Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is vocalist, songwriter, and vocal coach Darci Monet. She's celebrating the 20th anniversary of the iconic film Napoleon Dynamite, which features her recording of the version of The Rose, which we'll get to a little bit later. Darci, thanks for joining us today.

Darci Monet 0:45

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Greg Staffa 0:48

Thank you. And so 20 years ago, what brought you to that?

Darci Monet 0:53

Well, I'd been here in Los Angeles for a couple of years, probably at that point. And my best friend at the time, let's see how how can I make this the reader's digest version of the story? I had done some work for a friend's boyfriend who had made a documentary. And the music director and composer for that documentary got hired to do the music for Napoleon Dynamite. And when he did, he reached out to me to see if I could come in and record this one-minute clip of The Rose. Uh, because for some reason or another, they couldn't license her actual version. Either the record label said no, you can't use it, or they just were quoted such an exorbitant licensing fee that they couldn't afford it.

Greg Staffa 1:45

So this was during the Happy Hands club scene. Yes. Yes. Okay, so you decided to do the gig. Now you were this was uncredited, right?

Darci Monet 1:56

Uh not, it wasn't supposed to be. That's the thing, is I went in there and I signed an agreement stating that I would get paid a hundred bucks for that day to do it, which was not the union sag rate. A lot of times they were on a festival license, which is what it was called at the time, which is a great thing that SAG AFTRA offers to new filmmakers where they're able to use SAG and now AFTRA talent without paying the full rates. So I've done a couple things like that before. I know that sometimes when you're trying to get your name known in, you know, the world of session singing, that you do some stuff that's underpaid to get your to make connections to get more opportunities later. So I, you know, and we were like, this is going to Sundance, it's this goofy little comedy. We thought it would probably do nothing like many other projects we had both worked on before, did nothing. Um, we had no idea it was gonna blow up like it did. So I agreed to get paid a hundred bucks that day, but I know I never signed away my right to be credited in the film, and I did not sign away my rights to be paid residuals after the fact. So uh it ended up being uncredited. And I and I don't know why. I just remember being so excited when it blew up and going to the theater with my sisters to watch my name scroll in the credits for the first time ever, hopefully, and seeing every other piece of music was properly credited. Every other piece of music they licensed said, licensed, said such and such song written by so-and-so, published by so-and-so, performed by so-and-so, except for The Rose, written by Amanda McGroom, Warner Tamerlane publishing, and then my name is completely not there.

Greg Staffa 4:04

Totally nothing. Yeah. And then I mean it it's almost unusual these days because so many of these films have so many I mean, they they credit the guy that made the the breakfast for the extras. Yes, exactly.

Darci Monet 4:17

You know, like and every high school student that walked across the camera on campus got credited, but so is some of it because the illusion was it was just a song playing on you know the radio that that they're performing to that it wasn't really in the I mean it was Well well for one thing, there's no dialogue over it. It's my voice singing and they're doing sign language. It's like it's center stage in the scene. I think what happened after you know, years later trying to get credit on my IMDB page for it, I would put my name up there and they keep taking it down and be like, What's the deal? And they're like, Well, you need to show us a press release or something proving that that's you. And so when I went trying to find something, I realized that every piece of promotion that they had that mentioned the song said Bet Midler's the Rose. Wow. So I can only look back on it. And there were other things like that, it was also be supposed to be my Taft Hartley job, meaning my foot in the door to the union. There's paperwork that the production was supposed to fill out and uh send in to SAG. At the time it was just SAG, they hadn't joined it after yet. To SAG, that would get my foot in the door, that would allow me on my next union job to join and and hopefully be a union member at that point. They never filed the paperwork, and I didn't find that out for years later when John Sweihart, who originally called me to sing a Napoleon dynamite, called me a couple years later to ask me to sing for uh in How I Met Your Mother. And he said, You've got your SAG card because of Napoleon, right? And I said, No, I don't. He was like, What? I sent in all the paperwork, let me check what's going on. When he called SAG, there was no paperwork filed on me. Wow. Which is why I'm not getting paid because uh there's there's no indication whatsoever that I have anything to do with this film, except that I know I was there and did it. And John knows I was there and did it. So I can only, after all of that coming out over the course of years, I can only um assume that they purposefully left me out of it so that they could ride Bet's name without paying for Bet's name.

