Still Singing with KC Armstrong
On “Still Singing”, KC Armstrong will be sitting down with other vocal artists he has worked with throughout his years as a professional singer. Having sung with many university ensembles, two military choruses, a number of top tier civilian choirs, and professional gospel quartets, he has plenty of friends to chat with about their musical journeys and the power of music through song!
Still Singing with KC Armstrong
A Voice For Service, Stage, And Community
What if one phone call could reroute your life’s soundtrack? That’s the energy running through our sit-down with Courtney Williams—a bass singer who grew from church harmonies in Tennessee to the Navy Sea Chanters, then stepped behind the mic as the announcing voice at four presidential inaugurations. His stories take us inside the craft and chaos of high-stakes ceremony: the long cold wait in the Capitol, the script that kept changing as dignitaries arrived out of order, the rush of nailing an introduction that millions would hear and none would forget.
Courtney walks us through turning points that feel both unlikely and inevitable. A UT scholarship made him realize opera wasn’t his path. A Marine Corps commitment almost took him one way, until the Sea Chanters audition took him another. Along the way, mentors opened doors, ensembles sharpened his technique, and recording sessions taught him the small decisions—vowels, blend, breath—that make a chorus feel like one voice. Then came the moments that live outside the rehearsal room: introducing Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson at Obama’s inauguration, getting the quiet call to record the Super Bowl intro, and performing at the Pearl Harbor premiere on the deck of a ship in Hawaii.
The heart of this conversation is service through sound. We talk about the mission of military music—honoring the fallen, lifting the active force, and bridging the public with those who wear the uniform. Courtney shares the jolt he felt every time the Armed Forces medley brought veterans to their feet, and how sacred texts within choral repertoire can gently minister to a divided world without a sermon. Today, that same purpose guides his work in Charleston as executive director of Lowcountry Veterans Home, where he helps homeless veterans stabilize, find benefits and jobs, and step back into life with dignity.
If you love music, military stories, or the way one steady voice can move a room, you’ll feel at home here. Press play, share it with a friend who needs a shot of courage, and leave us a review so more people can find these stories.
Just Keep Singing
Inauguration's over. It's a week or so later and I'm walking around the Fort Myers commentary getting groceries and my phone rings and it's Beyonce's people. He was getting ready to do the Super Bowl halftime show and they said we heard you at the inauguration. We'd like for you to do the intro for Beyonce. We've already got it recorded by somebody else, but we'd like for you to do it.
KC:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:But I didn't tell him. I didn't say a word.
KC:Welcome to Still Singing. I'm Casey Armstrong and as many of you guys know I've had the opportunity to sing in a number of different ensembles, from universities to community choirs, professional ensembles, and professional quartets. Today I'm gonna introduce you to my good friend Courtney Williams. Courtney and I met through a man named Lynn Draper, where Courtney was a Junaska singer before I was. I took his place, he joined the Navy C Chanters. Anyway, I'm excited for you guys to meet Courtney today and hear what he's doing now here in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina with his lovely wife and kids. See a bit. How's it going? We did it. We did it. We did it. Thanks so much for letting me stop by your new place. I say new, relatively new place. Fairly new. A couple years, I guess. I don't know. Here in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, man. It's great to have you. So remind me when you retired from the Navy band. So I retired in May of 2022. Um okay. Okay, so May 22. And that was 27? 26. 26 years.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, man. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. It was a good time. Man, uh, you know, you miss the people, you miss some of the stuff, but retired is nice.
KC:It is, man. Um, so tell me about the new job here in South Carolina and uh what's going on, man.
SPEAKER_05:Well, now that I'm retired from the Navy, I'm I'm working two jobs. I'm a real estate agent here in the Mount Pleasant Charleston area with the firm real estate company. Okay. Um, and then I've also recently become the executive director of an organization called Low Country Veterans Home. Oh. And um we have a house on James Island here in Charleston, and we provide transitional housing to homeless veterans. Oh, wow. Yeah. It's a really, really special job getting to help these guys that have had their struggles and help them get back on their feet and back into society. Wow, man. Yeah, I didn't realize that. I think so. Is that fairly it is? I I I got involved with the organization as a board member, and then just this year the executive director stepped down and we needed somebody to fill the role. So I jumped in and I've been drinking from a fire hose trying to learn a job.
