Autism Acceptance Month with Pedal Steel Noah 🎵
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The Ten News: Season 4, Episode 38
Today on The Ten News 💚 April is Autism Acceptance Month, a time to celebrate the contributions and unique abilities of people with Autism 🎵 Special Guest and YouTube star, Pedal Steel Noah stops by the studio with his family to talk about his music and how he's raising awareness for Autism 💭 And, on the trivia throne: what Texas city is the 'Live Music Capital of the World'?
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TRANSCRIPT:
INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
RYAN: No, I think it’s more like… <SFX RYAN tries again, it’s worse>
PAM: Uhhhh, Ry, you good?
RYAN: Oh I’m great, thanks for asking.
PAM: Why does it sound like your mouth is farting?
RYAN: I’m practicing my beatboxing because one of my favorite youtube musicians is coming by to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month!
PAM: Do you want some tips? I’m actually pretty good at–
RYAN: Nah, I got it. <SFX RYAN fails miserably>
PAM: Alright, well, I’m gonna start the show… I’m Pamela Kirkland.
RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard. It’s Thursday, April 25th.
PAM: This is the Ten News.
PAM: April is Autism Acceptance Month.
RYAN: It’s a month to celebrate the contributions and unique abilities of people with Autism.
PAM: Autism Spectrum Disorder is a genetic mutation that changes how a person’s brain develops. People with Autism communicate and learn differently, and might move differently, or do repetitive behaviors.
RYAN: Sometimes you’ll hear the term neurodivergent. People with Autism, as well as people with ADHD, people with Down Syndrome, and people with Dyslexia are considered neurodivergent, which just means their brains work a little differently than neurotypical people.
PAM: It’s kind of like the difference between computer operating systems - macs work differently than pcs, but both are great: they’re just different! People with Autism can also have some impressive superpowers: amazing memories, strength in subjects like math, science, and engineering, and exceptional honesty.
RYAN: Autism Acceptance Month has been held every year since 1972, although it was called Autism Awareness Month for many years. The name changed because the Autism community wants to move beyond appreciating differences to inclusion and greater understanding of what it means to be autistic.
PAM: By learning more about the experiences of people with autism we can create spaces and events that are welcoming and accommodating for everyone. So, what can you do to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month?
RYAN: One of the best things you can do is GET CURIOUS! Find out more about Autism, so you can help your school, your teams, and your family and friends be more inclusive.
PAM: You can go to local events and fundraise for organizations near you that support kids and adults with Autism.
RYAN: And looking for a good book to read? Check out ‘Ella Autie’ - it’s a book written and illustrated by a person with Autism, all about a 4th grader named Ella.
PAM: Are you a kid with Autism? Do you have ideas about how The Ten News can do more to include you? Let us know! Visit our website at the Ten News Dot Com Slash Contact to write in or call us at 1-877-TEN-NEWS
RYAN: Total side note but the trailer for Transformers One just dropped. I love the Transformers, and Transformers One is an animated origin story for Optimus Prime and Megatron. Chris Hemsworth, who you might know as Thor, is playing Optimus Prime and Brian Tyree Henry, who you might recognize as the voice of Miles Morales’ dad in Across the Spiderverse will be playing Megatron. Scarlett Johansson and Keegan Michael Key are also in it, and if you want to see why I’m so hyped, check the link in our show notes.
RYAN: Pssssst! Pam! They’re here!
PAM: Wait, who, is…where?
RYAN: Our special guests! Kap’s interviewing them right now!
PAM: Ohhh you mean Pedal Steel Noah and his family?
RYAN: YES!
PAM: Ahhh! He’s one of my favorite YouTubers! Let’s listen in!
TRACY: I'm very excited to be here today. With the famous Petal Steel Noah and his brother, Nate, and he's also joined by his parents, Jay and Christine. And we're going to talk today about, the amazing music that the family does and why.
NOAH: Yeah. I'm 16 years old and my name is Noah. I live in Austin. And my name is Pedal Steel Noah.
TRACY: Great. And Nate, introduce yourself.
NATE: I'm Nathaniel Faulkner. I'm the bassist of the group. [00:00:30] I am 13 years old and I also lived in Austin, Texas.
TRACY: So Noah, not all of our listeners may know what the pedal steel is. Could you explain it?
NOAH: Yeah, the pedal steel is it's like a, it's a 10 strain lap steel, flat. It's got four bars. It's got three pedals on the bottom and three pedals on high. You use your knees, you use your foot. Yeah, you use the slide. Well, it does take, well, a lot of practice.
TRACY: And then how did you get started with it?
NOAH: So I listened to George Strait, God and Country Music, and I like how Sustained Pedal Steel is, the vibrato, chimes, and like how it moves, rises, and yeah, picks the low bits. It does sound like a chicken. Like whenever I started listening to 50s and 60s country music, I just learned to pelt steel how it does, by steel picking.
TRACY: You've been inspired by some other music too, right?
NOAH: Yes. Yeah, definitely.
TRACY: Like 80s music now, Nate, your brother's in the band. Is it fun playing with your family?
NATE: It's amazing. I love playing guitar, playing bass. It's so fun. And I love playing with my family at the same time. It's amazing. Yeah, I like teaching him. Teaching him, like, a lot of stuff. He's teaching me a bunch. Yes.
TRACY: And then tell us about your dog, because I saw on, Instagram and some of your YouTube videos that Kara seems to be in the band, too.
NOAH: Yeah. Kara, she's like our mascot.
TRACY: Does Kara have favorite songs? Does she ever bark along with things? She doesn't bark a lot.
NOAH: That's a rumor.
TRACY: Okay, so Noah, you have an album that just came out, Texas Madness. What inspired it?
