A Contagious Smile Podcast
A Contagious Smile is a powerful platform dedicated to uplifting and empowering special needs families and survivors of domestic violence. Through heartfelt stories, we shine a light on the journeys of extraordinary individuals who have overcome unimaginable challenges. Their triumphs serve as a testament to resilience and strength, inspiring others to rediscover their own inner light. Each episode features candid interviews with survivors, advocates, and experts who provide valuable resources and insights to support those on their own paths to healing and empowerment. Join us as we celebrate the power of resilience, the beauty of shared stories, and the unstoppable spirit of those who turn adversity into hope. Let us guide you in rekindling your spirit, because every smile tells a story of courage and transformation.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
How Muck Sticky Turns Grit Into Joy And Advocacy Into Action
Some stories crack you open in the best way. This conversation with Muck Sticky blends raw honesty, laugh-out-loud moments, and a deep well of heart—from Cookie’s courage through major dental surgery to a life lesson stitched into pajama pants that became a personal promise: be comfortable in your own skin and stop bending for strangers. We trace a DIY music career built on personal responsibility, boundary setting, and a belief that joy isn’t an accident—it’s daily work.
We go inside the pajama origin story, why shock can be a tool for healing when it’s guided by compassion, and how a song becomes a pressure valve for people navigating clinics, classrooms, and hard days. Muck talks about writing for himself first, trusting that authentic delight travels further than a perfectly engineered hook. He opens up about Cookie’s Williams syndrome, the real costs of “optional” dental care, and what it means to fight insurance red tape while guarding your spirit. There’s practical advice too: find your tribe, grow organically, look for grants and aligned sponsors, and lead with human connection instead of ads that miss the people who need help.
We also spotlight a grassroots learning academy designed for special needs families, with free and low-cost courses on adaptive learning, advocacy, caregiver resilience, and navigating insurance. The through-line is clear: set boundaries, love yourself enough to stay present, and let humor keep the air moving when life gets heavy. By the end, you’ll understand why a pajama creed can anchor a life, why Cookie’s smile could power a city, and why art that makes you laugh can also help you breathe.
If this conversation lifted you, share it with someone who needs a grin, hit follow for more human-first stories, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your words help our tribe grow.
Good evening. Welcome to a very special episode of a Contagious Smile Unstoppable. I am so excited. This is like a little kid at Christmas here. I have Mux Sticky here. And anybody who's ever followed me, heard from me, listens to me, all of our millions of followers know that I'm a huge Mux Sticky fan. So this is like me in awe right now. So thank you so much for finding the time to come on here and do this with us.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on. I love what you do.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, thank you. First, happy early birthday.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01:And I have to ask how is Cookie's birthday? Her birthday's three days after mine.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, really? Wow, that's cool. It was fantastic. Uh, you know, mom's is the day before hers. So uh we always have every it's always a weeklong party. Uh we go out to dinner with multiple different friends throughout the week. And uh she got a surprise phone call from some of her friends she hasn't seen in a while, and so that was nice. It was really, really, really nice. Great birthday again this year. She's doing so well after her uh surgery she went through.
SPEAKER_01:So I was watching that, and her teeth are absolutely phenomenally beautiful. Not that she isn't already because she's such a light. I love watching her. I love how she lights up when you're around. I absolutely love that. Like you seem like such a strength of light for her.
SPEAKER_02:Well, she's I I must say she's that for me, really. And if I am that for her, it's the least I can do because she's taught me so much throughout life and kept me grounded uh through all the experiences I've been through, you know, going being in the music business and um dealing with some of the things you have to deal with. It's it's easy for a lot of people to um lose their sense of spirit. And um she's helped keep that strong, you know, having her in my life every day.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, what's amazing is these beautiful souls don't let the little things bother them. They they see such beauty and they appreciate every single day of life. Like with our daughter Faith, she literally doesn't take a thing for granted. She's spunky, she's raunchy at times, she she's a big, huge prankster. But it's literally, they teach us how to love. They teach us how just to be grounded. And I I was reading one of the things back when about, you know, the trials and tribulations of the insurance, which is outrageous. It's ridiculous. I advocate for special needs families as well, and I help them through that process because you shouldn't have to worry about that while you're worrying about your loved one.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That's that's the number one thing. It's it's um for uh, you know, we've been through quite a bit ourselves, but it I know it's a lot worse for a lot of others too. And uh that's it's something like you said, you shouldn't have to be dealing with it when you're also dealing with the emotional uh concern that comes along with health problems, you know. Uh so it it's it's like it compounds, you know. It'd be nice if there were more people who looked out for those who can't, you know, have a tough enough time looking out for themselves without that added burden.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely, absolutely. And then I I read how you even stated that whatever the insurance didn't cover, you were gonna find a way to do that. And that was such a long time ago. And that's when I was like, I think that's back when I started following you. And I was like, oh, that's amazing because so many people aren't like that anymore. It's all me, me, me, what can you do for me to hell with everybody else? And that's not how this should be anymore. That's not how people should be.
SPEAKER_02:No, you know, um it's unfortunate uh that things are the way they are, but you you almost also have to say, well, that's the way it is, and I'm gonna have to work around it. You know, you can bitch moan and complain about the way things are all the time, but that's not helping really anybody get further down the road, you know. Uh so I just I've always been one to kind of take things into my own hands. That's why my career is the way it is. I've never had a you know a record deal or a manager or any of those things that a lot of artists have, because I've always just said, well, I'll just do it myself, you know. Uh I like personal responsibility. I'm a fan of personal responsibility. I think there should be more of that, more of it in the world. Uh, but also you can't always do everything yourself. Um, my career might be further along had I delegated some of the responsibility out a long way. Uh, it may, as time goes on, it's something I'm learning to do. Uh, but when it comes to paying for help things, you know, um, especially those with special needs, they certainly should have um uh a cared for uh system, you know, that that looks out for them. And uh because they certainly don't have any say so in what keeps them from being able to have the same amount of personal responsibility many of us are able to have, you know. And so I don't know, I just think we should look out for for those that can't look out for themselves as well as some of us can, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And I love it because every time I see Cookie and her smile, it's just she lights it up. Like her smile is so genuine, it lights up in her eyes, and it's so funny because people say all the time that you can't see it if you're involved in it. But when I'm watching her and the videos with you, you can see how much she looks up to you, and it's just so sweet. It really is.
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh, like I said, she has always been a light in my world. My mom says she's our conduit to God, you know. She uh she's so pure in spirit, you know. She gets her feelings hurt, she has anger toward people in the world, just like other, you know, most of us do. But hers is um she's so easy and willing to forgive people who uh aren't don't have that genuine spirit, you know. And um I think that's why I like to look out for her because I know that the world isn't always genuine. Yeah. And um it's been my focus m my whole life to here's my baby sister I look out for. I remember when we were kids, you know, there would be kids in the neighborhood that would make fun of her or sometimes physically abusive, you know. And I've I've smacked a couple of kids when I was young, uh, who were hurting her or even other little girls in the neighborhood, you know what I mean? Um, I've just, you know, I'm the same way with animals too. You know, if I ever saw somebody picking on an animal or treating an animal not right, I will knock you the f out. You know what I mean? Pardon my French. Uh but you're free. Is that French? I've always wondered. We always say that, pardon my French, but yeah, I think it's just a saying. Which of those words actually are French and which ones aren't, because I just when you go tell them to go themselves. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, and that's just the way unfortunately that's the way it is in life. You know, I spent most of my early years in Muxticky thinking that you know everybody's your friend, you know, and it's not that way, unfortunately, in life. You have to discern and and um have a little bit of judgment, you know. Uh people talk about we shouldn't judge anybody. And you're right when it comes to you know, like somebody's clothing style or you know, the music they listen to or whatever, you know what I mean? Like that, those kinds of you know, the way something somebody's born with, you know what I mean? A physical condition, or but when it comes to people's behavior and the way they choose to be, you do kind of have to look at that, I think, yeah. Uh in life and and have a little discernment about who you allow into your personal world. You know, we can't control how everybody is in the world, um, but we can um we can have a little bit of uh um uh drawing a line, you know, however you want to put it, you know. You you have to have boundaries, I think is the term people call it these days, you know. Um uh you do have to you do have to set some boundaries and and have a little bit of self-conviction, you know, and that's what I try to inspire in my music, hopefully, with people is to have that knowledge of when to say, you know, go fuck yourself.
