106: Niki Haris "Lift Thine Eyes" Listening Party

This episode features a moving and candid listening party session with vocalist Niki Haris, recorded live during the Journey of Jazz cruise. Host Lee Mergner sets the scene as Niki plays and discusses several tracks from her deeply personal and spiritual album, Lift Thine Eyes. Niki reveals the challenging circumstances, including personal loss, her daughter’s diagnosis, and housing struggles, that led her to create this "inspirational record" as a form of self-encouragement and anchoring.

Key Takeaways

• The Album's Inspiration: Niki Haris's album, Lift Thine Eyes, is described as an "inspirational record" or her "latest spiritual release," created before the pandemic. The music served to encourage Niki through personal struggles, including moving to Georgia and facing intrusive questions about her "people" at the bank, her mother's illness, her daughter's diagnosis, and losing her house after returning from a trip to Russia. The album's title references the Bible verse, "I will lift my eyes to the hills from which cometh my help and my help cometh from the Lord".
• Track Spotlights:
  • "Optimistic" (first track on the album) is Niki's arrangement, featuring Eric Marienthal (who is the music director for all Jazz Cruises) as the musical director and Trey Mclofflin. The song encouraged her to "keep your head to the sky".
  • "It is Well with My Soul" is an arrangement by Mitch Foreman on piano. Niki shares the tragic history of the 1813 song, written by a man who lost his five daughters and home in the Chicago fires.
  • "Time After Time" is a cover of the Cyndi Lauper song, chosen because a friend, Cindy Looper, used Niki's music as an opener for her tour. The song's lyrics spoke to Niki's feeling of being alone until a couple (her daughter's pediatrician's parents) stepped in to offer support, reminding her that "the universe is conspiring for your good". Eric Marienthal also played on this track.
  • "I Got Lost" is an Irving Berlin song that Niki found spiritual. It features Mitchell Foreman on piano, whom Lee Mergner notes played in Wayne Shorter's electric band.
  • "Just Keep Going On" is a song written by Eric Bib (the blues guy), which has a slight southern influence as Niki had moved to Augusta, Georgia.
  • The final song played was the Blind Faith song (sung by Steve Winwood and featuring Eric Clapton on guitar) "Can't Find a Way to Live" (referred to as "Blind Faith song," or "In the presence" or "Find a new way to live").
• Family Background: Niki’s father was the great jazz pianist Gene Harris.
• Grandmother's Influence: Niki's paternal grandmother was adopted by a Jewish family in Chicago after her Native American and African-American mother passed away in a brothel in Pinebluff, Arkansas, around 1913. Her grandmother told Niki, "Everybody's my cousin," which is how Niki walks through life.
• Music Career and Housing: Niki worked with pop artists for nearly 20 years, including Madonna. She has a song opening for Cyndi Lauper's final tour, and she performs dance music and other genres, in addition to jazz and gospel. Niki still maintains a home in St. Joseph Benton Harbor, Michigan (where Al Capone used to vacation) and rents out property to golfers in Michigan (near a golf course built by Jack Nicklaus) and in Augusta, Georgia, which she calls "mailbox money"

• Listen to more episodes of Jazz Cruises Conversations on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts. The back catalog contains more than a hundred interviews from past sailings.
• Theme Music: Provided by Marcus Miller from his song "High Life" on his album Aphrodesia on Blue Note.

Transcript

This is the transcript for Episode 106, "Niki Haris 'Lift Thine Eyes' Listening Party," recorded during the Journey of Jazz cruise.

Host Lee Mergner Hi, welcome to Jazz Cruises Conversations. I'm your host, Lee Mergner. This week's episode features another session that I hosted during the recent Journey of Jazz Cruise. By the way, this is posting is not me tooting my own horn. I just I just hosted a lot of sessions during that cruise, like nearly a dozen. But in this case, for a listening party with Nikki Harris, my hosting duties consisted mostly of hitting the play button as we showcase music from Nikki's album, Lift Thine Eyes. She introduced several tracks from the album and talked about the inspiration behind behind the music. You know, I mostly just stayed out of the way because Nikki is quite the eloquent and passionate speaker about her life and her music. You know, there's a good reason why she's become one of our guests favorite artists on every cruise she's on. Anyone attending the Gospel Show will know exactly what I'm talking about. I hope you enjoy the music and the conversation.

Oh, good. Good afternoon.

