Episodes
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080: Chris White
Good morning! This is the final (for now) episode of Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
Weāve got a great guest today to wrap up this phase of the show.
On Wednesday, March 24th of 2021 as always, music is not content. Itās connection.
Iām thrilled that we made it this far, and this is definitely not goodbye. Just a transition as I lean hard into some of the music projects Iāve got going on over here.
Moving forward Iāll still be sending out updates on the email list (in a yet-to-be-determined frequency and format) so make sure you sign up at playitlikeitsmusic.com if youāre not already receiving those.
The podcast feed will go to sleep for a bit but if you know me, you know I canāt stop releasing audio. Youāll find new stuff going up on Soundcloud, Bandcamp and my socials, so hit that follow button over on Twitter and Instagram. I still spend as little time as possible over on Facebook, but it canāt hurt to throw a follow over there as well.
Meanwhile, today weāre going to meet the man who pretty much started me down this road. The guy who taught me where a 7th chord could be found on a cello and how to walk a bass line on it as well.
Based in Ithaca New York, Chris White has been exploring new directions for the cello since the late 1970ās. Whether playing in an intimate duo with piano or guitar, a jazz string quartet or with his groups the Cayuga Jazz Ensemble or the Cloud Chamber Orchestra, Chrisā playing has the vibrancy and the urgency of someone who is excited about what he is communicating.
Whiteās development as a jazz and improvisational cellist has been strongly affected by his guitar studies of folk, rock and jazz during his formative years. These studies were largely self taught, and focused on learning by ear, improvising, experimenting, and studying chords ā things which cellists are usually not encouraged to do in traditional study. As he began applying these skills to the cello, he found it to be a wonderfully versatile instrument for playing all kinds of improvised music because he could play melodies, chords, and bass lines.
Heās a major figure in our world, as the founder and director of the New Directions Cello Festival for 25 years. He recently passed the baton to the very energetic and talented Jeremy Harman and some other great musicians who are going to keep the thing going, starting this June 26th and 27th.
I couldnāt be more honored to put Chris on todayās episode as I wrap up this phase of doing my music podcast. Itās been an incredible run, and one could argue that Chris was the man holding the pistol at the starting line. Itās a great honor to call him a friend and a colleague after all these years doing this crazy thing we do.
So letās say hi.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Chris White.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Chris White for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him on the gram @chrisjazzcello. Go say hi.
I canāt believe we did 80 shows! Iām gonna wrap it up here for a bit as I drill down on finishing my next couple of albums and then weāll see. Who knows whatās going to happen now with the scene, the world, the universe. All I know is that Iām super happy to have shared this time with you for the last couple of years, blessed that you cared to listen and given us your ears.
All of these episodes will remain available indefinitely, so if you believe the show deserves a wider audience or you want it to come back in the future, help people find out about it by telling a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental records on bandcamp, and I hope you will. Volume 3 is coming out April 1st.
Sign the mailing list on substack to get my music sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
079: Dwight Ritcher
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, March 17th of 2021 Music is not content, itās connection.
Glad to be here with you today. As Iāve been mentioning, Iāll be winding the show down for now after next weekās episode (#80). Itās been great and Iām super gratified with the response, but I need to focus on a couple of big projects Iāve got brewing. Make sure you sign up on the mailing list over at playitlikeitsmusic.com so we can stay in touch. Iām not going far, and Iām always reachable.
Today we have the honor of hanging out with musician, guitarist, drummer, bandleader, singer and songwriter Dwight Ritcher of Dwight and Nicole. You may remember we got to spend time with his fairer half, Nicole Nelson back in Episode 50. Today we complete the picture.
This band is so inspiring on a lot of levels. First, they kill. They can rock in a loud way and also in a super quiet way. They write great, perform consistently and are altogether inspiring in a musical sense. I found this out firsthand when I opened for them at Banjo Jimās back in the day.
Second, theyāre a couple! Iām always amazed when you get to see a relationship play out musically in real time, whether itās these two, Donny and Marie, Captain and Tenille, Sonny and Cher, Ashford and Simpson, Break Out The Crazy or one of the many others working today. Itās rare and beautiful to experience this as a fan.
Both Dwight and Nicole possess strong natural voices that stop you dead in your tracks. Whether belting or whispering, their singing commands attention. They are captivating performers, multi-instrumentalists and strong songwriters, standing far out from the slagheap of gutless conformity.
Dwight plays a Gibson Flying V guitar ā picking up his first one as a teenager in Long Branch NJ ā he has never played anything else. It was a great honor to get him on a mic and dig a little bit into his background and into his process.
So letās get into it:
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Dwight Ritcher.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Dwight Ritcher for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Dwight and Nicole dot com and follow them online @dwightandnicole.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 79 shows! Iām gonna wrap it up next week at 80 with a very special guest. Still, if you believe this show deserves a wider audience or you want it to come back in the future, please help people find out about it by telling a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental records on bandcamp, and I hope you will. Volume 3 is coming out April 1st.
Sign the mailing list on substack to get my music sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
Episodes manquant?
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078 Gideon Freudmann
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, March 10th of 2021 music is not content, itās connection.
Itās March Madness!
As in, Iām going mad over here. There is so much life-stuff interfering in my musical life right now. Itās a weird feeling when youāre a trained professional in something with solid marketable skills that youāve always used to live by. And then gradually the market and technology conspire over time to make you out as a hobbyist.
What was that degree for again?
At least I donāt have loans, but itās maddening. Not like I need to be a musical factory worker, but more and more these days itās just a giant neverending free obstacle course you run all the time: sending out emails to strangers, courting likes on the ever growing number of platforms, watching kids run circles around everybody and also get sad because you canāt just go to a club these days.
Music feels like a figment of our imagination without the live component, video games are more immersive, netflix is more engaging, sports are more connective and the news will give you a run for your sanity any old time you turn it on. So who - including us - has any time to do music or listen to it anymore?
Not trying to be a downer here, we all grow up and no one gets a pass on basic life skills like earning and knowing where to draw lines.
Iām grateful for the space Iām in, the health I enjoy all day long, sunshine, sound and creativity which just wonāt leave me alone these days. We have a great musician to speak with today.
Gideon Freudmann, cellist and composer, has been on the forefront of our instrument's modern creative expansion for more than 30 years.
A formal education at the University of Connecticut laid a solid classical foundation for what has become a diverse soundscape encompassing a wide range of musical genres.
Heās been at this for way longer than it was trendy. In fact itās his mission to make the cello hip, modern and fun. Heās toured all over the place, worked in lots of small ensembles, heās a founding member of the Portland Cello Project and the band Caravan Goghā¦ heās one of those guys who, if youāre into the cello you definitely know who he is.
And if youāre not, then youāve probably just heard him a bunch of times without knowing it. His work is all over NPR: All Things Considered, CarTalk, This American Life. Movies too, Good Morning Americaā¦ everywhere.
