Bryan Lipps

Bryan Lipps is one of the amazing trumpeters who played in the original line-up. On tour, Bryan alternated with Justin Ray on the trumpet solo for Michael's finale, "Song For You" - a feast for the senses and an absolute joy to behold.

Born and raised in Roanoke, Virgina, Bryan is no stranger to the big and small screens - see if you can spot Bryan in the TV series, "Charmed" and "Ally McBeal" and alongside Jim Carey in the movie, "The Majestic". Bryan even played at a "wedding" on "The Bold and The Beautiful"!

Bryan has a graduate degree in trumpet from the Manhattan School of Music. In addition, Bryan is an honors graduate of the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, where he was in the same class (Third Class 1999-2001) as fellow Bublé band member, Rob Perkins and former band member, Jason Goldman,

Bryan is currently touring with John Mayer. He also freelances as a musician in Los Angeles.

Michael Bublé Recordings featuring Bryan Lipps

CD + DVDs

* dates in brackets are UK release dates

Michael Bublé ~ Caught In The Act (2006)*

"Caught In The Act" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Michael Bublé ~ Come Fly With Me (2004)*

"Come Fly With Me" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

CDs

Michael Bublé ~ Let It Snow! (EP) (2007)

"Let It Snow!" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Michael Bublé ~ Call Me Irresponsible Tour Edition (2007)

"Call Me Irresponsible" Tour Edition is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Michael Bublé ~ Call Me Irresponsible (2007)

"Call Me Irresponsible" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Other Artists' Recordings featuring Bryan Lipps

Jann Arden ~ Uncover Me

Jann Arden's "Uncover Me" is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Lesa Carlson Off Blue ~ Evolution into the Conscious Revolution

Articles featuring Bryan Lipps

Michael Bublé in sensational Vegas debut (February 19, 2006 Broadway to Vegas)
Lena Carlson Off Blue - Evolution into the Conscious Revolution (14 May, 2004 ~ PopMatters Short Takes)
North Carolina School of the Arts (Summer 2000)
North Carolina School of the Arts (Summer 2004)
Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the University of Southern California

Offical Website & MySpace URLs:

Official website - Bryan does not have an official website.
MySpace - Bryan does not have an official profile on MySpace.

Exclusive Interview for www.bubléband.com

Bryan Lipps kindly allowed me to interview him in Kettering, Ohio in 2006, right before Michael was due to play at the Fraze Pavilion outdoor auditorium - thank you, Bryan!

Fraze Pavilion - Kettering, Ohio, USA - Thursday, 29th June, 2006

What is your date and place of birth?
29th April, 1975. I was born in Roanoke, Virginia

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the same place – in Roanoke, Virginia.

You guys are heading there soon to do a concert?
Yeah …

You’ve got a lot of home support?
I do – I’m actually going a day early to do a concert of my own, so that will be cool. Yeah, that’ll be nice.

And do you still live there now?
I do not. I live in Los Angeles.

When did you start learning to play the trumpet?
Fifth Grade – High School. Junior High School band, I started to play in Fifth Grade … My father was a violinist. My sister played the cello. I started out on violin and wasn’t very good and then picked up the trumpet in the Fifth Grade and ended up being able to handle it so kind of stuck with it.

Do you play any other instruments?
Guitar and bass … piano … and that’s mainly it.

To what standard?
Not bad, not bad … in fact there’s talk of me playing guitar in Bublé’s show for “Home” and “Save The Last Dance” – I might play rhythm guitar on that … so, we’ll see … I’m not … I’m no Randy Napoleon!

So will that be maybe possibly for the next tour?
Maybe, yeah. And maybe even part-way on this tour, we’ll see … we’ll see how it goes.

What inspired you to become a professional musician?
Well, you know, inspiration is everywhere for me. I love every trumpet player and all the greats. I was really into them. I just … It’s simple … as I couldn’t do anything else at all, very well … trumpet was the only thing I really seemed to do well, so … I didn’t even really make a choice, it was all … almost always pre-destined to me in the sense I never envisioned myself doing anything else so erm … yeah, my inspiration was as grandiose as some of the best jazz trumpet players in the world, you know … Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Miles Davis … but even influences in my everyday life … especially teachers at school, people that I respect of my age that play so that’s kind of how it all came to be.

