May 4, 2024 • 50 mins
Hello loyal listeners? Did you miss us? Did anyone actually believe we would release episodes on a regular weekly basis??
But here we are with a fresh ep with the amazing "doesn't like being called a child prodigy" Dominic Longhurst!
Dive into the world of music with our esteemed guest, Dominic Longhurst, as he shares captivating stories of passion, success, and resilience on the Brassbannedcast episode. From enchanting toddler memories around cornet tunes to his illustrious journey through the ranks of music, his tales are a testament to the power of a positive mindset. Listen to his riveting narration about his experience under the guidance of Professor David King and his role as the conductor of Willoughby Brass Band. A must-listen for all music enthusiasts!
Immerse yourself in the world of English bands with our jovial chats, musical history trivia, favourite instrument banter, and never-to-be-forgotten stage blunders. Don't miss the chance to sing along and enjoy this lighter side of music. Enjoy the Brassbannedcast with us!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, loyal listeners. Hello, loyal viewers. Hello, everyone on the internet.
Welcome to the Brass Bandcast, the highly produced, very professional podcast
all about love, life, music, rehearsal, dessert, chocolate, marching, and trumpets.
Robyn, how are you? I am very well. How are you, Tim?
(00:23):
You know what? I think I'm sensational. You're laughing because it's sensational.
I think I'm sensational. It's sensational? Yeah. It took me about 20 minutes
to get set up today, didn't it? It did. We had to start three times.
And this is the best time that we've got it.
Technologically challenged. Exciting. Hey, you didn't miss any great content,
guys, because I couldn't hear anything. I had no sound.
(00:44):
So, but Tim was laughing at me, so it must have been very funny.
I like to think that my- We should have put that in the bloopers.
We should have, but I like to think that my miming skills have really improved
a lot. We sort of made you think that I couldn't hear you at all.
Anyway anyway how great and we've got our special guest but i've told tim he
has to stick to the structure today but our special guest today is dominic longhead.
(01:11):
I'll put on a clapping sound no i won't but it would be great if i could wouldn't it,
yay cheers yay but before we get onto dominic's backstory we have to stick to
our structure so So we're going
to talk about our weeks and what has happened in the last week or two.
Robin. No, Robin, let's start with you. I want to know all about your week. We've had an Anzac Day.
(01:36):
We've had rehearsals. Tell me everything. We've had an Anzac Day. We had rehearsals.
Anzac Day. Did anyone else get up for the dawn service? Did you guys do dawn?
I didn't do dawn. No. No. Did you do dawn? So I normally never do dawn,
but Mikey's band was doing it and he was like, I really want to go.
(01:57):
It's so early. So we went and it was exactly what I thought it would be.
It was very dark and cold and it was nice. It was good.
And the band, they did a big breakfast, so that was fun.
But that was nice and it was his first time marching. He loved marching.
So that's great, isn't it? That was Anzac Day. Anzac Day is fun.
Other than that, we've just been rehearsing, I think.
(02:18):
And how are you, Tim? you did the big match in the city, didn't you?
Yeah, I did the big city march.
So we sort of met at 7am and then I think we formed up at 8.30 or March,
you know, like 9 o'clock or something with the Footscray Aeroval City Band.
And it was pretty fun, but there were only three brass bands marching in the city.
And I was like, oh, that's a bit sad. There were heaps more pipe bands than
brass bands, which was good to see. But it was a good parade.
(02:41):
I think lots of bands are doing their own little things. There's more and more
RSLs that do their own things in their own area.
They used to do it like the weekend before and everyone went to the city,
but I think people are becoming more local.
Is that a thing? I don't know. We should find out.
It sounds good. But it was a good Anzac Day. Yeah. I've been to a couple of
rehearsals and had a nice weekend.
(03:02):
Today I'm up near Batemans Bay filming, like, cowboy stuff.
There's these – okay, here's a mini story. There's this thing called Camp Draft.
Yeah. If you sit on a horse and there's, like, six cows in the pen,
you've got to separate one cow from the rest, then make it run around a figure
eight and across the finish line.
And if you do that the fastest, you can win half a million dollars or something like that.
(03:25):
So I'm streaming four days of that. So people say, oh, Tim, you stream Brass
Bands. That's a bit weird.
It's like, no, I stream stuff that would make you yawn. People do weird things, don't they?
People think we're weird, but that's weird. Everyone's weird.
We all have our things. Everyone needs a hobby, right?
If someone doesn't have a hobby, I'm like, that's a bit sad. You need a hobby.
You need to go and do something that no one else does. Go and chase a cow. Go and chase a cow.
(03:50):
Play in a brass band, play in a pipe band, do something.
What did you play on your street march? 1914? Was it 1914?
We did 1914s and we turned the march card over and did Victorian Rifles as well.
Oh, because it's a long march.
I like a 6-8 march when it goes in 6-8.
(04:11):
It gets a bit like, yeah, I don't know, 1914.
Did all the bands play 1914?
Anyone play Army of the Nile? No one played Army of the Nile.
All three of the bands had marched. So big hello to Hyde Street Youth Band who
marched in Melbourne and Box Hill City who did the march as well.
All right. Well, that's our week. Thank you for sticking to the structure, Tim. I appreciate it.
(04:36):
Hey, but now we get to talk to Dom.
Well, Dom, what was your week like? Hi, Dominic Longhurst. It's been a couple
of weeks, hasn't it? Dominic Longhurst. Hello again.
Yeah. Yeah, it has been a bit of a long come down from Nationals. It always is.
Usually I get some sort of illness. I usually get sick and run down after Nationals.
(05:00):
I don't know about anyone else, But for as long as I've done these,
you know, intense lead-ups, it's like I'm cooked for the next week,
which sucks when you have things to do the next week and you've already taken
all your leave because it was nationals.
No, but it was good. Last week, unfortunately, I wasn't able to partake in any Anzac Day services.
(05:22):
I was in Tasmania. I was working with the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra.
Yes, that was basically my week. and straight back into life in Sydney as a
freelancer, which Tim and I were discussing while you were absent.
Yeah. It's busy. Yeah.
Busy, busy. Saying yes to coming on podcast.
(05:46):
That's why I'm here. How many gigs did you turn down to make yourself available
for the podcast tonight, Dom?
She had zero to tonight. I'm not quite that busy.
We got lucky. That's all right. That's all right. We still appreciate the effort you made.
We do appreciate it. And, Dom, you're currently the conductor of the Willoughby Brass Band.
(06:11):
Band? Yeah. You play the trumpet professionally. Traditionally,
you play the cornet, you're around.
I'd love to know, going right back to the very start, how did you get started
on a brass instrument? And do you remember the first time you played a note?
Yeah, so my dad played the cornet. And growing up, I listened to him,
(06:33):
and I've got photos of me on his lap while he's playing as really a toddler.
And then I think I was first introduced to bands through him,
and he played in Parramatta City Band at the time.
And there's, I think my mum's got some film of me.
They used to do monthly playouts in the local mall and it became a tradition
(06:57):
that the last piece of the playout, I would get up and conduct as a two-year-old.
Really? Because for the whole gig, I'd be sat on the, yeah, I'd be sat on the
drummer's knee throughout the gig.
And then for the last gig, I'd wave a stick And then, you know,
my arm would get tired and I'd look back at mum saying, please get me out of here.
(07:18):
And I know you've got to stay till the end of the piece.
And then on my fourth birthday, I got a slide, a slide trumpet. Slide trumpet? Yeah.
Yeah. And they didn't have plastic ones back then, did they?
It was like a full metal one? No. Yeah.
I've still got it up in my wardrobe there.
(07:40):
But it's funny because, yeah, I wanted to play percussion growing up.
That was all I wanted to do, just drums.
And my parents were like, they refused because they didn't want to be carting
around me with a drum kit to gigs and different things.
So they were very, very forward thinking. thinking
so they gave me a trombone instead which
was my next my next favorite instrument at
(08:02):
the time and then when i was for my eighth birthday
i don't i didn't really play it play the trombone
or the slide trumpet for that long i just kind of picked it up here and there
it was lying around the house for a few years and then i started getting lessons
in year three and on my eighth birthday dad took me along to band that was my
birthday present which i thought was super cool Do you remember much about the first rehearsal?
(08:26):
Do you remember what you played or what it was like going in and sitting down?
Does that vivid memory? Yeah, I do.
It was actually with the Blue Mountains City Band because at that point in my
life, my parents and I had moved up to the Blue Mountains.
So we were preparing for the Nationals in, I believe, Tasmania,
Launceston, maybe 2004.
(08:48):
And it was in C grade. so I sat in on third corner and playing this slide trumpet,
throughout this rehearsal trying to figure out how to play semiquavers on a
slide and I was terrible so they said at the end of the rehearsal alright thanks
for coming and here's a real instrument and they gave me a cornet and that was
(09:10):
kind of it I went home and I think I must have spent two hours a day,
in my room learning how to play the part so that next week I didn't make a fool of myself.
And then I went from Blue Mountains to Holroyd.
Because I think we decided that I needed to be around people my own age.
(09:33):
At that point, I think I was about, you know, nine or ten. And so we went to City of Holroyd Band.
And, yeah, I had a fantastic time there. And that was, like,
a huge part of my development with my years there.
Because I sort of slowly progressed through their C-grade band,
went from second corner to flugelhorn to then principal corner.
(09:55):
It and then I was given opportunities to play in
the A grade band and then from there I
went to I was given an opportunity to
study with Professor David King when I was about
13 and he was working
with St Mary's Band Club Brass at the time who no
longer sadly exist and I
(10:17):
was getting lessons with David but playing in Holroad and then
I was getting so much out of him and the
easiest way for me to do that was just to to join St
Mary's so I I went from Holroyd to
St Mary's and spent the rest of my junior years
there which again was was a phenomenal journey in itself Tim you were you just
(10:38):
started streaming towards the end of St Mary's time and that's where we we met
when I was probably 16 I'd say and you interviewed me went to beat that out yeah.