KC:I bet, man. Yeah. That's a great service to those in need. You know, I mean, the VA is great. There's there's so many great outlets for veterans, but it's funny how some people can slip through the cracks. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:We actually have a partnership with the VA. So we work really tightly with them to help these veterans out. So we provide the services that the VA can't. We get them off the street and into the shared living environment. Hopefully, it's a 90-day program where we get them kind of stabilized, find them a job if they need it, help them make sure they're getting their benefits, and then get them back out of their own.
KC:Yeah, man. Well, good on you for that. So you and Stacy are here, and the boys, man, I heard them earlier. Yeah, they haven't made it downstairs yet.
SPEAKER_05:So tell me about these kids, man. So I got we got two boys, Raylan, who's 10, and Stone, who's seven. Stone is our little gentle giant. He and Raylan are about the same size, even though they're three years apart. But, you know, we live here in Carolina Park in Mount Pleasant, and it is just a dream for kids. I mean, they ride their bikes to school most days. They get the freedom that we used to have as kids, and you kind of feel like you lost.
KC:Yeah. Yeah. So our neighborhood's cool for bikes, but then you get off our neighborhood road, it's like there's no shoulders, there's no sidewalks, you know, S-curves everywhere.
SPEAKER_05:They have to cross a fairly busy street to get from the neighborhood to the school. Yeah. But they have crossing guards sitting there every morning and every afternoon. Perfect. We actually found this place back in 2017. Stacy and I came down here on an anniversary trip. By Sunday, we were looking at open houses in this neighborhood. And we were like, hey, when I retire, this is where we're coming. This is it.
KC:Yeah. And just driving in here, you know, it's a bob and weave through the neighborhood, and it's beautiful. We've got the lakes and the sidewalks, of course. It's great, man. Yeah, it's it's a really special. Congratulations on this, man. This is great. Um, so you know, I know you grew up in Tennessee. I've met your folks through the years, but tell me how you found music or how how did music find you or you know tell me about that journey.
SPEAKER_05:So I I mean, I grew up singing in the church, but I was raised Church of Christ. So singing was ensemble, congregational, a cappella. Right. But there was a guy that went to church with me that sang bass in a barbershop quartet. And even as a kid, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to sing bass. Yes. And so I would always sit near him and try to sing like him. And uh I think he was a doctor or a dentist or something, it was his trade, but he enjoyed singing. So did that, and then when I got into middle school, I started playing trumpet in the band. Yes. And enjoyed that. And then I went to a tiny little school. It was uh in Greenbrier, Tennessee. Uh-huh. And there was a new band director that came in, and he was responsible for the middle school and the high school and the chorus. Wow. Yeah, yeah. It was a lot, and there hadn't really been much of a chorus, so he was trying to build that program up in the high school, and he didn't have enough guys. So in seventh grade, I started singing with the high school choir. And really, you know, that was when I fell in love with Sanger. Had your voice changed yet in seventh grade? I don't know if you and I have ever talked about this. My voice was always kind of low, even as a kid.
KC:Even as a kid, okay.
SPEAKER_05:But it just dropped. And when you meet Raylan, you'll hear because he's got the same thing. Like as 10 years old, he's got he's got some gravel. Uh oh. So I didn't have the real low down stuff at that point, but I was always.
KC:Okay. So yeah, obviously your music teachers found you. You grew up singing Church of Christ, everybody's just kind of involved. Yeah. And you had your mentor through church. Okay. Yeah, that's cool because I don't think I've ever asked that because I think you're like me, like my parents can sing melody. I mean, they can sing along, but they weren't in the choir. And my dad will tell you he can't sing anything. So my dad's like, I can only play the radio. Right. That whole thing. Well, my dad sings low lead. Like he'll sing everything down the octave. Hey, that's that's a good spot to be in. I love it. All right, man. So I see you're wearing your UT orange. It's gang day. Is it gang day? Because you spent some time at UT. I did. It sounds like prison, but I spent some time. I did my time there.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. So tell me how did they find you or so? I guess the summer between my sophomore and junior year and high school, I was lucky enough to be selected to go to Tennessee's governor school. Okay. At MTSU. And while I was there, one of the voice teachers was Lynn Helding, who was a professor at Vanderbilt.
KC:Okay.
