Home with Alexis Michaud · Episode 6

Paul Terry

Drummer, talk show host, teacher, Ed Sullivan. Paul Terry on driving to Las Vegas in a Gremlin and building career after career here, plus Alexis's Honey Salt shout-out and credit-first home tip.

Hosted by Alexis MichaudAugust 2, 201934:34

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Paul Terry, Entertainer

On this episode of Home with Alexis Michaud we speak with entertainer Paul Terry who plays Ed Sullivan in the Beatles Show in Las Vegas.

Paul is one of those rare people who followed his dreams in life. From drumming and driving his way across the United States, to having his own talk show in Las Vegas interviewing Sammy Davis Jr., the Mamas and the Papas, and locals like Benny Binion to name a few, to doing stand-up comedy, and now playing Ed Sullivan in the Beatles Show at Planet Hollywood.

Paul grew up in Binghamton, New York, where a paper route paid for his first drum kit. He started lessons at 12 and was playing in bands by 15, working a 50-mile radius around upstate New York and the Finger Lakes while the Beatles and the Doors ruled the radio. At SUNY Cortland, he majored in recreation education, minored in music, and played in the jazz band. The band worked so much by his junior year that he nearly dropped out. He stayed for the backup degree, a choice that later opened the door to teaching.

His college comedy partner, Kelly McDonald, beat him to Las Vegas and kept calling: come out for a few months and see if you like it. Paul drove west in a Gremlin with his drums, took a room service job at the Marina Hotel (long closed; its site across from the Tropicana is now part of the MGM Grand), and hit the late ’70s open mic circuit, when a comic could drive clear across town in fifteen minutes and find a stage at the Continental, the Frontier, or an off-Strip bar nearly every night of the week.

The act split up, Kelly headed for Los Angeles, and Paul found security at Channel 10, the city’s PBS station, now Vegas PBS. He spent nine and a half years there and hosted a community affairs talk show from 1981 to 1985. Las Vegas was a much smaller market then, and the names that passed through his show and studio included the Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Bridges, Sammy Davis Jr., Milton Berle, Benny Binion, and Steve Wynn. In 1986, he left the steady paycheck to tour with a band for a year, playing keyboards and drums. When the band broke up, a teaching interview became a thirteen-and-a-half-year classroom career: music first, then drama after a master’s degree, finishing at Mojave High School, where his students put on a play the school had never managed before.

Teaching gave way to a home video business that ran 21 years, and three and a half years into it came the tip that changed everything. The Fab Four needed an emergency Ed Sullivan at the Hilton because their regular host had gone on the road as Buddy Holly. Kelly had the inside track but also a cruise he could not escape, so Paul auditioned instead, beard and all. The verdict: shave the beard, and the job is yours. He spent his early shows rewriting the act’s old jokes, which drew groans, into material of his own, honed night after night. As Paul tells it here, the show had settled into the Saxe Theater at Planet Hollywood, inside the Miracle Mile Shops, at 5:30, Monday through Thursday. Beatleshow still plays the Saxe today.

This episode’s local business shout-out goes to Honey Salt in Summerlin. Alexis calls herself a sucker for its Southern vibe: the fried chicken is her favorite, the desserts are outrageous, and as someone who notices design, she gives the thoughtful lighting, comfortable seating, and impeccable service an A+. The restaurant is still serving farm-to-table comfort food at 1031 S. Rampart Boulevard.

Her home tip this episode is for buyers: first things first, get your credit in order. Alexis refers her clients to reputable lenders who sit down and explain what a credit score means, what current interest rates are, what ratios mean, and which lending programs fit a buyer’s profession or veteran status. Her doctor and lawyer clients, for example, have specialized lending options that are not available to everyone. Once you know what you can comfortably afford, then it is time to find that dream home.

Paul’s advice for anyone weighing a change of direction: follow your heart, but prepare first. Do the homework, put in the time, lay the foundation, and then take the leap of faith. His own life keeps proving the pattern, from the backup degree that became a teaching career to a shaved beard that became a signature role. And what keeps him in Las Vegas after four decades is the family rooted here, a 24-hour town where you can have breakfast at 3 in the morning, a symphony and the Smith Center, and the outdoors waiting within an hour’s drive.

