Tim Larkin Trumpet Interview

Welcome to the show notes for Episode #141 of The Other Side of the Bell – A Trumpet Podcast. This episode features trumpeter Tim Larkin. Listen to or download the episode below:

About Tim Larkin

Tim Larkin is a composer, trumpet player, and sound designer whose work spans decades across the gaming, jazz, and film industries.

His credits include Portal, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, and HBO’s The Rat Pack, with past live performances alongside legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sheila E., and Huey Lewis.

Tim won an Academy Award creating sound design for Best Animated Short at the 75th Academy Awards for his work on The ChubbChubbs!

Setting Standards is his long-awaited debut jazz album, and was released on August 1, 2025 on all major platforms.

The album is a curated collection of reimagined classics and one original composition that captures the emotional breadth, musical depth, and cinematic storytelling that have defined Larkin’s career across jazz, film, and video games.

Setting Standards includes interpretations of songs by Bobby Caldwell, David Foster, Jimmy Webb, and more anchored by his own original composition, “Gumshoes.”

“This album isn’t about chasing trends,” says Larkin. “It’s about honoring the songs that stuck with me and reimagining them in a way that feels honest keeping the soul intact but letting them breathe in a new space.”

Setting Standards blends cinematic jazz, soulful arrangements, and live instrumentation into a cohesive listening experience that’s both nostalgic and forward thinking. With contributions from longtime collaborators including John Paris (Earth, Wind & Fire) and renowned arrangers Maurizio Metalli, Lennie Moore and Joris Hoogsteder, the album is a modern take on the classic jazz experience.

Tim Larkin episode links

• Tim Larkin profile on IMDB
• Setting Standards streaming links
• Video of Tim conducting the orchestra at the Dota 2 International Championships in 2023, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
• The Dota 2 2025 International Grand Championships Opening Ceremony

Upcoming Events:

• Virtuosity Musical Instruments Boston, October 17 & 18
• Greg Black Mouthpieces, November 7 & 8
• North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, November 9 & 10

Podcast Credits

• “A Room with a View“ – composed and performed by Howie Shear
• Audio Engineer – Ted Cragg
• Cover Photo Credit – Tim Larkin
• Podcast Host – John Snell

Transcript

Please note, this transcript is automatically generated. It may contain spelling and other errors. If you would like to assist us in editing or translating this transcript, please let us know at info@bobreeves.com.

[00:00:00]

 

JOHN SNELL: Hello and welcome to The Other Side of the Bell, a podcast dedicated to everything trumpet brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. We’ll help you take your trumpet plane to the next level. I’m John Snell, trumpet specialist here at Bob Reeves Brass, and I’ll be your host for this episode. Joining me today is Trumpeter and composer, arranger and conductor, Tim Larkin.

We’ll get to Tim’s interview here in a moment after a word from our sponsor and some trumpet news. [00:01:00]

Well, thanks so much for all of you who wrote in and the great feedback we received, from last episode with Greg Curtis. it always means a lot, both to myself and to the [00:02:00] guests who are on here. I just had a, a podcast listener, Don, just came down from, uh, Alberta, Canada and was in town. Came in for a valve alignment.

Gave me number one, gave me some great, podcast suggestions. some trumpet players, uh, some known, some not so well known outside of Canada. And, uh, we’ll reach out to them. But anyway, shout out to Don, who, uh, visited us and he said he’s listened to all, every single episode.

so again, means a lot to hear back from you. We are getting ready to head back on the road, so get your calendars out, especially you folks on the East Coast. I will be making my third annual trip to Virtuosity Musical Instruments in Boston, Massachusetts. Cattycorner from Symphony Hall. the dates for that October 17th and 18th, that’ll be Friday and Saturday.

we don’t quite have the reservation link up, for valve alignments. As soon as that’s up. we will let you know. You can check, virtuosity, musical instruments, their [00:03:00] website, and also check out our social media. for Bob Reeves. Best, you should be following us anyways ’cause as soon as those links are live.

We will, let you know about them, again, October 17th and 18th at Virtuosity Musical Instruments Come by, try some mouthpieces. I’ll bring some vin mutes with me this time. And of course, if you’re interested in doing a valve alignment, we can measure your horn. Free of charge, although, uh, I would recommend, you know, it’s not a high pressure situation.

I’m still happy to measure your horn, free of charge. However, we’ve sold out on alignments every single year we’ve gone there. So, obviously we’re gonna give priority to the folks that have already prepaid and have a slot booked. So if you’re interested in doing it, feel free to, check for those links.

They should be posted any day now. if you’re not sure, that’s fine too. Come on by and we’ll measure your horn. And if I can get it done while I’m there, I will. And if I can’t get it done, but at least you get it measured, then you can look for us. another time we’re on the East Coast. And then, uh, just about a month later, three weeks later, I’ll be [00:04:00] heading back out this time to North Carolina.

I’ll be visiting our good friends, Greg Black, mouthpieces, Greg and Ben, and all the great, crew they have out there. We will be hosting me on, uh, November 7th and eighth again, another Friday and Saturday at the store in Mount Holly. And then we drive north about an hour and a half. To Winston-Salem for the North Carolina Music Educators Association Conference.

And that’s an odd conference ’cause it’s on a Sunday and Monday. So that’ll be on November 9th and 10th. So if you’re kind of north of North Carolina and want to come down to Winston-Salem, that’ll be a little bit closer. And if you’re south of North Carolina, I know some of you folks, from Georgia, made the drive last year.

there’ll be donuts and coffee, along with more mouthpieces than you can ever imagine. I mean, the 300 or so that Bob Reeves Brass Springs, along with. Greg black Mouthpieces. They, they have several hundred, in their store, just about anything you could ever imagine. so, come on out and, we’ll be [00:05:00] doing valve alignments there.

Of course, again, reservation link is not up yet, but as soon as it is, we will let you know. so check out our social media, and we’ll definitely have the link by the next podcast. It’ll be in the description. Down there. Okay, so October 17th and 18th in Boston, November 7th, eighth, ninth, and 10th in North Carolina.

Hope to see you at one of those events and then, uh, onto the holidays. That’s all the news I have for today. Let’s get right to my interview with Tim Larkin. ​

Tim Larkin is a world-class trumpet player and award-winning composer whose horn has been heard alongside legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, Sheila E and James Brown, a lifelong jazz musician and first call session player. Larkins trumpet works spans from soulful ballads to fiery big band charts, and as sound has shaped stages, studios and scores for decades.

best known in the gaming world for scoring iconic titles like Portal Dota two and Mist. Larkin [00:06:00] now returns to his jazz roots with setting standards, a cinematic, emotionally rich debut album that Reimagines timeless tunes with the same artistry he’s brought to every note of his career.

And now here’s my interview with Tim Larkin.​

Well, I’m so honored to have joining me today on the other side of the bell, Tim Larkin, way up north. Probably a lot cooler up there where you are, Tim.

TIM LARKIN: I wish I could say that, but No, it’s in the nineties up here too.

JOHN SNELL: Oh, that’s right. Well you guys, it’s right. You’re not on, you’re not on the Seattle area. You’re inland where you actually get weather Well, thank you for being on. I’m excited to talk about your new album. I’m excited to talk about the, you know, amazing car careers, multiple careers you’ve had both as a trumpet player and then as a sound, uh, designer and composer.

but let’s, since this is a trumpet podcast, let’s start with the trumpet and how did the trumpet find you? How did you get started?

TIM LARKIN: I started playing, you know, instrumental music program in school in fourth grade, and I wanted to play drums, but my [00:07:00] parents wouldn’t let me play drums. So, so trumpet was my next choice. And, and, uh, yeah, started playing in fourth grade all through, uh. Grammar school and high school kind of stopped in high school ’cause I stopped the school programs and was playing a lot of stuff outside music, uh, music programs and, and groups.

But yeah, I played, uh, you know, started like almost everybody else. It was kind of a, you know, an unspectacular beginning, but I’d been playing piano since I was four. So, uh, you know, music was always something that was in my family in, in, in, in some ways. And then something that I’d always. Strive to do.

I mean, I just had this music bug in me since as long as I can remember. And so, piano started at four and then trumpeted in fourth grade.

JOHN SNELL: so your parents obviously fostered your music education. Were they musicians themselves or

TIM LARKIN: They weren’t, my dad was an artist and but they were. You know, it’s funny, most kids or trumpet players or whatever, musicians will tell you that growing up they had, you know, well my, my parents let me play trumpet or let me play an instrument. But they [00:08:00] always said, now you gotta have a backup plan.

You know, uh, whether it’s being a, an accountant or doctor, whatever. My parents were the other way, man. They were like, no music, you know, I was into music and they supported it and they made me practice and they went to all my concerts and they really pushed me into it when I stopped practicing at some point, man.

