- [Announcer] Welcome to "Peach Jam," recorded live in our GPB Studios in Midtown Atlanta, where songs and stories come together from the talented musicians who call the Peach State home.

(funky upbeat music) On this episode, a lawyer-turned musician who heads up a global rock collective, and a storyteller from Marietta who is no stranger to adventure.

Up first, let's welcome Guitar Gabby & The TxLips Band to the "Peach Jam" family.

(punchy percussive music) (moves to gritty rock music) ♪ They said that it's my choice ♪ ♪ Whatever I choose ♪ ♪ Gotta make it work again ♪ ♪ He closely lit the fire ♪ ♪ Out came words of hate ♪ ♪ Lust and desire ♪ ♪ Instead of standing here ♪ ♪ I'd rather just dance ♪ ♪ Slowly in the rain ♪ ♪ You got something new ♪ ♪ Let me have a way away from you ♪ ♪ 'Cause in the distance ♪ ♪ You'll find time ♪ ♪ 'Cause in the distance ♪ ♪ You will learn to live again ♪ ♪ But until then ♪ ♪ You've gotta change your ways ♪ ♪ A slow lit dark blend fades away ♪ ♪ You've gotta taste this pain ♪ ♪ One you'll learn to appreciate ♪ ♪ You've been looking for the lost one ♪ - I'm Erin and I play bass.

- And I'm Kiki the drummer and I play drums.

- My name's Guitar Gabby, and we're The TxLips Band.

I'm from Atlanta, but everyone in the TxLips band is from different places.

So we have people that are from Miami, more Atlantians, ATLians actually.

But then there are people in different countries.

We have some people in California, Canada, just everywhere.

So yeah.

- [Jeremy] And what type of music do you play?

- Rock and roll.

Grunge music is like the, I guess the bubble that I would put it in.

- So you mentioned that you have members of the band that live other places.

And if I Google your name, what's it say?

Like you're a collective, a rock and roll world, international collective or something?

Explain this to me.

- So The TxLips Band is an international Black female rock collective.

We have about 35 musicians that are around the world, different states, different countries.

And the way that we pull it all together is when we have different concerts, touring, sometimes we've done some acting and scoring, so that's one leg of business.

And then the second leg of business is TxLips Academy, which is a nonprofit where we teach kids about the business behind the industry and how to strategize to make their passion their career and their paycheck.

Then the third branch is TxLips Consulting Firm, which is where my lawyer piece comes in.

I work with artists and professionals to teach them about intellectual property, contracting, setting up your business, et cetera.

So that's the spiel.

- [Jeremy] That's the... (Gabby laughs) It's a three-legged stool.

- [Gabby] It is.

- And yeah, I understand that.

And so you are so much more than musicians.

You're inspiration, you're the consultant to help guide and help other musicians.

And then you're teachers, you're... This is awesome.

- (laughs) Thank you.

(steely guitar music) ♪ 'Cause in the distance ♪ ♪ You'll find time ♪ (gritty rock music) ♪ 'Cause in the distance ♪ ♪ You will learn to live again ♪ ♪ But until then ♪ ♪ You've gotta change your ways ♪ ♪ A slow lit dark blend fades away ♪ ♪ You've gotta taste this pain ♪ ♪ One you'll learn to appreciate ♪ ♪ You've been looking for the lost one ♪ - [Jeremy] Okay, so Kiki the drummer, you teach drummers.

- Yeah, I mainly teach.

So I have a business here in Atlanta, it's called Atlanta Percussive Arts, and I teach all ages how to play drums.

But not only do I teach, we have really cool performances where we bring in over the best drummers in the world, right?

So to name a few, we had Lil John Roberts join us.

We're having Juan Carlos Mendoza coming in.

He's a big deal.

- And then we can't, we can't gloss over the fact that Gabby mentioned you're a lawyer.

- [Gabby] Mmm hmm.

- [Jeremy] So you're a rock and roll lawyer.

- Mmm hmm.

(laughs) - [Jeremy] Interesting, okay.

Where did you go to law school?

When did this happen?

Tell me more, yeah.

- So I, growing up, I was one of those kids that loved being outdoors, but I also loved coming in the garage and playing my guitar.

Then I also was intrigued by understanding how and why things are the way they are rather than understanding the thing itself, if that makes sense.

So for me, that can look like understanding how a guitar is built rather than memorizing how to play a guitar.

So I have the same approach with law.

So that being said, I went to Spelman, I studied environmental science.

