Episodes
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Join me for this great conversation with singer-songwriter Bob Hillman. We chat about why reading is so important and why having a core song critique group can be the single most important thing! Bob shares a song he rewrote three times - changing it from being about an altercation in a Target parking lot to a love song about the night he met his wife. Bob also shares about some unexpected silver linings that have surfaced as a result of the pandemic.
Bob Hillman, a San Francisco singer/songwriter, is well into the second act of a career that began in the late 1990s in New York City, where he fell in with Jack Hardy’s long-running songwriting group, which met every Monday night in Greenwich Village to eat pasta and share new songs. Bob’s career flourished in the early 00s, then survived ten years of “real jobs,” and resumed in 2016. Bob’s most recent full-length album, Some of Us Are Free, Some of Us Are Lost, was released in April 2019. Bob has toured extensively with Suzanne Vega playing venues like the Fillmore Auditorium and Bowery Ballroom. Most recently, Bob wrote and recorded Inside & Terrified, a five-song EP written during and about the COVID-19 lockdown.
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In today's conversation with singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke, we talk about how songs can evolve over time in terms of production, meaning, feel etc. (she even plays us an example!) We also chat about the "rules" of musical theater songwriting, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Taio Cruz and giving yourself song assignments! Join us for this uplifting conversation where Jonatha shares a little about her new album The Sweetwater Sessions as well as her revelations around songwriting, life and building community online.
Jonatha Brooke has co-written songs with Katy Perry and The Courtyard Hounds among others. She's also written for Disney films and numerous television shows including composing/performing the theme song for Dollhouse. In 2014, Brooke debuted her one woman musical and companion album My Mother Has Four Noses at the Duke Theater in New York City. The show ran for three months to rave reviews and was a critic's pick in the New York Times who called it "both funny and wrenching.”Formerly of the New England-based folk-rock duo The Story with Jennifer Kimball, Jonatha Brooke has been writing songs, making records, and touring since the early 90's. After four major label releases, she started her own independent label in 1999 and has since released nine more albums including her most recent The Sweetwater Sessions.
If you like today's episode, check out my conversation a few years back with Jonatha in Episode 6. In it, we talk about using songwriting as a survival tool in hard times, leaving some mystery in your lyrics and what you can learn about singing and melody writing from the way you speak.
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Missing episodes?
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Join us for this beautiful conversation between Liam Davis, Laura Doherty, Justin Roberts and myself about telling the truth to children, making music that kids and adults both enjoy, introversion, and much much more. Some of the things we chat about include... - Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are)'s approach to creativity (telling children the truth!)- Ways of teaching music and songwriting to children- How children are our teachers- How children can always sniff out dishonesty- Songs that connect on many levels We recorded this heart-warming conversation right before Covid-19 and after it hit, I serendipitously ended up working with children more regularly. I'm so grateful for this reflective time with these bright musical souls. If you're someone who writes for children, works with children, someone who would like to work with or write for children, or simply someone who wants to tune into your own inner child, join us! Liam Davis is a Chicago-based singer-songwriter and 3-time GRAMMY-nominated producer who creates music as a solo artist, in numerous musical groups and produces many artists' music. Justin Roberts is a 3-time GRAMMY-nominated songwriter who records and performs songs for families throughout the US. Laura Doherty is an award-winning songwriter who has an intense passion for creating sweet, folk-inspired songs for children and families. https://www.justinrobertsmusic.com/http://liamdavis.comhttps://www.lauradohertymusic.com/
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Will Dailey is an acclaimed independent recording and performing artist. His sound has been described as having a rich vintage vibe while having a firm appreciation of AM rock, pop and big hooks leading famed Rock journalist Dan Aquilante to call him “the real deal”. Will has shared the stage and studio with Eddie Vedder, T Bone Burnett, Tanya Donelly, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn, G Love, Ryan Bingham and Kay Hanley.
Dailey's album, National Throat, has been met with stellar reviews, over 8 million spins on Spotify, top 20 on Billboard Heat Seeker chart and won Album of the Year in the Boston Music Awards, New England Music Awards and Improper Bostonian Magazine.
In our conversation, Will talks about:
Learning the rules of the craft and then breaking themWhy everything (including good songwriting) is pattern and pattern upsetHow playing with other people brings out different parts of yourself andHaving respect for your listener -
Tony Lucca was raised in a very large musical family in Detroit, home to Motown. In 1995, following a four-season run as a cast member on The All New Mickey Mouse Club alongside fellow future hit making heavyweights Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, Lucca relocated to Los Angeles where he dove into doing the Hollywood shuffle/auditioning actor thing before deciding to ditch acting in favor of pursuing his true passion.
Since 1997, he has released over 20 studio albums, EPs and live records.
