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DJ: Listeners, I am talking with Grey DeLisle, and Grey, thank you so much for doing this today.

Grey: Hi, how's it going? I'm so happy to be talking to you. This is gonna be fun.

DJ: It will be. I want to address something right up front on the off chance, or maybe probable chance that some musical stickler or purist says, “Wait, Grey DeLisle is known for playing autoharp. That's not an instrument with frets.” You know, details, details.

Grey: Yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, I do fret over the autoharp quite a bit…

DJ: Then there you go. That’s what I thought... See, I, I thought so. It made sense to me, so.

Grey: I'm not, I'm just as... I always tell people, like, I'm, I've been playing the autoharp most of my life, and I'm as good today as I was the very first day that I started playing it. So it's one of those kind of instruments.

DJ: All right. Well, I think you have been, I’m not sure, but I think you've been in California most of, if not all of your life, right?

Grey: Yes, I was born at Fort Ord Army Base, in California, Monterey, California. [00:01:00] Then we for a short time moved up to, um, upstate New York, Geneva, New York. And then my dad, I, I lived with my dad when I was little for a while and, and that was in El Paso, Texas, so. And my grandma's a Texan, so I was raised by a Texan, so I, I fit right in in El Paso.

DJ: Yeah.

Grey: Yeah.

DJ: Well, speaking of your grandma, I wanna start with, I think in your early years you had quite a few family members who were very into music and even performing with different artists and groups.

Grey: Yes. My grandma used to sing with Tito Puente, the, the Latin band leader. Yeah. And she was in his touring band. Yeah, she didn't do a lot of recordings, but she did tour with him a bit. So, um, yeah. And she taught me all the, those old boleros and all the old songs in Spanish, so I still incorporate those into my act now.

DJ: That's great

Grey: I love the Spanish songs. Yeah.

DJ: So you were exposed to a lot of music at a very young age.

Grey: Oh, yes. My mom was in bands. My…actually my mom would, I'd have to go to rehearsal with her for her band and, and my little [00:02:00] reward for being quiet during the rehearsal was they would give me the microphone at the end, and I would get to go up and do a song with the band.

So that was my... And I was good. I, I waited for that biscuit for so long. It was, I was very well-behaved waiting for my time in the sun. Yes.

DJ: And you were writing songs when you were just a kid too?

Grey: Yes. I always thought everyone wrote songs. I remember talking to a friend, like, I was like six or seven, and I was like, "You know when you're writing a song and then, you know." And it's funny 'cause my kids kind of come up with their own songs too a lot, and , my kids think it's a real rip-off if somebody didn't write the song.

So we were listening to... My, my son was talking about his teacher teaching him some song. It was like some kind of, they go to a Waldorf school, which is, so they have a lot of different verses and things that they say during the day, like, you know, about when they, when they talk about when they're about to have a meal or if they're greeting the day and everything, and, and he was, he was doing it for me, and then he's like, "Uh, but you know, she didn't write it or anything.

It's just, it's, it's the, it's the thing that everybody does." I was kind of taking it away from her a little [00:03:00] bit. I was like, "Well, she didn't have to write it." Anyway.

DJ: That’s funny.

Grey: I thought my dad wrote “Big Rock Candy Mountain” for the longest time when I was little. Then I remember hearing it and going, "Oh, that's not..."

'Cause my, my dad did, he was sort of the Weird Al Yankovic of our family. He would, like, make up funny songs to other people's tunes, which I didn't know they were other people's tunes, but they were kind of making fun of me and my sister or my, me and my brother. You know, so he was always doing these little, like, takeoffs, you know.

And so, But then I, he would sing “Big Rock Candy Mountain” too, and then I heard... It just sounded like another one of the songs that made fun of our family. Then I actually heard it and I was like, "Wait, what? That's a real song?" You know, yeah. Oh.

DJ: That's such a great song. It was, it was so cool to hear that play over the opening titles to, uh, O Brother, Where Art Thou? That was such a perfect song for that, that

Grey: Oh, yes. Oh my God, I remember 'cause I've, I've been playing mountain music m- most of my life, and I, I, and when that movie came out it was so funny because people would always say, "What kind [00:04:00] of music do you play?" And I'd go, "Well, it's kind of, you know, it's kind of mountain, like, you know, it, it's kind of, you know, Appalachian folk music.

