University of Central Missouri Percussion Professor Alex Smith talks about getting the UCM job (01:25), his upcoming work in Ghana and his career in instrument making (17:10), getting the seed money for instrument making (35:10), growing up in central NC and his love of Southern Rock and 90s Hip Hop (38:45), going to East Carolina University for undergrad (54:50), his post-grad career working in restaurants before eventually heading to Michigan State for his master’s and doctorate (01:04:00), and handling the Random-Ass Questions (01:27:40).

Finishing with a rave on the documentary Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond (01:45:00).

Links:

Alex Smth's Homepage

Alex Smith's UCM page

Alex Smith's YouTube page

"Hop(3)" - Paul Lansky

"Four" - Miles Davis

Scott Lubaroff

Gordon Stout

Gwen Dease

Jon Weber

Ian McClaflin

Ben Gervais

"More Than a Marimba Bar" - Alex Smith, UCLA Echo Blog

Planet Marimba

The Hatching

Will Goodyear

Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Straight Up" - Paula Abdul

"If I Ever Lose My Faith" - Sting

"Roll to Me" - Del Amitri

The Allman Brothers Band

ZZ Top

"Shakedown Street" - Grateful Dead

"Bouncing Around the Room" - Phish

Buena Vista Social Club trailer

"We The People" - A Tribe Called Quest

The Pharcyde

The Roots

Jonathan Wacker

Chris Nappi

"Time for Marimba" - Minoru Miki

Etudes, Book 1 - Gordon Stout

"Dr. Gradus ad Parnassum" - Claude Debussy

"Side by Side" - Michio Kitazume

Ableton Live

"Reflections on the Nature of Water" - Jacob Druckman

Partita in B Minor  - Bach

"Speech of Day" - Nicole Piunno

Bill Waterman

Cello Suite in E-flat - Bach

"Oscillation" - Joe Basile

"Rebonds A/B" - Iannis Xenakis

"Cotton Gindustrial" - Alex Smith

"Torse III" - Akira Miyoshi

"One Minute Speeches" - Alex Smith

"Six Marimbas" - Steve Reich

Alice Pan

Synecdoche, New York trailer

Barry Lyndon trailer

Dunkirk trailer

Raves:

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond trailer

2018 Mizzou Master of Music Percussion Graduate Ryan Patterson stops by to talk about his master’s recital (01:10), his upcoming trip to Ghana, Bernard Woma, and running the Mizzou drumline (09:45), his work with the Rare Form Trio and why he’s off to UT-Austin for grad school (23:10), being a current grad student in percussion (31:25), growing up in SC near Clemson and Greenville (35:35), studying with recent guest Omar Carmenates at Furman (SC) and the idea of “coffee lessons” (52:00), the roundabout way he got to Mizzou (01:15:35), and the Random-Ass Questions (01:26:45).

Finishing with a Rave on NCPP 2018 (01:36:55).

Links:

Megan Arns

Omar Carmenates

Rebecca McDaniel

anna provo

"Economy of Means" - Robert Honstein

"Toccata" - Anna Ignatowicz

Ji Hye Jung

"Rebonds A/B" - Iannis Xenakis

"Phylogenesis" - Russell Wharton

"Karakurenai" - Andy Akiho

"Spiderweb Lead" - Adam Silverman

Dagara Music Center

Bernard Woma

Amy Knopps

Rare Form Trio

John W. Parks IV

Darin Olson

Brian Nozny

Nief-Norf

Furman Band Directors

"Moto Perpetuo" - Elliot Carter

Concerto for Marimba - Emmanuel Séjourné

Haunt of Last Nightfall - David Little

Shane Batchelor

Julia Gaines

Brad Snow

Raves:

NCPP

Furman University (SC) Percussion Professor Omar Carmenates stops by to talk about getting the Furman job and “carrying snacks” (01:30), his DMA research thesis and lecture recital (14:45), the greatness of the city of Greenville, SC (25:50), the Gaia Theory CD he released in 2013 (30:40), his DCI employment (35:30), growing up in NYC and Orlando, FL, his mixed-race background and transcribing Dream Theater (44:10), going to the University of Central Florida for undergrad (01:04:30), North Texas for the master’s (01:12:05), and going to FSU for the doctorate after not making the West Point Hellcats (01:20:35).  Finally, Omar withstands the Random-Ass Questions (01:33:25).

