Joan Minnery, the Female Elvis Impersonator

Shelley Johnson
00:00:02
This is Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Ticaro.
Shelley Johnson
00:00:07
From the corporate office to the cab of a truck, they're here to inspire and empower women in all professions.
Shelley Johnson
00:00:14
So gear down, sit back and enjoy.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:23
Welcome.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:24
We're an award winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:32
No topics off limits on our show, we power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:41
I'm Shelley and this is Kathy.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:44
Who says women can't do what they want whenever they want and make a huge difference in people's lives.
Kathy Taccaro
00:00:50
Imagine going back to get your master's in music after being a music and dance instructor, author and motivational speaker and ramp it up to a new level to front your son's rock band.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:00
At the age of 57, Joan Minery did just that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:04
Her motto is sing it loud, sing it proud, whatever it takes.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:08
She also got famous as a female Elvis impersonator.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:12
Joan describes herself as a pint sized blonde glitter Dolly Parton.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:17
Her son's band is called Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:22
They play Everything from the 50s to current day rock along with southern rock and original music.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:27
Joan refers to herself as the little engine that can.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:30
5ft 2 inches of peppy dynamite.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:34
This pint sized energizer bunny is a beacon of energy as she entertains with her son's band and does motivational showcases in music, vocal and dance fitness classes across North America.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:44
Her undergraduate degree is in child studies with a diploma in Early Childhood education.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:49
She's received awards for her volunteerism and health advocacy.
Kathy Taccaro
00:01:53
In 2017, Joan was a finalist for the Order of Ontario for Leading Young Persons toward Music and Health.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:00
We've got Joan with us today and we're looking forward to learning more about her.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:04
Welcome Joan.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:05
You are amazing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:07
Thank you for being on the show.
Joan Minery
00:02:09
Woohoo.
Joan Minery
00:02:11
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:02:12
Quite the rock star.
Joan Minery
00:02:12
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:02:13
Homework.
Joan Minery
00:02:14
Holy moly.
Joan Minery
00:02:17
Wow.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:18
I'm exhausted just listening to all the stuff.
Joan Minery
00:02:21
A lot.
Joan Minery
00:02:22
Holy.
Joan Minery
00:02:25
Yeah, it's.
Joan Minery
00:02:26
It's a lot.
Joan Minery
00:02:27
It's.
Joan Minery
00:02:27
I know sometimes when, when I'm talking about myself and I certainly do love to talk about myself, but when I am reading my bio or someone else is reading it, I just think, wow, I did all that.
Joan Minery
00:02:39
Oh, I forgot I did that.
Joan Minery
00:02:40
Oops.
Joan Minery
00:02:41
Well, I forgot about that.
Joan Minery
00:02:42
Yeah, it's.
Joan Minery
00:02:43
It's been, it's been a whirlwind.
Joan Minery
00:02:46
I love every moment that I'm alive, but.
Joan Minery
00:02:49
And I've lived every moment that I've been alive, so.
Joan Minery
00:02:52
And we're not over yet.
Joan Minery
00:02:53
I'm just getting started.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:55
There you go.
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:56
So how did all of this begin?
Kathy Taccaro
00:02:58
And what gets you up in the morning?
Joan Minery
00:02:59
Well, way back, way, way back in, in the 90s, I started line dancing.
Joan Minery
00:03:06
And I've always entertained, I've always sang, but I never sang professionally or did anything.
Joan Minery
00:03:13
But I started line dancing and just, I really got hooked and I really got hooked on line dancing.
Joan Minery
00:03:20
And our team at the time wanted to enter a line dancing competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Joan Minery
00:03:28
And it was my idea.
Joan Minery
00:03:31
And I just, at the time, Billy Joel's song All Shook up from Honeymoon in Vegas had just come on the charts.
Joan Minery
00:03:39
And that was the big line dance song at the time.
Joan Minery
00:03:43
So we were going to do the competition to that song.
Joan Minery
00:03:46
But I say, why don't we do a tribute to Elvis?
Joan Minery
00:03:51
Why don't.
Joan Minery
00:03:51
And the next thing, the whole thing mushroomed.
Joan Minery
00:03:54
Next thing we were talking about, let's get Elvis jumpsuits, let's get Elvis wigs, let's get sunglasses.
Joan Minery
00:03:59
And then we, we brought in an Elvis impersonator to teach us how to do Elvis moves and Elvis dance moves.
Joan Minery
00:04:07
And the next thing, myself and our team captain at the time choreographed an Elvis inspired blind dance.
Joan Minery
00:04:15
And hence the Graceliners were born.
Joan Minery
00:04:18
And that was in Fort Wayne, Indiana in March of 1996.
Joan Minery
00:04:22
That's where it all started.
Kathy Taccaro
00:04:24
Wow.
Joan Minery
00:04:25
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:04:27
When we went out on that stage, five women dressed as Elvis and we never hid the fact that we were women.
Joan Minery
00:04:33
Most of us were quite bodacious.
Joan Minery
00:04:36
And so we never hid that we were just women, female line dancers dressed as, as Elvis.
Joan Minery
00:04:42
But when I went out and I was in the front and I stood across the stage on my knees and I knew we had something, I looked at that all American crowd and I went, if we can put this American crowd who love, you know.
Joan Minery
00:04:57
Well, I know you're American, but Americans love Elvis.
Kathy Taccaro
00:05:00
Yeah, right.
Joan Minery
00:05:01
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:05:02
If we can put them on their feet, we have got something.
Joan Minery
00:05:06
Now the captain of the team at that time was only with us for that particular show.
Joan Minery
00:05:11
And then she, she moved west and so I took over and I went ballistic with it.
Joan Minery
00:05:19
Morning, noon and night, I ate, lived and dreamed the Graceliners.
Joan Minery
00:05:24
And we were featured in the National Examiner.
Joan Minery
00:05:27
We were contacted by Oprah Winfrey.
Joan Minery
00:05:30
We were on tabloids all over the world and we started traveling and yeah, the next thing we found out, we did not know at the time.
Joan Minery
00:05:39
There is a whole Elvis world out there.
Joan Minery
00:05:42
Oh yeah, there's Elvis basketballs, there's concerts.
Joan Minery
00:05:48
Well, we could know this.
Joan Minery
00:05:49
And we Started getting invited and we started becoming celebrities.
Kathy Taccaro
00:05:53
That's so cool.
Joan Minery
00:05:54
That's.
Joan Minery
00:05:55
That's where it started.
Joan Minery
00:05:56
So that was in.
Joan Minery
00:05:57
And so the dance team itself.
Joan Minery
00:06:02
Then I started singing within the dance team.
Joan Minery
00:06:05
So I started singing as, as an Elvis impersonator or an Elvis tribute artist as they like to be called now.
Joan Minery
00:06:13
And that's basically where it all really began.
Joan Minery
00:06:18
I always sang and I've always danced.
Joan Minery
00:06:20
I have always dreamed of being just an actress and a singer and a dancer and all that, but I had never done it.
Joan Minery
00:06:30
So I found myself.
Joan Minery
00:06:32
I was 29 and on this dance team and we were just, we really, really had something huge and it took off and yeah, that's where it started.
Kathy Taccaro
00:06:45
So I had a question.
Kathy Taccaro
00:06:46
Elvis line dancing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:06:48
Obviously he was known for his wiggles and stuff.
Kathy Taccaro
00:06:50
How exactly do you do an Elvis line dance?
Joan Minery
00:06:54
That's right.
Joan Minery
00:06:54
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:06:55
Well, it's that he has.
