I started performing in 2002. That’s 24 years of performing to date.

In that time, I’ve crossed paths, either through open mics, gigs, workshops, conferences, etc., with at least a couple thousand artists.

Of that number of artists, I have found a great majority of them tend to classify their songs as either happy, or sad. I have done the same.

The last couple of episodes and newsletters have focused on how much more nuance there is available to us for expressing more specifically.

Is it just a sad song, or is it more specifically about being let down or betrayed?

Is it just a happy song, or would it be more accurate to say it’s hopeful and optimistic?

Kelowna, Canada based singer/songwriter Danaii and I got into this very conversation about the songs she just put out on her new album titled “My Garden.” Have a listen to that here:

Podcast with Danaii

You may be asking, “What difference does it make whether or not I say a song is happy or hopeful?” It’s a good question.

Does it? Does it feel different when you think about it that way? Does it feel better when you say to other people?

I can say for myself that understanding the specific depth that lives in a song changes the way I feel when I introduce it in a performance. It connects me in a stronger way to why I wrote it, and it feels good to have a label that screams “THAT’S IT!!!”

I have also noticed that feeling more connected to the right emotion of a song helps me share it in a way that audiences absorb more deeply. It’s fascinating!

It makes me wonder — can the language we use to know and describe our own songs get in the way of loving them? ❤️

I was scrolling LinkedIn last week, and a post by relationship and attachment therapist, Jackie Ourman caught my eye. It had to do with the intersection of burden, A.I., and where people are going to find connection and solutions to their challenges.

It intrigued me so much that I invited Jackie on the podcast today to dig deeper into the topic. Particularly what can be lost when we don’t reach out to people in our lives.

Here’s a thought from Jackie:

I have had struggles at times as a performing songwriter feeling that a few of my songs are too heavy in content. So much so that the idea of sharing them felt like I’d be burdening the audience if I went through with playing them.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

To hear more on this topic, listen to the full interview here:

Jackie Ourman interview

It means a lot to be trusted. That’s where connection is born and lives. If we avoid giving that to each other, or fully outsource that to A.I., might we lose something that is one of the most powerful experiences in humanity?

What might the cost be of holding back sharing the songs you love? ❤️

I was recently chatting with former podcast guest and micro-memoir author, Rumi Tsuchihashi about how we can show emotion in our writing, and how we can bring more depth and feeling into what we create.

She blew my mind when she introduced a book/tool called The Emotion Thesaurus. If you’ve never heard of it before, as I had not, you’re in for a creative treat!

I invited Rumi to come back to the podcast to share how an emotion thesaurus works, and how it might be massively impactful for songwriters.

Have a listen to the episode here:

Emotion Thesaurus Podcast with Rumi

One of the secrets of writing songs or anything you love is finding just the right words to express your inspirations. You know it when you’ve landed on it, and you definitely know it when you have not.

We get closer to nailing that exact feeling by expanding our language, and tools like the emotion thesaurus can really help with that. Here’s another example. The emotion wheel:

When I was given this for the first time from a counsellor, it helped me beyond measure. Being able to visualize disappointment as more complex shade of sadness, among all the other options, was eye opening. All of a sudden I had way more specific words to express myself, and that felt really good.

I now find it funny that I used to mostly think of songs as either happy or sad. I have met a lot of people that think of music that way too.

If stopping there feels good to you, there is nothing wrong with that, but if your writing hasn’t been feeling like it says what you want it to say, or doesn’t feel quite right, perhaps give the wheel or emotion thesaurus a go. It might open up a world of songs you love ❤️.

It’s fair to say that a good majority of songs out there have been inspired by relationships, communication, emotions, and many other human experiences.

Every so often though I hear a song or story that is somehow influenced, directly or indirectly, from an encounter with nature.

It could be a moment with a pet like a dog or a cat, or perhaps an occurrence with a creature out in the wild. I have come to associate Blue Herons with good luck, as anytime I have seen them in the past, it has either been a great day, or is going to be a good day.