Thanks for joining us here for a listening party. Have you been to any any of them before? Uh, okay. So, yeah, you you get the idea. Uh, the um Nikki is going to play um some cuts and talk about the music and uh about herself and and um uh the album, which I placed up here, I think is still in the shop. It's called Lift Thine Eyes, and it's a a beautiful um mostly gospel music. Um as you guys know, Nikki can sing anything. Um gospel is just one of the things she can sing. And please welcome Nikki Harris. What?

Niki Haris Oh, no.

Well, just don't spill any on my computer.

Um, huh. No, I'm I'mma show it off now. It's part of the outfit. But I was like, how did I Nobody that nobody told me that I was dribbling and or something was coming up.

Oh well. Oh well. Oh well, you pulled it off.

Go ahead and play. So you go ahead and you can just um Okay. Well, this this is uh I call it an inspirational record, not just gospel, but it is gospel and it is the good news. But um the re the way this uh record came about is um God after doing you know watching the Abby Lincoln stuff. It's like, is all this still going on?

Um, basically this was my preandemic record. This is not my latest release either, but this is um my latest spiritual release. Basically, it was um I had moved to Georgia and um it was the first time somebody came up to me and said, "Uh, who's your people?"

Yeah. Who's your people? And I was like, "I'm a I'm a Yankee." I was like, "What?" And Then I was um trying to buy a house and I went to the bank and the man was saying um who's your husband? Who's your family? This is recently a little too recently. Yeah.

And so I started to really and I already had a home in Los Angeles which was worth four times more than the house I was trying to buy in Georgia. But I was like this is really strange to me. I'm trying my best to like not cuss somebody out first of all um and just go you know you know that's illegal like you can't do that you can't ask me those questions. And my mother was encouraging me and just like you know don't worry it's everything's going to work out you know it's going to and then my daughter got diagnosed being on the spectrum and I was like oh I'm down here I don't got no body. Um and then my mama got sick and I was starting to like okay am I going to move back to Michigan to be with her to take care of her and I did a trip. So, I was um was leasing with an option to buy and I did a trip and I won't even say where because now it don't make sense that I actually went okay it was Russia. I went to Russia to sing and I came back and they had sold my house like they sold my house without even telling me and basically they were showing my house with my pianos and my artwork and my house was sold. I was like how do y'all do this kind of stuff? like it was, you know, like no, you can't do that to me. And I could feel myself going deeper and deeper into like a place of mad, not sure I can do this, you know, and I'm trying to do this by myself. I'm doing it with a daughter that, you know, is I'm just trying to help her have her wings. And I just all that kept on going just that's not your source. They are not your source. This is not your source. Keep your eye single. God got you. You have everything. you need. And so it's amazing when I hear Abby at the last thing you guys play her saying, "You have everything you need. You are perfect. Here we come, y'all. You're perfect. There's nothing they can take from you. Throw it away. Anything. Give it away." Because every God's given you everything. So that's what this record's about. It's called keep thine eyes single. Lift thine eyes because you know I will lift my eyes to the hills from which cometh my help and my help cometh from the Lord. So that's what this this song the first song on the album was was. um with uh Eric Marinthal who's the musical director for this. He played and and it's just called Optimistic. So you can play the first one number. Basically this is just my arrangement with uh Trey Mclofflin who's from also from Augusta, Georgia. And uh just my version of this song Marathol He's doing all the point.

These are me. I'm sure many of my people know this song. Just keep your hands to the sky, right? No matter what. I don't know what I'm talking about.

I might try singing, y'all. single.

So these words ministered to me. I hope they did for you guys.

When in the midst of sorrow, right, you can't see up when looking down up. Not a day, tomorrow will bring. And you hear the voice of reason telling you this can never be done. And no matter how hard reality seems, what we going to do, y'all not just hold on to your dream. Yeah. Yeah. Love that you give. Don't give up.

Although it seems you never I know it seems to as long as you keep your head to the sky. On my mind, you can win.

You can win. Yeah. Sometimes you got to tell yourself that, right?

Your head to the sky.

Come on. Be optimistic.

You got to be optimistic. Does it feel good? Y'all, do you mind if I lean on it a little bit longer? Say it again, baby. If things around you crumble, what's happening, y'all?

No, you don't have to stumble and fall. Keep pushing on her and don't you look back and don't no come on you say you will always be your best don't give up nothing and never say never as long as you keep your head to the sky my my my

you can win as long as you keep up your head So you can see this record was really me encouraging me. You can win.

