American Songwriter » Writer of the Week

Gotye

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:43 +0000

Aussie singer-songwriter Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" has become a bona fide global hit, thanks in part to the striking video and an inspired, mind-bending cover by Walk Off The Earth. Gotye's album Making Mirrors has just been released stateside. We talked to the Belgian-born artist about his love for Depeche Mode, his approach to songwriting, and more. When did you start writing songs? I was about 15 or 16. I started scribbling lyrics down and tinkering with the family piano. Were they good right away? Oh no. They were pretty bad. And even some of the things I’ve written in the past year, sometimes, I go “Oh god, they’re terrible.” So it’s always a gradual process. Who are some of the artists that inspired you to start writing? In my teenage years, Depeche Mode. As a songwriter, Martin Gore had a huge influence on me. I spent my first three years teaching myself harmony by discovering chord progressions on the piano - a lot of it by trying to work out Depeche Mode songs. For a long time, I borrowed a lot of Martin Gore’s very heavily minor chord-based harmony approach, and his vocabulary. I sang a lot of his songs in my high school band. When I turned 20, I had to consciously broaden my horizons and move through that, and not let myself kind of rot in that imitative style. What was the last song you wrote? I haven’t really completed anything since I finished the record. So it might be "Making Mirrors," a little piece that opens the album. But the last main song I wrote was “Somebody That I Used To Know”. When you wrote "Somebody That I Used To Know," did you sense that it was going to be a hit right away? I had a good feeling about it, but no. It completely exceeded expectations. I didn’t think it would have a pop crossover aspect as strongly as it's had. What would you say is the reason for its success? People seem to respond to it just as a song, regardless of whether it's my voice or the production or the fact that Kimbra is on it. The Canadian band Walk Off The Earth’s version -- apart from the clever novelty aspect of five people playing one guitar to it -- that kind of shows people seem to really respond to the song. I think it’s the kind of slow build and drama that it has, the two-part story, and the multiple perspective aspect that has struck people. It’s written openly enough that it expresses that confusion you can have after a broken relationship, and the way you can feel emotionally quite up and down. You can feel nostalgic and rosily melancholy, in a way. But sometimes we often feel quite bitter about things, when you have nothing to do with that relationship or maybe with that person anymore, at least not actively. It can be quite a confusing feeling. So maybe the way the song expresses those feelings appears to strike people as quite true, and quite relevant with their experiences. What did you think of Walk Off The Earth's cover? It’s very faithful, obviously. The concept behind the video is fantastic. It’s great – it makes you laugh, as well. Especially the guy holding the machine heads at the end of the guitar. What’s a song that you really want people to hear on Making Mirrors? One of my favorites is “State Of The Art”, which I think probably will divide a lot of listeners, especially the wider audience who have discovered my music through a song like “Somebody That I Used To Know.” I get the feeling that a song like “State Of The Art” confounds some of those people, whereas others really take to its peculiarity. I would love to see a song like “State Of The Art” be a hit single, because I think it’s quite catchy and it’s written like a pop song for me, but in that way that I’d like to see more pop music be -- very idiosyncratic, kind of strange, and requiring a little bit of understanding about what the hell the concept behind it is. Those are the things I think are the strongest about it. But they're also the things that turn a lot of people off about it, apart from maybe the vocoder talk box voice on it. What's a lyric on the album you're particularly proud of? It might be “State Of The Art” as well. I feel like I can stand behind all the lyrics on the record, which is good. I’m proud of “Bronte,”the album closer. “Bronte” as a whole lyric I kind of like, because of its directness and the way it sort of captures an experience I had. What’s your typical approach to songwriting? It varies. I respond a lot to textures and sound itself. There’s been a few songs on this record that started with a melody or a lyric that had been floating around in my head, but often you kind of wait for that trigger from the break, or from even just a little instrumental canvas for a song that I’ve had floating around for a while. And then sometimes it just correlates with words or things that have been floating around in my head and then the greater concept of the possibility for a song develops from there. Who do you consider an underrated songwriter? There’s a band in London that I’m a huge fan of called The Chap. They are some of my favorite songwriters and producers. here’s also a guy from Australia who operates under the name Machine Translations, and he’s very under-recognized in Australia, let alone anywhere else in the world, but he’s one of my favorite songwriters. What's a song you consider to be perfect? Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting” is a song I come back to a lot. It has a transcendent quality and I melt into every time I hear it.

Michelle Shocked

Evan Schlansky — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:00:47 +0000

