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[0:15] Robert Bannon: Welcome to the round table, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. Thanks for listening to us on the Broadway Podcast Network or watching us on our virtual talk show over at YouTube. You know, I love gospel music. I love singers, I love singer singers, you know, the singers of this group. The man is a singer, the featured singers on this song are singers. And all day long here in New Jersey, I've been singing, you've been worrying. I've been singing. Come on, people. You need some uplift, some joy in your life. We are so excited. I'm nuts. We are so excited to have Kenny Lewis here with us. Chicago stand up, Kenny.

[0:58] Kenny Lewis: Hey Robert, how you doing, man?

[1:00] Robert Bannon: I'm doing fantastic. I would be remiss. Okay. My in-laws are in the Midwest as well. Detroit, which is like Chicago's little sibling over. They'll get mad for me. But you know, so my auntie Maureen is listening to gospel music in the car right now, 24-7, working her Jamaican soul catering business. And she is gonna be so excited that you're here.

[1:27] Kenny Lewis: Man, well, I am excited to be at the round table. But I need you to do you been worrying one more time. You've been worried.

[1:36] Robert Bannon: Oh now it's well listen. I love it. If we hear your music, you know, if you hear undefeated, how many key changes are in that song?

[1:46] Kenny Lewis: 67 key changes.

[1:48] Robert Bannon: Stop it. No, stop it.

[1:50] Kenny Lewis: Every line. We're going up and up and up and up.

[1:54] Robert Bannon: And that's what I love about your music because your music is—

[1:54] Kenny Lewis: Thank you.

[1:59] Robert Bannon: —made in a way that really makes you feel something. And that's what we need.

[2:03] Kenny Lewis: Thank you, man. That makes it all worth it to hear things like that. Thank you so much. Well, we're talking specifically about the new single call his name, which is out now, you and the choir, Miss Burrell on the song and singing, you know, singing her face off as she does. And this song has got a beautiful message. How did this song come into your life thoughts and now out available streaming wherever music is heard?

[2:30] Kenny Lewis: Yeah, well, the song call his name was already written. I had written it, and then I wanted a hymn at the top of the song. So the 30-second version is I reached out to my manager. I said, see if this particular song I was gonna use it was public domain, and man, I'm serious. God woke me up about 3 a.m., gave me the words, call his name. I sang it into my phone and went back to sleep. I called Kim and I said, Would you be willing to go down this road again? Because this is the second time she's done a feature with us, and she said, absolutely. When she consented to do it, I started tailoring the song more around her vibe and what I thought would best fit her.

[3:17] Robert Bannon: Oh well, she's singing, you are singing, the group is singing, and it is something that you definitely need to hear. The lyrics of it really stuck out with me because like I was joking and singing along with it, but it is all things, it's universal. We've all been worrying, it's all been working, we've all been stressed and worried, and the song is, you know, there's a greater power out there that we can call to to get us through these days.

[3:43] Kenny Lewis: Yeah, and let me say, man, I appreciate the fact that you took time and really embody those lyrics. Like I love that. So many times we get caught up into the groove and we don't really know the lyrics, and that's what I wanted. I wanted it to be a universal type of song for whether you're in church or not, but you don't have to be a biblical scholar to understand the message. And that was the integrity of the song.

[4:10] Robert Bannon: Well, I totally got it. And the hymn, the hymn is beautiful. This version is beautiful. Put them together, you can stream them both back to back right now, wherever music is heard. Just go if you're Spotify, Apple, Amazon, whatever you do, go stream the song. When we look at your body of work, this album, the next album is gonna be what number five, six, number six, six, number two. It goes there, there's a bunch of them through the years. You know, we find and then you've been in this game for a minute, and then you have an album like Undefeated come out and what 20 million plus streams and number one singles and charts. And what is, I know you've been at the music game for a minute. What is it like when it starts to grow big and the message really gets to be heard? And you're not just in Chicago, you're not just in the United States, like your music is big around the world, Africa, big numbers in Africa, big numbers in Europe, what is that like?

[5:18] Kenny Lewis: It has been, man. I said my last project, which is number five, which you just showed, Undefeated, the music that I produced on there, it freed me because a lot of times groups and choirs are in a box and I hear things differently. You know, I don't only like choir music. I love group music, I love contemporary, I love worship and praise, I love inspirational. So those are all the facets that I like to deliver on an album. And I say the last album, it freed me, but the notoriety of it all, it's great. You know, I can't say that it's not, it's great. However, the testimonials of what the music has done for people personally has really pricked my heart, man. It really humbled me and lets me know why I stayed in this game for 25 years now.

