Song and a Chat

Episode #107: Yesterday’s Race    (Song starts 2:48)

Hi there. This is the podcast where you can sit back, be entertained and informed and - learn a little about the art of songwriting. 

I make a point of saying I'm not here to tell you how to write a song- but I am going to share how I write a song.

I think it's important to keep an eye on your surroundings. Relaxing, subdued lighting, maybe ‘shining up’ your creative space is a good idea. I have a collection of all sorts of knick- knacks in my studio. Bits of driftwood, ceramic flying pigs & art on the walls.

The thing that brings the room together is: all these odds and ends and art all speak to me emotionally.

So therefore, if I'm sitting in an environment like that, there's a good chance that my mood is going to be affected by some of my surroundings...

Creative and relaxed. It's a great combination, in fact, I'd say these two elements are crucial when it comes to trying to come up with something that’s original.

Yesterday's Race is song #611. I enjoyed singing this song at a gig this week. It's a relatively brief understated sort of song with a big message. 

I wrote it - and I deliver it -  in an understated manner. Sometimes quietly spoken words can be more effective than raising your voice. In fact most often, I think.

On that note, this song sort of paints a picture of hope. The lyrics ‘tell it like it is’, the state of the world, the fact that we need to change. 

Back in my 20s I read a book that crystallised for me the thought that if change is to take place - real change - it'll have to come from the young people coming through. And we'll have to educate them early on before on repeated patterns take a hold. 

These days, I’m enjoying teaching young people how to play the piano. I've been doing that for about 19 years now. I'm working away on producing educational video courses and ebooks on piano, composition, (and seascape painting and cartooning by the way).

So in my own quiet way, I'm bringing a lot of music and art into the world. And I'm well on my way to sharing my creative processes. 

Along the way, I'm trying to do my bit to make the world a better (more peaceful) place.

I'm really pleased with the way this podcast has developed. 

I hope you enjoy this gentle episode. 

My blog that in mention is www.petepascoe.wordpress.com .  I have 13 albums streaming now including www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com. 

Yesterday's Race is from the piano vocal album The Long Haul.

Episode #106: Fingers In The Trees  (Song starts at 5:52 & 26:00)

Autumn is a great time of year. It's a season which really resonates with me for some reason.

I was camping in Bright, Victoria recently, camping by a stream (which you'll get to listen to in this episode). The trees were all losing their leaves, the birds singing. 

The bare fingered trees are the image I had in mind when I wrote the song 'Fingers In The Trees'. The sort of fingers that reach out against the twilight sky, the sunset. It's quite an evocative image.

Who's fingers are they? Who am I thinking of? Friends who are perhaps in another country, friends and family who perhaps may no longer be with me. 

Incidentally, the night I recorded this episode was exactly 24 years after I composed the song. I just noticed that as I read the lyrics and analysed the meaning of some of the lines. 

I love that about the creative realm, It constantly speaks to us, surprises is & plays with us - if we are open to tuning in.

And that's exactly what you do as a songwriter. You open yourself up to another realm. It's within us all, like a muscle, which gets stronger the more you use it. 

To have a song like this one in the song books, it sort of makes all those years of work,all the ups and downs so worth it. Well, they were worth it anyway...but now and then it seems you catch a special fish.

I'm reminded of another memory as I wrote. My very young daughter caught the tiniest, most delicate, beautiful golden fish when we were fishing together off a pier, a long time ago. 

I can see that fish, see the expression of wonder on her face (mine too, I sure). I remember the weather, the temperature, the season. It was Autumn. 

The thing about a song like 'Fingers', it brings back so many memories when I sing it. The hope is that listeners will have their own memories reawakened when they (you) listen to it. 

As a songwriter, you create a touchstone of sorts, I guess. It’s a great feeling.

Words and music are such a potent force, a powerful combination. 

So is the spoken word, especially when you speak from the heart, when your in the moment, just allowing want ever thoughts come to mind. 

That's what I do each week here. Then all the images and ideas seem come together and theme emerges for each episode.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode. There are two versions of the song this week. A piano/local version and a band version too. 

Blog www.petepascoe.wordpress.com.  The Hazy Line - Tales Of A Pianoman is a memoirs ‘work in progress’ sort of blog. 

The Roughest Cut by Pete Pascoe and The Patient Hum has Fingers In The Trees on it. Streaming now. 