It's kind of..." You know, I was, I was, "Story songs, you know, hill, you know, uh, hill country..." And I was just I, I was try- And people would go, "Oh, Big Ra- I, it, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's O Brother, Where Art Thou? music." That's what they would... That, wh- when that movie came out, they just started saying, "Oh, I know what kind of music you play.

It's that O Brother, Where Art Thou? music." And I was like, "That's fine. That's fine."

DJ: So back to the autoharp, was that something you learned, like, from a family member? Or did you, I mean, what drew you to that?

Grey: I think there was one in our classroom when I was little, and so, and yeah. And then we also loved The Carter Family growing up, my family. My dad, my dad loved The Carter Family, so we- I would see it. And then when I first started, like, working with other people when I was writing songs but trying to, explain them to other people when we were about to record, you know, I would sing it a cappella, and sometimes I would sort of compromise on the tune 'cause I was like, "Well, that's not quite it."

They would get a little too complicated with my tunes. My tunes are pretty they're [00:05:00] usually pretty simple, three chords, you know? Um, but people would get a little fancy, and I'd go, "Well, that's not really quite it, but that's fine. That's good." And then Marvin Etzioni, who I was working with, I was in my early 20s, and he was like, "You should just, you know, you know what auto harp is?"

I was like, "Oh, yeah, yeah. I, I love, I, you know, I've, I love auto harps. I've been around them," you know. And he goes, "Well, you should just get one and just, you can..." And so I was like, "Oh my gosh, that's great. It's like a translation device for the, the songs in my head." So yeah, so that's when I really started playing it, you know, daily, was when I was just trying to get it, , get whatever chord it was from out of my head into the brains of the other people that I was working with, so yeah.

DJ: Not that many people play them, not that I know of. 

Grey: No, people always when I travel with it be like, "Is this a zither or is this a, you know, lute or a..." You know, they always have a, some kind of word for it. Dulcimer. They're like, "Your dulcimer." I'm like, "No, no." Ah.

DJ: , So time marches on. You get into school, high school. What kinds of music were you into, like, during your teen and young adult years? [00:06:00] Did you venture off into other genres of music to, that you were, that you liked to listen to, or maybe even play?

Grey: Yeah, I got really into jazz, like, like like Decca recordings. Like I, I really loved Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis and all that stuff. And, um, well, and I, I also was a sort of a theater nerd, so all the Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff. You know, there was usually a recording like from a real jazz person of those hits of the day from the musicals, so it kind of crossed over.

So yeah, I would get in my room and, and, and draw and write poetry to Billie Holiday all the time. And, but, and, and I, I find that there are some jazzy things in some of the songs I write. Like I write a lot of Christmas songs. I'm gonna put out a Christmas album one of these days 'cause I definitely have like 15 original Christmas songs.

Um, but I just, this past holiday I put out a song with Les Greene, which is where I started writing for Les Greene 'cause I, there was a, um, um, a song I wrote called “I Don't Want Nothing If I Can't Have You”, and I wanted to have [00:07:00] like an Ella and Louis, um, thing. And it's got a, it had a lot of jazzy chords. And at first I brought some musicians in who couldn't hear the, the chord.

They didn't know. They were like, they, they... It was a little too simple 'cause they were used to working with me with my country stuff. But James Intveld, he ended up producing it, and he could hear all the chords I was doing 'cause he's got a big, you know, he's, he's... He can play anything. So, um, but yeah, it was very Louis, and like, I don't want nothing if I can't have you.

Boom, boom, boom, boom. Don't want no velvet coat or shiny shoes. It was just... It had a lot of jazziness to it. So, um, yeah. But that, that all came from my high school brooding in my room to, to Billie and yeah.

DJ: Any like goth bands or anything that you would occasionally

Grey: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I went through my goth phase, yes, the heavy... Um, I had, I, I drew, like, little black spiders on my chest at one point.

I, like, I got into vintage clothes. I always loved old things, but I remember , we didn't have much money either, so, thrift stores and, and garage sales, it was a way to be cool with very little money by [00:08:00]always shopping at the thrift store and stuff, and yeah. So I, I definitely, all my prom dresses all came from, you know, thrift stores and stuff, 'cause I was like, "Who has, like, $300 to spend on a dress?"

