I’ll begin this by saying there are a million ways to approach songwriting. But this is not going to be about the technical musical notation aspects of creating a song. I want to discuss the emotion - the experiences inspiring a song’s creation. It seems there is music to cover all the bases when it comes to human emotion, and most of us have specific songs we connect with, some with deep intense feelings reminding us of events in our lives. As songwriters we are much more than entertainers. We truly are ushers of emotion.
There is strong scientific evidence supporting the use of music therapy for mood enhancement and depression/stress relief. For instance, music has been used in hospitals for many diseases such as Alzheimer and cancer patients. A song can be medicine that helps heal your heart and soul. It can pump you up during a workout routine or get you through the morning commute. (Can you imagine a massage therapist playing some thrash metal?)
I’d like to tell you about one such very special song: ‘Come Back to Me’ (by Chasing Oz), born of a collaboration - intense and heartfelt. This song would prove to not just be a labor of love, but therapy that saved me from the edge of destruction.
It ultimately began years ago, starting with a dream I had.
When I was 15, my dad disappeared from the hospital where he was being treated for depressive illness and addiction. His van was found abandoned at a campground in the San Bernardino Mountains where we lived. Everyone in the area searched for him.
One night during this horrific time, I found myself deep in the forest. It was cold, misty, scary. The enormous trees were blowing in the wind. I was lost, searching for the soul that gave me life. I couldn’t find him, I couldn’t sense him anymore. Where had my daddy gone? Why did he abandon me… leave me all alone in this wilderness?
Suddenly, miraculously, I’m in the safety of my childhood home in our dining room looking out across the path to the long driveway. I see him! He is in an enigmatic pitch-black car. He drives up with only God knows who. He gets out and walks down the long and eerie path toward me.
I’m thrilled! I have a flicker of hope. He looks up… I see his eyes (so often gloomy, so lost on another planet). I’ll never forget those eyes … now clear as ever, determined, yet so very sad. He smiles, lifts his strong arm that used to hold me so tight and musters up a slight wave. Is he trying to say goodbye? I want to run to him. I want him to say everything is OK, but he disappears into that never-forgotten ghostly-black car.
I awoke several hours later to find out the body of my father had been discovered at the lonely bottom of a cliff.
Losing my father was so devastating. The dream of him haunted me throughout the years since. I tried writing lyrics, a poem, anything to express the pain, to get it out of my own head. I was unable to create anything to fruition on my own. Perhaps I was just too close. My daddy was special and beautiful. I loved him so much. I had a special, cosmic connection to him that never existed with any other member of my family. We were the odd balls, the bizarre, unique ones. I inherited his brown eyes, special intensity, private nature, his intellect, protectiveness of self. He was a perfectionist. He loved the Lord, and his family. He was the one who taught me to love everyone equally, the homeless, the lost and less fortunate. I will always miss him.
I wanted to be able to get all this out of my heart and head, into something great that would honor him, and also heal, restore me.
Something truly magnificent, almost supernatural happened one day when I experienced the ethereal sounds from a guitar part Randy (Randy Campbell - composer & co-founder of the group Chasing Oz) had started to create. I heard it and felt recognition of the eerie stunning sounds, saw rays of color and felt things I forgot were there. Randy was working on creating a musical representation of a phrase he had overheard during a car ride from his position in the back seat… The phrase “Floating over Manhattan”, from a conversation told by a friend regarding a story of her father surviving the infamous 9-11-2001 destruction of the Twin Towers.
Immediately I found the words coming out of me, and here was the musical vehicle for the dream and the tribute to my father that had been so elusive to me for so many years!
I’m beginning to find peace now that I have been able to tell my story to the world. Every time I perform this song live, I feel like my father can hear me. I often share a special reach out to him at the end, “After a while, Crocodile”.
When I first started singing this I could barely get through the song without weeping, but to be honest, although at first daunting, I am amazed at the deeper connection I experience with the audience. I’m hoping this song from the soul connects in a special way to others who have lost someone special to them.
I am blessed and proud to present to you our song, ‘Come Back to Me’.
You can hear ‘Come Back to Me’ on the Chasing Oz album First and Union
“glass spilling over, pouring out the past, room fills up, a story’s cast” - Jean Mann
The stories that spill from the past of singer-songwriter Jean Mann are as rich and varied as the images that fill the lyrics of her six albums. Growing up “in a drafty, idyllic home along the shores of Lake Whatcom in Bellingham, Washington,” she recalled early music experiences that became the foundation of her writing landscape. “I can remember my mom listening to opera on the radio every Saturday as she did kitchen tasks,” she reflected. When her mother was particularly “swept up in an aria”, Jean would steal apple slices that had been freshly cut. Those aria-infused kitchen experiences “had a profound effect that I didn’t realize till much later.”
