{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ballroom Dance Music With Brent Thomas Mills","description":"Todd Combs \u2013 Taras Denysenko \u2013 Brent Thomas Mills Transcripts: Todd Combs 0:01 So we are with our first episode of all about ballroom dancing and Taras and I were thinking what what should the first episode be? And we thought one question all of our students have is about music. Is it? Yeah, to know? Yeah. How to know when, what music goes with what and it\u2019s and identifying music is a challenge. You can\u2019t learn it here on just the podcast but understanding things. It\u2019s a it\u2019s the first step. Right? Right. So we thought we\u2019d bring the man in. That\u2019s right. The man Taras Denysenko 0:33 the myth, the legend, the legend, Todd Combs 0:35 the guy who writes if you\u2019ve been to a ballroom dance competition, you have heard his music in your ears. And he does. I can tell you he\u2019s so many events, ton of events. He goes from franchises in North America competitions, parties, their competitions, independent competitions, any kind of events that has music Brent is running it. I think he even went overseas Yeah, even they even let him in overseas was questionable for a little bit, but they let him in. Brent Mills 1:04 I had to get a special passport. I know. Thank you so much. Todd Combs 1:09 But everybody, let\u2019s now welcome Brent Thomas Mills. Brent Mills 1:13 What\u2019s up, guys? How you doing? Taras Denysenko 1:15 Good. Yes. Great. Brent Mills 1:17 Well, thanks for having me. I appreciate I appreciate you having me there most. Most. Yeah, most want to talk about judges or technique or their feet. And in my brain, I keep thinking like, Well, you know, it\u2019s, it\u2019s the importance like the movement, it all is important. But like, if that tune is not there, then you look really funny. Doing all that stuff without any noise. Yep. And it\u2019s not like people go out and be like, Oh, I move like this. And then a band says, Oh, look, they look like they\u2019re doing a cha cha let\u2019s do that. It\u2019s reverse. So if you hear it, then you do it. So that That\u2019s what I like, right? Everyone is listening, and then they do it. Todd Combs 2:04 So first you have me on, I appreciate it. Absolutely no problem. And we were all kind of talking earlier about, there\u2019s a big advantage of having a person run the music who is a ballroom dancer, not just a music, you know, fanatic or something like you. You\u2019re a ballroom dancer, you know, dance. So that Brent Mills 2:24 It did help. I\u2019ve been dancing since I was 14, actually, when I started. Taras Denysenko 2:29 Wow. And how did you really? Yeah, how did you get started? And well, I Brent Mills 2:33 just happen to have when I got into high school in the ninth grade, my drama teacher because I was starting to get into, you know, that type of thing, just so I could get out of math and science and anything else that actually made me think so I was like, yeah, drama easy, while the drama coach happened to be a former ballroom champion, danced on a Blackpool team. Per coach was Roy Mavor who is a very famous cabaret World Champion, choreographer and whatnot. So they did the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And that requires 14 male dancers. And I was in a little Podunk High School. So dancing was not you know, was not definitely part of the football or athletic league. Let\u2019s say that. So we had to go out and recruit football players and baseball players to you know, dance Seven Brides, which was appealing to them because it was like jumping over logs and the big social, were there throwing the girls around. So it looked cool then. So we did the whole musical ran it. And then when it stopped, you know, we had to learn walls. For a scene, we had to learn lifts. We had learned the polka. So we was over and we were like, well, we like doing this. Can we Do this after school so that drama goes right. But let\u2019s start a little ballroom team after school once a week for an hour. So that started and by the time I was a senior in high school, it was an official club. We had like 36 people in there. We were doing like performances for prom and preference and all that silly stuff. And then after I left, it became even larger, where students from other high schools would come after school to be on that team. And then they finally got their own team coach, and now it\u2019s a state recognized playoff team match every year between probably eight high schools. And you can actually let her now in ballroom dance. You can walk around the hallway with your letterman jacket, the pickle ballroom dance icon, really, it is part of the art program now in many high schools and that high schools really started it out that way. Just the artistic part of it. And then the athletic and the competitive side. So it\u2019s actually recognized by the state school board as a, you know, an estate competition. It\u2019s crazy. Taras Denysenko 5:10 That is totally Incredible Brent Mills 5:11 Yeah, it was It is incredible and I and I do this I do And now I\u2019d go back every year for the Nationals because they do the youth formation championships over there at BYU and their 20,000 seat stadium and now I get to deliver music for all of them when I used to be on some of these little teams and now it\u2019s just youth and juniors and preteens and I mean, hundreds and hundreds of youth kids now that all in there\u2019s there\u2019s programs in junior High\u2019s now, so it\u2019s gone a long way and progress but that\u2019s how it started. And I just stuck in there and then I started taking privates because my teacher saw some kind of weird potential. And it was just because I was a cheesy performer like not shy. So But I had huge gunboat feats, I probably size 11 and a half. I was very embarrassed. I was pigeon toed. So I had this turn in. So that cured all of that my feet are now size 10 I don\u2019t even know how that happened. And I don\u2019t have the turned in feed anymore. I mean, it was crazy. When my when I was born, my legs were skewed in they were going to break my legs and reset them. They were so pigeon toed, wow. But they\u2019re like, Nah, unless he has a limp. We\u2019re not going to do that. So I just grew up with these crazy turned in feet and very self conscious because they call me pitch and tone and you know, lots of bullying, but, you know, I made it through but that cured all of that. And just, you know, made me Yeah, I think that\u2019s because when I started coaching later in life, I became this foot Nazi they called me the foot Nazi because I was all about turnout and foot placement and just you have to have feed in for that because I had to pay two To my feet when I was in Turkey, I look like right, craziness. But that\u2019s how it all started. Taras Denysenko 7:05 Well, that\u2019s a pretty incredible testimonial for the benefits of learning how to dance right there for a reason that a lot of us do get involved with it because of something like that. So that\u2019s, that\u2019s awesome. Thanks for sharing that Brent Mills 7:15 story. Oh, it\u2019s all good. I mean, the cure to anything is repetition, right? The right repetition. So if you if you got a limp, if you got turned in, it\u2019s just you just train your body, your body\u2019s the smartest thing that it has going for itself. And then at all the tools of modern science, you shouldn\u2019t have no problem. Todd Combs 7:33 Oh, yeah. And I think there\u2019s something to be said about men because a lot of times women come in the ballroom dance world, as you know, as teachers and they did ballet, they did tap, but I don\u2019t know to me, no, no, you have a ballroom background, but I don\u2019t know too many men that said, who came in the dancing say, you know, I used to dance a lot. And you know, when I was five in elementary school in high school, I was dancing snow. Want to be a teacher. Most guys I knew You know, I was going to be, you know, a doctor, I was going to be this or that. And I just came into dancing. And they all think we came in with, you know, perfect awareness of our feet and legs. You know, we didn\u2019t have pigeon toes, and we didn\u2019t have a limp and we didn\u2019t have, you know, problems like that. They just think we all came in, and we\u2019re just bred to dance for some reason. So it\u2019s good that you? Yeah, you\u2019re sharing your physical limitations as a young child. Brent Mills 8:30 Yeah, it was challenging. It was just funny. You know, the boys are cute when they play baseball. And the girls are cute when they do little ballet, you know, and that\u2019s and that\u2019s kind of the status quo for here in the States. And, but you know, you go to Europe, go to Asia, it\u2019s like, it\u2019s like, literally for both boys and girls, or dancing for boys and girls. There\u2019s not this like, oh, the boys should do this. And the girl should do that. It\u2019s just, you just do it and such a difference between As if you if you grow up with the mentality then it\u2019s then it\u2019s there and everybody understands it but like my high school is so small town that you know any man or boy who danced it was instantly the crappy label that was you know, we know now which is complete ignorance but back then it was like you got tea so much. I got tea so much I got in a fight. I was I was voted my senior year most likely to take a life. That\u2019s that was the prize I got. Todd Combs 9:33 And they did. Brent Mills 9:35 Well, they did it as a funny one a spooky one, you know, but like, I was fighting all the time, because all the Hicks in my school were like picking fights with me and they were labeling me