[6:13] Robert Bannon: 25, 25 in this music business is a feat in and of itself, truly. And we were listening to all your whole music ever since we were lucky enough for you to pop on this show. We've been listening. Thank you. It's such a beautiful song for anyone that you need to hear. If you're at the gym, you need to put on he'll make it all right, get on that trend. That's speed, you'll be burning calories so fast staying. You know, we're here for it. When you put together a body of work, how or a show when you're on the road, if you're a church, if you're at an arena or a theater and you're on the road with your act and supporting acts and whatever, how do you build an evening? Like what when we come to see a Kenny Lewis show, what is how do you orchestrate us to get all the feels to get all five albums, almost six albums worth of music, and then to leave with the message or intention that you've worked on for your projects?

[7:15] Kenny Lewis: Well, it's definitely intentional not to leave anyone out, right? So if you like praise and worship music, then we'll have something for you. If you like just church old school, we'll have something for you. If you want to dance around and really contemplate, we'll have something for you. So I like to present a package where it's like a one-stop shop. You know, a lot of times people ask me on interviews who's your target audience, and I say everyone, you know, and I really mean everyone. My first number, my I just got my very first number one with the Undefeated album, right? But people would go from that song, he's been good, and just go from one to the next to the next, because they were attracted to one particular song, you know, and so we've just been fortunate, you know, after so long that people have really embraced us, even with the new single, man.

I put out a clip the week of, and it goes viral in eight hours. You know, I think now it's at, it's been a week. The one clip is like 30 seconds, over half a million streams, you know, and it's just amazing to me what God is doing, and people just embracing the message that I'm trying to convey.

[8:33] Robert Bannon: So, and people like you. Let me just pause, say thank you, man. Thank you for having me at the round table.

[8:39] Kenny Lewis: Are you kidding? Look, because I'm just saying it like I mean it. This is not what when people say, what is your audience? They mean, oh, it's not this guy. They're we pigeonhole people and we put people in a box. Come on, it needs to be for this race, it needs to be for this demographic, it needs to be for this part of the—it's music for people. It's music, it's music, and I don't care about any of that other stuff. You know, I'm a very positive type of energy person. Even if you go to any of my social media pages, I never come, I'm not gonna even comment on something that's controversial. I don't care. I just want to make good music, you know, and try and help, you know, get people to their next place in life or feel better about their day. I don't, it's only positive energy over here, you know.

[9:28] Robert Bannon: So only, you know, so yeah, it's not for this sector, this race, this style, this age group, it's for everybody. Well, go to Kenny Lewis OV. If you're listening to us, you don't see it on Kenny Lewis O V on Instagram, or go to Kenny Lewis Onevoice.com to make sure you get up to date, see all the discography, read all about him, the group. What who is how many people are in the group?

[9:49] Kenny Lewis: You know what? Like I said, this month we made 25 years, but I have people who've been in there for like 20 years, 21 years, and they're all from different places. Like I have singers from, of course, Chicago, the suburbs of Chicago, Ohio, Milwaukee. So they're from different, you know, different facets of life, even, you know, different age groups, you know. So I've just been blessed. I've been very meticulous in who I let in and train them and, you know, stuff like that. But it's just been amazing, man. It's about 24, 25 singers.

[10:26] Robert Bannon: Yeah, it's a lot of, that's a lot of organization, that's a lot of work and a lot of people intentional. You ever try to get a group of singers together, and you all sound so good, you all sound I'm really excited to hear about, you know, the upcoming album, The Healing Project. I've talked a lot about my own struggle, people's struggles nowadays, anxiety. We all are struggling with people who have depression, people struggle with anxiety. I talked to very openly about what it's like to suffer from anxiety and in our day-to-day life, especially in the year 2024 and what we're going through. Where'd the idea come to make an album about mental health in coordination with religion and God and in and of itself?

Like sometimes they're too taboo subjects that people don't put together. And a lot of people say, You why do you don't need mental health? You don't need therapy, you need church, or you need—why did you decide it was time to have the conversation and talk about both of these subjects?

[11:24] Kenny Lewis: Well, one of the main things is things are a lot of people don't know that I teach fourth and fifth grade, and I teach not just autistic kids, but then I have another sector of kids that are very smart, but they've been abused, they have anger management issues, you know, they may be on mayors because they can't control their anger because they've been abused so much and dealing with so many things. So a lot of times, us as educators, we're the only influence or positive influences that they see, which is a whole ministry in itself.