I recognize my first experience with this shaped my belief going forward, and turned into something I looked for in the future. Blue Herons became an opportunity to reframe however my day was going towards the positive, which is something I have always appreciated.

I shared a story related to this on the podcast today from a unique nature experience I had a few days ago, and the impact it had on me.

Have a listen to that here:

Animal Symbolism podcast

Have you ever had an unusual encounter with an animal, insect, or creature that seemed to mean something more?

If so, has it ever affected your songwriting, or where you decide to share your songs?

I’m curious to know if it has ever led to the writing of a song you love ❤️ .

Whether it’s writing a song, or playing a show/sharing your songs, have you ever gone confidently in with what seemed like the best laid plan, only to have it turn out completely different?

I shared a story on the podcast today about a time when the entire audience walked out on me after my second song . . . a concert I was well prepared for.

Have a listen here:

Audience walk out podcast

Sometimes the best laid plans don’t go as planned. I’m all for dotting “i’s,” and crossing “t’s,” but it’s good to build in consideration and mental bandwidth for the surprising and mysterious curveballs creativity and life may throw our way.

Structure, but with a little looseness.

A plan, but with flexibility.

Often times our favourite, memorable, or most meaningful moments in life and songwriting are the things we didn’t see coming in the “plan.” There’s something special chillin’ out by the pool in that.

Perhaps the next song you love ❤️ .

Timing is a fun concept to observe:

*The timing of when significant experiences happen to us.

*The timing of meeting particular people.

*The timing of meeting particular people in particular places and having significant experiences together.

I love me a good story about the right people in the right place at the right time. When all the pieces add up, it’s magic!

My guest today on the podcast, alternative, pop, and neo-soul artist, CELIN, shared a number of stories on the topic. From meeting new pals and collaborators at open mic’s, to performing for patients in the same hospital she was a patient in, this conversation will hit you in the heart, spark the neurons in your brain, and give your gut a good chuckle.

Listen to CELIN's interview here

It gets me thinking about how right place, right time, right people situations come to be. Are they completely random chance, or might we have an active role in the process?

What do you think?

Have you ever experienced a moment of right place, right time, right people?

Did it lead to a song you love? ❤️

Weird is a weird word.

It’s virtually the same as unique, a label that is strived for in mind of staking our special identity claims in the world.

But weird?

Weird leans more to the odd, the unusual, or supernatural. Sounds a lot like unique to me. Often it’s put into the camp of undesirable.

Our punny friend and spoken word poet extraordinaire Miranda Krogstad returned to the podcast today to get into the nitty gritty of creativity with words, leaning into unique opportunities (like poetry for animals), and thinking about words like “weird,” differently.

Miranda wrote a poem for the Calgary Zoo about a unique/weird animal called the Tapir. To hear about that experience and how much fun can be had playing with words and language in poetry and music, listen here:

Miranda Krogstad Podcast

A few podcasts ago I mentioned that if you’re reading this newsletter and listening to this podcast, that you’re probably a little or a lot weird. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have stayed that long.

Many of you responded with how much that resonated for you, which warmed my heart.

This is a space that celebrates the weird, and finds it refreshing to the alternative. Know that your brand of weird is always welcome here, and like Miranda says, what makes you weird makes you wonderful. The more we embrace that, the more likely it is that we’ll write songs we love ❤️ .

PS. Check out the actual video and poem for the Tapir that Miranda wrote:

Watch the Tapir Poem Video

I love asking this question:

What is your working definition of _____________? (Insert any word you wish)

I love it so much because the answers tell you so much about the person and the unique way they look at the world.

I asked my guest on the podcast today, smoky cinematic rock/soul writer Alexandra Wright what her definition of haunting was.

She answered “To carry something.”

We got deeper into an intriguing conversation about this and the themes behind her first official album release, Bartering with the Mirror.

Have a listen here:

Alexandra Wright Interview

I appreciate Alexandra’s way of looking at life and people as neither good or bad. There’s good and bad in everything, and all shades of nuance in between. That is something to make peace with, not fight.

