Fresh Content

Show date:  Jun. 01, 2025

Neel, Jessica, and Phil

Toronto-based guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and koto player Jessica Stuart (aka JESSA) has made a music career writing and performing harmonically adventurous, and devastatingly honest indie-jazz-rock tunes around the world. Stuart is also a rare professional female guitarist, with dozens of side-player credits ranging from Mirvish Productions’ SIX to Classic Albums Live to Idioteque, and loves to put her chops in the spotlight when playing her unique, musically playful original songs as the Jessica Stuart Trio.

When not on festival stages, you’ll find Jessica producing albums for other artists in studio, on international and local airwaves, with a Japanese Top 40 single, 5 songs in the Canadian Songwriting Competition finals and as the subject and composer of CBC’s most viewed documentary of all time, Finding Fukueh, with over 15 million views.

Jessica shared her song Price of my Love. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2025 to write a song in an odd time signature
  • Did John Lennon INTENTIONALLY Sabotage The Beatles With His Bass Playing?
  • The difference between a refrain and a chorus
  • How when listeners hear explicit imagery in your songs, their brains light up in the same way as they do with their own memories
  • How you can write songs faster when you have more songwriting experience
  • How early ideas might not make it into your song (and that’s OK), but they can be used as starting points for other songs
  • Collaborating with your former self as a songwriting challenge

Show date:  May. 29, 2025

Neel, Dexter, and Phil

Dexter Sloan has built his sound around a blissful blend of intimacy and introspection, celebrating the deep connections between nature and humanity. Imbued with fables and folktales, he delivers truth like a puppet show, often playing characters to protect his privacy. A device Sloan has no doubt carried with him from his time as a Drag performer. Aside from his solo work he is a founding member and Banjo player for The Ratskin Family Band, the world’s first drag country band.

Dexter shared the process behind his song My Home is With the Grass. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2025 to write a song in an odd time signature.
  • How arts in drag culture is multi-disciplinary and grows organically
  • Writing a super catchy chorus in a bluegrass style
  • Using simple chords to enable a group of (bluegrass) people to jam together easily
  • How Dexter overcame his writer’s block by simply going for a walk and writing about his surroundings
  • How writing “bad” songs can be very freeing
  • Make sure your notes and voice memos are being backed up
  • How songs for the The Ratskin Family Band differ from Dexter’s solo work, and the scope of country music

Show date:  May. 25, 2025

Neel, Brent, and Phil

“This song is intended to remind us that the love we have for each other is stronger than our pride. Love takes work. If we can overcome our egos, we can remember why love is the most powerful gift we can experience.” – Brent Jackson, Sunshine Makers

Brent shared his song Rock With Me. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

  • Our songwriting challenge for 2025 to write a song in an odd time signature.
  • Writing gibberish lyrics when developing your melodies
  • How Brent sang all the horn arrangements for his band as voice memos on his phone
  • In favour of the album format in today’s music climate
  • Releasing your music on vinyl and getting the word out
  • Creating your own label and showcasing other bands in your genre

Show date:  May. 21, 2025

singer-songwriter with guitar performing in front of a group of seated people with lyric sheets in their hand, in a warm pub-like room with windows and brick wall

Fellow songwriters,

We have booked our Meetup events for the summer! Please check out the Eventbrite page to register. Meetups continue to be free over Zoom and in-person. Toronto meetups will take place at the Imperial Pub.

See the Eventbrite events for all details, and see you at the next meetup!

Eventbrite event thumbnails showing Song Talk Meetup events on June 25 (online), July 13 (in-person), and August 27 (online)

Your hosts,

Neel & Phil

Show date:  May. 19, 2025

Neel and Phil

For this special episode, Phil and Neel talked about their favourite apps and resources for songwriters and musicians. Let us know what yours are!

We talked about:

Let us know what apps and tools you’re using to help with your songwriting or music performances. Send us an email at feedback@songtalk.ca and we’ll add your suggestions to this show post.