Greg Staffa 6:54

Gotcha. You get the experience without the cost.

Darci Monet 6:58

So does something like that.

Greg Staffa 7:01

So something like that 20 years later, does that leave a negative feeling in your mouth, or is that something that was part of life? I've done more, and so I can move past it. I still look at the movie part, or how does it how does it, you know, how does the name, you know, Napoleon Dynamite, what's your first kind of reaction to that?

Darci Monet 7:19

Well, part of the reason I decided to record this full-length version was to try and get rid of the bitterness and anger and humiliation I feel, because that should have been my big break. And it should have made me a lot of money, you know? And it should have I watched everybody involved in the film, I watched their love, their careers level up or explode. You know, like I said, John went on to be the music director for How I Went Met Your Mother for the entirety of the series. Um, so I it I look back now on it and see that that was I had already been, you know, working trying to make a stable career for myself as a session singer for 13 years in Nashville. And then a couple of years after I moved here in Los Angeles, I moved out here to hopefully broaden my horizons and my opportunities, you know. And so after, you know, 15 plus years of trying to become a working singer at that point, I look back on that and see that in that um instance as the moment that I think I gave up really truly pursuing. I started to just wither on the vine as an artist. I did some work if people asked me, but I stopped really trying to make my own music very much. I put on another CD, but it didn't go anywhere. I just, you know, hindsight is 2020, as they say, and I saw that that was the moment I started to let myself just wither on the vine artistically.

Greg Staffa 8:58

Some of it because it was such an independent kind of no one expected it to do anything that just not that it was sloppy, but it just wasn't, you know, if you have a Marvel film now, the the talent behind the scenes as far as that kind of checks and balances are in effect, I would imagine are huge, versus on an indie film like Napoleon Dynamite, might not necessarily have I mean, is that some of it, or do you just think it was that they're trying to get the big star's name unwillingly? I mean, those who don't know, you're just gonna assume it's a Bet Miller.

Darci Monet 9:34

Right. I, you know, I first off was like, oh, this is a mistake, you know, called a lawyer friend, and she said, we'll fix this, it shouldn't be a problem. You know, for the DVD release, it'll we'll have your name on there, we'll make sure all the paperwork's in, and they just they never did it. I have a DVD, my name is not in the credits, they didn't fix it, you know. So, and that's after you know, Fox Searchlight picked it up. So we we were in contact with Fox Searchlight to try to get these corrections made, and they didn't do it either. So it's just I think with the the original production, uh Jared and Jerusalem Hess, the writers, directors, uh producers of the film originally, it was a small film. I I just looking back, it seems very strange that I am the only person involved in the film that has no credit. You know, it just doesn't and then Fox Search Light is like, who cares? You know, they're a big conglomerate, they don't care about little old me. You know, SAG was no help because I wasn't a SAG member, so they're not gonna fight for me. You know, it's like I just didn't have the resources I needed to make this happen, you know?

Greg Staffa 10:48

And I can't I I just have a hard time believing that it wasn't purposeful at this point with all the lining up all the ducks and checks and balances that should have been there that for all of them to fail systematically across the board, it just seems a little bit that's the thing.

Darci Monet 11:06

It's like I know John, the music director, he called me no less than three times to make sure he had all my information perfect for crediting, for joining SAG, my address, my phone number, you know, all this stuff. I know he did everything he was supposed to do. And at some point in the process, after it left his hands, somebody decided not to do what they're supposed to do for me.

Greg Staffa 11:36

So now you've re-released it. It's available on your on your website, and I'll put a link to that. Is this kind of like your way of kind of reclaiming your voice?

