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Terms apply. We. All

1:01

have a story to tell and the Moss

1:04

Education program is looking to help young people

1:06

tell their stories. High school students can develop

1:08

their storytelling schools with the more. Summer Story

1:11

Lab join us for a free one week

1:13

long workshop where you'll learn the art and

1:15

craft of sharing your own story. From brainstorming

1:17

to that final might drop moment, we've got

1:20

you covered. Plus you'll make new friends, build

1:22

skills that shine and school and beyond, and

1:24

have a blast along the way. Whether it's

1:27

at the family dinner table or college as

1:29

a starter, your story matters virtual and in

1:31

person. Options are available to fit your

1:33

style. Workshops begin an Aug. Don't

1:36

miss out. Sign up now and

1:38

learn more today at the mouth.org

1:40

Forward/story Lab apply by June Twenty

1:42

third. Welcome.

1:44

To the Off podcast I'm Suzanne

1:46

Rust the curator at Them Off

1:48

and Your hosts for this episode

1:50

and these next two stories will

1:52

be taking a trip to Birmingham,

1:54

Alabama where we've been hosting Stories

1:56

Lambs since March. Twenty nineteen each

1:58

Story Slam we. Really reflects

2:01

the city is a part of. There's

2:03

some hilarious behind the scenes Hollywood tidbits

2:05

in the L A Story Slam, The

2:07

New York Story slams how real on

2:09

walk in here vibe and the Birmingham

2:11

story slams bring that wonderful sense of

2:13

being on the front porch as the

2:15

sun goes down listening to a story

2:17

in the dim twilight. Birmingham as one

2:19

of the city's on them off Pop

2:21

Up Ports tour and Twenty Twenty Two

2:23

and I was lucky enough to spend

2:25

a week fair getting snow, hundreds of

2:27

locals and hear. Their stories Great

2:29

town, even better people. First

2:32

up, we've got an wheeler who told the

2:34

story of Birmingham Story Slam where the theme

2:36

of the night was. As Isis

2:38

years and twelve. One

2:43

Sunday afternoon out of his Birmingham, this

2:46

section eight Arts and Entertainment. Second,

2:48

Page then on the left hand

2:50

side that's essentially daniels little one

2:52

parliament's notice. Open call

2:54

or distance farming him Festival

2:57

Theater Sunday to decide. Needed

2:59

three males aged twenty to

3:01

thirty. Three. Females

3:03

aged twenty to thirty five. One.

3:07

Female. Age. Thirty five

3:09

to sister. And

3:11

I I was there. I walked into the theater

3:13

and the hobbies is full of people. They were

3:16

sitting on the floor and will hounds and against

3:18

the wall leaning over the counter filling out the

3:20

decency. When. Not my

3:22

got modest since she started

3:24

filling out name contact information.

3:26

Theater experience. And. Then

3:29

I get to the Va a militia land

3:31

that says let it sit next to the

3:33

fox of all of the following instruments that

3:35

you can play. Him

3:37

is gonna be a music on the. Piano.

3:42

Keyboard. No. Brainer I

3:44

was a piano major in college. Nebula play the

3:46

piano and you gotta play the keyboard. About all

3:48

you need to know. It's waste, the power switch

3:50

and where's the fire? Him control. Shit

3:53

keyboard. Next. one it's

3:55

half now i'd never had a guitar

3:57

lesson in model i think I

4:00

am a child of the 60s. And

4:02

back then, no self-respecting teenager got

4:04

to their 18th birthday without its somewhat bigginal

4:06

guitar and figuring out how to play a C

4:09

and a D and a G chord, right? I mean,

4:11

if you could play those three chords in Head of

4:13

Capo, you could play any tune that was on the

4:15

radio back then. It was great. Check

4:17

guitar. Next

4:20

one, accordion. Now,

4:23

I had never played an accordion in

4:25

my life. And at that

4:27

point, the only thing I wanted to do was

4:30

go into the theater, interrupt the audition. Excuse

4:32

me, Mr. Director, could you please tell me

4:34

what instrument the female age 35 to 50

4:36

got to play? Because

4:39

if it wasn't the accordion, I didn't have to worry about

4:41

that box. But there was no way to

4:43

find that out. In that

4:45

moment, the only thing I knew for certain was

4:48

the more boxes I checked, the

4:50

better chance I had of getting a part

4:53

in that show. So here

4:55

my professional training kicked in. I was a

4:57

lawyer. I was used to telling people how

4:59

to testify under oath. And one thing

5:01

we always say is listen carefully to

5:04

the question. Only answer the question that

5:06

is asked, never volunteer. So

5:08

I read that line again. Put

5:11

a check in all of the boxes next

5:13

to the instruments that you can play.

