Pushing Boundaries: Steve Hackman's Innovative Fusion of Art Music
Welcome to The Truth in This Art. I am your host, Rob Lee. And today, I am delighted to be in conversation with my next guest. He's a visionary composer, conductor, producer, and songwriter redefining art music in the 21st century. Please welcome Steve Hackman.
Rob Lee:Welcome to the podcast.
Steve Hackman:Yeah. Great to be here, mister Rob Lee. Thanks for having me.
Rob Lee:Thank you for for coming on. And, we were able to, chat a little bit. And, you know, I don't know if you watch, like, a lot of movies, but, you know, think of those sort of, like, crime drama movies, you know, where it's like they have, like, the threads going from one point to another. That's what I feel like I've been doing for the last, like, 6 months in preparing for this interview.
Steve Hackman:Oh, wow. Oh, gosh. I don't know where that where that's taking you. We we maybe we could go get into that, but that's fine.
Rob Lee:So, I want to start off, you know, by, you know, opening up a little bit to give you the space to share a bit about your background. And I have a secondary questionnaire, but I at least want to start off with a bit about your background and, you know, just give you that introductory space.
Steve Hackman:Well, sure. Well, yeah, as as you said, I'm I'm a a composer, conductor, you know, producer. I really focus on this, the space in between classical and cohesive ways of bringing them together. And, you know, again, hopefully, pushing art for music forward in this kinda multigenre way. You know, I guess multigenre is is a good setup for my background, or maybe better put you know, I I I grew up agnostically when it came to music.
Steve Hackman:I didn't grow up in a musical household, per se. Neither of my parents are professional musicians, though my dad plays the the classical guitar, you know, as a for as a hobby. But, you know, they didn't really play music in the house, but I discovered it, through some kind of, cassettes and records that my my dad had. And then they bought a piano when I was 7 because my sister was showing interest in in music. And I just sort of started to play it by ear, and that was the beginning for me.
Steve Hackman:And, you know, they they signed me up for piano lessons from the local piano teacher, and I I just I was able to develop skill pretty quickly in the piano, and I I I showed some some, natural talent for it. And, you know, then fast forward to high school, I I really got involved in the the choir program and singing and, arranging music. I formed my own quartet. I was in the musicals, the show choir, the All State choir, all that stuff, and that's that's really when it occurred to me maybe, you know, music could be a career for me. I think it was first at All State Choir that I just had this feeling.
Steve Hackman:I can I can, you know, remember it like it was yesterday of of, you know, sitting there with all these talented singers under this wonderful conductor we had and making music altogether, and that was the the first time I I sort of, the magic of making music as a community at a high level was sort of revealed to me? Wow. And, you know, but still at this time, I'm not studying classically really at a in a serious way. That didn't come for me until, my undergrad years at U of I and then sorry. I'm getting, like, pretty detailed here, so I don't know if this is what you're looking for.
Rob Lee:No. No. No. This is like here here's the thing. Like, you're doing the move where you got, like, the first two questions, so that's good.
Rob Lee:I like it. Please get down.
Steve Hackman:Okay. Okay. Well, I got really lucky because I went to the University of Illinois really to be in an acapella group. There was a singing group there called The Other Guys that I had seen, and and they just they were my heroes, and I wanted to be in this group. We toured all around the country and even to Europe and all that, and I ended up, you know, winning an audition to be in that group.
Steve Hackman:But, the real kind of, fortuitous event for me was was the piano teacher. Gustavo Romero was his name. It was his 1st year teaching. He had been trained at Juilliard at at, the precollege level undergrad and graduate. He had won the Clara Haskell piano competition, and he's a pianist of genius.