Correction:  The Untrodden Track is the name of the upcoming album by Paul Dredge and myself (not the Roughest Track, which I mistakenly called it in this episode).

Episode #105: What's True To You    (Song starts at 7:00 )

This is the podcast where you're going to get to hear how it feels to be a songwriter, where the featured song of the week came from, some funny stories, etc. The idea being: to entertain and inform - and along the way hopefully shed some light on what is a very interesting creative process. 

Mistakes are a necessary part of learning. That's what came to me, as I was listening back to the this song, reading through the lyrics. 

In this episode, I relate some mistakes I made in my life, including falling into a very cold lake, jumping a cliff unintentionally while skiing... And a ‘run in’ with a billy goat. 

The thing that linked these events was: I didn't 'listen to those who went before', which is a line in the lyrics. Experience tells you that's not a bad idea. We can look at other’s experiences to find out what's true to us. Somehow, though there’s nothing like experiencing a few ups and downs along the way to early learn something.

When engaging with the creative realm, I think you’ve gotta be free and allow yourself to make mistakes. 

Keep everything you've learned firmly in hand...Then, as a composer, keep an open ear and an open mind for when a ‘good mistake' happens.

It could be a unexpected melody note, a strange bass note , chord, etc. 

Ok, sometimes it's like going off a cliff, completely out of control, like goofy - in mid air…(like my skiing accident) Sure. 

Other times it's going to be something that catches your ear, your heart. At that moment it becomes a point of difference in your current music phrase - and may prove to be the beginning of the path toward a big chorus melody -  which you never would have hit on if you hadn't been free enough in the first place to allow yourself to make mistakes.

Time and again, as I draw comparisons to events in my life with this creative process, it's easy to see being human is a creative process.

That's why I've opted for a very inclusive tone and manner in this podcast. You don’t have to be ‘musically inclined’ to understand what I’m talking about here.

Music and art should definitely be an inclusive realm. 99% of us have a voice, whether that's singing, playing piano, knitting, counselling, whatever it may be.

I really find keeping a diary to be so helpful to sort out ...what's true to me. 

It's a gradual unfolding, a gradual understand of the self as you grow up. You learn to accept different facets of your personality as they appear.

The thing about mistakes... it’s a good idea to keep an eye on yourself if you keep repeating the same mistakes. 

In my diary, things become clear to me somehow, over time.

A great way to collect and arrange these diary entries in a concise form is by turning them into art - like songwriting. 

'What’s True To You' is song # 585 in my song book. It was written in 2013. You can hear it on the album Don’t Miss The Bus at www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com. The lyrics are on this week’s blog post at www.petepascoe.wordpress.com.

By asking a question in the lyrics, 'what's true to you?' It’s a way to get things across without sounding like you’re on some ‘holier than thou’ sort of soapbox. 

That is something I'd never want to be doing. 

The bridge lyrics are: ‘one step forward, a start it seems, two steps forward, one back it seems...on toward your art….'

And that in a nutshell is the creative process. It'll take you somewhere, that's for sure. 

So in this episode, come for a wander. I'll take to a New Zealand ski field, a field in the middle of nowhere and a lake in the winter.

Oh, and there's some piano here as I chat. I let my hands wander on the piano keys as I talk. Fingers ever at the ready to illustrate a point or ...just create. 

I hope you enjoy this week's episode. 

Pete.

Episode #104:  As Far As I Can Tell  (Song starts at 4:50)

Welcome. I love writing songs. There's a 100-odd songs on this podcast, 13 albums on bandcamp, a selection on all the streaming platforms and YouTube channel, etc.

One of the reasons I'm these producing these episodes is to help people. I teach, as it turns out. 

I'm also an artist. The blank canvas can be so confronting...I tell people to just throw some paint on that canvas. Just make a start.

That's what I do with songwriting. I never question what comes up. I just try to catch what comes through - and get out of the way.

As soon as I've started, I'm ‘on the breath’ - fully alert, waiting and ready for whatever else comes through. I’m prepared for any changes that happen and I'm free enough to give the new ideas a go.

It's not a bad analogy for being free, to roll with the changes in life..

That's what this song is about. It's a love song. About the early days when you're head over heels. 

There's a line 'the world's got brighter colours' - it’s like you've got a filter on your vision, the magic of life somehow seems more tangible... Ahh new love. 

This song is a concise, gentle ballad that explores this phenomenon of realising you're in love. 