What is your academic training and professional background?
Well, I went to North Carolina School of the Arts for four years. Then I went to Manhattan School of Music in New York for two years – I got a Masters Degree there. And then I went to the Thelonius Monk Institute, which is a program for young jazz musicians that get a stipend to play in a band and kind of tour around the world and play with some of the jazz legends of the day and it was really a wonderful experience – that was out in Los Angeles – so I did that for two years - that’s a 2-year fellowship, or internship they call it.

So who would you say has been your greatest influence or inspiration?
On the trumpet, Miles [Davis] is my favourite trumpet player – yeah, Miles is definitely my favourite. And then visual artists also … I kind of get electrified or inspired by visual things. Jackson Pollock is one of my favourite painters and Picasso – the way he was so diverse, yet personal in all his different mediums. I really get inspiration from that … and then writers … a lot of … you know … some of America’s great writers I get inspiration from, but musically Miles Davis is probably my Holy Grail of trumpet players for many different reasons – I think he spoke to me a lot. Chet Baker also, when I was younger, was a big influence on me.

If you could play with any band or artist in the world, who would that be and why? – could be living or dead …
Ooh boy! – living or dead – wow! I think … of the dead ones … I would love to play with Stravinsky – Igor Stravinsky, I really think of his music … very colourful – you have to think for everything with his kind of music, you know, it’s wide open … and JS Bach, I would love to play with – he’s another one of my favourites. Jazz musicians? … boy, there’s so many …anybody on Blue Note from the ‘50s, I would love to play with – but ah … boy, that’s a great question! – and erm, there’s a lot of people just my age that I enjoy playing with that aren’t well-known, you know, that I get as much enjoyment from. One of my idols was Herbie Hancock and I actually got to play with him so I didn’t really know what to do after that. I felt like I’d already even accomplished what I’d set out to do – I was just very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to play with him, so …

Was that during school …?
That was during the Monk Institute. We did a tour of Egypt backing Herbie Hancock – that was a life-altering experience, when you’re able to play in such proximity to a genius – you kind of want to do it all the time. It was great.

If you could play any venue in the world where would that be and why?
Great question! You know, some of the most enjoyment I’ve ever had is playing in the kitchen of my parents’ house up in the mountains with all my family around and friends. It’s kind of – playing in that environment brings me probably as much happiness as I could ever have imagined playing music. But as far as venues go – there’s a lot … small New York jazz clubs I like – I like the Vanguard - Village Vanguard. I like Ronnie Scotts in London is one of my favourites …

So did you play there [Ronnie Scotts] when Michael played there?
I did, yeah.

Was that in December, 2003?
Yeah, I think that’s kind of when it was. We played there … I think we did a week’s worth of shows at Ronnie Scotts and that was a lot of fun and you get to feel the chemistry with the audience a little better in that kind of environment – so yeah, that was good.

What is your favourite place you’ve visited on tour and is there anywhere you would like to visit where the tour hasn’t reached yet?
Oh sure. I enjoy Montreal, Canada – it’s one of my favourite cities – the attitude over there is real amenable to my lifestyle. Australia is a beautiful place to travel and I LOVE touring the US, I really enjoy it. You know, when I first started traveling, the romance of going to Europe and Asia … really, it was fun and I love going over there but there’s so much to discover, you know, in your own country. I’ve kind of enjoyed the past year’s American tours – it’s been really nice.

When did you join Michael’s band and how did that come about – did you have to go through an audition process?
I’ve been with Michael since the beginning of his Warner Brothers’ career, touring career. We started with a show at The Cinegrill in Los Angeles where I think we did a week or so – maybe two weeks, at this little club called The Cinegrill and I was chosen through some of my contacts in Los Angeles. I was working with a lot of people in Los Angeles and a lot of peers and some of the guys went in to take an audition and then I got recommended and I showed up and we had like a couple of weeks’ worth of gigs at this place called The Cinegrill and then we did a little tour around the US – nobody thought that we would do THIS! – you know, I just thought it was two week’s worth of work in Los Angeles then I’d go back to play all the other gigs that I played in LA …

Do you remember when that was ... roughly?
Oh boy! I am SO bad with dates … it must have been … 2003 … I’ve been with Michael for three years so a few years ago … probably 2003 … yeh, something like that, in the Summer.