Joan Minery
00:06:57
We started, we really started watching all of Elvis videos.
Joan Minery
00:07:02
Jailhouse Rock obviously because he choreographed that entire routine.
Joan Minery
00:07:05
But yeah, I got a lot of living to do like his early stuff.
Joan Minery
00:07:09
And we really started watching his dance move.
Joan Minery
00:07:13
So we started incorporating that.
Joan Minery
00:07:15
So you know, the most well known there's line dance in the world is Electric Slide and the Tush Push.
Joan Minery
00:07:22
So what we would do is we would take line dance steps and we would like, we do like a great white to the right and then we do an Elvis move and then we do a great fight to the left and then we throw in a couple that need Wiggles and that.
Joan Minery
00:07:34
But it, but we started, we, we started to a country in western song.
Joan Minery
00:07:41
But when we started our show, the Graceliner show, it was all to Elvis music.
Joan Minery
00:07:46
So like we came out with the 2001 Space Odyssey, you know, and the, you know, that's all right mama cc rider.
Joan Minery
00:07:53
And our three and a half minute routine ended up into a 45 minute show.
Joan Minery
00:08:00
And then we were traveling.
Joan Minery
00:08:02
We were like at Denim and Diamonds in New York.
Joan Minery
00:08:05
We were, you know, we were featured on cnn.
Joan Minery
00:08:08
We were, we were in every single newspaper during ELVIS week of 1997.
Joan Minery
00:08:16
Like we were, we just went crazy.
Joan Minery
00:08:18
But yeah, we were, we would dance as Elvis, we looked as Elvis and then I started singing and things just kind of mushroom from there.
Joan Minery
00:08:26
And then lo and behold, I started winning a couple of Elvis competitions.
Kathy Taccaro
00:08:31
So very cool.
Joan Minery
00:08:34
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:08:35
Male dominated world did not go over very well at first.
Joan Minery
00:08:40
But I, I think once they realized that we weren't trying to be, we were, we were, we were just moms and moms and grandmothers just having some Fun.
Joan Minery
00:08:48
And, you know, I just like, said, okay, well, we'll enter the contest.
Joan Minery
00:08:53
And I started winning or placing, so.
Joan Minery
00:08:57
And that's, that's, that.
Joan Minery
00:08:59
That's where it all started.
Joan Minery
00:09:00
And this is one thing after another.
Joan Minery
00:09:02
And I left the Great Sliders after three years.
Joan Minery
00:09:07
I formed a brand new group.
Joan Minery
00:09:09
I really wanted to sing and the girls wanted to dance, so they didn't.
Joan Minery
00:09:12
The whole singing thing, you know, they, they weren't singers.
Joan Minery
00:09:15
But I, I really found my voice by then, and I'd had a couple of people say, you know, John, you really need to be singing as yourself rather than singing as Elvis, because you have to change your voice.
Joan Minery
00:09:28
And so I started a brand new 50s and 60s group called Memphis Motion.
Joan Minery
00:09:34
And I was with that group for 13 years.
Joan Minery
00:09:37
And that's where the singing part of my career started.
Kathy Taccaro
00:09:42
Wow.
Joan Minery
00:09:43
And.
Joan Minery
00:09:44
And just completely mushroom because then, you know, I, I started my Janice Joplin tribute.
Joan Minery
00:09:51
And I love Bette Midler and, and all the.
Joan Minery
00:09:54
I, I'm a.
Joan Minery
00:09:55
I'm a very big Broadway voice and.
Joan Minery
00:09:58
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:09:59
And it's just that the more that more that I sang and the more I went out there, the more I.
Joan Minery
00:10:03
I realized I was doing exactly what I was meant to do.
Joan Minery
00:10:07
So the dancing led to the singing, and the singing is where I have been from that moment to this.
Kathy Taccaro
00:10:14
So you've got a wide range.
Kathy Taccaro
00:10:16
Bette Midler, Janis Joplin, Elvis.
Kathy Taccaro
00:10:19
That's quite a juxtaposition.
Joan Minery
00:10:21
That is.
Joan Minery
00:10:24
Oh, gosh, I know.
Joan Minery
00:10:25
I tried it all.
Joan Minery
00:10:26
I don't do it all well, but I'll sing anything people ask me.
Joan Minery
00:10:33
Is there a song that you can't saying is.
Joan Minery
00:10:35
Everyone says, you know, John, you're so talented.
Joan Minery
00:10:37
And I said, yes, I cannot and I have tried, and I will not change the key.
Joan Minery
00:10:42
I cannot sing Think by Aretha Franklin.
Joan Minery
00:10:46
Cannot do it.
Joan Minery
00:10:47
It sounds horrible.
Joan Minery
00:10:49
That is.
Joan Minery
00:10:50
That is the song that has eluded me for my entire life.
Joan Minery
00:10:55
But yeah, and that's.
Joan Minery
00:10:56
And of course it's by Aretha, but I can sing other stuff by Aretha, but not that song.
Joan Minery
00:11:01
That's.
Joan Minery
00:11:02
That's my nemesis.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:03
Well, you know, I would say that you have tackled a lot of other very complicated styles, you know, so that's pretty amazing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:13
And you refer to yourself as the little engine that can.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:16
I can see why you really have.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:20
Where did all of this take you 20 years hence from being at an Elvis line dance group.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:26
What did you start doing after that?
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:28
I mean, I.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:28
We really want to know, how did you start fronting for your son's band?
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:32
I mean, that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:11:32
That's amazing.
Joan Minery
00:11:33
Yes, that.
Joan Minery
00:11:34
That is.
Joan Minery
00:11:35
It was.
Joan Minery
00:11:36
It was an unexpected thing.
Joan Minery
00:11:37
I'm a motivational speaker and I had.
Joan Minery
00:11:41
I had also written a book.
Joan Minery
00:11:43
I used to be extremely heavy, and I wrote a book about my walking my way back to me and about my weight loss and had overcome a lot of adversity, some, you know, abusive relationships and toxic toxicity in my life.
Joan Minery
00:11:58
And so I wrote this book.
Joan Minery
00:11:59
And so I was putting on this motivational presentation here in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario.
Joan Minery
00:12:06
My son and his band partner at the time, Brad Bridges, and my son's name is Bill Minery.
Joan Minery
00:12:13
They were in a band, in a rock band.
Joan Minery
00:12:16
And I had asked them if they would come on stage with me so we could sing.
Joan Minery
00:12:24
I forget what song it was they were singing.
Joan Minery
00:12:26
I know I sang Can Help.
Joan Minery
00:12:28
Fallen in Love, for sure.
Joan Minery
00:12:31
Anyway, it doesn't really matter.
Joan Minery
00:12:33
I'll think about it as we're going on.
Joan Minery
00:12:35
But I'd asked them if they could play it live because I didn't want to sing it to tracks.
Joan Minery
00:12:39
And so they did.
Joan Minery
00:12:42
And then they also.
Joan Minery
00:12:44
Then I still have a line dance team, so we came on and dance to a Don't Be Cruel as well.
Joan Minery
00:12:52
But anyway, so they.
Joan Minery
00:12:55
We were singing and we had a lot of.
Joan Minery
00:12:57
Lot of success on.
Joan Minery
00:12:59
On that particular stage.
Joan Minery
00:13:00
And as I was coming off the stage, my son said to me, mom, I think we should form a band.
Joan Minery
00:13:06
Was my son at the time would be 25.
Joan Minery
00:13:10
And I said, what is it, Mom?
