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**Play It Like It’s Music**

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.

playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

Latest Episodes:

"It sings the songs of our life" Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

058: Tamara Fuller

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, September 30th of 2020 Music is not content. It’s connection.

We’ve heard plenty about how musicians are handling the pandemic time away from being able to play in clubs and otherwise make their living playing gigs. But what about the venue owners who also make their living putting on said gigs?

How do you keep the lights on when everyone’s afraid to come out? It’s easy to forget the rest of the supply chain, but today we’re going to branch out and speak with a great proprietor and hear how she got her place up and running, why she does it and how things are working out through the craziness. It’s a great chat and I can’t wait for you to hear it.

This journey we go on, there are so many different paths. We don’t just make different choices along the way: different paths are open to different people in different ways at different times. There are different scenes to be a part of. You can be jealous of the boomers who went to woodstock, wonder what might have happened if you’d stuck with those piano lessons or wish you were around to go to Low End Theory in the early days of the LA beat scene, but the reality is that every single moment of your life represents an opportunity to clarify and deepen your relationship to music and the people around you.

I like to stay home and make stuff, but what motivates me to do that is the knowledge that I’m working toward opening up the door. Bringing it out to show people when it’s ready. Otherwise what am I doing?

Likewise, we go out to hear each other just to witness each other. Listen to the environment, connect, maybe play together.

These are all things we could take for granted before the ‘rona, our ability to do them only depended on our energy level, location, commitment to the scene, what have you.

There are always different reasons we’ll find ourselves out looking for that connection.

But all bets seem to be off these days. So in order to make it work, we fall back on those circuits within the musical mind which fire on the problems at hand in surprising ways.

It’s one of the best things about music: it helps your brain connect to its surroundings and find a way through. You’ll know when you’re home, how your apart, where to travel, why to get back, what to do about stuff.

If music is the lens through which we comprehend the world, we forge onward.

I knew Tamara Fuller on the scene in New York, but it was just before we both left town. Later I found out she’d opened up The Velvet Note in - of all places - Alpharetta, Georgia. And before I knew it, I was traveling through the area in style, knowing there was a great place to play where the musicians got treated fairly and the folks get it.

She’ll tell us all about the how and why, coming right up. But first let’s mention just how great it is to have people like Tamara on the scene, keeping the fire burning for when the fog clears and we can all meet on the bandstand once again.

Let’s get into it:

Press PLAY above to ear my conversation with Tamara Fuller.

Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

Since she’s not a working musician, I asked Tamara to provide a track with which I could bookend the interview. She gave us Kate McGarry’s version of the Miles Davis classic, “Blue In Green”. When I asked her why, she gave me the story behind her choice. She goes:

“Well, when I started The Velvet Note, I made an aspirational list of the artists I would most like to book, and the songs I would want them to perform. They had to be artists who were so compelling that they could captivate a small room with no bells, no fireworks. Kate was on my list. I called her directly, out of the blue. I told her I was starting a jazz club. At this time, we had nothing...not even a location or a signed lease. She didn’t laugh at me. She didn’t act like I was crazy. She was kind and supportive and thoughtful. 9 years later, she has performed five or six times at The Velvet Note, including a joint performance with the great Tierney Sutton, during which they dedicated a song to me, “Blue In Green”.

So thanks to Kate for that, I’ll try to get her here on an episode of her own as soon as I can.

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Tamara Fuller for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her wearing the hats at The Velvet Note dot com, and if you’re too far away to visit in person, the club always posts complete live sets on their YouTube channel.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 58 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 in the culture.

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?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

* 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: (Spotify)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons with me online!

* Hire me to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"I can always be learning" Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

057: Emily Rice

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, the 23rd of September of 2020 Music is not content. It’s connection.

Hell of week we’re having, right? Let’s make it better.

Emily Rice is a British born composer for film and TV, who started her musical life as a cellist playing in orchestras and rock bands. She has recorded and conducted her work at Warner Brothers, Capitol Records and The Wiltern – with members of the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra.