and I\u2019m like, Really? You want that label to beat the crap out of you right now? And I would go off. And yeah, and I just they had pictures of me just enraged for him. You know, I mean, I never picked a fight. But like I go ahead, you just Throw that first punch and I will not stop until I\u2019m dead. Or you\u2019re on the floor. I mean, it was. It was crazy, right? I mean, Todd Combs 10:07 I think that\u2019s a label that all a lot of us male teachers get that, you know, they\u2019ll make fun of you, even if it\u2019s your friends, you know, they\u2019ll make fun of you. Oh, yeah. ruthless are the worst. Yeah, and then afterwards when we\u2019re all going out to a club, who\u2019s getting all the women who\u2019s who\u2019s having to tell the women No, I\u2019m not interested right now I just, you know, I just want to dance just and they\u2019re just sitting at a bar thinking, you know, if I drink three more beers, these women will look at me like, Man, that guy knows how to drink a beer. Here we go. Yeah, go talk to that guy. Brent Mills 10:39 No, man, you are you are the center focus. And and I don\u2019t know the confidence. So for men, right? It doesn\u2019t matter how old you are young, you could be 72. And if you\u2019re 72, and you\u2019re single and you know how to salsa. I mean, you just let alone stand alone. Stand up straighter. You know what I mean? You just you let people in. The eye because you\u2019re used to that, because that\u2019s all you have to do when you dance with someone. I mean, it\u2019s it\u2019s all around encompassing a better just a presence, rather than I mean, the guys that watch Monday Night Football. That\u2019s all they do. Now I\u2019m all for one night football. So it\u2019s all good. But it\u2019s like the expansion of your skills always lends to more confidence for sure. Todd Combs 11:28 Yeah, that is very true. And going like you\u2019re saying about Latin clubs. When, when I\u2019m originally from Northern Virginia, Washington, DC area, and we would go Latin dancing. And Latin clubs are interesting, cuz you\u2019ll have, you\u2019ll have if it\u2019s 21 Club, they\u2019ll be 21 year olds, and they\u2019ll be 72 year olds. In a Latin club. You don\u2019t see that and regular clubs and those those old Latin dudes would every woman was in line to dance, because they were old school and just like suave. Yeah, it\u2019s the best. It\u2019s so fun. Yeah. Yeah, where can you get that done? Where can you know work in a 772 year old guy go Hey, I\u2019m going clubbing tonight. Yeah. And we\u2019ll have an endless amount of women to dance with. Exactly. Clubs, dancers. Exactly. Yeah. And also Brent, you went to you went to Berklee College, a College of Music in Boston. Taras Denysenko 12:21 Wow. Whoa, Brent Mills 12:22 because your music is so there\u2019s Berkeley Cal State, which is crazy Berkeley. And then there\u2019s Berkeley with le E. Berklee College of Music from Boston. Like, john mayer went there. Taras Denysenko 12:35 And Aerosmith guys from Aerosmith, right? Brent Mills 12:36 Yep. There\u2019s those? There\u2019s a lot of Yeah, yeah. I mean, it\u2019s, it\u2019s known for its guitar department. That\u2019s its main thing that said, that\u2019s their strength. If you if you want to be a guitar player, especially jazz, then that is where all the guitar players go. Taras Denysenko 12:52 Yeah. Like john Petra Tucci, I think, Brent Mills 12:54 yeah. And then their next is like, as piano, but yeah, that was That was a full on. I mean, that half of the building was an old hotel. So I mean, I had practice rooms that I literally could barely open the door. And then you have to sit on the bench at to close the door. And then you\u2019re literally could lean up against the back wall while you practice this upright piano in I mean, maybe six by eight just and that\u2019s that was your practice room. You just go in there and they call it the shed. And he\u2019s like, Where are you going? I\u2019m going in the shed. I got a shout out my scales. You got to pass off every scale, every key, every mode and every key. I mean, yeah, so Oh, really? Yeah. It was just a great experience because it was just specialized. This I mean, everyone going there was out to be a professional musician. Because after that I transferred. After two years of there, I just got my diploma. And so I go, I went over to the University of Utah to finish and that program was like everyone was going to be a band teacher. I mean, wasn\u2019t even close to the same intensity or the same focus because everybody in Boston was out like soon as I leave, I gotta make money, you know, where everybody else as a band, you\u2019re like, well, I\u2019m just gonna get a job teaching band, you know, so different mentality and energy, but it was awesome. Taras Denysenko 14:18 So were you into music? Like, when did you get into music? Um, Brent Mills 14:22 I don\u2019t know, I remember as a kid, maybe two years old. Three, looking at my older brothers, little piano books. They were like five and four, and five and six. And so I would sit at the piano and I would see time to see the pictures. So I would just look at the picture like say it was a dog and a little boy with a balloon walking. So I would just start plunking on the keys and start telling a story about a boy and a dog and a balloon. And that is like that. It\u2019s a boy and God. Ugly, and I would just like pound the keys. I was I was playing no melodies. Let\u2019s Let\u2019s not mistake this that I was like writing music because I\u2019m not saying that I was massacring music, because I\u2019m sure my parents were like, this kid has no talent because I would just make stories up the pictures I saw, which is telling because once I mean jumping ahead 25 years, and I\u2019m getting I got hired at the university to play for their ballet and their modern dance classes. All of a sudden, now I\u2019m watching sequences of movement that I just had to put music to so they can have rhythm. So I could just make up songs and watch something and kind of know like, Oh, yeah, it\u2019s jazzy. I\u2019m gonna play something Jazzy, or it\u2019s quick. So I\u2019m gonna play something slow and make make a contrast or you know, so that\u2019s when I started visually, like, if I see something I literally hear things. So I see someone moving no matter ballroom or modern or whatever. I instantly start tapping my foot. I instantly Just I want to put it to music. So I\u2019ve never been a songwriter as in like, this is my song. And these are my lyrics. Because writing music You know, it\u2019s its own little challenge because it\u2019s not the it\u2019s not the progress of the song or the sequence of chords. It\u2019s the melody that sells a song. Right? So you know, Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. This the chord sequence of hound dog is three chords. So there\u2019s there\u2019s probably thousands of songs with that same sequence. But the fact that he put that hound dog melody, that\u2019s what sold the song. And that\u2019s the hardest thing to do. Because in my brain since I just watched things, and I just put it to music. You know, I\u2019ll change the melody all the time. So it\u2019s hard for me to compose original music because I can\u2019t ever decide because I\u2019ll play I\u2019m like, Oh, I like it this way, and then I\u2019ll kind of play a little bit different. I\u2019m like, oh, wait a second, I like it that way. And it just becomes very challenging. I just like watching and playing freestyle. Like, that\u2019s my, that\u2019s the thing I enjoy the most. So if I could watch a couple start dancing, I could totally compose a music a song while they actually moved. Or a ballerina, you know, like I could literally watch them and follow their movement because I kind of know what\u2019s going to happen. Look, I know when they\u2019re going to pause. I know, you know when they\u2019re going to do an over sway. So it\u2019s just easy for me because I have all that vernacular in education and dance. So that\u2019s how it all got started. Taras Denysenko 17:42 So have you ever created a piece for a dancer? Brent Mills 17:45 Yeah, many Oh, yeah. Yeah, many different performances. I mean, I think it arts, one of Arthur Murray in Vegas, Ricardo and Yulia did a rumba and They asked me if I would just follow them and we just play a drum track and I would play piano and I had my bass player play with us. And I think it\u2019s all it\u2019s on video and somewhere I think gay hasn\u2019t from photography. Taras Denysenko 18:15 Yeah, I think I remember seeing that actually, sir. Brent Mills 18:17 Yeah. So I was just making it up as they were moving. We didn\u2019t practice. We they just said we want to go at this rhythm. And we just, I just watched them. I just watched them go. And yeah, that syncs up real well, but like when you watch it, I\u2019m I\u2019m literally just making it up. I told the bass player the sequence of the chords, and then we just followed. So that\u2019s, that\u2019s happened. And then I have my own original recordings that I\u2019ve done. And then original covers that I\u2019ve done that at this point. So Todd Combs 18:50 you\u2019re a musical savant. Taras Denysenko 18:53 Yeah, I kind of, up, right. Brent Mills 18:55 Well, I mean\u2026.. Todd Combs 18:56 socially awkward. Very A musical I mean, it\u2019s like you to a tee. Yeah. It\u2019s good. Emotionally awkward motion awkward. Don\u2019t cry. Brendan\u2019s. Brent Mills 19:07 Yeah, I get it. I get it I get Todd Combs 19:12 so now I want to know who is did you have a musical inspiration? Either growing up or Now earlier. Brent Mills 19:20 Growing up, I remember hearing Rhapsody in Blue when I