So did you know any of the other guys in the band before you joined?
Oh sure, yeah. All of us in the band, most of us …

… the originals …
… the originals – we’d play all the time in Los Angeles together – we’d have various gigs with each other all through Los Angeles. You know Justin [Ray] and I were very good friends – we played all the time with each other … the drummer, Bill [Wysaske], I played with a whole lot. The bass player, Lyman [Medeiros] and even the original bass player, Massimo [Biolcati], I played with a lot, and Nick [Vayenas], the trombone player, I played with him all the time … and it’s funny ‘cos Rob Perkins – now our drummer – before, we used to have city gigs all the time in Los Angeles – he was in the Monk Institute with me, so I’ve been playing with Rob for years and years. We’ve all kind of been a family of musicians for some time and that’s why it’s nice to have all these guys out here and Michael also gets the benefit of having guys that are, you know, comfortable with each other and have a chemistry when they play – so it’s good for everybody.

Have you written any of the arrangements for the concert setlist?
I have … I’ve done some re-arrangements of things. Like, for instance, “Under My Skin” – I adapted the horn configuration … I think there was something else too … “Summer Wind” I adapted too – we don’t play that one much anymore … I’m thinking if I’ve done anything else …

Was that originally played on the “It’s Time” tour? Because it’s on the “Caught In The Act” CD …
It’s on “Caught In The Act” … we used to do it – did we used to do it? We used to do it right in the very beginning we used to do “Summer Wind” – I don’t know why we don’t do it anymore, ‘cos it was on the first album … so we played it since, you know, the first album … I’m trying to think if there’s anything else I arranged … you know, there’s serendipitous stuff where the band kind of comes up with stuff and everybody has their input – so that’s probably the extent of it.

For you on trumpet, which is technically the most difficult song of Michael’s to play?
Well … it’s difficult in different ways … when you’re in a situation like this, in a group thing, you have to play very loud - so the technical problems don’t really stem from the intricacies of the music. You know, “Smile” is kind of fast but that’s very do-able – the problem’s arise when you have to, you know, go through a huge sound system and play loud and try to play as loud as the drums are playing so you can be heard so most of the difficulties arise just from a volume standpoint … and the show is taxing, physically, you know, on your soft lips – you know, you have that hard metal against your flesh all night – a lot of loud playing and a lot of “weight-lifting” as it were – you know, it’s not delicate work it’s like, very kind of brawny, physical stuff. So at the end of the show I’m a little expended – just blowing all night is very hard – it’s very tiring … so while the trumpet doesn’t look terribly physical like a drum player, it leaves you expended.

So how heavy is it?
It’s about exactly as heavy as it looks. It’s just like a little coil of piping – the weight’s not really the problem so much. It’s just your, you know, your lungs and your stomach and your lips – kind of, you get out after the show and you feel like … argh …

… worn out?
Yeah! And then the next day too you have to come back to the trumpet and you have to warm it back up again … it’s just erm … the trumpet is a very temperamental instrument – you have to pay a lot of respect to the way it damages you.

When you’re up on stage can you actually hear everything that’s going on around you or is it all through the earpiece?
It’s very difficult. We’ve had a lot of troubles with that in the past years. Because we’re all acoustic musicians we’re all used to hearing everything naturally. So once you start piping it through all this electricity things start to get a little weird. And the guitar – simply you can strum a chord and turn that knob up and all of a sudden it’ll be louder than anything that YOU try to do with your body, which is really pushing and pushing – you just can’t compete with that kind of electronics. So it’s tough to hear – it’s another skill that you have to develop – you have to rely upon feel a lot more than you do and then you have to trust some of your feelings that you’re doing it right …

So, for example, can you hear Jumaane?
I can hear Jumaane – sure, certainly. I can always hear Jumaane. I focus in on my section and on the rhythm section and then we all … we’re pretty good at feeling each other you know – even if we don’t hear each other we can feel each other so we can make it through any kind of audio storm that happens.

