Play It Like It's Music

The gig was amazing. Thank you. More coming up! See below.

Trevor

Good morning. I don't mind staying in the personal realm here. The story of music is too big, anybody's own story is always too big and you can only ever try to convey a small slice of it. I can just try to convey the relevant angle, stay on topic. Point is, there is music to be made.

I haven't done much surfing, and I don't consider myself a surfer. But from what I do know about surfing, the experience I have with it (again, not much. Barely any really) I don't see or imagine too many surfers spending time discussing each others' surfing. Pointing out little things to each other and stuff, what someone did "well" and what could go "better" and how to make it look better, etc. I mean, maybe they do? But it's not the point because there's the ocean to consider, a much vaster consideration. Much more compelling. The ocean is what matters. In my mind I see surfers considering the ocean to each other and struggling to find words.

(Keanu Reeves voice:) The Ocean. It's big. We are too small to matter to it, but we go face it. We go into it. It kicks our ass and we keep coming back. We can't help ourselves. It forces us to overcome our weakness. To grow. To surrender. To meet it.

We, I... simply do not matter in the face of it.

The musicians who I relate to best speak of music like that. It's the ocean, it's the universe. We don't talk about "our" music. We don't talk about style, technique or form much at all. We'll check in with each other, like "how is it going?" How is your process going. How are you surviving? As the ocean of music imposes itself in on you, day after day, minute by minute... how are you holding up and have you learned anything useful or interesting to pass on to me, about how I might hold up better as the universe imposes itself on me, day after day?

We are all in it, and that is the point. It is the Ocean, we are unimaginably small as we navigate it.

So did you get out there?

Did you connect?

Did you fail catastrophically and have to start again from scratch, getting pushed back and under and back out again as you found a way back in?

Or did you just eat s**t.

"So-and-so is kicking a lot of ass right now".

???

(Define ass, define kick.)

These are my experiences. I love that these are my experiences, because I don't define myself by my successes or failures. I define myself by my love of doing it and by my dedication to that love. My immersion in it. It helps me understand the world and it helps me connect in the most meaningful way to other humans. I am not myself without it.

Music is what we are here for, it's what we come from and what we'll return to. For now, we play.

We’re gonna check in with Ed Marshall now. Call-in style. Click play above to hear it.

For those of you who don’t know Ed, here’s the episode we did together a couple of years ago:

“How did the gig go, Trev?”

More like How did it feel.

I played my first proper show of "my own material" the other day, the first one in almost a decade. My family was there, my hometown came out. Friends I had not seen in 30 years, godparents...

"How did it go?" Let's see. People were there and listened, people could watch it on facebook. How do You think it went? Does it matter? I have no idea how it went, I only know how I felt beforehand, getting ready for it. How I felt while it was happening and how I felt afterward. How I feel now.

That's all I know, and I barely know that. I don't have words to describe the feeling. Words would diminish my joy and gratitude, even if they were accurate and precise, insightful ones. And I'm enveloped in joy and gratitude in a way that I cannot describe. So that's all I can say.

Only one of my musician friends asked me "How did the show feel?" Bret Mosley. He just put out his new record, it took him almost a decade to make it. He's been through the fire, too. So he named his record that. ←Go give it a listen.

Thank god for my musician friends, the ones who live it. The ones who learned to surrender and who know that it's not about them, not about us, not about the material or the ideas. People will hear what we do and they will have their experience, meanwhile we got to be together in the presence of the ocean. That's all that matters.

I got to get back in the Ocean, and woah. It's not just that I missed the feeling and that my spirit finally got to inhabit my body again. It's that I got to percieve just how much I'd changed since the last phase, how much I've been able to let go, so that now I can really be in it more. More than before. Hearing and feeling it more than before. I still don't have words.

But nothing will make you appreciate a thing more than the absence of that thing. I was walking through the desert and I arrived at the table, set with a pitcher of water and a glass.

I sat, I poured one and I drank.

Something like that.

Welcome to the family.

Here are the next band shows coming up, come out:

John Kimock and I are playing together for three dates in early October:

Bloomsburg PA on October 6

Bethlehem PA on October 7

New York City on October 8

More dates on the website, including some solo performances. It’s all very special right now.

As always, big love to your ears. Thanks for tuning in here, we’ll talk more next week.

Trevor

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES booking currently: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 penetrating interviews with great musicians in the Play It Like It’s Music podcast archive.
Sign the mailing list!
Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Back from a short (unscheduled) silent spell, just in time for the shows to start this week:

Thursday I’m playing my first show of the new stuff with a band. 5:30 pm at South Hill Cider in Ithaca, NY. Opening for Bronwen Exter, my excellent sister who is also lending me her rhythm section.

It’s for all ages, there’s no cover and apparently the cider is tasty, so bring the kids!

Trevor

I told you I'd be posting every week, and that's still my intention. Of course the last time you heard from me was three weeks ago. Then I went into a real confusing funk, and it dawned on me.

I remember turning 30, thinking "Great, it's time to flush all those childish games from my 20's down the toilet and become a real adult". Then when I turned 40 I thought "great, it's time to integrate all the hard lessons I learned in my 30's and become a real adult".

Here I am today, a month into my 50's and I really can't say anything. I'm just here and I just have to own it: I am a mess. And the messy story is slowly starting to make a little hard-earned sense, but not enough. And milestones don't mean anything when you're neither here nor there.

But I do have a 5-year old nephew. And when I tell him that I'm ten times as old as he is and his eyes go wide, I get all the perspective I need for a season.

His mom, my sister Bronwen, is messily providing her kids with an environment somewhat free of the disturbances she and I had as kids, but full of all kinds of new disturbances which will be their work to untangle. Such is life, the best we can do is stay in touch. Help each other find a way to appreciate where we are and pick out a path forward.

I always need reminding that there's always a way forward, even when I don't see it.

There's a big old gap in my brain, telling me I have nothing to say. But sometimes The Stuff I really want to say is maybe too cutting, too close for mere music promotion? For a moment I actually let myself think "promo" is all this publication is for. It takes a lot to keep my head in the game sometimes.

But what do you do when your head and heart are exploding with vulnerability and you're full of fear, making up smallest-self reasons to hide & not be in touch?

The reality is that I'm a bit paralyzed by the reality of what I'm doing here.

Here I am, preparing to deliver a great experience to you this fall starting Thursday.

How great?

So great that you will feel compelled to share it with your friends and multiply the size of the audience to some critical, theoretical number that will somehow scale into my being able to deliver music for you in a properly prosperous way. So we can all be proud of our weird taste and know collectively that we weren't crazy, that the music is actually good for the world and worth our commitment to it.

But I'm also processing a lot of misgivings about my choices over the years, how I might have given into my fears more than a few times, with the unintended result of having deprived you and myself of the opportunity to jam together. It wears my heart out, thinking of all the singing we could have done, that we did not get to do during the years in which I just couldn't get it together to go out on the road and play.

To be fair, it's really, really hard for me to go out on the road and play.

It's also really hard to find a voice for the feelings I have about it. But when I make this move to go play after a long time away from it, the grief of all the lost time and scattered energy comes up to shout at me. The battle inside me is fierce, just like any musician's battle to go out and do that which used to be so normal. But today I'd like to testify to a particular facet of my internal battle, something to which I know many of you can relate.

It's about Music + Structure.

For me music equals structure. That's because early in my life my family went through some displacements and some big structure changes which left me feeling mostly on my heels. Some of it was generational but the thing that filled the gap was music.

I was lucky to be physically protected for the most part, but many of the important things that a child unconsciously depends on for their orientation, integration and growth, like home, neighborhood, location, school, society, friends, language, community... many of mine got scrambled up. Either taken totally away or just moved out of reach.

At some point my parents observed that I was flailing a bit and they decided to get music lessons for me. In order to help me put some structure into my young brain.

They didn't just get me music lessons: we got Suzuki music lessons. Suzuki is a kind of classical music cult for kids which, depending on who you ask, is either an abomination or the greatest thing ever. I can relate to both opinions but I don't really care because for me, at a cellular level, just to have any musical activity at all in my life was what saved me from going totally off the deep end at a young age.

Suzuki helped save me by giving me a simple structure in which to play, learn music and connect with other kids. It was fun, I learned how to play by ear and hear melodies. I had a really fantastic teacher.

But my need for structure beyond music was so great and so unaddressed that I ended up clinging to music in a less-than-healthy way and for less-than-healthy reasons through out my adolescence and young adulthood. This produced results I'm still having to process and recover from at age 50.

People talk about the music business, the economy, the country, the climate, the rise and imminent fall of globalization... no matter where you look it's all changing too much and too fast and you still have to pick a side.

But my flag is permanently planted in music. I believe in my bones that music is what we need to do more of. I believe our existence depends on immersing ourselves in the sounds that connect us.

Maybe that’s my trauma talking, but it’s true too.

It is my prayer that some of the healing I’ve experienced through my musical efforts will continue to touch folks out there who need to receive it.

It’s not entertainment, it’s life itself

On making true sounds:

Anyway, here’s my genre description for the new stuff I’m supporting on this tour: I’m calling it Indie-Yacht.

To spell it out, in case anyone asks: we’re talking Yacht rock without the yacht. Not for a**s. Melodic with a bit more grit & rocking with a little extra poise. You’ll be able to sing along to it unironically.

So come out! Let me know if it fits.

As always, big love to your ears. Thanks for tuning in here, we’ll talk more next week.

Trevor

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES booking currently: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 penetrating interviews with great musicians in the Play It Like It’s Music podcast archive.
Sign the mailing list!
Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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"What Freud mistook for her lack of civilization is woman's lack of loyalty to civilization"

Lillian Smith

Moving forward: On self-silencing and un-silencing.

A savvy cultural commentator might say that David Bowie died an extremely artistic, expressive death when he timed his final album release to coincide with it.

Alongside all of the grief, you could indulge yourself in thinking - maybe just a little - that Blackstar wasn't just an ambitious album but also an extremely powerful and innovative PR move by a well-resourced and celebrated man known for making powerful and innovative PR moves. All these years later I still think to myself, “wow, no one will ever top that one”.

A fitting end to the Hero’s journey of a great musical hero.

It’s a thin theory, and only possible to contemplate if you sidestep all of the struggle that such a “move” might have required. And only if you disregard the real grief of a real human’s death mourned by many millions of real people.

You’d have to have a sick sense of humor like me.

But even someone with my sick sense of humor has to simply shut up when contemplating Sinead O’Connor’s recent passing. There are no theories for it. I can’t say anything, I can only listen. So that’s what I’ve been doing.

If a musician’s death could ever make me feel the opposite way that Bowie’s did, we just had one. But don’t listen to me, listen to her:

Album: Sinead O’Connor, “Throw Down Your Arms” LP (2005). Sinead + Sly & Robbie do the reggae hymn book.

Audiobook: “Rememberings” (2021) by Sinead O’ Connor. Listened on the drive through Arizona and New Mexico. Haunting and heartbreaking.

On making true sounds:

I finally made it to the east coast and I'm finally starting to get a pretty clear idea of the mission here moving forward. Let me share it with you:

In the first 80 episodes of the podcast I was asking each guest the following two questions:

Why do you play music?

and 2. What separates the professional from the amateur?

I had my reasons. Those two questions were relevant to me at the time, mainly because I was deeply questioining my own original reasons for starting down the professional path of a musician. I was going through some grief around having hit some dead ends in my own twisted creative path as well as certain collaborations that hadn't worked out. I had totally lost confidence in my own musical voice and ability, so I was turning to the folks I knew who seemed to have it together. Asking them how they did it.

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

We got some great answers to those questions. I am super proud of those interviews, and I stand by my reasons for conducting them in the way that I did. Many of you out there found them helpful, and they are still back there in the feed for you to listen to any time that you want.

But they also catalyzed some healing in myself and an eventual evolution which made that particular line of questioning less relevant. I decided to pause the podcast, partly because we outgrew the format.

What do I mean?

Well for starters: the question of professionalism has totally expanded into our wider environment and into a larger set of questions about general survival, purpose and prosperity in an age when the actual bottom has dropped out of the music industry we used to know.

Consequently the very ideal of professionalism is taking some hits.

Music is totally still a profession, but the core approach of professionals who make our living in music has exploded into a million methods. The means of making a living as a musician keeps shifting. Gatekeepers have multiplied, while their standards for admission are less and less musical in nature.

Musicians are adapting, and for many of us that means getting a day job or starting other businesses. It was true before. We've always been hustlers, but now it is simply no longer enough to ask about what separates professionals and amateurs. Pros and amateurs alike, we are all on this mission together. Your voice counts and you have to make it count. You are allowed to make it count in whatever way is true for you.

We all have to fight for the dignity of the shared musical experience, and it's all hands on deck.

The other question, "Why do you make music?" has also outlived its relevance.

I wonder now whether the question was ever relevant, but at least it had some use as an icebreaker. Still, it's worded like a challenge. One that I believe went in the wrong direction. Because given the nature of music and what it can do for humanity, one should never feel required to explain their personal justification for making music. Not to ourselves, or anybody.

We will do much better to ask "What stops you from making music" and apply ourselves to removing those obstacles.

So I'll state for the record here on Wednesday August 9th, 2023 that music is not content, it's connection.

And I’ll elaborate: not only do I believe in eliminating our barriers to the making of music, I'll take aim at the concept of professionalism when it becomes a form of gatekeeping.

We are all amateurs, and we are all also eligible for professional roles in music should we choose to pursue them.

But to point a finger and say so-and-so is or isn't “a professional musician” or such-and-such means of musicmaking is or isn't a professional way of doing it is potentially destructive to the musical culture as a whole, and I'm going to ignore the distinction in my dialogue moving forward.

Make the truest sound you can.

And as far as "Why do you make music" is concerned, ask yourself what is stopping you.

Music has the capacity to organize and motivate populations well beyond the divisions of politics, which is why you don't hear me presenting any political opinions on this podcast.

But I’ll say this: what's stopping you from making music is also something wrong with America. Like, what if you sang every day? What if you were to take your God-given right to make music and use it? And what if you paid it forward, finding ways to integrate it into the larger sounds of your community? Some political healing would probably take place.

