Concert Honesty

Dr. Michael Bump is my first college teacher at Ohio State. He now teaches at Truman St. University and is one of my favorite people on the planet.

Mike is the leader of a doom metal group called YOB. James wrote him a contemporary guitar solo. Worlds collided and amazing stuff came from it. I learned a ton from talking to them both about the diversity and acceptance in the metal world of other genres. Hope you enjoy this chat.

David and I chat about the recent Roe v. Wade decision as it pertains to his religious belief as a reformed Calvinist. I have lived in or beside Lutheran Churches for the last 15 years, so this chat was interesting for me. David is a good soul and we (as thoughtfully as we could) worked through the myriad issues surrounding abortion.

Adair is a former HS classmate of mine and she currently helps folks re-sell their vintage goods and find them a good home. She's a national treasure and I really enjoyed this chat.

Eleanor is a graduate of the University of Akron. We talk about the issues around coming out as non-binary and trans in the current climate in the US.I always have been grateful for Eleanor's friendship. I hope you enjoy this candid conversation.

Sheldon is a registered nurse in a dialysis clinic in Texas. We discuss the current issues around gun ownership in the US. I always enjoy talking with Sheldon.

James is a percussionist, musician and composer who has a new piece out for solo guitar for the lead guitarist for the doom metal band, YOB. It was a great time chatting about compositional process with James as well as learning a bit more about doom metal.

Neal is a professor of political science at NYU and a supporter of So Percussion. We talk about his early experiences in modern music as well as causality in the social sciences. This was a fun one!

Brian and I dig into the history of the vibraphone since pre-WW2 as well as his personal growth as a musician. Brian is a fascinating guy and I think you'll enjoy this chat.

Anja's is a visual artist and photographer. Her mom passed away of ALS in 2020 and we talk about her background a bit and what it was like to see a loved one pass of Lou Gehrig's disease.

Blake is a musician from Atlanta who goes by Fusilier. We talked about the crossover of southern hip-hop and Nine Inch Nails. I learned a ton from this chat, and I hope you do as well!

Aron and I talk about Buke and Gase's collaboration w/ Rahrah Gabor and his new solo project DNRez.

Anna and I talk about the current situation in Ukraine and some of the historical context of what's going on over there. She also talks personally about what her family is going through. It's very much worth a listen if you are at all a citizen of the world.

Tom is a retired English teacher and ran the drama department at Dover High School in Dover, OH. He's a singer and guitar player, who had a larger impact in my day to day teaching than I realized. Hope you enjoy this chat.

Alec and I talk about his time in the record label industry as well as the current issues (both good and bad) w/ the current Spotify model. We touch on the issues around Joe Rogan and Neil Young, and the ethics around all of it. Alec is a really thoughtful friend and colleague and I really enjoyed this chat.

Arone and Lala (aka. Rahrah Gabor) sit down and talk about their new collaboration album and the influences behind it.

Ji Hye Jung, Eric Cha-Beach, and Todd Meehan talk about the new book called Korean Songs for Marimba.

Olatunji is a calypsonian from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. We had a wonderful time chatting about the history of calypso music as well as how to preserve it and advocate for it moving forward.

Andrew is a guitarist and composer who hails from Labrador in Canada. We had a great time chatting about his current work as well as the current state of affairs in online culture.

Sarah is a member of the Bergamot String Quartet. We chat about life in a string quartet as well as navigating the new music world.

Mike is a percussionist who studied at Northern Illinois University. We do a short podcast and chat a bit about our time with Cliff Alexis.

Evan is a former SoSI student/intern who is now a radio host near Cincinnati. It was great to catch up with Evan and chat about his experiences as a student and hear about his life in the world now. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

Ben and I pick up where we left off from our last chat. We talk about aspects of privilege when talking about issues of race and class as well as dive into the ethics of teaching and what works and what doesn't. I've really enjoyed chatting with Ben. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Brianna is a pianist and teacher living in Cincinnati, OH. We talked about her background in music and growing up with a farmer as a father. We also touched on issues of class and race in the new music community and how, in general, to try and make things better. Brianna was the first in person podcast I've done since Covid, and I have to say, it was a real blessing. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

Kadeem is a musician living in Brooklyn, NY and of Trinidadian descent. He's a big advocate for the steel pan culture in NYC and Trinidad. We talked about pan culture as well as some of the issues around vaccine hesitancy. I truly am grateful to have had this conversation with Kadeem. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Ben is a percussionist, educator, arranger, and composer who teaches at NIU. Ben and I have a great chat about his time at NIU and his work with Cliff and Liam, as well as how to embrace cultures not familiar to you. I really enjoyed the chat with Ben and I hope to do more!

