Who's here?
Well, you gotta get a little closer to the microphone so I can hear you.
Amy Hernandez, Mac.
Now, we've talked to you before we're never in the studio.
Well, yeah.
We got some class now in the studio.
I'm by the way, David Max here too.
Good morning, Dawn.
Now, obviously, too, I'm married, but you have been...
How long have you been in musical in your life?
Because that's what we're here for to talk about your music, honey.
Oh my gosh.
I always say to people that I remember singing before I remember talking.
Really?
And that's how far back it goes.
Because you have a beautiful singing voice.
Thank you.
You're born with that.
You have to cultivate that.
I mean, I think in my situation, certainly, you know, with my earliest memories, born
with it.
And then, you know, you're just attracted to the things, things that will cultivate it,
such as school choir and solos and talent shows and, yeah, college.
Well, you're going to perform Thursday.
Yes.
And that's at...
Is it the first Presbyterian church?
It is the first Presbyterian church.
Right across the courthouse.
It's on the west side of the courthouse.
Yes.
716 College Avenue.
It's been there 185 years.
Wow.
Really?
Yes.
I did my homework.
And this is the 32nd Music and More Summer Concert Series Thursday at noon, Thursdays.
Let's start off with what's your fourth time there?
You know, I keep losing count.
Well, your manager here has been charged.
Remember next time.
Oh, yeah.
I don't have to remember anything other than the songs.
Does he get 10% off the target?
50%.
Oh, he gets...
Oh, he gets...
Just like the Colonel.
The Colonel is a crook.
Sometimes he...
Well, that's probably why.
Sometimes he gets 100%.
All right.
This song is called, I want you back.
Okay.
And a little background down there or nothing, just...
Well, David...
David can give the background.
He submitted the song.
Go ahead, babe.
Well, she did this for Gene's Jazz Series this year.
She works with Doug Clombe and he's a great arranger, great musician, plays multiple instruments
and he found this arrangement.
And Amy, what was it, your fourth or third appearance at Gene's Jazz this year?
I think it was the fourth one, because I started in 2018, right before COVID.
Yeah.
I wanted to do something a little different, keep it in the jazz, blues, genre.
So here's a unique take on Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five.
When I had you to my side, I didn't want you around, the sweet defacings always made
you stand up in crime, but someone picked you up above, when Glance was all it took,
now it's much too late for me to take a second.
Oh, baby, I'm one more chance, oh, you'll be glad to be back in your heart, oh,
every street you walk away, I leave it to you stings on the ground, I don't be the boy,
I didn't even fall around, oh, baby, give me, give me one more chance, oh, you'll be glad to be back in your heart, oh,
you'll be glad to be back in your heart, oh, darling, I was glad to let you go, now that I see you in her arms,
oh, baby, I'm one more chance, oh, you'll be glad to be back in your heart, oh,
every street you walk away, I leave it to you stings on the ground, I don't be the boy,
now that I see you in her arms, oh, baby, give me one more chance, oh, you'll be glad to be back in your heart, oh,
oh, darling, I was glad to let you go, now that I see you in her arms,
All right, you said that was from Jeans Jazz at the Racine Theatre Guild.
Yes. That's where it was, Jeans Jazz. Yes, just this year.
And you said that was arranged by Doug Klum?
Yes, it was, there was another group that had done this arrangement, and so, and I'm trying to think of the name,
and I should have looked it up during the song, but then he took that and then, you know, made it his own too, so, yeah.
Now, you sang the National Anthem the other day at the 4th Fest celebration at night during the fireworks.
You ever start a song and say, I forgot the lyrics?
Oh, gosh, yeah. I think every singer has had that moment, but I'll tell you with the National Anthem,
no, knock on wood.
I've always seen these videos of these poor young girls.
Oh, yeah. They're scared to death, and all of a sudden, they forget it.
And there was, there was an episode or a scene where they showed the girl forgetting it,
and the coach from the basketball team came over and started singing it with her to get her back on track.
I mean, once you start that, you're just lost.
Oh, sure. It's, you know, it's a challenging song for me to sing every single time, because, you know,
the words are over 200 years old.
You know, they're very poetic, and even just the structure of the song,
the sentences don't seem to kind of, they seem very random to me.
So, I have my own kind of pneumonic type of way of remembering the lyrics,
as well as just kind of trying to envision the story.
I know the story behind the song, and so.
Don't pick up music when you perform like James jazz.
You know, I, I love to sing, and I can sing just about everything,
and I have sung just about everything.
And so, I really defer to my husband, and I kind of defer to Doug Klum too,
because they've been around a bit, and as people that sit in the audience,
and I've enjoyed music and listening to music, they kind of know what the crowd pleasing songs are.
