Strung Out Episode 265: BARRETT TASKY WRITES AGAIN

Barrett Tasky is one of those rare gems you discover right in your back yard.  Tasky has an amazing broad base of music, recording and performance that culminates in his latest project, Barrett's Hidden Agenda.  The man literally plays a multitude of instruments.  His studio has everything from a standup bass to a Hammond B3.  He is adept at mandolin, guitar, saxophone---the list goes on.  Tasky writes songs in the Americana vein of songwriting.  His style is personal and inspirational.  In this episode Tasky lifts the curtain on his writing routine.  We get to discover how he creates through the use of self-imposed deadlines.  Even a wonderful idea surrounding the creation of a song in celebration of his birthday.  Thoughtful, funny and inspirational, Barrett Tasky is a good person for any aspiring songwriter to study and also reach out to for advice. 

https://www.barrettshiddenagenda.com/
https://thebarbandbarrettshow.com/
https://superheroaudio.com/

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:14:44
Unknown
Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer and musician Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty.

00:00:14:44 - 00:00:37:47
Unknown
Out. And we've got Barrett Caskey here. And, as always, I'd like to say if you haven't seen the podcast before with Barrett, please watch it, because you get to find out everything about, just who he is and what the decisions made and the life's journey on on being an independent musician.

00:00:37:52 - 00:00:58:00
Unknown
This follow up interview was always about the creative end of things. And why don't we jump in with the song and then we'll we'll start talking about how you are able to create so many different things with so many different vehicles of musical expression. This song is called uplifting.

00:00:58:00 - 00:01:20:55
Unknown
Papa, Papa. Bop bop bop bop. Bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah. You know it's party. What do you bring in? See who you see in that part. Papa.

00:01:21:00 - 00:01:44:09
Unknown
Hey. Only works at two ball day tonight. You going to work the room, Marcy? In leather pants, shaking that ass. Yeah. Who's getting down with that? Oh, Mark and Jon Watts. What's up? Dumb? Sure. Shit. They're going to be passed out on the Long Island Gin rosé all day. Well, they didn't fall, but they're starting to sway right there.

00:01:44:14 - 00:02:37:48
Unknown
Well, so. But now, back in the day is fun. Was over. Done. Toasty ass blitzkrieg, to say the least. A little drifting can be thrilling. Uplifting. Never want to. Why get the feeling things shifting a bit? They ain't going to fill the sky but batter the pass by mathematical path. I found that part of the file.

00:02:37:53 - 00:03:00:42
Unknown
Under.

00:03:00:46 - 00:03:45:14
Unknown
No. It's a party. What are you bringing? You see? You see it by party. But little drifting can be thrilling. Uplifting. Ever wonder why? Get feeling. Things are shifting, uplifting. Don't fill the sky. But I, I found the thought of the past. By the fire by Barbara. But by.

00:03:45:14 - 00:03:58:28
Unknown
Fantastic. Kudos to you, man. First of all, starting off this, this interview with, a positive, uplifting song which, you know, by my rule is always there.

00:03:58:33 - 00:04:30:54
Unknown
I think three times harder to write those kind of songs than the, you know, my dog, you know, died and broken hearted depression, grief, love. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So how do you go about that? What is the trick? Key of trade. Oh, man. If there was only one trick. So, I having done many collaborative songwriting, festivals, having co-written with at this point, it's got to be hundreds of of of of co-writers.

00:04:30:59 - 00:04:58:08
Unknown
Everyone does it differently. And I am a true believer. It's like a thumbprint. Each song is written in its own way, and no songs should be written that way. Again, I love that idea because otherwise and there's nothing wrong with it. If you have a formula and it works and you keep grinding it, each song is slightly different, but you're starting with the same kind of rules and sandbox and cubes.

00:04:58:08 - 00:05:17:32
Unknown
And yes, you're going to wind up with a different output. I would hope. And there's value in grinding through that. And if you look at someone who writes that way at the first song they wrote with that formula, and then like ten years later with that formula, you definitely can see the difference. And they each are unique.