Yeah child prodigy i remember you were
this like big child prodigy they're like this kid's only like 15 so
(10:59):
did you just you just completely skipped youth bands and do
you reckon that's like part of the secret just going straight to the
big guys or do you reckon
it would be more fun wouldn't go that far but i i had a great set of mentors
in all of the bands that i played in and there was always people that I was
(11:19):
looking up to that really demonstrated not only fantastic musicianship but bandsmanship.
And loyalty, which is ironic given the fact I just said I've played in a whole
bunch of different bands and left them all. No, no, no.
You can play with a number of bands and still be loyal.
(11:42):
Yeah. We know what you mean. You can jump around, got to do what's right for
you in your career progression.
Sean Yao at Holroad was a huge influence on me, one of the most positive people.
And as a player, just a beautiful flugelhorn player.
And I think my sound concept as a young flugel and cornet player was most largely
(12:07):
impacted by him growing up and then David King after that.
But no, I didn't really skip the youth bands so much as there weren't youth bands.
Polaroid was a D-grade band at the time, but it was basically a youth band.
And then they got moved up moved up to
c grade and that i i never felt i never looked
(12:29):
at someone who was so good and thought i'll never
be that good i thought you know it would be great to be that good it's interesting
thing i think we've spoken in the past on that like if you tell if you let like
a young person know that something's tricky or something's hard then they think
that's tricky and that's hard but if you just sort of well this is just music
do you want to do that yes,
(12:50):
I want to do that, have a go, and suddenly they're doing it and playing it,
and I feel like that's almost half of your secret with what's going on with
the Willoughby bands is all these fantastic young musicians coming through who
play at such an incredible level, and it's like, oh, yeah, just do it.
Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. It's a smooth segue, Tim.
(13:13):
We did talk about that, and in particular, I guess, the last two years at Nationals,
the band has performed a piece The B band has performed pieces that would have
otherwise been deemed far too hard for the grades that they were playing in.
Last year's Nationals, we played a piece called The Raid, which was used in
(13:36):
A grade this year, but we were a C grade band.
And they pulled it off really well, and they won.
And I didn't tell them, I specifically didn't tell them it was an A grade piece
until sort of the week before when they'd kind of gotten to grips with it and
took a lot of patience and effort to get it there.
But you're right, if you don't tell anyone it's hard,
(13:58):
hard they don't know and they just do it especially
people who haven't who haven't done banding before
they just think oh well this is the expectation so they
they rise to it more often than
not yeah it's really interesting it really struck me what
you said about having like having different
like a concept of sound and just knowing that that's what you
(14:19):
want it to sound like and thinking yeah i can do that i can i can
sound like that and i wonder do you find like in sort professional circles or
something the way that do people get in their head a bit about what they're
trying to do i think it definitely can can happen the whole paralysis by analysis yeah absolutely.
(14:40):
It's it's it exists and like can't quite remember what the what the question
i don't even know if i don't even know if that was a question i feel like okay
tuber players and arnold jacobs and song and wind and all that stuff i just
i just think that the way that you've gone about stuff with Willoughby and the
way that you have the idea of what people can do and where they can end up,
it's really inspiring and really great.
(15:01):
And sorry, Robyn, if this got all deep and meaningful all of a sudden.
I know this is a light-hearted podcast. I don't even know what you asked either.
We're getting a bit bogged down in it. But anyway, you do an awesome job, Dom.
I love it. Thanks. And then taking two bands, like that's a massive pick-in.
It takes enough of my effort just taking one band. So how did that come about?
(15:24):
Out so you you went you were a child prodigy i'll come back to the child prodigy
because we've got a good story don't we dom we've got a good story from back
in the day have a good story,
we'll come back to our story avoid that time though but so so you obviously
get in very very high and you're playing and then want to get into conducting
and so then you've taken on conducting not one but two did it start as one band
(15:48):
and broke into or did really always have two bands i'm not
quite up with the Sydney bands and what they do and all their stories.
So what's happened there?
Well, it was a bit of an accident how I sort of ended up in the position I'm in.
Basically, my dad plays in Willoughby. He's a turnaround player and he currently
(16:09):
plays in the B-grade band. He's also the librarian.
So when I first moved back from being in the U.K..
Which is where I studied, they had a concert. Willoughby had a concert and they
had just lost a conductor and the concert was in about six weeks and they were lost.
(16:30):
They really didn't know who to get.
And Dad asked me, we were having dinner and Dad's like, hey,
Tom, do you want to take the band?
I was like, I wouldn't know what I was doing. I think I basically,
this is what I said, said I wouldn't know where to start.
And then they said
oh we'll just come along anyway because we don't have a
(16:51):
conductor tonight so can you can you take the band tonight and
i said all right sure i went along to rehearsal we had
five weeks to prepare and i don't think they had any
music or any idea what they were going to be playing
so i had to i said right i'll do the
concert but if we're doing a concert it's
on my terms and you're going
(17:12):
to do what the repertoire i want
us to do to play and they said yep that
sounds great well you know thanks for doing it and so
i pulled out a program that resembled very
much what i was used to in in the uk and it
was a little bit of a shock at first to
the system because they were and at that
(17:34):
time they were an undernourished band they had about
19 regular players and and so
i phoned a few friends got them into to just
play along and we all had a great time albeit it
was there were some scary moments for me and the band and and they said well
would you like to stay and yeah i said well yeah that'd be great and that's
(17:59):
that's kind of the beginning and so then yeah we've we've now got three bands.
Yeah of which i've i take the a and the b grade band we we've actually had too
many players in the a grade band after a little while and and so we had to start
a second band so we put out advertisements and now we have too many players in both bands which is.
(18:25):
It's not a bad problem to have. So, yeah, hence we are starting a third band,
which is a purely junior band.
So we've got now, when I started, I said we had 19 full-time players and now
we have 90, 93 or 94. Wow. That's huge. That's huge.
Yeah. Over how many years? Like how long ago was that that you took your five-week concert?
(18:49):
It well the concert was being about this this
time of the year in 2021 oh we're
still in lockdown melbourne people don't understand like 2021 that was not a
year yeah i think we went into lockdown like the week after that concert so
we then had about eight months of nothing so well so in two Two years,
(19:15):
like really only two good years.
It's gone from 19 to 90 players.
Yeah. That's pretty good. Basically. Yeah. Oh.
Pretty, yeah, I'm very proud of the organisation because it's not just me.
It's like there's a team of people that are supporting that.
(19:35):
You know, I came in with a very clear vision of what I wanted the organisation
to achieve and what I believed it was capable of.
And we're only halfway through my initial musical director's report from that
AGM of where I want the band to be.
Got an action plan. Ooh, action plan. A five-year plan? Four-year plan?
(19:57):
Ten-year plan? Yeah, it was a five-year plan at the time. So,
yeah, it's developing all the way.
What's the end goal? World domination?
World domination. I guess you'll have to wait and see for the next installment.
Spoilers Oh Heferson suspended Oh,
(20:18):
What's he gonna do Go win the The British Opens or something Is that at the end,
Wouldn't that be cool Did what A band Australian band Went to one of them Didn't
they Yeah Well yeah That's probably Yeah Yeah For them That was exciting Wellington went Yeah Yeah.
Excelsior's been Yeah Anyway a couple of bands From
(20:40):
the southern hemisphere Yeah over yeah represent that's
what we want some representation right i don't
know yeah oh well have fun oh that's so exciting good for you is it but so are
they on different nights the two bands is that like your entire life oh no it's
(21:00):
just my entire monday both both bands on a monday six till.
6 to 7.30, which I'm trying to get extended because the B band need more time.
Yeah. Half isn't very long for any band, let alone a B grade band trying to play Year of the Dragon.
Yeah. And then A grade goes from 7.30 to 9.30.
(21:23):
But I try to cut them. I try to give them an early mark whenever possible so
that we can spend more time at the pub together.
Very nice. Very nice. Well, you obviously just had the passion right from a
little kid. because most kids would be like, go and practice your tenor horn or whatever.
They'd be like, no, I want to play on my device or whatever.
Have you ever considered starting a student out on a slide trumpet just to see
(21:46):
if maybe that's the secret to that little bit of handicap but a little bit of fun?
No, I haven't, but you've given me some ideas. So thanks.
Try and play this third quarter. Yeah. I think it's pretty impressive as well
that you were conducting a band aged two,
I think that's pretty fun I'd love to see photos of that Well I've seen some
(22:15):
conductors who I think that's loosely conducting as well.
Oh so fun Do you want me to tell the story because we came on and I'm like hi
Dom Dom's like, yes, we've met.
I said, yes, I know. If we remember. How did you meet?
I'd like to know how you met, please. Tim, I'm sure you might vaguely remember
(22:37):
this story. So there was a year. Do you remember Fab?
Yes. Do you remember Fab? So Fab was this. Right.
It was amazing. It was the best contest. It went for about maybe four or five
years, three, four years. I don't know.
But it was always in the Gold Coast. And so it was at this hotel with this,
like, great pool and spa anyway. Anyway, and so it was like some A grades would
(22:57):
go and it was like a test piece and then entertainment day and it was awesome.
So Burundi, I went a couple of years and I think the first year we got invited, we were so excited.
We all got there and I was actually coming from the airport in a taxi with our
conductor, Danny, we were on the same flight and we pull up in front of the
hotel and our flugel player is standing at the front of the hotel with blood
streaming out of his mouth and this was the day before the like,
(23:21):
yeah, so this is like we're arriving the day before.
Blood streaming out of his mouth and he was like i'm just going home he was like.
Freaky and so they'd been playing in the pool like horsies
you know people on each other's shoulders and someone kicked him in the face
and that person was also a little bit on the poo-poo list from everyone in the
(23:42):
band like why did you kick him in the face anywhere but the face so his bottom
teeth had gone through his lip like he's he couldn't and he was like studying
trumpet too He couldn't play for weeks, the poor guy.
Anyway, so he had like a massive hole in his lip. He couldn't play at all.
And we're like, we're stuck. It's like we're already in Gold Coast and you could
(24:02):
only, the rules were no permits in this contest. You could only play in one band.
