**** Producer's Note: The following is a general transcript of LCC Connect's weekly radio program. Contents include but may not be limited to podcasts, program imaging, announcements, and PSAs. More detailed and accurate transcripts of the podcast episodes featured in this broadcast can be found at LCCconnect.com or by following the links provided in the show notes of this episode. ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Now Spinning, the official podcast of the Lansing Community College Vinyl Record Club. We meet twice a month to listen to vinyl and talk about music. Stay tuned to learn about how you can get in touch with us and attend our meetings. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to a very special episode of Now Spinning.

With me today, I have Leo Ackerman, Jacob Zachvik.

Welcome back, Leo. It's been like a couple podcast episodes since you've been on.

They tried to lock me away, you know, they tried to put me away. I can't. I keep coming back.

Can't get rid of you.

Who's talking right now? I'm not sure. I'm a little uncertain who just said that.

Oh, yeah. I'm also Simon Medina, as far as we're aware. We'll look into that.

I couldn't let it slide.

You can't. You got to do it for me. I can't.

If I got to say my name, you got to say your name.

That's the law. Yeah.

Leo, big stuff been happening for you.

Very big stuff, Very cool, interesting things. I am now currently working at impact@msu. Go listen to impact.fm not to tell you what to do, but you know, the.

It's a recommendation.

You take one thing from this episode. Do that.

All right. I like it. Very good.

And we're. Today, of course, we are going to be talking about, you know, the music of today, what we've been listening to lately, and what we think the album of the year is. I think it's late enough in the year where we can get away with doing this episode. Unless something drops.

You say?

Big drops in December, next 30 days.

Melody's echo Chamber is literally got an album coming out on Friday.

Well, you know what? We'll come back and do another episode if you change your mind.

Also, no Effects has an album coming out on Friday, but I'm willing to bet that's not gonna be album of the year. I love no Effects, but let's be.

Honest, I think we should probably just jump right into it then. Leo, you have an album for us today?

I do. All right. Goody hooray. All right, so earlier this year, and this is a strange start, my partner and I decided on a whim to listen to the new Justin Bieber record, Swag.

Okay.

The one where he has, like, Drew Ski patting his back throughout it, and he's like, yeah, Justin Bieber, you're so sick and you're so cool.

Regardless, he's just being a hype man.

Yeah.

He was like, flava Flav style. Hype man, he was being.

I don't even know if hype Man's the right word, because Drew Ski on the record was a very, like. I don't want to say reserved presence, but, like, he was very chilled out. He was like, yeah, Justin, he's so cool.

I mean, yeah, yeah.

I mean, that's hype in a sense of the word.

It's.

We'll say it's swag as Justin Bieber intended. And listening to that record, I wasn't huge on it. I'm not a huge Justin Bieber person. To each their own. But I really liked the production on it. I thought it sounded fantastic. And I was wondering, okay, who's putting Justin Bieber over top? These instrumentals. I look into the, like, the details of the record, like the liner notes, people who worked on it. These two guys named Dijon and McGee. McGee is this. I don't know what you would classify him as. I think I would just call him an R and B artist. Crazy good at guitar. I've never heard anyone like him, but I hadn't heard of Dijon. So I do a little bit of sleuthing and I find out that a record of his baby is coming out in a few days, a week or whatever. Tap into that. It is some of the most colorful, explosive, expressive R and B I've heard in years. I mean, it takes a lot of notes from. Well, first off, Prince. Gotta mention that first, there's a lot of Prince influence on this stuff. Whether it be from the eclectic production to the vocal style. Vocal style especially. I mean, he's really doing a lot of Prince stuff on the song Rewind on Another Baby, I think is the second song. Just a whole lot of Prince influence, whether it be from the melodies, the harmonies, the arrangements, whole lot of Prince there next step. I think there's a lot of influence from like late aughts, early tens, glitch pop stuff. People like Clarence, Clarity, Jai Paul. And I'm not gonna say Animal Collective is a direct influence, but I think with how nasty some of the sounds get and how jarring a lot of.

The production, it's very experimental. That was my. My biggest takeaway when I listened to it was just how experimental it felt to me. I didn't really connect with this one. I don't really know what it was, but, you know, it's fine. It's pretty good. But, yeah, just like listening like, dude, I've never heard somebody do that before. And that really, like, okay, I could get where Somebody that's more into, you know, these genres might really be like, wow, this is something really brand spanking new.

You know, it's just when you compare Dijon with the current field of RB artists, like, say, someone like a Summer Walker, or, like, we'll say it, Chris Brown, someone like that. Compare him to those. He's in a completely different world. Yeah, completely different world. And his stuff sounds so much more alive and emotional. Like, there's so much.

Even the core of it, even the slow songs are pretty high energy.

It's just so inviting while still being unabashedly very eclectic and unique. Dijon doesn't compromise what he wants his record to sound like for the listener. He's just like, hey, if you like this stuff, you are welcome. Come listen to me sing about being a dad and, like, loving my wife and stuff.

I'm willing to bet that if a, you know, music company executive, whatever, heard this, they'd be like, ah, this isn't gonna sell. Do not support this guy. Whatever, you know. But that's very cool that he wasn't scared of that and did make the album he wanted to make, you know.

And interesting thing I noticed was actually two things. You're a production guy, you like recording stuff a bit.

A bit. I certainly wouldn't claim to be a production guy, but I know. I know a thing or two.