A brief stint in a church choir and violin lessons were followed by “noodling around on the family purple piano, singing and playing whatever songbooks were around,” Jean elaborated, “It was the 1970’s…let’s leave it at that!” High-school choir and a bit of music theory at a university followed before she struck out on her own.
“When I moved out of the house, the piano was too big to move,” she said, “so guitar seemed like a good idea. I dabbled with this for just a couple months and left it behind until decades later, when I was loaned a guitar and remembered a couple of chords. Music finally grabbed my heart ‘strings’ in earnest and has yet to let go.” At 35, Mann had found an instrument she would never have to leave behind due to its size.
But the movement from playing guitar to sharing her music was not an easy transition. “At the age of 36, I started getting up on stage at open mics to help get over my crippling stage fright and shyness.” She then started writing original songs a couple of years later, “sparked by my grief over the death of my mother.” A self-taught songwriter, her process evolved over the years, and now she “continually strives for texture, not to repeat the same song over and over.” Though she has overcome much of her shyness, stage jitters, which can happen with small or large crowds, “can still grab me when I least expect it. I’ve just learned to breathe through it.”
To find a fresh perspective in each song, Mann explained that she is, “inspired by life senses all around me …smells, sounds, and sights on the road, walking the dog, books, and just being out in the community which bring out tucked away memories and experiences for songs. The other day I saw a billboard that had the words pedal pushers on it. (Capri’s or clam diggers for the younger reader!) It was an instant memory flood of childhood summers and skinned-knees, and found its way into a new song.”
As her original songs were worked into performances, Jean received confirmation that she was doing what she was created to do. “The consistent feedback I got from my first audiences about how they could relate to my songs and stories was a pretty strong message,” she stated. One moment happened when she was playing the song ‘Your Voice,’ written four years after her mother’s death. “It was the first time I could directly address this loss. After the concert, an elderly woman came up and tearfully relayed that she’d recently lost her mother and really connected with my words. What struck me was that I lost my mother at a young age, yet this pain of daughters losing mothers was something we shared across the ages.”
Once Jean had original songs, she began recording and performing at “every possible venue I could find locally, and then down the road a bit, after years of fan-base building and six albums later, touring has taken me further out to include two European tours so far.” The European tours have brought the benefits of “sharing music, meeting people in their communities, expanding the music to new ears, and great travel adventures.” As for drawbacks, Jean is still learning how to live and organize a balanced life with this passion of an artistic career.
For young writers starting out, Jean suggested writers would do well to “OPEN your heart and mind. Try to look at the world with child-like curiosity. Observe…everything. Think about what is important to you…whether the topics are love, angst, activism, humor, etc. If you find yourself thinking and/or editing too much, or getting stuck trying to write the ‘perfect’ song, kick the ego out the window and just write… write… write.”
Jean also suggested capturing song ideas using technology. “Set up a simple recording device (I use the voice memo on my phone) and get in a quiet place and just let it fly. Capture the good, the bad, and the WTH!? You never know what golden lyric might come out of a free-flow of word-play. I’ve had some of my best stuff slip out in these moments.”
Once the ideas are flowing, she advised, “Go back and edit and refine. Also, it can be useful to do songwriting exercises (or co-writing) with others. Once you start writing, keep working on improving your craft and technique; keep getting out there in the community, whether it’s the local coffeehouse on the corner, or a backyard in Belgium. It is never too late to start. Take it from this late-bloomer!”
Jean also touted the benefits of community for writers because it provides a place to ask lots of questions and work together. She credited one particular community, Songwriters in Seattle, because, “though it emerged years after I began, it was, and is, a great community builder and has some of the nicest local song-folks I’ve met.”
Community is one aspect of her life, however, that will be sorely missed when Jean takes to the road on her April West Coast solo tour in support of her new CD, Road Girl Vol. 1. On these road trips, “I perform mostly solo,” she said. “Road life can be lonely, with all the driving, and the booking/promo etc. But there is also no one to have to split the coffers with!”
Though Jean is a successful full-time singer-songwriter, there are still challenges. As a writer, she struggles with dry spells, “Trying not to edit myself when life is challenging and keeping my truth and integrity intact.” As a performer, she recognizes that for independent musicians, “there is the ever-changing landscape and masses of other players vying for the same rooms. Thinking outside the (venue) box helps!”