So my political stance is Play it like it's f*g music. Make the truest sound you can, and then try to listen to it through other people's ears as much as you can.

We'll get into that more, but mostly on a personal level because that's where the real work takes place. There's more power in music making than you realize, and these questions are much bigger than the music industry.

More recs for this week:

Watching: Chuck Berry, “Live in London 1972” on the BBC. Sinead says: “Best gig ever.”

Reading: “Chuck Berry: An American Life" (2022) by R.J Smith. The Shakespeare of rock n roll. Alan Toussaint said: “The man is a mountain.”

On Substack: Venkatesh Rao with part 2 in a series about narrative technologies. Bonus reference to Ursula Le Guin’s carrier bag theory of fiction.

As always, big love to your ears. Thanks for tuning in here, we’ll talk more next week.

Trevor

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES booking currently: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 penetrating interviews with great musicians in the Play It Like It’s Music podcast archive.
Sign the mailing list!
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Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Note: Play It Like It’s Music is growing back into itself, and I thank you for listening. The “show” part of the show will be diversifying as we go along, but next week there’s no episode since I’ll be on vacation celebrating my 50th birthday.

We’ll catch back up the following Wednesday.

Greetings. Today I’m mostly just going to play for you, so click “Play” to hear some music.

It’s a casual hang, I’m just sitting in the open air living room with the squeals of the neighbors kid and birds included, just as if you’re visiting me at home.

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

It’s a sweet sendoff, since we depart Venice Beach for our long trip to the east coast on Friday.

Fear not:

It may seem to you that I’m just taking up space in your inbox without providing much in the way of content. In the coming weeks I’ll be bringing back some conversations with musicians and other characters about stuff we all love, so thanks for bearing with me! It’s been an eventful season in Play It Like It’s Music land.

Today’s musical selections from my living room:

J.S. Bach Prelude to Suite for Unaccompanied Cello in G Major. Played on telecaster with perhaps a bit too much tremolo. Guitarists usually transpose this to another key, but I like it in the original key, obviously.

Trevor Exter: “Mexico”. This is a tune I’ve done previously with John Kimock (listen to the original here. I’m bringing it into the current set, along with a dozen or so brand new tunes which I can’t wait to share with you in person.

John and I will be playing together on October 6th, 7th and 8th. Big reunion, it’s gonna be great! More specific info soon.

Some recs for this week:

Listening: Joe Cocker, “Stingray” LP (1976). Run don’t walk!

Watching: “Broadcast News” (1987) dir. James L. Brooks. The place near the thing we went to that time.

Reading: “"The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll" (2019) by Ian S. Port. A pretty good book about electric guitars.

On Substack: A most eloquent short rant about recording music is no longer a viable business model by the legend himself, Nelson George.

I appreciate you very much, thanks. See you again after my big birthday burger in the desert.

As always, big love to your ears.

Trevor

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES booking currently: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 penetrating interviews with great musicians in the Play It Like It’s Musicpodcast archive.
Sign the mailing list!
Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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It’s hard to believe a whole week has passed since last week. I’ll admit to being a little overwhelmed by all of the communication but it feels pretty organized, so I’ll keep rolling with it.

Since I opened up the can of worms by announcing the fall tour, I’ve been able to re-connect with quite a few people who are interested in helping out and hosting events. I’m also talking with some great musicians who will be in the mix. It’s all very exciting and I’m all very excited. Super grateful.

As much as I like to give you something meaningful each week, for this week I have to be honest and say that the time rolled up on me too quickly, so I’m just going to play some guitar and call it. I know you have plenty to do as well.

As far as dates are concerned, I’m still zeroing on a NYC venue for a ticketed band show on October 8. I’m connecting with house concert hosts in the Hudson Valley, Central PA, Long Island and Rhode Island… Please reach out to me if you’d like to do one yourself! We’re gonna have a great time.

I appreciate you very much, thanks.

And as always, big love to your ears.

Trevor

Listening: Elvis’s great gospel album, “How Great Thou Art”. How great it ith.

Watching: “El Infierno” (2010) dir. Luis Estrada. Makes “Traffic” look like “Barbie”, horrifyingly. But more than one Oaxacan has told me this film is basically a documentary.

Reading: “A Dark and Bloody Ground: A True Story of Lust, Greed and Murder in the Bluegrass State” (1993) by Darcy O’Brien. Who doesn’t wish they could write like a southerner?

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES in process: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 penetrating interviews with great musicians in the Play It Like It’s Music podcast archive.
Sign the mailing list!
Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Hey, thanks for all the lovely responses to last week’s post about the fall tour. I ‘ve been getting many kind thumbs ups, invitations to new places, offers of hospitality, help in booking more gigs and especially house concerts. Please keep em coming! If you’re curious about hosting a house concert, it’s a great way to experience live music more intimately, conveniently and satisfyingly. I love performing in people’s homes as well as in clubs. Dates are accumulating (pending announcement) but I still have room in the calendar. Hit me up if you’d like to know more.

I am also toying with the idea of adding workshops to the fall offering, separately from the performances. I have a good track record of helping musicians at all levels find their musical footing and develop confidence. These workshops would be for anyone who makes music on any instrument: like if you know how to play but don’t think you have style, if you struggle with rhythm, with feel or if you just plain feel like you don’t deserve to play. I have a rich set of tools and rituals that help people with these things, so please send me an email if you feel intrigued.

Folks are asking about my switch to electric guitar for these new shows. What’s it gonna sound like? Why make such a cliché choice? Longtime listeners and cello loyalists are raising some eyebrows, so I’ll be fully transparent about this development today.

Cello has always been the thing that sets me apart, but it’s totally something to hide behind too.

I’ve played the cello since I was seven years old, and for better or worse a lot of my musical identity got wrapped up in that. I dragged the beast around town to different lessons, orchestra rehearsals and gigs throughout my youth and on up into my 30s and 40s.

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

I embraced the role of “cello guy” well beyond my transition into songwriting, bass playing and bandleading.

But as good as the thing can sound, it’s extremely expensive and cumbersome in a world that caters less and less to the basic needs of a traveling musician. You might know some of the stories. I’m super proud of my cello life and work, which is why I’ve held onto the “cello guy” tag despite all of the logistical and social friction it generates.

I love the cello and I will always be a cellist in my soul. But this guitar episode for me is a long time coming and I’d like to take a moment to unpack a little bit of the why and the how here for you.

I wasn’t always cello guy.

From ages 13 to 17. I mostly considered myself a piano player and lived almost entirely on the piano. For those years (and into my early 20s) I would just play piano for hours every day. I wasn’t practicing, though. I was just banging out a sound cocoon to hide myself in. It helped me avoid getting into drugs as a teenager because my self-soothing took this sonic form, and if I ever got stoned my connection to music would diminish. So I mostly avoided it and I’m grateful for that.

More importantly, the piano was the door through which I fell in love with music at age 13. Cello was only happening half-heartedly in the background and it took center stage when I realized that I’d have a much easier time trying to get into music school on cello then I would as a pianist. They need more of us in those schools to fill out the cello section in the symphony, which means they can’t always enforce the olympically high standards you would have to meet if you’re trying to get accepted as a piano player. Since I didn’t really like to practice, I hadn’t built up any real repertoire on the piano. So it was a non-starter.

But why did I love piano so much? It was mostly because you could just touch it and it would make sound all by itself. The mechanics of tone and intonation were contained within the trunk of the instrument, so you could make music without having to learn how to make a sound. Just choose your note and hit the key… ping! So music was fun right away, because the piano does most of the work for you. I could improvise for hours and feel like a musician.

This is not the case with cello. Cellos are a lot more complicated. It takes a lot of different coordinated micro-movements just to play one note on the cello, and these techniques are hard to learn. You won’t sound good for years, I promise you. And at the end of all that effort, you’ll still have way fewer notes at your disposal… as well as fewer performance opportunities. Even if you’re great.

To put the difference into an analogy: the cello is a quill pen and the piano is the printing press. People who play piano at a professional level get comfortable with manipulating a huge quantity of musical information, they can play anybody else’s part along with them - which means they generally end up being in charge of arranging the band. Meanwhile, drummers dominate the rhythm, guitarists tie the whole show together, singers lead the crowd and horns make it pop.

Between drummers and pianists, horns, singers and guitarists there’s not a whole lot of room in the types of bands I like for the voice or the opinion of a cellist, even an amplified one as I sadly found out too many times.

No matter how cool you think the cello is, it will always live on the margins of the music scene.

And love it as I might, our limited gear options, the need to subject our delicate and cumbersome instrument to harsh and often dangerous spaces where the best part of the sound gets swallowed too often by crowded mixes and crazy dynamic ranges all take their toll eventually. So I had to take some space from performing. I just haven’t had it in me, my appetite for that kind of risk has dwindled.

But my appetite for making and presenting music has not. This is why I released those three electronic music albums a couple of years ago. It’s also why I made 80 episodes of the podcast. I’ve been branching out, and part of that journey has been embracing, and then surrendering to my lifelong attraction to the guitar.

So it’s Guitar Season in trevorland. Here are a few sounds. [click above to listen].

You may notice that I’m still bringing my same tuning over from the cello. That means I have the same vocabulary and harmonic language that I use on cello. I can play the Bach cello suites in their original key…

… and the top strings are tuned in open G, just like Keith Richards. So that’s like the whole history of music at one’s fingertips without having to switch instruments or even re-tune.

I have my work cut out for me.

This fall you’ll get to hear material that sounds like me, because it is me. But it’ll be far more unfettered because I won’t be nearly as frazzled after making the trip with a cello where I have to worry about bumps and scrapes, humidity, feedback or finding a specialty string repair shop in some outlying area because my soundpost got out of whack on the way to a gig. It’s a real relief to be able to play a dependably consistent stock instrument right out of the box, and it frees up a lot of artistic bandwidth to imagine more and express more.

So I’ll be bringing the cello spirit to you in the sound of this guitar in the fall. Please come out and let’s celebrate the little liberations. Looking forward to visiting you then.

I appreciate you very much, thanks.

And as always, big love to your ears.

Trevor

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Spotify)
Hear 80 episodes of the Play It Like It’s Music podcast in the archive. Penetrating interviews with great musicians.
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Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

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Hi, it’s Trevor. How are you?

It’s been a while: this is the first email post I’m sending out since early 2021. I’m coming to you today to announce some fall tour dates, my first in many years.

I will be sending weekly updates again now, so feel free to adjust your subscription or unsubscribe if that’s too often for you.

Thank you for being on this list.

If music is a country, I consider you all great patriots.

Despite my having published just about zip to this feed for more than two years, people have been signing up here at a steady pace. Thank you sincerely for your interest, and welcome to the next phase: I’m starting to come out of a quiet period where I have been refining new material for a record, learning how to do my show on guitar and doing some personal healing.

It’s all been very fruitful and abundant in a private way, and I’m excited to begin sharing with you again. First of all I want people to know that I have booked a few dates on the East Coast this fall.

I’m nervous because I haven’t really played a show of my own in almost 10 years.

Truly? Well actually I’ve played out quite a bit, that’s no secret. But I haven’t been playing out under my own name.

It’s a whole other thing when you get hired to play with or for somebody. I’ve been doing that plenty. It’s much more work to do your own music out in the world, with more exposure to risk and potential heartbreak when things pan out differently than hoped. It’s also more of a financial lift. Whereas if I’m just a hired gun people can just hire me and I can just be like “sure” and then come home with a check and some stories, but where does the time go?

A lot of time has passed since I last put on a Trevor Exter show, let alone a tour. But like I said, I’m working on new material for an upcoming record and we are going to play some of the songs live, to explore them sonically before starting production.

That’s part of why I’m coming out of the cocoon here, to give you a status update on the tour booking process and see what kind of interest is out there for putting more dates on the calendar.

I’m assembling a few different bands for shows in different areas, jumping out of my skin I’m so excited. Some great musicians are getting lined up to participate. I’ll also be doing some solo dates.

But! I’m also nervous and I want you to know this:

If you’re out there and you’ve dug my music at all in the past, then this year you are going to hear a new extension of what I may have believed myself musically capable of before. A furtherance of previous efforts, an evolution. Because I’ve done a lot of growing.

The result is that the music I’m making now is truer to me and my what some might want to call “voice”, however you define that. And regardless of how you define an artist’s voice, it takes a lot of work for them to zero in on it. I’ve been doing more of that work, because I definitely lost touch with my voice for a while.

There’s a robustness now that I never had before, which I had to build pretty much from scratch. Of course I’m still the same guy (for better or worse?) but now there are sounds coming out that this guy finds a lot more satisfying and that more accurately reflect the voices inside. I’ve only dreamed of these sounds before, and now I want to let you hear them.

Thanks for reading "Play It Like It's Music" by Trevor Exter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

See the list below of the dates I have booked so far. No ticket links yet, I’ll put those out in a future post. But please stick any nearby ones on your calendar, I’d love to play for you in the fall.

If you see “TBD” that means I am still firming up a venue for that date. Please reach out if you have a suggestion, or better yet if you would like to help me put a show together in your area. I would be most grateful for that.

TREVOR EXTER East Coast Tour Fall 2023:

AUG 30 SOUTH HILL CIDER ITHACA, NY

SEP 18 THE DOWNSTAIRS ITHACA, NY

SEP 27 THE DOWNSTAIRS ITHACA, NY

OCT 6 TURKEY HILL BLOOMSBURG, PA

OCT 7 TBD HOUSE CONCERT BETHLEHEM, PA

OCT 8 TBD NEW YORK, NY

OCT 9 THE DOWNSTAIRS ITHACA, NY

Mid-OCT through early NOV TBD New England & Mid Atlantic region. Booking now, please reach out with proposals if interested.

NOV 19 THE VELVET NOTE ALPHARETTA, GA

NOV 21 TBD NASHVILLE, TN

NOV 22 TBD HUNTSVILLE, AL

Let’s do this! Can’t wait to play for you again.