But you didn't have to be ready. It was like strange rules. Anyway,
I'm like, well, where the hell are we going to get a flugel player who is in
Brisbane, who is not already playing in another band, who can sight read this
entire test piece on like not rehearsals?
And someone's like, there's this guy here who could probably do it. He just came to watch.
(24:24):
It's this guy called Dom. We're like, okay, he came to play with our band and
sight read the whole thing, whatever test piece it was. I can't remember, but it was like crazy.
And they were like, this kid's 16. And he was like, played all the notes.
And it was fun. And I think Don was like, your band's a bit crazy.
That was back when we were a bit of a party band. We're a bit more serious now, I think. Yeah.
Yeah. I remember being 13.
(24:47):
You're 13? I thought you were 16. I don't know where I got that idea.
Well, you were very young. We were like, oh, we can't even take this kid for
a drink. That was a bit mean, didn't it?
That was the worst part about Fab for me was that I was too young to partake.
Fab would be great. The fund, yeah. I love Fab.
(25:10):
Someone make another Fab. I think we should bring it back. We should bring back Fab Rubbin.
I think the hotel, like, didn't they say we couldn't come back because the parties
were too crazy on the last night?
No. No?
I feel like I've heard that before, but I don't know whether I heard that That actually happened.
(25:33):
Oh, they were good days. they were good times but um
amazing that you could just like rock up to a band and sight read and that you'd
come along to watch and weren't even in a band and just like to be part of it
yeah i was playing i was i was playing in the gala concert yes oh that's right so i was playing in that,
(25:57):
And, yeah, so I borrowed the flugel as well.
It was Josh Rogan who saw me in the bar when they were still serving food.
So I was allowed in. Josh ran into me, and we'd competed against each other
in the solos earlier that year.
And so we were having a chat, and he said, oh, yeah, do you want to play?
(26:20):
And I was like, oh, yeah, all right, might as well.
And fast track, you know, fast track 15 years later, at the end of last year
I was playing in the Auckland Philharmonic with Josh,
which is Josh's orchestra that he is now the Associate Principal Trumpet in.
And so that was, you know, pretty small. It's nice to sit next to another bander in an orchestra.
(26:45):
Absolutely. Yeah. Hi, Josh. Hi, Josh. Great guy.
Oh, but what? Okay, we've got to talk about the big question, Dom.
And this was the amazing thing of you playing at Nationals this year.
The Cornet. It was so exciting. I've got to tell you what. When you did that,
(27:07):
it was the absolute talk.
Everyone's like, I was like, everyone's texting their conductor saying,
all the conductors have to play, I reckon.
You said that should be a rule, didn't you, Tim? Yeah, I think it should be
a rule where in order to really be an agent, Your conductor needs to play a bit as well.
I know. They should have a special competition. You'd probably win for being,
like, the conductor who plays a thing.
(27:30):
It was awesome. No, I swear, it was so exciting. We couldn't stop talking about
it at our thing last week, didn't you, Tim? It was the best. Yeah.
Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm glad you liked it. Thank you.
I thought it sounded great.
Because it's – was it a secret that you were going to do it or did you tell
people or was everyone surprised when you did it on the stage?
(27:50):
I think, well, the court being there. My band knew.
Oh, the band knew. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, my band knew and we were
all in on it, which was...
I guess we were looking forward to the controversy to some degree,
but also not as much as we were looking forward to making music together. Yeah.
(28:12):
So was it a surprise? I think it was a surprise.
I mean, the first hint was me walking on stage, I suppose, with a cornet.
That was the first anyone should have known about it, I suppose.
I didn't actively not tell anyone, but I also just didn't. It doesn't come up
in conversation, I guess, really, would it?
Yeah, not really. I mean, the weekend before, we did a full run through the
(28:37):
program in front of, you know, a couple hundred and 150 people who came and
watched our open rehearsal like on the Sunday before.
So I didn't try to keep it a secret. There were other band members,
like band members from other bands that were present for that. So I don't know.
(28:57):
It was obviously a surprise, though, for some people. so
it was great it was great it just
added another element of entertainment it was amazing that's that's great because
i mean the journey that willoughby's been on i really wanted to try and break
(29:17):
some boundaries i didn't expect to be breaking that boundary but i didn't want it to
just end up being a typical band anymore.
Like, banding needs to move on, move forward and progress.
And if that means trying new things or pushing boundaries in different directions
to see what's good, what works.
(29:38):
And everyone in my bands are all along for the ride and they're enjoying it and coming back.
And I'm glad that people enjoyed the music more than anything and that people
were able to focus on that and not get bogged down in, I don't know,
traditional views of what a contest should be. And I think...
(30:00):
Tim's laughing. Not laughing. I was just thinking I sit and listen to that much
stuff and I just love listening to things that sound good.
And it sounded really good, so it must be.
Glad you enjoyed it. Wow. No. Wait, I have one other question.
And I wondered if this is like all the guys, you had like a bit of a V-neck
thing going on in your uniform.
(30:22):
Was that, did you all do that on purpose?
You know, like the top, because you don't have a tie, right? I don't know.
I thought I noticed a bit of a V-neck. It's like who has the most little bit
of hint of chest hair? I don't know.
You're going for a bit of a distinct look there, I think, with the shirts, no ties.
(30:42):
Yeah, there's a story behind that.
We don't have enough uniforms for the amount of band members that we have.
And the supplier of our normal Moraine shirts, they folded, and so now we can't get our shirts anymore.
So it's really, it's not quite as saucy as, as you make it out.
(31:04):
It was merely just, we didn't have enough uniforms.
So it's like, right. Everyone wear black.
Okay. And no ties in there. The open neck, the open collar look, breaking boundaries.
That wasn't, that wasn't one where I realized we were breaking.
Well, someone must have done it. Everyone went, Ooh, we're going to wear all
(31:24):
wear our shirts like that too.
Normally do up the top button, but it's like, no, No, you've got to have a little bit of freedom.
Yeah. It's so important to feel comfortable on stage. Got to feel comfy on stage. That's right.
Yeah, that's right. Absolutely true. Well, maybe we've segued into our uniform discussion.
(31:45):
Wait, so do you like a jacket, Dom?
I actually really like the British. No, I love it. I love the British style jackets.
I mean, yeah, it's what I'm used to now.
So at first I was like, oh, this is such a pain having to, you know,
put this on all the time and it's hot and it stinks and whatever else.
(32:09):
But then, I don't know, there's something about
putting on a jacket that you feel like really
proud to wear and that hugging
sensation that it gives you as well it's
almost like a comfort in itself i feel very
plain wearing all black you don't feel that
sense of pride like you're representing something as as opposed to like brigats
(32:33):
and rastrix uniform which was purple and gold and very striking and distinctive
and has a lot of history associated with it i think it's a really You would
have been a little kid in oversized jackets, wouldn't you?
Would you have had like when you were small, would they have not had a jacket
small enough for you? You'll have some cute photos.
I'd like a new oversized jacket. Howard has a nice jacket and I've got,
(32:58):
you know, yeah, photos of those jackets swimming on me.
And same as the Blue Mountains jackets as well.
Just like, I don't know, I got some B-flat bass player's jacket from it didn't
play in the band anymore and that was the last one left and it was like, oh, shit.
It doesn't fit.
Put this eight-year-old in it i think that's kind
(33:20):
of cute sorry tim i interrupted you you were saying something very
profound about insensible oh
about jackets being the pride and yeah i think
i think it's a it's a point that no one else has really mentioned when
you talk about uniforms that like what you're representing when when
you're wearing that uniform and how how you might want to differentiate yourself
so yeah good point nice one yeah love it love it all right and i'm on my phone
(33:47):
so i don't have my i'm just gonna have to remember the questions all right what's
your favorite instrument let's go brass band questionnaire.
What's what's your favorite instrument but you can't say the cornet or the flugel
that counts or the slide trumpet if you had to pick another instrument,
(34:08):
oh that was quick have you ever played a string of the euphonium of the orchestra
as they say yeah that's classic yeah that that saying goes dates back to never.
Well right now all the piano actually i it's very i feel like it's very cliched
(34:30):
to say that I wish I kept playing piano or kept my skills up on piano,
but I really do because you can be the orchestra rather than just a single-line instrument.
Yeah, so there you go, cello and piano, depending on what I was doing.
(34:50):
It could have been Mozart. Mozart played the piano in front of his orchestra, didn't he? He did that.
I watched that movie Amadeus. Has anyone seen that movie? He plays the piano
and the orchestra plays and he like conducts and he nods at them.
Plausible, completely plausible. That's a thing. Yeah. It's a thing.
I feel like I watched that movie and he did that.
(35:11):
So it's like you think you're inventing a new thing, but it's swings and roundabouts, isn't it?
Well, that's right. I mean, that's been happening for centuries. You're like Mozart.
I wouldn't go that far.
Actually, they hadn't invented the piano. Did he play the harpsichord?
Am I being very unforgetting music history?
(35:32):
Welcome to music history. Have you guys not seen them?
Robin, you've seen that movie This is a new segment Music History with Robin
Breaking news I think he did play anyway Alright,
Question for the loyal listeners Piano and the cello Did Mozart play piano?
(35:53):
Yeah No, no, they haven't Invented it That's the question, isn't it?
We'll never find out Yeah.
Sorry. Well, this is why. If we had done the app I was supposed to do,
people could put messages in the app when we were live streaming,
(36:14):
but Tim doesn't like new technology, do you?
We've gone back to our old technology.
Blurred. Well, the app kind of didn't work that well. It's blurred. All right. Okay, fine.
Well, new technology, old technology. Anyway, it would be good if listeners
could call in because we had lots of people listening on our live stream that
didn't work the other week. Apologies to anyone who watched our live stream
(36:34):
that didn't work last week.
I say last week when it was three weeks ago, but that's okay.
People are now no longer expecting us. That didn't work. That was like.
The last thing that didn't work for too long.
I was waiting like for way too long. For it to get good.
Yeah. I think everyone's going to start blaming my internet.