Gideon lives to Portland, Oregon in the mid-2000s where he is a founding member of the Portland Cello Project. He has also branched into live soundtrack accompaniment to silent films. Heās a great musician, a great cellist, a great guy and Iām very glad to have him on the show.
Letās get to it!
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Gideon Freudmann.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Gideon Freudmann for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at CelloBop dot com and follow him on Facebook @cellobop.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 78 shows! Weāre going to put this show on indefinite hiatus after two more interviews. Nevertheless if you believe this show deserves a wider audience or you want it to continue in the future, please help create even more demand by telling a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental records on bandcamp, and I hope you will. Volume 3 is coming out April 1st.
Sign the mailing list on substack to get my music sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
Episode 77: Announcement! (and some choice rants)
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, March 3rd of 2021 music is not content, itās connection.
Saying hi to you from the interwebs in these uncertain times. Iām going to do something different for this episode. Check it out.
[What follows is the full transcript of this weekās show. Feel free to press Play and read along if so inclined. I promise itās more fun with audio, plus thereās some music on there!]
Listen in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Iāve had a number of shifts in my creative life over the last few years, things that knocked me on my ass, things that have made me think/question what this is all for but also which got me digging further into how it all happens, and finally some major openings that brought some beautiful new energy and momentum into my musical process.
Some of these changes happened because of doing this podcast and others are separate. But if you listen to this show and youāre engaged with music in some way, one thing you probably know is that the ground is always shifting beneath us. We canāt always think on our feet, sometimes we have to think with our feet. More on that in a minute.
Right now I have an announcement.
And it has to do with the above.
This show in its current form is going to go away for a while. Iāll do a few more episodes with a couple of great people, take it up to Episode 80 and then put it on hiatus.
Iām incredibly happy for how itās gone and this is not a decision I take lightly at all, since I know that many of you tune in each week for the fellowship we get here. Itās exactly the kind of community I feel I was made to serve, but itās also catalyzed some really important shifts in my creative life which I have to honor.
Iām going to lean into the music 100% for a while, which will include reclaiming the handful of hours I put into producing this show every week.
The energy is simply too great right now, music is pouring out of me at a rate I can barely keep up with. I want to celebrate this and strike while the iron is hot.
Iāll still be sending you emails and sometimes thereāll be sounds with them. But āPlay It Like Itās Musicā the show is entering a cocoon phase as it finds out what form it wants to take in the future. Iām so thankful that you are all here listening to this process as it unfolds and sharing your own experiences with me. Iām not going anywhere, this is just a metamorphosis.
So during this episode today Iām going to go through some of the changes themselves, and what they might mean for some of us whoāve been chasing the muse our whole lives.
I think youāll get something out of it, so letās dig in.
I got my first drum machine in 1987.
Yes, Iām that old. It was a Roland TR-505, it had some samples on pads and some basic sequencing on it but it wasnāt much to shake a stick at - or shake a room with.
Now tell me if this is you: we put our fingers on an instrument, start getting some cool sounds and then start dreaming of putting a beat together with our sounds, maybe getting a band together and seeing if folks might want to go somewhere and dance to some of our stuff.
That was me as a teenager in the 80ās, and itās still me today.
I went on to log a few hundred thousand miles on the road, playing in every kind of bar imaginable. I did a couple of local cover bands as well, but itās all the same chase.
AND! Before you do any bands or put on a show, you gotta have band practice. And because you might not have a drummer lined up right away, you try getting your hands on a drum machine and see if you can make something happen with that.
Sound familiar?
Honestly some people start there and go pretty far with it, becoming electronic artists, DJās and producers. But Iāve never been able to keep my fingers off a set of strings for very long. And itās dicey, trying to wrangle a beat and play an instrument at the same time. Some folks do just fine with that but itās a lot of balls to keep in the air.
So for little old me the drum machine ends up taking the form of a glorified click track, which is fun for about 25 seconds before you start realizing that a beat isnāt just marking time as it marches by. Itās a living breathing thing, an animal which will take your music to unimagined heights if you treat it right, but will also rip your vibe to shreds if you ignore it or piss it off.
So the journey is a long one, and for me itās been episodic and contentious.
Iāve never felt so musically lost than when I was trying to figure my groove out and couldnāt do it.
Itās a weird feeling of impotence where your nose is pressed so hard against the glass and you have no idea how to get through. You know something beautiful is there, right on the other side, but you canāt quite get beyond a sketch and itās getting hard to breathe.
Iāve been around the block with it a bunch of times, and the cycle is pretty much the same: I find a line or a riff or a melody or some chords, then I set about looking for combinations with a rhythm or some lyrics. Or I might start with one of those by themselves and look from that angle. Sometimes it works out quickly, other times it leads into a maze. The maze sometimes leads somewhere cool (like my cello style, which I love) and other times it just leads further into the maze.
Iāve had insane power struggles with some of the human drummers Iāve worked with, as well as some crazy dysfunctional codependency with most of the drum machines Iāve used and owned in the past. Then, if you get going with computers using something like Ableton Live the thing changes entirely.
I like to say that Ableton Live is Excel for music. And I stand by that.
And Iām a technically-inclined guy!
So Iāve been able to get quite well-versed in the relationship between strings and drums, between live drums and electronic drums, synths and samples, software and hardware. Iāve owned quite a few pieces of gear over the years but I usually let them go because I can find their limitations pretty quickly. And they are quite limiting.
Usually it comes down to a question of feel and tempo: if itās a machine then Iām always craving more variation than the thing will provide inside of its feature set, and with a live drummer (and live musicians in general) there are questions of dynamics and personality that can shortchange the musical payoff if youāre not on the same page.
Now a critical point in the process is when you let go of control, watching the elements combine into something greater than the individual parts or preferences. But oftentimes our ego (or egos) will keep us stuck and we donāt give ourselves that chance. Then you end up back at square one, which for me usually takes the form of sitting in a space by myself with a cello, tapping on the surface of it.
As long as I donāt have any life complications getting in the way, that is.
Music is a beautiful thing.
Itās a great way to un-twist ourselves.
But the twisting part can also bring you to your knees if you donāt keep your head up.
My journey took me off the rails for a while. I burned bridges, lost homes, chased the muse into the weeds far more times than I can count.
And I wonāt lie: a lot of those trips can definitely make you sound better in the long run. Learning what a musical moment is really worth and connecting with a deep place, each time. But at some point you do have to take charge of your life.
I had to stop throwing my well-being out the window and get down to the work at hand of making a true sound, one that would matter to people and bring them together.
But I had no idea what that even meant anymore.
Personally I had suffered too many losses along the way. Iād come off the road, stopped playing in bars to sell other peopleās beer, my mental health was in shreds and I had no joy at the idea of going out to another gig, anywhere.
With no idea of what any of it meant anymore, I started this show youāre hearing right now. I needed to talk to my fellow musicians about these questions: Why do we even do this? What separates the pros from the dilettantes and wannabes? What do we need to stay away from?
