Toronto-based singer-songwriter Angela Saini joined us to talk about her process and two beautifully crafted songs: Something Like I’m Beautiful and Living on the Bright Side. We talked about: Switching from a major to minor key for your bridge How to connect emotionally with your listeners Song endings – to resolve to not resolve? Putting …
Shows
Winter tunes with Sherry Jacoby
Singer songwriter Sherry Jacoby stopped by with our old friend Alon and played some wintery tunes. SongStudio working with co-writers Forget lyrics Download Winter Hibernation by Sherry Jacoby Artist website: http://www.sherryjacoby.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sherryjacoby Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sherryjacobymusic YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNVZl1tcGdqoUr8usbbKjaw SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/sherryjacoby Listen to the full Episode:
Piper Hayes, from Broadway to Hamilton
Piper Hayes is a New York born singer/songwriter currently living on the outskirts of Hamilton, Ontario – home to a burgeoning arts scene. Piper started writing her own songs because she couldn’t play other people’s songs on her guitar. On this fast-paced and informative show, she sang “You’re Gone” and “Honey” and we talked about: musical theatre training and the singer/songwriter …
Holiday Love Songs with Melanie Peterson
Saskatoon-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Melanie Peterson joined us again, this time with her original holiday-themed love songs. Melanie has been deemed “Mary Poppins with a broken heart” by the BBC and a “superb songwriter” by Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun. She was last on our show in 2015. We talked about: Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s …
Jordan Paul on Writing Trippy Tunes
Singer/Songwriter Jordan Paul stopped by with a couple of brilliant songs. His sound has been described as “if Queen, Mimicking Birds, Radiohead, and Led Zeppelin all had a beautiful love-child.” A clever songwriter at only 24–his writing and musicality is well beyond his years and his voice is otherworldly. Paul’s new single ‘Rain’ is coming out …
Leonard Cohen, the late great Canadian troubadour
What can you say about the exceptionally talented poet, novelist, and prolific singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen.that hasn’t already been said? Well, the Song Talk Radio action team didn’t worry about that. Bruce, Neel, and Phil simply dove into their memories and had a close look at three of his many, many songs. Bruce brought the poetic Bird on …
Writing the emotional gamut with Beige Shelter
Indie rock band Beige Shelter stopped by to talk about forming the band, producing their first album, and performed two songs. Our very own Neel Modi took the co-guest seat as producer, drummer, and co-writer. A good friend of Song Talk Radio, Patrick Ballantyne filled in for Neel’s host spot. Beige Shelter is: Adi Aman …
The 3rd Anniversary Show
To celebrate our 3rd Anniversary, some of our very dedicated listeners stopped by and we talked about their favorite bits from the last year. Even Nicole stopped by – and then we had cake! Some stuff we talked about: Tony Burns Mike Macinnes Nicole Di Donato Tony Burns Episode Blair Packham packs emotional power Writing to …
Dan Edmonds making it up in the moment
The Song Talk Team had the distinct pleasure of spending an hour with the very talented and original singer/songwriter Dan Edmonds. His fresh takes on music and how it’s made were both illuminating and engaging. He played two of his intriguing recordings – “Love Can Be a Tunnel” and “To Be That Needle”. We talked about: improvising …
Songwriting Humour & Hiring Someone to Demo your song with Robert Davis
Singer/songwriter Robert Davis stopped by with some great fun songs and we talked about the following: Download robert-davis-lyrics here Differences between kids and Adult songs Dr. Demento Koerner Hall Mark Russell (piano player / songwriter / political satirist) Subversive themes in children’s songs Country Music songwriting approach NSAI Socan House (Nashville House) Factor.ca Country Music Association Ken …
Where’s Bob Dylan?
