Nov 30, 2018

You know the artists that we look up to and make us wonder if we can ever reach their level? They all started like us. In this week's short story from a past Skip the Repeat guest, Jake Goldbas, drummer, musical director, and educator, tells us something really surprising: he didn't make his high school jazz band...

Nov 27, 2018

Stanford Thompson and his family spend every Thanksgiving in a different city. Stanford talks to Kai about how he hated practicing when he first started the trumpet (9:40), the moment he realized that his dream didn’t involve playing in an orchestra (17), and the effect President Trump has had on his organization,...

Nov 23, 2018

When we see a string quartet, why do we automatically compare the first and second violinists? It's habit. In this week's short story from a past Skip the Repeat guest, Bryan Lee, violinist and member of the Dover Quartet, tells the story of the time a mentor of theirs suggested that he play second, what a hit to the...

Nov 20, 2018

Jas Morrell is a tattoo artist and owner of Spirited Tattooing Coalition in Philadelphia. Jas talks to Kai about what makes his tattoo shop different (3), his experience growing up without much of an idea about his identity (12:50), and the moment he came out as queer (16:10). They also discuss how he first got into the...

Nov 16, 2018

Have you ever noticed that there's a lot of complaining happening? In this week's short story from a past Skip the Repeat guest, Mary Javian, Chair of Career Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, talks about the culture of complaining in the classical music world, why it happens, and what we can do about it.