Meet Tiffany Johns of Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Johns.

Hi Tiffany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started like most other musicians, in the 5th grade band. Honestly I only joined because my older brother was in it. I didn’t really have interest in playing music before, and when my mom had tried to teach me piano I was not receptive. I still feel bad about that decades later, even though I apologized to her for it years ago. Anyway, my brother ended up quitting band in the 8th grade, but during the same time I had realized I really enjoyed playing an instrument. I started on the euphonium, which is a beautiful-sounding instrument like a small tuba.

When I got to high school, I wanted to play in the jazz band as I had inherited some jazz CDs from my grandmother and really liked the genre. But as there are no euphoniums in a jazz band, I had to learn trombone if I wanted to join. So I learned the trombone, and played it in the jazz band for the rest of high school. Later in high school I also picked up the bass trombone, which would end up becoming my main instrument.

The turning point for my life’s trajectory was when my friends and band director convinced me that I had what it takes to pursue music as a career. So I dared to follow my dream and apply to music school. I ended up going to my first choice, the highly-regarded Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. When I got there I had my first lesson with one of the trombone professors, and he asked me what I wanted to do with music. I answered without hesitation that I wanted to play in the LA studios on the big film soundtracks. It was a pretty unconventional answer, as most people at that school were there to pursue a job in a symphony orchestra, be an opera singer, or be a jazz soloist. I wanted to play recording sessions and freelance, and that informed every decision I made during my music school education.

I got two music degrees at Indiana University, and once I graduated with my master’s degree in 2018, I moved to LA. I know pretty much nobody, and started from scratch working various day jobs while taking whatever low-paying gigs came my way on the side. Just as my career was starting to gain a tiny bit of traction, COVID hit and I had to essentially start over once civilization resumed. Four years later, I am playing the movie sessions I dreamed of, playing live at high-profile venues like the Hollywood Bowl, and getting to work every day with the LA studio legends that I idolized as a young musician.

But there are plenty of stories like that, and I’m guessing Paul recommended me for this because I’m also a transgender woman. I struggled with who I am starting in high school, and it was a long and difficult journey of self-discovery before I concluded sometime in grad school that I had no other choice but to transition. I knew it was the only possible way I could be happy, even when considering all the cool musical things I was doing during all that time. The courage to come out to anyone, let alone actually start the process, didn’t come to me until years later, in 2022, well after I had moved to LA and restarted my career after COVID. One day I was walking from my car to the day job I worked at the time (Banana Republic, in case you’re wondering!), and the realization that I couldn’t hide it anymore hit me like a truck. So I came out to my mom after work, then came out publicly to the world on social media the next morning.

That moment changed my life forever, for good and bad. The good is easy. Since transitioning, I am finally happy with who I am for the first time in my life. I don’t grimace at the mirror, and I learned what it was like to have self-confidence. Socially, this did a complete 180 for me. I went from a shy, reserved introvert who didn’t want to take up any space, to an extrovert who wants to hang out, live life with friends, have new experiences, and make memories. I also received an outpouring of love and support from my friends when I came out, and learned that a lot more people were on my side than I thought they would be.

But there was also bad, of course. My entire family tree is full of hardcore conservative Christians in the military, most of all my parents. Since coming out I’ve been more hurt emotionally than I ever have before, all from family. And living in 2026 America with anti-trans rhetoric running rampant as we speedrun a fascist takeover is…not great for the mental health, to put it mildly. The government put a target on my back, and I’m supposed to just continue living as normal until I get disappeared, I guess.

(Also, I hate this this has to be clarified nowadays, but I just want to clarify that I don’t use AI and all this writing is mine only, off the dome.)

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Yes and no.

Yes: music school was a very smooth road, full of amazing experiences and learning. My LA career has gotten to the highest levels in effectively only 4 years, which is very quick.

No: Working menial day jobs for years to survive TANKED my mental health. Struggles with family over my identity has also been pretty catastrophic for my mental health, and the struggles are ongoing. Thankfully the day jobs are over, but having to answer to a family of right-winger evangelical veterans is…not ideal.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a freelance musician in LA. I play both studio sessions and live gigs, in many different genres. I’m known for my trombone and especially bass trombone playing, my complex multitrack videos on YouTube, the fact that I can play every brass instrument proficiently (rather than just one or two), and having a lot of knowledge and interest in rare, obsolete, and unique brass instruments.

As a freelancer, every week and month is totally different, and that’s how I like it.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Check in on your trans friends. We need it <3

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tiffanyjohns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finetales/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/euphbassbone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Finetales