Andy LaViolette

Dr. Bob Lawrence  0:32  
Welcome to jazz piano skills. I'm Dr. Bob Lawrence. It's time to discover, learn and play jazz piano. Today I welcome to jazz panel skills professional jazz guitarist, filmmaker and entrepreneur, Andy LaViolette, a graduate of the storied jazz program at the University of North Texas. And he has become professionally engaged in many facets of the music industry as a guitarist, and he has performed with the progressive rock band bag, along with Dave Alexander's western swing band, Willie DS and countless others. Outside of performing as a professional guitarist. Andy has co owned his company Mr. Magic Carpet Ride productions with his wife Christie, since 2006 Mr. Magic Carpet Ride production specializes in multi camera live music recordings, and these professional partnership with snarky puppy generated several 100 million views of live music films on the web. With Andy serving as the Director of Photography, snarky puppy has earned three Grammy Awards. Mr. Magic Carpet Ride Productions has since made countless films with other notable musicians such as Charlie Hunter, David Crosby, Beau Conte, Bonda, Magda for the cwap sisters, Sean Martin, Mark Lutz, Harry, and many others. Since 2017, Andy has worked as a senior video editor, Senior Manager of content solutions and as a senior manager of content acquisition at Shutterstock, where he works with some of the largest brands in the world through a library of commercial music, photos, footage, 3d objects, and more. He continues to create new films and other creative projects through Mr. Magic Carpet Ride productions, on top of all that, and he produces a creative series of how to videos on his original show called Life at the house. All right, I could go on, but enough is enough. Without further delay. Enjoy my interview with Mr. Andy LaViolette.

Dr. Bob Lawrence
Andy LaViolette!

Andy LaViolette  
Hello, sir. What are we doing here?

Dr. Bob Lawrence
You know, I don't even know what to say, man. Because you will first of all, I do know what to say. I'm feeling really old brother. Because our past goes way back, man. Yeah, I mean, like, Yeah, way back to when you were like, Yeah, little runt a little I mean, literally, like when you were a little runt?

Andy LaViolette  3:26  
Yeah, I mean, I think it was probably 30 years ago, I think 30 Little over 30 years ago. And yeah, just a wee lad skateboarding where he should not have been skateboarding outside of the Dallas School of Music.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  3:40  
Yeah, exactly. So let me I want to start off let the listeners give the listeners a little background here.

Andy LaViolette  3:47  
Yeah, I knew Dr. Bob before the doctor.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  3:51  
Yeah, I wasn't I wasn't Dr. Bob. So here we are at the Dallas school music brand new business in the in the in the city of Dallas. And we're fired up and I'm excited. I'm up there, you know, working nonstop. And. And one one day one afternoon, man, I'm hearing all this ruckus out outside our door. You know, we were on I remember the building man. It was a two level building with a, you know, ramp up there on the top that I think for kids. That's a pretty cool. That's a pretty cool ramp, right? I mean, it's

Andy LaViolette  4:24  
like a second second level kind of walkway to all the businesses or whatever, right? Yeah. And it was,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  4:30  
it was covered. It was covered. It was a big wide walkway. So smooth concrete, pretty enticing for how old? How old? Were you at that time?

Andy LaViolette  4:41  
I mean, I must have been probably 13, maybe 14 years old.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  4:45  
Yeah. And you guys are doing you, you and your buddy? Yeah, we're doing some like skateboard stunts on the second level of the building. You know? That was really, I was really afraid that you guys were gonna go like nosedive over the railing. him onto the concrete below. And that would be and that would be the end of the Dallas school.

Andy LaViolette  5:05  
Exactly what kind of insurance?

Dr. Bob Lawrence  5:07  
Yeah, exactly. So I can remember throwing up the door throwing the door open and going, Hey, you can't say, you know, yeah, give it my best old man impression. And you guys froze. And I said, Hey, man, you can't be up here. Like with these skateboards, you're gonna get hurt. Somebody's gonna get hurt. You're gonna fall over the ledge. Yeah, someone's gonna die. You can't, you know, I give you a big lecture. And you get and I get done. And I expect to hear some response from you like, man, you know, I'm so sorry, man. You know, it was cracked me up, man. You looked at me and you went, what? What do y'all do here? I said we teach music and you went to teach guitar? Yep. I said, yeah, yes. Because Oh, man. What do I gotta do get guitar lessons? Yep. I said, I said, Man, get heaven. Your mom sent me immediately. I went in for I went Grumpy. Grumpy Old Man chewing you out to director to Dallas.

Andy LaViolette  6:06  
Our new store new top of the funnel onboarding system here. Skateboarders.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  6:12  
It works. So anyway, So lo and behold, man, your mom bless her heart. Yes. sweetest lady on face of planet Earth. Gives me a call that week and wants to get you enrolled in the Dallas School of Music. Yep. Here you come in man studying guitar and who was your teacher man?

Andy LaViolette  6:29  
At the time. I believe my first teacher's name was a different guy. And then it was you.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  6:36  
That it was me. It was then I took it over. And now here's what the really scary thing is, man. Yeah. Now, I'm teaching your daughter teaching

Andy LaViolette  6:46  
your daughter my 17 year old daughter who's

Dr. Bob Lawrence  6:50  
actually older than you were right started with me. Right and so now I'm I'm feeling incredible.

Andy LaViolette  6:58  
You're looking great, though. You gotta share with the listeners. Your secret sauce here, buddy. I think you got a whole separate podcast on healthy lifestyle living here. Wow.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  7:08  
I appreciate that. Brother. So when I tell you what, it's music, I'll tell you. Yeah, man. Music. Music keeps music up young. It's Yeah, it's fun. Right? Yeah. So. So anyway, here we are years later, right? Yeah. So you go on. I won't steal your thunder because I'm here to talk about it. But But you go on. To get your degree from the University of North Texas stretch. I I make no bones about it. It's the greatest. The greatest jazz program in the world. Yeah. Not, not the United States in the world. Great stuff. Yeah. And lo and behold, the little skateboarder ends up at the University, University of North Texas majoring in Jazz Studies. And I remember I went up for your recital man. Yeah, that you gave and the buttons on my shirt were popping off. Yeah, I know. You. I know. You were busy playing but my, you know, my buttons. I was so I was so proud of you. Yeah. And then and then and then, you know, after that life gets busy, right? I mean, yeah, you're raising a family. And I continue with the Dallas School of Music, doing the work here and in raising a family myself. And then, lo and behold, this last year, you and I get where we get to reconnect with one another. And, man, what a joy and what a joy. It's been to an honor. It has been to work with your daughter who is incredibly sweet and incredibly talented. Can't wait to see what happens for her musically as well. So she's life comes. It's the circle of life, man. Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  8:46  
I love it. I love it, man. Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  8:48  
Yeah. And I just can't You know, I just can't believe it, man. So it's, you know, I didn't have any idea when I stepped out on that walkway. That little little guy skateboard man. Yeah. How our lives would be. Yeah. Connected forever. No. So