Joan Minery
00:13:15
I think we got something here.
Joan Minery
00:13:17
He said, that was great out there.
Joan Minery
00:13:19
He said, I, you know, I love performing with you and, you know, we need a, you know.
Joan Minery
00:13:25
You know.
Joan Minery
00:13:25
I said, would you have a band?
Joan Minery
00:13:26
He says, yeah, we have a band.
Joan Minery
00:13:28
He says, but I think we should form a band.
Joan Minery
00:13:30
And I went, you want to form a band with your mom?
Joan Minery
00:13:36
What?
Joan Minery
00:13:37
I was like, what?
Joan Minery
00:13:39
Exactly.
Joan Minery
00:13:39
And.
Joan Minery
00:13:40
And so I said.
Joan Minery
00:13:41
And then.
Joan Minery
00:13:41
And then Brad came off the stage too, and he says.
Joan Minery
00:13:44
And he said, yeah, I'd be down for that.
Joan Minery
00:13:46
I think that's really cool.
Joan Minery
00:13:47
He says, we know we all get along.
Joan Minery
00:13:48
We get this great sound.
Joan Minery
00:13:50
So we are.
Joan Minery
00:13:52
I remember this vividly three days after that particular performance.
Joan Minery
00:13:56
So we were only doing all the songs at the time.
Joan Minery
00:14:00
We went downstairs and the very first song that we did as a band in our basement was Creep by Radiohead.
Joan Minery
00:14:11
And I had never sang Creep before, but I had.
Joan Minery
00:14:15
I had seen it performed on American Idol by one of the contestants.
Joan Minery
00:14:20
And all three of us had this epiphany moment, this.
Joan Minery
00:14:25
And we Were all in tears, all three of us.
Joan Minery
00:14:29
We realized that the lyrics applied to our lives.
Joan Minery
00:14:34
We had all been called creeps.
Joan Minery
00:14:36
We had all been felt.
Joan Minery
00:14:37
We.
Joan Minery
00:14:38
We had all felt like creeps at times and that and people who, you know, wouldn't date us or wouldn't acknowledge us.
Joan Minery
00:14:47
But it was amazing, the sound.
Joan Minery
00:14:51
And that is the song that really catapulted the band because we were doing covers predominantly in the beginning.
Joan Minery
00:14:59
And the next thing we.
Joan Minery
00:15:01
So we worked out a 45 minute show.
Joan Minery
00:15:05
A lot of oldies, a lot of Beatles love, huge Beatles band, a lot of Elvis, a lot of Beatles, a lot of ccr, Janis Joplin.
Joan Minery
00:15:14
And then we would always like the catalyst would always be creep.
Joan Minery
00:15:20
We died.
Joan Minery
00:15:20
It's just the.
Joan Minery
00:15:21
I guess it's just the way because of my Broadway background, I wasn't singing that song as a rock and roll singer.
Joan Minery
00:15:28
I was singing it as if I wrote the song myself that it was.
Joan Minery
00:15:32
And it's.
Joan Minery
00:15:34
I was singing the story and we just felt it and every time we played it and the more we played it, the more people were being really affected in the audience.
Joan Minery
00:15:44
And we had a lot of men like just not visibly like bawling but crying like they were just like, wow.
Joan Minery
00:15:51
Like we, we have.
Joan Minery
00:15:52
And they were sharing with me, you know, how they, you know, walked up to a girl and asked her out on a date or asked her to dance in high school and always get lost crate, you know, and, and you know, looking at them and it had brought back that memory.
Joan Minery
00:16:06
So that's where we just started getting bookings.
Joan Minery
00:16:11
And the more and more that.
Joan Minery
00:16:14
That we were out the.
Joan Minery
00:16:15
The better of known we were becoming.
Joan Minery
00:16:17
My son decided on the name I was not because I, I just like, you know, my whole life has always been about all this.
Joan Minery
00:16:25
But he said, no, Mom.
Joan Minery
00:16:26
He said, it has to be that name.
Joan Minery
00:16:28
It has to be Sybil.
Joan Minery
00:16:30
He said Elvis is responsible for everything, everything musical to do with our family.
Joan Minery
00:16:36
It has to be that name.
Joan Minery
00:16:38
And so I say okay.
Joan Minery
00:16:40
I said, I said, well, you guys are.
Joan Minery
00:16:42
So you want to.
Joan Minery
00:16:43
So you want to be in a band with your mom.
Joan Minery
00:16:45
You want to call it Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.
Joan Minery
00:16:48
All right.
Kathy Taccaro
00:16:48
It's great.
Joan Minery
00:16:49
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:16:50
And that's where we, we formed in I think 2016 and 17.
Joan Minery
00:16:58
We, we've had a huge, wonderful run.
Joan Minery
00:17:01
And then in 2019, my brother Bob joined the band as well and came into the band.
Joan Minery
00:17:12
And my sister Anne, we started writing original music and we, we got.
Joan Minery
00:17:18
We got booked for this massive festival here in Brantford, Ontario at the time it was called what the Fest.
Joan Minery
00:17:25
It's now called Crew Fest, but at the time it's called what the Fest.
Joan Minery
00:17:27
And the criteria was it had to be original music.
Joan Minery
00:17:31
Well, we didn't have any original music.
Joan Minery
00:17:33
So we was like, that's it.
Joan Minery
00:17:35
We're going, we're going to get together.
Joan Minery
00:17:36
And so my son Bill, my brother Bob, my sister Ann and myself.
Joan Minery
00:17:43
So we got the four minories are writing music and then Brad, obviously Brad is with us as well.
Joan Minery
00:17:49
And so we started, we wrote original songs for, for that show.
Joan Minery
00:17:55
We did really well on the show.
Joan Minery
00:17:57
Then we recorded them.
Joan Minery
00:17:59
Brad went on to do.
Joan Minery
00:18:01
He joined another band and then, you know, it's wonderful, wonderful man and an amazing drummer.
Joan Minery
00:18:09
But he left and we brought in Dan Taylor who has been with us now for four years.
Joan Minery
00:18:15
He is our resident drummer and guitarist.
Joan Minery
00:18:20
He plays rhythm guitar, also plays 17 other instruments.
Joan Minery
00:18:25
And, and yeah, so we, we're now, you know, it's Dan and Bill and I.
Joan Minery
00:18:31
My brother Bob sometimes plays with us, although Bob is, he's more folk oriented.
Joan Minery
00:18:37
So like if we're doing a coffee house or like a type of folk type of venue, then he'll come out.
Joan Minery
00:18:44
But it's mainly just Dan and Bill and I and we've just released another album of all original tunes.
Kathy Taccaro
00:18:52
That's a lot more fun than retiring, don't you think?
Joan Minery
00:18:55
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:18:55
Gosh, yeah.
Shelley Johnson
00:19:00
Stay tuned for more of Women Road warriors coming up.
Dean Michael
00:19:07
Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.
Dean Michael
00:19:09
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Dean Michael
00:19:11
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00:19:25
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Kathy Taccaro
00:19:38
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00:20:00
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Shelley Johnson
00:20:08
Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:17
If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:20
I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:26
We feature a lot of expert interviews, plus we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:31
Please check out our podcast@womenroadwarriors.com and click on our Episodes page.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:37
We're also available wherever you listen to podcasts on all the major podcast channels like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, Audible, you name it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:47
Check us out and bookmark our podcast.