Otherwise, I'd be singing the blues the entire time.
Yeah, you're already depressed.
Get everybody depressed, yeah, because I love the blues, and I love jazz.
Now, who's the Rumble Guy band?
Where do you get those people?
Oh, she is.
So, go ahead, David.
I mean.
When she first, when we first looked at doing a performance,
and actually, we go back to Joe Mooney with James jazz,
and he approached me and said,
that I would really love to have Amy perform at James jazz.
And up until then, she'd sit in with a band for a song here, there occasionally.
And so, we approached Doug Klum, and at first, Doug thought I was joking.
I don't know why.
And he put together the band.
And the first year, the first performance, it was like a nine-piece band.
It had a full horn section, two guitarists, a bass player, drummer,
Doug was on keyboard, and piano, and trombone, which is his primary instrument.
And so, it was really neat.
And then, since then, we've played with variations.
The group can expand or contract as needed.
And so, for this upcoming performance on Thursday,
she's going to be performing with Dave Titus, Paul Fredrickson, Don Demashky, and Doug Klum.
I have to correct you.
I was tapping you on the arm to look at the list of names.
Paul Fredrickson is not performing this Thursday.
Oh, he was there last night.
No, he was not.
You know what I think?
I think we need a new manager.
Oh, Steve Filer on drugs.
Exactly.
You know what I think?
I think we need a new manager.
Well, he's not in after 35 years of marriage.
I'm gently tapping my arm, and he's still ignoring me.
You guys celebrating anniversary, aren't you?
Oh gosh, yeah.
In August.
In August.
What's the date?
I love fourth.
No, that's your birthday.
We need a new husband and a new manager.
So anyway, Doug puts together the band.
Right.
And I'm very talented in doing drugs.
So it'll be Doug Klum on piano and keys, Don Demashky on guitar.
This Thursday, Steve Filer on drums, and Dave Titus on bass.
And just happy to have all of those guys willing to do something like this.
Yeah.
That's great.
And is it the first Presbyterian church?
This is just west of the courthouse.
Try opposite the courthouse on the west side.
Yeah.
Because my wife goes to all the concerts there.
I know.
Yeah.
It's lovely to see her face in the audience.
Yeah.
It's lovely to see so many familiar faces in the audience.
I see Don Rosen's face in the audience.
Don's too tired.
We're talking to Amy.
Mac.
Amy Hernandez Mac.
I get that right here.
And David Mac is here as well.
And you're performing, you're always performing somewhere.
That's kind of neat.
Oh, thank you.
When people are just looking for to perform somewhere, you always have it.
And you know, you don't have to perform it as stadium.
A nice small venue, especially in a town like Racine, it's just perfect.
And you said the performance is, and they do this all summer.
Every Thursday at the first Presbyterian.
Yes.
This is the 32nd Music and More Summer Concert series.
It benefits the Racine Literacy Council and Healthcare Network.
They give out scholarships to young musicians.
It's a 10 week series that is every Thursday from noon to one.
And they're very punctual, so you don't have to be afraid that you're going to go to a concert
and be stuck there for, you know, six hours.
You go.
And it's done by one.
And what's amazing about it is that I'm just kind of in total admiration of how they can squeeze
in three artists within an hour, three different artists.
And so I am the last to perform on the series on Thursday.
The two other groups are Ben Menzuber.
And I apologize if I'm getting that name wrong.
I was googling him last night.
I always get the competition wrong.
You don't care.
Oh, no.
I don't want to do that.
And I couldn't find them.
So you must not be on Facebook.
I wasn't familiar with that musician.
So I'm looking forward to that.
As well as Flutee Seymour.
Flute Choir will be there.
And that's going to feature former school board member Julie McKenna.
And they're going to be doing music by local musician Don Young.
So it's just really a nice and just amazing little, you know, concert every Thursday
noon to one o'clock.
That's been going on for 32 years.
So you're also a music teacher.
Yes.
And so what grades did you teach?
6th, 7th and 8th grade choir.
That's a bad age.
Not a bad age.
That's a bad age.
Challenging.
Challenging.
They call it middle school.
And a couple of years ago, I started to call it muddle school.
Because to me, it's the time that you muddle through and you do things.
I even remember myself as a middle school student.
I was not a straight A student because I was involved in a lot of activities.
But I was an AB student.
And I even remember I got in my first fight in middle school.
And I remember going into in-school suspension.
And I was like the total choir nerd.
And my choir teacher was just like, he actually laughed when he said, were you an ISS?
So it's a very difficult age to navigate.
