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The Brass Junkies

The Brass Junkies, hosted by former Boston Brass tuba player Andrew Hitz and a rotating cast of characters, features interviews with the best and brightest brass players in the world. Subject matter includes everything from the serious to the ridiculous, just like the music business.
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Now displaying: 2015
Dec 21, 2015

John Rojak of the American Brass Quintet joins Andrew & Lance to discuss portfolio careers and chamber music. John also discusses how the American Brass Quintet finds and commissions new pieces.

 

He also talks about how he got started and why he sometimes has to explain ledger lines to composers. 

 

Website:

John Rojak

 

Links:

American Brass Quintet

Julliard

NYU

The Hartt School

 

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.

 

Dec 8, 2015

Magically Fearless (Fearlessly Magical?) Jeff Nelsen joins Andrew & Lance to discuss his diverse and fascinating career. Jeff explains how he got started and progressed from orchestra playing to a stint with Canadian Brass and on to his current role teaching horn at Indiana University.

He also talks about his newest project "Fearless Performance," his TEDx talks (and hosting) and how studying magic compares to studying music. We also get to hear about his Rainbow Wand. 

 

Website:

Jeff Nelsen

 

Links:

Brendon Burchard YouTube Channel

Jeff Nelsen: Episode 5

 

Books Referenced:

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard

The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

 

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.

 

Nov 24, 2015

Jeff Conner of Boston Brass joins Andrew & Lance to discuss how Boston Brass got started. Jeff also explains what it takes to run a full-time touring group and how things have (and haven't) changed over the last 30 years.

He also talks about how much he misses having Andrew and Lance in the group and details his adventurous eating habits. Chicken feet, anyone? Oh, and pickle neck tattoos.

Links:

Boston Brass
The Portfolio Musician
The Savvy Music Teacher
Jeff Conner Eating A Chicken Foot
Boston Brass - Rewired
Jeff Conner: Episode 7 of The Entrepreneurial Musician

 

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

Nov 10, 2015

Fred Powell of Powell Trumpets joins Andrew & Lance to discuss trumpet design and brass repair. Fred also discusses the many times he has shared the stage with Andrew and Lance with Boston Brass and his freelance career.

He also talks about how he got started in the repair business and his vast knowledge of barbecue.

 

Website:

Powell Trumpets

 

Links:

National Trumpet Competition

Fred's Email

 

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.

Oct 25, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by tuba player, pianist, and arranger for Presidio Brass, Scott Sutherland. Scott talks about life on the road with a full-time touring brass quintet and how the group got its start.

He also talks about the benefits of having multi-instrumentalists in a chamber group and about what goes into planning a show for a group like Presidio Brass.

 

Website:

http://www.presidiobrass.com/

 

Links:

Presidio Brass Facebook Fan Page

Instagram

Twitter

SoundCloud

Pokorny Low Brass Seminar

 

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.

Oct 13, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Mary Bowden, an international trumpet soloist and founding member of the Seraph Brass. She discusses her travels around the world, a transformational experience she had with our good friend Jens Lindemann that inspired her to take her career to the next level, and her new brass quintet, Seraph Brass.

She also talks about how she has gone about creating her personal brand through highly produced videos, professional photo shoots, and a great website.

Links:

Mary Bowden
Seraph Brass
Mary's YouTube Channel
Mary's Facebook Fan Page
To Sell Is Human by Daniel H. Pink

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

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

 

Sep 29, 2015

Phil Munds currently holds the position as Principal Horn for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that, he served as a member of The United States Air Force Band with the one and only, Lance LaDuke!

Phil shares how he went from playing in the Air Force to rising through the ranks in the BSO horn section. He also discusses the day-to-day preparations for his job and having a long sustaining career as a professional musician.

You won't want to miss the incredible stories shared between Lance and Phil as they relive their time in the military!

You can find Phil on Facebook as well as through the BSO website.

 

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!

Sep 15, 2015

 

Andrew & Lance talk shop with Jamie Lipton, Euphonium Artist and Professor of Low Brass at Henderson State University.

 

 Jamie discusses her musical upbringing and how that led her to attending Northwestern and North Texas to study with Rex Martin and Brian Bowman. She tells us the reasons for her career decisions and the direction she would love to see Euphonium go in.

 

 When she’s not winning international competitions, teaching her students, playing/conducting in brass bands and preforming in various chamber groups, she’ll be watching her favorite sport, soccer.

 

 On top of all that, she has some good tips for our friend Jens!

 

jamielipton@gmail.com

 

 

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!

 

 

 

Sep 1, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Jim Nova, trombone player for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Jim talks about how his successful audition for the Pittsburgh Symphony was the 39th of his career! He also shares a very moving story about the loss of his mother and the trombone that she saved up money to buy for him before she passed away.

He tells some really great stories about his father, a professional accordion player turned pizza parlor owner turned composer. Jim's story of the time his father hired an orchestra in Bulgaria to record some compositions he had written for him is one for the ages!

Finally, he talks about a side project he's been doing that recently got the attention of none other than John Williams himself.

 

https://soundcloud.com/jimnova

http://www.jimnova.com/

 

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!

Aug 18, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Marty Hackleman, former horn player for the Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, and National Symphony Orchestra.

Marty talks about the many stops along his incredible career, including winning his first professional audition at the age of 19. He also shares with us the decision he made as a 16-year-old that got him to apply himself and propelled him to success on the horn.

He is the only person who was ever a full-time member of both the Canadian Brass and Empire Brass and discusses how it came to be that he and Dave Ohanian came to switch quintets.

And he has some tough love for Jens!

 

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!