00:05:17:37 - 00:05:54:38
Unknown
I love much like different instruments and the joy of mixing with different sounds. I like the spastic work of being a different piece of glitter. Fucking falling. I like each song. This particular song. No. What you write or is one theory and I find, as discussed in the earlier podcast, that you should listen to that. I tend to write existential or perspective philosophy about rising, about overcoming, about shining.

00:05:54:43 - 00:06:17:35
Unknown
I specifically was like, writing or not birdsong. Okay. I'm writing a song with characters and people in it and observation of, you know, a party. Yeah. You know, and I was like, everybody loves a party. And I wanted to write a song that I could go to, a guitar party or a jam or bluegrass jam, or if I'm invited onstage.

00:06:17:37 - 00:06:33:46
Unknown
Hey, let's do one of your songs. Okay, guys, this one's three chords, and they're all major. Like, it's the kind of song you want to hear. Nice. You know, late spring day in Chicago with a car going by with its windows down, blasting it. You know, that kind of where you're like, oh, man, you know, life is good.

00:06:33:57 - 00:06:53:01
Unknown
Yeah. You created a great life. That's a good song. That's partly that's part of it. I think we all need that a little bit, but they're damn hard to write. They are. And this particular one, it started with Anna Lynn, who worked the tube down the block from the Airbnb I was staying at when I was in London.

00:06:53:06 - 00:07:10:40
Unknown
Cool. And over three days, four days of me being there, she got to recognize me, knew that I didn't know where I was going. And we talked and I learned from Chicago, this is like the L. And she was curious about it because she's been working the tube her whole life, and she's probably about my age, and she was so sweet.

00:07:10:45 - 00:07:26:15
Unknown
And when I told her, this is it, I'm going home. As I was going down the tube to go to the airport, she gave me a hug and I was like, oh, well, I hope your day gets better from this, cause I can't. I'm going out tonight. And I was like, sweet. And I just pictured like, oh, she's going to the party.

00:07:26:15 - 00:07:50:41
Unknown
And Allen works the tube all day tonight. She's going to work the room is great and it just spawned from there. And, you know, some of the characters are real. My brother makes an appearance in this song, so, the characters are just made up. I have friends that come to show I need names and some idioms of couples that drink rosé all day and then still fun their.

00:07:50:43 - 00:08:17:45
Unknown
We do a party. Well, it's really. It's really cool to hear this. You know this this way you're going around writing a song like this and as you say, you're able to write a lot of beautiful songs that are are introspective. Yeah, that that look upon, the world, you know, and and you're kind of, giving your thought on that, but you're not doing it in a preachy fashion.

00:08:17:50 - 00:08:49:30
Unknown
And how do you get to that point with your songwriting? Oh, I think in many ways, that's part of what I value most about the message. It is, I don't I don't like songs with I and me. You know, I'm not saying there aren't enough of those out there because I still get drawn into songs like that.

00:08:49:30 - 00:09:19:20
Unknown
Of course, and I still write them and wrote my fair share of them. Why is that, though? What is it? I mean, this is great because what is it about I or me that I've that makes it my story, not your story. Got it. Okay. And for a one way communicator, like a book is, a song doesn't really start until there's a listener.

00:09:19:25 - 00:09:54:15
Unknown
Right? Other than that, it's just me and Mira. Right? As fancy as my Mira might be with the studio, it's still until I share it with someone. Until someone has a reaction, good or bad, or lack of a reaction is still a reaction. The true, the true purpose of the song is in there and the the position I take with those non preachy perspective.

00:09:54:20 - 00:10:47:11
Unknown
Crisis songs question songs is really, with the hope that the listener is touched by them to ask themselves those questions that I'm asking myself in writing that. Yeah. I mean, inserting I immediately change the you. Yeah. Right. So the universe, you know, universe is tality of the song. Yeah. Is is, compromised. You know, I avoidance words, kind of, you know, I, I try when I'm writing to never I have, but I try not to use the word like I agree, I'm not a big fan of, like, I'm not a big fan of the word just just or, I always get a little nervous if I hear, I don't know.