Episode highlights

  • Local business shout-out: Honey Salt in Summerlin. Alexis is a sucker for the Southern vibe: the fried chicken is her favorite, the desserts are outrageous, and the lighting, seating, and service get an A+.
  • Home tip for buyers: first things first, get your credit in order. A great lender will explain your credit score, current interest rates, what ratios mean, and the lending programs available to you, including specialized options for doctors and lawyers.
  • Guest story: a Binghamton drummer who drove to Las Vegas in a Gremlin in the late ’70s, worked room service at the Marina, spent nine and a half years at Channel 10 hosting a talk show (1981 to 1985), toured with a band, taught music and drama for 13 and a half years, ran a home video business for 21 years, and has played Ed Sullivan in The Beatles Show at Planet Hollywood for 17 years.
Alexis Michaud

Alexis Michaud

Native Nevadan, luxury REALTOR with Huntington & Ellis, and tax and corporate attorney. I bring data, negotiation, and disciplined judgment to every move.

Transcript

Machine transcript of a phone recording of Spotify playback (the original audio files are no longer available). Lightly corrected; speaker labels and a few names are best-effort, and anything marked [unclear] or [unverified] needs a listen. Timestamps are from the start of the episode. Assembled from two phone recordings that overlap around 9:26; the full episode is covered.

[0:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Welcome to Home with Alexis Michaud, [interesting] stories and conversations with the individuals that make up the fabric of our community. In every episode, we will give a shout out to a local business, provide some home tips, and have an interesting conversation with someone who makes our community a better place to call home. Today, we'd like to give a shout out to a favorite local business, Honey Salt, located in Summerlin. I'm a sucker for that Southern vibe, and Honey Salt hits on all cylinders. The fried chicken is my favorite, and the desserts are just outrageous. As someone who appreciates good design, well thought out lighting, comfortable seating and impeccable service, Honey Salt gets an A+. I love local businesses and this is a favorite. Now onto our guest. My guest today is Paul Terry, actor, entertainer as Ed Sullivan in The Beatles Show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Paul grew up in upstate New York, was a kid in a band, drumming and driving his way around to neighboring cities just living the dream. He eventually ends up in Las Vegas, a host of his own talk show, and for the last 17 years, he's played the role of Ed Sullivan in The Beatles show. His path is fascinating. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce everyone to Paul Terry. Paul Terry, full disclosure, is one of my many cousins who is an amazing soul. [He started] out as an educator and eventually followed his passion into entertainment. Paul, welcome.

[2:03] PAUL TERRY: Thank you. Nice to be here this morning.

[2:03] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Thank you so much. So Paul, you're one of many people who make our city interesting. One of the reasons why people come to town time and time again. But you didn't start out as an entertainer. So I want to start from the beginning and one of my favorite questions to ask anyone is what did you want to be when you grew up?

[2:32] PAUL TERRY: Oh, I had a variety of interests and goals. I guess my first passion was drumming and music. And I thought I was going to be doing that the rest of my life as a full-time thing. But you know, careers change and priorities change and so I just went with the flow.

[2:57] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And where were you? Oh go ahead.

[2:59] PAUL TERRY: Although I did do that professionally for a while and got a lot of enjoyment out of it. It just wasn't meant to, I had too many other things pulling me in the other directions.

[3:09] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So were you the kid in high school, you were in a band and you just wanted to drum? That was going to be a way of life. like where were you or how old were you when you did that professionally?

[3:20] PAUL TERRY: Well I started at 12, taken lessons and I had a paper route and bought my first drum kit by myself and started playing in bands at 15 and we were pretty successful in the area. We were in demand and you know it was pretty heady stuff for 16, 17 year olds and you know So this was at the time of a huge explosion of rock and roll. You know, the Beatles were big and the Doors. And so I'm giving my age away now. But it was a great time to be a musician and fun. We traveled. We had house fathers and moms that would load up the van for us and take us places. And it was great.

[4:08] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, that is amazing. And where did you grow up? or were you during this time?

[4:14] PAUL TERRY: Upstate New York, I'm from Binghamton, New York.

[4:17] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, okay, so were you like playing in the city? Were you playing in small towns?