Steve Hackman:And he opened my world up to classical music, And, I I just fell head over heels and became obsessed with it and, became very driven to make a career in classical music. And it was in those summers when I was at Hugo Bay that I went to the Aspen Music Festival and then fell in love with the orchestra and started to think, you know, conducting could be the road for me. And I had, I had I had done a lot of, you know, conducting, arranging, you know, even in high school, like, teachers were asking me that I cannot take charge with things, and then, of course, in my undergrad, with that acapella group and the choir I was in, and I thought this could be for me. So that's what kind of opened, opened that up, and Curtis and Juilliard were the the the places I wanted to go. I thought it was that was a studio that I think I could fit in, and I thought I had the right kind of, attributes and skills to get in there.
Steve Hackman:And, you know, luckily, I did and and kind of, that that set up all the rest.
Rob Lee:Thank you. That that is perfect. Literally, you're making my job easier over here, so shout out to you. And thank you for for sharing and giving us that, that background and that extra flourish going in. I wanted to to go back a little bit And, you know, so I I find that, you know, it might it it may not necessarily be something that's close to what we're doing.
Rob Lee:Give you an example. So let's say, you know, early on, I can kind of look back to, you know, when I was first interested in recording audio. Right. For like a podcast, proto podcasting, if you will. And, you know, but that that really wasn't the thing that had my initial interest.
Rob Lee:Like, I was into I want to be a comic book artist. You know what I mean? It's my first introduction to creativity. And that's what everything was for me. And, you know, it was like a roadblock that happened creatively.
Rob Lee:It was rejection, and I couldn't really cope. And I kind of moved into the writing side of things and sharing voice and so on And, always kind of look back at that, and I was able to revisit the comic thing, but in a different way. So in looking back, were were there any other sort of, like, creative interest that you had, growing up that it it might influence how you approach, like, your work today?
Steve Hackman:Well, you know, it was it was kind of always music, I will say, but I can absolutely relate to the idea that it's the rejections that will shape us, you know, much more than the acceptances. I'm a firm believer in that, and and that has, you know, has been quite a prominent storyline for me. You know, I guess I guess the biggest acceptance I had, you know, was kind of, you know, getting into Curtis. That that, of course, changed my life. But there's been so many rejections, and what rejection forces us to do is, have that gut check moment where we ask ourselves and we look ourselves very honestly in the mirror and say, well, what was the reason for that?
Steve Hackman:You know, why why didn't I win that job? Why why, you know, why why didn't I get in, or or why wasn't I chosen? And do I really want this badly enough to do the hard work, of correcting those things and improving those skills? Or am I do I have a different idea of of who I am here? And do I need to make an adjustment there and and sort of rethink what the plan is?
Rob Lee:Yeah. That's that's that's great. I I I do that sort of check-in regularly, you know, where it may be, I don't know, like I find that some people, they look, they
Rob Lee:find those sort of imperfections and those quirks because they're part of their own process. Right. It's like, hey, I know
Rob Lee:And, you know, kind of looking for when that that mix up happens. And And, you know, kind of looking for when that that mix up happens, when that kind of like, oh, wow, let me check back in with myself. Is this something I'm really doing? Is this the way I want to go about this and so on? And it's always sort of this this consistent check-in just to make sure that, you know, at least from from what I'm doing, and I think a lot of folks do this, just making sure that we're on point, you know?
Steve Hackman:Of course. Well and, you know, in success, we oftentimes aren't going to be as analytical as we should be in failure. I mean, often, it's probably always that that the case. You know? It's it's a very, I think, special and driven and determined person that, can be as analytical in, in both situations.
Rob Lee:It's great. I 100% agree. And I have a data background outside of this, so definitely start saying analytics like, yeah, tell me that SQL script. Tell me more. So in going back to like sort of training and education as such, is there like a moment that really like sticks out that, you know, was sort of that indicator of success or even sort of like those challenging moments along the path that you had to do that that gut check?
Rob Lee:And, you know, could you shut that set that stage for us?
Steve Hackman:Definitely. I think well, the first pivotal moment I'll mention was at Curtis, during my 1st year of studies. And, I was my degree from Curtis is in orchestral conducting.