[12:02] Kenny Lewis: Um, and um, they go a lot of times, they're great at school. Then when it's time to leave school, they get depressed. And believe it or not, this whole uh healing project, we recorded it in June of this year, right? I've never had to deal with depression or any of that. Right after the recording, I found myself, God's honest truth, depressed. It would be three o'clock in the afternoon, and I'm at home depressed. I go to church, I sing, everybody's just going crazy, but I go home empty and not fulfilled. And so those things are very real where we need to be healed inside out, where everything is not just so deep. You know, I'm you're looking at a person who with this success, I'm divorced, my mom's gone, my dad's gone, all four grandparents on each side is gone.

I'm the oldest of three. They everybody looks to me to always be strong. And so all of those things, after you deliver out so much, it's like who do you get your influence from? And so it had kind of sent me into a depression. Like I'm I leave everyone and I come here right now. I'm at home by myself, you know. So um, those things are very real. Uh, even the strongest of leaders get weak at times. And uh, I just wanted to kind of put that message out there to have a total healing, mind, body, and soul, spirit, you know. Uh, and that's where we come derive at the healing project.

[13:28] Robert Bannon: I it it sounds awesome. I teach fifth grade in Jersey, and I do. I teach fifth, and you don't, and people don't understand unless you're in the classroom to see what the struggles the kids are going through, home, community, trying to find a place in this world, and and school for many kids is the best show in town. They they want to be going home is where where is hard. Yeah, come on, fifth grade.

[13:54] Kenny Lewis: And that was what I was gonna ask you about is the work that you do in the community and marginalized communities, and your hands dirty and actually showing up, it's more than just signing a check or sending some royalties over from an album, or you you you do the work, you are a part of your community.

[14:09] Robert Bannon: Absolutely.

[14:11] Kenny Lewis: After school programs. And the the kind of children that have, like I said, they have been abused and things in the community. They look for people to trust. They look for people to just hear them. A lot of times their voice, they don't have a voice. You know, um, they've gone from this this home to that home to this home and may have 10, 12 kids in there already, you know. So um, and so they come to school with an attitude, and instead of you know, disciplining them, hey, what's going on with you? You know, so um I've been blessed to be in that position, and that has given me an inspiration. And I tell them all the time, they keep me young, they keep me uh in my early 20s. I say that all the time. I say they keep me young because I have to be up on it because they're you're not getting one over on me. Uh uh.

[15:02] Robert Bannon: Yeah, yeah. So I I totally so how do you de people ask me this question? I get to talk to amazing people like you. I sing and act and whatever, but but you but and then they say you go to the classroom, you you work every day. How do you departmentalize your life between your your church life, your musical life, and then teaching and all of the different things? You must have a pretty busy Google calendar.

[15:26] Kenny Lewis: I do, I do, but you know what? And they wanted me to uh teach music and choir and choral, but that's a whole separate um part of my life. When I go to school, I enjoy that. I enjoy, you know, being there for the kids. It's not about music, you know. You know, when I'm on stage, that's somebody else. When I'm just here, I'm the comedian, you know. You know, so that's just a facet of of who I am, which honestly takes me back to the single Why Call His Name. I feel like, yes, we talk about how God is a healer, He's a deliverer. He's all of those things. But those are his characteristics, those are his attributes. If I say, hey, what's up there? Uh the host of the talk of the uh of the round table, and not call you by your name. That's this is just one facet of it. You're a teacher, you're an influencer, you're the so if we just if we call Jesus by his name, everything that encompasses who he is shows up for us.

[16:31] Robert Bannon: Yeah.

[16:32] Kenny Lewis: And it says it all in the song. And it's it's got a hook and a melody that you will sing badly, but you will be singing it. You will be singing it, you'll be streaming it. Um telling you, you're gonna get it, get get up, get listen to it, stream it, stream it by its name too. When you when you um your the kids must get a kick out of this whole thing, they must hear your music, they must Google you, they must they must know about that part of your life.

[17:00] Robert Bannon: And then they try to get especially now. Um, it started with the last album, but this single rollout, um, I've been hearing, isn't that your teacher? They they'll tell me, my mom said, Isn't that your teacher on stage? You know, and so then some of them they start trying to follow me on Instagram and I block them because we don't want that. Uh and then they'll get a little comfortable. So your name is Kenny, huh? It's not Mr. Lewis, you know. So it's it's like it's really no way to no way to hide it.

[17:36] Kenny Lewis: I can only imagine it because I I've I relate. I and I have known where there's no stellar award nominations, there's no number one cells over here, but they find it and they they definitely do. Um I am really excited about the music. Uh is there gonna be is there are live shows in the in the in the plan? Are you planning to always be out live, be on the road? Do we want to see you?