And then from there I went to Vermont Law School and I studied environmental law and policy and then branched off to studying entertainment law.

So I, I guess, went in different directions.

But while I was in those different directions, I was still doing the other things in the other direction so that I could get to a point of bringing it all together and cultivating a space where I'm able to connect with other like-minded people like Erin and Kiki.

And then we just continue using our different passions and avenues of teaching and whatnot to just reach people and help change people's perspective.

- So Erin, how did you meet Gabby?

- I think we met on Instagram.

(laughs) - Really?

- Actually, I had seen Gabby in a couple shows because I had been in various music projects.

So I had seen her perform, but we never met.

And then I think she might have found my Instagram and then she DM'd me.

And because I already knew who she was, she was like, "Do you wanna play for me?"

And I was like, "Oh my God, yes."

(tight upbeat music) ♪ Silver tunnels in my head again ♪ ♪ It's just the pipelines ♪ ♪ Of your ignorance ♪ ♪ I see the changes moving ♪ ♪ Right through me ♪ ♪ It's not enough to take your miseries ♪ ♪ Oh, we go ♪ ♪ Searching through your lies ♪ ♪ Believe there's change this time ♪ ♪ I see the colors never fade away ♪ ♪ Farewell to secrets they couldn't find ♪ ♪ Find, find ♪ - So tell me about the intention you have of lifting women of color with this project.

- I think we probably all can identify with just growing up and not always having representation, meaning someone that looks like us in the magazines that we go to the store to buy, on billboards.

Even on the internet, they're just... Growing up, I didn't have a lot of those avenues.

We didn't have a lot of those avenues.

So I think it kind of comes full circle in so many different ways because now each of us are kind of doing, doing things in a way that's giving back to our community, also uplifting people through inspiring and just existing, but then also helping people change their perspective and looking at life differently.

There's two sides to every coin.

My dad always says your cup is half empty or is half full.

It just depends on how you choose to look at it.

And our experiences, the people that we're around, cultivate the way that we look at life.

♪ Been a goddess, a queen, no doubt ♪ ♪ All this time they sent spies ♪ ♪ To check me out ♪ ♪ I mean, it's giving power ♪ ♪ That can't be touched ♪ ♪ Like my crown ♪ ♪ All this power is way too much ♪ ♪ It's like new level ♪ ♪ The devil's the same ♪ ♪ Especially when it's different places ♪ ♪ Calling my name ♪ ♪ You see, the term must be refrained ♪ ♪ Unless you calling all my queens ♪ ♪ That will always reign, look ♪ ♪ So we go ♪ ♪ The land that's promised on its way ♪ (music fades) - So for me, I'm fascinated by all of this because it is obviously a passion.

So music is obviously a passion.

You're obviously very talented at it.

But it's so interesting to me that it is more than even wanting to be a full-time musician.

It's wanting to progress further into being, like you guys said, a business and then empowering people and empowering other musicians and empowering musicians who don't have representation for whatever reason.

And I feel like a lot of people talk the talk, and they talk about these ideas.

Oh, I wish I could do that or I hope I could do that.

But you're actually doing it.

So how did you get to do that?

- It started with education.

It starts with education.

A lot of us come from a teaching background.

We're currently teaching.

And when I say teaching, that's in any capacity.

For you, music and other things probably too.

You teach also.

(laughs) Why'd you make that face?

- I will say, to piggyback off of Gabby, this is the first time, even at my school, that I'm seeing a diverse, a diverse group of students.

I have so many three-year-olds and five-year-olds who are little girls.

And growing up, I did not see that, you know?

And I'm pretty sure me as their teacher, that's something that I at least did not see when I grew up in the '90s, I'm giving my age.

But I think it's cool and it's important for us to be seen and for young girls and young boys to see us and like, oh yeah, that's possible.

- So is there a stigma for women in rock and roll?

- [Kiki] Oh, absolutely.

- I think there's a stigma for women in a lot of spaces, like the earth.

But specifically in music for sure.

And especially when we zoom into like rock and roll.

Music is a universal, it's a universal tool, but I think when you remove voices from it, specifically voices of color, you kind of set up the world to be in a place where everyone's voices are not heard.

People are not seeing music as a lens that they can use to find themselves or to find freedom or to connect with others.

♪ Someone begging for the answers ♪ ♪ Unanswered, commander ♪ ♪ Reclaiming all that's mine ♪ ♪ Wow ♪ (angsty energetic music) ♪ The time is now, time to fight ♪ ♪ Reclaiming all that's mine ♪ (music fades) - [Announcer] Coming up, from Marietta, Georgia, a working musician who's no stranger to adventure.