She is stacking up credits, busy as hell and I’m very grateful that she made the time to speak with us. I became a fan when I saw the popular online film Mr. Malcolm’s List and I’ve been spotting her all over the place ever since. She recently scored the Netflix series The I-Land as well as the documentaries 100 Years From Home, Self-Taught and For The Love Of Rutland, as well as narrative feature Miss Juneteenth which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. (You should all watch that one on Amazon, it’s great.)

Recognized as an emerging talent early on in her career, Emily was the first composer to be awarded a scholarship from BAFTA Los Angeles. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of York, a graduate certificate in film scoring from USC, and is also an alumna of the prestigious Sundance Institute Film Music & Sound Design Lab. She spent some time early on assisting several elite film composers including Brian Tyler, James Newton Howard and Laura Karpman, and was a writing assistant to Junkie XL.

She has contributed music to Hollywood blockbusters such as Tomb Raider and Alita: Battle Angel and done orchestrations for The Mummy, Altered Carbon and Star Trek: Discovery.

So yeah, big time! I’m psyched to bring her on the show, we’re going to hear some of her story and of course we got off on the good foot talking about what else.. the cello. That thing has its own language. It’s an honor to have her here, so without further ado, meet Emily Rice.

Press PLAY above to ear my conversation with Emily Rice

Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Emily Rice for spending some very generous time with us. You can find Emily at Emily Rice Music dot com, follow her on IG and Twitter @emrice music and definitely keep an eye out for new projects as they happen.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 57 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 in the culture.

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?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"I don't think I've ever not been able to make music" Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

056: Aaron Whitby

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, September 16th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.

Today we are blessed to have Aaron Whitby with us.

But first here’s a random thought: Music used to be important.

And it was a haven for the self important. It still sort of is, but musicians no longer make the same level of impact economically or culturally.

It’s not quite running on fumes, but nowadays most of us would be happy for musicmaking to be merely sustainable. Some might even say that being sustainable is better than being important. But guess what? Back in that golden age when music was quote “really important”, it was not sustainable then either.

What I mean is that we take our literal life in our hands when we choose to set about making music. It’s a risk, man.

We’re actually getting closer to sustainability now, you could say it’s a beautiful time (aside from it being the apocalypse). Most of the time music works out ok if you work hard enough, make decent choices and keep your priorities more or less in line. But it’s not a magic ticket to some rarefied kind of existence where you get to hold yourself above other people.

I mean, in America you can run your business however you see fit, but there are two sides to this coin: you find the fan who worships at the altar of the musician they love, and the musician who sometimes seems like they might just be seeking to be worshiped above all else - whose ego may be running the show.

I won’t name any of them, but you know the trope. You probably also know that it’s not that simple.

Not all musicians are provocateurs, serial abusers, pedophiles, womanizers, drug smugglers, tax cheaters or general get-somethin-for-nuthin types. Nor are we all deadbeats, addicts, vagrants and underearners.

Most of the time we start out just wanting to play. Not knowing where the train is actually going, we chose to follow the energy and inspiration to wherever it may lead.

But when an artist gets a little traction and starts working with investors (and that’ll be most of the artists you’ve heard of, barring almost none), oftentimes the investor will only stay happy if the artist continually generates energy around themselves, in order to generate attention for the music and get the numbers up so that the investor can profit. It’s not just a label or what have you, but it’s all the members of the artist’s team whose livelihood (and future) depends on those same numbers.

It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle: artist “just wants to make music”, gets some help in the form of a band, production team, label etcetera. Then the pressure starts to multiply. Every person added to the team is a new set of mouths to feed and before you know it, the artist has to become a factory of attention-getting tactics. Only some of which are related to creating excellent and satisfying music. They have to meet those numbers or the show falls apart.