Andy LaViolette  9:04  
I know me there. Me there, man. When I saw that emblem on the door, and that old codger coming out to yell man, I didn't know I was stepping into a beautiful 30 year circle has been a great thing. But you know, look, before we get too into it, man. I mean, look, there's a reason I'm back. And it is intentional, man. I mean, all the work that we did together was so meaningful, man. And we'll get into this, I'm sure. But you know, I mean, yes, the music was very important in my life has been so much enriched because of it. But I think that you taught me equally as much just about a philosophy of life as you did music and that was so amazing. And as my daughter came of age and started studying music, you know, I your name just kept coming back into my mind. But you know, as a dad, you have to be really careful not to be like, Hey, do it my way. And this and this. I was like, Oh, don't recommend that. That's too good to be true. Right? Yeah. One day when we were just talking about we were really lucky. Been around for piano lessons. And I was like, I just don't feel comfortable putting her in the hands of like, someone that doesn't, hasn't studied the art of teaching. And, and when I mentioned your name to my delight, my daughter said, like, oh, yeah, I'd be open to that. And I was like, that wasn't even my plan, you know. And so now that it's worked out, I'm just, I'm thrilled. And so she and I can see the foundation she's building with you already. And it's like, wow, man, that's what a gift. So so thank you.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  10:29  
Well, oh, man. My pleasure, Andy. It's a blessing indeed, man. So look, you know what I want to do? I want to turn the mic over to you. And, you know, I know so much about you. But I know there's so much about you that I still don't know. Yeah, so even with our long relationships, so what I'd love to do is turn the mic over to you. And I want you to kind of, you know, give the listeners give us kind of a, you know, an outline of your life, man. The music Yes. Sit leans back, you know, I'm not even sure about all that stuff. You know, so I want you to talk about your, your musical journey, and then we'll get into your professional life. Yeah, we'll talk about jazz and jazz studies and all that kind of stuff as well. So I'm gonna shut up and here's my

Andy LaViolette  11:20  
amazing. Well, I'll give you the rundown. And I'll try to keep it brief. And if you have any questions at all, feel free to interject. But I'll say that my musical life generally started, you know, with my my grandparents, showing me the ukulele and guitar at a very young age, because they were musicians, and they played and they taught me how to, you know, tune a ukulele. My dog has fleas, you know, like stuff like that, right? Yeah, you know, sure. But I never I mean, I could never really play anything. You know, the pianos in the gym and stuff like that. But I can never play. But I always thought it was cool. And then I remember when one day when I was like 13 or 14, I think on the Arsenio Hall Show, there was a young guitarist who was about my age, I think he was 13 or 14 at the time. And he was playing blues guitar, and he was like, really good. And he sounded like professional and I remember being bright then that changed my life because I felt like, okay, man, age is not an obstacle, like, it's possible to sound that good, you know, and so, got super into it used to make little music videos playing with tennis rackets as guitars and whatnot. And that was right around the age when I met you. Up until that point, I had just worked on something called Larry littles learned guitar on VCR, Volume One, and learn some just like, here's where you put your fingers to play the cowboy chords and things like that. Yeah, right. It was actually really, really helpful start, but yeah, I knew I needed someone. So it found you. And then, you know, we've said this in the beginning, we, I did have some some guitar teachers beforehand, and they just look at the doll school music and it just wasn't the right fit. And I think that maybe they weren't really in line with like, your style of teaching. And so you felt bad, I guess, or out of the goodness of your heart you took me on as a student. But I knew that you were a piano player. And I was a guitarist. And I was like, Where do I put my fingers? And I remember lesson one, you explained to me how music is deeper than just the instrument and knowing where to put your fingers, you had to have an understanding of music. Yeah. And one of the first things we talked about was the circle of fifths, you drew it on, on the on the dry erase board at the time and started explaining it. And I remember like digging that also being kind of concerned, but like dig in that, you know. And so long story short, you know, we go through all of our amazing years together from that age 14 and on to college age studying, and, and everything that we were doing was building a really deep musical Foundation. And frankly, there was a lot of like, the kind of technical side that we were sort of figuring out together as

Dr. Bob Lawrence  13:59  
you That's right. Oh, that's exactly right. You know, that's right. And

Andy LaViolette  14:03  
so I felt really confident as understanding music theory and jazz theory, but not the most proficient in how to execute that technically. I tried out or I yeah, I tried out for jazz band in high school. I told him I told her this story. I went and I played the audition, you helped me audition and I think I got it to a really great place. And I went but part of the audition was sight reading. And it was a jack Peterson solo. And it was like, unnecessarily hard. Jack Peterson is a guitar player from well from many places, but he taught at the University of North Texas he was like the guitar there Gosh. And so there's like this crazy jazz solo for like that someone at my skill level had no business even trying to learn over a period of months literal in sight read, so I was just basically silent during that portion of the audition. Other than that, everything went okay like sight read like chords. Like, played some basic melodies, and that was it. I sounded young, but I was like, I could play Yeah, right, you know, not well, but I could play. And so then I left and then the neck and I got a call back. And I went back the next day. But at that time, I didn't understand that a callback was a positive thing. And I remember like looking in the little window of the audition room and seeing all those guys and like, the band was good back then they're like playing Cherokee, and like burning through step up to 10. And like, they were a good band. Yeah. And I remember looking in there and having been so embarrassed that, that I like sat through and silence on that part, that I chickened out, and I walked away, and I didn't go back to that audition. And so I didn't get that high school experience of playing in a large ensemble. So my only playing experience in a jazz setting, were the opportunities that I had at the Dell School of Music, playing in groups up there and in endures with you and stuff like that. Yeah. So for whatever reason, when I, when it came time to decide to go to college, which I decided where I wanted to go basically like the May of my senior graduating year, you know, I'll try to apply some places, see if I can figure this out.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  16:12  
Let's, I knew I was, right. That's, that's so you, man. Right?

Andy LaViolette  16:17  
flying by the seat of my pants, you know, it's very free spirited individual. Right. They're awesome. But I actually tried out or whatever you call it, like applied at the college down in San Marcos, Texas, Southwest, Texas State or

Dr. Bob Lawrence  16:35  
Southwestern? Yeah, that's right that time. Yeah.

Andy LaViolette  16:37  
And because I kind of knew my shortcomings. As a musician. I was like, oh, man, well, I dig music. Maybe I'll be like a studio engineer, they got a good program. Well, then applied, grades weren't good enough, didn't get. I don't know exactly what happened if I got an official rejection letter or just didn't work out. Or maybe I needed a scholarship. I don't know what happened, but it didn't work out. And so I was like, man, like, I maybe I should pursue this music thing. You know, like, this is something I really care about. And, and so I went to the University of North Texas, and I got in on stipulation that I took some study skills. So my freshman and freshman year, I'm taking study skills classes to make sure that I got the grades that I need it to get through, oh, my gosh. And I went to the audition there, and I played, it's kind of very similar thing did great with the chords. But when it came time to start reading, it was like, nope, wait, stop. Nope. And then the gut.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  17:38  
Yeah. And you know, in your defense, Andy, you didn't really work on SAT reading,

Andy LaViolette  17:43  
it wasn't really a thing. I mean, you know, well, no, that's not fair. You really pushed me to do that kind of stuff. And I just, I didn't have like the discipline to really learn reading music, like outside a certain level that I got to when I was studying with you. Specifically, we were working on Mel bass guitar, Volume One, which is on the first position to open. Right. Right. And so that I could read. And beyond that, right, yeah, I learned some Fernando Sor classical guitar studies, which were based a lot around that open position. But once you start getting up to trying to be able to translate to that other positions, the middle of the neck, I just hadn't ever put in the work to do that. And that's like what you need to be able to do to play jazz, essentially. Yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  18:32  
Which is, which is pretty normal for high school. Kids, man. Yeah. Yeah. Especially on guitar man. And that Yeah. And that right, you right, you want to spend time read? I want to play? Yeah, exactly.

