For the first Fifth Position of the new year, Nick and Sebastian are joined by their favorite Michigander Dutchman Chris Van Hof, professor of trombone at Ball State University and Grand Poobah Assistant Manager of the International Trombone Festival.
We start by announcing guest artists for this summer's Third Coast Trombone Retreat! We then give our thoughts on the movie "Maestro" as well as debating our top five cheap beers. Ever wondered if Stanley mugs could be the new Beanie Babies? Wrapping things up, we muse over the perks of social media sabbaticals, the bygone era of messenger pigeons, and the thrills of performing a co-commissioned concerto. It's an episode peppered with Tex-Mex cravings, an invitation to connect (don't be shy to share your own stories!), and a warm reminder of the camaraderie within our music-filled world.
Lastly, we pay tribute to our late colleague Lance LaDuke, whose impact on our community will be missed immeasurably.
Check out the International Trombone Festival at www.internationaltrombonefestival.com
Also introducing special features with Patreon: www.patreon.com/tromboneretreat
Learn more about the Trombone Retreat and upcoming festival here: linktr.ee/tromboneretreat
Hosted by Sebastian Vera - @js.vera (insta) and Nick Schwartz - @basstrombone444 (insta)
Produced and edited by Sebastian Vera
Music: Firehorse: Mvt 1 - Trot by Steven Verhelst performed live by Brian Santero, Sebastian Vera and Nick Schwartz
Thank you to our season sponsor Houghton Horns: www.houghtonhorns.com
Support the show
For the first Fifth Position of the new year, Nick and Sebastian are joined by their favorite Michigander Dutchman Chris Van Hof, professor of trombone at Ball State University and Grand Poobah Assistant Manager of the International Trombone Festival.
We start by announcing guest artists for this summer's Third Coast Trombone Retreat! We then give our thoughts on the movie "Maestro" as well as debating our top five cheap beers. Ever wondered if Stanley mugs could be the new Beanie Babies? Wrapping things up, we muse over the perks of social media sabbaticals, the bygone era of messenger pigeons, and the thrills of performing a co-commissioned concerto. It's an episode peppered with Tex-Mex cravings, an invitation to connect (don't be shy to share your own stories!), and a warm reminder of the camaraderie within our music-filled world.
Lastly, we pay tribute to our late colleague Lance LaDuke, whose impact on our community will be missed immeasurably.
Check out the International Trombone Festival at www.internationaltrombonefestival.com
Also introducing special features with Patreon: www.patreon.com/tromboneretreat
Learn more about the Trombone Retreat and upcoming festival here: linktr.ee/tromboneretreat
Hosted by Sebastian Vera - @js.vera (insta) and Nick Schwartz - @basstrombone444 (insta)
Produced and edited by Sebastian Vera
Music: Firehorse: Mvt 1 - Trot by Steven Verhelst performed live by Brian Santero, Sebastian Vera and Nick Schwartz
Thank you to our season sponsor Houghton Horns: www.houghtonhorns.com
Support the show
That was my favorite one that I that I hope that I ever hosted was.
Speaker 2:That was that one, my favorite one. Yeah, you did a great job, but you always do great job, but that one, I mean, that was my first one going to as a professional. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I won't say which one's my least favorite, but yeah, we'll leave it there.
Speaker 1:We all know it was Nashville 1973.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we don't. We don't talk about that year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we don't speak about Nashville on this podcast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we don't. We don't discuss the incident.
Speaker 4:It is the fifth position. Happy New Year, welcome, welcome in. It is a podcast of a trombone podcast about something. I'm here with my friend podcast section. Yeah, it's an inception of a trombone podcast. You'll get it after like the 50th episode, so just keep listening. I Am here with my friend, nicholas Schwartz, and we have a special guest today, nicholas. Who might that be? Our, our favorite Dutch friend, mr Mr Chris van Hoff, professor of trombone at Ball State University, emerald Brass, gontet and how many of you might know him? The assistant manager of the International Trombone Festival, which, first of all, I think that title doesn't befit Like the prestige and the amount of work you have to do. That just sounds like a throwaway, like, oh, he's there sometimes and does stuff. You need like a much more like prestigious, like title.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know it's cuz we had the, the two staff. We had Karen Marston as the director and Justin Cook was the manager, and then I joined on, and so we just call me the assistant manager but yeah, I think the reason I'm sure. That's how I usually introduce myself, I think, like you know, you know Grand Puba, like Cruz director, I don't know, like something like that. I think would maybe suit.
Speaker 4:Director of operations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, something or it could be like what if the title stays the same but you add, like, like that, another title, so it's, it's assistant. What is? Assistant director of ITF? Assistant manager.
Speaker 1:His His highest cheek, dr Christopher von Hoff or this is, there's a, there's this website that creates academic job titles, so I could just kind of go for that like. Like, instead of the vice provost over there, I could be, like, the assistant manager of people and culture and and and community synergy or something seriously.
Speaker 4:I mean, that's the best part about having like a job you can really make the title, just whatever.
Speaker 2:So along those lines, the festival I play every summer in Lake Tahoe, like in the, in the Pam the book, the play bill, whatever you want to call it, they have the whole works for listed in. Everyone has a bio and you can put whatever you want. And our tuba player, who's also the tuba player I sit next to in the ballet, dan Peck Everyone else's bio is like, you know, plays in this orchestra. I've, you know, soloed here this or in. Dan puts a Tuba player at Coney Island zombie, zombie fest, burlesque show and he probably did that perfect and he did yeah he's not a lie.
Speaker 2:I did do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it was always wanted to Include in my bio, like here's what people are saying about Chris Vanhoen you should. You sure played a hell of a lot of notes Jay Friedman, a minus, john Marcellus, like those kinds of things. I think what really had really fly. Yeah, thank you. The United States Coast Guard Band audition committee.
Speaker 4:I love that no more people do that, because I used to my job when I was at the Manus College of Music, where Nick is a professor now I Used to. My student job was in the concert office and I'd be writing bios and programs for everybody. And program bios are just so Formulaic and everyone writes the same cliches and it's just like anytime you do something creative like that it's it's always just like you get to know your personality right away.
Speaker 2:Praised for their beautiful sound, celebrated, touted, you know, all sorts of what the best of his generation Generation yeah ground-breaking artist. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all, yeah, we gotta have like the Larry David bio like pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good, just leave it.
Speaker 4:My graduate recital I had at Manus. I had Like a tuba player in between. Every piece like play Curb. Your enthusiasm segues and you just like poke his head out the door and just go Bop-Oh-Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh. Another one was the bum brim bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. In like three people got it, but I was loving it, it doesn't matter. We do that for ourselves.
Speaker 1:It's not about the audience, so that's fine.
Speaker 4:Yes, that's true, that's actually true. Well, chris, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for the invitation. I don't know why you're wasting your time with me, but I'm happy Please please, it was just a matter of time.
Speaker 4:You're a radio professional.
Speaker 1:I did work in public radio for three years. Yes, it's true. Wxxi Classical 9015 in Rochester, New York.
Speaker 4:Can you give us like a typical, like coming back from like a Tchaikovsky Symphony, like oh, yeah sure yeah, so you're not nearly closely mic'd enough, though.
Speaker 2:that's the problem.
Speaker 1:I know you gotta get like and. I'm a nasal tenor so I really need the help of the public radio mic.
Speaker 2:But like that was a Oslo Philharmonic.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, that was Mara Sianzons conducting the Moose Shoot Symphony of Montana, tchaikovsky's fourth symphony Coming up later. We have music of Leo de Liebes and now news from National Public Radio. Oh oh, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, like that.
Speaker 4:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Man, that was adorable actually.
