That is a clip of Shelly Regner from the movie Pitch Perfect and she is our guest on Jeremiah Wanders today and we had a lot of fun recording. What's up everybody? Hope you are having a great start to your week. Hope this is finding you well.
Sorry if I sound a little bit hoarse your boy is getting over a little bit of laryngeitis. I went to the doctor on Thursday. I lost my voice completely then and I was actually editing this episode on my laptop while I was waiting to get some steroids from my throat. Yeah, your boy was on steroids and then had to go to Las Vegas to do Kill Tony and some stand up shows.
It was a lot of fun. We had a great time there and I want to thank everybody that came out to the sport and got some CDs and stickers and some inflatable wackens saxophones after the shows. Thank you for your support of Desquard and Kill Tony and some Jeremiah Wanders. People came out.
Yeah, it was really cool. I think there's a helicopter over my place right now. I don't even know if you can hear that but they're coming for me guys. Oh no.
I'm recording this at midnight right now. Sorry if this is getting to you a little bit later. This was at Mitzy Shores Memorial at the Comedy Store and it was, wow, what a memorable night. I saw a lot of people that I grew up watching and some Comedy Store Legends from the past.
Louis Anderson, Jakob Smirnoff, Bob Saget, somebody, Jimmy Walker. I mean, people, this is like you walked around the Comedy Store and you saw, it was like you're looking at the headshots and the walls come to life. That's pretty special. I want to get into this episode.
I want to encourage you guys to keep sending in your letters for the kindness challenge and it can really be anything guys. I did something this week that was super simple. I was at the skate park with my buddy David Derry and it was super hot out and I bought water for me and David and it was like four other random strangers and you would have looked at it the way they looked at me. It was like giving them liquid gold.
They were like, I don't know, I didn't get into describe it. It was such a simple thing. The bottles of water were there like a buck of peas but I don't know. They just appreciated it so much.
So I implore you to do something nice for a stranger. Send me a letter about it. Let me know how that's improving your life because it's been improved my life by challenging myself to do something kind for somebody that I don't know and it's been really cool. I want to get to the sponsors real quick.
Bronx Born Pizza in Bend, Oregon. LA Speedweed and of course, Joe's Pizza. Check them out at Bronx Born Pizza at Speedweed on Twitter and also at Joe's Pizza on Instagram. So thank you guys so much for listening to this show.
This episode is a little bit different. Okay. I'm sorry if this intro is like a kind of space case. I'm trying to get this up and you've always been tired.
I'm going to stretch myself a little thin. It's probably why I got that layer in Jydus on Thursday. So I got to get a little bit more rest. But basically this episode is she's not a comedian.
Shelly's not a comedian but I've known it for a long time and she's super entertaining. And I think you guys will really get invested in this. She has a very cool story that she has to share of how she got involved with the Pitch Perfect movies and how she's been singing and dancing since she was a kid. And you're going to hear my old theater geek drum boy come out, my inner drama kid come out during this because I really enjoyed seeing Michelle and just talking about pop culture stuff from the 90s and everything.
And some of my favorite call-ins this show we've had. We had some pretty interesting call-ins to the show, some pretty big celebrities. So be on the lookout for that. And I'm also, I'll be in San Francisco this weekend.
And I'll be in San Francisco in a couple weeks with Pat Reagan and Joel Jimenez and I think Malcolm Hatcher is also going to be on that show. So I'll keep you posted on that. But without further ado, I want to get into this episode with Shelly Regener. Thank you guys for the support.
Reach out to me on social media at Jeremiah Standup or email me original music for this intro or kindness challenge letters at yourboydjeremywalkins at gmail.com. Love you guys without further ado. It's Shelly Regener on Jeremiah Wonders. I am so pumped for this right now with an old friend and I'm very excited to introduce you to Shelly Regener on this show everybody.
What's up everybody? I'm so happy to be here. Yeah, we were talking before the podcast started of how we originally met and it was a term that I learned coming to LA and that was Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving.
Oh yeah. I just had this passing skipping. My mother, dear mother, Jeremiah got to meet at one of our friends' weddings. She sent the happy Friendsgiving napkin set.
So it's still look, you know, nearly. It's still a thing. That's awesome. Yeah, we got to stuff our faces and show each other a different YouTube video.
So our early sketch and singing videos and things that we were trying to launch off the ground. I love how starting off that's acceptable. As you get older people like, no, I don't want to watch your YouTube video. I like it.
That's real quick. If you're like, what do you, we're adults. Stop doing this. But yeah, I'm super excited to have you on the show.
I am like a lot of listeners out there are fans of the Pitch Perfect movies, which you have been in all three. All three. There's three of them. I cannot even believe.
How weird is that just turning into like a franchise? It's crazy. It really is. Because when you think of like a trilogy, of course your mind immediately goes like Lord of the Rings or hangover.
Hangover. I wonder if I think a trilogy is that. Hangover. That's great too.
Hotel and you. We shot the first Pitch Perfect seven years ago. It was 2011 when we shot the first one. How long have you been in Los Angeles?
Whenever you shot that. I actually was not in Los Angeles the first time. I shot it. Let's get in that story because I find this story pretty fascinating.
It's pretty crazy. I mean, I tell you, it's definitely a story of the right place, right time. Lucky shooting star. And season right opportunity.
Absolutely. I had just graduated college. I went to Louisiana State University. So I've partied my way through theater school and I just graduated the spring of 2011.
