Johnny Hamil has dedicated his life to teaching bass. Starting out as a music education student, Johnny met George Vance at an International Society of Bassists Convention, and his life has never been the same since. After years of prodding from George, Johnny started the Kansas City Bass Workshop.  This event has grown into one of the most vibrant double bass events in the country. But Johnny's not worried that others are going to take students away from him by starting their own events.   In fact, he's convinced that every city should have their own bass event.  And after listening to this conversation, I'll bet you'll agree! Johnny’s book Jamming On The Bass is an improvisational accompaniment to Vance’s Progressive Repertoire series.  Check it out!  It'll add some great variety to your teaching.   Here's a video describing Johnny's teaching philosophy.  This will give you some background on why Johnny was inspired to write his book. Learn more about the materials Johnny uses and what hundreds of other leaders in the double bass field use at contrabassconversations.com/teaching. More links to check out: Feature on Johnny and the KC Bass Camp from KCUR Johnny Hamil Bass Studio (FB page) Rabbath - Bass Ball (vinyl!) Be sure to subscribe to Contrabass Conversations to get these episodes delivered automatically to your mobile device! Thanks to our sponsor! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!