(light cheerful music) - [Narrator] Community, learning, working, playing, celebrating, doing life is always better together.

At GPB, we aim to provide you with the tools to be able to do life together well.

Our mission to educate, inform, and entertain inspires everything.

From our wide range of programming, to our stimulating radio conversations, to our fun in-person events, we've got something for everyone.

Visit gpb.org/community to learn more about our upcoming events.

- [Announcer] And now from Marietta, Georgia, a working musician who has plenty of stories to tell, this is Reverend Hylton.

♪ Screamed at the moon ♪ (soft acoustic music) ♪ The night I met you ♪ ♪ Mud on our boots ♪ ♪ Keep us from the carpeted room but ♪ ♪ We'll take them off 'cause ♪ ♪ We ain't leaving anytime soon ♪ ♪ Voices are raised up ♪ ♪ 'Cause we've got some loving to do and ♪ ♪ We carry on ♪ ♪ Beyond the path ♪ ♪ We never knew and ♪ ♪ The sun at our backs ♪ ♪ And our future in view and ♪ ♪ Our silhouettes ♪ ♪ Shine ♪ ♪ Something new ♪ ♪ Dance away days ♪ ♪ Held each other all night ♪ ♪ We tell the tales ♪ ♪ About how we want to live right and ♪ ♪ When the day breaks we'll ♪ ♪ Ride off into the light ♪ - [Reverend] My name's Reverend Hylton, I'm from Marietta, Georgia, and I play Americana Folk singer-songwriter.

I just keep listing the genres, but mostly singer-songwriter.

- It's you and a guitar writing songs, and then you play them with a band sometimes?

- Sometimes, yeah.

If I'm doing a bigger show, a bass guitar, like stand-up bass, fiddle player, sometimes accordion, sometimes mandolin.

But most of the time, it's gonna be just me, acoustic guitar, telling stories and singing songs.

♪ Stars have shown bright ♪ ♪ Since the moment you came and ♪ ♪ I have felt warm ♪ ♪ Those nights out on the plains and ♪ ♪ I know that you are ♪ ♪ Feeling the same and ♪ ♪ We'll make a life work ♪ ♪ Putting in a frame and ♪ ♪ We carry on ♪ ♪ Beyond the path ♪ ♪ We never knew and ♪ ♪ The sun at our backs ♪ ♪ And our future in view and ♪ ♪ Our silhouettes ♪ ♪ Will shine ♪ ♪ Something new ♪ ♪ We carry on ♪ ♪ Beyond the path ♪ ♪ We never knew and ♪ ♪ The sun at our backs ♪ ♪ And our future in view and ♪ ♪ Our silhouettes will shine ♪ (music fades) - [Reverend] For most of my 20s, the longest I stayed in one place was like 10 months.

It was always... I think like looking at that time period, the reason it was 10 months is because it took 10 months for me to blow up the place where I was at.

You know, it was time to like, after 10 months, it was time to go.

I did two seasons on a ski resort.

I lived in Copper Mountain, Colorado and snowboarded every day for two seasons.

And from there I ended up living on a sailboat down in the Keys and then I lived in some beach towns.

I mean, it was always just... San Francisco.

I mean, it was just... I think at a young age, I had a very adventurous life that I was looking for.

And when I was 18, I graduated high school.

My grandmother sent me out to my uncle's.

He had moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

And I just remember he took me to Banff National Forest and I did this hike that, it was called the Seven Glacier Hike and I just... And I kind of left him behind and I walked up this trail and I sat on this ledge and I'm just surrounded by the Colorado Rockies.

And it was just like the instant wanderlust.

And I think I just continued to chase that, you know?

Having these, these adventures and seeing the United States in a way that I wanted to.

♪ Open my eyes ♪ ♪ Middle of the night ♪ ♪ Awoken by moon beams, oh ♪ ♪ Shining so bright ♪ ♪ I feel your love ♪ ♪ That blue light ♪ ♪ I hear the rivers whisper, oh ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ ♪ Everything is alright ♪ (warm upbeat music) ♪ 'Cause time, it can't hold you ♪ ♪ When you're ready to let go ♪ ♪ The river will guide you ♪ ♪ When you're living in the flow ♪ ♪ So listen for the whispers ♪ ♪ And she will let you know ♪ ♪ She will let you know ♪ (music fades) - [Jeremy] What's it like to live in a van?

