with our radio
stations down the Hall, do a lot of fundraising throughout the year, including
a dream home, so we're on board with you. The Singer's Talk does
just stop, go ahead? Yeah, God bless you. Thanks, thanks
you two. The Singer's Talk, the greatest singers of our time discussed the
one thing they've never been asked about their voices. I don't know that if
anybody like knows this, Jason. But when you're up there on stage,
yeah, you're slinging sweat and you're entertaining, and you're wailing into the microphone.
But a lot of times you either have an IFB in your ear so
that you can hear the rest of the band because a lot of time times
you're in a in a theater where you can't or you have a wedge speaker.
A lot can go wrong when you're singing and you have to be able
to go with the flow. Yeah, yeah, there's it's not Yeah,
there's there's all of that. There is the physicality involved, there's pushing too
hard. I mean, it goes on and on and on, you know.
I mean, it's anything you can have a as all the Osbourne said.
You know, he's like, you can have an argument with your wife
on the phone right before, you know, during that day, and then
you go on stage and it ruins your whole show. It's it's really it's
a it's a mental it's it's mental gymnastics in your head. I mean,
there's so many pitfalls you have to avoid. Everyone thinks the singer has this
like easy job. I certainly did as a drummer, but then you become
one and you're like, oh man, every little thing can affect your voice,
air conditioning, you know, it's wild. I once asked eight Special
in an interview what it was like backstage before a show, and they said,
you'd be disappointed all day. We try not to talk and then we
warm up with hot tea. It's not the you know, sex, drugs
and rock and roll backstage. Yeah, yeah, you Flinn, that you
find I mean so many, so many of these bands that you think would
be like that and behind closed doors. That's what I love about the book
too, is that it's, you know, it's a resource guide for singers
to make their lives easier. But it's also it's also a book from music
fan, so you're hearing that sides of the singers that you've never seen before.
So there's just tons of amazing, funny stories about, you know,
about all their neurosis. Really, I had a voice teacher tell my guy
in my class. I know you want to, you know, wail like
John bon Jovi, but I need to teach you how to do it correctly,
because there is a correct way to do it where you don't strain your
voice. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And you know, Sammy Hagar talks
about bon Jovi in this book and watching him and being on tour with him
and going, hey man, you know, like he's got a vocal coach
with him, and Sammy's like, hey, what's this guy up to?
Like show me what's he doing? And you know, bon Jovi's warming down
after every show. You know, things that you'd think like after the show,
it's like some big party and John bon Jovi's in another room with his
tongue and his towel warming down. You know, it's bizarre, but it's
it's what you need to do to perform at that level. And I don't
think anybody knows what really goes on, and it's it's really fun to see
how that all unfold. Jason Thomas Gordon. The book is the singers talk.
The greatest singers of our time discuss the one thing that they're never asked
about, their voices. And we're talking about Brian Adams, Tony Bennett,
Nick Cave, Chuck d Roger Daltrey, Joe Elliott, and Melu Harris,
many many, many others. Is there one in particular that stood out to
you when you were having these conversations with them? No, I mean I
can't. I would never single anybody out in terms of like somebody that stood
out, because to me, they all stand out, and they're all people
I really desperately wanted to speak with, and I was so honored that they
would speak with this stranger about this stuff and be so revealing and so vulnerable
and expose themselves like that. And so I couldn't really single anybody out because
every time I got someone, I'd be like, are you kidding me?
You know, like Frankstein said yesterday, or you know tom Yorke from Radiohead
or whoever it was. It was like, oh my God, I can't
believe, like just Dominoes, that everybody was, you know, so into
doing it. So it really and also I got I got a chance to
speak to you know, there were people that had passed on that I wasn't
able to speak with, but I still wanted to know about them. So
I was able to speak to you know, Tom Morello about Chris Cornell's voice,
or Clive Davis about Whitney Houston's voice and stuff like that. So I
was also able to get in some technique. There are some things that people
that have passed away we're doing as well, from either their producer or their
band member, stuff like that. So that was really amazing too. The
singers talk the truly intimate side of the iconic personalities and what they do to
get ready to perform at that level. Jason Thomas Gordon is the author.
You know, his family from the famous Saint Jude Research Hospital. All royalties
from the book goes to Saint Jude's Children's Research Hospital. And if you love
this behind the scene stuff, you're gonna love this read. And I thank
you for bringing it to us and joining us today. Jason Thomas Gordon,
Well, thank you and thank you guys for supporting Stay two. Thanks for
listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee Matthews Podcast, and remember to
listen to The Drive Live weekday afternoons from five to seven. And Ihearts Media presentation