Episode 41: Entrepreneurship has been a recurring theme on the podcast. Both Donnie Johns and Joe Gramley both focus heavily on the idea of percussionists being entrepreneurs within their educational circles, each discussing topics like versatility, multitasking, building trust and prioritization as foundations for their careers. Excerpts from our …

Episode 40: Todd Meehan, Andrea Venet and Matthew Lau are distinctly creative in their own unique career paths. In this best of episode, we travel back to some of our first conversations and explore how each approaches their own creative lives. Matthew speaks about his energy and enthusiasm connected to building a performance career. Andrea "gives …

Episode 39: Katy Elman is a friend of BSP and owner of Southern Percussion in the UK. Being a trained musician, attending music schools from an early age, Katy ultimately had a unique opportunity to take over a retail sheet music company. We talk about this transition from performing to operating Southern Percussion, how her company has grown signi…

Episode 38 with Ivan Trevino If you’re unfamiliar with Ivan Trevino’s compositions and work with The Big Trouble, it’s definitely worth a Google. A diverse collection of musical genres, instrumentation, orchestration, and performance opportunities help make his projects accessible to both listen to and perform. All with an ongoing thread of social …

Episode 37 with Michael Ptacin Michael Ptacin is a recent BSP Concert Artist, but actually someone we’ve known since meeting at a convention years ago. He’s got his hands in all sorts of stuff like musical theatre, sequencing & programming, administration and most recently audio video production. This all seems to stem from his willingness and exci…

Episode 36 with Maria Flurry Maria Flurry has been a long time friend and supporter of Black Swamp Percussion. She knew Eric in the early years of BSP, used to work PAS conventions with us, and has always been one of our biggest supporters. Besides being connected to the performance world in Michigan, Arizona and everywhere in between over the year…

Episode 35 with Josh Smith After catching up a bit about family, travel and life, we learn more about some of Josh’s professional development and his music publishing company Ox & Lamb. He’s got a great new subscription promotion happening called the Ox and Lamb music club. As a subscriber for the club, you’ll receive THREE brand-new percussion sol…

Episode 34 with Colleen Bernstein Colleen Bernstein is Black Swamp Concert Artist heavily involved in arts education, performance collaboration, diversity awareness and community engagement. Strength and Sensitivity, her ongoing music and arts project, aims to connect and engage artists across gender, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and disabil…

Episode 33 We revisit past episodes, and dig into the topic of improvisation with BSP Artists Gloria Yehilievsky, Anthony Di Bartolo, Andrew Baldwin and Tony DiSanza. Each are active in overlapping and contrasting areas of performance, so it’s interesting to hear about their individual processes and projects connected to improvisation. - - - - 2 Fr…

Episode 32 with Melanie Voytovich Melanie is the founder of the New Works Project, an organization focused on equity and accessibility within the new music community. Their commission and digital programs serve those who are interested in contemporary music but are limited in their capacity to engage in the community, due to limited funds or access…

Episode 31 with Elizabeth DeLamater Elizabeth is a BSP Educator, who has taught, performed and lectured around the world...most recently in Trinidad right before the Pandemic, which we spend some time talking about. She also has her own podcast called Art Lives, is a steel pan authority, and is the chair of the PAS Diversity Alliance which we learn…

Episode 30 with Josh Jones It's been almost two years ago since our first conversation with Josh Jones, and A LOT has been going on in his life. Besides winning a new position with the Kansas City Symphony and getting married, Josh seems to be endlessly developing, producing and presenting new resources for percussionists. We try to focus on a rece…

Episode 29 with Donnie Johns Besides keeping an active teaching and performing schedule in the DC area, Donnie Johns also coordinates both the DMV percussion and music academy. We initially reached out to Donnie to talk about a short, yet very concise, article he wrote for PAS last Fall titled "The Percussionist as Entrepreneur". This is a topic th…

Episode 28 with Anthony Di Sanza Tony has been a long time friend and supporter of Black Swamp Percussion, going back to the early years when Eric was making tambourines and timpani mallets out of his garage in Adrian, MI. If you want to hear more about that era, check out the two BSP Origin Story Episodes we released last year or so. Tony just wra…

Episode 27 with Shaun Tilburg Shaun Tilburg is an orchestral excerpt master, having the audition prep and process down to a science, even if flexible at times. Shaun and Tim talk about practice habits, routine and mental preparation that applies to orchestra auditions, but carries over to all levels and genres of music...or life for that matter. Bu…