Sometimes that's what it takes.

Your head to the sky.

Come on. Yeah. Yeah.

Don't you let nobody stop you.

So you got to be optimistic.

Y'all like that? We got to remind the people stay optimistic cuz I was going down deep and I'm like no.

I grew up with too many good things that used to say stuff like this.

Y'all know it.

What we going to do y'all? Keep your head to the sky. Be optimistic. Keep your head.

Only dance your way through.

So anyway, so that's Eric Marinthaw and uh yeah, thank you. Thank you so much you guys. Yeah. Um so if Yeah. If you like that and you guys need some encouragement, please um I hope it ministers to you guys because I'm telling you, I was in one of those spaces. Um and um the next song I want to do is my grandmother always said, "When you don't know where to start, start at the beginning".

Start at the beginning." And so I decided to um because all of these songs were really just to encourage me to remind me to keep my eyes, you know, on my real source. not on what the world was saying. Um, and especially as my mom got ill. Um, and this particular song is a song that was written in 1850 something. Yeah. Well, no, 1813. This with with the big Chicago fires was 18. Bottom line is this man um put his five daughters and his wife on a boat from Chicago and sent them back to Ireland and um basically he several months later he got word back from his wife all is lost. Um I have survived but all of our daughters are gone.

And he went to the shores of Lake Michigan um after the fires because he had lost everything in the fires too. So his home everything and he's had to get his back to his wife but his all his girls were gone and he wrote this particular song by standing on the shores of Lake Michigan and it goes like this as well. And it's a song that just ministers to me and maybe it will for you. Whenever you feel like all hope is lost, anchor yourself back into this Whatever comes my way, Lord, it is well. When peace like a river, a tendeth my way. When song rolls like sea belows, they roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say. It is well. It is well with my soul. My sins. Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. My sins not in in part but the whole they been nailed to the cross and I'll bear them no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Oh, and Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be roll back. Let us grow the tr Cherish sound and the Lord shall descend. Even so, but it is well, even so, Father, it is well, even so, Lord, it is with my soul. No matter what comes my way, you told me it is way.

Oh, come on.

I sing it is way. Swing with my soul.

Yes, it is well.

It is well with my soul.

Yeah, that's one of the good old ones. them good old ones. Um, so that's Mitch Foreman again on piano, his arrangement of it. Um, it's just amazing to me how especially after hearing, you know, seeing the the um the footage of Abby and um just knowing how like women are still trying to fight for the as Dee said something about the patriarchy. at least just moving and making some spaces more for us in jazz and in music in general and um and still needing to be able to sing and bring joy to people and constantly just reminding yourself that it is well is no matter what it is well. So hopefully those kind of songs even if you're not a Christian or whatever just hearing the resonance the frequency of what that song is trying to say to us because there's a lot going on and I think some of these songs really what's the word? They anchor us in a place that we need to go deeper and we got to be brave enough to to to anchor in them so that we can walk in them. Um that's why and that's really trust me that's really why I made this record. I mean I'm I'm whoever wants to buy it fine. For me it was very very selfish on my part. I just needed to hear these songs to remind myself again Okay. Um I don't know. What am I doing? What am I What are we doing?

You want to ask me a question or anything since I've run my mouth.

Thanks. Thanks, Lee.

Is everybody okay? I mean, that's you guys are under course. I know it's not jazz or anything, but

did did y'all see the uh go is it gospel show or gospel hour? We call

I don't know. This is W Cliff show. So, I think it's W Cliff's gospel hour. I think

uh

I am.

She is going to play.

I am going to You want me to You want me play another song right now. You you all in, huh? Um, okay. Yeah, I will definitely play another song. I just want to make sure that people understand and just know how grateful I am that you guys even came and just sat down just to listen to this and to honor that everything we do. I mean, there's this this gospel song called Everything You Touch is a song. And I'm really I believe that with my whole part, you know, um, and that all these musicians, all these people out here who are doing this, including you, you are a song, you know, because everything that the universe touches is a song. So, thank you for, you know, being open enough to hear the song that came to me and the songs I needed to hear and sharing that with me. I really appreciate it, especially in what seems to be a very divisive time right now. It's important for Yeah, sure. It's it's important for us to make spaces to honor the garden that we are all in. I mean, I did In the Garden for the Gospel Show, didn't I? I I think we did that song, right? Um Yeah. And I'm my my grandmother was um adopted by a Jewish family. And Yeah. And so um

Audience Member which side?