Andy LaViolette  18:44  
Yeah. So I knew like some other things. And we had worked on like scales and like chords and stuff like that. And so you know, I had like a foundation. I just was like, lacking on some of it. And so what my audition at u and T, like I get, you know, the guy stops me that his name is Fred, Fred Hamilton, loving the peace, good guy. He stopped me in the audition. And he's like, Hey, okay, what's that? What's that figure, play that figure and I mess it up. It's like, Okay, try it again. Mess it up. He pauses write something down. He's like, Well, man, I hope you like to sing. And I was like, oh, and so I got like, essentially not making it into any band and got assigned Men's Chorus instead of any guitar. And so it was kind of one like sort of setback after another just like okay, clearly like you know, you're a little behind. But then yeah, fast forward like I worked real hard tried to get I spent a few years catching up. Luckily, I was able to take like, jazz theory classes and stuff like that. It really excelled in that some of the things I did well in and then core classes. And then I had some playing experience then but it's still I was way behind and so I ended up leaving and not finishing my degree and I left in something like 2000 or something like that started In 98, and I left in like 2000, or something around there 2001 or something. And I just played like in my college jam band kind of thing, kind of like fish Grateful Dead kind of sound, you know, right. Right. Which was perfect for me at the, at the time for what I needed and just life. And we had a great time and many adventures and whatnot. And I worked in a restaurant at that time. And I started out washing dishes and waiting tables, and then I eventually became to manage that restaurant. And I tell that part of the story because at that restaurant, I started booking the Jazz at that restaurant. And so I'm playing in this like, jam band Rock Band still wanting to like pursue jazz, but like, I had no professional training anymore. At that time, I was just experienced in on my own. But then through booking jazz, at this restaurant, I kind of became known as the local guy of like, oh, like, you know, it's good to know that guy, because like, he'll get you the gig that everyone wanted, just because it was like a scene, it was like really popular. It's a fun vibe. You know, it was like, the old days of jazz, where it was like jazz was a party not like a sterile clinical thing. It was like, you know, yeah, right. And so during that time, that is essentially when I met people that would eventually form the band called snarky puppy. Because I would book them at that restaurant. And I absolutely fell in love with their ability to play not only jazz that I liked, which is very traditional, straight up jazz, you know, just like, whatever, 1940s and 1960s, whatever. So there was a lot of that. But then they also introduced me to like the more modern kind of like vibe of what they were doing. And I fell in love with that as well, too. So became friends with them. And then when I decided to leave that restaurant, I left in 2006. And I also kind of at that time stopped playing in my rock band. And I started actually teaching guitar at a, at a local place in town, to young, beginner students and whatnot. And that school had a requirement that if you were going to teach there, you either had to be on your way to getting a bachelor's degree, or like you had to have one at the minimum. And so that kind of really pushed me to like want to go back into into school. And so it kind of dipped my toes in, I reached out to Fred Hamilton, the guitar teacher at North Texas. And he took me on as a student privately for a little bit. And then that gave me the confidence to like, oh, maybe I can do this. And so long story short, it went back to school in 2006. And ended up graduating in 2010. Later with my jazz guitar performance degree from there. However, during that time, like when I went back to school in 2006, my wife and I started a family. And I also like, my wife is like a winner. When we first met, like, she introduced me to the world of like audio recording she had, she was like really knowledgeable in like photography and audio recording and whatnot. And so I had kind of gotten interested in that world. And I would use some of the tools that she had to, like, record myself and do things. And my dad also was like, you know, an engineer and has that very scientific kind of mindset. And he and I both love tech gadgets. So he had like video cameras and stuff like that, just like home, family cameras and stuff. But I kind of use those two tools. And I started like recording myself and my band at the time, and then a few other friends band. And keep in mind at that round that time when I'm like, I just been waiting tables and stuff like that. I've found some people that would be like, Oh, hey, if you come to this festival and record my band playing for one hour, I'll give you like, $50 and then like 50 bucks an hour like yeah, that's not bad. Yeah. I'm in, I'm in and it's music. And it's like, oh, it's cameras, and it's audio and this and that blah, blah. So I started doing that. And so that again, that's right around when I met snarky puppy and whatnot, you know, or at the time, they were not snarky puppy. They were just, you know, what actually they anyways, but so, yeah, one thing led to another and so while I'm in school and doing stuff, I'm starting to build this career as like, earning money through video production. I invested in a video camera and like, you know, some software and some guy that this guy taught me how to like do more advanced kind of stuff with it. And so even before I finished my music degree, I was I was becoming so busy with my video stuff I started to quickly see like, Man, I don't know if this music thing for me is going to be how I'm going to like make ends meet right now. And so I just kind of started turning towards the video side of things. And so that's when I I felt you know, I had fallen in love musically with this band snarky puppy and I started doing free work for them just because I liked them a lot. And I just I went and recorded some of their stuff. They're doing the studio and yatta yatta and I became friends with them. And then they had this idea for like, oh, you know, we're going to be recording this thing in a in a studio. And like, I had just told my friend Michael league that I had kind of invested in a new high definition camera, you know, and he was like, wow, that's cool. And, and so he had some, a very modest bit of investment lined up for their first record. And at first, for another record coming out, that would eventually be called Tell your friends, which was released in 2009, I believe. And the whole concept that he and I sort of like talked about was wanting to encapsulate the energy that you get at a live show from an audience. But we wanted to bottle that in the studio. And I know, it's been done like before, but there was something really special about their band, because essentially, snarky puppy is like, they're like the modern version of a big band. For that particular recording. I don't know, they were like 1112 people or something like that. And everyone thought they were crazy how they were gonna tour and make money, that's too many people to feed and this and that. But the idea is what you would normally do in a studio layering in using the studio as like a musical instrument, kind of like the Beatles, or something like that, right, where you have layers upon layers that orchestrate that. So all the layers that you would normally hear that take time that you record over and over again, they're playing live. So they had, like, you know, two drummers and three guitar players and bass player, Michael Lee, who doubles on like synth bass, and to then they'd have like a B, three, Oregon, and a grand piano and a Rhodes piano, and then trumpet trombone and two saxophones. And then they had a little string quartet with them on that record, you know, so, things that were very orchestrated. So we had, at that time, we just had the budget and the connections to get three cameras, so we only had three cameras on that shoot. And we, we, we filmed that, and, and it wasn't very artistic on the video side of things, but the music was prolific and, and I was, at that time, like, I knew about videography, but I hadn't like developed like an artistic style or anything. But what I was good at was nerding out on understanding exactly what YouTube at the time, which was still new ish to the average person. I understood their technical settings. So I knew how to get a video up onto YouTube that would be clear and in high definition and would not have black bars on the sides or bottom. And when the look all compressed and bad looking.