5:20

Now, I

5:23

had never played an accordion, but I had

5:26

played the concertina, the squeeze box. You know,

5:28

like it's that thing with the buttons on

5:30

the edges and all the bellas in the

5:32

middle. And after all, what

5:34

is an accordion? But you know,

5:36

kind of half of a squeeze box over

5:39

here glued together with an

5:41

upright keyboard over here. I mean, how

5:44

hard can I play the accordion?

5:47

Of course I can play the check

5:49

accordion. The last

5:52

box, froms. My

5:54

favorite, again, never had a lesson, But

5:57

I played the hammer dulcimer, right? It's like

5:59

this. The rhythm and back up all

6:01

the time. and and if I'm a drummer

6:03

friends that the way you move and sort

6:05

of do things to play that das muss,

6:07

it's exactly what drummers to. Who.

6:09

Has. A hidden a sip and

6:11

sleep. At home. I

6:14

had a teenage son who was the

6:16

trauma in the heavy metal, punk rock,

6:19

garage bands I already had a twenty

6:21

peace plan to it's Weird with Sparkle

6:23

follow from and I had a built

6:25

in. A

6:31

data in the to hand my audition

6:33

Cdn and I confess I had a

6:36

few qualms about that Said Mark next

6:38

to accordion. That and

6:40

really wanted. A

6:43

current. Why? Did my turn I

6:45

call my name of when in the theater I've read the

6:47

part. When. Home. And

6:49

then you wait. A. Week later I

6:51

got. A. Head the.

6:56

I. Didn't know which. Except

6:59

it isn't a female. thirty five to

7:01

fifty that others. Have

7:03

been to the first read through and it turned

7:05

out the So was not for women who were

7:07

from said decide to start a rock band cause

7:09

they want to compete in the local battle of

7:11

the bands because I wasn't enough. Five thousand dollar

7:13

first pass a nice for friends thought we can

7:16

do this so at the end of the first

7:18

act in the end of the second act is

7:20

for women are on stage and this of right

7:22

rock band and we deliver a showstopper can't a

7:24

big rock number at the end of each act.

7:29

Turned out I didn't need to worry

7:31

about the of course the sad part

7:33

went to the Us Gorgeous fuck some

7:35

blonde who could felt out song like

7:37

nobody's business and sprints up and down

7:39

and some of the audience while pretending

7:41

to play the accordion. Or

7:44

did I get? well, Let.

7:46

Me to say this: For. The

7:48

run of that so extended for weeks.

7:51

On. Thursday night. Through the Sunday matinee,

7:53

I got to put on my

7:56

black tights and mass. Black.

7:58

Turtleneck. That's

8:00

enough. Leave this

8:03

Red leather jackets covered with

8:05

the zippers. And.

8:07

I got to live the dream. With.

8:10

Those four weeks. Is.

8:13

Otherwise, respectable. Middle

8:15

aged, flown. To

8:18

Be Oklahoma and are punk

8:20

rock band. Onstage with lights

8:22

and everything and it is great.

8:24

But I have to confess in

8:26

the years since then I heard

8:28

from time to time had occasion

8:30

to ponder my behavior. In

8:33

that artists and any had a

8:35

me says is it. It.

8:38

You're. Eager to say.

8:42

It occurred in that case senate.

8:44

The shoes. Up

8:46

to and maybe even across

8:48

that very thin line. Between.

8:51

Vice. Virtue. I.

8:56

Think if I had to make the argument

8:58

in my defense, I would probably lose. But

9:02

I'm sure of one thing I am

9:04

very confident that is the occasion arises

9:06

again. Knowing. What I Know.

9:10

With all the gills has been weighing on me

9:12

through these years. He.

9:15

Both. Fuckin.

9:23

Once. Been checked.

9:27

A thirty. Sec.

