It often appears that songwriting methodology is never quite the same from musician-to-musician. In fact, one could say for most artists, the songwriting process remains a bit of a mystery.

Recently I had a chance to talk about songwriting with two artists whose music we play here on PRP!

American Beauties is a popular Boston-based Americana band whose last album, “Sound of Mind,” was released last year. The Sizzo’s are a local Oregon-based band specializing in atmospheric indie-rock.

Here’s what each had to say about their songwriting process.

Which, when you think about it, is key to making new music that stays relevant while appealing to your fan base.

American Beauties

Americana band American Beauties, above. L-R: Chris Faris, Jeff Allison, Michael Gray, Justin Kolack.

 

Portland Radio Project / PRP :
“Who writes most of the songs for American Beauties? Have there been any collaborations?”
Michael Gray for American Beauties / AB:
“I’ve been the songwriter for the band since our inception and it has always just been that way.”
“The band originally came about as a project for my original music back in 2010.  After all these years together each of the members have left their imprint on the songs, which typically don’t come together until we play them as a band. So we collaborate more from a performance standpoint, but I consider it all American Beauties.”
“There are many things that go into making music. And there are many people that are responsible for creating it in different ways, even people outside of the immediate band, like producers and recording engineers.  It’s an inherently collaborative process.”
PRP: “What songs have you worked on most recently?”
AB: “We’ve been pretty busy with shows lately so I have been working on and off on some new songs that we are going to try to bring in for some shows we have coming up in January.”
“We’ve toyed with them a couple times, but will start drilling down on them at this week’s rehearsal.”
“There are two songs that I have ready for the band, and a few others that are still in process and may or may not make the cut. I think it’s important to always bring in new material.”
PRP: “What do you consider the optimal songwriting environment? And, which song(s) that you have written over the years did you write the quickest, or most easily?”
AB: “I have a room in my basement that I use as my studio – pretty unremarkable – but I make it a point to go down there and work on things 3 to 4 nights a week.  The later at night the better for me.”
“I never go down there with the idea of writing a song, it will usually just come out during the casual playing I do when working on other things.  Most songs that I have written typically come within a single night.  I can’t think of a single song that was written faster than the others since it’s all typically a quick process for me.  I have gotten more diligent about working songs out for longer periods of time so I don’t just leave things on the table if I don’t get them where I want them right away.”
PRP: “Fascinating!”
PRP: “Writing songs can be a different process for every musician. Does your approach to songwriting ever include some constants?”
AB: “Yes – being in a familiar place (studio), at a similar time of night, and being in a frame of mind that I really feel like playing music.  Those things typically put me in a good mindset to allow the music to come out.”
“I also typically write the music first, building from some initial chord progression and then writing additional parts to fill the verse, chorus, or bridge.  Then I’ll work on the lyrics second, and write them around the musical parts.”
“The last things I decide on are the form (structure) of the song, and the intro and outro parts.  How to end the song always seems to be the final decision and sometimes can remain fluid for a time until the band settles in on something.”
Sounds like American Beauties has a solid songwriting process that works for them! That may be why their last album, “Sound of Mind,” earned radio airplay on quite a few college and public radio stations across the country.
It’s a diverse Americana album with many radio-worthy tracks – be sure and have a listen here.

The Sizzos

George Zaninovich, above, is frontman for Oregon’s The Sizzos.

 

PRP: “What’s been your favorite song to write?”
George Zaninovich / The Sizzos: “One that really sticks out to me is ‘No Big Sky’ from the album ‘Glitter in Gravel.’ Guitarist and co-songwriter Joe Dagostino and I got together for a weekend of songwriting. We fell into a groove on one tune, really working on it for almost two straight days.”
“Then, Joe started playing a guitar line that I was immediately drawn to and in no time we had ‘No Big Sky.’ The lyrics came just as easily as the music. I was inspired by a story my mother had just told me, and another one that Joe told me about his wife. I found a commonality in these stories about resilience and acceptance in the face of overwhelming sadness and disappointment…the lyrics just flowed.”
“Oddly enough, as we were finishing recording the music, a firetruck went by and my dog started howling. Joe said we had to record it, and we did, and you can now hear my dogs wailing away at the beginning and end of the song. It’s a perfect bookend to the emotional journey of the story.”
PRP: “Do you ever play your songs for friends or family before recording?”
Sizzos: “There are a couple of people that hear every song before it gets out into the world. One is Joe and the other is Kabir Green, a wonderful multi- instrumentalist, singer-songwriter.”
“I can be easily swayed by the opinions of others, so I try to follow my gut as much as possible and get it to a point where I feel really good about it before sharing.”
PRP: “Do you have a general approach to songwriting that you find helpful?”
Sizzos: “My songs usually start with a guitar line or a lyric that set a mood. I often build that mood by adding drums, bass synth, and work up to the chorus.”
“To be done, I have to be able to really imagine the story coming to life. It’s almost as if each song is its own little world. If I can’t fully inhabit that world and feel and hear it, then the song won’t see the light of day until I do. Once I can really immerse myself into the world or the story of a song and it illicits emotions from me, I know I’m onto something!”
PRP: “Did you use that approach on any recent songs?”
Sizzos: “Yes, there is a new song coming out called “Goodbye Again” which I’ve had parts of for years.”
“It took some pretty big changes in my life for the parts of that song to come together and feel like a complete story. Once I started working on it again after these big changes, it all just felt right and allowed me to express something I couldn’t with just words. That’s how I knew it was ready to go!”
Yes, The Sizzos seem to instinctively know when to hit the “record” button.
You can listen to their album “Glitter in Gravel” here.

That’s a wrap!

Some say lyrics are harder to write than music, others say it’s the other way around.

Whatever the case may be, we hope you enjoyed learning a little more about these two great indie artists!

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Cynthia Orlando
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