Andy LaViolette  27:43  
And so we put that record out and, and I just kind of thought nothing of it other than like, that was a really meaningful project. And also I went from free to like, oh, I made like a little bit of money, like not pretty much but like, neat. I got paid a little bit. Yeah. And so I just thought like, okay, cool. I'm moving on. And then the band director Michael reached out to me, he's like, Hey, man, have you seen the video on YouTube? And I was like, No. And he's like, man, people are watching it. We got like, 1000 views. And I was like, oh, Congrats, man, you know? And then like, a few months later, he's like, Dude, it's like going really well. And I was like, Congrats, man. He's like, No, it's like, 100,000 people. And I was like, Oh, wow. So the long, short, the short version of a very long story on my relationship with snarky puppy is that they essentially became very popular in like the jazz music scene. And I be out of the graciousness of Michael Leakes heart, you know, he kept me along for that ride. And so from today, from the very beginning, till all the way up until present day, they've always considered me like family, and I've, I've done a lot of the work, I stepped away here in the last few years, where I'm kind of that now. But they've kept me along the entire time, given me every opportunity. I've filmed several records with them now. And as a part of that, they've introduced me to a slew of other world renowned musicians and just amazing people. And so I've, I've been sitting feet away from some of the most meaningful musical experiences of my life. Thanks to that, that band. And so as that was a really rewarding, amazing experience. You know, I grew to love that group of people so much, that I found a little bit of personal conflict in the difficulty of essentially working with my friends, you know, because the people they would introduce me to oftentimes they're like, just starting out and trying to get their thing going and, and it's hard to look at someone that's really just starting out and have to build them what you need to build them to in order to keep my business going. And yet they might be Calling me or utilizing me just because I'm the guy that work with snarky puppy. And I'm like, It's not the video that makes you famous and popular. It's your music and your entrepreneurship as a band leader, that's going to give you success. And so I struggled a lot with like, my main source of income coming from all these other up and coming bands and whatnot. And so around 2017, a friend of mine in town, let me know about an opportunity where a company called Shutterstock was actually hiring a video editor at that would work locally in in a Denton office where I live I live in Denton, Texas. And that was like unheard of. And strange, because I was like, Why? Why would a job like that be opening locally in this small little town, right. And I was quite nervous about it. But I ended up taking that that job there. And long story short, I've been there since 2017. It's been very fruitful. I've had a really meaningful career and kind of like, pivoted and change several times, in my role there and kind of been promoted through the ranks. And so now I'm at this really great point where I'm very thankful to have a great job. They're working with really talented people in video and music production. Right now, in buying commercial music for the company. I'm working with a team of producers, and it's really cool. But yet, that job still gives me now the time to be able to work on certain projects that are meaningful to me. So I still my wife, and I still run our company, Mr. Magic Carpet Ride productions. And we take jobs that speak to us one way or the other. And so we're still operating, still filming. And, and that's where I'm at. And so the last I'll tie all this up with. So I spent a lot of my later years not playing music professionally, although that was a big part of it. And I didn't talk about that. But I had this kind of thing of music, being something that I had taken, what I consider to be pretty far I'm not, I'm no virtuoso compared to many of the people you talk about on this amazing podcast, but you know, I can play the basic stuff. And so what has been so meaningful to me is that as my daughter has gotten older, that musical training has now served so much more of a meaningful experience than I ever thought it could have, where I've been able to help her learn music, and just very organically since she was very young. She's always been really interested in it. And we always just did it for fun. I never pushed her to take lessons or anything like that. And she found her own path, through playing violin, and then being a singer and a Broadway style kind of thing. And then she started playing piano. And now here we are, and she's studying with Dr. Bob and getting ready to go to a five week jazz camp bus in Berkeley this summer.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  33:03  
That's fantastic. Wow, man. Wow. All right. Well, listen. There's so many things. I want to touch upon that that you just talked about. Number one. Okay. Let's, let's go back to early on. You went to North Texas. You got, you know, put into the mail, you know, to the choir. Yeah, thought of that. Okay, let me just talk to you about that for a second. Because what, what people may not realize is that North Texas jazz program is intimidating. Yeah, very, it's very intimidating. From a plane perspective. Everybody, there is great. Nice, you know, and everything. Yeah, but But you know, you go there,

Andy LaViolette  33:49  
they try to do a favor by weeding you out. And I don't disagree with that. That's okay. But that's like, hey, we don't want to waste your money and your time. If you're not up to the level, you just need to leave, you know? Yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  34:00  
Well, that's right. Right. You know, because it's like, here you have this gigantic jazz program, College of Music. But yet when you go when you go to graduation, right, and the whoever is the, you know, commenced, you know, yeah, commencement says, you know, College of Business, please rise and everybody in the auditorium rises, you know, and, and then they go, and then they finally get to the College of Music, College of Music. Graduates, please rise and there's like, two rows. You know, and you go like, Well, wait a minute, how can this be? This is the largest. This is the largest music program in the country. Yeah. And you got two rows of graduates. I mean, some something's not adding. Something's not adding up, right. Yeah. And that's and that's what you're talking about. They weed out a lot of people a lot of people don't make it. Don't make it through the program. Yeah. And that's why I'm saying to you, congratulations. That's I'm very impressed. Andy because you know, to go there and especially to go there undergraduate man, I don't As you were telling your story, I was just kind of going like holy moly, man. Because I didn't go I didn't go to North Texas till graduate school. And and it was intimidating enough to be there in graduate school and competing against guys that were 3032 years old that coming off the road with Maynard Ferguson or Woody, Herman's band or whatever, you know, and all of a sudden you're competing with them for a shot a place in the lab band. I mean, I was in grad school, and it was intimidating. As an 18 year old as a freshman I've often wondered, and harmless kids do it. I know. They're coming from their high school stage. Yeah, to North Texas. And all of a sudden they're competing against the dude that just stepped off the bus from Woody Herman's band, you can meet there. They're getting smoked, man. They're just gonna they're just gonna get smoked that Yeah. And, and I don't blame so many of them get there. And go. I'm out. Yeah, I can't compete. Sorry, tempting. So the fact that you man just hung around man, like an old hound dog. You just hung around and kept taking the you know, kept taking it and learning and you were always like that you you've always been very open and receptive to learning. You've always had the ears of a student wanting to learn wanting to learn wanting to learn, and soak it all in. And the fact that the fact that you persevered and got a degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, the first thing I want to say is I tip my hat to you. And congratulations, man. That's, that's awesome. Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  36:34  
it man, it feels great. And look, I think that in order to do something like that, especially like, you know, I've been with my wife since 2001, you've got to have a good partner in when you're trying to do something like that, especially when you're in the middle of raising a family, and starting a business and whatnot. And she's the one that really pushed me to believe in myself to go back to Duke because she could see like, oh, like, you're not going to be fulfilled until you like, really give this a shot. And if I didn't have her, like, being able to, like, keep our company going and like, write help us with the family and all that, like, I wouldn't have been able to do it. So it's so important that like, yeah, you have people around you that believe in you. And

Dr. Bob Lawrence  37:13  
yeah, yeah, a big a big supporting, supporting family, for sure, man. I think it's awesome. The other thing that I think is so wonderful, again, I think going back to your just your entrepreneurship, you know, you use that word. I think musicians today jazz musicians today have to be entrepreneurs, you have to otherwise you're, I mean, come on. I mean, yeah. Right. And if you absolutely have to, and what what I try to stress to the students like, like your daughter, who I teach and, and other high school students that are, you know, dreaming of the, you know, the jazz careers that look you have to be music is a wonderful profession, but you have to have several spokes and you got to have some Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  37:58  
folks. Oh, man, I like to think of it as a fishing net.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  38:02  
Yeah, you know, like,

Andy LaViolette  38:04  
I'm when I go to bed at night, man, I need my net, like out there, like catching fish for me and fish come from all directions, man, you got to have that net open at all times. You know?