It’s an obligation entirely separate from the creative process. Folks wonder “where everything went wrong” but it’s part of the design. Basically, the music business will turn you into a pirate, and if you don’t want that to happen then you’re probably better off digging into what you’re really after and why. And if what you want is quote-unquote “real music” then keep listening because today we’re talking to a live one.

(Which is good, because I’m about talked out here. )

The point is Music is literally the most important thing for us here at the show. You just have to take the music seriously and not take yourself too seriously. The folks on here tend to really bring it.

[Photo by Michael Weintrob]

So. Aaron Whitby:

is an award-winning record producer, composer/songwriter, pianist, engineer and educator born and raised in London, England and a longtime resident of Brooklyn, New York.

Whitby is best known for his work with longtime collaborator Martha Redbone, who we heard from last week. Whitby and Redbone are recipients of many awards and are currently developing a musical commissioned by the Public Theater in NYC.

[Photo by Molly Magnusson]

Mentored by Ohio Player/Funkadelic Walter ‘Junie’ Morrison, Whitby has recorded with; Natalie Cole, George Clinton, Randy Brecker, Lisa Fischer, Tony Trischka, John McEuen, Raul Midon, Neil Sedaka and Rodney Holmes among many others. He has performed with Nona Hendryx, Brian Jackson, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Ben Sollee, Mino Cinelu and Brooklyn Raga Massive among many others.

He and Martha have been stacking up awards and commissions. That’s ongoing.But with Cousin From Another Planet, his debut album as a frontman, Whitby comes full circle to his jazz and funk roots pulling together an amazing cast of friends to realize his musical vision, as described by Greg Tate, “a funk-da-fied jam session feel undergirding tight, knotty jazz-smart progressions”. With tunes inspired by the animated energy and profound innocence of his young son, humorous lyrics that celebrate empathy and empowerment and musicians given the freedom to take the music wherever it feels good. According to Tate, this album is “one of this era’s hardiest re-dedications and festival-tent revival of soulful and exploratory jam-gnocity.”

Cousin From Another Planet live onstage is a music and visual experience accompanied by a video artshow by VJ Lady Firefly (who has also worked with Dave Chappelle and The Roots) to capture the colorful, cartoonish and movement-inspired worldview.

Like I said, we got a live one here. Check out Aaron Whitby.

Press PLAY above to ear my conversation with Aaron Whitby

Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify- Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Aaron Whitby and Martha Redbone for spending some very generous time with us on these last two episodes. You can find Aaron at Cousin From Another Planet Dot Com, follow him on IG @cousinfromanotherplanet and definitely pick up the new album on Bandcamp. It’s out on Ropeadope Records.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 56 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 in the culture.

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?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"Music helps me keep my sanity" Sep 09, 2020

Show notes

055: Martha Redbone

[Photo by Christine Jean Chambers]

Good Morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, September 9th of 2020 Music Is Not Content. It’s connection.

It’s summertime and love is in the air.

Actually, love is always in the air if you know where to smell. (Whomp whomp. )

But for real, you may have been noticing a pattern with my episodes so far this year: there have been several couples in the lineup lately. It’s a thing, definitely. I am fascinated by couples who create music together professionally. I’m fascinated by the dynamics, and I am fascinated by the amazing music they make both together and independently of each other.

We are about to continue this trend, and I’m happy to lean into it for this moment while we’re all in quarantine, getting cozy, weathering the storm… sometimes maybe getting a little too close for comfort or perhaps blowing the occasional gasket. Because believe me, there is nobody more intense than musicians. In general and especially in relationship. (That’s a claim you may be able to fact check yourself. I’ll leave it right here in the open.)

We have heard from several artists who are also in couples: you can check out our episodes with Katya and Chris from Break Out The Crazy, Celia and Simon from PettyChavez, more recently we had Mark Marshall and Abby Ahmad… and I’m still working on getting some others done with Kieran O’Hare who works and lives with Liz Knowles, Dwight Richter from Dwight and Nicole and a few others we’ve had in the lineup.