(36:56):
I am in the hills, but I upgraded to the fiber, to the premises,
and they put a new box in my house, but the internet's still dodgy, so I don't know.
Maybe I should complain to the ombudsman. All right.
I'm getting off traffic. traffic topic will
i edit this out i don't know leave it in leave it in this um yeah
(37:16):
this is great oh well we were
going to ask about year of the dragon but you just conducted year
of the dragon it did did willoughby play that yes
it'd be great yeah we did yes yeah our
question was like do you like year of the dragon or
something but you obviously do otherwise you wouldn't have picked it for
your band right yeah i love it it's it's it's
(37:38):
very exciting piece of music even still i think it's one of those that has has
so slowly like it's almost a victim of its own success in a way like army of
the denial yeah just just like
army of the not yeah it's it's phenomenal Phenomenal music, beautiful,
beautiful second movement, energetic, exciting.
(38:02):
And then if you go back and have a listen to Britannia Building Society playing
it when they won at the Europeans, it's fantastic.
It's on another level, like the playing in the band, but also the music and
the excitement and the energy.
It's up there with any test piece that's been written recently.
(38:24):
I agree. 100% agree. Favorite. One of my favorite pieces for sure.
And I love that the West Australian Wind Symphony won A grade on it this year as well.
Oh, in the wind bands? In the wind bands. With the 2019 version?
Or was it the original version? 2017. Was it the core solo or alto solo? Oh, okay.
I like the core. Wait, the core on Glow 2. That's the second one.
(38:47):
I think the trombone. I think the trombone. I mean, they're totally, you know.
Oh, yeah. I think every trombone who's done the bright band version,
who then plays the wind band versions, is sitting there going, aren't they?
Okay. Moving on. You look very tired, Dom. Oh, it's 10 o'clock.
Okay. I'm finally relaxed.
(39:07):
Yeah, you're like. You've relaxed. I'm so tense at the beginning of this interview.
No, yeah. Yeah. It's like being a brass band cast. This is an interrogation.
It is an interrogation. What is something funny that has fallen over or like a big stuff up?
Have you got something, a percussion? Has anyone like dropped their instrument?
(39:29):
Has anyone fallen off a stage or done something silly?
Well, it wasn't funny at the time. but I was actually in the audience for this but I...
I was in Norway for two weeks in 2015 and they were playing a piece called Or
(39:51):
Divi Media Nocte, which Willoughby played a couple of years ago. Great piece.
Another favourite piece. Another favourite piece. Another favourite piece.
Totally. You've got a lot of favourite pieces. Yeah, I do.
One of the musicians who has a standout the front solo, which for those of you
who don't know the piece, listeners, it's very fast.
(40:12):
It's super chromatic you have to play a lot of notes it's about a page of semiquavers
for this particular soloist and this soloist at the Nationals in Norway,
their third valve slide came out and just fell off I don't know they had the
(40:34):
soloist on like a riser out in front of the band yeah right in the pivotal moment,
just fell off clunk then another
clunk they just had to keep playing and quite a few notes ended up being missed
and it was very sad and yeah so you should have run from the audience and like
(41:00):
gone and get it and like put it back in her thing everyone would have just been too stunned.
My jaw literally dropped when i saw it happen because i was like there's no
coming back from So that was intense.
That's a big story. And it's always terrible when you see that happen,
big performance or on stage somewhere and something goes wrong.
(41:21):
Especially if you could like. Hard to watch. Hard to watch. Yeah.
Oh, it'd just be like watching a car crash. Yeah. That was morbid. I'll edit that out.
Wow. Like just a slide falling out.
I could like, I can visualize the notice I had. Has anyone ever had that?
Yeah, because the – like, you know when kids play trombone and they're always,
(41:42):
like, losing their slides and they go sliding off?
I think in Marching Band someone said their slide – like, they lost their slide
all the way down a whole flight of stairs.
But in Marching Band it's a little – like, that's just something you laugh off, I suppose.
Because once the slide's all dinted, it doesn't go back on.
Oh, there's some good ones. Oh, this has been a fantastic podcast,
(42:04):
and I feel like we've really added music in it, which is Music History with Robin.
So please don't forget. Yay!
Loyal listeners. Hey, I went to university and studied music.
Tim and I both went to university and studied music. Did we pay that much attention?
I don't know. Did we? You did.
I probably got pretty good marks. I got really good marks at uni.
(42:25):
I studied pretty hard, but I don't think they talked about Mozart playing the
piano. Yeah. That was definitely in a...
Why are we going back to this thing I don't know much about?
No comment. No comment. Do we have any other questions on the brass band questionnaire?
Not the piano, not the piano.
Oh, I don't think so.
Unless you have a question. Oh, the Stolen. I love the Stolen.
(42:47):
I would like to know the Stolen. What have you got? Dom, do you have anything in your house, Dom?
That belongs to a band that they don't know you have? That should not be in
your house. Is it something that you've held on to?
Your dad's the librarian. There'll be some stuff in his house.
Yeah, does it count if the band doesn't exist anymore?
(43:09):
Yeah, tell us what it is. We'll tell you after you tell us what it is.
St Mary's, when they folded, I have a few little mementos.
From there. Yeah, so just a bucket mint.
(43:30):
And then I can't tell you what Dad's got because it's bigger than a bucket mint. Straight mint.
No, we're not. Yeah. Jimmy.
He's a tenor horn player, so.
Is it a trophy? Join the dog. Yeah. No, it's not a trophy. And then I've also got a tie.
(43:51):
I've got a tie from Brigas and Rastrick band.
Yeah, so they have like a – In the UK, do you get – did they say you could keep
it or were you just – didn't you pack your suitcase and go on a date?
No, they didn't say, and I don't think I even realised until I got home and,
like, unpacked my luggage.
(44:12):
I've also got a piece of music from a contest of theirs that I never gave back.
I'm pretty sure they're looking for it for a bit and then I gave up and then
I found it like years later.
I genuinely didn't think I had it and then I found it and, yeah.
(44:33):
But that librarian, the librarian of Regas just retired, so he won't be on my case anymore.
I can tell that story freely.
You're safe. You're safe. It's the statute of limitation. Is that what it's called?
History of Law with Robin Another new segment I know lots of things,
(44:58):
Oh amazing Alright well It's
getting pretty late let's move on Let's move on to our last segment Which is
what are we doing What's happening next What's our plans for the weeks ahead
Don what are you doing next What's happening next in life What gigs do you have
on We can be more than that I've got some ballet Ballet tomorrow,
(45:23):
And then on Friday I'm recording a bunch of Soundtracks for some films And then
on Saturday I have another recording session And then doing some ballet stuff
Again And then on Sunday I'm in Wollongong Doing a film music concert And then,
So that'll be interesting. And then Monday I've got band. So that'll be great.
(45:48):
Yeah. That's what I'm up to. So not much on it. You're not really up to much,
really. Yes. I do nothing.
Yeah. How about you guys? What is a weekend? Who knows? What are you doing,
Robyn? Yeah, well, I'm going to Sydney. I'm off to Sydney on Friday.
Friday, Friday, Friday, which is in two days because we've got the big rehearsal
(46:09):
weekend for Women in Brass.
Lady Band. Oh, you're doing that? Yeah, I am in doing that, yes.
And then work from home, baby. I'm just going to stay in Sydney that week.
Like, ah, I don't want to go and come back. So we're going to stay in Sydney.
We've got family up there. So we're hanging out there for a week,
bringing the kids, being like missing a week of school, bad parent,
(46:30):
just because I want to go to a brass band thing, but that's all right.
They're ahead. Hey, come to Willoughby on Monday.
You should totally go, Robin, totally.
That's a yes that's a yes.
Can i go to the easy one and not the eighth grade one i'm to have my time in
(46:55):
eighth grade it requires a
lot of fast notes i'll play percussion no you probably got good percussion,
yeah okay i don't know i don't know about me where is willoughby in comparison
to like the The North Shore. It's right next to it. Is that far away?
It's right. You're basically staying at Willoughby Band Room. There you go. Great.
(47:18):
Well, we'll see. Brass Band Tourism. It's two stops on the train line.
Oh, we were going to do that as a thing. Everyone's talking about it. Brass Band Tourism.
Like you go to a town and if their band's on, you have to play in their band rehearsal. Oh.
That's a thing, right? What? It wasn't a thing, but people have said it's a
thing. I don't know. Anyway.
So, yeah, that's pretty big. And then there's like an AGM.
(47:41):
AGMs are exciting for my band. And we've got that like Norwegian National Day
where we eat cake. That's always exciting.
How about you, Tim? What's your next few weeks?
You're coming up to Sydney too, aren't you? Yeah, I'll be in Sydney.
I'm actually going to be in Sydney on Wednesday next week speaking at a conference
about how to stream stuff real good. So, Robin, after you go to Willoughby,
(48:02):
you can come and listen to a conference about Australian stuff for a bit.
Your Sydney week is just sort of. Hey, a conference.
Hey. Well, yes. I do actually have to work while I'm there too,
so a little bit of stuff to do. But, yeah.
Oh, well, that's fun. So, it'll be fun. So, I'm streaming Cows until Sunday,
then I'm streaming other stuff, then Sydney for a conference,
(48:24):
and then back to Sydney for the Women in Brass performance.
Yeah. When you say you're streaming cows, it sounds like the streaming equivalent
of like watching paint dry.
Oh, no, this is exciting stuff.
It's exciting. It's cowboys. It's cowboys. It's cows. This is where it's at. So, yeah.
(48:47):
Anyway, what a week we all have in store for this. That is such a week. All right.
Okay, well, what should our sign-off be this week?
We've got to sing a song to sign off, Robin. Don't forget. yeah well i know
i know but i'm saying what song should we sing i thought we'd gone off off topic
enough that we were going to avoid the singing,
(49:08):
no such it's become a thing we've got
solid bookends to this we've got an intro and an outro
and stuff happens in between an outro that's people like consistency they want
to know what to expect so they know when they can turn off our podcast because
they're bored but they don't want to last week you did a song I didn't know
(49:29):
what song do you know Robin? is it anyone's birthday?