Rob Lee:Mhmm.
Steve Hackman:We had a a teacher, my first semester at Curtis, doctor Ford Lauerstedt, who taught us, I believe at that point in time, the seminar he taught was on, kind of score reading, I think. You know? Though, classes with him became so unbelievably far ranging. He was just one of those kind of brilliant and and and, just special, educators. So, anyway, it was all composers and conductors in this class, all 5 of us.
Steve Hackman:You know, Curtis is only a 165 students. So I think there were 5, students in the class. 3 conductors, 2 composers, I think it was that time. And the class before the holiday break, I was the only person that showed up. And by this time, you know, 1st semesters are short as as you might recall, and and, but in the couple months of class, I think doctor and I had already kind of developed a bit of a rapport, and we both knew there was something going on, with each other.
Steve Hackman:You know? Like, and I I love this teacher right away, though we hadn't yet had a had a chance to connect, in in a deeper meaningful way. So I'm the only person that shows up that day, and he says, okay. Alright. Nobody else is here.
Steve Hackman:What is your story? Like, what is going on here? You know? Because in my 1st semester at Curtis, to be honest, I think maybe just as the the as a defense mechanism, maybe I because I was just scared out of my mind, maybe in over my head. I I behaved in a way that, and and I dressed in a way that, like, well, let me say I I I didn't I wasn't shy about the fact that I was different.
Steve Hackman:I mean, I would carry a basketball with me to to class. You know? Like, I would wear my headphones. Like, I wanted all these classical musicians to sort of know, like, I came from, like, somewhere else. I I don't ask me why.
Steve Hackman:I don't know. Anyway, he kinda said, what's your story? What do you wanna do? Like, what are you doing here? And, I said I started to talk about my own music, and and the music I was writing, and the acapella group that I, directed in college and the the pieces that I had arranged for them, and and he was like, oh, I wanna hear that.
Steve Hackman:So I,
Rob Lee:you
Steve Hackman:know, it was only a few blocks from my apartment. I ran home to my apartment. I grabbed a CD. I brought it back. He popped it in.
Steve Hackman:He listens to it, and he says, what are you what are you doing here? Like if you if this is what you wanna do and you're writing music like this, why don't you just move to LA now and just go go do this? And I was like, what you talking about? I wanna be a conductor. You know?
Steve Hackman:I wanna be be a classical musician. And he's like, alright. Okay. So he he marches me down. This is all the way up on the 3rd floor of Curtis.
Steve Hackman:We go down all the staircases. He marches me down to the dean's office, and he says to the Dean, Robert Fitzpatrick was our Dean at the time. He's now passed on. And he says to Fitzpatrick, take Steve out of all out of all his musical studies classes. I will teach him all of them individually.
Steve Hackman:So theory, ear training, counterpoint, all that. He said take them out. And I'll never forget Fitzpatrick's look because he you know, I could tell that he had a little bit of misgivings. Like, I don't know if these guys should be, like, conspiring. But there was a pause and he said, Okay.
Steve Hackman:And from that day on, I mean, Ford cultivated my my ear for counterpoint, my ability to to compose my creative side. And if I didn't, Ford Lauer said, sorry, this is his first name, if I didn't have that at Curtis, none of the things I was doing I'm doing now would would be possible. I mean, he completely fostered, encouraged, and developed my creative voice while I was getting that very kinda old school traditional classical training on the conducting side. And to this day, he's my musical mentor and I still study with him. Another really long answer.
Steve Hackman:I'm sorry.
Rob Lee:No. No need to be sorry. I I love it. This is great, and you're a storyteller. I noticed that in a few of the instances in watching you do your thing, and I definitely appreciate it.
Rob Lee:It's less work for me. Yeah.