The film industry was booming in New Orleans at that time. And unfortunately, not anymore. was taken over but at that time a couple years back everything was coming down all of the Los Angeles people were down there filming and there was this movie that they were looking for singers to come in it was actually an open call that they were having at my campus on the monitor. So you just saw some breakdown on campus it was like show up if you're a singer?
I literally got an email from the Dean of our you know theater music school and they were saying look they're having this open call if you guys want to come up so I had graduated already by said shoot I guess alumni counts in the overall so I want to sign up there was about 70 names on the list that's it for this you know unknown singing movie and it went through about three weeks of audition callbacks and they wanted to book me for one of the members of the girl group still during that time had no idea what anything you know they were talking about their spit-nought and you know vocabulary like deal memos and the costume is gonna call you know I knew what rehearsal was and I knew what a checkman. I know it's about it. You're gonna pay me and I get to rehearse I'm there. Okay cool.
So yeah so I got hired as a local on the first one and met everyone you know got hired on a Friday night went to rehearsal Monday morning the rest is history and we made this movie no one knew whether it would do well or not I got an inkling you know I was like I thought these Hollywood people this is really cool right it's a fun movie. I don't like during filming where you like oh I think I'm in something legit like I don't think I'm I'll tell you what point we were doing one of the the big musical numbers and most of the time you know when you're filming low budget movies or any kind of movies they have the handhelds or the the camera operator that's you know has a fairly large camera we had a crane with a crane and just I mean this camera and the crane system you know what is that 600 grand a million dollar who knows right I was just like there's so much money in this one day of filming. You're a couple they see cranes outside of the person. We're working on the building down down we're in the building and there's a crane in here and we're shooting a movie.
I think the reason of the grain that was like exactly the only one actors I don't care about but the grain that was the moment where I was like whoa something's going down yeah that's so cool and the second one you this is what I like about you like you've always been like a go-getter and you've always been a good at self-promoting and just finding opportunities within opportunities and the second one you kind of reminded them like hey I'm available right oh absolutely you know I was actually on a traveling live stage theater tour when I got the call that they were making a sequel so I'm like in the middle of you know Kentucky going through to the next date in a van and I'm with five of my cast members in the show that we were doing at the time it was a 50 Shades of Grey parody musical. That's not good. No no no no no no no. But yeah it was just one of the things they called me you know again we never knew if the first movie would do well let alone if it would turn into a sequel or a franchise and so they called they said look we're doing it again we do you want to be part of this I was like I believe you're asking me that question yes absolutely and we got to go back and film back in my hometown at that point I had moved I moved to Los Angeles after the first one had finished filming I came out here to visit all the girls and the friends and I was like look I found an apartment I found a roommate I'm just gonna I'm gonna go check this Los Angeles thing out yeah so at that point it was nice about two years later and so I got to go back home and film and leave that's gotta be a good feeling.
How cool is that to see like some family friend be like I'm in town to shoot a little movie it's a sequel to two cranes two cranes we really made it yeah no it's it's an amazing feeling always tell people it's the best of all worlds when I get to go do what I've always had the dream and passion to do and you know at the same and go home and visit all my family because that never matches up you know it's a comedian as an actor you're always traveling you're always leaving the people you love behind you know at home wherever so when you get to just go home and film or you know do your work and then be with everybody it's incredible. Oh it's so fun. So how young were you whenever you started getting into singing and acting just like a little kid or I was I've always been on stage when my mom put me in dance classes when I was about four years old so I've always done the dance four years old man and I was actually a shy kid people don't ever believe me when I say that but it was really really shy clung to the back of my mother's leg I didn't really talk that much and my sister I've an older sister she was the loud boy stress spotlight hog you know and so I kind of learned from her a little bit to kind of you know step out of the box but you know my life has been filled with I'm from Louisiana we grew up in Mottie Graw we grew up with football season I grew up in dance my life has been sequence and feathers since I can remember and you know in school I grew up doing choir and the little like fourth and fifth grade talent shows and so it's kind of where it all started. Do you remember what your teachers were like whenever you were in four year old dance classes?
