- “[Producer] Rick Hutt told me, ‘You’re going to get to wherever it is you’re going.’ It sounds simple, but it’s really about enjoying the process of getting there, not just arriving.”
- “My game plan when I’m going into a write is that I have something I’d enjoy singing, whatever it says. And a lot of times I’ll have a tempo, groove, melody or phrasing to fit a topic or theme.”
Lessons Learned: Protest the Hero
Story by webadmin | Tuesday November 5th, 2013
- Rody Walker: “Progressive music doesn’t have to be difficult to listen to. The guys write incredibly technical music, but no matter what time signature they’re playing in, I pretty much sing in 4/4… It’s a matter of taking progressive pieces, and, when you’re adding vocals, trying to sing something that sounds good, not just technical.”
- Luke Hoskin: “As we’ve grown, the songs and albums we listen to are less about playing for the sake of playing, and more about playing for the sake of the song; revisiting parts, but changing them, or having choruses, but with different lyrics. Things like that allow you to stray from the standard structure, but keep the song feeling like a song. On our first album, we almost tried to avoid structure. Now, when something hits really well, the band is aware of it, and we bring it back with a new spin.”
Lessons Learned: Devon Portielje of Half Moon Run, on songwriting
Story by webadmin | Thursday August 1st, 2013
- Over-thinking will kill any song in half a second. Under-thinking will create an ineffective song. Find a balance of analysis and emotion.
- Work under pressure. If you don’t have a deadline, make one up.
- Ideas are a dime a dozen. Be open and don’t get emotionally attached. Every idea could go somewhere.