They were right on me. And it’s like, no, you’re gonna do this. And so yeah, that can have, you know, that can go both ways. You know, some, some kids will, that’ll turn ’em away. And in my case, I was so into it that it, it, it actually helped me, but they pushed me into it. Yeah, for sure.

JOHN SNELL: That’s awesome. And

TIM LARKIN: There was no backup plan.

JOHN SNELL: Well, that’s it. So, I mean, sometimes that’s what you have to do is you know, it makes you more, that much more motivated if you have, don’t have something to fall back on,

TIM LARKIN: Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: If you really wanna succeed. not that that’s always the best road, of course, for everyone out there, but, uh, but it work for you.

So were you taking private lessons on trumpet as well? Be besides

TIM LARKIN: Oh yeah. Yeah. Again, they started me on private lessons right away. I think in fourth grade, [00:09:00] fifth grade I probably had I had my first teacher who was. Uh, questionable. I mean, he was kind of, I, I think he only lasted three or four lessons. He came in, he was kind of, he, he was playing in some bands or something late night, and he’d come in with a cup of coffee and, you know, fall asleep halfway through the lesson.

So, and my parents picked up on that man, and they, he was out of there in no time. And, uh. I got a really good private teacher, uh, this guy, Joe Illa, who, him and I are still friends and, uh, to this day, and again, that was in fifth grade, sixth grade that I started with him. Real motivational teacher. A lot of energy and just fun to be around, fun to play.

You know, we do duets, we’d do all kinds of, and just, it just, it’s funny ’cause when you know. It is probably the case with most musicians when they start out and they’re really serious about it and they love it. You progress pretty quickly in the beginning, you know, we all hit plateaus at certain stages.

So in, in, you know, from fourth, fifth grade, whatever. I mean, I progressed really quickly and I always played first chair throughout, you know, grammar school and high school and, uh, thanks. In, in. Greatly in [00:10:00] part to these teachers to Joe that I had. And I stuck with him for quite a while. He took me to my first concert, Rafael Mendez, to see him play.

JOHN SNELL: You got to hear Raphael live.

TIM LARKIN: I did. Yeah. One concert. Yeah. It was awesome.

JOHN SNELL: what was that like?

TIM LARKIN: All that stuff was very inspirational at that point. ’cause again, I, I was just. Trumpet centric. I mean, that was, that was it for me. It’s like, this is what I’m gonna do.

This is what I’m gonna play. And so seeing someone, you know, like Raphael play, they had just this technical ability and I, I’d heard recordings of ’em, of course, and seeing them play live. And I think we went to a Maynard concert together as well. and from that point on, I bought every Maynard Ferguson album that ever came.

I mean, the minute it came out on the shelves, I was there and I picked them all out. and uh, same, I had a bunch of Mendez records and, uh, you know, stuff that I listened to. But yeah, the concert was, it was. I’d never seen anything like that at that age. ’cause all I’d listened to was my dad listened to Miles a lot when I was a kid.

And, and I remember thinking, you know, again, I’m a kid. I’m fifth grade or whatever, starting out on Trump at fourth grade. And I think, [00:11:00] yeah, he’s okay, you know, but he cracks a lot of notes. I think I can do better than that. I, you know, I didn’t get the gist of it at the point at that point, but, uh, so yeah, it was really inspirational, you know, and again, that’s, that’s so, um.

Fortunate that I had a teacher and parents that would take me to that kind of stuff and give you, you know, it’s not about, it’s not just about sitting home and practicing your attitudes and scales and that kind of stuff, but getting a really well-rounded exposure to music and trumpet stuff. So it, it was great.

It

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. See, yeah. I mean, yeah. Points to, yeah. You know, yelling at someone to practice or telling, no, you have to do this every day, but then, you know, take Yeah. Once you see Maynard Ferguson hear him or Yeah. You have that carrot now dangling in front of you. Say, yes, I want to do that.

TIM LARKIN: experience too, you know? I mean, seeing a big band live as opposed to hearing on a recording, I mean, it just hits you right here. It’s like, wow, that is really powerful. So it made a huge impact.

JOHN SNELL: So it, I mean, it sounds like you were, you know, had one career [00:12:00] path and you knew what you wanted to do from a fairly young age. Is that correct?

TIM LARKIN: Oh yeah. I mean, I remember, so I ended up going to Cal State Hayward, which is now Cal State East Bay, which is a, they had a music school up there and I went up there when I was. again, probably in fifth grade or whatever, I went up there and said, this is where I want to go to school. And, uh, ’cause it was a music school is what I heard.

And, uh, that’s where I ended up going to school and see, I mean, it was, you know, there’s a, there’s a few times where the path kind of varied a little bit, but for the most part there it was like, that was just it. I never thought I’d ever do anything different. And, uh uh, and that’s, yeah, that’s how it ended up.

JOHN SNELL: Amazing. So do you have any aspirations? Did you want to be Maynard Ferguson? Did you wanna be an orchestral player, or you just wanna play the trumpet in any kind of form?

TIM LARKIN: Well, yeah, I think that, I mean, I luckily was exposed to a bunch of different kinds of music, you know, growing up, whether it was, I mean, from classical to jazz. Big band stuff. I mean, to this day, if I hear a big band chart on the radio in the car, I practically have to pull over ’cause I can’t drive just listening to it.

[00:13:00] But I think my biggest goal at one point was to be a session player. Just do whatever kind of recording work I could come. And that, that to me was the ultimate ’cause. It’s like you just doing whatever type of music you, you know, you never know what you’re gonna hit at the, on the, what’s gonna be on the stand.

And that was a challenge. And I, I remember, I, I took lessons from Claude Gordon for a while. He was, he kind of instilled this fear in you. It’s like, you gotta be ready man, when you, you know, when that door opens, you gotta be there. If you can’t do it, you’re outta there and someone else comes in and they can do the gig, right?

So I was scared to death. I mean, it’s like, I was just thinking, okay, I gotta be perfect. I gotta be perfect all the time. And so I remember the, the first recording session I’ve, I got called for and I’ll tell you the story behind that is kind of interesting. But was because a trumpet player couldn’t hack it.

The guy calls me up and, and he says, uh, you know, can you come down to the studio? Right now we’re doing a session for a, um. A TV theme and, uh, the trumpet player is not, you know, he [00:14:00] can’t do it. And I need somebody right now, and I had just finished practicing like two hours and my chops are kinda, you know, and I’m thinking, God, do I want to do this?

And, and again, I’m, you know, I’m a little nervous about it. And, uh, I, and he goes, look. We need somebody. And I had just left my card at that studio, so he didn’t know me from Adam. And he goes, if you can come down and do it, we’ll cut you a check. If not, don’t worry about it. So I said, okay, I’ll be there. And this is over in Marin County, so it was about an hour drive.

So I drive out there, I get to the, get to the session, and uh, I look at the chart. I had a recording studio at home. My own, I mean, it was a small studio at the time, but I, so I knew how to record. I was doing recording engineering, stuff like that. The chart was written by a guitar player,

JOHN SNELL: Oh

TIM LARKIN: so it was a 62nd spot, and it was from top to bottom, no breaths, no anything.

So it’s like, I can see, if you didn’t know what you’re doing, you could go in there and just totally flunk, you know? so I said, okay let’s break this up. There’s no way I can go from bar one to bar 90 or whatever without taking [00:15:00] a breath. So let’s do 16 bars. Let’s do eight bars.

Let’s just cut it up. Nailed it. And, uh, got called from him after, you know, ended up doing session work for him. And that kind of got me started in that. But yeah, it was so, I mean, my, my greatest fears kind of came true, you know, but it worked to my advantage, so.

JOHN SNELL: That’s incredible. And so you had mentioned that you had a recording studio. Were you interested in recording? I mean, sounds like at a fairly young age

TIM LARKIN: Oh yeah.

JOHN SNELL: something like that up.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah, my, my dad actually had a two track recorder. I remember when I was really young and playing around with it and doing sound on sound and, you know, uh, slowing things down, speeding it up, which was really, you know, rudimentary stuff. But it was fun as a kid. And so I eventually didn’t, had an eight track in my house and, uh, you know, would do, uh, multi-track recordings and, and do trumpet layer stuff, you know, and, and started doing original tunes and whatever.

Got into engineering and actually, you know, I ended up working in some studios as an engineer as well. So it, it kind of helped [00:16:00] branch my career at certain points and subsidize, you know, the trumpet playing

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, was that like when you were in college or was that afterwards?

TIM LARKIN: Probably, yeah. In college. So college was kind of split up. I started college and then I left on the road with a band for several years and then came back and finished up college. So, so I had kind of two phases of college. It was all trumpet performance when I was at Cal State. But yeah, I went out on the road for a few years and, and I was always recording in one way or another and, and or recording for other people too.

Producing other acts or other artists, now and then.

