- All right everybody we are back
and we have decided to stretch Mother's Day
all through this week as well 'cause we can.
(audience cheering)
I'm hanging out with Kaci Walfall.
Give it up y'all.
(audience cheering & clapping)
So a lot of us tried new things during the pandemic,
uh did you get into anything new this past two years?
- I started reading more for fun.
- Hey, that's huge for someone your age.
It took me forever to get into anything to read, so.
Well while many moms got into things
like sourdough starters or gardening,
um I did, a group of, not sourdough but gardening,
a group of five mamas near Boston
formed their very own rock band 'cause why the hell not?
What's crazy is most had no musical experience
which is funny.
Still they practiced hard, they wrote their own songs,
they even played gigs and got written up in Boston Magazine.
(Kelly imitates a horn)
(audience applause)
These women prove it's never too late to try something new
so please welcome The Lazy Susans
Imge, Martha, Joanna, Leila and Heather.
Thank y'all for coming.
So how did this happen?
Did you all know each other?
- Well we met all about two decades ago
and our kids have grown up together. Yeah.
So we live just outside of Boston
in a small town called Milton.
- [band member] The 86!
- Yup. And um yeah our kids went to daycare together,
they go to school together, Joanna and I were neighbors
and we didn't even know it.
- We went to grad school together.
- We went to grad school about a century ago so.
- About a century ago.
So wait, so who plays what? Tell everybody who plays what.
- So I play um the most important cowbell.
And I've got tambourines. I'm a percussion.
And Heather plays the bass.
Joanna played lead guitar.
Martha plays drums.
And Imge does bass as well as keys.
And as you can tell we kind of all rotate around
and we also do lead vocals.
And so that was kind of the inspiration
for the name Lazy Susans
for those of you who remember what a Lazy Susan is.
- I love a lazy Susan girl.
Somebody pass the corn and you just spin it.
- Yeah and so it's also kind of a little bit of a pun
on the fact that we're not lazy, whatsoever.
And a little bit on Susan Karen kind of thing.
(Kelly laughs)
So it's got like many meanings.
- So you're funny.
So wait so and you all have like real jobs.
You all like do different things right? As well.
- Yeah.
- So you stay busy.
- Yeah we're both.. so Heather and I are college professors
and I also have a branding and marketing firm.
- It's how she came up with the name.
She's smart. She's a brander.
- Yeah. Marketing. I get it.
- And Joanna's the journalist.
Martha's a book designer, graphic designer.
And Imge. Imge's a farmer, produce specialist,
and is a black belt in TaeKwonDo so.
(crowd cheering)
- What! You're like a farmer and you can kick someones butt.
I love it all.
That's amazing.
Okay, very impressed.
So wait, so who among you had musical experience
and who among you was like trailing behind?
- Our husbands have musical experience.
Like a lot of our husbands are musicians
or they play in bands.
Some of them are great.
And so when we would get together
the husbands would always be pulling out the guitar,
the little drum thing.
And they'd be jamming out the end of the night.
We'd sometimes mostly be in the kitchen ya know?
Or taking care of the kids and kinda listening
and maybe singing along, but we'd always,
a little bit of us always wanted to do something. You know?
And Imge knew piano.
I played like the tiniest bit of guitar.
We'd always talked about getting together and playing
and never really did.
Then the pandemic happened. You know?
And Heather's husband had bought her a bass,
and Leila's the karaoke queen.
- Love it!
- And then we needed a drummer.
- So they asked me and I had never picked up a stick
but I always wanted to try.
So I borrowed my friend Gary's drums
and Joanna's husband Dan taught me a few, few beats
and uh then we just practiced.
- [Kelly] She was hired.
- Yeah, I was hired for the job.
- [Kelly] She was hired!
(guests laugh)
So wait, so when did you play your first gig?
- So once we started to get together
we realized we work much better on a deadline. Uh.
- [Kelly] Moms.
- Moms. We signed ourselves up for our local porch fest
where there's a day of bands playing on sets
of porches in our neighborhood.
And then it became real.
- [Kelly] Wait it's called a porch fest?
- Yeah it's really big like up in New England
they do that yeah.
- That is brilliant.
- See that's us up on a porch.
- It's like a festival on your,
it's like the new version of a block party.
- Yeah.
- Yes exactly.
- [Kelly] Okay.
- And so we were playing, we learned about five
how many songs did we learn?
- Seven.
- Seven songs. All covers.
I think people were dancing in the street.
And having a great time.
And saying, "Lazy Lazy Lazy. One more song!"
We were like we don't, we don't know any more.
- That's it.
- So Kaci, do you play any instruments, do you sing?
Like are you into music?
- I'm into music but I don't play any instruments.
But after this I am.
- Yeah.
- Yes, come on over.
- Maybe they need, I'm willing to be a dancer.
A backup dancer. If you want to be backup dancer with me.