was very, very young, like eight or nine years old and just fascinated. I don\u2019t know what it was about that piece. And that led to I don\u2019t know, I fell on West Side Story. And I watched that as a as a small child as well. And I was just what is this music like, what is this great, you know, music that\u2019s so deep and so just like the prog the chords and everything they use, and so that hooked me into just listening to music. That was Not what my friends were listening to. And then when I was a sophomore, we went to New Orleans for the World\u2019s Fair when they used to have the World\u2019s Fair and we were doing shows down there. So we went to New Orleans for the first time and that was Dixieland jazz is when I just was like, Oh, my Dixieland jazz was it and then that led to Harry Connick. But I was like a sting fan police songwriters, I love Billy Joel and like all their off music as well like their music that you know, not their mainstream so I was always that guy that always had the album\u2019s and listening all the besides. So that\u2019s that\u2019s kind of how it went. But I just had to teach myself piano when I was two, three years old, and then they finally got me lessons that I didn\u2019t like the lessons because they wouldn\u2019t let me play the songs the way I wanted to play them. Because I was already like it. Probably then. My father wasn\u2019t a great kind of jazz pianist. He played a lot on his own just for fun. And I\u2019d watch him do Boogie Woogie. And so that\u2019s how I learned how to improv. And so I just loved making things up. So, which got me out of lots of classes and trouble in high school because I learned how to make things up. Taras Denysenko 21:23 So that\u2019s cool. Brent Mills 21:24 So so that\u2019s how that started. Taras Denysenko 21:26 So you can play keys, but you can you also play other instruments too, right? Brent Mills 21:32 Yeah. So I yeah, I started teaching myself piano, but then maybe when I was eight, maybe maybe seven. I was with my older brother and his friend had a drum set who had a brother had a drum set. And so they started playing and the brother played this one little groove. And I was like, Oh, yeah, I can play that and it was kind of a syncopated groove. And my older brother couldn\u2019t play it. And then my older brother got a pair drum, some drums. Use drums. And then when he was gone, I would practice I would play, and then come home and I\u2019d get off and then he found out I was playing. And then I don\u2019t know, I just took the drums like it was so easy just to do that was just easy. And so I started playing drums a lot more than piano. So I spent like, my whole youth playing drums at planet fairs. We used to have this drum duel that we\u2019d go to state fair county fairs and do this drum off with this other kid. Yeah, and then it wasn\u2019t until jazz band in junior high. Sorry, in high school, I started I started I switched over to piano. And then I started playing jazz piano in that jazz band. And then when I went to Berkeley, I went over as a percussionist because I had a more of a background and qualifications to get in. But once I got there, I switched to piano just to learn my theory on piano because I already knew the theory and technique of drumming because I did take lessons I was in drama Bugle Corps one summer So, yeah, so that\u2019s when I started piano officially when I got into college at Berkeley. And that\u2019s, and yeah, I play a little bit of guitar, but I can, I can play all the percussion instruments, xylophone, glockenspiel, all those things timpani anything in orchestra. And then and then just piano and I\u2019m not really an organist or because that\u2019s a different technique that I did not take on too. So I was all about real keys like real piano. Todd Combs 23:34 So, yeah, that\u2019s really that\u2019s cool. Cool. Brent Mills 23:38 Well, it helped a lot because when I was dancing when I when I graduated with my dance degree and went to New York, someone found out that I was a drummer and then Gary and Dinah MacDonald with a former World 10 dance champions they they asked me if I could just remix some music because back then before the internet, you there had allowed Song or it was a ballroom song he couldn\u2019t change it. Digital software was starting up and so then I can you remix this into me. So I started making music, Latin music for the dancers because I knew how to drum and I knew how to play a conga line and you know, bongos and like, I could mix easy because I knew what Latin music was. So I\u2019m like, yeah, that\u2019s easy to just put a little drum track on it. Next thing, you know, it\u2019s a cha cha, you know. And so that helped a lot because there weren\u2019t a lot of musicians that had a dance background. And there weren\u2019t a lot of dancers that had a music background. So I was lucky that I had a professional experience and training in both, which I could talk all of the dancer talk and so then all sudden, that turned into coaches and teachers, you know, dancers and I didn\u2019t have to bring them over. They didn\u2019t have to come to my house. I would just say they were like, Hey, I love the song. You make a samba mic? Yep. And then I would come back the next day, two and a half minutes Samba show, and I I know what they would want. I know they want the cool beginning they gotta have a big highlight solid ending. I knew what they wanted because that\u2019s what I would have done if I was dancing so they didn\u2019t have to babysit anymore. So now they\u2019re like, this is awesome, because you used to have to go over to a recording studio, sit down with the guy. Have all your cuts ready, you remember so yeah, the prod I used to edit tape the tape like reel to reel. I don\u2019t know if you guys know what that means. Taras Denysenko 25:27 Yeah, there\u2019s probably no well maybe some of the listeners well will Brent Mills 25:30 the reel you had to cut it with a razor blade and you had to use scotch tape to tape it back together and hopefully you got the crossfade right is crazy. Crazy. Taras Denysenko 25:39 So what was your What was your first musical director gig then? Brent Mills 25:44 My first gig was us DC the United States dance board championships when it was down in Miami at the fountain blue. And it was 1999 and mild director got put in charge of the music because the former music directors retired. It was a husband and wife team. So he brought down all the music, but he had also chair the competition. So he saw me there because I just had one student, he\u2019s like, can you help with the music because, and I knew him from the tours. And so I just stepped in and just did it for free to help elite, you know, give a break to the guy that was sitting there for 16 hours. And then they asked me back again, and then I thought someone should, you know, modernize this because it\u2019s pretty archaic. So I started doing that and then just one gig after the other than do a gig. And then there\u2019d be judges there that had another other events and they\u2019d be like, Hey, I like your music. So I went from one or two a year. And then we got more and then we the now we do like over 100 and maybe 60 events a year. So I have a lot of them through for that. I send these Guys out and it\u2019s the music that I\u2019ve curated and put together and, you know, I put it together and different levels as far as like, being able to discern, you know, what\u2019s appropriate, because there\u2019s their styles of music that are appropriate for kids for beginners, and, you know, tempo and content as far as like, you know, how what\u2019s portrayed, you know, so you can just blast out some walls with, you know, music that doesn\u2019t really lean towards waltz. It\u2019s just so I was able to kind of filter out some of the songs that didn\u2019t really work, because I wouldn\u2019t have danced to them. So I just throw them out, because I\u2019m like, I will buy one down soon, then nobody wants to. I just thought that way. So that helped a lot. Yeah. So that\u2019s, that\u2019s how it all started in 1999. So Taras Denysenko 27:49 so when you hear a song for the first time, how do you decide who\u2019s it going to be for what it\u2019s going to be when you\u2019re going to play it? Brent Mills 28:00 I immediately hear what the time signature is and the style so I can like if they had the show name that tune or but if they did it reverse into said name that dance when you hear the song. Like instantly I could be like rumba or I could be like as a swing as a West Coast. I mean like it\u2019s so fast, because it\u2019s just that\u2019s how I my brain works now. And so as identify, you know, I\u2019ll be like yeah, it\u2019s a rumba and then it\u2019ll probably change. Oh, my God, never mind is chacha, you know, because the energy changes or whatnot. So, I think I sense the energy of the song. And then once once I\u2019ve known what the time signature is, then it\u2019s easy to say Oh, that even like American waltz versus like a ballroom like international waltz. Like there\u2019s even slight differences that in my brain I use to help. You know, this is better for American style. It\u2019s more lyrical if people will want to move in open way. This is a ballroom when is really good solid beats, it doesn\u2019t drift off anywhere, just stay solid, you know. So, over the years, I learned those little idiosyncrasies for each for each style as well. Todd Combs 29:14 So I wanted to kind of bring in if students because you know, in this in the show, we\u2019ll have students listening teachers and, and I know some students are going to sit here and think how, what kind of tools are or what can I