Songwriters on Process

Tyler Mabry and Harlow Phillips of Athens-based hey, nothing have been friends since middle school. And when you've grown up with your songwriting partner, you have a good idea of what makes for an efficient writing process. Both have a clear idea of how to set up for success when they write, down to where and when they're the most productive. This includes the secret to editing: try to do it when you're sick.
hey, nothing's major label debut Hound is out on on Music Soup/Interscope Records.

Took a wonderfully deep dive into the songwriting process with David Shaw of The Revivalists. We discuss middle of the night epiphanies, how mishearing a lyric can make for a better lyric, and how reading great literature makes for better songwriting. 
The latest album by The Revivalists is Get It Honest.

Lenny Kaye's tenure as Patti Smith's guitarist and collaborator extends from 1971 to the present, but the 79 year old is only now releasing his debut solo album. The punk icon and pioneer is also the author of three books, so this episode is a deep dive into the writing process across a few genres. As you can imagine, Kaye doesn't believe in creating when the mood strikes; instead, it's a constant in his life. 
Lenny Kaye's debut solo album is Goin' Local

"I don't like closing a book on words, not even my laptop," says Alex Cameron. This is no metaphor. Cameron means this literally because he always wants to be able to see his words. He keeps a giant piece of butcher paper spread out on his table 24/7. This butcher paper contains all of his writing, and I mean all: text message drafts, lists, lyrics, journal writing. Anything that gets written down goes here as opposed to a notebook or laptop or phone, and since he's always walking by the table or sitting at it, he has unfettered access to his writing. And as you'll hear, it's where he practices his ruminazio. 
Alex Cameron's latest album is Late to Set

"You don't have to be a tortured artist to write a song, but it's important to write about what you're feeling and not run away from it," Azniv Korkejian (aka Bedouine) says about her songwriting process. As proof, she tells a story about how she sobbed the first time she played one of her new songs for her husband.
As you'll hear, there's no better place to write those songs than the local public library, and Bedouine provides some pretty powerful reasons why. 
Bedouine's latest album is Neon Summer Skin