It's an intimate song, I wrote it for my (now) wife back in 2012. When you pen a song like this, and share it to an audience, the great thing is: other people 'get' the emotion of the song. It speaks to them and they somehow take ownership of the song to a degree. 

The more I write about songwriting, the more I realise how good it is for me. It sure feels good to compose the songs and release them out in the world. 

It's a path I'm very grateful to be on. 

I hope you enjoy the chat and the song. It’s a great way to share so much. Here we go...

Episode #103:  Life’s A Show    (song starts at 2:48)

On this podcast, I talk a lot about where a song comes from - the beginning.

What about the end..where do you draw the line? When is something creative done? When is it finished?

Which brings us nicely to the crux of the meaning of 'Life's A Show'. There's a line in the song that says "There's no end"

Well, obviously, there comes the day when our number comes up and we check out. That's part of life.

Whereas, the great thing about creating something and publishing it is it takes on a life of its own. It carries on.

When I wrote this song, images came through thick and fast. That's the way it is for me: words and music with moving pictures.

What came to mind was the idea that this song would make a good big final ‘everyone in’ type of song for a stage show.

I could write the musical backwards from this song. (perhaps I've already written it..) This is song #549, so there's plenty of songs to choose from.

I do notice sometimes when I'm randomly picking out songs of mine from my songbooks, having a bit of a sing and play through, some songs which I thought were unrelated turn out to be part of the same story.

With 'Life’s A Show', the lyrics came first. Then I came up with the music.

At the start of the song, it's like the singer could be talking to himself.

As it goes on it becomes apparent he's addressing another - and they have a history.

Then things sort of grow like a river, and a ‘higher view' kicks in...and the main theme appears.... do we all have a dream?

‘Life’s an art’ is a line in the chorus of 'Life’s A Show'.

Sometimes it seems an art can somehow guide you through some rocky moments in life.

I really enjoyed working this song. You can hear a piano/vocal version on this podcast. You can also hear a produced version on my album 'The Man In Blue' ( streaming now). https://petepascoe.bandcamp.com/music

Maybe one day I'll look back, having selected a bunch of my songs and put them forward to be used in a stage show - who knows?

Have a listen and see where the song 'Life’s A Show' takes us on this episode.

Here's my blog www.petepascoe.wordpress.com. & YouTube : Pete Pascoe Art and Music.

I mention these links in the episode. I'm a creative soul, fully immersed in the flow, on the path. I have a lot of creative stuff online. You could also Google Pete Pascoe images and see what comes up, if you're curious and want to see and hear more.

Enjoy.

Pete.

Episode #102:   Lead The Way     (Song starts at 3:40)

This week’s featured song, Lead The Way, is song #693. There wasn’t a day where I decided I was going to write so many songs. I just committed to composing because I love it.

There’s a line in the song that sort of sums it up: 'Like a story that's been written by an artists loving hand’.

While the song comes through me, it comes from somewhere else - and this ‘somewhere else’ has energy and intention. That’s the way it feels. I just get the message across to the best of my ability and try and stay out of the way of what’s coming through. It’s a fascinating process.

When you are on the creative path, as I am, it's such a commitment to doing it 'properly' as it were (freely), it's almost really hard to think negative thoughts.

Perhaps that's why the creative way is so healing for all involved - the composer, the performer and the listener.

This song came from a simple bluesy riff which I played with my right hand. I thought I was going to play some blues. But my left hand went to an unexpected bass note and that took things in another direction.

An image came to me of a couple lying in a bed, in the night. One has woken to sound of the other talking in their sleep ...and that was enough to get me started.

The words, melody and the rest of the chords all just came together.

It flowed in a free and easy manner. Much like a river. ...

I like to go out into nature, near water, to restore a sense of peace within. It's then that new thoughts come to me. They can be brand new ideas about what to do next, they can talk about letting go, moving on into a new chapter.

I take those feelings home, let my hands fall on the keys and songs happen. It's a joy.

I think the creative process is pretty much all about being free enough to let change happen...in a positive manner.

It’s another piano vocal version of the song on this episode. I'm enjoying presenting the song by recording it mid way through the episode, as opposed to playing an old recording as I have done on a lot of previous episodes 9again, I’m open to change - and this Podcast is definitely fun, free and it’s evolving each week..