SPEAKER_01:And I love it because you well, you call cookie your best friend, and then I I hear all these things. First of all, I'm incredibly envious of the fact that you have set a Guinness World record for wearing pajama pants more days than anybody, and I love that. I I love it. I actually will go out to appointments in pajama pants, and people look at me and I don't care. I don't care. You know, people look at me and I'm a recent amputee. Um, I lost my arm. And so I tell people I'm Captain Hook's sister and I'm chilling in my pajamas.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. Good for you. Good for you. Embrace it. Uh, you know, I do I do try to look decent. I don't there there is to me, I think, a line between like not giving a shit what people think and then not giving a fuck about yourself, you know. There you and you have to know that you you have to give a fuck about yourself, but you also have to not give a fuck about what people think about you. And when you give a fuck about yourself, you're still gonna dress decent. When I go out in public, I don't look like I, you know, just got out of bed and all disheveled and slobinly looking, you know what I mean? Because I wouldn't be giving a shit about myself. I do care how I look, I look nice, but pajamas, you know, I'll tell the story for your audience that may not know the story, um, how the pajama pants thing came to be. So um my best friend when I was young, I met him when I was 15, he was 12, uh, and we were best friends for nine years. Um he developed multiple sclerosis, and through that had a series of health problems. It was just like one thing after another, and it went over the course of two years, he went down downhill pretty fast. And um so the day of his funeral, I wore slacks to the funeral because that's what you do. You dress in nice clothes because other people are gonna be there and you care about what they think and that sort of thing. That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to dress in black clothes, and so I wore a pair of his slacks actually because I didn't I had already been wearing pajama pants as muck sticky for about a year, year and a half, two years maybe. Um, and so he had seen it, he'd been to some muck sticky shows. I was already starting to become muck-sticky, and the day of I wore those slacks, and I was appallbearer, so it was a very physical, physically strenuous day, a lot of crying and emotion, and um over the course of the day, the slacks started busting apart at the seams. Like at the end of it, like the crotch was like torn apart, and like the legs like they were flapping in the breeze, you know what I mean? And and like I'm at this funeral, the shit's all torn apart, you know, and I'm here, I am trying to look nice, but I still don't, you know what I mean? And it was like nobody had I been wearing pajama pants, nobody in that group would have probably cared. And if they did, I took it as him saying it's like, man, even if they did, and they like judged you and look at you like I would he wouldn't care. My friend who was dead, and it's his funeral, right? He wouldn't care whether I was wearing pajama pants or not. He knew I wore pajama pants as like my thing, and um so I took it as him saying, like, man, don't change yourself for these people, you know what I mean. Most of them I didn't know anyway. It was like his grandparents and older people that I didn't know, you know, and um, and still anyway, the pants were torn apart. So I was like, you know what? From here on out, I'm not changing who I am for anybody. I'm gonna be comfortable in what I wear, and and I'm comfortable in pajama pants. I'm not comfortable in these tight clothes, and it just doesn't, and I get this one life. I'm gonna be in that, I'm gonna be in the ground like that one of these days, or hopefully I'll be dusting the ocean. But, you know, uh I'm I'm not gonna be here. This life is short, it's precious. Be yourself while you're alive. You know, don't let the opinions of others hinder you from doing that. And so uh the day after his funeral, I started I went back in my pajama pants, and that was July 2nd, 2002, and I've worn pajama pants every single day all day. It is my personal and professional attire. Um I will say there have been times when I've done movies or music videos where I played a character or something where I had to wear a costume, you know, and I I concede that because it's all for the art, you know what I mean? It's not like I'm uh not being myself, I'm still being creative, you know what I mean? So um, but even still, the pajama pants are on underneath those outfits. Like when we made Dig That Zebo Newton, our movie. I don't know if you ever saw that. Um uh cookies in that. Uh did a great job in that too. And uh, but I wore a pair of overalls, but there were pajama pants on underneath, and when the camera stopped rolling, the overalls came off, and I was back in pajama pants. So I've done that every day since then. Guinness actually, uh, you know, because they require um proof of it. Proof of it. We sent them, we sent it, we submitted it many years back, like 10 years ago, and they were like, hey, we recognize you're the only one with this record, but because there's not we haven't had somebody with you for and you can't have somebody from Guinness be with you every single day, it's not something we can officiate, which is like the technical thing. They have to have somebody officiate it. Uh, but you do hold the record. So they've they've acknowledged it. And uh and yeah, I'm still wearing wearing some Pokemon pajama pants right now.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. I'm sorry for your best friend. I'm sorry for the loss that you went through.
SPEAKER_02:And um, yeah, I appreciate that. You know, it's it's tough uh for anybody when they go through something like that in life, but I think it should teach us, you know, uh what's really important, you know, the fragility of life.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And what I absolutely just love about Muck Sticky.
SPEAKER_04:You are a little long-winded.
SPEAKER_01:No, that's what we're here for. There's so many things that I love about who you are. But one of the things that I love is like even in the very, very beginning, this is how far I have followed you back, is that when you would go on stage, you had like lights playing as band members. And you you would dress them up. And the fact that like I've done all this, I started a contagious smile 20 years ago, and I've never had someone tell me how to do it, what to do. Um, you know, and I have literally just given all of it back. And it's not about recognition for me, it's helping others. That's the whole thing of what I want to do.
SPEAKER_02:And sometimes you've come a long way with it. You really, you really can. I mean, it's thank you. Uh and that does, you know, you gotta give credit where credit's due. And and you should be okay with um accepting a little praise and credit, you know. Hi, Pot.
SPEAKER_01:Nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_02:It's good to do for others, but it's okay to do for you too. You know what I mean? Keep that in mind. Uh thanks, Pot. Don't don't don't sell yourself short, as the saying goes.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, but you have also released the record. I I don't think I've come anywhere close to the record. Um I've done 43 books, and you have done you have the world record for the most albums released in a day, which is amazing. And it's like there's no stopping you.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you it was funny, the the pajama pants thing. Me and my uh uh one of my creative uh friends, Nick, uh I know Nick. Yeah, yeah, I think you know Nick. He uh we were sitting around talking about the pajama pant thing and you know how it couldn't be officiated. And we were like, well, what's something that can be officiated? And we came up, hey, well, why don't we just what's you know what's something musically that they can you know see and and document that would be and we were like, well, why don't we release we we pitched around a few ideas before we settled on the most albums on one day, and uh so we had had a bunch of tracks we had worked on together, uh, and I'd worked on some myself, and we just knuckled down and buckled down and spent about four months putting once we we submitted the thing to Guinness, and it took a few months for them to get back and say, okay, uh, this is how many you need to do a minimum of seven. And we were like, well, we could do seven, but why don't we do ten? And just to really set the bar a little bit higher. And so um they had a bunch of rules you had to follow. It was like, you know, tracks that couldn't be released and certain lengths and all this stuff, and it took them like three or four months to even get back to us before they're like, okay, you can set this record, and here's how you submit the evidence and all that stuff. And uh, so we did we worked on that. We that's when we got full steam into making it. It was probably a total of about a year before from submitting the idea, coming up with the idea and submitting it, to putting the albums out. And uh it's been a little over a year since we put them out, and they're still going strong. People are still jamming them. Um, I'm working on a new one.