Niki Haris On my dad. My dad's my dad's mother was was adopted by a Jewish family basically. My greatg grandmother was a Native American in Pineluff, Arkansas in Yeah. And um back in the day, back in the day they And um and my great-grandfather was an African-American and basically they would not let my great great-g grandandmother have a baby in the hospital. And so she went to a brothel and the sisters in the brothel let her have the baby, but my great great-grandmother passed. And so the women in the brothel took my grandmother to an adoption agency and she was adopted by a Jewish family that brought her up to Chicago. Um, and the best thing my grandmother used to always say the best thing that this family did for her because it probably would not have happened in Pineluff, Arkansas in like 1913 or whatever, it would not have happened was that they taught her to read. And they told her read everything because somebody might be right. Somebody might be right. So she listened to all kinds of music. She knew how to, you know, set table for seder. She knew she was open to all forms of spirituality and um was really just really just this amazing woman with a amazing sense of humor. And I think that she learned that from the Jewish family because she was really quick. I don't know. Maybe I got a little bit of that. I'm just saying. Maybe I got a little bit of that going on there. I'm just saying.

Um, but what she really instilled in me was that because she was adopted and because she never really got to know, she didn't have any brothers and sisters. She said, "Everybody's my cousin."

And she always said it. She like, "You never know. I don't She's because she didn't know what her, you know, her mom had, her mom was gone, so she didn't know if her mom had had other children or not. and she wouldn't have known how to tell us about it because there's no paperwork, you know. Um, so she said, "Then everybody's my cousin, you know." And that's kind of how I kind of walk through life. And um,

Lee Mergner how do you think that affected your father?

Niki Haris I know how it affected him that he for him I think it's uh because he was a prodigy and to me some people some people get the fairy dust, you know, you can tell the people like I sing but then there's some people like the Sullivan Forners who sit down at the piano like

no this is part of like this is part of who he is this this instrument he came out that like that's just what he does

and my father was like that my father made more money than my grandfather ever made just by playing the piano he was like six he would go

Lee Mergner can I tell her father in case you don't know is the the great jazz pianist Gene Harris who was famous for he had a great a very successful band called

Niki Haris Three Sounds three sounds

Lee Mergner and he played with Ray Brown in Ray Brown in the later years of life and he won a Grammy for uh big band Count Basy record with the Philip Morris big band. Anyway,

Niki Haris so yeah, I think and I always think of the stories that he talked to me about because he was so gentle and so kind to people. Um but he also was a person who played in venues where he couldn't eat in them. You know, he would tell me about like having to come up in the freight elevator and he'd go into this beautiful, you know, hall, but they would take his food and put it back on the freight elevator and he would go and have to eat there. Um, so it was very very challenge challenging for me, but for him he was like, but he got he got to do what he loved to do. So part of him was not judging like what they were doing because he still got to do what he was meant to do. It's like as he said, I'm just here to do what I'm doing the job I was meant to do. What they're doing, they got to figure that part out. I'm here to do what's mine to do. As they say, you know, I'm just here to do what's mine to do. I I'm not going to try to be nobody. I'm just here to do what's mine to do. So, it's and it's really interesting because after he came back in my life as far as m musically when I was like in my late 20s, early 30s because I started working with pop artists and you know and then I had like almost 20 years with Madonna and so I would go from like Giant Stadium and then go down to the Blue Note just to be with him you know and I would see the not the struggle the commitment to do what was his to do you know not judge it not and any people how do you go from this to this there is no judging. We get to do music no matter where we get to do music. That's a gift. That's amazing. You don't you know the the lemon tree is not met at the orange tree. It's like I'm I'm part of the garden, you know. I'm just going to make my flowers and my flowers are what my flowers are, you know. Um I don't I try my best not to judge them. I think that's how he was. So he was always joyous to me, you know. I'm just mad that he was gone too soon.

Lee Mergner Yeah. During the jazz group is we're going to do one of those Jazz on film uh sessions uh with Nikki uh doing uh his his music and all. What do you want to play with?

Niki Haris Um I'm trying I'm trying to remember what's on it.