NOAH: Well, it's about my life, What I like the most and yeah, some emotional music may help me manage my emotions because Yeah, emotional music.
TRACY: And why did you release it now?
NOAH: Well, because I thought it'd be a good idea to make it like a soundtrack of my life and you also released it now because you wanted to draw awareness to autism.
TRACY: And so you have autism?
NOAH: Yes, I do have autism.
TRACY: And what would you like our listeners to know about autism?
NOAH: Sometimes I have a hard time talking and a hard time listening. I mean, like I had a hard time being in like school. And I want to be homeschooled just to like free my mind about some genres and music to flow in. Uh, yeah, I think, yeah. Nate's trying to say is be patient. I think when you have, you know, people autism, you have to be patient. Be patient with them, and you have to be, be kind, always hear them through, let them explain themselves, always, just listen and be patient. That's, that's two things I would give tips to say.
TRACY: I think that's wonderful, that's really wonderful. How do you feel like music has helped you express yourself?
NOAH: Well, um, I feel proud and I feel happy when people like my music.
TRACY: And you do have some very famous fans, Noah. How do you feel about that?
NOAH: Yeah. I feel great. I feel great and happy when somebody wants to be my friend.
TRACY: Have you been surprised by all the attention that you've gotten on, on Instagram?
NOAH: Well, yeah. Yes.
TRACY: How about for mom and dad? how's that been for you?
NOAH’S PARENTS: Oh, it's, it's, it's been awesome. It's, um, you know, some of the feedback we've gotten from, you know, big bands and like, uh, people that we grew up listening to, it's, it's incredible to, uh, to have that sort of feedback coming, especially to our kids. And, um, their support is, is, uh, it's huge. You know, it keeps us motivated to keep making songs every day. And, um, the boys have done a song a day for over a year now. So we're just going to keep doing it because it seems to be, uh, it has a positive impact for a lot of people. We get a lot of feedback that. I mean, I think for us, like we just want, you know, everyone's given us just such amazing support and feedback that, you know, Noah's, you know, is, is inspirational. And we've just, uh, we've just tried to do, we've heavily influenced by Temple Grandin and what she said of just trying to find, our kiddos strengths and, and really give them, you know, as much support as possible. And so. That's kind of,, if we could say anything about awareness, that would be the message. Just that, everyone has beautiful gifts. Um, they deserve to be shared and unlocked. And some of, some, some of us just need more support than others, so. And be patient.
TRACY: I love that. One last question for you, Noah. So you just finished, um, being at South by Southwest. You have this amazing album that just came out. What's next?
NOAH: Well, I might be going on tour or something like, uh, I am like waiting for like an epic summer in 2024, a big, big epic summer.
TRACY: That is great. And then, Noah, where should people follow you? Can you tell our listeners your, your Instagram handle?
NOAH: They could follow me on YouTube, TikTok, well, mostly Instagram. Yeah, definitely @Pedal Steel Noah. We're also on Spotify. They should follow us on Spotify.
TRACY: Perfect. All right. Thank you.
RYAN: Thanks so much for joining us Noah and fam! It was an honor having you here!
PAM: If you wanna check out more of Pedal Steel Noah’s stuff, check out the link to his youtube channel in our show notes!
<SFX Trivia Room door opens>
<SFX shiny sparkly magical>
OWEN: Welcome to the Trivia Room!
PAM: O to the wen. How are you?
OWEN: Hi Pam! I’m good thanks! What’s up?
PAM: Ryan’s currently fan boying over Pedal Steel Noah, I thought I’d come by for some trivia…
OWEN: The throne is ready for you, but are YOU ready for the throne?!
PAM: You better believe it.
OWEN: In honor of Pedal Steel Noah’s visit, I wanted to do a little trivia about the 28th state in the US: Texas. Which city in Texas holds the title of the 'Live Music Capital of the World' Is it:
Austin
Houston or
Dallas
OWEN: The answer is…<SFX drumroll> A! Austin’s official city slogan calls it the 'Live Music Capital of the World and is home to many great artists. But that’s not all, Austin is also the capital of Texas!
OWEN: Thanks for playing PAM!
PAM : Thanks for having me Owen!
OWEN: Ten’ers, if you have a great trivia question or want to sit on the Trivia Throne, leave us a message at 877-TEN-NEWS and we might have you on the show!
<sfx shimmer/shine fades and door closes>
RYAN: Okay, Steel Pedal Noah inspired me…check this out, Pam. <SFX RYAN beatboxes, pretty well!>
PAM: Wow! That was pretty good, Ry! Let me have a try.
RYAN: Ummmmm. Pam? That was amazing. How did you do that.
PAM: Practice, practice, practice. Also, I listened when someone offered to teach me.
RYAN: Yeah, that tracks. Wanna teach me?
PAM: Of course! Right after we give Ten News Snaps to one of our listeners…
RYAN: But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups.
RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps! <Grand fanfare SFX>
PAM: A Ten’er named Lila 072513 left this review on Apple podcasts: “The Ten news is amazing because I can actually understand what’s going on because you explain it so well but I would like more and love the Ten Things You Need To Know.”
RYAN: Thank you Lila! We’re bringing back Ten Things You Need to Know, just for you! And everyone else who misses it. And thanks for listening to the Ten News! Our episodes drop on Thursdays. And if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten’ers Club on our website. And to our grownups, if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!
PAM: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts, and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
RYAN: The Ten News creative team is trying to be as cool as Steel Pedal Noah and includes Tracey Crooks, Logan DeYoung, Corinne Catibayan, and Carson Potter. Big thanks to Owen for contributing to this episode.
PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.
RYAN: I’m Ryan Willard.
PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, thanks for listening to The Ten News.