Dijon's recording technique is super interesting. Cause I think for most of his songs, he just has a room mic placed in the center of the room, omnidirectional, picking up every single sound in the room. And you can hear him walking around and, like, screaming, like, turning his head and screaming towards the wall instead of at the microphone. You can hear, like, it almost feels like a live record at points. Like, it's obviously not because it's so meticulous and it's so thoroughly planned out, but the energy he has, the energy he and McGee have. I don't want to downplay his contributions. I think he's an incredible instrumentalist and he adds a lot to the record. What they're able to accomplish on this record, I think is, like, nothing short of. I'll say. Marvelous. That's a nice word.

Yeah, that's a good one.

Yeah. I'm pretty head over heels for this record. Very, very excited to see where he goes from here.

Definitely.

That's.

I think I got a couple more things to say, I guess, or questions to ask. So you kind of mentioned earlier where he was pulling some of this influence, you think, from, like, the early 2010s and such. And I was kind of thinking when I listened to it too, that it kind of reminds me of, like, sleaze. And this plays into the other thing you're saying, but, like, way less clean. And like, most people don't consider sleaze clean, but like, a lot of those bands, their production is technically quite clean because, like, a lot of it doesn't line up in a way that makes sense otherwise, you know. But this one, it's like there's a lot of the, like, shouty vocals occasionally and that, like just high energy bits that just hit really hard and. And that's kind of what I'm thinking of, you know, that makes me make that comparison. But yeah, I was just wondering, were you catching any of that, or am I just pulling my own musical interests into it and finding the connections?

Now, when you say sleaze, are you referring to a specific artist called sleaze or indie sleaze?

Yeah, like indie sleaze. You know what I mean? I was thinking of, like another band that had a new album this year. Like, ok, go. There's a lot of bits where it's like very singy and then all of a sudden it's very shouty in the same song, you know what I mean? And there's other, you know, like Tegan and Sarah do it too. And that's like. That's very far removed from Dijon, you know what I mean? It was just something I kind of caught. And that's when you said it, like, oh, these. He's clearly got these influences from this time period. I was like, oh, yeah, you know what? Maybe I'm hearing that. But like I said, I. Maybe I'm connecting it more to the artists from that period that I listen to the most, you know.

Yeah, totally.

But interesting one, it's like I said, experimental. Very interesting album.

Big thumbs up.

Big thumbs up to Dijon.

Thumbs up.

It's very good. I quite enjoyed it. But rolling along, my album I wanted to bring today is one that anybody who's listened to this podcast at all for over the last year probably saw coming. I've talked about this band at length. Their previous album, 3D Country, I talked about that one quite a bit here. I don't think I talked about the whole album. But still, of course, today I'm gonna talk about Getting Killed by Geese, which is an incredible album title and a horrifying mental image. This band has kind of taken the whole indie scene by storm since the last time we've talked about Them specifically because of this album and, like, just how incredible it is.

Yeah. I believe we talked about this in. Yeah, we have to have talked about this in, like, 2024.

No. Yeah, we were talking a little bit.

It should have been on the bingo.

Card by now, probably.

If you're.

If you're still playing the. If you're still playing the now spinning bingo, then you should be adding Geese to the bingo card, because it comes up a lot.

There have been a lot going to get worse. Lot of updates with them, though. I think a big difference in their visibility was actually Cameron's solo record.

Yes. Yeah.

I'm not sure how much we've discussed that here, but I think it's definitely worth mentioning.

Definitely. I was gonna bring it up, actually, in, like, talking about the sound of this album, but like you said, Cameron Winter, his solo success has definitely brought in, like, a whole new audience to Geese. I think also in the way that, like, it's kind of combining the two audiences from, like, the. Both the solo material and the band material. It's also kind of combining a little bit of, like, the sound of heavy metal, the album with, like, the old, like, 3D country sound. Because this is something very different from anything I've heard before, this band. You ask, like, any person who's listened to them and they'll tell you they sound like a different band. I feel like I've heard people say that they sound like. Was it like Radiohead? The Strokes? I've made a list of people. Things people said in order of, like, what makes the most sense to the least sense. Like somebody said Miles Davis. Some, like, the funk period, like the early 70s, kind of. Maybe somebody. Maybe a little tiny bit somebody said the Beatles. I don't really know where that was coming from, but, you know, people say a lot of things.

There's so much experimentality.

Yeah.

If that's a word. There's so much experimentality to the Beatles that I think it's very easy to draw that.

Yeah, you can compare them to, you know, anything.

It's like the Beatles basically invented what the modern band is. So when a modern band is a modern band, they're like the Beatles. But I don't think that's a bad comparison.

No, there's even.

There's even instrument stylings that are very similar to, like, how the Beatles comparisons I got are.

What I'm trying to get at, though, is, like, all the comparisons kind of add up. They're all very good comparisons. They all add up towards this being just something completely Different. Nobody can really pin down if they're trying to pastiche or anything. Like I said about 3D country when I talked about it a while back, that, like, you can feel their influences on that album, but, like, there's no single one of them that's, like, dominating the sound. And this one especially, I feel like you can hear a lot more diverse influences, but, like, this is even more unique in what it's doing than 3D country was.

I think in 3D country or on 3D country, rather. I don't think Cameron had fully found himself as a vocalist yet. And that's not to say his performance on the record is at all bad. I mean, he's always been a very, very expressive vocalist, ever since the Projector days. But I really think that he. On his solo record, he found himself. He found how he wanted to sound. And on this record, it's like he's in a different form.

Definitely.

He isn't trying to play some wacky character like he is on 212 2. He isn't trying to do something kind of mopey like he is on the Closer. He is fully and unabashedly just Cameron Winter and whatever that means. That's up to you to decide if you like it, if you hate it. Up to you. I think we're pretty clear about how we feel. Oh, yeah, I hope so.