Dr. Bob Lawrence  38:14  
That's 100% Correct. So, you have to be, you know, you know, it's just I'll give you a good example, this young man that just graduated not too long ago, and he went to Nashville. What's the school in Nashville? I can't think of it right. I don't know. Belmont, Belmont. Okay, Belmont, you so he went to Belmont University in Nashville, do some contemporary music studies and so forth. And, and he gets them so proud of him, man, because he gets there. And the next thing I know, man, he's in the studio working soundboards you know, for country musicians doing recordings and and work in Country Music Awards and everything. Yeah. And so his jazz journey has taken him into areas that he never thought that he would end up but he was open to them. And man, he's like, he's kicking it, man. He's like, fantastic, right?

Andy LaViolette  39:09  
Yeah. I mean, I think what I've what I've learned throughout my life, at least for me, the most important takeaway is that music is something that I've always wanted to be in internal fulfillment for my own enjoyment and happiness in my own life. Yeah, right. And it's great if you want to do that and have that be your profession and how you make money. But like, to me, it's always important that it's just something that you enjoy and love and and oftentimes, through studying music, you might find another avenue just like the case that you mentioned with your student, and including myself, where we find a new path that we would not have found if we had not immersed herself in music, you know, because when you write and immerse yourself in that culture, you meet so many different types of people with passion different paths and opportunities because of it so

Dr. Bob Lawrence  40:03  
well and you've seen you've seen firsthand in your own professional career and how it's unfolded for you. You've seen firsthand how, you know, being a musician, understanding music, being able to speak to musicians, talk to musicians use the language musically speaking as well as you know, verbal English. Right? Yeah. How important that is and how it's benefited you? Because you're, you're one of us. Yeah, right. You're one of the musicians, you're part of that you're part of the, the fraternity.

Andy LaViolette  40:36  
Yeah, and I think that that's why in my particular career, to be honest, I tried to break out of being pigeon holed as like the music filmmaker guy, because I wasn't there. I'm interested in other types of filmmaking. But I've never really done a whole lot of that, you know, outside of my music stuff. And I think the reason why I keep getting called for the music stuff is because I can communicate with the physicians that I work with, and in very literal way that like, I understand why we need to be pointing at this right now instead of this or blah, blah, blah, which is why I got someone came out and filmed my band. And I remember I was so the footage was really beautiful and awesome, but like the camera man was like pointing at the base when there was a piano solo and I was like, Come on. Let me just do it myself. You know?

Dr. Bob Lawrence  41:25  
Oh, that's funny, man. So okay, so I want to talk a little bit about your production company. given me the title again, Mr. Magic Matt, me Mr. Production.

Andy LaViolette  41:36  
Exactly, exactly. Right. It's terribly complex and so silly. It's Mr. Magic Carpet Ride productions. And MC RP. However, my website is different because the name was too long. So it was just website is Mr. Magic productions. Business Strategy. I don't know. Big fail, man. Whatever. Just like me because of my website.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  41:59  
Yeah, don't don't don't change the thing, man. Because yeah, okay. I just okay, I want to brag on you for a second because man did the work that you're doing. And I encourage all listeners to go to the website, Mr. Magic productions.com. Yeah, I got it. Right. Mr. Magic productions.com. I'm telling you, Andy, the work that you do, the video work that you do, and the audio work that you do is stellar. It's absolute. It's gorgeous. It sounds amazing. It looks amazing. When I first went to your site, I was mesmerised and I ended up like, I think sitting there watching all your videos and and just being blown away with what what what you're doing. So talk to us a little bit. Now just talk to talk to us a little bit about what you're doing there. Some of the projects you've been involved with, I think I think it's fascinating. So please,

Andy LaViolette  43:02  
sure, yeah, I mean, through my time with snarky puppy, I've been introduced to some really special people. You know, we we've worked with snarky puppy, Charlie Hunter, Bill Conte, Banda Magda, David Crosby. You know, just a number of people, you know, that just are really special. So while I am excited sometimes about the work that I do, I really think the shining moment is the music. And so what I'm lucky to be able to say is that my my book of work is is Think Fun to watch because of because of the music. That being said, I mean, what I seek out what I like to the people I like to try to work with are people that are wanting to record themselves playing live music. Now live can be in the studio, it doesn't have to be in front of an audience. But I'm more interested in capturing something that happened in a moment with people organically reacting to one another. And it's my job to capture that and to have as little influence on what they are doing musically as possible. I never make decisions that prioritize the quality of the video or the video angle over what the musicians need to be doing. For example, musicians need to be able to see and hear and communicate with one another very clearly. So we can never obstruct an eyeline or have a piece of gear that gets in the way or we can't ever orient the band in a way where like the drummer and the bass player can't see each other. That's just one random example right you know, so. So that's where and then I have to say, secondly, the sound is usually always done with a partner of the band. So the band will be like okay, they find the sound person and then my part Are with that person. And then we, we make a project together. So I've developed relationships with a handful of engineers over the years that understand what we're trying to do, and I understand what they're trying to do. And so we come up with little compromises to make it all work. So, yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  45:19  
Wow, it's well, it's fascinating, man. It's, it's, it's fun. Oh, my gosh, well, you know what? I'm going to tell you, you can tell that it's fun. See, that's, I think that's the greatest compliment that I can give you is that watching your videos, and the recordings, I can tell that there's much more there behind the camera than just a gig. Yeah. Oh, totally. These

Andy LaViolette  45:45  
are not jobs. Yeah, they're meaningful experiences, man.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  45:49  
There's no question about it. And, and anyone watching and listening, we'll pick up on that immediately that there's something special going on here. And there's something very special going on here. So my hat's off to you, because that's communicated man that's communicated through your work awesome. Through the product that you produce. And so I can't I can't say enough good things about it. Andy. It's fantastic, man. Thank you. So we're where do you see it? Where do you see all that going? Is a vision that you? Are you happy? Just where it is right now? Or do you see a grander vision for the company or what? What's your vision, um,