Michelle Shocked is a veteran singer-songwriter and activist. This year, she's celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album, the legendary Texas Campfire Tapes, which was captured live without her knowledge, and introduced the world to a singular voice. We asked Shocked about her seminal album, her approach to songwriting, and her thoughts on Occupy Wall Street. "If you think all music is good for is making money," says Shocked, "you’ve vastly underestimated the power of music." How old were you when you first started writing songs? I wrote my first song at 16. It was an ignoble attempt, but it came pretty naturally and I continued writing after that for the simple notion that I didn’t know how to play anyone else’s songs. Would you say that song was a good song, and that you were good from the get-go? Or did it take you a little while to develop? I was pretty good by my third or fourth song. I think I still have in my repertoire of songs that I wrote, that were at least in the first handful, the first one though was a botched attempt called “Hey, Mr. Love.” It’d be like seeing your high school photo, you wouldn’t want it. How old were you when you wrote the Texas Campfire Tapes songs? I didn’t write it as an album, so the question doesn’t really apply. But, for what it’s worth, the songs were recorded, it was a bootleg as you may know, the songs were recorded when I was 24. That was almost a good ten-year head start on the project. How do you view those songs today? Some are still in my repertoire. A few I thought I had maybe outgrown, but as I’ve been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the album this year, I refer to them in a more generous way, as whimsical or innocent as opposed to the alternative, which is naïve. What’s a song on that record that you’re particularly proud of? I write in cycles, so if you want to know a song cycle that I’m particularly proud of, it would be when I discovered the metaphor of cities because by and large, I really found song cycles about relationships not very interesting or compelling, to me. So, one of the earliest song cycles I composed seemed to be inspired by cities, and those have really stood the test of time. Is there a particular lyric on that album that you’re proud of? Well, no. But here’s an alternative reply. On the Texas Campfire Tapes, there were song titles that were not correctly attributed to the proper song titles. For example, I don’t have a song called “Who Cares?,” and I don’t have a song called “The Incomplete Image.” But, the songs that they actually were referring to, I am really proud of that there was actually a philosophy of songwriting or storytelling. I was deliberately, even at that formative age, experimenting with a concept, a communication, a media concept where you don’t tell the whole story. You feel confident that you have outlined the important details, and then, you trust the listener to fill in the important missing details. I just saw a Brad Pitt movie called Tree of Life, that reminded me of this approach because at the end of movie, you’re left thinking, “Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Because he didn’t say it…” The movie theoretically doesn’t have a plot, it doesn’t have dialogue, and it doesn’t have a narrative. Yet, at the end of the movie, you pretty much know what the conversation was that took place, even though it just took place in your head. There were songs on the Campfire Tapes that had that approach to storytelling, and the song, “Incomplete Image”, was a good image. How did this album come to be, and how did these songs come to be mislabeled? I’m going to give you the speed-dial version. I’ve got this little rap down so you can go back and edit later, but I think you’ll get the gist of it. I was sixteen when I ran away from home, but unlike a lot of runaways, I finished school. I’d read a book in my studies called On The Road by Jack Kerouac, and I had decided that that was the career path for me, itinerate vagabond. So, I tried to get the most useless degree I could think of in school, and I studied and got a degree in the “Oral Interpretation of Poetry.” The idea was to make me completely unemployable because I didn’t want a good-paying job to get in the way of my career path. So after graduation, I laid out for San Francisco because that’s what you do. There I fell in with some folks who were playing music on the street, and I fell in with some folks who were into radical anarchist politics. Then, I took the LSD. That’s when my plan started going awry because three days later, the cops noticed my strange behavior, picked me up, and put me in a mental hospital. My father got the phone call, he came and brought me back to Texas. Six months after that, I started having flashbacks, and my behavior was strange enough that my friends got worried and called my mother. She came and picked me up and brought me to a mental hospital in Dallas and then brought in a psychiatric judge in because I was going to be evaluated about being put away for long-term care. But, my mother’s insurance ran out. So, I was discharged from the hospital, and I left for New York City because I knew there wouldn’t be too many of us there. When I got to New York, I met this psychiatrist who told me, “Michelle, you’re not crazy, you’re just poor.” Not long after that, we re-elected President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and that’s when I knew that I wasn’t the crazy one. So, I left the country. I decided to add ex-patriot to my job description. I made my way to Amsterdam, where I got involved in all kinds of political organizations, squatting movements, and anti-cruise missiles. But, I got homesick. So, I made my way back to Texas, and I was sitting at a festival in Kerrville with some of my friends, singing songs and playing around a campfire, and unknown to me, an English man with a Sony walkman tape recorder was at the campfire and recorded the songs, took the cassette tape back to England, and released it as a bootleg called The Texas Campfire Tapes. Is it true that you were initially unhappy with the recording? Well, royalties aside, there were other creative issues with the recording. For example, one of the first questions when I came to England was if I was influenced by a singer named Melanie. “I’ve got a brand new pair of rollerskates…” Because my voice, when it was played back at the proper speed, went up a couple pitches because the batteries on his Sony Walkman were weak. I mentioned that the incorrect titles of the songs, it was just a way of falling backward. If you’re going to be an artist, it does seem to me that you should have some say in the matter. Who were some of the artists that inspired you to start writing In relation to songwriting? It’s a real short list. Paul Simon, Guy Clark, Cat Stevens, and Randy Newman. That’s pretty much it. Oh, and Barry Manilow. Are there any words that you love, or hate? Words that I love are unlikely rhymes like “four for troubadour”, “cement lament”, “street corner ambassador.” I like finding rhymes like those couplings. When you write, do you write in an automatic style or do you find yourself revising a lot? I am currently working on a song cycle called “indelible women.” It’s taken me about three or four months to write a single song, and the reason is that they are portraits of icons, women so famous that if I say their first name then you know who I’m referring to. So, I’ve got to do a lot of biographical research, and then I have to find the seam of their life that I’m focusing on. I’ve got a few other secret engines that I’m following that I have to let settle into place, so that by the time I actually write the song, most of the brainwork has been done. But it’s a three or four month process for each of the ten songs. What's a song of yours that’s really touched people? “Anchorage.” Why do you think it has been so touching? Well, the song is not about Anchorage. It’s about friendship, and the reason it touches people is because it speaks to a theme that has not been well traveled, which I think is probably best expressed by Robert Frost’s poem, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” So, my friend, at a young age, had a baby, settled down, and then she’s writing to me, asking me what my adventurous life is like. It resonates with not just women, but people who have made choices that either have them anchored down, or kept on rockin’. Do you have any advice to aspiring songwriters? It’s curmudgeonly. The world doesn’t need your songs, the world has plenty of songs. If you want to change the world, pitch a tent in the middle of a city square and convince a few hundred other people that things have got to change. Then, write songs about your experiences. Just encourage each other, but don’t ever make them into an album. Why do you say don’t make them into an album? Because if you think all music is good for is making money, you’ve vastly underestimated the power of music. Do you have any comment on the Occupy Wall Street movement? Yeah, power to the people. I have not heard anyone articulate this. This is my attempt to distill the movement with as much foresight, based on my experience and that of others. It has the potential of being a monumental change, which some people refer to as revolution. I’m one of them. The reason is because we have seen version one and version two succeed wildly. The ripple of those successful, non-violent revolutions still continues to unfold. Mahatma Gandhi led the salt marches with the untouchables in India, and Martin Luther King, Jr. followed his example and led the marches on Selma in Washington, D.C. and eventually brought the notion of equality and justice to the shores of America. And this is nothing less of a global revolution where 90% of the world lives on 10% of its resources is potentially going to have a say finally on how those resources are validated. So, just to summarize, 10% of the world controls 90% of its wealth, and Occupy Wall Street is just one small drop in a very large worldwide bucket that is churning as we speak to make sure that the dispossessed and the underclass and people with no voice, who have been organizing and sacrificing and building this momentum for years, are finally seeing the light of day. What's an example of the perfect song to you? Any song that just happens to be played on the radio when you fall in love is a perfect song because that song will speak more eloquently to the feelings that you’re having at that moment more than any other song in the world.