9:42

What was an wheeler and as a

9:44

storyteller musician who device or time putting

9:46

her native Birmingham of mountains and rivers

9:49

of. Western North Carolina. additions

9:51

of family a local history stories

9:53

she loves telling tales from ancient

9:55

scotland and ireland often accompanied them

9:57

with her celtic carp From

10:00

Birmingham to Miami, London to Los

10:02

Angeles, there are Moth Story Slams

10:04

happening throughout the world. If

10:07

you've only listened to Moth Stories in the

10:09

podcast or radio hour, you're missing out. There's

10:12

something special about hearing them live, and

10:14

maybe you'll be tempted to tell one

10:16

yourself. You can

10:18

find upcoming shows, themes, and

10:20

dates by visiting our website

10:23

at themoth.org/events. Our

10:25

next story is from, no points for

10:27

guessing, a Birmingham Story Slam. We

10:29

met Anthony Underwood at a green market

10:31

in Birmingham where his bright smile and

10:34

banana pattern pants drew us over

10:36

to him. When he found out what

10:38

we did at the Moth, he was intrigued. He

10:40

came to a slam, threw his name in a

10:42

hat, and got up on stage to tell his

10:45

story. Here's Anthony Underwood, live

10:47

at the Moth. My

10:51

mother made the best banana

10:54

pudding in the world. Now,

10:56

this is fighting words. This is the South.

10:59

You make those things out of church, somebody's going to end up having

11:02

a brawl and somebody gets hurt. But

11:04

I trust this is a safe environment that I

11:06

can share that, okay? My

11:09

mother, Ruby Lee Underwood, she was

11:11

born in 1929 in Hard Times, Alabama. And

11:15

you can't Google that. That's not

11:17

on the map. It's just a condition that you live

11:20

under during that time. My

11:23

mother had a first child when she was a

11:25

teenager, so she had to quit school. And

11:29

by the time she was 33, she had eight

11:31

of us, and I was the sixth of eight

11:33

kids. She

11:35

was a fighter. I

11:38

remember when I was five years old,

11:40

we moved to government housing. And

11:43

I know how the Beverly Hills

11:45

Billy felt when they moved to Beverly Hills, because to

11:47

me that was a whole new world, you know? So

11:50

we moved from a shotgun house to

11:52

a house that had three bedrooms, and

11:55

most importantly, we had a stove and a refrigerator. And

11:59

you cannot appreciate those things. things until you live

12:01

a short period not having those things. With

12:04

that stove, my mother worked magic. We

12:07

had beans every other week, but she

12:09

made those beans very special. We

12:12

had cornbread. But one thing

12:14

that she made special, and it was to my heart,

12:17

it must have been my birthmark, that she made a

12:19

great banana pudding. Now,

12:21

those who know about real banana pudding, it's not easy to

12:24

make. You've got to stand over that stove and do some

12:26

stirring and make something happen. But

12:28

someone who worked six days a week in

12:31

domestic work to come and

12:33

do that for her loved ones, it was

12:35

very special to me. My

12:38

job at the time was to clean the pot. And

12:41

that was the best job a kid can have. So

12:45

I used that big spoon we called

12:47

a table spoon and

12:49

scraped that pot like a surgeon and make sure all that

12:51

pudding was gotten out of that pot. And

12:54

I cannot tell you that was any greater joy than that.

12:57

My mother, when she made the banana pudding,

12:59

she would sing those gospel songs. The Lord

13:01

would make her way somehow, and she'd always

13:04

give us some type of motivation about life.

13:07

And I tell you, though, when she gave me that pot and

13:10

I cleaned it with that spoon, I don't know what she was talking about,

13:12

but the Lord had made it away from me somehow with

13:14

all that pudding that I was able to eat from that

13:16

spoon. When

13:18

I became at Phoenix High School, I left

13:20

home, my mother's always called me. She

13:22

said, I got something special for you. I

13:25

knew what it was. It was that good old banana pudding. So

13:27

I come and spend time with my mother and share

13:30

ideas and thoughts. In

13:33

1997, she died and the phone

13:36

calls, of course, stopped. It was

13:38

a banana pudding, was no longer

13:40

available. So I

13:42

find myself going to a different restaurant, so when I

13:44

see a banana pudding on the menu, I get excited.

13:47

Wow, banana pudding. But

13:49

more often than not, it wasn't the type of banana

13:51

pudding my mother made. There

13:53

was a pop-up shop in a

13:55

property that we was managing, and

13:58

later was selling banana pudding, and it was a very... attractive,

14:00

looked good, and I

14:02

bought three. You know, banana pudding like religious, if you like,

14:04

you're going to share with someone else. When

14:06

I ate it, I realized it wasn't real banana pudding,

14:08

so I went and told her my dissatisfaction. I said,

14:10

this is not real banana pudding, this is fake, you

14:12

know. My

14:15

wife heard about the conversation and I thought

14:17

that she would console me and say, don't

14:19

worry, honey, we find this banana pudding one

14:21

day, but she turned on me. She

14:25

said I was wrong by speaking to later

14:27

about banana pudding. Everybody makes banana pudding different.

