#83 Ian Hale- Percussionist & Educator for Calgary Stampede, Spirit of America & More!
This week's guest is Ian Hale who is a great percussionist, but also a phenomenal educator with programs like the Calgary Stampede, Spirit of America, Carolina Crown, The Boston Crusaders and so many more groups.
Thanks to Diane Downs for writing in and hipping us to the fact that Dani Markham not only is an alumnus of the Louisville Leopards Percussionists, but also goes back and helps teach them. Diane was kind enough to send over a couple videos for people to check out of Dani's handiwork.
The Bronx Salsa Fest is going on for the month of Aug. You can see the full line up of concerts and if there is an admission price (most of the concerts are free).
Damon is still on tour with Charlie Hunter. You can see the tour dates here......
Marcos is going to be playing with Mitch Frohman on Aug 2 at 125th st and Adam Clayton Powell blvd at 7pm, in front of the State Office Building. Then Sunday Aug 5, Marcos will be playing with the Birdland Latin Jazz Orchestra, led by David DeJesus in NYC at 8pm.
The iconic recording this week is: GRUPO FOLKLORICO Y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO ALBUM CONCEPTS IN UNITY. Marc Quinones was able to track down the credits for us with regard as to who is on the album.
This week's product review is the new incarnation of Roland's Go: Mixer Pro. Roland’s GO:MIXER PRO is the easiest way for content creators to connect and mix up to nine audio inputs, including pro-quality powered microphones, guitar/bass and line-level gear. Just plug in, set the volume levels and go; the resulting stereo audio output is sent straight to your smartphone, ready for uploading and sharing and so much more!
Here are some other tips from Taylor Swift's former manager, Rick Barker, to help you make money off of using Facebook Live (can also be applied to Instagram Live).
Onto Music News.....
You can now Submit a song directly for Spotify playlist consideration. If you want to dig deeper with understanding Spotify Playlists, one of the authorities on that, Charles Alexander (he started a company to help musicians succeed in the world of streaming), also wrote an in-depth document. You can read that PDF HERE. Damon mentions Chris Robley, who curates the CD Baby DIY Musician Blog and Ari Herstand, who curates the blog, Ari's Take.
Sending prayers and positive energy to Demi Lovato and her struggles with substance abuse and the road back to sobriety. Jay-Z and Mayor Kenney of Philadelphia have a private meeting after a dispute with whether or not the Made in America festival would be back for Labor Day weekend.
The Music Modernization Act was on its way to being passed and then SESAC got in the way and started messing things up. Just last week, public performance rights organization SESAC raised serious concerns about the MMA, threatening to derail the bill. After musicians spoke up about how they were against what SESAC was proposing, SESAC didn't back down. One of the Senators in the way is everyone's overly religious, backwards thinking uncle Ted Cruz. The other company in the mix set to make things better for themselves as opposed to the musicians they are supposed to be supporting is the Harry Fox Agency. If anyone has tried to get the money they are owed for work they've completed from the HFA, they know its like trying to ride a bike with square wheels. Fortunately, SONA (Songwriters of North America) have been leading the charge with trying to get the MMA passed benefiting songwriters, without any ridiculous additions proposed by SESAC or the HFA. Below are some images that make it easy to understand what is happening........
The song leading into Ian's interview is: Concerto for Percussion by Lindsay E. Stetner, Percussion Solo by Ian Hale.
Ian got his start playing percussion and taking lessons from Gordon Chadney once his family moved from Toronto to Calgary. Some of the George Hamilton Green rags for percussion and ensemble can be found HERE. The Steel Pan ensemble can be a little confusing. Here is the layout of what instruments are involved (aside from drumset and hand percussion).
Before attending the University of Calgary, Ian played ice hockey and was a fan of the Calgary Flames (shoutout to Miika Kiprusoff). He participated in another group which he eventually went on to teach and it is "unoffically" called the Bands of Calgary. The official title is the Calgary Stampede with different levels/age groups. The Calgary Roundup Band (middle school), The Calgary Stetson Showband (high school), and the Calgary Stampede Showband.
World Association for Marching Showbands is one of the places that they compete.
Ian started his drum corps career with the Allegiance Elite corps, which is an open class Drum Corps. before moving to the Crossmen.
Ian got his master's degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Ian brings up the check patterns that were necessary to be able to execute the music written for the percussion section of the Crossmen.
After aging out of drum corps, Ian spent time in Banff at the Centre for the Arts.
This was one of the pieces Ian worked on while out at Banff....
One of the Artists in residence that Ian got to perform with at Banff was the legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff who recently wrote an autobiograpy called "Sex, Drums, Rock 'N Roll".
Not only did Ian study with Thom Hannum at Umass, but also with Eduardo Leandro.
This is the Carolina Crown show that Ian taught where they won a DCI Championship.
Ian is also involved with being a staff member for the Spirit of America music ensembles as well as the Spirit Winter Percussion. They also host a Day of Percussion and this past year they had Danny Seraphine, Heidi Joubert, Scott Johnson and more!
Ian is from Canada, so he has had to apply for Educational Visas to study in the USA, and then moving to get a Green Card/Permanent Residence Certificate.
Michi IS by Keiko Abe and here is a performance of it on marimba.
Ian spent some time during spring training to help out the Boston Crusaders front ensemble and their show.
Here's a video of the late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack!
Ian uses Pearl Drums, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Remo Drum Heads and Zildjian Cymbals.
Ian has a mild case of sleep apnea and here's more info on what that is. The book Damon confuses with Thom Hannum's check pattern book is the Louie Bellson Modern Reading in 4/4 Text.
If you'd like to reach out to Ian, you can hale_ian50@hotmail.com, Facebook, or Instagram.
