Country Songwriting 101 - April 13, 2009
I've been getting a great education in the art of country songwriting by performing and writing for Portland's Concrete Cowboys. Even though I've been writing music that could easily be called country since I was 14 years old, lately I've had the ability to get instant feedback on the songs in packed clubs throughout Oregon and Washington. In addition, the feedback from the band members themselves in the first hurdle. If a song doesn't get past them, it doesn't necessarily mean the song doesn't work, but it probably means that it wouldn't work in a rowdy honkytonk. In that setting, the original songs have to stack up next to the covers we play every night. There can be no let-down in energy or quality. The idea is for the audience to not even know that what they're hearing isn't something new on the radio that they just haven't come across yet.
It's a lofty goal, and I have a lot to learn, but the classroom is a whole lot of fun.
It's a lofty goal, and I have a lot to learn, but the classroom is a whole lot of fun.