Lead The Way will appear an upcoming solo album. All the songs have been recorded. I just need to make the time to do a final mix. Really looking forward . It's a very mellow album. I've enjoyed playing on the headphones at night before I go to sleep

Ok join me again - or if it's your first time here, welcome. I hope you enjoy this mellow episode of chat and music.

My blog I mention is www.petepascoe.wordpress.com.   I have lots of music streaming, including 13 albums (in a variety of genres) on bandcamp. Www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com

Episode #101:  Thin Air     (Song starts at 4.18)

Welcome to a bit of chat and some music. As usual I'm sitting at the piano, hands on the keys, at the ready to accompany myself as I talk about whatever comes to mind.

I imagine it's a bit like playing piano along to a silent movie like they used to... or perhaps like adding music to a movie. It's really good fun. Fun seems to be a big key to unlocking the creative process.

I think it does us all good to listen to new music or maybe go to a gallery and let other people’s creative works just flow over you.

Likewise, I think getting out & just having a chat with people we meet along the way is really important.

The lyrics to 'Thin Air' were written in 2007 and the music a year later. It's interesting how art and music can be relevant or even strike more of a chord ( ha) - resonate more strongly, if you will -  years after the works were initially conceived of.

I guess maybe it’s because universal truth doesn't have a use by date. So as songwriters, if we write songs that are true to ourselves , that'll then mean hopefully that sense of truth will come through and convince the listener to come along for the ride and see where the song takes them. 

Like this podcast - each week I just start talking and ideas start to flow and soon a theme becomes apparent and away we go. It's a fascinating process for me to go through as I analyse my song writing process. 

In dry words (like ‘analyse’), it sounds dreadfully boring, doesn't it? Fear not, this is a very relaxed, inclusive podcast. Picture yourself sitting back in an intimate audience having a listen to a bloke talk and play the piano.  

OK, what’s the song about? Why is it relevant now?  In the lyrics, I've written about how disconnected and fearful we can be. That rings true for right now, as we are starting to emerge from lockdowns. Work is starting to come back, it's understandable we are anxious as we adjust, yet again, to our new set of circumstances. 

Speaking of opening up, gigs are coming back ...I've got some gigs booked in! Whoo! If you live in Melbourne and want to come along, that'd be great. Email me at [email protected] . Or join my email list - I'd love that. 

Ok, on with the show. For the last 101 weeks, each episode has been a performance for me and I'm continuing to love recording them.

Here we go. Rollin'

Episode #100: Stop     (Song stars at 7:19)

Hi there and ...( cue fanfare) welcome to episode #100!

Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. If it's your first time here, you can just leap straight in - the episodes are not sequential. Although if you were to listen back, you'd see that there's been a series of changes as I've gone along. It's all happened naturally. In I think they are the best kind of changes to make.

I think it's necessary to stop and reflect in order to make the best changes we can.

This episode's song, Stop is about exactly that.

Written in 2015, song #632 appeared on the album The Roughest Cut (streaming now) by Pete Pascoe and The Patient Hum. I include a piano vocal version on this episode.

To make positive changes in our life I think we really need to stop for a moment, take stock of where we are at. Maybe look back, consider what we've been up to.

Do we need to change tack? Maybe take the untrodden track... Y gotta be brave sometimes to change. So folks around you won't like it. 

By the way, Paul Dredge (my co-songwriter for a lot of songs) and I have finished the mix of a new folk rock album. We are thinking of calling it The Untrodden Track....)

I think we are here to 'go' and grow, then 'stop'  and consider - then go and some more. 

I also think if we do the same old schedule each week (as we are constantly encouraged to do), pretty soon our free life can start to feel like a self imposed jail term.

Freedom. It's turning out to be what my podcast, my blog posts are about, more and more. 

As I've talked and written online over this last 100 weeks, it's become apparent to me that my songs and art are focussed on: freedom.

Hope you enjoy this episode. Here are the links (as mentioned in the show).

If you'd like to sign up to my email list, that would be fantastic. You'll be first to hear about new albums, sheet music, art exhibitions, etc. - please do visit my website below.

You can find the song lyrics on my blog www.petepascoe.wordpress.com

Art here: www.petepascoe.com

Music some albums streaming on the usual platforms, 13 albums here: www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com

Episode #99:  Family Photo  (song starts at 2:37)

When I went to record this episode, I actually had another song in mind as went into my studio. But then my hands opened up the book on song #622.. Family Photo. 