Emmy The Great

Evan Schlansky — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:54:06 +0000

Who is Emmy The Great? She's the Hong-Kong born, London-raised singer-songwriter whose 2009 debut First Love made the New York Times' Album of the Year list. Before going solo, Emmy spent time in Lightspeed Champion singing alongside Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine. Her latest album, Virtue, may very well be another Album of the Year contender. What's the story behind your cool stage name? I went to a music college for University, and there were a lot of internal gig nights. As a joke some of my classmates and I would make up outlandish hip-hop battle/superhero inspired stage names. When I made my first demo that got around the Internet, I used one of those names, assuming it wouldn't go further than my University project. I really didn't think I'd be called Emmy the Great at 27, but I'm used to it now! Tell us a bit about what inspired the songs on on Virtue. I started writing the songs in the Autumn of 2009, which is when I got engaged. I finished the songs around June 2010, which is when I was supposed to be getting married. What actually happened was that my fiance converted to an extreme form of Christianity, apparently overnight, and started a new life abroad. It just happened that I was writing an album over this incredibly curious period, and if I didn't address that in the songs, it would have been a wasted opportunity to deal with and make a record of my experience. It's so strange because a lot of things came out in the songs which I didn't even know I was feeling, and I sometimes felt like my subconscious was sending me messages. It was an effective form of therapy as much as anything else. That sense of being looked after made it into my writing as well. I started to assign my own, secular "saints" to each song, who were symbolic of me knowing I would be all right. Is it true that your backing vocals on the album represent different characters? Yes, Gareth, the producer, and I spent a lot of time doing the different backing vocals, and they all had very different tones and characters. Sometimes I would go into them saying, "These are the nuns" or, "These are the island gods," (it was tongue in cheek mostly). And sometimes we'd name them afterwards, like the Hysterical Ladies on "A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep." It made sense with the album we were trying to make, which was of various protagonists lost in strange worlds, but it was mainly practical because it helped us separate the parts. We always knew what part we were talking about in the arrangement because they had names. How is it being in a band with your brother, Euan Hinshelwood? When we first started working together we were very different people with much less of a grasp on what we were doing, and all the experience we've had in the last five years, of making music and touring and being in the music world in general, we've had together. I always write the songs on my own and then take them to Euan to put the arrangements on. Playing the songs to him gives me the confidence in the song that I need before I can record them or show them to anyone else. I also refer to him as our "taste barrier." My idea of what's good music can flip rapidly and I don't have a very good ear for what's good tacky, and what's bad tacky. I think we'd sound pretty random if Euan wasn't in the band, not in a good way. Who are some artists that inspired you to start writing? Billy Bragg was a huge inspiration when I was starting out. He proved that you could make a point just armed with lyrics and a few chords. That gave me the courage to write my first songs even though I couldn't really play an instrument well. Then there was Patti Smith, who didn't seem to ever sacrifice a lyric or a concept for the sake of pop. Bright Eyes always writes what he wants to - when I was first writing and I was trying to buck the existing pop formulas, I would listen to his music and gain inspiration. Another modern songwriter who I was always mesmerised by is Joanna Newsom. She packs so many concepts and stories into her songs, and her musical composition is intriguingly complex, but not at the cost of hooks and repetition. She really pushes songwriting forward with her albums. I also admire women like Katheleen Hannah who are unashamedly graphic and feminine in turn. I think they broke boundaries for female songwriters. And Black Francis. His lyrics are so deceptive and funny, and I love their apocalyptic/ sci fi themes. Pixies song structures always surprise you too. What comes easier for you -- melody, or lyrics? Melody. Putting melodies together into a coherent song, however, is something I find harder. I think it goes melody, lyrics, song. Choruses are something I cannot write well at all. Any other interesting stories behind the songs on the new album? "Paper Forest (In the Afterglow of Rapture)" came from two quotes - one was at the end of Dancing Barefoot by Patti Smith, 'the promise that she is blessed amongst all women', and one was a Heraclitus quote via Sylvia Plath's diaries, "Character is fate." I was just thinking about what it actually meant to be "blessed amongst all women." To Sylvia Plath, it was to be able to write something astounding, but the society she lived in would have it that true blessing was domestic - children, husband etc. I was kind of thinking about her, and then transferring that to my own experience in a less rigid society, with, um, a less astounding task ahead. "Dinosaur Sex" and "Exit Night" are both songs that grew out of a series of photos I took whilst on tour, of power stations, motorways and cranes in cargo bays. From a distance those structures always looked mysterious and almost inviting, like they might come alive. What's a song on the new album you're especially proud of, and why? I guess "Exit Night" and "Dinosaur Sex," just because they put into words something I've been interested in since I was a kid. What's a lyric on the new album you're especially proud of? Maybe in "North." "They die to be born, and all their mysteries are dying with them." When I wrote that, at the end of the writing process, I was reading about the first missionaries to Hawaii. I didn't know what i thought about that until I wrote the song. It was informative to me. Are there any words you love, or hate? I'm not crazy about saying "croissants." I don't mind it written. Do you revise a lot, or do you like to write automatically? I do both. I sketch in the lyrics automatically, just from sounds I make while I'm singing the melodies, then when I know what the song is about I sometimes read into it. If I'm going through a period of writing, I read a lot within a particular subject just to feed my vocabulary in that direction, and pick up themes. What's a song of yours that's really touched people? The first song I wrote, which was on that University demo, was called "Canopies and Drapes." I didn't think much of it and I didn't release it until after the first record, but people have always asked for that at gigs, and I know the original mp3 from the demo is still available from various files-sharing sites. I thought it was very kitsch, because it mentions things like Woody Allen and S Club 7, and listening to Billy Bragg, but it's a break up song, and people have said that it's helped them through break ups. I recently played on stage with Billy Bragg and as a joke I played that song, because it has his name on it. It opened a bit of a floodgate, because the other two singers on stage also turned out to have songs with his name on it, and became a Braggfest. Who's an underrated songwriter, in your opinion? Harry Nilsson. I know he was famous, but not famous enough in my mind. He's the songwriter's songwriter -- always had a new trick up his sleeve, incredibly diverse, madly talented. I sit listening to "Without Her" in awe, trying to pick apart what makes it so perfect. What advice do you have for aspiring songwriters? Advice I never follow: finish your songs. And record them. If they exist only in your head you have no way of knowing if they're good. Don't be afraid to show them to people. Remember that the thing you fear, that the song you're writing is crap, has no more dire consequence than that you write another. And, if you're the person who is getting a song shown to you -- never say it's bad. Because it's not. It's always improvable.

