Songwriting through writer’s block with Dexter Sloan

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