In the third episode of The Ampéritif Podcast, the typical
setting of host Mike’s lakeside bar is shaken up a bit. Mike sets up shop in a
hotel adjacent pub in Estonia, where he is on location with a handbell choir
directed by this episode’s guest, Billy Brandt. In this episode, we delve into Billy’s
fascinating journey around his passion for music and entertainment.
To begin, Mike probes Billy about his identity amidst his diverse
musical interests, experiences, and roles. Billy is many things; a music
director at a high school, a music literacy director for the Badger State Girl
Choir, a bell choir director, an author, a musician, an entertainer, and much
more. He reminisces on childhood memories of taking guitar lessons as well as
drum lessons at a young age, when his parents fed his passion for music despite
being ‘completely musically inept’. It was a fortunate childhood he remembers
with a grateful attitude, recalling how his parents not only invested in
lessons and instruments, but put up with a decade of his practicing on a drum
set, wearing headphones to peacefully exist in their own home so Billy could
pursue his passion.
Making Billy’s journey even more interesting, he was once
labeled a professional gamer. Our guest quickly recaps the story of how his brother,
ten years his senior, enjoyed video games and so the brother duo would engage
in this, one of few, shared interests to spend time together which led to his proficiency.
One friendly challenge in the high school cafeteria is what lead Billy to
endlessly train not only with a video game controller, but in the gym as well
to keep his mind and body sharp. What followed was the unexpected joining of a
professional team, sponsorships, and championships. Billy says that he attributes
this short deviation in his professional path to his inability to do one thing.
He is competitive, enjoys a challenge, and doesn’t back down easily.
It was in high school that Billy set his sites on a career as
a musical educator. While he was enamored with music in every sense, it was particularly
the more organized musical groups, choirs, that enamored him. There was history,
real lineage to their structure, and he loved being in choir himself.
In the end, Billy’s answer to how he primarily introduces himself
to others is as an educator, as the whole heart of his endeavors are based around
his love of educating.
Billy speaks to how he spent his time in college while his
friends engaged in the typical college behavior of nefarious activities. He
would pour over musical scores, study, and watch videos of conductors, yearning
to unravel how they brought their musical ensembles together as they did. What
all went into presenting the best concert possible? What was the ‘secret sauce’
that readied and ensemble for this pinnacle moment?
Now, Billy is a conductor himself and he can reveal what
goes into the art of conducting as well as what goes through a conductor’s mind
before a concert.
Each episode, Mike collaborates with the podcast mixologist, Lulu, to create a cocktail inspired by the episode’s guest and episode location. As Billy takes his first sip, he likens his feelings before conducting a concert to the complex cocktail in hand.
“This tastes like exactly how I feel before I conduct a concert opener. Many things are going on, none of them exactly clear, but all of them having their place. I often tell people before a concert that I am an absolute wreck. Not because I’m nervous about what I’m going to do, but because there’s an excitement and energy about it. You start thinking about all of the things that make a great performance, but the moment that light hits me or the applause starts, all of that goes away. I’m the most calm person ever on the podium and I think this is the pregame to stepping on the podium.”
While the color of the cocktail would lead you to believe that the taste will be fruity and even airy, the taste is described by both our host and guest as anything but. Each ingredient can be distinguished; bourbon, grenadine, a local lager, and lemon.
Billy states confidently that his chosen name for this episode’s unique cocktail is ‘The Conductor’s Mind’.
Billy speaks of not having a need to be musically successful in and of himself, or to ‘be Bon Jovi’. He wants to be successful in creating music and educating others, and having a profession doing just that is success enough.
Mike, our host, happens to be in the hand bell choir that Billy conducts and, so, praises Billy’s calm and patient demeanor as a conductor. Mike speaks to Billy’s patience when the group drifted their attention elsewhere or found distractions, and he never sensed Billy’s frustration if there was any at all. Billy was able to articulate the musicality of a piece and change the way a song was written to overcome challenges for their particular group to make the piece work for them.
“90% of the work of a conductor is before you even step in front of the group you are conducting. You come up with your vision of what you’re going for. That’s a distinct skill, not a talent…” something that Billy attempts to do to the very best of his ability. A conductor must portray what they have in their head, and then work with the group in front of them to make that vision happen.
“Keep going, because it will work out. If you want It bad enough, it will happen. Everyone will tell ‘you that you can’t make a living as a musician’. ‘You can’t make a career out of being a musician’. But somebody has to do it. It won’t be easy, and you will want to ‘not’ because it’s easier to ‘not’. But just keep going. You can do it. It’s not as far away as you think it is.”
A bourbon base is chosen as a nod to Billy’s Wisconsin roots, sweetened with Cherry Juice, Lemon, and topped off with a local Estonian lager.
Amperitif Content
Resources
Location
Neenah, WI
©Talkwave, All rights reserved, Product by wpaper agency
By sharing your email address you agree to let us send you emails including news, updates, and promotions. We do not share email addresses with 3rd parties.