I appreciate you very much, thanks.

And as always, big love to your ears.

Trevor

Do you like my stuff? Please help the audience grow by sharing this post with one friend:

FALL 2023 TOUR DATES: @trevorexter.com
Hear my music: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” (Apple/Spotify)
Hear 80 episodes of the Play It Like It’s Music podcast in the archive. Penetrating interviews with great musicians.
Sign the mailing list!
Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Listen now | 080: Chris White Good morning! This is the final (for now) episode of Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening. We’ve got a great guest today to wrap up this phase of the show. On Wednesday, March 24th of 2021 as always, music is not content. It’s connection.

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Listen now | 079: Dwight Ritcher is a captivating performer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, standing far out from the slagheap of gutless conformity. He plays a Gibson Flying V guitar – picking up his first one as a teenager in Long Branch NJ – he has never played anything else. It was a great honor to get Dwight on a mic and dig a little bit into his background and into his process.

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Listen now | 078 Gideon Freudmann is on the show today. He’s been at this for way longer than it was trendy. In fact it’s his mission to make the cello hip, modern and fun. He’s toured all over the place, worked in lots of small ensembles, he’s a founding member of the Portland Cello Project and the band Caravan Gogh… he’s one of those guys who, if you’re into the cello you definitely know who he is.

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Listen now | if you listen to this show and you’re engaged with music in some way, one thing you probably know is that the ground is always shifting beneath us. We can’t always think on our feet, sometimes we have to think with our feet. More on that in a minute.

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Listen now | 076: Eugene Friesen Eugene was one of the very first cellists I ever saw on stage when I was a kid, someone who liberated us from the idea that we had to stay in line and only play the notes on a page with pre-prescribed intent and a general lack of flavor or modern relevance. He took his classical education and helped the cello grow into the modern musical landscape. None of us would be anywhere without people like him.

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Listen now | 075: Samuel Glazebrook On Wednesday, February 17th of 2021 music is not content. It’s connection. I’m making this connection with you now, and I’m making the content too. It’s all happening in 21. So far I haven’t been impeached but only time will tell.

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Listen now | 074: Joey Chang we’ve got a cool guest musician on the show today. Joey Chang aka CelloJoe is an anomaly in the world of cellists. He plays the cello while beatboxing, looping, and singing. We get into some good horror stories about destroying instruments for dumb reasons, the roundabout journey that someone would take to become the kind of musical polymath that makes Cello Joe such a compelling performer, and towards the end Joe even turns the tables for a bit and interviews me a little. This is a fun one.

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073: Stephen A. Thomas (aka Sejen Aios)

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

On Wednesday, February 3 of 2021 music is not content. It’s connection.

I’m rockin the new theme music today, which you may recognize from the new record I just put out on Monday. True to my promise, but it was definitely down to the wire. I set the deadline to make a record in January and put it out no matter what on February first. And it happened!

Go check it out if you haven’t yet: it’s a bandcamp exclusive for now.

Today on the show we have a fascinating musician to hang with. Stephen A. Thomas (aka Sejen Aios) is a drummer and synthesist, bandleader and composer who lives here in Southern California but spent a long part of his upbringing in Mississippi. We get into a whole bunch of stuff around the touring life, a baby’s fascination with spinning turntables, record store culture, deep synthesis and the stupid misconceptions non-southerners tend to have about the South.

Synthesists tend to be gearheads and I often find their music to be overly complex or relying more on technical gizmos than emotional expression. This is not the case with Stephen. He’s got a real heart connection with the instruments he plays, and a critical eye and ear for their design. We have a great time here picking apart the intricacies of synths.

There’s lots more in here, so let’s jump right in.

Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:

Without further ado, here’s Stephen.

It’s an honor to have him on the show.

Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Stephen A. Thomas.

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

Thanks so much for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Stephen for spending some very generous time with us. You can find some of his synthesis work in the meditation app Insight Timer and his drum work at Stephen Thomas dot LA.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 73 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, 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 here.

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 NEW instrumental record on bandcamp, and I hope you will! 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?)

Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!

DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!

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: (updated regularly on Spotify)

Sign the mailing list!

Hire me to produce your podcast.

Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

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Good day to you all! I have a special announcement to share with you today.

TRIOS 01: lo-fi chamber electronica is available today.

This is my first release in six years. But if you read my newsletter and listen to the show you probably know that a lot of music has been brewing.

I’ve been through a lot of changes: personal, geographical, spiritual and sonic among others. And this new music is definitely a departure from my brand. I’m planting my flag here as an instrumental composer, in parallel to my songwriting and other production work.

You can click PLAY above to hear track one, or click here to go to the album page.

A bit about the sound: I’m taking the sound and feel of the cello from inside the fiber. People like to mystify “the cello” as this beautiful, resonant, soaring thing but I’m all about the guts of it. Finding the bonkers noises it wants to make when not spotlit on a concerto stage or brooding in the sad part of a film score. The cello is FUN to mess around with and I’d like to share some of that fun with you:

A bit about the approach: "Trio" in this instance means that there are three live passes: once with the rhythm bits (done directly from the computer using a fascinating program called TidalCycles), and then two live takes followed by minimal editing and a mix. Production standard is strictly wabi-sabi, meaning I emphasized flavor and personality over fidelity and perfection. There’s plenty of bounce and surprise in the music.

I’m along for the ride with you.

I have so many people to thank for helping me to believe in this music and actually get the thing done.

Many of you (in fact the entire Play It Like It’s Music community) are listed in the release notes. But no one has been so steadfast and supportive as Kerri Kelly, the beautiful force-of-nature with whom I get to share this life. She’s here through it all, even while she moves mountains through her own work. Thank you K, I love you.

OK that’s all for this announcement. Thank you so much for being here, please enjoy and share the album, I’ll be back on Wednesday with your regularly scheduled episode.

Big Love to you and your big ears,

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow by sharing it!

DID YOU KNOW you can take lessons with me online!

Hear all of our musical 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 love: (updated regularly on Spotify)

Sign the mailing list!

Hire me to produce your podcast.

Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

More @trevorexter.com

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Listen now | 072: Aaron Gilmartin When you commit to the music life, without picking a lane early on and never ever deviating or getting interested in anything else, you may experience occasional periods of journeyman syndrome. Side effects might include lonely nights and long voyages into the unknown, as well as episodes of feeling lost but can also be accompanied by epiphany, euphoria, extreme dumb luck and transformational catharsis. You may also find friends for life. Aaron Gilmartin is one of mine.

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Listen now | 071: Pyeng Threadgill knew all about the business before she ever set out to make her own records. And it shows, she’s a consummate professional who knows exactly how to run a show, down to the details.

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Episode 070: Teddy Kumpel

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

On Wednesday, January 13 of 2020 music is not content. It’s connection.

I said it last week and I’ll say it again: I’m going to put up an instrumental album on February 1st. It’s going well: I’m scared shitless and frustrated and sad a lot of the time but I guess those are signals that some vital work is taking place. I’m in it. We’ll see.

Non-musicians look at us and think we must have such a charmed existence. So many times I hear folks say things along the lines of “ah you’re a musician, that must be so amazing and so nice and sweet and liberating” yadda yadda etcetera. Like we get to live without fear or any normal kind of life challenges. Or maybe that making music is a balm that somehow makes the loneliness just go away.

Well let me tell you something: It’s great to be a musician and it’s an absolutely amazing process to make music. But it comes with great vulnerability. The volume of sheer fear and hopelessness that can sneak up on you at any moment will send you into spirals beyond imagining. The constant degradation of the value of our work in the marketplace will test our dignity in ways that make you want to set things on fire.

For me, every day is a miracle.

I look at how some people do it - which is dangerous because no two people can ever do it the same. But it’s easy to survey the landscape and conclude either that an easy life is just beyond reach, or that it’s hopeless to pursue it in the first place without first posessing untold truckloads of talent and charisma. In fact, neither are true.

Music is the stuff of life, and if it is in fact your lot to live in contact with it in any way… as a maker or listener or dancer or feeler or producer or (god help you) artist’s representative, it’s always appropriate to throw open your arms to the sky and give thanks for this doorway into the infinite.

It’s your choice and your chance to receive it. We open ourselves as it opens us. Which can sometimes feel unbearable, but stay in the game. Stay in it.

I’m not going to say anything about the assault on the Capitol. Those shows are all out there, this is not one of them. I’m a bit miffed that last week’s episode (with Mai Bloomfield) got totally upstaged by the world cracking open, but creativity lives in the cracks, and we have cracks in abundance right now. All kinds of cracks.

So crack open a cold one and settle in to enjoy some time with one of the greats. I’m a huge fan of the guy we’re talking to today, and maybe you are too. Or are about to be. Guy does things with a guitar that might be illegal in some states.

Teddy Kumpel was born and raised in Port Jefferson, NY on Long Island, into a musical family. Teddy’s mom was a classical pianist and church organist. His father was a mathematics professor who enjoyed singing, playing piano and ukulele with The Great American Songbook. His family was always playing music together, which inspired Teddy to write his first song at 4 years old. At around the same time, he began playing baritone ukulele as well as playing any instrument his parents had lying around the house…violin, flute, piano, organ and guitar.

After Teddy attended the University of Miami, Teddy spent some time on the road with Rare Silk and in New York City (between tours) to study with guitar legends Steve Khan, Dean Brown and Mick Goodrick.

He’s spent a lot of time in the trenches, toughing it out with the rest of the NY musicians doing whatever he could to get by.

Teddy’s always had a passion for making his own music, and he’s also worked on developing artists with major labels starting in the 90’s and continuing to this day.

In 2008 Teddy was creating a funk band with two guitar players, but couldn’t find another guitar player who was happy just playing rhythm guitar. Around this time, the first multi-track looping pedal came out and Teddy spent a couple of years figuring out how to loop with a live trio. This created, LOOPestra which played over 300 gigs at a Monday midnight residence at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC between 2011 and 2018. Those Monday LOOPestra live performances became a NYC institution and community building experience. Full disclosure: I’ve seen a few dozen of those (at least) and I also played on two of them.

And oh yeah, Teddy also toured with Joe Jackson between 2015 – 2019.

Guy’s got stories for days, we get into a lot of that lineage and plenty else. Good laughs too.

Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:

Without further ado, here’s Teddy.

It’s an honor to have him on the show.

Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with Teddy Kumpel

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 maestro Teddy Kumpel for spending some very generous time with us. You can find Teddy at Teddy Kumpel dot com and follow him on IG @teddykumpel.

And you know what? Go buy his music on Bandcamp!

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 70 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience in 2021, 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 here.

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?)

Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow 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: (updated regularly on 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:

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Listen now | 069: Mai Bloomfield On Wednesday, January 6th of 2021 music is not content. More than ever, It’s connection. I’ve never met such a kind, abundantly talented and generous musician on the road as Mai Bloomfield, and it’s a privilege to present our conversation to you now.

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Listen now | 068: Yousef Bassirpour is working under the name Big Blind, and the music is heavy, spacious and beautiful.

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067: George Crotty

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

On Wednesday, December 9th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.

I’m glad to be talking with you today, over this amazing little pop-up radio thingy we call podcasting. There are a million shows, so thanks for tuning into this one. It’s about music. Could you tell?

Folks have no idea what music is, least of all the people who make it and listen to it. We care about it, but no two people will define Music in the same way. It’s just this thing that we either can’t turn away from for love or money, or the thing we have to get away from at any cost. Depends on the moment of course, and the band.

I’m pleased to announce that I got a big chunk of work done on my studio, so stay tuned for some videos and some streaming coming up very soon. Keep an eye out there.

On the topic of personal media development, someone who’s given me quite a bit of guidance over the years is a previous guest on the show, Todd Reynolds (@digifiddler). He’s a dear friend who happens to be one of the biggest gearheads on earth (at least as far as string players go). He’s been helping a lot of people get their stuff in gear for recording, improvising with electronics, video streaming. I’m gonna plug his online workshop this weekend, it’s totally free and just the ticket if you’re curious about getting your rig tight.

If that’s you, click the link!

[Photo by Shjaane Glover]

Canadian cellist George Crotty follows the path of many diverse cello forebears, filtering an inquisitive eclecticism through a vibrant sonic imagination. His approach introduces nimble fiddle-derived chording and ornamentation, agile one-finger gestures from Indian classical music, electric guitar-esque manoeuvres, and good old standup jazz bass. He sounds pretty damn decent if you ask me.

He leads a trio as a vehicle for his unique vocabulary on the cello and his compositional sensibility. Their music has a dynamism and conversational interplay that makes you listen.

[Photo by Shjaane Glover]

George and I go back a bit, I’ve checked out his bands live and had some good hangs at certain music festivals. He’s got a lot to say about the world he’s navigating as a young graduate of the Berklee School of Music, working on the road and then off of it too, because covid…

He’s got a new single being released this week on his Bandcamp page, check out Prayer Dance as our segue music. It’s a Brooklyn Raga Massive commission.

Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:

Without further ado, here’s George Crotty.

It’s an honor to have him on the show.

Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with George Crotty.

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 George Crotty for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him at George Crotty dot com. Go buy his music at Bandcamp and follow him on IG @georgeqrious.

(Mentioned in this episode: “Don't play the butter notes!”)

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 67 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 here.

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?)

Do you like this stuff? Please help it grow 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: (updated regularly on 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:

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Listen now | 066: Nathan Gillis This guy Nathan Gillis blew us all away, just dropped timeless gem after timeless gem - he reminds a lot of people of Prine and for good reason.I just couldn’t get him out of my head - the level of craft that this guy brings in Colorado Springs is a marvel. I had to reach out for an interview.

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065: AJ Nocito

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

On Wednesday, November 18th of 2020 music is not content. It’s connection.

It's just as hard to find musical partners as it is to find romantic partners. Some people can make it look easy, but finding someone to share the real burdens, who really understands the world the way you do and is brave enough to commit to a project - that part is never easy.

[photo by @shvwnfvckingcooper]

AJ Nocito is a man on a mission,

and his energy will infect any room he walks into. I've seen him in quite a few contexts: percussionist at The Get Down, road manager on a tour we were both on and also front man of the hardcore metal band Christopher Walkin On Sunshine. Strap in, this dude is a live wire. A thrilling man to have in your life.