Kathy Taccaro
00:20:49
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Kathy Taccaro
00:20:52
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Kathy Taccaro
00:20:58
We want to help as many women as possible.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:01
Joan Minary has an incredible attitude and gives back to people through music.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:06
Her energy is nonstop and so is her talent.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:09
She's been a female Elvis impersonator where she's gotten North American acclaim.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:14
She won Elvis tribute competitions as a woman.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:17
She was even contacted by Oprah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:19
People love her as an actress, singer and dancer.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:23
She wowed the crowds doing Elvis line dancing with the Grace Liners.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:27
She eventually went on to form the group Memphis Motion.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:30
After years of doing that, she wasn't about to stop there.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:33
At the age of 57, she decided to front for her son's band, which is called Civil or Elvis spelled backwards.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:40
Along with original music, they play a lot of Elvis, Beatles and CCR and a lot of other oldies.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:46
This year, they won first place gold for the International Singer Songwriters association for the best band single for Sing It Like Pearl.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:54
That deserves a huge round of applause.
Kathy Taccaro
00:21:57
If you haven't heard Joan, she's got a big Broadway voice and she wows crowds all over.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:01
She can even sing like Bette Midler and Janis Joplin.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:05
If that isn't enough, Joan's also a motivational speaker, teacher, and author.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:09
Joan is also an ordained chaplain with Channel of Peace Ministries.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:13
Her aim is to spread peace through music, self awareness, grace, fellowship, goodwill, and community involvement.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:20
Joan's accomplishments are truly amazing, especially with her son's band.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:25
Joan, you guys are really, you're a sensation and you're kind of following in the footsteps of like the cow cells, which is what the Partridge Family was based on.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:35
It's really on usual.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:37
I would think that you could do really well on some of these competitions like America's Got Talent or something like that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:22:43
I mean, I think people could really dig what you're doing.
Joan Minery
00:22:46
Well, we, we get a lot of wonderful feedback from our audience.
Joan Minery
00:22:51
It's my son is Interracial and looks absolutely nothing like me.
Joan Minery
00:22:58
So I am blonde and blue eyed and big and short.
Joan Minery
00:23:03
And he, if I could compare him to anyone, including body wise, he looks like the Rock, you know, it looks like Dwayne Johnson.
Joan Minery
00:23:11
So a lot of people go, well, who's he?
Joan Minery
00:23:14
And I'll go, that's my son.
Joan Minery
00:23:16
And they'll go, what?
Joan Minery
00:23:19
My son.
Joan Minery
00:23:20
And, and, and he's, you know, he's got these great big huge arms.
Joan Minery
00:23:23
But we, once they find that out and of course when, when my brother Bob's out too, but it's just like, wow, what a wonderful family thing.
Joan Minery
00:23:32
And some people, I remember people when we first started, they were, they weren't making fun of him.
Joan Minery
00:23:38
They were, they were insinuating that I was making him do it.
Joan Minery
00:23:42
And it was like, oh, you gotta play with your mom, right?
Joan Minery
00:23:44
And he'd go, no, I want to be here.
Joan Minery
00:23:46
I love, I love being here.
Joan Minery
00:23:48
I love being with my mom.
Joan Minery
00:23:49
I just, I just love it.
Joan Minery
00:23:51
So like.
Joan Minery
00:23:52
And he's very defensive of that.
Joan Minery
00:23:53
And so, but that was how it was in the beginning.
Joan Minery
00:23:56
Now it's like, wow, this is so cool.
Joan Minery
00:23:58
And we've had so many parents who have come out going, wow, I wish I could do something with my child like this.
Joan Minery
00:24:07
Like, you know, and I, you know, now it's not how I expected things to be.
Joan Minery
00:24:12
And I know he does have other musical endeavors and other musical projects as well.
Joan Minery
00:24:17
And he's a, he's a heavy metal guitarist at heart and.
Kathy Taccaro
00:24:21
Oh wow, that's quite the contrast.
Joan Minery
00:24:23
Yeah, yeah.
Joan Minery
00:24:24
A massive, massive Metallica and Van Halen fan.
Joan Minery
00:24:29
And that's, that's where his roots are.
Joan Minery
00:24:31
But yeah, he does, but he's grown up on Elvis and the Beatles, so he always knew it.
Joan Minery
00:24:36
But he's very, he's very in tune, pun intended, with what I love.
Joan Minery
00:24:46
And so, and because like we are really, we are very, very close.
Joan Minery
00:24:51
We're a lot like Elvis and his mom.
Joan Minery
00:24:54
Very pretty.
Kathy Taccaro
00:24:56
Yeah, yeah.
Joan Minery
00:24:57
And yeah, so he just like, oh no, if you, you want a guitar player, well, I could just say, why would you hire anybody else?
Joan Minery
00:25:04
You hire me.
Joan Minery
00:25:05
I want to be up there with you mom.
Joan Minery
00:25:06
I love it.
Joan Minery
00:25:07
And you know, we have a, we have a very funny camaraderie on stage because, you know, like sometimes like, you know, I'll tell him to do something and I have to remember that he's not my son when we're up there.
Joan Minery
00:25:20
He's my bandmate, but I still kind of talk to him like he's my son, you know, or he'll just offhandedly say, mom, stop that.
Joan Minery
00:25:30
But, yeah, we have a huge following.
Joan Minery
00:25:35
We have a lot of fun when we're on stage.
Joan Minery
00:25:38
He's very quiet.
Joan Minery
00:25:39
Dan is very quiet.
Joan Minery
00:25:40
But sometimes I wonder if they're so quiet because my personality is just so gregarious.
Joan Minery
00:25:46
But, yeah, we just love what we're doing and we're having just monumental success with our band and we've just produced this brand new album and released it.
Joan Minery
00:25:59
The title song was written for my dad, who was a World War II veteran.
Joan Minery
00:26:03
He passed away in 2015, but he used to occasionally go to a pub here in town, a Scottish pub called McGonagall's.
Joan Minery
00:26:13
And as he would leave, he would tap on the table and he'd go, attention, ladies and gentlemen.
Joan Minery
00:26:20
And everybody would stop because my dad was so well known in the bar because he's a veteran.
Joan Minery
00:26:24
And he would go, bless this house and everybody in it.
Joan Minery
00:26:28
And everybody would raise a toast and they would cheer and off he would go.
Joan Minery
00:26:33
Well, when he passed, they put up a plaque in his corner and it says, you know, his name was also Bill.
Joan Minery
00:26:42
It says, William Minery2019 25 to 2015.
Joan Minery
00:26:47
Bless this house and everybody in it.
Joan Minery
00:26:49
We had kind of.
Joan Minery
00:26:51
Not that we had forgotten about the story, but, you know, we had, you know, involved and gone.
Joan Minery
00:26:56
It's been a while since he passed, but while we were at a gig In March of 2023, a fellow who used to frequent McGonagalls came out to us and remind us of the story.
Joan Minery
00:27:10
And I looked at him and I said, you have been sent from heaven.
Joan Minery
00:27:15
This is like man falling from the sky.
Joan Minery
00:27:18
We are literally writing an original album and we've been looking for the song.
Joan Minery
00:27:24
You have just written the song for us.
Joan Minery
00:27:27
So we wrote this song about my dad beating at McGonagall's, tapping his cane and saying, bless this house and everybody in it.
Joan Minery
00:27:35
And it turned.
Joan Minery
00:27:36
It's turned into.
Joan Minery
00:27:37
It was going to be a rock song.
Joan Minery
00:27:39
It's turned into a country groove hit.
Joan Minery
00:27:41
But that is all about my dad.
Joan Minery
00:27:43
And that's the title of the album as well.
Joan Minery
00:27:46
So it just.
