Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Hi everyone, and welcome to the it's all for Love podcast. I'm Cheryl Mazza, the healing dancer, your host. This podcast is all about Michael Jackson and how he continues to inspire love in the world and inspires us to be our best selves. In this episode, I am speaking with Buddy Katz from Penzaca, New Jersey. Buddy is a Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury impersonator here in New Jersey. I have met Buddy several times and have even had the pleasure to have him perform at my healing through dance class where I do a Michael Jackson theme class once a year. In this episode, Buddy mentions how us moonwalkers were once called soldiers of love. I don't know why I've never heard of that term, but it makes so much sense and I freaking love it because we are definitely soldiers of love.
Buddy is a soldier of love and he explains how Michael inspires him to show more love to others and the world. If you are watching this episode on YouTube, please make sure to like the video and subscribe to the channel. And feel free to leave us a comment to let us know how you like the episode. If you are listening on any other podcast platform, please make sure to subscribe. And also, I would really love it if you left a five star positive review. I am always looking for more guests to be on my podcast, so if you're interested in telling your Michael Jackson story, please reach out to me at the social medias, on Facebook or Instagram at it's all four Love podcast. Or you can email me at mj itsallforlovemail.com and we can set up a chat. Thank you so much for listening and or watching.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: It's all for love. Hey everyone, welcome to the it's all for Love podcast. The podcast where we talk about Michael Jackson and how he continues to spread love in the world and inspire us to be our best selves. And today I have the wonderful buddy Katz here with us, and he is from Penzaca, New Jersey, and he is a Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury impersonator. And he's fabulous. He's come to some of my healing through dance classes and performed for us. And I'm so excited to have him here to talk about Michael. So welcome, buddy. Thank you so much for being here.
[00:02:31] Speaker C: Thank you. Welcome. Thank you for having me on your show. I'm glad I get to be a guest on your show.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Yeah, it's an honor to have you.
[00:02:38] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: So we'll jump right into it. So I just want to hear your story. Tell me about when you first discovered Michael and how he struck you in the heart.
[00:02:48] Speaker C: Well, the first how I discovered Michael, like, mostly people my age will know Michael is the day he died. That's like a sad. No, like, oh, that's a little. To know him beforehand. No.
Funny enough, he had a couple mentions parts before I knew who he was. Like, there was an Elmo doll that played ABC, we had like a cd player, dancing machine. I'm like, why? This sounds so familiar to me. And then as time progressed and I got to know who Michael was, I'm like, there you go.
So he came into my life a little bit early. Just little bits and mentions.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:28] Speaker C: But, yeah, but like, I know Michael was the day he died. And after that I got to know who he was more and more and started falling in love with his music. And then the we experience came out, which everybody is now announcing now.
Um, that's how most I started impersonating was from there.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Wow. Okay, so how, how old were you when he passed away?
[00:03:53] Speaker C: Believe I was eleven. I was going to be twelve in October. So I was eleven years old.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: All right, so did you know of him before?
[00:04:01] Speaker C: No.
Name Michael Jackson?
[00:04:03] Speaker B: Nope. Okay, so when he passed away, that's when you learned about him and started discovering who he was and started looking into him and all of that. Awesome, awesome. So when did you decide to become an impersonator of Michael?
[00:04:19] Speaker C: I think is when I'm like, well, I was a teenager. I'm like, this is a good way how to get girls and all that stuff. I also been a dancer ever since I was three years old. So I'm like, add that. Add Michael Jackson because he's a big popular person at the moment. So I'm like, hmm, if I started dancing like him, I did not know the word impersonator means until I was told you're an impersonator. I'm like, okay, so. But I started posting him around like maybe like 2010. And what struck? Like I said, the experience game got me started and that's how I got into impersonating and time, progress, and Billie Jean was very big for me. So I'm like, that's the song. That's the song that got me going.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: Oh, gosh.
[00:05:06] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Such an amazing song.
Awesome. So how does Michael inspire you in your life or throughout your life?
[00:05:19] Speaker C: I think he inspired me to show people more love because we need more love in the world we like for everybody around us, there's people who just feel sad all the time. They just need a little more loving, more caring, more respect for each other. It's. We need more of that. Michael shows that to all his fans, and that's what I love to do, just give people more love. Like, how you doing? Just hope your day's going well. And that's why I do some my fans, like, hi, how you doing? I hope your day's going well.