need help identifying music, right so we can hear music. And, you know, I wanted to kind of go and ask you some questions about timing signature measures bpms and things like that. So, so when if a student said, um, you know, now Now I don\u2019t want to sit here and say what I do, right because you\u2019re the expert here. You know, they\u2019re slow music fast music so what what kind of tools would you say what does this do need to learn? Brent Mills 29:54 So yeah, so like, first thing to do is is it To establish speed because speed will dictate a lot of the dances right i mean if you hear it you know very fast swing you can be like organza Lindy see the quick step or jive you know, you can immediately go Okay, I\u2019m gonna go into the slow dance mode, or the medium or swanky mode you\u2019ll you\u2019ll immediately identify that way. So the tempo then that will break it down to like okay, well now does this feel like so slow that it\u2019s nightclub to step? Or is this a little faster where I could get away with rumba or Bolero? Do I Do I hear Latin Congress? Do I hear Latin percussion? So the next is to identify the sounds you\u2019re hearing. Am I hearing strings? You know? So now I\u2019m going to go into foxtrots or waltzes or tangos, you know you so you kind of compile as you hear measures pass each other because everything everybody\u2019s song is kind of a kind of a build or progress. So, musicians when they\u2019re making music, you know, they\u2019re not thinking about dancers, which most people forget. So dance music, every musician unless someone like me or a designated record label that makes ballroom music, they\u2019re not going like, Yeah, man is my song. And I think it\u2019s gonna be a great West Coast Swing to now they don\u2019t even know what that means. So they\u2019re just going this is my song. And this is the way I like to play it. And then we as dancers go, Yeah, I like it too. But it needs to be a little faster because, you know, blah, blah, blah. And it\u2019s our responsibility to change that or to or adjust to that. And it\u2019s funny because a lot of dances will be the expectations are like, well, this song isn\u2019t. It\u2019s too slow. They\u2019ve did it too slow. And I\u2019m like, but they didn\u2019t do anything at all, they just made their song. Yeah, we\u2019re the ones that like it. So, you know, it. I liken it to to musicians, as a professional musician, they write their music or arrange it, produce it record or whatever, though, and then they send it out. So they\u2019re there. They\u2019re in this highway in the, in the right lane. And they\u2019re just they just stay in that lane and they just send out their music and people grab it and they buy it. They don\u2019t whatever. And that\u2019s how they make their money. And then dancers. They\u2019re the same. They\u2019re in the left lane going down the road, teaching their dances, choreographing booking the shows, you know, all those things, but yet they have to move over into that right lane and grab a bunch of music. And then they got to move back over to their left lane to do what they want to do with that music. But those musicians in that right lane, they never come over to the left lane. But there\u2019s so much work in the left lane because dancers need them. They can\u2019t do it without no one has just started moving without any music except for someone that has a problem. So, I mean, there\u2019s some, there\u2019s a few modern, contemporary, you know, pieces that have no music, which are amazing, you know, but they\u2019re specialized. But nine 9% of the rest have some kind of sound, whether it be any kind of sound, but any sound makes it musical. And that\u2019s what invokes you to move. So I\u2019m always of the of the thought of like, I need to find more musicians that can come over to that left lane, and help out the dancers. So I\u2019ve been trying to, like make a network of musicians that, you know, come over here where there\u2019s work where you can edit and you can remix for these guys. I mean, if I had more time, I mean, the situation that it is right now. I\u2019ve just pumped out three new V and these losses. I did it I did a cover of dust in the wind. We have to play that. That\u2019s that did a Viennese wall to that Taras Denysenko 33:57 just now that\u2019s cool. Brent Mills 33:58 Nice. So I mean, I have the time to Do it, you know, but I don\u2019t always have the time because I\u2019m, I mean, I do 45 events a year alone. So that\u2019s just two days home out again, three days home out again. So, you know, if I could get a network of musicians so that\u2019s that\u2019s how my mental process of like, as much as people take advantage of the music\u2019s always there, it has to be there because that\u2019s all you got to do. You don\u2019t just take off and start moving. So Todd Combs 34:33 and I think it\u2019s hard for some people to just for some students come in and they want to just ask us, what\u2019s the magic equation to be able to music identify for ballroom dancing? And, yeah, it\u2019s it\u2019s so challenging, and without some good kind of reference point. I think it\u2019s really challenging for them. So so like one thing you have is you have music Mills live, which is your music service the streaming channels. Yes, Brent Mills 35:01 it\u2019s like the Pandora for Dance, dance sport. Right? It\u2019s Todd Combs 35:05 like yeah, there you go Pinto you probably have a way better way to explain it. Yeah Pandora for dance. And especially right now, when as we\u2019re recording this. We are in the Coronavirus lockdown situation. Yep. So we\u2019re all stuck at home, we\u2019re not able to go out. And you do have a special which will last during the lockdown session. So we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll have that on in our in our show notes and you can you know, tell us where to go and things like that. But But your, your service tells us, hey, I want to Foxtrot. This is the foxtrot. Brent Mills 35:43 Yeah, we decided I decided, yeah, because when we I was making the app. You know, at first we made the app for the phone because all the teachers were using their phones. They\u2019re hooking their phones into the sound system playing from their phones. And but none of their apps were slowing down music Storing and making playlists, the things that you need to do when you have to manipulate music for dance for ballroom especially. So we made the app. And then during that time, unlimited data came about and so everybody stopped downloading and buying music. They just started streaming it. So we\u2019re like, wow, we need to have an alternative. Because there\u2019s two kinds of dancers, there\u2019s dancers that will dance to any music, they just need the right music. And then there\u2019s dancers that love their collection, they pull in the chart and this rumbas they love and that\u2019s their music and they and they love collecting it as a dancer, because that\u2019s what inspires him. Right? And, but we had to kind of serve as both styles because I am like, when I listen to Pandora, I like the steam channel. I\u2019m a fan of sting. And I\u2019m also a fan of musicians that are like staying and if I liked them, I keep them. I don\u2019t subscribe to the sting channel to listen to just sting music, just the styles of sting. So we decided to do like the international cha cha channel, which are all the charges that are in my library at the International speed. So they\u2019re all curated, they\u2019re all phrased, and they\u2019re in the correct tempo. So if teachers that just need new music and rhythm that is correct, they don\u2019t have to keep adjusting or editing. That\u2019s for them. That\u2019s that just gives you Chacha after Chacha or American waltz after American walls, and they\u2019re all from my library, so they\u2019re trusted. There\u2019s songs that I\u2019m using currently in events, so nothing gets stale, nothing gets like where you just can\u2019t stand listening to a song over and over again, like dancers can do they can crush a song and crush the life out of a song. So that\u2019s what that is for. And then the app as itself that functions as a tool to like, collect your music, organize it into different folders, you can save your showcase music for your students. You can create playlists for socials. That\u2019s that\u2019s the other style of teacher that is uses music as a tool. Like I use when I taught I used music as a to make every student a CD, I would make them CD of their practice music so they would go in their car and they could have that right cha cha music at home. And the app was meant to do that is like, if you\u2019re a teacher, you, you know, I would give this app to my students and I would say, here\u2019s a song, you\u2019re gonna load it into your app, and this is the right music to practice to. So now they\u2019re practicing the correct music style, tempo and whatnot. When they\u2019re on their own Plus, it was just a, you know, reminder where they were and where they were training. So it was a great tool. It is a great tool for even students, teachers alike because it can help organize, it can help motivate whether you just need I mean we have an American bronze Foxtrot channel we have 32 channels total. So we even have an American bronze Fox channel which are a little faster internet So, instead of again, trying to speed up music for a bronze student, we have the American bronze Foxtrot channel. So all those temples are a little faster, a little easier to teach and dance to. So with 32 Yeah, lots of choices. Whatever style you do, we got them all even bachata salsa hustle that those as well. Taras Denysenko 39:24 And