When she returns from the road, she will continue work on Road Girl Vol. 2, containing her studio-enhanced live recordings. Thinking out of the venue ‘box,’ she will also “work on finding new outlets and applications for my music like yoga events and workshops.” Some new venues may also open up as she continues her thirteen year off-and-on collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Bill Corral as well as her participation in a local vocal-ukulele trio The Blue Janes. “I do all the booking,” Jean elaborated, “but this expands the types of events and venues I can share the music with, i.e. band-centric venues and festivals.”
As a songwriter, performer, road warrior, booking agent, band mate, and recording artist, Jean reflected that “balancing many hats can be a challenge, but as multi-task-maven, I’m learning where to focus efforts, and how to work with and delegate duties with a mutually-focused team.”
For songwriter Jean Mann, fellow writer John Hiatt has a lyric that for her says it all: “Whatever your hands find to do, you must do with all your heart.” Whether it’s a ukulele, a guitar, a writer’s pen, or a handheld recorder, Jean Mann is an artist whose hands and heart personify that lyric.
Sheri Roberts-Greimes has recently taken on our newest showcase, Capps Club. As host, she will help SiS songwriters put their best foot forward when playing their original compositions at this Kenmore club whose motto is “LIVE MUSIC. DONE WELL.” As Sheri is often busy helping other songwriters feel welcome and prepared to share their work, we wanted to introduce you to her through her own words.
“I started playing piano at age three and was playing professionally at 15 in piano bars throughout the Pacific Northwest. Fate took me to Nashville, which was a true learning experience in songwriting. I played a few notable clubs in Nashville … The Bluebird Cafe was the most renown, and my favorite type of show was the “writers in the round” format. This was a time of true sharing and growth and learning styles of other writers… a great musical experience.
After eight years, I moved back to the Northwest to raise my son and go to college. Through the years I have been on the fringes of the music scene playing with various bands. After a severe health event in 2012, I lost my voice for almost three years. Fighting my way back to the stage, I have been blessed to continue my performing and songwriting. I recently released my first blues CD “Bleeding Heart” and have been nominated for three Best of the Blues Awards for 2017 by the Washington Blues Society. I continue to perform everywhere I can, as a single act or with my band JoMomma! I am also working on my next CD and always showing up to play at a place close to home!
Having played at Capps Club in Kenmore for Thursday Happy Hour and being involved with the Washington Blues Society’s events at Capps Club, Mark Capps and I started a conversation about songwriting in Nashville and songwriting opportunities here in Washington State. Mark wanted to help support local songwriters and wanted to know if I would help host a songwriter’s night at Capps Club. So I hooked Mark up with Chris Klimecky, president of Songwriters in Seattle, and here we are!
As a host, I have the benefits of meeting new people and hearing such great songs. I am amazed by the writing process, and to see other people’s journeys is priceless! If someone wanted to become a host, I think one important skill is to be a “Welcome Wagon” kind of person. Some artists are very shy, and you get to represent and support everyone. Also, a host would need to have some computer skills to promote events. As a host, it would also be helpful to be a songwriter so you can perform too!
Mostly though, hosting gives a songwriter the opportunity to grow as artist, as a songwriter, and as a person! Ya can’t beat that!”
Todd Christoffel, a long-time member of the Songwriters in Seattle Board of Directors has recently taken on our newest showcase, the Columbia City Theatre. As host, he will help SiS songwriters put their best foot forward when playing their original compositions at this historic landmark, previously graced by the likes of Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Cornell, and many other musical greats. As Todd is often busy helping other songwriters feel welcome and prepared to share their work, we wanted to introduce you to him through his own words.
“I am from the Chicago area and had a brother who played guitar, so I kind of learned to play the guitar that he had laying around the house and got into the coffee house scene singing songs. I just found that writing songs was as much fun as singing songs.
I went to college for a couple years but couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do, so I quit college and went off to Nashville to try and be a professional songwriter. However, I don’t think Nashville was the best place for me, especially since at the time it was almost always country music.
I was very young and immature and didn’t have much money. I played some songs for a few guys and they said, “hey- if you could stay around for a while, in a couple of years you might be able to go somewhere.” Well, that is not what I wanted to hear. A couple of years seemed like an eternity at that age, so after a while of banging around I just kind of hightailed it and decided I was going to forget about songwriting and get a “real job”.
So, I got a real job, got married, and I got transferred to Washington State though I didn’t like the job much. I had decided I was going to put music away and not deal with it anymore. However, I kept coming back to it. I guess I ended up not being able to put music away.
I went back to college at the University of Washington and got a degree in medical technology and went to work doing research on blood, and all the while I was still writing music.