Speaker 1:I never expected to have that job. I kind of fell into it after an internship. This is wild. When I was like five years old, a little teeny tyke growing up in Grand Rapids, michigan, I would go to Mrs Vries and his house every day for like daycare and then my mom, would you know, she would go to work. And there was another kid there who was like my little toddler buddy. His name was Dirk and I feel really bad, I forgot his name. But another, you know Dutch boy like me, vonsome and like yeah, it was something like that, and so I'm like an NPR addict still.
Speaker 1:So I'm listening to NPR one day and I hear this report from like a local. Sometimes a local host will get on the national show. So there was one from Portland, oregon, and they're like that was. That was Dirk van der Hart from Portland Public Radio. I was like, holy crap, that's, that's the kid. Oh, no, kidding. Turns out it's true. Yeah, so like in this, in Mrs Vries and his house, there were two future NPR people. That's huge, me and Dirk, if he ain't.
Speaker 4:Dutch, he ain't much. So, mrs, what's her name? Ver, the Mrs Vries and his Vries and Go was basically the Nadia Boulanger of future NPR hosts West Michigan NPR hosts yeah, wow. I can only imagine the drills she had to do.
Speaker 1:It was intense, man.
Speaker 2:Well, chris, you'll appreciate this, being from the Dutch country. Out there in West Michigan, my sister went to Hope College, which is in Holland, michigan, for people don't know and very by the name you could imagine there's a lot of Dutch influence in the town and in the school. And when my sister graduated they announced everyone who's graduating, walking across the stage, all that stuff and flying through the alphabet and then we get to the Vs.
Speaker 4:It's like a million Going out there for a good while Yep.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the way we roll. We like to alphabetically speaking, at least to Dutch. We like to maintain a sense of suspense.
Speaker 4:I used to have a. It's been serving us well for centuries. I used to have a complex about that. Growing up I was so jealous of kids with A last names because they got to sit in the front. I don't know what it was and I was always last. I'd sit in the back. I was obsessed with looking up in the phone book of who has the very first name, and it was a last name of odd like AAD. And then one day there was a kid in my class with that last name and he was the biggest celebrity I had ever met in elementary school.
Speaker 1:That's immediate elementary school fame. You're in front of the line.
Speaker 4:I keep trying to find some random story for my childhood. Nick hasn't heard yet, so that was a new one. That's a new one Insight into my techie. So, nick, we do have some news. We do. The 11th Third Coast Tremoner Treat. This is actually breaking news. We haven't We've had a soft launch on our website, but it will be June 4th through 10th 2024. And our special guest artist this year will be Peter Steiner and Kansanza, as well as. As well as famous international soloist Peter Steiner, who we all love, we've interviewed earlier, and new principal trombonist of the Cleveland Orchestra, brian Wendell. How about that?
Speaker 1:That is it.
Speaker 4:That is an AOK lineup and the deadline is early. We have an early deadline. Save a little money. March 15th and April 1st is the final deadline. Find all the information you need to know at trombonercretecom. Are you going to come hang out again, Chris you?
Speaker 1:know I was like I pulled out my calendar immediately because ITF is done.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's the week after.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and yours is perfect Because, like, yeah, the plan is because my kids are going to be in Grand Rapids with my sister oh, andrea, because my wife is in her last year as the ITF Youth Workshop director, so we're both down there, so we're going to fly back to Grand Rapids on that Sunday. There you go.
Speaker 4:So, I want to come hang and I know there's nothing more you want to do after running a trombone festival than coming and hanging out at a trombone festival.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I don't have to run it Exactly. It's weird. Like me and Jay and Karen on the staff, we don't hear much trombone at all during the festival, Like we're both serious.
Speaker 2:You hear it all around, but just not performances.
Speaker 1:You don't listen. Yeah right, we're not actually like consuming it. Yeah, our festivals are usually alone at our houses like watching the video.
Speaker 4:You're like you trust that it's actually happening, but you don't know. It's like a tree falling in the woods. But yeah, I'll hang for sure, let's do it. Cool, awesome, you were invited.
Speaker 1:And I'll give the endorsement and say that everybody should apply, Because what you all do, I think, is truly unique and special. I really appreciate it and if I was a student I would want to go for sure. Yeah, there's nothing like that out there in the world.
Speaker 4:And a new brewery pops up every year. We go there. I feel like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which is why Chris comes and the existing ones get better and better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, beer, beer and trombone Best friends.
Speaker 4:So question pop culture. Hashtag pop culture. Did you guys see the Bernstein movie yet? Yes, Maestro, Maestro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've got to be honest, I started it and then it went to black and white and I was like, oh, this is a film, it's not a movie and that's fine. But when you have two kids and they're both in soccer, you've got to have time and a mind to watch a film. And so I got through a little bit of it and I was like, when's the part where he berets Jose Carreras? And they weren't getting to that. And then, I'm sorry, I watched the first 20 minutes. That was all I got to do.
Speaker 4:I mean that kind of says something, though Possibly, Maybe more than you were just sleepy. It's true, but, nick, did you enjoy part?
Speaker 2:of it. I feel like I'm one of the only people who liked it. Why'd you like it, tommy? I thought it was a good story. I thought Bradley Cooper was excellent. Obviously, I mean, so many people are upset that, oh, why didn't they cover more of his musical theater stuff or more of his whatever experiences, his conductor around the world, and it's like they focused on one area of his life. But it's like I mean, you can't tell anybody's whole life ever. Even when they did Lincoln, for example, they didn't talk about that he was a professional wrestler, abraham Lincoln. It's like someone could get pissed about that. I suppose I would watch that movie. Just Abe Lincoln in a stove what are they called? Stove cap, stove pipe, stove pipe, hat Wrestling.
Speaker 4:What his nickname was.
Speaker 1:We need a hope. I wonder if we could do an AI wrestling match of Abraham Lincoln versus the Iron Shake and just see what happens.
Speaker 4:Like who would win In an American flag body suit?
Speaker 2:I have a worse one Abraham Lincoln in FDR.
Speaker 1:Plus tough Franklin Delano Romanowski. Chris, you're going to see how much I have to edit this episode now that you're actually recording live with us.
Speaker 4:Sorry, yeah, I mean I think nowadays it's so unfair to be like bad, good, it's something in the middle for me. Obviously, I think it's such an awesome thing that this person's life was brought more to the fold, a little bit to pop culture nowadays. It was by every account by so many musician friends. Bradley Cooper did his homework. I mean, he spent so many years going to concerts and you just kept hearing stories about him going to concerts and shadowing conductors, so I do believe he respected them and took it seriously.
Speaker 4:I think seeing the Rotten Tomatoes score of 80, I think, is like I'm OK with that. Like for me it was, you know, I thought it was very stylized. They did a good job of creating the fashion, the culture, the feeling of it. I think they shot it on film and he re-shot a lot of those famous scenes that we've seen videos of. Some of the complaints were, you know, sometimes the language. I had to turn on subtitles like 20 minutes in, because there's just so much mumbling and fast talking through cigarettes. I thought that the chain-smoking, like cigarette affectation, was a little over the top at times.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I think that was pretty accurate. I mean, I've never seen a video where he doesn't have a cigarette, like a real video.
Speaker 4:Yeah and that's why I kind of like was OK with it. It took me a while to like let go of like I'm watching Bradley Cooper, but eventually I was able to. But yeah, I mean the the complaints I read I kind of agree with. It's like, yeah, as musicians we kind of watch it like a little biased and we want all these things to happen. But like they really chose to focus on his life and his struggles with being publicly homosexual and it was just like I just didn't think that was the most interesting part of his life.
