Brave Musician

In this episode, Monica and Quez Cantrell (an artist, MC, producer, and web designer from Nashville, TN) continue their conversation where they left off in Part 1. They dig into their personal experiences with isolation, emotional incarceration, self-guilt, forgiving, and moving through deeply painful experiences. They talk about reading and sharing books they have found helpful and figuring out how to rest when needed. They talk about collaboration, lifting up others, being sure of your story and figuring out what a moment sounds like. They share their mutual respect for Rakim and Kendrick Lamar, being unconventional, and making sure that the things you do are sitting right with your spirit. They talk about the importance of trusting people and letting them do what they do, learning how to say no and be told no, motivation and inspiration, setting intentions, and Quez answers the “Behind the Curtain” questions. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, which is part one of a two-part series, Monica has a profoundly honest and deeply vulnerable conversation with Quez Cantrell, an artist, MC, producer, and web designer from Nashville, TN. They talk about how they met (it all started with an NPR article about the Nashville Hip Hop scene that came out during the pandemic) and Quez’s unconventional journey that led him to put his brutally honest music out into the world. Quez shares some of the challenges that he’s encountered growing up Black in Nashville and trying to build a career when you’re not a country music artist. We dive into his writing process, influences, and how they both want to know the backstory of how a song comes together. Quez also shares how playing football prepared him for being on stage, but it was music that helped him deal with and process his brother’s murder. They talk about building a community that values what different people bring to it, being ok with being vulnerable, self-reflecting, growing as a person and learning how to feel emotions and face them. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode Monica is joined by drummers Matt Crouse (from Nashville, TN) and Zack Albetta (from Atlanta, GA) who are the hosts of The Working Drummer podcast. They talk about some of the challenges and rewards of producing a podcast, the story of how Matt and Zack started working together and what they each bring to the table. They share how they both enjoy talking about making a living playing drums and the logistical, psychological, physical and emotional obstacles that are inherent within the profession. They discuss some of the misconceptions of the music business, the desire to learn and understand one's options, the art of asking questions and why it can be hard for some to open up. Matt and Zack also answer the “Behind the Curtain” questions. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica chats with singer and songwriter, Chelcie Jette about her journey as a songwriter, how she ended up in Nashville after graduating with a degree in music business from Berkeley, and all of the different odd jobs that she has done. They talk about being inspired by others, learning from co-writing, researching and finding sounds that resonate. Chelcie shares her songwriting process for the songs on her up-coming EP (which drops August 18) including some audio clips and the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with putting work out into the world. We talk about our individual recording experiences, the important contributions of others, and getting creative with funding projects. Chelcie answers the “Behind the Curtain” questions, and we try not to get too distracted by her two extremely cute cats. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica has an inspiring conversation with Ashley Shabankareh - a musician, musician educator, and administrator based in New Orleans. Ashley is a trombonist, vocalist, the Director of Operations and Programs for the Trombone Shorty Foundation, works with a wide variety of organizations, teaches at Loyola University, and is an artist, costume maker and dancer. Monica and Ashley talk about the challenges with explaining what we do as creatives in a label-oriented world, describing music in terms of bands instead of genres, sharing different influences and listening habits, as well as some listening recommendations. They also have a candid conversation about the process over the end product and allowing people to fail without negative repercussions, the little bit of panic and stress that still comes from being asked to solo and dissecting why that is and how to approach learning differently from a place of extending the grace and space which allow to each other grow, while acknowledging that each of us may bring different experiences, understandings, disabilities, mental health factors, etc into any musical situation. Ashley shares how sometimes the hardest things that happen to us can also be gifts, how we are more than our titles, and the importance of allowing calm and relaxation into our lives. She also answers the “Behind the Curtain” questions. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica has a conversation with pianist, vocalist, and composer Rachel Eckroth about the process of creating, including composing, songwriting, collaborating with other musicians, and production. They talk about expressing yourself through lyrics, working with synths verses acoustic instruments, how to decide what to keep when faced with limitless possibilities, self-confidence, and improvisation as a composition tool. Rachel shares the inspiration and some of the processes behind the creation of her Grammy nominated album, The Garden (2021) and answers the “Behind the Curtain” questions. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