It's going to be a loyal listener's birthday so we should sing happy birthday happy birthday to you.
Music.
Happy birthday happy birthday to you,
happy birthday lovely loyal listener happy birthday dear everyone Everyone,
(49:54):
everyone, happy birthday to you.
Oh, you're too slow.
You. You.
Bye, loyal listeners. Thanks so many happy birthdays. That was awful. Okay, bye.
Hello, loyal listeners. Hello, loyal viewers. Hello, everyone on the internet.
Welcome to the Brass Bandcast, the highly produced, very professional podcast
all about love, life, music, rehearsal, dessert, chocolate, marching, and trumpets.
Robyn, how are you? I am very well. How are you, Tim?
(00:23):
You know what? I think I'm sensational. You're laughing because it's sensational.
I think I'm sensational. It's sensational? Yeah. It took me about 20 minutes
to get set up today, didn't it? It did. We had to start three times.
And this is the best time that we've got it.
Technologically challenged. Exciting. Hey, you didn't miss any great content,
guys, because I couldn't hear anything. I had no sound.
(00:44):
So, but Tim was laughing at me, so it must have been very funny.
I like to think that my- We should have put that in the bloopers.
We should have, but I like to think that my miming skills have really improved
a lot. We sort of made you think that I couldn't hear you at all.
Anyway anyway how great and we've got our special guest but i've told tim he
has to stick to the structure today but our special guest today is dominic longhead.
(01:11):
I'll put on a clapping sound no i won't but it would be great if i could wouldn't it,
yay cheers yay but before we get onto dominic's backstory we have to stick to
our structure so So we're going
to talk about our weeks and what has happened in the last week or two.
Robin. No, Robin, let's start with you. I want to know all about your week. We've had an Anzac Day.
(01:36):
We've had rehearsals. Tell me everything. We've had an Anzac Day. We had rehearsals.
Anzac Day. Did anyone else get up for the dawn service? Did you guys do dawn?
I didn't do dawn. No. No. Did you do dawn? So I normally never do dawn,
but Mikey's band was doing it and he was like, I really want to go.
(01:57):
It's so early. So we went and it was exactly what I thought it would be.
It was very dark and cold and it was nice. It was good.
And the band, they did a big breakfast, so that was fun.
But that was nice and it was his first time marching. He loved marching.
So that's great, isn't it? That was Anzac Day. Anzac Day is fun.
Other than that, we've just been rehearsing, I think.
(02:18):
And how are you, Tim? you did the big match in the city, didn't you?
Yeah, I did the big city march.
So we sort of met at 7am and then I think we formed up at 8.30 or March,
you know, like 9 o'clock or something with the Footscray Aeroval City Band.
And it was pretty fun, but there were only three brass bands marching in the city.
And I was like, oh, that's a bit sad. There were heaps more pipe bands than
brass bands, which was good to see. But it was a good parade.
(02:41):
I think lots of bands are doing their own little things. There's more and more
RSLs that do their own things in their own area.
They used to do it like the weekend before and everyone went to the city,
but I think people are becoming more local.
Is that a thing? I don't know. We should find out.
It sounds good. But it was a good Anzac Day. Yeah. I've been to a couple of
rehearsals and had a nice weekend.
(03:02):
Today I'm up near Batemans Bay filming, like, cowboy stuff.
There's these – okay, here's a mini story. There's this thing called Camp Draft.
Yeah. If you sit on a horse and there's, like, six cows in the pen,
you've got to separate one cow from the rest, then make it run around a figure
eight and across the finish line.
And if you do that the fastest, you can win half a million dollars or something like that.
(03:25):
So I'm streaming four days of that. So people say, oh, Tim, you stream Brass
Bands. That's a bit weird.
It's like, no, I stream stuff that would make you yawn. People do weird things, don't they?
People think we're weird, but that's weird. Everyone's weird.
We all have our things. Everyone needs a hobby, right?
If someone doesn't have a hobby, I'm like, that's a bit sad. You need a hobby.
You need to go and do something that no one else does. Go and chase a cow. Go and chase a cow.
(03:50):
Play in a brass band, play in a pipe band, do something.
What did you play on your street march? 1914? Was it 1914?
We did 1914s and we turned the march card over and did Victorian Rifles as well.
Oh, because it's a long march.
I like a 6-8 march when it goes in 6-8.
(04:11):
It gets a bit like, yeah, I don't know, 1914.
Did all the bands play 1914?
Anyone play Army of the Nile? No one played Army of the Nile.
All three of the bands had marched. So big hello to Hyde Street Youth Band who
marched in Melbourne and Box Hill City who did the march as well.
All right. Well, that's our week. Thank you for sticking to the structure, Tim. I appreciate it.
(04:36):
Hey, but now we get to talk to Dom.
Well, Dom, what was your week like? Hi, Dominic Longhurst. It's been a couple
of weeks, hasn't it? Dominic Longhurst. Hello again.
Yeah. Yeah, it has been a bit of a long come down from Nationals. It always is.
Usually I get some sort of illness. I usually get sick and run down after Nationals.
(05:00):
I don't know about anyone else, But for as long as I've done these,
you know, intense lead-ups, it's like I'm cooked for the next week,
which sucks when you have things to do the next week and you've already taken
all your leave because it was nationals.
No, but it was good. Last week, unfortunately, I wasn't able to partake in any Anzac Day services.
(05:22):
I was in Tasmania. I was working with the Tasmania Symphony Orchestra.
Yes, that was basically my week. and straight back into life in Sydney as a
freelancer, which Tim and I were discussing while you were absent.
Yeah. It's busy. Yeah.
Busy, busy. Saying yes to coming on podcast.
(05:46):
That's why I'm here. How many gigs did you turn down to make yourself available
for the podcast tonight, Dom?
She had zero to tonight. I'm not quite that busy.
We got lucky. That's all right. That's all right. We still appreciate the effort you made.
We do appreciate it. And, Dom, you're currently the conductor of the Willoughby Brass Band.
(06:11):
Band? Yeah. You play the trumpet professionally. Traditionally,
you play the cornet, you're around.
I'd love to know, going right back to the very start, how did you get started
on a brass instrument? And do you remember the first time you played a note?
Yeah, so my dad played the cornet. And growing up, I listened to him,
(06:33):
and I've got photos of me on his lap while he's playing as really a toddler.
And then I think I was first introduced to bands through him,
and he played in Parramatta City Band at the time.
And there's, I think my mum's got some film of me.
They used to do monthly playouts in the local mall and it became a tradition
(06:57):
that the last piece of the playout, I would get up and conduct as a two-year-old.
Really? Because for the whole gig, I'd be sat on the, yeah, I'd be sat on the
drummer's knee throughout the gig.
And then for the last gig, I'd wave a stick And then, you know,
my arm would get tired and I'd look back at mum saying, please get me out of here.
(07:18):
And I know you've got to stay till the end of the piece.
And then on my fourth birthday, I got a slide, a slide trumpet. Slide trumpet? Yeah.
Yeah. And they didn't have plastic ones back then, did they?
It was like a full metal one? No. Yeah.
I've still got it up in my wardrobe there.
(07:40):
But it's funny because, yeah, I wanted to play percussion growing up.
That was all I wanted to do, just drums.
And my parents were like, they refused because they didn't want to be carting
around me with a drum kit to gigs and different things.
So they were very, very forward thinking. thinking
so they gave me a trombone instead which
was my next my next favorite instrument at
(08:02):
the time and then when i was for my eighth birthday
i don't i didn't really play it play the trombone
or the slide trumpet for that long i just kind of picked it up here and there
it was lying around the house for a few years and then i started getting lessons
in year three and on my eighth birthday dad took me along to band that was my
birthday present which i thought was super cool Do you remember much about the first rehearsal?
(08:26):
Do you remember what you played or what it was like going in and sitting down?
Does that vivid memory? Yeah, I do.
It was actually with the Blue Mountains City Band because at that point in my
life, my parents and I had moved up to the Blue Mountains.
So we were preparing for the Nationals in, I believe, Tasmania,
Launceston, maybe 2004.
(08:48):
And it was in C grade. so I sat in on third corner and playing this slide trumpet,
throughout this rehearsal trying to figure out how to play semiquavers on a
slide and I was terrible so they said at the end of the rehearsal alright thanks
for coming and here's a real instrument and they gave me a cornet and that was
(09:10):
kind of it I went home and I think I must have spent two hours a day,
in my room learning how to play the part so that next week I didn't make a fool of myself.
And then I went from Blue Mountains to Holroyd.
Because I think we decided that I needed to be around people my own age.
(09:33):
At that point, I think I was about, you know, nine or ten. And so we went to City of Holroyd Band.
And, yeah, I had a fantastic time there. And that was, like,
a huge part of my development with my years there.
Because I sort of slowly progressed through their C-grade band,
went from second corner to flugelhorn to then principal corner.
(09:55):
It and then I was given opportunities to play in
the A grade band and then from there I
went to I was given an opportunity to
study with Professor David King when I was about
13 and he was working
with St Mary's Band Club Brass at the time who no
longer sadly exist and I
(10:17):
was getting lessons with David but playing in Holroad and then
I was getting so much out of him and the
easiest way for me to do that was just to to join St
Mary's so I I went from Holroyd to
St Mary's and spent the rest of my junior years
there which again was was a phenomenal journey in itself Tim you were you just
(10:38):
started streaming towards the end of St Mary's time and that's where we we met
when I was probably 16 I'd say and you interviewed me went to beat that out yeah.
Yeah child prodigy i remember you were
this like big child prodigy they're like this kid's only like 15 so
(10:59):
did you just you just completely skipped youth bands and do
you reckon that's like part of the secret just going straight to the
big guys or do you reckon
it would be more fun wouldn't go that far but i i had a great set of mentors
in all of the bands that i played in and there was always people that I was
(11:19):
looking up to that really demonstrated not only fantastic musicianship but bandsmanship.
And loyalty, which is ironic given the fact I just said I've played in a whole
bunch of different bands and left them all. No, no, no.