Speaker 4:That's how I felt like what I read about this kind of being Oscar Bate and making it more for these dramatic situations that he could play out, rather than the extreme cultural and musical impact he made on society, which it only kind of talked. That story didn't feel real as interesting to me as far as I knew as artists and I think that the comments about hisήσin looking like that and Covid help the story while crossing its main barrier to see his life are the same as the time he went to get to work impression. But if I was like sitting in the work show watching that, I don't think that would have. That would have driven me crazy. But the biggest, the biggest complaint, obviously the biggest failure in the film which was just shocking to me, is not one LG Bermit B2 reference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that right and that's this. Is it again where I was kind of like there were two things I was looking for. Well, first of all it was black and white and again kids, tired dad brain. You know I need like punch, punch action. You know this is what I need in my life to keep my attention, but like no berating of famous international tenders. And then, yeah, no, no, like aleatoric kind of unaccompanied trombone solo. It's only two and a half minutes. You know how long was the runtime? Like two hours 27 minutes. They could have fit that.
Speaker 4:They could have started with it and ended with it and maybe put it in the middle. It showed in the dog wagging the tail yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, famously Bernstein, on his death bed, when he was, his final words were don't let algae from hippie get lost in the vast trombone musical canon yeah, I heard.
Speaker 1:I heard that six months after he passed that um that Ralph Sauer actually conducted a seance and he, and from beyond the grave, bernstein, told him that you swing the 16th notes and algae from hippie, you know not a lot of people know that.
Speaker 4:Ralph Sauer conducted seance, is you know, but he you know he was west coast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. Well, you know Los Angeles, there's crystals, there's all kinds of things going on out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he summers in Sedona to get closer to the vortexes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that he's a soothsayer yeah, but that's how you learn how to interpret 16th notes and burn size music.
Speaker 4:You know, otherwise we're just, we're afloat a drift on a sea of of, uh, ignorance and nick, you and you pointed out, nick, they did a really nice showing of fancy free, that sailor bar scene in fancy free, which was really cool.
Speaker 1:Yep, I liked how they had Bradley Cooper. Like you couldn't even tell, all of a sudden he was one of the dancers. I thought that was pretty cool and he's got dancers feet.
Speaker 4:Look at him man but yeah, they did a good job showing like the fame orbit at the end of how like bigger, larger than life he was and how he's just used to being, you know, center of attention and it's like, yeah, you have to be a little narcissistic like that when you're constantly being treated like that. But you had the huge checks position of like the home life, of like hey, you're the dad here and you need to be the dad and the husband and yeah, yeah, so I don't know, I liked it.
Speaker 4:Nick doesn't want to get in his head. I did stop talking, stop playing and what is the?
Speaker 2:what is this? A film uh, film uh podcast podcast.
Speaker 4:I love, I love movies. Well, you're gonna love our next topic, nick. I love movies too. I love them. Oh, and also our friend Dave Nelson, who's been on the podcast, played in the film, or at least acted holding a trombone in the film in one of the the New York orchestra scenes and I think that also the big mall or two was the London symphony at the end well, that was juxtaposed right.
Speaker 4:Well, there's two different, like big orchestra scenes I think, and so there's like a new york the mall or two, one I think they.
Speaker 2:They film Bradley Cooper alone and then an orchestra.
Speaker 1:Oh really, I think so oh, wow, yeah, I think you're right, though it was.
Speaker 4:It was London, that was the orchestra interesting well transitioning to a a much more serious topic. Chris and I have been talking about this for a while and Nick, I don't think I could have two better experts for this, this topic but I thought it would be really important to to list our top five cheap beers. Okay, I'm locked in, loaded, I'm ready. Living in, you know, one of the great brewer brewer states, can I say great brewer states of Michigan come from a land, land of hops and yeast in Cooper's in barley isn't it like the most breweries per capita, or something in Grand Rapids?
Speaker 1:in like Michigan, in the state of Michigan it might be the state I know what, at least at the time when I lived in Fort Collins, colorado, which was in until that, was the most breweries per capita for a city. Hmm, when I lived there there was like 120,000 people and 22 breweries. Wow, but Michigan it might be the winner for this day. I know Wisconsin has the most bars per capita yeah, what else are you gonna do in Wisconsin?
Speaker 1:exactly, yeah, but we're talking craft breweries. Cheap beer, although I might prove this wrong, tends to not come from the craft brewery so what do you think, nick?
Speaker 4:do you think we should all say, like everyone should just do their five, four, three, two, one, or we should like rotate and do everyone do their five, then their four?
Speaker 2:I think I'll do the five, I'll do the four.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'll yeah, like that okay, so I'll, I'll eat off my number five. Just, it's always, it's always solid. It was, it was a. It was a staple during my grad school days. I like a good LeBat blue.
Speaker 2:Well, from our neighbors up north, the, the apartment, the apartment above, a really good house party you can find it in a lot of places.
Speaker 1:LeBat. That's one that that's close to my heart from the the five years I lived in Rochester, because that was that was a go-to beer in Rochester, new York. But yeah, it's, it's one that has flavor. You got a hand into that nice well, what's your fifth?
Speaker 2:good old Miller light. Nice, I like it, so it's my go-to boat beer crisp.
Speaker 1:You don't have to think about it, it's basically carbonated, slightly flavored water boat beer, and it's superior to to the other leading competitor by a mile, which is Bud Light, of course that's true like Miller light, far so out of Bud Light, coors Light, miller light, you're putting Miller light top of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, all right, chris yeah, I'm, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna stay in the same same area, but not light. I prefer myself a Coors banquet mmm, mmm from golden. Colorado the banquet yeah, of course, coors banquet beer yeah, that's a good one. It has, you know, tastes like beer. You can, and then you know I there I'll be honest that you feel a little bit better. You can. You can kind of inflate your own little cheap beer.
Speaker 4:You go because you're like I'm having Coors banquet, right now of the three main flagship beers which you you see way less of them in like a bar than the light versions, like the light versions are always at the bar, but like Coors original Miller genuine draft and Budweiser, which do you think tastes best?
Speaker 1:I, I mean, I gave it my number five on my list, as is Coors for me.
Speaker 2:All the way, I think that is poppycock and Balderdash language I am. I am a fan of a Bud Heavy.
Speaker 4:Bud Heavy. Is that what you call him, bud Heavy?
Speaker 2:I've never heard that that my buddy Gray calls him to differentiate from a Bud Light. Got a Bud Heavy.
Speaker 1:God, that's great, my I learned that from my friend, charlie Halloran, who's in like top trauma employer in New Orleans now, oh, he's from St Louis and he called he you know he's called it a Bud Heavy and I was like what the hell are you talking?
Speaker 4:about. It's a perfect name. Yeah, it's much better than a Bud Light, that's for sure. That's true. Oh yeah, number four. I'll have to go with another pretty major one. Miller. Highlife Just too much history. Too much history. You can buy the 30 pack of cans. It's just there for you.
Speaker 2:I have a story about Miller Highlife. I want to hear it. So it's the champagne of beers, correct? Yes, Correct. We were drinking them when I was in college and my sister was visiting and she leans to me and she doesn't drink like at all. And she leans to me and she goes is it really made with champagne? And I was like Emily, don't say that out loud to anyone else.
Speaker 4:Oh, you missed a big opportunity there.
Speaker 2:Oh, I had already roasted her enough that day. She deserved a break.
Speaker 1:You can only call it that if it's from the champagne region of France. Oh, that's true.
Speaker 2:So it's really from the Miller brewery in France. It's a sparkling.
Speaker 4:yes, it's their only import.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean you have one of those and it's all about terroir or whatever that. You have a champagne of beer, you can taste the landscape.
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah, you can really taste the industrial complex.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. These hops were definitely like fertilized by a herd of free range sheep off the New Jersey turnpike.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, my turn. I'm going way out of this one. I guarantee it's not on any of your lists, but it is an excellent beer Stroze.
Speaker 4:Nice, very nice.
Speaker 2:Stroze made a big comeback a couple years ago and I picked up a 12 pack and I was like this is a delightful beer Right on when you're watching a football game and you don't want to sit around thinking about the beer. That brings me to another point is I used to homebrew and the guy who owned the only homebrew shop in San Francisco when I lived there had like a YouTube channel Grizz. Rip Grizz. He died, but crazy old man with dreadlocks that were down to the floor and dragged behind him.