SPEAKER_01:Is that what's coming out the 29th?
SPEAKER_02:Um, well, no, I have a new song coming out on the 24th with my bros in the band Bonsai called Pocket Full of Pre-Rolls. It's a fun reggae song. But the new album will probably be coming in the spring, I'm thinking. I'm gonna take time. I'm gonna take more time for just one album. Since I crammed 10 albums out, uh, and we spent a lot of time on it. It was even longer than I normally would spend on an album, one album, of course, but I'm gonna take some time on this one album and just really fine tune the songs and pick and be a little uh selective with what I'm doing. I I've had this grand vision for a long time of making a musical like Little Shop of Horrors or something like that. Um so much fun. So that's I think that's kind of the direction I'm headed in. I've made a few tracks here and there, but I I'm pretty sure that's the direction I'm gonna end up going. It's like a a muck sticky origin story, but kind of like a musical, I guess.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. I have to tell you, I had people ask me how much I really knew they kind of quizzed me about how much I really knew about you, and a lot of people don't know where your name came from. I did. I knew where your name came from because I love Steve Irwin. I was awesome. He was awesome. God rest him. I love him. And then you love Beck. And then on top of it, we got everything mixed in together, and here we are with Muxticky.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So uh it's um being creative is such a a fortunate thing, you know. Yeah, I think many people have the ability to be creative, but they don't let themselves be as creative as they could because they're again concerned with the good opinion of others, you know. Um it hold that holds a lot of people back as the opinion of other people. Um I think you have to sort of let go of that. Uh as long as you did what you're doing, you know, and and you set yourself some rules. I mean, you shouldn't just go around saying, all right, I'm gonna just like let all the horrible things that I can imagine out of me. Because I mean, then you could do just, you know, you can do anything, but for me, I recognize that I recognized early on that uh the stuff I'm gonna create, I'm gonna have to sort of hang on to for the rest of my life. It's gonna be part of my world for the rest of my life. Right. And I remember hearing a lot of people sing about the people they didn't like or someone they fell out of love with and you know, treated them poorly or whatever, you know, and like I don't want to be singing about that person for the rest of my life, you know. Um, so I want to sing about the things I do love. Now, I can't say I've always stayed true to that rule. There are some things that I did sing about early on that I'm not a fan of anymore, but um that was part of my artistic development. Uh that's how we all figure out our way creatively, and so I feel blessed to just have the opportunity every day to be creative. And um, but the name thing, yeah, Muck Sticky, Steve Irwin, he was such a cool cat, man. Uh I was so passionate about his show, and the day I wrote my first song, his show was on TV, and it just it all kind of like culminated in this perfect thing. Um I I miss that guy, man. Uh I mean I still watch his shows from back then, but it's not the same. His son, Robert, is doing a really good job keeping stuff alive, you know. He's a great kid and uh admire the way he does it, but there was just something about Steve's energy, man, that he was one. He was a one of a kind, man. You know, there's only there's there was only one Steve Irwin. One of a kind. He was one of them.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, he's amazing. His son's really doing a great job, but absolutely. I mean, he's trying to, you know, make memory for his father forever and ever, but there's only one Steve Irwin, right? So absolutely, yeah, 100%. What is your absolute favorite song of all of yours to sing?
SPEAKER_02:Oh goodness, to sing. Um, man. Probably had to say one day at a time. That's uh my mom sings on that one, and cookies sings on it with us too. Uh when she's at the show, when they're at the shows, they sing it with me. When I'm when I sing it at a show, uh, I leave that second verse. I let that my mom's vocals play during that second verse, you know. Uh that's probably my favorite one. Um I have a lot of songs that I could say are my favorite. And I wouldn't even say that's my favorite song. You asked to sing. And so that's why I was able to pinpoint that because during the show, it's usually the last song of the show, and it's just um, it makes me feel good when I'm singing that song. Um, but uh of my songs, I couldn't say that I have a favorite one. They're all like my kids. I'm married. I I often tell people I'm married to the music, and the songs are my child are children, you know. Um uh so together we made we've made some beautiful children. Some of them are uh not as well behaved as others. They're a little bit naughty, if you will. And uh, but uh some of them are better behaved, and and I do like some more than others, but um my mom, there are some that she can't absolutely cannot stand. Really? I get that. You know, some of my dirtier stuff from the early days, she's just like, yeah, it's a little whatever, you know. But she doesn't say it shouldn't have been made because she understands and respects that artistry, you know what I mean. But um, I was wilder when I was younger, a lot wilder uh in my early 20s, and and oftentimes have said things and you know still do just to be provocative, you know what I mean, just to be outrageous or outlandish, whatever, whatever word you want to put on it. Uh, just because I feel like a lot of times people are conditioned to be in a certain frame of mind, you know, and like this is the rules, this is bad, that, you know, and like uh I think you have to use your instinct on that. If it does feel bad to you, then cool it is, but uh a lot of times things that are funny require a little bit of shock value, you know. You sometimes have to be like, oh, because I remember being that way growing up and hearing stuff that I had never heard before and going, holy cow, that's hilarious! You know, like that's something I've never heard before. And so I've always wanted to do that in music is make things that I've never heard before. And at the time when I started making music, it was like the late 90s, early 2000s. We had been through the 90s, which is one of the most outlandish decades. South Park came about, you know, MMs and so many artists that's pushed the boundaries to the extremes. And it was like, okay, well, in order to make a name for yourself, you got to kind of push the limits, you know, and say things that people have never heard before. So I was like, I want to say things that people have never heard before and that make me and my friends laugh when I when I say them and I write them. I'm writing a song right now called Wild One. As I said, I was a Wild One when I was younger, but when I'm writing these songs, it's like I'm I'm making myself laugh. You know, I'm trying to like come up with something that tickles me and and and makes me go, it's fucking hilarious, you know? So half the time I'm sitting here laughing by myself, and if I can do that, then I know it's hopefully gonna make other people laugh. And that when I'm doing that, I know I'm following that rule of you know, heard Rick Rubin and all these people talking about like um make a diary entry, do something because you like it. And if you like it, then people will like it. Don't consider the audience, just make it because you enjoy it. And if you enjoy it inherently, hopefully other people will enjoy it. So I try to keep that in mind when I make a stuff, do something that I'm gonna enjoy when I listen to it. And so like I said, I'm I'm being alone winded again in a little bit, but when uh my favorite songs are, you know, I love them all for their own thing, you know what I mean? For what they helped me feel while I was making it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, my uh, you know, you got to meet Faith uh before we went on and started to record. She we almost lost her again last year. Um she went to full organ, we almost lost her again last year. She went into full organ failure. Um, and now she has kidney disease on top of the cranial facial. And so we would like sit there and you know listen to music and talk and stuff, and then she still is followed with all of the specialists. And so I took her to one of her appointments and I tell her sometimes, you know, today's gonna be a good day, and we listen to the video, you know, or you're in the bathroom, we listen to so she was sitting in there in the doctor's office and he came in and made some comment, and she's you know, starts humming. And he's like, What are you humming? And everybody's fascinated because her tongue doesn't move. And so I used to teach her instead of saying I need, I want, or you know, she learned sign very young. Um, I taught her sign language. So for her to be able to communicate and the doctors would be like, What are you humming? What are you saying? You know, and she's like, You don't want to know. So when she was little, like because of a proxia, she couldn't say B, Ps, or M's. So instead of Apple, and if she hated the doctors, she would say asshole. And I was like, Oh, she's saying Apple, you know, trying to be mom. And then so we're at the doctor not long ago, and she's humming because I play your music all the time. And it helps me de-stress. And the doctor looked at her and was like, What are you humming? And she was like, Oh, you don't want to know. He's like, Yeah, I do. And she's like, Oh, go fuck yourself, suck a bag of dicks.