JOHN SNELL: So you already had your fingers in that side of the business and developing that skillset. Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, so you’re in the middle of school and then you go get up and go on the road. Was that a, was that an easy choice to make or was that,

TIM LARKIN: me. Yeah, it was really easy. I mean, it was I graduated early from high school. I wanted to get out of there and start doing it, you know, so I went to, went to college. Met a trombone player who was putting a horn section together for a band, and it was a dance band, you know, it was like during the disco [00:17:00] era.

And so, uh, it was really easy to go out on the road for those types of bands. so I, I quit school. I, we had, I remember, uh, we had a big party going away party, and I was probably 17 at the time, maybe 18. 17, I think. And, uh, yeah, we took out, we went, we went up to, our first gig was in, uh, Portland, Oregon on New Year’s Eve, and we’re driving through snowstorms and whatever to get to this gig. and then our, we did like. Six weeks at a holiday in hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and this is in January. And again, you know, not come being from the Bay Area, never really experiencing that kinda weather. And you know, the first stop sign we come to, we slide through like, you know, a hundred feet later ’cause there’s snow on the road and we don’t have chains or anything like that.

So it was, it was an interesting experience. Uh, but, so I was playing, you know, five, six nights, six nights a week, basically. for that period of time in these nightclubs and stuff. And, and it was rough, you know, because I was [00:18:00] still developing as a trumpet player, really. And didn’t, that’s, it’s, that’s a physical thing, and you don’t realize what it takes off of your chops working six nights a week.

I mean, it’s hard. I went through a lot of different problems, chop problems and stuff at that time. And, uh, when I came back I ended up like totally changing my bure and doing something different and started taking lessons from Claude and, uh, and, uh, kinda straightened things out at that point. and thank goodness

JOHN SNELL: well, yeah,

TIM LARKIN: I could have continued doing that, so,

JOHN SNELL: yeah, I will at being at such a young age and getting to see the country and playing every night, but it does take a toll on your playing ’cause you’re still in the progress mode and maybe don’t have a great foundation yet. And also don’t have time to do a regular routine. Right. ’cause you’re playing, like you said, six, seven nights a week.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah, and I was playing wrong. I mean, there’s no doubt about it. When I look back, I was playing with a dry bure and I had this kind of my upper lip tucked up or whatever, and I would just get [00:19:00] cut up and it would just go from bad to worse, you know? And then, then you’d take a day off or two, and then it would kind of come back and, and, uh, or you’d just take it easy for a night, whatever.

And, uh, so it was, it was not good. So when I came back. I remember I just said, I gotta, I gotta do something to make this right. So I just, I remember pulling the trumpet off and just putting it back on my mouth, wetting my lips down and saying, okay, this is where I’m gonna start. And immediately things were better.

I mean, I, I, I could go from, you know, up to a high C with ease. and it was a struggle before. I mean, I had, I’d had good range at times. It was never consistent. And so I, I just started kind of from scratch and, uh, and immediately it just was a lot more consistent and a lot better. So it was a good thing and it was a fun experience.

Don’t get me wrong. I mean, uh, it was, I mean, going out, I was the young kid in the band and, and so I learned a lot. I mean, not just about music, you know, so it was a, it was definitely a learning experience.

JOHN SNELL: So then how did you get connected with Claude Gordon? I mean, did you [00:20:00] seek him out? Why him? And then what was it like studying with Claude?

TIM LARKIN: that’s a good question. I was taking lessons also lessons at Cal State when I was back in college from Marv Nelson. I don’t know if you’re familiar with him, but he was another inspirational teacher. I mean, the guy was just awesome. You know, he, again, he, he focused on music a lot but he would also then.

show you a picture on the wall of the ocean or something. He said, Hey, Tim, you know, it’s about this, it’s about life. And he, we would get into these great philosophical, you know, discussions about things that were more important than just music. Because I was, I mean, trumpet playing was my life.

I mean, like I kind of mentioned earlier and that I, I remember my trumpet’s on a stand, right? And it’s sitting in the corner there every day, and you come out and, and you start playing. That first note would dictate my mood for the day. You know, it’s like if it’s not feeling good, stay away. You know? And then if it’s, things are great, okay, everything’s good.

So I had to get past all that and that took a while where, and the [00:21:00] sooner I got past that, the easier the playing became. You know, it’s like there’s a point where you can kind of try too hard. And I think I was doing that for a while where it’s like you’re just working too hard to get to this goal. And when you kind of release that stuff.

It gets better. But back to your question about Claude. So, um, I found out about him and I got on a waiting list and I was taken from Carl Leach, who was one of his students at the time. And so I took from him for a few months until I could get in with Claude and he came up to the Bay Area once a month.

Uh, he’d fly his plane up there and he, he, uh. Taught out of this shop that Larry Souza, who’s another great trumpet player, uh, it was his shop and there was, so was the line of students there every, for like three or four days a month. And so I took for him, took from him for several years and I would ended up being a counselor at his brass camps.

And, uh, and we became good friends and, and, uh. As a matter of fact, I still play on the Selma CG horn that, that he gave me, ’cause I was in college and I, I had, to go to the [00:22:00] DMV for some reason, and my trumpets and flu horn got stolen and I had nothing. And, uh, he goes, here’s, here’s my, I’ll give you mine.

And he, he had just had one made. He was just designing that his, uh, Selma horn. so they had given, they had designed one for him and he gave it to me. Matter of fact, it doesn’t have a. A finger ring for your, your pinky finger because he never wanted one and never allowed that on his horns. So to this day, I’ve never played with a, with a finger hook on the lead pipe.

’cause it, it came without it and I never had one put on.

JOHN SNELL: What a special horn. How cool. Yeah, that it is. Definitely learn to play with no pressure. Take that ring off.

TIM LARKIN: well, yeah, I wouldn’t say no pressure, but yeah.

JOHN SNELL: Well, there’s other places or the octave key, some people call it. Well. if you would spend a, a few moments talking about the pedagogy side of things of Claude Gordon, especially since you ended up teaching at his, his camps. so what are the kind of the key takeaways that you got from studying with Claude?

TIM LARKIN: I think with Claude I think I learned more than [00:23:00] anything that. You know, you, it doesn’t work for everyone. And I remember that it was pretty, you know, Claude has these beliefs that, that are great. I mean, chest up, big breath, you know, lift your fingers high, strike the valve hard.

And it’s a very. I wouldn’t say militaristic, but it’s a very structured way of playing. And there’s all these exercises that you do to expand your range up and down, and they work, But you know, there’s a lot of methods out there. There’s, you know, there’s a Caruso method.

There’s, uh, can go through so many things that are different and tell you things to do things in a different manner, you know, and he, so I think if you take something and stick to it, I think you kind of adapt it. To your own way of playing. And I think that works. And I, his is a great foundation for stuff.

His exercises are awesome, you know, rest as much as you play and expanding your range. And, and you know, the, the way he explains breathing, through using the lungs and, and using your tests and, and kind of the myths. You can kind of dispel about the diaphragm, [00:24:00] that kind of stuff.

And again, I won’t get into a lot of details and do a lesson here, but a lot of that is really good information and his. Other thing that he said is, you know what, I think he put out a book that’s trumpet playing as easy as, as deep breathing. And the fact is that I believe that’s true.

Once you’ve gone through those, those stages that I kind of talked about where you’re trying too hard and you’re, once you kind of let all that stuff go and sort of ingested and let it percolate. In your brain. It is easy. And once things start working right and you know the breathing is right and the, your tongue level and everything and you’re not thinking about that stuff, it is just taking a big breath and playing and letting the air do the work to a certain extent.

And it’s, and it becomes easy. And I found that more probably in the last. 10 years than ever in my career when I was, you know, at times. Although it did come together a lot of the time. It’s like in the last 10, 15 years. Playing has been much easier than [00:25:00] it’s ever been because it’s just, it’s, the pressure is gone, number one.

I, I mean, I don’t do four hour gigs anymore either, which makes a big difference. I do just recording stuff here from home and, and, and my own compositions and, you know, occasional live gigs, but not very many. And it’s, it’s, it’s now an easy thing. I don’t, I don’t worry about it anymore. I don’t stress about it anymore, and that’s made a huge difference.

So.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. Like we get so wrapped up in ourselves. I think, I mean, one of the things you mentioned about being like so gung-ho to reach, you know, ’cause you’re so into trumpet plane that we overdo, you know, overuse, all that kind of stuff. But then also just, yeah. We get so wrapped up either in trying to make a career out of it or, you know, to win this audition or whatever the case may be, that then we become a head case and can’t do the, it’s just the basic fundamentals of taking a deep, relaxed breath.

TIM LARKIN: right, right. Yeah, when you figure out what works, it’s like, if you can just go back to that spot, it’s becomes much easier, you know, [00:26:00] and try to always go over to this spot. It’s just, no, just go back to where it works, you know? So.