We're just like, hey, hope you're doing well today.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that's. I mean, I think that's, like, the ultimate theme with Michael is love, right? So I feel like we all feel that, like, as fans, as followers, whatever you want to call us, moonwalkers.
[00:06:04] Speaker C: That's what I've been calling us for a long time. Walkers.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:09] Speaker C: One point was soldier of love.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: I'm like, okay, soldier of love? Is that what you said?
[00:06:13] Speaker C: I think that was, like, one point people were calling soldiers of love.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I love that. I love that. Yeah, he was such a soldier of love. And, yeah, Michael just really inspires that energy in all of us. I was just having a conversation with a friend about Michael, of course.
And I was just saying, like, he really taught me, like, how to love people and just how to be that love and show love and just share it with the world. And like you said, we need that, especially now in the world. It's so needed. And I think that's why I feel that a lot of us Michael followers are moonwalkers are really shining right now because we're shining that love that he taught us about.
Do you ever have any, what I call Michael Jackson, synchronicities, how he kind of just shows up magically in your life?
[00:07:13] Speaker C: Oh, yes. Many times. Tell me about it.
It could be, like, anywhere. Going to the store.
I told you that this one was. Last time I saw you, I was at Fye's, and I walked right in there. It was somebody watching me. Didn't. After that thriller played, I'm like, michael, he was testing me today. Okay, Mike, I see how it is. All right, all right.
Yesterday, I actually went to an Fy. No, a couple days ago, I went to Fy's, and I walked around the corner. I saw the bad alpha. I'm like, okay, Mike. And it's like, a couple days ago because I recently just got the two new funko pops they released. I'm like, I went to a Barnes and nobles last time I did. They had the Freddie Mercury one. Don't have. Again. They had the two Michael ones I don't have. So I'm like, Michael on Freddie. Michael, Michael, you come first. You always do.
Once I see them gone, you will never find them again. Right, legs?
[00:08:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, I love that. Whenever, like, I walk into somewhere and just a random Michael song comes on, I think my recent. My most recent synchronicity was I went to a restaurant. There's this restaurant I go to a lot.
And I was there by myself. I was having a really hard day. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna take myself out to lunche. And I was just sitting there, and I'll be there by the Jackson Five came on. I was like, oh, my God.
He just shows up at the exact right time, you know? And I know it's like his music and everything, but to me, that's like, it's just so him, like, showing up, and that's his way of showing love now, you know, in the afterlife. So I love that. If you had to pick one Michael Jackson song that you love the most, what would it be?
[00:09:08] Speaker C: It would be biljing. Because like I said, that was the first song that actually got me started into doing Michael Jackson. And the other thing is when I do Bill Jean, everybody apparently comes out the woodworks and everybody leaves after that song is done. I'm like, okay, all right.
Nobody knows Billie Jean, of course.
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. That was the most iconic one, I guess, because of the performance, you know. So awesome. Do you have a favorite, like, short film or music video?
[00:09:38] Speaker C: I love.
I bet I've been focusing more on thriller because the show we're doing is thriller. But if I had to choose the one, I really love, ghosts.
I don't like the music video, but the whole 36 minutes, like, that is like a masterpiece right there.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah. That's like a must watch for me every, like, Halloween season along with thriller, obviously, but even that. Yeah, that is, like a brilliant. Well, you know, all of them are brilliant, but I just love how he plays, like, the two different characters, and it's so awesome. He's such a master at that.
Yeah.
[00:10:18] Speaker C: It's funny enough, people are now discovering, when I talk about, like, the Michael Jackson experience, like, I see more people realizing the song ghost is such a popular song. I'm like, how do people not know this song?
[00:10:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:33] Speaker C: Big Michael Jackson song for years, even during Halloween. Like, just discovering it now, like, that's crazy.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Yeah. And I know a lot of people don't even know about, like, the video or, like, the short film. Like, they've never. They're like, what? What is this? Like, how do you not know but, you know, they're just not in the world like we are.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: No, they're not. They're not connected with Michael.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: No, they're not. What are some things that you would like the world to know about Michael Jackson?
[00:11:05] Speaker C: How much he was a loving person, how much he was only a talented artist, but literally an actual artist. Like, he can literally draw. Like, if you ever looked at Michael Jackson artwork, like, his artwork is so beautiful. My mother does artwork. She saw Michael's, like, artist. Like, I never knew. He can draw. I'm like, yeah, he can draw. He was very amazing at it.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Yeah. He was definitely a master of so many talents and skills, so many hidden talents.
