Get To Know… is a brief MixLuv Q&A session with an artist. This feature is a way to highlight our members beyond their bio with the hope of helping paint a more detailed profile of who they are both personally and musically.
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(Sept ’15)
q: Tell us a bit about yourself – where you are from, where you live now, what do you do for a living, etc.?
a: My name is Bryan VanGelder, born in a small town in the Southern Tier of Upstate New York called Bath. Went to school just outside of Buffalo @ SUNY Fredonia; presently residing in NYC (Queens) working as a studio manager for CBS Interactive & producing for East Village Radio.
What is your favorite instrument to play & how many years have you been playing it?
a: My favorite instrument to play is the trumpet. I picked it up when I was about 10 or 11 and haven’t fully put it down since. Played in high school wind ensembles, all-state orchestras, jazz bands, brass choirs, ska bands, combos… anything I could really get a foot in the door with!
q: Favorite: Artist/Record/Song?
a: Favorite music includes Maynard Ferguson (my hero… especially his track “Fireshaker” which is what drove my passion for brass/jazz/funk/fusion music). I am also a big fan of Coheed and Cambria, Hot Water Music, Nujabes, and a bit of a metal head with favorites such as Every Time I Die, and The Dillinger Escape Plan.
q: If you could collaborate with any current musician who would it be and why?
a: I would love to one day collaborate with Roy Hargrove. Its a total pie-in-the-sky dream but after the passing of Maynard, Roy quickly filled the void of my current idol. His versatility between traditional jazz, big band, combo and hip-hop is incredibly inspiring.
q: Who are you proud to have you collaborated with in the past?
a: Previously I have collaborated with Bruce Johnstone (bari-sax for Maynard Ferguson’s Big-Bop Nouveau) He ended up teaching curricular jazz at my Alma-matter and I was honored to be invited to join his performing band where he and I played “Stay Loose with Bruce” together.
q: What is your favorite track that you’ve recorded?
a: One of the favorite tracks I have ever recorded is by my high school heavy metal band called “The Red Death”. The entire endeavor was incredibly fun, fully self-funded, maybe not the highest fidelity but we were damn proud of it. The song is called “Intoxications of Divinity” and it’s part of a mini-rock-opera about the book ‘Dune’.
q: Where do you draw your creative inspirations from?
a: I don’t really know where my creative inspiration comes from. Mostly I am collaborating with coworkers & other artists & teams these days to produce commercial & editorial a/v content. I like working with these guys… its always nice when it doesn’t feel like ‘work’… rather brainstorming and having fun with friends
q: What was the first song you learned how to play?
a: The first song I ever learned how to play on trumpet was ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ *rolls eyes*. Ha – but when I picked up the guitar, my dad taught me how to play “From The Beginning” by Emerson Lake and Palmer
q: Summarize your songwriting and recording process, including which gear (instruments and DAW) you use.
a: Anymore I am sitting behind a console (Tascam Dm3200, alongside a Tricaster 860 switcher with some Aphex preamps) recording live sets for web publishing, or on a backpack team in the field utilizing a zoomR16 or H4n with a variety of mics (Senheiser lavs & boom, Blue capsule condensers, etc..) and I like to edit in PT9 or Adobe Audition CC (I first learned digital editing on Cool Edit Pro). My guitar is an Epiphone with a Seymour Duncan Live Metal active pickup that we had to bore the guitar out to fit. Trumpet is a Bb Bach.
q: What is your greatest non-musical talent?
a: I’d like to think I am a pretty decent cook!