You can play with a number of bands and still be loyal.
(11:42):
Yeah. We know what you mean. You can jump around, got to do what's right for
you in your career progression.
Sean Yao at Holroad was a huge influence on me, one of the most positive people.
And as a player, just a beautiful flugelhorn player.
And I think my sound concept as a young flugel and cornet player was most largely
(12:07):
impacted by him growing up and then David King after that.
But no, I didn't really skip the youth bands so much as there weren't youth bands.
Polaroid was a D-grade band at the time, but it was basically a youth band.
And then they got moved up moved up to
c grade and that i i never felt i never looked
(12:29):
at someone who was so good and thought i'll never
be that good i thought you know it would be great to be that good it's interesting
thing i think we've spoken in the past on that like if you tell if you let like
a young person know that something's tricky or something's hard then they think
that's tricky and that's hard but if you just sort of well this is just music
do you want to do that yes,
(12:50):
I want to do that, have a go, and suddenly they're doing it and playing it,
and I feel like that's almost half of your secret with what's going on with
the Willoughby bands is all these fantastic young musicians coming through who
play at such an incredible level, and it's like, oh, yeah, just do it.
Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. It's a smooth segue, Tim.
(13:13):
We did talk about that, and in particular, I guess, the last two years at Nationals,
the band has performed a piece The B band has performed pieces that would have
otherwise been deemed far too hard for the grades that they were playing in.
Last year's Nationals, we played a piece called The Raid, which was used in
(13:36):
A grade this year, but we were a C grade band.
And they pulled it off really well, and they won.
And I didn't tell them, I specifically didn't tell them it was an A grade piece
until sort of the week before when they'd kind of gotten to grips with it and
took a lot of patience and effort to get it there.
But you're right, if you don't tell anyone it's hard,
(13:58):
hard they don't know and they just do it especially
people who haven't who haven't done banding before
they just think oh well this is the expectation so they
they rise to it more often than
not yeah it's really interesting it really struck me what
you said about having like having different
like a concept of sound and just knowing that that's what you
(14:19):
want it to sound like and thinking yeah i can do that i can i can
sound like that and i wonder do you find like in sort professional circles or
something the way that do people get in their head a bit about what they're
trying to do i think it definitely can can happen the whole paralysis by analysis yeah absolutely.
(14:40):
It's it's it exists and like can't quite remember what the what the question
i don't even know if i don't even know if that was a question i feel like okay
tuber players and arnold jacobs and song and wind and all that stuff i just
i just think that the way that you've gone about stuff with Willoughby and the
way that you have the idea of what people can do and where they can end up,
it's really inspiring and really great.
(15:01):
And sorry, Robyn, if this got all deep and meaningful all of a sudden.
I know this is a light-hearted podcast. I don't even know what you asked either.
We're getting a bit bogged down in it. But anyway, you do an awesome job, Dom.
I love it. Thanks. And then taking two bands, like that's a massive pick-in.
It takes enough of my effort just taking one band. So how did that come about?
(15:24):
Out so you you went you were a child prodigy i'll come back to the child prodigy
because we've got a good story don't we dom we've got a good story from back
in the day have a good story,
we'll come back to our story avoid that time though but so so you obviously
get in very very high and you're playing and then want to get into conducting
and so then you've taken on conducting not one but two did it start as one band
(15:48):
and broke into or did really always have two bands i'm not
quite up with the Sydney bands and what they do and all their stories.
So what's happened there?
Well, it was a bit of an accident how I sort of ended up in the position I'm in.
Basically, my dad plays in Willoughby. He's a turnaround player and he currently
(16:09):
plays in the B-grade band. He's also the librarian.
So when I first moved back from being in the U.K..
Which is where I studied, they had a concert. Willoughby had a concert and they
had just lost a conductor and the concert was in about six weeks and they were lost.
(16:30):
They really didn't know who to get.
And Dad asked me, we were having dinner and Dad's like, hey,
Tom, do you want to take the band?
I was like, I wouldn't know what I was doing. I think I basically,
this is what I said, said I wouldn't know where to start.
And then they said
oh we'll just come along anyway because we don't have a
(16:51):
conductor tonight so can you can you take the band tonight and
i said all right sure i went along to rehearsal we had
five weeks to prepare and i don't think they had any
music or any idea what they were going to be playing
so i had to i said right i'll do the
concert but if we're doing a concert it's
on my terms and you're going
(17:12):
to do what the repertoire i want
us to do to play and they said yep that
sounds great well you know thanks for doing it and so
i pulled out a program that resembled very
much what i was used to in in the uk and it
was a little bit of a shock at first to
the system because they were and at that
(17:34):
time they were an undernourished band they had about
19 regular players and and so
i phoned a few friends got them into to just
play along and we all had a great time albeit it
was there were some scary moments for me and the band and and they said well
would you like to stay and yeah i said well yeah that'd be great and that's
(17:59):
that's kind of the beginning and so then yeah we've we've now got three bands.
Yeah of which i've i take the a and the b grade band we we've actually had too
many players in the a grade band after a little while and and so we had to start
a second band so we put out advertisements and now we have too many players in both bands which is.
(18:25):
It's not a bad problem to have. So, yeah, hence we are starting a third band,
which is a purely junior band.
So we've got now, when I started, I said we had 19 full-time players and now
we have 90, 93 or 94. Wow. That's huge. That's huge.
Yeah. Over how many years? Like how long ago was that that you took your five-week concert?
(18:49):
It well the concert was being about this this
time of the year in 2021 oh we're
still in lockdown melbourne people don't understand like 2021 that was not a
year yeah i think we went into lockdown like the week after that concert so
we then had about eight months of nothing so well so in two Two years,
(19:15):
like really only two good years.
It's gone from 19 to 90 players.
Yeah. That's pretty good. Basically. Yeah. Oh.
Pretty, yeah, I'm very proud of the organisation because it's not just me.
It's like there's a team of people that are supporting that.
(19:35):
You know, I came in with a very clear vision of what I wanted the organisation
to achieve and what I believed it was capable of.
And we're only halfway through my initial musical director's report from that
AGM of where I want the band to be.
Got an action plan. Ooh, action plan. A five-year plan? Four-year plan?
(19:57):
Ten-year plan? Yeah, it was a five-year plan at the time. So,
yeah, it's developing all the way.
What's the end goal? World domination?
World domination. I guess you'll have to wait and see for the next installment.
Spoilers Oh Heferson suspended Oh,
(20:18):
What's he gonna do Go win the The British Opens or something Is that at the end,
Wouldn't that be cool Did what A band Australian band Went to one of them Didn't
they Yeah Well yeah That's probably Yeah Yeah For them That was exciting Wellington went Yeah Yeah.
Excelsior's been Yeah Anyway a couple of bands From
(20:40):
the southern hemisphere Yeah over yeah represent that's
what we want some representation right i don't
know yeah oh well have fun oh that's so exciting good for you is it but so are
they on different nights the two bands is that like your entire life oh no it's
(21:00):
just my entire monday both both bands on a monday six till.
6 to 7.30, which I'm trying to get extended because the B band need more time.
Yeah. Half isn't very long for any band, let alone a B grade band trying to play Year of the Dragon.
Yeah. And then A grade goes from 7.30 to 9.30.
(21:23):
But I try to cut them. I try to give them an early mark whenever possible so
that we can spend more time at the pub together.
Very nice. Very nice. Well, you obviously just had the passion right from a
little kid. because most kids would be like, go and practice your tenor horn or whatever.
They'd be like, no, I want to play on my device or whatever.
Have you ever considered starting a student out on a slide trumpet just to see
(21:46):
if maybe that's the secret to that little bit of handicap but a little bit of fun?
No, I haven't, but you've given me some ideas. So thanks.
Try and play this third quarter. Yeah. I think it's pretty impressive as well
that you were conducting a band aged two,
I think that's pretty fun I'd love to see photos of that Well I've seen some
(22:15):
conductors who I think that's loosely conducting as well.
Oh so fun Do you want me to tell the story because we came on and I'm like hi
Dom Dom's like, yes, we've met.
I said, yes, I know. If we remember. How did you meet?
I'd like to know how you met, please. Tim, I'm sure you might vaguely remember
(22:37):
this story. So there was a year. Do you remember Fab?
Yes. Do you remember Fab? So Fab was this. Right.
It was amazing. It was the best contest. It went for about maybe four or five
years, three, four years. I don't know.
But it was always in the Gold Coast. And so it was at this hotel with this,
like, great pool and spa anyway. Anyway, and so it was like some A grades would
(22:57):
go and it was like a test piece and then entertainment day and it was awesome.
So Burundi, I went a couple of years and I think the first year we got invited, we were so excited.
We all got there and I was actually coming from the airport in a taxi with our
conductor, Danny, we were on the same flight and we pull up in front of the
hotel and our flugel player is standing at the front of the hotel with blood
streaming out of his mouth and this was the day before the like,
(23:21):
yeah, so this is like we're arriving the day before.
Blood streaming out of his mouth and he was like i'm just going home he was like.
Freaky and so they'd been playing in the pool like horsies
you know people on each other's shoulders and someone kicked him in the face
and that person was also a little bit on the poo-poo list from everyone in the
(23:42):
band like why did you kick him in the face anywhere but the face so his bottom
teeth had gone through his lip like he's he couldn't and he was like studying
trumpet too He couldn't play for weeks, the poor guy.
Anyway, so he had like a massive hole in his lip. He couldn't play at all.
And we're like, we're stuck. It's like we're already in Gold Coast and you could
(24:02):
only, the rules were no permits in this contest. You could only play in one band.
But you didn't have to be ready. It was like strange rules. Anyway,
I'm like, well, where the hell are we going to get a flugel player who is in
Brisbane, who is not already playing in another band, who can sight read this
entire test piece on like not rehearsals?
And someone's like, there's this guy here who could probably do it. He just came to watch.
(24:24):
It's this guy called Dom. We're like, okay, he came to play with our band and
sight read the whole thing, whatever test piece it was. I can't remember, but it was like crazy.