How do you manage to keep your performances fresh playing the same songs over and over, night after night?
Well, for me, it’s just professional pride. I don’t like to pick up the trumpet and mail stuff in. It’s like when you’ve practiced your whole life to do something that you really believe in there’s just an element of pride that you have in it. It’s just a reaction … you pick up a horn and put it to your face and you just do the strongest job you can every time you play and … I mean music … there’s always something every night you can focus on and try to do better – even on very personal levels you have things that you want to get out of every show, so yeah, it’s easy to keep it there. It’s also easy to fall into a … you know, it becomes a day job ‘cos you do it every day but when you’re doing something great and it’s fun, it’s easy to keep it fresh:

What’s a typical day in the life of Bryan Lipps like on tour with Michael?
Well – depends on the kind of tour. Back in the beginning we flew everywhere and drove little vans. Now that we have the bus, things have kind of evened out and we have a lot of free time so it’s just a matter of how you handle your free time. A lot of the guys, you know, do MySpace – they’re all online - am I the only guy in the band who maybe isn’t on that? So, I walk into the room and everybody is like communicating with the world and I feel so isolated. I’m like, “Argh! I don’t do that” …

… you never feel tempted to join in?
I’m tempted but I’m a private person to some degree. But I erm … what I have is my guitar – there are guitars around. I play guitar a lot. I try to write and I try to practice. I read a lot. Lately, I’ve been watching too much TV on my computer. I’ve downloaded programmes and I’m watching them so … I try to keep my brain active – as much as possible. You can turn … you know, you have people push-carting you all over the place, you could just “clock out” and not do anything … but I try to stay fairly cognizant.

So what sort of stuff are you watching at the moment?
The big deal series is “Six Feet Under” …

Oh, that’s wonderful!
Yeah, it’s good.

You’re a bit behind aren’t you? “Six Feet Under”?
I’m VERY behind. I don’t have cable or anything at home and I’ve been on the road so I didn’t really see it. When I go home and I’ve been on the road for like two months, I lay down on my couch and I veg out and so I kind of got into “Six Feet Under” and now I’m watching it on the road – it’s cool.

And what’s a typical day in the life of Bryan Lipps like when you’re not touring?
Oh boy! Well … I work on my own music a lot. I’m gonna release my own album by Autumn of this year. So I do a lot of writing …

So is this going to be a completely solo thing with session musicians?
Yeah, yeah. It’ll be my own thing. I’m really looking forward to that. I think it will be something that … at least I hope I’ll enjoy it … I hope other people do too. I just basically want my parents to enjoy it! I do a lot of mountain biking – that’s kind of my relief when I go home and that’s about it – a lot of music, a lot of mountain bike – a lot of work in town. I go back and try to play with some of the guys I played with back when I was in Los Angeles full-time – yeah, that’s about it.

So your new recording – have you started working on it and is it almost ready to come out?
Well … it’s being worked on in terms of me picking the tunes that I’m going to do and the musicians that I’m going to have on it. That’s the difficult part right now - just figuring out who’s gonna be on it. But I have some interesting ideas that I think are different than some of the other things that are out there. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but it’ll be a very figurative album of sorts – more about moods than anything else but there might be some good things happening on there – depending on the guys I want, if I can get them, their musicianship will bolster me and it will be good. So I hope to get that out by Autumn. That’s my goal right now.

Do you carry your trumpet with you on tour or is it packed off to the next venue with the rest of the gear?
Oh, I keep it with me ALL the time, yeah. It’s even got it’s own bunk in the bed – you know, I keep it with me … just because I just never want to be without it and I don’t want it to get damaged but I also practice all the time …

So has that happened then or fortunately not because you have it with you all the time?
I keep it with me all the time, I never check it. Yeah, I mean I practice in the hotels, I practice all day. You’ve go to stay on it so I can’t afford to not have it with me.

How do you manage to practice in the hotels without annoying your neighbours?
Well, there are a couple of tricks you learn. And one of the tricks is that people will complain if they hear a soft trumpet but they won’t say a word if they hear a loud TV – it’s what people are used to – so I turn the TV up and then practice under the TV and nobody ever says a word, so that’s one of the tricks of the road.