Darci Monet 11:46

Yes. This is me, you know, going, first of all, I'm I for years I couldn't even, if I heard the words Napoleon Dynamite, I would just get sick. And I haven't watched the movie since I gosh, there was a time at a point in time when Comedy Central would play a 24-hour or a weekend marathon, just play the movie over and over again, and I'd sit there and I'd be like, I'm not making this money. This is money I'm not making. And I'd be like, so I just was very bitter and angry and humiliated about it. Because I'm I'm no dummy. I was in the music industry for you know at least 15 years prior to this. I know what to look for in legalese, you know, I can read contracts, I can, I know what to look for. I would never sign my rights to crediting or getting paid away. And it was humiliating because I knew better. And there are so many more people in this house. This happens to every day to people in this industry who are way more naive than me. So after all this time, I realized I had a business coach that pointed out to me, why don't you ever talk about this? What can you do to take this narrative back for yourself? And that's when I really realized that that was such a sticky, I didn't even realize how badly I'd allowed it to eat at me all these years. And so I was like, I can't feel like this anymore. I deserve to be proud of myself for even being a part of this cultural phenomenon. You know, this is I'm part of of cinematic history, you know, and I deserve to feel great about that.

Greg Staffa 13:31

Well, even that clip alone is a popular YouTube clip. Yeah.

Darci Monet 13:41

Exactly. Everybody remembers it still, you know. So I'm like, I need to take this back. And so that's when I decided. Well, also, once in a blue moon out of the interweb's ether, somebody would reach out to me and be like, hey, I found out that it's not Bet Midler singing the rose and it's you. Did you guys ever record a full version of that? Because I'd love to have it. And I would always say, No, thanks for reaching out anyway. You know, sorry. And so I thought, you know what? I'm gonna release this song and you know, the full song. I'm gonna, you know, bust it out and make it mine. And as I started talking about this with, you know, my vocal coach and one of my students who grew up on the film, he and all the boys in his band grew up with this movie and love it. And they just think my poo don't stink because it's me singing, you know, they think it's the coolest thing. And so he goes, Hey, let us play on that for you. Let us track that, record it, and play on it, produce it for you. And then and I was like, Oh, that might be cool because they're really talented kids, good band. And he goes, You don't even have to charge us. And I was like, wait a minute, what? And he goes, No, we'd be honored to do this. So they did all that for me. A friend of mine who I uh used to write songs with did put down a we sat down and arranged the song and he played the piano and then sent the piano to the kids in the band, and they put it all together and mixed it and re-released it in March. And I love it, I'm really proud of it. I think it's really beautiful and feels like me, but is also, you know, an honoring the original version. And just in that decision alone, I started feeling the weight of this issue start to come off of me. And uh, so it's a celebration. It's to hopefully let the world know, yeah, that was never bet, it's me, and my name is Darcy Monet. And um just to celebrate my place in in movie history.

Greg Staffa 15:49

And nothing, I mean it's nothing against Bether, you know, the song itself. It's just it's just it's this is your version, this is your interpretation of it, and you deserve credit for this version, which was on film. Let's take a minute here and listen to the first uh twenty seconds or so of that song.

Darci Monet 16:08

Okay, great. It is the river that around the tender read. That leave just so to leave.

Greg Staffa 16:45

Wonderful. I still can't get over the the sign language and the awkwardness of having something something so beautiful and just being something Did they when they hired you, did they tell you like, did they play out the scene for you? Like how it was I mean, like we're gonna mock what they're doing, but we're not gonna mock your song. Are you giving any information?

Darci Monet 17:07

I mean, I know John knew it because he was putting the music, she had to line it up into the scene, but I didn't see the scene until I went I went and saw the movie in the theaters and and realized what they were doing with it, which is hilarious, which also makes me think maybe they didn't want to allow Bett's version because they didn't want it to be made fun of, which it clearly is being made fun of in the film. You know, it's it's a it's a cheesy choice, and that's what they're focusing on in the film. And so, you know, maybe they were like, no, Bet wouldn't appreciate that, or we don't appreciate that, or whatever. That might be one of the reasons, but you know, it's hilarious.

Greg Staffa 17:43

I think in a world where, like I said, we we celebrate the guy that made waffles for the the extras gets his you know credit, yeah, or the makeup person for the person that was like the you know the 800th person on the acting list, you know, we say who did his makeup, but yet yeah, a song that's featured in the film notably, yeah, uh doesn't get no dialogue over it.

Darci Monet 18:08

Yeah, that's that's not fishy at all.