Speaker 2:That's commitment they were unbelievable and gross. But someone asked him. He was like someone asked me what my favorite beer is, and I tell them my favorite beer is the one that you drink. And then you drink another of the same one, and about halfway through that one you go oh this is pretty good, yeah, and he's like I don't want something that punches me in the face.
Speaker 2:I mean, I can appreciate it, but it's not going to be my favorite beer. I want something that it's just so enjoyable you almost forget that you're drinking it Stroze.
Speaker 1:Stroze I like to give the I got to hit it to Stroze too for making it through prohibition by pivoting to the ice cream industry. Yeah, really, you know, bravo to them, they figured it out.
Speaker 4:Stroze, did you just hit us with a Chris Van Hoff? Fun fact.
Speaker 1:Fun fact yeah.
Speaker 4:A.
Speaker 2:CVHFF, that's right.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 4:And Nick, when you said that, when you said I used to home brew, I was like bro, do you even home brew? Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:What if yo-yo-ing became like the fad thing and someone's like bro, do you even yaw?
Speaker 4:You need to abbreviate yo-yo yeah.
Speaker 2:Brody yaw, All right. Cvh Number four All right.
Speaker 1:So this one. For me, this is like it's personal thing. I spent a lot of time again in Western New York the five years I lived there, which was an important formative beer for me.
Speaker 1:And it's, but it's not Genesee. And I'll tell you why it's nothing from Jenny. Because one time we went camping on the Mohawk River, just kind of outside of Utica, new York, and we got a bunch of Jenny cream ale and I had a very bad experience. We went to Walmart and bought some floaties and tried to float down the river and it ended poorly. So Jenny, jenny cream ale and I, we have a bad time. No for me. Sebastian, you'll like this living where you do. It's yingling, oh, yingling, get out of here with that.
Speaker 2:No, but just think I just had an argument about yingling last night.
Speaker 1:But it's a specific kind of a thing. So this is what it has to be. Is it's one of two things? Either you drink it warm out of the can, because nothing matters and you just need booze ASAP, or ice cold in a frosty glass. And I'm talking this is like, like, all kidding aside, it's a landscape thing for me. There's this bar in just outside Bloomfield, new York, just south of the Thruway, where we used to go and drink, called the Cottage, and you get a frosty glass with ice cold yingling out of the draft. Chef's kiss, nothing beats it. So that's it for me.
Speaker 1:Like I'm not going to go buy some yingling, but for me it's like yeah all right, that's one that I'll have, because it brings me back to a time and place. That was a happy thing.
Speaker 4:So there's an interesting one, nick Wozier.
Speaker 1:America's Oldest Brewery, by the way, America's Oldest Brewery.
Speaker 4:Nick, what was your beef with yingling?
Speaker 2:I mean it just kind of tastes like Ram's piss, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Well, maybe it's like cilantro, Like to you it tastes like that, oh interesting. But to me, you know, it tastes like some, like well, I don't know what I could, I don't know what I'm allowed to say on this podcast.
Speaker 4:You get it there in Michigan, though, right? Or is it more local? You can get it everywhere, okay, yeah, yeah, I mean it's a very above average cheap beer. It's just I've had it so much here that I've had it in a lot of varying like. It needs to be fresh, it needs to be cold. In a lot of bars of like held onto it for a while, and when you have bad yingling or yingling that you can tell has been there a while, it is not good.
Speaker 2:It gets skunky, it's like rolling rock, gets skunky too.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Is that your next favorite rolling rock?
Speaker 2:I'm going to call it right now. I think Sebastian and I are going to have the same number one.
Speaker 4:That's probably true. It's probably true.
Speaker 2:We're going to Because we both, I mean we could say it right now together, but I'm not going to.
Speaker 4:We need to get a sponsorship. But that's the real reason behind this episode, you know, Because a beer company really needs to advertise with the Trumbone podcast.
Speaker 1:I know, I've been trying. I tag them online, I'm trying to be a Bell's performing artist and they just they never reply. They don't know that they need you. You know what I'm saying? Your taste, yeah, I think it's more.
Speaker 4:I need them. And then you know, some people have some issues with the political ties, with yingling too, but we don't have to get into that.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, big donors Damn it. Okay, well, you all right, maybe I got a Can't change it, all right, fine, locked in. My number. Four sucks, but I told you why. The cottage in Bloomfield, new York. You have a personal experience.
Speaker 4:That's special. I mean, it's like, yeah, it tastes like Ramsmith. So my number three. You know I was a huge Corona fan for a long time, I don't know why. It's just always smooth. I really like it, but I actually I feel like I elevated, even though it's a lot different to Pacifico, being one of my favorite crisp, warm summer day beers. That's a fantastic.
Speaker 1:Mexican.
Speaker 2:Lager With a little lion. It's a good one. Goes well with tacos. I don't know if it's not quite a cheap beer. It's a cheaper beer. It's cheaper. Yeah, who owns it? Who owns it? It's probably one of the few Cromerites, I'm sure.
Speaker 1:Probably. I'm looking. I need to know.
Speaker 4:So there's a tree with like only three corporations that own every single beer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm pretty much, yeah. So my number three, along the same path, we're going south of the border, baby, we're going with those Echies Nice.
Speaker 4:There's a couple of different ones, right? Yeah, which one? Nick?
Speaker 2:I like the amber, the amber Classic. Yeah, Green bottle Classic Lime salt. Maybe you could even make like what do you call it? You put a little grenadine in it. You ever done that?
Speaker 4:Whoa Now you're getting fancy.
Speaker 2:It's very interesting, that's a thing.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can't remember the call it though.
Speaker 4:Huh, okay.
Speaker 2:It's very nice Good one.
Speaker 1:This is interesting because we're all kind of going in the same direction and I apologize, but I'm going to be very broad in my number three. When you're traveling throughout Central and South America, I'm going to say any beer from South America, period, because the way you drink it is ice cold and it's always out of a gigantic one liter bottle with a bunch of other people, it's like no matter what, it always hits the spot, it's always the perfect beer.
Speaker 2:There's a beer from Singapore Tiger. The way that they drink in Malaysia and Singapore is they actually pour it over ice. At first people are like, oh, that's crazy, but have you ever had a Michelada before?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's like same thing.
Speaker 2:Well, they pour it over ice with tomato juice. I mean it's like it's iced down, diluted, it's flavored, it's like what's the difference when you're in Singapore and it's 100 trillion degrees? It tastes pretty damn good to have like refreshing ice. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:Exactly, I think it's the best thing in South America and beer, because when it's hot and gross and then you're with other show home players, perfect, can't be bad, with one exception, and the one beer that I won't drink from South America is Brahma from Brazil, oh yeah. Talk about Rams can Shots? That's like bad fired, that's like sweaty Brazilian.
Speaker 2:Rams, but it's bad. What's the one from Costa Rica Imperial? Is it Imperial Imperial? Yeah, With the black eagle on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good beer.
Speaker 4:That's a very good beer. You ever had prestige from Haiti. I should have included that one.
Speaker 2:I think I've had it at like a Caribbean restaurant.
Speaker 4:It's basically like the only beer you'll see there, but it's like it's in a red stripe bottle, it's like tastes very similar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, maybe I should have said red stripe, red stripe.
Speaker 1:That's good.
Speaker 2:That is good on a beach.
Speaker 4:This is a good discussion. It's a good discussion app.
Speaker 1:I like how our number three, they all basically aligned, though it's basically like a we went south of the border.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's right, yeah, we're like get out of America. And Chris and I had a very shared experience, just different years, of going to Trombonanza in Argentina. All right, santafé In Santafé, and something I always found, I mean I would just chuckle every time when they asked you what beer you wanted. Do you remember what they called IPAs, ipas, ipas, would you like Tina's Ipa? And I think like Ambers were like Rubia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have tried to enjoy craft beer in South America and it always just tastes like the end of a long game of telephone. Like IPA has been described and translated many times. It's like no, not quite.