Even now, it's like, now they're like, girls spend what you'd spend on a wedding dress for things like that. But, um, I did wear a, a hand-me-down prom dress, though, from one of my, my senior year. My... It was funny 'cause I was, my friend's, all her prom pictures, she was a year ahead of me, so I was like, "Oh yeah, I forgot.

My prom dress was borrowed from her, 'cause I, she posted her prom pictures the other day on social media, and I was like, "That's my prom dress. Oh yeah, that, I borrowed her prom dress." Anyway, so yeah. Yeah, I did love the goth stuff. And, but I still listened to Hank Williams and Patsy and all that stuff too, you know.

And my mom loved Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris and stuff, so, I, you know, The Eagles and all that. So I, it's funny 'cause I remember getting into Buddy Holly later in life because I, I didn't realize that that wasn't Linda Ronstadt's song [00:09:00] when she, she did all that Smokey Robinson and Buddy Holly stuff, and I was like, "She's a great songwriter."

And then somebody's like, "No, that's a Buddy Holly song." And I was like, "Oh, he's a great songwriter. I gotta get into him." So…

DJ: I feel like in those days when I was in school, I was like adding things in. I was never really walking away from the, the stuff I already knew. Like, my dad had turned me on to jazz, and of course I was into, you know, uh, all the '60s pop and rock and classic rock and everything. But yeah, I kept adding different things in.

Grey: I love, I love being a mother. My son is 19 and he's got great music taste, but I love when he falls in love with something and then he hasn't heard... And you know, he, he was playing The Kinks for me. He was playing “Come Dancing”, and I'm like, "Oh." I was like, "That's like later. That's like the '80s."

I was like, "You have to get..." I was like, "Have you heard like, you know," I was like, "Have you heard “Waterloo Sunset”?" And he's like, "No. What's that?" And I was like, "Oh my God." I, it's, it's so exciting to go like, "Hey, if you like this thing, y- you know, there's so much more of that to hear and you're brand new and you have all these great things to, to hear, you know, [00:10:00] in front of you."

So, um, yeah. That's always fun.

DJ: People who know me know I'm a bona fide Kinks fan. I'm pretty, pretty big, and they probably get tired of hearing me talk about them but I absolutely love The Kinks.

Grey: Yes, me too. Me too. And I love a brother fight too. I love their contentiousness, you know?

DJ: Dave and Ray.

Grey: Before Liam and Noel.

DJ: Dave and Ray. Yeah, I love... I'm always... I think I have this quote somewhere. It's something to the effect of Dave at one point said, "Oh, no, no, I love Ray.

I just can't stand being in the same room with him."

Grey: And we've all been there. I just go- we just got off a, a month-long European tour with my band, and there were like... Everyone was in a fight at some point. Like, you know, I mean, just, uh, uh... So we were like, well, it made us all feel better. There was no m- you know, there was no common denominator. There was no one sticking out or feeling bad, 'cause we all at one point were really mad at one of the other people.

So it was fine. But we love each other so much. But after, when it was over, we're like, "I love you, but it'll be great to get home and [00:11:00] not see you guys for a couple weeks."

DJ: I need a break.

Grey: Yes, yes.

DJ: . So at what point did you discover you had a talent for doing voices?

Not only singing, you have a beautiful voice, but that, you know, like imitating other people's voices, like doing dialects or, you know, like…

Grey: Oh, yes. I, I started doing impressions of... Well, I always had done impressions since I was little. My grandma used to get mad at me 'cause I'd be at a restaurant. My grandmother raised me, so we were- we spent a lot of time together, and poor thing, I, I was such a weird little kid. Like, people always say, "How did you get into doing cartoon voices?"

And I was like, "I was just a little weird kid with ADHD who wrote songs all the time and did voices all the time, and was always performing and just trying to entertain myself," you know? Um, but if I heard a voice or... I just had to, I had to imitate it, you know? And so it's probably some sort of stimming or something.

I don't know. But I would be at a restaurant and I would hear, like, a weird, like, like a laugh, and I would immediately go And my grandma would go, "Baby, don't do [00:12:00] that. You're gonna, you know, get us... We're gonna get beaten up by these people." Um, but it was just, it's almost, I still do it in my head. Like, I know it's not socially acceptable to do.