Greg Staffa 18:10

I think Ed Ed Helms in the first hangover film, they had a little part where they're like, we need a little musical number, can you do a quick, you know, can you write a quick and he gets credit for it? He gets writing uh vocal credit for even though it's a simple you know, little jingle that he does, um, he gets full credit, and I think he gets residuals every time, not just for acting, but he gets residuals for songwriting.

Darci Monet 18:38

He does. And it's just that's the thing, is that's why I can't I have a hard time thinking that it was just a mistake. Well, you know.

Greg Staffa 18:48

We hear about these actor strikes and stuff like that, and it's like, God, why does Tom Cruise need to go on strike? Why does you know stats but it's not for Tom Cruise to go on strike, it's for the people who don't hear or don't get kind of the notoriety that everyone else does that puts in the same time and stuff like that, and it trickles down, but we think of the big stars, but that's really what these are for. Do you think 20 years later the same thing could happen to someone else? I mean, is this something that needs to be addressed, or is there enough checks and balances that have been put in place since then that you feel that there wouldn't be another you out there?

Darci Monet 19:28

No, like I said, this happens every day, every day to people here who don't know how to protect themselves. And that's the thing is that I know how to protect myself, I know what to look for, and I know I would never agree to not being paid residuals for something. Would never even that would have been a deal breaker. I'd have walked out of the studio right then, you know, and so there are so many new people, young kids who come here and don't know what's going on. They don't know what to look for before they sign their name to something. It happens every day, and it will always happen for as long as people with a lot of money are hiring people with none to do work for them. You know what I mean? That's just kind of how it goes, you know. They it's just the nature of the beast. It's uh it's a super fun business and a wonderful business in so many ways. I mean, I love film and TV and all the parts that come together to make you know something that really makes you laugh or cry or get you in the fields, and it's it's beautiful. But there's a lot of people who are trying to get away with stuff behind the scenes, and they will if you let them. Unfortunately, we live in a world where we have to force people who have all the power to do the right thing by passing laws to make them do it, you know? That's just kind of how it goes. So I have uh it should be addressed, and part of the reason I'm doing this and hired a publicity firm to help me get this out there is to hopefully um hopefully one person will hear my story and be more careful on their next job or something, or somebody who's working in the business will hear this story and be extra careful when they're putting all the stuff together, when they're putting the credits together, or when they're, you know, whatever it is. Hopefully this will ease it up a little, but I think, you know.

Greg Staffa 21:42

Could something be done retroactively, maybe not financially to your satisfaction, but just could a producer of the film go back and put your n your information? I mean, if it's on Netflix now, can they go in and ingest it or can I mean that as a studio?

Darci Monet 22:02

Yeah. I think they probably could and they do actually need to retroactively they need what should happen. Okay, in a perfect world, what would happen is Jared and Jerusalem Hess hear about this somewhere on some cop podcast I've done about this, and they call SAG and they fix it. What they should do is call SAG and find out what they need to do to correct it in the film. They need to call Fox Searchlight and make them correct it in in all releases going forward. And then they need to call SAG and say, we need to set her up for payment of her residuals retroactively. That's what needs to happen. Um I am not holding my breath. Yeah, in reality, I'm not holding my breath. That would be, you know, the ultimate, but it should happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

Greg Staffa 22:59

So one last question, then I want to move on to more positive stuff about you. Sure. Um time machine is invented and you have the chance to go back 20, well, it'd be 21 years because they that's from film. You can stop yourself from doing it, or you can let yourself do it knowing the pain that it's caused, but then also look at, you know, it's probably made you stronger, it's probably giving you more faith in yourself now, you're reclaiming it now. Is the pain that it's caused more than the strength that it's giving you in the long term, or would you I mean would you go back and change it, or would you say, this has been tough, but it's a road that I was able to manage through. Um, it caused a lot of pain, but I survived it. It made me stronger, and now I'm reclaiming it. So that in itself made me a stronger woman. Which which would you do?