SPEAKER_05:So then once I got out of governor school, I'm back in Greenbrier. Well, Greenbrier's 45 minutes from downtown Nashville. So I got a scholarship to go to Vanderbilt for pre-college voice lessons and theory classes two days a week, my junior and senior year. So it was great. A fantastic opportunity. Absolutely. But as I was getting ready to graduate, Miss Helding decided she was moving to a different school. I don't remember where she was going, but wherever it was, I wasn't interested in following her. So I auditioned it, Austin P and UT. Okay. And I wound up getting a scholarship at UT and went there, but it was an opera-based scholarship.
KC:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:And I figured out pretty quickly that opera was not where my heart was.
KC:Right. I agree, man. I know you hear it as much, if not more, than I do, but people are like, man, you should sing opera. And I tell them, I'm like, I sing just enough opera to know that I don't want to sing opera for a living.
SPEAKER_05:Man, when I hear somebody really doing it well, it's so impressive. And I am so blown away by that level of talent and commitment that it takes to do that well. But it just doesn't speak to me personally. Like I enjoy listening to it, but it's not something I want to pursue.
KC:Right. I tell some people that, you know, I don't do it because I'm too lazy, but it requires a lot that goes into it before anybody sees the final product. Yeah. And so maybe early on it might have been a time thing for me, but I'm with you. It wasn't calling me. It just wasn't calling me.
SPEAKER_05:But while I was there, I was studying with George Bitzis. Right. Who was one of the original Ginaluska singers. That's right. So quartet. Right. So that's where I found out about Glenn and Ginaleska. Yes. That makes sense. Yeah. Talking about basic training for that's everything. That's opened up the whole road to everything else that came. So I gotta jump back and tell you how I got involved with Glenn. Because I got a call from Glenn too. Right, right. And he wanted me to sing for him. And I was in Nashville. Like I wasn't gonna go to Chattanooga or whatever. So I wound up meeting Jim Brogan in the parking lot of some, I don't even remember where it was, and just sang for him and his Camry. And he signed off on me and told Glenn I was good enough to come be a Gentileuska singer.
KC:So y'all met on 40, probably somewhere.
SPEAKER_05:I don't remember where it was now, but I think it was a green Camry. And he and I just sat in his car and talked because I had no idea what late Gentileuska was. And I remember him saying, Have you seen Dirty Dancing? It's kind of like that. You're like, so I'm like, let's go.
KC:Oh gosh. All right. Yeah, this is all coming together. Was Didi in the car? No, she wasn't in the car. Okay, so Didi always claims, like, well, we got Courtney.
SPEAKER_05:I mean, that's true. That was yeah. I think I talked to Dee Dee. I think she set up the meet with Gemini.
KC:Yeah. Yeah. By the way, Kara's working at Brogan Financial right now. Oh, that's great. She started there this summer. That's awesome. Uh working over there. Can you imagine? She's having a blast. That's great. Yes. So I don't think I met you, but the first time I saw the Jen Waskins singers was the December concert of 95. Okay. So just before you joined the Navy. Right. And you were up there with John Dominic, Jim Brogan, Michael Smith, Jay Craig. Yeah. I mean, it was That was a good group. Do you remember Angela Robertson? Yeah. She was Glenn's assistant. Right. Angela was in my studio at Western. Oh, okay. So she was the one that I think you had by that concert, you already knew you were going to the Navy.
SPEAKER_05:So it's a convoluted journey. Yeah. So, like I mentioned, I realized at UT that opera wasn't for me. And so I left UT and I went back home and started working just a retail job trying to figure out what was next. And what I kind of thought was next for me was a military career of some sort. Right. You know, and and what I had done was I had depped into the Marine Corps and was getting ready to go to the Marine Corps. My plan at that point was to do four years, get my GI Bill, go to school, figure out what I was going to be when I got on type thing. And then somewhere between that December concert and January of 96, I was singing at a church in Nashville, and one of the sea chanters had sung there when she was a graduate student at Vandy. Okay. So the C chanters were looking for a second bass. She called back to the choir director and said, Do you know anybody that might fit? And so the choir director was like, Oddly, yes, I do. So I got cold called. I was working a retail job in Rivergate Mall, and I got a call at the mall from one of the sea chanters. And at that point, I knew about the singing sergeants. I'd never heard of any of the other military courses. So I jumped on a plane, flew to DC, and auditioned for the job, and then I had to get out of my commitment to the Marine Corps. Oh wow, yeah. Yeah. Okay, so was that tricky? It was a little hairy. You know, at the time I didn't know much about military structure to begin with, but I had to go sit down with a Marine Major who was head of recruiting for the Nashville area, and he looked me in the eye and said, I'm not in the business of recruiting for the Navy. You made a commitment. I expect you to live up to it. And uh I talked to some other folks and got some good counsel, and and we found a way to get me out of that. Yeah. And I was able to go into the Navy. All right.
