Toronto-based virtuoso electronic music duo Audio Insurgency joined us for a second time to talk about their latest projects, including an album of inventive video game music covers. Audio Insurgency is made up of Alon Rodovinsky and Ivan Popov. The guys previously appeared on Song Talk Radio in early 2016. Patrick Ballantyne filled in for Bruce …
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Jacob Moon a song writing star
With 10 albums over a 20-year career, Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Jacob Moon dropped into the studio to share a wealth of helpful tips and clear insights. “Live a Little” is a truly exceptional tune, a perfect marriage of lyrics, melody, theme and variation. “Is That All You Got” is a gutsy rocker that looks at calamity with defiance …
Talkin ’bout song structures
Bruce, Neel, Phil and Janice spent most of an hour on the subject of song structures with 4 different examples. We talked about: the prologue verse (I Left my Heart in San Francisco) writing for musical theatre (My Funny Valentine) the connection between segment style and lyrical content (Band on the Run) Sloan’s song with …
Get loaded on songwriting ammo with One in the Chamber
One in the Chamber (Mike Baise – vocals, rhythm guitar, Cecil Eugene – lead guitar, vocals, Christian Dotto – bass, Gerrod Harris – percussion) join us to discuss their songwriting process as a band. We talked about: bringing a song to the band to be fleshed out singing lead vocals with lyrics written by a bandmate …
Exploring the art-rock strangeness that could only be Frank Horvat
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 …
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 …
Melanie Peterson, aka Mary Poppins with a broken heart
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
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.