[4:22] PAUL TERRY: We played mostly within a, I guess, a 50 mile radius. We'd go down to Pennsylvania and play, and we'd go up to the Finger Lake region and play. And you know, like all bands, you know, we'd lose members and reconvene as other groups and stuff. So I was in about four different configurations in that time of playing. And so I got a lot of different experiences. Of course, when I was of age, when I was in college, I still played, but it was limited to weekends and stuff.

[4:59] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And where did you go to school?

[5:01] PAUL TERRY: SUNY Cortland, which is a teacher's college. okay i was my major was recreation education from people that you know they make fun of it play all the time you know learn how to play games watered-down version of what it was but at that time it was becoming a big the big push in hospitals community centers to have professional people run their recreation program so i just got into that because my dad thought it was a great career goal and my stepdad and i didn't have any other i was aimless so but i also i also took a lot of music classes i had enough classes to minor in music and um... played in the jazz band and then by the time i was a junior we were playing out so much i almost dropped out of school I was doing well and I thought I might as well stick it out and get my back up degree.

[6:07] ALEXIS MICHAUD: You're back up degree.

[6:08] PAUL TERRY: Which I'm glad I did because that led me into teaching later on.

[6:12] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So then how did you get, so you're going to school back east and then I actually don't know the story. How did you get to Vegas?

[6:19] PAUL TERRY: Well I have a great friend that's still here, he's named Kelly McDonald [spelling unverified], he's a stand-up comic. He actually became, he hit that one ladder of fame. he was on Johnny Carson and Jay Leno. But previous to that we were buddies in college and we had an act, we did a comedy act together where I played music and he played music and we did jokes and stuff. And he graduated the year before me and came out to Vegas because his cousin lived here and he got a job as a waiter while trying to do some side gigs. he kept saying, he said, he kept saying, as soon as you graduate you gotta come out here, gotta come here. Well I waited about half a year and it was painful to make that decision but um, cause I was in a band at the time and he just kept encouraging me, he says, you don't have to make a lifetime commitment, just come out for a few months and see if you like it. So I did. And he you know, kinda, I was broke at the time, I just drove out in my Gremlin with my drums and just, you know, took a chance and never looked back, really.

[7:32] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I think that so many stories are like that. I love this. Okay, keep going.

[7:35] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, we started doing some comedy as a team, but that went nowhere because, number one, we weren't that good. Number two, we had to earn a living elsewhere. So he was a waiter, and I got a job as a room service waiter. And did that for you.

[7:53] ALEXIS MICHAUD: What hotel were you at?

[7:55] PAUL TERRY: It was at the Marina, which has been closed now for probably two decades.

[8:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, I absolutely remember the Marina.

[8:02] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, the Marina Hotel. And I was there for about a year and a half.

[8:08] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And the Marina is right across. It's the building is still there, right? Or no?

[8:13] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, it became the MGM, or they tore most of it down, and then it became the MGM. right that property anyway yeah right across from the Tropicana okay and yeah

[8:26] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So so where were you doing your comedy act your shows like what's the comedy scene like for two young guys in Las Vegas in what when was this maybe the 70s?

[8:36] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, it was in the late 70s. Well, they had a lot of, you know, the town was a a lot smaller than you know you know so you could basically drive across town in fifteen minutes one end of the other good old days and there weren't that many places but but it was a thriving little comedy scene you know there were there were open mike nights at almost every night of the week somewhere continental hotel frontier off-strip at bars and restaurants And so we hit them all. We just do the route. We just do our five, 10 minutes. And sometimes did great and sometimes bombed. That's how you learn. Right.

[9:26] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Such a tough business, though, isn't it? From the little bit I know about it. You've got to be so brave to get up there.

[9:31] PAUL TERRY: Oh, it's brutal. But if you have the passion, you know, you just do it anyway. And Kelly's, he quickly though, we stayed friends, but we realized as a partnership, it wasn't working as well as we had thought. And so we both developed our own stand-up acts individually. And he took off like a rocket. He decided he wanted to go to LA and do the whole, you know, live out of your car, be a waiter on the side and starve until you can get a gig. He did that at the Comedy Store and [club name unclear] and then we stayed in touch. And I even went out a couple times and did some sets in LA. But he was really more motivated than me. And in the meantime, I got a steady gig at Channel 10, the PBS station. So I kind of got lulled into security, having a regular paycheck. There's something sexy about that. You know? So I kind of sublimated my entertainment gene to doing that, which was fine, because I was on the air, I had a talk show, and was in community affairs and did commercials and specials and documentaries and stuff.

