Songwriters on Process

The theme of today's podcast is nourishment.It dawned on me a few minutes into my conversation with Hannah Cohen that when she said proper nourishment was critical to her writing process, she was being literal.  It was no metaphor. If Cohen's not hydrated and fed, the creative process becomes much more arduous. She's the first songwriter to ever tell me that. But when Cohen also told me that "the body keeps score," she was now talking nourishment as metaphor. She expressed a view that every writer knows: your writing process is always taking place. It's happening when you're eating, sleeping, working, talking, moving, whatever. Pen hitting paper is only a small part of that process. Cohen tells a great story in this episode of how her new song "Rag" came about. Back to the literal: it started with an actual rag on the side of the road. Cohen's latest album is Earthstar Mountain,

Ed Note: Lzzy Hale has collaborated with Mark Morton (Lamb of God) in the past. I co-authored Mark's new book Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir, hence the occasional reference to Mark and our book in this episode.Many songwriters I interview have a journal. Very few have two. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm is the only one who has three. She has a five-year journal, a freewrite journal, and a pocket field note journal "for when the mood strikes." Which, judging by our conversation, happens every waking moment for Hale. And probably a lot of sleeping moments too. Even a cursory listen to this episode will reveal Hale's enthusiasm for the creative process. She loves talking about it. Her passion for writing flows literally: she uses a fountain pen! Hale calls herself "a serial eavesdropper" as she's always listening for song ideas. And most importantly: she's not afraid to write the bad stuff to get to the good. "Every good songwriter has songs under their bed that suck," Hale says. Halestorm's new album Everest is out now. 

You think you're busy? You're not busy. Sophie Payten (known professionally as Gordi) is busy. She's a songwriter AND a physician. On this episode, we discuss how she finds time to do anything. We also explore how she so beautifully weaves themes from the world of patient care into her songwriting.Gordi's latest album, Like Plasticine, is out now. 

"I see no point in being bored. I just don't understand the concept.  So I'm always looking for things to occupy my time and get me excited," Peter Berkman of Anamanaguchi told me. Berkman actually told me this in 2011, when he was one of my first interviews for this site. And let me tell you: he hasn't changed one bit. Talking to Berkman and Ary Warnaar, it's obvious that music plays only a tiny role in their inspiration and creative process. In fact, Warnaar says that the only people he even talks music with are the members of the band.  Both men are inspired by music, visual art, movies, video games, and German philosophers. If it invades their senses, it's inspiring.Anamanaguchi's latest album is Anyway on Polyvinyl Records.

Cody Jinks had me at "I could talk about books forever." He estimates that he reads 80-100 books a year. All that reading leads to a lot of writing: songs, poetry, a journal, and an almost completed memoir. Oh and he paints. That's a great example of the through line between reading and writing: if you want to write well, you have to read. (Shameless plug: one of the books he read last year was my book)Jinks's latest album is In My Blood.

"Songwriting is about being awake to something you've never thought of or a way of thinking about something you've never experienced before," Mary Chapin Carpenter says on the pod. The five-time GRAMMY winner has a poet's way of thinking about songwriting. And on those rare occasions when she's stuck, she goes songwalking.I've always been a fan of Carpenter's music, but when she mentioned David Grann and S.A. Cosby as two of her favorite writers, I swooned.Carpenter's new album, her 17th, is Personal History. 

I'm a huge Indigo De Souza fan, so I had a great time on this episode! We went deep into her songwriting process and discussed, among other things, how moving from western North Carolina to Los Angeles changed her songwriting process, how television plays a role in her writing routine, and what part of the day she's most effective as a writer.De Souza's latest album is Precipice. 

"I'm realizing how neurotic my process is as I'm talking to you," Jade Bird said, laughing, during our conversation. Indeed, Bird is pretty specific about her writing ritual, which can be intense: she usually takes a walk after writing to relieve back stiffness that comes from hunching over her notebook. And while many songwriters boost their creativity through movement, Bird says that there's nothing like a good nap.Bird's latest album is Who Wants to Talk About Love on Glassnote Records.

At some point I told Megan James and Corin Roddick, who compose Purity Ring, that this was the bizarro episode: I'd mention something that a lot of songwriters do, and they told me that they actually did the opposite. But that's why I love this band because the music they create is so incredibly unique.Their latest album is the self-titled Purity Ring.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová of The Swell Season feel no need to write every day. They both wait patiently for a spark. "I have no worries if I don't write anything. I'm available 24/7," Hansard says. "I never noodle, never rehearse, never just play around." For Irglová, she feels a current. "There's something calling me to the piano. There's a feeling. I plant the seed, then let it ruminate by doing something else like taking a walk," she says. Both can write most anywhere. Hansard wrote his song "Her Mercy" while waiting at a baggage claim in New Zealand. Irglová only needs space: she can't write in a busy place, which is why Iceland, where she lives, is ideal.The Swell Season won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly". Their latest album is Forward.