Jenny Perez is a classically trained pianist and vocalist. She’s recently begun her journey as a singer-songwriter, bringing her classic flavours to her modern songwriting. For this show, Jenny was accompanied by Sherry Jacoby on guitar and backup vocals. We talked about: the difference between classical and modern pop singing the learning your technique debate: how …
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Special Pride Theme Show
To celebrate Pride in Toronto this week, we brought in five LGBTQ-themed songs to play and talk about. The songs spanned from 1983 to 2017, and included a diverse range of songwriters and topics. Musical book writer Stephen Witkin joined us for the show. Special thank you’s to Hema for handling our social media, and @SharonRose2012 for …
Pop songwriting with feeling with Lora Ryan
Pop singer-songwriter Lora Ryan joined us with her guitarist Andrew Scott to share two songs and talk about her songwriting process. Singer/songwriter Lora Ryan is poised to make some noise in the independent music scene. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she recently relocated to the Hollywood of Canada: Toronto, Ontario. Lora draws on personal experience …
Waxing poetic with Stacey Dowswell
Singer-songwriter Stacey Dowswell joined us to talk about her literature-inspired and poetic take on songwriting with two original songs, Ties that Bind and Wax Wings. We talked about: Poetic vs. more straight forward lyrics How to add complexity to a simple 1-4-5 chord progression How to incorporate a cliche Contrast and space Using dynamics in your …
Patrick Ballantyne – master songwriter
Popular guest co-host and guest on Song Talk Radio, Patrick Ballantyne dropped by the studio to share two of his well-crafted songs. “Where Things Used to Be” is great example of the skillful combination of melody, structure, and lyrics to evoke a strong feeling of longing in the listener. Listen to the bridge in particular and …
Why work with a producer? with Braeden Mitchell
Braeden Mitchell returned to Song Talk Radio for his third visit and contributed to a very lively and informative discussion of songwriting and recording. He shared two songs with us, Glory Days and Everyday Girl, both from his upcoming EP release. We talked about: moving from a pop-rock sound to a folk-country style a producer’s influence …
Writing blue-eyed soul with Jeremy Voltz
Crazy talented Jeremy Voltz joined us with his Stevie Wonder inspired, but totally original songs, In the Clear and Wrong With Me. We talked about: CounterMeasure the advantages of regularly performing at open mics getting inspiration for your songs from life situations how to make subtle changes between sections of your song how to write …
Love Songs we Love to Love (Valentine’s Day Special)
For our Valentine’s Day special, each member of the Song Talk Radio team brought a favourite love song too woo our listeners. All the songs were very different, and we each had a different take on what makes a good love song: Bruce appreciates authentic, honest expressions of love Neel likes it when there’s a …