[10:54] Break: home tip

[10:54] ALEXIS MICHAUD: When we come back, Paul talks about his talk show days, the interviews he did with international celebrities and musicians and how it led him to where he is today. Today's home tip of this episode is for all our buyers out there. I often get asked what needs to be done to get ready to buy a home. First things first, get your credit in order. I refer my clients to reputable lenders who are consummate professionals. A great lender will sit down with you and explain what your credit score means, what current interest rates are, what ratios mean, and any different lending programs available to you based upon your profession, your veteran status and other factors. My doctor and lawyer clients, for example, enjoy specialized lending options that aren't always available to every profession. Once you know what you can comfortably afford, then it's time to find that dream home.

[11:56] Back to the interview

[11:56] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So tell me about that. Like tell me who was your, I don't want to say favorite guest as if the others weren't your favorite, but like one story that sticks out to you about having that talk show that you remember.

[12:08] PAUL TERRY: Well, I had, actually because we're Vegas, even though it was a community affairs talk show a little market, back then our market was like 28 in the country or something. We had a lot of celebrities come through and they wanted publicity like everybody else, even in a small town of Vegas at that time. I had a lot of celebrity guests that went through my show, especially the local people that were big. So, Benny Binion and Steve Wynn, and I had, you know, came through there, was, you know, at the time he was big and liked Bill Cosby. Yeah, he did a lot for our city, back then, all those concerts he used to have. Sammy Davis Jr.

[12:55] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, really?

[12:58] PAUL TERRY: Milton Berle, even though I didn't interview them directly, they were there and I was involved in production with them. But on my show I had the Mamas and the Papas and Lloyd Bridges and lots of guests.

[13:14] ALEXIS MICHAUD: The history that you've seen. Oh my goodness. Do you remember any one of those interviews just standing out more than the others?

[13:22] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, the Mamas and the Papas interview was pretty interesting because at the time, Mackenzie Phillips had replaced the Michelle Phillips role. Mackenzie Phillips was John Phillips' daughter. daughter, I don't know if you know the history of the Mamas and the Papas, but they were real big at the time. But they reconvened. Mama Cass had died and then Spanky McFarlane took her place. But they were still touring the country and big headliners, you know. And so they came through because they were performing in Vegas. And later on it came out that Mackenzie Phillips had, you know, she was on One Day at a Time.

[14:02] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh yeah, absolutely.

[14:03] PAUL TERRY: And she was currently just on tour with them. And then it came out later that she had a drug problem. Well, I know for a fact when she was on the show that she was in the bathroom for quite a while.

[14:16] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh no.

[14:16] PAUL TERRY: While we were waiting for production and when she came out it was obvious that she was a little loopy.

[14:23] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right, and back then it was so much easier to hide all of that stuff, right?

[14:27] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, well it wasn't easier to hide it, but it wasn't in the public consciousness as much as it is today. But they were a good interview and I just remember that so clearly that there was this awkward feeling of, ooh, what happened? And then the dynamic changed in the interview because she was obviously not all there.

[14:54] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Well, yeah, oh, that's too bad. So how long did you have the talk show and do all of that work?

[15:03] PAUL TERRY: I was at channel 10 about nine and a half years and I had the talk show for four years, 81 to 85. And then I started to get the itch to do something else.

[15:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yep.

[15:19] PAUL TERRY: At 86 I decided to, I had an offer to go on the road with a band and I had never been all the way touring, you know. So we, because we were a band on the side and we got a contract to go on the road and play, you know, everywhere. So it seems foolish looking back because, you know, I had a good career going and everything but there was nowhere more I could go. I was already a producer writer and the salary was decent, but it wasn't gonna get any better. And I was single and free and it sounded like fun. So for a year we went on the road.

[15:59] ALEXIS MICHAUD: What a blast.

[16:00] PAUL TERRY: That was a lot of fun.

[16:01] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And did you just, because I know you play the piano really well. I like what instruments are you playing in this band?

[16:07] PAUL TERRY: I played the keyboards and drums.

[16:10] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay.

[16:11] PAUL TERRY: So I would jump up from the drums and we'd put it on a synthesizer track, the drum track, and then play some keyboards. And yeah, and these musicians were really good. One of them went on to move to Florida and he's still in demand as a guitarist singer and his wife is a singer. And so yeah, but what was weird is that same guy I'm talking about, Rick, he found his love on the road. And then all of a sudden he was the leader of the band, just dropped out. After nine months, I decided I'm going to get married. That broke up the band. Here I am totally without a job. I didn't go back to Channel 10. They had already replaced me. That was the only time in my life I hadn't been employed totally. There was about a month or two where I was almost not panicking, but I had no money coming in. I had a house and like everybody else bills. To tell you the truth, what I did was I prayed on it. I do have a faith and I knew God watches over you. I prayed on it big time. Even though I'm not Catholic, I did the novena prayer that someone gave me. After doing the novena prayer to Mother Mary, I was desperate. After doing three days of that prayer, I got a call to interview for a teaching job because someone knew that I ... I mean, it was a little more complicated. I had put some feelers out there before that, but nothing was coming of it. But after three days I got an interview for a music position as a music teacher and the guy liked me and hired me. So that began my teaching career.

[18:15] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And then you went and did that. Yeah and were you there for about a decade?

[18:20] PAUL TERRY: I taught for 13 and a half years.

[18:22] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay. There seems to be a pattern here around, yeah, well 9 and a half years, 13 and a half years.

[18:28] PAUL TERRY: Yeah. So I get it though. I get, I kind of outgrow positions or I get a little bit bored and I do want to go explore and do something different and move on. So I've definitely done that repeatedly.

[18:42] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, so then you teach music for 13 and a half years [unclear].

[18:49] PAUL TERRY: Well, actually I taught music for about seven years and then I got my master's in drama and then I started teaching a mix of drama and [music]. I had a theater degree and my last job was at Mojave High School as their drama teacher.

[19:07] ALEXIS MICHAUD: What did you love about it?

[19:09] PAUL TERRY: Oh, just I, you know if it wasn't so tough teaching in the discipline and the paperwork and every teacher knows if any teacher's listening they know the absolute commitment you have to have. Well your husband's a teacher, you know.

[19:27] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right, yes.

[19:28] PAUL TERRY: He's a great teacher.

[19:30] ALEXIS MICHAUD: People think it's an easy job. It is not an easy job.

[19:33] PAUL TERRY: I love certain aspects of teaching and I loved working with kids, but I was not the greatest disciplinarian. I liked the classroom that was full of energy and vitality. Because of that, it was noisy sometimes, especially teaching drama.

[19:51] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Drama.

[19:52] PAUL TERRY: Right. But I also, the position I took was at a pretty rough school. I mean, Mojave was in its infancy and there was a lot of gangs and stuff. It was not the easiest position.

[20:11] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Did you have?

[20:12] PAUL TERRY: Oh, go ahead. The previous drama teacher could never even put on a play. That's how bad it was. And I was able to at least get enough kids interested to put a play on that year.

[20:24] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I love that. Do you have what you probably knew to be gang members in your drama class?

[20:30] PAUL TERRY: In my classes, yes, but not in my after school drama program that put on place.

[20:38] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, just hoping there was...

[20:41] PAUL TERRY: I remember even some kids would come in and they'd be obviously stoned and the deans were just overwhelmed. He'd send a kid there and he'd obviously smell of pot and they couldn't do anything because unless it was, unless they were smoking right in front of him, it was, so yeah, there was a lot of challenges there and that was toward the end of my teaching run and I knew that I had to do something else. So that's when I transitioned into a video business out of the house and again, I never I thought, I'd just do this for a while. I took a year leave of absence. And then that became what, the third major career at home.

[21:31] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right, and so did you end up doing that for about 15 years?

[21:35] PAUL TERRY: 21 years.

[21:36] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, 21 years.

[21:37] PAUL TERRY: But other things on the side, you know.

[21:40] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.