Um, but I still, if I hear a voice I'm like, "Oh, I gotta..." You know, I, I definitely have to. Even if I hear a lyric to a song or something, like if somebody says something that is a lyric to a song, I have to sing the song. I do it in my head now, but I used to just, would go, "Oh, I couldn't sleep at all last night."

And I'm like, "I couldn't sleep at all last night." You know, just like I just do it in my head now, though. 'Cause otherwise you end up with no friends and, yeah. Um, but, but yeah. So I, I was just a weird little kid with ADHD and I, and now I'm a weird adult with ADHD who's making a living at it. Um, but, uh, y- yeah, I...

Well, I, so I, I always had.. It's funny because my, my given name is Erin Grey, you know? So my, Grey is my middle name, but, but when I started preschool, they, they gave me a big E and said, "Pick what, you know, put, make Erin the what?" Like, what is... You know, and I put Erin the Entertainer. And it, [00:13:00] and it, and that was my, and I decorated the E, you know?

And I always think how funny, how, how we kind of like know who we are at such a tiny little age, you know? I was like four years old. And, uh, but I just, and I, and I'm not, like, just an actress or a songwriter or a comedian or a, you know, voice actor or, you know. I'm, I, I've, I'm an entertainer. I like to make people, you know, happy and tell them a story and make them laugh and just, I like to entertain.

So that's the, it was very, very, very true back then, so yeah.

DJ: I guess I was wondering if there was a point, like, were you ever at a crossroads where you were choosing a career path? I mean, you have so many talents, uh, singing and songwriting and, you know, voices and comedy even.

Was there, like, a point where you, where you felt like you had to make a decision between music and voice work, like, for a career path? Or was it easy enough to just say, "Oh, I'll, I'll go for both"? I mean, why, why, why stop doing one or the other?

Grey: Well, I did do on-camera acting for a while when I first moved to LA, [00:14:00] and that was going great. Like, I, I think I, I got like the first seven things I auditioned for, I got 'em all, like all these on-camera things. But I also, the voiceover started heating up and I could do like three or four voiceover things in the same time span that I could do one episode of a sitcom or something.

So I remember that was a big decision, 'cause I remember having to get rid of my... Not get rid of, but like having to just leave my, my on-camera agent because they were going, at one point they were like, "You don't even have to audition, they just wanna hire you for this thing." But I was like, ", I'm gonna make five times that at doing voiceover 'cause I can do five of those, and I, in the same time, and it's like a whole day, you know, away at this, at this, you know, just waiting around for to do five lines or whatever."

And so I finally said, "I, I'm so sorry. I, I don't wanna waste your time. I think I'm gonna just stick with this voice..." And I'm so glad I did because I was able to p- play a teenager even when I'm 50 years old. You know, I mean, I, I can, you know, I was, I was nine months pregnant and still playing like a babysitter in a half shirt, you know?

And I mean, I, I, it, the longevity [00:15:00] of career was so nice, you know. And a lot of my friends, by the time they were 35 or whatever, the, they weren't getting calls anymore, you know? And I was I was able to do things for a really long time. Um, so and also my stand-up friends, like 'cause I was doing comedy back then too, and a lot of them, you know, went on the road and just never really put down roots in LA.

And they, you know, I was able to, you know, buy a house and to have a family and, you know, do all the things. I think voiceover is such a wonderful, it gives you so much freedom. And now it, it just pays for me to be able to tour and do things with the band and record and just things that other musicians f- really struggle to be able to do.

And I know how lucky I am, you know, to, to be able to do that stuff. I always say like, "I have one heck of a side hustle with this voiceover stuff," so, um, but I never really had to choose between music and acting. I, but I, I did choose voiceover over on-camera, though. That was one big crossroads. But, but I did, uh, I mean, it wasn't, it, the choice wasn't even a choice.

At one point I just got this terrible [00:16:00] stage fright when I was, you know, in my mid-20s. I was on tour in Europe, and I just went a little nuts, and I just couldn't go on stage. I couldn't... I had just finished the tour and I was about to go back to Europe, and I had to cancel the entire tour because I was shaking like a leaf even thinking about writing a song or singing or, or anything.

And, and this portal to this music world just completely shut down for 20 years. And finally when COVID happened, I just got- I guess, I don't know if it was like the quietness or the stillness or maybe just thinking that e- everybody was gonna die in a month or something. I don't know, but, but just, it just kicked something loose and I couldn't stop writing.

