Songwriters on Process

"My ideas are the most plentiful when I just put something out into the world," says Claud. "I immediately start thinking about all the stuff I want to do next time." Some of that stuff comes from consistent journal writing, where their big picture ideas and creative world emerge. But the hard part, as we all can attest, is how to minimize distractions to let those ideas happen in the first place. The secret for Claud is two-fold: never use in flight wi-fi, and always take the new puppy for a walk first thing in the morning without a phone.

Claud's latest album is Me and the Music on Dead Oceans Records.

"It's trash that evokes emotion," says Chelsea Rifkin of Wilt referring to her junk journal. The singer for the LA-based band uses this journal as an important part of her songwriting process. The title is literal: "It's a scrapbook of trash that I get throughout the day." 

Rifkin showed me one of the journals. It was filled with napkins, stickers, cards, menus, wrappers--literally anything that might evoke a memory later on. This makes perfect sense because touching and seeing a concrete object from a past event would seem to evoke a more powerful memory than re-reading just your thoughts about that past event in a more traditional journal. It absolutely works for Rifkin. "The junk really unlocks a memory for me and exactly how I was feeling at that time." And it's often those memories that start the songwriting process for her.

Wilt's debut album "When No One's Watching"  (produced by Carlos de la Garza) is out now.

"I get a prebiotic soda and some popcorn, then head upstairs to write. And if I'm not feeling it, I leave." Joy Oladokun is nothing if not brutally efficient in her songwriting process. There's no room for wasted time. "I work fast but never in a rush," she says. Oladokun writes most of her songs in a matter of minutes, but that's because she's methodical, not haphazard.

Oladokun likes to write in the morning, ideally among birds. "I love the morning because I get to see the world change," she says. Oladokun sits on the porch in the morning with her coffee and engages in "mandatory bird watching," keeping a guitar by the door in case she gets inspired. "A lot of songs come from the moment of living the first part of my day."

Oladokun's latest album is Hope is a Heavy Thing on Concord Records.

“I love to sing out loud there. No one can hear me because everyone is, well, underground,” says Julia Jacklin. And if that’s not the best reason for singing in a cemetery, I don’t know what is. 

Walking is a daily and essential part of Jacklin’s process. “I’m obsessed with walking,” she says. There are two kinds of walks to Jacklin’s process. The first is when she goes with nothing on her mind; this is for filling the well with inspiration. The second is what she calls “intentional walking to get the lyrics right. I always get stuck on the second verse when I write, so walking helps me."

Now back to the cemetery, which Jacklin says was a “huge part” of the songwriting process of the new album. There’s one not far from where she lives, so she goes every day. There’s the flowers, the serenity, and of course the existential thoughts that accompany a walk through a cemetery. Quite simply, it brings her peace. “I’m always drawn to cemeteries when I’m feeling overwhelmed,” Jacklin says.

Julia Jacklin’s latest album is The Gem, out now on 4AD Records.

"I like to write at my desk," says Brennan Wedl. It makes me feel like a professor, so it's correlated with discipline in my brain. It's like a writing altar." This tracks with Wedl's penchant for adhering to a writing ritual and its attendant discipline. She's a big fan of Post-it notes, loves to get up early and feel the sun on a morning walk, and believes in the power of a schedule. But as you'll hear, when she really wants to "lock it in," she turns to the power of chewing gum.

Brennan Wedl self-titled debut album is out now on ANTI- records.

"I have my best thoughts in total comfort and complete boredom," Taja Cheek (known professionally as L'Rain) says. After all, who doesn't prefer a good couch or bed when they write? But when it comes to pure inspiration, Cheek likes to be "alone together": around people but deep in her own thoughts. That's why she loves the New York City subway and what she calls "intentional walking" on the city streets amidst all its distractions. But as you'll hear, nothing beats a good cab ride. 

L'Rain's latest album is fata morgana.

"I like to do things that make me feel integrated with the environment," says Margaret Glaspy. Broadly, Glaspy's process involves a general resistance to technology, which is why we had a great discussion about the benefits of cursive. It should also come as no surprise that Glaspy believes in pen and paper (and very specific kinds) for her lyrics. 

This resistance to technology is borne out the correct belief that it destroys our ability to focus, so Glaspy writes in fifteen minute increments punctuated by short breaks. Glaspy does this for as long as she stays inspired. And as you'll hear, sometimes there's nothing like walking the dog to maintain that inspiration.

Margaret Glaspy's latest album is I Am Both on ATO Records.

*ED NOTE: Listen to my 2021 interview with Glaspy and Sarah Jarosz here.

Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show is the first person I’ve interviewed to compare the songwriting process to feline copulation. But this unique metaphor actually reflects Secor’s deep introspection: only someone who reads all the time would even consider how these two events are related. And Secor reads. All. The. Time.

Old Crow Medicine Show’s latest album is Union Made.

"You need to be somewhere where you allow yourself to be totally stupid," say Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius. Not great life advice, but it's fantastic advice for the creative process. In other words, the initial stage of any creative process means getting out of your own way and releasing all inhibitions. It's about putting everything down on paper, no matter how stupid, and deciding later whether it belongs. 

Wolfe and Laessig's initial stage involves fantastic word games. One will open a book, close her eyes, then put their finger on a random word. They then write about that word for ten or so minutes in a freewriting exercise. In another game, bandmates try to discern what another band member is mumbling or humming. 

The new self-titled album by Lucius is out now. 

Kyle Grim of Dogwood Tales was born in the wrong century. He really belonged among the Romantic poets, who saw the purity of nature as a source of renewal. I mentioned this to Grim after he told me that a large part of his process revolves around the wonderment of nature. He loves to walk, and in those moments he finds beauty in water, the shadows of trees, and even the ducks. Then again, Grim counts William Faulkner and Breece D'J Pancake among his favorite writers, so his actual influences are more modern. 

The first time I heard the Harrisonburg, Virginia band's song "McMemories," I was hooked. Their new album Every Star in Rockingham County on Born Losers Records is one of my favorite releases of the year.