Steve Hackman:Well, I hope people aren't, like, bored other minds, but
Rob Lee:They shouldn't be. This this one might be a shorter or longer answer to this question. But this this one is goes like this. So shifting to more of the your work these days or your philosophy on things these days is a conductor more of a leader, facilitator, director or coach? And why do you think you think that?
Rob Lee:And I'll even add in I was thinking about it. You mentioned basketball earlier. I was like, are they the point guard? That was the other thing I started thinking about. I wasn't sure.
Rob Lee:But yeah. So what are your thoughts on that, the role of a conductor out, in in those terms?
Steve Hackman:Yeah. Well, I mean, I I kinda see leader and director as, you know, kinda one of the same. Those seem very synonymous unless unless you are you thinking more of director from a film standpoint?
Rob Lee:From, yeah, from a film standpoint. Yeah.
Steve Hackman:Well, all those things. Absolutely all those things. Yes. I think and and as far as the, you know, the the kind of basketball analogy, definitely more the coach. I would say your point guard is your concert master.
Steve Hackman:But but listen. The the best leaders, know how to inspire, and I I think professional sports is a is a really apt analogy here because especially at the highest level, orchestras can do this on their own. I mean, you know, these are incredibly capable musicians. Yeah. You need somebody to start them, stop them, you know, give some cues, make sure that the the tuba that is 40 feet away is in time with the, you know, the very back of the second violin, which is all the way on the other side of the stage.
Steve Hackman:So, yeah, the stick is important. Like, I'm not saying that the job's not important, but what's the what is I think what the value that a conductor can really add is that inspiration, and professional athletes are the same way. You know, you assemble 5 of the greatest basketball players and put them on a court, you know, they they can execute. I mean, wasn't it I mean, this is funny because it wasn't a Kyrie Irving that when they were you know, it's like Kyrie and, I think James Harden and and, oh, and and Durant. They were all together, and Kyrie was like, we don't need a coach.
Steve Hackman:We could do this ourselves. Like, we got the we have 3 of the best players in the world. But what was revealed, you do need a coach, you know, because a coach is what can inspire them to go beyond what they could do, you know, left to their own means if they're if they're leading themselves. I mean, they could provide that leadership, that direction, that encouragement, that inspiration, whatever you wanna call it, and that's what the greatest conductors, you know, that the and the that we have seen and that my heroes have done, and that's what, of course, I hope to do.
Rob Lee:Yeah. That's that was that was a great answer. And, see, a short a shorter answer. And you actually knocked out the the following questions. So, see, I think we're making we're making up time because because time my time there, Steve.
Steve Hackman:I mean, there's you know, the the technical thing of conducting is, of course, we can talk about, you know, what what the what the job is, so to speak. But in the end, like, the the thing that so few of them can do is is inspire, inspire the best musicians in the world to to go beyond what they would they could be that they would be doing, you know, left to their own devices and go to a place, that that maybe previously thought of as unattainable place. You know, that's what the great ones can
Rob Lee:do. So so in that vein, talk talk about the the job. And I and, definitely, I'm I'm hearing the, you know, inspiring and the leadership component and all. But what are some of those sort of, like, key skills or attributes maybe from a personality standpoint, from a technical standpoint that the great ones possess?
Steve Hackman:Did you say key attributes?
Rob Lee:Yes.
Steve Hackman:Right. Right. Well, did you want to talk to the the on the technical side, or do you want to talk more on the sort of emotional leadership side?
Rob Lee:Let's talk about let's talk about both, actually.
Steve Hackman:Well, on the technical side, it it's I'll make another sports analogy. You know? They they say, and I and I love sports for this reason. Well, I I love sports, but, there's just so many parallels. You know, they say in the National Football League, the quarterbacks are so important, and you need a quarterback that can make all the throws, quote, unquote, you know, that that can execute the entire playbook.