Sallie Ford

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:00:01 +0000

Sallie Ford has a voice that resonates on the same frequency as her idols Bessie Smith and Etta James. The 23-year-old songstress grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, the daughter of a Jim Henson-approved puppeteer and a music teacher, but moved to Portland, Oregon to hone her craft (she's since opened up for local heroes The Decemberists and roots music legend Mavis Staples). The Avett Brothers' Seth Avett is another big fan of Ford's rockabilly-meets-jazz torch songs, which can be heard on her debut with her band The Sound Outside, Dirty Radio. Who are your musical idols? Tom Waits, The Beatles, Bessie Smith and Etta James. You've been highlighted by VH1 for having one of the fastest growing fan bases. What have you done to grow your base? We just try to write good music and just keep at it and work hard. A lot of our success is luck for sure. What's the last song you wrote? Tell us about it. I wrote a song about a month ago when I was borrowing my friend's car and trying not to think about the traffic around town. A melody came to me, with simple words, which I ended up keeping. The song is still unfinished and I haven't had time to work on it with the band. What moves you to write a song? A fun melody usually. I usually just let the words find themselves from my subconscious or something. I never like to sit down and think what I want a song to be about, it just happens naturally and i don't question it. What's a song on Dirty Radio that you really want people to hear, and why? "I Swear," 'cause I think it has the best energy. The song is about being honest and not being afraid of swearing, as long as it's a good cause. I am pretty proud of the bullshit lyric, as the cuss word has a purpose for being there. Do you do any other kinds of writing? Not really. I like to read poetry and would like to get better at that. I have done some creative writing in the past, and I've always been a fan of letter writing and journaling. Are there any words you love, or hate? I love the word "damn." How do you typically write songs? Words first, or melody? I have written all three ways, but usually I come up with a melody first. I like to write automatically, but write a song over a few weeks in chunks. Who's an underrated songwriter, in your opinion? Wanda Jackson. I saw her at Bonnaroo and she said she started writing her own songs, 'cause there weren't enough songs for girls. Or maybe Bill Withers, he wrote so many hit songs that were so good. What's a song you wish you'd written? "Long John" which was written by Tommy George and recorded by Dinah Washington.

Henry Wolfe

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:00:45 +0000

When you're the son of a famous actress, it can be hard to have your art taken seriously by the masses. In Henry Wolfe's case, that's not a problem. The Los Angeles singer-songwriter's impressive debut, Linda Vista, practically demands repeated listening. We asked Wolfe about recording his critically-lauded album, his choice of moniker, and more. Your mother is Meryl Streep. Is that why you took the last name Wolfe? Wolfe is my middle name. It was given to me so I thought I might as well use it. Your grandfather wrote songs as well. He was songwriter by hobby, and opted for the stability of a day job in order to raise a family. I’m glad he did or I might not be here! You took three years to make Linda Vista -- can you break down how that actually worked chronologically? I moved to LA in 2007, and wrote most of the songs that ended up on the record over the next few years. I wanted to work with my friends Nico Aglietti and Aaron Older, who had just started working on the Edward Sharpe record, Up From Below when I moved out. It took them a year to finish that record, and then they were on the road for a year. We finally got to work in the winter of 2010 and finished up that summer. It was an exercise in patience, working around their schedule but I’m really happy with how everything turned out. Linda Vista was influenced by Paul McCartney’s Ram and Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Sings Newman. How so? Those records were given to me at a time when I was looking for new songwriting inspiration and they ended up being gateways into the work of Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, and Paul McCartney (post Beatles), all of whom I’d never really listened to. I was particularly influenced by the humor and wit in their lyrics. How did you go about recording Linda Vista -- what did you record it on, if not a computer? We recorded it on an Ampex 24 track tape machine, on 2’’ tape and mixed down to 1/2'’. There was very little compression and we only digitized the tracks during the mastering process. Sonically, the record doesn’t have a lot in common with contemporary music you’d hear on the radio, which was our intent. We prefer the sound of analogue recordings. You like to teach yourself jazz standards. Why? Because the chord changes are often more complex and interesting, from a musical/compositional standpoint, than your average rock or folk song. I want to emulate those song structures, so I learn how to play them. What's a lyric you're particularly proud of on the album? “If you’re thinking of leaving, you’re already gone.” From "The Third Act." Are there any words you love, or hate? I don’t care for the word “fan”. How do you typically write songs? Words first, or melody? Melody first, pretty much always. Do you find yourself revising a lot, or do you like to write automatically? I revise a lot. It often takes me years to finish songs. Others come faster, but I’m very deliberate about the choices I make and I won’t release a song until I feel it is finished and I’m proud of it. Who's an underrated songwriter, in your opinion? Gerry Rafferty. What's a song you wish you'd written? "Imagine."