Can you tell me some technical details about the trumpet you use on tour and is that different to the instrument you play at home?
Well, I’m not an equipment geek. I’ve played the same trumpet since high school and my dad is a band director and somebody gave him a trumpet – maybe two years ago – and he showed it to me and I said, “Oh, I like that”, so now I’m playing that. I’ve stripped all the lacquer off of it with a lacquer stripper so it’s raw brass and it’s old - it’s an old horn. I like old ones a lot better than new ones – it has more character and I feel like the metal just loosens up and they just have more of a vibe to them so I play old equipment and basically, anything that I … you know, I try to keep my head more out of the equipment part and into the musical side of it … and I find that I sound the same on everything anyway, so if I get a new trumpet that I think I like I end up sounding the same anyway – nothing really changes that so I play old equipment.

Which parts of the show do you play strictly according to written arrangements and which parts are ad libbed?
Most of it still … you know, all the tracks that we play are written down. We have the book memorized now so we don’t read it anymore – which also, psychologically, makes you feel like you’re making it up and that keeps it a little fresher. The solos are mostly the things which are made up … and when Michael runs out into the audience we make that up. We make up the background to that song and … at the very tail end of “Song For You” when the band is playing we’re kind of making that up ... what else? … that’s about it … everything is pretty much decided upon.

So the music stands in front of you don’t hold anything then?
They don’t hold anything. They hold my water and my mutes. There’s no music up there.

What is your favourite song that Michael sings during the shows?
You know, it changes all the time … I like … “Try A Little Tenderness” is a nice tune – I really like that. I like ah … what else do I enjoy? … I like them all … “The More I See You” I like – I like that tune a lot. All of them are really nice – yeah, I’m a fan of all of them. Those two I have a soft spot for.

What has been your most moving or memorable experience touring with Michael?
Hah – that’s a good question … well, non-musically, I like to see … I get to see people in my life that I wouldn’t get to see ‘cos I’m traveling so much. I’m in different places all the time and I get to meet or see people that I haven’t seen in a while and that’s been really nice. Other than that, it’s just moving for me to watch people of MY generation respond favourably to the music that I really love, like - you know, some of the old jazz American standards – I didn’t think anybody was really into. It’s nice for me to see that. You know, if this music – if people give it a chance they generally always like it. So it’s been a trip for me to see youngsters, you know, really get out there and start hearing it when we start playing, “Under My Skin”, you know, that’s just a kick for me. I enjoy seeing that:

The same thing for me – I never used to listen to this sort of music and then I started listening to Michael and now artists as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis and Brad Mehldau, and various people that I wouldn’t have listened to previously.
Oh, really? That’s great. That’s really great.

Your trumpet solo during “Song For You” is truly outstanding …
Thank you.

How do you feel when the spotlight falls on you during the show finale. Is it an exhilarating experience or are you a complete nervous wreck?
Ha, ha! – that’s a great question! … You know, I am a nervous wreck – all the time. It’s funny … I have no handle on stagefright at all. Sometimes … sometimes you can do a show a hundred times – never feel a thing – and then for some reason one night you’re jittery - it’s the thrill of performing. You know, I’ve got it pretty calm now. I mean I would lie if I said I never get a little bit sweaty-palmed. Every night there’s an excitement - you can’t deny it – no matter how often you do it you’ll always feel a little tingle. So yeah, I get up there … and sometimes you go up there and you’re not really aware of what you’re doing and it’s over and you don’t really know if you played well or not it’s just like it’s a whole – another world, especially playing in front of so many people. It’s really weird. I have a … it’s very comfortable playing in front of a LOT of people but uncomfortable playing in front of like two people – it’s very weird. If there are thousands of people out there you can just kind of throw it out into the sea and nobody – you don’t think anything of it – but, you know, playing in front of a panel of four people, I get really nervous.

Can you actually see anything in front of the stage?
No – I can see the first four rows and that’s about it.

Your “Song For You” solo - is this your favourite part of the concert or do you have another favourite part?
Well, it’s not my favourite … just because I play it it isn’t my favourite. I do really like that song actually – ALL versions of it. There are some really great versions of it that I really like … Donnie Hathaway does a really great version, I think … but it’s a nice moment. I like it because it’s one of Michael’s more intimate kind of numbers, you know, where he tosses the mike away and sings it. You know, there’s more of a real connection and that’s my … that’s what I am drawn to in music .. the intimate … the more introspective moments - stuff that you have to come to instead of it being thrown at you. So I do enjoy that moment of the show – its’ a nice moment.