KC:Man, okay. I now remember you telling me about you were on track to go into the Marine Corps. Yeah. But I had forgotten about that little detail. Man, yeah, that would be kind of tricky. I mean, I know how maps and recruiters and all that was so intimidating. I went through it twice, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
KC:Okay, at that Christmas concert when I first saw you guys, you thought you were going in the Marine Corps. Right. So the reason she invited me was because she knew you were leaving and was like, hey, come check this group out. Glenn's gonna need a new base this summer, blah, blah, blah, whatever. But here's the truth. I came and watched that concert. I said hi to Angela. She did introduce me to Glenn, and I remember telling Glenn, this was incredible. I have no business being a part of Oh, that's crazy. I was like, I can't do this. I mean, I showed up by myself. I mean, it was only 20 minutes from Western or whatever. Right. I showed up to the concert, set between two older ladies. I mean, it was Lilake. It was Lilake. And I was just like, holy crap, you know, you weren't using any music. Everything was memorized. Yeah. And so I loved it, but I was intimidated. I was like, there's no way I could do this. Because I was fairly new. I did the trumpet playing vocal switch at 19 in college. Right. I was still just so green. I was like, man, I can't do this. So I told Glenn, I was like, hey, listen, I I really appreciate the invite. Thanks for the ticket. I just don't see that. I mean, and I walked away like that's not an option. Right. And so fast forward, you had already been swept up by the Navy by that time. And then I think in March or April, he called me and was like, hey, come sing for me. And I was like, so the rest is history. But okay, that answers a lot of questions. I'm glad to learn some of this. And anybody that's watching will appreciate that too. So you came down to visit in the summer of 96, probably a long weekend or something. You had I had just gotten out of boot camp.
SPEAKER_05:So I had gotten out of boot camp and went straight to DC. Okay, kind of signed up. Kind of got settled in, and then I waited until the van took block leave and took just took leave with them because I wouldn't want to miss anything at that point.
KC:Yeah, no, I understand.
SPEAKER_05:So then I flew home and got my car and the few things that I had, you know, and then was driving back to I'm like, I gotta go see my my buddies at the lake.
KC:Okay, so that was when any of you guys that have ever sat through a KC concert. So when I say my buddy came back from the Navy and told us about the job, this is the scenario. I was running with Mark Tilly, you slept on our couch at the ghetto, uh, which was the affectionate name for the lodging there for the singers. And uh basically I kind of picked your brain about what it was that you were doing.
SPEAKER_05:Uh what is funny now, because like I realized at that point I was only like three weeks into the actual job. I had no idea what it was.
KC:Well, but you were still further along than anybody else. So I think any of us, all the singers that were kind of a little bit curious. I mean, I knew I was, because growing up, you see the bands, and you said you heard about the singing sergeants. I hadn't even heard about the singing sergeants, so it was just the bands. You saw the bands at the inaugural parades. If you watched that as a kid, you saw them on the PBS specials and this and that. You know, if you ever visited Arlington, you maybe caught a glimpse of a band. You see buglers on the T. You know, there weren't that many state funerals that I had watched, so I was not familiar with the choruses at all. So having you sit down, you know, we chatted about that that weekend was a big deal because that was in '96. And so in '99, fast forward after you've been there three years, yeah. I called you up and was like, hey man, what's going on? Are there any other people? And at that time, you're like singing sergeants, you need somebody. So I came up and auditioned for that job and the rest is history there too. So by the way, I I went to the 80th anniversary of the singing sergeant. I saw that being advertised as an upcoming. That's great that you gotta go. So what happened with the shutdown? The singers showed up, you know, out of uniform, volunteered. I think all but I don't know, maybe four or five were able to be there. And so they sang, they sounding, you know, gosh, these all the groups are like I'm so glad I'm not auditioning to try to win one of those jobs now. Man, they're like, it's so like it's just so good. Yeah, it's so good and clean, and the new group sounds great. I've heard the C channels recently, they're killing it. The Army course is now mixed, right? And it looks like they're close to being balanced. I mean, they hired quick. That's great. They were able to go over strength, and so you know, soldiers course is doing great stuff. Do you know the field band has two rappers? I did see that.