So now I've written like 300 songs in the past, you know, since, in the past six years or so. I've put out like six albums, and I have another six recorded that haven't even come out yet, so, um, and I have a... I just put out one the other day, you know, the Grey & Greene and then there's another solo thing coming in October.

And so, um, that's why I have to be an independent label 'cause I have... If I was on a real label, they would [00:17:00] laugh me out of the building like, "You can't put out three albums a year, Grey. Sorry." Um, but when I'm on my own, I can do whatever I want. So, I can make all the bad decisions I want to.

DJ: You've stayed incredibly busy with performing comedy, voice work, film work, as you talked about. Along the way, I mean, was was there much time to play live music out, either solo or with a band, before you started making records in the studio? Or did you just do kind of all of that too? Were you still performing live or?

Grey: Well, thank goodness for Eddie Clendening because he, I always call him like my magic feather. Uh, Ed- Eddie Clendening is, , is, uh, the other singer in the band. He, he plays rhythm guitar. He's a star in his own right. I mean, he was on Broadway. He was the original, Elvis in Million Dollar Quartet, and he's a great songwriter, great performer.

He's been performing since he was like 13 or something. He quit, he quit elementary school to go be in a band. Um, and we met on Facebook [00:18:00] during the quarantine, and we started ex- ... Uh, well I was just, we were just writ- you know, we were just... Well, you know, we were just talking 'cause there was nothing to do but, you know, just make friends.

So and then I was talking about how, how I'd written all these children's songs. And so we put out an album called Princess Mike. Um, as soon as the pandemic was over, we, you know, met up in person. We got... We had DJ Bonebreak from X on drums and, you know, Deke Dickerson lead guitar. The thing was everyone in the band was way too successful to actually tour or do anything with the band, like, after, you know, when the world opened up again We couldn't get DJ back.

He was like, "I'm doing o- X is on a world tour. We can't..." But anyway, so but it's... I'm really proud of that little album. I, I don't even know if it's streaming anymore. I, I think I took it... I'm gonna put it out again. I gotta, I gotta... I'll put it up, 'cause a lot of people say, like, "My kids, you know, do you have any...

Uh, my kids wanna listen to that fun little thing." But there's still some videos up. There's a thing called “Toenail Soup”, which is like a rip-off of “A Boy Named Sue”, and there's all these fun... There's a thing called “Sugar Booger” about picking your nose. It's all [00:19:00] on YouTube. Um, but it's... And the band is called The Roughousers.

That was the band's name, The Roughousers. But when, once... But then I told Eddie, "Well, I've written all these, like, you know, adult kinda songs too, you know? That I don't just write kids songs." So, um, he had a few ideas and I had ideas, and he would give me an idea for a song and I would finish it in, like, 10 minutes.

And he was like, "God, this is great. Let's... We, we, we should do a real thing." So he had a band already called The Blue Ribbon Boys, and so it was just sort of a ready-made thing where he, he said... And I was really nervous coming back onto the stage, I really was, but he just has such a confidence and he, he's been at it so long.

And he, he does the soundcheck with me, makes sure everything's great, and he's just good at talking to sound people and... 'Cause I'm always... I just agree to anything. I'm like, "It sounds great. Thanks. Bye." You know, I mean, I, I, I will just... I, I'm so uncomfortable telling people that I'm not happy with something or it needs to be, "Can I get some more in my monitor?"

Or whatever. It, but Eddie really facilitated all that and he's sort of my protector and my, my brother on, on the road, so. But I always [00:20:00] tell him, "You're my magic feather and I'm little Dumbo," 'cause I wouldn't be up here without him. He just makes me feel like I can do anything, so. Um, so yeah. So he pretty much, like, kinda gave me...

For a while it was Grey Delisle and Eddie Clendening and the Blue Ribbon Boys, and that just doesn't fit on a marquee. So I was like, "I know it's an... I, I don't wanna make it a blow to your ego or a, hurt your feelings or anything," but the promoter said, "Can we make it Grey Delisle and the Blue Ribbon Boys?

Is that okay with you? Can I just kind of usurp your band?" And he's like, "Yes, you can, as long as I get him back when, you know, when you're gone." So, so he still plays, you know, Eddie Clendening and the Blue Ribbon Boys, but when we're in Europe it's Grey Delisle and the Blue Ribbon Boys 'cause we don't have that many letters to put on the marquee.