Today we're going to hear the tale of a band in the making and in the breaking: sleeping on the floor with all the gear and just willing the music into being.

The story will take some turns because life does: there are a couple of different bands that weave in and out, as well as a heartbreaking tragedy that will stop you in your tracks. AJ has survived a major musician's nightmare, and he's here to tell us about it. There is redemption within.

Ok, so

Not a lot of metalheads listen to my show and I get it,

but sound is sound and spirit is spirit. The various facets of the metal and punk scenes which I've visited are some of the most inspiring and committed anywhere, and I confess to some envy alongside my admiration from the 'conservatory' perch I was brought up in. The energy is unmatched. I'm proud to have the few friends I do in there, and AJ is a brother of mine for life.

"I'm gonna start hearing things that my hands can't do."

[photo by @linkreturns]

[photo by Sasha Bianca]

Quick ask: if you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:

It’s an honor to have him on the show.

Press PLAY above to hear my conversation with AJ Nocito.

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 AJ for spending some very generous time with us. You can find him and follow him on IG and chase him around. Also: buy their demo on bandcamp.

I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 65 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 there.

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

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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: (updated regularly on Spotify)

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Listen now | 064: Kent Klineman of Blind Pony. I was happy to catch up with Klineman for an engaging chat about his upbringing and approach and attitude to all things music and art. He’s a fantastic dude and it was an honor to have him on the show this week.

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Listen now | 063: Mike Block Today we have the one and only Mike Block on the show. He’s a good friend, a world renowned cellist and teacher and also a songwriter and bandleader who puts out an astonishing amount of records. He's also Yo Yo Ma's go-to arranger. He’s got a new album out this month called The Edge Of The Atmosphere.

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Listen now | 062: Nesrine Belmokh Today on the show we’re talking with Nesrine all the way over in Barcelona, Spain. I was captivated by this totally unique musician the moment I first came across one of her performances on YouTube.

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Listen now | 061: Ed Marshall Is there life after a dedicated music career? What happens if you decide to quit? Life has its twists and turns, and we don’t get to hold on to everything. In today’s case, however, there’s an interesting twist.

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Listen now | 060: Jenna Moynihan Too often artists view tradition as a towering monolith to be either conquered or cowed by, but young Scottish fiddler and experimentalist Jenna Moynihan knows that tradition is meant to be a starting point for great inspiration, not a wall. She’s got a melodic touch that just slays me. And I’m a tough sell for the violin (as I mentioned to her). It was a real treat to speak with Jenna.

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Listen now | 059: Shareef Clayton Once you see what this guy can do, you can never un-see it. He brings an incredible polish and showmanship to his performances, but the sophistication and personality underneath it all makes for a really satisfying trip. I’m glad to know the man, and to know about him. You will be as well.

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Listen now | 058: Tamara Fuller 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.

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Listen now | 057: Emily Rice Good morning! Music is not content. It’s connection. Hell of week we’re having, right? Let's make it better: Emily Rice is our guest today. She is stacking up scoring credits, busy as hell and I’m very grateful that she made the time to speak with us.

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Listen now | 056: Aaron Whitby 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 none other than Greg Tate, “a funk-da-fied jam session feel undergirding tight, knotty jazz-smart progressions”.

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Listen now | 055: Martha Redbone 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.

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Listen now | 054: Abby Ahmad. I’ve known Abby for a long time, she’s got a very cool way of playing guitar in addition to her amazing voice. She can really take over a room, check out our conversation.

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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.

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!

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:

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Good morning! On Wednesday, August 19th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection. Listen up:

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Listen now | 051: Avram Fefer On Wednesday August 12 of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.

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Listen now | 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'd 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.

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Listen now | 050: Nicole Nelson 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.

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Listen now | 049: Adam Levy. We have a great one for you today with this world-renowned guitarist and songwriter. Check it out.

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Listen now | 048: Liz Knowles. Music is not content. It’s connection. Liz Knowles is a global force on the fiddle and a great musical mind, enjoy this wide ranging conversation.

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Listen now | 047: Josh Flowers Josh is a first-class songwriter. The kind who, after zapping you with a cheery first impression proceeds to reveal more layers with each listen.

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Listen now | 046: Blake Morgan Blake is the originator of the #irespectmusic hashtag. He's also a pretty damn good musician, singer and producer. He's a friend, collaborator and has a wild collection of stories to share on the pod today.

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Listen now | Episode 045: Tasha Blank Let’s take a break from the cello, shall we. Let’s dance. On the show today is one of my favorite DJ’s, Tasha Blank.

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Listen now | 044: Cremaine Booker a.k.a. ThatCelloGuy We are going 3-for-3 this month with the cellists, and I’m super happy about it. Today we have a chat with one of my favorite musicians working today. Take a listen.

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Listen now | 043 Marika Hughes To play the cello requires a smattering of cleverness and precision on the part of the player. The finger mechanics are complex, the alchemy of the bow is mystifying. However, mere cleverness and precision do not a complete musician make. But meet Marika Hughes.

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Listen now | 042: Bruce Mack Good morning! This is Play It Like It's Music, I'm Trevor, thanks for listening. On Wednesday, June 3rd of 2020 music is not content, it's connection. And I've been glued to the news just like a lot of you.

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Listen now | Episode 041: Shana Tucker It can be a lonely life, but it doesn't have to be. Cellists, especially! But not today, because I'm blessed to have Shana Tucker on the show.

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Listen now | Episode 040: Chris Hierro It’s a good day to hear that, IMO On Wednesday, March 20 of 2020 music is not content, it’s connection. Last week you heard Katya, this week is Chris Hierro. Keyboardist, producer and singer. It’s a treat, he’s a pro through-and-through.

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Listen now | 039: Katya Diaz Creative people have to walk the line between genius and oblivion every day anyway, so here we are. This conversation should fuel your process a little bit. Katya is a world class pro.

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Listen now | 038: Time Travel with Artie Shaw. Two veterans hash it out, courtesy of the library of congress. There's no need to sugarcoat anything. It's an unvarnished look behind the scenes at what a music life can really be like.

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Listen now | 037: Angela Parrish She came to LA and lived in her car. But now she's a renowned, busily prolific singer, writer and producer. I’m very honored to have Angela on the show today. This is Play It Like It’s Music, I’m Trevor. Thanks for listening.

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Listen now | 036: Joe Matzzie is not just a songwriter, he's a master of diverse genres as well as a few different instruments. Over the years he has played in Renaissance, Medieval, Traditional Celtic, Bluegrass, Gypsy Jazz, Old Time Fiddle Music, Macedonian Gypsy Folk and Hawaiian outfits as well as scoring for film and TV.We get into it all, and go on a bit of a tour through his myriad influences. And we don't shy away from some real talk about the lived experience of a gigging musician with the ups and downs you're used to hearing about on the show.

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Listen now | 035: Tommy Fields Who puts in the work? This guy. We get into quite a bit here, so settle in. The rock and roll projects, the nuts and bolts of film scoring, career management. Tommy is capable of producing an amazing variety of music, respectably and on a deadline.

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Listen now | 034: Simon Petty is a man driven by music from a young age. Simon and his band MINIBAR got signed to Universal and brought to LA from London in the early 2000s. They recorded their debut album with T Bone Burnett and went on to tour the USA extensively, eventually putting in a LOT of road miles with Pete Yorn.

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Listen now | 033: Steve Jenkins. On Wednesday, the Day formerly known as April Fools’, music is not content! It’s connection. Today on the show we have this man: Steve Jenkins. Bass player.

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Listen now | 032: Rich Hinman Today’s guest is the amazing Rich Hinman. Composer, producer, guitar and pedal steel player living in Los Angeles. He has worked most memorably with Sara Bareilles, kd lang, Rosanne Cash, St. Vincent, Vulfpeck, Brett Dennen and many others. You can pick him out from a mile away.

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Listen now | 031: Celia Chavez On Wednesday, March 18th of 2020, music is not content! It’s connection. Here's all I'm going to say about the thing: Musicians are used to living on thin ice and having to improvise. It’s what we do best, and we are here to serve you. Creativity comes from courage, and vice versa. Stay sane out there, folks.

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Listen now | 030: Ro Rowan has a fascinating point of view and a story which will help you measure your own level of commitment to whatever you're trying to do. Get into that by pressing PLAY at the top of this page. Much joy, many fun.

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029: Bisan Toron

Ever wonder: when a singer probes so deep within that they get lost and unravel, what then? In this case, a completely unique sound is born. Bisan Toron opens up about her global journey, seven years of silence and her vocal creatures.

[photo by Tony Herbas]

Good morning! On Wednesday, March 4th of 2020 music is not content, it’s connection.

*And if you like the show, please tell a friend!

A little late to press this morning, I had a gig last night in Santa Monica and didn’t get this out to you at the usual time. I hope the impact on your wellbeing was not too severe, we are back now with another great guest.

I gotta say, every time I go play somewhere I get reminded of how important it is to just get out and play. I used to take it for granted because I was gigging all the time, but these days I’m doing more composition and production so the actual performances are more spread out. I’ll forget that there’s nothing like getting into a room full of people and actually making music in real time.

Of course I feel like an idiot saying that to this audience, but there are plenty of other really basic things that I also forget pretty regularly. Settle in.

This was just a private party, nothing outrageous, but I am definitely feeling the itch to get out more.

I did a gig with today’s guest a couple of months back and wasn’t emotionally prepared for the depth of the experience. Bisan Toron took the band and the audience through a stunning set of music which she calls “Migrant Songs”, and the goosebumps were in abundance.

I don’t know about you, but I get a little jaded sometimes with the saturation of music these days. I hear track after track, show after show and if I don’t take care to curate my feed with the unexpected I’ll start to fall into that trap of hearing everything through the same filter or feeling like everyone’s just competing with the same set of sounds and styles for a quick dash through an ever-diminishing spotlight.

Bisan knocked me right out of that rut.

Born in Syria and raised in Paris and New York, she studied classical voice performance at NYU and holds a masters in Ethnomusicology from the University of London. Her music is informed by a multitude of cultures and traditions, which she threads with vocal articulations that arise from the moment.

She’s developed a musical vernacular all her own, partly inspired by Alfred Wolfsohn's re-imagining the voice as a “muscle of the soul,” using it to bridge the chasm between our inner impulses and outer expression.

She’s doing God’s work, I tell you, and I was incredibly lucky to play with her here in Los Angeles. But the reason I wanted to speak with her and share it with you is much more basic:

This singer stopped singing completely for a period of seven years.

We all have the occasional dry spell. And plenty of ups and downs. It’s also perfectly normal to doubt the validity of what you’re doing and take a breather from all the work of being active. A little sabbatical is ok, hell I’ve not put out any new records for six years. It happens.

But Bisan went deeper, and she also came back strong. You should hear about it and tell me how it relates to what you might be going through.

As always, you can get this show in your email if you sign up, and you can tell me what you think anytime or write a review. That's always appreciated. Don’t be shy.

Now let’s talk to Bisan.

Press PLAY above to hear my interview with Bisan Toron

Thanks for sticking around. Thanks to Bisan for spending some time with us.

You can find her online bisantoron dot com and on the socials. [IG]

Thanks for listening to Play It Like It's Music. If you liked the show, PLEASE tell a friend. Let's grow this thing:

Follow me on social media @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 and a lot of noise out there 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, produce your show or back you up onstage. Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go around.

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

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

Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Sign the mailing list!

Consider hiring me to score your piece.

I can also produce your podcast.

Follow me on IG \ TW \ FB

More @trevorexter.com

psst… sign up for emails:

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Listen now | 028: Artyom Manukyan Powerhouse on the cello. Composer, improvisor, bandleader. Let’s spend some time with one of today’s most exciting string players. This is Play It Like It’s Music, and on Wednesday, February 26th of 2020 music is not content, it’s connection.

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Listen now | 027: You all are in for treat with today's episode. Krystle Warren is one of my favorite musicians, and she's highly influential too. I always see one or two famous artists at her shows, showing up incognito to soak up the richness that is her music. It's a hard act to describe, I'll just say there's a depth of connection which she has that is incredibly rare to find. If this is your first time finding out about her, it’s your lucky day.

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Listen now | 026: Alfred Rutherford, Jr. We can lose track of the Why so easily. In honor of Lyle, today we're going to hear from a great piano player. His name is Alfred Rutherford, Jr. A native of Memphis Tennessee, he's a sought-after session pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger, organist, studio musician, background vocalist and vocal coach. And like many of us, he moves between genres.

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Listen now | Episode 025: Max Lilja is a quiet killer on the cello and also one of the people moving the state of the art forward on the instrument.

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Episode 024: Cormac Bluestone has a unique talent for finding the humor inside of music, and also finding the music inside of humor. That’s why he’s an indispensable asset on shows like It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and The Cool Kids, as well as scads of theater credits and even TV acting credits. The guy knows his stuff, and he’s here to let you in on a few things.

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Listen now | Episode 023: Simone Giuliani. We are back. On Wednesday, January the 22nd of 2020, music is not content, it's connection.

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There's a reason we go out to play, and when the personal cost is high and the floor falls out from under us, that reason is what saves us and keeps us coming back. Kevin Chown is one heavy dude. And a warrior.

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Play It Like It's Music 021: Earspasm | In today’s edition: Michael Lowenstern of Earspasm. He's a totally unique, and uniquely advanced player and citizen.

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OK, it's a new year, new decade. Goodbye teens, hello 20's! Got a good one to start you off: ANN COURTNEY. PRESS PLAY because we made it through, we're here now, this is Play It Like It's Music, the show is back, thanks for tuning in!

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Today we visit John Newcott, composer and singer. Goes by the stage name NewK. Like many, I first knew him as a Marketing guy for Universal and Verve Forecast back in the 90s, but as happens with all first impressions I later had to seriously expand the slot I’d originally allocated to him in my mind. The guy has a long history as a musician and composer as well as a deep love of the art which now, at long last, takes center stage in his life. NewK has been around the block and back, and in this episode of Play It Like It’s Music we get to hear some of his stories as well as some great music.

