For Songs

Take a deep dive into the songwriting process with Berkeley, Ca.-based singer/songwriter Emily Brown. Emily walks us through the making of her latest album A Fish of Earth, which is bursting with lush orchestration, strong melodies, and haunting instrumentation. It is an inspired album, with musical nods to Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, and gorgeous musicals like The Sound of Music. The album is made even stronger by her personal-yet-relatable lyrics focused on relationships—relationships with romantic partners, with parents, with expectations, and with religion. She credits her collaborators with the broad, bold sound, but her voice and spirit are at the album’s core. In a sense, A Fish of Earth is a brave album: it is a marked departure from her earlier work as she willingly relinquished much of the production to her collaborators. The resulting sound is broad, ornate, and rich, but also evocative and dynamic. Emily discusses her songwriting process with a refreshing candor and humble nature. So sit back and take it all in, and welcome Emily Brown to For Songs

It’s no secret the toll the pandemic is taking on the music industry. Musicians are struggling to get by, they can’t tour, they really can’t play much of anywhere, except their living room. It’s truly become a hand-to-mouth existence. And honestly, the same goes for the independent venue owners too. Being shuttered for more than a year will likely put most out of business; indeed, far too many have closed since March 2020. Those that are still here are hanging by a thread. This is a special episode of For Songs. My guest is Sandra the Pie Lady, owner of the Pie Shop, a small concert venue in Washington. Now the Pie Shop, as its name implies, actually is a pie shop—selling delicious sweet and savory pies. For Sandra, it’s kept them going, but she knows that she’s in a unique situation. She also knows she’s ready to open up the club again to live music. In this interview, she talks about the last year, the uncertainties and the downright depression of seeing your business and livelihood shuttered. Sandra is optimistic as things start to open a bit, but it’s still a tough slog. So sit back, order a pie from www.pieshopdc.com, and listen to this interview as you pick it up. It’ll be the best damn pie you’ve had all year!

It’s been said that late bloomers bloom best. Not sure where I heard that, but it certainly applies to David Childers, the singer/songwriter based outside of Charlotte, NC. David’s one of the sharpest songwriters around, mixing southern wit, imagery, and charm with an Americana feel. His latest album, Interstate Lullaby, covers a broad range of themes from climate change to white supremacy. The characters in his songs are rough around the edge, gritty, and far from perfect. He captures their humanity in so many ways that you'd think he’s been at it for his entire life, but it wasn’t until his late 30s and early 40s that he got serious. And it was just a few years ago that he retired from his career as a lawyer, and now focuses full time on music at an age when most folks would kick back and relax. Make no mistake, David is serious about his craft. You hear it throughout our discussion; he’s a student of classic writers like Chaucer, Kerouac, Dylan, Guthrie, and yeah, even Springsteen, it shows. So for all you aspiring songwriters out there, grab a beer and listen in. And keep at it!

You know what’s cool? Watching a truly innovative and talented musician start getting her due. Yasmin Williams, the brilliant guitarist from Northern Virginia, is getting noticed by some of music’s biggest media outlets—Rolling Stone. NPR. Pitchfork. The Washington Post. Yep, the world is getting to hear what we’ve known all along—that Yasmin Williams is one of music’s most singular young talents. Her guitar work is breathtaking and her songwriting is hypnotic. And her newest album, Urban Driftwood? It’s a revelation. On this episode of For Songs, Yasmin and I chat about four tunes from Urban Driftwood—Sunshowers, Swift Breeze, Adrift and Jarabi. In this her third appearance, she talks about what it’s like to see her music taking off. We also discuss her expectations for touring in 2021, and of course, those beautiful songs. Listen in and welcome back Yasmin Williams to For Songs.

