Location, location, location

From my real estate friends, I know how important that “L” word is. And I could argue it’s pretty damned important in songwriting too. Here are 3 ways I can make that contention.

First, let’s call it curb appeal: the title. When do you get your first chance to grab folks? Title. Make sure it does its job! Here are a few examples: Cop Car, Sympathy for the Devil, Cake by the Ocean, Bitch, She Don’t Use Jelly. Like a nice flowerbed framing a well manicured Japanese Maple offsetting an old refurbished barn door turned front door. I wanna know more! 

Second: floor plan. You’ve walked through that open house and gotten to that one bedroom that has a door leading into a random room that has yet another door that leads to the back yard. Confused? Yeah, and how ‘bout that song where verse 2 seems to lead nowhere and references nothing else in the song whatsoever? Write each line so that it leads back to the concept; the title; Feng Shui y’all. 

Last, and I’m gonna argue this is one of the most important. AND I am gonna assume you already know where the hook goes (I mean, you know exactly where to put the claw foot tub, right?). I say one of the truly underrated and most important locations in songwriting is that line or two before the hook. Take “In Color” by Jamey Johnson. Hell yes the lyric and hook “you should’ve seen it in color” is one of the coolest lines ever. But arguably “if it looks like we were a couple of kids just trying to save each other…” sets that line up in a downright immaculate way. 

So, definitely put that apartment building next to the future site of the soccer stadium. And, by all means, plant trees to break up the site line to the power plant. But man, make sure you put your song and all it’s parts in the all the right places. 

When Music Heals

I’ve been lucky enough to have written a few hit songs as a writer and former artist. And to have had around 200 songs cut and released on major and indie record labels over the years.

But the best part of what I do, is provide a little goodness in someone’s life when it’s maybe just not so good. I cannot tell you how many people have sent letters, messages and personal “thank you’s”; because of a song I was part of writing or recording. 

It started with my band the Nixon’s highest charting song, “Sister”. Regardless of the fact that my sister’s move to the west coast provided the inspiration for the song; it became a touchstone for siblings that I never really saw coming as a twenty something, long haired rock singer from Oklahoma. But I now know of that song being played at countless memorial services or just “getting us through a tough time”. It continued with my solo release “Early Morning Phone Call” which prompted much more of the same. I did write this one when I actually lost my grandfather, who was a huge musical and life influence on me. Turns out people could relate. Then came “Temporary Home”; it has been used in charity campaigns for everything from veterans to housing initiatives. When you write a song like that, as I did with the superb Carrie Underwood, you don’t think about that or see it coming.

But, I think perhaps I just witnessed the power of music in one of the most profound ways ever this past weekend. My sons and I sang at a service for a family friend we lost. And midway through the third stanza of “Amazing Grace”; I looked down and saw the family on the front row…smiling. They had not done much, if any of that recently. And just seeing and hearing 3 friends/father and sons strumming the simplest of chords, singing a familiar song, maybe helped them heal. 

Just a little. 

Music is amazing. Music has made careers, paid for houses, made people dance and provided a soundtrack for millions of lives.

My favorite part: when music heals.

STAY WITH THE SONG

I've had the pleasure of working with and becoming friends with the incredibly talented Travis Hill, who writes under the name Scooter Carusoe. Travis has written several hit songs, including perhaps my favorite country song ever, "Anything But Mine". Go listen and I'll wait.

See? Right? The melody on that "Cleveland" part. The verse lyrics that just put you in that seaside pavilion seeing them laugh when they trade "I love you's" cause they know it's not true.

I sat recently on a panel at a songwriter's event and he talked a lot about grinding...staying with a song. And I also can tell you he practices what he preaches. We have written a dozen songs together and not one happened in a day. We talk, get coffee, talk, maybe start a little idea; grab lunch, get a little further down the road on the idea; decide it's not quite right and make a minor adjustment that makes the whole first verse unusable, then we have to end the session to go pick up our kids at school (we record where the song is at into our phones before we leave).

Then we reconvene the next week and exchange notes. This is where he usually says something about waking up early this morning with a new first verse; which turns out to be brilliant; but makes the bridge not quite right. We plug in all the pieces then play the song down into our phones.