JOHN SNELL: so it sounds like then, so after your time with Claude and then, um, and also with Marv, so your sound, like your plane got dialed in, by the time you had graduated college, or what was the timeline like that?

TIM LARKIN: Yeah, I mean, I was then, I mean, I was working, you know, doing, I mean, I was gigging as a trumpet player For 20 years straight. I mean, it was, I mean, I mean, other things happened in that time, career-wise as well, but I was constantly playing. And I mean, you know, there, there still you have good days and bad days.

Everything was not perfect by any means. and there was still a lot of work to be done and. Fortunately, you know, when you’re young, you’re still absorbing a lot of things. And I was doing, you know, everything from the salsa gig to jazz gigs. I played with the, the San Francisco Opera I played with, did recording sessions.

So I was learning all this stuff and I, I, I always too, I had, I met, uh, Wynton Marsal, uh, at, at that time when I was in college and, and talked to him a lot. And I really, idolized what he did in the sense that he [00:27:00] didn’t compartmentalize his playing. He didn’t say, well, I’m a jazz player, period.

You know, I met him when he was playing with Art Blakey and he wasn’t, and he said, I’m not just a classical player. And I looked at all the players that I really admired as that weren’t necessarily famous players because. you know, Maynard was always playing with a big band and playing big band jazz and his thing, and then, you know, you listen to Randy Brecker who was playing, you know, the outside jazz with the Brecker brothers and all that.

It’s like they had a very, a niche that they were doing, but a lot of the players that I really idolized at the time where, like you, you look at the session players, and again, that was, that was the thing. It’s like you go in and, and you’re playing a classical piece, you know, or you’re playing a, a polka or you’re playing a.

A jazz piece or you’re playing a big band thing or an orchestral you know, film score or whatever. And that was what really interested me. And, and matter of fact, there was a, how I got started and that was interesting. There was a, a seminar in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall, and it was about if you want to be a studio musician, here’s a seminar to tell you how to do it.

And so [00:28:00] a couple friends and I went over there and there was a panel of producers that were doing jingles and whatnot. And TV work or whatever. And they were up there talking about how, how they produce things and, and how they utilize the musicians and so forth. So after the seminar, I went up there and I met one of the guys and I said, well, I had a card, you know, and see with a trumpet on it, and here’s my name and number.

Gimme a call. Right? And I really lucked out because this guy, his name was Chris. Mickey was just a wonderful guy. Nice guy. And, and not all of ’em are, I mean, that’s a tough industry. And so. He said, well, I’ll take your, you know, I’ll take your car, you go send me a demo. And, uh, you know, we’ll talk. So I sent, I, I, it took me weeks to even send him a demo because I was thinking, God, I, it’s, again, it’s gotta be perfect.

It’s got, I don’t know what he wants, you know, it’s gotta be right and I really want this so bad. So I sent him a demo And talked to him and he goes, well, let’s just get together for coffee. So we, you know, no session, no anything. we got together for coffee. And, and again, him [00:29:00] and I became great friends over time.

But, uh, so finally he gives me a call. It was, and he goes, uh, you know, we’re doing this California lottery commercial or whatever. Why don’t you come down? I like your, demo. So come down and, and, uh, and do the session. So again, I’m nervous as hell thing. And this was before the other session I was telling you about.

And, uh, I was thinking, okay, I gotta play this perfect. If I don’t, man, I’m gonna be outta here and the next guy’s gonna be in. And so I get down to the, the studio and we’re all sitting in the lobby and they’re putting down the, the rhythm tracks or whatever, and he comes out at, at, you know, after about, we’re sitting there for about, there’s a sax player there as well.

And he handed out the parts and they seemed relatively simple, but still, you know, I’m gonna be in front of a microphone. This is, you know, I was pretty nervous. So, he comes out and he says, you know what, the voiceover took over all the space. We’re not putting any horns down so you guys can go home.

So

JOHN SNELL: Oh no.

TIM LARKIN: says I got, I still got paid for it and I left my card at that studio. And that’s when I got the call for that next session. ’cause my card [00:30:00] happened to be at that studio. So in any, event, I ended up working with this guy Chris for years after that, doing jingles and stuff for him.

’cause that’s mainly what he did. And became great friends and, you know, so,

JOHN SNELL: that’s hysterical. But you never know what it’s gonna, you know, sometimes a non gig leads to something else. Well, it was a gig, but a non plane thing. But could, could you just tell us a little bit what the, because I, a lot of folks are familiar with the recording scene in LA obviously. what’s the scene like, at least at the time when you were starting in the Bay Area?

TIM LARKIN: It was, it was not too bad at the time. I mean, things have, from what I understand, I haven’t lived in the Bay Area for 25 years, so I can’t really speak to what it’s like now. But at the time mean there was a bunch of re, there was Russian Hill recording, there was Studio D, there was the record plant, different fur.

I mean there was a bunch of studios there that were working. There was a lot of stuff going on. And I was, I was doing a session, you know, two or three fantasy records in Berkeley. I was doing maybe. two to three to four recording sessions a month, which is pretty good, um, at the [00:31:00] time, and sometimes more, sometimes less.

that kind of dried up, and the reason that dried up is because this was during the time when all of a sudden people started building home studios and pro tools started to take off. And so people could do this stuff at home, you know, and, um. And sample libraries are starting to happen.

And synthesizers and drummers were losing their gigs like crazy ’cause drum machines came along and it’s like all of a sudden the drummers like, Hey, what about me? and they were using synth horns on stuff too. I mean, at the time they were pretty cheesy. I mean, they didn’t sound very good, so that started to dry up and that was just about the time I ended up actually leaving the Bay Area and 25, 26, 27 years ago, whenever that was.

but you know, the funny thing was is the live music started kind of dry up at that time too. A lot of the clubs they had, I was playing the Venetian room up at the Fairmont Hotel, and that would bring in, you know, these great artists. I got to play with Tony Bennett up there and Mel Tome and all these great artists.

And that went away. And [00:32:00] you know, the Keystone Corner, a jazz club down in, uh, down in, uh, downtown San Francisco that went away. A lot of these clubs just started drying up and the shows started to go away. ’cause they were bringing in recorded music, you know, and playing with background tracks instead of hiring musicians.

People would have walk-on gigs, right? Where they’d, a trumpet player would show up just because they had to hire X amount of musicians according to the union contract and not play and then go home. so the scene kind of dried up there, and I, I fortunately, was working with some composers in LA as well.

So I’d go down to LA maybe once every three or four months and do a recording session down there. I got, I mean, I got really fortunate to kind of get tied into a little bit of that scene, which is a whole nother story, but it, that was a tough scene to break into and uh, it was very tough.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah, I mean obviously we’re, I mean, being here in LA that’s, it’s, uh, the players that are in town get, have that locked down, so to speak.

TIM LARKIN: Exactly. They didn’t look timely on me coming into some of those sessions, I’ll tell you that. So.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah.

TIM LARKIN: Of them were great. [00:33:00] I mean, I did sessions with Wayne Bergeron and he was just, I mean, he was great. I mean, sitting next to him, he gave me a ride back to the airport a few times or whatever, and I mean, he was, I, I, you know, they’re not all like that, but in general, it’s they have their gigs and they don’t want to, you know, I, they wanna protect him.

I don’t blame ’em.

JOHN SNELL: yeah, very territorial. And yeah, not everyone is like that, of course. But I think that’s one of the big misnomers when folks come to town and, uh, or even move here. I mean, you were flying down here or driving down here and to do the work, but folks have moved into town. They think, oh, I was moving to town, and I’ll start playing with the guys and players and sitting in on a studio session, it’s like, Nope.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: Get in line with the other thousand truffle players waiting to do that.

TIM LARKIN: I was fortunate enough to work for a few composers down there that brought me down to do their sessions. It wasn’t like I was getting called by a contractor down there. It wasn’t that at all. So.

JOHN SNELL: yeah. But you still got to come down to la any of the fun studios, did you get to record in or,

TIM LARKIN: I worked at Capital. I mean, I did, we did I worked on the Rat Pack a film a long time ago, and [00:34:00] it was kind of cool because it was in Capitol Records and, it was big band stuff. It was all the, the charts for the, the film for the Rat Pack. And it was like, this is where Frank Sinatra recorded this stuff.

So it was in the same room. I mean, that, that was probably the highlight at Capital. I’ve gone down there and a few other studios I can’t remember the names of, but. I mean, I later worked another going down there to mix films and stuff that, which is a whole different part of the career, but, and working on some of the sound stages, but the recording side of it.

Yeah, that was, definitely the highlight was being in the same studio that Frank Sinatra recorded those tunes and, you know, recording those tunes in that space was pretty cool.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. was that, is it Capital A I think is the one he did.