00:10:47:15 - 00:11:05:18
Unknown
Yeah, because then why do you. Why are you telling me, you. Right, you know, and yet at the same time, there are brilliant songs where it fits. Yes. You know. Absolutely. Where there's always exceptions to all of those rules. Yeah, but but those are little crutches or whatever you want to call it to, to help you. Right.

00:11:05:31 - 00:11:34:24
Unknown
You know. Right. And I still use all of those things. Sure. But I also, one of the early techniques I was taught was finish it, finish this song, then go back and fix it right and make it the way. Sometimes you don't know where it wants to go until you've gotten there. So you can go back and be like, okay, this doesn't actually get us there, but it got me there.

00:11:34:24 - 00:11:52:49
Unknown
So I know where I need to go now. We need to go backwards and we need to fix this. And there's filler lines right? I just kind of like this, but I don't know. Okay. What did you just say? You just said a bunch of syllables. Maybe carrying the melody. It covered the third line in that second verse.

00:11:52:52 - 00:12:33:23
Unknown
You couldn't spin anything out. Great. It's the one to beat, you know, you're going to fill it and fix it, move on and come back to it, because you're going to have more information about what the song needs and wants. So let's dissect this a little further with your style, because this is, I love the idea of finish the song because there's so many musicians out there, unfinished ideas, unfinished ideas, or, you know, I, I understand the idea not to compare it to a junkyard, you know, or as I like to say, I've got my junkyard of, you know, oh, God, I need, you know, I have, journals filled with couplets, right?

00:12:33:23 - 00:12:56:44
Unknown
Yeah. You know, so, you know, are you from the handwriting school or are you from the typing school or what school are you? I do the multimedia. I do them all. Okay. I journal a lot. I have many journals and scraps, in pockets of all my jackets, with pens in the car I have in the kitchen, which is tends to be where I write a lot of songs for.

00:12:56:44 - 00:13:28:45
Unknown
Not exclusively. I handwrite, then it quickly graduates into a Google doc, and I can see it differently and start editing it. Other times I start on Google Doc, other times, right to voice memo and I'm counting on the auto to to to dictate those words and export it as a note for me. Other times I go to the studio and I finish the song before writing a single lyric.

00:13:28:50 - 00:13:54:06
Unknown
That's interesting, and that's kind of where I'm going with, with this, because I think, you know, the idea of finish a song, is there a timeframe you give yourself? You're kind of a disciplinarian. I sense that you probably are pretty hard on yourself, so that's true. But you said something, you know, everybody has a different way of writing a song.

00:13:54:11 - 00:14:14:53
Unknown
And maybe you'll find a way, you know, you listeners and viewers out there that clips from what he's saying. So that's why I'm going back again. So you do say to yourself, or to your wife, you know, hey, Bob, I'm going to write a song today. Is it that kind of thing, or are you like, times?

00:14:14:53 - 00:14:45:28
Unknown
I mean, it happens. Do you give yourself a certain time or is there a, what's the methodology to it? So at a minimum, one morning a week, I write songs. I don't always finish them. It tends to be Saturday or Sunday, where ideally it's elastic. If it takes me more than an hour, I have the time. Saturday morning I wrote two songs, very different ones, slightly poppy, and one of them is like a Woody Guthrie protest song.

00:14:45:33 - 00:15:11:27
Unknown
Staple singers ish. And, in that particular case, both ideas were doing all week, and I would play. I try to play for 20 minutes every morning as early as I can, just to start my day better, which I strongly recommend for anyone. Even if you're not a musician, pick up an instrument for five ten minutes every morning.