Andy LaViolette  46:27  
I think I want to continue to sort of meet new musicians that will sort of inspire me in new ways, musically, and it's always a game to be able to find people to work with that will have the ability. And if I'm being frank, when I say ability, I do mean, like, the investment like to be able to have us play, to do things visually, from a filmmaking perspective that are as meaningful to me visually, as it is to them orally, because that's where I think the magic is on, on some of my favorite projects. snarky puppy is the band where I've done some of my favorite work. And those would be the album Silva that we did with the Metropole or cast in The Netherlands. So we filmed a full symphony orchestra as well as snarky puppy. And we just had all the tools we needed. And then the last record I ever filmed with snarky Puppy was an album called family dinner volume two. And it was just, it's just a delight. And so essentially, my hope is to be able to do more of that to a certain degree. I mean, I say that all those things took so much planning and time, there's a happy balance, where it's like, cool, like, it's fun to meet people that understand what it is we're trying to do. We want to like, bring out the music, through visuals. And it's fun to be able to like prioritize. Yeah, both sort of equally.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  47:55  
Let's see Did you Did title it correctly, man, Mr. Magic? It is like it. I mean, when you watch it, man, it's like magic. It's like, it's really good stuff. So it's fun. Oh, well, I'm really proud of you how you have taken music. And you have carved out for yourself in the world of music, a professional life. And I think it's fabulous. And I've, I am now using you quite honestly, I use you as an example with many students that I teach, saying, You need to go check out Andy. And he's a perfect example of how you have to be open in the music profession. If you are it will lead you to great places. And you'll find you will find your calling, you will find your niche within this thing called music. Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  48:47  
yeah, I agree. I think if you pursue something that you love that makes you happy, and you care about the art of what you're doing a lot, then the career aspects of it will just take care of itself later. Yeah, that's what I've seen with the people I work with. And that's what I try to do myself, I try to just work on things that have artistic value and meaningful or meaning to me. And the phone will ring after that. Hopefully,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  49:15  
that's awesome. So okay, man. Now, let's shift gears here a little bit. In turn art, let's turn our attention to jazz studies in jazz education, playing, developing our skills on our instrument. You know, as you mentioned, you're a guitarist. And here you are on jazz piano skills. But you know, when to study music, right? Really, quite honestly, in the study of jazz, regardless of whether you have a guitar in your hand, a piano under your fingers, or horn in your mouth, right. There are certain things you need to understand about the art form, regardless of the instrumentation. Yeah, and that and that understanding then governs how you approach practicing the art form on whatever instrument it is that you're that that, that is your voice. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So I want you to talk a little bit about what, you know, as when you get when you got to North Texas and you're doing you were in, it was clear, it was obvious to you that you were going to actually then pursue and an earn this jazz degree. What were some of the challenges that you had to deal with in terms of the study of jazz? Yeah, how you approached practicing it? Right? The the hurdles that you had to jump some of the frustration, some of the victories kind of if, if you can kind of just share with us a little bit about your your insight? Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  50:42  
absolutely. There's a lot of mixed guidance. And that that was a big point in maturing musically is like knowing and choosing what it is you are going to prioritize practicing on as what you think will be helpful. For me, I was technically catching up to everyone. And I think as a guitarist, where things started unlocking for me, is before I could make it into any one of the lab bands, or Texas, I had to take an intro to jazz guitar class, taught by Fred Hamilton. And he had this really great exercise of playing the two octave major scales. And you would play the same major scale in six different fingerings. And so essentially, it highlights the specific challenge of music, technically on the guitar. Whereas on piano, we have one middle C, right? on guitar, we have three or four something right, you know what I mean? So, there's many different ways to play like one thing, essentially. And I want to let my let my dog out before,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  51:54  
hey, no worries, we let the dogs out. Yeah, yeah, I'll sing why you're not gonna sing way and he's gone. So. But anyway, why he's gone, I'll take this opportunity to, to say how important it is as pianist to listen to the perspective of instrumentalists like Andy as a guitarist, or horn players. Because we can learn so much, so much from them about how to play the piano by listening to how they approach their instrument. So anyway, Andy is back letting

Andy LaViolette  52:29  
the real breaks of life. Yeah, so you know, I won't go like too into it. But I can essentially say like it by plantlets, C major, for example, it's kind of like on guitar, it's like, I have a 12412412. You know, blah, blah, blah. And then you do the same skill to 4124134. Yeah, right. And the same scale 41341, you know, blah, blah, blah, and so on. So it sounds the exact same pitches, but you're playing it in different places on the guitar. Yeah. So that was the journey of beginning to uncover just how much work I had. Yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  53:07  
And in what we what I would call that on piano, right. I certainly, from a piano perspective, right? This is about learning shapes. That's what Right, that's exactly exactly shapes on the guitar, you're talking about. Right? Yes,

Andy LaViolette  53:20  
yeah. Because you need, you have to develop a vocabulary within each of those shapes. And to know, right, when each shape has its own relevant time that it has a reason for being the chosen shape, that's going to get your sound out, right. So I think that was really the key for me. And, and but then all of that, thankfully, I feel really built on the foundation that you and I built together. Well, you built and I just kind of handed you the hammer and stuff like that, but made tea and sandwiches, you know, of chord tones. I loved going to the University of North Texas and understanding like the importance of the knowledge of like chord tones and chromatic approachment to those chord tones, and good rhythmic feel. That's it? Like, that's all that really matters. And so, the essentially, for me, it just became a game of like, okay, cool. Where are all the chord tones, like the arpeggios and stuff like that, like within all these new fingerings that I've found, and how can I apply all this stuff that Bob has taught me using this new roadmap on the neck of the guitar? And that's what I that's what I worked on.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  54:27  
Yeah, well, you know, and I'm glad you brought up chord tones, because we tend to, and I say we, I'm talking about jazz teachers, second, not jazz students. I'm talking about jazz teachers, jazz teachers, we jazz teachers, tend to at times, make the study of jazz much more abstract, much more complicated, much more difficult than what is It is. Yeah, it is. I'm talking at least conceptually, right. I understand there's the physical aspect of developing your skills on the instrument, whether it's the piano or guitar. But look when it comes to improvising, right? Yeah, you're talking about chord tones. Andy, if you have a C major seven, why not Jack around with the notes? C, E, G, and B, can you? Can you exactly can you play something? re-usable with the notes, C, E, G, and B, there's the note there the notes of the chord. Can you write that? Right, right. I mean, it doesn't need to be more complicated than that. No,

Andy LaViolette  55:39  
yeah, exactly. Yeah. How can I make musical ideas? Because I think that specifically, we're starting with the 1357. The idea is, well, let me get my foundational ideas there. So that later on when I start improvising using the extensions and whatnot, I'm basing that improvisation off of shapes that I used when I was considering the 1357. Well, now I'm thinking 3579. Okay, well, hey, it feels like E minor seven. You know what I mean? Like, we have the five, seven shapes. Because,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  56:09  
because 3579 isn't 1357? Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  56:13  
exactly. Exactly. It's sort of you start to see that it's all the same, you know?

Dr. Bob Lawrence  56:18  
So yeah. So if you learn your 135 sevens, you now know, your 357 nines, you know, your five, seven nines, elevens. And, you know, your seven nines, elevens and third teams. Yeah, I mean, exactly, exactly. So spend time learning 1357 and get real good at it, and then we'll start moving it around. Right,

Andy LaViolette  56:36  
right, exactly. And I think that, yeah, you really start to learn that later on, as you kind of, you know, get a little bit more experience, you know, that you can start to rely on these older, very familiar shapes to make new sounds like for example, if I'm playing C major seven, I might play like a B minor pentatonic, and it's like, that's gonna be pretty hip, you know, like that. That'll get me there.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  56:58  
It's going to be very hip. Yeah. You know, so yeah. So, you know, I always teach I think you and I've talked about this with with your daughter, you know, in her lessons, you know, I'm always talking about, I'm always talking about it's simple arithmetic, jazz is simple arithmetic, it's four, plus three, plus five. So you have your four chord tones, 1357, you have your passing tones, the three passing tones, which now you have the scale. Yep, exactly. And then you have the five notes that reside outside the scale or the key, which would be your tension tones, or your half step. approachment. Yes, so you should actually learn to develop and study it. Always study harmony from a four plus three plus five perspective. Yeah. And if you can, if you understand that conceptually, then that will govern the way you actually practice, you should actually practice in that sequence as well. Right? And then yeah, and then. And then what you learn, and I've already started prepping your daughter on this is what is what you learn is that the third, the third, that makes up all our harmonic shapes? Yeah, heard, right? Right, the third, the third contains everything we need to improvise, you have arpeggio motion from the, from the one to the three, or from the three to the five, or from the five and seven arpeggio motion, right? You have the passing tone between that arpeggio motion, which now we have the scale movement, and then you have the notes outside within the third that create the tension. Right? So you have arpeggio, you have scale, you have tension. Yeah, right? Yeah, exactly. You're and your job as a student, my job as a student, is to understand that conceptually, and then figure out a way to actually meaning to do it in a meaningful way. Practice that. Right. Yeah. Right. So that'd be so that it becomes muscle in oral memory. Exactly,