Oh my god Southern real southern you know I think you know what they might I think one of your teachers is actually calling in right now it is look where is she hello is this a Shelly's a dance teacher hi hi oh I taught Shelly my name is Jarese Grantham I taught Shelly Jarese Grantham that is quite the name she is it the real name actually she's actually I Shelly took from my studio for about 12 years of her first life I watched this girl grow up from a shy child to the tap and queen that she is today she's a tap and queen she's a tap and queen that's what we specialized in and I made sure she had all the sequins on her costumes for the dance recitals and we are just so proud of her I'm just glad she's tapping through life there in Los Angeles now it seems to me like you feel like you had a big part of you know a big reason why Shelly's had so much success do you take a lot of credit for that I take all the credit I don't know you know I taught her sister as well so I just take credit for the redner girls in general well what happened to Shelly's sister with dance well she's you know she's still she dances in her living room I think she's just she hasn't quite gotten out to the audiences as much as Shelly has but we're still so proud of her but we really we really like to broadcast the Shelly took from our studio we have a giant poster in the front door when you walk into the studio do you really Shelly you need to come sign it we've been trying to get you down here to come sign your poster but Shelly won't show up she's really busy girl she's busy girl but Shelly when you come back to Baton Rouge Louisiana you need to stop by Jeffy Jean's studios Jeffy Jean's are you taking new applicants because I'd love to take some dance classes from you absolutely we're taking all the applicants we love we love when the guys come in they add a special something to the dance classes and you know they'll be they bring the string yeah thanks for this costume absolutely anyone is welcome you come to be wearing the studio and bring Shelly so she can sign up poster all right I'll bring Shelly next time I come thanks so much for calling it thank you so much we love you Shelly wow oh jerese jerese jerese I just saw jerese my sister's wedding she's she's the greatest she is is a really like a giant poster view in the front I don't think that there might be but you go back and it's just a shrine this picture I guess she did when I when I was taking it really was it's called Jeffy Jean studio Jeffy Jean first of all like that's such a funny name just like to put on a resume studio name it is on my resume to people like what is it I'm like it's Baton Rouge just don't worry about it I'm legit I'm a tap point it's an actual studio she's specialized in tap dancing I grew up tapping doing jazz ballet was never my thing I'm not a technical dancer yeah but when you walk in the studio she had all these pictures of you know her old instructors and you know dance famous dancers and things like that so I could very well be on it might be a picture me when I was like four but I might be on the wall right fingers crossed you know hopefully I'll find it that's so that's so funny so whenever you were a kid who were because you know me growing up like I had like shows like Saturday Night Live that inspired me to kind of get into comedy and stuff like that who are some of the singers that you grew up where whenever you saw them on stage or perform you're like I want to do that yeah you know it's still for me to this day those female singers that have those crazy strong vocals it doesn't seem like she's been around that long but when you think about it like Kelly Clarkson okay you know I started she was the first season of American Idol I probably was about 13 or 14 you know and she was like 16 years old or something yeah and that makes me feel old whenever I like look back and I remember seeing one I'm like oh my god what's going on and so these strong vocalist you know the classics obviously like Aretha Franklin you know I love the strong female vocalists that have just kind of paved the way you know I grew up my mother love people like Frank Sinatra and God who else she loved like Donnie Osmond everything I don't think I really got my itch from them but you know these classic vocalists I also grew up watching Broadway musicals too so I think what are your favorite musicals oh my goodness wicked is great I think one of my first first musicals I saw was Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Grease and everyone just always looked like they were having the most fun time on stage oh yeah well I used to go with my mom to this theater this outdoor theater in Kansas City called Starlight and it was literally under the stars was like this huge stage and just like this arena style seating that like went up into the audience and we get like snacks and stuff and I remember like watching Peter Pan and just different musicals like that where I was just like blown away it was like it was magical because when you're that you know you see the lights and the production and these amazing voices and singers and you're just like you're just mesmerized by it it was amazing so that's you know that's how I had always felt when I saw these live productions and these storytelling you know it just it just seemed like so much fun and even as a shy kid I knew that I was like I kind of want to do that it's a little scary but you know there's some kind of fire within me that wants to do what they're doing when did you transition from being a shy kid to more of like the outgoing show that you are my first trip to Los Angeles I was 12 years old my sister was graduating high school and we took a little you know family trip and she went to go to Los Angeles and we came out here we got tickets to the Family Feud game show oh my goodness and you know how they have I'm sure you know at the comedy they have the commercial break hype guys yeah the audience warm up guys yeah the audience warm up guys have you ever done that no no that's a whole different yeah it's a different I mean I know some of the stamp convenience who do it on a weekly basis but yeah I've never I've done the very beginning warm up for some live taping's but not like be like the guy that comes out I tell you they're great and that's a hard job too because like yeah you know you got people like we just want to see the show or their tired they've been walking on you know Hollywood Boulevard all day they came in for like a two hour taping yeah here's candy and sugar please I think there's a lot of law and audience warm up guy calling I think it's his name is Steven Brody Stevens yes 818 to like the audience warm ups in the world you're speaking to him hi Shelley hi Steven Brody Stevens how are you I'm great what do you want to know about audience warm up I know like the back of my palm listen I'm actually kind of curious since you warm up the audience members so much what do you do for a warm up before you get out there and warm everybody else up I do my material but in the mirror that's how you warm up I love it do you think so you so you think you're the funniest guy I am I pull out my periscope I start selfie sticking man I start walking around my neighborhood and getting into the vibe the rhythm and then I give it to them like a cold hand gun in the summer moon like Steven Brody Stevens you're killing me here if you ever come to the valley you will be treated like a queen I love being treated like a queen I hear you're the tap queen I am the tap queen have