Songwriters: Where Are You?
Nobody stays on top forever. That’s why they call it “15 Minutes.” And when your shelf-life has diminished you might wish you did something about the future of your bank account back when you had the chance to change the system. So when the younger gens have taken over you’ll have savings. And you can stay in your house. Perhaps even buy another.
Abbey Road Revisited
If you’re an uber Beatles fan like moi, having a peek inside Abbey Road has got to be on your bucket list. And feasting your eyes on "Studio Two" where their most iconic songs were recorded would be the cherry on top. Right? Well, sometimes luck is on your side.
Rotten To The Core Strikes Again! 💟
In a culture where songs are here today gone tomorrow, a songwriter has come to appreciate (more accurately cherish) a lasting copyright, or as we call them, “evergreen songs,” — ones that seem to keep regenerating and replenishing themselves. This is one of those moments.
What Is An Artist?
Once upon a time we depended on music to communicate to lawmakers. Music was a powerful and emotional tool. And it was Art. Musicians were Artists! It was their job. Luckily Bob and Joni didn’t have to worry about losing Facebook friends or attracting trolls.
House Concert
Maybe the part of our souls that gets caught up in a multi-tasking day to day grind longs for a more intimate under the stars experience now and then with some fresh air, twinkling lights and the company of a community (old and new) coming together through…music.
Chrissie Hynde Revisited
To have someone who is perfectly capable of writing her own iconic material, someone you’ve put on a pedestal your whole life, someone who’s blazed the trail for so many women, make a choice to record YOUR song is a songwriter’s dream.
Yesterday: A World Without The Beatles
The Beatles are the ultimate common thread — the timeless hub around which all music lovers revolve. We can disagree about politics, cuisine and couture but I think we all see eye to eye when it comes to the Beatles.
Deciphering The Spotify Spin
Spotify professes to be our friend — a champion of the creator — the birther of the “Spotify Secret Genius” — a manufactured honor conceived to pander to our egos and a title that is now so laughably transparent. For a service that preaches the value of music and the people who create it, they sure are trying pretty hard to f*ck us over…as covertly as possible.
Harmony
Do you remember where you were the first time you heard “Your Song?” I do. I was sitting on my friend Hope’s bedroom floor when she put the needle to the vinyl. I was like…What was that? Where were you?
Album Update
Sometimes you can’t beat a scratch vocal. There’s something about the first moment you step up to the mic and it’s so fresh and real. I’m never going to be more honest than when I’m not thinking about it. I feel it with my bones.
Men Are Lettuce, Women Are Tomatoes Revisited
Remember when country radio consultant Keith Hill made a stunning comment about female artists being the tomatoes in the salad that nobody wants to eat? Well, it didn’t go over well and became known as Tomato-Gate. Sometimes ridiculous ideas lead to silver linings that just need a little time to reveal themselves.
Love It If We Made It
I’ve heard it said that there’s no good music out there. Not true. You gotta dig deeper than the mainstream. Or maybe some of us grew up and got happy — no longer depend on music to identify or save us. Fair enough. Thing is if you want it, there is music out there that’s saving people. It saves me sometimes. Actually it saves me quite often.
Anticipation
It’s funny, when you’re too young to comprehend lyrics about the complexity of mature relationships you may still sing along. They may still feel like they mean something when you’re 12. You’re just not sure what it is they mean. But some songs just curiously resonate. And then one day, they totally make sense.
Record Store Re-Imagined
Is there room for a new Music Space in a digital world — where enthusiasts can still convene and discover…not just their favorite bands but each other. A space where common ground brings people together physically and passionately under the same roof. Like food in a restaurant. Film in a theatre. A space where hardly anyone knows your name but we all know we came for the same reason.
The Sound Of Silence
I was supposed to be writing this blog from the sky while on a plane to London. It was going to be about how excited I was to record 3 songs for my album with Phil Thornalley. I started packing a week ahead of time for the trip. But God says “Ha” at the most curious times.
Publishing: "Perpetuity" May Not Be Forever
If you enter into a publishing agreement which says the publisher shall keep your songs in “perpetuity” it might not actually mean forever. It could mean…only 35 years. I know what you’re thinking. 35 years? That will never come! Songwriters operate in a state of arrested development. We don’t believe we’ll ever grow up so why worry about it? I can assure you, the future always comes. We’re living in it. So listen up!
NAMM
The first booth I encounter is a dude demonstrating a new vocal auto-tuning technology. He explains to onlookers that the singer riffing into the mic, whose voice is being “auto-corrected,” might accidentally ‘discover’ a melody she didn’t even mean to sing. And ta-da! Hit song by accident. Imagine that! I want to raise my hand and ask, what about an idea? Doesn’t a song need an idea?
Road Trip: Destination Phoenix
This Friday it’s destination Phoenix for me, for 2 performances of Confessions of a Serial Songwriter LIVE! The last decade in the music business has been a long strange trip (no pun intended) and my one-woman hour of humorous observations about HOW it's changed promises to be an entertaining evening for those who have shared the struggle as well as for those who are simply curious about a world they know nothing about. I’m looking forward to the drive.