Say hi to NewK: NewKisms.com

Say hi to Me: trevorexter.com

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We got a good one today, so settle in. I went to Greenpoint to hang out at the home of Chris Morrissey. Bass player, singer, guitarist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He’s literally everywhere, you can hear him on records by Sara Bareilles, Mark Guiliana, Dave King, Jim Campilongo, Lucius, Ben Kweller, Andrew Bird. But his own, original music will blow your mind. I get a Radiohead-like thrill when I hear his stuff, especially his new record called Laughing And Laughing. Say hi to Chris.

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Listen now (22 min) | 016 Damon DueWhite: The guy’s been around the world with everybody: Harry Belafonte, Shemekia Copeland and a long list of others. He and I did a bunch of James McBride gigs together in France and Mississippi. Solid cat with a heart of gold. Let’s dive in.

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Listen now (32 min) | 015 Gregg August is the man of the hour on the bass. He’s played with Ray Barretto, Ornette Coleman, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo O’Farrill, James Moody, The Chico O’Farrill Big Band, The list goes on. We cracked a beautiful bottle of wine at his place in brooklyn, and he’s got a lot to offer here.

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Listen now (32 min) | 014 Kiku Collins has established herself at the heights of pop, jazz and R&B. She has performed with everybody: Beyonce, Michael Bolton, Jill Scott, Train, Gloria Gaynor.. even Joe Piscopo! But it's not all glitz and glamor: Collins is also a cancer and lymphedema patient, and is actively involved with #Cancerland and other advocacy organizations.

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Listen now (44 min) | 013 Daniel Sadownick It was an honor to spend some time with Daniel at his studio on Long Island. In this episode you'll hear him talk about his origins, his influences, early gigs as well as some great technical pointers on practice technique and gig etiquette. Bronx native Daniel Sadownick has toured with a large (and growing) cross-section of the greatest musicians we all love: Michael Brecker, Me'shell Ndege'Ocello, Steely Dan, Tony, Toni Tone', Maxwell, Angie Stone, Dennis Chambers, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Nat Adderley, George Coleman, Dianne Reeves, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Carl Allen, Nnenna Freelon, Dewey Redman, Jennifer Lopez... even Billy Idol. Daniel is also a member of the New York based cult band the Screaming Headless Torsos. He is a versatile percussionist that does not limit himself to one genre.

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Listen now (23 sec) | 012 Trevor P. Allen: "Bass players never really chose the bass. The bass has been around for thousands of years. The bass chose us."

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Listen now (30 min) | 011 Jim Caruso There's a guy who's been running an open mic at Birdland in midtown New York City for an insanely long time. And he looks like he's 15 years old. I don't know how he does it, but here he is.

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…There are not that many 48 year old cellists.” 010 Pablo Mahave-Veglia "In my upbringing it was something that was expected from everybody: we were expected to read books, we were expected to have opinions about politics, and we were expected to pick up an instrument. Then I realized it was... you grow up and meet the world and not everybody has that expectation."

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Listen now (18 min) | 009 Tony Hume has stories like:"...He dropped and collapsed on top of a monitor and died on stage." Check it out.

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Listen now (32 min) | 008 James McBride: First of all it's all storytelling. It’s just a different form. Music tells stories, and so do books.

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Listen now (31 min) | 007 Todd Reynolds: Whether he's on Broadway or in Bang On A Can he kills it every time. I went to his house in Massachusetts.

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Listen now (34 min) | 006 Hallie Bulleit: "Yeah. Like, New Wave changed my life when I was a teenager. You know, my identity was what I wanted to just go home and listen to The Cure, and The Smiths, and Depeche Mode for hours and hours. I mean, those were like my formative years as a human being."

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Listen now (33 min) | 005 Richard Julian: You might know his supergroup The Little Willies, or his solo albums like Slow New York or Fleur-de-Lis. He hangs out with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman and Norah Jones. And he's got a more recent project: he runs his own club.

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Listen now (37 min) | 004 Mazz Swift: She's one-of-a-kind: plays, sings writes and performs with total fire. I'm proud to call her friend. She's been a member of Burnt Sugar, Brazz Tree, she's got her own band called MazzMuse and she also plays in a string trio called Hear In Now. Let's jump in.

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003 Tony Mason: Today we're talking with one of my favorite drummers Tony Mason. Something of a local legend in the New York club scene, he's played with everybody and you can always trust him to keep it bouncing, no matter who he's appearing with that night.

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002 Luqman Brown: We're in Harlem today with the legend Luqman Brown: singer of FunkFace, Dope Sagittarius and an accomplished composer, producer and sound designer.

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001 Emily Hope Price, a prolific cellist and singer. She put in a lot of miles with a beloved band called Pearl And The Beard, and she's also played cello for Sting, Roger Waters, Ani DiFranco, D'Angelo and Father John Misty. As an artist she digs deep and makes incredibly beautiful and tender work.

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Hi folks!

In this edition: a bit of housekeeping and some end-of-decade reflection.

This will be my only post this month because I have quite a bit of travel and work on the books right now. But stay tuned: “Play It Like It’s Music”, the podcast will be re-booted in January and we will soon be in touch like never before. There are some great guests and jams coming your way right here on substack.

But let me share too: because you know that aspirationally, I'm coming at you from a place of service on this channel.

We know it’s a “bring it or don’t” world, and that any service provided is easier to trust when it shows up with consistency.

And Yes, I've had patches where I didn't always provide every Wednesday according to my commitment.

We’re still here though.

And still casting.

“What gives, Trev?”

I got a little buried in small potatoes lately.

You know I'd prefer to show up as that gritty, ultra-dedicated "The show must go on!" guy, a stoic provider of musical connection, perspective and reason who's always got something to say and play.

You bet I am that, but sometimes life and humanity intervene.

…Like we just hosted 21 people for Thanksgiving.

…Like our boiler also exploded this month.

…And then I got hired for some things.

I’m working on stuff sure but I've also been embroiled in some production and enshackled by some paperwork. Not making as much art.

It happens (humanity…)

But I still love you. And reflecting back on 2019, to 2009 and 1999, it’s clear I've been on a journey of digging & building, sometimes erupting maybe but always evolving.

We call ourselves musicians, but what did that word even mean in 2019?

for context: We can admit that those of us who became conscious between 1970 and 2000 grew up in a bubble. But let's also remember that Leonard Bernstein used to be a regular on primetime TV. Let's remember Santana going on tour with Wayne Shorter. Let's remember the arguments people used to have about Mariah Carey’s voice when she first came out. Let's remember what a big deal Live Aid was, before autotune, and also that Black Sabbath was a scary band when they first came out, even though now they sound more like the Beatles than some of the truly scary stuff out there today.

And let's also remember that the backdrop for all of the above was a functioning music industry that routinely employed professionals.

Today, when bankers and tech founders call each other "rock stars" it's an attempt to make us forget what a real rockstar is.

(And don’t get me started on the term "gig economy"… that farce is a literal affront to the meaning of both words.)*

*But especially GIG: "gig" is slang for Engagement and refers to a manifestation of commitment, relationship and meaningful exchange. A good gig can change your life, define or even save it.

Music connects us, but what is the essence of that connection?

These days I catch myself in professional settings describing my musical practice as a lifestyle choice. Otherwise the 2019 people make all kinds of assumptions about why a 46 year old man still plays.

I’ll say that I “play music for the same reasons a surfer surfs or that a rock climber climbs. They have to be in the waves or on the face, I have to be in the sound.”

Oo baby. Just like that.

Because quitting may be an option for some, but take it away from us for a few days and we'll start to lose the sanity.

So we play on. But it's only part of it.

Because while a surfer can surf alone, and not every climber needs a film crew to follow them around, a musician's work remains genuinely incomplete without some aspect of public performance.

So a process which may have started as a solitary, even cave-dwelling pursuit can only reach true fruition when witnessed by others.

It can take the form of teaching, composing, producing media or playing live.

Better yet, some combination of all these. But!

Music is fundamentally a service.

Unlike surfing or rock climbing, it is not recreation.

Nor is it a product.*

*(YES —> there are those who would comodify it, claiming that it is both a product and a form of recreation. They want it to be sold as voluminously, cheaply or expensively as possible. For them Music is to be engaged in ONLY while working on something else, or AFTER you have satisfied your other real and worldly responsibilities.)

But people who see music as a recreational product are living in ignorance. Music is a service.

I am here to serve the Muse.

Who in turn serves You.

[two of these pies were delicious, and the other two were vegan]

Back to now:

In 1999 I was living the peak of my adolexcent fantasies, performing a nightly hedonistic spectacle in New York City. (Gig of a lifetime, that.)

In 2009 I had no home. (A story for another day.)

And in 2019 I moved to California.

The intervening decades saw me doing the best I could with what I'd been given: getting knocked down, getting back up, getting run over, finding God, building up, walking away, breaking down, getting walked away from, writing songs, playing gigs, finding love and choosing to serve.

So here we are.

Sending you all my deepest gratitude for coming with me this far, for listening and supporting and for staying connected. I’m ready to grow it out again.

In 2020 the podcast is coming back and the music will continue.

Thank you for the chance to serve.

Big love to your ears!

Back in January.

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[It rained today. Looks like fire season is officially over.]

In this edition:

A bit o blues

Integrated

Your moment of zzzzzzhhen

Integrated

I keep getting reminded that here in America we have created a totally disjointed musical situation for ourselves, but it’s ot like this elsewhere in the world.

In Brazil, people still sing in the streets together. Folks who build houses for a living - no matter where they live - usually get together to jam at night. Europe might be full of conservatories, but it’s also full of working people with normal jobs who get together and play string quartets for fun.

Like ya do..

It’s not all about the gig or making a record. Music is a practice of self-integration, connection, health and adventure. Why do I keep practicing and exploring when the gigs dry up? Because my aliveness demands it.

I gather my sound and make my offering. To not do so would open my days up to unbearable sameness, disconnect and disease.

So let’s keep playing.

Your moment of zen

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

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

Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

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[…working on like 4 albums…]

In this edition:

A quickie jam

Out of hiding

A semi-repeat share

Out of hiding

It bears reminding that many of us (if some of you are like me) found music as a place to hide in our more vulnerable years.

At 13, 14 I just wanted to disappear into the music, to hide inside a sound cocoon because the world did not feel safe.

The world doesn’t feel any safer today, but along the way I had to stop imagining music as a distinct, safe hiding place.

Because if you’re doing Music honestly, you’ll find that not only is the big world staring you in the face while you do it, but it’s demanding more honesty and guts out of you than you thought you’d need.

Gotta be brave about your choices here in this music world.

Speaking of which, check out a very deep wormhole with the sound wizard himself, mr. Richard Devine. On a recent Hanging Out With Audiophiles:

“not content with just making LPs, touring and all of that trad life, Richard’s made his own path and now his work represents the high bar for sound design across the board.

Whether working for Google, Yamaha or Jaguar Richard is the guy to figure out converting the unknown into the possible. A no to yes convertor.

We talk about his toughest sonic challenge, the cutting edge of sound tech in 2019 and where he is heading in terms of his AI aspirations.

We chat about the world of sound that lives above 20kHz.

Why analog ??? and a lot more.

He’s a deep mind and this chat gets pretty specific in terms of tools used and so forth.

You’re welcome!”

(Says Jamie Lidell in his intro)

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

(Did you press play yet?)

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

Hear songs: the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

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[…feverishly making lots of music…]

In this edition:

A spontaneous jam

Walking the line of learning

Music, as talked about by people who know what they’re talking about

PINCH ME. This just grew in our backyard:

I'm always either learning something new, or slowly getting bored of something I think I already know.

Of course, you never really "know" anything. There's something strange under every surface. The juice is in the squeezing, but it's a drag to have to abandon feeling smart.

Every time I uncover a new angle, a new fingering, mic position or arrangement idea, there's a trickle of happy energy - immediately followed by a jolting reminder that I'm flying blind.

It's scary. And as a monomaniac introvert, the same goes for the public hustle: one email or meeting and suddenly I'm stuck calibrating a whole lot of new energy. 5 minutes later I’m all like, "where was I?"

(An entrepreneurial friend once told me that the ‘secret’ for work success is to be sexually attracted to rejection.)

But this is the trip. We all find our own mix. Musicians have had our share of upheaval around work, life and work/life balance. The interview below helps shed a lot of light. Check it out:

“…for most of history, music was a kind of cloud storage for societies…”

As a lover of language, music and truth, I found this conversation enthralling. It’s simultaneously deep and high-level:

Tyler Cowen (love him or hate him) knows a lot of stuff, and he is constantly learning more. He asks some amazing questions of the incomparable Ted Gioia, who’s also got a new book out.

Some things they touched on:

How RCA was the Apple Computer of its day

Noise in restaurants

The history of cool

Disrupting the Pythagorean paradigm in music (getting away from mathematics and back towards sound)

Music’s roots in fertility rituals

Why the best music of today is under the radar

Give it a shot: Conversations with Tyler: Ted Gioia

Big love to your ears.

Trevor

ps: Thanks again to those who reached out during/following the fires last week. We’re sound.

(Did you press play yet?)

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Good evening. In this edition:

Some more legato bowing, just me and the reverb today. [press play]

Ancestry and True Sounds

A rad pod, oh my God!

Coming to you today from the little black dot in the yellow zone:

Thanks for all your notes and calls, we are very ok and totally packed to leave if we need to.

Ancestry and True Sounds

Who are your ancestors? Are they speaking through you? What are they saying?

You might want to say your own thing, you may think you're saying something new.

But much of what has been said already bears repeating, things like "keep your shoes clean" and "honor the gods".

So find and make your sound, then make sure your message is true. It doesn't have to be original, just true. Most of the time your sound itself is the message, and it is being sent to you every bit as much as through you.

Practicing can feel like scanning a radio dial, finding your way through the static. Some of us have just the one little AM thing with mostly talk, others found a shortwave with many frequency bands. Some players sound like they're building themselves a hubble telescope, and more power to them. But we all have to listen and receive something.