My wife and I had a son, and at around that same time I met Cris Faget who also worked at the blood bank. Cris and I hit it off and formed a group called String Theory which later morphed into the group called Don’t Ask. After adding Doug Aslin as a drummer we decided to record a couple of CDs and also played out in the Seattle area.
One day when I was searching the web I came upon Songwriters in Seattle, which was very newly formed. We met at the Pike Place Market, and a few of the founding members stuck with it and turned it into the group it is today.
My decision to become a host for the Columbia City Theater Round Robin showcase came about because it seemed nice to give back to the songwriting community. Also, being a founding member, I feel like I have an obligation to help out the group.
One of the great things about being a host is that it really can foster a sense of community between songwriters, and you can also meet a lot of interesting, talented, and crazy people. I find I really enjoy playing out and listening to other songwriters. Being a good listener is one of the best skills to have as a host, and hosts also need to be comfortable on stage and somewhat organized.
Songwriters in Seattle always needs volunteers to move our projects and showcases forward, and it seems to me the more volunteers we have the better off will be at connecting between the other songwriters and the songwriting community.”
To find out about becoming a host or volunteer opportunities to help support your songwriting community, click here.
With the desire to build a more friendly and welcoming community through our volunteer efforts, Songwriters in Seattle would like you to get to know our volunteer leaders. This month we’d like to introduce active Board Member, host of the monthly networking meeting, and newsletter editor Griffin, in his own words:
I began plinking around on piano as soon as I could reach the keys. I received an electric air-powered organ for my 4th birthday and have been playing daily ever since. Though I started composing in my early teens on both piano and guitar, my first formal training came in college where I took almost every music class available. During this time I both formed a rock band and became more interested in recording and production. After college I opened an early digital project studio and ever since, have been recording myself and others with an effort towards refining my skills and creating professional quality productions.
I discovered long ago that I could not make a steady living recording others and that trying to do so took the joy out of it and turned it into work. So, now I typically offer my skills free of charge. All I ask is that you treat my time like it is very expensive. If you do that I will give it to you for free.
Some people say that my sound is stuck in the 80s, but my skills are definitely not. I’ve graduated from reel-to-reel and analog 4-track, to ADAT digital 8 track, and now to hard-drive based digital recording using a DAW, Sonar Platinum on Windows PC.
More of a composer than a lyricist, I have little difficulty deriving chord progressions and melody. However, words come with much more difficulty and most of my favorite songs came by inspiration and luck, rather than perspiration and hard work. I enjoy collaborating with lyricists because they fill the hole in my skillset, and hopefully I can fill a gap in theirs.
Born and raised in South King County, I’ve lived here all of my life. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I love the rain, the trees, the ubiquitous green and gray of the Northwest. The perpetual bachelor, I am a single parent to an adult son, Alex, who plays piano, drums, and a little guitar.
I spent many years bouncing around, testing out careers in engineering, cartography, performance, management, instruction, and many less glamorous jobs. Having finally settled down, my day job for the last decade has been working for large tech companies, where I have been technical artist, composer, programmer, author, editor, webmaster, and a multitude of other technical and creative roles that fall under the title ‘Writer’. Because I work from contract to contract, I frequently have long vacations between assignments, during which time I typically concentrate on helping others develop their music.
You can find samples of songs I have written and recorded myself, as well as a smattering of songs I’ve produced for others at the following sites:
Soon after joining Songwriters in Seattle, I attended one of the open board meetings that occur every January. I enjoyed the informal attitude of cooperative leadership and community so much that I continued to attend as many board meetings as I could ever since. I just started helping in whatever capacity I could, and I feel like I have been of some value to the organization. I’ve sat on the Highline College Computer Information Systems advisory board for more than a decade and am currently the chair. However, Songwriters in Seattle is a whole different beast. Sitting on the board at Highline College is professionally rewarding, but helping to guide Songwriters in Seattle is rewarding on a more personal level. I get great joy from our successes, and I look forward to being a part of this organization for the rest of my life.
It’s difficult to predict what comes next for Songwriters in Seattle. We continue to grow in numbers, but the actual volume of engaged and participatory individuals is not as great as our membership tally might suggest. However, I have hope that our continuing efforts to provide quality activities that help foster the music community in and around Seattle will lead to continued expansion of both membership and services.
I look forward to a day when we have a venue of our own, a ‘clubhouse’, with tons of live music, food and drinks, practice/meeting rooms, and regular instructional and cooperative activities. I see it in my mind’s eye as a place that will allow people of all cultures and backgrounds to cooperatively share knowledge and collaboratively compose in a safe and friendly environment. It is my fervent desire to guide our organization towards this and other high-reaching goals. I’m confident that as an organization, together, we can make this happen.