The Brass Junkies Episode 144: Marty Hackleman

Between The Brass Junkies and The Entrepreneurial Musician, I’ve done over 350 interviews. Every once in a while, one changes you.

This was one of those interviews.

I’ve been friends with Marty Hackleman for many years now. He is someone who went from being a hero of mine (literally on a poster on my wall when I was a kid) to being a colleague and friend.

(As a side note, the fact that you can grow up to play with your heroes is one of the coolest things about the music business. Most industries don’t work that way!)

I cherish the conversations we’ve had over the years. In fact, we interviewed Marty on The Brass Junkies way back in 2015 for TBJ13. That was an incredible look at his career in Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, the National Symphony Orchestra and many more. His career as a horn player was unparalleled.

But this most recent conversation was remarkable enough that I feel like it rewired my brain.

Shortly after we spoke back in the summer of 2015 Marty started dealing with dystonia. That led to him retiring as a performer. He tells us all about how that felt like experiencing a death but also a rebirth. The way he spoke about it all made me feel more present in the moment. That’s a gift.

He talks about art and why we make it. He shares some incredibly deep poetry that he wrote as a late teenager. He talks about his love of playing Spanish guitar, which he now does every day. And he never plays it for anyone!

After this conversation I was inspired. It was pretty intense. Close to 10 years ago, my Brass Junkies partner, Lance LaDuke, was getting rid of an electric bass he had owned for a while. He told me that he had bought it brand new and played less than 300 notes on it. I bought it from him for $100 because I had always planned on learning how to play the bass and thought why not?

It then sat in my closet until five minutes after this conversation with Marty.

It is now a month later and I have played the bass every single day but one. I am in love with being a complete beginner on a musical instrument. It’s the first time I’ve experienced that since 1984!

I was actually struggling with musical motivation during the entire quarantine. I was still playing the tuba some because I’ve been teaching lessons but with every single gig cancelled, and so much going on in life and the world, I wasn’t feeling it. The bass has actually inspired me to play more tuba! And I’ve even started playing a little piano again! Wut??

I have since gotten an amp, a strap and a bass stand. I’m basically pro at this point!

Anyways, if you find this interview 10% as inspiring as I did then you should watch it right now. Incredible stuff.

Thanks for the inspiration, Marty!

(You can find the show notes for this episode over at Pedal Note Media.)