Belle Brigade

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:00:50 +0000

The Belle Brigade are a brother-sister pop rock duo from Los Angeles, whose self-titled Reprise Records debut is destined to end up on many Best Of The Year lists. Barbara and Ethan Gruska grew up with music in their blood; their father is songwriter/composer Jay Gruska, and their grandfather is Star Wars composer John Williams. We quizzed the band about their love of Paul Simon, sharing a band, and the words they love and hate. What is it like being in a band with your sibling? What are the best and worst parts? There is nothing else like it. We are very close and very similar so it makes for a good creative team. We sometimes disagree and sometimes it’s hard but we both respect each other as people and songwriters so we don’t let it get to the boiling point. But overall we love working together and it feels really natural. Did you have inkling when you were kids that you would work together musically? No. We worked on our own for most of our lives and then about two and a half years ago we started working together. Your father is songwriter Jay Gruska. What's it like having a musical dad? Our dad is our biggest musical influence. He’s always been kind of a songwriting coach for both of us without being a stage dad. He is always really helpful and insightful about our songs and his music has always been an inspiration for us. He’s a good dude! Has he given you any advice on songwriting or your music career? Our dad has always been like a quiet humble adviser for us. He always has helpful things to say and musically he’s very clever. He’s got a really great ear for song form… Tells us about how your album was inspired by Simon and Garfunkel and Fleetwood Mac. Well, we are more fans of Simon’s solo music than his earlier work but we do love it all. We were listening to a lot of these guys before and during the recording process, and somehow the sounds and ideas just work their way into your brain… I think our inspiration from them really just comes from a love for their music and their lyrics. We also like to geek out on the drum sounds and stuff too! Tell us the story behind "Losers." Hopefully "Losers" explains itself through the lyrics, but it all just kind of started with the thought/lyric “there will always be someone better than you, even if you’re the best…” Once we got working on it together the process went by really fast and smoothly. It was a really exciting moment for us to finish it. The song is just about competition, ego, envy, and insecurity and it’s supposed to be a pep talk to ourselves. Are there any words you love or hate? We love "love" and hate "Airport." Do you find yourself revising a lot, or do you like to write automatically? Well, when it comes quickly it is really exciting and fun, but that’s more unusual for us. We definitely do a lot of revising and a lot of recycling. We spend a lot of time on one song normally. Who is an underrated songwriter, in your opinion? In our minds he is not underrated but maybe lesser known by the public… Blake Mills -- one of our dear friends and favorite songwriters. What’s a song you wish you’d written? "People’s Parties" by Joni Mitchell.

Writer Of The Week: Gordon Kennedy

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:00:00 +0000

(Kennedy, right, with Ricky Skaggs)