Aug 4, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Joe Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, from Vail, Colorado where the orchestra was on tour.

Joe talks about his career as a teacher, soloist, and orchestral musician, including stops with the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. He also touches on the the influence his parents, both professional musicians, had on him and which musicians inspire him to continue to improve.

He also has the best advice for Jens that we've heard to date!

http://www.slidearea.com/home.html

 

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!

 

Jul 21, 2015

Andrew and Lance are joined by Carol Jantsch, Principal Tuba for the Philadelphia Orchestra and international soloist. She talks about what the experience was like successfully auditioning for one of the best orchestras in the world at the age of 20.

She also talks about her recent solo appearances with the orchestra and how they were the highlight of her career as well as her future plans in the music business.

 

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!

Jul 7, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Demondrae Thurman, one of the best euphonium players in the world, to talk about the many different aspects of his career. He is an international soloist, college professor, member of the tuba/euphonium quartet Sotto Voce, and performer with the Brass Band of Battle Creek.

He also goes into detail about where he sees the euphonium going as instrument moving forward and his very intriguing plans to help take it there.

 

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!

Jun 23, 2015

Andrew & Lance are joined by Amy McCabe to talk about her winning a major military band audition, what it was like to be the featured soloist for Blast while being suspended from the ceiling every night, and about a health scare that helped her to focus and become the world class trumpet player she is today.

Interestingly, Amy went to undergrad planning on being an elementary school librarian! She did not decide to become a professional trumpet player until later. She also touches on the "Chicago approach" to brass playing and what it was like to study with Barbara Butler and Charles Geyer at Northwestern University.

She also offers Jens some words of encouragement!

 

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!

Jun 9, 2015

Andrew and Lance are joined by their good friend, international trumpet star Rex Richardson.

Rex talks about touring all over the world, playing with Rhythm and Brass for the last two decades, and how he came to be so accomplished at both jazz and classical music.  He has one of the most diverse and interesting careers in the brass world today!

 

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!

May 26, 2015

Andrew and Lance are joined by the Fredericksburg Brass Institute's Austin Boyer & Buddy Deshler, otherwise known as the producers of this podcast!

Austin & Buddy discuss how they came to successfully launch a brass festival featuring world class soloists while they were still in their early 20's.  They also talk about their roles within the Pedal Note Media Podcast Network and what it's like to constantly be made fun of by Andrew and Lance.

 

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!

May 12, 2015

THE BRASS JUNKIES EPISODE 5: VICTOR BARRANCO

Victor Barranco, trombonist for the US Army Blues, is the guest on this episode of The Brass Junkies. He talks about growing up in the only Puerto Rican family in North Pole, Alaska, playing in the One O'Clock Lab Band at UNT, how he got his gig with the Army, and about his passion for woodworking. Spoiler Alert: He's hilarious.

 

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!

Apr 28, 2015

Andrew and Lance interview - themselves. No really. They give you a little bit of background on Pedal Note Media, the origins of this podcast, and their Pray For Jens campaign.

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!

Apr 14, 2015

Kevin Gebo joins Andrew and Lance for the latest episode of The Brass Junkies to discuss the many different aspects of his career.

Kevin Gebo joins Andrew and Lance 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

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

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

Mar 24, 2015

THE BRASS JUNKIES EPISODE 3: MICHAEL PARKER OF PARKER MOUTHPIECES

Michael Parker joins Andrew and Lance to discuss his line of mouthpieces, being an entrepreneur, and a special connection he feels through his mouthpiece manufacturing with his late father.

Michael is an accomplished player, teacher, and entrepreneur.  He is the tuba player for the Monumental Brass in Washington DC and teaches tuba and euphonium at Bloomsburg University.  He is also the founder and owner of Parker Mouthpieces, a company that has seen a great deal of success in a very short period of time.

 

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!

Mar 11, 2015

Our former colleague from Boston Brass, horn player JD Shaw, joins us for this episode of The Brass Junkies.  JD is currently Associate Professor of Horn at the University of South Carolina, musical arranger for Santa Clara Vanguard, and is frequently in demand as a soloist and clinician.

This episode was actually recorded way back in January 2014 immediately following our recording session for the Brass Recording Project.  We had planned to launch the podcast shortly thereafter but things like a baby ended up pushing that back until now! JD talked to us a lot about arranging: his process, what instrumentations he likes to write for, and how he got started.  He has written extensively for brass quintet, drum corps, wind ensemble, orchestra, big band, and a bunch of other instrumentations.

He also touches on his time with Boston Brass, his over 25-year history with drum corps, recording his arrangements with us for the Brass Recording Project, and much more!

 

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!

Feb 19, 2015

For the first ever episode of The Brass Junkies, Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke welcome one of the greatest brass players in the world, Ryan Anthony.  Ryan is the former star of Canadian Brass and is currently the Principal Trumpet of the Dallas Symphony.  On top of that he is a cancer survivor, the head of The Ryan Anthony Foundation, and one of the nicest human beings you could ever hope to meet.

Ryan discusses with us his entire career from soloing with major symphonies at the age of 16 to the Cancer Blows event he is throwing later this month with the likes of Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval and Phil Smith to raise money for cancer research.  He also opens up about the phone call almost two years ago that changed his life forever.

When you hear the positive attitude Ryan brings to the trumpet and to life, you'll know why we couldn't think of a better person to kick off this podcast!

Note: We are aware there are some feedback issues in spots.  We are new to this whole thing and in the spirit of the Minimum Viable Product that we are always preaching to our business students, we are launching and learning on the fly. Thanks for your patience!

Links:

Cancer Blows

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

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

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