Speaker 4:Just go with the other things, drink the wine and eat the meat there. Yeah, what are we on? What are we on? Number two this is one of my favorites. Anytime I see it, I will order it. I don't see it very often. Sometimes it's in that hipster beer category. I love how the artwork looks on the can. It is a pork slap.
Speaker 2:Yes, I don't know if they ever had a pork slap Such a good beer.
Speaker 4:Should Google image search?
Speaker 2:it. Let me look this up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's a classic man, that's a.
Speaker 3:It's two naked pigs like jumping in there and slapping their bellies together From butternuts, from butternuts.
Speaker 1:Right, that's a great beer.
Speaker 2:That's the name of the brewery.
Speaker 1:Big fan. Yeah, you can just go can after can of that. That's from New York.
Speaker 2:I should go to the brewery. Where is it? Yeah, it's, let me look here. It's, I mean, it's middle of a freaking nowhere that checks out it is. I mean, it's so far off the highway that I'm still zooming out. I have no idea where.
Speaker 4:That's how you know. It's in the mill and nowhere.
Speaker 2:It's like it's the closest city's connectivity. Oh wow, so I got it's like West of Albany by like an hour.
Speaker 4:It looks like is that where we're going to have our next term bone retreat?
Speaker 1:retreat, oh dude apps of freaking Lutley, you got to go. You guys got to go to the poor side brewery. That'd be amazing.
Speaker 4:It's like it's like one guy in there, just like he has had a guest in years. It's like the Indiana Jones. When you discover the Holy Grail, oh, come in, come in.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't, I wouldn't give you a dusty. Can you take a sweet? He says you have chosen wisely.
Speaker 2:He grabs the glass and he's like that's good for the beer in it. I went to a wine store with my wife and the Catskills this is like seven years ago and we walked in and this wine store looks like it had just been robbed. I mean there was like no selection of anything. So we pick, I mean, the only bottle of wine that is possibly drinkable and we're not picky about wine at all. I'm talking about, like a wine that's made from grapes. That was, that was our standard.
Speaker 2:And so we pick out this bottle of wine, bring up to the register and the guy standing there and he's like I'm surprised you found anything at all. What? I was like really. He's like really he goes. Yeah, I mean, nothing in here is very good. It's like wow, your, your heart's really not in it.
Speaker 4:Is it support small business owners?
Speaker 1:No, Montsear, do you have the Boone's Farm blue varietal?
Speaker 2:I. I enjoyed the strawberry daiquiri sunrise.
Speaker 1:Do you have the new Ecto Cooler Boone's Farm?
Speaker 2:I would legit drink that.
Speaker 1:I would drink this shit.
Speaker 2:My one of my roommates in San Francisco, we discovered that neither one of us had had Mad Dog 2020 before. Have you guys had that before? Malt liquor? It's like a sweetened malt liquor. And we we had just eaten lunch and we were like, let's get, let's get a couple bottles and try them, you know, and we had each of us have like a quarter of them and we both of us got like gut rot and we had to go to bed and this was like one of that one in the afternoon and never again we learn, we make, we make decisions and we learn from them.
Speaker 4:Yeah, never Life. What's your number two, nick?
Speaker 2:My number two is the classic blue ribbon. Wow Paps.
Speaker 4:Oh, though it won a contest like once, like a local contest, like forever ago, 1872.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is our branding.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what do you like about the paps?
Speaker 2:I think it's the in some ways the quintessential cheap beer, but it's not the best one. That used to be my number one, perhaps women, but it's cheap. It tastes like something. It doesn't taste like much, but it's just a very agreeable beer.
Speaker 4:They really own that cheap beer demographic. They've got their distribution crazy and it's like cool to have it and it's non-pretentious to drink it. I don't love the taste. I actually have one in my fridge right now. I think you bought it, Nick. I think it's been here since you were here. That's very possible.
Speaker 1:Man, all right. So you say it's a very agreeable beer. It's my number two as well.
Speaker 4:Whoa Synergy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love me a pipper, it's just. It's the one beer I really don't feel bad drinking. The 16 ounce cans too, oh, that got her on. Yeah, that's right, and I agree with Nick, it's like. It's like if an alien landed and they had no experience of the human life or earth or anything and they said and they just pointed to the word beer, you could give them a PBR, and that's pretty. That pretty broadly defines beer. I think I mean like, at least as far as like well, we can get in this country.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:It's the.
Speaker 2:American, the American one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's nothing more. It's good. Like I feel like it used to be a hipster thing and then somehow it survived, the hipster thing, and it's now. Anybody can drink it. You don't have to be.
Speaker 4:How much does a PBR cost at like a Michigan like normal dive bar?
Speaker 1:I mean. Well, the best, the best is in. Sorry this isn't in Michigan, but in Muncie there's a place called Savages and it's a buck 50. Oh man For a PBR. They have $4 PBR pint days once a week, or a pitcher days.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's gonna say four dollar pints.
Speaker 4:That's not really for a pitcher. There's your recruiting pitch for Ball State right there.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, there's nothing to do except drink PBR in practice. That's why you should go to school at Ball State and you won't. You won't lose any money, that's right.
Speaker 2:The pub in Whitehall where the retreat is pub 111, they have normally, I think it's two dollar, two dollar PBRs, and one day a week they're a buck, and you go there on that day and all the people getting off their, their factory shift, they just line them up at the bar, you know.
Speaker 1:I think it's in my. In my opinion, it's maybe best accompanied at a bar, at least not at home, but at a bar with just a shot of Jim Beam.
Speaker 2:Oh, so are you talking about an? Actual boiler maker or deconstructed boiler maker.
Speaker 1:No deconstructed like shot of Jim Beam boom and then enjoy the the PBR.
Speaker 2:For the remainder yeah, they do have synergy, they do.
Speaker 4:Yeah Well, since Nik and I are the same, why don't you, Chris, why don't you go ahead and say your number one?
Speaker 1:Okay. So now you said best cheap beer, yes, but, but weirdly I'm not going macro brew on this. I'm going with a craft brewery, but one that is from my beloved home state of Michigan, and they create a beer that has all the great qualities of cheap beer but is significantly better, and it's from short brewing in Bella Michigan and it's called Locals Light. Wow, and the reason I love that beer is because you can drink it all year. It's perfect. It's like camping sports ball middle of the winter. It is a it's a light American logger, but it's really good and you can get like a 20, at least at my local liquor store here in Indianapolis you can get a 24 pack for 18 bucks.
Speaker 4:I'm no mathematician.
Speaker 2:That's pretty good deal.
Speaker 1:It's from like a real brewery but it's cheap, so it qualifies, I think, and that beer I want to. I'll advocate for that beer because it's real Short is a fantastic brewery too. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I love short. That's like great hang, good place to go Back to your previous one, Chris. I wanted to mention this. Our old principal, Tremonist, Rick Chamberlain, rest in peace. We used to go to this dive bar that doesn't exist anymore near Lincoln Center, and first time I go in with him he goes in and he looks at the bartender and he goes like this Thumb up thumb down.
Speaker 2:Do you know what that means? No idea, and the bartender knew it right away. It's like and I was like what, what is that? And he was like a shot and a beer. Whoa, that's the beer, that's the shot, and it could be a handshake.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you put it together with your body, and he was surprised. I didn't know that, but apparently, like I don't know, when he was growing up, that was the thing. We didn't have so much selection either. It's just like whatever ways, whatever beer you know, just give me something Shot and a beer.
Speaker 4:Yeah, do you think that would work? I think the bartender needs to be at least over the age of like 55 for that handshake.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, the bartender was like an old crusty bartender.
