Maybe you didn’t ask for it but we did it anyway – the 90’s song draft – this time with Canadian songwriters. Blair Packham sat in for a sick Bruce, Vanessa joined the gang for her song picks, and much fun was had. Of the many writers of the Great White North, here are a …
bridge
Blending Jazz and Soul with Avery Raquel
Teen-aged jazz/soul superstar Avery Raquel joined us to talk about moving from covers of jazz standards to her own blend of jazz and soul to better connect with her audience. We talked about: Jazz standards by Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra Listening to songs analytically Tension and release in a song …
Fathers Day Special with Allister Bradley and Sean Bertram
For a special Father’s Day episode, we invited father and son Allister Bradley and Sean Bertram to share their experiences working on music together and independently. Friend of the show Dave Miner filled in for Neel – thanks Dave! We talked about: Sean starting out with piano lessons, Guitar Hero and Rockband Allister finding the …
DAHLIA, long-term views on writing songs
Songwriter DAHLIA stopped by after her tour in India to talk songwriting. Listen to the episode: What we talked about: How do you start a song? Are “hooks” teachable? Pulling apart your fav songs Getting Funding from the government Falling in love with your demo’s Jule’s first single Rick Beato “Why makes this song great?” …
Songwriting with a purpose; Rebecca Lappa
Part way through her cross-country tour which began in her hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, singer/songwriter Rebecca Lappa stopped in at the Song Talk Radio studio to share two original songs. She was accompanied on piano by the talented musician Nick Samoil. We talked about: releasing your first album at the age of 12 FACTOR grants …
Robert Priest – how to write songs for children
We had the pleasure of having the prolific Toronto poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Robert Priest (with David Hynes on guitar) back in the studio to share a couple of his children’s songs. We talked about… testing a song on a 6-year old moving from writing for adults to writing for children on the same day …
Bridging Jazz and Pop with Sean Bertram
Sean Bertram returned to the show following the release of his debut album, The Right Place. We talked about: Sean’s studies at Humber College in Music Guitar poetics in your lyrics changing chords and melodic centre between sections of your song contrast in pop songwriting self-doubt in songwriting Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson how …
How to write a break-up song
True to form for Song Talk Radio, the day before Valentine’s Day seemed a good day to talk about break-up songs. So Phil brought “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce, Neel chose “One More Minute” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bruce performed a new original tune “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, and …