Hi everyone, Kirk here on an off week with some sad news and an interview that I wanted to reshare.

About a week ago, I learned that my former band director, Janice Stockhouse, had unexpectedly died.

She was 69 years old, an age that once would have seemed old to me and now seems

far too young, especially for Janice, who loomed so large. Part of me thought she would live forever.

Janice was my band director for the four years. I attended North High School in Bloomington,

Indiana, in the late 1990s, and she had a huge impact on my life. If it weren't for her,

I wouldn't be a musician, I wouldn't live the life I live, and I certainly wouldn't be making this show.

She had that impact on thousands of other people, too, most of whom are adults now, living all over

the world. Many are professional musicians, a few are superstars at the top of their

respective fields. Most are just people whose lives are richer and more musical because of the years

they spent in Janice's band program. In 2018, I went back to Bloomington to play in an all-star jazz

concert, partly to celebrate Janice's retirement after almost 40 years directing

bands at North. We got to chatting, and a few months later I asked if she would want to come

on strong songs for an interview, and in 2019, we made it happen. I wanted to share that

interview with you all again in memory of her. It sounds different to me listening to it now, listening to her,

but also me. I sound different. It makes me pretty sad, but also happy, happy that I got to meet

her, that I got to learn from her, and that I was able to stay in touch with her as an adult.

I'm happy I managed to record some of that, and that I can contribute to some sort of forever

incomplete record of who

she was and what she did. This was actually the first interview that I ever recorded for

Strong Songs, and I like to think that it's set the stage for things to come. I can't think of a

better first interview than Janice Stockhouse. I hope you enjoy listening to it, and to all of you

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