Welcome back! In this episode, Monica revisits her definition of what it means to be Brave and shares her updated definition and how she arrived at it (hint: with a little help from Glennon Doyle, Martha Beck and Brene' Brown.) Monica offers three "easy" ways to get started connecting with ourselves in integrity and some further reflections about what it could mean as a Brave musician. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. Please visit BraveMusician.com to find out more. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica is joined by Tanner Guss, a drummer and podcaster from New Orleans to discuss being a musician, the value of mentors, joys and struggles of creating a podcast, jam sessions, playing with people and forming relationships with fellow musicians that ultimately make the music better. They share their experiences of moving to a new city and getting into a new scene, the importance of enjoying the gig and staying present, creativity vs curation, feeling musically awkward, making others feel seen and heard both on and off the bandstand, and not wanting to end up hating to play music. Monica and Tanner figure out how much their goals and philosophies align and reinforce that working together is always the way to go. Find out more at TheHappyMusicians.com and be sure to check out Monica’s episode on the The Happy Musicians podcast. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica sits down with bandleader, composer and drummer Sofia Janelle to talk about her life, career and the making of her second album. Sofia shares how she started playing drums, how attending Berklee’s 5-week summer program in high school and learning under the wing of Esperanza Spalding and spending time in Boston affected her. She shares her experiences while a college student at Berklee, her personal life at the time, including being sexually assaulted and struggling with depression and anxiety, dropping out of school and returning to complete her degree. She talks about her move to Nashville, about freelancing, and why she started her own group. Monica and Sofia share their experiences as female musicians, how the idea of “cutting your teeth” is a little more loaded, and offer up some ideas on how to make things in their world more equitable, safe, and a place where everyone is allowed to grow. Sofia talks about her group, The Sofia Goodman Group, shares behind the scenes look into the making of her second album and her IndieGoGo campaign to help fund the project. They also discuss the importance of yoga and gardening. (CW: depression, sexual assault) _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, which is part 2 of a 2-part series, Monica continues her conversation with saxophonist Joel Frahm about rebuilding in Nashville, why he chose Nashville, and how they are starting to see things sputtering back to life. They chat about the importance of keeping plugged in and being social, how they both enjoy bouncing ideas off other people, and mitigating negative thought loops. They dive into some deep, vulnerable conversation sparked by Joel’s answers to the “Behind the Curtain” questions. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, which is part 1 of a 2-part series, Monica sits down with saxophonist Joel Frahm to discuss his musical upbringing, the first jazz LP’s he was given, and his early professional gigs and record hunting with pianist Brad Mehldau, and his move to NYC. They talk about the importance of listening, first transcriptions, going through jaw surgery, and have an honest discussion about perfectionism, joy, showing vulnerability, struggling, and not losing hope. They share stories about discipline with practicing, playing with other people, and the fear of being left behind. Joel shares his process and philosophy about making records and offers Monica (and anyone else who needs it) some encouragement about recording. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In the episode, Monica talks with music teacher, trumpet player, classically-trained singer, and author, Nick Burdick about his book The Practice Habit. They discuss creating an intentional life, coping with severe burnout, the importance of reflection and experimenting with your goals and different sources of influence. They dig into the three different pieces of the book: direct practice, domain knowledge, and self management. Nick shares why he wrote the book and the process of researching and writing it. Listeners of the podcast can get a discount on the book by going to ThePracticeHabit.com/brave _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica talks with musician, clinician, composer, and Tube Visionary, Bill Muter about creating job security and empowerment in the music industry through diversifying income streams, preparation vs impossible situations, building relationships and bringing what you can to the table. They discuss individual goals with social media, musical resumes, over-producing vs putting out content where you are, and Bill shares why he makes videos on IG. They open up about their individual stories dealing with performance anxiety, what it means to them, and how they have learned to handle it. They also talk about the importance of the hang and conversation. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica sits down with saxophonist, educator and advocate, Jessica Stover to discuss her musical journey from how she got started with music to realizing that teaching music was her passion. She shares how the challenges she has faced being legally blind has inspired her to advocate for herself, her classmates, and her future students. They talk about learning music, both by ear and reading Braille music, classroom management, Jessica’s amazing guide dog, Inca, resilience, awesome sisters, and what ground cherries are. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In Part 2, Monica continues where she left off in Part 1, and Bravely discusses her journey and process rebuilding her "profession", her career struggles, goals, and possible solutions. She shares some of the questions that she uses to explore what's going on inside her brain, how she is learning to trust herself again, what she wants to do professionally, and some of the mental blocks that she's learning to remove. Monica shows how she plans to move forward with her goals in a way that allows her to be safe to make mistakes, be imperfect, and be authentic. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts

In this first episode of season 5, Monica talks about this season's theme, which is "Rebuilding" where we explore how Brave Musician’s are overcoming challenges around passion, creation, and music-making opportunities, and talk about how we are rebuilding and reconnecting with our Brave selves musically and personally. Monica shares her personal rebuilding and introduces a new Q&A segment to the show, "Behind the Curtain". _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts.

In this episode, Monica reconnects with Kayoko Dan, the music director of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera. They are old friends from their days at Arizona State University who both now live in TN now. Kayoko talks about being an orchestra conductor, how she always wanted to be a music teacher growing up, and how she landed first professional gig. She shares her method of studying scores, programming, and the logistics behind putting a symphony season together. Monica and Kayoko talk about their experiences as women in their fields and what they have learned about courage and standing up for themselves. They reflect on the preparation process, growth and improvement. Kayoko shares her hobbies including sewing, crafts, playing duets with her sister using the Acapella App, and recording Japanese children’s songs. She also gives her thoughts on being brave and vulnerable. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcasts

In this episode, Monica has a thought-provoking conversation with Matt Jefferson, who is a trombonist, studio musician, educator, and videographer in Nashville, TN. They talk about getting by in the pandemic and the need to pivot and adjust when life throws you curveballs. Matt shares what a typical gig in the recording studio looks like as well as the formation and growth of the Maniacal 4 Trombone Quartet. They explore the idea of being comfortable with being uncomfortable, how resistance can be a barometer for something you really care or want to know more about, and how to keep doing things you suck at if you enjoy them. They talk about balance, rest, and determining what’s worth giving up to accomplish something else. Matt and Monica share revelations about anxiety, perfection, passion, ego and work within the context of recording and performance. They talk about production, finding gear, separating your selfworth from your music, and mental breakthroughs. They deep drive into process, product, and the mental and professional pros and cons of using social media and figuring out how and what to share. Matt talks about how he got into video editing and the joy and vulnerability of learning by trial and error. We tie everything up with an honest discussion about choosing and owning your passion and journey. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcast.

In this episode, Monica reflects on all of the new information she consumed at the Jazz Education Network virtual conference in January 2021. She considers how we can process and then do something with “what” we learn, how this idea is applicable to aspects of life and learning outside of music, and offers her 4 steps on processing and applying new information. This episode includes thought-provoking questions and ways to start answering them. _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcast.

In this episode, Monica sits down with Jazmine Rampas, director of the Terrible Adult Chamber Orchestra - LA, known as TACO. They talk about the goals and mission of TACO, feelings of apprehension and worry that many of the participants have at first, the word “terrible” as a reminder, and how important and wonderful it is to have a community of people coming together to play music and have fun. Jazmine shares how she discovered TACO with her sister, her perspective directing the group and what a typical rehearsal looks like. She shares some of the emotions and fears from members she has witnessed, as well as her own. They discuss letting go of the negative thoughts about how one feels about their playing, imposter syndrome, surviving music school, culture of production, mental health, and embracing mistakes. Monica and Jazmine share their personal conducting experiences, making videos for online, and dealing with the pandemic. They also talk about Jazmine’s personal experience as a musician, how she started the violin, and how we created the things that we both needed and wanted in the world _____________ To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit BraveMusician.com for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. _____________ See the show notes at BraveMusician.com/podcast.