Andy LaViolette  58:45  
exactly. Yeah. And I think, for me, because I spent so many years, trying to play catch up, I was very timid on practicing that with another human. And I feel that the most advancements in my own journey was when I finally had the courage to start asking my peers if they wanted to get together and play standards together and do things because I would learn things from them. And I would be able to learn sort of, like in real time, like what it meant to, you know, to try some of the things now, when they weren't available. I'm also a big believer in I had a pedal at the time where I could accomp an entire chorus of something and and there's many different tools right now, but I like comping for myself, because I want to know what it's like. Yeah, for the other person, you know, to be dealing with me, you know? Right. Right. You know, and so that was a, that was what I would do when I was by myself and practicing is I would come through something and then improvise over that. And I found that to be really

Dr. Bob Lawrence  59:47  
helpful. Yeah. Yeah, because you're I know you're a lot younger than me, but you're old enough to know that there was a you grew up at a time when the technology wasn't there that it is. That's your Today, right, right, right. I mean, you know, I think about like all the all the software applications like I real pro and band in the box and yeah, GarageBand and different things that people are using, you know, holy cow, that stuff wasn't, you know, the hippest thing we had in my day, which is still hip, but, but it was the Jamie aber saw recalls. Right, right. But the only problem man, I would always buy a Jamie Avery saw play along, right. And I buy the collection, you know, like, you know, 23 standards, you know what I mean? Like, I gotta get that, right. Yeah. And the, the first standard would be, I don't know, it'd be something like, there will never be another you and I get I get all excited. I put the needle on the album. And all of a sudden I'd hear one, two, a 1234. And I

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:00:52  
remember, I can't play that fast. You can't slow down a record. Right. Right. Yeah. So you know, that was always a challenge when I was growing up. But yeah, yeah. Today, you know, with the technology, wouldn't you encourage? Wouldn't you encourage students today to take advantage of that technology to be able to practice?

Andy LaViolette  1:01:11  
Yeah, right. 100%. Yeah, like, I think that there's value in practicing with a metronome just by itself. And I think there's a huge value in like, what those types of programs offer and just handing you a rhythm section and like letting you as you say, change the speed and hear like really great comping behind it like, wow,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:01:33  
change, change, change the, the tempo change degree that every Yeah, it's crazy. Oh, or how about this, just use the play along, don't even play, sit in the chair. And listen and listen to the changes. Right? And hear the changes. Right and say to yourself, that's a one. That's six.

Unknown Speaker  1:01:54  
Yeah, two, yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:01:56  
What great ear training, fabulous ear training.

Unknown Speaker  1:01:59  
It's amazing. So

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:02:01  
yeah, you know, so, so, so, okay, so you started doing your chord work, you know, your, you know, your chord tones, your Yeah, you know, half that approachment create some tension, developing some vocabulary and language for improvising. What? What did you feel like was the tipping point for you? What was like, were you said, when you said yourself, man, I'm actually a jazz guitarist.

Speaker 1  1:02:35  
ever said that, but no, I, um, you Yeah. For me, it, it feels like when I had a lesson with someone, where they helped me understand about, like, how to straighten out eight notes, depending on the tempo. Yeah. And I started to feel like for the first time, oh, now I started sounding a little more like what I'm hearing on the record, and it was that certain something that I was kind of missing. So it's, it's that and then I think, as it became more technically proficient, getting to a point where I was stopping, trying to play like my exercises, and more just being able to let go a little more and tap into like, phrasing, you know, and like, leaving space, so that I could like really think of like, musical ideas that were like, reacting in the moment and giving myself time to like, breathe and absorb.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:03:37  
Yeah, that's yeah,

Speaker 1  1:03:39  
I felt that was a big thing. And when we, when I would play out, I used to play like coffee houses and stuff. I mean, I played jazz gigs and stuff around with a lot of different people and stuff. But, um, I love like, connecting with the audience, and like, sometimes, phrasing is a really great way to do that, you know, because it helps you absorb the vibe in the room and the audience and it helps to make sense out of your soloing, you know, so that or any kind of improvising so the audience kind of can follow along and understand Yeah,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:04:12  
yeah, you know, a couple of things on that right. And you've heard me say this that you know, if you're playing an exercise and it sounds like an exercise then you're not playing it correctly.

Speaker 1  1:04:22  
Yeah, I think those things are great launch points right they inspire our minds to get ideas of melodic Orton movement, just you know, as far as to get ideas but yeah, it's good to be able to just kind of let go and just like yeah, I'm listening to your mind and now I'm going to let my dog inside so count the time

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:04:43  
what kind of dog is this man you know, my mind stays outside all day. I don't put my money doesn't come in. So you spoil your dog Andy? Might my dog goober goober stays outside man I don't know. He was on his own man. He's got a, you know, he's got

Unknown Speaker  1:05:02  
to probably take a note from that. He barks loud, you

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:05:07  
know. So, you know, here's something that I'll throw out that I think is important too. You know, we always when we talk about studying jazz, whether it's on a guitar, whether it's on a piano or saxophone. I think the first thing that always comes to mind, I think for everyone, is they think of jazz. And then they immediately think, you know, improvising. Yeah, right. Right. Like Sonata like, as if they're synonymous terms jazz, and improvisation. Same thing, right. And I stress and you know, what I asked you about a tipping point, I think a tipping point for myself. And I try to stress this to students. Is that when I could just play tunes, I couldn't have I couldn't improvise. Yeah, yeah. But I could play tunes. Yeah. Right. And if I could play tunes, if I could play the heads of tunes, yes. And make them swaying. Yeah, make them feel like and sound like jazz. Yeah. And I could play the changes, and I could play heads. That was the tipping point. For me. That was when I felt like I was a musician because I could play improvisation. Improvisation had absolutely nothing to do with it. Right. Right. And I had a teacher that used to pound that into me. He used to say, he said, Mom, man, if you if we can't play this head, if we can't play this tune, and make make the melody swaying, yeah. And lock into a groove, right. I mean, dude, we don't even need to be talking about improvising. Right. Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. You and

Speaker 1  1:06:46  
I worked on that early on. Yeah. Because you have to remember, we played standing side of the street. Yeah. And you really got me to understand like, oh, man, those notes on the page. That's like, just a reference. Like, just, you know, just play it, how you feel it, you know, make it kind of sound like that. And so I think that really helped. Yes, getting it sent to me. It's such as and that's what we were practicing. Yeah,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:07:08  
had a big effect. So I would, you know, again, I would just encourage listeners, and I think you would concur, right, man play heads, plate play task. Play ads. Yeah. Don't worry about the, you know, I know improvisation is kind of like the cherry on the top. Right. Right. Yeah. cherry on the top. Yeah, keep keep it as the cherry is on the top. Don't Don't make improvisation. Right, the study of jazz. It come right. But But jazz is so much more.