Here's the stats on Gordon Kennedy. The son of renowned guitarist Jerry Glenn Kennedy and singer Linda Brannon, he's written or co-written hits for Eric Clapton ("Change The World"), Garth Brooks, and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few. He's also worked as a producer, teaming with Ricky Skaggs on the bluegrass icon's inspired 2010 album Mosaic, which Kennedy co-wrote all the tracks for. We picked Kennedy's brain for as much info as we could squeeze out of him. Read on. When did you first start writing songs? How long before you thought they were good? I know I wrote my first song in the auditorium where I went to high school, Brentwood Academy. It was my senior year. Dann Huff was a close friend and did so much to push me as a musician. As I was realizing that I would pursue music forever, I wrote my first song. I absolutely do not recall the title or how it went! Probably, best for the world that I don't.... After high school, I continued writing songs, some with Larry Stewart of Restless Heart fame. I wrote songs for the group WhiteHeart while I was a member. I was still definitely honing my skills during this time. Plenty of tunes no one cut that I hope are lost, but some good songs too. I know when it started to click for me. It was when I started co-writing with my friend Wayne Kirkpatrick. That was around 1991. I believe it was a true "Iron sharpening iron" working relationship. I started learning that songwriting was more than just having something to say or play. I was beginning to learn how to say it in a way someone else would care to hear it. How did growing up in a musical home influence the musician you are today? I can't imagine life without music. I'm one of three sons of a guitar pickin', record producing father, Jerry, and a singing mom, Linda. While many families years ago might have sat around the radio for their favorite radio show, or today's family around the TV for their favorite reality show, sitcom, or drama, I remember that the only time our entire family would consistently get together was listening to whatever tapes my father had brought home from the session that day. Maybe the freshest was Roger Miller or Jerry Lee Lewis. Perhaps The Statler Brothers as Lester Roadhog Moran and his Cadillac Cowboys! Sometimes it was my mom's singles (Linda Brannon) she did on Epic. Because my father was running the Mercury Records office of Nashville, we would get a box about once every few months of all of the product released on the label. Country, pop, rock, urban.... My brothers Bryan and Shelby and I would tear into the box and pass 'em out between us. I'll take BTO, Rush! - I want Ohio Players!, Gimme Johnny Rodriguez! You should have heard the train wreck of sound that was the hallway to our three bedrooms! You blend this steady diet of diverse music, a Meet The Beatles album my dad gave me when I was about five, and the fact that the basement was full of my dad's guitars, an upright piano (where I learned to play my first tune "Stand By Me" when I was seven), and a jukebox, and you got a kid who'd spin those 45's and place his head on the floor by the jukebox dreaming that it was him making those sounds! We just grew up immersed in it. Brothers Bryan and Shelby have both enjoyed success as songwriters writing for artists such as Garth, Reba, and Ray Charles.... Tell us a bit about working on the Mosaic album with Ricky Skaggs. The "Mosaic" project is the most powerful one I've ever been a part of. My brother Bryan heard it when it was about eight songs old. At that point he said "this is a lifetime record for you!" He's right. Ricky feels the same way. Every road we've ever been on musically our whole lives, has led to this. But, it's God's record. We believe we were hearing the songs of heaven on this. Ricky is loaded up with talent but, he will tell you that he had to leave his comfort zone to do this record. He could have just left it in cruise control and not rocked his boat. But, he got called out of the boat. Ricky heard a CD I made for him containing about 12 or 13 songs on it. The first three tunes were songs that in my mind I had slated for a sequel to an album I had done in the mid '90s called Dogs Of Peace. The rest of the tunes were songs I thought Ricky could persuade into more of a bluegrass thing if he liked the song enough. He picked the first 3 much to my surprise. He told me he wanted to do them like the demos and would require my help to produce the record! At that point, I entered into a season of life where God would choose to make Himself obvious to me, not veiled in mystery, no spiritual scavenger hunt kind of thing.... just obvious. Something would happen everyday to remind us of this. Little things like, Ricky borrowing an amp of mine to reproduce a sound I had used on the demo. He fell in love with this old amp, a Fender Vibrolux from 1962. He said he wished to find one for himself. I tried to explain how rare they were but, would search the world for one. Fender only made them for two years! One hour later, Steve Wariner called me to say hi and oh by the way, his son was selling a 1962 Fender Vibrolux amp! We'd just laugh at these little "God winks." We drove five hours to the home of George Beverly Shea to record him for the record. George has served with Billy Graham for decades and is a mere 101 years old now. He sang a verse of "I'd Rather Have Jesus" then we had him speak a verse. Before we finished, we asked if he'd speak the words "all rise" as if he were the bailiff in a court. He did. When we got home and went into mastering the record, we found that he'd spoken those two words in the exact tuning of the two piano notes where we placed him - without our playing him the song or setting out to do this! Again, things like this became routine. We were just the messengers on Mosaic.... You know, God told Noah to build an ark, told him exactly how to build it. Then, He made it rain. We, although certainly on a smaller scale, are seeing similar fruit. Only this time, the water is coming from underneath the eyes. Mine included. Does being a songwriter make you a better producer? Not automatically. I'm more of a reluctant producer really. I've wound up producing because of my songwriting. Certainly in the case of both the Frampton and Skaggs projects, I was a writer first. Now, once in the control room, I believe it's possible as a songwriter - turned - producer on a particular project, to have a good head start on what should be happening with the songs in the recording process. There have been plenty of my songs that had I produced them, wouldn't have turned out as well. Sometimes we songwriters can be so close to the tune, that we would fail to take a great cue from another creative mind. Tell us about how “Change The World” got written. How was it received among Clapton fans and music lovers in general? "Change The World" was a song written over the course of a year by Tommy Sims, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and myself. On a recording session in Quad Studios in Nashville, in the early '90s, Wayne and I were recording some demos in an attempt to do the "artist" thing. We recorded four songs that day, three of which wound up on Garth's Chris Gaines CD (this would happen several years later). During that session, Tommy was there playing bass and played us the nugget of an idea he had, wondering if it might be something that would work for the sound we were doing. He had the title and a chord progression and melody direction going. Wayne would ask him some months later for a tape of the idea so he could work on it. He wrote the lyrics to the chorus and all but one line of the second verse. Then, it went dormant again for a time before I asked Wayne about its progress. He gave me what he'd done on it. I finished writing the music, went to Columbus, Ohio and laid down a demo track with Tommy. He was there working on a church choir album. On the way home, I listened to a tape of the track and dictated lyrics into another little handheld recorder (I still have the micro-cassette!) I wrote the lyrics to the first verse and the missing line in the second verse. When I got home, I went into the studio and did a guitar and all of the vocals for a finished demo, the one Clapton heard later... None of the three of us were together when we wrote what we each wrote on the song. Babyface produced a wonderful record on Clapton. It won three Grammys. Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Pop Male Vocal Performance. It stayed in the Top 20 Billboard AC chart for a record 81 weeks, number 1 for 13 of those weeks. What was it like working with Garth Brooks? Working with Garth was awesome! We were a little skeptical when he announced to us his intention to sing "Lost In You." But, when Wayne and I met him at the studio to do that first vocal, our jaws hit the floor! I'd never heard Garth sing like that. He was so good in this soft R&B style of vocal, that we wondered who the real Garth was! Then, of course, we traveled with him doing about a dozen TV things. One story you won't hear anywhere else.... We had flown to LA to do one of the TV shows. We didn't get on the plane to return home until maybe 1:30 or 2 in the morning. Private plane, serve yourself pizza from the microwave, sandwiches and so on....no flight attendants. After takeoff, GB goes around to each person and asks what they'd like to eat. He takes everyone's order, serves each, and when everyone is taken care of, he lies down in the aisle and goes to sleep. As far as the record we did with him, the Chris Gaines one, I've always noticed that everyone who heard it liked it, everyone else didn't. That's one hard working talented guy there! I love him. He had me come play in his band for the nine sold out shows in K.C. in 2007, followed by five shows in LA in 2008. My ears are still ringing, and that's from the crowd. What's a recent song you really want people to hear, and why? Well, I really want people to hear this Mosaic CD The whole thing! I hear people saying "you gotta listen to it from start to finish." Some have heard it as a concept record. I just think it is a powerful record. It confronts the listener, as it does the singer, in such a gentle way. My good friend, Doug Howard, described it as an evergreen, a record that will outlive us. I know a man in Texas who purchased a box of 100 cd's just because he feels people need to hear it. I feel the same way he does! What's a lyric you're particularly proud of? "Return To Sender" is freshest on my mind. I was in Washington D.C. with my friend Tommy Sims in the Fall of 2009. We were discussing Elvis songs my dad had played on. I said "he played on "Good Luck Charm." Tommy said "I thought he played on 'Return To Sender.'" I answered "no, ... but I want that on my tombstone!" We laughed. When I got back home I thought to myself, you know, I think I want that on my tombstone! I got in touch with Ricky and told him I had what maybe should be the last song on his record. He agreed. It's not often you can write the closing song for a Ricky Skaggs record and your epitaph at the same time. Are there any words you love, or hate? It depends on the song I suppose. You know it when you're writing whether a word can work or not. I produced a record on a singer/songwriter Pierce Pettis, who has a song called "Jim Brown." In it, he uses the phrase "shock absorbers!" Now this is a mid-tempo, broken heart song. It worked beautifully though. There are no rules. Sometimes strange words just sound great. Check out "I Am The Walrus." How do you typically write songs? Words first, or melody? I gravitate towards a guitar the way some people have to constantly be picking up their phone to text or something. Within minutes, I'm reaching for an mp3 recorder to put an idea down. A riff or chord progression. It's like a faucet I can't shut off and they pile up over time. I will also keep a running list of titles and lyric ideas on a laptop. On days where I purpose to write, it usually begins with music and melody first. More than likely, there's a music idea that I can't get out of my head, something that keeps surfacing every time I grab a guitar. When it involves a co-writer, it seems to work best when we just converse about the idea for awhile before attempting to wrestle it into a song. And, you kind of have to always be "writing", antennae up, recorder handy... remember Washington D.C? Do you find yourself revising a lot, or do you like to write automatically? Sometime stream of conscience is fun and can be responsible for some great feeling lyrics. Most of the time, and it's probably from growing up in Nashville, the lyrics have gone through a pretty exhaustive scrutinization. That's something I developed working with Wayne and it's a good thing. We've noticed over the years how much we play with words, not only in songs but, also in our humor and everyday conversations. Who's an underrated songwriter, in your opinion? I think my friend, singer-songwriter Ben Cooper, is still yet to be discovered. Very talented, and a top notch human too, if you like top notch humans.... He wrote eight songs with me for the Mosaic record. What's a song you wish you'd written? When I heard Sting sing "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", I was jealous for an entire genre of music. I think that idea could have been one of the greatest gospel songs ever. So, it merely remains one of the greatest songs. My favorite though, Paul McCartney "Maybe I'm Amazed."