- Totally. Totally.
- Exactly. I'm just saying. I don't play instruments well.
I can sing. That's it.
But that's boring for me to do in a band like,
that's expected.
So I'm going to be doing just like the body moves.
Background like,
Yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome.
So you're not just covering songs anymore though right?
So you've written some of your own.
- That's correct. Yeah.
So we were on such a high after Porch Fest,
that a week later we get together
and the first thing we said was, "Okay, what's next?
Like we gotta keep going."
And so Joanna and I had both
kinda started writing some stuff
but for me I had never written a song before in my life.
- Was it fun or terrifying? Or both?
- [Joanna] ] It was fun.
- [Heather] It was collaborative.
- I gotta say some of my songs are a little raunchy,
and I write for a living. At least to me.
I write for a living
and I've never written anything this dirty.
I mean, it's like the sub-text.
- I think you just developed a whole new fan base ma'am.
- Yeah one of the songs is kind of inspired by "Bridgerton"
but my husband and I have this sort of inside joke
about what people do in a carriage.
- Please tell me the song was called "The Ladder Scene".
(guests laugh)
- Yeah yeah.
And then one of them, my husband saw the word sugar drop
on a bag of grapes and he's like
you should write a song with that name.
So I did. And it kinda came out a little dirty.
- I love it. It's so fun.
Kaci what would think of if your mom
was in a band like this?
(Kaci laughs)
She laughs!
Okay, your mom is somewhere backstage going, "Watch me.
(crowd laughs)
I'm now I'm gonna play the flute."
- I guarantee she is.
Um, I would think that it's really cool.
What did your kids say?
- Um well what did your kids say?
'Cause they're mostly teenagers right?
- They are yeah, yeah.
They were mostly supportive
a little bit of the eye roll action going on.
But Leila and I are actually our sons are in a band together
called Victorian Breakfast
so they ya know they knew what was going on.
- Oh my gosh, good god. Bands just like run in your,
it's everywhere.
- And theater. Theater, lots of theater kids.
`- They watched us rehearse and were like yay! You're great!
- Okay.
- We have a lot of kids between the five of us.
And we're constantly running them around
We're constantly putting energy into them.
And so I think part of it, the pandemic sort of gave us
this chance to sort of re think
you know remembering back to when we were kids.
And we were standing in the mirror with the hairbrush
and singing Whitney Houston you know?
- [Kelly] Amen.
- Like I am going to be that and then things happen
and it doesn't quite turn out that way.
But then we have our kids and we're like
we've poured that passion into them
and we've taken them to the theater.
We drive all the way to soccer games and things like that.
And so I think that the pandemic sort of said like hey,
what about us? Like what are we doing?
We didn't have to do that anymore.
- Me time is so important. And an outlet is so important.
- Yeah so that's kind of like where, what we,
and so now were the kid again
in front of the mirror singing.
- I feel like we should always be kids at heart.
I feel like it's sad when we lose that.
And we forget that.
- Yeah.
- Um well the Lazy Susans don't know this
but we did actually ask their kids what they thought
about their moms' band.
Here's what they had to say.
- Our mom is Imge who is a singer, bass,
and keyboard player in the band.
- My mom is Heather who's the bassist in the band.
- Our mom is Joanna Weiss and she sings
and plays guitar in the band.
- When they started their band,
at first I didn't really think much of it.
- My first reaction was like oh!
- I was like what? Really?
- I might have even teased her a little and said
what are you one day gonna get a Grammy or something?
- Honestly I am so proud of my mom
and all of the other mothers.
- We are super proud of our mom and all the other moms.
To come together and start a band,
their dedication is incredibly impressive.
- I'm really proud and surprised at how far they've come.
- I'm just so proud of my mom
and I really look up to her for everything she's done.
- I hope that you know that we're with you
every step of the way.
And all the hard work you put in doesn't go unnoticed.
- And I don't say this enough
but I want her to know
how lucky we are to have her as a mom.
- We love you mom! Rock on!
- Rock on!
- Rock on.
- We love you mom. Rock on.
(sentimental rock music)
- I love your children. I love your children so much!
- Thanks Kelly, we're gonna cry!
(crowd cheering)
- It's so sweet. And here's the thing
they love what you're doing,
they love that you have that outlet.
And we also love what you're doing.
And how close you all are. It's so cool.
And especially that y'all have grown together
with your kids.
That's why we are sending you all
on the ultimate rockstar vacation
to the all inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
And you're gonna experience
(crowd cheers)
five star amenities including lovely rooms,
refreshing pools, exhilarating night life,
endless activities, and more.
And by the way. Kaci and I like trips too
so backup dancers, remember us.
- Yeah. Yes.
- And also by the way, we think that we wanted your sticker
and we're gonna put it on our wall of fame back there
with all the people that's been here.
(crowd cheers)
So the Lazy Susans have been here.
(crowd cheers)