And they were like, this kid's 16. And he was like, played all the notes.
And it was fun. And I think Don was like, your band's a bit crazy.
That was back when we were a bit of a party band. We're a bit more serious now, I think. Yeah.
Yeah. I remember being 13.
(24:47):
You're 13? I thought you were 16. I don't know where I got that idea.
Well, you were very young. We were like, oh, we can't even take this kid for
a drink. That was a bit mean, didn't it?
That was the worst part about Fab for me was that I was too young to partake.
Fab would be great. The fund, yeah. I love Fab.
(25:10):
Someone make another Fab. I think we should bring it back. We should bring back Fab Rubbin.
I think the hotel, like, didn't they say we couldn't come back because the parties
were too crazy on the last night?
No. No?
I feel like I've heard that before, but I don't know whether I heard that That actually happened.
(25:33):
Oh, they were good days. they were good times but um
amazing that you could just like rock up to a band and sight read and that you'd
come along to watch and weren't even in a band and just like to be part of it
yeah i was playing i was i was playing in the gala concert yes oh that's right so i was playing in that,
(25:57):
And, yeah, so I borrowed the flugel as well.
It was Josh Rogan who saw me in the bar when they were still serving food.
So I was allowed in. Josh ran into me, and we'd competed against each other
in the solos earlier that year.
And so we were having a chat, and he said, oh, yeah, do you want to play?
(26:20):
And I was like, oh, yeah, all right, might as well.
And fast track, you know, fast track 15 years later, at the end of last year
I was playing in the Auckland Philharmonic with Josh,
which is Josh's orchestra that he is now the Associate Principal Trumpet in.
And so that was, you know, pretty small. It's nice to sit next to another bander in an orchestra.
(26:45):
Absolutely. Yeah. Hi, Josh. Hi, Josh. Great guy.
Oh, but what? Okay, we've got to talk about the big question, Dom.
And this was the amazing thing of you playing at Nationals this year.
The Cornet. It was so exciting. I've got to tell you what. When you did that,
(27:07):
it was the absolute talk.
Everyone's like, I was like, everyone's texting their conductor saying,
all the conductors have to play, I reckon.
You said that should be a rule, didn't you, Tim? Yeah, I think it should be
a rule where in order to really be an agent, Your conductor needs to play a bit as well.
I know. They should have a special competition. You'd probably win for being,
like, the conductor who plays a thing.
(27:30):
It was awesome. No, I swear, it was so exciting. We couldn't stop talking about
it at our thing last week, didn't you, Tim? It was the best. Yeah.
Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm glad you liked it. Thank you.
I thought it sounded great.
Because it's – was it a secret that you were going to do it or did you tell
people or was everyone surprised when you did it on the stage?
(27:50):
I think, well, the court being there. My band knew.
Oh, the band knew. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, my band knew and we were
all in on it, which was...
I guess we were looking forward to the controversy to some degree,
but also not as much as we were looking forward to making music together. Yeah.
(28:12):
So was it a surprise? I think it was a surprise.
I mean, the first hint was me walking on stage, I suppose, with a cornet.
That was the first anyone should have known about it, I suppose.
I didn't actively not tell anyone, but I also just didn't. It doesn't come up
in conversation, I guess, really, would it?
Yeah, not really. I mean, the weekend before, we did a full run through the
(28:37):
program in front of, you know, a couple hundred and 150 people who came and
watched our open rehearsal like on the Sunday before.
So I didn't try to keep it a secret. There were other band members,
like band members from other bands that were present for that. So I don't know.
(28:57):
It was obviously a surprise, though, for some people. so
it was great it was great it just
added another element of entertainment it was amazing that's that's great because
i mean the journey that willoughby's been on i really wanted to try and break
(29:17):
some boundaries i didn't expect to be breaking that boundary but i didn't want it to
just end up being a typical band anymore.
Like, banding needs to move on, move forward and progress.
And if that means trying new things or pushing boundaries in different directions
to see what's good, what works.
(29:38):
And everyone in my bands are all along for the ride and they're enjoying it and coming back.
And I'm glad that people enjoyed the music more than anything and that people
were able to focus on that and not get bogged down in, I don't know,
traditional views of what a contest should be. And I think...
(30:00):
Tim's laughing. Not laughing. I was just thinking I sit and listen to that much
stuff and I just love listening to things that sound good.
And it sounded really good, so it must be.
Glad you enjoyed it. Wow. No. Wait, I have one other question.
And I wondered if this is like all the guys, you had like a bit of a V-neck
thing going on in your uniform.
(30:22):
Was that, did you all do that on purpose?
You know, like the top, because you don't have a tie, right? I don't know.
I thought I noticed a bit of a V-neck. It's like who has the most little bit
of hint of chest hair? I don't know.
You're going for a bit of a distinct look there, I think, with the shirts, no ties.
(30:42):
Yeah, there's a story behind that.
We don't have enough uniforms for the amount of band members that we have.
And the supplier of our normal Moraine shirts, they folded, and so now we can't get our shirts anymore.
So it's really, it's not quite as saucy as, as you make it out.
(31:04):
It was merely just, we didn't have enough uniforms.
So it's like, right. Everyone wear black.
Okay. And no ties in there. The open neck, the open collar look, breaking boundaries.
That wasn't, that wasn't one where I realized we were breaking.
Well, someone must have done it. Everyone went, Ooh, we're going to wear all
(31:24):
wear our shirts like that too.
Normally do up the top button, but it's like, no, No, you've got to have a little bit of freedom.
Yeah. It's so important to feel comfortable on stage. Got to feel comfy on stage. That's right.
Yeah, that's right. Absolutely true. Well, maybe we've segued into our uniform discussion.
(31:45):
Wait, so do you like a jacket, Dom?
I actually really like the British. No, I love it. I love the British style jackets.
I mean, yeah, it's what I'm used to now.
So at first I was like, oh, this is such a pain having to, you know,
put this on all the time and it's hot and it stinks and whatever else.
(32:09):
But then, I don't know, there's something about
putting on a jacket that you feel like really
proud to wear and that hugging
sensation that it gives you as well it's
almost like a comfort in itself i feel very
plain wearing all black you don't feel that
sense of pride like you're representing something as as opposed to like brigats
(32:33):
and rastrix uniform which was purple and gold and very striking and distinctive
and has a lot of history associated with it i think it's a really You would
have been a little kid in oversized jackets, wouldn't you?
Would you have had like when you were small, would they have not had a jacket
small enough for you? You'll have some cute photos.
I'd like a new oversized jacket. Howard has a nice jacket and I've got,
(32:58):
you know, yeah, photos of those jackets swimming on me.
And same as the Blue Mountains jackets as well.
Just like, I don't know, I got some B-flat bass player's jacket from it didn't
play in the band anymore and that was the last one left and it was like, oh, shit.
It doesn't fit.
Put this eight-year-old in it i think that's kind
(33:20):
of cute sorry tim i interrupted you you were saying something very
profound about insensible oh
about jackets being the pride and yeah i think
i think it's a it's a point that no one else has really mentioned when
you talk about uniforms that like what you're representing when when
you're wearing that uniform and how how you might want to differentiate yourself
so yeah good point nice one yeah love it love it all right and i'm on my phone
(33:47):
so i don't have my i'm just gonna have to remember the questions all right what's
your favorite instrument let's go brass band questionnaire.
What's what's your favorite instrument but you can't say the cornet or the flugel
that counts or the slide trumpet if you had to pick another instrument,
(34:08):
oh that was quick have you ever played a string of the euphonium of the orchestra
as they say yeah that's classic yeah that that saying goes dates back to never.
Well right now all the piano actually i it's very i feel like it's very cliched
(34:30):
to say that I wish I kept playing piano or kept my skills up on piano,
but I really do because you can be the orchestra rather than just a single-line instrument.
Yeah, so there you go, cello and piano, depending on what I was doing.
(34:50):
It could have been Mozart. Mozart played the piano in front of his orchestra, didn't he? He did that.
I watched that movie Amadeus. Has anyone seen that movie? He plays the piano
and the orchestra plays and he like conducts and he nods at them.
Plausible, completely plausible. That's a thing. Yeah. It's a thing.
I feel like I watched that movie and he did that.
(35:11):
So it's like you think you're inventing a new thing, but it's swings and roundabouts, isn't it?
Well, that's right. I mean, that's been happening for centuries. You're like Mozart.
I wouldn't go that far.
Actually, they hadn't invented the piano. Did he play the harpsichord?
Am I being very unforgetting music history?
(35:32):
Welcome to music history. Have you guys not seen them?
Robin, you've seen that movie This is a new segment Music History with Robin
Breaking news I think he did play anyway Alright,
Question for the loyal listeners Piano and the cello Did Mozart play piano?
(35:53):
Yeah No, no, they haven't Invented it That's the question, isn't it?
We'll never find out Yeah.
Sorry. Well, this is why. If we had done the app I was supposed to do,
people could put messages in the app when we were live streaming,
(36:14):
but Tim doesn't like new technology, do you?
We've gone back to our old technology.
Blurred. Well, the app kind of didn't work that well. It's blurred. All right. Okay, fine.
Well, new technology, old technology. Anyway, it would be good if listeners
could call in because we had lots of people listening on our live stream that
didn't work the other week. Apologies to anyone who watched our live stream
(36:34):
that didn't work last week.
I say last week when it was three weeks ago, but that's okay.
People are now no longer expecting us. That didn't work. That was like.
The last thing that didn't work for too long.
I was waiting like for way too long. For it to get good.
Yeah. I think everyone's going to start blaming my internet.
(36:56):
I am in the hills, but I upgraded to the fiber, to the premises,
and they put a new box in my house, but the internet's still dodgy, so I don't know.
Maybe I should complain to the ombudsman. All right.