Myk Gordon

Evan Schlansky — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:00:22 +0000

Canadian singer-songwriter Myk Gordon is riding high on the release of Set Free, which the Vancouver Sun calls "nothing short of a classic country-soul tour de force." We talked to Gordon about touring, Aikido, and the tricky label "Americana." You launched your first national tour in June. How's it going? Amazing. I did my first show in Nashville with a killer band--and you could hear a pin drop during the quieter tunes! Getting ready to play the Living Room tonight in New York. It's a beloved venue, and I'm really looking forward to playing a listening room that has hosted Ron Sexsmith, Norah Jones and others. What do you attribute your current success to? Was having a record deal the key factor? To paraphrase Bob Dylan, I've had a strong sense of destiny my whole life. I really had a sense early on of something greater at stake--personally, artistically--that transcended any self-imposed limitations, and work really hard to get out of the way of how that continues to manifest. I also continue to be blessed by remarkable people who love and support me. It's about relationships, like anything in life. I've reached out for greatness in artists, musicians and producers, including Don Was, Tony Visconti, and now Steve Berlin (Los Lobos). It has reinforced my confidence, and raised my whole game considerably. Each step, success builds more energy and attraction your way. Friends and mentors like Billy Block in Nashville have been instrumental. What made you want to start writing songs. How old were you? How long did it take you until you'd written a few you were proud of? My folks lived in NYC in the '60s and saw the likes of Odetta and Richie Havens. My dad was a jazz musician when he was young, and even sat in with Dave Brubeck. I remember completely immersing myself in the records we had: Jim Croce, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder. A lot of Bach and baroque music also influenced my sense of composition. My older cousins had all these now classic records by Cat Stevens, Jesse Winchester, Carole King...and I think hearing Neil Young's After the Goldrush single-handedly ignited the spark of possibility for me that one could create a kind of alchemy between introspection, observation and that kind of mythos of one's place in time. Is singer-songwriter music better received in Canada than the US? We have an impressive legacy of songwriters from Canada, and there is tremendous grassroots appreciation and national pride in that. The best seem to resonate with the sense of expanse, yearning and even desolation that goes with the landscape. Many of us, however, continue to roam beyond the gate to pastures aplenty... How do you feel about the label "Americana?" Has anyone ever called your music that? Yes, though as a label of convenience it brings some split meaning. In its purest expression, American folk music is country, blues, bluegrass, which is just imprinted in the songwriter's subconscious. Perhaps for those of us whom express those influences more frugally, it's a good signpost. Ultimately, though, these labels only do point in a certain direction. The human mind really does struggle for singular definition in many things, as does marketing... You've recently performed in Nashville. What's your opinion of Music City? I walked into a legendary venue and asked how much for the cover, and the lady responded in a classic southern twang: "I'm doing just fine, thank you..." Charming to a fault. I have felt completely welcomed there every time, such heart. The city just lives and breathes music and for a traveling songwriter it is like coming home in every way. Really inspiring. It says on your American Songspace profile that you're day jobs are "psychotherapist" and "Aikido teacher." If this is true, how do these roles feed into your music and songwriting? I hope it's true! All three of these are expressions of what I strive for in my core values: honesty, authenticity, integrity. Psychotherapy and Aikido really help me learn by teaching others, primarily in the humility and respect that goes with being in that position of trust. When it comes to the audience, that same respect must be there, to really deliver as a writer and performer, to connect in the moment. All of this really comes back to having the courage to truly be yourself, something we all aspire to do. A kind of fearlessness and vulnerability that goes with struggling with and sharing that process... Has being a member of American Songspace afforded you any opportunities? Definitely, primarily in networking and exposure, and certainly in presenting me with continued opportunities. Kind of a virtual salt-lick for songwriters/publishers/artists, and that's a compliment to cows. Is writing songs hard for you or easy? Leonard Cohen once said, paraphrasing again: "Poetry isn't a job, it's a verdict." That's about it. I agree with what songwriters like John Lennon or Townes Van Zandt said--that as an artist you are like a lightning rod. When creativity hits, it's all you can do to get it out. And perhaps coherently as possible, I guess...[laughs]. So it's a process of living life in anticipation of those moments, recognizing that--for me--it's as much the 'plateau' effect of observing, internalizing and experiencing reality that makes contact through that lightning in a bottle. The best writers, in my mind, are shrewd editors. Poetry is merciless that way. What's the one song of yours you'd want people to hear the most, and why? "What Does That Say." Sometimes it all comes together right--lyrics, melody, emotion, story. I think this one comes across, certainly feels that way when I'm singing it, in terms of something honest emotionally and musically to my experience. If it comes close to that "personal becomes universal," then I've done my job. How important are lyrics in the grand scheme of things? Are there any criteria you weigh your own by? They are the butter on the bread, man. Can't have one without the other. If you look at a song as a corporeal body, the music is the muscular-skeletal structure upon which the meaning is expressed through what the French call the élan vital, which is to say the lifeblood. So it is a singular expression of the writer's DNA; the potential of energy forms in a certain way that has to comply with the 'rules' of the whole system. But when you see a beautiful painting, it conveys the essence, form, emotion almost effortlessly but with exquisite craft. That really is the highest order to which I aspire--truth and beauty in seamless expression. If I can touch that even slightly, I will have touch greatness itself, which would be grand.

