Brass Mash Member Deep Dive: Anthony Yi
Mr. Yi passionately serenading us from the stage at Concerts in Plaza
“Some people say Yo! Some people say Yay!” But today we are going to get to know a little more about Mr. Anthony Yi, our alto sax player and arranger extraordinaire.
Anthony and I have known each other since 2015, first as music teacher colleagues and now as bandmates, the “south county” contingency that carpools to most of the gigs together…even though I technically don’t live in SLO County, don’t tell anyone.
Year joined Brass Mash: About a year after it started? 2016 maybe?
Favorite Mashup:
It’s hard to choose just one, but I love all the ones I wrote. They’re my babies! If I had to choose favorites, it would probably be between "Breakeven 1000 Miles of Human Nature” or “This Is Al.”
How did you come to join Brass Mash?
I believe it was through Brett Malta [Brass Mash’s original tuba player]. I knew friends of friends. He had also played in as a sub for the SLO Wind Orchestra. I feel 80% confident that it was when he was subbing. He was there and he asked me about it. I was like, “Hell yeah!”
What was your first Brass Mash gig like? Or do you remember it?
I feel like it was Frog and Peach…but I don’t think so now that I think about it. I vaguely remember the rehearsal, the first time playing with the group.
What was that like?
I was very intrigued. When I first was asked about the group, it was just that it was a brass band, I didn’t know what type of group it was. Even through the rehearsal, understanding that it was a mashup band…it was like fate. Mashups were my favorite thing! Growing up, I always liked those crossover episodes of TV shows, with two things together, worlds colliding. So being part of a brass band that does mashups, I thought, “This is exactly up my alley.”
Share one core Brass Mash experience.
Just to think about the growth of the group. I don’t think about specific points, I just think about the change that we’ve experienced. The quality of the group, the level of musicianship, just how popular the group got. It was crazy to start seeing that there was a following of people who knew who we were, who were coming to all of our shows. We hadn’t really had that when we were playing at Frog and Peach. Back then, it was all about the exposure of the group and trying to get people to notice us and recognize us. There was a shift, and I can’t really put my finger on when that was. People started repeatedly coming back to get more and more.