Your surname [Lipps] is such a perfect name for a trumpet player? Is that your real name?
It’s my real name – that’s the real deal. Everybody always asks me that – especially when I moved out to Los Angeles, where everybody changes their name anyway.

The question is … is that you in the Jim Carey film, “The Majestic”?
It is, yeah.

But your name’s not listed …
It isn’t?

No ...
Oh, I didn’t know that …

There’s somebody called Bryan Howe – ‘cos it’s called the Spencer Wyatt Big Band. I watched it back the other day. So what was your character name in it then?
I don’t know …

Or you didn’t have one?
Trumpet player – yeah. It’s probably just “trumpet player”. It’s funny, I’ve done a lot of stuff like that. Yeah, I doubt we made the credits. That’s not me playing on that too, also …

Oh, so they just used your face on it?
Yeah, they just used my face … but since moving to Los Angeles I’ve done a lot of that stuff … I’ve been on “Ally McBeal”, “Charmed” … I just had a part on “The Bold and The Beautiful” …

An acting role?
No, I just played at Brooke and Ridge’s wedding – I have no idea who Brooke and Ridge are!

What did you do in “Charmed”?
“Charmed” – actually, that was one I DID play on. I was in some little jazz trio over in the corner and they just needed someone to go on screen and play the trumpet but in this instance I recorded the trumpet and then played it onscreen. So that was cool – I was just a musician there in one of the scenes they did with a singer. I don’t think I’ve seen that one either.

Do you know which episode that was?
I think it’s aired by now and I haven’t seen it.

I’ll find it ...
OK.

Do you remember what the jazz trio were called?
It’s an episode with Billy Zane. And Billy Zane’s the guy in “Titanic”. So if you can find an episode with Billy Zane I should be in there.

I’ll find it and I’ll let you know!
Alright.

Also, Ally McBeal – you must have been really young when you did Ally McBeal?
That was 2001 or 2002, I think – yeah, something like that. A very brief onscreen flicker on that one too …

Was that with Vonda Shepard?
No, I think it was … I’m unaware of these shows so I’m not sure what the plots are … but some lady was singing at an audition and I was in the pit orchestra so it was something like that, yeah.

So you’ve got some film credits then?
Oh, very small ones .. yes.

Could you tell us a bit about your family origins?
Like my background … ancestry? I’m not really sure. As far as I can trace it back … we don’t really know … my grandfather, or my great-grandfather was a Medal of Honor winner in World War I and he went on to be a Congressman – I had some political ties on my mother’s side but my father’s side we’re just real country folk. I kind of grew up in a small town. Our family’s lived there our whole life – you know, pretty humble beginnings in that sense.

Do you have any brothers and sisters and are any of them musicians?
I have a sister and she plays the cello. She’s older than me – she’s a very good musician. She’s a teacher now. She was living in Peru for a couple of years – teaching, and now she’s going to be living in West Virginia, teaching at a school there. She’s a very talented woman. She teaches biology and is also a wonderful cello player.

Do you speak any languages other than English?
No … a very small bit of Spanish and that is it ... a very small bit of Japanese too. I mean I know phrases in different languages but it’s so minimal that I wouldn’t credit myself as speaking them.

Have you ever tried using them when you’re traveling?
Oh yeah. I did a tour of Japan once. I had a roommate at the time that was Japanese – so she gave me some pointers and we would try it out – it didn’t work as well as I would want it to but I try …

If you weren’t a musician what do you think you would most likely be doing career-wise?
You know … I just don’t know – I have no idea what I would do if I wasn’t a musician. Probably a teacher of some sort. I used to teach a lot. But I don’t know what I’d teach if it wasn’t music. What would I like to do? …

So would that be teaching at High School?
Yeah, I was teaching some college courses. I started at Arts High School in Los Angeles. I really enjoy doing that – I really enjoy it. But if I didn’t do that I guess I’d like to be some kind of … I enjoy chopping wood – I always like to do that when I go home … something with lumber …

Along with the other members of the Bublé band you recently played together as “The Boathouse All-Stars” at The Rex in Toronto ...
Yeah.

