Making this put me in a fantastic mood. 10/10 would recommend! I wrote my list on a blog, but you can write your’s on a piece of paper, bathroom mirror, your driveway with jumbo chalk, whatever. You do you!
My favorite moments from every episode to date all in one place. This is a serious dose of human, wholesome connection, and it’s guaranteed to brighten your day. Thank you all for listening and being on this journey with me!
Suzanna Klein – violinist, professor, researcher – shares practice psychology tips for truly enjoying our time in the shed. We talk performance injuries, confidence vs bravery, playing through pain, journaling, recording yourself, performance anxiety, enjoying the journey, utilizing technology, and reimagining the classical musician education model.
Michael Spiro – world class conga player and renowned educator of Afro-Caribbean musics – shares insights from nearly 40 years of annual trips to Cuba. We chat about developing meaningful relationships with mentors, how to learn new instruments, the Vietnam War, trance states, sneaking in/out of Cuba, compensation for knowledge, conga drums, eating hot dogs, …
Ian Molinaro-Thompson – fellow drummer and dear friend – interviews me for this one. We talk about why I don’t think musicians are special, and how that’s actually a freeing idea. I also share my current hot takes on Dungeons and Dragons, finding your voice, the role of artists in the digital era, musical ownership, …
Joshua Starkman – the “Have a Great Day” guitarist – and I talk about having a great day, humanings, insomnia, the reality of making music in a capitalist society, the role of music in our communities, managing our relationships with social media, desiring things you can’t have, confessions, therapy, how whack hyper-individuality is, and (because …
I’m joined by Trumpet Mafia members Branden Lewis, Ashlin Parker, John Michael Bradford, Emily Mikesell, Aurélien Barnes, Amina Scott, Michelle Welchons, and Jonathan Bauer. We talk about the power of social learning, becoming a leader, lineage, liminal spaces, cultivating community, and what happens behind Wendy’s.
Drew Tucker – vibraphone maven, social entrepreneur, and educator – and I talk about marching band education, taking the untraditional route, questions we should be asking our students, the elements of “good technique”, weighing aesthetics vs musicality, booking your own gigs, learning to be yourself, and vibraphone players probs.
Katie Ernst – bassist, vocalist, composer, and educator – and I talk about fancy crayons, her social media detox, when to stop saying yes, growing your orbit, making room for what you want, how everyone can sing, and accessing deeper musical conversation.
Sean Jones – trumpet icon, education trailblazer, bandleader, and composer – joins me to talk practice routines, your local weather channel, getting stranded on a cruise ship, insecurity, creations of time, the ancestral pipeline, the importance of resistance, and E pluribus unum.