SPEAKER_02:That's so good for her. I'm so happy today. That feels my soul. That's so awesome. That is so awesome.
SPEAKER_01:You know, um so you really do get into, you know, you make everybody when their day is tough, you make it so much easier because a smile, that's where we got the contagious smile, is because every smile tells a story and they're all beautiful. And if you can't smile, then you can get stuck back at it.
SPEAKER_02:It is it can it is contagious, you know. You uh when you see somebody else smile, it helps you smile, you know. And um I was gonna ask a couple of things. Did she has she seen the girl Tacey that does must does fuck off in sign language?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Oh yes, yes, because I've signed up with her too. Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. Good for her. I'm glad to know that. Um, I just wanted to make sure I plugged her because she's done quite a few of those and they're so awesome. I love it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, she has a special need son.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. I can't remember what it is.
SPEAKER_01:No, he's bedridden. I know that.
SPEAKER_02:But she's she's amazing. She does amazing stuff. And uh, but what I was gonna say, that song, uh, you know. Early on in my career, uh, because of what I was saying a minute ago about like, I'm not gonna uh talk about the lover I had a fallen out with or something, you know. I mean, I'm not gonna make my my songs about anybody in particular because that song's not about anybody in particular. That it's like I it's like a culmination of like 20 years of not telling people to fuck off, you know? Um, and uh so to every time I see somebody, especially I love the blind reactions that people do like on TikTok and stuff to that song, it's just the best thing ever. Because you can see that person's like maybe not in the you know, they're on their guard. They're not they're not they're not loose and free, you know. And when they hear those lyrics, especially it seems like the shitty grandkids line is the one that finally gets everybody, right? Uh but as soon as as soon as it comes on, you can see their expression change, and I love that because it's evident that um there's power in what I was saying a minute ago, but shock shock value, but also laughter, you know, um smile. And uh when we amplify that, uh even if it's letting go of a frustration, like go fuck yourself. Um you're you're you can be so mad at somebody or something in the world, and it's like when you release that feeling, uh, no matter if it's that song or whatever kind of music you listen to, or some people go rock climbing, some people punch a punch a bag, you know, there's all kinds of ways to uh health uh in a healthy way release your stress, you know. Yes, and so I feel like my job is to help people relieve their stress through music. And if it just makes you smile a little bit, uh, I've done my job. And because the world is so full of horrible, nasty shit, right? And so many bad people doing things that we don't like. And if we can just sort of let go of that and overcome it, then I feel like it'll help us all in general, you know. Um, and so to know that song helps her in that way. I mean, that's to if it's just a stressful situation like going to the doctor, you know, I know what that's like. Um Cookie knows what that's like, you know. Um to be able to find some relief in that, man, that just to me, that's what it's all about, you know, like because life is never gonna not have those stressful moments. Right. And if we can alleviate them and be more in tune with ourselves throughout, be present and aware, you know, that's to me, that's just that's everything. That's everything. Yeah, I'm so thrilled to know that. I don't know how how good that makes me feel to know that.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I'll give you a funny one. My husband, who's sitting over here beside me, he was my rock. Um, he was my soulmate. I met him over 25 years ago, and the timing was wrong. And I tried the jealousy thing, which didn't work, and I married the man that beat me and was abusive. And so now we're back together, we've been together for a while now, and he legally adopted Faith, and that's his daughter. And he always calls her his squiggly.
SPEAKER_02:What a man hat hats off to him. Thank you, yeah, for sure. Absolutely, man.
SPEAKER_01:So what's so funny is one of well, Seth, I I always have to put a silver lining around everything. So, like now that I've lost my arm, my husband will be like, Oh, is it half off? I'd be like, Yeah, you're not getting any handouts, I'll tell you that.
SPEAKER_02:So, like, it's I love people who can embrace the and make comedy out of it. It's so you have to so great. Have you ever seen um have you ever seen the movie The Way Way Back?
SPEAKER_01:I think I have. It's been a while.
SPEAKER_02:If it's what I think Correll with where the kid gets the job at the water park.
SPEAKER_01:Haven't we seen that?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, you have to watch this movie. Way, way back the way, way back.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:It's got Steve Carrell and um Tony Colette. She's in a lot of movies. Yeah, she's so good in it. Uh is got I mean, there's so many good people in that movie, but um it's there's a moment just just watch that movie. And there's a kid who has a wandering eye, and he meets the the guy who runs the water park, and the way their interaction is so pure and great. It's like to me, that's the essence of life is being able to embrace everything about yourself. And when you don't, to me, that's when you get depressed and have all sorts of mental problems. And like when you fully embrace everything about yourself, you're able to overcome and and know who you are in the world. And to me, those those jokes y'all make, that's that's it. To me, that's everything being able to embrace it like that, man.
SPEAKER_01:So I'm well that's what's so funny, is because I always have to make people laugh like about it. And you know, I have 26 pieces of metal in my face, and I'm like, honey, you don't have to take me for a shower, you can just take me through a WD40 watch, like it's just all, you know, because I'm under warranty, technically, right? So my husband and daughter have father-daughter movie night every Saturday night, okay? And I go downstairs one day to get some tea, and I walk down there and they're watching fucking stall, right?
SPEAKER_04:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:I'm like, are you kidding me? Are you serious? So they thought it was hilarious, just hilarious. So one of my last surgeries I just had, they removed my eardrum and my station tubes and everything. So I'm 100% deaf in my right ear and 88% deaf in my left. So my husband and I have never had a fight in 25 years. And he said something stupid. And I was like, okay. So then I'm I literally were getting ready to go to bed, and every night we just crack up laughing together. And he made some stupid comment. So I was like, oh, go fuck yourself. Suck a bag and take your grandma, you know, and I'm singing this. And then immediately I was like, I turn over and my right ear's up. So guess what? I can't hear him. And I like talk to the ear, and I turn the right side to him, and he knows he can't speak because I can't hear him. So it's great, right?
SPEAKER_02:So I was like, instead of talk to the hand, talk to the ear.
SPEAKER_01:It's like talk to the hand. Thanks, you know.
SPEAKER_02:And so beautiful. Y'all are y'all are awesome. I love what y'all. Uh y'all's vibe is just so great. My buddy Nick told me about this. I looked it up and I was like, oh, these people are amazing. I'm totally out for this.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, because you and I've talked quite a bit sometimes on TikTok. And you know, and I know you have kind of been low-key this this year. And I was like, oh, this is like on my bucket list is you. And I was like, I really want to talk to him. Yeah. And so, and then I'm like, he's met Alice Cooper, and he's been up there with uh, you know, Debbie Gibson, and he's all the I'm like, and he's gonna talk to me. And my husband's like, you're on cameo, and I'm like, I don't care about any of that garbage. Like, I this is muck sticky. Like, you know, and he's like, babe, you know, are you gonna be okay? I'm like, it's muck sticky. And he's like, I get it. Like, I go around humming the music all the time and singing all the time, like I was like, this guy's a love, and he's so awesome because I love who you are, what you stand for, that you're cookie's best friend. My daughter's like, Mama, you're my best friend. Um, mentally, she's not her age. And so it's it's fun in the aspect that she's all like her and my husband are like grumpy on men. She'll walk up and she'll be like, slut, and he'll be like virgin, and they just back and forth, you know, because she's she's almost funny. And she'll be like, you know, what and she'll go somewhere, like she gave him a Dunkit Donuts gift card, and they always prank each other daily. And so he called and he was like, Hey, my beautiful daughter gave me her gift card. And she's like, FaceTime me, FaceTime me. So he puts it on FaceTime, he goes to the drive-thru and he hands it and he goes, My beautiful daughter wanted to give me a coffee. And they're like, sir, this card isn't even activated. There's nothing on the card. And he's like, What? And she reaches over and goes, I guess you kind of want your wallet, right? These are this is like a daily thing between them.