Joan Minery
00:27:48
Just things kind of fall into our laps at times.
Joan Minery
00:27:51
And that was.
Joan Minery
00:27:52
Yeah, yeah.
Joan Minery
00:27:54
So that's.
Kathy Taccaro
00:27:55
That's wonderful.
Joan Minery
00:27:56
That's the name of our album and we're having great success with it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:27:59
It sounds like part of what brings all of this together is you've got an organic synergy, but you.
Kathy Taccaro
00:28:05
You have a message about life.
Kathy Taccaro
00:28:07
The things you're doing really resonate with people because it's real.
Joan Minery
00:28:12
Yeah, I.
Joan Minery
00:28:14
I'm.
Joan Minery
00:28:14
I'm unapologetically me.
Joan Minery
00:28:17
And, And I am real.
Joan Minery
00:28:19
I'm short, I'm overweight.
Joan Minery
00:28:22
I.
Joan Minery
00:28:23
But I'm also.
Joan Minery
00:28:24
I'm a mom who just absolutely loves her son and will do absolutely anything for him.
Joan Minery
00:28:29
I spoil him crazy.
Joan Minery
00:28:31
I have a wonderful boyfriend named Keith, and.
Joan Minery
00:28:35
But I teach music and I teach.
Joan Minery
00:28:39
I teach dance, but I'm always just me.
Joan Minery
00:28:42
And I love to have a lot of fun and.
Joan Minery
00:28:46
And I'm incredibly honest about myself and my struggles with my weight and my struggles with past relationships.
Joan Minery
00:28:54
And I think that resonates with a lot of people.
Joan Minery
00:28:57
And I think when I'm on stage, although I covered in glitter and I have really, really, really big blonde Dolly Partonier, but they see a mom, they see a mom, they see someone who's real and, you know, someone who, you know.
Joan Minery
00:29:14
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:29:15
Sometimes struggles to pay the bills and, and, you know, sometimes doesn't always drive the way she should.
Joan Minery
00:29:24
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:29:24
And.
Joan Minery
00:29:25
Yeah, just.
Joan Minery
00:29:27
Just out there just trying to.
Joan Minery
00:29:29
I'm.
Joan Minery
00:29:30
I'm living my dream.
Joan Minery
00:29:31
I.
Joan Minery
00:29:32
For my entire life, I wanted to be an actress, I wanted to be a singer, I wanted to be a dancer.
Joan Minery
00:29:37
Life got in the way.
Joan Minery
00:29:39
Marriage and some hardships in the family.
Joan Minery
00:29:43
And it just seemed when I was in my 40s and I finally decided to take care of my health, life really changed for me.
Joan Minery
00:29:56
I lived a very.
Joan Minery
00:29:57
I was always said way before 44, I was the loudest person in the room and I was the Comic Con stage, but I was the loneliest person in the entire.
Joan Minery
00:30:09
In the tiger, the entire room, in the entire venue.
Joan Minery
00:30:13
And then once I grabbed hold of my health and really started taking care of myself and, you know, kind of like I walked away from my life as it was in 2010, and the next thing, I'm teaching Zumba and in walks this fellow.
Joan Minery
00:30:31
And I have never been happy in a romance.
Joan Minery
00:30:35
I've never.
Joan Minery
00:30:36
I've never met anyone who's of any substance.
Joan Minery
00:30:38
But when I started teaching Zumba in 2011 and then 2012, on January 4, 2012, this man walked in and changed my life.
Joan Minery
00:30:51
And that's Keith.
Joan Minery
00:30:53
And then the romance started.
Joan Minery
00:30:56
And he was at the back of the class, then he was in the middle of the class.
Joan Minery
00:31:00
He came to the front row.
Joan Minery
00:31:02
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:31:03
And then the next thing, we were on the dance floor together.
Joan Minery
00:31:06
And he's been my.
Joan Minery
00:31:09
He.
Joan Minery
00:31:10
I waited for him.
Joan Minery
00:31:11
I met him when I was 44.
Joan Minery
00:31:13
We got together when I was 46, and I waited for him for 46 years and I would wait another 46 if I knew I was going to meet him.
Kathy Taccaro
00:31:22
That's wonderful.
Joan Minery
00:31:23
Yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:31:24
That's the kind of stuff movies are about.
Joan Minery
00:31:26
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:31:27
And it's funny, when he started talking to me, I kept saying to him, you know, I know your voice.
Joan Minery
00:31:36
I don't know what it is.
Joan Minery
00:31:37
And I kept thinking, does it remind me of an actor or a newscaster?
Joan Minery
00:31:41
And so I would always get him to talk to me.
Joan Minery
00:31:43
And I couldn't figure it out.
Joan Minery
00:31:45
I've heard your voice before.
Joan Minery
00:31:47
I know your voice.
Joan Minery
00:31:49
That day that he told me the three words he said, I love you, my soul just ignited.
Joan Minery
00:31:58
I went, that's the voice.
Joan Minery
00:32:02
I have heard this voice in my dreams.
Kathy Taccaro
00:32:06
Wow.
Joan Minery
00:32:07
I knew I knew that voice, but I couldn't put it together until I heard him say, I love you.
Joan Minery
00:32:16
I know what you are.
Joan Minery
00:32:19
Absolutely my destiny.
Joan Minery
00:32:21
Absolutely.
Joan Minery
00:32:22
You know, some say the line dancing led to the music, and the music led to Zumba and then weight loss and everything.
Joan Minery
00:32:29
And I really, honestly believe that my entire path and all the hardships was all meant to come together for, for me to meet him.
Joan Minery
00:32:40
Because then I appreciated what I, what I had and I was healthy and I was ready to permit myself to be happy finally.
Joan Minery
00:32:55
And what a gift I got.
Joan Minery
00:32:58
So I have the most amazing man.
Joan Minery
00:33:02
I'm in a fantastic band.
Joan Minery
00:33:05
I have a wonderful, supportive family, and I am teaching music, I'm teaching dance, I'm teaching fitness, and, and doing exactly what it is that I've always wanted to do.
Joan Minery
00:33:18
And, and yeah, I'm a late bloomer, but yeah, I was like 60.
Joan Minery
00:33:25
Yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:33:26
Who cares?
Joan Minery
00:33:27
Bring it on.
Kathy Taccaro
00:33:28
Yeah, bring.
Joan Minery
00:33:29
I gotta, I gotta tell you, I'm pretty envious of the, your, your son wanting to be on stage with you.
Joan Minery
00:33:35
Because my daughter, ever since she's been little, has been moment, don't sing.
Joan Minery
00:33:42
It's been the absolute opposite, opposite.
Joan Minery
00:33:45
And still to this day, she's, if I start to sing in the car, she'll give me the big eye roll and like, really, Mom?
Joan Minery
00:33:51
Really?
Joan Minery
00:33:51
Come on, man.
Joan Minery
00:33:53
There's people here.
Joan Minery
00:33:56
That's funny.
Joan Minery
00:33:57
I, I, I'm sure there's a couple of, there's a couple of moments that he has, he has wished that I, I, I don't do what I do.
Joan Minery
00:34:03
But he, he's my son Bill, that group now his nickname is BJ for Billy Joe from when he was little.
Joan Minery
00:34:11
And I still call him B.J.
Joan Minery
00:34:12
even though he, you know, he wants me to call him Belt.
Joan Minery
00:34:15
But he has always been my biggest fan.
Joan Minery
00:34:19
He, he always loved listen to his mom Saying, and.