[17:59] Kenny Lewis: Yes. Um, so you know it's only been almost two weeks that the single has been out. Believe it or not, undefeated seems like it just came out yesterday, but we recorded that in 2019. It was released in 2020, and the music is still relevant. People, there's still so much life in it, you know. Every weekend we're getting videos or tagged in videos, people are still singing the music, you know. So uh we're just trying to really be strategic because there's a lot of out of the country stuff had that has come about since the single has been released. So some of our plans now, because we wanted to do a tour, we want to do um CD release in various cities, but because of the embrace of the new music, plans are kind of changing. So we're constantly meeting with this is what we have on the table. This way, yeah. So yeah, we have a lot quite a bit that's coming up. Uh we just need to solidify it.

[18:56] Robert Bannon: Well, that's why you got to be following. Follow Kenny Lewis on on Instagram or go to Kenny Lewis Onevoice.com so you can stay up to date on all of the stuff. Make sure you stream the music. There's gonna be more music that's gonna be coming out.

[19:08] Kenny Lewis: Yes.

[19:09] Robert Bannon: When you and I know this is a personal question, so I when what what do you pray for? What do you pray for the people who listen to your music? What can we all universally be asking for or looking for? What do you think we we we should be focused on when we go to bed at night or wake up in the morning and and we say our prayers?

[19:27] Kenny Lewis: One life, healthy life, um, a life fulfilled, um, a life carefree of what people think that you should be. If I tell you uh how many times I made that mistake in doing something that people thought I should do instead of doing what I'm called to do, um we we will be here for another hour. Um, I've only been teaching for five years, but that's something that I should have been doing, but not walking in my purpose. So I'm catching up to it. Um, I should have been putting out certain kinds of music, which is a variety of music years ago, but I had to have those challenges to be free from other people's thinking and do what I know I'm called to do. My prayer is that when people get Kenny Lewis music, that it will prick their hearts, that they won't have to be a biblical scholar to understand the message, but be encouraged, whether it's a groove, whether we're hey, hey, hey, or whether we're clapping like this, that you still understand the message.

You're not lost in the music. The music can sound great, but it doesn't, the message doesn't lose you. Um, and those are the kinds of things that I have been receiving, and it gives me the energy to keep going. I never thought I'd be doing music for 25 years, but it's people like yourself who just give me the the courage to just keep going, man, because it's always intentional. Whatever I do is always intentional. You know, I don't just put music out superfluously just because you know um I want there to be a strong message uh something that will bring value to your life that you will want to listen to over and over and that would transcend time so that is my prayer that uh the music does that in the atmosphere.

[21:10] Robert Bannon: Well, I i think you're doing it. I think that this music will stand will be around it will be sung and in praise in churches and it will be played for inspiration by people all around this world yeah it's gonna be here forever and we're here for it and you know when you come down if you're either in Jersey or or New York or you're in Detroit you know Aunt Maureen she's gonna cook you some oxtails and some and and ready for you okay auntie where is your hop skipping a jump away come on that's yeah I love it when I was gonna talk to you that they were like oh Kenny from Chicago they know we they know come on gossip is is a family for for for facts um the music is beautiful your message is beautiful thank you man thank you we're so uh we're so excited to have you here and um nothing but the best appreciate you call his name wherever music is heard make sure you stream it right away and and then then go follow and find more out more information with Kenny Lewis in one voice Kenny thank you so much appreciate thanks for being here.

[21:10] Robert Bannon: Yes sir my pleasure thank you for having me there you have it you know the round table a little bit of God a little bit of gospel a little bit of mess. You know, you never know what you're gonna get on this show. We we like art and artists, and art and artists come in all forms, and art and artists come in all sorts of of ways. That means in religious ways and musical ways and Broadway ways and drag queen ways. You know, we are here for the people who make art and a platform for all people to make art. I am grateful for you to be here. Thank you so much for being here. If you want more information about me, go to RobertBannon.com or follow me at Robert M. Bannon on Instagram. Tell me hey, say hello, share it with a friend.

And uh, we're here every single day on the Broadway Podcast Network and on YouTube spreading our message. And uh and our message is that the best is yet to come. There's more love than there is hate. There's more there is more good than there is bad. And I love you. Thank you for being here. Talk to you again real soon. And listen to that song and tell me if you don't start singing it too. I promise you, I wasn't just being crazy. It's a fact. Till next time. Bye everybody.