Episode 26 with Abby Fisher Abby Fisher is a BSP Concert Artist, and has established herself as a World Class performer, educator and entrepreneur. Besides teaching and performing in the Knoxville area, Abby is the Managing Director of the Neif-Norf organization and collaborates regularly with fellow BSP Concert Artist, Matthew Lau, performing as t…

Episode 25 with Tim Adams Tim Adams should need little to no introduction...he’s a veteran orchestral percussionist and educator, being chair of the percussion department at the University of Georgia. Prior to this position, Tim was timpanist and/or percussionists with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Canton Sym…

Episode 24 with MB Gordy If you haven't heard the name MB Gordy, chances are you've heard him play. MB is a first call film and TV score percussionist, active in the industry for well over 20 years. We talk about his breaking into the scene, how recording sessions work, and how COVID has changed that landscape. - - - - Connect with MB https://www.k…

Episode 23 with Andrew Baldwin Andrew Baldwin is a freelance percussionist, composer and educator in the Chicago area. Although being a classically trained percussionist, Andrew is just at home in the jazz and contemporary genres. Andrew is also active in the theatre and comedy world, participating in Chicago's Second City programs. We have an inte…

Episode 22 with Anthony Di Bartolo Anthony is a diverse New Jersey-based percussionist, composer, improviser and teacher. Learn more about his interest in improvisation, collaborations in contemporary music, development of experimental percussion and release of his new EP! Listen to Whimsical by Nature on: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/33…

Episode 21 with Lineage Percussion Wes, Lauren and Trevor are Lineage percussion, a young yet established and socially conscious percussion trio. The three talk about their life during COVID-19, virtual rehearsal strategies, and how their music, programming & performing connect with social advocacy. This episode is sponsored by the Drum History pod…

Episode 20 with Josh Quillen from So Percussion Jamel and Tim talk with Josh about personal and professional life during the pandemic and the months following George Floyd's murder. Subscribe and listen to Josh's podcast, Concert Honesty here: https://www.joshquillen.com/concert-honesty Learn more about So Percussion's community projects here: http…

Episode 19 with BSP Concert Artists, Matthew Lau & Abby Fisher, The Fisher/Lau Project. Abby and Matt contributed a conversation about their duo and long distance online collaboration over the last few years. The two talk about programming works, the challenges of virtual rehearsing and the how they got started making music together. View their Zoo…

Episode 18 with BSP Concert Artist, Gloria Yehilevsky. Gloria chats about her life during COVID, interdisciplinary collaborations, her improvisation & education philosophies, tiktok and a BUNCH more in between! This episode is sponsored by Pete's Percussion Podcast. Join host Pete Zambito for weekly extended conversations with a wide range of artis…

Episode 17 with BSP Educator, Joe W Moore III Joe talks about life during quarantine, his recent composition "Being Black" and diversity in percussion performance & education. - - - - Connect with Joe https://joewmooreiii.net/index.html "Being Black" https://joewmooreiii.net/store/p96/Being_Black.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbAJxv5fcDs&t=4…

Episode 16 with BSP Artist, Cory Hills! Cory is a member of the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, freelance percussionist, and presenter of Percussive Storytelling. - - - - Connect with Cory https://splatboombang.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cory.hills.982 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/percussive_storytelling Twitter: https://twitte…

Episode 15 with BSP Artist, Doug Perkins! Doug is director of percussion at the University of Michigan, member of the Meehan/Perkins Duo, and active soloist, producer, conductor and musical collaborator. ---- 2020 Percussion Ensemble Showcase: http://bit.ly/PercShowcase - - - - Connect with Doug http://www.dougperkins.com/ Facebook: https://www.fac…

Episode 14 with BSP Artist, Dan Smithiger! Dan is the Instructor of Percussion, and Director of Basketball Bands at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and is coordinator of the annual BSP Percussion Ensemble Showcase. - - - - Connect with Kieth www.siue.edu/artsandsciences/music/about-contact-us/smithiger.shtml Facebook: https://www.faceboo…

Episode 13: Tim and Jamel speak with Eric Sooy, the president and founder of Black Swamp Percussion about the origins of the company. This is part 2 of 2. - - - - Orchestral Sessions: https://www.blackswamp.com/orchestral-sessions 2020 Percussion Ensemble Showcase: http://bit.ly/PercShowcase 25th Anniversary Gear: https://www.blackswamp.com/25th-pr…

