Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism

Welcome to Why Not Me the World? Podcast hosted by
Tony Mantor, broadcasting from Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join
us as our guests tell us their stories. Some will
make you laugh, some will make you cry, Real life
people who will inspire and show that you are.
Not alone in this world.
Hopefully you gain more awareness, acceptance, and a better understanding
for autism around the world.
Hi.
I'm Tony Mantor, and welcome to today's episode of.
Why Not Me the World.
We're recording live at the Nashville Palaces for a special
remote podcast, unscripted, unedited, and full of heart. Tonight's episode
supports an acoustic evening for autism, a show happening right
here this evening with thrill to bring you this country experience,
and I hope you enjoy it as much as we're
enjoying sharing it with you. We've got two fantastic guests
joining us tonight. This is week number two out of
three that I'll be featuring two guests per episode to
dive into everything we're covering right here tonight. Thanks for
tuning in. Okay, I'm here with Darryl Whirley. Thanks for
coming on, man.
Yeah, I'm glad to be on here and to hear
what all the good work you're doing. That's awesome.
Well, I appreciate it. So we're here at the Nashville Palace.
We're going to do a concert tonight for autism. What
led you to be part of this?
Oh? Years ago, we had a couple of.
Friends and and they had a child was born autistic,
and uh, that was kind of.
Started the whole thing for me.
I So anything that came along not too long after that,
I I wound up doing this show down on.
Broadway every year at.
One of the one of the bars down there, and
we would have this big benefit show and bring in
all kinds of artists and songwriters for cystic fibrosis.
And because we.
Had a family member who died with that disease, and
so it was always close to our hearts. And I
did that for years, and I thought to myself, you know,
because we had had seen how other lives were affected
by autism, that if I ever had a chance to
do something along those lines, that I would jump right
in there.
And that's how that's how this started. So I think
I've been doing this for several years. Oh, that's great.
You know, we are unfortunately of country or if it
doesn't affect our family, we don't get involved, you know,
and learning about autism and how it affects people, you know,
it's something that needs to get out there for people
to learn and understand that that is something that we
all need to help.
Absolutely, I think, and you know, we've mentioned system cystic
fibrosis and autism, and there's a thousand other things that.
People are and some some of them.
I mean, I've just I've been close to people with
muscular dystrophy and and m S and yeah, uh, it
goes on and on and and and you know, to
be perfectly honest with you, none of the stuff we're
talking about is for the faint of heart.
It's it's a difficult, it is thing to.
Deal with and uh and and in some instances some
are not as bad as others. But but you can
still a challenge for every person that's involved in so,
you know, whatever we can do to help at the
end of the day, that's.
Why we're put here, is the level of other and
to help out and so exactly. You know, I found that.
The when I first started this podcast about autism, I
didn't know anything about it. And now over the last
year and a half, I've learned so much. And it's
just those things that the stories that you hear from
people that have that are living it, that go through
all the challenges, and you sit back and go, you know,
we complain sometimes every day, but we don't have to
deal with some things. So it's good that we can
help out when we can.
Well, I just feel like, you know, people have always,
uh even made jokes about that. I used to They
used to call me benefit Darryl because because I would
just do any body's benefit that came along. And and
and then you know, growing up in music, uh, you
got people used you like that a lot. They'd say, hey,
can you guys come out, and which I'm not saying
in a bad way, I'm sure I'm saying.
We were thankful to be used in that way.
Right And and and then I got to a different
level and started doing this on a national scale, and
and you know, all of a sudden, I'm like, oh
my gosh, this is this is bigger than I ever
dreamed it could be with my career and stuff. And
the first thing that occurred to me is, man, I'm
really gonna be able to help people now.
Yeah, you know that was gonna be my next question
for you is it's one thing when you're when you're
doing bars and clubs across the country, But then when
you elevate yourself with hit records and get to the
point of where you can go out and do concerts,
then all of a sudden, your platform can help so
many people just by using your voice, by just telling
people you need to help people.