SPEAKER_02:That's great. Y'all sounds like y'all have a super happy life, and I'm so I'm so glad for that for y'all, especially considering what you've been through. You know, like you totally deserve it, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Um, let me ask you your piece of advice on something. I have created this at Contagious Smile Academy, and I have built it. My education is pretty intensive. I'm wondering when my husband's gonna spit out my background for my education. I don't want people to know my titles because titles to me are not relevant. It's I'd rather people know me from me than my background. So um I've started this academy and it's for special needs. Like kids can go in there, and everybody learns differently. And so a child who might be having a problem learning how to add or subtract can go on, and there's a whole collaboration called Stucco Squad, and that's my service dog is stucco. And stucco is you appear in the first course, and stucco is in the classroom going, Where are my cookies? And you have to find where his cookies are, and it teaches you, well, I started with five, and now there's three. So how many is missing? Let's find them together. And these kids are learning. And there's there's a plethora. I've written 134 courses, and then we have all of them for the Safe Haven Phoenix Center for anybody through who's gone through any kind of any kind of abuse. Um, then there's courses for special needs adults, there's courses on insurance, how to advocate for them, how to take care of yourself as a caregiver, any and everything you can imagine. Now, my husband and I um will tell you because I've done this, it's free to join, and all of the courses are free. Except right, except some of them are like$4.99, things like that. But we ask people if they will donate because that way we can cover the cost of the platform and stuff. I don't take a paycheck. I've never taken a paycheck, but it's quite challenging because we live check to check because of it. Um, that how can because you've been so successful, how can I get more people to become aware of this and want to get more involved?
SPEAKER_02:Um, it's a good question. Um I'll say it's it's tough to know the right avenues. You you have to find your audience. You know, I I'm a big believer in that. I used to spend so much time trying to get every anybody and everybody in the world paying attention to what I'm doing. And I've come to find that it's more about finding your tribe, you know, it saying goes, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Uh well that's just it. My my tribe has no money. Huh? Like, like you and I were talking about earlier, my tribe for the special needs, families have no extra money because all of this goes into the coverage. So that's why I refuse.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it's you got it free. So um, and if you can eventually get what you got, you know, great numbers, if you if you can there are a lot of people who maybe this is something to look into, but there are a lot of people who offer grants for especially for things like that. If you you gotta find somebody, or you can research, you seem like a very intelligent person, can probably figure out how to do it yourself. But there's way that you write grant writing, I think, is like a special type of deal. You have to word it all properly and everything. Um, I've never done one, but I do know they're out there, and that seems like something that would be a perfect uh candidate for something like that. Or if you could find a sponsor, you know, that uh that could maybe you could, you know, partner up with uh in a way to you know maybe help advocate or promote their product, you know, within your course uh or you know, along the site or something like that. Um but to to get it to really take off, you know, I would my success I can only attribute to coming from just being relentless, you know, never giving up, but going after it when it seems like it's like this is not what you're supposed to be doing. Um and and my biggest successes have come uh organically without me having to do anything about it. Like I didn't I didn't make it physically make it happen. I didn't like I've never I've never once hired a publicist in my 20-something year career. I've never paid a dime for publicity, I've never advertised me. Like I think one time one of my assistants bought a Facebook ad for like a hundred and something bucks, and and I was even mad because he did it because I was like, I don't want to advertise, it's just not the way I'd go about. I know that's how you go about doing things in a lot of business ventures, but I just don't want to be one of those people. I don't want to advertise. I want I want people to organically share. And it's taken me a lot longer to find success, but it's much sweeter because of it, I'll tell you that. And um, and I know even like where I am now, I should probably be a lot further along than I am, given how much time and effort I put into it. But I know what it's done for real people in the real world. And to me, like we're all just here for a little while, right? Money is just a tool to uh afford the things you need to have shelter and and food and the things you like in life, whatever, you know what I mean? Entertainment, that sort of thing, you know. Uh it's just a tool to get those things. And um so I don't I've never really been like one of those like trying to make a lot of money. I I do want to make a lot of money, but I've never really like, all right, this is my driving force is to get rich, you know what I mean? My driving force has always been the story you just told me about her in the doctor's office singing song in her head to overcome that because I know once I'm dead and gone, that's all it's gonna be, is what I've left with people, you know, the way they feel about the music uh and art I've created. Uh I look to other people that I that that are no longer here anymore, that I was a fan of or gave me some sort of influence or inspiration. And I think, well, they're already dead and gone, is all the money they made, you know, even if they got super rich off of it, what's you know, does that matter to them now? No, it doesn't. You know what I mean? So the money I make is not gonna matter to me once I'm dead and gone. So I've always just kind of like kept things rolling, you know what I mean? I I don't uh I don't desire for massive.
SPEAKER_01:Oh no, I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to do it from my pocket. I'm doing it because I like I've set up a buy me a coffee, and then what it is is I have people donate$5. And then if somebody comes to me and says, I have a child with special needs, you don't have to say anymore. I will give them scholarships and all of it's free. Where I am not taking a paycheck, and don't get me wrong.