Episode 12: Tim and Jamel speak with Eric Sooy, the president and founder of Black Swamp Percussion about the origins of the company. This is part 1 of 2. - - - - Orchestral Sessions: https://www.blackswamp.com/orchestral-sessions 2020 Percussion Ensemble Showcase: http://bit.ly/PercShowcase 25th Anniversary Gear: https://www.blackswamp.com/25th-pr…

Episode 11 with BSP educator, Kieth Aleo! Keith is currently the Director of Percussion at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, encompassing the Arts Camp, Percussion Institute, Adult band Camp and the Interlochen Arts Academy. He is also an Educational/Orchestral Consultant for the Avedis Zildjian Company. - - - - Connect with Kieth www.keithaleo.…

Episode 10, with BSP Concert Arist, Matthew Lau! Tim and Matthew talk about Matthew's music career in Hong Kong, musical upbringing, education, and hair styles. Don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! - - - - Connect with Matthew http://www.matthewlaumusic.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewlaumusic Facebook: https://www.…

Bonus Episode! Tim is joined by Jamel for a quick PASIC 2019 recap with featured interviews from BSP artists, educators, and PASIC attendees! If you missed our 25th Anniversary gear, take a look here: http://bit.ly/BSP25th - - - - Get Social with Black Swamp: Newsletter: http://bit.ly/BSPFam BSP Fam: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BSPFam/ Facebook…

Episode 9, Tim talks to Tom Sharpe about his varied musical career, including his development as a solo artist and going on the road with Mannheim Steamroller! - - - - Connect with Tom: http://www.tomsharpe.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomsharpemusic/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tsharpe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tomsharpemusi…

Episode 8, Tim talks with BSP Educator, Megan Arns! Megan is the Assistant Percussion Professor at the University of Missouri and travels regularly around the US for teaching and performance events. We talk about her recent trip to Ghana, World Music studies at Mizzou, DCI, and her time spent overseas in Jordan. - - - - Connect with Megan http://ww…

Episode 7 features a conversation with Mike Truesdell! Mike is a BSP Artist, teaching percussion at Ithaca College. We learn about his musical family, time spent studying and performing overseas, and his interest in a certain reality dance show!- - - -Connect with Mike:https://miketruesdell.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truedrum/Twitter:…

Bonus Episode! We thought it would be fun to answer some frequently asked questions about BSP for a special bonus episode of the podcast. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for our very first Q&A podcast, and special thanks to Dan Smithiger for joining in on the conversation! We'd love to do this again! Get Social with Black Swamp: Newslett…

Episode 6: Tim chats with BSP Artist Endorser, Joseph Gramley! Joseph is a Grammy-winning performer, founding member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble, performer in the duo, Organized Rhythm, and is the principal timpanist and percussionist with The Knights. Joseph now teaches at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. - - - - Connect with Jose…

Tim sits down with Adam Hopper (BSP Concert Artist) for a chat for Episode 5 of the Black Swamp Podcast! Adam is a percussionist, educator, entrepreneur and composer based in Southern Kentucky. Cool fact: Adam wrote the intro music for our podcast! Buy the sheet music here: http://c-alanpublications.com/five-on-5/ - - - - Connect with Adam: https:/…

Tim has a conversation with Andrea Venet, BSP Educator. They chat about her transition from violin to percussion, activities with the Escape Ten duo, and giving herself permission to try new things! Get 15% OFF BSP acceessories now through Aug. 31st 2019 during our #SoundSolutionProject! http://bit.ly/BSPSoundSolution Follow Andrea online: https://…

Episode 3 features BSP Artist, Todd Meehan! Todd currently is the Associate Professor of Percussion at the Baylor University School of Music, but also is the co-founder of the Meehan/ Perkins Duo with percussionist Doug Perkins, a founding member of So Percussion, and founder of the percussion company Liquidrum. Follow Todd online: https://liquidru…

Episode 2 features Josh Jones! Josh is a BSP Artist, the Principal Percussionist at Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. We chat about his social media presence, teaching philosophy, connection to buddhism and more! Follow Josh online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshjonesdrums/ https://www.drummojo.co…

Terry Longshore, BSP Educator, visits the BSP headquarters for the debut episode of the Black Swamp Podcast! We chat about Terry's career, composing, activities and other fun stuff! Follow Terry online: http://www.terrylongshore.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrylongshore/ Get Social with Black Swamp: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com…

Welcome to the Black Swamp Podcast! A podcast brought to you by the world class percussion manufacturer, Black Swamp Percussion. Monthly episodes will find us chatting with Black Swamp Percussion Artists, Educators and industry friends. We'll also feature conversations among ourselves, giving listeners a insight into Black Swamp Percussion history,…