Uh oh yeah, we could do that. Speaking of Yeah. So, I was lucky enough that's why I'm doing this song, too, because I don't do I do tons of other music as well. I mean, I do jazz as well, but So, I am actually I have a song out right now that is opening for Cindy Loopers fin tour. So, yeah, it's like I I and uh so I do Yeah, I do dance music. I do, you know, all kind of all kind of music. Anyway, but she chose this song to open her concert, but uh so I decided to do one of her songs on my record, and this is the song I chose to do. You You all know it. And Eric Marenthal again is playing on it. Huh?

In my bed. I hear the clock and I think of you caught up in circles. Confusion is Nothing new. Flashback, warm night almost left behind. A suitcase of meories. Time after some time you look, picture me and I'm walking to for a You're calling to me, but I I can't hear what you said. Then you say, "Babe, go slow. I flown behind. The second hand on If you're lost, you can look and you will find me. Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you. I'll be waiting. Time after time. If you're lost, you can look and you will find time. Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you. I will be waiting time after you. You want me to sing it?

Time after time.

Sing it.

Are you enjoying it? Darkness has turned to gray. Watching through your window and you're wondering if I'm okay that secrets are stolen from deep inside. Trump It's out of time.

If you're lost, you can look and you will find me.

Time after time.

That's right.

If you fall, I will catch you. I'll be waiting.

What' you say?

Time after time. If you're lost, you can look. And you will find time after time. If you fall, I will catch you. I will be wasting time after.

Play Eric. Play Eric. Say go slow and fall behind from the sun of time. you. If you're lost, you can look and you will find me time and time. If you fall, I will catch you. I'll be waiting. Oh, time after time. If you're lost, you can look. You going to find time. Time after time. If you fall, I will catch you. I will be waiting time after time. But I know if you love you can look and you are going to find it. Time after turning time. If you fall, I will catch you. I will be I'm about to die. Just want to spend more time. Yeah. Set your fing time.

So I'm going to hold on to your hand.

See it in my baby's face. Yeah.

Time after time.

Oh, I just got to spend more time. Just want to spend some time.

Okay, I forgot you guys. The reason I mean Cindy is a friend and but the real reason I had chosen that song geez it all came back to me because what I was going

y'all I am such a big old crybaby sorry no because I was dealing with like I said the bank stuff and I was really just going like I'm doing this all by myself and that feeling of like I can't keep the plates spinning I just can't spin them all And I was trying to like, you know, get all the tax stuff together, you know, and I'm and and I'm I'm just tap dancing at the banks and trying to go from bank to bank trying to like get a freaking loan for to get this house because I was like, if somebody would sell a house from under me while I'm out of town and come back and all my stuff is like, you know, I got to put it in storage really quick. It's in the middle of a school year. I'm trying to like and I still got to take work and I'm like, what am I going to do? And this talk about putting your money where your mouth is. This couple said, "What bank are you going to?" And they I think they heard me like, you know, talking over No, it was my daughter's pediatrician. It was her parents and they heard me telling the story of what I was going through and they're like, "They're sending you through all that." And they're like, "What bank are you going to?" And I said, "Well, um, you know, I'm at da da da da bank and I just I just don't think I'm going to be able to, you know, I'm going to have to move us all back to California because I can't deal with this and I'm going to end up in jail cuz I'm going to try to I'm going to shoot somebody. I'm going to catch a case. I'm going to catch a case. And they were like, "No, no, no, no, no. If you need something, call us.

You got family here." And I was like, "What?" They're like, "No, no, no. We love you. If you're lost, you can look and you're going to find me." And they were like, "You ain't got to never do that no more." And that's because God gives you what you need, not always what you you want, but we'll give you what you need. And they said, "Don't you ever feel lonely down here." Huh? I know. A hot mess. See y'all, I could have just did a jazz record. We could be doing

We could be doing Sweet Lraine right now or something. But no. Um, yeah. And I remember because I remember calling her girlfriend and she's like, "Oh, I'm, you know," she was just frustrated and she was just like, "I can't believe they're taking you through all of this." And all they can do is make a phone call and then all of a suen you you you know and I was like yeah but I'm so grateful that I have somebody that can make that phone call that's the thing and so that's what opened up in my heart I was like I am not alone cuz all I got to do is tell the universe what I need and it shows up and it's like if you're lost you can look and you will find me like I once again lift thine eyes whatever you believe in I don't know you know if it's cheeseburgers go for it I don't care I'm just saying for me that was just like the universe got you the or is what my spiritual teacher always said, the universe is conspiring for your good.