[photo by Molly Magnusson]

Today we’re going to hear from the one and only Martha Redbone, and next week we will hear from the one and only Aaron Whitby. Both of them are stellar musicians: she’s a legit superstar and he’s an incredible pianist, artist and bandleader who also happens to be Martha’s M.D.

(That’s M.D. in the musical - not medical - sense. Musical Director. Martha and Aaron create everything together, and when they’re not taking care of business they can be found raising their family in Brooklyn.)

[Martha Redbone at the Met Museum Cherokee Day, photo by Don Pollard]

But let me take a stab at why I find musical couples so fascinating, because they are.

I’m going to hit you with a quote from Peter Thiel*:

“The best thing I did as a manager at PayPal was to make every person in the company responsible for doing just one thing…. Most fights inside a company happen when colleagues compete for the same responsibilities.”

That’s from his book, Zero To One.

*Now don’t bite my head off because I get it, people hate Peter Thiel. They hate him for being a Trump guy, they hate him for pulling the strings all over big tech, spying on everybody, they hate him specifically for taking out Gawker and in general for being a notably cutthroat capitalist. That’s fine, but he’s also pretty interesting and he’s so good at debating that he can usually elucidate his opponent’s point of view better than they can. Anyway, I’m talking about Love and Music, so let’s stick with that.

The point is that music is a hustler’s game.

Finding love is hard, you all know that. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of scary choices to make. Finding success in music, I’ll submit, might be even harder. More moving parts! Scarier choices!

And many, many “similar responsibilities” for people in close quarters to compete over: you have writing, producing, booking, PR, art direction, day-to-day management… all kinds of stuff, 24-7 that can turn loyal bandmates into a simmering cauldron of discontent.

All of that, with no PayPal fortune to fight over either.

So the fact that there are people in this world who do both things at once, Love and Music, together is just flat-out amazing to me. I love sharing these moments with members of couples who work in music. One thing that sticks out is how good they are at both supporting each other and staying out of each other’s way.

So take that, Peter Thiel.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, now let’s talk about Martha Redbone.

[photo by Ebru Yildiz]

Martha Redbone is a Native & African-American vocalist/songwriter/composer/educator. She is known for her unique gumbo of folk, blues and gospel from her childhood in Harlan County, Kentucky infused with the eclectic grit of pre-gentrified Brooklyn. Inheriting the powerful vocal range of her gospel-singing African American father and the resilient spirit of her mother’s Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw culture, she broadens the boundaries of American Roots music. With songs and storytelling that share her life experience as a Native and Black woman and mother in the new millennium, Martha gives voice to issues of social justice, bridging traditions from past to present, connecting cultures, and celebrating the human spirit.

“The Garden of Love” is her most recent album. It’s an absolutely stunning project that puts the poetry of William Blake to music.

She just won a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Music in a Play (beating out the legendary Steve Earle) with an original score in the revival of “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf” at the Public Theater, NYC.

She and Aaron have also just been announced as part of this season’s Artistic Instigators series, to develop new original work at the NY Theater Workshop.

And in case that’s not enough, Martha Redbone is currently in development with her own new work “Black Mountain Women” at The Public Theater. It is a timely musical about the ongoing environmental destruction of her ancestral homeland in Appalachia told through the lives of 4 generations of women in her matriarchal Cherokee family.

I find Martha’s music and performances to be just incredible. I’ve been a fan since the first album and check in on their show as regularly as I can. Her voice is huge and her stage presence is both classy and energetic. She’s powerful in that way where you just feel lucky to be walking on the same planet.

Today she’s sharing an amazing and sensitive story about the first time she was ever called upon to sing in a studio, it’s the literal beginning of her career and I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Check it out:

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with Martha Redbone.

Or subscribe in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

[Photo by Michael Weintrob]

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Martha Redbone for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her at Martha Redbone Roots Dot Com, follow her on IG @martharedbone and definitely pick up her albums on Bandcamp.