Speaker 4:It's like I got you. Yeah, that's cool. Well, we are. We are to our number one and the audience is on the edge of their seat Waiting with bated breath, and I don't think anyone that doesn't know us directly would guess this. But the number one beer and we haven't even communicated this yet, but I assume it's the same one. Do you like to do the honors?
Speaker 2:Nick, our number one beer is hams. Let's go.
Speaker 4:It's a hams house. Ham podcast. This is a hams podcast. This is a hams house. H A M M Ham's down. H A M M Yep. What's their slogan?
Speaker 2:It is a tasty beer and it is so freaking cheap. It's like I don't know how they make money Like the aluminum itself must cost more than the beer. I mean it's crazy From the land of sky blue water. Hams is really good.
Speaker 1:I recently had a really fantastic evening at a spot that will remain anonymous for professional reasons.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know what the groupies do.
Speaker 1:But with my buddy, rich Dole, who's a great bass drum home player here in Indianapolis, he and I, he and I closed a spot down with nothing but hams. That's amazing. That is a high quality, that's.
Speaker 4:Bravo For how good it tastes and how cheap it is. It's like I feel like anyone that catches on to the secret. I mean, I have a drive through beer place like a couple blocks from my house. That will just like throw up 30 pack in the back of your car, for I think it's something in the 20s. It's, it's nothing. So good.
Speaker 2:Sebastian introduced me to the hams. We were at the retreat and we were shopping at the local grocer and he threw he just nonchalantly throws a 30 pack of hams in the cart and I was like what the hell is that? Sebastian gave me that look, the look I've only seen twice in my life from John's fashion era. I don't want to know what the other?
Speaker 4:one was.
Speaker 2:I knew I must trust this man.
Speaker 4:And they have some amazing like old, like branding and artwork. That's really awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, there's an antique store next to a brewery in Monoguue. The antique store is now gone, but before, during the pandemic, before it disappeared, I went in there shopping around and I found a vintage hams mug. It's a handle, beautiful, and that was a house gift for our friend Sebastian here.
Speaker 4:You know, I drank out of that mug last night while, while the soul, left my body watching the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 2:Oh, that was. I was playing a show and I and the game started pretty much like right when the second half of the opera started, and the second half is like almost it's like an hour and 40. So I turned on my phone when the show was over and it was halftime. I mean, it was funny in the locker room everyone had the same thing happen. It's like we turn on our phones and it was like holy shit, oh my God, the Cowboys are losing.
Speaker 4:You know, the least shocked people are deep down or Cowboys fans, because we've just we accept high expectations. You know, I'd be okay if, like, we're just in, like we're just terrible for decades one thing and you just like kind of lose interest. But the amount of hype and the amount that gets you to believe every single year we've won 12 games the last three years they just always fold when it matters and it's just. It's a painful existence, but I am happy for your, your lions, to win their first playoff game in a long time.
Speaker 2:That's great for the city Elated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had some friends. I've been a football fan and I'm excited.
Speaker 2:I had a friend over from the great state of Michigan watching some lines last night getting rowdy. I mean cause? No, no, honestly, no matter the outcome. Of course I'm very happy that they won. You know, I would have been okay if they lost not as okay but it was a close game. It was a really, really close game. That Cowboys game was frustrating as hell because I just hate seeing any game that in the playoffs is that. It's a total blowout like that. It just sucks to watch.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I love, I love our quarterback. But he and he's either amazing or and when he's, you can tell when he's nervous, when he's off and like as a performing musician, like I have empathy you know it's like when you're off or if you're really nervous, everything feels different, you know, and it's like you can't be your best self. But he's. Yeah, it's not a good track record, but welcome back to the third coast, welcome back to the football retreat podcast, beer podcast. Thank you for your top five. I think we nailed it. I think we got all the correct answers.
Speaker 2:There's only one wrong answer. Yeah, I feel bad about my don't feel bad, hey, there's a lot of people love yingling.
Speaker 4:I mean that brings up the whole debate of like. Can you separate the art from the artists? Are you not allowed to enjoy Michael Jackson songs, if you like? Think maybe any of those things that were said about a merger? I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and you know how hard you want to edit this.
Speaker 2:I could tell some Michael Jackson jokes.
Speaker 4:I hate you so much. If you want this to ever come out.
Speaker 1:So Michael Jackson and Richard Wagner walk into a bar and order a yingling.
Speaker 2:There's some, there's some meat on that. That fruit is worth a squeeze, you know, so I have a.
Speaker 4:I have a quick quora question. Wow, that was, that was alliteration and that is a quick question Quora QQQ, q, q, cubed, triple Q, clear, with the majesty that is quora.
Speaker 1:I think it's something on an internet.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's like it replaced Yahoo Answers. It's where you can just ask questions to the universe and maybe someone will answer.
Speaker 2:It's the place that proves that, indeed, there are such things as dumb questions. Oh, good.
Speaker 4:This one's fairly interesting, though. I searched the depths for weird trombone questions, but I found this one. So if you strum a guitar, you hit a drum, what do you do with the trombone? You strum a guitar, you hit a drum. I mean you could say you slide one. I guess that's the easy effervesce you blast a bone.
Speaker 1:Buzz. Will you activate the air column?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, that's the trombone.
Speaker 2:I can only imagine there are some answers like that, some responses that are like well, you know, you set up your own machine. I don't know the answer.
Speaker 4:There was a guy?
Speaker 1:I don't. What is the trombone for? How do you verb trombone? I mean you slide.
Speaker 4:Slide seems like the safest, easiest answer Blast. Or we could just make up like strum. That's not a word, let's just make up a verb. Yes, strum is definitely made up. Let's tromb a trombone, trombone, yeah, tromb, tromb, tromb the trombone. I gotta go tromb, trumb it out.
Speaker 1:That's one letter away from getting a little political. That's the problem there.
Speaker 2:Well then, okay, you obama, trombone you obama trombone Thanks obama?
Speaker 4:What about a?
Speaker 1:what about Van Buren? Like, let's go back to the president's. You, grover Cleveland Van Buren. Yeah, grover, you Grover.
Speaker 2:Grover, oh, grover Cleveland. What a great name Grover is.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, nobody uses that anymore. I feel like that's only admissible if you have like for a cat these days.
Speaker 2:I bet you there are. There's a kid in Brooklyn who has two parents and hyphenated last name and definitely named Grover and is allergic to anything that casts a shadow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, his middle name is serendipity.
Speaker 2:Spell the Z. You gotta figure out where that Z is, you know.
Speaker 4:There's just a random Z in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, the Z is silent. My name's Nicholas, the I and the P of serendipity.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I think it's like a dumb trombone question. Somebody at work asked me last week who's like at Ball State, who's not. He's like a scientist or something like an actual academic, not like me and he goes. I've never heard this one before. He said, hey, I got a question. Is the trombone the instrument that's the easiest to tell if it's being played wrong?
Speaker 2:Hmm, whoa, that's actually a really good question.
Speaker 1:And what his rationale was. He's like I just went to my kid's fifth grade band concert and he's like I knew that all those trombones were wrong because they were not moving their slides at the same time.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, that is yeah.
Speaker 2:And so with that explanation, I was like, yeah, I think you're right, but if they're, yeah, if they're all playing the same part, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what you're saying. He's like I used to play trumpet and he's like fifth grade band. They're not doing three part harmony in the trombone section.
Speaker 2:They're not. They're not doing. Transcriptions of Jez Waldo music. Yeah, there's no motets up here. Six part motets, you know yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, visually we can't really hide because it, like you know, the second that you make the slide start going the wrong direction and then you're like, oh no, it's flat, and then you try to change it last second. I mean everyone can see that, I saw.
Speaker 1:I was watching the the NCAA tournament a couple of years ago in. Western Michigan, in my alma mater.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, WMU.
