The Brass Junkies 104: Joe Lovinsky

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I think my good friend Joe Lovinsky has had the most fascinating life of any guest we’ve interviewed for The Brass Junkies. And that’s really saying something!

He has been homeless, a sniper in the Marines, a member of the Pershing’s Own Army Band, a cage fighter… It sounds like I’m making this up but it’s all true! Seriously, you need to listen to this one.

You can check out the complete show notes including all links mentioned during TBJ104 over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 103: Mary Bowden of Shenandoah Conservatory

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TBJ103: Mary Bowden on her new upcoming album, Seraph Brass and the importance of networking

My soon-t0-be colleague at Shenandoah Conservatory joined us for her second appearance on The Brass Junkies. Mary is awesome. We could talk to her for hours.

You can check out the complete show notes including all links mentioned during TBJ103 over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 102: Joe Jackson

For episode 102 of The Brass Junkies we were joined by the former leader of the Airmen of Note, Joe Jackson. In addition to being one of the best trombone players in the world, Joe is also a prolific arranger.

He talked with us about leaving the University of North Texas in order to tour the world with the Maynard Ferguson Band, playing in the Airmen of Note for 20 years and producing the award-winning Jazz Heritage Series that was heard on 112 radio stations around the world. The dude has done everything!

I’ve gotten to play a number of gigs with Joe here in the DC area and he is just a treat to play with. Ears for days!

Get the full show notes and links to everywhere you can find this episode of The Brass Junkies here.

The Brass Junkies 100: Sam Pilafian

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TBJ100: The legendary Sam Pilafian on Empire Brass, Leonard Bernstein and life-threatening pedagogy

We made it to 100 episodes which is completely insane! An ENORMOUS thank you to everyone who has listened, become a Patreon patron, shared an episode with a friend, posted about it on social media or any of 100 other ways people have supported us in this crazy journey. THANK YOU!

I don’t even know where to begin when talking about this interview with my mentor, Sam Pilafian. As you will hear, I met Sam when I was only 12 and he has been an huge influence on me in more ways than I could ever articulate.

This episode starts out with some lighthearted banter about a couple of times that I poked the bear as one of his let’s just call it “precocious” young students back in the day! But this conversation gets really serious really quickly right after that.

Sam has just come out the other side of a battle for his life with an aggressive form of cancer. His story is hard to even believe. There are tears (and lots of them) in this episode. Some sad ones and some happy ones. There’s also lots of camaraderie between three humans who have been through a whole hell of a lot together, both personally and professionally.

I will always cherish this conversation, even though I’ve had thousands with Sam. This one made me awfully thankful to be alive and to be making music for a living.

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 89: David Gordon

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TBJ89: David Gordon of the Seattle Symphony on Boston, Mahler and giving it your all

Principal Trumpet of the Seattle Symphony, David Gordon, and I go back close to 30 years to youth orchestra. He is a monster musician and a hell of a nice guy. It was so much fun catching up with him!

The Brass Junkies 88: Jeffrey Strong

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TBJ88: St. Louis Symphony trumpeter Jeff Strong on preparation, playing with the Marine Band and having an air blowing epiphany

I've had the privilege of playing a number of gigs with Jeff and he is one of the most effortless and musical trumpet players I've ever played with. Just incredible.

At one point in this interview I thought he was going to break me I was laughing so hard!

Don't miss this one!

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 87: Craig Knox

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TBJ87: Craig Knox of the Pittsburgh Symphony on premiering the Jennifer Higdon Tuba Concerto, European road stories and the joys of palinka

Craig is one hell of a tuba player and teacher and a great guy. It was a lot of fun chatting with him about the many things he does in his career.

From the show notes:

Craig Knox is Principal Tuba of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Center City Brass Quintet. With these ensembles and others, he has performed for audiences across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and been heard on recordings, and radio, television, and internet broadcasts around the world.