But what remains the same, I find is that if you set boundaries
and you stay with those boundaries and you uphold those boundaries for yourself
that eventually kids are empowered then to uphold the boundaries for themselves.
And a mutual respect has always kind of come about eventually.
You know, I was a soprano in grammar school.
I know it's hard to believe now listening to me.
No, I believe it.
I love the boy soprano voices, Vienna boys choir.
No, I wasn't that kind of.
I don't think I was that.
I don't know why she cooked.
She said, you'll be in the soprano section.
Really?
This is from New York.
This is a soprano.
Oh, no, that's New Jersey.
New Jersey.
But I said there were girls in there.
I'm like the only one that's sticking me with the one she goes, today I wouldn't mind.
But back when you were a little kid, you were 10 or 10 years old, nine years old.
And then it was taking me with the girls.
Yes.
They got cooties.
All right.
They do have cooties?
No, no, yes.
I understand what you're saying.
We might have cooties.
I don't know.
So, and so what's giving me some upcoming play upcoming concerts you're going to do?
So, I actually have three this year or this summer, sorry, not this year.
The rest of the year remains to be seen.
But after this venue in August, I will be singing down at the Kenosha is the Kenosha Public Museum.
Right.
Is doing a Native American exhibit.
You're Native American.
I am.
And Italian.
Well, God, goodness gracious.
Is this funny because this just came up on Facebook where I was quote unquote debating somebody.
I'll just say it that way.
And I told them that I was Ashkenazi Jew and they're like, you are not.
And I'm like, I'm sorry, but like colonialism just really did a number on.
On my, on my family because they're probably came from the year.
Her mom's Lithuanian and Italian or dad's family is from Mexico.
Primarily, yes.
Yes.
And that's primarily, but then you get all the things like Portuguese and you get, you know,
a 2% Egyptian and I found that I was, you know, a little 3% Iranian and all those.
I love 20.
That's a Southern Italian.
I love 23 in me.
I mean, it's just amazing.
I'm afraid to find out.
Oh, it's amazing.
I love it.
I love knowing that.
Down your family was from the Antarctic and Arctic region and you're related to a lot
of penguins that were down there and that's about it.
Well, going back to the thing that you just mentioned about being indigenous, one of the
teachings that I have really come to that.
I think it kind of challenges the modern day mindset is that we honor all our ancestors
that we are here today because of the stories of all our ancestors.
And so, yes, I, I am, if you want to kind of keep it really simple.
My dad's Mexican Latino indigenous.
My mom is mostly Italian, mostly Lithuanian.
I was born in Kenosha if that tells you.
Are you Kenosha?
Yes.
So everybody's Italian and Chinese Italian.
Italian Kenosha's Italian.
Yeah, that's what I was saying.
Italian and Chinese Italian and Mexican Italian.
So I'm very proud of that Italian heritage.
I love to do.
We've talked about it actually singing at Italian Fest or something like that because I love
singing Italian opera.
But anyways, going back to what you said about the engagement.
She wants to sing Italian opera.
I wondered is sing Louis Prima song.
Oh, he wants me to do American Italian.
Like, what is it?
Mamba Italian.
Lazy Mary.
You better.
Yeah.
So anyway, make a long story short.
She's also part of a Native American women's drum group.
Yes.
So we'll be performing at the Red Magic Art Festival in Milwaukee on Sunday August 10th at 10 a.m.
That's kind of a good thing to remember.
10 August 10th at 10 a.m.
And then the Sunday after that Kenosha public museum at noon.
I guess that's it.
Well, sorry, I was mixed up here.
Jackson Park is where the Red Magic Art Festival is on August 10th.
And then Kenosha public museum.
Everybody can find that on the 17th.
And that is with the indigenous women's hand drum group.
So I'm going to play one of my favorite songs.
Go for it.
Okay.
So Amy Hernandez.
Mac again, you get a perform at the first Presbyterian church, right?
This Thursday at noon.
It's right opposite the courthouse on the west side of the courthouse.
Again, missing this parking there.
But come early if you want parking in a lot.
Yeah.
It gets hard to get.
Thank you guys for coming in by the way.
Thank you for asking.
All right.
This is how I like this song.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Way up high.
There's a land that I've heard of wanting a lot of life.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
The skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
I'm day I wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Which rumbles now like lemon drops.
That's where you find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Blue birds fly.
The birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then why can't I?
Why then why can't I?
Why then why can't I?
I wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
I wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Which rumbles now like lemon drops.
That's where you find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Blue birds fly.
The birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then why can't I?
If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow.
Why then why can't I?
If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow.