Musical Theatre Masterclass
Remember a few months ago when I said ‘Everybody is working on a musical’? It’s true. Well almost everyone. Some of us are working on two. Or three! After decades of pop-songwriting the Musical Theatre space is an understandable exciting pivot.
Neil
My older sister was a Neil Young/CSN fan and she played Four Way Street ALL THE TIME. Our bedrooms were separated by a thin sheet-rocked wall and I heard everything. “Cowgirl In The Sand” was my favorite track. Maybe I wanted to be somebody’s ‘cowgirl.’ Who knows. Someday I’d be old enough to “play this game.” Whatever game that was. What can I say? The song stirred me.
I Think About You Daily
“I Think About You Daily” is a 6 minute drunk text with major 7ths about the passage of time and the people (or person) we leave behind. Chrissie Hynde is into telling it like she is…always has been. Plus, she’s older. Less to lose. Less to prove. Then again…she never really grew up entirely. I think that’s the secret. She still crushes and regrets and loves again for the first time. 🎸
Kill Your Darlings
We hunkered down today and decided to experiment with a non-structured song. We resisted our pop sensibilities and incorporated many different unrepeated sections — a quantum leap out of our comfort zone. We might have to write three versions of the same song before we feel like we hit the mark. There’ll be elements in the versions we scrap that are wonderful and will never see the light of day. It’s been said that writers must “kill their darlings” — get rid of the most precious and especially self-indulgent passages for the greater good of the literary work. Like that. Not easy but necessary. And painful! 💔
10 Songwriting Habits
Hello songwriting junkies!
I detest listicles and their clickbait intentions but I came upon a piece I wrote for Songwriting Magazine called “10 Key Phrases to Help You Tap into a Deeper Level of Songwriting Creativity.” The list is actually random brain farts 😜 that I didn’t think too much about. On the re-read however, I thought — ”Yeah!” So … I’m sharing with you. I hope you find something here that ups your game. 🎸🎶
Ticket To Harry
I’m obsessed with “As It Was.” Sometimes I go to a concert to hear one song! Also, I like to observe the modern fan-culture condition. I’m confident Harry will demonstrate. Will it be the Beatles at Shea? Hell no. But a night to remember for sure.
Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
Every song has a story. It blows my mind that one minute there’s nothing and then — there is. It’s a body of energy that didn’t exist the day before. I go to a session with absolutely no idea what I’ll be coming home with. A gift. A surprise. A promise. A miracle.
Jury Duty
Everyone I know is always trying to get out of Jury Duty. Me Included. As a musician, we can’t afford to miss a session. It could be the day we write the song that changes our life. It doesn’t matter though because they never pick me. But then, God said ha! And now that’s it’s over I’m kinda happy she did. 🤓
Why Does Ed Sheeran Keep Getting Sued?
We all fall into that delicious trap of borrowing something we sincerely believe we wrote. It’s human. We’re influenced by everything that came before and it’s not surprising that we mimic. Just like we inherit our parents’ mannerisms because we’ve grown up around them. But it’s our professional duty to assess our work and adjust as needed. And if we find it’s impossible to separate ‘ours from theirs,’ then we share credit PRE-release just like the writers of “I’m A Mess” did with Meredith (Brooks) and I when a resemblance between their track and our song “Bitch” was brought to their attention.
Deepfakes
“If your voice is on something you didn’t write and you’re not endorsing that message it can be a really scary,” says Musician Reeny Smith. I concur. Not to mention forgoing approval from the artist that’s being scraped and profiting from an algorithm that IS the artist’s unique style. I’ve been in denial about AI just as I was about Napster. And Covid. And growing up. But they all happened anyway. Toothpaste out of the tube. How do we co-exist?
She Rocks Rocked!
At The She Rocks Awards 2023 I was being given the ‘Dream Out Loud Award.’ They got THAT right! I dream out loud all the time. It doesn’t matter that the dreams don’t always come true. I continue because hope is good for the heart.
Stardust
In a recent PBS special awarding Joni Mitchell with The Gershwin Prize for popular song — the nation’s highest award for influence, impact and achievement, Annie Lennox sings “Both Sides Now” from the perspective of the back half of life as opposed to having it all in front of us. I had to press pause intermittently to catch my breath. To grab my heart. Nobody sings like Annie. And nobody writes like Joni. She’s otherworldly. She is…Stardust.
Daisy Jones & The Six
It may not be songwriter porn but Daisy allowed me my nostalgia. It’s not that I don’t look forward; I do. And I still have quite a fertile creative life. But you only come up once. And those definitely were the days. They were MY days. Most of us made fools (and some of us legends) of ourselves on the path to discovering who we were (or weren’t), rather than chasing algorithms and blending in. There was no roadmap.
Hacked!
You don’t realize how much a part of your life a social media platform can be until it’s not there. It’s like going out and realizing you left your phone at home. So should I stay or should I go? I’m still not sure of that answer. And again I might not have a choice. Perhaps the Universe is trying to make the decision for me. 🙄
Funny Girl
Lea Michele’s delightful, adorable qualities were the very things that Barbra’s legendary Fanny Brice was not. Barbra’s Fanny was outrageous. An odd beauty. A lovable clumsy anomaly. That’s what made ladies-man Nicki Arnstein’s attraction to her so unlikely. Lea’s Fanny was someone you could imagine just about anyone falling in love with.
The Show Must Go On!
Three days before the only rehearsal for the first table read of our Musical I suggested to Adam that we reschedule. According to Apple weather LA was expecting a storm of mass proportions. The worst in 40 years. We’d probably lose power. What would YOU do? 😫
The “Beach Boys” at the Dolby
I personally never caught a wave, but as per tribute presenter John Stamos: The Beach Boys were “a part of our DNA.” You didn’t have to surf to get them. Some of my favorite artists and bands re-interpreting some of my favorite songs from the soundtrack of my youth was a song-junkie’s dream and super special night I’ll always remember.
Kiss Me 💋
I thought it appropriate on this V❤️lentines Day to share a song I wrote with multi-talented UK based co-writer (and producer) Phil Thornalley. It was obviously inspired by the iconic style of Burt Bacharach and Hal David whose body of work we both adore. Phil gave me the title along with the melody. And as it usually is with my reactions to Phil's "starts" here's what fell out in one afternoon >❤️>❤️>❤️>❤️>>>
Happy Valentines Day everyone.
I hope you all have someone you long to kiss.
GRAMMY Week
It’s GRAMMY week. I have a love-hate relationship with it. I love it when I’m nominated.🤓 Which isn’t very often. Otherwise, it can ruffle all kinds of feels at this stage in my life and career. Like how did I get to be one of the oldest people at these parties?