Joan Minery
00:34:24
And I think because he was so young when I was with the Graceliners, because he was only like, he was five.
Joan Minery
00:34:30
And in fact, he was.
Joan Minery
00:34:32
He was interviewed by a reporter from the Toronto Star, and it was.
Joan Minery
00:34:37
This is kind of what catapulted us to some.
Joan Minery
00:34:40
Some fame because I went across a ticker tape and he said, what does your mommy do?
Joan Minery
00:34:45
And his exact response was, my mommy does Elvis.
Joan Minery
00:34:50
I love it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:34:51
That's great.
Joan Minery
00:34:52
Well, so that was picked up on the ticker tape.
Joan Minery
00:34:54
And the next thing, like, we.
Joan Minery
00:34:55
We had so many reporters contacting us, it's like, you know, boy.
Joan Minery
00:34:59
And I was like, well, he's.
Joan Minery
00:35:01
He's only five, so I don't.
Joan Minery
00:35:04
The double entendre of that he did not understand.
Joan Minery
00:35:08
He just sent mommy to us.
Joan Minery
00:35:09
Elvis.
Joan Minery
00:35:11
But that has been our life, so.
Joan Minery
00:35:14
And I have three floors of Elvis memorabilia in my house.
Joan Minery
00:35:19
And it's just.
Joan Minery
00:35:21
I have always been a huge fan.
Joan Minery
00:35:23
I believe that music is.
Joan Minery
00:35:25
They say love is the international language.
Joan Minery
00:35:27
I believe that it's music.
Joan Minery
00:35:30
And I firmly, firmly content that Elvis is the epitome of that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:34
You know, Elvis was such an influence to all of the major rock groups and even people today that are musicians.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:40
I mean, he made a huge impact, not only in the music industry, but with people.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:47
And he really was very.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:50
He included everyone, too.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:52
Everyone, you know, in.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:54
In spite of the fact there was pushback in the music industry, he's like, no, I want these people in my show.
Kathy Taccaro
00:35:59
And he was steadfast about it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:36:01
So, I mean, he made such a wonderful impact on humanity, a wonderful change in inclusion in all of that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:36:10
And, yes, he got some pushback certainly in the very beginning, you know, what is that wiggling?
Kathy Taccaro
00:36:16
What was it on the Ed Sullivan show?
Kathy Taccaro
00:36:18
They had to always shoot him from the waist up because.
Joan Minery
00:36:21
The waist up?
Joan Minery
00:36:21
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:36:23
How dare you.
Joan Minery
00:36:24
How dare you move your hips in the.
Joan Minery
00:36:27
The girls were having these reactions that they didn't understand what was going on with their bodies.
Joan Minery
00:36:34
Oh, right.
Joan Minery
00:36:35
They knew something was tingling, right?
Kathy Taccaro
00:36:38
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:36:39
Oh, mom, what is that feeling?
Joan Minery
00:36:43
Then the girls are turning around and seeing their moms out with the same belly, too.
Joan Minery
00:36:48
It's like, oh, we got a problem.
Shelley Johnson
00:36:53
Stay tuned for more of Women Road Warriors.
Shelley Johnson
00:36:57
Coming up.
Dean Michael
00:37:01
Dan Michael, the tax doctor here.
Dean Michael
00:37:03
I have one question for you.
Dean Michael
00:37:04
Do you want to stop worrying about the irs?
Dean Michael
00:37:07
If the answer is yes, then look no further.
Dean Michael
00:37:09
I've been around for years.
Dean Michael
00:37:10
I've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself.
Dean Michael
00:37:14
So now you know where to find good, honest help.
Dean Michael
00:37:17
With your tax problems, what are you waiting for?
Dean Michael
00:37:19
If you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation.
Dean Michael
00:37:29
And get your life back.
Kathy Taccaro
00:37:32
Industry Movement Trucking Moves America Forward is telling the story of the industry.
Kathy Taccaro
00:37:36
Our safety champions, the women of trucking, independent contractors, the next generation of truckers, and more help us promote the best of our industry.
Kathy Taccaro
00:37:46
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Kathy Taccaro
00:37:49
Share images of a moment you're proud of and join us on social media.
Kathy Taccaro
00:37:53
Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.
Shelley Johnson
00:38:01
Welcome back to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:10
Joan Minary doesn't believe in stopping just because the calendar says she's a certain age.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:16
What is age these days anyway?
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:18
People are way too concerned with what year they were born and they make that an excuse not to do something.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:24
Years ago, Joan made herself a household name by being an Elvis impersonator.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:29
As a woman, she got North American acclaim and was featured by major media.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:34
She also got huge attention for her versatile vocal styles, acting and line dancing with the group the Graceliners.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:41
She's extremely busy these days as a motivational speaker, teacher, chaplain, and author.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:46
She also fronts for her son's band, which is called Civil, which is Elvis spelled backwards.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:52
Joan started that endeavor at the age of 57.
Kathy Taccaro
00:38:56
Her accomplishments are amazing, and she says never say no to anything.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:00
We're glad she isn't.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:02
She's a great inspiration.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:04
I still think it's amazing that a lot of what Joan does now began as a female Elvis impersonator.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:10
Joan, it was wonderful that you could take Elvis to the forefront and influence your son and get his interest in music.
Joan Minery
00:39:17
Yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:18
And what you're doing now, I think you're motivating a lot of people and you're a motivational speaker, too.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:24
I'm kind of curious, what kind of motivational speaking do you do?
Joan Minery
00:39:28
Initially, I was doing speaking about weight loss because I, back in 2010, I was a very big girl and I lost £150, some of which I have.
Kathy Taccaro
00:39:43
Congratulations.
Joan Minery
00:39:44
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:39:44
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:39:46
It was a lot of hard work.
Joan Minery
00:39:48
But anyway, so I started speaking for Tops.
Joan Minery
00:39:52
Taking off pound sensibly.
Joan Minery
00:39:53
That was where my first started.
Joan Minery
00:39:55
Then I started branching out to a lot of other weight loss groups.
Joan Minery
00:39:59
But then my, I just, my, my topics kind of started, you know, talking about empowering women and, you know, music and movement and, you know, just a couple other things, you know, like the hospitality of community music, the focus on seniors.
Joan Minery
00:40:21
I do a talk on that about the art of movement.
Joan Minery
00:40:26
And I really, really started getting into this whole I am conceptual, this like the I am concept of self love and self empowerment and to live in the I am not.
Joan Minery
00:40:38
I will.
Joan Minery
00:40:40
And so I do do a couple of.
Joan Minery
00:40:42
I have various things.
Joan Minery
00:40:44
Depends on who contacts me.
Joan Minery
00:40:46
I always bring it back to my story of, you know, I was in, you know, a horrible relationship and a couple of issues of abuse and domestic discord, but about, you know, how I overcame some adversity.
Joan Minery
00:41:02
And it's not so much about weight loss now.
Joan Minery
00:41:05
It's just that I talked about the fact that.
Joan Minery
00:41:07
About self care, of how my health led to my mental health and which was like.
Joan Minery
00:41:17
And it needed repairing.
Joan Minery
00:41:20
And that's where we are in a lot of my shows.
Joan Minery
00:41:24
I think I do, you know, you know, put down the fork and get moving and, you know, talk about women in Spotlight.
Joan Minery
00:41:30
And right now I'm doing a lot of, you know, the.
Joan Minery
00:41:35
How women are treated in the music industry because we are.
Joan Minery
00:41:39
We still and are not treated equal.
Joan Minery
00:41:43
We still have it.
