31. Catching Up

This installment of the Tap In Time Podcast is a bit longer than usual, but given the span of topical content, we think you’ll understand why. We head to the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan, Canada, to catch up with Chapman Stick recording artist and wood worker extraordinaire Brian Baggett, so there’s talk of music, Canada, wood working, and an exciting new product introduction for Brian’s Stickist clientele! As usual, we find a number of bunny trails to navigate, such as geographic population density, humidity, feline work partners, second grade art project appreciation, and more…so come along and stay awhile!   Brian’s web sites:   https://brianbaggett.ca/ https://brianbaggettwoodcraft.ca/  

They're not actual travel agents, but they do help us get away. :-)  Claire and Victor bring Glenn Poorman and Jim Meyer, organizers of the Interlochen and Stick Camp Canada events, into the virtual studio. After getting things rolling with a retrospective on last summer’s events, we then bunny-trail through a plethora of topics such as looping, composition, YouTube videos, and taking a Stick into a live band context. Along the way: accidentally diagnosing a broken piece of gear, the joy and angst of using video to learn a Stick piece, one way to fill in the audience at event performances, and more! Musical selections heard in this episode are Glenn’s “A Thousand Words” from his YouTube/scored works collection, and Jim’s “Georgia Strait” from his CD “Arbutus and Jade”. Glenn’s online scores can be found at http://www.121normal.com/tabs/ Jim was previously a guest on Tap In Time Episode 6 (https://tapintime.podbean.com/e/hanging-out-with-jim-meyer/) and Episode 29 (https://tapintime.podbean.com/e/29-coming-back-for-more-jim-meyer/). Glenn was previously a guest on Tap In Time Episode 14 (https://tapintime.podbean.com/e/looping-back-to-interlochen/)

Gene and Victor pull aside several Stickists while at Stick Camp Canada, to hear some of their memories of Greg.

The man who may just be the most prolific Chapman Stick recording artist on the planet joins us in this episode- Michael Kollwitz is in the studio! Mike has insights and stories galore to share, borne of playing for so many years, being one of Emmett’s students early on, and living and recording in a number of different locales. Plus, Michael and Claire spend some time diving into advice regarding the configuration and maintenance of studio computer resources, and we hear about Michael’s upcoming book release- “Stick With It- Adventures of a Chapman Stick Player”…judging by some of the stories he shares with us, this book is a “must buy”!

After a bit of a sabbatical, Claire, Gene, and Victor get together for a free-form conversation. We catch up a bit, talk about plans for the future (isn't that phrase a little redundant?), hear from a furry contributor, share a few laughs, and just enjoy one another's company while we geek out a bit over Sticks and music. 

Chapman Stick artist Dale Ladouceur and her husband, drummer/recording engineer Bill Hobson, join us from Crowtown Productions, their Edmonton based studio. Along with a rich musical history, Dale and Bill possess a wealth of knowledge and experience recording the Chapman Stick (among other instruments), which we take advantage of as we dive into it with them. Along the way: cheap knock-offs, fighting for your first gig, mastering for the treadmill crowd, lobbying NASA, and more…check it out!

Folks who have listened to us know that we’re really big on getting together with other Chapman Stick players. So when Jim Meyer wrapped up the 20th Vancouver Stick event, it was a safe bet that we’d want to have him back on to talk about it (he was our first ever interview guest, way back in Episode #6, and anyone who's listened to that episode knows that he's a really fun guy to spend some time with). Plus, we also get some eye-witness thoughts on the 2022 event from the Tap In Time Foreign Correspondent. Along the way: geeking out over tuners, seminar audio chaos, ideas that didn’t work out so well, and more!

A small town with a bustling tourism industry is a great place to live if you’re a skilled musician, and a Chapman Stick fits like glove in such a place. In this episode, we head to Colorado to hear all about it from one of our Stick heroes, Mr. David Tipton. David shares some of his secrets to success, including thoughts on reading the room, repertoire, knowing what to play, gear choices, and the importance of posture while playing (!!!). There’s also talk of strangers jumping in uninvited to play along, questionable wedding song choices, adventures with curious and unrestrained children, and more. Come along and join us for a great chat!

For this episode, we cross the pond (virtually) to England to visit with Stick artist/educator/performer/busker Jim Lampi. Jim is one of the early adopters of the Chapman Stick, and his story is one worth hearing. It spans multiple instruments, locales, and musical landscapes, starting in the United States, moving across a large chunk of mainland Europe, and settling down in England. Join us as we hear about learning the instrument without benefit of the modern internet, covering an all-time classic in front of its composer, getting kicked off a continent by a musical genre, and more!

Progressive music titan Tony Levin joins Tap In Time for a rundown of his most recent tours with the Stick Men, King Crimson, and his latest gig, the Levin Brothers with his brother Peter Levin and their special guest Ali Ryerson. In this episode, Tony takes us through a day in the life of a Chapman Stick player working with 3 drummers, being a traveling musician in the time of Covid, and getting the opportunity to make music with his mentor and brother, Peter Levin. We also talk compressors, how to choose the right instrument for the right song, and, along the way, we take a few metaphors a bit too far.