Cris Cohen: I'm always fascinated by singers who were initially drummers. What advantage do you think that gave you as a singer, as a songwriter, to come from a drumming background?
Kevin Martin of Candlebox: Probably the understanding of the song, and the structure of the song, and the ins and outs. The beauty of drummers -- John Bonham, Peter Criss, Neil Peart -- those kinds of guys are all musicians that I kind of aspire to play like, just because they had such interesting ways to get in and out of parts. And of course, Neil Peart being a lyricist as well was... When I learned that as I got older, it was just mind bending. “This guy’s not only behind the kit doing all of the shit he's doing, but he's also writing all the fucking lyrics?!” I guess that's what I learned from these guys, that I could continue to take with me to this day. When we write songs, I'm always writing around the beat. With the perfect example of this track “Let Me Down Easy.” I knew that I wanted the song to feel like a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club song. That's what I wanted it to feel like, because I love that band. And I think that right now, save for the Black Keys, nobody is really doing that kind of music. So I love, love, love Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I pulled from that when I spoke to the guys about it. I said, "This is the drum beat I'm looking for. It has to feel like you've just sold your soul and now you're running down the train tracks away from the devil, trying to get away." And that's I guess what I've learned as a musician: That I can utilize that energy as a singer and pull it from that energy of the drummer. And that in turn allows me to sing around the rhythms and move in and out of patterns and kind of play both parts, if you will. 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.
Cris Cohen: I wanted to talk about the song “Finally Be Me,” which seems very much along the lines of “I want to be heard. I want to be seen for who I am.” How much of that song was autobiographical and how much of it was pieced together from other people or life experiences?
Michelle Ariane: I think that song was 100% autobiographical. It was one of those songs that I think wrote itself in one hour. I sat at the piano and I'm like, “I think this is what the song needs to say.” And it was there. Cris Cohen: And -- how do I put this? -- have you been able to stay in that place where you're finally yourself? You haven't lost it? Michelle Ariane: No, I think there are always moments where life challenges you and your authenticity will be questioned. You will be put into positions where you wonder, do you want to go there? Is that aligned with what you believe in? I think in the big picture, I I am. And in the little picture, I am almost all of the time. And when I'm not, I try to find my way back there as quickly as possible. I think life has its ups and downs, so you're going to get lost. When I wrote that song, that was one of the most absolutely heart-breaking times of my life. Those times when you think, “I don't know how I'm going to keep living and I don't know how I got myself into this in the first place.” And I don't think you wake up one day and say, “This is me. I'm going to stay this way.” I think it's a constant process. I think it's finding your way there and then working every day to stay there as much as you can. Huey Lewis of clients Huey Lewis & The News: Bands are made off the stage. It is also where great teams are made.
I always equate this with the 49ers. One reason the 49ers were great: They were a very close knit group. Bill Walsh promoted that. After practice, they hung out together… Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott… all those people. You can almost envision it. Maybe it is late in the evening, they are having a beer, and Dwight says, "What if I do this on that play and that move?" You think of things to try on the field. And bands really solidify off stage. That's where the personality comes through. Not even in rehearsal. Just hanging out. When we started our band, that is exactly what we did. We rehearsed and then, at night, we got in a station wagon and went to all the bars that had live music. We went from one to the other and watched the other bands. We would share ideas, cook up songs. That was really how we started our group. That is the secret sauce to making great bands, I think. In your leisure time, do you want to hang out? In the beginning, we hung out together all the time. That's when we wrote our best stuff. There is that old line that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." However, I have been drawn to bands because of a great quote or description. So although working with musicians and specializing in text seems odd to some people, it has worked well for me.
Although scheduling posts for Facebook and Instagram using the Meta Business Suite can be messy and clunky, I tend to stick with it because every other scheduling tool out there seems worse.
Many people in the social media / content marketing space work to make themselves seem larger than life, like they are both movie stars and titans of industry. I have never been comfortable with that. I post to promote my work and draw in more business, but I make it clear that I am never going to compete with my clients for attention. My preference is to work behind the scenes, to live in their shadows. And really, I am not cool. However, my clients can put on silly hats and they are still cool. I give you Exhibit A...
A great version of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Jason Adamo, who I got to interview this year. Much of my work is turning a small amount of input from my clients into a large amount of output online.
Whenever I need material from the musicians I work with, my approach is always, "How can I make this work with a very small amount of time and effort from them?" They seem to appreciate that. Most musicians have a ton of great stories. But they tend to freeze up when faced with a blank text box. I eliminate that problem by having them talk to me, recording it, and then handling the text for them. Their words. My work.
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