Shows

Putting a fresh spin on the familiar with Callie Deacon

Young singer-songwriter Callie Deacon shared her exceptional songwriting talent, impressing the guys with her ability to spin familiar phrases and ideas into original ones.  Callie takes strong cues from Taylor Swift and Shawn Mendes. We talked about: why writing on the guitar is more fun than the piano (please note: this is the sole opinion of …

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Mark Martyre writes melodic word pictures

Mark Martyre is a Canadian writer and musician. His prolific song writing has produced 3 full-length studio albums since 2012: Down, Record (2012), London (2013), and Red Letters (2014), as well as several live records, and bootlegs. His music and lyrics have garnered critical acclaim and attention both nationally and internationally. Mark is currently working …

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Neel Modi and Sonja Seiler show us creative collaboration and more

Neel Modi is a multi-talented songwriter, drummer and keyboardist with an eclectic collection of recordings from the quirky to the imaginative. On this show, he presented “Depend on Me” – based on a challenge to write a song about a car accident from the brake pad’s point of view – it’s a “brake-up” song ;-), and …

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OITC with the team

Get loaded on songwriting ammo with One in the Chamber

One in the Chamber (Mike Baise – vocals, rhythm guitar, Cecil Eugene – lead guitar, vocals, Christian Dotto – bass, Gerrod Harris – percussion) join us to discuss their songwriting process as a band.  We talked about: bringing a song to the band to be fleshed out singing lead vocals with lyrics written by a bandmate …

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Songwriting Apps Review: Rhyme Genie, TuneSmith & Chordmate

In our first Apps Review Show, we take a look at Idolumic’s Rhyme Genie and Harmonic Sense’s Chordmate Apps. First up was Idolumic’s Rhyme Genie a fully cross platform (PC, Mac & iOS) program that boasts over 330,000 rhymes and more rhyme types than you’ve ever heard of. The desktop versions are brilliant and much better than any online rhyme …

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Eric Sorenson, Finding his Directions Home

Singer-songwriter and occasional co-host of Song Talk Radio, Eric Sorenson, returned to the show to showcase tunes from his upcoming EP, Directions Home, and a crowd-pleaser from his live shows.  Eric was joined by his bandmates Liz Jaremyn and Andrew Ages. Stuff we talked about: International Songwriting Competition (deadline extended to November 5) IMSTA Festa Event  – …

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Christine with the team

Just Love with Christine Gaidies

With her unique voice, inventive phrasing, and heart-centred lyrics, Christine Gaidies filled our little studio with music and conversation about “love and life”. From endings (My Hear is in the West) to sexy middles (Love 101) and the frustrations of searching for love (All I Ever Really Wanted).her songs weave a spell. Listen to the sweet …

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Exploring the art-rock strangeness that could only be Frank Horvat

Frank dropped by Song Talk Radio again, this time with songs from his recent release, Strange Machine.  We talked about: using wikiloops for free backing tracks unconventional time signatures, and unusual uses of 4/4 the differences between art songs and pop songs a modern twist on the protest song Frank’s experimental writing process using Logic Listen to …

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David with the guys

Exploring Dynamics and the Unexpected with David Dino White

Incredible guitarist and singer / songwriter David Dino White stopped by and played us some songs with original approaches to lyrics, melody and song structure. Kinda of a Violent Femms vibe. Some stuff we talked about BandCamp.com Producer Ben Leggett Power Tab Software: sending tabs to a band before practice to speed up the process …

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Jeff with the team

He sang us good songs, he’s the piano man – Jeff Alan Greenway

Jeff Alan Greenway, backed by Cheryl Beatty on guitar and vocals, rocked our little studio with some powerful piano chops and heartfelt sounds. With a background in piano, jazz improvisation, cover and original bands, Jeff draws on his relationships to inspire his song writing. Whether it’s a call for closeness (Open These Doors), an on-again, off-again affair …

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Taylor & Bryn with the team

Two guitars, 20 harmonicas, harmonies and beat boxing with Taylor & Bryn

The uber-talented duo of Talyor & Bryn impress the team with their fusion of styles and great sense of humour with 3 live performances, including an improvised lyric and melody by Taylor for their final song. We discussed: Taylor’s songwriting workshop Bryn’s harmonica workshop The IMSTA Songwriting Contest lyric progressions the effectiveness of stops in …

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John with the guys

Songwriting with “Puppets Who Kill” creator John Pattison

Script writer, puppeteer and occasional singer-songwriter John Pattison joined us, without puppets, to perform and talk about three of his songs.  Together we discussed: the difference between abstract and narrative songs John’s journey from script writer to song writer How John wrote a song in the men’s room at Massey Hall after a Paul Simon …

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Super girl with a heart of armor – Jules

Singer songwriter Jules delivers three powerful tunes live in the studio. She’s just 14 and yet is well on her way along the road as a professional. Jules has been writing songs since she was 10. Some stuff we talked about: Robyn Dell’Unto her songwriting coach Karen Kosowski Her new EP Heart of Armor The benefits …

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Janice Ho

She not only tweets for Songtalk Radio, she’s an awesome singer/songwriter too! Have a listen to three of her sensitively written and beautifully performed songs. We talked about: chord substitution music or lyrics first? melody and lyric connections gambling addiction vocal collaborations “your heart’s a ghost town”

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