He's incredible. Yeah. His voice, it can be a little bit divisive for some people, but I think he. Like I said, it's all about this, you know, bringing something new to the table. It's a very unique sounding. It adds a whole new layer to the music. I also thought, in general, this album was a lot more subdued, I guess is the word than 3D country. Like, 3D country had, like, a lot more energy and moments where, like, it was freaking out. But this one, I feel like it's a lot more. Outside of a couple songs is a lot more, like, less zaniness, I think I remember seeing a video of him talking about this album. He said it's like some percent less zany. I don't know what the exact percentage.

Was, but do you feel like 3D country entered in, like, the era of being corny or, like, silly? Like, was.

Was he.

Were they having too much fun?

I don't think it was, like, corny. It was a little silly. Like. Like there was, like, wacky having, like, fun with the vocals and stuff. But this one, I feel like, takes it a little more, like, seriously, like Leo said, you know, his vocals are a lot less all over the place. He's not trying to, like, do, like, weird voices. It's. He's really kind of got the same thing going for the whole album, which is a. It's a good voice. I quite like that a lot. I've noticed that also on this album, beyond just being, like, more subdued, I feel like there's a lot more, like, couple slower songs. Like, 3D country was all fast, like, hard rock hitting fast, quick. But this one, there's a couple, like, slower ballads that really lean into the, you know, heavy metal sound. I noticed.

And that might come from the greater confidence in the vocal performance. You know what I mean? Like a slow song. Like, people hear a fast song or whatever and like, oh, that's got to be hard to sing. But it's like, it's the slow songs that are scary to sing because those are ones you have to emote and you have to, like, sing clear. And it's like, if you're out of tune, people are going to tell way quicker. Like, maybe some of that confidence translated into the songwriting, definitely just because it led him like, oh, I can write a song like that and everybody's gonna take it really seriously.

I agree, definitely.

I think on the topic of taking stuff seriously, I think that Cameron's solo record and the response to that allowed him to be a lot more surreal in the songwriting rather than kind of cartoonish. I feel like on 3D country, there's a lot of, as we were saying, zany moments, a lot of over the top moments. And while I do enjoy those moments, it does make it kind of difficult to form a deep emotional connection to it, since you can tell they're definitely putting up a front. It's, you know, we're this wacky, crazy band from New York City. That's not a bad thing at all. But for what they're trying to go for, Cameron's new confidence in his songwriting and in his metaphor and in his writing in general, that newfound confidence allows him to keep these somewhat silly elements while still having a heart to them. Like, I think on I'll pay du Cocaine Like a sailor in a big green boat Like a sailor in a big green coat. It's like, okay, that's very nursery rhyme, but it's. He juxtaposes it with, like, you can be free and still come home. It's this very strange comparison, I guess, or this odd dichotomy between Cameron Winters surreal qualities and the real emotional core of what he's trying to get at.

Yeah, Definitely. I feel like on this one especially, a lot of, like, the more surreal lyricism is kind of covering up, like, you know, like some, like, very serious topics. Like, he feels strongly about this kind of stuff, but, like, he's still trying to veil it a little bit in the. Not, like, complete nonsense words, but a lot of it is. It's pretty hard to pick through. And that song, it really helps you to understand what the metaphor. Like, that kind of stuff he's trying to go through.

Don't kill me for saying this. I think a very clear comparison that we can draw with the surreal lyricism with an emotional core. Bob Dylan.

There he is. Okay, I'll put that on the list.

Interesting. Yeah, I mean, I get what you mean. Bob Dylan doesn't get that nasty, but certainly he get. Well, yeah, yeah, I get. But you know what I mean. Bob Dylan's writing, it's never, like, meant to be perfect or coherent or clean. And that gives him a lot of room to just do whatever he wants and fit it in the song the way he wants. And like, obviously, Bob Dylan never afraid of making people mad. You know what I mean? And that works really well for a newer artist like Geese, where it's like they're still trying to make their name. They're still trying to be experimental. And I think it's a very good comparison.

Another point I want to touch on the band. Oh, my Lord. I think Max Bassin is the name of the drummer.

Yes, it is.

Most unbelievable drummer I've ever seen live. He's a machine.

Yes, the live show.

The entire band, really. I mean, Emily, Dominic, Cameron. I'll give Cameron some credit too. I mean, he's become a great guitarist. I'm forgetting who's on keyboards, bless his heart.

He was great. He was having fun.

But the entire band, they're on fire on this.

Absolutely, they are.

So, I mean, they've been playing with each other since high school. From what I've read, since they were like, what, 14, something like that. So they've had time to gel as a band. And on this record, oh, my Lord, you can tell there's something else, especially live. I want you to talk about the live show.

Okay? So we, me and Leo and a couple other people, we went to go see them live back in October. And this was already my album of the year before I went to go see them live. But, oh, my God, Album of the decade after that, like, I think it's already good. Like, the songs are already good on the record, but in the live Setting, they just work so much better. Like, they added, like, there's a whole other layer to it.

I think they're a better live band.

I would agree with that. I'd honestly agree with that. A lot of the stuff that you really don't notice on the record that's like, mixed low or like, something that you wouldn't really pick out really comes out to shine in the live experience. Like, I noticed, like, a lot of the bass lines. Like, you don't really hear, like, too many of the bass lines on this album. But we go. We went to go see him live, it was a lot more prominent. I didn't realize I was not giving the bassist, Dom, the respect that I should have been giving him. I'm very sorry. If you're listening to this.

So they're not adding anything to the arrangement then, are they? They're literally. You just feel like more of it is coming out. Like, they're not adding any parts.

They're changing it a little bit. I don't know if there's, like, too much, like, jamming, per se, but there was definitely. There's a lot of. They extended a lot of songs.