Michael Reich

Samantha Spector — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:54 +0000

Like his musical heroes, Michael Reich writes lyrics that are influenced by his life. Open and honest, Reich has garnered a reputation for his high-energy live performances as well as his powerful lyrics. He has worked with some of the best in the business; it goes without saying that if he thinks his best work has yet to come, we believe him. Reich's most recent album, Writing On the Wall, was released by Universal/Attack in 2006. Reich was a recent finalist in the uPlaya August/September Music Universe Contest. (Be sure to check out his profile on American Songspace.) What made you want to become a musician? I realized at an early age I had an ear for music playing, writing and singing came natural for me. That coupled with the climate of the country in the '60s and '70s along with artists who had something important to say was irresistible to me. I was drawn like a moth to a light. Who are your biggest influences? Many artists influenced me over the years, I suppose none more than the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. My earliest musical memory is sitting on my mothers lap somewhere around age five singing "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore" for friends and relatives. How would you describe your music? I would describe my music as an eclectic blend of rock, folk and alternative country. I always pay close attention to my lyrics. Music is an international language and always has the potential to affect change or bring attention to an issue. Do you have a song you are most proud of? Why? It's hard to choose a song I'm most proud of, as I'm proud of them all. If I had to pick one I suppose it would be "Live for Today" because it reminds me of my father. It was one of his favorites. Complete this sentence: if I wasn't playing music, I'd be.... I cant imagine not playing/writing music but if poised with the question I would probably be working with animals as part of an environmental effort. So what's up for the rest of the year? Anything you are especially looking forward to? I'm currently finishing up material for my next album which I feel includes some of my best work to date. Music is an ongoing journey for me and I have lots more to say.

Annie Minogue

Samantha Spector — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:22:29 +0000

New York City native Annie Minogue has been a musician since before she could walk. She injects the rhythm and rhyme that comes with everyday life in the Big Apple into her blues-tinged folk songs. American Songwriter recently caught up with Minogue during one of her moments of rare down time. (Be sure to check out Annie's profile on American Songspace.) How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before? I'll use quote from a magazine that recently reviewed the record: "Modern rock band with great songs, expressive vocals and a hint of the blues." I think that sums it up quite nicely. You grew up in New York City. How has that affected the music you play and write today? Being from New York has absolutely played a part in my music. So many things affect an artist's music and one's surroundings are no exception. New York is a very vibrant, exciting, energetic city but it can also be a very hard, tough and lonely place. There is a directness and truthfulness here that you won't find anywhere else in the world. I'd like to think that that comes through in my music. When did you start playing music? From birth literally. I grew up in a household of musicians. My dad is a musician, songwriter and producer...a real triple threat! My sister is also a singer-songwriter as well, so it was kind of expected that I would follow in their footsteps. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's what I love to do. Who has been your biggest influence? I've been influenced by any musician, songwriter and singer I've ever worked with really. They have all brought something to the table that has made my music better. My band mates are a perfect example of this. I have learned so much from those guys. They are all such incredible musicians and songwriters in their own right, and I am definitely a better musician, singer and songwriter just from working with them on a day-to-day basis. If you could collaborate with one artist--dead or alive--who would it be? That's such a hard question because I have so many artists that I would love to collaborate with. But if I had to choose, it would be a three-way tie between Patti Smith, Tom Waits and Pete Yorn. They are all such profound and unique artists. Your newest record, Tripping the Velvet, was released at the beginning of last month. Would you classify this record as an extension or departure from your previous releases? Tripping The Velvet is the best record I have made so far. The songwriting, musicianship, and production just all came together and fell into place. I just love listening to it. But with that said, it was also the hardest record I have ever had to make. There was a lot of emotional baggage that I was going through over the course of making this record, so I put it all into the songs. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing but at least it's honest. That in itself can be an exhausting process, but somehow I made it through. It's hard to lay your guts out for all the world to see but sometimes it's just necessary for the sake of the music. TTV also was a true band effort. My last two releases, "Home" and "Love Parade," were more about me as a solo artist. I was still finding myself as a songwriter. Figuring out what it was I wanted to say, what kind of music I wanted to do. I was a bit lost. Now I finally feel found. What's the future look like for you? I am working on a new CD. An acoustic record which will be far different from anything that I have done in the past. A true departure. I'm a bit frightened but excited to see what I come up with, too. The most important thing you can do as a songwriter is to grow and challenge yourself and this new record will be all about that. Annie Minogue was a finalist in the uPlaya Aug-Sept Music Universe Contest.