Joan Minery
00:41:45
You can see what's happening right now with Taylor Swift.
Joan Minery
00:41:48
You know, she is the most successful entertainer in the world right now.
Joan Minery
00:41:55
And we are so obsessed with the fact that, you know, she's at a.
Joan Minery
00:42:00
At a football game and being.
Joan Minery
00:42:03
And being made fun of because she happens to have a love story.
Joan Minery
00:42:07
If that, if it had been the other way, no one would be worried about it.
Joan Minery
00:42:10
But it's just like, oh, well, her, you know, her music sucks and she's this and she's that and it's just, oh, gosh, yeah, Kim.
Joan Minery
00:42:16
And Kim, just please stop.
Joan Minery
00:42:18
But you know, in the, you know, Dolly, you know, what she's going through and you know, they talk about someone who is giving back to the world, not just the community, the world.
Joan Minery
00:42:31
And you know, where we, instead of applauding her for all of her efforts, we, you know, make fun of her because she's in her 70s and put on a Dallas cheerleaders outfit.
Joan Minery
00:42:43
You know, hello.
Joan Minery
00:42:45
She looks amazing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:42:48
She rocked that outfit.
Kathy Taccaro
00:42:49
I'm sorry.
Kathy Taccaro
00:42:50
She looked amazing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:42:52
Yeah, it's like, hello.
Joan Minery
00:42:54
But we, yeah, so it's.
Joan Minery
00:42:56
It's okay for our very notable actors.
Joan Minery
00:43:02
We all know who they are, who've just had.
Joan Minery
00:43:05
Who are in their late 70s and 80s, have just had babies where, you know, we're, you know, we're going on and on about how wonderful it is that and it is, it's, you know, wonderful that Stones have, you know, the number one album in the world and, and we're, we're telling Cher and Madonna that they shouldn't be on, they shouldn't be on stage.
Joan Minery
00:43:24
They need to go home.
Joan Minery
00:43:25
Go home and be grandmothers.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:27
Yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:27
Isn't that garbage?
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:28
It's just ridiculous.
Joan Minery
00:43:29
You know, it's nonsense.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:31
The Rolling Stones are being sponsored by aarp.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:34
Nobody's got a problem with that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:35
And you know, but you're right, the judgmental, the judginess with women still goes on.
Kathy Taccaro
00:43:42
It's like, why?
Joan Minery
00:43:44
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:43:44
And I experience it.
Joan Minery
00:43:46
I know it.
Joan Minery
00:43:48
As a festival director.
Joan Minery
00:43:50
I ran couple of festivals here in town when you were at the helm.
Joan Minery
00:43:56
You get the.
Joan Minery
00:43:57
Well, you're, you know, you're a bitch.
Joan Minery
00:44:01
You know, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're not a, you're or you're, you're sergeant major, whereas.
Joan Minery
00:44:07
And you, you're, you're short and you're fat or you're old and you're, you're this and you're that.
Joan Minery
00:44:13
You know, they don't do that to men.
Kathy Taccaro
00:44:15
No, they don't.
Kathy Taccaro
00:44:15
No.
Kathy Taccaro
00:44:16
Oh, they're there, they're distinguished, aren't they?
Joan Minery
00:44:18
You know, they're the captain, they're the.
Joan Minery
00:44:21
But, but a woman in authority, automatically, she gets this.
Joan Minery
00:44:25
You know, she's, she's a witch.
Joan Minery
00:44:27
Okay, She's a witch with a bee.
Joan Minery
00:44:29
And, yeah, and, and, and I'm not, I'm just so far removed from the, from being that, that type of person.
Joan Minery
00:44:41
Very fair and very fun loving.
Joan Minery
00:44:44
But when you're in charge of something, people automatically, they just, oh, she must be, you know, oh, she's hard to deal with or she's, you know, she's difficult.
Joan Minery
00:44:52
And, but, and in the music industry, you know, you've got ageism and, you know, I know understandably, if I'm going up against someone and just, you know, like Billie Eilish or Taylor Swift, they're going to choose them because of their youthfulness.
Joan Minery
00:45:09
But I, I find it sometimes when we're trying to get gigs, when I go in, I see it because I, I'm looking at bar owners or brewery orders who are usually, you know, men in their mid-30s.
Joan Minery
00:45:22
And they're looking at me thinking, oh, I don't know if I want you singing here.
Joan Minery
00:45:26
So I got, but if I send in the guys, you know, and they say, let's say, oh, okay, yeah, we'll hire you.
Kathy Taccaro
00:45:32
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:45:33
And then, and then so then they watch the band and they go, oh, wow, you guys are really good.
Joan Minery
00:45:38
It's like, well, so you didn't think I was good by myself?
Joan Minery
00:45:42
You.
Joan Minery
00:45:42
So when I logged in here as this, you know, 57 year old woman, you automatically assumed that I was no good?
Kathy Taccaro
00:45:50
Yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:45:50
Isn't that amazing?
Kathy Taccaro
00:45:52
The stereotypes, the judge, the judgment calls, you know, judging a book by its cover, it seems to happen more with women.
Kathy Taccaro
00:46:01
And, you know, the word assume.
Kathy Taccaro
00:46:04
I was taught that the word assume means you make an ass out of you and me.
Kathy Taccaro
00:46:09
Never make assumptions, you know.
Joan Minery
00:46:11
Yep.
Kathy Taccaro
00:46:12
And it seems to go on unfortunately with women, and I'm hoping it changes.
Kathy Taccaro
00:46:17
And certainly, Joan, with what you're doing, this is really giving the message that yes, you can and heck with all the naysayers.
Joan Minery
00:46:25
Yeah, to heck with it.
Joan Minery
00:46:27
I, you know, we, we got really slammed with, as did a lot of musicians and a lot of musical people because of COVID And like, we lost a lot of work.
Joan Minery
00:46:39
And I was out of work for two years at the centers where I teach dance.
Joan Minery
00:46:45
I closed down, which is what brought me to going back to school.
Joan Minery
00:46:49
I was like, I'm never going to be out of work again.
Joan Minery
00:46:51
I'm going back to school.
Joan Minery
00:46:52
I'm getting my master's.
Joan Minery
00:46:54
And again, I was the oldest person in the room and locked in there with all guns of blaring and went, you know, I'm here and you know, and graduated with my youthful class and had people just like literally standing in the aisles cheering me as I was going across the stage at Wilson.
Kathy Taccaro
00:47:15
That's so great.
Joan Minery
00:47:17
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:47:17
And I just like, no, I, I'm, I'm doing this.
Joan Minery
00:47:20
I, I, my motto for the last five years has been say no to nothing.
Joan Minery
00:47:26
Whatever.
Kathy Taccaro
00:47:28
I love it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:47:29
I love it.
Joan Minery
00:47:30
I will.
Joan Minery
00:47:31
Whatever comes up, I'm, I'm gonna do.
Joan Minery
00:47:33
And when this thing about going back to school came up, I went, yep, I'm gonna do that.
Joan Minery
00:47:38
And I was like, yeah, I will.
Joan Minery
00:47:40
You know, and if, you know, I gotta fly somewhere or if I gotta go travel somewhere, or, you know, if we're playing a bowling alley, we'll say yes.
Joan Minery
00:47:47
We're playing on a, you know, 3,000 seater, we'll say yes.
Joan Minery
00:47:50
I say no to nothing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:47:52
I think that's a terrific mindset and something that everybody can take away and say, you know, she's got it, she's got it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:47:59
Joan, what would you be your advice to women if they really want to do something?
