Interview with Alexa Wildish
Songwriter's Greenroom Podcast
Join us for an intimate conversation with songwriter and vocalist Alexa Wildish as she takes us on a musical journey from the mystic volcanic lakes of Guatemala to the ancient redwood forests and beyond. Alexa shares how the pandemic transformed her creative process and offers candid insights into managing a musical career. She emphasizes the importance of nurturing her energy and taking intentional breaks from her busy schedule to maintain creative vitality. As she wisely notes, "If you as a performer don't feel the song while performing it, then the audience won't either." Throughout our...
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Interview with Michael Kirkpatrick
Songwriter's Greenroom Podcast
In this hour-long podcast episode (edited down from a three-hour conversation), folk/Americana musician Michael Kirkpatrick shares insights into his artistic journey and creative process with co-hosts John and Tracy Suchocki. With hundreds of songs in his catalog, Kirkpatrick explains how his songwriting has evolved over the years. Today he considers that his best works emerge when melody, lyrics, and syllabification come together simultaneously. His technical mastery spans opera-trained vocals, Travis-style guitar fingerpicking, and mandolin flat-picking. Drawing from decades of touring...
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Meeting Your Melody Making Muses
Songwriter's Greenroom Podcast
In this episode of the Songwriter's Greenroom podcast, host John Andrew Suchocki explores the diverse ways songwriters discover melodies. Sharing his personal experience as just one approach among many, he describes how melodies can emerge through dreams or while playing instruments - a process that, to him, feels more like discovery than pure creation. But finding a fertile mental state is key. We relax our over-thinking minds. We release expectations. Yet, we honor and accept our moods as genuine. With energy of this quality, that's when we set the stage for meeting our muses. Through...
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To the Heart of Songwriting—Introduction
Songwriter's Greenroom Podcast
The Songwriter's Greenroom Podcast, hosted by John Andrew Suchocki, explores the profound personal journey of songwriting through its three core steps: inspiration (capturing initial ideas), development (arranging and refining), and production (creating high-quality recordings). While acknowledging the challenges of standing out in today's digital landscape, this episode emphasizes how songwriting feeds the spirit and provides an essential creative balance in life. Songwriting can be more than just a hobby—it's an integral part of identity, like creating one's own life soundtrack. Through...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Songwriter's Greenroom podcast, host John Andrew Suchocki explores the diverse ways songwriters discover melodies. Sharing his personal experience as just one approach among many, he describes how melodies can emerge through dreams or while playing instruments - a process that, to him, feels more like discovery than pure creation. But finding a fertile mental state is key. We relax our over-thinking minds. We release expectations. Yet, we honor and accept our moods as genuine. With energy of this quality, that's when we set the stage for meeting our muses. Through examples from his own work, he illustrates how some melodic ideas evolve into fully realized compositions while others naturally fade away. The episode concludes with thoughtful reflections on song arrangement and the enduring formulas of popular music, acknowledging how these structures continue to shape our musical landscape.