SPEAKER_02:I I'm just saying as far as like to make things more successful, I've never really focused on that. So I I don't really know. Fuck off became what it became because of people doing it on TikTok. I I had nothing to do with it. People, I'll tell you the story how that happened. This was 2021. I will say being risky and taking chances and um being willing to step out of your comfort zone is the thing. I hear a lot of people talk about it, and it's a continual, it's never like, oh, well, I stepped out of my comfort zone and now I'm out of my comfort zone. Where's all the success? You know, it's not like that. It's like a continual thing. But um back in 2021, uh I had had a TikTok a couple of years before, but a one of my phones got wiped and I lost access to it. And I couldn't, I'd emailed TikTok and gotten to friends to try to reach out to them and stuff, and couldn't ever get that account back. So I was like, all right, fuck it. I'm not doing TikTok. And it had been a year or more since I had been on it, and somebody tweeted me and they were like, hey, you're going viral on TikTok. And I'm like, oh, that's cool. And I've had dozens of viral songs over the years, you know, tons of them. And so it's not like a huge ordeal when I get a couple million views on something, right? So I was like, that's cool, awesome, going viral on TikTok, great, love to hear that. And then people kept no, like, seriously, bro, you gotta look this shit up. It's like going fucking crazy. And I'm like, all right, cool. So I started a new TikTok account, and sure enough, there's women mostly on there with uh doing my song, um, lip syncing it, and six, eight million views, you know what I'm saying? And like lots of them. And uh, so I was like, all right, well, I guess I gotta do one uh because I see all the comments, and like people are thinking the person lip syncing is actually it's their song, and I'm like, no, it's my song. Uh at least one of credit for it, you know what I mean? Like, yeah. So I did one and uh and it went viral, and then I started I really enjoyed watching them. I love watching people lip sync them. Like it's it's more fun than watching me do it for me, for me, you know, like it's uh I like doing it, but it's more fun watching these other people do it, especially like the the the girl Tacey who does the the sign language and the blind reactions. But so I started doing the duets where it was like, let me watch somebody else doing it and you know promote them, you know what I mean? Um, because they're the ones helping my song go viral. I can at least give a little back, you know what I mean? And uh so I think that's turned into the most fun part about it is it's like a pastime for me. I I'm I sit down and I watch people do these songs and I find one I really like, and I'm like, all right, let me do that, that one, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01:Well, Faith has appointments all the time. I'm gonna ask her the next time if I can get her to do it and record it and send it to you. Because it's hysterical. It is hysterical because this kid, they tell her, like one of the doctors didn't know it was he was one of the specialists, and he looked at her and he goes, bite your tongue. She goes, You cocksucking asshole. I don't have one. And she like, she's like, uh, you know, and he was like, uh, and she goes, now what you gonna say? How's your foot taste? Huh? And she's like, when you get your head out your ass, you won't need a proctology exam. How does that feel? And she's like, nine. Nine. I mean, she and they were like, Are you gonna let her talk to me that way? You're damn right I am, because I've taught her to stick up for herself, which is what she does. And if you're a grown man and you're gonna act like an Anna Ramus, then you know what? You deserve everything she gives you and more.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, you know, to be bold, it takes a lot of courage, man. You know. Umfortunately, we live in a world, and I've always said this like people commonly make fun of things they don't understand, you know. And you shouldn't always just give a peep people a pass for not understanding. Uh, but I also try to keep that in mind, you know. I I spent a great deal of my time, like I said before, as a young man, being angry at all the people in the world who looked at my sister funny, you know what I mean, and or whispered things as we walked in somewhere. And uh I realized that, you know, we've only got so much time on this planet. I know who my sister is, she's the most beautiful person in the world.
SPEAKER_00:I think she's stuck.
SPEAKER_02:They don't know, so it's you know, they're kind of ignorant, and that makes them not smart, you know, and like um I can spend all my time trying to educate everyone and get or getting mad at them, you know what I mean? Like, uh, but that's just gonna fill my life with anger and frustration at the endless amounts of people out there in the world who don't understand. And uh so I shifted my focus at a certain point to just recognizing the beauty in her and seeing that for what it is and not really being concerned. I mean, you know, being in the public eye, you and making music videos and things like that, and having her in some of them, and uh you see a lot of comments on the internet, people aren't the kindest, you know, and um it just becomes one of those things where it their opinions become meaningless. They don't they don't hold it, uh hold no value in them because I recognize what a human brain is. It's a it's a set of neurons that are wired according to how uh the person is genetically for one, but also the way they were conditioned as they were raised, the environment they were in. Um now along the way, there comes a point in time where you have to go, okay, I was raised this way or I come from this, but I gotta learn to make a better way for myself. I gotta I gotta figure out and do some rewiring, you know what I mean? And if you're willing to do that, then I'll give you a pass, you know. But if you're not willing to do that and you just continue to make fun of people for the way they look or something, you know what I mean, then that's when I don't feel like they deserve a pass. But for the most part, I just kind of like you know, is what it is. God bless them, you know. Father, forgive them, they know not what they do, as the old Bible sort isn't that what Jesus said, you know.
SPEAKER_01:You're beautiful on that, like I I can see the beauty from within and it just radiates on the outside. And then like faith says that's why your assholes in the bottom underneath, because you know, it stinks and you're not worthy of it, and it shows on the outside. You know, like people will stare at her and she'll be like, Do you need a hug? It's not coming from me. But like, you know, she'll she'll tell people go get a hug or go get bent, you know, and she'll be like I love it.
SPEAKER_02:That's funny. She says that about the asshole. I gotta it reminds me of a lyric I wrote once. It's like uh uh opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got them at the bottom, and most of them are full of shit. The only one you need to be concerned with is your own. Take good care of it. Like, you know, it's like, you know, be concerned with your own opinion of yourself. And if you hold yourself, that's not that doesn't give you the right to just go around and be a piece of shit in the world. And as long as I like me, I'm fine. You know, fuck everybody. Uh, you gotta be like, hold yourself to a standard, like, all right, I'm gonna like myself if I'm a decent person. You know, if I'm not a decent person, I'm not gonna like myself. And you can see evidence of people out there in the world who don't like themselves. You know, it's clear they don't like themselves. Um so if you like yourself and you take care of yourself, that'll bleed over onto others. What is the old phrase? My cup, uh, your cup runneth over. That's only when your cup is full, you know. When your cup is full of love for you and who you are inside, then it can spill over into other people. You know, if you don't truly love yourself, you can love other people, but I'm afraid oftentimes it's it's it's not as full as it could be if you if you generate that, and I'm not talking about the love like, oh, I'm a I'm a this and I I've met this one person and we're in love together now. I think and being in love together comes from like you're so full of love already, and this person's so full of love already, and you get together and you're just in love because there's so much love, you know, you're both full of love. That's what being in love is. Uh, and it can be with a best friend, uh somebody in your family, you know, uh maybe we don't want an incest or anything like that. I'm just saying, like, you know, you can still love people fully, you know, in through all aspects of life, whether it be uh like I tell strangers all the time, hey, I love you, or some someone I just it's just kind of a friend. I love you. And it's not because like I'm infatuated with this person, I'm obsessed with them or something, it's because I'm full of love and I got enough for you too. You know what I'm saying? I got enough love for all y'all. And uh now if you come at me with some evil, hateful, nasty shit, I'll show you a little bit of love, but if you keep coming at me with it, then I'm gonna cut you off. I mean, hey, go fuck yourself. You know what I mean? Like there comes a line. You have to know when that line is. Everybody has a different line, you know. And I I know where mine is, and hopefully you do too. I'm sure you do too.
SPEAKER_01:Um well, I wanted to to leave you with this. My my my daughter was talking about you before we we came on, and her stuffed animal that I gave her the day she was born is called Buttercup. And when you're you know, in your lyrics, you're talking about buttercup. And she's like, I have the perfect line for him. And I said, What is that? And she says, When I see people who are really ugly and they're mean and full of hate, and she's like, You could tell him he can use this. And I was like, Okay, I'll tell mugs he can use this. And she's like, I tell them to take their bottom lip, pull it over their head, and swallow.
SPEAKER_02:That is amazing. I've never heard that before. Take your bottom lip, pull it over your head and swallow. That is amazing. All right. Um since faith is telling me I can use that, I'm gonna use that. Uh that's amazing. I'm gonna jot that down in my notes because uh take your bottom lip. I'm pretty good at shorthands, so I'm gonna lip uh I'm gonna know I'm gonna know that where that came from. You tell Faith if she ever hears that in a song one day later on down the road that she can say, hey, I inspired that. I appreciate that. It's very kind. Yeah, I'm gonna use that. That's fucking amazing. I've never heard that one before.
SPEAKER_01:She has them all the time.
SPEAKER_02:Like you're like, take a long walk off a shore bridge. Uh I I tried to use as many of them as I could remember in that song. And really, that that song was that it like I said, it was just like me going, okay, I'm gonna make a song about telling people to fuck up. What are all the funniest phrases that I can think of to incorporate? But that I should have heard that one before I put that before I wrote.