Darci Monet 23:53

That's a great question. I don't know if I have an answer to that. Um I'd probably still do it knowing that it would blow up, but I think what I would do is, you know, what if I only knew then what I know now? I would have, I wouldn't have given up so early. You know what I mean? I would have uh perhaps reached out to a different attorney. I needed an attorney to be a pit bull for me, and she was helping, it was a favor, you know, nothing against her. Um she was doing me a favor, wasn't her normal line of work as an attorney. I probably would have tried to seek out somebody else, and I just would have fought harder. And maybe I would have released this song earlier, you know, when it was still more relevant, you know. I don't know. It's gosh, it's hard to say. It's hard to say because would I have rather not gone through just sitting back and not uh believing in myself or trying? Because I really just stopped trying um for a long, long time. I I hate that I've wasted that time, you know? I don't like that.

Greg Staffa 25:16

Well, looking at more positive stuff, you've you've done The Playing Dynamite, but you've also done songs featured in Sons of Anarchy, Vampire Diaries, uh Kiss the Bride. Is it something that someone calls and says, hey, we need someone to record, we need we need to have the radio wants, we need a song playing in the background. Is that kind of what it is that you're doing?

Darci Monet 25:36

Or well, at the time, I have to say I was uh co-writing with my uh dear friend Levi Christ, and these were songs that we had written for him together for him as an artist, and he just happened to have some contacts that reached out to him and say, Hey, do you have anything? Or he met somebody and who was like, Hey, I have this song, it might work good for this, you know. So that was really just those were happy accidents for me. And uh honestly, what I hoped, I'm in the middle of recording a Christmas song right now that I really hope to place in, you know, there's a million Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies, right? Oh, yeah. So I'm starting to go about reaching out to my friends in the industry and be like, hey, can you it's put me on the right path? How do I do this now? It's been a long time since I've licensed anything, and the system has changed a whole lot. I'm not really even sure now what to do. I'm just reaching out to people and letting them know what I want to do, and hopefully that'll lead me on a path toward what I want. And what is that? Huh?

Greg Staffa 26:50

And what is that?

Darci Monet 26:52

Just to license, you know, to license a song, it would be uh great to have it. That would be, you know, a yearly chunk of change. Oh yeah, which is nice, you know, passive income is always nice. And that if I, you know, once I figure out how to go about it now, then in the future I can hopefully place songs that I write in the future in other films and television.

Greg Staffa 27:17

You've also done CD, you know the CD Fusion, right?

Darci Monet 27:21

Yeah, my my I've released two CDs. One was in uh 2001 when I first moved here, and then the second one was in 2009. The second one's called Fusion, and um I did write those songs on that album with the with the idea of making them as licensable as possible, and it just never went anywhere, I think partially because um I had such a bad attitude about myself at the time. I wasn't I didn't try, you know. So, you know, and now we live in a singles market again. You know, it makes no sense to put out a whole CD and spend all that money on a CD because people just stream singles on Spotify. Nobody buys CDs or albums anymore, really. Yeah, they're getting into vinyl, which is so interesting to me. Like they'll buy vinyl, they have record players have two twin 17-year-old nieces, and they've got all the Taylor Swift vinyl, you know. But um, yeah, CDs are not a thing, and it's song by song, which for an independent unsigned artist with no financial backing behind them, that's kind of a good thing. Because you can, you know, you don't have to come up with a whole bunch of money to put out a whole record, you can do it single by single, and then hopefully find ways to get your song heard on, you know, maybe added to playlists or license them to film and television if you can find the music directors.

Greg Staffa 29:02

Well, even stuff like TikTok. I mean, songs on TikTok are becoming famous because all these kids are doing something to it, right or wrong, depending on what they're doing. But you know, all these kids are doing videos with these songs, and they're able to click on that song and then make their own video using that song as a background, and so it's making music just on TikTok blow up that wasn't in the mainstream, you know, radio DJ playing atmosphere.