His album Canyon Songs is a touching 10-track tip of the cap to the legendary Laurel Canyon sound immortalized by master musicians including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne.
Tony Lucca has acted on popular shows such as Parenthood, The Tonight Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, the Aaron Spelling-produced Malibu Shores, as well as small roles in some independent features. He earned third place on Season 2 of The Voice (which led to a recording contract with Adam Levine’s 222 Records, as well as high profile stints on tour with the likes of Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and Sara Bareilles).
In our conversation from 2017, Tony shares about:
Losing his passion for acting and gaining it for songwritingWhy collaborating can lead to your best songsA Daily Dose of the Beatles andHave an Artist Narrative -
Jen Lee is the director and producer of two feature-length documentaries: Bright Lights (2016) and Indie Kindred (2013). A GrandSLAM storytelling champion, Lee's autobiographical stories have been featured on the Peabody Award-winning Moth Radio Hour. Her resources for artists and makers worldwide include The 10 Letters Project and Movies for Makers.
In our conversation from 2017, Jen talks about:
Uncovering memories of what you loveHow making things is a way to finding peaceRe-working your paradigm around how creative work gets doneThe more time and effort equation does NOT EQUAL BETTER WORK (it gets thin, not rich and deep) -
Melissa Ferrick was an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, the Artistic Director of the Performing Songwriter Division for Berklee’s Five Week Program, and holds an Ed. M at Harvard University Graduate School of Education with a concentration in Arts in Education and management of nonprofit organizations.
Signed to Atlantic Records in 1992 at the age of 21, after opening up for Morrissey in the US and UK, she released her debut and sophomore albums on Atlantic before moving on to Independent label W.A.R. Records between 1996-1999. In 2000 Ms. Ferrick launched her nationally distributed independent record label Right On Records; her publishing catalog is represented worldwide by Raleigh Music Group. Melissa has released 17 albums over the last 24 years.
Regarded in the industry and by her peers as one of the most prolific and hardworking artists in the business, Ferrick still tours regularly playing throughout North America. She has shared the stage with Morrissey, Marc Cohn, Paul Westerberg, John Hiatt, Joan Armatrading, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, G-Love & Special Sauce, Bob Dylan, Dan Bern, Ani DiFranco, k.d. Lang, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and many others.
In our conversation from 2017, Melissa shares:
Why she does not have a daily creative practice (Why she can't "will it" to happen)How writing short stories led to writing songsWhy judging can keep us locked awayKeeping the door open to our songs -
Mona Tavakoli is a Los Angeles-based drummer, singer and performer who believes in making music that unites, elevates and connects.
While Mona is equally comfortable performing as a drummer and a percussionist, she is especially known for adapting the cajón to unexpected genres such as rock and pop. She began playing the Peruvian percussion instrument as a college student taking a flamenco dance class. She’s since designed a signature instrument called The MT Box. She began her professional musical career in 1999 at UCLA as a founding member of Raining Jane, an all-female rock band.
Raining Jane co-wrote and recorded YES! (Atlantic Records) with Jason Mraz. Mona and Mraz have been collaborating for nearly a decade. They've performed as a duo on The Today Show, The David Letterman Show, Ellen and many others. Mona has also performed as a percussionist on A&E's Private Sessions with Pat Benatar and Spyder Giraldo. She has been the featured percussionist with the Pasadena muse/ique orchestra (led by maestra Rachel Worby), and played with musicians such as Andy Grammer, Colbie Caillat, Keaton Simons, Lindsay Mac, Lucy Schwartz, Natalia Zukerman, Sara Bareilles, Tristan Prettyman and Willy Porter.
Mona is a co-founder and co-director of the Rock n’ Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles and also has traveled to Africa on behalf of the U.S. State Department as a cultural diplomat. When she’s not banging on drums or corralling day campers, she's listening to Pema Chodron audiobooks or making creative collages.
In our conversation from 2017, Mona shares about:
Gentle leadershipCo-writing with Jason Mraz & her band Raining JaneWhy it's more important to be interested than interesting andHow one person can change your whole life -
Singer-songwriter, musician-producer and San Francisco native Bonnie Hayes wrote the hit songs "Have a Heart” and “Love Letter” from the acclaimed Bonnie Raitt album Nick of Time. She's also written songs for Cher, Bette Midler, David Crosby, Robert Cray, Adam Ant, Booker T. & the MG’s, and many more. Bonnie produced the Gospel Hummingbirds’s Grammy-nominated 1992 album Steppin’ Out, toured with pop-punk icon Billy Idol and scored a college radio hit with the 1980’s cult favorite “Shelley’s Boyfriend,” which also appeared, with another of Hayes’s songs, in the 1983 motion picture Valley Girl. Bonnie Hayes is now the chair of Berklee's Songwriting Department.