Steve Hackman:And that's that's a that's a first rate conductor. You know, somebody that can, handle all different, you know, periods of music, especially the ones, of course, in the common practice, which is, you know, from from Baroque, let's say, then up to, you know, 21st century music, that has a stick technique that is clear. I mean, clarity is the the most important thing. So because that's your number one job, you know, to to start and stop the musicians, together, to get them to play together and so that they know where you are in the b pattern at all times, and you can lead efficiently and effectively. I'd say clarity is number 1, technically.
Steve Hackman:Communication is, of course, key, and I would say the more you can communicate nonverbally, the better. You know, not that you can't speak in an inspirational or instructive way to an orchestra, but the more you have the more you can show without talking, the more they'll appreciate you. And frankly, the more conducting technique you have if you're able to show it, without stopping. And that's always that's always a challenge myself. Watch walking into any rehearsal, I'm always asking myself, okay.
Steve Hackman:Because, you know, I'll I'll maybe I'll be expecting the spots that might be tricky or the spots where they might have a question about, okay, how does this conductor do this certain passage? What's his his or her tempo, etcetera? So I'll be saying to myself, how can I execute that without talking? Can I get through that without stopping? Yeah.
Steve Hackman:So that's that's you know, time management is a huge thing because we're all always pressed for time, and, there's so much to do in so little time rehearsal wise. Yeah. Those would be the technical sides.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Steve Hackman:The inspirational side is is more, I would say that's more kinda universal to any any leader. You know, do do they just have that that sort of, that that thing that that thing that's hard to describe, that inspirational quality, that, that spark, that magic, you know, whatever you wanna call it. Are they Are they generous? And just as a human, is it about them or is it about the music? Because that's a big pitfall as well, especially when you're standing up there and all these people are looking at you and all that.
Steve Hackman:So there's all that as well. Yeah. Thank
Rob Lee:you. That's that's great. It's a great answer. So I wanna I wanna shift to creative process a bit. You know, talking from, you know, obviously, you know, the feet, the fusion component, the conducting component, the songwriting component, like walk us through like what a day in the life of Steve Hackman looks like from a creation and process standpoint.
Steve Hackman:Well, the more creation and and process there are on a day, the better the day is. I'll tell you that.
Rob Lee:You know?
Steve Hackman:The, we're we're speaking right now in a period of tremendous growth for for me and, for for my company. And so there is a lot of, kind of logistics and administration and, kind of personnel that is kind of absorbing a lot of my time, these days, but I always give the morning to creative work. Well, not always, but I I I try to give that first slot of the day, to creative work, and, just depends what where we are on the calendar, what that is. That could be writing the next fusion show. That could be songwriting for the next kind of original music production.
Steve Hackman:That could be in the studio, recording because I'm working on an album. You know, but morning, definitely creative time, and then usually creative time after the gym, like, at night is always a great, creative period. Like, I go to the gym pretty late and then, you know, there'll be another great few hours at night. Yeah. And if I can get in some some reading and some listening, and of course some gym or some outdoor activity, then it's a pretty good day.
Steve Hackman:Love to hear it. So in
Rob Lee:in preparing for for the fusion, where where do you where do you start? Like, talk talk about that, like, sort of, you know, the starting of the process, something that's like in the middle and like when we're getting to that point where someone like myself would be sitting there like, oh, wow. This is great. This is amazing, and I'm marking out. So talk about sort of the, you know, the idea to the actual, like, execution within that process for, the fusion.
Steve Hackman:Yeah. I mean, well, that's a that's, that can be a very, very long process. Could also be a short one. I mean, resurrection mixtape, I worked on and tinkered with for a couple years. You know, Brahms Radiohead was written in a few weeks.