you ever heard of deputy studios I have big business Louisiana and New Orleans area that's it oh my god well I gotta go see you know that you have an audience warm up yeah you got it oh good luck man you want a delight die well he really just wanted to see the principal I can't believe just called into the show I know man that's exciting I got he was on it right then to yeah he's probably warming up I'm glad he took the time yes I really appreciate it he's a busy guy here really yes I love right so you were at family feud I was at family feud yeah the hype guy was saying does anyone want to free t-shirt well I guess that's my my true motivation they said come down here and do a special talent you'll get a free family future so it's a little 12 year old in the back corner of the audience I shoot my hand up and my mother my sister were shocked because at that point I still didn't really like talk to anybody you're not on my show he told me to come down there he said what are you gonna do I told him I was gonna sing I said great what are you gonna sing I said obviously survivor by destiny's child and so I start the audience starts clapping I said I'm a survivor I'm not gonna give a I'm not gonna stop this tiny little white girl in like a palm tree tank top because I'm in LA for the first time and they put my face on the monitors behind me I had my whole concert thing going I must have loved how that felt because I never looked back since I bet was the audience going crazy to because they weren't expecting it to come out of this little white girl I think a chorus of it and the guy goes well do you know anymore is that I sure do and I'm right I can do it right I'm gonna hold on till they made me stop they were like we have to get back to the show but it was a life forget the teacher oh and the best part is that my mom she was like oh my god that was great I'm so shocked you did that you'll never see these people again it's fine you don't have to worry about it we go to the Ripley's believe it or not music I'm on Hollywood large and we're walking around it's like nine o'clock at night this guy passes us he's walking his dogs he goes you look at it saying he was like one of the audience Wrangler got it worked for production of the family few and I'll never see these people again those your first the crazy story the first time you being a celebrity you're that was my little taste of it I said I don't think I could do this now do you remember which host it was a family feud with Richard Dawson I was Louie Anderson I was Louie Anderson Louie Anderson I have a great career ahead of me did he really I'm walking out the door he said you have a great career out of you that's my favorite I think Louie might be calling into the show right now he might be yeah I got a second where is he Louie Louie is that you do look at your career I was right I picked it yeah yeah I can't believe he's calling in right now I mean you you really know how to call careers out Louie you know I've been you really can't sorry I'm trying to keep my composure I've never been I understand I'm the way I've never been a big deal to talk to me again I've never been around a celebrity of yours a statue before well you look on well I like you on baskets with Zach Alfonakis a lot you play a wonderful woman thank you so you have a woman buried deep inside I've you know all right all right Louie well I used to watch life with Louie all the time oh I breathe good all right thanks for calling in Louie thanks Louie I appreciate it what I mean I'm I'm constantly impressed how he sounds great he sounds like he's doing really good I'm constantly impressed like what kind of fan base this show draws the people that call in always expect a new and it's unless you know I do so it's amazing it's really good to know today because he's he knew what we're coming on you know what makes you a pitch perfect fan yeah makes sense yeah yeah yeah I had a really nice interaction with him at the comedy store because he's like one of the OG paid regulars at the Comedy Store and I was doing this bit on stage where this is all that I did where I talk about karma and and coming back like I talk about reincarnation like what if it's real yeah and what if you came back is something like what if you were a bowling ball so I do this act out where I literally am somersaulting you are doing a lot of prize personifying a bowling ball so I get off stage and it was like the the audience liked it a lot and Louie Anderson was standing in the corner and he goes hey hey what's your name oh yeah I'm Jeremiah Watkins and he goes hey I like your said you guys keep it up nobody's doing anything like that anymore nobody does physical comedy like that keep keep doing it keeping different I love thanks man I met like so much of it he must have been on some kind of crack right now you kind of sound like a yago from the phone Aladdin is Aladdin lion King there's a handful of Disney movies Peter Pan and there's a handful of Disney movies that like I feel like I just associate with my youth yeah I've watched so many oh yeah so many times you know my favorite is and it's kind of more underrated I feel like but Pete's Dragon was do you remember Pete's Dragon I love the old Pete's Dragon I did not like the new one at all I I think I had some kind of internal conflict going on because I cried so hard in the new one oh yeah don't really know why I mean the original is always gonna be the the top one you know and it's great it's obviously both both movies are incredibly different the first ones a musical which is probably why we loved it growing up and there's cartoons and the second one the dragon is more like a big giant dog that you have you know you feel like I did when you know when they were all the turmoil and everything was gone is he a lot spoiler alert is he alive is he not there's somebody at all right now there's like I haven't seen Pete's Dragon I know I'm so sorry I thought it was great but again I think I had to get something out of my system because I cried so hard there's some movies that I feel like just pull it out of people yeah yeah I don't actually cry during movies but the closest that I've got is did you see the movie Simon Birch yes oh my god yeah it's one of the saddest if you don't cry in that movie then I don't think there's something pumping to terribly hard I mean literally it's the closest I've come to crying during movies like my eyes were like twitching I was like yeah I don't do this but what did you watch it alone do you remember were you with a group I watched it with like family or like a friend or something but like it's just so so sad like he's best friends with this kid that takes a hundred wings and then he accidentally kills his mom oh it's terrible we watched it I remember watching this because we were really young when that came out oh absolutely really young that thing a lot of things probably flew over our head yeah but we obviously so no it was that I never seeing thinking like I had never seen a little person that was a kid before that was my first introduction I was like I didn't even know that that existed because I'd only seen little people out in public who were adults or something I was like you know your kid you don't like think of like oh they started off because also we were probably as tall as kids that right little people think yeah we watch that at a friend of mine's birthday party sleep over yeah what a movie to watch for a birthday party sleep over idea was that I don't know why I think I kind of fell asleep