I had no idea, but I knew I could ask my friends. So Play It Like Itās Music was born. I knew that it would lead me somewhere. Probably forward.
So two things happened.
First, on the day I launched the show the phone stared to ring with clients and I started booking work as a podcast producer. I made like 40 grand in 6 months, which was astonishing.
The other thing that happened was I started making music again, and not like before. I was writing and producing too. With joy.
Thereās something about the very act of hitting Record which will scare a musician back into their shell. The creative process is often not fun, thereās a lot of dread and doubt which can paralyze you. But when itās your job to produce media for other people - at a high volume with delivery deadlines and so forth - that same act becomes a mere reflex.
Suddenly youāre just doing it. Youāre thinking with your feet.
So while I was making the first episodes of this show (for myself) and producing three other shows (for money), I suddenly found myself also writing songs again, composing instrumentals - and most importantly producing demos of said material at a higher rate and quality.
Something was working where it hadnāt been for a long time, which brings me to the third act in this tale.
At some point I stumbled upon the live-coding scene.
Itās the collision of music and technology at the core level. People tapping directly into the sound and musicmaking capabilities of their computers, bypassing all that front-facing software - the digital audio workstations which are so expensive and mostly just imitate tape machines to begin with.
Now thereās nothing wrong with tape machines, I love em. But computers are not tape machines and itās no use pretending that they are. I mean, DAWs are great but they are not musical instruments!
At some point people decided that DAWs and plugins were instruments in and of themselves, but theyāre not. Theyāre just production and composition environments. Computers might be the most powerful musical instrument humankind has ever invented, but the DAW environment is like using 3% of your brain.
Hereās a little side rant:
Between the twin tectonic shifts of the streaming era and the digital production explosion, not enough attention gets paid to just how toxic the DAW timeline is to a musician's mind.
Hear me out. A musical sound is a living organism. We interact with it when playing an instrument or writing a song. Composing on paper is writing notes to it while it lives in the ether - the sound itself manifests out of the process.
But when sounds all start and end inside a timeline, it's like raising animals in a cage. Yes, they all move exactly when and where you push them, but freedom and surprise are removed entirely.
I don't know about you, but freedom and surprise are exactly what I want MORE of in music, not less.
The DAW timeline is an authoritarian environment where the M.O. is to assert total control over the sounds. Ableton Live is almost as thrilling to use as an excel spreadsheet.
Now Iāll admit that thereās a part of me gets off on using DAW tools: it's the desperate, lonely part of me who craves certainty and safety. Who can't accept music as fundamentally chaotic and interact with it on those terms.
Playing cello, by contrast, is like living with an ostrich. Awkwardness abounds, and surprise is never far away. Control is out of the question, and anyway who would want that? You can collect instruments like animals if you want to, but the real action is out in the wild.
Now don't get me wrong: I use my DAW rig every day and love it for what it enables. But it's an adult activity: taking care of business and delivering the goods. The musical animal in me resents the constant funneling-into-certainty that the DAW timeline demands.
What's weird though is that my musician self also loves the crap out of computers for the raw chaotic power of the sounds they can make. Because music is where spirit and science mingle.
There's a whole scene of folks out there getting dirty with a computer like Jimi Hendrix or something. Check out @yaxu, @hellocatfood and @kindohm:
Weāre not all just out here making beer commercials.
Anyway, back to what I was sayingā¦
In live coding, youāre actually playing the computer. Youāre not stuck in a grid, mousing around with tempo envelopes or some corny āshuffleā knob. Youāre in the machine itself, putting in formulas and rolling the dice on what itās gonna spit out.
Needless to say, the learning curve is intense. But since the same goes for playing the cello, I jumped in and got hooked. Pretty soon all the different parts of my musical mind started coming together and I felt that sonic sense of purpose again.
Now Iām not a real computer programmer, so I mostly just tack things together and start playing along with it once my brain gives out and I canāt formulate any more. But that dance has started right here in my studio and itās not showing any signs of slowing down.
So Iāve made two new releases in the first two months of this year, and Iām already working on #3. And Iāve never felt better.
So letās hear some of it, shall we?
TRIOS 02: post-cello generations is available.
Here is installment #2 of the Trios series.
We are getting into some lusher and more melodic territory now, since the cello sound took quite a beating the first time around. We're letting Grandpa breathe a bit here.
February is a short month, hence a slightly shorter album. I hope you like these sounds, they are crafted with love and an adventurous spirit.
TRIOS 03 will come out on 4/1.
Click here to go to the album page.
As before, the creative limitation "Trio" in this instance means that there are three live passes: once with the rhythm bits (done directly from the computer using a live coding program called TidalCycles), and then two instrument takes followed by minimal editing and a mix.
Iām along for the ride with you.
So thatās my story.
I have so many people to thank for helping me to believe in this music and actually get the thing done.
Many of you (in fact the entire Play It Like Itās Music community) are listed in the release notes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here, and most of all for listening.
OK thatās all for this announcement. Thank you so much for being here, please enjoy and share the album.
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music, for spending some very generous time with me today.
This is episode #77, Iāll be back next week with a new show but weāll be winding this down after episode 80.
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
So as always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big Love to you and your big ears,
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our musical guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I love: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
076: Eugene Friesen
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, February 24 of 2021 music is not content. Itās connection.
I had a crazy performance anxiety dream the other night. In the dream Iām famous enough to get invited to do crazy random things on stage, and they offer me a gig to play Romeo at an outdoor Shakespeare production of Romeo And Juliet.
Of course I take it, even though I have no business doing something like that.
Meanwhile, also in the dream Iām in the process of buying an old apartment building. So the bulk of the dream is spent visiting the site and going over minutiae like how old the wooden bannisters are and what kind of plumbing needs to be ripped out and what does the landmark commission have to sayā¦
I donāt do a single rehearsal for the play.
Gig day rolls around and weāre still checking out the property with different real estate agents and managers. Iām riding around in the back of the car - the folks Iām with are completely oblivious to my having taken on a monumental role and theyāre just talking about it like Iām going to play songs at a bar or something. Like āthatās so cool that youāre doing this thing tonightā.
Meanwhile it dawns on me that I donāt even know a single one of my lines, havenāt even met the cast or the director.
They drop me off in front, like half an hour before curtain and I realize that I have to find a sub. No matter what, even though itās my name on the marquee. I am not gonna be that guy who got dropped right into a Shakespeare play with zero prep. I start looking around and see Willem Dafoe on his way in. Weāre not friends in my dream either but he recognizes me and treats me like a friend because itās like āmy big nightā.
Yeah right.
I tell him the situation and offer him the chance to play Romeo at a moments notice. He says thanks, probably not but he might know somebody and starts calling around. I see the real estate agents walking in, start to lose my s**t andā¦
thatās the moment I woke up.