Andy LaViolette  1:07:35  
Right. I totally agree. And I don't know if you would agree with this. But actually, one thing that was very meaningful to me at a turning point, in my own studies, I was trying to memorize tunes. So I had a teacher in college that challenged me with like, oh, like, try to memorize like, 100 100 standards, right. And I remember thinking that was just crazy. But like, over like the course of a couple of years. That's what I did. And, and when I would go to gigs with my friends, I had a notebook that just had written down all the standards I had memorized. And that was a good way to go. But I think the reason why I like he wanted me to do that. And why I got something from it is, I felt that it gave me more time and attention to mentally forced myself to really have to know the music a little bit more deeply. And I started to be able to understand function a little more deeply because of

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:08:29  
that. And that's really where the memory comes in. Yeah, function exactly. Because you're going like, oh, 251620 Now I go to the for the, for the key and right, so forth. And oh, that's seven dominant. Exactly. You start seeing all these progressions, all this harmonic movement, all this function that exists in every two,

Andy LaViolette  1:08:53  
exactly. You start to see how it all repeats. And it's like, yeah, and I got this like,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:08:59  
yeah, you know, I have told this story many times to jazz panel skill listeners, and to the folks in the masterclass that I have on Thursday evening. I tell the story all the time about a pianists back home. His name was Warren Parrish, fabulous, you know, a car mechanic during the day Oscar Peterson at night. I'm not kidding, man. Literally like Oscar Peterson at night car mechanic is a Oscar Peterson at night. And when I asked him, how was it that he knew so many songs because he could play anything, right? Yeah, I always tell the story I said he looked at me like I asked him the dumbest question on the face of planet Earth. He said what he took his little cigar out of your mouth. He said he said, he goes Bob, what are you talking about? He said they're all the same. Yeah. And when I was in when I was 14, right when I'm 1415 that answer really confused me because to me, they were not all the same, right? Yeah, every song had a sunny side of the street didn't sound anything like foggy day in London, Thailand, right? I mean, what are you talking about? These are not the same tunes these days. front ends, you know, yeah. But now, you know, many, many, many, many years later, I realized, oh, he was talking. He wasn't talking about the window dressing. He was he was talking about the chassis in which these songs sit on this harmonic movement, this harmonic function that sits underneath these melodies. And underneath these grooves, that's what he was talking about. Right, right. Yeah. And that's the way you're getting at. Yeah,

Andy LaViolette  1:10:27  
yeah, exactly. I mean, think about just like bebop, and like, what, like Contra facts? Right, you know, like, a man. The whole point is that, of course, are the same. It's just the melody that's different. You know what I mean? Like, sometimes verbatim, you know, it's like, Oh,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:10:42  
100% 100%. So, so when you know what, before we wrap it up for today? Yeah. What? Listen, you've had such a unique professional journey. What tips? What insights? What words of encouragement would you share with jazz piano skills listeners, as they continue their, their Jazz journey in their study of this tremendous art form? What What? What tips? Any words of encouragement? Would you offer up?

Andy LaViolette  1:11:13  
Yeah, absolutely. And I think to always keep an open mind and keep searching and, you know, to absorb all the information you get, and then be able to curate that what information is meaningful for your own journey and keep growing and, and to remember that I think, I think an art form is perhaps the most meaningful when it's equally as meaningful to you as it is, listeners, I think it's a little bit of an easy way out to sometimes say like, I don't care if people like what I'm doing, it's meaningful. To me, it's, it's cool to give yourself the challenge of like, try to build a community, you know, like, play out. If you're very young in your career, go play some open mic, night stuff, you know, if you're very experienced in your community, like, I don't know, give back to the neighborhood you live in. And if there's not music, where you live in, started, jazz night, start a piano night, whatever, go do a thing, like, you know, connect, let people see the magic of like, live music. So musically, that's what I would say. As far as like those looking to, like, build a career in IT. I think that it's really important to like to think like an entrepreneur, you know, to be focused on like understanding, like how you build yourself, as a little brand, be able to do more than just play music. Understand how to build a website, understand how to do some kind of video editing, just using your phone or like something like, record yourself with your phone, like, whatever, take your headshot with your phone and get it in cool lighting and put it out there if you need to start a podcast. I mean, you know, like, I mean, yeah, right. You know, man, like, that's, that's what I'll tell my daughter is just like, you're not going to make it if you got to go pay someone for every right and left turn that you're going to have to make, you got to figure out how to do it yourself, attract people, and if what you're doing is meaningful to yourself. And when you think about the people that you're wanting to attract, and they find it meaningful, then you'll you'll have a good career.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:13:27  
Yeah, and, and

Andy LaViolette  1:13:28  
don't take it for granted. I think that's the other I enjoy it. As with anything in life, all of us can could end at any time. And I think that when you're playing music, don't forget to just stop and take a moment to appreciate like, the focus of what I'm doing right now is to feel good. And to make music. Amazing. Yeah.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:13:49  
And, and it's good to make music at any level. Regardless, any level, at any level, it's great to make music at any level, I encourage every my students that just that's what we're here to do make music man and and I think you would concur to patients, right? Patients process, you got to be patient. And here's the other big revelation, I think it's kind of like, you know, when you initially hear for the first time, it's kind of a bummer. But then you realize that it's it's actually the joy of it. And that is the journey is never over. It's

Andy LaViolette  1:14:19  
never over. It's never over. And I think it's healthy to get inspiration from other people. But I think it's really important to never like compare yourself to people to try to understand apps where it's like, man, it's all just one big experiment, you know, just all testing, which levers do

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:14:39  
well and that's the joy right? I always say jazz. The study of jazz is not like putting together a model airplane that once you put the airplane together you go well, yeah, I'm done. I'm done. I guess I'll go do something else now. Yeah, jazz is not a model airplane. So like arts

Andy LaViolette  1:14:54  
and sciences man. It's not like they're ever going to be done studying the universe. You know? I mean, there's no answer. You know, we figured out sciences overnight.

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:15:06  
Yeah, and all the findings are on Google. So exactly. Listen, Andy, man, I tell you, man, I told you it's gonna feel like five minutes. I lied. It feels like three minutes, man. It's unbelievable. I just want to I just want to, you know, end by saying, Man, what a blessing it is to have you back in my life again, and to be teaching your your lovely daughter. It's, it's wonder I'm so glad we've reconnected and I'm, and I'm so happy man. I am so happy and joyful for you and for your success and for your family. Just keep on keepin on brother because you're doing great things. And I'm so proud of you, man.

Andy LaViolette  1:15:48  
Thank you. That means a lot. I love you to pieces man. I'm just like tickled and like confused that how we've ended back together again. And I couldn't be happier man. So I'm I'm soaking it all in with happiness, man. Thank

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:16:03  
you. Thank you, man. So on behalf of all the jazz piano skills listeners, Andy, thank you so much man for carving time out of your day to day and sharing your life with us man I really appreciate it.

Andy LaViolette  1:16:13  
All right, can't wait for your next episode buddy. All right, man. Talk to you soon. Well,

Dr. Bob Lawrence  1:16:19  
I hope you have enjoyed this jazz panel skills podcast episode was special guest Andy LaViolette. All Frandsen, old teacher of mine, used to remind me after every lesson don't forget Bob. The greatest thing about music is the people you meet through it. Meeting and spending time with Andy affirms Al's sentiment 100%

If you are a jazz piano skills member, I will see you online in the masterclass this Thursday evening at 8 pm to discuss the Andy's interview and of course, to answer any questions that you have regarding the study of jazz, you cannot make the class no big deal. You can always watch the video of the class, which you will be able to access through your jazz panel skills account through your dashboard. If you have questions needing attention before Thursday, I want to encourage you to post them in the jazz panel skills forum so all members can benefit. If you need to reach me personally you can do so my office number here at the Dallas School of Music is 972-380-8050 my extension 211 If you prefer email, Dr. Lawrence, drlawrence@jazzpianoskills.com. Or you can use the nifty little SpeakPipe widget that's found throughout the jazz piano skills website.

Well, there is my cue. That's it for now. And until next week, enjoy the pearls of wisdom shared by Andy LaViolette. And most of all, have fun as you discover, learn, and play jazz piano!