In that spirit, and in line with Alexandra’s haunting definition, what are you carrying?

How would you define haunted?

Have a think on it. Maybe it’ll get the juices flowing towards writing a song you love ❤️.

The other night I decided to throw out a prompt to an open mic community I host in Kelowna, BC, Canada to see if it would affect the performer’s song and story choices.

Here’s the prompt:

“Play a song or songs (written or cover) that have changed the course of your life.”

The results were marvellously heart warming, reflective, and inspiring.

I shared one that impacted me from the night on the podcast today. Listen here:

A Song That Changed Your Life

The power of a simple question will never cease to amaze me, and I extend the invitation to you to consider it for yourself.

Has a song ever changed the course of your life? If so, how?

I’d love to hear about it. Especially if it became a song you love ❤️ .

PS - Thanks to all those who voted for Bella Montana to get to the next round of the talent contest she was in. She got through to the finals at 13 years old and being the only solo performer against 6 other bands. She very much held her own, knocked it out of the park! Way to go Bella!

Here is her performance, including two of her original songs if you’d like to watch:

These are the words of a man versed in many creative arenas. The wonderful Bob Wiseman said this on a thought provoking episode of the podcast today while reflecting on the surprise and awe of what can spill out during a performance.

Bob is a master of improvisation, and explores music in multiple forms. Whether it’s on the piano, scoring a film, creating film to back his own performances, teaching others, or writing about it all in memoir style books, every stream offers something fresh.

He spoke about moments where he has been so deeply entranced and affected by performances that he felt he should stand up with the audience and applaud the piano after the fact.

He affirmed that the magic of shared music really shines when we step aside from anything blocking the curious path forward, and allow to come out what wants to come out.

Listen to him elaborate on that, along with so much more:

Bob Wiseman Podcast 🔥

Is there something you could attempt or do differently than you have before, just for the sake of trying and seeing what happens? How might you be able to get our of your own way?

If you give it a go with your songwriting or performance, I’d love to know what happens. Especially if it leads to a song you love ❤️.

Thanks for a wonderful April of WSYL member calls ❤️. Lovely hangouts were had. Good laughs were laughed, and thoughtful discussions went down.

Yesterday in our story/sharing focused call, we got into a question posed by Diane Barbarash about strategies for calming the nerves when sharing songs, and being the best ‘you,’ you can be onstage.

Have a w…

Read more

Warm greetings to you!

Today, I am putting out a community call request. Our youngest member and songwriter, Bella Montana (13 years old) is in the running for an epic talent show, and could use some support getting to the next level to share her song.

I spoke more about Bella and this event on the podcast today, as well as the idea of how we can lift each other up. Have a listen here:

Listen to the Share the Love episode

No one does this on their own, which in the do-it-yourself age is easy to forget. Knowing songwriters like Bella are out there at such a young age is inspiring, and gives me hope about where we’re all going.

If you're down to vote and support, aim to do so today or tomorrow, as the next round (semi-finals) is this Saturday.

It's super easy, doesn't require signing up to anything, and makes a world of difference. You can do that here:

Vote for Bella

Writing songs we love is one thing. This whole community becomes extra special when we use our combined efforts to help share the songs of others, as well as our own ❤️.

PS - It will ask for your top 3 votes. Another awesome member of the community, Dale Ziech is also in the mix, so feel free to send some love his way too 🙌🏻🙌🏻.

I have grown up constantly hearing that a wide range of people fear public speaking more than death. Has it been the same for you?

It got me thinking today about why this might be the case. With a little internet surfing, I found an interesting Psychology Today article by Glenn Croston touching on links to early human days fending off predators to survive.

Safety as a species was more likely a guarantee if humans huddled together in groups. Strength in numbers. Social code and fitting in weren’t only for personal fulfillment, it was protection.

If anything were to compromise status in a community, it might have led to ostracism — ie. being kicked out of the group. When left to solitary devices, chances of survival were slim.