SPEAKER_05:I haven't heard them. I've heard one thing, it was very brief. I think I saw it on social media.
KC:I guess I will say this the field band was like the first to do these new social media things. Yeah, they were cutting edge, man. Like all the rest of us were like, oh, we're crap. I don't know, I don't know if we can do that. But you know, it's just been so fun to watch these bands adapt to the new whatever it is that's yeah. And I'm with you, man. I'm like, thank goodness I auditioned when I did it because I'm glad I'm Rutaka. So that's how, you know, this guy's the one that just came back and slept on my couch and told me about the military courses. Anyway, so during your career with the Navy, you were in the Sea Chanters first, of course. And then at some point, when did you switch over to the concert band solo announcer?
SPEAKER_05:It was right around the same time that you made the switch to the Army. Because I remember I had just found out that I had won the spot to become the announcer for the concert band, and solo was for the concert band. And you called me up and said, Hey man, Army Chorus has got an opening for a lowdown. Are you gonna go for it? I think I might do it. And I was like, No, I just got this new opportunity, I'm gonna stick with where I am. I was like, Okay, good, okay, good.
KC:So 04, okay, so that was about eight years in.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, it was it was early 04. So I think I did my last official gig with the C Chanters, the holiday concert of 03. And then in January of 04, started with the concert band.
KC:That was a lot. So you're soloing with the band, you're announcing every concert, and you're also producing the tours, right?
SPEAKER_05:Or part of the team, or I was part of the team. I advanced some of the tours at that time. I was also at that time running production for the band. That was one of my collateral duties, was setting up those big shows throughout the year. Throughout the so the Fourth of July, Navy birthday, holiday shows. All right. I had a lot of support with that. But that was one of the things that they were like, well, here's your opportunity, and here's some of the things that go along with it. Oh, by the way, yeah.
KC:Yes. Okay, so one of the things that we all were in love with was when you got the opportunity to announce be the voice of the inaugurals. Yeah. Obviously, you're doing all these concerts. Did somebody hear you, or was it a how did the inaugural team find you?
SPEAKER_05:Start. Okay. I was doing the concerts for sure, but one of the other things that I started doing in that announcing job was I was announcing a lot of the higher level ceremonies for the Navy side of things. So anytime our Chief of Naval Operations, I think you've Army Chief of Staff, is that what you mean? Yes, yeah. Anytime their counterpart from another country would come visit, we would do ceremonies for them. And I would always announce those. And through that, there was a one star that was the commandant of Naval District Washington, who then went on the inaugural committee. And so I did four inaugurations. Every one of them was different as far as how I got involved. But this first one, they said we need an announcer, and he said, I have a guy. And I just got the call and said, You're gonna do this. Tell me, was that That was Obama's first. Obama's first. Okay. All right. So that was your first of four. Yes. Wow. So then for Obama's second, they had each service send somebody to audition. So we all went to the Capitol and did an audition. And then there was another one where it was just more of a hey, you did this last time, come back. Okay, yeah, yeah. And then of course the last one I did was Biden, and that was just a weird one because it was in the middle of COVID and everything was strange.
KC:And so we're all back home watching and listening, you know, because it depends on what station you're watching. You know, so many people talked over, but we're all listening and just thinking, Man, we're glad we're not having to announce all those different names and stuff. Did you have to do your own research or were you coached so many of those?