I'm getting off traffic. traffic topic will
i edit this out i don't know leave it in leave it in this um yeah
(37:16):
this is great oh well we were
going to ask about year of the dragon but you just conducted year
of the dragon it did did willoughby play that yes
it'd be great yeah we did yes yeah our
question was like do you like year of the dragon or
something but you obviously do otherwise you wouldn't have picked it for
your band right yeah i love it it's it's it's
(37:38):
very exciting piece of music even still i think it's one of those that has has
so slowly like it's almost a victim of its own success in a way like army of
the denial yeah just just like
army of the not yeah it's it's phenomenal Phenomenal music, beautiful,
beautiful second movement, energetic, exciting.
(38:02):
And then if you go back and have a listen to Britannia Building Society playing
it when they won at the Europeans, it's fantastic.
It's on another level, like the playing in the band, but also the music and
the excitement and the energy.
It's up there with any test piece that's been written recently.
(38:24):
I agree. 100% agree. Favorite. One of my favorite pieces for sure.
And I love that the West Australian Wind Symphony won A grade on it this year as well.
Oh, in the wind bands? In the wind bands. With the 2019 version?
Or was it the original version? 2017. Was it the core solo or alto solo? Oh, okay.
I like the core. Wait, the core on Glow 2. That's the second one.
(38:47):
I think the trombone. I think the trombone. I mean, they're totally, you know.
Oh, yeah. I think every trombone who's done the bright band version,
who then plays the wind band versions, is sitting there going, aren't they?
Okay. Moving on. You look very tired, Dom. Oh, it's 10 o'clock.
Okay. I'm finally relaxed.
(39:07):
Yeah, you're like. You've relaxed. I'm so tense at the beginning of this interview.
No, yeah. Yeah. It's like being a brass band cast. This is an interrogation.
It is an interrogation. What is something funny that has fallen over or like a big stuff up?
Have you got something, a percussion? Has anyone like dropped their instrument?
(39:29):
Has anyone fallen off a stage or done something silly?
Well, it wasn't funny at the time. but I was actually in the audience for this but I...
I was in Norway for two weeks in 2015 and they were playing a piece called Or
(39:51):
Divi Media Nocte, which Willoughby played a couple of years ago. Great piece.
Another favourite piece. Another favourite piece. Another favourite piece.
Totally. You've got a lot of favourite pieces. Yeah, I do.
One of the musicians who has a standout the front solo, which for those of you
who don't know the piece, listeners, it's very fast.
(40:12):
It's super chromatic you have to play a lot of notes it's about a page of semiquavers
for this particular soloist and this soloist at the Nationals in Norway,
their third valve slide came out and just fell off I don't know they had the
(40:34):
soloist on like a riser out in front of the band yeah right in the pivotal moment,
just fell off clunk then another
clunk they just had to keep playing and quite a few notes ended up being missed
and it was very sad and yeah so you should have run from the audience and like
(41:00):
gone and get it and like put it back in her thing everyone would have just been too stunned.
My jaw literally dropped when i saw it happen because i was like there's no
coming back from So that was intense.
That's a big story. And it's always terrible when you see that happen,
big performance or on stage somewhere and something goes wrong.
(41:21):
Especially if you could like. Hard to watch. Hard to watch. Yeah.
Oh, it'd just be like watching a car crash. Yeah. That was morbid. I'll edit that out.
Wow. Like just a slide falling out.
I could like, I can visualize the notice I had. Has anyone ever had that?
Yeah, because the – like, you know when kids play trombone and they're always,
(41:42):
like, losing their slides and they go sliding off?
I think in Marching Band someone said their slide – like, they lost their slide
all the way down a whole flight of stairs.
But in Marching Band it's a little – like, that's just something you laugh off, I suppose.
Because once the slide's all dinted, it doesn't go back on.
Oh, there's some good ones. Oh, this has been a fantastic podcast,
(42:04):
and I feel like we've really added music in it, which is Music History with Robin.
So please don't forget. Yay!
Loyal listeners. Hey, I went to university and studied music.
Tim and I both went to university and studied music. Did we pay that much attention?
I don't know. Did we? You did.
I probably got pretty good marks. I got really good marks at uni.
(42:25):
I studied pretty hard, but I don't think they talked about Mozart playing the
piano. Yeah. That was definitely in a...
Why are we going back to this thing I don't know much about?
No comment. No comment. Do we have any other questions on the brass band questionnaire?
Not the piano, not the piano.
Oh, I don't think so.
Unless you have a question. Oh, the Stolen. I love the Stolen.
(42:47):
I would like to know the Stolen. What have you got? Dom, do you have anything in your house, Dom?
That belongs to a band that they don't know you have? That should not be in
your house. Is it something that you've held on to?
Your dad's the librarian. There'll be some stuff in his house.
Yeah, does it count if the band doesn't exist anymore?
(43:09):
Yeah, tell us what it is. We'll tell you after you tell us what it is.
St Mary's, when they folded, I have a few little mementos.
From there. Yeah, so just a bucket mint.
(43:30):
And then I can't tell you what Dad's got because it's bigger than a bucket mint. Straight mint.
No, we're not. Yeah. Jimmy.
He's a tenor horn player, so.
Is it a trophy? Join the dog. Yeah. No, it's not a trophy. And then I've also got a tie.
(43:51):
I've got a tie from Brigas and Rastrick band.
Yeah, so they have like a – In the UK, do you get – did they say you could keep
it or were you just – didn't you pack your suitcase and go on a date?
No, they didn't say, and I don't think I even realised until I got home and,
like, unpacked my luggage.
(44:12):
I've also got a piece of music from a contest of theirs that I never gave back.
I'm pretty sure they're looking for it for a bit and then I gave up and then
I found it like years later.
I genuinely didn't think I had it and then I found it and, yeah.
(44:33):
But that librarian, the librarian of Regas just retired, so he won't be on my case anymore.
I can tell that story freely.
You're safe. You're safe. It's the statute of limitation. Is that what it's called?
History of Law with Robin Another new segment I know lots of things,
(44:58):
Oh amazing Alright well It's
getting pretty late let's move on Let's move on to our last segment Which is
what are we doing What's happening next What's our plans for the weeks ahead
Don what are you doing next What's happening next in life What gigs do you have
on We can be more than that I've got some ballet Ballet tomorrow,
(45:23):
And then on Friday I'm recording a bunch of Soundtracks for some films And then
on Saturday I have another recording session And then doing some ballet stuff
Again And then on Sunday I'm in Wollongong Doing a film music concert And then,
So that'll be interesting. And then Monday I've got band. So that'll be great.
(45:48):
Yeah. That's what I'm up to. So not much on it. You're not really up to much,
really. Yes. I do nothing.
Yeah. How about you guys? What is a weekend? Who knows? What are you doing,
Robyn? Yeah, well, I'm going to Sydney. I'm off to Sydney on Friday.
Friday, Friday, Friday, which is in two days because we've got the big rehearsal
(46:09):
weekend for Women in Brass.
Lady Band. Oh, you're doing that? Yeah, I am in doing that, yes.
And then work from home, baby. I'm just going to stay in Sydney that week.
Like, ah, I don't want to go and come back. So we're going to stay in Sydney.
We've got family up there. So we're hanging out there for a week,
bringing the kids, being like missing a week of school, bad parent,
(46:30):
just because I want to go to a brass band thing, but that's all right.
They're ahead. Hey, come to Willoughby on Monday.
You should totally go, Robin, totally.
That's a yes that's a yes.
Can i go to the easy one and not the eighth grade one i'm to have my time in
(46:55):
eighth grade it requires a
lot of fast notes i'll play percussion no you probably got good percussion,
yeah okay i don't know i don't know about me where is willoughby in comparison
to like the The North Shore. It's right next to it. Is that far away?
It's right. You're basically staying at Willoughby Band Room. There you go. Great.
(47:18):
Well, we'll see. Brass Band Tourism. It's two stops on the train line.
Oh, we were going to do that as a thing. Everyone's talking about it. Brass Band Tourism.
Like you go to a town and if their band's on, you have to play in their band rehearsal. Oh.
That's a thing, right? What? It wasn't a thing, but people have said it's a
thing. I don't know. Anyway.
So, yeah, that's pretty big. And then there's like an AGM.
(47:41):
AGMs are exciting for my band. And we've got that like Norwegian National Day
where we eat cake. That's always exciting.
How about you, Tim? What's your next few weeks?
You're coming up to Sydney too, aren't you? Yeah, I'll be in Sydney.
I'm actually going to be in Sydney on Wednesday next week speaking at a conference
about how to stream stuff real good. So, Robin, after you go to Willoughby,
(48:02):
you can come and listen to a conference about Australian stuff for a bit.
Your Sydney week is just sort of. Hey, a conference.
Hey. Well, yes. I do actually have to work while I'm there too,
so a little bit of stuff to do. But, yeah.
Oh, well, that's fun. So, it'll be fun. So, I'm streaming Cows until Sunday,
then I'm streaming other stuff, then Sydney for a conference,
(48:24):
and then back to Sydney for the Women in Brass performance.
Yeah. When you say you're streaming cows, it sounds like the streaming equivalent
of like watching paint dry.
Oh, no, this is exciting stuff.
It's exciting. It's cowboys. It's cowboys. It's cows. This is where it's at. So, yeah.
(48:47):
Anyway, what a week we all have in store for this. That is such a week. All right.
Okay, well, what should our sign-off be this week?
We've got to sing a song to sign off, Robin. Don't forget. yeah well i know
i know but i'm saying what song should we sing i thought we'd gone off off topic
enough that we were going to avoid the singing,
(49:08):
no such it's become a thing we've got
solid bookends to this we've got an intro and an outro
and stuff happens in between an outro that's people like consistency they want
to know what to expect so they know when they can turn off our podcast because
they're bored but they don't want to last week you did a song I didn't know
(49:29):
what song do you know Robin? is it anyone's birthday?
It's going to be a loyal listener's birthday so we should sing happy birthday happy birthday to you.
Music.
Happy birthday happy birthday to you,
happy birthday lovely loyal listener happy birthday dear everyone Everyone,
(49:54):
everyone, happy birthday to you.
Oh, you're too slow.
You. You.
Bye, loyal listeners. Thanks so many happy birthdays. That was awful. Okay, bye.
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