Victor Barranco Joins The Brass Junkies

The latest episode of The Brass Junkies podcast features a hilarious interview with trombonist Victor Barranco of the US Army Blues.  He talks about the fascinating path he took from growing up in North Pole, Alaska to ending up in Washington, DC playing in one of the premier bands in the world.

He also speaks about how he became handy around the house (as in having his house featured on home improvement websites.)  Why is this important? It turns out he used the exact same growth mentality to teach himself how to play jazz and then just a few years later he was the lead trombone in the One O'Clock Band at UNT.  He speaks about how it is all about how you approach things.

Lance and I couldn't believe how much we laughed during this episode and how inspiring it was.  He will make you go practice and have you in stitches talking about being the only Puerto Rican family growing up in North Pole.

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Victor Barranco Joins The Brass Junkies

Noa Kageyama on Challenging Tradition

Here is an excerpt from a highly recommended read by Dr. Noa Kageyama of The Bulletproof Musician on challenging tradition:

Leon Fleisher once told a student (who was being a little too faithful to their favorite recording) to disregard every recording they had ever heard. And instead, to look at the score with fresh eyes. To actually play what was written in the score without being influenced by tradition and interpretations of interpretations of interpretations. He said that when we play what is actually in the score, we might be surprised to discover that it’s not the piece that we thought it was. That perhaps, we never really knew the piece at all.

Great artists, curve-jumping innovators, and visionary game-changers seem to be able to stand on the shoulders of those who came before them, yet somehow also unbind themselves from the constraints or limitations of others’ ways of thinking and forge new paths.

You really ought to read the entire article and subscribe to his feed.  It is fantastic.

William Preucil: Monday YouTube Fix

I recently attended a brass masterclass where the teacher asked the students how many of them were familiar with William Preucil.  I was horrified when only two hands went up and one of them was mine.

Preucil has been the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra since 1989 and has a long resume as both a soloist and chamber musician.  He is the highest paid concertmaster in the world.  Listen to this clip and you will see why.  He sure makes that thing look easy to play.

This is a clip of him performing the Beethoven Violin Sonata in A Minor, Opus 23, at the Brevard Music Center on July 5, 2010.  He is accompanied by Bruce Murray on piano.

Enjoy!

William Preucil, violin, and Bruce Murray, piano, performing the first two movements (Presto and Andante scherzoso) of Beethoven's Sonata in A minor, Op. 23. Recorded in concert at the Brevard Music Center, July 5, 2010.

William Preucil, violin, and Bruce Murray, piano, performing the last movements (Allegro molto) of Beethoven's in A minor, Op. 23. Recorded in concert at the Brevard Music Center, July 5, 2010.

The Brass Junkies: Kevin Gebo - Episode 4

My dear friend Kevin Gebo joined us for the latest episode of The Brass Junkies to discuss the many different aspects of his career.

Kevin is a trumpet player with the US Army Ceremonial Band in Arlington, VA.  He is also a soloist, chamber musician, and entrepreneur.  In this episode, he discusses his latest solo album, being a part of the first volume of the Brass Recording Project, and his collaborations with Paul Reiser (yes, THAT Paul Reiser.)

Links:

www.kevingebo.com

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You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass

It's Not An Effort Contest

"No one cares how hard you've worked. It's not an effort contest."

-Seth Godin

The music business, as with just about every single business in the world today, is a results-based business.  It doesn't matter how long you spent studying the score.  It doesn't matter how many hours you spent in the practice room.  It doesn't matter how hard you marketed the event.

All that matters is how well you can conduct the piece.  All that matters is how well you can play the part.  All that matters is how many tickets you sold.

It's not an effort contest.

Roger Bobo: Monday YouTube Fix

Not many tuba players before Roger Bobo played with as much style and swagger as he did. (He still maintains an aggressive teaching schedule around the world but has retired from performing.) It can aloso be argued that not many since him have played with as much style either.

This is a great example of his style and musical personality.  Here is Roger playing the Hindemith Sonata for Bass Tuba and Piano.

Enjoy!

Uploaded by The Brass Guy on 2015-02-18.

My Interview with Seth Haines about a Career in Music

Seth Haines of the great resource, The Musician's Guide to Hustling, was kind enough to interview me on my career to this point.  We discussed a variety of subjects including:

• How I got the job with Boston Brass
• How I proactively planned for my career after Boston Brass
• Keys to freelancing
• How Lance LaDuke and I came to create Pedal Note Media
• All of my current projects including working with The Mockingbird Foundation
• And a lot more!

Seth has a good thing going over there and it was great to chat with him about making a career in music.  You can check out the interview here.

What Anxiety Really Is

"Anxiety is practicing failure in advance."

-Seth Godin

What a quote! Seth Godin is in my opinion the most insightful thought leader of our time with regards to a whole lot of subjects but this might be my favorite quote of his ever.

If you suffer from performance anxiety maybe you should sign up for something like this?

Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond with the Dave Brubeck Trio: Monday YouTube Fix

Every time I stumble onto a clip like this I try to wrap my head around being able to watch things like this, a performance from close to 45 years ago, on my phone while sitting in my pajamas.  The internet sure is a wonderful thing.

Gerry Mulligan is one of my musical heroes.  Not that the rest of the guys in this clip aren't legends, but Gerry has always spoken loudly to me.  The effortless flow to his phrasing.  A tone that seems to sing all on its own.  The first time I heard an album featuring both him and Chet Baker it changed me.  I don't think Paul Desmond or Dave Brubeck need any introduction.

This is live performance is from November 4, 1972 in Berlin.  The full personnel:

Gerry Mulligan - bari sax
Paul Desmond - alto sax
Dave Brubeck - piano
Jack Six - bass
Alan Dawson - drums

Enjoy!

Dave Brubeck Trio spec.Guest Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan 1972 1. Blues For Newport 2. All The Things You Are 3. For All We Know 4. Line For Lyons 5. Blessed Are The Poor (The Sermon On The Mount) 6. Mexican Jumping Bean 7. Sign Off 8. Someday My Prince Will Come 9.

Dealing With The 10%

90% of the music business makes it very easy to be kind to them. Those who can always be kind to the other 10% tend to work a lot.

— Andrew Hitz (@HitzTuba) April 4, 2015

The problem is that sometimes it is the 10% that makes the decisions.  Also, we are frequently judged by the 90% on how we deal with the 10%.  

Playing your tail off plus being kind to everyone all the time almost always equals employed.