writing

Eric Walker, jazz/pop/blues fusion

Eric Walker is a singer/songwriter from Toronto and a member of the blakeley walker band. He was a founding member of the Toronto Songwriters Association which has met the second Saturday of the month for the past 17 years. We talked about:

playing Harry Belafonte songs on the ukulele
writing a song with 47 chords
master songwriting teacher Andy Krehm
composition teacher Gordon Dalimont
SONG – “Umbrella” – looking back at the beginnings of a relationship
SONG – “Renovations” – building and renovating love
short chorus – good or bad?

… Read the rest

Julian Taylor – dual roots and great songs

by Phil Emery

Julian Taylor is a Canadian singer-songwriter formerly with the band Staggered Crossing. His songs have appeared in television series including Degrassi: The Next Generation. He now fronts the Julian Taylor Band. Julian dropped by the studio with his daughter Ella.… Read the rest

Dokter Nomi – writing the pop song

by Phil Emery

What a pleasure to have Dokter Nomi back in the studio to share his hooky pop tunes. This time, one of them was produced by our very own Neel Modi. During the show we talked about:

the songwriting process (melodies first)
starting with stories and poetry
music scene in Kamloops, BC
Louie, Louie
how to choose a producer
Party in NYC
nursery rhymes
Songwriters’ MeetUp
Fallen Star
performing if you don’t play an instrument

Listen to the whole show

Dokter Nomi’s lyrics

Dokter-Nomi-Party-in-NYC-Lyrics

Fallen-Star… Read the rest

All about hip hop with iLLvibe

by Phil Emery

Toronto-based hip hop recording artist iLLvibe dropped by to share his music and his thoughts. Runner up to Drake for Toronto Rapper of the Year in 2016 and winner on “Canada’s Smartest Person” it was indeed an entertaining and informative hour!… Read the rest

Songs about mental health

by Phil Emery

It was Canadian Mental Health Week‘s 66th year and we thought we’d put a spotlight on songs that talk about the challenges of maintaining mental health.

This year’s hashtag is #getloud.

For this special show, we had guest host Adi Aman from Beige Shelter, and four songs that talk about mental health.… Read the rest

Rhyme-a-rama with Blair Packham!

by Phil Emery

We figured it was time to talk about rhyme; a cornerstone of songwriting. So we invited one of our favourite singer/songwriters – Blair Packham – to take a closer listen to songs with a plethora of rhymes and one with virtually none!… Read the rest

Robert Priest – how to write songs for children

by Phil Emery

We had the pleasure of having the prolific Toronto poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Robert Priest (with David Hynes on guitar) back in the studio to share a couple of his children’s songs. We talked about…

testing a song on a 6-year old
moving from writing for adults to writing for children on the same day
chord choices for children
writing for younger and older children (the differences)
kids deserve quality songwriting
“Inchworm” (an old favourite)
repetition in kids’ songs
using words that kids will have to look up (why not?)

… Read the rest

How to write a break-up song

by Phil Emery

True to form for Song Talk Radio, the day before Valentine’s Day seemed a good day to talk about break-up songs. So Phil brought “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce, Neel chose “One More Minute” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bruce performed a new original tune “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, and Vanessa selected “White Blank Page” by the band Mumford & Sons.… Read the rest