Okay, so we couldn’t get Bob to come to the studio for the show. Not surprising considering how the Nobel Prize people can’t find him either. On this show about Bob Dylan we discussed: The new film from Ron Howard – The Beatles, Eight Days a Week How the Beatles wrote songs Should the Nobel Prize …
Thoughtful lyrics and music with Allister Bradley
Pro songwriter Allister Bradley joined us for an hour to talk about two of his catchy, thoughtful songs and his process for getting them done. Stuff we talked out: Toronto’s Song Studio Making it in the music industry Writing with your secondary instrument Using session musicians Why you should whistle your melody Chord progression tip: make …
Writing Humour Songs & Not Novelty Songs with Matt Gerber
Matt stopped by and we talked about the ins and outs of writing songs with humour. Friend of the show, Dave Miner subbed in for Neel! Some stuff we talked about: Matt Gerber’s Official Website Download the lyrics for Matt’s songs here Song Studio Scrape (industrial band) Yamaha Canada Music Listen to the whole show:
Writing for musicals with Stephen Witkin
Lyricist and librettist Stephen Witkin returned to Song Talk Radio for a highly informative hour on writing for musical theatre. Here are some of the topics we discussed: what is the “book” and the role of the book writer for a musical? collaboration with the muscial’s composer the purpose of the book in relation to …
All About Chords with Frank Horvat
Songwriter, composer, and music teacher Frank Horvat joined us to talk about scales, the different kinds and colours of chords, and using chords as a palette for your songwriting. We covered: Intervals (2 notes) and triads (chords with 3 notes) Major and minor triads and their different tonal colours The hardly-ever-used diminished (or seven) chord …
How to master multiple career streams + songwriting with Alyssa Baker
The Multi-Talented songwriter/actor Alyssa Baker stopped by with a couple of great songs and an even better discussion on creating songs and managing multiple career streams. Some Stuff We Talked About: Lost & Found Music Studios tv series Protecting your songs VisiKlick Metronome app Socan Songs being too “songwriter-y” ? Undone – EP – Alyssa Baker on iTunes …
Jacob Moon a song writing star
With 10 albums over a 20-year career, Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Jacob Moon dropped into the studio to share a wealth of helpful tips and clear insights. “Live a Little” is a truly exceptional tune, a perfect marriage of lyrics, melody, theme and variation. “Is That All You Got” is a gutsy rocker that looks at calamity with defiance …
Writing to perfection with Jules
Talented teen singer-songwriter Jules joined us again, after her first appearance over a year ago. In the midst of writing songs for her sophomore release, Jules talked with the Song Talk Radio Action Team about: FACTOR grants for Canadians, and why you should hire a grant writer Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition writing from a title writing …
Songwriting as craft with Marlon Chaplin
The extraordinarily talented singer-songwriter and producer Marlon Chaplin joined us to talk about his crafty approach to songwriting, and share two songs. Dave Miner also joined us to fill in for Bruce as co-host. Thanks a million, Dave, you were great! Download the lyrics for Marlon’s songs to follow along as you listen. We talked …
“A song is good if you like it,” says Patrick Ballantyne
Bruce, Neel and Phil were all happy to have Patrick Ballantyne back in the Song Talk Radio studio for the third time. He always brings great songs (listen to “Make Believe” and “Sky” for proof) and lots of experience to share about the songwriting process for our listeners. When writing a song, he starts with …
Tips on Creating Songs for Musical Theatre with Andrew Seok
Pianist, producer, and songwriter Andrew Seok stopped by and talked about the process of creating music for his new Musical “Echos”. Andrew Seok (also known as just SEOK) has written music for Television, Recording Artists, Movies, and pretty much everything including the music you hear when call a company and you’re put on hold. He began his …
Protest Songs: What makes a good one?
For our latest theme show, we take a look at some of our favorite Protest Songs and try to figure out what makes an effective one. We looked at River Runs Red by Midnight Oil, Eve of Destruction by P.F. Sloan, and Phil talks about how his band The Parkdale Hookers, went about writing their punk-anthem …
Jeff Greenway finds his own way
Jeff Greenway returned to the Song Talk Radio studio to share his thoughts on song writing. His approach to writing is through a feeling, not a theory. This was amply demonstrated in the two songs he shared with us. The first, Cavalry, evoked the sadness and confusion you feel when a relationship just isn’t working …
1 Man + 1 Electric Guitar: TC Folkpunk
The always entertaining singer/songwriter TC FolkPunk returned to the show and played a couple of punky solo electric guitar songs and talked about playing solo without a band with just an electric guitar. Some Stuff We Talked About TC FolkPunks first appearance on Song Talk Radio Lyrics: Sort of Like Danielle & The World of You T.c. Folkpunk: …