SPEAKER_05:So there was always somebody from the Senate, one of the staffers, that was very connected, and as you might expect, we had a lot of rehearsals going after that. Right. But I remember the first one. The craziness of the first one was I had this huge script, and I was standing right by the door that all the dignitaries would walk through. But the command post, the people running the actual inaugural, were in a conference room just off of that. So they couldn't see who was coming down the hallway. So I've got a talk back mic with them, and then I've got my record mic. Either the Marine Band's playing or they're playing Pipedin music, but either way, it's being amplified. And the people weren't coming in the right order. And so I would be on the talkback mic going, hey, we're jumping to this house I'm gonna announce in five, four, three, jump on my other mic, ladies and gentlemen. Like it was nutty. Dude. But then, you know, once I got at that point president-elect Obama announced to the dais, I was kind of done. So I got to go into the command post, which was overlooking the dais where they were swearing him in. And I could see all the way down the mall. I was watching camera flashes going off by the Washington Monument. I'm like, I don't know what they're taking a picture of, but it is so cool to see. Felt like Forrest Gump, didn't you?
KC:That's right. Like I've done just enough live announcing to know that I can do it, sort of. In the low stress. So did you just fall apart, like at some point when you were back home and you take your belt off, and you know, just like so. Did it ever hit like that?
SPEAKER_05:You know, one of those funny things. At that time, I was single. I was living on a boat on the waterfront in DC. I remember that. And the way I got to the Capitol, so I met everybody at Fort McNair at like two in the morning, and we rode over to the Capitol at like I think our report time was three or three thirty or something like that. And I didn't make my first announcement until I think ten o'clock. Yes. So I'm just sitting in the Capitol, and we're in full dress uniform in January. It was cold. And so I sat around for hours and hours and hours waiting to go. And then it was go time, and it was like two hours of just intense.
KC:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:And then also at that point, I was announcing the inaugural luncheon, which happens in the rotunda as well. In the Capitol, anyway. So I did that, and then we're done. But the command post guys have to get to the parade. So they left and went to the parade. I didn't have a ride. So I walked from the Capitol in uniform back to the boat. To the boat. Or actually, I think back to McNair because my car was there. Oh, yeah. And then I had to drive. They had that front locked down. And so I had to talk my way back through. I was like, listen, I was just at the I'm I'm safe.
KC:You're like, ladies and gentlemen. You know, it's like, so that's the behind the scenes still. Think about all the White House gigs. You know, it was incredible. You're like, what am I doing here? How is this happening? Yeah. But you know, we're sneaking through the back door, holding in the you know, the closet downstairs. And it's the typical, you know, sneak in through the kitchen and out, we're the help, man. Yeah. And we're there when they need us. And so it's funny to hear these stories, but we were all proud of you, man. Like announcing those inaugurals, man. That's so crazy.
SPEAKER_05:So I got another how the military life kind of affects what you're doing on the outside. So it was at Obama's second that he had Beyonce as one of his. So and so I got the opportunity to introduce her and Kelly Clarkson, who was the nicest celebrity I ever met. I mean, I'm standing there getting ready to introduce, and she walks up and she shakes my hand, she says, Hi, I'm Kelly. Yeah, I know. Yeah, I'm aware. Which is funny because at the time, my dad was her postman. And I didn't think to even bring it up. Because she was living in Nashville at that point, or Hendersonville, and so dad was her postman. But inauguration's over. It's a week or so later, and I'm walking around the Fort Myers commissary getting groceries, and my phone rings, and it's Beyonce's people. She was getting ready to do the Super Bowl halftime show, and they said, We heard you at the inauguration. We'd like for you to do the intro for Beyoncé. We've already got it recorded by somebody else, but we'd like for you to do it. That'd be amazing. And that wasn't a Navy gig. I got paid for that one. I mean, not that I didn't get paid for the Navy stuff. So I was like, Great, let's do that. So it wasn't a live announce. I went to a studio and pre-recorded it, you know, had conference stand with them in California or whatever. But I didn't tell anybody. Because they had already said that they had somebody else doing it. I'm like, what if I tell everybody? And then they told me.
KC:Right.
SPEAKER_05:So I didn't say a word. And it just happened that the next day was a Navy band weigh in. And so Stacy and I are sitting on the couch. I didn't have any Super Bowl food. I didn't have anything except for water because I had to weigh in the next morning and waiting to hear if it was me on the announce. And it was, and it was super cool to see. And then my phone blew up. But it was a lot of fun.