Come back next week and we will hang with the amazing Aaron Whitby.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 55 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 in the culture.

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. Consider hiring me to score your piece, do some cello, teach you lessons, produce your show or back you up onstage.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Subscribe to the show directly in your podcast app: Apple Podcasts - Spotify - Stitcher - TuneIn - Overcast - Pocketcast

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"It's the most therapeutic tool I have" Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

054: Abby Ahmad

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, September 2 of 2020 Music is not content. It’s connection.

Glad to be here with you as 2020 enters its final third. What’s gonna happen now? Who the hell knows, I for one am all soft eyes and open ears. If there’s anything you’re still taking for granted about this life, I recommend you examine why that might be the case and think about what you may do instead. Time slows down for no one.

Except for me, because I’m on vacation this week. Nothing special, just up the road a bit at an airbnb. Still pretty much in quarantine, but claiming a little sanity too. I have a great guest for you here today though, so let’s talk about her.

ABBY AHMAD is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and voice/yoga teacher residing in Brooklyn, NY. And her music is as passionate as it is profound.

Abby has recorded and toured internationally as a solo artist, backup singer, and with her band Fife & Drom which she fronts with her husband, Mark Marshall who you may remember from last week’s episode. Her original music has been featured in a major motion picture (The Guardian) as well as being honored on multiple occasions by the Independent Music Awards.

She is also a trained actor, we get into that a bit and talk a little about the interplay between the two disciplines. As a voice and guitar teacher, Abby has been a trusted source of guidance and inspiration for both young and professional students over the years. Her vocal coaching and unique exercises have been utilized by major artists in preparation for going on things like Coachella and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Once again, if you like the show and you think it deserves a wider audience, do us a solid and share the link with a friend:

Or better yet: listen to the Playlist we just started that has all the guests and pass that around too. It’s a musical community you can take with you wherever you go: Find it on Apple Music | Spotify

We are here to connect the dots with you.

Halfway through our chat, I mentioned a book which I’ll link you to here in our show notes. I’ve talked about it before, maybe we’ll get this guy on our show sometime. It’s Music: A Subversive History by Ted Gioia. If you’re looking for liberation and you know how to read, this one’ll scrape the sand out of your ears.

I’ve known Abby for a long time, she’s got a very cool way of playing guitar in addition to her amazing voice. I’ve had a great time watching her perform both solo and rockin out blues with Fife and Drom. She can really take over a room. I love the sound of her voice, and her delivery is super powerful. She’s a force, check out our conversation.

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with Abby Ahmad.

Artist’s tracks all come from our guest, check out Abby’s solo work and also Fife and Drom on Bandcamp

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Abby Ahmad for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her at Abby Ahmad dot com and follow her on IG @abbyahmadmusic.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 54 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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"It fills a void... it's emotionally working things out" Aug 26, 2020

Show notes

053: Mark Marshall

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday, August 26th of 2020 Music is not content! It’s connection.

A quick note: last week’s episode may not have reached you since there was a big traffic burst here on Substack and the whole thing got gummed up for a day, which happened to be the same day I was sending you my regular Wednesday edition. In case you did not get the email, you can still look at the post and listen to the episode, it’s right up on the site where it should be. And the podcast is also in your player’s feed like normal. I put together a great chat with Daniel Wright, and it’s really worth hearing.

[photo by Abby Ahmad]

I’m in California here with the rolling brownouts and the heat storm, it’s been in the low 100’s here for a week straight. Hard at work on multiple projects as usual, but I think I’m settling into a good groove here. It’s a trip to hold myself to account with everything I start, but I’m getting better at completing the things I start. And it’s partly because I’m really liking some of the stuff I come up with.

There’s this thing I’ve been alluding to here and there called the Lazy Cello Suite, which isn’t an entirely original work but I think it’s safe to call it a remix. I basically took the chord changes of the Bach G Major cello suite and made my own notes, played in the way I like to play. It’s lazy-sounding in a good way, a way that doesn’t make you work too hard as a listener. I’m going to make a recording of it soon on my porch and put that out on Bandcamp.

