Jason Blume (of “6 Steps to Songwriting Success” fame) said his first song cut was co-written by my newest collaborator Bryan Cumming. It was “I Had A Heart” recorded by Darlene Austin. The more I learn about Bryan, the more impressed with him I become, and the more appreciative I am that he has chosen to collaborate with me. I’ve heard his first draft of the music for “Katie Sue” and love it. I can’t wait for you to be able to hear it. I’m re-writing the lyric attempting to continue to improve the song.
Speaking of re-writing, Jason said that “I Had A Heart” was re-written and demoed SEVEN times and that he might still be sitting behind a desk if he’d stopped at six.
It appears that the word to describe the primary activity of songwriters shouldn’t be “Songwriting”. “Song Rewriting” is far more accurate! That has certainly been my experience as well.
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
Being a fellow songwriter (and music-major student), I can relate all too well about the rewriting process. It gets to a point where it is just downright frustrating, and I want to give up after several (or dozens) attempts. I have supportive friends that has helped me keep going, and each experience has taught me how to cope and improve my skills as a songwriter, making the process a little more bearable in the future.
I listened to your demos; they sound great! As I read your blog, I realize how out-of-touch I have been with you and your family. It seems from a recent post, all of you are doing well and are happy. I hope to be able to visit you this summer, that is, if the invitation is open. Hey, maybe even do some collaborations sometime!
Best regards,
Sarah F.
Hi, Sarah. It is good to hear from you. I’m glad to hear that you too are on the great songwriting adventure. We’d love to see you this summer. I’m certainly open to exploring ways we might find to support and maybe even collaborate with each other. In what genres of music are you most interested? Are you a lyricist, music writer, singer, musician, or some combination of them? I’m a lyricist. My favorite genres are country, rock, and pop. Have you joined the West Coast Songwriters organization? I highly recomemmend it. They host a big annual conference every year in early September that is a great opportunity for songwriters and performers to present their work to music industry execs from around the country–and it’s right here in the Bay Area at Foothill College. I went last year and presented my first two songs (which were co-written with Denis Loiseau) and three of the execs showed some interest in them and took them back to their companies. I had a great time at the conference and plan to present some more songs at it this year.I’m also a member of the Nashville Songwriters (NSAIC) group. They are starting up a SJ-based chapter that meets monthly and I plan to join that too.
I wish you much success–as YOU define it!
Russ
Hi, Russ. It’s great to hear from you back! To answer your questions….
I am more of a lyricist/singer, but I have been taking classes at De Anza College to improve my musicianship, including theory and composition classes. Like you, I like pop and rock genres. It is what I listen to the most, over all, and what style I tend to have in mind when I conceive my ideas. I also interested in writing folk, New Wave, and electronica (to name a few). I have also listened to country, but I am more interested in blues, bluegrass, country swing, honkey tonk, and rockabilly more than the contemporary stuff on the mainstream radio. I pretty much give every type of music a try, even those that I generally can’t get into (such as hip hop/rap). Whether or not I LIKE everything I hear, that is to be determine. But I give everything a try (who knows, there is at least ONE hip hop song I like out there).
I am familiar with the West Coast Songwriters organization, but have not yet joined. I am hoping to do some collaborations with my friends within the music department over the summer, so hopefully I will be able to produce some more material during these next few months.
I have been interested in visiting Nashville for some time now. After all, it is considered to be the songwriting capital. May I ask how you got involved with the NSAIC?
Will keep in touch,
Sarah F.
Hi, Sarah. Cool! I look forward to hearing/seeing some of your work. Since neither of us write music, collaborating might be a bit tricky without a music writer collaborating with us, but I love to experiment and try new things. It is all a big adventure to me.
As for how I got involved with NSAIC, a friend and collaborator Denis Loiseau suggested it. He and I went to Nashville awhile back, met with some music industry execs and presented some of our work, and enjoyed four shows at the legendary Blue Bird Cafe. We had a great time. If you’d like to learn more about the trip, my blog has some posts regarding our visit as well as my fantastic experiences at the WCS Conference.
Russ