Cris Cohen: You said that when you and Patty first got together, there was no intention for anyone to hear those initial songs. Did you have an extra bit of creative freedom doing that? Because so many people write songs with the intention of, "This has to play well on radio" or "This has to fit with some A&R man's idea of what is sellable."
Dwight Baker of The Wind and The Wave: I have kind of a commercial vibe to what I do anyway. Even when I try not to, I emphasize hooks. Maybe it's what I came up on. It is freeing when you don't think anyone's going to listen. But I would be a liar if I didn't say also that I knew, when we recorded the first two songs, that they were very good, actually really good. I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it was really good. And at the end of that process, playing it for my wife and then playing it for a few friends in the business, it was clear that it was good. Cris Cohen: On your personal website, it lists your titles in the order of "Producer - Mixer - Writer - Musician." Why is "musician" last?
Dwight Baker of The Wind and The Wave: That's a good question. I probably just liked the way those words looked in that order to be honest. But if you had asked me when I was 20, I would have said "Musician - Engineer." That's probably all it would have said. Prior to that, it probably would have been "Musician - Writer." Then it would have been "Musician - Writer - Producer - Engineer." Then it just started to flip. It's just one of those things. You make your living a long time on tour, and then you start making your living in a studio. I guess what people know you as changes a little bit too, you know? Scotty Johnson of the Gin Blossoms: I came up in the jazz world, where the approach to doing a solo is off the melody. That was always my focus: My guitar parts have to be based off of the melody or the structure of the song. I'm all for that song and what it needs. I am not there to show off.
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April 2024
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