DJ: Doesn't fit.

Grey: It doesn’t fit. It, it doesn't trip off the tongue either. I can barely say it. I'm like Eddie Clendening and Grey Delisle and the Blue Ribbon Boys- Anyway.

DJ: See, say that seven times real fast.

Grey: Yeah!

DJ: Uh, well, at least two of the albums in your catalog are tributes to, there's the tributes to, uh, June Carter and Johnny Cash. There was a couple of those, A Graceful Ghost and [00:21:00] Anchored in Love. Um, I wanna talk about another tribute album that was a project of yours in 2025, and to lead into that, I'm gonna share an experience I had back in 2009. I won't take real long.

Grey: Okay. 

DJ: I just wanna…

Grey: Yes.

DJ: Um, I'm a huge Elvis Costello fan, and I saw that he was playing, Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. This was back in,

Grey: I love it and there's Cindy Walker, there's a little plaque.

DJ: Exactly. That's what I'm leading up to.

Grey: I went and took a picture with it.

DJ: Yeah, it was, like, the first ... And I still, in fact, I was just looking at it again either, I don't know, this morning or yesterday, but I still have some pictures I took.

I, I fell in love with Cain's immediately, and I would just ... I got there kinda early, and I was just, like, walking around, and I saw that picture of Cindy Walker, was just a beautiful, it's that classic, you know the picture I'm talking about. And, um, I was somewhat familiar with her songs and her connection to Bob Wills, but it rekindled, like, that moment, like, rekindled my interest.

Like, when I got back to [00:22:00] town, I was like, "All right, I need to dive into some Cindy Walker." So, you know, you released,

Grey: Good!

DJ: And I love the name, It's All Her Fault: A Tribute to Cindy Walker by Grey DeLisle Friends. So it…

Grey: Oh, yes. 

DJ: And it features…

Grey: That, that just popped into my head. Like, the first I said, "We should do a Cindy Walker tribute album. We can call it It's All Her Fault." It, I mean, it all just came together like a good song, you know? Sometimes the... Sometimes when you belabor all the, you know, sometimes a song just takes forever to write and it's like, "Oh, God, it doesn't..."

It's, like, just so complicated and horrible, and the song's always like, "Eh, I don't know if that's even a good song anymore," 'cause it, it just takes so much work. And then it's always the best songs that kinda tumble out. It's, for me. That's just my experience. I know other writers are different. But when that all just came together and all the ladies just kind of...

It was easy, you know? It was just everybody was like, "Yes," and no one fought over... There was a little bit of contention on who was gonna get to sing “You Don't Know Me”, but Rosie Flores was the, was the queen in my book, and I, I just love her so much, and we've written [00:23:00] songs together, and she's help- you know, she's helped me so much, and she's a great mentor.

And so I said, "Rosie's the queen, so she gets to pick what song she wants." So she picked that, and then everybody else kind of fell in behind that. But it was easy. I was afraid there was gonna be drama with everything, but everyone was just sent in their tracks. We, you know, we, we sent them... We, we did all the, songs, you know, I, I sang scratch, you know?

So we sent them finished tracks. All they had to do was put their voice on it. Um, and it just was just painless. I was expecting it to not be. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

DJ: Well, and you provided on “You Got My Heart Doing a Tap Dance”.

Grey: Oh, well, and that was all not even... That was all, that was Brennen Leigh being a sweetheart because I sent her the song and she goes, "I love your vocal on that. Are you sure you don't want to sing that?" And I go, "No, no, no, no. I want..." Oh my God, who doesn't want Brennen Leigh on their thing? I'm like, "No, don't, you're not backing out of this."

And she goes, "Well, can we, maybe we could do it as a duet." And I was like, "Well, let me, huh, let me see if that works." 'Cause I, and, and it just sounded so- It was, it was great. I was like, "Yeah, and the, the [00:24:00] album needs a little duet. That's cool." And I, and there aren't many two lady duets, you know? So I was, I was, yeah, I was happy with it.

So yeah.

DJ: I need to get Rosie Flores. I need to talk to her at some point.

Grey: You do. She's…you do. I can set that up. And she is on tour with fricking Robert Plant right now too. I, I- Yes. I'm so proud of her. And we- I was in Europe and I- and they offered us this big gig and I, I was like, "Well, I'm sure she'll say yes." And they, they were getting ready to finalize everything and, and Rosie had said yes, so they offered us the money.

Everything was like they were dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. And then she goes, "Grey, I just got offered another, another tour with Robert," and it's during, I think it's like, you know, it's gonna, might butt up against that. But it was like the Robert thing was ending a couple days before. I really needed her to be in the Netherlands.

And I was like, "Rosie, I will fly you from Chicago straight to the N- I will, I, first cl- anything you want." So she said, "Oh, of course, I'll, I'll come." And I was like so relieved 'cause once somebody's with Robert Plant, they could tell everybody to, you know, [00:25:00] just go suck it. You know? Like, she didn't have to be nice to me, but she was, and she's just a class act.

I love her so much. Yeah.

DJ: . Well, last week, just a few days ago, you released another fantastic album, Grey & Greene with Les Greene. It's so great

Grey: Yes, yes. Oh, thank you so much. He can sing anything, and it was just so inspiring. I, I don't- I usually write for myself, but, um, occasionally I have like a star in mind when I write things. Like I, you know, sometimes I'm like, " what would I pitch to George Jones? I wanna write something for him to sing."

Or, you know, "What would Buddy Holly sing?" Or what would... You know, and I have them in my mind, you know. But, um, but this time, I mean, I feel like he is just a star waiting to happen. He's so talented. He can sing anything. And, and I d- I wasn't constrained by abilities at all. When I write for myself, sometimes I am constrained by my own singing abilities, but he's just world-class any note, any, you know.

So I just felt like…

DJ: What a great singer. Yeah.

Grey: …just a big whiteboard. Oh my gosh, he is, ugh, just, he's like the Little Richard [00:26:00] for, you know, the new, the new era, you know? Um, and I, and as a live performer, you have to see him play live, 'cause that's how I saw him, and he just blew me away. He was like doing the splits and cartwheels off the stage, and I mean, just going out in the audience.

And people were just totally charmed. In Los Angeles, no one will even play after him. You can't, you can't top what he's, he... The people are in hysterics when he's, when he leaves. I mean, just everyone is... And I don't mean hysterics like laughing, you know. Just like, eh, the, the whole audience is just, you can't follow him.

So, um, yeah, so I was just, I went home and just that, um, “I Wanna Let You Call Me Baby” just popped into my head, and I was like, "That's, I, I got, Les has to sing that." And thank goodness he was so receptive to it, and he came and recorded a bunch of stuff and, and it was, it was wonderful. And he was so gracious to...

'Cause he had, he has stuff he's putting out too, so he said, "You know what? W- I w- I, I, my time's limited," 'cause I wanted him to finish all the other songs, and he's like, "W- how about you do one? Let's do a thing together." So I was like very flattered. I wasn't…I was just planning to write a whole entire album for him, but [00:27:00] he had time constraints and just different...

He's in the top finalists for the Tiny Desk Concert for NPR, so he had things that he had to do with that. And, um, yeah, he's on their tour right now. He's doing a tour with those artists too. So I just, he, he said, "Why don't you do the other half of the songs?" I was like, "Well, okay."

So, um, yeah, that's how that happened. It was all his idea. Just like Brennen is all... I, I kinda fall into these things, just because, uh, you know, I don't know, people include me, which is so gracious. Um, but yeah, no, I'm just so blown away by him, and he's so inspiring on all levels, so it was great.

DJ: Well, you mentioned Deke Dickerson. Deke, Deke's been on Frets. He was on an early episode of the show. Um, he's great, and…

Grey: Oh, wonderful! Oh my God, and such a guitar player. Wow. Yeah.

DJ: And he plays on some of the…

Grey: One of my dearest friends. 

DJ: Well, he was involved in the recording of the album too, right?

Grey: Yes. Yeah. Um, he, yeah, we, we brought Les over to his house and we, you know, just laid out a bunch of things. And also, um, I made a record with Andy Paley, and Deke was the engineer on that and played on that as well.

[00:28:00] Um, that's the record that's coming out in October. But I gave a couple of the tracks that I had done with Andy to Les because I felt like he could sing them better. So that's why Andy is, is credited a couple times on this w- for guitar and, you know, some production ideas because I just thought like, you know, I, ultimately I want what serves the song best.

