Saskatoon-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Melanie Peterson joined us again, this time with her original holiday-themed love songs. Melanie has been deemed “Mary Poppins with a broken heart” by the BBC and a “superb songwriter” by Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun. She was last on our show in 2015.…
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The Multi-Talented songwriter/actor Alyssa Baker stopped by with a couple of great songs and an even better discussion on creating songs and managing multiple career streams.
Some Stuff We Talked About:
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Talented teen singer-songwriter Jules joined us again, after her first appearance over a year ago. In the midst of writing songs for her sophomore release, Jules talked with the Song Talk Radio Action Team about:
- FACTOR grants for Canadians, and why you should hire a grant writer
- Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition
- writing from a title
- writing lyrics that are open to interpretation
- working on a lyric until it’s perfect
- collaborations
- what a band brings to the songwriting process
- how teens are feeling about issues and putting them into songs
Listen to the whole show:
Watch the live performances:
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The ever lovely and talented (and what a voice!) Janice Ho, Song Talk Radio’s very own tweeting songbird, talked about two early collaborations she worked on and what to look out for when collaborating. Download the lyrics for the show.…
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Faaria was one of our first guests on Song Talk Radio (check out her first episode) and she joined us once again with new songs about relationships, where none of them are autobiographical (or so she claims).
Stuff we talked about:
- writing from different point-of-views
- relationship songs
- how practicing songwriting can affect the enjoyment of listening to other songs
- progressing the story or idea from verse to verse
- spicing up chords using the Circle of Fifths
- the value of collaboration and playing around with songwriting suggestions
Download the lyrics for Faaria’s songs.…
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Carmen Toth / Social Potion joined us for the second time to talk about a new song, and an older one, both of which are appearing on her upcoming album.
Stuff we talked about:
- writing lyrics first, songs first, or improvising on the fly during a jam/collaboration
- journalling / creating a “lyrics bank”
- starting a song from an emotion
- marketing to promote other artists
- memorable titles in the world of singles
- working with a producer to focus the song structure and strengthen commercial appeal
- writing universal, relatable lyrics
- using a bridge to bring a new perspective into the song
Download Carmen’s lyrics for the show.…
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The ever talented Liz Jaremyn returned with two great songs. Here’s some stuff we talked about:
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Addie Denison shares songs that at first sound like classic country, until you realize they’re (in part) about revenge, or blasting off into outer space. Sonja Seiler guest hosted.
Stuff we talked about:
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The uber-talented Sonja Seiler brings her own brand of passionate, emotional songs to Song Talk Radio for the second time, this time with a country twist.
Stuff we talked about:
- transitioning from writing on piano to guitar
- letting an idea percolate for a while before writing
- the power of imagery
- what’s the right tempo for your song?
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On this highly informative and entertaining show, we talked with John Glover:
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Our very own Tweeting SongBird, Janice moved to the other side of the mic. We talked about her having Opera training and her natural bluesy style.
Some stuff we talked about:
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Songtalk Radio welcomed multi-talented artist The Sun Harmonic (aka Kaleb Hikele) back to the studio for a second sharing of his song writing skills. “Born (I Have Awakened)” is a stream-of-consciousness, spiritual/traditional style a capella song that captures the losses we all endure as we grow up.…
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Young singer-songwriter Callie Deacon shared her exceptional songwriting talent, impressing the guys with her ability to spin familiar phrases and ideas into original ones. Callie takes strong cues from Taylor Swift and Shawn Mendes.
We talked about:
- why writing on the guitar is more fun than the piano (please note: this is the sole opinion of the guest, and does not necessarily reflect that of the Song Talk Radio Action Team)
- song structures
- how to include a “Morrissey” lyric
- when to include a pre-chorus
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Neel Modi is a multi-talented songwriter, drummer and keyboardist with an eclectic collection of recordings from the quirky to the imaginative. On this show, he presented “Depend on Me” – based on a challenge to write a song about a car accident from the brake pad’s point of view – it’s a “brake-up” song ;-), and “Nature’s Lullaby”, a collaboration with singer/songwriter Sonja Seiler, a touching poetic take on the interconnection between all things in the natural world.…
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Jenny Ritter and her very cool guitarist Tyler Belluz entertained us with a rich variety of tunes all beautifully sung. She started writing in her early 20’s. Her first band – The Gruff – played for 10 years. Jenny currently leads two rock choirs in Victoria, BC.…
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Erin Ford graced the Song Talk Radio studio to play some tunes from the upcoming release of her CD Natural Progression, a project 8 years in the making. We also chatted about:
- how her 10-piece band brings a collaborative element to her music
- seriously cool chord changes
- the use of vivid imagery in lyric writing

Erin’s links:
Website erinford.ca…
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With her unique voice, inventive phrasing, and heart-centred lyrics, Christine Gaidies filled our little studio with music and conversation about “love and life”. From endings (My Hear is in the West) to sexy middles (Love 101) and the frustrations of searching for love (All I Ever Really Wanted).her…
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Frank dropped by Song Talk Radio again, this time with songs from his recent release, Strange Machine. We talked about:
- using wikiloops for free backing tracks
- unconventional time signatures, and unusual uses of 4/4
- the differences between art songs and pop songs
- a modern twist on the protest song
- Frank’s experimental writing process using Logic
Listen to the show:
About Frank Horvat
With a Broken Social Scene-like attitude, Toronto’s ambient-edged art rock band, The Frank Horvat Band, uses a colourful canvas to create songs for a dynamic and intoxicating aural experience.…
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Singer songwriter Jules delivers three powerful tunes live in the studio. She’s just 14 and yet is well on her way along the road as a professional. Jules has been writing songs since she was 10. Some stuff we talked about:
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Pop singer and songwriter Jade Naraine talks about taking her career into her own hands by finding her own producer and how to make sure its the right fit.
www.jadenaraine.com …
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Melanie treats the team to two live performances, talks about duality and contradictions in her songs, and asks the ultimate Facebook quiz question, “Is your guy good on paper?”
We also talked about:
- Pat Pattison’s songwriting seminar on youTube
- writing from a title
- crowdfunding for your album on indiegogo
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The God No!s bandmembers Peter, Sandy, Alon, Subhayu, and Rachel talk about their collaborative approach to songwriting, where each member brings a song to the band and together they refine and finish it off, in a “no-free” zone. See, democracy works after all.…
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Sonja talks about her arguably turbulent past with regard to the Canadian Art Song. The guys comment on her strong melodies, powerful imagery, and beautiful songs.…
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Our very own Janice Ho (and social media person) plays some great tunes and gives some great tips on collaborating remotely with different songwriters and how to map out a lyric so that you hit all the emotional bits.…
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