Whew.
What a fun one! Some ego, some anxiety, a bunch of hubris and the walls all closing in. Maybe it ended well, I donāt know. Weād all like to get bailed out by a superstar at some point in our lives.
Iām just so glad it wasnāt real because I do not belong anywhere near a Shakespeare stage.
Meanwhile, today on the show:
Four-time Grammy Award-winner Eugene Friesen is active internationally as a concert and recording artist, composer, conductor and teacher. Eugene has worked and recorded with such diverse artists as Dave Brubeck, Martin Sexton, Toots Thielemans, Betty Buckley, Dar Williams, Will Ackerman, and Dream Theater.
Eugene's passion for improvised music has been featured in concerts all over the world with the Paul Winter Consort and with Trio Globo (which is Eugene, Howard Levy and Glen Velez). He appeared on "A Prairie Home Companion" playing with superstar soprano RenƩe Fleming and has performed as a soloist at the International Cello Festival in Manchester, England; the World Cello Congress in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Rio International Cello Encounter in Rio de Janeiro.
Heās a world renowned teacher of new cello techniques and improvisation in the United States, Asia, Europe, Egypt, and South America. Recording credits include five albums of original music, more than 30 CDs with the Paul Winter Consort, and hundreds of tracks featuring his rapturous cello playing on instrumental albums, films, and television scores.
Eugene is an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Eugene was one of the very first cellists I ever saw on stage when I was a kid, someone who liberated us from the idea that we had to stay in line and only play the notes on a page with pre-prescribed intent and a general lack of flavor or modern relevance. He took his classical education and helped the cello grow into the modern musical landscape. None of us would be anywhere without people like him.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Now letās talk to Eugene!
[Featured tracks: āShadowplayā and āFirst Rideā from The Essential Collection]
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Eugene Friesen.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Maestro Eugene for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Eugene Friesen Music dot com and follow him on the gram @eugene.friesen.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 76 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental record on bandcamp, and I hope you will. Volume 2 is coming out next week.
Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
075: Samuel Glazebrook
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, February 17th of 2021 music is not content. Itās connection.
Iām making this connection with you now, and Iām making the content too. Itās all happening in 21. So far I havenāt been impeached but only time will tell.
Sam Glazebrook is a cinematographer who spends quite a bit of time touring professionally as a musician. I first met him on a gig with Roo Panes, and we got to put in a few thousand miles together.
With everything he does, he strives to communicate a positive message of a collective human experience through his work. I wanted to have him on the show because a) heās a great guy and b) I just love the simultaneous levity and depth of his commitment. The man blazes on multiple instruments, heās also built the house he lives in and heās got a prodigious output in the world of media and film.
In the pro music world weāre always chasing down a gig or shedding some new lick or trying to hustle the marketing thing. It never ends, and itās really easy to forget why we bother to do this. Iām guilty of that, even though I deeply love what I do and enjoy it every single day. Walking into the rehearsal room with Sam (and Josh from Episode 47) I was instantly brought back to the infant joy I first felt, before I even became a musician. The band just had so much fun on the road and playing together, and it all just felt so spontaneous.
Sam had a lot to do with it. It turns out that heās got loads of talent, but also was raised by rocknrollers. Iām a bit envious of kids who have musician parents because a lot of the stuff the rest of us have to learn - not just playing but vibes and etiquette too, a feeling of comfort in a musical space - can come naturally to someone who was raised around the stuff. Sam is a beautiful cat and he conducts himself with a naturalness weād all do well to remember.
We get into his musical childhood and the elements of his career, how heās pieced it together for himself and the general ongoing-ness of it all.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Samās dadās band from the 80ās, Marino The Band:
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Now on with the show!
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Samuel Glazebrook.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Sam for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Samuel Glazebrook dot com and follow him on the gram @samuelglazebrook.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 75 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental record on bandcamp, and I hope you will. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
074: Joey Chang
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, February 10th of 2021 music is not content, itās connection.
Folks are listening to the album and writing in with your opinions, and I love it.
Kendra said āThis is really wonderful. What a groovy new sound for you.. And CONGRATS on this! So much work to take it from concept to reality.ā
Shon said āLook at you - tapping your inner Brian Eno. I think this is just the start of a new frontier of music exploration for you. Keep āem comingā¦.ā
And I will definitely keep em coming. Iām working on the second one right now, due out on March 1st. Thank you so much for listening and for sending and tweeting your feedback, it really helps keep me going.
Meanwhile, weāve got a cool guest musician on the show today.
Joey Chang aka CelloJoe is an anomaly in the world of cellists. He plays the cello while beatboxing, looping, and singing. He creates fat beats with a cello and his mouth and he does it live! His lyrics weave together sustainability, environmental justice, and social awareness. By beatboxing, throatsinging, singing, plucking and bowing the cello, CelloJoe can mimic many styles of music from dubstep to folk to rock to classical to hip hop.
He has also ridden his bike over 10,000 miles, carrying the cello on tour in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia. The man has grit as well as a creative spark.
We get into some good horror stories about destroying instruments for dumb reasons, the roundabout journey that someone would take to become the kind of musical polymath that makes Cello Joe such a compelling performer, and towards the end Joe even turns the tables for a bit and interviews me a little. This is a fun one.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Now on with the show!
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Cello Joe.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Joey Chang for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Cello Joe dot com and follow him on the gram, Twitch, YouTube and everywhere else @CelloJoe.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 74 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental record on bandcamp, and I hope you will! Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
073: Stephen A. Thomas (aka Sejen Aios)
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, February 3 of 2021 music is not content. Itās connection.
Iām rockin the new theme music today, which you may recognize from the new record I just put out on Monday. True to my promise, but it was definitely down to the wire. I set the deadline to make a record in January and put it out no matter what on February first. And it happened!
Go check it out if you havenāt yet: itās a bandcamp exclusive for now.
Today on the show we have a fascinating musician to hang with. Stephen A. Thomas (aka Sejen Aios) is a drummer and synthesist, bandleader and composer who lives here in Southern California but spent a long part of his upbringing in Mississippi. We get into a whole bunch of stuff around the touring life, a babyās fascination with spinning turntables, record store culture, deep synthesis and the stupid misconceptions non-southerners tend to have about the South.
Synthesists tend to be gearheads and I often find their music to be overly complex or relying more on technical gizmos than emotional expression. This is not the case with Stephen. Heās got a real heart connection with the instruments he plays, and a critical eye and ear for their design. We have a great time here picking apart the intricacies of synths.
Thereās lots more in here, so letās jump right in.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Stephen.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Stephen A. Thomas.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Stephen for spending some very generous time with us. You can find some of his synthesis work in the meditation app Insight Timer and his drum work at Stephen Thomas dot LA.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 73 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my NEW instrumental record on bandcamp, and I hope you will! Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
Good day to you all! I have a special announcement to share with you today.
TRIOS 01: lo-fi chamber electronica is available today.
