American Songwriter

Radio Free Song Club Puts Songwriters To The Test

Kevin Richards — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:47:25 +0000

A small but determined group of veteran songwriters, including Freedy Johnston, Victoria Williams, Peter Holsapple and Freakwater, have found a new way to keep their chops up, banding together to create the Radio Free Song Club. Every month, each member (Laura Cantrell, Peter Blegvad, Dave Schramm and Jody Harris round out the roster) writes and records [...]

Kobalt Music Group Lands Producer/Songwriter Greg Wells

americansongwriter — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:11:02 +0000

From the press release: Grammy nominated record producer, songwriter, mixer and musician Greg Wells is the latest superstar writer/producer to conclude a worldwide deal with leading independent publisher Kobalt Music Group. “It’s no question that Greg Wells is at the top of his game and creating some of the most popular and critically acclaimed music in [...]

Great Quotations: Jeff Beck

Kevin Richards — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:48:10 +0000

“Eric Clapton and Duane Allman both had this, but Eric even moreso — the space, of leaving you wanting more and not showing your hand the whole time. It’s a composer’s way of playing. You can listen to one of his solos, without knowing it’s him, and know this is someone who writes songs.” - Jeff [...]

Nashville Lands National Folk Festival

Matt Popkin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:42:50 +0000

Music City just got a little more diverse. No longer just the country music capital of the world, Nashville has been chosen to host next year’s National Folk Festival. The longest running multi-ethnic music festival in the United States—which boasts Native American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, and East Asian music among its offerings—will begin a three-year engagement [...]

Carry On: Josh Rouse

Peter Gerstenzang — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:49 +0000

No one can accuse Josh Rouse of playing it safe. Not only is his new album, El Turista, overflowing with jazzy rhythms and Spanish lyrics, but the disc opens with the track, “Bienvenido,” which has no lyrics at all. According to Rouse, the concept for his entrancing new record wasn’t contrived. But it wasn’t exactly [...]

Lyric Of The Day: “Summer Of ‘69″

Kevin Richards — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:39 +0000

I got my first real six-string Bought it at the five-and-dime Played it till my fingers bled Was the summer of ‘69 Me and some guys from school Had a band and we tried real hard Jimmy quit, Jody got married I shoulda known we’d never get far Oh when I look back now That summer seemed to last forever And if I had the [...]

American Songwriter Lyric Contest Winner Co-Writes With Rodney Crowell

Caine O'Rear — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:22 +0000

photo by Rachel Briggs Quinten Collier, the grand-prize lyric contest winner for 2009, flew into Nashville this past week to lay claim to his coveted prize package. The spoils of victory included an all-expense paid trip to Music City, a co-writing session with the legendary Rodney Crowell, and a demo recording session with Music Production Studios. The Clifton, [...]

On the Money: Removador Recordings and Solutions

Matthew Shearon — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:19 +0000

American Songwriter ran a cover story on Jack White in 2009 when he was getting his Third Man imprint off the ground (more like re-launching/expanding it), and around the same time, I spoke with Ian Rogers about his music marketing company TopSpin. He seemed slightly wary yet still supportive of the idea of successful artists [...]

Drinks With: Arctic Monkeys

Skip Matheny — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:02 +0000

photo credit: Timshel Matheny Skip Matheny— currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle and former bartender in a retirement community — caught up with Alex Turner and Matt Helders of the Arctic Monkeys before their show in Chicago, Illinois, last fall. Online Exclusive: This is a full transcript of this text, which includes several questions and answers [...]

News Roundup: The Strokes, John Mayer, Pink Floyd, Beck

Kevin Richards — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:57:05 +0000

Hey Strokes fans: your favorite band is back together, and will play Lollapalooza this summer. Frontman Julian Casablancas told the Chicago Tribune that the Strokes are set to play the Chicago festival this summer. Other acts rumored to be on the bill are Soundgarden, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Green Day and Phoenix. Casablancas estimates the new [...]