or had seen I don't know I wasn't into it cuz I was like let's get together's nails or like eat the rest of the pizza or popcorn this is a dip right back there this is depressing and this is a birthday party yeah holy mama just a bunch of little girls is sobbing yeah I think they were like one or two people that were like really to it just y'all be quiet let's go put on the thrice girls and dance around and have fun and grow glitter your mom will love that clean up later all the girls are like thanks a lot my sister was so into spice girls when they came out I think every girl around that age in that era those early 9 early mid 90s yeah we're just so enthralled it was amazing world because you could identify they they're marking was perfect well identify everyone could identify somehow with one of the spice which one were you I was ginger spice where you yeah I some people actually had really dark hair growing up yeah and I've kind of changed it to the red in the past few years but people wanted me no one wanted to be posh spice I'm sorry Victoria but no one would be posh by she was kind of a bitch and you know but I think but she wore little black Gucci dresses and was fine but she just wasn't as fun and vibrant as well so I feel like she like didn't talk as properly right now you know what you just look pretty and stand right here and we'll do the rest yeah yeah I think I think posh place is calling in right now hello posh is this you're on the show right now hey posh spice oh my god I didn't mean I did not I you know I just listen when you're a 10 year old girl you kind of came off real strong in the poster that's true I do I I know you are I mean you are like a fashion mogul right now you know I bet you could win honestly I don't I don't know wow wow posh you are hardcore I didn't I knew you were hard but I just I guess I'm learning a lot about you I was listening to show you said you identify as ginger I guess the hairs at it the hair she you know she was always bouncy and bubbly I feel like I've got that kind of similarity in the personality I can be bubbly posh you know I've I just don't believe you know girls not well you just wanted to fight me so I don't know if that's bouncy and bubbly you know it's bouncy and bubbly you're facing off the pavement what's not okay can I ask you a question that's during this fight would you wear your little black dress I would but the zippers might catch in it might be hard to actually hit you how are you doing now I'm not doing to be honest I'm gonna be a little bit of a rat that's why I'm so quick to fight you oh I understand a lot of problems in your head you know what there's a lot of there's a lot of self-help books you know you should probably watch dear my podcast get some laughter okay maybe I'll put me out that I mean maybe I'm probably yeah but you know what else it is you're I love you so much but you're real skinny you might just need to eat a sandwich you know maybe I'll need to eat a pizza something jam I'll talk about how hey and I tell you what it's real good pizza so you definitely get yourself as life I got all right wow she was very Kurt she's threatened to fight you and leave it was kind of like intimidating I've never been threatened to be in a physical fight before I don't know though I'd like kind of like to see what I want to kind of give me you know she'd be in stiletto that I could just like not buckle her knees down see grab her by the hair way you're anything of technique you know how to fight it like I think you know she's she's a tiny woman I'm I think I got a little more on her that I could I could hold my own for a minute but then again she might be real stealthy and never know who knows who knows what was it maybe do you remember that celebrity death matches on I love those I will make up I'll be a clay character she can be a clay character and we'll see how that fight goes down so fun that was the best I loved watching that stuff now it there's like some shows in that area they were just like oh my goodness I mean probably kids now would not be allowed to watch some of that stuff I don't know I mean some of it's yeah yeah all the teen the pregnant teens and you know it's different it's different it is a different time we are in that is for sure yeah very much so I want to get this next segment pizza party so we just had some delicious pizza goes bomb ass cheese style pizza oh my god those giant slices I had to not even mad about it I'd like three I'm not even I'm worried and I'm working out later either so I listen up so what is a memory that you have with pizza that you maybe want to share this like anything good or just like a fun memory because I have so many things that I just like when I got into pizza instantly transports me to childhood yeah no truly I when I was telling you before we started before we were on air it took a first bite of Joe's pizza and immediately got transported back to like Chuck E Cheese you know birthday parties and watching those scary ass mouse you know life's size mouths is doing their band thing but you go for the game and everything but when it was pizza time it was pizza time oh my god everything else got shut out in the world really whenever the parents like pizzas yeah yeah you're like I know nothing else in the world you know what else I don't know if you when you were a kid but it was always like Friday night Friday night was pizza night sure you watch it you know it's T.J.F. you'd order pizza into your home you know get all the slices of course I was a classic girl so I just loved the cheese and the bread yeah and you'd watch your favorite TV shows with your family let me twirl step by step oh my goodness what else was it T.J.I.S. Sabrina the Teenage Witch chowing on a box the pizza step by step was my first introduction step by step and pepper and for the first introduction pepper and that's a cover 7 game oh yeah those are my first introductions to families that had divorce parents that makes sense because I like literally none of like I grew up like in a conservative household and like in the church where divorce was so frowned upon oh yeah you don't talk about it you don't do it in appearance are miserable then you just sweep it up the road I was like all the other senses were perfect we're perfect it's fine that's great yeah right I'm crying and dying on the inside yeah so that was like whenever I got introduced is such a foreign concept divorce because I only had like one friend maybe yeah that had divorce parents one or two friends that had divorce parents growing up and it was like oh that's like real bad yeah now my parents are divorced and and it's one of those things where I'm like it's so funny to look back on how you thought of certain things as a little kid like how whenever you're not around it you're so scared of it and you just like don't know like whenever I came out to LA that's like whenever I met all walks of earth as far as people yeah because in Kansas City and in Kansas it's such like you know like a small bubble of Louisiana I mean you got this group of people most people are Catholic yeah I didn't meet my first Jewish person then until moving to Los Angeles like this is the hub over here I was like now you know I'm asking people if they want to come home with me for Christmas or Thanksgiving and they're like mmm they're real conservative yeah yeah well I be accepted I'm like jeez I forget about that yeah it's crazy it's kind of it's kind of cool though to think of how your mind can be kind of opened up after you've been raised