This then lead on to my recording a version of this song, for the 2nd time, as part of the episode. Hey, it keeps it interesting, trying different things. 

I touched on this in the last episode. In fact I'm really aware of how the creative process is just an ongoing series of changes. 

When you pick up a pen and start sketching, you may end turning it into an album cover or a 3 dimensional piece of art. Or it may remain a sketch.

It's the same with as song. Some songs seem destined to remain ‘album tracks’, as opposed to perhaps being released as a single. 

I particularly enjoy writing and recording these ‘album tracks’. When you start recording, it's amazing how quickly things can progress, if you give yourself the freedom to do so. 

And freedom is almost everything, when it come to getting yourself into the songwriting zone. Freedom is something I've really strived for in my life. I think so many songs have come about as a result of this. ( I'm up about to 800 presently ).

The inspiration was...yep, a family photo. I was thinking back to a morning when I was with my family, looking at photos of a family trip to New Zealand. 

I remember at the time, imagining my young children having grown up and looking back through these photos again, perhaps feeling some of these same feelings.

So a photo is a bit like a painting. Well, any art worth its salt will draw an emotional reaction - and that's what you want from your audience, as an artist (and as a podcaster!). 

One of the keys to writing a 'good' song, is that I believe you must feel something. That's my basic premise. Anyway, it works for me

On this episode I read the words as a poem.  I also start to arrange this song, with some other sounds to show how songs can quickly transform in a studio. There's some anecdotes about being on holiday in New Zealand, too. 

Here I am writing these show notes, in Melbourne, years later. It's such a great feeling having composed so many songs. It's great to share them. - and I'm finding I'm really enjoying sharing how I wrote them.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Here we go...

Episode #98:  This Story (Golden Times)  (Song starts at 5:14)

Hi there, I see this week's song was written in January 2012. That amazes me. At the time of recording this podcast episode, that is a decade ago. Wow!

I think the thing is, when you create something, you are so far 'in there', in the creative zone, it seems you etch this time into your mind the memory. I think this might be because (in my opinion ), if you're doing it 'right', you're basing so much of what you’re doing on….feeling.

The purpose of this podcast is to hopefully entertain, while throwing light on the incredibly interesting process of songwriting.

Before we go on, during this episode, I refer to how good Sting looks on a recent interview I enjoyed. He looks in great shape, physically. Unfortunately, I inadvertently added another 10 years to what I think his age might be. Sorry, Sting! A slip of the tongue/ brain fade there. At least my intentions were good...

Ok, If it's your first time here, welcome. You can jump right onboard. Even though this episode is episode 98, it is, of course, a 'standalone experience’. If you enjoy it, there's a stack ready awaiting your listening pleasure. You'll get to see how this podcast has evolved, how it's unfolded since I recorded the first episode.

That fits with this episode’s theme. The gist of the lyrics is: things evolve over time...and perhaps history's altered as it's recorded and handed down.

Personally I think we need to keep everything we've learned. We can understand more about ourselves by studying our true history, warts and all. We tend to airbrush out what we perceive to be blemishes on our character, maybe to our detriment.

Perhaps it's not a bad idea to look ourselves squarely in the mirror and set about changing some of the things we are maybe not too happy with...

Pretty heavy scene for a song, eh? Yes, this is a song that holds some weight for me.

I recorded the piano/vocal of today’s song as I recorded the episode. This is a new development. Up until now I’ve included old demos. It was fun to do it this way.

You get a ‘2 for 1 deal’ today. The piano/vocal version and a band recording: track 3 from the album The Roughest Cut, by Pete Pascoe and The Patient Hum (comprising of Ants Reed, guitar; Neil sims Lead guitar; Dan Dew, drums).  This is 'my' Melbourne based rock band (I use inverted commas on the word my, because it's really our band. We generally arrange and present songs by me. I'm the driving force, but we all contribute. Great fun).

Also, speaking of great fun, back to the subject at hand, by choosing to record this podcast in a free, creative. improvised manner, I'm having a blast doing this each week, I hope that's coming across.

The opening lyrics take me right back in time to medieval times. I wonder what would be for dinner, if we were around back then. It constantly surprises me and amuses me where this podcast takes me.

Come on a trip with me today to find out what lies behind -  and within - the song This Story ( Golden Times) . It's a big ongoing story...

Here we go. Picture me at the piano as I chat and sing. “Rollin' ...."

Pete