Yeah, I mean we do that in a lot of
different ways. I have my own foundation, that Daryl Worthy Foundation.
Is alive, will and active.
We are we are really really making a difference in
our region, which would be like West Tennessee, right south,
North mississ North Alabama, all there. But but we help
people all over the country. And oh it has really
grown and you've been so blessed, and we you know,
we look for other smaller startups that are that we
know they're doing good work, and we try to donate
to them, help them, you know, figure it out because
we went through a lot of time when it was
not easy.
Those first few years. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm
gonna wind up being dead.
Yeah, it's a whole different world when you get into
helping people like that because because people don't understand the
challenges that you have to go through in order to
help well.
And the bottom line is you've just got to come
up with free money somehow. And when you say free money, people.
Go, what is that? Exactly? It as well, where you
give me money to help people?
Yeah, exactly for us, it's free money. For those people,
it's free money. But but it doesn't come free. There's
a lot of work that goes into it. Yeah, but
every bit of it's worth it. It's probably you know,
I look back on it all and I think my
my travels to the war zones and entertaining our troops and.
Doing all that stuff. That's going to be huge and
on the highlight reel.
Yeah, but leaving the foundation behind, it's a work that
will continue long after I'm gone. I know it will
because good people are involved. Good people want to be
involved in things like that. And I think we're about
to start, uh maybe getting some sponsors on the corporate level.
Oh nice, that'll be huge for us. And then the
good news is is we'll do the right thing with it.
Yeah, you know, it's the one great thing about about
doing this is like like when I'm when I'm doing
when I'm in the studio doing production work and everything,
I finish it up.
I feel good that, oh man, this is good.
But when I finish an episode on my podcast and
I'm talking with autistic people and the challenges and I
finish it at it feels like I've accomplished something.
Oh yeah, well that's because you're helping somebody. I mean,
you know you can.
I can sit here and harp on it all day long.
But you know, I'm a spiritual person and and I'm
I'm born again Christian. I love Jesus Christ. I don't
preach to people. That was my daddy's job. He's really
good at it.
But I said, I don't think that's gonna work for me.
But I can tell you without a shadow of a
doubt that my convict convictions in this area are very,
very strong. But that's how each of us was designed,
whether we know it.
Or not yet. We may not, you may not know
it yet, but that's how you were designed.
And you won't feel real accomplishment, you won't feel real
uh effectiveness in your life until you've done that helping
someone else that you didn't have to help exactly someone
that that you.
Just thought that person needs help. I'm going to step in.
Whether it be stopping on the side of the road
and helping some old lady that's changing the tire.
I don't I don't care what it is. Those acts of.
Kindness, yes, and acts that you do out of your
heart that you do not have.
That's the good stuff, absolutely, and.
That's what kind of My mother always said, those are
the things that put the silver lining on the clouds.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, Well, I tell you, I really appreciate
you coming on. I'm looking forward your show tonight and
thank you. And I'll have to get you back to on.
My on my real podcast. Did you come talk about
autism on my pot?
Yeah?
Yeah, love talk sounds like life with Darryl Worthy. You
love it, man, Oh I love that. Yeah. All right,
well I appreciate that. Thank you.
All right, Okay, we're here with Dylan Maisingale. Thanks for
coming on.
Thank you so much for having me.
So tell me a little bit about your story and
how you came to be doing this show tonight.
Well, about four and a half years old, I was
diagnosed with high functioning autism and help and doctors told
my parents and my family and my friends tell me
that I would never be able to get to perform,
never be able to carry a conversation, never.
Be able to carry a job, never not to be
able to do anything. My worse.
With right treatments and the right detox and with my
mom helping me out so much, I would.
Not be doing this if it wasn't for her.
And thanking my good Lord can save here for everything
that they.
Have done for me. So good good. Now where are
you originally from.
I'm originally from a Missouri out of the southwest Missouri area.
Okay, what what made you decide to move to Nashville.