a certain way or something really it's that's whenever you I feel like you you meet people where you're like oh I've like literally grown as a person that's like kind of a cool good feeling it really is at this one point in my life and now like I'm able to think in a way more open and positive way well and I gotta be honest you know just in the last I've only been in LA seven six years now just in the last like three alone having that opportunity in that introspection within yourself of going like oh no this is what I believe right and these are the morals are the ideas or the opinions that I have that aren't influenced by parents or teachers or you know the community around you you know and there's always gonna be some form of influence and whatnot sure being able to say like no I have an opinion I have and it's mine that kind of it's a proud feeling to know that I've grown into myself and knowing and coming from there's a power to it there's absolutely power and coming from diverse backgrounds is just like we have been where you know we started in one place obviously and now we're living in a totally different eclectic realm of society yeah it's nice that we get to have that because like you said it is our own and it is powerful I remember so this is the last this is literally the last time where I felt like I was influenced by family where I wasn't making my own decisions like before it was right before I moved on here I was and I remember it very clearly because it has to do with America's history which is a little warped when you get back home it's so it's so weird so I was it was when McCain was running against Obama yep yep I was at home during that time yes so my I was in the booth and the guilt of my family like I was like thinking I was gonna vote for Obama the whole time yeah the guilt of my family I voted for McCain mmm-hmm like right before and I felt like as soon as I did and I left I was like why did I stick to my guns you know what I mean yeah and that was a lot that was literally the last time where I'm like I need to stop being influenced by family or what other people think and start making my own decisions absolutely so that was like one of those like moments in my life was like crazy like it was just one of those weird moments yeah yeah no I remember being I think I was like in my senior year of college during that election process yeah and you know I grew I was in theater so I had a lot of like liberal you know type and everything yeah yeah so but on the same you know in spectrum I had all the conservative views and everything and I remember I mean I remember hearing and just in the mall or whatever was like if Obama wins I'm moving to Canada I know you know I like everyone says in every election I don't want to win and I'm not out of the country and but you know then you move and you just kind of laugh about it you just got a lot of it's like everything is ridiculous yeah yeah I oh I think I'm gonna phone call oh no oh my god he's gonna be upset oh president president Obama is calling into to the show right now hi hi former president Obama this is Obama here look we I'm sure you can imagine you are a man a travel it yes yes better public speaker better or we were looking for okay well you know I think we were very influenced by our public surroundings and we were very young and we have since learned our lessons you know it's our Trump got elected it is it is and it is and it is and if you were still and we wish you were still in the office of all we do wish you were still in the office can we can we say that in our ways thank you so much for your time and your efforts and thank you thank you thank you thank you what I would really love to say is can you please tell Michelle hi for me and that her arms are fantastic thank you so much thank you and thank you again for your time thank you president office we do wish you were still here thank you to I can't believe the president is calling you well I mean first Louie Henderson and then you don't think you had the reach that you have on your pocket I get people who right into the show that are from Scotland Australia Iceland Germany but I had no idea that the former president of the United States Oh that's called what that was cool that was really cool that was a good time we actually in pitch perfect to had to it would have been so cool if he was there but they had to do like a stand in because the first like performance number in the opening of the second movie we were performing at Lincoln Center quote unquote yeah for the president for like his birthday or something things go awry and the movie continues but you know they had to have stand-ins that shoot from behind the had to look like Obama and Michelle I was like how cool would it be if they were actually here so we're talking about our favorite Disney movies this I can go you're doing something that's pretty cool that you recently you appeared on American Idol I did oh my god to do this group so let's talk about what that is a guy it's such a cool thing it's really really cool we're really excited to be like branching out and getting this brand out there it's called D Coppella stands for Disney yeah okay and we just form form this group Deak Sharon is the musical director who did all the musical direction and arrangements for all the perfect movies oh so that's awesome family yeah that I'm getting you know he's I call him he's dubbed the father of contemporary a cappella wow and I dubbed him the godfather of my career because he's been he's been so wonderful and presenting these different opportunities me so it's Deak and Disney music group and Walt Disney records who have combined their efforts to make this seven person group a cappella group we sing all of like the Disney classics from you know the original like from Aladdin Beauty Beast all our favorite up to the modern classics now of like Moana and Frozen and it's all you know it's all you know human vocals and all revitalizing remixed and everything working on an album to come out and they want to make us they want to make a production of a tour that'll go out in 2019 that is so exciting really really cool and you know just as someone who's obviously grown up on stage and loves to sing and you know the combination of creating a new family to work with and be part of is really exciting so we have a lot of new opportunities coming up like I said we just did American Idol as our first like debut to the public what a great debut I mean I tell you what Disney and how cool is a full circle that you have been influenced by singers like Kelly Clarkson and then you get to be on that stage you know and what's funny is we were all kind of talking amongst ourselves in the group and as a singer you know what that shows been on 16 years everybody's audition for that show if you're a singer I auditioned for that show like in college in Dallas Texas I mean you know half the group had audition none of us made it obviously what was the song that you did whenever you auditioned oh I auditioned with it was a song it wasn't like a popular single but it was on Kristina Aguilera's Back to Basics album okay and it was called Mercy on Me and it was just this you know it was very Kristina song she's built in and riff in and high whaling and I'm gonna go in there and show on my Kristina side and they're gonna let me through and I'm gonna be in the top 10 and I'm a win American Idol and they're like thank you so much for your time that's a no today now did you try to do your version or are you trying to do like