[00:11:35] Speaker C: Like a lot of people never knew.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Right?
[00:11:37] Speaker C: Like, he had.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I know. I love. I love learning. I still probably don't know all of that about him, but, you know, we have a lifetime to learn. How does Michael continue to spread love in your world?
[00:11:51] Speaker C: Well, with me doing impersonating, I get to meet so many amazing people like you. Odessa is one of them.
Even people I get to work with during my shows. I just had auditions for thriller show, and I met somebody who's eight years old, and he told me, their mom told me, like, you're the reason why he does Michael Jackson. I'm like, really? Like, he saw you outside his bakery performing, and he's like, that's something I want to do. And they told me that I'm like, I inspired somebody. Yeah, that's just from Michael Jackson, how he expired me. And I was a kid. I didn't have Michael Jackson. I had the wiggles. So. And ironically, one of them actually follows me on Instagram, so that's like a whole, like, full circle for me. Like, somebody inspired me, is following me. Now I'm inspired to someone else. So I keep that line going.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I love how. Yeah, by you being a Michael Jackson impersonator, you definitely spread that love around the world. And I'm sure you see that by, you know, the people that come out and watch you, and they. I'm just, like, getting chills thinking about it because I know that they have big smiles on their faces. They're probably singing and dancing along, you know? I know I am.
Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to becoming a Michael Jackson impersonator? Like, how that unfolded?
When did you, like, do your first show?
[00:13:22] Speaker C: That's a. You can remember after. So after I started doing impersonating, I did, like, school talent shows, always the quiet kid and people I never knew. Then after I did my first actual talent show, I went a green shirt, red shorts, dress shoes, a glove from party city, and a little fake fedora. And people just started. Knew me as a Michael Jackson guy. I continue had the Michael Jackson guy name for, like, throughout my life now. Never get away from that. Um, I like to be known as the Freddie Burger guy sometimes, but nope, Michael Jackson. All right.
Well, as time progressed, I went to my first car show in 2015 here in Pennsauken. And the one guy, just Michael Jackson, of course. And the one guy saw him, he started putting on Billie Jean. He's like, I want to see what you got.
People start gathering around, and me and him still work with each other to this day. He just basically boosts my career and just helped me. It's like, here's an event you should come perform at. I'm like, okay. And that just. It keeps no balling affecting for me. And then we had our first ever show in 2016 to help raise money for our music program, which I was a part of. And it was a little show, maybe three dancers, but ironically, it was called one night only. So I'm like, no, Michael Jackson never did this show. I'll do it for him. I'll continue on it. Then I did, like, couple more shows in, like, 2017 was moonwalk.
2019. We're going to do this. Is it a celebration for 10th anniversary with Michael? But ironically, it's sad to say my grandfather passed away before I got to do that show, and sadly, we had to cancel that show. Yeah, I'm like, that's. It's like, this is, like a weird little coincidence or like, I don't know. I'm like, maybe Michael was telling me, you're not ready for it. You're not ready for this show.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:15:40] Speaker C: Hope it happened. Which stopped me from doing another show and stopped me from doing gigs and all that stuff for a little bit.
2021, I would say, would be one of my biggest years. So I was doing, like, gigs back to back, like, nonstop. And people are coming up to me telling me how much it inspires person you could be. And 2022, we did thriller. I believe that's when we started. I came to see you guys at the park. That one year, that was 2022.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:16:15] Speaker C: It seems like so long ago. It's just two years.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: Just two years. It feels like forever ago.
[00:16:21] Speaker C: And then last year, we did our big, big show. Magic continues. And just from, like, at the, like, literally after my first time doing thriller as a show, I started seeing more fans come out of the Woolworks just after that, that's a big experience. So that's like, a big unfolding right there. Like, seeing more people come to the shows as they get to know me and me doing Michael Jackson or even Freddie Mercury.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that's the great thing about Michael. And even Frederick, Freddie Mercury. Like, they both had big hearts, you know? And it's like, I feel like that their energies are coming out even more now these days. It's like the amount of, like, younger people that I see, like, even younger than you. I know you're a lot younger than me, but kids, you know that I'm.