conspiring for your good. Never ever worry about a thing. Or Stevie said that too, right? Don't you worry about a thing. Yeah. Um but you know, that's Yeah. part of a

Yeah, it's it is such a beautiful song because it's not boy, girl. It's not, you know what I mean? It's beyond gender. It's even beyond, as you say, it's even beyond even just

it's spiritual. It's not gospel. It's just like when you think of what those words mean, it's not about, it's about if you're lost, you can look and you're gonna find me time after time. Every time like every time you thought you were by yourself. No, no, no, no, no. I got you. Right. Ha. Come on. Or as they say, hashe. She came in a Honda. She left in a Honda. Yeah, I said it. Um, anyway,

you should just keep going on.

Ah, you want to do that? I know.

No, I was just saying you should keep going on.

Okay. Um, how much time I got? Okay.

Um,

so are you guys getting it? You liking this?

It's not too much. If I get too heavy, let me know. Um,

let me see. What do I got on the

You also had I got lost.

Um,

let's do Yeah, let's do that.

Let's do that. No, let's do I Got Lost because that's that's how I felt.

Okay, good.

Yeah, let's do let's do that. This was my um that's it.

And this is an Irving Berlin song that actually is from a play, but for me it was a spiritual song for me when I heard the words because it's like we've all been here. I know I have. Feeling lost.

I got lost in the dark and I lost my way.

Right.

It was cold in the dark. But I had to stay.

Holy water.

A clear.

The liquid is clear. seem to say there you go.

Am I clean?

There you go.

I'm changing how I felt when I felt fast. Right.

And she broke

and she broke my phone.

And she said to my heart,

right?

As I foolishly kept jumping all around, all around your side,

I got lost. Yeah. But look what I found. Yeah. Yeah. That's Mitchell Foreman on piano.

Mitchell uh played for a while with Wayne, right? He was in Wayne's electric band. Just one of those uh he was in Wayne Charter's Electric Band. That's right. Kind of a one of those secret weapon type of guy.

Secret weapon. Total secret weapon.

She how I felt when I fell. I just can't recall. But God's arms held me fast and broken my fall. And she said to my heart as I foolishly kept jumping all around all around your side, I got lost. But look what I found. That's right.

Look in this music. I found love and family, too. Yeah. Yeah. I know I found music and peace. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Look, ain't nothing but music making you look good in everything. Look for the music. No matter what the news says, music is good. This music is good. No matter what the TV says, people are good.

Oh my god.

People are good. Look what I found.

Look what we found. Look what we created, y'all. Look.

We got to kiss. Keep looking. Cuz you see what you believe. So blessed right.

Yeah. Y'all feeling that? Who has this record?

Who has it? Have I signed? Okay. Have I signed them?

Okay, I'm going to sign it before we leave today. I'm going definitely sign it. Thank you guys for supporting that.

Huh? You want to get one?

Oh, well, I have one more that I I actually

Yeah, you might. I mean, I don't know if there's a few left in the store. Maybe a few. But

they say it's sold out.

It's sold out.

How many did you bring?

I bought over a hundred CDs, y'all.

For real. I'm sold out.

Don't look at me. I I stole one. You know, I

Well, somebody somebody can buy this one. Somebody somebody can buy this one. You want to All right. Somebody gonna buy this one

cuz I got a kid in college and I don't give nothing away for free.

Okay.

I'm blessed, but I ain't stupid, y'all.

Cash is as good as me.

Um Yeah. Um so yeah. Yeah. Look at She's like, "Okay, we'll

maybe we should auction it. What do you think?"

Yeah. For the highest bidder. Hey, I like that even better. You guys, thank you so much for sticking around. Where we got time?

Oh, we still got time. Okay, let's see what we Let me see. Let me see. Let me see what my choices are. Let me see what my choices are.

Oh, yeah. Let me see my play. Well, hold on. Cuz there is one I want to uh Oh, lord. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Ah. I know. Right. You see, you saw it, right? I want to do Yeah. Let's do Let's do just just keep going. Yeah. Because that's just a simple one.

Which one?

This is Yeah. just keep going up.