kind of almost an impression of Kristina I probably I'm both no I wasn't that I wasn't that pretty but I was definitely trying to riff my best life yeah you know yeah trying to whale show him what I got mind you I'm like 20 years old so I don't know how good it actually sound sure it sounded better in my head than it did coming out of my mouth oh I look back at some I found oh my goodness I found an old audition tape that I sent into the Jay Leno show that we're here at a time yep it is horrifying it's like a stand up or what I did impressions and I did singing and and it is just it is so cring like it's so cring because I'm watching like I'm doing this thing where you can tell that I have a confidence there yeah but then between whenever I go in and out between like the setups yeah the setups are the most shy I like you know I'm like so this next one is this is Justin Timberlake and here we go and then I'll go into it and you're like him but then like as soon as I'm like thanks that's just like in that moment in that time you're like oh that was awesome I'm gonna you have this comment like this tunnel vision I'm gonna make it I'm gonna do this is what I'm gonna do it's the only way to get a nice level if you're not a little bit crazy pursuing the entertainment industry like what the field that we're in like you can't even get past that for a lot of people like oh this is impossible this is like the odds are so against you yes that doesn't make sense no I always tell people especially you know a lot of analytical people that are just interested in how do you what made you want to I'm like I don't know and I still don't know but I know that I've got to be crazy to still want to do it because I don't have the passion and effort to want to do anything else you know it's like thank God for people that are in finance because I don't have the ability to do that thank God for people that love biology and I want to be doctors I can't do that either I want to make people smile and laugh and I want to sing and Lord knows how I'm gonna do that but that's all I know how to do yeah I'm gonna figure it out I gotta be crazy to do it so here we go I want to do a brand new segment I've never done the show okay because you're a wonderful singer and performer and I'd like to do a new segment called singing with Shelley I love it all right so let's let's let's sing maybe some Disney stuff first and then we'll go from there okay do you know can you feel the love tonight is that one of the songs yeah that's one of the songs we think you're listening to this the look that she just gave me so prices like like girl yeah no yeah yeah yeah let's start from I can see what's happening oh I don't know the verses what huh they haven't got a clue oh they'll fall in love and here's a bottom line a trios down to two oh oh I don't know the course I'm gonna go yeah can you feel the love tonight tonight yeah tonight I think I think we should have been on soundtrack probably I think we nailed it I'm pretty sure I think we just nailed when you feel the love tonight all right what so what's one that you guys have been doing well and I'll try to jump in with you on one that we've that we've been doing a lot is friend like me who by Sir Robin Williams the rest in peace man you're never out of front like me yeah what is it yeah right yeah yeah you got the punch something and how oh you got to do it wrong I'm sorry with your pleasure me yeah oh oh if I could have added some applause yeah I was thinking my harmony that we sing in the group so that actually what they're probably that's not how the song goes that's not my part you're like harmonizing to another I mean yeah yeah I want up one oh it's so fun song have you seen the live show no it's really fun I went to see it I saw it in New York years ago and then I saw it came to the Pantagos in Los Angeles a few months back yeah and it's really really fun I mean that Disney money they got the spectacle and the lights in the glam and the genie just steals the entire well the fact that Disney now like is like kind of owns Marvel and everything I didn't even realize that we have the market on like if you go to Disneyland now it's crazy all the characters because they own all the rights right right on Avengers they on like every Star Wars and then obviously all the classic yeah but I just found out about a month ago that because I went to we were on the in the Walt Disney lot yeah for a performance you know for Disney internal and showing them what we're about for Decapella and we went to the gift shop and they had all the Captain America and the Avengers stuff and kind of confused like I don't remember and my friend said well they own Marvel and you're like oh that makes all the sense but I just had no idea because it's I mean it literally it's everywhere all that's crazy to wear you know Pixar they they work with Pixar that everything is the merch is unbelievable they have there absolutely yeah it really is it's crazy what were did you have a favorite boy band growing up oh yeah which team did you fall under oh man I tell you what and I'm so proud of them they just got their star on the walk away I'm an in-sink girl it's gonna be my oh yeah in single all the way and I was actually a JC fan okay she's a that was my boy he's good and you know obviously I love Justin Timberlake but dirt you know little fifth grade me I was a JCS I got to meet and sing with Joy Fatone on a on a cruise ship for practical joke how fun oh yeah he is oh my god that was like like we were we were just like warming up and like practicing and like doing harmonies for this one section I was like how is this real life they were actually in sync with my first ever live concert I went to the girl band be wished open for them for them they were the first opener and in the second opener with Britney Spears yeah open for in sync and I'm sure that's where the Britney Justin love and then it was the in-sink concert and it was oh my god I just my dad was there because he took us and he went to the bathroom and plugged his ears with toilet paper because of all the little screaming girls maybe being one of them oh of course oh I bet your ears as an adult would have been like just shot oh I'm sure and of course we were you know up by the large boom box speakers that just hang from the ceiling so it was just worse but best experience in my life I was like I'll never not go to live concerts and see my favorite boy band I love it what was what was a something maybe we'll seeing one of our favorite in-sinks songs together oh yeah there's so many there's a lot there's so many I love I mean the original song was uh yeah when I want you back and I ran it up there's that there's bye bye bye dirty pop dirty pop I carry ok that song not too long ago did you really I went to for the first time I went to one of those like private karaoke rooms super fun those are fun and I was like you know what we're going hard you know the words of that oh yeah dirty pop chicken time and hearing all these people talking about what's doing this blah blah blah when it's gonna fade out then you got to realize we're doing that I trick we have to get done melody when I bring it to me and it doesn't matter what I'm gonna try around my neck doesn't matter that you recognize that it shows about respect you get hung up do you ever wonder why music gets you get you right feel it when your body's out about it's so you know you go back on it must be yes we crash that congratulations and thank congratulations and sink and congratulations