that\u2019s it, you know, that\u2019s, that\u2019s really a great value, because it\u2019s like, just like learning to dance, you got to go through repetition and training your body to move but also, this is a great way to train your ear. So when a student wants to develop music recognition, if they can go to your app, and just your that tempo here, that style of music, then they start to get your training, as well. So that\u2019s like, it\u2019s brilliant. Brent Mills 39:46 Yeah. And the fact that you don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming next because it is streaming. So you literally challenge yourself to like, start identifying evil, you know, you could even be like, well, I\u2019m in the waltz channel. I know they\u2019re all Walters. However, everyone All starts different some start real quiet, you don\u2019t know what that beat is yet. You know, I mean, that\u2019s another key factor of like ident. Once you know what the dances well, you need to identify when that downbeat is, or, you know, when that measure begins what you were talking about earlier, you know, if you\u2019re in a waltz, you need to know where one two, you know, same thing. So, that\u2019s a lot of practice, because you can just listen to it like the radio, right? Todd Combs 40:25 Yeah, that\u2019s because when you make a playlist, let\u2019s say, in Spotify or something, you even if you shuffle it, you put it, you know, the songs that are in that playlist, right? You know, so it\u2019s, it\u2019s different, right? You want it, there\u2019s not as much of a challenge in that. Whereas as a teacher, it\u2019d be great to say, go listen to music Mills live. I want you to listen to the foxtrot channel. And I want you to listen to the rumba channel and tell me what the differences are next less. There you go. Brilliant. Yeah, Spock, you know, sometimes spot Trying rumba, you know, there, there can be we know there\u2019s some songs you can do both to their slow Yeah, but you know, there\u2019s some differences. And I\u2019m sure in your, you know, like at the studio sometimes I\u2019ll play. I\u2019ll just be like, you know what, today, let\u2019s play some 80s ballads, you know just really some rockin 80s music and, and and we\u2019re choosing to do a rumba to it or we could choose to do a Foxtrot to it, but it\u2019s not authentic, you know, it\u2019s an authentic Foxtrot necessarily. So, there\u2019s those songs but, but yours is good because you\u2019re really working on the authenticity of what a Foxtrot is, you know, and really understanding them right. So I like that good. Brent Mills 41:37 Yeah, and that\u2019s and that\u2019s really the primary reason to either collect and manipulate the music as you like, because you have a certain song It needs to be a certain tempo. You know, because the rest of the world, the dance world, even salsa, the the industry of salsa of Tango, the industry of hip hop lyrical jazz ballet. Those are all songs that are pretty much as they hear them, they dance to them. So they\u2019re not stuck on time. They\u2019re not stuck on tempo like, Oh, this I need to speed this up for West, the west side, like West hip hop. Because there\u2019s East Coast West Coast, right? So if they go this is this is too fast for US Coast hip hop, they would look at you like you\u2019re a turkey. They don\u2019t even they be like, we don\u2019t even care about tempo, you crazy, you know, but like, Oh, that\u2019s too fast for our church. I\u2019m not going to do that me, you know, and you\u2019re like, Oh my gosh, because that\u2019s why they the other dancers roll their eyes at us. But you know, once you learn the reason why tempo has been established, then you fully understand there are reasons why you can do jive really slow, or you can\u2019t do foxfire really fast because it turns into another dance. Where hip hop is hip hop, you know, fast or slow, right? There\u2019s not like hip hop, salsa or hip hop bachata. No. So is that distinction that no one really, you know, made no for for the ballroom world because it\u2019s really not the dominant dance shaundra you know, hip hop and ballet, like those are the dominant. So that\u2019s where they get all the attention. Yeah. So, Taras Denysenko 43:28 you know, it\u2019s really interesting. You said earlier about the right lane in the left lane, right lane, or musicians left lanes or dancers. So you\u2019re kind of unique individual in that you do legitimately ride both those lanes as composing music, and being a dancer and yeah, why what\u2019s also super cool is when we go to some of our competitions, you also are able to do live music with Brent mills and the nine dance band. It\u2019s a great band and a mad respect to provide a live music because there\u2019s there\u2019s a whole other element to dancing to pre recorded music versus live music. Yeah. So let\u2019s talk a little bit about Brett milson. And your and your live band man that\u2019s, Brent Mills 44:17 well first of all, I, I would play. I love playing live. I only like playing live as a drummer. I hate playing live as a pianist because there\u2019s 10 fingers that are going to make a mistake at any time at any moment. And it\u2019s nerve racking. And unless I\u2019ve rehearsed for hours and hours, I am a wreck. I so every time you guys have seen me play like the walls for pros. Oh yeah, I\u2019m a mess. I\u2019m a mess in my head. I want to cry a little bit. It\u2019s It\u2019s It\u2019s terrifying. Now drums. You know, who knows I\u2019m making mistakes. I\u2019m just hitting cymbals and tom toms black As long as I keep my rhythm, I am at a party for me up there. So that first and foremost is just thrilling, thrilling, thrilling. The whole nine dance pen that came with that was just Paul Hermanson, one of the MCs that is always emceeing there. You know, our first time we had the band, the corporate took a big chance and they\u2019re like, you can do this. And I\u2019m like, Yes, we can do it. And I, I know how to do it. And so they did. And so the first time Paul was like, well, what\u2019s your band\u2019s name? I\u2019m like, well, we\u2019re not a band. I mean, we\u2019re not a we\u2019re not a band that goes out and does shows on the weekends. These are all musicians that play for Michael Buble and Rod Stewart and all the saline they they\u2019re the they\u2019re the members that are hired when these guys come in to do their like one month show run. Because those big names they don\u2019t really travel with their whole band, they travel with maybe three and then all the rest are locals. They\u2019re locals that can instantly read music, any style, any difficulty. And that\u2019s how good they are. Well, I had a bass player friend who was one of probably the best play bass players in Vegas, and he knows everybody. So when we had to do this, he\u2019s like, no, I got this pianos used to play for elton john, I got this this horn line they play from Michael Buble. Like, so I have these cats that can play anything instantly. So I could be like, bass, mucho and D. And they\u2019re like, boop. And done. And we\u2019re going yeah, like they know. And even if they don\u2019t know it, they\u2019ll just say, yeah, it\u2019s it\u2019s indeed 135 back to six, the bridges four or five, you know, I mean, they\u2019re just like, Okay, got it. Literally with halfway through, you know, a minute, they already have the sequence. So it makes it easier because we don\u2019t have to rehearse and you know, meet three times a week like most bands have to do to practice their gigs because we\u2019re not really playing a concert to to show So we\u2019re just the support for the dancers. So they just need to play a minute and a half. And then we\u2019re done. So it\u2019s like any mirror, have any song everybody knows, you just follow and everybody follows. And then they just follow me. And when I\u2019m done, I fade them out or we find the end spot. And that\u2019s, that\u2019s how that all came about. And and then, you know, we were able to mix. This is what other the bad they were able to mix inside the system. So like we made, we miked everything so all of our sound was coming to the floor where you\u2019ve been hearing music all week, through those speakers, where if you see other bands come in, they bring in their own sound system and all their sound is coming from one stage. So it\u2019s like a concert like it\u2019s all coming from one end. So all the dancers on the other end are getting knocked the energy it\u2019s too far away and it sounds like we\u2019re literally in the sound systems. We sound like the music that\u2019s being played. So I had a lot of people just say like, I didn\u2019t even know it was a band yet until I looked, I thought it was just regular canned music, and then they look up and it\u2019s the band, because we were able to, we integrate it into the sound system, which made a huge difference, because now the dancers Can you clearly hear the rhythm, not get confused from a delay, you know, because we\u2019re on the other side of stage, you know, blah, blah, blah. So, Taras Denysenko 48:27 and that\u2019s true. I have a I have a student that she competes. We compete at a pro level and I remember dancing, one of our scholarship events and you guys were playing live and I was like, dang, that was a live band. We were just dancing to those musicians you bring on our Oh, second to none for sure. Brent Mills 48:44 Awesome. I you know, Elisa, my female singer who comes every time. Yeah, she\u2019s she toured with Prince for like, 10 years. That\u2019s awesome. So I mean, she\u2019s in a video with Prince on his knees, while she\u2019s doing like some solo and he\u2019s worshiping Like, that\u2019s