[21:41] PAUL TERRY: That's because I started the Sullivan Beatles show thing 17 years ago. So three and a half years into that run, I auditioned and got a job as a Beatles host.

[21:55] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So let's talk about that because as, by the time you married my cousin, I was still really young and if there are any kids listening, have them not listen. I remember that you would pretend to be like Santa on the phone, like we'd pick up the phone and you could do all these voices these impersonation, obviously I didn't know it was you at the time, all these voices and impersonations and play the piano and sing and just all of this talent and then I didn't realize the background of all the stand-up comedy and all of that. And so now you audition to be Ed Sullivan and let's talk about that show because it's so popular and you've been a part of it for almost two decades now.

[22:41] PAUL TERRY: Well, again, I always feel like there's a divine guiding hand and most of the prayers I've had have always been serendipity. Someone would tip me off to something and then it would just happen. It was never a frantic search for a job or a lot of knocking on doors. I really feel for, because for a while I did some acting on the side and had a head shot and I go to different agencies to try to get some side gigs and I was an extra in some movies and stuff, but I wasn't that passionate about that. So I just did that on the side. But I realized the agony of some people that was their goal and the rejections are amazing. You have to audition for zillions of things to get one good gig sometimes. But for me, I was lucky. Again, my friend Kelly had the comic I told you about. He moved back to town and he did an audition for Ed Sullivan for the Fab Four, who were playing at the Hilton at the time because they needed an emergency fill-in because their guy went on the road as Buddy Holly. And he actually got the gig, because he does a pretty good Ed too. But when they told him the schedule, he had a conflict because he had a cruise coming up and he couldn't get out of it. So he was just telling me about it, and I said, well Kelly, you know I can do Ed. And he says, well then go down and audition. And I had a beard at the time, and no longer hair. And I auditioned with the beard, and they said if you shave the beard, you got the job, so. Done, done, and done. Yeah. So that began a new chapter, which has been pretty interesting. Because for a while, we traveled all over the country, doing old theaters and big venues. And it was pretty fun.

[24:49] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And where's the show at right now?

[24:52] PAUL TERRY: We're in the Saxe Theater at Planet Hollywood in the Miracle Mile shops. There are actually three theaters in that whole mall area. There is the V theater, the Saxe Theater, and then there is a bigger theater where the big concerts are. The Saxe Theater is the middle-sized of all those theaters. There are several shows there. There is Nathan Burton's magic show, which is a fabulous show, in the afternoon. There is Vegas, the show, which is the history of Vegas through song and dance. That's after our show and we're sandwiched in the middle. So our show's at 5.30, Monday through Thursday, pretty much year round.

[25:35] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, that is great. And so can you give us just a little bit of Ed Sullivan, whatever you think is...

[25:41] PAUL TERRY: Well, now it's right here on this stage. The Beatles. Let's hear it for them. Come on.

[25:52] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I love it. I love it. So what advice would you give anybody who is looking to follow their dreams, change careers, like looking back over your history? I mean, you've literally been all over the country. You raised on the East Coast, come out to the West Coast, travel all around, followed your passion numerous times. What have you learned from it? What advice can you pass on?

[26:18] PAUL TERRY: Well, you know, I would just say it sounds cliche, but follow your heart. And obviously there are practical matters because, you know, at some point in there I did get married, which is actually the best thing I ever did. Robin's a wonderful person, as you know. And then we had kids. And so once you have a family, it's not as easy to just say, oh, yeah, I'm just going to follow my passion because you have responsibilities, you have bills and all that. But I know a little bit about your trajectory and you're smart because you did things with balance and in sequence. You got your law degree, you worked at that for a while, you made sure you had all your ducks in a row, you were bringing in good income but then as you were doing that, you transitioning to other things. So I would say definitely prepare. If you're going to make a change, you have to prepare emotionally and maybe by taking classes. You know, none of this happens by just pure happenstance, even though I said there's a guiding hand, you know, the saying, God helps those who help themselves.

[27:36] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yes, help him help you.

[27:38] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, you have to put the time and commitment into whatever it was. For the teaching, as soon as I got the teaching job, they required me to get a lot of credits in my music area, and I had to prove that I got those credits within a year. So I was back to school.

[28:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.