Kathy Taccaro
00:48:03
But they've always kind of said, well, I can't.
Kathy Taccaro
00:48:06
Or people have said, I can't.
Kathy Taccaro
00:48:08
It's too late.
Kathy Taccaro
00:48:09
What's your advice?
Joan Minery
00:48:11
Oh, gosh, I.
Joan Minery
00:48:14
What's my advice for someone who says they can't see?
Joan Minery
00:48:17
I don't have that mindset.
Joan Minery
00:48:21
I would tell them to quietly close the door in the bathroom and look in the mirror and look and talk to themselves.
Joan Minery
00:48:34
Nobody else.
Joan Minery
00:48:35
Just, you know, me, myself, and I.
Joan Minery
00:48:37
And tell yourself in the mirror why you can't do it, because a lot of people can't do that.
Joan Minery
00:48:47
You can't tell your.
Joan Minery
00:48:49
You can say it, but when you're actually looking at yourself and it's like, now tell yourself why.
Joan Minery
00:48:57
But look into your eyes in that mirror.
Joan Minery
00:49:00
Look into your eyes.
Joan Minery
00:49:02
And to say if, just for example, if you've always wanted to.
Joan Minery
00:49:06
You always wanted to go back to school, you can put a thousand obstacles in front of you.
Joan Minery
00:49:12
But when you are looking at yourself in your eyes, in the mirror, tell yourself why you want to go back to school.
Joan Minery
00:49:21
And then those whys need to be yeses.
Joan Minery
00:49:24
And it's like, no, no.
Joan Minery
00:49:26
So you walked in here, you walked into the room saying, I can't do it.
Joan Minery
00:49:30
But I want you to walk out of the room saying, you can do it, but you gotta look at yourself in.
Joan Minery
00:49:35
In that mirror and just keep saying it over and over and over again.
Joan Minery
00:49:41
Yes, I can.
Joan Minery
00:49:42
Yes, I can.
Joan Minery
00:49:44
Yes, I can.
Joan Minery
00:49:45
Yes, I can.
Joan Minery
00:49:46
And you need to live in the complete.
Joan Minery
00:49:49
I am not.
Joan Minery
00:49:51
I will not.
Joan Minery
00:49:52
I was not.
Joan Minery
00:49:54
I should have.
Joan Minery
00:49:55
It's the I am.
Joan Minery
00:49:56
And say, I am going back to school.
Joan Minery
00:49:58
I am taking a dance class.
Joan Minery
00:50:00
I am going to get a new job.
Joan Minery
00:50:02
I am going to get my driver's license.
Joan Minery
00:50:04
I am.
Joan Minery
00:50:05
And even If I am 150 pounds, I am a size 10.
Joan Minery
00:50:11
I don't care if you weigh 350 pounds.
Joan Minery
00:50:14
You keep saying the I am the I.
Joan Minery
00:50:17
Because everything you are responsible for the energy you bring into your own space.
Joan Minery
00:50:22
And that's what you need to do in that bathroom.
Joan Minery
00:50:25
You need to revitalize that energy, bring it back into your own space and this.
Joan Minery
00:50:29
Live in the complete.
Joan Minery
00:50:31
I am.
Joan Minery
00:50:32
I am.
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:33
I love you.
Joan Minery
00:50:34
Yeah, yeah.
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:36
Totally positive affirmations like that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:39
They're so powerful.
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:41
Joan, I would love to continue picking your brain here because you've got some wonderful philosophies on life, but we have to kind of wrap it up.
Joan Minery
00:50:51
Totally understand that.
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:52
Where do people reach you?
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:54
Where can they follow the band?
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:56
Where can they buy the music?
Kathy Taccaro
00:50:57
You got all kinds of things out there that people can check out.
Joan Minery
00:51:00
Yeah, well, to find me, myself and I just go to my website, which is joan minery.com so j o A N M I N n e r y.com so there you're going to find out about me, my motivational shows, my dance fitness stuff, my books and stuff like that.
Joan Minery
00:51:18
If you want to buy our music or.
Joan Minery
00:51:21
And support the band Spotify.
Joan Minery
00:51:24
And you're looking for civil S I V L E and you're looking for civil from.
Joan Minery
00:51:31
From Canada.
Joan Minery
00:51:33
And.
Joan Minery
00:51:33
Or you'll also find all of our.
Joan Minery
00:51:36
The links for civil are also on my website.
Joan Minery
00:51:39
Facebook.
Joan Minery
00:51:39
I'm under Joan Minery.
Joan Minery
00:51:41
It's just Facebook.com Joan Minery and I have a public page.
Joan Minery
00:51:45
You're more than welcome to find any information about that.
Joan Minery
00:51:48
Same thing.
Joan Minery
00:51:49
Twitter, slash Joan Minery.
Joan Minery
00:51:51
Instagram slash Joan Minery.
Joan Minery
00:51:53
So it's a.
Joan Minery
00:51:54
I got very easy to find, but really the best place.
Joan Minery
00:51:58
Just go to my website.
Joan Minery
00:51:59
You'll find out all the information there.
Joan Minery
00:52:01
And if you don't find, you'll find links to a lot of our music and all of our activities and stuff that we're doing.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:12
This is wonderful.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:14
I really have enjoyed talking to you, Jo.
Joan Minery
00:52:16
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:52:17
Thank you so much.
Joan Minery
00:52:18
I've done a lot of talking.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:20
No, that's good.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:22
Oh, absolutely.
Joan Minery
00:52:24
Great.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:25
You got me energized.
Kathy Taccaro
00:52:26
I need to get into some sort of a line dance and I'm not sure what kind of swivel I'm going to be doing, but I think this is great.
Joan Minery
00:52:33
Yeah.
Joan Minery
00:52:34
Well, I'm really, I'm really happy to see line dancing has made a huge comeback.
Joan Minery
00:52:38
Zumba took over and line dancing has really made a big comeback in the last couple years, but we're excited to be back again.
Joan Minery
00:52:47
So.
Joan Minery
00:52:48
Yeah, I just, I just keep doing it.
Joan Minery
00:52:50
I'm again, say no to nothing and, and I'm here.
Joan Minery
00:52:54
I'm again, I'm.
Joan Minery
00:52:56
I'm two years off at 60 and there.
Joan Minery
00:52:58
There ain't no stopping me.
Joan Minery
00:53:00
Love it here.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:02
Yeah, I love it.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:04
Thank you, Joan.
Joan Minery
00:53:05
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:53:05
Thank you.
Joan Minery
00:53:06
Yeah, thank you.
Joan Minery
00:53:07
Thank you very much.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:08
We hope you've enjoyed this latest episode.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:11
And if you want to hear more episodes of Women Road warriors or learn more about our show, be sure to check out womenroadwarriors.com and please follow us on social media.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:22
And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on our website.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:25
We also have a selection of podcasts just for women.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:29
There are a series of podcasts from different podcasters.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:32
So if you're in the mood for women's podcasts, just click the Power network tab on womenroadwarriors.com you'll have a variety of shows to listen to anytime you want to Podcasts Made for Women Women Road warriors is on all the major podcast channels like Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, YouTube and others.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:51
So check us out and please follow us wherever you listen to podcasts.
Kathy Taccaro
00:53:55
Thanks for listening.
Shelley Johnson
00:53:59
You've been listening to Women Road warriors with Shelley Johnson and Kathy Taccaro.
Shelley Johnson
00:54:05
If you want to be a guest on the show or have a topic or feedback, email us@sjohnsonomenroadwarriors.com.