I’m also working on some production prototypes for an album which is moving forward. I’m working with last week’s guest, Daniel Wright. It’s still in a very early stage but the energetic read is good on the thing, so stay tuned for more on both of those projects as they develop.

Today I’m happy to share my conversation with Mark Marshall.

He’s a great guitarist, and very much a connoisseur of guitar tone. In fact, he has an entire website dedicated to the Anatomy of Guitar Tone, which you can find at anatomyofguitartone.com.

But he’s much more than a mere gearhead. I’ve worked with him as a producer and in bands, I’ve also admired his work on stage for many years. He’s got that certain presence, one of total focus where you can just tell he’s taking exquisite care with his sounds, and we the listeners benefit tremendously.

He’s not just a local cat. He’s logged tens of thousands of miles on the road with the likes of Amy Helm and Sister Sparrow. He collaborates with his wife Abby Ahmad in a great rock/blues band called Fife & Drom, and he’s got his own power guitar trio with Adam Minkoff and Tony Leone called Future Relics.

We hear about what it was like growing up in rural Pennsylvania near Scranton / Wilkes-Barre. Mark had to take a long journey through darkness into the light, navigating issues with an overbearing collaborator who also happened to be his father. The man had to move mountains to get to where he is today, and just before the Pandemic hit he was hitting the gas on his composition work, so we’ll get a taste of that as well.

Once again, if you like the show and you think it deserves a wider audience, do us a solid and share the link with a friend:

Or better yet: listen to the Playlist we just started with all the guests and pass that around too. It’s a musical community you can take with you wherever you go: Find it on Apple Music | Spotify

We are here to connect the dots with you.

Now let’s dive into my conversation with Mark Marshall:

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with guitarist Mark Marshall.

Artist’s tracks all come from our guest, check out his bands Fife and Drom and Future Relics on Bandcamp

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to guitarist Mark Marshall for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Anatomy Of Guitar Tone dot com and follow him on IG @guitarist_mark_marshall.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 53 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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"The consistency and the showing up" + our New Playlist Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

052: Daniel Wright

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

[photo by Josh Soskin]

On Wednesday, August 19th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.

And some of you will remember when I picked that tag line out. It was a few months ago, soon after I had restarted this podcast up in January. It came to me in a flash, but I’ve been meditating on it every week with you and saying it out loud as often as the subject comes up in conversation, which is often.

The meaning of it will be obvious to most of you, and you may be able to detect a thread of longing underneath it as well. A lot of us, myself definitely included, will pursue a life in music without really understanding what it is we’re after. After many years of trying to play by some set of “rules”, then giving that up in order to heal my heart, then deciding to just try and be transactional and make a simple living at it, then giving that up and taking on this narrowcasting project which you’re listening to now - I’m utterly convinced that we don’t just need music, we need to find each other inside of the music.

It’s not about your personal taste, although your taste matters.

I had an invigorating email and text marathon as I reached out to all of our previous 50 guests on the show so we could celebrate that milestone together. I got to catch back up with those dozens of accomplished musicians and I got so inspired that I had to make a playlist.

Because I get it, we don’t always have the nose to listen to a podcast. Sometimes we want to feel the connection without following a conversation. The audience for this show is small but dedicated, and I keep getting very heartfelt feedback from you listeners that the show is helping you in some way. So I hear that something might be working for you, and I now present to you:

“Playlist It Like It’s Music”:

a music community you can carry with you wherever you go.

Find it on Apple Music | Spotify

Put this thing on shuffle! I grabbed a song (give or take) from each artist we’ve had on the show, so you can dig deeper and also skip around to find your groove. Pass it to your friends, help the people find each other inside the music. If you decide you like somebody, go listen to their episode and buy their album. It’s up to us, and I’m here to try and connect the dots with you. I’ll keep adding to it each week.

