For the Greater Groove: The Future of Strings

Zach and I get deep into his improv process, talking about Charlie Parker playing the violin, the improv angel and demon on his shoulders, and how not to swing. (Spoiler alert: be swung instead.) And then we quiz this Snarky Puppy about...kittens.

Even though Andy Reiner was born in Fiddle Hell, the long-standing fiddle camp his family has been running for many years, he's become a guardian angel of progressive string playing, embracing all things groovy with his wide-ranging command of everything from bluegrass and celtic playing to metal and funk. A true multiverse musician, we talk about all of the above and then we quiz the host of The River so Suck podcast on the real River Suck in Ireland. Hilarity ensues.

Jared Judge is the host of The Gigging Musician Podcast and author of Gigging Secrets: The Underground Playbook to Making a Living Performing. He developed BookLive Pro, an online software that facilitates booking and handling of freelance gigs and contracts. But the real test is to see how he does in a game of Not My Gig.

Multi-style cellist, composer, gear maven Jacob Szekely talks about technique, influences, gear and the kind of education contemporary string players really need.Then we see how much the author of The Improvisor's Guide to the Cello knows about...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Progressive violinist Rob Flax got his degree in improvisation from the New England Conservatory and brings some of his practical wisdom as well as some fuzz-related gear to Nashville for an in person chat here at the studio. Then I quiz the chess-master on...chess pie!

Earl shows us how he does his signature hardcore metal bowing riff. We groove hack Metallica's "Disposable Heroes" and talk about finding your place in a band as a string player. Earl talks about growing up in New York and the impact of his mixed classical/metal background. Then we find out how much the Vitamin String Quartet member knows about...vitamins, of course! Disclaimer--there are a few F-bombs and other similar conversational detritus, so sensitive listeners should be advised.

Richard Greene, the inventor of The Chop, the bow stroke that has revolutionized string playing, recounts how he discovered/invented it back in his Bill Monroe days. And he also claims that, even though it feels like we have no idea what we're doing, we do, in fact, all peak in our 20's. Then I quiz the founding member of Seatrain about...seaplanes!

So much really useful, real-life, practical and applicable information for playing chords and chopping on cello from Renata in this episode! A discussion and a lesson in one. We groove hack James Brown's "I Feel Good" and I quiz the Kumbwaa Jazz Center Artist in the Schools about...Kumbaya!

In this episode, I dig into gear, style and rock and roll rhythm playing with the host of the Rockstar Violinist Podcast, Matt Bell. Matt breaks down the bowing for the main rhythm riff of his version of Zappa's tune "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama", retitled "My Fiddle Wants to Kill Your Mama" and then we quiz the rockstar violinist on...Rockstar Video Games, the video game company.

Martha and I chat about creativity and how to teach it. Then Martha jams out on one of her odd meter looping grooves. In the Not My Gig segment, I quiz the leader of The Scorchio Quartet about...Scorched Earth, the video game. Hilarity ensues.