Posts by James Newcomb
“One More Cancellation and I Would Have Filed Bankruptcy”
This is an excerpt of my interview with trumpeter and entrepreneur Steve Baker. Steve founded the Bull City Syndicate, which does a lot of weddings, festivals and corporate events in the Raleigh/Durham area. Steve was hit hard by the Covid lockdowns and opened up how they affected his business, to the point he was one…
Read MoreThe real reason I left the Bull City Syndicate
In last week’s podcast with Steve Baker, we talked briefly about my time playing with his band in the Raleigh/Durham area. The band is called “Bull City Syndicate” and is top-notch with the quality, entertainment value, showmanship, etc. In fact, as I said in the podcast, I learned a lot about showmanship and how to…
Read MoreWhat it’s like to watch The Godfather with 3 women
We had a little movie party yesterday. Saturday is always my day off, and unless my wife is working Saturday in which case I’ll do a bit of work and then take Sunday off, it’s set in stone. So we invited my friend and colleague Mandi (an American who specializes in making show notes for…
Read MoreMusings from and about my son Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, my 7-year old son Gabriel asked me if he could play Call of Duty. Of course, I’m currently in Vietnam, and he’s in the U.S. So I don’t know exactly what would have happened had I said, “Yes, dear son, you have my permission to permanently corrupt your mind with…
Read MoreI asked my son what to write about today…
I was having a bit of writer’s block this morning, trying to decide what to write about for my daily email/blog. Well, trying to decide would imply I had a couple of options to choose from. I had nothing, so I asked my son Gabriel via FaceTime what I should write about. “Write about how…
Read MoreBe serious, but don’t take yourself too seriously
“Always be serious, but never take yourself too seriously.” That’s a quote I heard from General Douglas MacArthur in his farewell address to the cadets at West Point. I had a subscription to G. Edward Griffin’s audio series called “The Reality Zone” about 15 years ago, and MacArthur’s address was on one of the shipments…
Read More[Performance] Two performances in Vietnam announced
For immediate release: Trumpeter James Newcomb is thrilled to announce a collaboration with Vietnamese virtuoso pianist Đoàn Nhật Anh for a mini-series of concerts in the EcoPark area, just outside of the capital city of Hanoi. “I became familiar with Nhat last fall when my wife showed me his facebook profile. I was blown away with…
Read MoreGet the horn that’s right for you
I’ve been in contact with Adam Rapa about buying a new instrument from his new Lotus line of trumpets. If you’re not a trumpet player, or if you’re a trumpet player who lives under a rock (I do know a few) Adam is a terrific player; one of the better high registers I’ve seen/heard –…
Read MoreIf you’ve got a horn, you may as well toot it
I’ve been playing a lot of trumpet lately. If you recall an email from last week, I shared how my wife Sana more or less hog-tied me, gagged my mouth and essentially forced me to keep on playing. Well, it wasn’t that dramatic, but her…persuasive words were what I needed to hear in that moment…
Read MoreBeing okay with being “un-okay”
One of my commanders in the Army band once told a story about a fellow he was serving with playing a solo in a concert. I guess this person had been around the block a few times, judging by how he described this scene. Apparently this guy played the solo well enough, but made a…
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