The idea of speaking out and potentially causing a ruckus could, as a result, have likely led to death.

Therein lies the fear, but no necessarily about death itself. It’s more to do with rejection. The thought of being left out in the cold. Dying, yes, but more specifically, dying alone.

It makes me think of being on stage, or any moment we as creatives put ourselves out there in song, story, or otherwise. We are risking it all, aren’t we?

But is ostracized death the only possible outcome here?

No. Of course not. But that doesn’t get talked about as much. What about the times when sharing and speaking publicly actually strengthen your connection to community?

I spoke about three situations in my song sharing life where I forgot the words, some where I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.

Have a listen here:

Forgetting the words podcast

As you can see, I have not died from speaking publicly. Lots of people tell me I am a natural public speaker. That I just have or got that gift. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Well that’s not entirely true. I did get it from somewhere.

I got it from witnessing others on stage forgetting their words and recovering gracefully.

I got it from speaking publicly more than once, and learning how to improve each time.

I got it from royally screwing up 100’s of times to the point where the screw up moments and their results are now often my favourite memories of past performances.

It’s okay to mess up. It’s part of making the next time better.

It’s all part of growing the love for the songs we write. Even when we forget the words ❤️.

Voice.

We use our voices in a variety of ways.

The words we say and the situations we use them in range greatly in the amount of intention we use.

In everyday chats, it can be easy to go along with the flow of surface level conversation to fill time and space without much thought. It’s simple, doesn’t take a lot of energy, and you’re off and running to the next thing.

But there’s something missing there.

Depth.

I had the tremendous honour of interviewing the one and only Fred Penner on the podcast today.

If you are unfamiliar with Fred, he is a multi-time Juno Award winning singer-songwriter for hist children’s albums work, he hosted a children’s show with CBC for 13 years (over 900 episodes), has been a performer and writer for over 50 years, and still finds ways to challenge himself as a creative being and writer.

Fred is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the highest recognition given to a Canadian citizen, and one of the most present people I have ever met.

Something that struck me in our conversation is when he shares about the integration of story in his songs, and the moment at which the main message really comes through. Fred said that in those moments, he feels his voice becoming more real.

It radiates differently.

He feels it, the audience feels it, and somewhere in the middle is where the opportunity to impact each other and connect lives.

To hear Fred speak more about this, along with many more writing and performing gems, listen here:

Fred Penner Interview 🎤

Have you had a moment where you felt your voice becoming more real?

What made it happen? How did you access it?

If you haven’t had that feeling before, I invite you to go exploring. I can’t help but think that somewhere on that journey, you’re gonna find your real voice.

When you do, give a go at writing a song from that place. I’m willing to bet it’ll turn into a song you love ❤️.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the unforgettable opportunity of playing a house concert with former podcast guests Craig and Dane Milton of An Evening in the Valley.

Craig and Dane’s last appearance on the podcast is one of the most listened to podcasts of Write Songs You Love history, so if you missed it, I highly recommend having a listen.

We got together in our jammies the morning after the show to debrief the experience from points of view I talk about a lot here (particularly the concept of layers), but also something more rare.

For the first time ever, Dane performed a couple of his original tunes in the show, and shared about what that experience was like.

Get your most comfy set of jammies on, and listen here:

This was an incredibly unique chain of events that was a blast to document in real time. I want to celebrate how cool and inspiring it was to see Dane, in his mid 70’s, performing his songs for the first time.

If you’d like to see it for yourselves, check it out here:

For those who have heard me speak about seeking out rich soil and look for many layers to write about, check out this song I wrote for Craig, Dane, and their Evening in the Valley community.

This whole experience embodies everything I love most about writing and sharing songs.

I call this a 10/10.

If you’ve had a show or sharing experience that felt like a 10/10 for you, I invite you to share it, or at least reflect on why it was so special.

Like this scenario, it may result in writing a song you love ❤️ .

I have been attending a songwriting workshop this week with a Canadian icon — Mr. Fred Penner.