He calls me the next day and says he sat in bed last night tweaking the ending; one little twist makes the song all the more poignant. He sends me a voice memo of the latest version of our song.

Some days I write a song and demo it by happy hour. But with Travis I know it's gonna be different. That's his process and it works. Find your process (and trust it like Philly) and get to work.

Time Capsule: A Song Comes to Life

Susan Farris sat next to her family piano as a child, sometime around 1975, listening to her mom sing and play a song called “Remembering”.

Her mother is now suffering from dementia and hasn't been able to sing that or any song for many years. She was a small-town piano teacher and was proficient enough to write the music and lyrics, creating sheet music for her masterpiece. Those two pages sat, hidden away, in a box somewhere with other trinkets and memories from the past. Susan’s husband, Charles, got an email about our new online recording studio called studioautomatic.com and immediately thought of his wife’s stories of hearing her mom sing. He emailed us to ask a simple question: “your site says to upload a rough version of your tune and we will send you back a fully formed pro recording within a few days…can you work from sheet music?”

I didn’t know all the details so asked Charles to call me and pass along more info. Is the sheet music for real? Does the song exist in an arrangement that makes sense as a modern song? I then asked him to send me a pdf of the music. I must admit to tearing up a little as I sat in an airport looking at my iPhone and reading the words to this song from the past.

I started with Tim, one of the most talented piano players in Nashville. He sat and played the first version of “Remembering” complete with backing piano and him plunking out the melody of the vocal.

My team then added drums, bass, guitars and ultimately we snagged Jenna, an aspiring singer here in Music City to cut the vocals. Everyone who worked on the song had the same response, which was this surreal feeling of bringing a song to life that quite literally didn’t exist in any audio form for around 40 years.

I love being part of this website that allows people to hear their songs recorded, mixed and mastered by the same people who work on major label projects. This song was even more special. The Farris family loved the finished project and made comments about never imagining they'd ever hear that song again. 

One passage from the song “lonely days that follow, all these memories linger on.” Now these words, these lyrics, these emotions can, in fact, linger on.

We loved doing this song and bring on the sheet music!

Studio Automatic: Genesis Of A Song

I write songs. Some weeks I write one song each day. I woke up one morning and (after drinking a large cup of coffee) thought to myself: Why not give every songwriter the accessibility that I have to create great-sounding music? I realized I could create a digital platform offering the same quality and service that I provide every day for my in-studio clients to every aspiring songwriter out there. By the time I finished my second cup of coffee, Studio Automatic was born.

The first question you may have for me is: How do you know so many great studio musicians? I’m so glad you asked. Since signing my first record deal to MCA Records in 1995, I have built relationships with some of the most accomplished musicians, engineers, and mixers on the planet. These professionals make up the team at Studio Automatic. They’ve played on albums for GRAMMY award-winning artists and have worked on projects for major labels, including Warner Brothers, Universal, Atlantic, Capitol, Big Machine and many more.

The next question a lot of clients have for me is: What happens to my song after I upload it to StudioAutomatic.com? Excellent question, indeed! The process will vary client-to-client depending on package choices, but the Studio Automatic team begins and ends with our project coordinators. These are highly trained engineers/producers who can play an instrument (or multiple instruments) proficiently. One of these project coordinators will send a client’s scratch audio to a Studio Automatic drummer who will track the drums (possibly in his or her pajamas) and send the wav files back. From there, the project coordinator will add guitars and bass before sending the track to one of our demo singers. He or she will cut vocals and return her work to the project coordinator. The coordinator then cleans the track up before sending to one of Studio Automatic’s mixers. Mixers do just what it sounds like they do: They mix all the instruments and vocals together. They play with volumes, create fades, make sure the vocals are finely tuned, and so on. Once they’ve mixed the track to perfection, they send the song over to the coordinator once more, who then uploads the finished product to the client’s account on Studio Automatic.

By the time a client receives their finished product, their track could have passed through 4 or more accomplished studio musicians because, well, it takes a village, folks!

Now that you’ve heard my story, I want to hear yours! I’d like to hear your questions about recording and songwriting. Leave a comment on this post with the things that are tripping you up in the studio and I’ll see what I can do to help!