Alternative rocker Mark Nettleton (aka Bitsyras) is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Listen to Mark’s stories of moving around the country and playing music along his way to settling in Seattle, the origin of the name “Bitsyras” and his songwriting process. He finishes with a live solo acoustic version of Into the White.
Grammy award winning “Ambient Americana” producer and recording artist Eric Tingstad is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Their conversation follows Eric’s extensive songwriting and recording career as well as the future of his art. A beautiful live version of “The Boot Whisperer” finishes the musical selections.
It’s time for the Spring cleaning edition of the Songwriters in Seattle podcast! Out with the old, in with the new – you’ll be happy to know we did something a little bit different this podcast. My guest, David Guilbault, did such a cool experimental project recently, we centered the entire discussion around 4 recordings of his songs. The idea for his project was to give songs to 4 different producers and, only using his vocal, see what they would come up with. It was an idea that yielded some great results and you get to hear the stories behind them!
Classic Americana singer/songwriter David Guilbault is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. David & Chris go in-depth about David’s latest experimental project: Giving his songs to 4 different producers to let them do what they will.
We take a fascinating genre turn for the podcast in April with my interview featuring Erin Jordan. The descriptors read “Old time Americana and Lounge” or “Retro-cabaret” and the songs have a fascinating blend of a New Orleans or Dixieland music flavor wrapped in colorful storytelling and fantastical character vignettes. This is some really interesting music, people!
Erin talks about the journey from a more “typical” singer/songwriter background to the development of her unique sound and the band Bakelite 78. They have a new album out called What the Moon Has Done and are currently playing shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. Look for them at a lounge or cabaret theater near you!
Retro-cabaret singer/songwriter Erin Jordan is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Erin shares songs from her new album with the band Bakelite 78, insight into her original sound and songwriting process, and performs a new song, “Jim.”
Welcome the warmth of spring with a voice you can just melt into, my podcast guest this month, a wonderful singer – Rebekah Ann Curtis! I’m so glad we had the opportunity to talk and discuss her background, her songwriting, and all the other musical work she’s doing these days. Not only will you get to know her better, but she brought new, unreleased tracks! This is a real treat to hear the latest music she’s working on.
While she does already have one album out, Stay Close, the podcast features songs from her upcoming album, Lessons. The first is a great demonstration of that beautiful voice she has – it’s called “You and I Are We.” Second is a slightly rougher mix that is still a work in progress, but shows off an upbeat, playful energy and is called “It’s Magic To Me.” Lastly, she pulls out the acoustic guitar and plays a new song live in the studio, a groovy little tune called “What Goes Up.”
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com
March, 2012
Singer/Songwriter Rebekah Ann Curtis is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Rebekah shares new, unreleased tracks along with stories about her songwriting and performing history. She performs “What Goes Up” live to finish the show.
[audio:SISPodcast19_Rebekah.mp3]
Click the play icon above to stream, or click here to download
How are you going to spend your one extra day of February this year? Listening to the new Songwriters in Seattle podcast, I would suggest! My guest this month is Jabi Shriki, who brings a great combination of thoughtfulness and emotion to his music and our discussion. His new album, Puzzle Pieces, is out now and has a poetic depth to a pop/rock sound (think echo-y U2 guitars with a mellow tenor voice).
Jabi has a substantial catalog of recorded music and has been playing in bands for a while. For Puzzle Pieces, he played all the instruments and recorded it all himself, so a lot of effort went into it. He’s also a doctor (radiologist) and a book author, which all came into play with the concept of the album. It’s very interesting to hear him describe how he melds the different parts of his life in the expression of his music.
Pop/Rock musician Jabi Shriki is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Jabi shares tracks from his new album and the philosphy behind them as well as a new tune played live.
Welcome to the start of a new year of Songwriters in Seattle podcasts! If this first one is any indication, 2012 is going to be a great year for us, as our recent songwriting contest winner, Charlie Heinemann joins me in the studio for great music and discussion. Charlie has some unique songwriting insight and humor to go along with it!
Americana singer/songwriter Charlie Heinemann is interviewed by SiS Organizer Chris Klimecky. Charlie shares songwriting tips, songs from the album with his band The Repeat Offenders, and plays a new song live.
When Jessica Lynne brought her stunning voice to the Pacific Northwest from Denmark a year ago, little did she know how involved she would become with Songwriters in Seattle. But she quickly jumped right in with both feet and took fast action to kickstart her country music career and connect with other musicians here in the states. What a year it’s been! Her newly minted EP, Spiritual Cowgirl, is a great representation of what Jessica can accomplish and is no doubt the beginning of even bigger and better things to come for her musically.
The monthly Songwriters in Seattle podcast continues to fascinate and inspire me with the variety of talent and level of musicianship we have in the group. This month symphonic rock pianist Thom Schroeder gives us insight into his classical approach to composition which combines epic forms, extreme dynamics, and modern textures to create a unique sound. Emotional performance and technical virtuosity make for an intense listening experience – you’ve got to hear this!
During our discussion, Thom talks about how he came to this genre, his search for a vocalist, and thinking big! It was a pleasure to have Thom in the studio and thank him for coming by for our 10th podcast to share his music and personal story.
It’s been a busy month for Jean Mann: preparing the release of a new album (Dream of Goats), a new tour, promotions and an interview schedule, she is gathering momentum on this 4th release that will surely propel her to new heights and popularity both locally and far beyond. I feel extremely lucky and honored to have gotten a slice of her time to discuss her background, her songwriting, and this bit of a whirlwind she’s creating! Not only did we have a great conversation, she brought her ukelele as well as her regular 6-string and played a few songs for us live. Awesome!
So you’ll hear “Memory’s Dusty Road” from the new disc, a solo uke and vocal live version of “Sweet Peas on the Vine” (also fully arranged on the new disc), and a live version of the beautiful “Blue Sky” from her 3rd album Daisies and Fire. Jean has a warmth and sweetness that I know you’ll enjoy, as well as an honest, artistic, and organic songwriting style that has a lot of heart. As she puts it, “…part poetry set to music…storytelling, and a little bit of journal…”
It was a beautiful sunny Spring Saturday in the Pacific Northwest (one of the few)…with McChord AF Base on my right and a windshield full of Mt. Rainier in front of me, I soon entered an unassuming Tacoma studio to start my swim in The Aquarium!!! As part of NWCZ Radio (Independent Northwest Music), The Aquarium is a talk show hosted by Ray “King Fish” Hayden and “Big Mike” Renville that highlights singers and songwriters from the Pacific Northwest. “We will focus on getting to know the artists and what drives them to pursue the life of being a songwriter.” In a nutshell, these guys are huge music lovers and supporters of the NW music scene – and they and their crew were not only total professionals, but a great group to hang out with! I had a fantastic time!
Airing Tuesday, April 26th from 7-8pm (then posted later on iTunes), you’ll hear some details of my songwriting and recording history, my current works and promotional endeavors, and my own efforts to support the Northwest music scene through Songwriters in Seattle. Musically, I did a solo acoustic live performance of “Come Back To You” which will be fun to hear back. We also got to goof around a little bit with some Bohemian Rhapsody shenanigans so we’ll see what Ryan the sound engineer comes up with putting that together! So please tune in and check it out.
It’s time for the March Songwriters in Seattle Podcast! This month I spoke with local songwriter Bill Derry, who performs regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest. As he says in the podcast, he just “likes to perform” and has many variations with his band, solo, duo, trio, etc. playing a mix of classic rock, folk, and jazz. To me, he just has a a very laid back and easy to listen to style – no doubt in part due to his smooth, mellow voice.
He has a cd out with his band, entitled “This Old Dog” – which you can get at a live show or on iTunes here:
Bill Derry Band – “This Old Dog” on iTunes
In addition to the song Friday Afternoon that we spin during the podcast, Bill performed 2 new previously unrecorded songs live in the studio. What a treat to be able to broadcast new songs like this!
I just got back from the monthly Songwriters in Seattle networking meetup, and I must say “Wow”! The amount of talent in the room was insane – try to imagine a small room with 20 or so musicians packed in, each playing an original song that showed off their personal style. Every one put a smile on my face. It was super-inspiring to look around and think about what a supportive musical community we have.
There were no “hacks” there tonight. Sure people are at different points in their musical journeys – some played their best song, some played a recent song, some played a song to ask the group for feedback, so it’s not necessarily always a “best foot forward” kind of situation. But the variety and energy that came through whether it was live or recorded was phenomenal. If you’re a musician and you can possibly get to one of these events, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
February’s podcast features a fun conversation and live performances from Songwriters in Seattle member Andy Glover. Andy is a great guy and talented musician whose positive attitude shines out brightly in his songwriting. One of the most interesting things about Andy’s songwriting development (that we talk about in quite a bit of detail) is that he has documented it on YouTube at a steady pace over the last few years. Being able to share this growth and artistic evolution in almost realtime video is a great example of how modern technology can build strong connections with fans around the world.
Andy also talks about his new studio recordings that he’s working on, and as an exciting first for this podcast, performs all his podcast songs live! So these are unique recordings that are a great reflection of his personality. I’m thankful to Andy for doing this and for being a part of this podcast. Please connect with Andy at the following links:
Oh boy, it’s that time again – I’ve finished up with my main group of songs in production and it’s time to start new songs from scratch. There’s a longstanding debate whether creativity can be forced or can only be allowed to flow naturally when it’s ready. I guess I subscribe to a creative philosophy somewhere in the middle, in that I can definitely shut it down – turn it off, or maybe distract it, if you will. But when I “allow” myself to be creative and am open to receiving creative inspiration I generally don’t have a problem finding it. I don’t generally find myself with the proverbial “writer’s block” for any substantial period of time. I can get stuck, but can work myself out of it over time without too much struggle.
I should qualify this as applying only to music, however, as lyrics are always a struggle for me. Always have been and likely always will be. I absolutely can’t force lyrics or process my way to poetic ideas. So I generally seek out lyric writing partners to do the heavy lifting. That being said, I think I’m pretty good at editing lyrics and adding the right touches to finalize them – it’s the starting from scratch part that’s really tough for me. On the rare occasion though – maybe once or twice per year – a set of lyrics will come to me, almost all at once. I don’t know how or why, but they fly through my head and I have to write them down before I forget. Of course, I’m usually in the car at the time, so rushing home to get lyrics down on paper can be a challenge. It happened again this morning!