how good she is. I mean, just amazing, amazing musicians all. Todd Combs 49:05 Yeah. And they\u2019re all they\u2019re all cool, cool dudes cuz I remember when we all were playing the guitar guy. I was up with him and we\u2019re, he\u2019s like, you can use my guitar if you want to. And I was like, No, no dude, your guitar looks way, way too expensive for my hands. Yeah, but he was, he was like, um, I think he just assumed I lived in in Vegas. And he was like, hey, come, you know, just let me know. Let\u2019s talk and we can I\u2019ll work with you a little bit. He\u2019s like, for fun. I won\u2019t even charge you know, I was like, dude, you\u2019re the coolest. I don\u2019t live in Vegas. But I wish I did. So he was Yeah, he was just so nice. He offered to help me Brent Mills 49:44 and they love those gigs. They love the dance gigs because, I mean, it\u2019s just a whole different energy where they\u2019re not having to sit there for four minutes, three minutes. Play all this music and know all the changes. You know, it\u2019s like, show up. Here\u2019s the song list. I mean, we\u2019ll we\u2019ll go through things when we do our sound checks, we\u2019ll make sure like, if we\u2019re doing a new song, we\u2019ll make sure we know what\u2019s going on. But for the most part, it\u2019s really just a meeting. And we\u2019re like, Okay, this set, we\u2019re going to do these songs in these keys, who\u2019s singing? Okay, just watch me. And then then there we go. And then they get it. You know, they love watching the dances. The dances are so grateful and very complimentary to them. And so, to them, it\u2019s just like a bonus gig. I mean, it\u2019s very lucky that I don\u2019t have to drag any. I mean, I have people just waiting at the door like, Hey, man, if you ever need me, I\u2019ll jump in, you know, Steve, like Gilda Marlo sue for Chicago. He\u2019s like, anytime you need me. I\u2019m ready. You know, because they just love playing just like dancers will dance anywhere. musicians that play full time they\u2019ll play anytime, anywhere. Todd Combs 50:48 Because they love it. And it\u2019s so and you can tell they like I mean, you know, when you\u2019re going out and you\u2019re eating somewhere and a band is playing and everyone\u2019s just eating their own dinner and and not really paying attention. To the band and you\u2019re thinking, This band is is really good and no one\u2019s really appreciating. You can tell like when we have our students out of events. The band is like, man, we love you guys dancing while we\u2019re playing. Because I think a lot of time, I mean, obviously in different venues, you know, sometimes they, you know, when they play a gig at a dance event, I mean, the dancers are 110% and you know, involved. Oh, yeah. And I think they, it\u2019s just a, it\u2019s like a, we feed off each other, we feed off them, they feed off us, but, you know, yeah, I don\u2019t think they always get that kind of participation now. Brent Mills 51:35 And the other thing is, is that the way the reason that our band has been so successful is that, you know, me knowing that, you know, I\u2019m not going to play a salsa for seven minutes, because everyone\u2019s gonna die. or crazy, wicked fast, cha cha. So right any musician that is not in the debt at all, which are all of them. You know, you We say well, we want chachos and rumbas and swings. Well, you just said to them, swing, so he\u2019s gonna be like Fly Me To The Moon, which is a Foxtrot right? That\u2019s not a swing. to them. That\u2019s a swing. Or if you say, if you say, cha cha, they\u2019re gonna be like Ding, ding, ding, Tintin, Tintin, Tintin fast. I mean, they\u2019ll even Google cha cha, and they\u2019ll get this crazy tempo. So they don\u2019t know they don\u2019t know how fast so you even when organizations hire local bands, they get a lot of complaints, a lot of long tracks too slow for a rumba. too fast for East Coast Swing. So it\u2019s like, I know exactly the kind of music everybody likes grooving to and the tempos. So it just it makes it that much easier. And I\u2019ve even been hired to come in and take a band\u2019s repertoire, I\u2019ll look it up, I\u2019ll look at all their music. I\u2019m like, Okay, these are gonna be your charts, these are gonna be your Foxtrot. You\u2019re gonna play these at 100 124 beats per minute, you\u2019re gonna play these at 90 per minute, you know. And then I can customize their playlists to play them at least the right tempos and length. And that\u2019s been quite successful as well, because they can still have local, but at least some some kind of tutelage to help them. Know that like, no, don\u2019t play your churches that fast, then they\u2019ll always like what I\u2019m like, yeah, it\u2019s at 120. Yeah, that\u2019s really slow. Yeah, to you. So, you know, they\u2019ll learn really fast, but they always want to do it because every time they\u2019ve done it, everybody applies. They all cheer for them. They they can feel like the energy Connect. And that\u2019s the point. Todd Combs 53:55 So, so cool, big difference. Yeah. Definitely. Now I think we want to get to a section that we\u2019re kind of every time we do an interview, we\u2019re gonna tell we\u2019re going to ask them. What\u2019s your take on? Okay? Like, what\u2019s your take on something so, so now we\u2019re going to go to our what\u2019s your take on section? Four. Brent\u2019s, what\u2019s your take on we\u2019re going to talk about which songs need to be banned from showcases competitions, studio events, any event that you know other people are hearing music now. Just because we want to make your life harder we\u2019re gonna go first even though this interviews about you, we obviously don\u2019t care Yeah, we\u2019re gonna tell you are Brent Mills 54:44 you you? You You be all about you right now. I get it. Todd Combs 54:48 Cheers. Yeah, cuz ours. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, it\u2019s right. It\u2019s our show. Yeah, what is the songs are played out. So for me, I have a couple now I have more than this, but I\u2019m going to give you like my worst and I couldn\u2019t decide between the two Mine is Phantom of the Opera. And cellblock Tango like every time I go to an event or if I\u2019m judging a showcase or or doing something for me I don\u2019t think I make a face but when I hear that Oregon play for fan of the opera I\u2019m just like, oh or I see him walk out with the half mask. I\u2019m just like, Brent Mills 55:20 yeah, you want that you want the mask to catch on fire? I know. Todd Combs 55:24 Yeah, I want them to really burn right there. And then and then the cellblock Tango, they\u2019ll just you know, it\u2019s so tired of the cellblock Tango, even though, even when there\u2019s a bunch of women dressed all sexy, doing their thing. I still still doesn\u2019t work. It\u2019s not enough. It\u2019s still not enough. Yeah. I hear you. Your pain. You feel my pain. You now you see this stuff. Every week. You have to push the play button and I\u2019m sure your finger doesn\u2019t want to push the play button. It\u2019s like now. I\u2019m not going to do it. You should just you should just boycott it. Yeah. Brent Mills 56:00 I wish I wish I could turn a crab song into like a Rotten Tomato and then throw it at the dancers. Now, mostly, it\u2019s mostly when it comes to showcases, it\u2019s really the you know, I get that students that are learning they have their favorite music and that they love to move to right. And that is fine. And I understand all of that. But it\u2019s the guidance that should be there for that student. So when they say, I love Phantom, you\u2019re like, well, Phantom has been done nine bazillion times. So the only way we\u2019re doing Phantom is if it\u2019s a funny sketch, something that people would not expect when they hear the expectations of what phantoms they\u2019re gonna get. So, but that requires way more focus, creativity, and you know, sometimes teachers don\u2019t have all that time or don\u2019t have that. All that creative inside them. So I understand that but like to me, I don\u2019t want to ever hear anyone do anything to Greece. I don\u2019t want to hear any Moulin Rouge. I don\u2019t want to hear anything from Chicago. I don\u2019t want to hear anything frozen. or really any Disney Princess unless it\u2019s a little child then we shouldn\u2019t be doing right Todd Combs 57:27 right that\u2019s that\u2019s Isn\u2019t that funny how that\u2019s totally okay. Yeah, when a kid comes out you\u2019re like that\u2019s cool. So Phantom of the Brent Mills 57:34 Opera cool. Yeah. Phantom No, that\u2019s been done millions of times. If any pasta doble a Please don\u2019t do pasta Dhobley unless you take a fun song and make possibly, you know, right there\u2019s a lot of disco songs you could do possibly to and that would be fun to watch. But like if you come out with a spine you Connie I mean we always hear we\u2019ve heard a spine you Connie now for 50 years. So it\u2019s not Like it\u2019s different. It\u2019s not like it\u2019s so this is the spiny Connie by 50 cent. No, it\u2019s not gonna happen. So that\u2019s that\u2019s Michael Jackson please no more Michael Jackson. No more Michael Jackson. We don\u2019t need the glove. We don\u2019t need the moonwalk. And we don\u2019t need him you know reminding us that he touched kids not good I was never I was leaving Neverland. The worst thing I\u2019ve ever seen in my life. It\u2019s I mean, it\u2019s Yeah, I had to actually I stopped playing his music laughter I watch that series. I was like, I haven\u2019t seen it Yeah, well if you see if you don\u2019t watch it if you don\u2019t want to have weird feelings when you hear