Mr. Knox works regularly with music students through his teaching positions at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as at music festivals, seminars, and conservatories around the world, where he appears as a guest clinician.

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 86: Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival

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TBJ:86 Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival

For episode 86 of The Brass Junkies, we did a deep dive on The Falcone Festival. Lance won the first ever Falcone euphonium competition (he is OLD!) and had lots of great stories. I learned a ton from this one.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Andrew’s medication
• Lance’s summer plans
• Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Simmons
• Boston Brass Portuguese cell phone story
• Falcone Festival
• Lance winning the 1st contest in the student level
• Judging the competition and judging in general

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada

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My good friend Tom McCaslin joined us for Episode 85 of The Brass Junkies. Tom is the Principal Tuba for the Calgary Philharmonic. He is a great dude and a monster musician. 

From the show notes:

TBJ85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada

Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Soloist, Teacher, and Clinician has been described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the contemporary tuba virtuosos”. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan Tom’s playing and teaching have taken him around the globe. He has performed and taught in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, New Zealand and Australia.

• The Boston Brass “I Left My Pants in Sarnia, Canada” story
• New gig in Calgary
• Canada jokes!
• Audition preparation
• How he developed his ears with the help of Sam (Pilafian) and then on his own
• Put a premium on recording himself (84 hours worth!)
• Trust in your own abilities
• Use physicality to override thought, play your way out of it
• Audition prep with Sam at Tanglewood
• Systematic
• Used a randomizer app, put excerpts in and created rounds for himself
• Daily round of most likely candidates
• Day of audition, puts himself in a cocoon, noise-cancelling headphones
• Listened to Bill Simmons podcast and pop music to keep his head clear
• Studying with Sam Pilafian at Arizona State University
• Travelin’ Light
• Studying jazz
• Boston Symphony audition
• The support within Sam’s teaching studio
• Recording solos with Sam as producer
• Christmas his first year at ASU story, audition prep, followed by turkey prep
• Teaching at East Carolina University
• Looking for the quality of person more than quality of player
• Teaching studio curation
• The importance of the Studio Class hour, setting the expectations
• Studying with Roger Bobo in Switzerland
• The Dog Whisperer
• “Sack of nicknick” story at Banff
• Lance’s spot-on Jens impression
• Andrew’s Banff story with Joe Alessi in Jens’ Porsche
• Sweat out the bad

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 83: Donna Parkes

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We had a blast interviewing the phenomenal Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone of the Louisville Orchestra. She told us all about her fascinating journey from Australia to Kentucky with a few stops along the way.

It's always so great when musicians who are as accomplished as Donna is are so down to earth. It really was a treat to speak with her!

From the show notes:

TBJ83: Trombonist Donna Parkes of the Louisville Orchestra on having a “Yes!” attitude, sleeping bags and growing up in Australia

Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra joins Andrew & Lance to detail her amazing career, from Australia to Kentucky, with stops in Chicago, Alaska and Doha, Qatar.

In this fun and lively conversation, we cover:

• Playing Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra
• Playing with the Colorado Music Festival
• Coming from Indiana, I mean Canberra, Australia
• Coming to the U.S. after her undergrad to study with Charlie Vernon at DePaul
• The differences between the Australian and U.S. markets
• Studying with Michael Mulcahy early on in Australia
• Playing freelance gigs in Sydney for a year before moving
• Getting a lesson with Arnold Jacobs and Ed Kleinhammer
• Working with 80-year-olds in Virginia
• The size of Andrew’s tongue (don’t ask)
• Sleeping in her sleeping bag with her trombone in a hostel on her first night in the U.S.
• Taking pictures of snow
• Tips for flying to Australia
• Playing gigs in Sitka, Alaska twice a year
• How she recently got married in Australia
• A typical week in Louisville, which is anything but typical
• The importance of being flexible and being a good colleague
• Having a “Yes” attitude
• Playing in Doha, Qatar
• An important life lesson, “Don’t smell it first.”

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.