skills-and-bones' podcast

Do you ever come across an artist or person not in your field and just think very highly of them? For me there are some athletes, motivational speakers, teachers, maybe a few actors, and for this particular episode is Hailey Brinnel. When I first listened to her albums, I was extremely impressed with her trombone playing, singing, and songwriting. I was instantly a fan. It is these types of interviews I get to do where I feel like a fan and am so gracious they give up some of their time to share their story and knowledge in music and trombone. Visit Hailey's website: https://www.haileybrinnel.com/  

This is the first episode with a co-host. Bruce Faske from episode one of this season has agreed to join me on the search for trombone treasures during season 5. Here is our first collaboration interviewing trombonist, educator, and entreprenuer, Nikki Abissi. We learn about Nikki growing up with tips she's learned along the way about trombone, teaching, and life in general. I hope you enjoy! Nikki's website: https://www.nikkiabissi.com/  

Season 5 is here. Enjoy the first episode with Dr. Bruce Faske, the new trombone professor at the University of Alabama. Plus you just might be hearing more from with on this podcast as the season unfolds. His life experiences early on brings a unique prospective to his teaching strategies. Take a listen!

On this episode of Skills and Bones we get to know Dr. Jonathan Allen and discuss injury comebacks. The first injury was an old shoulder injury and has some tips about what he did during his time off the horn. Allen also opens up about his struggles with focal dysonia and the steps and therapies to get back to playing shape. https://iowatrombones.com/ https://www.fariastechnique.com/

Meet Dr. Jessica Butler, Associate Professor of Practice, Low Brass & Music History at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. You will learn about Littin Trombones and the Littin Trombone Quartet Competition. There are so many neat things happening in the world of trombone from performing and teaching to superb craftsmanship. Maybe you are a student looking for a great place to start your undergraduate degree, well take a listen and get to know Dr. Butler, she is a great teacher and trombonist and definitely will lead you on the right path through your degree. If you are in the market for a new horn, try out one of these trombones next week at the International Trombone Festival and if you have a trombone quartet formed compete in the competition. The final round and festival will be held in Germany in early fall with first round applications due in the summer. Websites: Littin - https://www.littin-musik.de/trombones/?lang=en Jessica Butler - https://www.jessicatrombone.com/bioandcontact

Recorded live at East Carolina University on March 23, 2024. This was the third year in a row for the event and second with a podcast episode recorded in front of a live audience. The interview is based on the questions the students asked for trombonist - Myles Blakemore and composer - Pete Strohm. We discussed careers in the Navy, composing, to a life and career in music.  I thorouhgly enjoyed the opportunity to conduct this interview with so many insightful comments from both Blakemore and Strohm. Make sure to look at both of their webpages: Myles Blakemore: https://www.mylesblakemore.com/ Pete Strohm: https://petestrohm.com/  

Learn the story behind Trombone 101 and the great trombone teacher and musician, Sean Reusch. Make sure to check out his webpage: https://www.trombone101.com/ with many resources for students and teachers alike.

Meet the Vox Cor Trio! Listen and learn about their mission and music they perform. Follow them on Instagram to keep up with the latest.

Jose Leon talks about his new book, life experiences and more. Listen and get to know this amazing person, trombonist, and now author. 

Two great trombonists and friends team up for a power duo of trombone music and micro-brews. Meet the Brews Brothers, Jemmie Robertson and Bill Mann. We discuss the duo's name, commission projects, and future performances. 

There are many trombone treasures to discover in this interview! Get to know Dr. Joseph Jefferson a bit in this episode. We learn about his musical influences from growing up going to church to his trombone professors instilling a great work ethic and the eagerness to continue to grow as a person and musician. 

Meet the bass trombonist and composer William Pagan-Perez. It's an exciting discussion about growing up in Puerto Rico playing trombone and finding his voice as a composer through writing his first composition for his recital in graduate school at the University of Utah. (If you hear a dog barking you're not going crazy, my dog lost her mind during the recording.)

Listen to this episode with Katy Jones, Principal Trombone of the Hallé Orchestra. We chat some about her life and background through becoming a pharmacist to principal trombone of major symphony orchestras in the UK. We go into great detail about the breathing technique, Buteyko. If you want to learn more about this take a listen and also visit her website with many details and resources about Buteyko Breathing and courses she has to offer on the topic. https://katyjonestrombone.co.uk/ 

On one HOT day in July in Salt Lake City at the International Trombone Festival I had the pleasure to catch up and meet Mark Davidson, We chatted about his latest album and he shares some new information hot off the press. Very exciting to sit down and learn a thing or two about his life and trombone - the best combination. 

On this episode of Skills and Bones you will hear from Dr. Tony Baker, Professor of Trombone at the University of North Texas. We discuss his journey to success on both sides of the horn, classical and jazz, with a few other tidbits you may not get from some of his other interviews. 

This episode was recorded live at ECU School of Music, Skills and Bones II, trombone event on March 25, 2023. Matthew J Neff and Bradley Palmer were our guest performing artists and clinicians. Chuck Capps was gracious enough to make the drive from Myrtle Beach to Greenville to join us for this panel. These three trombonists have three distinct careers in music. Matthew Neff primarily a performing artist playing full-time, Dr. Palmer a professor of music, and Mr. Capps a very successfull band director. These three perspectives are good to hear as a student trying to figure it all out. Personally I loved listening to their stories and perspectives on the various topics presented.

Growing up with a parent who is a professional in their field doesn't mean that it is immediate success for their children. On this episode I'm chatting with Gabriel Dimartino about growing up and how his hard work has paid off in his career. We talk about brass topics and embouchures, but not a whole lot on the topic of coffee this time. Watch out for our follow up episode!

Do you ever get nervous before playing. I know I get nervous when taking tests, in a crowded room with many people I don't know. Sometimes nerves have been a killer to a performance, like a degree recital or just get me side-tracked for a few measures and then snap out of it. As I get older things become easier, but after the lock down and COVID, some of those old things returned and I had to work through them again on a small scale. Take a listen to this interview with Dr. Bruce Tychinski and get to know his story as he tells how he dealt and deals with performance anxiety. 

In this episode get to know Austin Pancner. Pancner has some great stories about how he found himself through failures. Along that path which helped mold him to what many followers know him as The Functional Musician.

Take a listen to this episode as we listen to Josh Bynum get in the driver's seat and takes us on a journey that is driven by trombone.