KC:Everybody's like, Was that you? You're like, yes. No, that was a good call, man, because it could have been. You never know what's going to happen. Yeah. Yeah, when they've got options. Man. Yeah, that's awesome. I did the joint service Super Bowl 48 with Renee Fleming for I did not do the Super Bowl 50 in California. There was another joint one. There was just a conflict with me, and I wasn't able to volunteer for that. But there's some just crazy moments. So we may have already answered this question. Sure. But what comes to mind when you think highlights what would be like, let's just say top three, if you can even do that?
SPEAKER_05:Man. So the things that I really remember. So I was still in the Sea Chanters when the movie Pearl Harbor premiered. Yes. They did that premiere on the deck of the USS Dennis at the pier at Pearl. So the Sea Chanters got to fly to Hawaii, sing for that premiere on the deck of that ship. We didn't get to watch the movie. They took us down below deck to the actual movie part. But I mean that was a super cool experience. And that was my first and only time in Hawaii and to be able to see the memorial there was amazing. Obviously, the inaugurations were such a unique experience. And then from day one until my very last concert, it always touched me at the end to do the Armed Forces medley and watch those folks stand up with such pride. Yeah. For for what their or their family had done and the sacrifices they had made. Like I'm I'm getting chills right now just to do that.
KC:Absolutely. No, I've mentioned this before. It's so easy for us to go on cruise control, you know, as a soloist or in ensembles. And on the the last patriotic set of the concerts that we would always do. But you're right, it's like each night you see them jump to their feet, even if they're not able, it's like, man, all of a sudden, it's like this energy comes into these guys and these families, and and they're proud of that service. You're right, man. I agree with you. It's um shot in the arm that we all need by the end of those concerts. And you know, something good about being on a stage when you can't see the audience. Yeah. I like going back to the shows, I think it's a big thing. But man, our gigs, I liked being, you know, in the gymatoriums where you could see man, a gym job could be just what you needed.
SPEAKER_05:When a tour was starting to drag on a little bit, you get a good gym job with a crowd that's rowdy, and it would hype you right there.
KC:To be able to see, you know, the feedback. Yeah. To be able to receive the feedback from and and um that's always big. I love to feed off of that versus not being able to see. So one of the things that I've I want to do with especially the military contacts I've made through the years, the three reasons that the bands and choruses exist, right? It's number one is to honor the fallen.
SPEAKER_05:Especially the DC band. That's your primary mission. Yeah. Doing those funerals at Arlington. Right.
KC:Then number two is is free decor, which is supporting those that are still serving, whether it's through a rock band on a deployment or whether it's through getting them amped up at a ceremony on the post. And that second one is kind of rarer for us in DC. For sure. Yes, there's always active military in our audiences typically, but it's rare that that's our specific target audience. But number three is important, you know, is to bridge the gap between the general public and that frontline soldier, airman, sailor. And I tell people it's not for us to have the answers, it's just the music does the work, right? Right.
SPEAKER_05:The lyric, the music soothes, it heals and just connecters, just connecting with the community is especially for the Navy. Like if you're in the middle of the country, you're not gonna have a Navy base. For the most part, the Navy bases are where the water is. And so to be able to take that uniform into the heartland of the country and represent the Navy was always such a special thing.
KC:Yeah, that's true. I've never thought about that. So as believers, I like to tell people choral music came from the church or the tavern. I don't know. You try to do that. I mean, but I love the fact that 60% of the rep that we probably sang, it might have been Latin, it might have been high church, but it was like scripture-based text. Yeah. And so I love the fact that that would sneak in, you know, because the Navy wasn't your church, the generals weren't or admirals weren't your pastors, you know, but it it was nice to see how that snuck in. It was received well because it was Americana, it was spiritual or whatever. One of the closers that I did was I think Battleham. Oh, the time. Yes. In The Beauty of the Lilies, Christ was born across the sea with the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. I think it was about the 10-year mark. And I was just, you know, it wasn't the job that wore me out, it was just DC. I get that. It's the rat race feeling that was buzzing around me the whole time. But I remember my wife's friend, his name's Tim Farry, and he was a major army chaplain at the time. And we crossed paths at a gig, and we were talking afterwards, and I was like, Yeah, trafficking.
SPEAKER_05:You know, I was doing it. And you chose to live a ways out. I did. I did. That's another podcast.