Was there any song that was like, okay, now this. Now there's a lap steal on this track? All of a sudden, out of nowhere. Was there any of that?

There was a couple songs from their last album that they just added, like, extended percussion breaks to. Like, he was just standing there, just like beating a conga drum for a minute straight, which was insane. But I think of all the songs on the album, though, the one that I think hit the most compared to a live version compared to the original would be the Closer, which was Long Island City, Here I Come. That was insane to see live. It's already insane song on the record. But the live version of it, if you can find it on YouTube or something, I urge you, go seek it out. It's incredible.

All right.

It felt like I was getting punched in my chest the entire time.

Oh, yeah.

It was so loud and it was unbelievable. It gave me a lot of. This is just like a mini tangent. That song has a lot of Nina Simone influence.

Yes.

And it is. I mean, obviously Nina Simone is a very emotive singer and artist and one that Cameron Winter holds really dearly. To combine the soul of her arrangements with the pummeling noise that they throw in in that show. It was. It's next level stuff.

Cool.

Yeah. No, like you said, there's so many influences on this band. It all blends together into something just Entirely new. Very excited to see where they go from here, especially now that they're being, you know, picked up by such a wide audience. Genuinely, it's not often when I can say, like, I've been a fan of this band before they blew up. Like, this has never really happened to me before. So this is very. It's a very new experience. It's very exciting to watch you get.

To experience that hipster lifestyle.

I know I get to be.

It's so nice.

I get to be smart about it.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

You know, I liked him.

Just don't. Gatekeeper. That's my one requirement. You don't ever gatekeep. Tell everybody about this.

You ever heard of 3D country? Ever heard of it? Yeah, that'll be me. That's gonna be me for the next however many years. Geese is popular.

Shout out, geese. Big thumbs up. I don't know if they're friends of the show, but I would like they can become friends of the show if they. If they so desire. You're always welcome.

Cameron Winter, please answer my. Answer my emails, please. Cameron Winter.

I'm gonna sneak my pick in real quick.

One more.

All three of us all just took a quick gander at the clock, counting down on us real quick. I don't have a lot to say about my album of the year because I just picked it because it's nice. So it's Licorice by the artist Hachi. She just makes amazing dream pop. Beautiful music. There's a lot of albums this year. We'll talk about it on the, like the Runner Ups episode. But lot of albums I love this year that had like more emotional connections. I connected to this one a little bit emotionally, but nothing major. There's some experimental elements to this album, but nothing particularly significant. And that's like, you know, maybe it's fitting that we don't have a lot of time to talk about this now because it's like I don't feel like I have anything really specific to say. Like, oh, this album blew my mind for this reason. It's just really, really nice. It's just super pretty. It's, it's. And it's not all roses. You know, some of the songs do have sadder lyrics, but like, I don't know that you could listen to this album and be sad. I mean, it's. It's relatively emotionally neutral, but it just sounds so nice. It really dips into the shoegaze elements of dream pop in a very nice way while really still not really becoming that genre and really keeping that like just nice, pretty dream pop sound. And I adored it. I don't know. You guys have any thoughts you want to share about?

I mean, all I. All I have to say about it is that it's definitely struck me as kind of like a love letter to like, you know, Cocteau Twins and like the Sundays and bands like that. It's, you know, just a really nice time. I really. And she's a great vocalist. I think she has an incredible voice. I liked this one. I think I like this one more than I liked her last album, definitely.

So I've got the last album on vinyl.

I know you.

I got this one day. It came out on final from the Grand Ledge Rural Records. Kind of friends of the show. I'm gonna call them friends of the show. Acquaintances. At least it's a good one. Go listen to it. Highly recommend. It's just nice. It's just nice.

Wow. Quite a good. Well, those are some good albums today, everybody. Yeah, but we're not done, I don't think. Tune in next week and we're gonna go back to this topic and we're gonna talk about our runners up.

Yeah, sure.

Honorable mentions yet, whoever you, the listener want to think of it, that's what we're going to be talking about next time. Thank you all for tuning in and we hope to see you next time. Bye. Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Love you.

Love you. Bye.

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Hello friends and welcome to Coach Cut's Corner. Streaming bright from Michigan's capital city, this podcast is dedicated to helping helping you better understand the who, the what and the why of mental performance, personal growth and Lansing Stars Baseball Coach Cuts Corner, brought to you by Eyewash in collaboration with Lansing Community College. And now, here's your host, Stephen Cutter.