Everybody is on there, either as an artist or as a producer or contributing player. We’ve got Dope Sagittarius, Daniel Sadownick, Krystle Warren, Angela Parrish, Mother Feather, Kevin Chown, Artyom, Cremaine, Shana Tucker… call it Evening Becomes Eclectic or some such. It’s quite a mix. Enjoy!

Today on the show we’re lucky to have with us a wonderful Songwriter and Producer, living in Ojai, CA.

[photo by Josh Soskin]

Daniel Wright is a former member of Song Preservation Society, currently fronts Radio Skies and is the owner and manager at Echo Magic.

Echo Magic is a group of producers, songwriters, musicians, and sound designers who love making records and bringing visual storytelling to life through sound. They are a collective, a studio, a house band, a creative think tank, and most importantly they are friends obsessed with creating music and sound.

[Cover Design by Aaron Taylor-Waldman, Portrait by Brendan Willing James]

Daniel has just put out a gorgeous, simmering collection of new songs on an album called Wild House. It features performances and contributions from close friends and collaborators including Mikael Jorgensen of Wilco, Scott Hirsch of Hiss Golden Messenger, Karl Hunter of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Eric Sullivan of Lissie.

He’s wonderful to work with (I can attest) and he’s also a great interview. I love hanging out with folks who get it, and who also can back it all up with great work. So let’s get to it:

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with Daniel Wright.

Artist’s tracks all come from Daniel’s new album, “Wild House” which you can buy on Bandcamp

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Daniel Wright for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Echo Dash Magic dot com and follow him on IG @dannyboywright.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 52 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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* 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)

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"Vibration is at the heart of the universe" Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

051: Avram Fefer

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday August 12 of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.

[photo by Rene Thomas]

A while back (like 20 years or something back) I put on a joint birthday party with a good friend named Celine at a spot in Alphabet City. For the most part our two groups of friends mixed well, everybody was happy but Celine had cooler musician friends than I did.

I spotted her out on the sidewalk talking to this crazy looking dude. Weird glasses, athletic energy, hair everywhere. I had to know this guy, I knew he was into some weird s**t… and sure enough he is. You’ll get to find out today as we spend some time with the very same man, Avram Fefer.

He’s always up to some madness.

[photo by Nina Roberts]

I’ve seen this guy play his horn all over town, from the dustiest unknown free jazz improv spots to the Old Office at the Knit, burning it down at the coolest restaurants and even working with sculptors in high society art galleries. He always has amazing players in tow as well with a list of collaborators to make even the most jaded snob take notice. We’ve been friends for a while and I remember visiting him at his old walkup on Ludlow St for years before he moved into my old neighborhood, Prospect Heights.

Now what is it about Avram? Folks on here are into all kinds of music, some of us are focused on mental and technical aspects, others dwell in the emotional areas of great melody and songwriting, Some people are about the message, others all about that booty. We take all kinds. But when you witness a performance that just owns on every level those distinctions just fly out the window. You see someone who commits and delivers, leaving it all on the bandstand and making sure the folks in the room know that a musical animal has wandered through your life.

Avram is one of those cats. He takes full possession of the proceedings with full physicality, melody, heart and sophistication. I’ve seen the guy perform dozens of times and he never disappoints. Music is a contact sport to people like Avram and I’m very glad to bring him to you today.

His latest album TESTAMENT has received "Best Albums of 2019" honors from Rolling Stone, NPR, Downbeat, Bandcamp, Cadence, Jazz Magazine. It features Marc Ribot, Eric Revis and Chad Taylor. Link for that is in the show notes.

Let’s not waste any more time, check out Avram Fefer:

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with Avram Fefer.

