There are a few more post 50/90 songwriting interviews to publish, after which I’m going to draw some conclusions and compile a big list of ideas to steal.
This one is with the lovely Mike Skliar
1. 50 songs – did you have a system for finishing?
Not exactly. I had completed two FAWM challenges (14 songs in 28 days) the last two years, and started 50/90 (my first!) with the idea that I doubted I would get to 50, but I’d try to write as often as I could. I had a few songs arrive in the first week, and then decided that I’d try to be a little more serious and try to get x number of songs written in the first two weeks, etc.
I knew that most of August I’d be busy with relatives visiting from out of town, so when I got back to it in September, I was fairly far behind. If it hadn’t been for the 2008 presidential election, which I’ve been avidly following, I don’t think I would have finished it.. having the election gave me a good source of song material if all else failed. I ended up writing only a fraction of the songs “about” politics, but it was a useful thing to fall back on.
Later in the 50/90 process I hit upon the “2 song idea”- whenever possible, if I was able to write a song, I’d try to schedule some time to try to write a second one right after.. sometimes it’d be a reaction to the first one, going to a different genre, or working method, sometimes not. I found that sometimes I couldn’t write one song, but when I could write , many times I could write 2 songs in one session, and somehow the frustration of one would feed the other, or something. I’m not exactly sure how that worked, but it seemed to work a good part of the time.
Near the end, to get over that “I need ten songs in 5 days’ feeling, I just used the time-honored 50/90 method of lowering my standards on what constituted a ‘song’! Ended up somehow with 53 songs, all but one or two I’ve recorded basic demos for.
2. Which song did you consider your biggest success? Why was it successful?
The first one that comes to mind was “Song for George Carlin” I had been a fan of his since seeing him way back in the 70’s, live, and when he died suddenly this summer I realized I had a lot to say about him. Plus it gave me license to review all the old comedy routines that I loved so much. The song came together very quickly, which is at least sometimes a good sign. I also got to use a new instrument, a baritone Tricone National resonator guitar, which inspired a few songs, in fact. My demo for this songs for 50/90 is fairly simple, I’ve added things to the recording since then and it will be part of the new album I’m currently working on. (As will the song “The meaning of life” also from this year’s 50/90)
I didn’t do a lot of collaboration for this challenge, but one that I did do, with “Swampjaw McLaughlin”, turned out to be one of the most fun co-writing experiences I’ve ever had. We had each written separate songs extolling the virtues of New York City (me) and Los Angeles (him), and had joked that what united us was the fact that we both thought that Chicago was, to put it charitably, not so hot. We ended up writing and recording “Chicago” which turned out to be huge fun.
Some of the topical songs also felt like they wrote themselves, “A bridge to nowhere” about Sarah Palin, comes to mind, as does “How bad does it have to get” -for which I recorded a video on youtube that you can find here.
Finally, a song I wrote after a friends’ wife died (“Funeral for a friends’ wife”) was a song that did what I wanted it to do—which was simply put my feelings into words and music, just for that moment, and just for myself, really. I probably won’t revisit that song but it helped put some feelings in order at the time, perhaps.
3. Music or lyrics?
Both, please. Seriously, if the question is ‘what do I start with first’, the answer is ‘depends on the song’. Probably two thirds of the time, I have a lyrical idea or a subject in mind and might have a line or two, then start writing some music that seems to let the lyrics flow, and continue writing lyrics when I have a more firm musical foundation. I sometimes try to write lyrics first or music first, but most of the time it comes more or less together. Probably more lyric-driven for me then the other way around, but not a hard and fast rule by any means. And the lyrics are almost always harder to write to my satisfaction, although I’d still love to write some melodies as great as Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Lennon & McCartney, etc etc etc.
4. Are there any songwriting clichés, musical or lyrical, that you use too much?
Probably. (Listen for yourself and let me know!) I might be too close to it to give a good answer to that, however. I’ve probably written over 200 songs over the years, and there’s bound to be things that repeat in there somewhere. I probably get too locked into the genres I feel most comfortable in, which in my case are those blues-country-folk-rock kind of things. Lately, however, I’ve tried to incorporate more jazzier harmonic progressions and while some of them might be clichés, I don’t feel that I’ve personally overused them quite yet.
5. How have you developed as a songwriter through this challenge?
Good question. Hopefully, I’ve gotten better, both in terms of quality and quantity. I feel like I can get myself in that ‘songwriting place’ easier now then I could have before. I continue to feel gratified and awed by all the great talent from all over the world that turns up for these songwriting challenges. That ‘instant’ feedback is addicting, too and I sometimes wish I had it all year around, although it’d be hard to sustain the kind of creative involvement that 50/90 requires over a whole year. It’s a great community, and I feel lucky to have been able to take part! It’s also given me a few more songs for this album I’ve been working on at various parts through the year… hopefully it’ll be all finished by the end of 2008, or maybe Jan or Feb 2009 at the latest.
___________________________________________
Find Mike on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/mikeskliar
Related posts:
