Monday, October 26, 2015

Muse ain’t got no mercy
When it’s tillin’ up your pride
Harvestin’ and sowin’
Songs from deep inside
Mike Eastman
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Most of the songwriters I know feel surprised sometimes (if not every single time) by a song they’ve written. There’s something mysterious about where songs come from. Something a little wild and out-of-control about songwriting. Last Thursday at Tom’s Tabooley. I was asking the songwriters who played to talk a little about what their process was like. Does it start with a melody? A hook? A story you want to tell? No surprise that most people said it happens different ways with different songs. Some start with a lyrical phrase, some with a chord progression, some with a melody. Carlos Rumba talked about dreaming a song and many of the rest of us (me included) reported having the same experience. Almost everyone said that sometimes it’s like lightning strikes, and the song is just there – done – before you even know what hits you. Once when I described having that happen to me to my friend and fellow songwriter Scott Romig, he said, “I know what you mean. It’s not like you wrote that song; it’s like you’re just the first one who ever heard it.” 
About halfway through the night, Mike Eastman got up and sang a song about songwriting that peeked into another dimension of the conversation we were having. The song – “Deep Inside” -- is about writing a song that reveals more about you than you want to reveal. I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I’m willing to bet that every other songwriter in the room did, too. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post on here about my feeling that when songwriters reveal their own pain genuinely and artfully they make my pain more bearable. That’s my perspective from the audience. As a songwriter I have to say that I know those songs come at a price. You’d like to keep a little dignity, not expose yourself completely, but you really can’t explore the deeper territory AND stay shielded and safe. You can’t write “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” or “Sunday Morning Coming Down” or “Feeling Good Again” or “Hello Walls” without tearing a hole in your own mask. I’m not saying that every song that seeks that deeper truth succeeds like those songs; I’m saying – whether the song succeeds or not – it’s no picnic to lay your secrets bare. In fact it’s scary. When it happens it feels like, as Mike puts it, “the muse ain’t got no mercy.”
The conversation about songwriting as well as the songs last week at Tom’s were inspiring thanks to the wonderful songwriters and musicians who came out to play: Charles Clark, Carlos Rumbaut, Greg Engle, Jim Adams, Stuart Burns, Roger Edmondson, Gregg Miller, Daniel Schaefer, Mike Eastman, and Craig Marshall. We were glad to welcome two newcomers to our stage: Tilly and Owl Offer. And to showcase two world premiere song debuts: Gregg Miller’s “Dreaming on the Moon” and Daniel Schaefer’s “El Mejor Amigo.” 
Come on out for another inspiring show this week. Sign up at 6:30. Music is from 7 to 10.

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