We don't all have to broadcast, a lifetime of listening and practicing is ok. But when you play for others, make sure it's something you think they need to hear.

And you gotta hear this!

Dolly Parton's America

The story of a legend at the crossroads of America’s culture wars.

Hosted by Jad Abumrad (the Radiolab guy)

This thing is amazing:

“In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America’s great icons. Join us for a 9-part journey into the Dollyverse.”

I’m three episodes in. Highly recommend!

Big love to your ears.

(Did you press play yet?)

Thanks for all your notes of encouragement.

Trevor

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

Listen to songs: Hear the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

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Good day to you. In this edition:

Some full-throat legato bowing, something I’m trying to get better at. [press play]

Control vs. Participation

A thread from a big head

As a cello player I constantly navigate on a spectrum between control and flailing: at either extreme there’s no music, but plenty can be found in the tension between them. Among my arms, digits, bow hair and strings there are a multitude of variables. We combine and adjust to find what works.

As a musician, I’m moving on another spectrum too: the one between participation and isolation. We can make all the sounds we want, but if there’s no one to play with or for, then the music can stagnate.

When I’m practicing or working in my studio I enjoy a near-total level of control, but if I don’t release music in the world then I get no participation. If I don’t go out and play (less control) then no one will benefit from my work (more isolation).

And it only begins there: some performances can be incredibly isolating in reality. Studio sessions can also be profoundly graceful and intimate.

A fresh formula has to be found every time.

But if you see the space for what it is, you can live in it forever.

Messages you may need to hear

In between making amazing blockbuster films, Christopher McQuarrie sometimes finds time to tweet great advice:

Check out the whole thread here.

Big love to your ears.

(Did you press play yet?)

Trevor

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

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Just a tune today, another instrumental sketch. It's been a slow week for me out in public. (Hell, it's been a slow year or a slow several years!)

[photo by kk]

I don't perform much lately, but last Wednesday I joined my friend Jim Caruso and played a song at his open mic event, Cast Party.

It's mostly Broadway show tunes but I can blend in everywhere, oddball that I am. I did my cover song (50 Ways To Leave Your Lover), accompanied on piano by the guy who also plays piano and directs for Tony Bennett and Liza Minelli.

I got to touch the sound in public, briefly once again and as usual it was all over too quickly.

(Same is true if I play for 90 minutes or 4 hours, btw.)

Why so little performing these days, Trev?

I've been re-calibrating my life after experiencing severe burnout on the road. I've invested in my mental health, re-evaluated some of my relationships and done what I could to become a better steward of my own sound.

Never did I ever imagine I'd go so long without performing, but here we are.

The world has been changing so much, but I am a witness to the power of music every day and I can see how people need it.

Music helps us make sense of our lives. It helps us inhabit our own bodies and connect with those around us. We all have to do it in our own way, but when we do it right a connection opens to a power much greater than ourselves.

It's given to us so that we can give it out further.

So I give this to you.

(Press play)

Love to your ears,

Trevor

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

Listen to songs: Hear the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

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Good evening!

In this post:

a tune idea

a hello

a recommendation

"If you don't create you will destroy."

I don't know if this cliche is true, but it sure feels like it.

My sounds come to me at the most inopportune times, and sometimes I'll jump out of bed at 2am just to put something down on paper. I'm still usually at a loss for where to put them, but they come anyway.

Over time I have found a few different vessels for my music, but the transaction is always incomplete. Songs, bands, theater projects and films all have their strengths and flaws, but the feeling of being musically "emptied" never catches up. New sounds settle over me like so much dust and I have to begin again.

Maybe it'd be easier to just forget the whole thing, but music won't leave me alone.

I am still here, still craving, still blessed with the hunger for sound. The sound wants to reverberate, ripple and resonate.

Thank you all so much for your kind responses and encouraging notes about last week’s “Cinema Paradiso” track. I just love that tune so much, I had to orchestrate it for cellos. (if you missed it, you can listen here.)

Godfather of Harlem

A few years ago I got hooked by “Narcos” on Netflix. I guess I had too much spare time, but the quality of the writing was enough to win me over - despite the obvious brazilian-ness of the actor who played Pablo Escobar.

The same writers/showrunners are back with a totally homegrown tale now, and it’s jam-packed with legendary actors: Forest Whitaker, Vincent D’onofrio, Giancarlo Esposito… too many to count really. Take a look:

I’m only two episodes deep and thought you might like to check it out.

Love to your ears,

Trevor

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

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Short and sweet this week. Press play.

I’m happy to say that the new studio is officially up and running.

In Topanga.

Sun is shining and the juice is flowing.

(And I told you I loved that Cinema Paradiso melody…)

Love to your ears,

Trevor

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song: “Natalie” by XVSK (Trevor Exter & John Morgan Kimock)

press play above or listen here.

When I play one note, it’s a simple action with some part of my body that generates sound, and I'm instantly delighted.

To play one note is delight. Do I need the world, an audience, to hear it?

No.

Obviously the presence of an audience amplifies and multiplies the delight, but the delight in its purest form already exists independently.

Practice is the cultivation of these small delightful actions in quantity and order: creating and inhabiting patterns of delight.

We smooth out our movements: a sour note here, a lopsided rhythm there... we feed our attention and love into the ongoing action and the rest takes care of itself.

We must remember to breathe. And not to judge, only shape.

(Shaping it allows for more delight, judging cuts it off at the neck.)

Connect to the delight, and protect that connection with your life. God speaks through our bodies and the audience shows up to witness.

Sometimes you’ll break a string.

See you again next Wednesday.

Love,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Help it spread by sharing it:

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The move, part 2 with musical reflections

[press play]

song: “Hudson”

got a guy inside my head who doesn't like me

can't stand my type, my band, my sign

but you seem to handle me just fine

I've got the wings, just need the wheels

show me something

something that'll make me feel

I seek to belong but also to control. I want delight but also health. Tension much?

I want to feel safe but also powerful, so cello is the perfect instrument for me because you know it's never gonna go perfectly.

I got a love the size of the sun

that could boil the ocean

rose above I've not, no prizes won

see I'm just one

your mind is a window, body is the sky

can't live without the one

without the other you won't ask why

We do the long tones to make the sound warm and fluid. I've also been dusting off my bounce matrix - that thing is hard to execute in real time.

Honestly, most of my practicing is to address my own feelings, an effort to feel safe in the face of potential mistakes and to make a compelling (i.e. powerful) sound.

We forget that the cello drill is not taught so that we can feel good, but so that we can do the cello job.

But what if...

why keep it to yourself

can't be someone else

don't keep it to yourself

talk is cheap inside a shell

What if, when we played the cello we got to feel the way a listener wants to feel when they hear the cello?

(warm, emotional, thrilled)

What if we could benefit from our own musical medicine?

I got a g-d follows me around, saving my hide

though I tried slippin away

you know it ain't fake tonight

here in this house of love

got to do things right

some day I'll run clear in the light

That's my goal, which partly explains why I've done so little performing lately. Not only is cello hard and awkward to play, but booking and promoting gigs can often run counter to the real work of music, which among other things is healing.

why keep it to yourself

can't be someone else

don't keep it to yourself

talk is cheap inside a shell

In order to heal a listener, the musician has to first heal themselves. And I've been engaged in some deep healing of late.

But the songs are about ready to burst.

They've been doing their job for me, so I'm starting to think about trying them out on you.

I'm looking forward to a release (it's still very far away).

But I will be booking a show soon.

Promise.

Thanks for all your notes last week. Big ups, keep em coming.

Love,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please help it spread by sharing it:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

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Missed you folks last week! The reality is that I simply crashed… after 2 months living out of a bag (with 1 more to go) I had to crawl into a cave for a few days.

Emerging now to say a quick hello and provide a peek at one of the songs I have in preproduction. An album is starting to emerge out of the mist. Hit “play” above and scroll for lyrics below:

Most Right [draft 2019]

paint fell off the walls

we danced our faces off

Took the long way through

Hot times in a stone-cold room

tapes still in your car

the good ones travel far

crazy, you're crazy

the one i need to see

don't ever change your mind

waiting for next time

the old familiar hiss

of another night

don't ever change your mind

give up your place in line

find the most-wrong miss

make it the most right

mixtape in my stacks

love letter in these tracks

listen back and it hits me:

the songs you thought might fix me

if only I hadn't known too late

don't ever change your mind…

…

This song has been settling in nicely - they all require a period of breaking in before I’ll perform it live or record it. Patreon folks heard it a few months ago. Hopefully the words speak for themselves, and I look forward to hitting it on stage one of these days.

Thank you for reading and subscribing. More to come, and have a happy 4th tomorrow.

I appreciate you!

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please help it spread by sharing it:

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Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

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Back in NYC this week like:

In this edition:

An oldie but a goodie.

A comparison of implements.

A gig for Friday in NYC.

a lumberjack has no use for a butterknife.

I was surrounded by horn players last night. Great ones. Saxes, trumpets… they can play lead or blend into a nice punchy section in a funk band. The sound is loud and faces forward. The horn is always ready to cleave through space and make its sonic dent.

Likewise the electric guitar. The guitar can play lead or rhythm or chords… or all of the above! The guitar is always integral to the band and central to most industrialized music of the last 100 years. Wielding their axes, guitarists are the lumberjacks of our modern musical age, clearing the forest so we can forge our way forward.

(And what are drums but the guns of musical colonization? They’re everywhere.)

But the cello? The cello is more like a butterknife. It requires certain circumstances in order to shine: the sound requires headroom, the player is better off seated. If the butter is soft at room temperature then the butterknife will more than excel at its job. But you’d never use it to cut any trees down.

The cello is refined and begs a refined place, it needs a lot of parameters to be met which the horns, drums and guitars of our modern age do not need. The cello works best in a prepared, climate controlled, echoey space.

Out in the wilderness we are dependent on (and at the mercy of) our drummers, horn players and guitarists. They clear the way and build the world. Respect to that.

But once the world is built? Give yourself the gift of a little cello.

Because you earned it.

This Friday in NYC:

Friday 6/14 in New York City: gina Breedlove “Naked Soul” at the Rubin Museum

“The potent, powerful medicine of sound can shift and move stuck energy out of the body, creating opportunity for wellness, presence, clarity, and so much more.” —gina Breedlove

Medicine woman gina Breedlove is a singer, songwriter, sound healer, and actor from Brooklyn. gina began performing professionally at age 16, singing background for the inimitable Phyllis Hyman. She went on to tour with legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte as his featured vocalist. gina created the role of Sarabi in Disney’s The Lion King, and most recently has appeared in two Spike Lee films: Chi-Raq and Living Da Dream. gina tours the world with her music, which she describes as “FolkSoul,” holding sound healing circles in every city she visits.

This Friday the band consists of gina, guitarist Ashley Phillips, percussionist Daniel Sadownick and myself. It’ll be totally acoustic, no mics or anything so come on out!

Otherwise still on the road. I’m living out of a bag for the next little while, visiting the cello siblinghood:

6/17-20 in Bellow’s Falls, VT: Creative Cello Workshop with Eugene Friesen

6/21-23 in Boston, MA: 25th Annual New Directions Cello Festival

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please help it spread by sharing it:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

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Sending love from Eagle Rock!

Overheard:

New Yorkers are not "nice", but we are friendly. Angelenos are not friendly, but they are "nice".

[last word spoken through a clenched perma-grin]

In this edition:

Some happy cello

A bit o’ moanin

A podcast I listened to twice

[the Santa Monica beer kundalini is strong. Horchata?]

It's easy to look at the music career landscape these days and feel like we're stuck in quicksand, with the machines taking over and whatnot.

Artificial intelligence may be a slick bit of mythmaking, but artificial music has definitely been dominating the scene for awhile now and the results are debilitating.

I like a lot of the noises made by machines, but I hate the power dynamic.

Where we used to have all these different kinds of bands and orchestras led by all manner of currupt people - with doors nevertheless open everywhere for an enterprising musical human to wend our way to expertise and success - now we all have the “means of production” at our fingertips - but very few places in which to bounce sound around.

A DJ event can feel like the musical version of a fascist rally. Led by the machines, a DJ is merely an operator with the thinnest set of instructions.

What we miss when the instruments are stashed away in closets is the very voice of democracy, of humanity. Forgetting how to play is like forgetting how to speak.

(Folks have forgotten how to dance too, but that's someone else's soapbox.)

Meanwhile, "Jazz" has become like dentistry. There’s only room in there for the most studied, qualified, pedigreed professional players. Slightly less exclusive than the NBA but with 1/1000th the paycheck for the winners.

The folk scene, the rock scene... plenty to complain about: as professional playing opportunities get ever rarer, machines are an outlet which emerged to fill the void of human engagement.

I can now make a record on my phone, as long as I stick to the grid.

But the adventure lies off the grid.

Off the grid is where you'll find friendship, power, delight, freedom, freshness, luxury, respect, romance, tension, strength, sex and the safety brought by full-organism involvement.

The digitized music scene of today has everything and nothing. More sound in it than ever before, but increasingly disintermediated, overpriced and more underpaid than ever.

So make yourself a classic record. If you're truly lucky maybe you'll get sampled by a rapper. Meanwhile the Irish group from the corner bar has long been replaced by a TV and the jukebox sounds like a perpetual beer commercial.

I've written myself into a hole. What's the way forward Trev?

Get your head off the bar and make your noise.

In the meantime, The Dirty Three will save you.

a podcast I listened to twice:

The conversation gets deeply wonky and goes slow as molasses. I started it while doing the dishes and then let it run in the background. Then I tuned out for a bit, but the last half hour really caught me and I found myself rewinding to listen from the beginning.

David Brooks has really been through it, and it changed him. He’s beautifully vulnerable in this wide-ranging interview.

