Songwriters on Process is dedicated to the creative process of songwriters. It's the stories behind the songs, from beginning to end. The site features in-depth interviews with songwriters in which they dissect their process. What is their creative process when they literally sit down to write a song? What do they do when they get writer's block? What quirks or superstitions do they have? How disciplined are they? Who are their literary inspirations? How do they get inspired? Do they compose on computer or pen and paper? These are just some of the topics we discuss.
My interest in songwriting comes from a love of words. I have a PhD in English Language and Literature, specializing in 20th century dramatic literature. Besides my regular job here in Washington DC, I am a freelance writer, contributing to the music sections of the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. For a list of my recent publications, click here.
I have been around music all of my life. My father was a drummer in a band. I attended my first concert in 1973 when I was four: Loggins and Messina, with Jim Croce opening, at Pine Knob outside Detroit. I used to work in radio. And I learned to read by asking my father to transcribe the lyrics to early Eagles, Traffic, and Chicago albums; I listened to these bands, the handwritten lyric sheet in front of me, with giant white headphones on my ears while the albums spun on the turntable. All those metaphors instilled in me a love of literature, like And they said you were gonna put me on the shelf, from "Already Gone" by the Eagles. It took me a while to figure that one out; for months I couldn't understand why anyone would put someone else in a kitchen cabinet. And as fate would have it, I ended up interviewing the man who wrote that song.
You can email me here.