Yeah. Um, and as you can tell, a lot of this has like a little southern influence because I' I've moved down to Augusta, Georgia. And so all of a sudden I was like, God, a lot of my stuff is kind of getting a little bit of a um, so how many years did I live in Michigan? I still have a home there. Uhhuh. St. Joseph Benton Harbor. I'm on Kfax. 1041 KFax. If Yes. It's a 20inut that a 20minute boat ride straight across from Chicago at the very mouth of of Lake Michigan. Straight ac and it was Al Capone's vacation spot.

Yes. And in the 30s he used to um cuz you know all the boxers and the wrestlers were um owned by the mob on a quiet. No one really knew that

musicians too

and well that part. Um but yeah he used to train his boxers and his wrestlers there in our hometown Bobo Brazil. and all these like great these these incredible you know anyway so yeah that's my hometown and so when my mom passed I used because I always thought like we lived I thought we lived so you know your your your perception of where you live and what it was like is different when you get grown right so when my mom passed away my sisters were like I think we should sell the house and I was like you know let's let's go back and let's just take a look at what mom and dad did for us And trust me, it's a gingerbread house that's four blocks from the beach. And I was like, we are not selling this house. And it's like, my mom and dad were so so smart. But this is also back when you could buy a home for your kids and raise your kids, you know, and be that close to the water. So now, yeah, I got really, really lucky. I have this beautiful little piece of property that I think of my mom and dad when I walk in there, and I'm just so grateful that they stuck to their guns and got this home for us. And um so that's where I live in Michigan. Yeah. So I'm I'm rambling. I'm rambling.

Yeah. And I still live I still live there. I'm actually I so I rented out and here's the good news. This No, last year Jack Nicholas.

Nicholas.

Nicholas. Who's the golf

Jack Nicholas? Not Nicholson. Jack Nicholas just start. He built

golf course.

Oh, sorry. He built built yeah he he built a $300 million golf course that along Lake Michigan. So they the people come from Chicago and go and they play golf and it's he brought the senior PGA through my hometown now. So I rent out to golfers there too as well as to the house in Augusta. So you know I don't play golf but I'm like I know a lot of people like it. So you know got really lucky.

Again we call that mailbox money.

Yeah it's mailbox money. It's it's also Yeah, it is because you know If I keep doing this, I sing till I die. Um, which I'm grateful for, but you know, we got to have a back the backup plan. Um, and so we're going to do this. And this is this is one of those songs once again that um is a Eric Bib, his is his name, and he wrote this song. And it's just a simple little diddy, but it is like when you're feeling like you're going down that, you know, that rabbit hole, which many of us can, many nations can, many people We have to remind ourselves. No, no, no, no, no. This

Audience Member Who did you say wrote the song?

Niki Haris Eric Bib.

Uhhuh. Eric Bib the blues guy. So check it out. This, you know, and this little diddy hear the southern stuff. Say, just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep on. You take every knock as a boo and every stumbling block as a stepping stone. Lift up your head and hold your

What we going to do?

Just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep going.

Take every knock.

Take every there's a boost. In every stumbling block, there's a stepping stone. Then bump your head and Hold your own. I say that every young woman also to every young man. Sometimes you get discouraged. Don't stop and ring your hands. Your privilege cannot be taken. Rights cannot be banned. And if someone like me can make it, I know you can. Come on. Just keep moving on. What we going to do? Just keep going on. That's what we got to do. Just keep going. And all just keep going on. You take every knock as a boost and every block as a stepping stone. You lift up and hold your own. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. You take every knock as a loose. And every stumbling block as a stepping stone and Hold your baby. Oh yeah. Here we go, y'all. Just keep going on. It's the last day, y'all. I get to have one. I get to have one. Just keep going. Just keep going. on. Just keep on knock and every stumbling block as a stepping stone. Lift up your head and hold your bow. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. Just keep going on.

That's right. Just keep going on. Just keep going on. You take every knock as a boost and every stumbling block as a stepping stone. Get up your head and lot of solo. Joe, let the band play.

That's not Eric. No, this is Alex. We call him Maybelline. He's like the top notch first call guitar player in LA.

Yes, Mr. Maybelline.

Now, just keep going on.

Just keep going on.

What you going to do?

Just keep going. in the arm and just keep moving on. Take every knock as a boost and every stumbling block as a stepping stone. Lift up your head and hold your own. Just keep going. Take every knock as a boost. And every stumbling block has a stepping stone. Lift up your head and hold your own. Just keep going. Take every stumbling block. Lift up your head and hold your funky now. Keep going.

What we going to do?

Keep going. I said

keep