Darci Monet 29:33

Yeah. And it's free, you know. I tell my students all the time, I'm like, if you're not on TikTok, you are doing yourself a disservice. You need to get on TikTok and you need to s make videos of you singing the first verse and chorus of your song, or the big the big power chorus at the end. You need to make video after video after video and just flood your list your follower base with what you're doing, because that's that's how it's done these days, you know, and people who become influencers, as they call them, on TikTok or Instagram or YouTube or whatever the channel is have much more bargaining power when a label, because that's the thing, labels are looking for people who already are selling, quote, selling thousands upon thousands of whatevers, whether it's you know, they've got this many followers, they've got this many listens or streams. Like when I was first an artist, it was about how many tapes or CDs did you sell out of the trunk of your car? If you can sell 50,000 units on your own, then you have a bargaining chip if you go to a label, because they're now at the point where they're not taking risks on unknown talent. They want you to find a way to build a big fan base on your own. And then they want to come and sign you and make a lot of money off you. But if you have if you're like, look, I've done this all myself and TikTok pays me because I have a million followers and I get hundreds of thousands of plays every time I post a video. I don't need your money record label. I don't need you. So you need to come to me and make it beneficial for me to sign for you with you. It's a really interesting time, you know, for for young artists. Um, but that's like that's the way to do it. And I tell my students who are like, I don't like social media. Well, get over it. That's the way to a career now. That's that's the world we live in.

Greg Staffa 31:39

Yeah, but I mean, these inf I mean, I hate I totally hate the word influencer because you're you know, you're a 16-year-old doing whatever, and now you're millions of followers when us adults are trying to make a living and do that. But I mean, there's one girl that does these dances in different colored outfits, and now she's like the spokesperson of like markers on television. And she just started off making these little videos. I mean, it's just it's amazing. It is crazy that that's where they're looking now for for talent and where to capitalize on it. And like you said, if you're not doing some of that, you're crazy because it's just that's where they're looking for the create because you have to prove yourself creativity, you have to, you know, push out so much content and have so many followers, and it's that's where they're looking now, and so yeah, and it is a full-time job.

Darci Monet 32:34

That's the thing. It's like if you want to become an influencer, you have to be consistent, you gotta be putting videos up, not one video a day, several a day, yeah, to to get to that point. And I think that's why so many kids are able to do it and have bills to pay and jobs and you know, stuff that gets in the way of it. But um, but it's also a a great I I kind of have a love-hate viewpoint of it because on one hand, it's like, oh my gosh, there are kids doing really ridiculous things that take no skill level whatsoever, and they're making all this money off of it because people want to see them be idiots. But then it's also I watch really talented vocalists. Some of these kids are like fully fleshed out young artists at 16. I wasn't, I was really talented, but I didn't know who I was as an artist at 16. These kids know exactly where they want to go, they're really savvy, and so part of me is like you go, you get your talent out there. Good for you for making your own way, because now you can be the boss through every step of the rest of your career. Yeah, I mean, that's a good thing.

Greg Staffa 33:47

You can hate someone like Mr. Beast, but just put in the effort. I mean, yeah. There's no need to do it.

Darci Monet 33:52

Yeah, it's hard work.

Greg Staffa 33:54

Yeah, but there's a lot of garbage out there, but there's a lot of gems out there too. It's just a matter of kind of weeding, yeah, through it, and and so whatnot. So what's what's next for you? I mean, you said you're working on a Christmas song.

Darci Monet 34:08

Yeah.

Greg Staffa 34:09

Um where um you see is next.

Darci Monet 34:15

Well, uh, I've really decided with this with this whole situation with Napoleon Dimite that and the rose, uh, I am I'm entering my chapter two of my life. And, you know, I had, you know, a year or so ago, about a year and a half ago, decided that all right, Darcy the performer is done, Darcy the songwriter is done, I'm just gonna focus 100% on my voice coaching, you know, studio and try to build that out. And I do enjoy teaching voice, and I don't plan to stop doing that, but with this whole situation, I've it has reignited my artistic flame in me. And so I'm like, you know, whatever happens, I'm going to keep writing. I'm gonna keep recording music. I'm just gonna put it out there. If nobody listens to it, I don't care. This is what my soul needs to survive. So I'm doing this Christmas song. Uh chorus flew into my head like two days after Christmas and living there rent-free until I decided to, okay, let's record, let's finish this song and record it. So I'm gonna do that and um release that, you know, probably the day after Thanksgiving. And then I had another friend reach out to me. She's in Nashville, I'm in Los Angeles, and she said, Hey, if there was, and she didn't know I was doing the rose yet. She reached out randomly and said, If there was a cover you wanted to do, what would it be? And I said, Oh, that's so funny. You ask, I'm doing this thing, the rose, blah, blah, blah. And she's like, Oh, that's cool, but okay, what about another cover? And I'm like, Okay. And so I gave her like a list of three or four of them. Um, I've always had in the back of my mind, Darcy does the album of cover songs, you know. So I've always had a couple songs out there ready that I would want to do. And um she picked one of them. I don't want to give away the, I don't want to give away the name yet. Uh, and she's like, hey, I want to uh make a demo of me as a producer and get myself out there to produce other people's music. And all I have is my own stuff. You have a very different style than me. So what if I recorded all the tracks, produced this song for you? All you would have to do is get the vocals, record the vocals out there, send them back to me, and I'll take care of everything else. And you have a new single, a cover of a song you love, and then I have something to put on my demo for other artists. And I was like, uh, yeah, let's do that. You know, that's gonna be cheap. So, um, and I'm excited about it, and you know, we were talking about that. So that's probably gonna happen after the first of next year at some point in the spring.