But The Back of Your Hand, I originally, I was singing that, you know? Um, and, you know, so... But, but f- Les just sang it so much better than I could. So and yeah, so I gave him a couple of the tracks that, that Deke had engineered, so. No, I love Deke. I've been friends with Deke for 20 years or more. Um, we've watched each other's kids grow up and yeah, it was great.

I was just saying every time a song pops into my head when I'm writing something, I go to his house so we could get it down. You know, like, I was like, "Can I give you $100 and you'll just, just, just record this real quick? Can I... " And he's like, "Sure."

So I just show up and he helps me. 

DJ: I saw Deke not long ago at one of my favorite venues here on the outskirts of St. Louis. Uh, it's Gene's Country Club in [00:29:00] Pevely, Missouri. It's…

Grey: Oh yeah?

DJ: A bonafide honky-tonk, and it's such a great place to see anyone.

But yeah, Deke played there not too long ago, and, uh, you know, I, it, I'm gonna mention this too, when I, the last time I was in LA, I sent Deke a message and I said, "Hey, um, I was kinda looking at your tour schedule, but it doesn't look, it looks like you might... Are you in town, like, when I'm gonna be out there?"

I was out there for, like, I don't know, like a week. And he sends a message back and he said, "Ah," he said, "Saturday night I've got my kid, uh, but here's what you should do. You should go to the Sassafrass Saloon", that what it was? And see, uh,

Grey: Yes, the Sassafrass!

DJ: Yeah, and it was a great little place, but it was, uh, Tom Kenny and The High Seas, and it was amazing.

So yeah. 

Grey: Yeah, I play there all the time. I love that weird, that weird Evita balcony and it is weird, but, uh, it's still, like, such a great... I love the vibe in that place. It's so wonderful.

DJ: That was cool. Um…

Grey: Yeah. yeah. He didn't steer you wrong. He didn't steer you wrong.

DJ: That was a great experience, and I was very grateful that he told me about the, [00:30:00] the Sassafrass.

Grey: Yes. I do my song, I, I do a thing called Grey Delisle's Song Swap. Uh, it's actually Grey Delisle's Song Swap Meet. So we have some vintage vendors there, but it's people just share their, you know, original songs and then, you know, we have a headliner and it's fun. So, um, I did, I've done it in Nashville too.

It's sort of a traveling thing. I did it at the Nashville Palace, but Sassafrass is my place that I do it when I'm in Los Angeles, so, yeah.

DJ: Next time I'm out there.

You mentioned you did some shows to promote the new album. How was that experience, touring?

Grey: Oh, it's great. Um, well, you know, Les isn't available 'cause he's on the, uh, NPR tour, but, but I've taught my band, you know, as best I can the, album and, um, and we, we just, we were just in Europe doing some of the songs. But I do my own versions of some of the songs that I wrote with Les, and they're totally different.

But it's like Richard… like between Little Richard and Dolly Parton or something. I just kinda Dolly Parton up my songs. And she had some soul. Dolly's got soul. [00:31:00] Um, anyway, but, uh, yeah, like “The Back of Your Hand” is like a finger-picking song when I do it, you know? And, um, um, I just had to s- re- re-engineer some of the things to suit me a little better, but, but it's working.

People love it, and people are... It- we sold out of the record on tour, so that's good. Yeah.

DJ: Well, Grey & Greene, I love that album title too. It's just perfect, short and sweet, and it makes…

Grey: Oh, awesome. Yeah, well I, that, that was another one that popped right into my head. I was like, "Hey, I'm Grey DeLisle, you're Les Greene. We both have colors in our name." First I was like, "Greene. Greene and Grey," and then I was like, "Grey and Greene flows a little better," and I'm an egomaniac, so that worked out.

DJ: It is available, and listeners, I'm putting a link in the show notes, so look for it, and it's really, really, really great. Um, well, Grey DeLisle, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to talk today. It's been a lot of fun, and I really appreciate it

Grey: Oh, I do too. Thank you so much. It was a lot of fun. You're right, it was fun. All right. Well, tell, tell your brother I said hello.

DJ: I will.

Grey: Okay.

DJ: We'll be in [00:32:00] touch.

Grey: Take care, you. Okay, Bye. 

Bye. Bye.