SPEAKER_04:You could do a remix. You could do a remix.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe they'll be a part two. Uh maybe they'll be able to do that. You know, I did put fuck this shit out. That's another one that kind of I think has helped a lot of people in similar situations fuck this shit. And I I purposely wrote it in the context of, you know, you're leaving a job or need to get out of a toxic relationship or something. I'm leaving you in the past, sort of thing. Because I think a lot of people have problems leaving things in the past. I fortunately have developed a mechanism within me, or maybe it was just inherently in me, but of being able to leave things in the past because I recognized I'm only gonna get this one life and I've got to make the best of it. And I knew it, like I say, when my best friend died, that was really a turning point moment for me of realizing you know, you gotta make the best of this life and uh do the best you can with what you have where you are. And uh as long as you keep going with that, you're you're doing a great thing with what you got. Um I commend you for doing what you do. Um, I'll definitely any interactions I have with people in my World that mention needing help with anything, special needs. If you go, um, I will say this this may be some people, you know, because it's all about true connection.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um the the video on my Instagram, and it may it may be like this on Facebook as well, and I think some on TikTok as well, but uh of Cookie's dental procedure.
SPEAKER_00:I've seen it so many revealing stuff.
SPEAKER_02:There's a few videos around it, but I see a lot of people in the comments um mentioning they have various conditions. William syndrome is one because that's cookie's condition, um, who were comment, hey, I I have William syndrome too. You know, so if you're into real personal connection, maybe go find some of those people and reach out to them on a personal level and say, hey, you know, we offer this.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I would never do that without your permission.
SPEAKER_02:Huh?
SPEAKER_01:I would never do that without your permission.
SPEAKER_02:Sure, no, people in the comments, that's you don't need my permission for that. They've made a public comment. You know, I know, but I surround. That's what I'm just saying. Like, uh I've found that's the best way. That's what the internet is for, if you ask me. It's not about it can be about reaching a lot millions of people and inspiring people in their day-to-day life, but mostly it's about connection. You know, uh before the internet, there was a thing called a phone. Right. And we called each other and spoke to each other. Right. And uh the internet, I feel, has uh decimated that to a degree. Um, there's not as much pure connection, but it should be, it should make it even more so. You should be able to reach out to all those people and say, hey, uh, you know, we have this thing. Uh, if we can help you with it, we'd love to help you. And the more you you say you want if if my advice or suggestion on growing, that would be the way to do it is to reach out to the people who truly need it, tell them about it, and maybe they'll tell somebody else about it. That's been my philosophy with Muggsticky Music since day one is I want people telling each other about it. I don't want you to hear, think it's the coolest thing because it's on fucking every advertisement you see or every radio station plays the song on repeat over and over. That's all paid for, you know. Like I don't want people to go, hey man, I really fucking dig this. You should check it out too, you know. And same thing goes for your course. If you want, send it to those people and they'll tell other people about it. And before you know it, it'll eventually make its way to the people it needs to make it to, and you'll have you'll, I mean, you're sure you've already in your time already. I can't imagine how many amazing lives you've touched through what you're doing.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I do about a hundred plus scholarships a day that I that I'm donating.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, awesome! Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. And like I said, I'm not doing it for any money, I'm doing it just so I can keep the platform going and open. But um, maybe we could do a live together on on TikTok.
SPEAKER_02:I would look out for that anytime. Anytime you see me on there, uh, just send me a request or in comments say, Hey, I'd send you a request. Uh, I'll definitely bring you on. I do them randomly. I don't do them too much, but I'm I never have a problem going live with people I know. I don't go live with just Brandos or like, hey, can I do it live with you? I'm like, yeah, no, you might pull a body part out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, here's a boob. I'm uh I have one more for you. When my when my daughter came out of her medically induced coma, um, they left her stomach open. And so she I she would listen all the time. She had bad guests. So I would play your song. I think I should a little in. I farted. And she thought it was hysterical. So my husband would come up um and stay up there when he could. And so I stayed with her and I never left. And she would come over and she'd be like, Dad, Dad, and she just got the ventilator taken out. She'd be like, Dad, come here. And she would turn on her side and she would just rip the nastiest smelling apart. And she'd go, Guess what? My butt blew you a kiss.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. She sounds like such a character. Y'all, y'all are so blessed.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, that's so awesome. And I'm so blessed to have you here. Do you have anything you want to say to him before?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, hey, buddy. I'm Michael. That's my husband. So when are you coming out with uh your mucky jays? The what? Your own brand line of sticky pajamas. Oh, we've got them. We've had them for you sticky who is the big mug sticky fanatic and who just coming into go to the link in my bio on TikTok or Instagram and pajamas.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:They're a little pricey. They're a little pricey because they cost us a lot to get made, and they're all done print to order. Like you click it, we have it printed and sent straight to you. Uh, but they're high, super high quality. I'm a pajama connoisseur. I've been wearing pajamas every day for 23 plus years, and uh I know good quality. And I went with this uh company because of the quality. They got deep pockets in them. You can wear them in public. That's awesome. That was always my problem with wearing pajamas in public, is most of the time it's like my shit would fall out of my pockets anytime I sat down. And these, they'll the shit'll stay, your phone will stay in your pocket, you know. It's it's deep enough.
SPEAKER_01:So well, Faith wants to make sure that you get your Christmas ornament.
SPEAKER_02:That's so awesome. I I great, I sincerely appreciate that. In fact, um, send me uh uh my on my website. There's a a fan mailing address if you send it to me there. Um and I'll and you send me your address, I'll send you guys. I don't have the pajamas in stock here, but I've got some cool muck sticky stuff. I'll send you put together a little package for you guys.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, she would love it. I'd never get it. She would be like, listen. And it's so great because we'll be out somewhere and she'll be singing, and they'll somebody be like, You should watch your mouth. And she just kept singing. She's like, I'm singing. And like, it doesn't matter. You know, life is too short.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you tell you tell her here here's one from me to her next time somebody tells her to watch her mouth, say, Where's it gonna go?
SPEAKER_01:No, that's what she said. They'll say, watch your mouth or bite your tongue. And she's like, I don't have one, asshole.
SPEAKER_02:It's not going anywhere. All right. Well, I love you guys. Thanks for having me on. Appreciate you so much. Y'all are super amazing. Keep up the good work.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much. Hang on for me one second while we cut this off. I want to thank everybody so much for listening. It's I'm so excited. This just made my whole day. This is my birthday present. This is my birthday present.
SPEAKER_02:An anniversary.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Happy belated birthday. I'm glad to glad to celebrate with you. Uh, again, you guys are truly tremendous in what you do. And uh, I've had an absolutely blast being on and when my when my new album comes out in the springtime, send me a send us a message. I'll come back on. We'll do another one.
SPEAKER_01:I'd love to. Thank you so much. I would love to. We, you know, we have 40 million followers across all of our I would love to anyway. I can help promote aisle. I told Nick the same thing. If there was any way that I could help him, I would be glad to. And um, the sweet lady who signs, if I can help bring awareness for her and help her numbers, because I know she's getting paid now for TikToks.
SPEAKER_02:Send her a message. I'm sure she would be totally down for it. Totally down for it. Tacey Lynn is her name. Yeah. Um, you go to my page, she's she's uh she's awesome. I love her.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I will prefer that.
SPEAKER_02:I commend there are a lot of people out there who do really good work, and uh, you know, I'm always happy to promote them and others who are doing a good thing in the world because I think that's you know, I'm a big believer in what we focus on becomes more of, you know. And uh so I'm I'm all about focusing on and helping shed light onto the good stuff in the world because we need it, you know, everybody needs a little more positivity in their life. I need it, I need more positivity in my life every day. Just don't put your bottom. I know my music's a lot of positive stuff, but I just know I and it's I I always I always need more. So this has been very positive and funny.