Hey, welcome back and welcome to Coach Cut's Corner. This is a place where we challenge limits, push for greatness, and develop athletes who thrive on and off the field. We built a program centered on discipline, self belief and relentless preparation. Each week I try to bring you insights from my coaching journey, conversations with high performers and lessons that drive winning habits. If you're serious about growth, whether as a player, coach or a leader, you're in the right place. Let's get after it. This episode isn't just for athletes, it's for anyone chasing more More impact, more consistency, more depth. Parents, teachers, CEOs, coaches, students. If you're trying to live with purpose and leave a mark, this is for you. Here's what I've been sitting with lately. What does your work say about you? No, not your title. Not what people think you are. I'm talking about the habits, the choices, the details you leave behind. The real stuff. It's the off season right now. Our guys are gone, there's no schedule. But I'm still at the field. Kercher Municipal Field. Every other day I'm mowing, dragging the field, walking through the dugouts, picking up trash. There's no crowds, no recognition. And every time I do it, I think, this is my signature. What I leave behind matters. Even if nobody sees it, I do. And if I can't sign my name to it with pride, I need to do it better. Earlier this week, I finished mowing and I stepped into our home dugout. And I think our dugout when we got there was pretty small and we've made it quite a bit bigger, but it's still not a huge dugout. And when I stepped into that dugout, I saw One water bottle that had gotten left behind on the wooden bench. Now, that bottle, it's not a crisis, but it said something. It said, I'm done. It said, this part isn't my job. It said someone else will clean it up. It's not about the bottle. It's about the mindset behind it. Whether you know it or not, that kind of decision signs your name to something we think people know us by. Our big moments, game winning, hits, promotions, speeches, post engagements. But your signature, the thing that sticks, is almost never in the spotlight. It's how you prep before anyone else shows up. It's how you respond when plans change, and it's how you carry yourself when the crowd's gone. And that really applies to all of us. How do you show up when there's no finish line in sight, no deadline, no scoreboard, no recognition? That's who you are. And really, that's the part that matters. So I'll ask you, what are you signing your name to today? Not metaphorically. I mean literally. Look at the things you're touching. Your calendar, your team, your family, your attitude. Do those things reflect your values? Would you be proud to put your name on them? If not, that's the work. There are days I feel alone in this. Mowing a field no one's using, cleaning up after people who've moved on. And yeah, there are moments I think, why am I still doing this? But in reality, I already have the answer. It's because the standard doesn't take time off this field. This program carries my name, and I don't need applause to take care of something I care about. If you want to lead anything, your family, a team, a company. You don't get to pick and choose when to be excellent. You either live it or you don't. Let me say this straight. You don't need the title to lead. You certainly don't need a microphone to influence. And you don't need a platform to make a difference. You lead through what you do when you think no one's paying attention because someone usually always is. It might be your daughter watching how you handle frustration. It might be a co worker who sees how you respond when plans fall apart. It might be a player picking up on how you treat the janitor versus how you treat the athletic director. And honestly, it might just be you watching your own behavior and deciding whether you're proud of it or. Or not. That's the thread that runs through all of this. We get so caught up chasing results, chasing validation, chasing more, that we forget to honor the ordinary. And if you won't take care of the ordinary, you'll never be trusted with the extraordinary. And that's what this message is about. Not mowing grass or picking up a bottle. It's about living in a way where your values aren't part time. It's about showing up for your life in the same way you expect others to show up for theirs. You want to make an impact? Start with what's in front of you. Do things right and don't do them for the credit, but because that's who you are. When you do that kind of stuff consistently, people will notice. But more importantly than them noticing, you will notice. And that really changes everything. There's this one quote that anchors this whole message, and I'm sure most of you have heard it before. How you do anything is how you do everything. And that quote came from T. Harv Eaker. He was an author, entrepreneur, and a motivational speaker. But that's not motivational fluff, that's real. Because you don't magically flip a switch when it matters. You default to your training. We talk about this in our program a lot. You fall to your standard and you show up the way you've been showing up before. If you've built your signature into the boring stuff, the unnoticed, the unglamorous reps, then you're ready when the pressure hits. So here's what I'll leave you with today. Whatever's in front of you, treat it like it matters. Even if no one sees it, even if it feels small, even if it's not your dream role just yet. Because your name is connected to every detail you touch. The way you show up when it's inconvenient, the effort you give when no one's clapping, the standard you hold when there's no scoreboard. That's what earns respect. That's what earns trust. And more than anything, that's what builds a real identity. You don't need to be loud. You don't need to be noticed. You just need to be consistent. Consistency is a superpower. Let your work speak for you. Because people may forget about what you say, but they won't forget about what effort you showed them. That's a wrap for today. Make winning in life your habit, not your goal. Excellence isn't an outcome, it's a daily standard. Our mission is to build athletes and teams that compete at the highest level. Not just on game day, but in every aspect of their journey. Build the right habits, lead with intent, push yourself beyond the limits others set for you. And don't forget to cherish small moments. They pass by in a blink of an eye. Until next time. Keep stacking bricks and go Stars. Coach cutscorner is recorded live in the WLNZ Studios with the Dalian Lowry providing engineering and production assistance. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share it and follow us on all forms of social media. Our program has been built and maintained with the help of many great people. If you want to be part of our mission, you can donate using the link in the show notes below. You can learn more@coachcrutter.com and more about our team at LCC Stars. See you next time.

Keep connected with LCC Connect at lccconnect.org LCC Connect Voices Vibes Vision.

Lansing Community College's downtown and west campuses offer conference and event spaces that can accommodate over 500 attendees. Professional event planners are available for assistance from setup to catering, free event parking and on site customer service. For more information about LCC's conference and event spaces, visit LCC EDU and search conference hi, I'm Lisa Alexander and I host a show called who's that Star? On lcd. This show is all about an inside look at the LCC community where you get a chance to meet our faculty and staff plus learn about their passion projects at work and at home. You can catch who's at Star here on LCC Connect or listen anytime@lccconnect.org.

The LCC Arts and Sciences Division will welcome seventh and eighth graders to the Downtown Campus for the first ever Big Steam event on Saturday, February 21st. The event is an opportunity for middle and high school students to explore STEAM programs and career fields with exciting hands on activities and experiences. Those interested in the Big Steam event on February 21 can learn more at LCC. Edu Big Steam, LCC Connect Voices Vibes.

Vision Conversations with Kate is like a conversation with your friend, hairstylist or therapist where we will talk about music, life stories and everything in between with interviews and guests sprinkled in. As an LCC student, it's an honor and I love bringing a fresh perspective to the podcast menu on LCC Connect. I am your host, Kate. Let's get into this episode. All right. I have a very special guest with me today was my professor for the first two semesters, Music Theory 1 and 2. Professor John Gewirtz, right? Yeah, okay. Or Professor G as I like to call you throughout the whole that works. First and foremost, why don't you introduce yourself a little Bit kind of tell the people that are listening what you do.

