Blues-rock-soul singer-songwriter Gravely James shares his journey from a trumpet-playing kid to a kickin’ singer-songwriter. He also treated us to two incredibly energetic performances of his songs. We talked about:
Emily Mac is a singer-songwriter and a regular at our Songwriter’s Roundtable Meetup. She joined us with piano player Joel to perform and talk about two of her songs, Back to the Rhythm and When It’s Gone. Special guest host Carmen Toth filled in for Neel. We talked about:
how learning to play an instrument helps to ground your accapella writing
why it’s good to be the stupidest person in the room (when collaborating)
Maple Blues Award Best New Artist nominee and harmonica player, Son Roberts stopped by the Song Talk Radio studios with guitarist John Crosbie and had a fun and wide ranging conversation about writing blues influenced tunes.
What a delight to have Peter Light in the studio and hear some down-to-earth songwriting. I Let Her Go was a unique take on “the one that got away”. Charlie’s Playin’ the Blues was a cool tongue in cheek visit to the world of traditional blues – done with great craft and artistry.
Brian Sasaki, a musical force of nature, swept into our little studio with three band members (Michael on bass, Stanley on violin, and Kyle on drums) and really rocked the joint. His energetic and all-out-there tunes hook you right from the start. Look Out the Window featured Brian on guitar and kazoo (check out Tomasz Sacha on YouTube, says Brian).
Favourite lyric – “Anything’s a sundial if you leave it in the sun for a while.” On Life’s a Pest Brian added a very convincing mouth trumpet that helped lift the darker lyrics into the light (e.g “Life is just a pest… no one goes untested, unmolested by this mess …”).
That’s Alright had a 30’s jazz/blues feel with more of Brian’s off-the-wall lyrics including “I clean my ears, I blow my nose, I trim the nails on my fingers and toes…” that was loved unanimously. If there is one word for the songs of Brian Sasaki’s song writing, it’s “entertaining”. Have a listen!
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