Speaker 1:Go Broncos. They were in the tournament and and here's they show the pet band. And here's this, this young man in the trombone section of the Western Michigan University pet band. They're playing the fight song which is in E flat major homeboy plays second position for a D. That's not acceptable and I'm like bro that's.
Speaker 4:Well, was he playing alto trombone.
Speaker 1:There was, and it was not, a secondary dominant.
Speaker 4:It was like I know the line this is it's a descending skier Doctor, doctor Chris Vanhoef.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was over. It's over a four chord, it's a Lydian sound and like this second. Come on bro. Well, if we're using Shankarian analysis, and let's synchronize the WMU fight song.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's. That's what if someone presents their thesis in its Shankarian analysis of college football fight songs?
Speaker 4:Hey, you're a professor of manners. That's like the bastion of Shankarian analysis. Yeah, it is Go NAR walls, go NAR walls. I was going to just say like a general go cats. When you mentioned ball state. I think I'm just going to. Anytime someone mentions their college, I'm just going to be like go cats, go cats. No, we're the Cardinals. Chirp, chirp is our thing oh do you see that is so lame, that's intimidating, very threatening, that's intimidating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cardinals is a fine name, but chirp, chirp Really. How about, like peck your eyes out, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, shit on your car Like something.
Speaker 4:Exactly, and Stanford has made it more like dominating by just making it singular. The Stanford Cardinal.
Speaker 2:The Cardinal. And then there are mascots a tree which my cousin was the mascot for Stanford.
Speaker 4:Wow, oh wow.
Speaker 2:He was. He was the tree. Dream big, that's the dream, yep. And the thing is, you know, stanford, they're the mascot. You, of course, you apply for it, try out for it, and part of it is you make your own costume. Every mascot has a different costume. It's all a tree, but it's homemade and that's part of the judging process. How like you need to? Whoa, yeah, he was on an ESPN commercial one where they had, like, the offices in Connecticut and he was like there, dressed as the tree. They flew him in from Stanford to Connecticut.
Speaker 4:I didn't know that you knew a celebrity, Nick.
Speaker 2:They flew him from Stanford to Stanford. Whoa Yep.
Speaker 4:Wait, could you say?
Speaker 2:that again. Yes, so, christopher, can I call you Christopher? Christopher, no, dr. Vanho Dr. Can I call?
Speaker 4:you Stoff, that's an old thing. I'll take that Bro.
Speaker 2:What's any news you'd like to announce?
Speaker 4:with the festival International. Trumbo and Festival.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, well, you know it's. It is happening slightly earlier in the summer than it has in years past. This year's edition is going to be at TCU in Fort Worth, texas. Dave Begnos is our host. Who's the Lovely? Lovely man TCU. He's super easy to get there because DFW is a gigantic airport, or you can find in.
Speaker 4:Lovefield Get a lot of burger out there.
Speaker 1:And yeah, so it'll be cool, and Dave's put together a really great artist lineup. You know, some of the personal highlights for me that I'm excited about is the American Brass Quintet with oh, that's right, they're coming yeah the longtime bass trombone player, john Rojak, of course, and then their brand new tenor trombone player, hilary Sims, is going to be there. She's also going to be playing as a solo artist, and so is John, so they're doing the Quintet and solo stuff. Somebody who's been at ITF before and we're really happy to have him back is Jose Milton Fiera from Brazil. Who, man? I think he's just one of the most beautiful players on the planet. He's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he definitely has, and then he had 2024 is a big year for us in the trombone world. It's the centennial year of the one and only JJ Johnson, Indianapolis' own JJ Johnson. So we'll be celebrating JJ's legacy on the evening concert with a big band backing up some great soloists Vince Gardner from Lincoln Center, Gunther Bolman from the Frankfurt radio big band in Germany, Nick Finzer from right there in Texas. So that'll be cool. Oh, and then this is also huge too. This is a huge thing that Dave himself helped put together. He convinced the Fortwood Symphony to extend their season by a week at a concert that included a brand new trombone and piano double concerto by Kevin Day for your upcoming retreat guests, Peter Steiner and Constanza Hawkworter. So double concerto for trombone and piano with the orchestra, and then on the second half they're playing Mahler five.
Speaker 2:So that'll be in that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that concert. They're playing it three times like a normal subscription series concert. But the Friday night one is like going to be ITF night. We'll get a block of tickets while we'll be over there.
Speaker 2:Can you imagine being a violinist in the Fortwood Symphony and being like the whole audience is trombone players because there's a festival happening down the street? Probably just like mind blowing to them like what the hell is happening. Got to give the people what they want.
Speaker 1:I know, I know Right.
Speaker 4:That's awesome yeah.
Speaker 1:We've heard enough of the Sibelius violin concerto. He's had his say.
Speaker 4:Now it's time for Kevin to have his day. Thank you, thank you, good night, thank you.
Speaker 2:If this concerto is anything like his other music, it is going to be on the edge of unplayable. That's really cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, our mutual friend Evan Conroy. He and I commissioned Kevin to write a duo.
Speaker 2:Oh that duo is crazy.
Speaker 1:It's a badass piece but like it's freaking, it's so hard it ends six octaves apart, of course, like double pedal E and triple screamy E and like that's really cool. You need someone to play cajon as well.
Speaker 4:I need some cajonis.
Speaker 1:I remember that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Renee Orrth, the piece that you guys also commissioned. Yeah, she brought a great piece. She's a friend and she sent me the recording you guys made.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's just. That first piece is really cool. It really is, yeah, so I look forward to hearing the whole album. Yeah, we need to get it on the services. I know when you're going to get that out there.
Speaker 1:Well, we got all the masters, it's all done, I think I just got to package it up and then figure out how to get it self released.
Speaker 2:Oh, I guess I should say that you recorded an album with Evan Conroy, my dear friend that I went to high school with outside Detroit, and now the bassist of the Louisiana, phil, and you went to Western Michigan with them.
Speaker 1:That's right yeah.
Speaker 2:There we go, the small world we're both in.
Speaker 1:Bronco marching band and yeah, so yeah, we did it. We did this album with five pieces we commissioned and it's finally all done. It was kind of a pandemic era project for us, but it's all done. We just got to get it out in the world a little bit.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I heard your duo recital at the ITF in Columbus.
Speaker 2:That was in Columbus, yeah.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, the time is like some it was like.
Speaker 2:Collins.
Speaker 4:Williams recital or something.
Speaker 2:So it's like it's either Collins or Sassra's or I can't remember, but anyhow, but I was there. I remember I went to both concerts. I was like I listened to one piece of Collins recital or George's or whatever, and then I went over and listened to like one piece of you guys's because I wanted to catch both and it like. So I heard half of each recital.
Speaker 1:Sounded great. Yeah, that's the challenge with the ITF. It's just not a real ride. We do get things archived so you can go back and listen to things Absolutely.
Speaker 4:So that helps Absolutely and we're going to make our best efforts. We're planning to be there and we're working on scheduling another podcast, but if and when we do, we will share the news, for that. It's always really fun. We've gotten to do live podcasts there the last three years with Joel Essie, christian Limburg and Bill Reichenbach and Alan Kaplan last year and those are all up on the feed that you can listen to. But always a lot of fun.
Speaker 4:So if I can just shift to our gratitude of the week, I just wanted to take this time. We actually the three of us scheduled, we're scheduled to do this podcast a few weeks ago before the new year, and it was. It was the day that they announced that we lost Lance Laduke, and so we it just didn't feel right to record that day. But you know, as many of you knew, no, lance was related to the Turnbone retreat for many years and a guest speaker to our our camp and what you tragically lost him early. He was a professor of music, entrepreneurship and and euphonium at Carnegie Mellon University and many of you know him from being on the brass junkies podcast, which we love. But anyone that knew him personally just incredibly inspirational person you just, anytime you're around him you were just so excited about. He wanted to hear about your career goals and how, if he could help you. He was one of those people that if he could help you, he would help you.