Finishing with another rave on the Hit Parade podcast (01:48:00).

Links:

Omar Carmenates' Furman page

Omar Carmenates' Cadets page

Omar Carmenates' Pearl Drums page

John W. Parks IV

John Beckford

Rebecca McDaniel

"Thief" - Brian Nozny

"Scavenger Music" - Christopher Deane

"Inuksuit" - John Luther Adams

Doug DeMorrow

George Hincapie

John Psathas

La Mer - Debussy

Symphony No. 6 - Beethoven

Boston Crusaders

The Magic Drum and Bugle Corps

McDowells from Coming to America

Immigrant Parents from Master of None

Village Beatnicks

Grunge

Mike Fillion

"Marimba Spiritual" - Minoru Miki

"A Change of Seasons" - Dream Theater

Jeff Moore

Oliver Molina

"Fabian Theory" - Nigel Westlake

"Gate to Heaven" - David Gillingham

Michael League

Ellis Hampton

Juan Álamo

I-Jen Fang

North Texas Percussion Faculty

"Three Movements for Solo Dancer" - Eckhard Kopetzki

"History of the Tango" - Astor Piazzola

Caribbean Jazz Project

West Point Hellcats

Rob Marino

Jeff Prosperie

Troy Breaux

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan

Men At Work trailer

Prayer of the Rollerboys trailer

LEGO Ninjago trailer

"Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson

Impression, Sunrise - Claude Monet

Raves:

Hit Parade: The Veronica Electronica Edition

Blue Knights Drum Corps instructor Thomas Claesen talks about his current working and living situation in the U.S. (01:25), growing up in Belgium and all things Team Handball (15:45), Belgium’s history, geography and culture (24:00), Music Education and Drum Corps activities in Belgium (41:10), how he got to Arizona State (56:25), the challenges of trying to make some type of career out of DCI and WGI and foreign language usage (01:13:30), and dealing with “tough” Random Ass Questions (01:34:20).

Finishing with a rave on a live taping of Slate’s Political Gabfest (01:54:35).

Links:

Thomas Claesen's website

Thomas Claesen's Innovative Percussion page

Thomas Claesen's Blue Knights page

Rhythm X

Chelsea Levine

Seavine Gloves

U.S.A. visas

Nashville Predators

Rules of Handball

"In Flanders Fields" - John McCrae

"Benelux"

The Glassmen

European X

Andrew Markworth

J.B. Smith

Elizabeth Delamater

Dom Moio

Santa Clara Vanguard

Murray Gusseck

V for Vendetta trailer

Wes Anderson

Inglourious Basterds trailer

USA - Belgium World Cup 2014

2011 Cavaliers Upside Down Quad Break

The Happening trailer

Rene Magritte paintings

Raves:

Slate's Political Gabfest

University of North Florida Percussion Professor and half of the percussion duo Escape Ten Andrea Venet chats about getting the UNF job and Scampi, the Jumbo Shrimp (01:55), making audiobook versions of the Grout text to handle the oral exams at Eastman (17:10), the story of Escape Ten (25:55), growing up in Tucson and Phoenix (32:25), going to Arizona State for undergrad (48:20), Rutgers (NJ) for the master’s (56:15), working in Dallas and later Virginia (01:05:35), going to Eastman for the DMA (01:14:25), being a woman in the percussion world (01:19:35), and the rest of the Random-Ass Questions (01:25:35).

Finishing with a rave on the TV show Atlanta (01:46:55).