I am the lead music faculty here at lcc. I just started that position within the last year or two.

Okay.

I've been full time for about four to five years now. Up until then, I was adjunct since about 2000.

Okay.

So I've been here. I actually just got an email saying that I've been here for 25 years.

Wow. Okay. Okay. How has music education evolved during your time here at lcc?

Do you mean as here at LCC specifically or as a whole?

We could do both two parter. So how has it evolved here at LCC and then also elsewhere? Because you do teach elsewhere as well.

Okay.

I mean, I don't see the whole scope of music education so much from where I'm at, But lcc, it's evolved quite a bit as the clientele evolves.

Okay.

And as the. The school evolves and changes are made. When I first started, the LCC Music program, I think had roughly around 60 majors.

Okay.

And it was really thriving over the years. Things federally happen and Covid happened, and now we're trying to build it back up. And I think that's kind of where a lot of schools are at right now too.

Yeah. Yeah. I've got a friend of mine that's a dean of students at college campus in Poinciana, Florida, who's kind of said the same thing about the music and arts department at their university as well. What are some unique opportunities or challenges community colleges face in building strong music programs?

Well, I think the cool thing about the community college environment is that it is community.

Yeah.

And embraces community. Like the jazz band. We have probably over 90% of our members are community members. And then we sprinkle in a few traditional students.

Yeah.

And I mean, I'd love to have more, but again, the limited clientele that we have at LCC right now, taking music classes, it's just been amazing to have these community members that keep coming back.

Right.

And I have like a few that have been in the group for at least like 10, 15 years.

Oh, wow. That's really cool. That is really cool.

Yeah. And raging in ages from 60s, 70s, all the way into their 20s and different experience levels. And they all work together and help each other out.

And that's so neat.

Yeah, it's a really cool environment.

It was very neat. We do have some of that going on with choir as well. So FYI, if you're listening and you are interested, by all means. How would someone get into the jazz Band. If they play an instrument and would.

Love to do that, the best way is just to email me gwertsj g e w I r t z j@lcc.edu. if you go to the LCC website and just. Even just search music in the search box and then get to the music site, you'll eventually get to my name and my contact information. Yeah. We have the choir ensemble, rock band ensemble. We have a new ensemble which is called multi instrumental ensemble, which I will be directing.

Okay.

It's gone through some different changes and kind of depending on who directs it.

Yep.

They kind of format the class to their specialties.

Okay.

And so my thought this year would be to try it out and kind of gravitate more towards improvisation.

Okay.

Because I've had a lot of students again with the jazz band kind of being the size that it is, and it can't really, really expand any more than what it is. And I have a lot of community members in it. And so to incorporate, I've had a lot interest people interested in being in the jazz band, and I can't really accommodate for a whole lot more people. I thought maybe it's time to start a new ensemble.

Yes.

And make it a little bit different than the jazz band. It will be different because you don't have to have any skill. Like, you have to have knowledge of your instrument, but you don't have to have, like, skills in jazz or improvisation to go into it. That's the whole purpose of the class.

Okay. So any instrument. Wonderful.

Yeah.

Cool, Cool, cool, cool.

And then the jazz band, of course. And the jazz band is the only one that you need to audition. So if someone is interested in the jazz band, they do need to get a hold of me first and talk to me and I might need to hear.

And that's.

And like I said before, it's any instrument. It doesn't. There's not a specification for jazz band.

For jazz band.

Well.

Or preference, rather, I should say there's.

More of a preference for jazz band. And that's why I would like to have an audition.

Okay.

For the multi instrumental dome. No, it doesn't matter what instrument you play. And anyone can sign up for those classes at any point. They don't need approval.

Oh, that's good. Good, good, good. How do you approach curriculum design to keep up with the needs of 21st century musicians?

Another good question. So that is, again, assessing the clientele, talking to a lot of different people. One thing that I'm pretty proud of within the last few years And I had a lot of help from another colleague here. Steve Simonson reformatted our music tech curriculum. And he definitely is way more involved in it and is way more in his wheelhouse. But I was there to help him out and guide him. The whole process was new to me as well. We saw a need that in our community for more tech specialists, more people that need education in how to put together a podcast or the sound design for theater or for setting up the stage for a concert. And that's something that I think will be popular within our community. And I kind of see our music program maybe hopefully getting a little boost from that.

Yeah, absolutely. I did take the. I can't remember what it's called, but where you learn how to master music with Professor Jones.

Oh, 298.

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, I think that's what it is.

There's a home studio production with Professor Jones and then he. We changed the names of all these classes.

All I know is that I learned how to master music. One of the things was a choir that was singing and which is really cool. I didn't know. Which helped me a lot because in my own production.

Sure.

I had no idea that there was specific levels that, that you, you know, so very. That's absolutely glad that you guys have included that.

These are all classes I wish I would have taken when I was an undergrad.

Right.

We. I mean, I was in a different type of degree. And that's one of the things about music is that. And it makes it difficult, especially for a small college like this, is to provide for everyone. Because there's so many different avenues that you can go down in music. Like with music education, music performance, music therapy, music tech, even within music tech. I mean, like our music industry degree is very, very broad.

Yeah.

I mean it could be for somebody that wants to just go into the business side, management side. They could go as a performer. They could again go into the tech. And it's only a two year degree. So trying to meet the needs of everybody that wants to go into it. But it's a great place to start and get your foundation. And if you want to pursue those more specialty skills, you have the. That foundation to do that.

Yes. As the faculty lead, how do you balance administrative leadership with your creative vision?