This is my first release in six years. But if you read my newsletter and listen to the show you probably know that a lot of music has been brewing.
Iāve been through a lot of changes: personal, geographical, spiritual and sonic among others. And this new music is definitely a departure from my brand. Iām planting my flag here as an instrumental composer, in parallel to my songwriting and other production work.
You can click PLAY above to hear track one, or click here to go to the album page.
A bit about the sound: Iām taking the sound and feel of the cello from inside the fiber. People like to mystify āthe celloā as this beautiful, resonant, soaring thing but Iām all about the guts of it. Finding the bonkers noises it wants to make when not spotlit on a concerto stage or brooding in the sad part of a film score. The cello is FUN to mess around with and Iād like to share some of that fun with you:
A bit about the approach: "Trio" in this instance means that there are three live passes: once with the rhythm bits (done directly from the computer using a fascinating program called TidalCycles), and then two live takes followed by minimal editing and a mix. Production standard is strictly wabi-sabi, meaning I emphasized flavor and personality over fidelity and perfection. Thereās plenty of bounce and surprise in the music.
Iām along for the ride with you.
I have so many people to thank for helping me to believe in this music and actually get the thing done.
Many of you (in fact the entire Play It Like Itās Music community) are listed in the release notes. But no one has been so steadfast and supportive as Kerri Kelly, the beautiful force-of-nature with whom I get to share this life. Sheās here through it all, even while she moves mountains through her own work. Thank you K, I love you.
OK thatās all for this announcement. Thank you so much for being here, please enjoy and share the album, Iāll be back on Wednesday with your regularly scheduled episode.
Big Love to you and your big ears,
Trevor
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our musical guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I love: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
072: Aaron Gilmartin
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, January 27th of 2021 music is not content, itās connection.
Iām doing it, Iāve printed the mixes and Iām in the mastering process for this crazy new instrumental album Iāve been talking about. Itāll go up on Bandcamp on February 1 and the chips can fall where they will! Itās an electronic, experimental record with some very lo-fi drum sounds and a lot of lo-fi cello playing. I have got to say that Iām in love with it and also very pleased to be getting some new sounds out in the world.
Itās not a song album, itās not the cello suite. Itās some new stuff that might fit into the āambientā category if you were to find it in the record bins. Iāll come up with a nice list of hashtags to help with SEO, meanwhile counting on you to check it out and let me know how you like it. Iām nervous! But Iām going through with it. Canāt wait.
When you commit to the music life, without picking a lane early on and never ever deviating or getting interested in anything else, you may experience occasional periods of journeyman syndrome. Side effects might include lonely nights and long voyages into the unknown, as well as episodes of feeling lost but can also be accompanied by epiphany, euphoria, extreme dumb luck and transformational catharsis. You may also find friends for life.
Aaron Gilmartin is one of mine. He is an award-winning film composer, a songwriter born and raised in DC in a musical family on a diet of American song, blues and poetry.
Weāve seen each other through some incredible times, both high and low. And one thread which forever maintains is the inexhaustible grit and curiosity that it takes to stay in this life as a working musician.
Aaron started out on recorder, played clarinet and found his musical passion in the string family playing banjo at the age of 10 and then at the age of 12 migrated to the guitar.
Heās opened for Dave Mason (from Traffic) and has shared the stage with Winston Watson (Dylan), Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman), Jacob Valenzuela (Calexico) and Phoenix Rivera (Lincoln Center Jazz).
In NYC he played in every kind of group from songwriters to latin, country, folk and indie bands. He played flamenco for Ballet Hispanico and dancers in the NY flamenco scene. Aaron created video courses teaching flamenco and bossa nova guitar, and has worked prolifically on the road as a touring musician. Heās been living in LA for many years now where he composes, writes songs, plays guitar and also writes for Film Independent.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Aaron.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Aaron Gilmartin
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to the amazing Aaron Gilmartin for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Aaron Gilmartin dot com and follow him on IG @aaronsings.
And you know what? Go buy his music on Bandcamp!
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 72 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
071: Pyeng Threadgill
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, January 20th of 2021 music is not content.
Itās connection.
Big day today. I wonāt bore you with my take. Plenty of hot takes out there, for whatās going on. You know?
Seriously, the more confusing things get around here, the deeper Iām getting into music. It was probably dumb of me to tell you all that Iām putting out a recording on February 1st. I am having so much fun recording stuff, and I have no idea how Iām gonna get it through to the finish line. But if Iāve learned anything at all from the 6 years I just spent not putting out records, itās that without a deadline I pretty much donāt exist in public.
This stuff is new, itās messy, itās totally of-this-moment and not barking up any stylistic tree in particular. Iāve just been in musical development-mode for too long, and through too many major life changes that a bunch of sounds just have to come out. Iāll insist on a modicum of coherence, but thereās a strong emotional undercurrent to it all which I hope transcends the complexity of the music.
Today we get blessed with a visit from an incredible artist, singer, writer, bandleader and teacher. Iāve been a fan for longer than I can remember, and the generosity of her sound and her imagination and spirit is thrilling to witness.
Pyeng Threadgill has been described as ācharmingly eclectic" by St Louis Today. Singing āNew Porch Musicā she crafts an intimate journey through folk and jazz with Afro-electronic inflections. In her fourth solo album and multimedia project entitled "Head Full of Hair, Heart Full of Song", she shines a light on hair, adornment, ancestry and the political well as spiritual implications of race, hair and identity.
Pyengās music hits in a place thatās hard to pin down. She comes from a family of artists, grew up surrounded by the legendary downtown scene in New York, but sheās also put in an epic amount of miles - went to Oberlin, studied audio engineering, worked in the office at dance labelsā¦ she knew all about the business before she ever set out to make her own records. And it shows, sheās a consummate professional who knows exactly how to run a show, down to the details
Sheās the kind of artist who doesnāt just put out mere entertainment, she can deliver a compelling story, weave together multiple threads of meaning and also deliver the party. We get into a fascinating chat about how she landed on the album concept, as well as how she goes about developing a project to stand the test of time.
Itās a good one.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Pyeng.
Itās an honor to have her on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Pyeng Threadgill
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to the amazing Pyeng Threadgill for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her at PyengNyc dot com and follow her on IG @pyengthreadgill.
And you know what? Go buy her music on Bandcamp!
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 71 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
Episode 070: Teddy Kumpel
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, January 13 of 2020 music is not content. Itās connection.
I said it last week and Iāll say it again: Iām going to put up an instrumental album on February 1st. Itās going well: Iām scared shitless and frustrated and sad a lot of the time but I guess those are signals that some vital work is taking place. Iām in it. Weāll see.
Non-musicians look at us and think we must have such a charmed existence. So many times I hear folks say things along the lines of āah youāre a musician, that must be so amazing and so nice and sweet and liberatingā yadda yadda etcetera. Like we get to live without fear or any normal kind of life challenges. Or maybe that making music is a balm that somehow makes the loneliness just go away.