Artist’s tracks all composed by Avram Fefer, provided by the artist:

“Loss (for Flo)” from the album “Calling All Spirits” feat. Eric Revis and Igal Foni

“Essaouira” - from the album “Avram Fefer's Big Picture Holiday”

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Avram Fefer for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at Avram Fefer dot com and check out his albums on Bandcamp.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 51 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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 50 breather. Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

Hi there. No interview today! I’ve got many more coming, but since we hit that milestone of episode 50 last week I’ve been living much more in the music space. I figured it might be nice to put together a little check-in piece for you all, and run down a bit of music instead. It’s quick, so mash that play button.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE!

I can’t believe we got to 50 shows. As I said, more are on the way BUT: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend about it:

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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.

* Or to produce your podcast.

* Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

* More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

Get full access to Play it Like It's Music at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com/subscribe

"It's in my bones" Jul 29, 2020

Show notes

050: Nicole Nelson

Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.

On Wednesday July 29th of 2020 music is not content, it’s connection. This is episode 50.

[photo by Thom Adorney]

Every now and then, if you get around to clubs and stuff to hear people (remember?), you come across a sound and a vibe so stunning that you never forget it.

I’ve become a fan of so many artists, and oftentimes the fanhood is based on nothing more than the memory I have in my senses of the first time I heard their “it”. Whatever it is that makes them them. I’ll keep turning them on and going out to see them for years, sometimes with just the hope that I’ll catch another moment like that first one.

It was like a portal opened up and boom, there was this musical spirit just lifting the dust out of the cracks right in front of you. I remember moments like that every time I used to go see Tony Scherr’s trio every Monday. I remember that moment when I was on the gig with Bisan here in the Canyon. Krystle Warren is a never-ending moment like that, pretty much every time she makes a sound. Further back, I got to see the Gil Evans orchestra on a Monday night in Sweet Basil, I saw Radiohead turn the world around in New Jersey about a month before 9/11, I’ve been to Jazz Fest in New Orleans… hell I’ve just walked around the streets of New Orleans. These are all landmark moments of my musical life.

Today is Episode 50 of this show, and I couldn’t be more blessed than to have another stellar artist and performer to speak with. Yesterday was my birthday, today we have episode 50, we’re pushing two straight months of Black Lives Matter protests all over the nation, James McBride’s new book is tearing it up on Oprah and Michelle Obama just launched her podcast. Given that there’s so much going on, now and perpetually, I’m extremely grateful for your ears and your attention and your fellowship and your celebration of our shared musical experience.

This show is for you, in those moments when we are most alone and doing out hardest work in the shadows, far from the stage. It’s here for you whenever you need it and I’m honored to have you listening. Thanks to all the guests we’ve already had on here and thanks to all who are yet to come on, you mean the world to me.

So… onward:

[photo by Eric Antoniou]

The first time I heard the band called Dwight and Nicole was on a night when I was opening for them at Banjo Jim’s, and I walked out a changed man. Forever grateful to them for the sound they brought. Sure enough, that portal opened right up. It was just the two of them on stage but the guitar and the tambourine and the voices sat just right in the coziest pocket you’ve ever witnessed. The groove wouldn’t quit and by the time they were done, folks in the audience were all ready to make babies. They are incredible, and today we’re speaking with Nicole Nelson.

Like I said, I couldn’t be happier. Not only has she got the voice for the band, but she went on The Voice and nearly took the thing. We get to hear her whole background today and get a taste of what it feels like to know you have the talent and the genius and the grit to get up there, and then hear some of the plot twists that happened along the way.

I’ll cut to the chase at this point, since I know you came for the gold. Let’s meet Nicole.

Press PLAY above to hear my convo with Nicole Nelson.

[photo by Rick Levinson]

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Nicole Nelson for spending some very generous time with us. You can find her band at Dwight and Nicole dot com and check her out on socials @nicolenelsong.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 50 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 in the culture.

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.

Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

If you like this stuff, help it spread by sharing it!

* Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

* Sign the mailing list!

* Take lessons from me online!

* Hire me remotely for cello overdubs or to score your piece.