Steve Hackman:The Queen show was written in a few weeks. So it does vary. I think as I've written more and more and as I've developed the technique more, as the shows have gotten more and more involved and, lengthy and conceptual, the process has lengthened. I'm I'm in the in the process of, I would say, just the the ideation phase for the next one.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Steve Hackman:And so that means I'm I'm just kind of it's almost yeah. Again, I'm gonna use kind of an athletic, analogy here, but if if when an athlete is is preparing, you know, for whether a big competition or a or a big game or they're they're getting into kind of, they're getting into shape for something. They're in that training period. Like, I I in my mind, I know that, like, maybe 6 months from now ish, I'll start writing the the next one, which I've I've kinda chosen. And so I just put that music on, you know, occasionally, and I just I jot down notes.
Steve Hackman:I flag songs. I playlist songs, etcetera. So as they've gotten more involved, this kind of preproduction phase has gotten lengthier and lengthier, like the runway, so to speak. But then when it starts, when the writing starts, that's a very improvisatory process. I mean, it it it will it will usually start where I have a playlist and I have kinda material selected already, and I'll hit the piano.
Steve Hackman:And, again, let's say if we're talking about the resurrection mixtape, which is molar 2, Tupac, and Biggie, I just I open up the score for the Mueller. I start to play, and I've got those songs in my mind. I've already got them sort of memorized. I know what their musical content is because I've gone through this, this exploratory preproduction phase, and, I just start to play. I start to improvise and see where things can be layered in, and, you know, that's the beginning.
Steve Hackman:And then eventually, you know, a structure starts to take place, and I start to realize, okay, this song can go here. I'll write a piece of this song here, you know, I get that that that road map kind of starts to materialize, pretty quickly, and then it's a matter of just refining and iterating and continuing to drill down all the individual sections.
Rob Lee:That's great. Thank you. Thank you. That that is, it's good to get a peek into the mind of, of the artist, of the creative. So are there some, like, considerations in, like, the sort of, like, thought process that goes into, you know, fusing, like, you know, composition, fusing, music from artists that may feel, like, to many people, like, really dissimilar.
Rob Lee:But then for people who kinda, like, listen and have gone to one of the shows and seen you do your your thing and the sort of the idea and the the story that goes along with it, it's like, oh, no, this this makes sense. This absolutely makes sense. So what are some of those considerations in the thinking that goes into to just putting together fusion and put it talk about that a little bit?
Steve Hackman:Well, I think that's that's sort of the point. And, yes, it it may seem on the face of it that that, you know, to an artist composer pairing is, is an unlikely one or is, you know, not not the that maybe they're not the most well suited to one another, but there's gotta be a reason behind it. I mean, I I I say often since I've been doing this for this long, and I've developed the technique, I mean, at this point, anything is combinable. It's really just a question of why, and just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. So I would say I'm really guided by that principle, and the reasons, the why can be musical or they could be amusical.
Steve Hackman:In the case of Brahms and Radiohead, it's actually both. You know? There's there's great density, to the music. They they they they share some, they share some very basic qualities, like, you know, time signature key, you know, key, etcetera. But, again, any anything can share those.
Steve Hackman:But, there is, you know, their their use of counterpoint, their their, you know, their advancement is advancements in harmony, etcetera. But then beyond that, there's then a musical reasons. There's the emotional quality of the music. And in, like, in the example of Beethoven Coldplay, that was less for musical reasons. That was that was a musical reasons.
Steve Hackman:That was because I thought, these are both artists that deal with these universal humanist qualities. They they both speak to what it is to be on this earth as a human being, you know, love and loss and tragedy and triumph. And they they deal with those in, magnificent ways that gives their their music, a very distinctive character. So that's why I wanted to combine those. So, you know, resurrection mixtape, there's the of course, that's that's a that's a Mueller's Symphony, the second symphony, the resurrection that deals with the concept of the afterlife and what is the afterlife.
Steve Hackman:And, of course, we lost Biggie and and Tupac tragically in the, you know, in their when they're 23, you know, year 24 years old. And so, but they're enduring, and, they're everlasting. And so they, through their their impact on pop culture and the world, embody the idea of, you know, living eternally. You know? So that that's the reason for that one.