Links:

Andrea Venet's website

Andrea Venet's UNF page

Escape Ten

Drew Tucker

Shaun Martin

Valerie Naranjo

Line Upon Line

Scampi, the Jumbo Shrimp Mascot

Charlotte Mabrey

Megan Arns

A History of Western Music - Donald Grout

Ron Swanson's Pyramid of Greatness

American Pharoah wins Triple Crown, 2015

J. B. Smith

"Dances of Earth and Fire" - Peter Klatzow

"Chaconne" - J. S. Bach

"Canaries" - Elliot Carter

"Marimbology" - Gunther Schuller

She-e Wu

Aaron Ragsdale

"Velocities" - Joseph Schwantner

"Merlin" - Andrew Thomas

"Rebellion" - Stephen Rush

Kenan Wylie

Michael Burritt

Star Trek into Darkness trailer

Anchorman trailer

"Thriller" - Michael Jackson

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Raves:

Atlanta

Drake University (IA) Assistant Dean of Student Services and Percussion Educator Alina Grimm talks about her current job (02:30), the history of Drake University and its place in Iowa (13:20), what State Fair Week is like in Des Moines (31:40), growing up near Denver (37:40), going to Drake for undergrad (58:25), the culture shock of going to UTEP for her master’s (01;08:15), her DMA time at Michigan State (01:22:40), and the Random-Ass Questions (01:37:30).

Finishing with a remembrance for a recently deceased friend (02:01:20).

Links:

Alina Grimm's Drake University page

Todd Meehan

Robert Meunier

Iowa - Iowa State rivalry

Elliot Carter's Timpani Etudes

"Dream of the Cherry Blossoms" - Keiko Abe

"Land" - Takatsugu Muramatsu

Larry Smith

Andy Smith

Amy Smith

"Caméléon" - Eric Sammut

Concerto for Marimba - Emmanuel Séjourné

Gwen Dease

Jonathan Haas

Svet Stoyanov

Ji Hye Jung

Jon Weber

"See Ya Thursday" - Steve Mackey

"The King of Denmark" - Morton Feldman

"The Lonelyness of Santa Clause" - Fredrik Andersson

"Mojave" - Michael Torke

Zeltsman Marimba Festival

Biodome trailer

The Emoji Movie trailer

Lawrence of Arabia trailer

Seven Pillars of Wisdom - T. E. Lawrence

One Thousand and One Nights

The Innocents Abroad - Mark Twain

"Trio Per Uno", movement 3 - Zivkovic

To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

Part 2 of my conversation with Rebecca Kite resumes with her time at the UMKC Conservatory (02:00), her years playing drumset in a jazz, pop and funk coverband in the 1970s (07:15), recalling some memorable Keiko Abe performances (23:45) her time studying with Cloyd Duff in Cleveland and George Gaber at Indiana University (27:05), symphony freelancing (40:50), timpani manufacturing and patents (44:00), guitar literature transcribed for marimba (01:02:00), being a woman in the percussion world (01:10:00), and then the Random Ass Questions (01:23:00).

Finishing with a rave on the Hit Parade podcast (01:36:15).

Links:

Part 1 of the Rebecca Kite Interview

Rebecca Kite's Homepage

Cloyd Duff

"Jazzman" - Carole King

"Did You Go Downtown" - Joy of Cooking

Fulfillingness' First Finale - Stevie Wonder

"Lullaby of Broadway" - Bette Midler

"Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple

"Pick Up the Pieces" - Average White Band

"Girl from Ipanema" - Astrud Gilberto

"Long Train Runnin" - The Doobie Brothers

"So Very Hard to Go" - Tower of Power

"Get Up Offa That Thing" - James Brown

Norm Weinberg

"Jazz Suite for Marimba" - Joan Griffith

Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer - Jim Chapin

"Time for Marimba" - Minoru Miki

George Gaber

Richard Johnson

Concertino for Marimba - Paul Creston

"Variations on a Theme of Handel" - Mauro Giuliani

DeMorrow Instruments

John Dowland

"Etude No. 1" - Hector Villa-Lobos

Sticking It Out - Patty Niemi

"Baby Elephant Walk" - Henry Mancini

"Autumn Leaves" - Roger Williams

Roger Reynolds

"The Wave" - Ludwig Albert performing

Raves:

Hit Parade Podcast

Percussion educator, performer, manufacturer, researcher and publisher Rebecca Kite stops by to talk about her most recent percussion pedagogy research (05:30), handling students who arrive musically behind (26:05), all the different ways people find percussion as a genre (31:30), what it took to research Keiko Abe's life (35:15), the History of the Marimba section (57:30), and the beginnings of her musical life (01:06:30).

Finishing with a rave on the novel Ready Player One (01:24:30).

Links:

Rebecca Kite's Homepage

Charmaine Asher-Wiley

Anthony Di Sanza

Jessica Johnson

Julia Gaines

Keiko Abe: A Virtuosic Life

Akira Miyoshi

Minoru Miki

Akira Yuyama

Karen Ervin Pershing

Haskell Harr

Frank Arsenault

Norm Weinberg

Johnny Lee Lane

Stamina - Mitch Markovich

Sonata for 3 Timpani - Philip Ramey

Raves:

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Recent Michigan State University DMA Graduate Alice Pan stops by to talk about what she’s doing since finishing her degree (02:00), growing up in Taiwan (12:00), going to Soochow University (Taiwan) for undergrad (27:30), getting her Master’s from Ithaca College (NY) (37:45), and getting the doctorate at MSU (52:00).  She then tolerates the Random-Ass Questions (01:09:35).

Finishing with a rave on the movie “Band Aid” (01:21:25).

Links:

Alice Pan's Homepage

Gwen Dease

Josh Oxford

Andrea Clearfield

Alex Smith

Ju Percussion Group

Method of Movement - L. H. Stevens

Keiko Abe

"Great Wall" - L. H. Stevens

"Crystal Butterfly" - Ben Wahlund

Marimba Concerto - Emmanuel Sejourne

Nancy Zeltsman

Bob Van Sice

Jonathan Haas

Mourning Dove Sonnet - Christopher Deane

"Shadow Chasers" - Michael Burritt

"Blues for Gilbert" - Mark Glentworth

Marco Schirripa

The Kraken Quartet

Velocities - Joseph Schwantner

"Everybody Talk About Freedom" - Julie Spencer

"Voice of Matsuri Drum" - Keiko Abe

Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion - Bela Bartok

Black Swan trailer

The Pixel Movie trailer

"Black or White" - Michael Jackson

Sailor Moon

"Tse Go La" - Andrea Clearfield

Lauren Teel

Raves:

Band Aid Trailer

Columbia Tribune (MO) Arts Writer Aarik Danielsen stops by (literally) to talk about his current work (02:45), some recent changes at the Tribune and his experiences interviewing authors (16:30), growing up in California and Arizona and his love of music and movies (29:00), his favorite music writing (37:45), getting to Missouri through SW Baptist College (46:45), his experiences with adoption and race (52:45), eventually getting his Master’s in Journalism from Mizzou (01:06:00), and experiences Random-Ass Questions (01:14:30), finishing with mutual gushing over James Baldwin (01:29:00).

Links:

Aarik Danielsen's Columbia Tribune Bio

Aarik Danielsen's Twitter feed

Fathom Magazine

Columbia One Read

Unbound Book Festival

The Mavericks

Leon Bridges

Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival

The Blue Note (MO)

Die Hard trailer

Wayne's World trailer

Chuck Klosterman

Nick Hornby

Rob Sheffield

Andy Greenwald

Meet Me in the Bathroom

Missouri School of Journalism

Brandon Crawford

Madison Bumgarner

"Lights" - Journey

Shakespeare's Pizza

Groundhog Day trailer

Kazaam trailer

I Am Not Your Negro trailer

If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin

Another Country - James Baldwin