Whose idea or decision was it to create “The Boathouse All-Stars” – where did the name come from?
Well, the idea came mostly from Frank [Basile]. He had some charts he wanted us to play so – and we always try to do that. When we’re in towns we go to jam sessions and just play all the time so we just decided to maybe arrange something and just do it, you know, a little more structured so we just came up with that – it was just a silly idea – we did it once or twice. It was a lot of fun. We had a good time doing it. I’m not sure of the origins of the name but I know it’s a joke about something – knowing all these guys!

So are there any Boathouse All-Stars gigs lined up?
Not really, no I don’t think we have anything like that going on in the near future but we will go to any jam session we see and kind of play there, you know … just individually.

Do the guys in the band have any nicknames for you?
Well my last name kind of takes care of it so I don’t think I’ve been called “Bryan” in years – it’s just “Lipps” all the time … yeah, that’s about it!

What sort of music do you enjoy listening to?
I like everything. I like classical music a whole bunch – jazz, of course – everything. Lionel Hampton said once, “There’s two types of music – good and bad”. So I just like good music …

Outside of music, what are your hobbies and interests? … apart from chopping wood.
Chopping wood’s one of the big ones! … I like riding my bike quite a bit. I like to work on cars - one of my hobbies that I don’t get to do a whole lot. I like to read …

What do you mean by working on cars? Do you mean building or fixing?
I like tinkering. Like, I actually get excited when I go home – I have a car there and if something’s wrong with it I get excited because it gives me a project … I get to get my … it’s so nice to get your hands dirty after being on the road for a while … I like to do that.

Fans travel from all over the world to see Michael, you and the rest of the guys perform live – by the same token, is there an act or artist you would travel the world over to see? … again, living or dead, if that makes it any easier?
Oh boy! Well … there’s a whole slew of dead ones I’d go see in a heartbeat. I like seeing Wayne Shorter – he’s in one of my favourite bands right now. I enjoy doing that … and dead? … same answer that I gave earlier … so many people that I’d like to see. But I think that music is in need of some new direction. Jazz is always such a up and down style of music. It’s so dependent upon it’s performers that it goes through so many cycles so I’m excited to see who’s coming next – what’s that all going to be about. I think there’s a change in music coming around again – interested to see what it is.

What do you consider to be your proudest achievement to date?
Good question … wow! … I’m proud of the work that I did teaching. That was a very special thing for me. I had some really nice students – I think we had some good moments together. My students … made my life better and I made theirs’ better to some degree. I really, really enjoyed that – they’re some of my proudest moments.

As an artist, as a trumpet player, they come and go. You know, you can be proud of yourself for sounding good and the next day you’ll sound awful and then you have to get mad at yourself – that’s the difference. So I try to sustain a certain level of pride in myself. I never try to get too prideful of the things that I do but teaching I can sit back and enjoy some of the work I’ve done.

So do you think you’d go back to that at all?
I might … if there’s a situation where I think I can do good – sure, I’d love to do that. I think it’s an obligation to some degree and for me, it kind of gave my life purpose – so if you can help other people find that too, it’s a good idea. But yeah, sure, I’d love to do it.

What are your thoughts and feelings to the fact that fans are coming to see and appreciate the band as much as they are coming to see Michael?
Oh, I love it. I think its right, I think it’s … this music it is not rock ‘n’ roll so to speak. It’s personal, it’s about the people that make it, you know, as much as it is the people that sing it. It’s not a Britney Spears concert where you just kind of change the track. It’s like the individual guys up there with personalities making music and that’s by and large what jazz is so if you like it or if you hate it you’ve got to blame the people that play it! I love it – I like to see people take an interest in how the music is being made. It kind of goes with the turf of jazz music, you know, it’s about the whole experience so yeah, I like it.

And finally, do you have a message for your fans? .. and you do have them!
Well, since I don’t have a MySpace page, I’ll just tell everyone, “Hello!” and “Thank You” – thank you for coming, thank you for saying, “Hi”, thank you for all loving music and as long as you all keep loving it I will gladly play it. I love it – I love the whole thing.