User:Tuba9/Nat McIntosh

Nat McIntosh was born in 1978 in Longmont, Colorado and went to Oregon high school in Oregon, Wisconsin where he played tuba, sousaphone and trombone as a soloist and with different bands until he met percussionist, D.H. Skogen In 1994. A year later, he, and Skogen got a few more band members together and formed “The One Lard ‘biskit’ brass band” and a year after forming, made their first album “Better Recognize" In 1998, the band changed its name to its current name--“the Youngblood Brass Band” and that same year, released their second album, “Word on the Street”“Get Out Da Way” was the first song where Nat used his trademark tuba sound effects he calls his acoustic DJ effects: simulated DJ cuts, scratches, electric-sounding effects created by either singing into the tuba or playing extreme high register. It was only a 3-second-long solo but it set the stage for other, much longer solos. He also uses multiphonics (the art of singing and playing simultaneously) in other songs later on. Also during this time, Nat attended college and studied tuba performance at the University of Wisconsin. In 2000, the band released their final independent album, “Unlearn”. “Acousticon Theme”,in the album, featured Nat’s didgeridoo-like sound effects in the introduction. “The Warrior Comes Out to Play”, a tuba solo in the album that was writen by Nat, he wrote as a showcase for all of his tuba sound effects, was also included.“The Trilogy vs. DJ Skooly”, another song where Nat’s sound effects are the center of the song,was also in the album. After releasing the unlearn album, Youngblood gained national attention, outside of Madison, Wisconsin, and got a deal with Ozone Music NYC. And in 2003, released their first album with the group, Center:level:roar. Brooklyn, a song on the album,is one of if not the best song ever played by Youngblood and it was written by the warrior himself and it featured a 2:20-long tuba solo with multiphonics and Nat’s sound effects. Nate McCavish (Nat McIntosh’s alter-ego name) Handbills for no Man, similar to The Trilogy Vs DJ Skooly, features Nat’s sound effects as the basis for the song. Also, in the song “Is an Elegy”, Nat had a 0:55 solo at the end of the song. Unfortunately, in 2004, McIntosh quit the band after being the band’s leader and primary song writer since it began in 1994. Being the other founding member, Skogen took over as the leader of the band. In his honor, in 2005, the band released the album “Live. Places.” A series of live recordings put together as a tribute to Nat. These songs where chosen because they where the recordings of the last tour he did with the band. Youngblood has had 2 sousaphonists since Nat’s departure: David “Kenny” Bentley and Arian Macklin. They have never lived up to Nat’s skill level and are unable to replicate his acoustic DJ effects. So far, Youngblood has made one new album since Nat left called “Is That a Riot?” Youngblood now has a new label: The Layered Arts Collective. After Youngblood, Nat got a job as the tubist/sousaphonist for the Dallas Brass, replacing their former tuba player, Deanna Swoboda. He played with the Dallas Brass until 2009, releasing Christmas albums and other music.The Dallas Brass, created by bandleader and trombonist Michael Levine, not only hold concerts but also tour throughout the nation’s middle schools and junior highs, gaining Nat attention among the younger crowd that didn’t listen to Youngblood’s music. Also, he recently was featured on national public radio’s “all things considered” playing one of his hits in Youngblood’s unlearn album: the Warrior comes Out to Play. Nat’s current band is the Sotto Voce quartet which does mostly classical chamber music arranged for low brass. He first started working with this band when he was at the University of Wisconsin. They have recorded 3 albums under the Summit recordings label: Consequences, Viva Voce: The Quartets of John Stevens, and Refractions: Old & New Music for Low Brass.. On top of all this, Nat also plays trombone for the Mamma Digdowns Brass Band which, like Youngblood, focuses on outside-the-box style and jazzy New Orleans-style sound (nat has also played euphonium on one of Cougar's albums-leader D.H. Skogen).Also, with the help of his brother, trombonist Ben McIntosh, they run McIntosh Musical Services: a music arranging and copying business. After being away for so long from the band he created and led for 10 years (Youngblood), Nat is finally going on 1 more tour with the band in April and May of 2010! They will tour the Midwest US then move on to Europe. He will also be featured in the next Youngblood album!