Well let me tell you something: Itās great to be a musician and itās an absolutely amazing process to make music. But it comes with great vulnerability. The volume of sheer fear and hopelessness that can sneak up on you at any moment will send you into spirals beyond imagining. The constant degradation of the value of our work in the marketplace will test our dignity in ways that make you want to set things on fire.
For me, every day is a miracle.
I look at how some people do it - which is dangerous because no two people can ever do it the same. But itās easy to survey the landscape and conclude either that an easy life is just beyond reach, or that itās hopeless to pursue it in the first place without first posessing untold truckloads of talent and charisma. In fact, neither are true.
Music is the stuff of life, and if it is in fact your lot to live in contact with it in any wayā¦ as a maker or listener or dancer or feeler or producer or (god help you) artistās representative, itās always appropriate to throw open your arms to the sky and give thanks for this doorway into the infinite.
Itās your choice and your chance to receive it. We open ourselves as it opens us. Which can sometimes feel unbearable, but stay in the game. Stay in it.
Iām not going to say anything about the assault on the Capitol. Those shows are all out there, this is not one of them. Iām a bit miffed that last weekās episode (with Mai Bloomfield) got totally upstaged by the world cracking open, but creativity lives in the cracks, and we have cracks in abundance right now. All kinds of cracks.
So crack open a cold one and settle in to enjoy some time with one of the greats. Iām a huge fan of the guy weāre talking to today, and maybe you are too. Or are about to be. Guy does things with a guitar that might be illegal in some states.
Teddy Kumpel was born and raised in Port Jefferson, NY on Long Island, into a musical family. Teddyās mom was a classical pianist and church organist. His father was a mathematics professor who enjoyed singing, playing piano and ukulele with The Great American Songbook. His family was always playing music together, which inspired Teddy to write his first song at 4 years old. At around the same time, he began playing baritone ukulele as well as playing any instrument his parents had lying around the houseā¦violin, flute, piano, organ and guitar.
After Teddy attended the University of Miami, Teddy spent some time on the road with Rare Silk and in New York City (between tours) to study with guitar legends Steve Khan, Dean Brown and Mick Goodrick.
Heās spent a lot of time in the trenches, toughing it out with the rest of the NY musicians doing whatever he could to get by.
Teddyās always had a passion for making his own music, and heās also worked on developing artists with major labels starting in the 90ās and continuing to this day.
In 2008 Teddy was creating a funk band with two guitar players, but couldnāt find another guitar player who was happy just playing rhythm guitar. Around this time, the first multi-track looping pedal came out and Teddy spent a couple of years figuring out how to loop with a live trio. This created, LOOPestra which played over 300 gigs at a Monday midnight residence at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC between 2011 and 2018. Those Monday LOOPestra live performances became a NYC institution and community building experience. Full disclosure: Iāve seen a few dozen of those (at least) and I also played on two of them.
And oh yeah, Teddy also toured with Joe Jackson between 2015 ā 2019.
Guyās got stories for days, we get into a lot of that lineage and plenty else. Good laughs too.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Teddy.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Teddy Kumpel
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to maestro Teddy Kumpel for spending some very generous time with us. You can find Teddy at Teddy Kumpel dot com and follow him on IG @teddykumpel.
And you know what? Go buy his music on Bandcamp!
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 70 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
069: Mai Bloomfield
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening. Iām glad to be back with you on a new morning, whatever the day brings!
On Wednesday, January 6th of 2021 music is not content. More than ever, Itās connection.
OK. NEWSFLASH.
Iām going to put up an instrumental album on February 1st.
Iāve started it, and Iām working on it this month. I promise that it will be good, Iām excited about the toolkit Iāve assembled here and itās time to stop dicking around.
Iām saying it to you in public because otherwise I know Iāll find a million excuses to postpone or just forget about it. Iāll be making many demos and putting them up on my soundcloud page if youāre interested in checking out the process. Keep in mind these are not songs - the song album will take longer than this one will, and is also very much in the works.
Wish me luck!
(Thanks!)
So welcome back to the show here. I took a couple of weeks off at the end of the year and it was so welcome, to just decompress and put that whole 2020 in the rearview. When I put Ann Courtneyās episode up at the top of the year I decided I was serious about doing this. I had been back and forth a bit on the podcast before that but I decided I was not gonna care about the numbers, just focus on making quality connections with quality people. And some cool things happened.
I started booking a bunch of production work right off the bat in January, and then it all went away with Covid. But it was definitely a sign - while the world was still ticking - that putting your voice and your self out into the world is totally worth it, itās the way to ensure your energy takes form. Who it reaches and how are not up to you.
Now let me tell you something:
The āartist-career/starā model of the music biz is very much a joke at this point. I got started in music because music was boiling in my body, and it still is. Living the dream aināt bad, but you can make your living any way you want.
Now donāt get me wrong: I work in music, thatās a fact. Still, itās worth taking a moment to specify for yourself exactly which quote-unquote ādreamā youāre signing up to live. Because for your life, it should be your own dream and not someone elseās.
That image of the star musician killing in on stage in front of thousands of people is one way it can manifest for you, but ādreamsā like that are similar in scope to somebody elseās ādreamā of reaching the top of mount Everest. It is doable? YES! It is worth doing? Probably? Will you learn a lot? Yes. Will people be psyched for you if you do it? Most definitely!
But do you want to live there your whole life? The air can get thin.
We have to be real about what a musical life really is. Iām not here to tell you that it is a certain way either, just to remind you that music will empower and enrich your life in ways nothing else can touch. And that this wealth also brings with it an opportunity to choose exactly how youāre gonna spend it. Choose how to direct your energy. Choose what youāre going to believe while you do this work.
For myself, I believe the following: that Life is beautiful. Family is a choice. Our relationships are the circuitry of society. We must make the most of the time we have. Humanity does not know our destiny. Beauty is progress, not perfection. Strength is a lifetime quest. There is an artist within each of us. And we belong to this place and this time, so letās get on with the show.
Welcome to next year. Weāre in it. And Iāve got a great guest on the show today to send us off.
Mai Bloomfield is a singer-songwriter-cellist-guitarist from California. As a solo artist, she has received songwriting awards from the Kerrville, Telluride and Rocky Mountain Folks Festivals.
She brings the hits: As a collaborator, sheās worked with various artists including Jason Mraz, Adam Cohen, Sara Bareilles and Willy Porter. She had the honor of playing on Leonard Cohenās album āYou Want It Darker.ā Along with her bandmates of 15 years in Raining Jane she co-wrote Jason Mrazās chart-topping album āYes!ā (2014) as well as his 2018 hit single āHave It All.ā Sheās toured the world with Mraz in venues ranging from coffee shops to the Royal Albert Hall.
