Welcome to Story Time with the Contrabass Conversations podcast! This new venture was inspired by the great podcast Digital Flotsam (along with a healthy dose of This American Life), and it features me narrating my story about fitting basses in cabs, along with topical songs, sound effects, and more.
Category: Interview Guests
CBC 43: Michael Hovnanian interview part 3 and music from Mark Sonksen
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features the conclusion of our interview with double bassist Michael Hovnanian. Click here to listen to Michael’s previous episodes (CBC 24 and 29). Michael has been a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1989, and he serves as the president of Discordia Music (double bass music publisher). Michael also… Continue reading CBC 43: Michael Hovnanian interview part 3 and music from Mark Sonksen
CBC 42: Ranaan Meyer interview 2 and music from Time for Three
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode concludes our chat with Time for Three bassist Ranaan Meyer. CBC guest and co-host John Grillo joins us in this interview, and the three of us had a very engaging conversation. You can check out the first part of our interview plus CBC video episodes featuring Ranaan on his Contrabass… Continue reading CBC 42: Ranaan Meyer interview 2 and music from Time for Three
CBC 41: Orchestral Excerpts Breakdown with John Grillo
This week’s Contrabass Conversations episode features an in-depth analysis of the double bass orchestral excerpts most commonly requested at auditions. Double bassist (and regular Contrabass Conversations guest and co-host) John Grillo discusses each of these excerpts–stylistic considerations, differences in articulation and bow strokes, and suggestions for effectively learning them–and then performs them. I believe that… Continue reading CBC 41: Orchestral Excerpts Breakdown with John Grillo
CBC 40: Donovan Stokes interview and music
This week’s podcast features an interview with double bass performer, composer, and teacher Donovan Stokes. We featured music from Donovan on episode 13 of the podcast, and it’s a pleasure to feature this great musician again. Gadaha, the album that we feature this week, was recorded with no overdubs whatsoever, which is amazing considering the… Continue reading CBC 40: Donovan Stokes interview and music