Michael Jackson music because our ever since then I\u2019m just like, This music is amazing. Of course it is. Right? What he did is not you can\u2019t you can\u2019t justify I can\u2019t in my brain. So I\u2019ll see kid groups and Michael Jackson, I\u2019m like, What is wrong with people? Mm hmm. Taras Denysenko 59:04 I\u2019ve seen studios yesterday that they\u2019re gonna boycott. Like when that when that came out, people are like, we\u2019re not playing it anymore. We\u2019re not gonna do it. Brent Mills 59:10 It\u2019s too much. It was too much for me. I remember watching that was when I was working at BYU and Nelson. I saw a whole routine to Michael Jackson Medley and all they are all kids. Like this is odd. This is not feel good. But yeah, that is that\u2019s my take it that\u2019s your take on that. The thing that I realized after all these years watching 9 million showcases is that and this is the map more applies to professional show dances as well. You know, you may have a favorite song that you love and that you have connected to, but that doesn\u2019t mean everybody else, and the majority are not going to connect to it. Perfect example. I love the song by a band called sticks. You all know sticks. So Oh yeah. sail away. It\u2019s an amazing song. It tells a story. It\u2019s a whole thing, right? It\u2019s got a whole break in there with all the synthesizers. I mean, come on. Can you imagine the dance? You can? No, you can\u2019t, because there\u2019s no dance to do to Come sail away. But there\u2019s a lot of, but I love the song. But I know that I can\u2019t translate that onto the dance floor. Because I mean, it\u2019s such an epic song, you\u2019d have to have epic movement or something that would everyone relate to but you know, who is from the 80s in the audience, half of the people the other wrestler like what is this song? So he\u2019s talking about sailing in a Navy outfit? I mean, you don\u2019t even know. So if people don\u2019t people don\u2019t realize like if they\u2019re selecting music, if they feel it\u2019s really close to them, they think that everything should be able to be a dance, but it\u2019s not always It doesn\u2019t work that way. Now, if you\u2019re doing it for sentimental reason I respect that and they just want and they love and that\u2019s fine. But it\u2019s when they think that this is something that is moving to others or inspirational or entertaining. Just because it\u2019s they think that\u2019s the song that everybody should connect to is a huge risk, huge risk. So I\u2019ve seen that more than I\u2019d like to say, tick because it just gets awkward, awkward, awkward. I mean, you know, you\u2019re like, Oh, I know me, and, you know, Russians will come over and then all sudden, they\u2019re dancing to Bananarama. like that song went out a long time ago, you know? So, it\u2019s just got there just got it. It\u2019s true. But I mean, it\u2019s just really doing research and you know, finding that piece that you know, speaks to you but also speaks to an audience because if you don\u2019t have the audience, then you\u2019re sorry. cases, it\u2019s called a showcase for a reason you\u2019re given a show. So I don\u2019t want people walking out on your show, or not connecting to your performance. I mean, that\u2019s the key, right? They got to connect to your understanding. So I mean, if it is deep then make it funny. I mean, people love comedy. So people, right if you\u2019re gonna do fan of the opera, then put a mask on and then a speedo. How about that? Now? opera. Anyway. Taras Denysenko 1:02:33 All right, awesome. Todd Combs 1:02:34 Yeah, that\u2019s I\u2019m just thinking of the beginning. Unlike a Luchador outfit, maybe that unlike a cape, and a wrestling outfit, since, like, amazing idea. Brent Mills 1:02:44 And the best performances are when people have taken risks, where they\u2019re like, I\u2019m gonna, I\u2019m gonna just go I\u2019m gonna wear these shoes, or I\u2019m gonna wear this hat and I don\u2019t care. But if you don\u2019t care, then you\u2019re committed. It means you\u2019re committed. Like it doesn\u2019t bother you, which means you\u2019re going to support it. So You know, and even if it\u2019s not the right song for everybody, if you commit to that song, then people are going to connect because you\u2019ve connected Taras Denysenko 1:03:08 such as Baby shark. Brent Mills 1:03:10 Baby shark. Perfect. Now, hi. Oh, yes, Travis and Jamie talks the current US, right? They did some of that where I\u2019m like, Oh my god, you know, you almost instantly were like, I cannot really call this and then the way they did it. They just said, Yep. Where is Baby shark? There\u2019s nothing else to do except being a shark outfit. And do the moves. The way they presented best showed as probably in 10 years. Taras Denysenko 1:03:42 Yeah. I agree. That was funny. totally unexpected. Yeah. Because my, my least favorite one that needs to go away is from Milan, Roxanne. That was okay. Yeah. Brent Mills 1:03:55 Yeah. painful. Taras Denysenko 1:03:56 So do you lowered Do you think there\u2019s such a thing as a song being too big to do a dance to. Brent Mills 1:04:08 Uh, I think before editing, yes, because you can\u2019t commit to that long or to that many style changes or whatever, but like now that you can kind of customize your music, I think every song is possible, where you were there you either put effects in, or you put in a different style of the song. I mean, the music is so readily available, like I can put in flying to the moon and I\u2019m gonna probably get 20 different arrangements just on iTunes. And now I can like, you know, mix and match. You\u2019re not just committed to one piece. So I don\u2019t know that\u2019s a that\u2019s a good question because you know, sometimes I\u2019ll hear music like if I showed as close And all sudden I hear that Oregon like he said, I can\u2019t help but like, Oh my gosh, please No. And, you know, and I\u2019ve done that, I\u2019ll admit, and then the show ends up being amazing and I eat crow. You know, not that I said it to anybody else but in my own way, and I\u2019m like, Well, that was a fast jump of judgment, idiot, you know? Todd Combs 1:05:23 Yeah. Brent Mills 1:05:24 Mostly I\u2019m correct, like, Oh, yeah, they just chose a song. That\u2019s the fast the fast. You know, that\u2019s the quick fix. Everybody knows it. Let\u2019s just do it. So there\u2019s enough resources and you know, things to find nowadays that none of that should ever happen anymore. But like I\u2019ve seen, We\u2019re the champions. No one\u2019s done a Bohemian Rhapsody yet. Because, I mean, you can\u2019t cut that song. Everyone knows the song. So I mean, there\u2019s sounds that you know, you\u2019re not going to get away with because you can\u2019t. It\u2019s Too long and you can\u2019t cut it out because people will be mad. Yeah, that\u2019s how I take. Todd Combs 1:06:10 That was a lot information. Brent Mills 1:06:12 Yeah, sorry. You\u2019d be surprised how fast people turn when they don\u2019t get the music that they want at that time. You know, it\u2019s just I just get really just annoyed people turn around and look at me, give me the stink eye. And I\u2019m like, Hey, man, I\u2019m gonna play another charge on about five minutes, then I\u2019m gonna play another one and play about 100 more today. So I think we\u2019ll get it right eventually. Yeah. So I\u2019ve always said like, if there\u2019s one person that doesn\u2019t like a song that\u2019s going on, there\u2019s probably 10 that really like it. So it\u2019s just the 10 that really like it don\u2019t cheer and, and come up and say things it\u2019s when they don\u2019t like is when they come up and tell you It\u2019s hilarious. Yeah. It\u2019d be like, yeah, fewer standing next to dressmaker and you\u2019re like, a professional goes out and then you\u2019re like, You know what? I don\u2019t really like that dress you made. I like it. It\u2019s just too green. You know what I mean? I don\u2019t like green. Yeah, never do that. You would never do that. But yeah, right. I\u2019m telling you, these guys will come up to me like to attack us sucks. I mean, they\u2019ll say right. Look at him and give him the bird or say, all right, well, it\u2019s only a cha cha. Another one\u2019s coming. You\u2019ll be okay. Yeah, relax. Take a quick lube. Do something smoke. I don\u2019t know you need to relax because it\u2019s not that big of a deal. Taras Denysenko 1:07:44 But I gotta tell you one quick funny story. We\u2019re my wife and I were competing pro one time Cadillac classic up in Montreal. Brent Mills 1:07:52 Okay, good. I wasn\u2019t there. Taras Denysenko 1:07:54 No you were not there. And it was a Mambo comes on. And we\u2019re still relatively new in competing. And one of the more popular couples at the time they were placing really high Gleb Brent Mills 1:08:11 Gleb Makrov? Taras Denysenko 1:08:13 Yeah. Gleb Makarov looked at the DJ. And he looked at him and just stopped dancing and he looked at me goes, this Mambo is an expletive just started coming out of his mouth. Brent Mills 1:08:27 He don\u2019t care. He okay. Taras Denysenko 1:08:30 And he was not gonna dance and you know, Wendy and I were like, okay, we\u2019re, we\u2019re gonna start dancing. I don\u2019t care how fast this is. We\u2019re gonna you know, we\u2019re we\u2019re still fighting. We\u2019re so funny. So the guy stopped playing it, and he put a different mumble on and that was the only time I\u2019ve ever seen something like that happened. I\u2019m Brent Mills 1:08:50 glad though. He don\u2019t care. He He\u2019s, he\u2019ll I\u2019ll see him at calls and he\u2019ll be like, so glad you\u2019re here. I