Speaker 4:He played in the River City Brass Band that I am in and when I first started and he was one of the big draws for me wanting to play there, and I can tell you from all of his colleagues here and many of his students that are around here, it still feels not real. It just doesn't. I think my colleagues said it best. It's just like it doesn't make sense that Lance is not here. So he had a bad fall and you know, especially with things getting icy now, just be careful.
Speaker 4:But you know, when we announced this podcast for example, nick, you may remember this I sent out a big newsletter announcing it and the very first email I got immediately back was from Lance being like congratulations on the launch. That's so cool, like he could be, like I think we're in competition or view it that way, and he's the first person to reach out and countless students have been inspired by him. So it's. I just wanted to honor him a little bit and you know I can't wait to hear more of what Andy Hitz has to say on his podcast. But, lance, there's gonna be a memorial March 23rd in Pittsburgh at 1 pm if you happen to be in the area. It's just a big celebration of life for a great, great human.
Speaker 1:Hmm yeah, thanks he's a person in our, in our industry, who you feel like you know him, even if you've never met him, because of the stories of everybody. Everybody speaks about him the same way like your. Your words are so accurate. I never met him personally, but it's like you feel like you, even just hearing about him, like you feel you feel good, like oh yeah, that's, that's how people should be in this business or just in life in general yeah, definitely, definitely role model in a lot of ways and Nick I mentioned in a post we made about him.
Speaker 4:How you know, the first year we had him come speak the retreat, I think he did an online session, yeah, and Nick, properly skeptical, like didn't know him very well, he's like a euphonium player what are you trying to do to me here? And I was like dude, this guy's just awesome and I just I wanted our, our camp not just to be only trombone, but like life as well and creating a career and opening people's minds to certain paths. And he had such a unique way of creating a career and he never did anything that he wasn't inspired by and he gave this talk and, like Nick, nick gave me a hug afterwards because we all felt just so inspired after this talk, you know, and we wanted him to be a fixture and, you know, huge influence to the retreat, huge influence to us. It breaks my heart to say it, but so I'm. I guess I'll just formally announce here I'm, I'm starting a position at the Cleveland Institute of Music, starting the semester, and I'm gonna do some chamber coaching, but I'm also gonna teach a course on kind of music, entrepreneurship and digital media, and I was literally planning to call him like that week to get advice, because it's it's very much what he does at Carnegie Mellon, right and, and like I was, like you know, I'll catch him next week.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'm kind of overloaded and then you know, you hear the news of being in the hospitalist is another lesson of like always tell the people around you you love them, always reach out to the people you care about. You know, turn off the TV show and make a call to someone you haven't talked to in a while. It's like it's one of one of those kind of things. That's my news. That's yeah, so things coming up. More podcast I have a few fun ideas. Albeit the Texas Music Educators Conference team yay, coming in February if anyone's around for that. It's always a cool spectacle. I'll be with Houghton horns with the debut of my signature mouthpiece that I'm extremely excited about. So please come by and say hello if you're there, chris, how can people find you?
Speaker 1:probably the best, although in the best by on Instagram at CVH Trombone, you have a great Instagram, although, if I'm honest, I've I've been taking quite a quite a significant break from the social medias for my own mental health and it's proving to be successful. That might continue, but I'm checking in there once in a while when some things come up. Yeah, yeah, soccer dad life what about smoke signals?
Speaker 2:would that?
Speaker 1:work for messenger pigeon. They're more environmentally friendly. Mmm, that's true, go up go up there very little yeah, like pigeon farts are not as bad as cow farts.
Speaker 2:So well, if you knew anything about birds which I know quite a bit about birds don't fart.
Speaker 1:I've my understanding when internet birds aren't real.
Speaker 2:They're actually right, there's government. Their government plans to spy on us yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know, given that you know they're great for transmitting messages as well?
Speaker 4:yes, of course go say with Chris at at Ball State.
Speaker 1:It's an awesome school yeah, you can find us on the Instagram to Ball State Trombone, and then I will shamelessly plug that I'm very excited at the end of February to. This is really cool for me. I'm playing a concerto, a piece that I co-commissioned by Jim David me and drew Leslie out of.
Speaker 4:Colorado are two. First, names.
Speaker 1:Co-commissioned it David yeah, great piece. So is Drew. Leslie yeah, true, but Jim's a great composer at this piece is super cool and I'm playing it with the Castle High School band in Newburgh, indiana, which is a huge band program, and this is just cool for me. I want to say and give a shout out because it's my, my former student at Ball State, grant Wintran Hymer, is the band director there now, so that's kind of cool for me. I guess that's awesome piece and with my student conducting, I'm excited about that and I didn't awesome.
Speaker 4:That's very cool. And I forgot to mention, like, if you don't want to come to ITF for the Trombones, come for the food yeah, we are gonna be in Tex-Mexland, which is Nick's favorite.
Speaker 2:I love Tex-Mex and barbecue. I will say when you're craving Mexican food, tex-mex doesn't quite, quite get you there. There's a difference. It's it's its own thing and but there's sometimes you're just craving a plate, like a mixed plate of enchiladas and some floutas or something and some really, really fatty refried beans baby.
Speaker 4:Oh, it is lunch time. Yeah, hey, chris, thanks for hanging out with us.
Speaker 1:Man this is a treat. Thanks for the invitation we should do.
Speaker 2:You say it's a retreat wait, could you say that?
Speaker 1:again slapper in comedy.
Speaker 4:That's what they call a callback hey, oh, thanks for hanging out with it. I know you have a very busy schedule with teaching and with having children, so is always good to hang out with the real radio professional that actually knows how to do this kind of thing. So we are honored and we look forward to hang out in person sometime very soon yeah it'll happen.
Speaker 4:We shall make it soon. If you see Chris at the ITF, give him a hug and just say hey, you're doing great, you're doing great. Did you get enough sleep last night?
Speaker 2:well, I got a better one can. Can they go up to Chris and just grab him by the nape of the neck and go what happened? And then walk away that?
Speaker 1:they know that doesn't need to happen, because I do that to myself every morning, that's that's. They could just break, just drop by with some PBR or hams now they know.
Speaker 4:Oh man, if someone showed up with your top five favorite beers and just like a little pack for you, oh, you know what I do I borrow my wife's 40 ounce Stanley mug and just see what happens if you what's up with the Stanley? Why is everyone obsessed with Stanley mugs right now?
Speaker 2:the internet. I love the. I love the people that are trolling their wives, making fun of their Stanley mugs by like carrying around like a like a 40 gallon trash can with a handle on it is that also?
Speaker 4:that's neat about it, it's just really big it's insulated big yeah, hasn't that technology been around already? They?
Speaker 2:keep yeah, pump these by hot day.
Speaker 1:Hot, yeah, and they made them in cool colors and then they got influencers to influence.
Speaker 2:See, and you can add little trinkets on them. Right, can't get little little dangly things to hang off the straw and stuff? Yeah, they're like the.
Speaker 1:They're like the beverage version of Crocs.
Speaker 4:I've seen these videos in Walmart of people tackling each other for like these pink Stanley mugs. I was just like what?
Speaker 2:why it's a they're they're like beanie babies or tickle tickle me almost or furbies okay.
Speaker 4:Well, this has been the fifth position, and I wish all of you to make it a great day and if you're feeling off, find you some hoff oh, like David Hasselhoff, but don't hassle the hoff, don't hassle the hoff we're trying to come up with like taglines to end with. So, chris, if you got anything hot that you just some some pithy thing you want to say, feel free, pithy pithy like a nape, not a kind of a headgear, yeah, but piths, piths also the part of the like citrus fruit.
Speaker 1:I think we're nailing it right now. Actually, guys, we got it, you got it. If you're seeking a citrus flavored headgear sold to you by an academic trombone influencer, look no, flow doesn't really held it. I'll keep the day job.