Listen now | 080: Chris White Good morning! This is the final (for now) episode of Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening. We’ve 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. It’s connection. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

Play It Like It's Music

"The thing that I enjoy the most"

Listen now | 079: Dwight Ritcher is a captivating performer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, standing far out from the slagheap of gutless conformity. He plays a Gibson Flying V guitar – picking up his first one as a teenager in Long Branch NJ – he has never played anything else. It was a great honor to get Dwight on a mic and dig a little bit into his background and into his process. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"A safe place to deal with my problems"

Listen now | 078 Gideon Freudmann is on the show today. He’s been at this for way longer than it was trendy. In fact it’s his mission to make the cello hip, modern and fun. He’s toured all over the place, worked in lots of small ensembles, he’s a founding member of the Portland Cello Project and the band Caravan Gogh… he’s one of those guys who, if you’re into the cello you definitely know who he is. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"It's important to find things that give you pleasure in life"

Listen now | if you listen to this show and you’re engaged with music in some way, one thing you probably know is that the ground is always shifting beneath us. We can’t always think on our feet, sometimes we have to think with our feet. More on that in a minute. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

Creativity is in the cracks.

Listen now | 076: Eugene Friesen 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. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"Music is the first language that made sense to me"

Listen now | 075: Samuel Glazebrook On Wednesday, February 17th of 2021 music is not content. It’s connection. I’m making this connection with you now, and I’m making the content too. It’s all happening in 21. So far I haven’t been impeached but only time will tell. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"It's part of the fabric of my family and my community"

Listen now | 074: Joey Chang we’ve 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. 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. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"Music is the most powerful method for advancing culture."

073: Stephen A. Thomas (aka Sejen Aios)Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.On Wednesday, February 3 of 2021 music is not content. It’s connection.I’m 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 haven’t yet: it’s 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 baby’s 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. He’s 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.There’s lots more in here, so let’s jump right in. Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:Without further ado, here’s Stephen.It’s 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 - PocketcastThanks so much for listening to Play It Like It’s 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 can’t believe we’ve 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 “Playlist It Like It’s Music” (Apple/Spotify)Hear my songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (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 FBMore @trevorexter.compsst… sign up for emails: Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

Stephen A. Thomas

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.I’ve been through a lot of changes: personal, geographical, spiritual and sonic among others. And this new music is definitely a departure from my brand. I’m 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: I’m taking the sound and feel of the cello from inside the fiber. People like to mystify “the cello” as this beautiful, resonant, soaring thing but I’m 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 I’d 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. There’s plenty of bounce and surprise in the music. I’m 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 It’s 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. She’s here through it all, even while she moves mountains through her own work. Thank you K, I love you.OK that’s all for this announcement. Thank you so much for being here, please enjoy and share the album, I’ll be back on Wednesday with your regularly scheduled episode.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 “Playlist It Like It’s Music” (Apple/Spotify)Hear my songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (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 FBMore @trevorexter.compsst… sign up for emails: Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

New album out today!

Listen now | 072: Aaron Gilmartin 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. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"To connect with other people about things that matter"

Listen now | 071: Pyeng Threadgill knew all about the business before she ever set out to make her own records. And it shows, she’s a consummate professional who knows exactly how to run a show, down to the details. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"My spirit always has to make music"

Episode 070: Teddy KumpelGood morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.Photo by John RosenblattOn Wednesday, January 13 of 2020 music is not content. It’s connection.I said it last week and I’ll say it again: I’m going to put up an instrumental album on February 1st. It’s going well: I’m scared shitless and frustrated and sad a lot of the time but I guess those are signals that some vital work is taking place. I’m in it. We’ll 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 “ah you’re a musician, that must be so amazing and so nice and sweet and liberating” 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: It’s great to be a musician and it’s 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 it’s easy to survey the landscape and conclude either that an easy life is just beyond reach, or that it’s 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 way… as a maker or listener or dancer or feeler or producer or (god help you) artist’s representative, it’s always appropriate to throw open your arms to the sky and give thanks for this doorway into the infinite. It’s 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.I’m not going to say anything about the assault on the Capitol. Those shows are all out there, this is not one of them. I’m a bit miffed that last week’s 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. I’m a huge fan of the guy we’re 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. Teddy’s 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 house…violin, flute, piano, organ and guitar. Photo by Michael WeintrobAfter Teddy graduated from 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. He’s 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. Teddy’s always had a passion for making his own music, and he’s also worked on developing artists with major labels starting in the 90’s and continuing to this day. In 2008 Teddy was creating a funk band with two guitar players, but couldn’t 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: I’ve 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 – 2019. Guy’s got stories for days, we get into a lot of that lineage and plenty else. Good laughs too.Photo by Andrei AverbuchQuick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:Without further ado, here’s Teddy. It’s an honor to have him on the show.Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Teddy KumpelOr subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - PocketcastThanks for listening to Play It Like It’s 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 can’t believe we’ve 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. It’s 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 - PocketcastHear all of our guests in rotation on “Playlist It Like It’s Music” (Apple/Spotify)Hear my songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (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 FBMore @trevorexter.compsst… sign up for emails: Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"It's part of my DNA"

Listen now | 069: Mai Bloomfield On Wednesday, January 6th of 2021 music is not content. More than ever, It’s connection. I’ve never met such a kind, abundantly talented and generous musician on the road as Mai Bloomfield, and it’s a privilege to present our conversation to you now. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"It connects me to everything beyond the human experience"

Listen now | 068: Yousef Bassirpour is working under the name Big Blind, and the music is heavy, spacious and beautiful. Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"Try not to have any shame about what you do"

067: George CrottyGood morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.On Wednesday, December 9th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.I’m 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. It’s 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. It’s just this thing that we either can’t 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.I’m 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 who’s given me quite a bit of guidance over the years is a previous guest on the show, Todd Reynolds (@digifiddler). He’s a dear friend who happens to be one of the biggest gearheads on earth (at least as far as string players go). He’s been helping a lot of people get their stuff in gear for recording, improvising with electronics, video streaming. I’m gonna plug his online workshop this weekend, it’s totally free and just the ticket if you’re curious about getting your rig tight.If that’s 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, I’ve checked out his bands live and had some good hangs at certain music festivals. He’s got a lot to say about the world he’s navigating as a young graduate of the Berklee School of Music, working on the road and then off of it too, because covid…He’s got a new single being released this week on his Bandcamp page, check out Prayer Dance as our segue music. It’s a Brooklyn Raga Massive commission.Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:Without further ado, here’s George Crotty.It’s 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 - PocketcastThanks for listening to Play It Like It’s 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: “Don't play the butter notes!”)I can’t believe we’ve 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. It’s 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 - PocketcastHear all of our guests in rotation on “Playlist It Like It’s Music” (Apple/Spotify)Hear my songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (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 FBMore @trevorexter.compsst… sign up for emails: Get on the email list at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

"To sing is to pray"

Purists may whine that the best days of music are behind us, that capital “M” music has seen its peak and is no longer relevant. But here at Play It Like It's Music we believe the opposite: not only is the act of musicmaking an essential life skill with a lineage stretching back to the beginnings of human history, but the vocation of the professional musician is more vital today than it ever has been. Once a month, join musician, songwriter and producer Trevor Exter as he drops in on working musicians from every genre. trevorexter.substack.com

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Play It Like It's Music

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