Well, I actually, I mean I come to visit Nashville,
but I actually are currently living in Brandson, Missouri. Wrong,
But I actually come to Nashville about once or twice
a year. And I've been a part of this great
cause of this show. I was a part of it
the first one last year at the Troubadour Nashville. And
I was nominated last year for the Josie Music Awards
that's held in Tennessee, that's held at the Grand all Ubry. Yeah,
but yeah, I make a lot of trips in Nashville,
and it's good to see a lot of great friends
out here.
Yeah.
So now what are you doing musically?
Well, musically I am. I'm a bass player.
I get to play bass, and the rest of my family,
I mean, I mean I could play.
Guitar, but it's not really really good.
I mean my brother he's a drummer himself, and my
dad he is a fiddle player, and my mom is
a singer and a fiddle player and acoustic guitar players well,
and the family. He grew up in a musical family.
My dad actually has been in this business now going
on for forty five years in oz A mountain country.
There in Branson, he actually started to show.
What was the third foundy show in Brands they called
the Plumber Family Country Music Show that was found And
then after that he made the move and he got
to tour five years and even got to spend his
time here in Nashville with the late great mister Roy
Clerk from out of Tulsa collebe and.
Played the Grand Lobery and played the last three seasons
of he Hall. And after that he made the move
to Branson. He's been there ever since.
My mom she actually both of my parents were born
and raised in the state of Arkansas.
They were born out of Arkansas.
My mom was originally born from out of Desark, Arkansas
on the East Park closer towards Memphis to his fey
and she actually made the move to Branson about I
would say about.
Early nineteen ninety I think at the time, and she
made the move and she worked with a group called
the Texas Gold Miners at the Space or Texas and
they made the move to Branton and.
Did a show. Then after that she worked with different names.
She worked with names like Barbaria Fairshaw, Micky Gilly. She
worked with the late great mister Joe Diffy as well.
And she's been a part of so many different shows
and including a guy that's actually written some songs for
the late great mister George Jones by the name of
mister Billy Yates she worked with.
But my brother, on the other.
Hand, he's actually worked with a bunch of different artists.
He has worked with the names like mart Wills.
Rona, Vincent, Genie, Seely Movandy, just to name a few.
And he has been he's been playing drums professionally at
the age of fourteen years old, and now he's twenty
four years old and he has he recently was just
awarded from the Terry Music Awards their Missouri for twenty
twenty four Drummer of the Year last year. Man, I
couldn't ask him more talented. And I mean, I'm so
blessed to be my family.
It's before I'm.
At so so, how many songs you're doing tonight? I
am doing two songs tonight.
Okay, all right, your own songs.
I'm actually doing some covers tonight, actually pulling out a
buck Owen song.
But my favorite artists who ever did it, but they.
Actually did a city release party here years ago, and
he played here many times.
Was the late great Darryl Singletary. Oh yeah, Daryl Singletary.
He did that was going to live here and then
I'm going to do.
Another cunt what he did, but it was a cover,
but it was called might Never Go Around Mirrors.
Yep, that's great. Well good, I'm looking forward to seeing
what you do. And we're going to have to get
you on to onto my normal podcast and and get
a full episode.
In for you.
Absolutely, I would love to be on there, and I'm
so grateful for the opportunities what my Lord and Savior
has given to me, my family, and a special thank
you to the artists who have supported me all through
these years.
Special thank you to Ron de Vincent. She was the
one that.
Actually made made my debut at the Grandal Lobrary a
couple of years ago.
Special thank you to her.
You're brown, huh, let's see uh, Leona Williams, Jimmy Fortune
from the Statler Brothers and another names like t.
Green Brown and even.
I've known for the longest, but miss Alison crause her well,
but it's been a it's been a fun ride.
And yeah, I'm just I'm enjoy every minute that I love.
Well, you need to and I appreciate you coming on.
Thank you so much for having me all right, Thanks,
thank you.
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule
to listen to our show today. We hope that you
enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.
If you know anyone that would like to tell us
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to everyone everywhere that you are not alone in this
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