- It's great.

- Yeah?

- Yeah, yeah.

It made sense to me, like I... When I started getting back on the road, I had a 4Runner and I would go out and I would do like these two-month runs.

And it would be like in two months, I'd do 55 shows or something, and it would just be nonstop.

You play a show, you get up, you go, and you were meeting all these great people and going to these really cool places.

I wasn't able to experience these cool places or really nurture these relationships and these communities that I would go into every night.

So the idea of finding some way that I could just stay on the road... And that was before I'd really discovered van life and I was actually coming back from Montana.

I was in Bozeman and I had to like... I think I had like two and a half days to get back for some rehearsal for, I think, a Willie Nelson Night that I was doing at Smith's Olde Bar.

And we left at the last minute in order to make it back in time.

And on the way back, I was like, "Okay, how do I figure out how to stay on the road?"

And that's when I discovered van life.

And a couple months later, I bought the van and I took about two months to build it out.

And I'd spent enough time living in cars and traveling the country that I kind of knew what I wanted in building the van.

Yeah, I mean it just... For me, it was a small space, it made sense.

You have this thing where I got rid of everything, and it was so minimalistic.

And the idea of if you wanted to add something to your life, you had to consciously be like, "I've gotta get rid of something in order to add it to the van."

And yeah, I loved it.

I mean, to live... At the end of the night, people would be like, "Do you need a place to stay?"

And I was like, "Eh, you got a flat place to park the van?"

And then my bedroom was everywhere I went.

Wrote so many songs in there and so many adventures.

Yeah, it was a hell of a lifestyle.

(gentle intimate music) ♪ I'm having trouble tonight ♪ ♪ Keeping it between the lines ♪ ♪ I'm getting lost inside of my heart ♪ ♪ I'm stuck here in this ditch ♪ ♪ Going nowhere pretty damn quick ♪ ♪ What's the opposite of homesick ♪ ♪ And I quit chasing dreams ♪ ♪ Being down is all I seem to be ♪ ♪ Need that spark to help me see ♪ ♪ 'Cause wintertime's getting me ♪ ♪ She's got her claws real deep ♪ ♪ I need that spring to set me free ♪ ♪ So give me a night underneath the stars ♪ ♪ Away from the light ♪ ♪ And the sound of the cars ♪ ♪ Give me a fire ♪ ♪ Good conversations are all I desire ♪ ♪ So give me a night ♪ ♪ Underneath the stars ♪ - You seem like you're very in touch with your emotions.

You're very in touch with your inner self.

And you write passionately.

Where does that come from?

- [Reverend] It comes from having music as my therapy.

And I don't know, I'm not really sure why my music has always been so personal, but it's always told the story of my life.

But it's also been, in my 20s, it was like when I was going through some horrible breakup or whatever.

I knew that I was finally over it when the song was done, you know?

But yeah, I mean, it is my therapy.

It's the way that I'm able to stay connected with what's going on.

I've done a lot of therapy, as well.

(chuckles) That's helped out as well.

But I think for me, I realized that the worst place that I can be is stuck between my ears.

So if I have the ability to get what's going on inside of here out, then that's extremely helpful for me.

And then also, the songs, they're kind of like timestamps, you know?

I can tap into those things every time I perform them.

- Do you recognize that there's lots of people who hear these stories that you're telling that live vicariously through you?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, people tell me it all the time.

They don't necessarily as much anymore.

- Well, I guess you've slowed down a little bit because like you said, you're about to be a father.

So as we're recording this, it's July of 2025.

But this will come out after your child is born.

Eventually he's gonna get to see it.

So what would you say to him?

- Honestly, always follow the dream.

Whatever it is.

If it's baseball, if it's music, always follow it.

And be nice to your mama.

- What about you, should he be nice to you?

- (chuckles) He should be nice to me too, yeah.

(Jeremy laughs) Yeah.

♪ Whichever way the wind, it blows ♪ ♪ That's where I wanna go ♪ ♪ The weather is fast ♪ ♪ If it is slow ♪ ♪ Whichever way the wind, it blows ♪ ♪ So give me a night ♪ ♪ Underneath the stars ♪ ♪ Away from the light ♪ ♪ And the sound of the cars ♪ ♪ Give me a fire, good conversations ♪ - [Announcer] Do you wanna hear more songs and stories?

Check out our podcast at gpb.org/peachjam.

♪ Give me a night underneath the stars ♪ (music fades) - [Announcer] Thanks for watching.

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