In our conversation, Bonnie shares about:
How to take the thing that is your limitation and make it your strength & uniquenessWhy specificity is what makes a songSwitching between your right and left brain while songwritingHow she wrote "Have a Heart!" -
Joshua Davis is a tried and true Michigan musician and songwriter. His album, The Way Back Home, produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobosis, is a reflection of a hardworking family man going through dark, broken, hopeful and triumphant times and his first since his 2015 appearances as a Top 3 finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” (Season 8) where he sang high profile duets with Sheryl Crow & Adam Levine. Davis was the first artist to sing an original on the show, which spawned the later segment, “This Week of Original Songs.”
During our conversation, Joshua Davis shares:
How to gather inspiration even if you have a 9-5 jobThe #1 Question to ask yourself if you get stuck (this is pure gold!)Tips about narrative songwriting -
Natalia Zukerman is a musician, painter and educator who grew up in New York City. She studied art at Oberlin, started her mural business Off The Wall in San Francisco, began her songwriting career in Boston, and now resides, writes, plays, teaches and paints in Brooklyn, NY. Zukerman has released 7 independent albums and toured internationally as a solo performer since 2005. She has also accompanied and opened for Janis Ian, Willy Porter, Susan Werner, Erin McKeown, Shawn Colvin, Ani DiFranco, Richard Thompson and Tom Paxton among others. Zukerman also paints private and public murals as well as illustrates children’s books, designs and paints NYC playsets and paints private portrait commissions. Natalia teaches songwriting privately and has taught at Sisters Song School, Red Rocks Women's Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival and Interlochen Summer Music Program. In February 2017, Natalia became a Cultural Diplomat for the US Department of State, playing concerts and conducting workshops with her group The Northern Lights throughout Africa.“Natalia’s voice could send an orchid into bloom while her guitar playing can open a beer bottle with its teeth.” –New YorkerIn our conversation from 2017, Natalia Zukerman shares about:- Allowing yourself to do things imperfectly- 4 things you can do to jumpstart your songwriting- Writing away from your instrument and- Creating a space where you can't ask: "What's it for?"
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Defying standard categorization, singer/songwriter Sloan Wainwright, consistently demonstrates her easy command of a variety of American musical styles — pop, folk, jazz and blues — held together by the melodious tone of her rich contralto, with the end result being a unique and soulful hybrid.
Her family tree (brother and folk-music luminary Loudon Wainwright, nephew Rufus Wainwright, nieces Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche) reads like a who’s who of contemporary folk music. Sloan’s incredible gift is not only her unique songwriting ability but also her dramatically voiced rendition of original songs.
With a solid and impressive discography of 10 original CD releases to her credit, Sloan continues to write, sing and perform live and has won two songwriting awards at the annual EmPower Posi Music Awards.
Sloan’s open spirit and first-hand experience is welcome –year after year– in the musical classrooms of such prestigious song camps as Richard Thompson’s Frets and Refrains, The Swannanoa Gathering, SummerSongs, WUMB Radio’s Summer Acoustic Music Week (SAMW), Winter Acoustic Music Weekend (WAMW), Moab Folk Camp, Cape Cod Songwriting Retreat and emPower Music & Arts Totally Cool Song School.
During our conversation, Sloan shares with us about:
The importance of simplifying words, song, and structureHow songwriting can help you grieve and move onHow to trust yourself and your instincts (If it’s not right, stay with it and keep working on it) -
Live from New York was planning a 20-year reunion tour this May but due to Covid-19 it is, like so many other things, postponed. So instead, in order to spread a little joy/have a few laughs, the four of them decided to have a little chat about songwriting, heartbreak, sheltering at home and finding time to be creative when you have young kids. Mostly, they just enjoy each other’s company! Join us!
