Canadian and internationally-reaching singer/songwriter Jeffery Straker joined us to talk about his process, collaborations, and great songwriting advice.
We talked about:
Conservatory training vs. ear training
When not to give your chorus a conventional “lift”
Editing your song, even the main title and hook so it brings your idea to a better light
Multi-talented Toronto poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Robert Priest brought two great songs to the show. He also brought two talented musicians to back him up – guitarist and vocalist David Hines and guitarist Bob Cohen. We talked about a wide range of things including:
You don’t necessarily need to have a fantastic voice to write or even perform songs well. We looked at some of our favorite songwriters with unusual voices and how they did it.
Multi-platinum hit songwriter Shelly Peiken, has written songs for, and with, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Cher, Reba McEntire, Christina Aguilera, Meredith Brooks, Britney Spears, Natasha Bedingfield, NSYNC, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato. Shelly Peiken is also a successful author who has written a book detailing her experiences in songwriting – “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter”. Shelly shared two songs with us – “Bitch” and “Who You Are”. Here are some of the things we discussed:
Teenaged singer-songwriter Brighid Fry joins us to talk about her many collaborations and solo songwriting processes. Singer-songwriter Carmen Toth filled in for Neel – thanks Carmen! We talked about:
the challenges of being a teenaged singer-songwriter
Multi-instrumentalist and back up vocalist Sintja Baba has been playing alongside various Toronto acts and is currently playing that role in Marlon Chaplin’s band. She started her own band THE NAIVE, where her music has taken the shape of various genres. Her EP, “Saw the Sun” is a medley of catchy upbeat hooks and mellow ballads. We talked about:
Playing multiple instruments & writing songs since his mid teens, Jef eventually succumbed to a music career in his early 20s. 2½ years in he joined the backing band for the multiple award winning CCMA duo of the year, Tim Taylor & Anita Perras. By the mid 1990s Jef became founding member & lead singer/bassist for the popular eastern Ontario trio, Ambush. Following the height of their popularity, Jef turned to solo work, both on stage and in the studio. Still doing the do, he’s currently preparing his next album, ‘Topic of the Day’ and performing throughout southern Ontario.
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