SPEAKER_01:Whatever I can do to help you, I don't know what it would be, anything at all. I'm happy to do it.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, and uh cookie situation, uh, that would be the only thing I would say is you know, uh, there's a GoFundMe link in my bio. You can go to that and contribute to that. Any of your listeners feeling generous. Uh, we did have to pay for it all out of pocket. Uh fortunately had a few people chip in a couple of nice little chunks. Our grandparents put some in. Um, we had a couple of friends put a nice few nice chunks in, but uh it to me is worth it. You know, we I I'll pay on it for as long as I'm alive if I have, which won't happen. Uh it'll get taken care of. But right, uh, you know, it's one of those things it's like, and I say that to anybody else out there, do whatever you gotta do. Take out I we took out some loans. If you have to take out loans to get it done, if you're struggling with teeth issues, get it done if if you can, because yeah, I hesitated for years being scared of the procedure itself, really. Yeah, and I did it awake and cookie did it wide awake.
SPEAKER_01:Four hours she did.
SPEAKER_02:Four and a half hours of just being awake while they do that, and it's it's rough, I will say, because I I I went through it myself um twice, actually. I had to have mine done in two two separate procedures, and uh it's not the most pleasant thing, but it is completely worth it, and it's nowhere near as bad as you think it's gonna be. It's nowhere near as bad as you think it's gonna be. So uh that's uh that and yeah, if I can say anything about um where the world needs help is dental issues being part of insurance, being covered by insurance because it a hundred percent affects your life.
SPEAKER_01:I had to cover her though, because she has Williams syndrome.
SPEAKER_02:Nope, nope, they they'll cover like um you know$2,500 worth a year worth of procedures, and it's a$43,000 procedure. So what's she supposed to have it done over the course of$43,000 divided by$2,500? You know what I'm saying? Yeah, uh you know, so uh uh it's uh but it's um it's one of those things, you know, she between the time not I can't tell you how many times in the last several years, but even just between the time we went for the consultation and had the procedure done, I had to give her the Heimlich maneuver twice because she was choking on a piece of food that she couldn't properly chew up, you know what I mean? Uh so you know, almost lost her life twice. You know, and if that is doesn't say that your teeth have something to do with your health, yeah, you know, then I don't know what does, you know. So that anybody out there struggling, go get it done. Go work on it right now, seek out help. Uh ask people for for help. We had to ask people, we had to I had to smell all my pride and say, hey, we need some help with this. Uh, you know, it's uh it has to be done.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Well, I'll tell you, you you don't know when you're gonna go live again.
SPEAKER_02:I don't. Uh I just do them randomly. You know, it has to be one of those things I'm kind of and I don't ever save my live broadcasts. I don't know. I kind of believe live broadcasts are um are a unique experience and you should experience it while it's happening. Um I think we're too reliant on like being able to watch something later. To me, it's like when I go to concerts or even when I perform my own concerts and I see people videoing. I get it. If you hear like your favorite song, you want to catch a little clip, because I do. I'll catch a clip of my favorite songs, but I just catch a clip so I can just like watch that little clip later. To me, I want to be there and enjoy the experience, watch it happen, you know. And so I'm kind of the same way in my live broadcast. If you are there for it, that's why you should tune in if you see me live, because that's it.
SPEAKER_01:I try to, I try to get on the new. But the reason I say that is um I'm there's I'm the spokesperson for a huge event on the 30th, and I have a bunch of other things coming up. I'm now writing for four different articles, and I would love to try if we can go on live at some point. I will put on there to do the GoFundMe and have you on there with me and push that.
SPEAKER_02:I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01:And I appreciate that everybody and see if we can help her.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. That that would mean a lot. We uh uh like I said, you just catch me on. I I try to do them sometimes in the morning when I'm getting up and having my first little you know morning thing. Um I uh but it's it's all just I don't think I'm gonna go live now. I feel like talking to other people, you know. I've never been consistent with it, and I I could probably do a podcast too. Everybody's like, you should do a podcast. I've been hearing it for fucking how long podcasts have been around. I've been doing a live broadcast since Facebook started letting us do live. They they started letting public figures do them first when live broadcasting first became a thing. Now that I got a special message from Facebook like, hey, you're a verified public figure, we're gonna let you go live. And then they uh a couple months after that started letting everybody do it. But uh that was like like 2012 or 2013, 14, somewhere in there. And uh I probably could have been doing a podcast this whole time. I'm just not consistent enough. If I was, you know, I just I probably would do it more, but my create my I never in whole like in all the times I had different jobs before I figured out the much sticky thing, I would have a job for like two or three months, sometimes a day. I mean, I worked at construction of all of it, places for a day because I just nah this isn't for me. I'm not interested in doing this long enough. Um my creative things are usually that way too. It's like it's why I make songs because I could create this one little thing and then all right, I'm done making that, you know, and it's that's done now. You know, I can work on another new song.
SPEAKER_01:Um well when you're live, I'll go on and and I will put it out there, and and I'll put it out there too, because like I said, we have so many people, and I'm writing now for four different magazines, and I'm happy to do whatever I can to bring awareness and and have them.
SPEAKER_02:I haven't really pushed it a lot. I I appreciate that. I don't, you know, I know a lot of people look at me. I'm a big famous celebrity and probably rich in millions of dollars and that kind of thing, and I've done well. I'm not gonna say I haven't done well, but uh, you know, the internet has its own ideas uh of of what of what uh connotates someone being financially wealthy, you know. Uh I like I said, I I do really well. I'm fortunate that muck sticky is the only thing I have to do, and it does take care of everything I need and more. Um, but you know, uh I also just I don't know. I feel like there are a lot of other people who need more things than I do, and so I'm not gonna be like, hey, go fund me, go fund me, go find me. Uh you asked, so I thought I would mention it, but um, we'll get it taken care of one way or another. I'm not concerned with it whatsoever. Um, the Lord's always provided for me throughout my whole life, no matter what. And uh I'm very blessed for that. I don't uh I'm very aware of it and grateful. So I just I know it'll always work out. It's how you know dedicated myself to what I do is because I know it's always gonna work out. I don't ever have any second guess or doubt. And um hope to inspire that in others. Hopefully, you know, you obviously seem to have the same feeling about what you're doing, and uh uh I salute that and and commend you for that too. Um, anybody else out there watching, whatever it is you believe is your purpose and mission in life, dedicate yourself daily anew, and uh just keep going forward, man, and you'll find yourself in a good place at some point. I look back at where I started and where I am now, and I'm I'm living the dream. I get to do it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you were at MySpace. He was on MySpace back in the day.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. If I was before MySpace, uh he's younger than me. Uh when I've made my first CDs, it was like 99, 2000. Um, I had recorded most of my stuff on a four-track recorder, most of it on a karaoke machine, a cassette tape karaoke machine, but then we moved to a I moved to a four-track recorder when a friend of mine had a computer, and I took that four-track recorder and plugged it up his compute to his computer and imported the files and started making CDs. And then I would go around to parties and hand out CDs and sell them. And uh that was like 99, 2000, and then started playing shows in 2001. MySpace came around about 2004 and did really well on there. Put out my first album that same year, and here we are 20-something years later, still still doing completely blessed. Yeah, and um don't take a single day of it for granted. I'm truly thankful. And I would love to appreciate you having me on to speak to your audience as well. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:I would love to stay in contact with you.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. Please do. Please do.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Well, I will look for you on live and we will talk with you soon. Thank you so much for who you are and what you do and the light you give.
SPEAKER_02:My pleasure. Same to you. Be well and God bless you all.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, you too. Thank you so much.