Good question. Because this is all new to me. So I'm working on that vision again, that whole asking people, trying to get feedback. I have a pretty good wherewithal within the community. My kids go to school here in Lansing. My wife teaches here in Lansing. And we have gotten to know quite a few people in the area. Still a lot of more people to know. But I think that's the big thing for me is establishing myself more in the community, letting people know that music exists here at lcc and it's a really good program, and we have really good teachers.

Right.

And that it's a real viable option. And I think as long as we can keep selling it that way, that people will come.

Yeah, I agree. Absolutely. How do you foster collaboration and innovation among faculty and students?

Mainly for me, it's just kind of being sincere, you know, being myself.

Absolutely.

And being consistent and set an example, you know, do as I do, not as I say kind of thing.

And would you do that perfectly?

I appreciate that.

I try.

Yeah.

Very good.

I appreciate that.

So.

Yeah. And so talking, whether it's the students or faculty, I feel more the approach of being a guide as opposed to, like, the master telling people what to do.

Right.

This is, you know, like, let's collaborate. Let's do this together. Let me help you figure out what the problem is and help you find an answer.

That's the best kind of leadership, honestly. All right, let's delve into your musical journey. What originally drew you to music, and how did that passion evolve into your teaching career?

Wow.

All right.

So I figured you'd say something like this, of course. So I've been thinking about it, like, over the weekend. Like, what drew me to me. Well, so going way, way back, it's gonna be my little therapy session, too.

Yes. That's what I'm here for. Hey. I'm a therapist. I'm a herapist, so it's part of my actual day job.

So. Yeah. When I was, like, five years old, my sister was playing piano already. And so I remember going to a recital of hers and seeing a friend of mine in first grade at the recital playing. I was like, I could do that, too. So that's when I started. And again, she was probably my first big influence.

Okay.

She still plays piano. She plays at the Episcopal Church right across the street from the Capitol.

Okay.

She's a music director there.

Very nice.

And then I got into playing saxophone in middle school. Still was playing piano. Got into high school, actually quit before going into high school.

Really?

Yeah.

I wasn't a fan of the high school band director.

Okay.

But he left during that summer.

Okay.

We got a new band director, and he brought a bunch of people down that were in band in eighth grade and said, we want to try it again. I always loved music. I was like, yeah, I think, you know, I'll give this a try. And luckily, he was there. And luckily that happened because. Okay. It's always been a part of me. I think I always knew that I wanted to do something with music. It was, you know, just kind of.

Yeah.

I really can never see myself doing anything else. Whether it was same.

Yeah.

Whether it was playing music, teaching music, talking about me, somehow music was gonna be a part of me.

Absolutely.

Yeah. Kind of. It just went from there, you know, I. I never stopped.

When did that kind of go from just being a performative or enjoyment type of thing to the music education part?

Yeah, I think I always kind of knew. Teaching was always a part of me as well. Even in high school, again, had some really good teachers, good band directors, very passionate about music. And you could just see that in the way they taught and the way they presented themselves. I had great saxophone teachers at cmu, at msu, and I knew that that was gonna be a part of my life at some, like, in some way, in some regard. Yeah. Like, I know a lot of performers that don't want anything to do with teaching.

Right.

They just want to play or they want to do something else. Maybe music adjacent, that involves music, but not necessarily teaching. But I always knew that teaching was going to be part of what I did as much as playing.

Yeah. I feel that with my whole soul, actually. Can you tell me about a formative moment or mentor, which you kind of did with your sister, but other than your sister, was there another formative person? Formative moment that happened.

Well, one story I like to tell. It's not. Again, kind of involves my sister. Okay. Is eighth grade. Going. Transitioning to ninth grade. In ninth grade, they started up a jazz band.

Okay.

Eighth grade, I think my sister gave me a Branford Marcellus tape.

Okay.

Which is how old I am. If those kids out there don't know what tapes are.

Yeah.

Use a pencil. And you have to rewind it. No. So I got a brand for Marcel's tape. I listened to it. I was like, no one's singing on this. I don't understand it. So I put it away, and then we started the jazz band. One of the smartest decisions in my life, I think, at that point. Again, very formative, that I was like, I should probably listen to this style of music if I'm gonna play it. So I listened to the tape again, Listened to it again. I listened to it again, and then finally it was like, this is really cool. And then from there, I was like. And the cool thing about tapes and CDs back in the day is that they had a lot of liner notes and you learned a lot of information. Especially jazz guys love to go on and on about all their information, influences, and everything else was wrong in the world that didn't include jazz. They love to preach on those things. So Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, they just really like to go on and so. But it was great for me because I learned a lot about Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker. So then I got Charlie Parker recordings and Duke Ellington recordings. And so I was listening to all that in high school and these guys are the foundation of jazz. So Duke. I was very fortunate that, like. Right. Right from the get go that I was listening to the. The right stuff.

Right.

And my. And again, my teach. My band directors in high school were very supportive and also very knowledgeable and very encouraging.

And that's so great to hear.

Yeah.

I do know that you still perform currently. How does that help you with your teaching?

I think it's almost imperative.

Okay.

As a music teacher, why is that? To be performing? Because you're constantly reminded of what it's like to be a performer. I took a class this summer through lcc.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. A teaching class.

Okay.

To learn to be a better teacher. And. Yeah. And this was the first class that I've taken in a really long time.

Okay.

And it was a nice reminder. Kind of getting back to what you just asked. Yes, it was just a nice reminder to be like what it's like to be the student. I got a little nervous at the beginning of the first week or so because it's such a different experience. Especially if you've been out of the game of being a student.

Yes.