Mai also has a drive for civic engagement: In 2010 she helped start the Rock nā Roll Camp for Girls Los Angeles, a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls through music, where she teaches songwriting and serves as Art Director year-round.
Her songs often speak of the pursuit of finding the light inside the dark ā a theme that was magnified in her own life when she became a breast cancer survivor. She is currently working on a book about that experience and the insights that came through it, and hopes her story will inspire and encourage others on their creative paths.
I met Mai in a classic road encounter between cellists: I was on tour and had just found my own cello to have been destroyed by baggage handlers. Gigs were ongoing and needed to call in a favor QUICK to complete my obligations for the tour.
Luckily our mutual friend Emily Hope Price (from Episode 1) decided we should know each other. Mai lent me her cello sight unseen for the show in LA and weāve been connected ever since. Iāve never met such a kind, abundantly talented and generous musician on the road as Mai Bloomfield, and itās a privilege to present our conversation to you now.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Mai. (Hereās a track called Running Out Of Time)
Itās an honor to have her on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Mai Bloomfield.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Mai Bloomfield for spending some very generous time with us. You can find Mai at Mai Bloomfield dot com and follow her on Facebook and IG @maibloomfield.
Hereās a link to her latest release, āThree Little Wordsā.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 69 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
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* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
068: Yousef Bassirpour
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, December 16th of 2020 Music is not content. Itās connection.
Yousef Bassirpour is working under the name Big Blind, and the music is heavy, spacious and beautiful. Heās a fixture on the Atwater scene here in LA.
Big Blind is an Industrial / Post-Rock project that draws influence from traditional Middle Eastern music. The lyrics are mostly English and occasionally Farsi.
I listen to this guy and Iām hearing a clear voice, sonorous arrangements, deep feeling and melodies that bring me to a variety of different places.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Yousef.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Yousef of Big Blind.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Yousef Bassirpour for spending some very generous time with us. You can find the Bid Blind album on Spotify and follow him on IG @big_blind_.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 68 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
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* More @trevorexter.com
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
067: George Crotty
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, December 9th of 2020 Music is not content, itās connection.
Iām glad to be talking with you today, over this amazing little pop-up radio thingy we call podcasting. There are a million shows, so thanks for tuning into this one. Itās about music. Could you tell?
Folks have no idea what music is, least of all the people who make it and listen to it. We care about it, but no two people will define Music in the same way. Itās just this thing that we either canāt turn away from for love or money, or the thing we have to get away from at any cost. Depends on the moment of course, and the band.
Iām pleased to announce that I got a big chunk of work done on my studio, so stay tuned for some videos and some streaming coming up very soon. Keep an eye out there.
On the topic of personal media development, someone whoās given me quite a bit of guidance over the years is a previous guest on the show, Todd Reynolds (@digifiddler). Heās a dear friend who happens to be one of the biggest gearheads on earth (at least as far as string players go). Heās been helping a lot of people get their stuff in gear for recording, improvising with electronics, video streaming. Iām gonna plug his online workshop this weekend, itās totally free and just the ticket if youāre curious about getting your rig tight.
If thatās you, click the link!
Register for Level Up Your Virtual Presence with Todd Reynolds, a free 2-day online workshop, Dec 12 & 13.
[Photo by Shjaane Glover]
Canadian cellist George Crotty follows the path of many diverse cello forebears, filtering an inquisitive eclecticism through a vibrant sonic imagination. His approach introduces nimble fiddle-derived chording and ornamentation, agile one-finger gestures from Indian classical music, electric guitar-esque manoeuvres, and good old standup jazz bass. He sounds pretty damn decent if you ask me.
He leads a trio as a vehicle for his unique vocabulary on the cello and his compositional sensibility. Their music has a dynamism and conversational interplay that makes you listen.
[Photo by Shjaane Glover]
George and I go back a bit, Iāve checked out his bands live and had some good hangs at certain music festivals. Heās got a lot to say about the world heās navigating as a young graduate of the Berklee School of Music, working on the road and then off of it too, because covidā¦
Heās got a new single being released this week on his Bandcamp page, check out Prayer Dance as our segue music. Itās a Brooklyn Raga Massive commission.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās George Crotty.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with George Crotty.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to George Crotty for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at George Crotty dot com. Go buy his music at Bandcamp and follow him on IG @georgeqrious.
(Mentioned in this episode: āDon't play the butter notes!ā)
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 67 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
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Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
066: Nathan Gillis
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, December 2 of 2020 Music is not content! Itās connection.
I skipped a week last week. Did you notice? We were too busy cooking food over here (that weāre still eating since it was a tiny gathering).
Iām gonna make this quick today. Iāve got some work going down over here, and Iām also getting ready for an interesting gig Iāve got online tomorrow so thereās not much to say except Iāve got some walls to paint and am looking forward to getting that done.
We will soon be streaming some video, and I hope to eventually get it to look halfway decent. Iām pretty happy with the sound lately.
I was recently on a songwriter zoom call where Angela Parrish (from Ep. 37) convened some of her favorite writers. This guy Nathan Gillis blew us all away, just dropped timeless gem after timeless gem - he reminds a lot of people of Prine and for good reason.
I just couldnāt get him out of my head - the level of craft that this guy brings in Colorado Springs is a marvel. I had to reach out for an interview.
He was kind enough to share some rough demos of a couple songs, thereās no album polish but the muse is there in full effect. Iām just gonna duck out here and let him tell us a little something about what music means to him. This man is a true inspiration.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Without further ado, hereās Nathan Gillis.
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Nathan Gillis.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Nathan Gillis for spending some very generous time with us. You can find his band on Facebook, other than that thereās no web presence to speak of. Which fits!
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 66 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
065: AJ Nocito
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, November 18th of 2020 music is not content. Itās connection.
It's just as hard to find musical partners as it is to find romantic partners. Some people can make it look easy, but finding someone to share the real burdens, who really understands the world the way you do and is brave enough to commit to a project - that part is never easy.
[photo by @shvwnfvckingcooper]
AJ Nocito is a man on a mission,
and his energy will infect any room he walks into. I've seen him in quite a few contexts: percussionist at The Get Down, road manager on a tour we were both on and also front man of the hardcore metal band Christopher Walkin On Sunshine. Strap in, this dude is a live wire. A thrilling man to have in your life.
Today we're going to hear the tale of a band in the making and in the breaking: sleeping on the floor with all the gear and just willing the music into being.
The story will take some turns because life does: there are a couple of different bands that weave in and out, as well as a heartbreaking tragedy that will stop you in your tracks. AJ has survived a major musician's nightmare, and he's here to tell us about it. There is redemption within.
Ok, so
Not a lot of metalheads listen to my show and I get it,
but sound is sound and spirit is spirit. The various facets of the metal and punk scenes which I've visited are some of the most inspiring and committed anywhere, and I confess to some envy alongside my admiration from the 'conservatory' perch I was brought up in. The energy is unmatched. I'm proud to have the few friends I do in there, and AJ is a brother of mine for life.