[00:17:12] Speaker C: Like, 26, that's okay.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: But I see, like, all these kids that now know about Michael Jackson, and they're so excited, like, when his music comes on and, like, it's just because, you know, he loved children, too, and that was, like, his message, too, is to, like, help the children. You know, the children are a future, that kind of thing. So it's just. It makes me smile, like, when a little kid, like, just adores Michael Jackson. It also reminds me of myself. Like, I first discovered Michael when I was seven years old, so it just reminds me of, like, how captivating he was to me. And, like, that's when he, like, struck me in the heart. And it was just like, you know, inspired me to start dancing and to start living my life and, you know, discovering who I was. So I just love all of this.
I just feel like Michael Jackson is coming back around, you know what I mean? Like, it just feels like it's more present. It's more present now than it has been for a long time.
[00:18:16] Speaker C: And mostly with. Mostly with the biopic coming out next year in the musical, so that's going really good.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. So excited about that.
All the truth and amazingness coming out. That's why this podcast I'm doing. This podcast is I want to spread the love about Michael. You know, I want people to know who he really was. Not that any of us so far have never, like, met him, you know, meaning the people I've had on this podcast, I haven't had anyone yet that has actually met him. But we. I mean, his life is out there for everybody to see. You know, he documented a lot of his life. It's easy to see exactly who he was as a person. You just have to, like, look for it and.
And watch it and listen to, like, what he says, you know?
And then I'm sure he'll strike you in the heart, whoever's listening.
[00:19:10] Speaker C: But I just really hope this movie really, really helps.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Yeah. If somebody wanted to work with you as an impersonator, where can they find you?
[00:19:21] Speaker C: They can find me on YouTube at Buddy Katz KATC, and they also can find me on Instagram. Buddy cats, official Facebook. Buddy cats. Just search for buddy cats. You'll find the guy who looks like Michael Jackson.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: I'll put your information in the show notes, too, so people can easily find you. So. All right, well, is there anything else you would like to discuss about Michael?
[00:19:49] Speaker C: So I have one little piece of Michael, which is a little piece of history right here. I don't think see it, but this is, like, one of piece of his outfits. I believe it's from Jackson. From Jackson five performance from 1972.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:20:04] Speaker C: I did not know there's a Christmas gift, too. Just, like, ran a bunch of Michael Jackson trading cards, and they had one in there. I'm like, huh, interesting. I looked at it back. I'm like, oh, this is real. This is, like, a real piece of Michael's sister here.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Wow. I didn't even know something like that existed. That's awesome.
[00:20:21] Speaker C: I looked it up there. Only one, like, for each one. Like, they're, like, different pieces of fabric. Like, I think Elvis did at one point, they asked Elvis, can he use his fabric from an outfit? They'll, like, tear it up and kind of put in the frame cards. It's really amazing. Like, I found out how much it costs. Like, that's like 100, $200 for these days.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: I'm sure that's also awesome. Thanks for sharing that.
[00:20:46] Speaker C: No problem.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: I have to look into that, see if I can find one.
[00:20:50] Speaker C: And another thing, what I do is, as Michael, a lot of fans, they go for my hat every time. I always put an autograph, always put with love, buddy cats the day.
And it's just every time I throw my hat, like, I'm afraid people go, fight for my hat. It's not Michael's hat, people. It's my hat.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: But you're portraying him. You know, everybody is like, you know, you've got that energy about you, so.
[00:21:19] Speaker C: Cause one person told me after a show, I said, like, somebody was trying to get your hat. They were fighting for it. I'm like, that's what you got coming for my hat? I never get my hats back.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Sometimes you have to buy them in bulk.
[00:21:33] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: That's awesome. Well, thank you for what you do and sharing the love of Michael. Yeah. And thank you for being here and. And sharing your story. I just love hearing it, and hopefully we can do it again in the future.
Yeah. So thank you so much.
[00:21:54] Speaker C: No problem. Thank you for having me on my show. I hope you have an amazing show and I hope you have amazing guests that come on the show. Share Michael's get that Pete Carter guy. He should be on this show, you know? Yeah, definitely bring this show. He met Mike.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: All right, well, we're going to definitely. I mean, if anybody's listening that would like to be on this podcast and talk about Michael, please reach out to me. I'll put you can reach out to me. I'll find out in the show notes for how you can get in touch with me. Thank you so much, buddy.
[00:22:22] Speaker C: Well, thank you.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: All right, we're going to sign off. Have a great night. We love you.
[00:22:27] Speaker C: Thank you. I love you guys, too. Thank you. It's all for love.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Yes, it's all for love.