Some people are born to write songs and play in bands. Knoxville, Tenn.-based singer/songwriter Mic Harrison is one of those people. Music is in his blood, as his Dad gave him a guitar and taught him some early lessons. Then as a member of the influential mid-90s alt.country band The V-Roys with For Songs veteran Scott Miller, Mic came as close as can becoming the Next Big Thing, only to see the band breakup a few years later. After playing with another star-crossed band Superdrag, Mic and his band The High Score have been making music since the late 2000s. Mic joined me from his home in Knoxville to discuss the band’s latest album Bright Spot, released in November 2020. We talk about four songs—Let the Motor Run, Used to be Somebody, Concrete & Stone, and Long Way to Go—and how the pandemic has impacted not just the band’s trajectory but his ability to write new material. Grab a beer, take a seat, and enjoy!

Alright everyone, grab your seats. Get your pencils and notebooks out and put on your thinking caps. American music school is in session! Our teacher for this episode of For Songs is Dom Flemons, founding member of the Grammy winning, groundbreaking African-American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Listen and learn how Dom has spent his career unearthing and highlighting the vital role Black musicians played in American folk music. We discuss the breathtaking Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus, his 2014 album that he reissued and repackaged last February, just as the pandemic shuttered life as we know it. Prospect Hill covers a century or more of musical history, ranging from folk, country, jazz, blues, to early 80s hip hop. Dom talks about his musical prowess and how the purchase of a new banjo called Big Head Joe contributed to the revisiting of the album. So get comfortable and take good notes—and welcome Dom to For Songs.

I’m sure we all want to give up our day job for our dream job. As tempting as it sounds, it’s fraught with risk. On this episode of For Songs, California-based 3 Pairs of Boots, featuring the real-life married couple Laura Arias and Andrew Stern, talk about how they did just that. After years of balancing work and family life with the arts, Andrew and Laura reached a point where they needed to give music their undivided attention. And we’re all better off for it. As 3 Pairs of Boots, Laura and Andrew perform California-tinged Americana music—imagine if Stacey and Steve Earle grew up in LA instead of the Midwest. The duo’s newest album Long Rider comes out on Jan. 29. Learn more about their journey together and how the adventures of another free spirit inspires their songwriting. Listen in!

Lots of really bad things have come about because of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one good thing is catching up with friends you haven’t seen or heard from in decades. In this episode of For Songs, I speak with singer/songwriter/playwright/author Michael Patrick F. Smith. Michael and I went to elementary school together in the small town of Ijamsville, Md. Not a streetlight or traffic light when we grew up there, but it was home. We went our separate ways after high school--he ventured out to Baltimore and eventually New York to write music and much more. He’s shared the stage with legends like Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Paleface. Michael is a true renaissance man, as his first book comes out next month about his time in the oil/gas fields of North Dakota. In this episode, we talk about four songs from his most recent album The Great Away, available on Spotify. Listen in as we catch up, chat about life, music, and much more!

You can find out more about Michael here: www.thegoodhand.org!

It’s not Christmas without Christmas music, right? So for the last episode of For Songs for the year, I wanted to highlight some of the best non-traditional holiday music of the last few years. We’ve got two classic covers—anti-folk/indie-rock legend Paleface’s tender, stripped-down version of the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York and DC-based world-music trio Veronneau’s romantic, evocative take on Joni Mitchell’s River. Then we wrap up with two originals—the stunning This Christmas I’m Not Coming Home from Havana-by-Nashville-based Sweet Lizzy Project and the Americana Christmas hymn The Kingdom Has Come by Appalachian rock-n-roller Scott Miller. All these songs are available on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes or however you listen to music these days. Or just get the CDs so you can really actually hear the music!

The Spotify playlist is available here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DlT3QfkbSdyALBkZdbZ9V?si=XFSfwzjfQN632budqGNj0w

So it should this should go without saying, but joking with your servers at a restaurant about the #coronavirus is not cool. It sets off a chain reaction resulting in the server and other staff at said establishment needing to get tested and quarantining until they are well, which of course means lost wages. In this catch-up interview with Tony T of For Songs’ sponsor @thepugDC, he tells us why we really shouldn’t be messing around with those sorts of jokes. But most important, Tony dishes about music and how he creates playlists as a means to keep patrons in their seats at the bar. Yep, there’s a secret to it! So listen, find Tony’s latest playlists on Spotify and play along!