Greg Staffa 37:01

Wow.

Darci Monet 37:01

So yeah.

Greg Staffa 37:02

Congratulations.

Darci Monet 37:04

Yeah, exciting.

Greg Staffa 37:05

It sounds like through all the pain, you've you've you're at a point where you're I don't want to say forgiveness, but in whatever stages there are, you're at the point where you've come to accept it. And now you're trying to reclaim a little bit. It doesn't sound I mean, I'll get the feeling that you're vengeful. Um it doesn't, you know, but it'd be easy for I mean you laugh, but it'd be easy for people to be very, you know, I mean, like you said for a while, then the name of Napoleon Dynamite was was not a good thing in your you know to hear. Um it just sounds like you're more let down. It's like, you know, it's like dating someone that you thought would be the guy and realizing he wasn't all you thought he would be, and you just wasted a couple years of your life trying to figure out how to make it work, and you realize finally that it wasn't you, it was them.

Darci Monet 37:57

Yes.

Greg Staffa 37:57

And so now you're kind of letting it free, but at the same time, kind of reclaiming on it, and for whatever it is, you know, capitalizing that it's 20th anniversary, people are talking about it again, and so why not just kind of be that little thorn in the you know, so to speak, in uh everything and say, hey, remember me.

Darci Monet 38:18

Yeah. I think you know, you never know what could happen in the the in the course of time, you know. I'm just like I just needed to let it go. I couldn't keep letting it fester, you know, and it was like, and it did feel like a betrayal. It felt like my husband cheated on me, music being my husband, because at that point I had been w trying so hard to, and and it's not like I don't have the talent or the skill set, you know what I mean? I have the training, I have the talent, I have everything I need to be able to be a working studio singer, and it just wasn't happening, and that was kind of like the final straw for me. And now I'm just like, you know, that that was then, this is now, there's plenty I can do still as an artist, and I know that whenever I sing for people, it I don't want to sound like uh be cocky or anything, but ever since I was young, very young, when I sing for people, it moves them and it heals them. And they have said this to me repeatedly throughout my lifetime. And so I just like, you know what, I I am I I feel like I'm more of a healer and my modality is music and the voice, and that it would be a disservice for me to not continue allowing that to be out there in the world. Just because of one bad experience, because of yeah, or because I couldn't, I got too tired to go on, you know, oh the drama. Like I'm robbing people of healing experiences with just what music does because I'm so into myself, and that's gross, you know. I'm like, it's it's not about you. Music is always bigger than the people who are making it, and I need to just remind myself of my place in it and be the vessel of service, and that's what I'm trying to do. Who knows at this point?

Greg Staffa 40:19

Maybe someone in power will hear this podcast and say, you know what, we need to correct this and get on it. So hopefully, you never know. Well, Darcy, thank you so much for coming on and uh look forward to hearing the Christmas album or the Christmas song uh later in the year, probably closer to Christmas, and then see what happens next year with the the cover. So thank you so much for coming on.

Darci Monet 40:42

Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it so much.

Greg Staffa 40:45

That does it for this episode. Thank you for listening to the Staff of Corner.