Fred built a powerful reputation over the years, particularly among youth and family audiences with his engaging music and TV show. If you’ve ever heard the song The Cat Came Back or Sandwiches, it’s most likely because of Fred.

On the first day of the workshop he gave us an exercise that focused on holding a friend in mind. He defined a friend as someone who makes you instantly light up when they walk in the room.

I love that definition.

The exercise involved thinking about that person for one minute, and you can experience it for yourself on the podcast today.

Listen to the episode for the exercise

Fred went on to point out how unique this kind of exercise is for many reasons, and that often we frivolously lose time scrolling social media without paying it much mind.

But when you give yourself a concentrated minute to lock in on someone special, inspiration and emotion flourishes. So much so that a song may sprout from that space.

Likely a song you love ❤️.

I was listening back to my latest interview with progressive folk/roots artist Jon Deuling this morning, and something he said struck me.

“What a beautiful story that would be.”

He shared this in reference to thinking about one of his dreams of one day having a band with his wife and kids. His dream is of particular significance because not everyone in his family feels comfortable singing in public.

But the hope is there. The vision that one day, this experience could happen, and what a beautiful story that would be.

It’s a great example of dialling in our compass towards creative land made of the richest soil. A path built and led from the heart.

To hear the full conversation, click below:

Listen to Jon Deuling's interview here

When we focus our forward direction on the idea of ‘what a beautiful story that would be,’ it shifts how we think, feel, and act.

Jon and his family sing every day together in the comfort of their home.

What’s your ‘what a beautiful story that would be?’

Perhaps it could be the soil for a future song you love ❤️ .

You know that moment in a show, movie, or book when the story hits the unknown? It could be the maximum point of mystery, suspense, or a situation you HAVE TO KNOW the resolution for.

When we don’t get the perfect bow wrapped ending, or we’re left on the edge with a “To be continued…” it drives our imaginations wild.

It throws the ball back to us to wonder ‘What’s going to happen next?’

I love it when songs do this. The ones that lead you to thinking you know where they’re going to land, but in the end, throw you a twist.

I broke down a few songs on the podcast today that do this really well. A couple were written by my dad, and one from former podcast guest Claire Kuzmyk.

Listen to the Songs with a Twist Podcast

Do twists excite and engage you, or do frustrate and piss you off? I’ve heard perspectives from both sides of the coin, and am curious if there are more than two sides.

If you’ve written a song with a twist, I’d love to hear it. Let me know where I can listen.

If you haven’t tried to write a song with a twist, consider this your invitation.

Who knows? It might turn into a surprise song you’ll love ❤️ .

“Journey.”

“Adventure.”

“Expedition.”

“Saga.”

I have used all of these words in the past to describe what I thought was the same thing. I have no reasons for why I have used certain ones over others.

Sometimes “Saga,” feels like a more accurate label than “Adventure.”

Sometimes “Journey,” feels more accurate than “Expedition.”

I find it fascinating how long we can go in life using words, not knowing what they really mean, and where they come from.

It wasn’t until Tuesday of this week when I was in a writing group where the prompt was “The journey,” that I stopped to pause and think about the word.

My first instinct was “Soup du jour.” French for soup of the day.

Taking a moment to research a bit, I found that journey has origins in the French language word “Journee,” which means the work you accomplished in a day, or how far you travelled.

Whatever you did, journey was all about what you did in the container of one day.

To hear more thoughts on that, I did a short podcast today on the topic. Have a listen here:

Listen to the Journey Podcast

Perhaps you already knew that’s what the original intent for the word journey came from. It was news to me, and I loved learning that distinction.

There’s something lively and magical about what can be done, accomplished, explored, experienced, or discovered in a day. What can be even more special is giving yourself a day to journey, reflect on it, and give a go writing about it that night or the following morning.

Attempting this task so close to your journey is an important piece.

The fire is still warm.

The air is still fresh.

Might just be the perfect conditions to write a song you love ❤️.