"I'm gonna start hearing things that my hands can't do."
[photo by @linkreturns]
[photo by Sasha Bianca]
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with AJ Nocito.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to AJ for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him and follow him on IG and chase him around. Also: buy their demo on bandcamp.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 65 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out there.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
064: Kent Klineman
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, November the 11th of 2020 music is not content, itās connection.
I donāt know about you but Iām really struggling to hold it together mentally this week. After all the goings on and the buildup and whatnot, nerves are fried and it appears the Big Conversation is just going to keep getting more and more perverse for all parties involved.
Not like itās that unusual, things are perpetually unchained if you look in the right places. But let me tell you, I did something yesterday that gave me an unusual amount of energy and inspiration: I brought my stuff over to a guyās house and we played some music together.
In the same room.
Woah let me tell you.
Bananas, right? I brought out the cello and the bass and plugged it all in. He had an array of drum machines and synths all wired up and we just went from scratch. YO! We didnāt stop for like an hour and a half. It was weird, just showing up to play. Like for fun. But thatās what it was: FUN.
Who knows when this pandemic is ever gonna ease off - people are still catching it and those numbers arenāt going down like you might wish. But for us musicians itās a total killer. We totally had our masks on and sat real far apart like sane people will, but it felt pretty rebellious just to be doing it at all. Which is a problem.
Music is the thing weāre supposed to be able to do to heal ourselves, to get connected, to feel whole and all the rest of it. Folks havenāt really been able to play properly for over six months now and man does that lack take a toll.
I remember going for little dryspells in between gigs, then playing and having my body just remember and exhale and want to go back and do it all over again. Thereās some somatic signal that makes everything ok for a little while, like a feeling of āthis is what youāre here to doā. Know what I mean?
Hereās hoping we can all get back to doing what weāre here to do, sooner rather than later.
Today on the show we have Kent Klineman of Blind Pony, a great character actor who you might have seen in TV shows like āThe Practiceā or āBetter Thingsā. He also acted with Brian Dennehy in āDeath Of A Salesmanā. Guyās a veteran, and he happens to also be a musician and songwriter.
I was happy to catch up with him for an engaging chat about his upbringing and approach and attitude to all things music and art. Heās a fantastic dude and it was an honor to have him on the show this week.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Itās an honor to have him on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Kent Klineman.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Kent Klineman for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him on Spotify, Youtube, IMDB and on Wikipedia.
The book Kent mentioned is called "Start Your Own Band" by Marty Jourard, keyboard player for The Motels.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 64 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out there.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
063: Mike Block
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, November 4th of 2020, MORE THAN EVER Music is not content, itās connection.
Iām recording this on Tuesday afternoon, so the voice youāre listening to right now is still on the previous side of whatever corner has been turned by the time youāre hearing this.
So you know something I donāt. Or maybe you donāt. But at least things are moving somewhere.
Today we have the one and only Mike Block on the show. Heās a good friend, a world renowned cellist and teacher and also a songwriter and bandleader who puts out an astonishing amount of records. His work ethic just won't quit.
He's also Yo Yo Ma's go-to arranger, a role which has developed in the wake of his long association with the Silk Road ensemble. We get into that.
Heās got a new album out this month called The Edge Of The Atmosphere and you can find links to it (and all of his music) in the shownotes [below].
Yes thatās right, we are doing a two week run of great cellists with great new albums. Last weekās interview with Nesrine was a real joy, and this one with Mike is another - if youāre into cellists.
Heās truly industrious: In 2010 he founded the Mike Block String Camp. Mike is also the founding Director of Silkroadās Global Musician Workshop (GMW), designed to foster a community of globally minded musicians. He teaches hundreds of cello students online through his Multi-Style Cello School at ArtistWorks.com, heās an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music, and in 2018 also joined the faculty of New England Conservatory through the Contemporary Improvisation program.
BUT thatās not all. As an innovator, Mike is among the first wave of cellists to adopt a strap in order to stand and move while playing. He patented an original design, The Block Strap, and then became the first standing cellist to perform at Carnegie Hall. The NY Times characterized the performance as, "Breathless ... Half dance, half dare."
So yeah, heās a complete badass. But also a humble and generous dude with a great heart. Letās hang out with Mike.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Mike Block.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Mike Block for spending some very generous time with us. You can find his work at Mike Block Music dot com and also on IG @blockcello.
His new album āThe Edge of the Atmosphereā is out now, give it a listen on all the streamers and on bandcamp.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 63 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out there.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly on Spotify)
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* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
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* More @trevorexter.com
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com -
062: Nesrine Belmokh
Good morning! This is Play It Like Itās Music. Iām Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, October 28th of 2020 music is not content. Itās connection.
I voted this past weekend. Have you? Are you planning to? Good idea to get it done early when you can. Especially with how charged everything is now. Because who knows what kind of drama is gonna get thrown at us next week.
Today on the show weāre talking with someone all the way over in Barcelona, Spain. I was captivated by todayās musician the moment I first came across one of her performances on YouTube.
As you know, I keep an eye out for singing cellists. But that can be a pretty mixed bag and a lot of second-rate stuff gets put out in the name of novelty. But French-Algerian Nesrine Belmokh (whose stage act goes by just her first name) is bringing it on a lot of levels: she kills it with the cello in all the traditional ways, but she adds to that with a great vocal delivery, bandleading and songwriting chops which are nothing to sniff at by themselves.
It all comes together in a mesmerizing show.
Nesrineās musical world is without borders; the combination of cello with her powerful voice and the interaction of her North African roots with her European present are irresistible. There is an economy of expression here, and the poise and culture of clas- sical music are juxtaposed with rhythms coming from both pop and jazz ā it is a fascinating and constantly shifting blend.
Her brand new self-titled album comes out this Friday, so follow the links here in the show notes and grab a full listen. In the meantime, hereās a bit of music and conversation with the amazing Nesrine.
Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Itās an honor to have her on the show.
Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Nesrine.
Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
Thanks for listening to Play It Like Itās Music. Thanks so much to Nesrine for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her work at Nesrine Music dot com and also on IG @nesrinemusic.
Her new album comes out on Friday, but in the meantime hereās a link to the single.
I canāt believe weāve gotten to 62 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
Follow me on twitter @trevorexter and talk to me on there if you have thoughts about the show.
We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out here.
But you gotta keep playing:
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. Itās all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
(Did you press play yet?)
.
.
.
If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!
* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast
* Hear all of our guests in rotation on āPlaylist It Like Itās Musicā (Apple/Spotify)
* Hear my songs: the āTrevor Exter Playlistā (Apple/Spotify)
* Vibe out, here are 200 songs I like: (updated regularly onSpotify)
* Sign the mailing list!
* Take lessons with me online!
* Hire me to produce your podcast.
* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB
* More @trevorexter.com
psstā¦ sign up for emails:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com - Montre plus