[28:01] PAUL TERRY: I was doing that. For the Ed thing, when I first started doing it, I was not very good. I mean, I could do the impression, but they gave me a bunch of old jokes. And I get a lot of groans and hisses from the audience. And I had to start to write my own material and hone it. And fortunately, it's Groundhog Day. You do the same show every night. So you can try things and weave things in and out that don't work and actually hone it. But getting back to your point, I think to do your homework, you put your time in into preparing and then when it's ready to make that leap of faith, as long as you are relatively sure that what you want to do, then that's when you do it. You just make that leap of faith because you know that you put the commitment in. You laid the foundation. You know what would make a smoother transition.

[29:01] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yep. Tell me what it feels like. Okay, this is a second to last question for you, but tell me what it feels like to be up on that stage. What is it that brings you there every night?

[29:11] PAUL TERRY: Well, the paychecks for what? At this point, because it is Groundhog Day. I love performing, but to do the same thing over and over, you have to make it fresh every night. So it helps to like the people you're working with, and I do. It helps to be good at what you do, and you do that by doing it over and over again. Anybody that's got the entertainment bug knows that once you've been bitten by that bug, there's no feeling in the world that matches a whole room full of laughter.

[29:46] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.

[29:47] PAUL TERRY: And bringing that joy to an audience, it's a reciprocal thing.

[29:54] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I hear that.

[29:55] PAUL TERRY: Your ego gets involved and it's nice to be applauded, but there's also nights when you're You're not as sharp and the audience isn't as responsive, so you have to be able to have some detachment from that as well. It's a dance. It's a little dance. Between, I used to say it takes a lot of neurosis to wanna be up on stage, but it takes a lot of stability to stay there, to be able to do it night after night without you know, not being reliable and going off the deep end with bad behavior or whatever.

[30:37] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right, right. Someone I was listening, I actually think it was maybe Jerry Seinfeld. I watched his, what is, why can't I think of it?

[30:46] PAUL TERRY: The documentary where he was starting again?

[30:48] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Is it the documentary? Maybe it was the documentary or maybe it's comedians in cars getting coffee.

[30:54] PAUL TERRY: Oh right, uh huh.

[30:55] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And he talked about just being up on stage and that he felt like it's the place that he can most be himself is up there. That's like truly who he is. And then for people that really, not even people that necessarily make it big, but that it's the fame or the attention or the feeling, it's like a horse. And you have to learn how to ride it without getting bucked off, without hurting yourself. And so when you said the neuroses to get up there, but the stability to stay, this reminds me of like a race horse.

[31:35] PAUL TERRY: Yeah, I like the horse analogy. That's really good.

[31:37] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I know that was really interesting. So my last question that I ask everybody is, you came to town in your gremlin with your set of drums a long time ago, but you stayed. So what is one of your favorite things about Las Vegas?

[31:53] PAUL TERRY: Wow. Well, you know, obviously the reason I'm here now and so stable now is because of my marriage and children here and roots here. We have, as you know, a wonderful extended family.

[32:09] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yes.

[32:10] PAUL TERRY: That's pretty rare to have a network of people that you can count on to always be there. The social events are great. As far as Vegas itself, as we know, it's a 24-hour town and I know many people that have moved away and then come back because they just get used to the fact that they can go out any time to have breakfast at 3 in the morning if they want or entertain guests anywhere. We do have great entertainment. The knock on Las Vegas used to be it had no culture but now we have a lot of culture.

[32:50] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So much.

[32:51] PAUL TERRY: We have a symphony and the Smith Center and so there's a lot here.

[32:55] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yes.

[32:56] PAUL TERRY: Even if you like the outdoors within a 60 minute ride there's so much to see and do. And you can't beat, you know, yeah, it's hell on earth in the summer months but you can't beat the weather otherwise.

[33:12] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I think the same thing. I love all of that and we're just so lucky to have you Paul. You make our community a better place to call home. So Paul Terry, The Beatles Show at Planet Hollywood, go check them out. It's amazing and thank you for being on the show.

[33:31] PAUL TERRY: Thank you so much for having us. I appreciate it.

[33:36] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Of course. Paul's advice about make a plan and follow it are applicable to any career in any life. Like so many in our city, his talent blesses us and all that sees his show. We are so lucky to have him.

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