To be reminded of that. So that's where I think the. Being a performer, you're just constantly reminded of the nervous energy. Just even going to like, new place. I've gig all around Michigan, so. Going to new places, new venues, different people that you're working with.

Exactly.

And you're sharing ideas, too. So you're getting a lot of. You're finding out what's going on, what's current.

Right.

I work with even these gigs with college students. Msu, you know, has a great program over there and these kids are playing top level. So I do a lot of gigs with them and they're. They're telling me, like, what's current as far as technology goes. So, yeah, I think it's just to keep up with your craft. You need to be performing as well.

I agree. I definitely agree. Where and when can anyone listening right now see you perform? Or where can they find information? Do you have SoundCloud? Do you have Spotify? Wink, wink. I already know that you have Spotify.

Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I'm glad you brought that up. I am on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, pretty much Pandora. I think I have my album 2020 hindsight. That's out.

It's really good. You're super talented.

Oh, thank you. Yes. That album was something that I decided to do during COVID when everything kind of shut down. And it was just an interesting time for everybody. But I had a lot of.

Really was.

Yeah, I had some originals stored away and I was going through them and I was like, the title pertains to what's sort of happening right now. One, like, first tune I ever wrote was called no Vacancy. And just at that point, kind of thought about all the, like, the no vacancy at any of the hospitals. Like, everybody. Everything was filled up at that point. And then another one called Lucid Dream, which is what it felt like.

It really did. Like a fever dream, for sure.

Yeah.

And so it just had all these titles and it just kind of made. I wrote a couple brand new originals, just kind of fit in to fill it out. But it seemed to all just fall together very organically. It felt right. And so, yeah, I got some friends to perform with me on it and did it all kind of grassroots sort of thing.

Very nice.

So that's out there. Unfortunately, I am not that tech savvy, so I need to find out a way to be better about promoting myself in the local scene. I play with several bands around town, including Orchestra Ritmo, which is salsa band, and.

Yeah, you've talked about some of the gigs during class. Yeah, well, not during class, but before class.

We just played this couple days ago in Grand Rapids at their Hispanic Heritage Festival that they had.

Cool.

I play in a band called Summer of Soul.

Okay.

My wife sings in and Wonderful. It's a funk R B cover band.

Okay.

I played quite a bit at Moriarty's with a few different bands.

Okay.

So you can usually catch me from time to time there. Okay.

So Moriarty's locally if you guys want to hear some good jazz music. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. Tuesday night. Jazz is great.

Good to know. Good to know. Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about either music education and. Or music in general? What, like, slice of advice would you give someone that has no knowledge of either, but a passion for one or both?

Passion has to be there. That has to be key. But then in part of passion, there has to be a willingness to work, you have to be driven and it's a very self motivated craft.

Yes, it is.

Yeah. Because your teacher will tell you you need to practice, but they're not going to sit there with you and make you practice for hours. And that's one thing that a lot of students I've found don't always realize is that like with say with private lessons, it's a one credit class.

Yes.

But it takes up your life the most. The most.

The most. Yeah. Yeah. I have to square away hours, our blocks, not hour long, but two to three hour blocks for myself for that. Just for voice practice. And then separately this last term, even for piano. I could not play piano before last term and I actually do play piano now.

Congratulations.

So any other advice other than that?

Ask questions.

Okay.

Go to places like LCC or other schools and ask the teachers, email them, ask questions about it so that you can be knowledgeable of what, like what's out there.

Right.

Because I think sometimes we go into this, I get students that come here and they, I think they just know they want to perform.

Right.

Well, performing is hard.

It really is.

It's not impossible and the act of performing is not hard. But getting paid to perform is hard.

It is, it is, it is. Honestly. And I, you know this, I am, I'm a hairstylist, I am a dj. So being in front of people and talking to people regularly is not a problem for me. But actually standing up in studio class in front of people and singing was terrifying and nerve wracking. Even just at the end of each term doing the jury, I feel like I was the most prepared and the most excited for this last one. But, but having that piece going into that. Oh yeah, it is. You are right.

And one other thing you just mentioned too is be diverse. Like be prepared as a musician to do everything.

Yeah.

Like I work here at lcc. I work at a couple of different colleges. Well, if they said can you teach this class? I'd say yes. Even if I didn't, I would prepare for that class. I might be a week ahead of the students as I'm teaching it, but I'm going to teach that class and I don't turn things down. I same with gigs, I don't. There's very few. I'm starting to a little bit more as I get older and trying to actually spend some time with my family as well. That's a good thing.

You know, you might want to do that a little bit?

I think so. Yeah. But yeah, like playing gigs, teach whatever comes across my table.

Okay.

Yeah, I'm going to say so be diverse as well.

All right, Jonathan Gewirtz, thank you so much for hanging out. The last thing I usually do with all of my guests so far is do the random question generator. So let's press this cute little button. What is something that you that will instantly annoy you? Ooh.

I don't get too annoyed that often. I think maybe just because I just experienced it on my way here is stupid drivers just doing dumb.

Professor Gewirtz, do you get road rage?

That's the only time my kids hear me swear. I think.

Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. All right. Well, again, I'm going to include any of the links. If you are interested in anything that Professor Goertz and I talked about, I will include all of his links when we post this. So thank you again for hanging out with me today.

Thanks for having me. This was fun.

You're welcome. Thanks for listening to this episode of Conversations with Kate. You can find more information information on LCC Connect site as well as all social platforms, Facebook, Instagram, yes, TikTok as well. Big love.

This is WLNZ Lansing. You're listening to LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the voices, Vibes and vision of Lansing Community College. To find out more about LCC Connect programs or to listen on demand, Visit us@lccconnect.org LCC Connect, voices, vibes, Vision.