TIM LARKIN: capital a I,

JOHN SNELL: it’s capital A

TIM LARKIN: that was a while back. Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. The internet will correct me in us. I’ll get an angry email. Well, how could you not know that? But what a great experience to come down and, and do that sort of thing. And then, and you were playing trumpet on that as well, right?

I mean, you, I knew you were involved with the project, but playing all that great Mu Sinatra music. What fun.

TIM LARKIN: Riddle [00:35:00] arrangements. Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: so, and as you’ve kind of, uh, alluded to a few times you’ve spent a, good portion of your career doing I say nont trumpet stuff, but doing sound design and composing. How did that branch out from your free, what sounded like a very busy freelance career?

TIM LARKIN: Yeah. The sound design thing was kind of interesting because I was hired as a composer for a video game company called Broderbund Software. They were in Nevada, California. and they hired me as a composer. And so I went in for the interview, and this was a staff position, well, it was contract to begin with, but then became staff.

I walked in there and I was talking to the guy that hired me, Tom Reddick. And uh, as I was getting ready to leave the interview and basically was hired, he goes, oh, by the way, half the job is sound design. Do you have a problem with that? And I said, no, I’ve never done it. But it’s like, oh yeah, no problem.

So I kinda learned it on the job. And it’s interesting because sound design, I mean, I’ve been composing for a while. Sound design is kind of very similar to composing. I was already [00:36:00] familiar, obviously with all the tools in the digital realm, but sound design is kind of like composing with sound elements instead of musical elements or, and sometimes combining the two.

So it came pretty naturally and uh, became a huge part of my career moving on because it got. Other gigs that I probably wouldn’t have gotten as a composer, possibly. Um, and I was writing music at the same time for, Broderbund was, kind of a doing edutainment. It was at the beginning of the CD rom boom, you know, which was huge.

And they couldn’t hire enough people at the time. To fill these slots for composing music and, and, and sound design. It was, it was a lot of work at the time, and I was in the very beginning of it, which was very fortunate, which kind of helped my career later on. So I, I was composing music for, uh, kids games and stuff at the time, and that was fun.

But I mean, I had a lot of aspirations for other stuff, but I worked on a game, that ended up being one of the all time bestselling games ever was Mist and Riven, [00:37:00] uh, with a company called Cyan up here in Spokane. And, uh, that opened incredible doors because, in the video game industry that was like, the, a lister.

I mean, it was the bestselling game for like 10 years or something. This was

JOHN SNELL: So you were on the original mist

TIM LARKIN: no, I was on ribbon, which was the seat.

JOHN SNELL: the sequel.

TIM LARKIN: I did the sound design for Riven I auditioned for, yeah, ’cause Broderbund was the publisher for Cyan and they had done published Mist. And so I did some, post-production stuff on Mist, but it was I didn’t do the sound design work on that, but, uh, riven came along and I auditioned for that kind of as part of the.

Sound team, and they, they, uh, hired me to do that and I ended up coming up to Cyan and, and living up here and working for them for several years after that on the def the sequels that they did after that, and ended up writing the music for their games as well. So, you never know what path, how it’s gonna wind and where it’s gonna take you, so.

JOHN SNELL: I remember playing Mist for the first time in my [00:38:00] dad’s studio on his Mac. And it was just a revolutionary. I mean, it’s like I’d never seen anything like it. And the you, like, you’re just instantly transported to a new world and the, I mean, oh, that’s so cool. And then, yeah, we, as soon as Riven came out, we got that and

TIM LARKIN: Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: like, I should have been practicing probably more, but the game was so immersive

TIM LARKIN: Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: and I was just, it was absolutely incredible.

So I mean, actually I wanna back up a second for, ’cause we have folks listening all around the world. Can you just give a brief description of how sound is, what does sound design and how does that differ from composing theme music or something like that?

TIM LARKIN: Well, sound design is I mean, everything you hear aside from music, basically, I mean, you’re in a virtual world, right? These are all pixels. They’re not, I mean, even on films, uh, I mean, we do documentary stuff where I’m at Valve, where I’m working now, and, and. And, uh, different video stuff, but and video trailers.

But in games, for the most part it’s all virtual stuff. So when you’re, you’re creating a, an environment or a [00:39:00] player that’s moving around doing things, whatever they’re doing. You have to create those sounds for it. They’re not they don’t, exist in the real world because those characters in those places don’t exist.

So you need to create those soundscapes, whether it’s just the ambience, you know, for an area, whether, you know, if you’re walking by a creek or a river, whatever, you gotta hear that, right? Or you’ve gotta hear birds or ambi, whatever you create in this ambiance, whether it’s real or not real. And a lot of ’em aren’t real because they’re.

Based on these fantasy worlds. And then whatever happens mechanically, you know, whether it’s a door opening or footsteps, all that has to be covered. so you have to cover that. But also then you’re, you’re kind of responsible in some cases. of player awareness, sound design can also end music.

Can give clues to the game states, you know, as to where you are and, and, and, and how, uh, how you need to react to things. Things that are happening off screen. It’s the same with film. you know, most of the sound design that’s done in film is done post-production because there’s a lot going on on a film set.

I mean, there’s, [00:40:00] there’s cameras, there’s a lot of things, and you, you can’t get the ideal. studio quality quietness and, and isolation that you can get, you know, in post-production. So all that, you know, and Star Wars, I mean, obviously there, that’s all, stuff that needs to be created after the fact.

Those things don’t exist. So that’s all.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah.

TIM LARKIN: I mean, the Ben Burt, who did the sound design on that stuff was just so innovative in how he did it and creating these sounds for the, the spaceships and whatever. I mean, one of them is Darth Vader’s. ship it was created with an elephant the sound of an elephant screaming, you know, it’s like that’s the basic sound for that, that engine of that particular vehicle. So, uh, yeah it’s, it’s, so that’s the difference. And, and then you can also, you know, you can bring musical elements into that if you want, and you can bring sound design elements into music.

So it’s kind of an interesting crossover sometimes.

JOHN SNELL: Fascinating interplay of the two and so, you just went all in and I love that you said, you know, Hey, can you do sound design? Sure, no problem. Even though you’d never done it before. [00:41:00]

TIM LARKIN: Right. Well, it’s like you get on a trumpet gig and they say, have you ever played, uh, you know, have you ever played a salsa gig before? And you, you say, sure. You know, and you go do, if you can read it and you can do it, you know, you go and give it a shot. So.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah, I mean, that’s great advice. And I, it reminds me of one of my professors at Cal State Northridge, Dr. Julia Henan said in one of her classes, in the same, same context, if someone asks you if you can do it, and there’s a book written about it, you say, yes, cause then they’ll hire you and you go home and you read that book that night, you know, now it would be like, you know, Google it or whatever, you fi or figure it out.

TIM LARKIN: Right, right.

JOHN SNELL: so after doing Riven, and I mean you, uh, you said you were working for bro, uh, Broderbund and then,

TIM LARKIN: some freelance, so, but I ended up working for Valve. I, I’ve been with Valve now for. 21 years, I think, doing audio stuff. And cool thing about Valve is, um, I mean I’ve been working on a game called Dota for about 15 years now, but also various, I mean, I’ve gotten, been able to work on some great games there, as [00:42:00] you know, half-life, portal, Counterstrike, a bunch of other stuff.

as well as. when I started working on Dota, it became an eSport. So, the cool thing about that is we started doing, we did a film base called Free to Play. Where we followed three or four of the players, we ended up following three for the film. So I got to do we traveled around and filmed them and, uh, I didn’t do all the, the filming, but I was on some of the sessions afterwards where we went out and, and I did production sound even for us.

So we traveled around the world recording these different video game players. So we got to do films and videos and stuff on these players as well as getting to create music for the game. I did some sound design for the game in the beginning. so it’s an eSport. They, we started this tournament called the International about 15, 14 years ago.

valve donated a million dollars to the tournament, so it was a million dollar tournament for these kids. And so they’re playing this tournament. It’s like, you know, they’re 17, 18, 19 years old and they got this chance to win this big [00:43:00] money. And then eventually this tournament just steamrolled.

it turned into now where we’re doing these tournaments, the international, we do one a year. In arena, 30,000 seat arenas in, in sh Shanghai we did. And the prize pool at one point made it up to $45 million. I mean, so for an eSport so the, you know, a team of five would, I mean that it would be split over, obviously, the various teams and their seating and the, and how they ended up in the tournament.

But I think the winning team one year took home $15 million, I think out of that, or 50, close to 20 million, something like that. Uh, and the fan base just, you know, went exploded. so every year I get to do a live, well, not every year, but most, some of the years we’ve done a live concert of the Doda music.