viewers and listeners for that beautiful you are welcome oh yes well this has been singing with the showy that was great that was fun yeah so I want to wait before we get into this last segment I want to talk to you about that 50 Shades of Grey yeah yeah just such a funny it is you know it's funny I mean I can't speak of trilogies you know like in that the one you think of the 50 Shades one two and three I've actually never seen any of them I've seen the first two because here's the thing with the 50 Shades of Grey movies I've watched them with my wife at home yeah you can't it doesn't make sense to me if a girl like I get why women would want to go see that with girlfriends and get all horned up and whatever right right but like if you're if you take a date to that you get that's like a point of yeah it's just like a point of like if you're making it all the way to the end without like taking a break right then you're not enjoying it yeah I'm sure you'd be like okay a little bit and then you're with like 50 other people yeah and then where you're like oh god what is happening in this chair right now and I have a stranger right next to me there's a lot going on in the street but you know some people might be into that I'd be like hey hey stranger why does it feel like rainforest cafe in here oh my god oh my god it's the truth but when I was on this tour the first movie had come out there was they had promoted that they had a sequel coming yeah and this production company had had this original like the first 50 Shades of Grey tour out mind you there were like five other 50 Shades of Grey parody productions going on like I think Second City had one there was one off Broadway I mean they were all having the same time so we had to everyone had to be specific about like which 50 shades of production are you working on and we were actually like a sequel parody we go our show was called Spank Harder and it and the logo was on a paddle spank you know but it was fun it was you know all new lyrics to melodies that you already knew so we sang you know funny parody lyrics to the melody of its raining men or the melody of someone like you one of my songs it was the lead character the Christian Grey character was called Hugh Hansen so I had to sing never mind I'll find someone like you and you know think about balls and I think about anal beads and like you know it was just ridiculous and it was just a fun like girls night out drink margaritas with your girlfriend's and watch some really hot dudes take their shirt off and I got to sing funny songs so it was it was a good time it really was that's so funny oh my goodness well let's get into this final segment all right called sax talk you gotta get a sax wett I definitely gotta get a sax wett so Shelly is going to share a story with us a sexual encounter from her past and I'm gonna lay down some sweet sweet sax underneath oh yeah all right all right ladies and gentlemen let's take it back a few years back salty and smooth she's at the bar in college she meets the guy and makes her eyes gaze linger across a few vod goes in they meet and make out a little bit then he asks that she wants a piggyback ride this is not a joke mmm mmm she says yes obviously and they piggyback to the parking lot where they swap spit a little more things progress and obviously he invites her back to his home it was a long-ass walk I sobered up real real quick we get to the house he goes to the bathroom I realize I'm in a stranger's house and I have no idea where I am so I ran away I call that one the piggyback run away that was the deal breaker for you I was like you make me walk four miles to your damn house so we can go be alone was it super far away he just feel what's he one of those people that said it's just right up the street yeah that's exactly right around the corner okay it's been half an hour and we're still walking to your place I so I've learned from being on the road where I'll meet people at the show sometimes really hey dude there's a bar just right down the street we should all just go to it and I'll be with like another comedian friend or whatever and we'll say yes we're like yeah you know what it's early still we'll go yeah and nine times out of ten it is not up the street at all it is so far away other town in the next county yeah so my friend started to tell me is like get the name of the bar ahead of time plug it into your GPS before you go anywhere yeah then you're like well I've already committed this far I just got get there yeah figure it out from there I did though I got there and like by that time he this is where he failed because you left it too much time for me to sober up and realize I don't really want to do this I'm like I want peace on getting out of here right then yeah you're sobering up every step you're taking every step of the way I was like okay this is seems less and less like a good idea and I just want to go home and pass out yeah Shelley I've absolutely loved having you on the show this has been a blast is there anything that you'd like to plug before you wrap up yeah look you can for D Capella you can go online right now we have our first single out from big hero six it's called a mortals it's really awesome and you can also see us in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast live concert at the Hollywood Bowl if you're in the Los Angeles area it's gonna be May 25th and 26th tickets are on sale now so we would love to have you and I can't wait to show you guys more with this group what's coming up so last question before we leave what is what's a moment that you've had performing on stage as it could have been as an actor or singer one of the many things that you do yes what was a moment where you felt like for like your own measure like I'm making it I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing like I'm living the dream I can tell you exactly the moment I had that cut to about three years ago and Deke Sharon who I mentioned I worked with on Pitch Perfect and now with Deke Pella he has a live concert every year in New York he's been doing it about three years and he asked if I would come solo for his first concert for the distinguished concerts International New York that puts on the concerts at Carnegie Hall I know it was my first time as a soloist you know I never been to Carnegie Hall at all let alone go to perform there and you walk in that space and you can feel the history and the magic and the passion and the sweat and everything from the people that just like we were talking about earlier that we have watched our entire lives and that are our influencers and influences and icons that we love up to and they lead me up to the dressing room there's a piano where you're like what fingers have touched this there's pictures of Frank Sinatra there's pictures of Ella Fitzgerald there's pictures of the most influential iconic singers of our time and before and just being able to I'm getting chills talking about it right now because being able to stand in the middle of a sold out crowd at Carnegie Hall look up and just hear the acoustics and the music that was the moment where I was like you're doing it you're absolutely doing it so yeah it's amazing I love that well thanks for sharing that awesome story thank you very much for having me on the show I'm so excited to see where your career is gonna keep taking you because I love you know from a small random Thanksgiving that we met each other years ago to see you know where we've come is so cool so I'm really excited to be here thank you