Steve Hackman:So they've all got, a myriad of reasons.
Rob Lee:Thank you. It's great. So I got one last real question, and even the great Steve Hackman gets the rapid fire questions. So I got a couple of those for you after this last real one, but I'll hit you with the real one. So as someone who is consist constantly pushing the boundaries of music, how we like kind of like, you know, understand maybe some of these, like, you know, unexpected combinations and really painting that picture.
Rob Lee:What what projects do you have coming up? I I know you touched on, you know, we worked on the album. So what do you have coming up in the next, let's say, you know, 6 6 3 to 6 months?
Steve Hackman:Sure. A big focus of mine right now, that is being pursued in tandem, of course, with all the fusion work because, that calendar is full. And and as I said, I'm looking forward to writing the next one, is my own original music and my original voice. And, you know, one of my big goals this year was to realize that original voice and to answer the question, what is art music to me right now, and what is my musical voice, and and what happens when I use these techniques that I've developed through the Fusion works of which there are many, works and and techniques, and wonderful experiences with incredible musicians and, and rich, rich musical material. What happens when I filter my own musical ideas, through those techniques?
Steve Hackman:What does that music sound like? What is it you know, what is that experience? And, I realized that for the first time, couple months ago with the brink, We we premiered that on March 9th. We're doing the 2nd installment, so part 2 in in, just a few weeks away. That's in June 8th, so I'm fiendishly writing for that right now.
Steve Hackman:And, that's tremendously fulfilling and exciting because it truly feels like a journey sort of into the unknown, into this kind of well, I I don't wanna I shouldn't qualify it in any way. It's just I'm just trying to realize my voice, and that's a very fulfilling, activity, I think, for for anybody. So grateful for that right now.
Rob Lee:Thank you. I'm I'm looking forward to what's next. If I'm if I'm being really honest, I'm looking forward to it. You're definitely on that that list of, like, oh, he's he's here? He's he's back in Baltimore?
Rob Lee:I'm going. Where's where's where's my shirt? You know what I mean?
Steve Hackman:Oh, nice. Nice. That like like I said, I'm I'm I'm tremendously grateful for what's happening there in Baltimore, the Baltimore Symphony and the the Fuse series, and, yeah, to to everybody that's come out and and sort of that has sort of adopted those concerts and and now are kind of, like, you know, loyal fans of of that concert series. I mean, it's pretty amazing what's happened there in a short time.
Rob Lee:Yeah. And I and I think that's where we'll we'll stop with the real questions. And if you'll indulge me, I got a few rapid fire questions for you. They're ridiculous. They're fun.
Rob Lee:They're interesting. They may be related to what what your creative pursuits are, what your work is. But they're, you know, a lot of times they just relate to who the person is because, you know, the the the point of me adding these in there is not to do the gotcha thing or anything along those lines, but it's to take, you know, peek behind the curtain to show who the person is, you know, versus this sort of transactionary thing that people do. Tell me about your work. Bye.
Rob Lee:No. Nobody wants to really let's let's get into the person a little bit. So here's here's my first one. This was the one I wrote. Right?
Rob Lee:When I was telling you about the, Drake and Tchaikovsky, this was the question I wrote. It's like, conducting looks very physical. After a night of conducting, what is the source part of your body?
Steve Hackman:Shoulder. Yeah. Shoulder for sure.
Rob Lee:You mentioned earlier sports. You're you're a big sports fan. What what are what are the 2 to 3 teams that you support?
Steve Hackman:Well, Duke Blue Devils Basketball, which I have to qualify because, you know, a lot of people are gonna groan when they hear that, but my dad played basketball with coach k, when they were in the army together. So we're huge Duke fans. Chicago Bulls because I'm from Chicago. Yeah. And then I kind of I'm a Tom Brady fan.