I’ve never been a huge fan, but this one felt like a valuable listen.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disillusionment-of-david-brooks/id1081584611?i=1000437042197

gigs this month:

Still on the road! I’m living out of a bag for the next little while:

Friday 6/7 in Topanga, CA: appearing with Simone Giuliani at Pure Land Farms

Friday 6/14 in New York City: Gina Breedlove “Naked Soul” at the Rubin Museum

6/17-20 in Bellow’s Falls, VT: Creative Cello Workshop with Eugene Friesen

6/21-23 in Boston, MA: 25th Annual New Directions Cello Festival

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please help it spread by sharing it:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Follow: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Sending love from Seattle. In this edition:

A tiny sting [press play].

A pep talk to go deeper.

An array of gigs for June.

[tea in the Sahara with you…]

No Giving Up.

People become friends with me for whatever reason, but the meat of our relationship often consists of a shared contention with the musical beast inside ourselves.

I'm blessed with a few world-class friends: violinists, engineers, authors, welders, investors, activists... Living in New York brought me some great connections and gigs, but at the end of the day a gig is just a gig. We are always left with the same situation:

Inwardly facing an unfathomable amount of unexpressed music.

Unplayed, Unwritten.

Songs unsung, audiences unmet.

Not everyone is like this, but most of my friends are, no matter their choice of career or the state of their sound. It has nothing to do whatsoever with worldly success.

Designers gravitate to other designers. Visual artists to other visually-driven people, writers to each other and so forth. But music drives me.

I recognize this drive in others when it appears. We're in this and we hear things, and if I worked as a coach there'd be only one thing I’d say, and that's Don't give up.

This thing inside you is telling you something valuable. Honor it.

Because Marketworld wants you to crave something else, wants to take you away from yourself.

I know because I've tried harder to quit than I ever tried to succeed in music.

You know all the reasons to get "with the program"? I took them deeply to heart:

It's scary.

The music biz can be dicey.

The road is no way to live.

We have oversupply.

Knowing these things I tried many, many times to leave music. Or to at least contain my urges somewhere safe and manageable.

But no such constrained safety exists.

It's in me, and it will eat me alive if I don't move on it.

You may not feel this way, in which case I envy you.

But if you do, it's better to admit it and find ways to engage as the servant you really want to be.

I am a servant to my sound. I've learned that I have no other choice. But I’m happy knowing.

It does not liberate me from the responsibility to make a living, just ask any of the legions of musicians with jobs.

We don't sleep much, it won't let us. And that's fine with me.

It means less time to think about giving up.

I don't have time to give up.

Neither do you, so play.

from a new reader:

"I've recently subscribed to your newsletter and just felt compelled to let you know I think it's amazing. It's simple and thoughtful which I really like. Thanks so much for all of this, it's inspiring and I hope that one day I can contribute to the music world and musical thinking like this."

Thank you. This means so much to me because I’m flying very much by the seat of my pants, totally on faith.

Lately I’ve been riding camels, herding cats, packing up the house for a major move and basically doing everything but my music. My chops are such s**t right now. But I’m feeling the pull because I have five massive gigs coming up:

Thursday 5/30 (Tomorrow) in Olympia, WA: An Evening with James McBride and Band

Friday 6/7 in Topanga, CA: appearing with Simone Giuliani at Pure Land Farms

Friday 6/14 in New York City: Gina Breedlove “Naked Soul” at the Rubin Museum

6/17-20 in Bellow’s Falls, VT: Creative Cello Workshop with Eugene Friesen

6/21-23 in Boston, MA: 25th Annual New Directions Cello Festival

I would love to connect with you at any of these!

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please help it spread by sharing it:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Follow: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Beautiful day in New York today. In this edition:

A little melody.

An oldie swipe.

An awesome invitation for the cellists.

[I promise I’m just keeping an eye on the group here. Not trying to look colonial or anything.]

What is hip?

Classic song, timeless message. Except maybe for the word "hip".

But I propose that the older that word gets, the better (as in hipper) it gets.

Because it was always pointing to the slipperiest, most ephemeral thing.

Hipness has always been for the kids, who think they can hide from their own unexpressed fear of death and obscurity behind an endless string of new words.

I was more lost than hip when I was young. I thought I wanted hipness (maybe by some other name I can’t remember), but it was worthiness, participation and delight I wanted.

Things much less slippery.

Posolutely.

Meet me in Vermont!

This is Eugene Friesen, a hero of mine since childhood and you can see why. The guy burns it down on the cello in all kinds of ways:

I just surprised myself by signing up to attend his Creative Cello Workshop in Vermont next month, and apparently it surprised him too. He wrote, "You're an accomplished solo artist already, what are you hoping to get from the weekend?" and I replied that "with all that I’ve been up to musically and production-wise, I have not been as connected to other cellists as I want to be."

Seriously, I’ve been wanting to tear myself away and come up there for a while. So I'm gonna do it. If you are a cellist, come join in!I didn't bend his ear at length inre my deeper emotional/spiritual reasons for wanting to gather in community with creative cellists, as they are likely similar to all of ours. I've had a lot going on as usual, and the cello remains my steadiest friend through it all.Read more here and sign up if you want to come join us!

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Follow: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Beautiful day in the Sahara today. In this edition:

A song called “Train Stations”

An ostrich

An underwater show to listen to on your desert island.

[Today’s location: Morocco. More on that in future.]

Ostrich

A friend once compared playing the cello to making out with an ostrich. And I get it, because these things are super awkward.

After decades on the chase, I finally feel somewhat natural with these things, but the life is one of obedience more than affection.

It's not what people see from the outside, though.

Because the sight and sound of a cello usually conjures deep feelings of connection and power. It's all we can do to lighten it up, what with the extreme physical awkwardness of the play.

And the haunting sound a cello makes.

I still just want to have a good time on the thing, and tell the truth.

I am currently bingeing this podcast

And it’s only three episodes, so if you’re squeamish about podcasts then I promise you it won’t take long.

Science Weekly: Oceans of Noise

[Photo by Irina Iriser from Pexels}

The Guardian given us quite a gift. The show, “Science Weekly” is ongoing, but this is a three-part series. A [ahem] deep dive, as it were.

“Contrary to popular belief, or the writings of Jacques Cousteau, life under the ocean surface is not a silent world but in fact a dense and rich sonic environment where sound plays a fundamental role to all known life.”

I am in heaven: listen to Science Weekly: Oceans of Noise.

Thank you for reading and subscribing!

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Follow: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Beautiful day in NYC today. In this edition:

A quick jam with my friend @digifiddler, who was my guest on Episode 7.

Nostalgia for the future.

Some amazing new music from another podcast guest.

[Today’s guest violinist in action. Press play above!]

It is a luxury to listen to music.

But making music is a healthy pursuit. Not luxurious.

From the making and the playing, many benefits flow as long as we don't get caught up in the luxury side of things. We leave that to the listener because it takes work to create luxury listening experiences.

And work is good for the soul.

But it is still work.

We play, but it is work. And the work has to be FOR somebody. Maybe you have an audience. Maybe God is your audience. Maybe you play to retrieve a lost part of yourself.

But one of the big lines that gets blurred when music is "free" and our technology enables all kinds of sharing is this one: the line between frivolity and service.

It's not a supply and demand thing. Music isn't a game. We serve the sound and the sound serves humanity a thousand fold.

Take it seriously. It's real. And some very real music is about to follow below!

A Wreath for Emmet Till

Some of you may remember hearing from Gregg August in episode 15 of my podcast, in which he gave us some rich rememberings of his time in Cuba and growing up between the worlds of jazz, classical and afro-cuban music.

He has some new music, the album isn’t out yet but a few videos are. This is a deep and intricate piece of work, Gregg has put together a beautiful ensemble and given us quite a gift here.

Click here for the more-uptempo other video with the same group.

And here’s a great one with both Greg and Todd in a trio.

It’s some high quality music. For more on Gregg, explore his site.

Thank you for reading and subscribing!

I appreciate you.

Big love to your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Follow: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Today has been a day of cranking things out. Thus: a bit tardy.

A new sung song of mine you may not have heard.

Nostalgia for the future.

Triplets from Brazil, animated and beautifully sung.

[Cellos must relax! Lie down, little cello.]

Nostalgia

When I hear good gypsy jazz I get flooded with nostalgia for a time I never knew. Good music does that: it makes us time travel.

90’s hip hop will forever be 90’s hiphop, especially for those who experienced it in person. But if the music is made right, you can be from any “time” and still experience nostalgia.

When I hear a good Irish or Argentine musician I get filled with longing, usually for some heartful link to a past that’s foreign to me. But other kinds of music make me feel different things:

Billie Eilish makes me wish I were a lot younger and way more talented and connected.

Bach makes me wish I were more religious.

Louis Armstrong makes me wish I played trumpet.

And all the best, most imaginative music makes me feel one other, totally delightful thing: nostalgia for the future.

For what we’ll be making.

Brazilians don’t play a lot of triplets,

But when they do? Wow. Oh and they sure can animate too:

I’d never heard of Tulipa Ruiz before, but apparently she’s massive on the scene. I now stand informed, and so can you.

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Greetings from an LA café. In this edition:

Some sunny day cello.

Some freedom of epression.

A movie to not sleep on.

[Serious-er times with John Kimock]

Freedom Of Expression

The more smart and connected one gets, the more elusive our freedom of expression.

It's a slippery sword we try to wield: as long as the music means little and is heard by few, total freedom is possible. But as it acquires weight, relationships and influences responsibility creeps in and our “freedom” gets clouded.

Here’s what I’ve learned: the freedom of the player has to become the liberation of the listener, else our playing circumstance will start to contract.

I used to be that kid who would find the piano in every building, run to it and start playing. It never occurred to me that I might be driving anyone crazy. My only concern was that there wasn't music before I’d started, and now there was. What could be wrong?

We all start there, discovering the sound and celebrating it. But as our sound expands, so does our awareness. Becoming aware of the room and any potential listeners within it, I inevitably start to hear through their ears and my sound inevitably changes.

But the line between empathy and pandering is invisible.

Before I know it, my “freedom” fades into a stack of new considerations. And that's when the real work begins, because the quest for individuation demands a discipline which will ultimately bring us a greater measure of freedom.

Music is a disciplined journey into deep liberation. In order to play freely we have to create a new space within the wider space.

Especially because when the listeners arrive, the stakes go up.

You never know whose life you might alter or how.

Music is a powerful thing, it works on us in powerful ways. [Cue Stan Lee.]

So we get smart, become connected and our freedom becomes service: we work to free the sound, and the sound frees us in return.

Please see this if you haven’t:

If Beale Street Could Talk

Nicholas Britell’s score is one of the many wonders of this movie. The string writing and production gave me goosebumps throughout, but the film as a whole is a miracle.

Somehow, I felt a throbbing love in my heart from start to finish. For the characters, the filmmakers, James Baldwin… everybody. There’s lots of stuff out there to see, but make the time for this one. Trust me.

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

View Details

A long time ago…

In this edition:

Fresh music: a Mancini-inspired cello “big band”.

A single recommendation

(That’s all. I hope you like it too.)

[John Williams conducting Star Wars]

Big time podcast recommend:

I just fell in love with this thing, so I’m dedicating this week’s email to it. It’s a blockbuster.

Actually, it’s THE blockbuster podcast: It’s immersive, imaginative, a bit campy and fun in all the right ways (for me). An innovative use of the podcast medium as well, I can’t wait to hear the rest.

From the website:

“This series has been painstakingly researched, compiled and referenced from thousands of sources, and many of the events that led to the creation of JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and STAR WARS, which launched the very idea of "the blockbuster" film.

It's a story that took place a half century ago — recreated by voice actors, exquisitely designed by award-winning designers, and scored with original music in the spirit of John Williams. It follows two scruffy 20-something filmmakers who become friends, and in some ways, rivals. It's a story of following dreams, frustration, and failing ... hard. Even flopping.”

It’s immersive, imaginative, a bit campy and fun in all the right ways (for me). An innovative use of the podcast medium as well, I can’t wait to hear the rest.

“BLOCKBUSTER” has done something ambitious, a great idea that was hiding in plain sight. Listen to it and you will see things, something which has always been true of the best audio content but is often lost in the marketing mix.

Music and visual art are marketed in such different ways, and the target fans often have wildly different personality types. Are you a ‘visual’ person? I don’t consider myself one. But the reality in advertising/marketing is sadly (IMO) “eyes first, ears second”.

So it’s especially gratifying to come across an audio product that embraces the visual medium and professes plenty of love for it without also trying to become it.

This thing wouldn’t work the same magic if it were paired with visuals on a screen.

At first I was turned off by the VO/narration. Admittedly it’s bit bro-y, lacking proper hollywood/NPR fidelity and slickness. But therein actually lies the appeal: it’s as if your nerdy cousin loves this story, and the idea of sharing it with you so much that he’s gonna tell it all to you personally. Just to kill time over thanksgiving.

There’s huge heart in it. Enjoy!

[George and Steven]

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Totally ok to share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Hot days, cool evenings. Best time of year.

In this edition:

An instrumental soundtrack.

A riff on headroom and overtones.

A beautiful cello video.

Headroom

You could say that a musician has found their "voice" IF their sound feels like home to them AND they can find a circumstance where it can do some good for an audience.

I've owned my sound for a long time and explored a number of places for it, and lately I’ve been tapping into some new energy. I recently played cello on a film soundtrack which premiered at SXSW less than a week later.

Tight deadlines produce surprising results and I was amazed at the work this composer pulled off. (When a proper release happens I’ll tell you about it, of course. )

But the cinema music experience is all about the headroom, much more than performing live. And I love the sound of headroom.

At conservatory I used to create pieces to help me work through my burning musical questions. The practice pieces always led to further questions, which naturally led to more writing.

Convinced that the cello had untapped flavors and looking for ways to let it breathe, I realized early on that it’s not about the cello at all, but the space you create around it.

Life on the road taught me that you can make any sound you want - anywhere, using anything - if you can find the moments where it will enhance people’s experience.

But it’s important to listen from outside.

Because while a melody might live on the canvas or as part of the frame, overtones are the light without which none of our musical ideas can ever matter.