can\u2019t believe this stuff. They play and then he\u2019ll just go off and I\u2019m like, Oh man, I should play over. Don\u2019t play the wrong song for you. You\u2019re gonna massacre me? Oh my god. Yeah. But you know, he\u2019s just he\u2019s very, you know, like, you know, just like we expect someone to teach their student the right steps, the foot placement, you know, he\u2019s expecting like, if you\u2019re gonna be that music guy, you better be a music guy that, you know, cares, that knows what he\u2019s selecting. You know, so. Oh, that is hilarious. I don\u2019t know anyone has everstopped me. That has not happened with I would remember that I would have been traumatized. And I\u2019d probably be in therapy Still, if that happened. Todd Combs 1:09:41 Well, Brent, can you tell us about where so we\u2019ve established on your app like you know, it\u2019s a great place for students to start to hear proper tempo music. A great place that they can get their ear used to understand What a fox. What is an East Coast Swing versus a Lindy versus a West Coast? You know, with a tempo a good tempo of a Chacha is because that sometimes can be a little crazy. So, where can they go? To get your information? And your your sir? Okay, well, thank Brent Mills 1:10:18 you. So yeah, you can their app is for Android, or iPhone. You can use it on surface or iPads. And the app you can find in the app stores or the Google Play, just type in music Mills, which is one word, and it\u2019ll show up or you can find our website as MusicMills.net And then we have all the information there for streaming. And the special that\u2019s going on right now our little COVID special because it\u2019s typically 25 to $35 a month for all 32 channels, but we dropped it down to $9.99. Pretty much the cause To, to get people to music because, you know, the dancers can send the lessons and they can video lessons and video chat. But if those students and amateurs don\u2019t have the music that they\u2019re used to, which is the proper music and the timing, then practice becomes, you know, moot. So we decided to let this go at cost and just let people at least have the music while they\u2019re, you know, in quarantine, stay in a home and you know, do that practice that way. And that will keep going until we\u2019re done. And when it\u2019s done, it\u2019ll just cancel itself out will actually cancel everybody\u2019s account that\u2019s on that $9.99 account. And then, because, you know, we didn\u2019t want people to think that we\u2019re capture everyone and then keep them. So it\u2019ll cancel out and then a few if they liked it, then they can sign back up and do the regular, you know, price and whatnot, but definitely helping out that way. And All the instructions are on YouTube. So we have a music Mills a YouTube channel where you can actually see the tutorials on exactly how to download the app. Sign up for the streaming and getting going on your account. So it\u2019s all on the website or our YouTube channel music Mills. There\u2019s the plug. Todd Combs 1:12:17 Sweet and your MusicMills.net it has your YouTube channel link on there doesn\u2019t Yes, yes somewhere Okay, I thought I didn\u2019t see it right now because I\u2019m browsing your site. Brent Mills 1:12:29 Yeah. And then you can we got videos up there. We\u2019ve got some of my original compositions. Some fun videos I\u2019m gonna release a couple albums in a couple weeks. I just released Dustin the wind cover I just did as a Viennese waltz. You can find that in iTunes or right now or Spotify. Mostly you can find my music through my my name, Brent Thomas Mills, type my full name into any of those search engines amazon music or iTunes or Spotify those kinds of then my tracks will up there, and you can check those out as well. Todd Combs 1:13:03 Yes, also. Well, well, thanks, Brent, we appreciate your information on ballroom dancing, music and storage. Brent Mills 1:13:13 Of course, if anybody has questions, have them, send them in and then we\u2019ll do a follow up and I\u2019m sure people have, they always have questions about, you know, when they listen when they\u2019re not, you know, people hear music, but they don\u2019t always listen. So, right. That\u2019s, that\u2019s the key. Like, I think it\u2019s hilarious. Um, especially the professionals do this all the time. Like, there will always be one couple that\u2019ll think that they\u2019re gonna start moving before the music goes, you know, which is hilarious, because, oh, yeah, why are you moving? There\u2019s no sound. I mean, so it\u2019s odd. And I\u2019m like, Well, how do you know this is gonna start this way? What if it starts really loud? Or what if it starts really quiet? Like you\u2019re not even blending yet? You\u2019re just going off. So I\u2019ll just like take a little longer to press the play button and make it awkward. Second, the gnocchi I\u2019ll just test them like yours still gonna move, come on, just stop. But I don\u2019t really do that very often. But uh, you know, it\u2019s, it\u2019s just like you have to hear it, you have to listen to it. And you establishing like, ah, soft, okay, I\u2019m going to be soft. Oh, Jazzy, I\u2019m going to be jazzy. You know, you don\u2019t just get a standard beat. And everyone is every beat is the same on every waltz. It\u2019s not the tempo is and the content is right. But the way it\u2019s arranged can give us such different levels of performance, technique and, and energy and that\u2019s, that\u2019s what sets you apart. So that\u2019s my walking away advice if you hear it, great, but listen, take a second There\u2019s no rush to start so that\u2019s what I can appreciate those that listen. Todd Combs 1:14:58 Yeah, great advice. And yeah, that\u2019s It\u2019s great that you offer them, you know, people have questions because you know what will happen is people listen to this now, and then as we\u2019re going, you know, people I\u2019m sure you listen to podcasts, sometimes you go back to the first one and it\u2019s it\u2019s old, you know, when someone listens to this, we could be out of the COVID lockdown. And, and ask questions, Brent\u2019s awesome, dude. So I\u2019m sure you could ask questions months from now and he would still be able to help Brent Mills 1:15:24 ya. So if you want to follow up, call me back. Be glad. Obviously, I can chat a lot. And so I apologize for that. That was awesome. You guys are awesome. I appreciate you spread the musical word. That\u2019s what I appreciate. Taras Denysenko 1:15:38 Yeah, man, as Yeah, musical hacks ourselves. We like to talk to some legit musicians and dancers. Brent Mills 1:15:44 Oh, you guys are legit. killing it. Thank you guys. Taras Denysenko 1:15:49 Awesome. Thanks for joining us. Brent Mills 1:15:50 Anytime, man. I can\u2019t wait to see you guys again. I can\u2019t wait till we get out of here. Till then I know it\u2019s gonna kind of private ties ourselves and make the best of this time, so why not? So I\u2019ll just keep going. We\u2019ll all keep going and then we\u2019ll reset. It\u2019s good. Taras Denysenko 1:16:09 That\u2019s good. Yep. Yeah, Todd Combs 1:16:11 exactly. Once again, guys, I appreciate it. And we look forward to seeing you, man. Brent Mills 1:16:14 Well, I look forward to being on again. So please don\u2019t hesitate to ask or call and I\u2019d be happy to answer any questions. Thanks, guys. Todd Combs 1:16:21 All right, man. Thank you. Take care. Take care. All right, everybody. We hope you enjoyed this episode with Brent Mills. Brent Thomas Mills of music Mills live and remember his website is music Mills. That\u2019s m i ll. s mills, music Mills dotnet. And he\u2019s amazing, cool guy. We\u2019ve known him for years and he runs all the big competitions, the music. He does, he does everything. And he was really gracious enough when when we got off the phone right at the end of our interview, he said he has some songs that he has not released yet to any of his platforms so it\u2019s so no one knows about him yet. He said, Hey, I\u2019ll give you all some links to, to my new stuff. No one knows yet so, so the check out our show notes, and we\u2019ll put links in there to some of his music that he has not released to the public yet. So check those out. That\u2019s really cool. Taras Denysenko 1:17:20 And also coming up on our next episode. How appropriate is during this COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, everyone has to stay at home. The title of our next episode is going to be Do I need a partner to ballroom dance? And don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t have a partner, of course you\u2019re going to want to ask your partner for this is going to create opportunity for people who don\u2019t have a partner right now or if their partner maybe is overseas, or is not local to where you\u2019re at. You don\u2019t need a partner to learn how to ballroom dance. Todd Combs 1:17:49 How many times have you heard someone call in and say, Do I need a partner to ballroom dance? That\u2019s right. Yeah, a lot. You definitely do not need a partner to ballroom dance. You don\u2019t need one. So that is our next episode all about ballroom dancing. What do you got to say to us? Taras Denysenko 1:18:07 Right, we\u2019ll see you on the dance floor. Todd Combs 1:18:23 If you like our theme music and it\u2019s called do it by m BB. And you can find this at https:\/\/soundcloud.com.\/MBBofficial Transcribed by https:\/\/otter.ai And we\u2019d like to thank MBB for supplying this song called \u201cDo It\u201c. You can find this song soundcloud.com\/MBBOfficial ","author_name":"All About Ballroom Dancing","author_url":"http:\/\/ballroomdancing.libsyn.com\/website","html":"