Duvone is the arranger and music director of Renegades Steel Orchestra in Trinidad and Tobago. It was a pleasure to talk with him about his background and get into some discussions about the steel band culture and history and issues of respect of the culture in the steelband community.I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did.

Felix Reyes, Marcelina Suchocka, and Alan Hankers make up a trio of two percussionists and 1 pianist focusing on new commissions for the line-up. They all have a background of heavy metal influence and it was a treat to talk with them about their groups goals and future.

Kim is a Trinidadian historian focusing on the roots of the steelband movement in Trinidad and Tobago. His book “From Tinpan to TASPO” changed my life. We talk about the history of the steel pan and his approach to collecting all of that crucial information from figures who are alive today.

Shodekeh is a vocal breath artist, currently in residence at Towson University. We had a great chat about the innovating beat boxer, Biz Markie, among many other artists. We also talk a bit about his personal battle with suicide and how Buckminster Fuller's ideation approach changed his life. Fascinating person and conversation. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Aaron is a SoSI alum and percussionist living in Seattle. We talk about ways to use funding to support local artists and ethics around all of that. I really enjoyed catching up with Aaron.

Andrea is a SoSI alum and percussionist/performer living in Florida. Her online persona is Andē. It was amazing to catch up with her and hear what she's up to. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

I met Kunal at Silent Barn, a punk house music space he ran with his friend Joe Ahearn and many others. It was a pleasure to catch up with him and hear about his life in coding. I really enjoyed this chat especially the discussion around ethics in technology.

Todd is a founding member of So Percussion and prof of percussion studies at Baylor University. He is also the founder of Liquidrum. We chatted this morning about the concept of doubt.

Josh is the host of the Rudimental Podcast, and I sit with him to chat about how I've dealt with my own mental health issues as a musician and student throughout the years. I really enjoyed his candor and honesty and I wish more folks would be open about this topic. Hope this chat helps you as much as it did me. https://www.hartwelldrums.com/trp

Arone and I catch up after a few months to follow up on how our collective minds have been doing and what it means to grapple with our future. I always love chewing the fat with Arone.

Tracy is the professor of percussion at the University of Northern Alabama. I met him at OSU briefly in 1998. We chat about life in the marching band and my time with OSUMB. Tracy is a great guy and I got a bloody nose at the end so enjoy!

Andrea is on the composition faculty at Carlton College and is the director of composition at the So Percussion Summer Institute (SoSI). We chat about our old selves and new selves and what it means to be a teacher and the ethics behind it. We reserve the right to change our minds at any moment. Always love chatting with Andrea.

Doug is a founding member of So Percussion and is currently professor of percussion at the University of Michigan. We chat about the last year and look forward to the future, all the while trying to figure out what to keep and what to let go of from this past year. Always enjoy my time with Doug.

Anthony is a musician from Laventille, Trinidad and Tobago and has recently started composing his own music. We talk about steel pan culture a bit and why it's important for foreigners to come and experience pan in Trinidad and Tobago. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

Amanda is a percussionist and steel drummer and educator living in California. I met her during a coaching almost 16 years ago. I should have apologized for whatever I said in the coaching. I was probably wrong. Really enjoyed the chat. You will too.

Amanda is a percussionist and steel drummer and educator living in California. I met her during a coaching almost 16 years ago. I should have apologized for whatever I said in the coaching. I was probably wrong. Really enjoyed the chat. You will too.

Owen and I chat about cancel culture and generally how operating online is tricky these days. (I'm not good at it.) Owen is an amazing teacher and a wise soul. You should look him up.

Louis and I chat about how to teach culture in a steelband class, especially if you have no background in it (ie. A music educator who takes a job and has a class to teach) Louis had some great questions that definitely got me thinking. Really enjoyed it.

Mekka and I chat about the Derek Chauvin verdict among many other things. I also met her ball python Ogie. I always enjoy chatting with Mekka. Hope you do to.

Part two of my two part chat with composer and percussionist Ivan Trevino

Louis is percussionist, composer, and steel pan player. We chat about his work on contemporary pan playing among other things.

Nicholas was a student at SoSI years ago and is now into speed running. We had a great chat about what they are working on now as well as talk about coming out as non-binary.

Payton is a composer, improvisor, and marimba player living in New Jersey. His unique approach to sound production on the marimba is unparalleled in our field. His new recording of Anthony Braxton’s music is striking. Enjoy!

Maria studied at University of Miami and Yale University and is based in Poland. It was great to chat with Maria and learn about her studies as a kid in Poland and what it was like to study in the states.

Krissy is a Minneapolis based percussionist and improviser. She studied at NIU University with Greg Beyer and Cliff Alexis and Liam Teague. She also is currently studying Tabla. It was great to chat with Krissy and learn about her approach and chat about studying with Cliff, one of our mutual heroes.