And so it’s all this big epic orchestral stuff. So I get to conduct an orchestra in these arenas with, you know, 20, 30,000 people. I’m, I’ve, I’m leaving for Germany in two weeks to do one in Hamburg at, at the [00:44:00] Barclays Arena. for the 14th International, I think it is. So it’s been this incredible experience that this game has brought, being able to do film, being able to do musics and sound design and live concerts and all this stuff, it’s just been, uh, uh, it something I never, ever thought would happen.

So, and occasionally playing trumpet on some of the stuff, on the scores that I do. So,

JOHN SNELL: Yeah, I was gonna say, so, and I mean, you’ve been doing this for almost 30 years now and, and looks like many different facets besides just the composing and the sound engineering, the production and stuff. And, and you get to record yourself, right? So you’re still keeping your chops up during this time and, and recording when you can.

TIM LARKIN: Absolutely. I mean, I, I, uh, I still work for a few composers now and then that we, that I’ve worked for over the years. And again, became friends with these guys many, many, many years ago So I do all that remotely from here. when I’m doing a score for Doda, if it requires some trumpet stuff, I’ll put it in there.

I mean, I don’t. I try not to [00:45:00] use samples trumpets, so I’ll use, uh, live trumpets whenever I have the, uh, the chance to. But I do, you know, the rest of the orchestral stuff is, is often sampled. But I also do get to record on occasion. I’ve recorded the Seattle Symphony. I’ve recorded Buddha in Budapest, this, uh, symphony there.

They have a film orchestra. I’ve done it remotely. And then, uh, went to Salt Lake City and recorded the orchestra there. I recorded the. Members of the Mormon Tabernacle choir there at one point, so I’ve gotten to do a lot of live stuff as well. But you know, the majority of it is sample based now as far as the music, at least as sweetening or as as a base for it.

And then adding live musicians on top of it.

JOHN SNELL: Interesting. But it’s still, I mean, it’s blossomed since I’ve obviously, since you first started doing mist. you know, the video game industry is what, how many tens or hundreds of billions of dollars industry and I think it outpaced, uh, film quite a few years ago.

TIM LARKIN: It didn’t. It started, yeah, it was, it didn’t take long, I mean, 25 years ago to outpace film.

JOHN SNELL: then in the recording I know in LA there was a switch, even though a lot [00:46:00] of it is recorded elsewhere now. But there’s still a fair amount of video game recording out here which is which is good ’cause there’s not as many films being recorded anywhere anymore.

TIM LARKIN: Right, right.

JOHN SNELL: so I gotta know, so you’ve composed and you do sound design for all of these, you know, aliens and shoot ’em up games and things like that.

Like, you’ve gotta have some stories about like, just the craziest sounds you’ve had to create, or scenes or something you had to score for.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah. You know, I mean you just come up with creative ways to come up with sounds. Sometimes. I remember. You know, sometimes I, I remember recording my, when my kids were young, they had a big wheel, you know, and so I was recording sounds from that to get a certain kind of moving, you know, circular sound, whatever I was, I had this one sound that was kind of cool.

What I did for Riven, where it was this, you know how when you put your hand in you, you place it in those nails and it makes an imprint of your hand and you pull it out? Well, there was a kind of a device that did that and it only, it was on a much larger scale and had these nails that would come down or spikes and [00:47:00] they would form a map.

A map if you solved one of the puzzles or something. So I remember. Getting, you know, these heavy different gauge nails and throwing them up and catching them, and then then mixing those all together to get this sound of this huge board of nails coming down. I mean, it’s, it’s a fun, creative process.

You can just have a, a great time making these sounds. as far as music, I mean, there’s, sometimes you write, I was thinking of this the other day. It’s like, for 30 years now. I’ve been writing music for other people, for the most part. I mean, I, have a lot of autonomy in what I’ve been able to do.

I’ve been so lucky with Cyan and with Valve that, you know, they kind of rely on you to do what you do. And they trust your instincts, but, um, it’s always been kind of writing for someone else and doing something that’s maybe not what you want to. Specialize in or do, but so sometimes you, I’ve written music over the years on some freelance projects that I didn’t enjoy, you know, or wasn’t really particularly proud of.

I mean, you do the best job you can and do the best [00:48:00] music you can write, but sometimes the producer will come along and they want something else that doesn’t always line up with what you think is, is good or not, but you have to do it anyway. So.

JOHN SNELL: not calling the shots at that point and

TIM LARKIN: Exactly. So yeah, your final product isn’t something maybe that you would consider you know, stellar, but, so there’s a few of those out there.

JOHN SNELL: so, so that’s that perfect segue into where I was about ready to go, and you got to call the shots on your own album, right.

TIM LARKIN: I did, and that’s one of the reasons I did it. I was thinking it’s like, well, this is something I really want to do, and so I. did it my extra time I started it about two years ago and, uh, was just kind of dabbling and, and, uh, the first tune I did was Wichita Lineman, actually.

And the reason I did it is I heard, the tune maniac, which was, A pop tune of the late seventies, early eighties, I think it was, that Michael Simo did. And, and it was like, I remember playing it in bands, you know, I was playing keyboards or whatever on bands sometimes too, and playing that tune, [00:49:00] and I’d never really thought much of it.

And Michael Simo redid it and he rearranged it in an orchestral jazz version. And it’s like, this is a beautiful tune. I mean, and so you think about. It made me start thinking, well, what tunes could be redone that have really iconic melodies? And most of my music influences. Especially in pop music, we’re from the late seventies, early eighties when I think it was just the golden age of pop music.

’cause everybody was producing that music live. Right? There was, there was melodies, there was, uh, great production involved. The great studio players involved. It was before people started using, for the most part, using sequencers and synthesizers and doing it in their, you know, in their homes and whatever.

And music was, I mean, there was just some incredible music that came out of that era. And so I started thinking about the tunes that I really enjoyed that had great changes and great melodies. And so I went ahead and rearranged those. and also I don’t want to cut out people that I had [00:50:00] working on it as well.

There was friends that I had that worked on it with me that, in some cases, that did arrangements as well. But I think I did arrangements on five of the tunes. Yeah, five of the tunes.

JOHN SNELL: Amazing. So the album is setting standards and it just came out in August. Right.

TIM LARKIN: Right, right.

JOHN SNELL: ’cause that’s, I know, it’s like having a baby. Like it’s, you have these ideas in your head and and I, I mean, I would think like, I mean, like you said, you’re composing all the time for other people.

But then to have something that’s just all your own was that different for you? Was that, was it difficult to put it out to the world?

TIM LARKIN: No, because I really, I connected with it. Mean, I really connected with that music a lot, so I, I didn’t have any reservations about when I listened to the tunes as a whole. I’m really happy with them. I think that, one of the problems though is that I. With music today is that not many people listen to music.

You don’t sit down and put a record on and listen to it from start to end anymore. You know? I mean, people are swiping their phones after six seconds is the average, I think something like that. So to keep their attention is tough, and I [00:51:00] don’t expect that a lot of people will listen to it from beginning to end.

And I think that’s, that will be sad if that happens because these tombs really develop. I mean, I took a lot of time and effort into making sure that. that it wasn’t number one too self-indulgent. I am not here to play a million notes as fast as I can and prove anything I want to respect the tunes and do solos that respect the tunes.

And so the solos aren’t, I’m not trying to, you know, be Dizzy Gillespie on this stuff. I’m trying to do melodic stuff and my, the inspiration for solos came from. people like Pat Metheny or whatever, you listen to him do a solo on guitar and his solos are like writing a tune. I mean, hi, you know, it’s not just, I’m playing through changes, playing scales, going from one thing.

His, his solos are so melodic they have arcs and, and, and they, they have tension and release. And so that’s what I tried to do and not, I remember going to see a trumpet player, a famous trumpet player here in Spokane, a while back. Going to see him play some of his tunes that I really enjoyed.

It was [00:52:00] great, but they took about 15 or 20 minutes, and I’m not gonna say who it was, but, and he did this self-indulgent thing where it’s like, it was a bass, I think it was bass, keyboards and trumpet and maybe a guitar, he just started playing. It was right. It was kind of interesting to me because I’m a trumpet player and I could see what he was doing, but for the audience, he lost them.

They started, I mean, there was a bass solo that was like five or six, seven minutes long. And then the drummer took a solo and then, then he took a solo and they’re just going out and they’re kind of improvising on the spot, which is really cool. But for a general audience, I wanted people to listen to it and say, oh, this, you know, I, wanted them to remain engaged.

And so I, I think I accomplished that with these tunes. So I, I hope that people listen to it. will listen from start to end because theyre, they, they evolve, each tune kind of evolves and has a. An arc to it. So I hope that happens.

JOHN SNELL: Well, I definitely think so. We’ll have the links for folks to, uh, it’s on Spotify, whether you love or hate Spotify. It is an

TIM LARKIN: on all the [00:53:00] streaming platform, so yeah, if you hate Spotify, go

JOHN SNELL: streaming platforms, if you wanna support another place, that’s fine. We’ll have the links to that we’ve been listening to here at the shop.