Steve Hackman:A lot of people are gonna groan at that one as well. I take a lot of, flack for that, but I'm just into the story of this guy that, you know, was a 9th rounder or whatever it was, you know, drafted at the you know, had to wait to the bitter end of the draft to to have his name called, and then he becomes the greatest of all time. And he he just that competitive fire that he had for his entire career to to always be better. I mean, same with Jordan, same with Kobe Bryant. I'm I'm, I've got the Kobe Bryant book right on my, coffee table right now because I'm sort of obsessed with Kobe right now.
Steve Hackman:Man, like just a maniacal competitor. That that's those are the ones those are are the the people that I'm inspired by.
Rob Lee:Thank you. That's that's great. So I know that in in in in pardon my, like, lack of the the terminology, but, obviously, each gesture when you're conducting has meaning in a tent. Do you have a troll? Do you ever get up there and do something like this is not the gesture, but, you know, people are trying to figure out what what you mean?
Rob Lee:You're just up there just kinda, like, doing umpire strikeout moves and things of that nature when rehearsing is going on?
Steve Hackman:No way. No way. Yeah. I mean, listen. They say they say in the orchestra business, a conductor are already is stepping on the podium with a deficit of credibility.
Steve Hackman:Okay? That that just to give you an idea of kind of how how professional orchestral musicians view conductors, and rightfully so because a lot of times, the person who's in front of there in front of them has no business being up there. So, I take it serious very, very, very seriously, the privilege to be up there. And already, my deficit of credibility is probably greater because they're thinking, who the hell is this guy that's combining Mueller's second Symphony with Tupac and Biggie? And, I spent a lot of years digging myself out of that.
Steve Hackman:So the last thing I'm going to do is you know, go up there and make some superfluous or, you know, kind of Charlotte and gesture to them.
Rob Lee:Thank you. This is this is the last one I got. I'm very I'm very interested in what folks eat, but I want to do this in the vein of sort of unexpected combinations. Is there like an unexpected, like food combination or something that's really unique that you enjoy, but people kind of give you the side eye? It's like, I guess the the apt combination would be back in the day when a Reese's Cup was first invented.
Rob Lee:Why do you have your chocolate in my peanut butter and vice versa? Do you have a, you know, unexpected combination when it comes to food?
Steve Hackman:Yeah. I would I'm a, people that know me well say I eat kind of rabbit food, a lot of nuts, a lot of dried fruits, a lot of peanut butter, and and almonds. So I will put almonds in just about anything, including, like, you know, like, you know, chili or soup or something. I just love the crunch of almonds. So that's a that's one where people are like, yeah.
Steve Hackman:You're you're something wrong with you.
Rob Lee:That that's that's wild, actually. Almonds, I I I didn't think of that, but, I I'm a texture guy as well, so I definitely,
Steve Hackman:understand, like, maybe having that that crunch in there.
Rob Lee:And, I've been putting lot of stuff recently. I wanna have a talk with that. Carry powder's going.
Steve Hackman:Yeah. There you go. I'm okay with that. I I will try that. I'm a big spice guy for sure.
Steve Hackman:And heat. I mean, I like a lot of heat.
Rob Lee:Bring in the heat, and, we're we're going nuts here. So I I think that's it. I think that's it for the pod. So one, I wanna thank you. I wanna thank you truly.
Rob Lee:Thank you for coming on to this podcast and spending some time with me. And 2, I'm going to invite and encourage you to share with the listeners where you can check out all things Steve Hackman updates, website, social media, all of that good stuff. The floor is yours.
Steve Hackman:Well, sure. Yeah. No. Thank you, Rob, for having me. It's been a terrific discussion.
Steve Hackman:Instagram is the best way, to get the the the most updated content. My Instagram is Steve Hackman music, and then website, of course, stevehackman.com. Those are the two ways.
Rob Lee:And there you have it, folks. I wanna again thank Steve Hackman Man for coming on to the podcast. And I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art and culture in and around your neck of the woods. You've just got to look for
Steve Hackman:it.
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