KC:No, but so I was doing this. He was like, How's it going? I love the job, blah, blah, blah. But I was feeling a tug to be in a ministry. I was always a weekend warrior. Absolutely, you were, but I was feeling that tug like I'm gonna do it. And he reminded me that he says, You guys, through song, get to sing more Jesus than I do as a chaplain. Yeah. He says, I get an hour a week at the pulpit to preach my gospel. The rest of the week. I'm a counselor. Right. Because the army is everything, the navy's everything as far as faith and beliefs. You know, kudos to those chaplains that have to yield to those restrictions. But it's still a ministry to all those that come to them. Don't get me wrong. It's still a great thing. He just reminded me that you get what you're doing makes it a ministry. Yeah. Whether it's called that or not, it is. It's healing, it's mending, it's soothing, it's calming, it's inspiring, it's all that through music to these people that need to hear it. Yeah. And then we got the chance to perform Brethren and do that. Oh, yes. Then there's we haven't gotten into that. I know we're close on time. But two of the things that I loved through the years, Courtney, was we got to do one Glenn Draper recording. Yep. It was like an 05, I think. I remember we did one recording session, ended up to like two CDs. Right. Like, he does Glenn works. Yeah, he does like 80 songs.
SPEAKER_05:We got 20 minutes.
KC:Let's get four songs done. Let's go. But that was an experience because we had both done plenty of sessions separately. We've both done sessions with the Bill Dills.
SPEAKER_05:I tell everybody, Bill is who taught me how to be a choral bass. I learned more in that first recording session with him than I had in years of singing.
KC:I know. Did you see his post where he does the little guitar childhouse and stuff? Gosh, he's a trip. He's still got it. I want to do a session, man. Even if I go to him, I was like, we need to do it. Anyway, so we did one with Glenn, SATB recording session. There was some good stuff we got to do on that. And then we did at least two of the Brethren projects. Maybe three. I don't remember specifically. Christmas, How Sweet the Sound. Patriot 3. Yeah, yeah, three. So we got to do those. Of course, we also had our buddy Greg Lowry in there. We had um Andre. Mike Webb was there with us for a second. Yeah, Mike Webb. Yes.
SPEAKER_05:You know, he's a pilot now.
KC:Yes. I've been seeing that. Well, I know he got his license before he got out. Yeah, he did, but now he's flying a commercial. Oh gosh. Dude, that's so crazy. I love that. I love hearing those stories. Um, but anyway, those sessions were really fun to be beside you and sing with you on those, man. Because, you know, even though we were both in DC, we overlapped for 20 years. Yes. Short of the handful of jobs. We didn't sing a whole lot of things.
SPEAKER_05:One of my favorite memory, it was me, you, and Greg. Uh-huh. And we got hired in Fairfax Choral Society. Yes. And they were doing the Chesnikov, I think. Yes. And they had been recording and whatever, and they just came in and plopped us in to sing this low stuff. And there's probably what, 150 people in that place? At least. And we did the first take, and they're like, second basses are too loud. I'm like, we are in the basement. I do remember that.
KC:That was at Schlesinger, right? Yeah, it was. Yeah. They're in Northern Virginia. Yeah, I was actually concerned, not knowing that space. Okay, well, first of all, we're outnumbered. Big time. But they did bring us down front and center. Yeah. Well, mostly. Mostly. Behind the girls. And that's right. They did the Chesnikov. We also did that Luke Sarunquai. Right. I think those were the only two that they really needed us on. I think those are. Did you ever get a copy of that? I don't think I ever even heard it. I might have a copy of that. I'll have to send it to shoot it over to me. But yeah, that just goes to show you it's like you only need like, you know, three to a hundred.
SPEAKER_05:Well, I always feel like maybe it's because we both kind of grew up in the same region. It's kind of like when you hear a family singing together, their accents kind of match, and it really helps with those harmonies. I always felt like you and I had such a we became one.
KC:Right, that's it. We compliment each other really well. Absolutely. I agree, man. It was just it was some great, great sessions. It was great to sing with you. And I really appreciate you squeezing this in, and I'm glad it worked out. So happy. And um before we wrap up here, I got a present for you. All right. Now, I wanted to call this podcast Just Keep Singing. Okay. But it was already taken. So the podcast is called Still Singing, but Just Keep Singing. I love it, bro. Thanks so much.
SPEAKER_05:You're welcome, man. Thanks again, buddy. Yeah. I'm Courtney Williams, and I'm still singing.