chords

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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Anything can happen when it’s the All Hosts Show!

Bruce, Neel, and Phil overcome many obstacles to present a song each, and then glorify each other with mountainous heaps of unqualified praise. Neel presents a song inspired by a songwriting webinar held by songwriting coach Alex Forbes,  Bruce plays his classic hit “Survivor” live in the studio, and Phil talks about writing on bass and what it …

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Chris Birkett: Finding and Freeing Your Creative Flow

Producer extraordinaire (Sinead O’Connor, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Alison Moyet, Dexys Midnight Runners, Talking Heads, The Pogues, Bob Geldof, Mel Brooks, Siedah Garrett, Steve Earle, Ali Amran, Alain Chamfort, René Lacaille, Talitha Mac Kenzie, etc) and songwriter guitarist Chris Birkett talks about his searching for the ins and outs of the creative process.  

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