14:29

She said, by the way, if you think you can make one better, make

14:32

it yourself. That wasn't

14:35

what I wanted to hear. So

14:37

I didn't tell her, but at that point, I

14:39

decided to find a way to make banana pudding.

14:43

So that next day, I

14:45

formulated a plan. I

14:48

went on eBay, I went on

14:52

YouTube and did my research about banana

14:54

pudding. I

14:56

talked to relatives who knew about my mother, banana pudding,

14:58

and I got some ideas from that. So

15:01

one Saturday evening, I went to

15:03

Walmart and spent $35 to buy

15:05

the ingredients for banana pudding. Now,

15:08

I know some of the ingredients we probably had in

15:10

the house, but obviously, I figured I wanted to do

15:12

it this way. If I did not succeed, I put

15:14

it all in the garbage can and never tell my

15:16

wife about the banana pudding trial. But

15:20

I made the banana pudding, I

15:23

put it in the refrigerator to chill, with

15:25

my wife over the next morning, I said, hey, I got

15:27

something to try. I

15:30

told her I made a banana pudding. And

15:32

she didn't believe me. She thought maybe it was too fair, it might

15:34

have brought a banana pudding or something. I don't know. But

15:37

anyway, she tried and she told me something I couldn't believe.

15:39

She said, this is the best banana pudding I ever tasted.

15:43

Took her to work. People loved it. One of

15:45

these, why don't you make one for us for a gathering

15:50

for Thanksgiving. I

15:52

did that. And she said, what's

15:54

your charging for? $50. I figured

15:56

I'd spend $35 for my initial ingredient. and

16:00

$15 for the hand mixer. And

16:05

she paid for it. And I cannot tell you the

16:07

joy that someone's willing to pay that kind of money

16:09

for the banana pudding that I made. And

16:12

I thought by my mother, she worked, I mean,

16:15

probably a whole month, and she didn't

16:17

make $50 back in those days. So

16:19

it was a confirmation. My

16:23

banana pudding now is being sold at Pop-Up

16:25

Shot. We've got a certain restaurant

16:27

here at the banana pudding. And people love

16:29

it. And they always say the same thing.

16:32

It tastes like mama banana pudding. So

16:35

somehow her transcending

16:37

to me how to make a banana pudding, I

16:40

was able to do what she did and it's made with love.

16:43

Thank you. That

16:52

was Anthony Underwood. In

16:54

2003, Anthony Underwood was on the

16:56

cover of Used Car Dealership magazine

16:58

as the automotive dealer of the

17:00

year. Now he

17:02

produces and sells his mom's homestyle

17:04

banana pudding online at

17:06

nannaspudding.com and at local

17:09

Birmingham merchants. After Anthony

17:11

told his story, he actually shared some

17:13

of his legendary banana pudding with the

17:15

audience. I can confirm that it is

17:17

delicious. Remember, you

17:19

can find Birmingham Story Slam dates

17:21

at themoth.org/events, where you can also

17:24

find details about all of our

17:26

other open mics and shows. We'll

17:28

also have a link in our episode

17:30

description. That's it for this episode.

17:33

If you like these stories, be sure to share

17:35

this podcast with a friend and tell them to

17:37

subscribe so they can take a listen as soon

17:40

as it comes out. From all of us

17:42

here at the Moth, we hope to see you and hear

17:44

your stories soon. Suzanne

17:47

Rust is the Moth's senior curatorial producer and one

17:49

of the hosts of the Moth Radio Hour. In

17:52

addition to finding new voices and fresh

17:54

stories for the Moth stage, Suzanne creates

17:56

playlists and helps curate special storytelling events.

18:00

The Moth leadership team includes Sarah

18:02

Haberman, Christina Norman, Jennifer Hixon, Meg

18:04

Bowles, Kate Tellers, Marina Gluche, Brandon

18:06

Grant Walker, Lee Angoli, and Aldi

18:08

Kazza. The Moths would like to

18:10

thank its supporters and listeners. Stories

18:13

like these are made possible by Community

18:15

Giving. If you're not already a member,

18:17

please consider becoming one or making a

18:20

one-time donation today at themoth.org/give back. All

18:23

Moth stories are true, as remembered by the

18:25

storytellers. For more about our podcast,

18:27

information on pitching your own story, and everything

18:29

else, go to our website,

18:31

themoth.org. The Moth

18:34

Podcast is presented by PRX, the

18:36

Public Radio Exchange, helping make public

18:38

radio more public at prx.org. Support

18:46

for the Moth comes from Odoo. To

18:48

put it simply, Odoo is built

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to save. Odoo saves time. Odoo

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saves money. But most

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importantly, Odoo saves businesses.

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