And the, I mean, obviously you do this for a living. The production is top notch. The, uh, what, through the fire? It has like, choir on it as well, and

TIM LARKIN: Okay. Through the fire. It’s interesting, a friend of mine I played in a band with years ago, John Paris, he’s the drummer for Earth, wind and Fire. And so we reconnected a few years ago and he was really excited to help out on this project. He’s singing on that. That’s him singing and he plays drums on, on five of the tracks too.

And the guitar player from Earth, wind and Fire is playing on it as well. Serge, Demetri Vic. so they’re playing, they added a lot to it, but he did vocals on that tune and also on heart of mine. So, it’s him double tracking himself or triple tracking, himself. he’s a great singer.

I mean, you see him play with Earth, wind and Fire. I think he sings on one tune. It’s like, man, John, you gotta get out there because. Great vocalist, man. He’s,

JOHN SNELL: he is [00:54:00] also pretty busy in the back too, with that hand.

TIM LARKIN: He lays it down. He lays it

JOHN SNELL: So has search man. I’ve heard them a few times and I mean, well. Top-notch band all around. But those guys in particular, I mean, really fun album. And it’s interesting listening to it. I could hear your experiences like creating environments like, ’cause it, like they’re tunes.

We all know, especially Wi Wichita lineman we were talking about earlier is like our, one of our favorite tunes to listen to at the shop. And so to hear that reimagined, you know, while honoring the original tune, but just creating a whole different space around it was really cool. Really. Like, I’m mean, that’s why I’m not an album, album reviewer.

Not the best with words, but you get what I’m saying. Really cool. John Snell, you can put that on the back of the album.

TIM LARKIN: Thanks.

JOHN SNELL: yeah, I mean it’s just, it was very refreshing I guess is a, is a good word. yeah, both honoring the tunes while also doing something original. I wanna do wanna talk about the original on there.

Speaking of which is, uh, gum shoes, right? That’s an original composition of yours.

TIM LARKIN: correct.

JOHN SNELL: Tell us about that.

TIM LARKIN: kind of in the film. [00:55:00] Mode, uh, Chinatown, that kind of feel. I originally wrote I was working on a Dota piece actually, and uh, we were doing a video. It was kind of in that style of the sixties film noir, black and white, you know, smoke-filled room with a detective. And I wrote this little 32nd snippet for it that, uh, it turned out to be gum shoes.

So what I, I really liked what I had done for that. And so I rewrote it, rerecorded it, rearranged it, extended it out. I think it’s like four minutes long now or something. And, uh, just has that, that vibe. That’s kinda like a chill laid back, Film noir. I mean, it’s, it would, and that’s why I called it gum shoes.

’cause if you know, the history behind the word gum shoe is what they used to call detectives in the sixties and fifties because they would wear shoes with rubber soles to, to remain quiet ’cause they’re detectives. So that’s where the title came from because it’s, it came from that the derivative of gumshoe from the original idea.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. What fun [00:56:00] my guests always hate me about this ’cause you literally just dropped the album. But I have to ask, do you have something else in the pipeline? Like, now that you have this out there, are you gonna work on a volume two?

TIM LARKIN: don’t know about volume two, but I’ll def I have a few other tracks that I kind of started. didn’t get on the album that I just didn’t finish in time and, uh, started afterwards. And so I think I’ll put a bonus track out or two, and then I’ve got some ideas to work with John again. And, uh, another guy, Eddie MA sax player that I worked with, uh, years ago in, in a group called All Is One with John.

so I think we’re gonna put something together and try to, you know, it was a fun experience and, If nothing else, it was worth it to work with these guys. You know, if, if, if it never got heard by, you know, a million people, whatever, I’m okay with that because it, it reconnected me with people and I, I, I worked with, Several other people on this too. Lenny Moore, who, uh, is another game composer, he helped me on the arrangement, uh, with through the fire. another guy, yours, Huetter, who I’ve [00:57:00] worked with in the past on, uh, Dota stuff is a, young and upcoming composer. And, and so just being able to collaborate with these people.

Was such a guess. I mean, and reconnecting with old friends. Johnny Ana, sax player. He played with Huey Lewis for a long time and he played on, uh, did all the sax stuff on through the fire. so I’m gonna continue that work of working with these people and whatever comes out of it, comes out of it.

You know, that’s kind of my, at this point, I’m not at a point in my career where I have to, you know, try to climb the ladder anymore and prove anything. It’s like I’m doing it now because it’s fun and I’m doing what I enjoy. So

JOHN SNELL: rewarding to put that creativity out for the world to enjoy. So that’s, uh, that’s awesome. Well, and then the on the flip side of it is be, you know, for better or worse, the fact that we don’t have the traditional distribution method of the sixties and seventies where you have to, you know, do an album, right?

You can collaborate and release a single or a YouTube video or a TikTok short or something of a

TIM LARKIN: Well, I was, I had an album out 30 years ago. I was signed [00:58:00] with Rhino Records, which was Warner Brothers and and it was a nightmare. getting paid and, and the, the legal stuff to go through and whatever, what ended up, and there’s many stories I could tell about that, I mean, it’s almost a blessing that’s not the only avenue anymore because it’s just, uh, it was very difficult and getting signed was, was difficult, you know?

And, and then, uh, yeah, I, I could go through stories on that, that would take another

JOHN SNELL: Yeah, well, we’ll do a follow up the getting a record label deal the other side of the other side of the bell. I do want to, uh, just kind of wrap up here with trumpet plane because I mean, you’ve had a, the last few decades of fabulous career in the, uh, doing the composition thing. what’s your daily routine?

Like? What, how do you keep your chops in good enough shape that you can sound great on an album and still record and some of the things you could call for?

TIM LARKIN: Well, I don’t have a daily routine anymore, I went 20 years without missing a day of practice. A day of playing. I mean, literally, I brought my trumpet with me on my [00:59:00] honeymoon. You know, it’s like, there was not a day that I missed. And I, I remember, you know, the famous docs Everson quote, where it’s like, if I miss a day of practice, I know it.

If I miss two days, my audience knows it. Or my band knows it three days. The audience knows it. And I found that, that, for what I’m doing, and I do, again, I still do recording sessions for people where it’s not easy stuff, but if I know it’s coming, you know, I pick it up when I feel like picking it up anymore and I practice, I do certain flexibilities and warmups and stuff like that, but I don’t do ’em every day anymore.

And I, and I don’t recommend that. I’m not saying that’s right for everybody, but it works for me now. Because of the situation I’m in and I mean, I spent a lot of time, you know, composing and doing other stuff and so the less I worry about keeping up my chops, I can pick up. My horn to warm up for five minutes and hit a g, a G above high C no problem anymore.

I can’t do it for four hours, but I’m not planning on doing it for four hours. But I think that the muscle memory, after [01:00:00] years and years and years of practice every day, you know, doing, doing scales and routines, I mean, I can, this, everything still works. It just doesn’t work for as long. But if I wanted to do that for as long, okay, I’ll, you know, I’ll pick it up and, and I’ll do a routine for.

For several weeks or several months. But I, I think it, you know, in my situation, and again, this is not something I would recommend but it’s like in my situation, it works and I don’t pick it up every day anymore. and actually there was a period of time when.

I was playing gigs here in Spokane for a while. I was playing with a Bob Kerne, who’s a great arranger. He lives in Spokane, and he had put a big band together and we were playing once a month, downtown in this little club. And it was great. It’s like, and that kept my chops and I was practicing every day at that point.

And that kind of went away. And for, I think for months and months and months and months that trumpet. Sat on the stand and never got picked up. And it’s like, I was busy with other stuff and I was, it’s like, well, I don’t know. You know, if a session comes up, I’ll do, I’ll, I’ll [01:01:00] warm up and do it. And I did, and it works.

So it’s like I’ve got other stuff that I, life has sort of taken over and, and, uh, that kind of has taken its place a little

JOHN SNELL: Yeah. But I’m glad you shared that ’cause I, yeah, I think we ski into that story. This, you know, I’ve heard that doc thing a million times and that was ingrained in me at a young age. And then yeah, there is obviously something to performing at Doc’s level that requires hours and hours of practicing and that dedication, like you said, not taking a day off for 20 years.

but not all of us are doing what Doc was doing. You know, not all of us are auditioning for the Chicago Symphony, and it is.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah.

JOHN SNELL: Refreshing to know that, hey, yeah, you can take time off or you’ve got put in the hard hours and during your college days, and it is a lot like riding a bike where, yeah, those notes on the horn once you know the feeling, yeah.

You can still play ’em. Maybe not as far as four hours, but,

TIM LARKIN: I almost feel guilty saying [01:02:00] that. I mean, when you started to ask that question that is going through my mind. Do I wanna tell the truth?