Award-winning singer-songwriters Anne Heaton, Teddy Goldstein, Andrew Kerr, and Edie Carey have been close friends since they met in the vibrant New York City folk-pop scene of the late 90's and early 2000s, hanging at open mikes in the West Village, sharing brand new songs, and learning together how to do music for a living. They shared shows here and there in various pairings, but it wasn't until they put together a showcase of New York songwriters for a music conference and dubbed it "Live From New York" that their collective synergy onstage, both musically and comedically, was undeniable. They interspersed deeply moving songs and rich harmonies with hilarious off-the-cuff repartee. Someone once likened a Live From New York show to watching a musical episode of Friends where everyone is Phoebe. What was supposed to be a one time showcase quickly became a pretty magical side project for them, and soon Live From New York was performing at festivals and listening rooms across the country. They toured together for several years, recording an album in 2002, and then all four set off on their own, rich musical paths. -
Mai is a singer-songwriter-cellist-guitarist from California. As a solo artist, she has received songwriting awards from the Kerrville, Telluride, and Rocky Mountain Folks Festivals. As a collaborator, she’s worked with various artists including Raining Jane, Jason Mraz, Adam Cohen, Sara Bareilles, Willy Porter. In 2016 she played cello on Leonard Cohen’s album “You Want It Darker.” Along with her bandmates of 15 years (Raining Jane) she co-wrote Jason Mraz’s chart-topping album “Yes!” (2014) as well as his 2018 hit single “Have It All” and she has toured with Mraz around the world. In 2010 Mai helped start the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls Los Angeles, a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls through music, where she teaches songwriting and serves as Art Director. She has also led songwriting workshops at the Song School in Colorado, Rain City Rock in Seattle, and The Americana Song Academy in Sisters, Oregon. Whether performing, writing, or mentoring, Mai brings a combination of strength and vulnerability to her work. Her songs often speak of the pursuit of finding the light inside the dark –a theme that was magnified in her own life when she became a breast cancer survivor. She is currently working on a book about that experience and hopes her story will inspire and encourage others on their creative paths.In our conversation from 2017 Mai Bloomfield shares: What breast cancer taught her about the creative process, her process of co-writing with Jason Mraz and her band Raining Jane, and her philosophy of collaboration in writing and performing. Also… Mai shares a song that came into being in a unique or magical way –her song “Sway” –that she wrote during some time she’d spent at Leonard Cohen’s home in Montreal.
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In today's podcast, Anne invites listeners to reflect on the possibility of joy even in troubled times and shares the insights of the Creativity Key of Intimacy. She shares her song "Joy" and how being invited to play a concert near the DC Women's March led to its birth.
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Today I talk to Dr. Shuvo Ghosh, songwriter, musician and Developmental-Behavioural Pediatrician at Meraki Health Centre & Montral Children's Hospital. We talk practical safety tips you can use during this time of COVID-19, creativity and medicine, universal health care in Canada and we also discuss what do we want to be healthy for, among many other things! It's a philosophical meandering with some great moments!
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Cary Cooper is an award-winning, captivating performer whose songs are simple, quirky in nature, and draw you in with their pop melodies and deceptively deep lyrics. Cary appeared on the TV docu/drama series Troubadour TX and is a dynamic songwriting educator!
In our conversation, Cary shares:
Her BIG wake-up callWays of songwriting when you don't feel like itHow you aren't necessarily meant to be the BEST at anything, you are simply meant to write/sing the song only you can write/sing! -
Meg Hutchinson is a nationally touring songwriter, poet and recording artist who has released eight albums and won numerous songwriting awards in the US, Ireland and the UK. She has been described as delivering “Music as powerful as it is gentle.” Performer Magazine writes, “With a poet’s eye, Hutchinson captures so beautifully that human journey toward peace, toward forgiveness, toward acceptance.” As an advocate for mental health, Meg helped make a feature-length documentary called "Pack Up Your Sorrows." Through her own personal story, the film explores creativity, healing, mindfulness in education, mental health advocacy, wellness, and how these elements converge in making the world a better place.
In our conversation, taped in 2017, Meg Hutchinson shares some beautiful insights on:
Why living as an artist is as important as writing as an artistWhy creativity doesn't stop just because you're not producing something andWriting from image and natureAmong other things! -
In this previously recorded interview from 2017, I interview Vance Gilbert who burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90's when buzz started spreading in the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-multicultural arts teacher who was knocking 'em dead at open mics. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Vance started out hoping to be a jazz singer and then discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of acoustic folk music. Once word got out about Gilbert's stage-owning singing and playing, Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her Fat City Tour. Gilbert has recorded 12 albums, toured extensively as a headliner at festivals and clubs, and has been the opener of choice for artists as varied as Aretha Franklin, Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker and comedian George Carlin. He has also been the opener of choice for Paul Reiser and The Subdudes.
In my chat with Vance Gilbert, he shares some brilliant tips including:
Strategies from the great comicsHow to introduce a song on stage (Why your "intro" should only either be historical or hysterical!) andThe 2 notebook approach to songwriting!Among other things! -
In today's episode, Anne shares the story behind her "Celebration Song," how MLK and Thich Nhat Hanh's friendship inspired her as well as how the Creativity Key of Connection has helped her tell stories. In the second half, Anne shares a very personal creativity & songwriting exercise that led her to write some of her favorite songs. This exercise is also a super big stress reliever and way to practice self-compassion, so grab a cup of tea, your favorite journal and some markers/pens and join us! Anne Heaton has captured audience imaginations for over fifteen years with her songs that are, by turns, "tender, barbed and spiritual" (Washington Post). She's been featured by the New York Times Popcast (who called her music "absolutely gorgeous"), played numerous times on NPR and shared the stage with artists such as Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and jazz drummer Max Roach.
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