Let the sound breathe.

something curated:

Some cello brilliance by Helen Mountfort. I was mesmerized. “Soliloquy is inspired by and pays homage to the music of extraordinary Armenian composer and duduk player Djivan Gasparyan.” What a sound.

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to score your piece.

Or I can produce your podcast.

Direct support @ Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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I’m about to look at a beautiful sunset here in NYC, and it was approaching a welcome 70 today. Here’s a tune for that.

In this edition:

A little lush sound.

A touch o writing

A pod recommend

A GREAT cello video (by a musician I hope you’ll already know about.)

[getting ready for some big stuff...]

When you're making music, it's so easy to get caught in the pursuit of control.

When playing, we control so many things: our timing, our tuning, our tone, our volume. We have to listen and adjust constantly, and that's just us.

God forbid we might be playing with any other people! Then there's all kinds of other stuff going on that we can’t control.

It can feel like a party or a battle, depending on the moment.

(And let's also remember that we call it "playing". So control your attitude too - can't be overserious!)

My friends all know that I love practicing technique way more than I do actual material. I get a lot of joy from training my fingers where and when to go, more than I do from writing tunes or from learning repertoire. (But we all know that’s just resistance.)

Over time it's paid off in a calm feeling of control over my cello sound, which I only realized after the fact was a coping effort to deal with the normal, chronic lack of control over sound.

The human musical condition.

There's all kinds of stuff to control (just fire up a computer and you can literally create infinite knobs) but the music, at the end of the day, wants to liberate you from that compulsion.

The only thing we can control - and only some of the time - is our level of surrender.

Let the music play you. That’s more fun.

podcast recommendation:

For the music heads out there, I highly recommend Jamie Lidell’s podcast, “Hanging Out With Audiophiles”. It’s such a great hang and he brings the fun - if you’re the type of person who loves to geek out on the creative side of sound production. There’s always a segment at the top where he picks up a wierdo sound module and messes around with it, like a narrated “tour” of esoteric pieces of gear. [Check out HOWA]

something curated:

Back to my New Orleans love, there are a few fantastic cellists making good ol’ “American” music in NOLA. Here’s a video I recently re-saw and dig the crap out of. Don’t sleep on Leyla McCalla!

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring!

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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In this edition:

Some cello textures and melodies for your face. No talking today.

A bite o writing

A pod update and recommend

Another amazing short video.

[2007 was a trying year, though I tried not to show it.]

Responsibility

It's a leap to take responsibility for the sound we make in this world. Can’t hide anymore.

If we make sound just for ourselves it's ok, but the implications of making it in earshot of others can scare even the most promising musician back into silence.

Because if it affects me this much when you do it, what response in you will I have to shoulder?

Duh! "It's not music that scares me, it's people!"

This realization finally turned it around for me. And my fear of people wasn’t of getting beat up or rejected (any of the usual things) but their beauty.

Your beauty.

Witnessing music alone at night with my cassette tapes, going to shows, going to church... a fire would burn right above me. It was like the sound and my soul commingling into some third, totally unpredictable and uncontrollable entity. Telling me to stay present in life. As a teenager my musical taste developed haphazardly but I could always feel this third thing, the fire doing what it wanted and warming up the room whenever there was music playing.

I was panicky at 13, but once I sat down at the piano I became action. All questions of style ceased, all genres melted and I evaporated into a cocoon of noise. All by myself.

Everything felt safe and beautiful, all responsibility ceased.

But that's the rub: responsibility.

Because the room is rarely just ours. Other people will often be in it.

I knew from my solitary listening the beauty that descends on a space when music is playing. But other people complicated and expanded this beauty.

It's not just other players: any person within earshot is adding their own fire to the experience.

All kinds of fire.

A beautiful noise is one thing. Silence is also, as they say, golden.

We all wield our ways of witnessing, consciously or not.

And we don't get to decide what is "beautiful". We can only take responsibility for our own witnessing and tend the fire of the other people in the room with our playing.

I can’t run away and hide from my own sound. Or yours.

We're all in this. I owe you some truthful moments while we're here and capital M music is the best ticket I have for that.

Responsibility is beautiful.

Hope you liked the track.

Podcast recommendation: CTZN

I’ve been working on a show that just launched their Season 2: it’s called CTZN.

I’m the producer, I put these things together. (How about let’s talk about making yours.)

Here’s the S2 premiere, an interview with pleasure activist Adrienne Maree Brown.

I’m working on my own pod as well… it’s just taking a while.

I had a nice lunch with my friend Sean, and he said “I thought you’d just stopped making that show of yours” and I felt it.

Just to give you all a heads up, I must say that making podcast episodes (at the quality level that I like) is time-consuming. My podcast, “Play It Like It’s Music” hasn’t gone away, I’m just working on lots of stuff at once and these things get pushed to the back because they are a pleasure project for me. Please be patient, there are some great ones coming up! In the meantime, go check out some older episodes and subscribe!

something curated:

This one is crazy. Honestly, I am so not visual. I don’t know how these people do it.

I see some “non-musical” folks sometimes, and they can’t hold back their awe for someone who can and does do music. Well I feel the same way about folks who execute on their visual ideas, because when I look inside there I don’t see much.

A vid like this just tickles my eyes and brain:

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you. Enjoy spring.

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

View Details

In this edition:

A taste of a vibe (no talking on this one)

A bite o writing

A video morsel

(hungry, trev?)

[I did not buy this shirt at the sample sale. Vegas can wait.]

springtime travels

I don't know about you, but I have to go places in order to find myself in music.

The music in my head just doesn't make sense to me until I bounce it off some other ears in other places.

Touring helps, once you have an invitation to go play somewhere. But before that, what do you do?

Listen to all the different records that you can.

Check this out:

My house has been weird for a while because I have a stack of records on the shelf and no record player. Thanks to New York real estate and the miracle of technology, I take out the record to look at and play it on spotify, no joke. It’s got everything except that essence.

Before, I felt freedom of movement because I had records. I still do. But while a record collection can be a burden, the phone is more of a leash than I want to admit.

That's one drag about digital. Musical objects will always be physical instruments and records.

They have a smell and a history just like you, sounds in your phone can only point at it.

I remember certain records just jumped off the shelf when I was young and getting the bug. Others didn't, but their presence gave me a sense of context, something to navigate.

I found out I had to go to Brazil, not just dream of it.

I found out Chinese folk music didn't really speak to me.

I learned the history of the Beatles. Bach was to the left of them on the shelf, Brahms to the right.

I swear those Beatles records smelled different. More sweat and cigarettes on them.

And the Brazilian ones definitely had sunshine.

Time to put one on.

something curated:

Cute, gentle phobias! 2 minutes, and I really admire the sound design in this one. Try headphones:

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you deeply, and very much appreciate your reply/feedback/whatsups.

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please share:

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In this edition:

A narrated beat, or a beaten-up narrative? You be the judge… click play and follow the blog/script (blipt? scrog?) below.

A very cool video

[Last year’s summertime train season]

Truth in tension

The pursuit of music reveals an essential life truth to us, over and over again: that it's impossible to stay 100% true to ourselves.

Before we manifest our music, we may hear or feel it internally. But finding a place for it to live in the world means finding other people to hear it and feel it themselves. We must somehow interface and link.

It starts with simply making the sound, but if you want to sustain it then you have to learn to navigate this gauntlet of other people.

Some call this gauntlet a market. But markets, like democracy are a fragile human ideal. Not the norm.

The norm is that our music must find a way to prevail in the face of an onslaught of predators and parasites, both within and without. Self-sabotage and shady business dealers are equally destructive to our sound and to our soundness.

But without our sound we are nothing. So we must go through.

Through the fear, through the cacophony, through the swindles, through the compromise, the forgetting and the loss.

We must then resuscitate the sound, for it is us. Protect and nurture it so it can live, even if nobody but us wants to hear it or pay for it.

After decades of trying to quit, failing to quit, trying to "succeed" and losing my direction again and again, I often feel like my sound is both the source of my sanity and its worst threat.

100% tension.

The only way to be cool with that is to just choose to be cool with it.

Because I also know how much lonelier it can get when I'm far from my sound. That's no way to live.

I know this: the music business will not always be there for you, but the Music will.

Good thing it's the one you need.

Your music loves you, so let it.

something curated:

Just came across this brilliant one-minute animation. MUCH momentum, SO inertia!

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you more than you know, and thanks again for all your lovely replies.

Your feedback is always welcome, especially some good ol’ informed criticism! Otherwise I’m writing in a vacuum…

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too. Please share:

Listen to the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

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trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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Just music this time, couldn’t get my narration together today. Here’s the vibe from home this week. [click play]

In this edition:

a bit of a track for you [see above]

a bit of writing for you

a beautiful performance I just watched

[Paris circa 2010]

Changes

We are not all so strongly affected by music. But for those of us who are, it's scary to admit the power it has to change us.

Besides the bag of tastes we picked up between the ages of 14-17 - the window when our musical tastes solidified whether we like it or not - the input of new sounds at opportune moments can transform us completely.

A list that can go on forever: How music changed me.

I was forever changed after I heard Piazzolla. Jeff Buckley invited me back from exile. Coltrane showed me limitlessness and the need for humility.

Chuck Berry changed just about everyone, but Henry Threadgill changed me.

João Gilberto changed a bunch of folks too, and without him there might not have ever been Tool.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor changed me.

Bruce Springsteen mostly just changes himself, but manages to bring everybody along for the ride.

There is so much power in music, and a scary responsibility comes with it.

I'm scared out of my mind each time I pick up the instrument. I have to get over some real musical vertigo before doing any work, and a lot of the time it overtakes me anyway.

I've chosen this, I'm responsible. But it doesn't get any less scary. I'm not intimidated so much as awed by the mastery which came before and surrounds us. I still have my own sound to make.

But I'd better make it right, play for keeps because someone might hear it. And what change in them do I want to puy my name on?

It takes work to to make a true sound. You don't get to choose how it lands.

But we're still responsible.

something curated:

I got a real kick out of this subway performance by Alan Cumming and musicians. Special props to Eleanor Norton, the fantastic cellist featured here:

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you more than you know, and thanks again for all your lovely replies.

I’m starting to feel happy with where things are going for me sonically. Feedback is always welcome here.

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too:

Check out the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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In this edition:

Edition #two of my “email exclusive” sonic dispatches (press play and then scroll to follow the written version.)

A treat for your face and what’s behind it

[me, sometime in the 80’s]

Peace of mind

I don't always remember the incredible peace of mind that comes from playing. Life makes me lose the plot and forget what's missing until I find the sound again.

But man, when it comes back it's like the smell of toast. There's nothing like it.

It's the most basic thing: you touch something with your hands and sound comes out.

Then the sound touches you and makes your movements change from what you hear.

Your hands change, the sound changes, you change. And on around.

A beautiful little feedback loop.

There's energy in it, and joy too.

So simple.

I wonder what it would be like if we were taught music with this simple feedback loop as a basis, instead of the usual mimicry and patriotism.

At the core, playing should feel like playing.

Unless you find a real mission with music, the joy of playing should remain the only purpose.

And if the joy is hot enough you might find yourself wanting to write songs, produce soundtracks, go out for the big Concerto...

But keep an eye on the joy.

It can turn into ambition so easily.

And the drag there is that you won't notice if it happens.

Just the listeners will.

Your collaborators will also notice before you do.

If it stops being fun momentarily, that's ok. Life isn't always fun.

But if music is your job because you embarked on that mission, remember that most of the listeners want it to be fun. They might think you chose the job of providing them with fun in the form of music.

But music isn't a job, it's a calling.

It's better when you learn to dance with it.

True sounds, joyful sounds, feedback loops...

Energy.

Peace.

something curated:

Here’s another two minute eye/brain massage. I can’t get enough of these:

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you more than you know, and thanks for all your lovely replies to the first audio dispatch last week. It’s great to know how it’s landing. Go ahead, hit “reply” and let’s keep this going.

Better yet, maybe share it with someone you think might like it?

Love your ears,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, it’s in these other places too:

Check out the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

View Details

In this edition:

A short riff on silence, complete with narration and musical accompaniment

You read that right! (Press play dear friends, and engage those headphones.)

A sweet recommendation.

The blank canvas

Some people feel they need to make a loud sound in order to feel beautiful. For them, the power they put into and extract from an amp is the only way to experience an honest sound.

This is sacrosanct for some people, and I'd respect it more if the sounds these people made didn't drown out all the other sounds so insistently.

We don't all have the same set of issues.

I like to bring it, loudly and through an amp with the cello. But the real work is done with my hands, and sometimes it happens at an SPL so close to silence that you wouldn't know it was happening even if you were here in the room with me.

There's a wide, wide range.

And the sound of actual silence has a power beyond anything, not to mention a beauty you can't find anywhere else.

I work hard on my sound, but I also burn a lot of bandwidth creating that silent space in which to play. It's like stretching a canvas before you paint: the silence is under everything so I take care of that part first.

And I'll tell you the truth, it's one of the hardest parts because it's a noisy world out here.

And while you can totally start something without a bed of silence, it's one way I've found to know right away if my noise is coming from an honest place.

We all end up there eventually, so might as well make friends with it.

something curated:

I’m a huge fan of the podcast “Scene On Radio”. It’s made at the Center For Documentary studies and their last two seasons have been addictive, bingeworthy masterpieces. The force is strong in host John Biewen, master of the podcast trick of making you think and feel deeply while entertaining and relating. Many dimensions! Check them out below and get hip to some beautifully gentle-voiced piercing honesty.

Seeing White

MEN

Thank you for reading and subscribing.

I appreciate you more than you know, and I especially want to hear your thoughts about this first edition of an “audio newsletter”. Go ahead, hit “reply”, because I’ve never done anything like this before.

It was all made today, for you, right now. How do you like it?

Love your face,

Trevor

If you appreciate my work, may I ask you to help share it?

Check out the “Trevor Exter Playlist” on Spotify

Hear 18 episodes of: "Play It Like It's Music"

You can hire me to produce your podcast.

Or get supportive: visit Patreon

Social: IG \ TW \ FB

trevorexter.com

Subscribe at playitlikeitsmusic.substack.com

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