JOHN SNELL: because we, I mean, we have a lot of listeners out there that aren’t aspiring Doc Eversons or you name, you know, or Malcolm McNabbs. But we almost become a slave to our instrument, and it takes away the enjoyment of it. And, uh, I, I mean, in my story, I, I play in a community big band that’s all made up of lawyers and judges and a lot of players that can’t dedicate time day to day on their horn.

And we almost have a competition about who can sound better, based on how long it has been since we’ve touched our horns. Okay, I’m gonna make it through this big band rehearsal. I haven’t played in three weeks. Well, I haven’t played in three months. All right. Challenge, let’s go. You know, and the results are like, okay, we’re not the big fat band, but we also aren’t embarrassing ourselves.

TIM LARKIN: you retain that. It’s muscle memory and it’s just memory, you know, it’s like, I still know all my scales, you know, and I can still pick it up and I can still read music just as good as I ever did. I mean, I’m still. [01:03:00] Working in that realm. It’s like, it’s not like I’ve totally left it, to become a lawyer or whatever.

I mean, I, I still am dealing with music on a daily basis in some way or another. So it’s always in the forefront of my mind, and I’m always thinking it’s, it’s funny I don’t, you know, you probably do the same thing, but I’m always thinking in intervals or I’m thinking whatever it may be.

And, uh, you know, when I hear tune on the radio, you start. Figuring out what notes they are or whatev, what’s the pitches, all that stuff. So as long as that remains, you know, in your stream. I think that again, I can, I didn’t practice today. I didn’t practice yesterday.

And when I start on my next tune for the album or whatever. I’ll pick it up a day or two in advance and then I’ll do it, you know, and, and it comes back. and I feel like, again, this album was done, the majority of the playing that I did was released in August, and I think I did most of it in maybe March, April, may.

you know, I just picked it up a few days before and did it, and it’s like, I don’t think anybody could tell I wasn’t practicing every day, you know? So I would [01:04:00] hope

JOHN SNELL: I wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t have guessed. So that’s, so are we saying don’t practice at home? No.

TIM LARKIN: No, I’m not. Again, like I said, I felt guilty saying this, but I mean,

Like I said in the beginning, you know, we talked about the methods that are good for some and aren’t for others. I wouldn’t recommend that for a, anybody maybe, you know, or, or, or I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everybody, but you gotta do what works for you, man.

And over I, again, I’ve been playing trumpet since I was nine, so I’ve kind of figured out what works for me at this

JOHN SNELL: That’s it. Yeah. A 20-year-old me would. Yeah. That is much different than today. So, but I’m glad you’re glad you shared that. ’cause like, like I said, not everyone’s auditioning for Julliard. And uh, yeah, it is refreshing to know that we can play when we want to and still play it at a fairly high level.

Tim, it’s been an absolute honor having you on, setting standards. Is the album available? We’ll have all the links. Anywhere else folks can find you? Do you do social media or anything that you wanna plug or

TIM LARKIN: have a, I have an Instagram and a Facebook, you know, I mean, uh, I [01:05:00] can send you the links if you’d like. And I, I usually kind of keep up to date on stuff That I’m doing on those sites. I am doing a concert on 11th at Barclays Arena.

And it’ll be streamed live. but it’s also be on YouTube afterwards. All matter of fact, all the concerts are on YouTube for the international. They, they’re easily, easily found.

JOHN SNELL: Yeah, we’ll have all those links. And, uh, before I let you go, Tim, if you could leave our listeners one last question. If you could leave our listeners with your best piece of advice, and it could be about anything, it doesn’t have to necessarily be trumpet related. What

would that be?

TIM LARKIN: no. I think this could definitely be trumpet related. I think, you know, we kind of touched on this when I, I had mentioned the, the people that I’d worked with, whether it’s my trumpet teacher or producers that did jingles or, or whatever, and you become friends with, it’s like a lot of this business as a trumpet player, as a composer, as a producer, as a person is based on relationships.

I get asked. All the time about, you know, how do I get into the industry? How do they, how do I become a composer? How do I work in the game industry? How do I become a [01:06:00] trumpet player? How do I get these gigs? And it really comes down to. You know, the relationships that you form over time.

the producer that I was working with, that I ended up getting a lot of session work. We were friends before he ever asked me for us to come record for him. I mean, we, he goes, let’s go out for a cup of coffee. And we did. We became good friends. he became friends with our family, my our trumpet teacher from when I was in sixth grade.

I mean, he’s still playing. He plays in salsa band in, in Oregon. And I call ’em every once in a while and we catch up. And so it’s like those relationships are what form your, not only your career, but your life. And that’s what’s important is maintaining and having those good relationships. that will definitely help forward your career and it’ll help you open doors and get into, you know, where you need to get to for your job more than anything else, more than just blind, you know, cold calling and sending out resumes and demo tapes.

It’s about meeting people and, and having a. A connection on a personal level? I think so. That would be my advice.

JOHN SNELL: Great advice. [01:07:00] Yeah. Amazing skill to have. And it’s also happens to be fun too, right? Hanging out and getting to know folks.

TIM LARKIN: Yeah, because I mean, this can be, you know, trumpet playing is a daunting career, so why make it any harder? You know, have fun, enjoy it. Enjoy the people you work with, and maintain those relationships.

JOHN SNELL: Absolutely. Great advice. Tim Larkin, thank you so much for being on the other side of the belt. It’s been an absolute honor.

TIM LARKIN: pleasure. Thank you.

​

JOHN SNELL: Huge thank you to Tim Larkin for being on the podcast. go check out his album. we will have the links down below to where you can stream it, or purchase it if you want to, uh, have your own download. high Fidelity download. and it’s so cool to see a player like that who made his career, early on as a freelance trumpet player, playing studio sessions and live performances and touring and things like that.

And then, uh, life. You know, has all kinds of twists and turns and gets into sound design and composing and [01:08:00] ranging for video games, and has done that for decades, quite successfully. And in fact, just a few days after our interview, he was off to Hamburg, Germany, where he conducted the International 2025 Grand Championships, for Dota two.

which if you play video games, it’s. A pretty big deal. Or if you have kids like me that play video games I mean it’s, it was a huge event and it was really cool. Uh, we’ll get the link. there’s actually, you can see the stream or parts of the stream where Tim was conducting the orchestra of, his music, for the opening ceremonies.

So we’ll, we’ll toss that link down there as well. so super cool and, uh, by all means, check out his album streaming or otherwise Wonderful music, great arrangements, You know, you can hear that kind of sound design like we were talking about in the interview. Taking, cover tunes or popular tunes or you know, tunes that mean a lot to him and just presenting them in a new different way that’s still accessible. So, really cool, really enjoyed his album and [01:09:00] even more so enjoyed my chat with Tim. So we’ll make sure we have all the links for Tim, uh, so you can follow him and see what he’s up to. Next. Coming up next episode, we have Chris Lebar, who’s the, uh, student of Doc Reinhardt. I don’t think we’ve had, uh, very many, if any, doc Reinhardt students on the podcast. So, it’ll be a great introduction, to the Reinhardt, pivot system and why that’s a misnomer. no spoilers, but, it was a fascinating conversation ’cause I honestly don’t know a lot about, doc Reinhardt and his system other than some stuff I’ve read on trumpet Harold years ago.

So it was great to have Chris on, to talk about his lessons. We talk about some Italian food. Uh, it was a wonderful conversation and some great insights, debunking some of the myths, about the Reinhardt Pivot system. Dave Oui will be up, uh, pretty soon. I just, finished an interview with him.

that’s part of the trifecta, if you will, of trumpet players on Dave Douglas’ Alloy album that was released this summer. We had Alexandra Ridout, [01:10:00] Dave himself, and now Dave Oui. Man, what an insightful young player he is. And, really enjoyed that conversation. I enjoy all of these conversations.

I repeat myself, but it’s true. so that’ll be coming up in the near future. We have Kate Moore from the, uh, BBC concert orchestra coming up. wonderful conversation with her. And I mean, my list of suggestions, like I talked about earlier, Don from Canada gave me another list of, Canadian trumpet players to reach out to.

So, now we’ll just keep ’em going. It’s been a while. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, the last few episodes. Hit that five star review button. Hit that subscribe button. If you’re on YouTube, the thumbs up, you know, feed the algorithm. someone asked, uh, how do you leave a review? And I believe like if you’re an Apple podcast, you have to actually go into the app, go to the podcast.

Page, not just the episode. And then from there, there should be a place to leave a review, write a review. And I think on Spotify it’s similar. I think you have to do it through the actual [01:11:00] page for the podcast, not just the episode itself. And of course, on YouTube, it’s right there in front of you. So again, means a lot to me.

Thank you for all of the, uh, emails and calls. We’ll keep this going. into 2026. Can’t believe I’m saying that. Thank you for listening. Until next time, let’s go out and make some music.