00:15:11:27 - 00:15:34:05
Unknown
Start your day. Your day is only going to get better from there. And there's a purity to the morning. First thing because the day hasn't had its way with you, which is a different thing about writing too. Now when inspiration strikes I go with it. And I used to wait for inspiration and was lucky that it struck often in my life.

00:15:34:10 - 00:15:57:29
Unknown
And more and more it's a faucet I can turn on and off okay. And be like, oh no, no, I have 20 minutes to write. I got to take the kid baseball practice. I'm going to be home for exactly 48 minutes. I'm going to write this idea and I'm going to voice memo it, or I'm going to go around the studio and I'm going to record a raw version of it, or just the basic framework to then finish it off.

00:15:57:32 - 00:16:16:20
Unknown
So you allow the muse to whisper in your ear and you jot it down. Yeah, capture what I can and then come back to it when I can. It's taking years to do that. Yeah, it used to be even just ten years ago, I was like, I cannot do anything else till I finish this song right, I get it.

00:16:16:25 - 00:16:39:24
Unknown
Yeah. And those are different songs then, you know, because some songs are like that, they just. They're out of you in 8 or 9 minutes. Well, it's interesting. And on our last podcast, your dad's business, you know, the wood wizards. Yeah, yeah. And the idea of, like, refinishing or fixing or working at the craftsman kind of approach.

00:16:39:33 - 00:17:06:01
Unknown
Yeah. To you say your dad would be, you know, is he living still? Yeah. Yeah. He should be very proud of you. You know, you're basically, you know, I'm a finisher. Sure. Piece of art. You know, I, I think, I think a lot of musicians get hung up on, you know, and the idea of like, oh, you know, if I don't do it this way, it's not going to work or I'm not going to finish it.

00:17:06:01 - 00:17:32:51
Unknown
And I, I think to though if you don't do it often, that is usually what you need to do. But the more often you do it like anything else. And when I was teaching I would tell my students, practice five minutes. But practice 20 times a day because then you're warming up and cooling down your hands. Five minutes, 20 times a day.

00:17:32:56 - 00:17:52:15
Unknown
Now, 2 or 3 weeks of that, all of a sudden you don't want to put the instrument down right. Your fingers are feeling natural at it. Right? It's the same thing with songwriting. If you sit down and write for five minutes every day, there's going to be times you don't want to stop. There are going to be times you don't want to stop and you have the luxury of time to not have to stop.

00:17:52:19 - 00:18:20:16
Unknown
One of the things I always like to ask, you know, musicians like yourself that are prolific in the writing, do you journal? Do you do keep any kind of, you know, just, well, a diary or something of your life or what's going on? Is there another kind of that writer's aspect? Does that exist in your life or is very much okay?

00:18:20:21 - 00:18:41:03
Unknown
I'm, I don't know if you've heard of the morning pages. The creative way is a, guidebook. It's probably 30 or 40 years now. I have not. So, I might have an extra copy for you. Cool. All right. It's a it's a self-guided course. It takes about three months to do. The core of it is writing for 20 minutes first thing every day.

00:18:41:12 - 00:19:09:59
Unknown
Okay? And it doesn't matter what you write, you can start off with writing the same word for 20 minutes on day one, if that's what you need to do. You can describe the feeling of the pen on the paper, the setting that you're in, the what's on the table. You can journal as if it's a journal or a diary where the key is you are training yourself to endlessly edit free spew onto the page.

00:19:10:04 - 00:19:28:11
Unknown
And that's a big part of what has taught me to turn on and off the faucet creatively. Okay, I have the time and energy for this. Do it. It's really neat because you you've conditioned yourself. And like I said, the muse whispers in your ear and you're like, okay, I got it. That one's hot. We got to go boom.

00:19:28:15 - 00:19:48:42
Unknown
But then it does go the other way. 2024 I had the nugget of an idea while on vacation and I caught on a voice memo and I came up with a couple of lines as a gift to myself. A year later for my birthday, I was like, that was a good idea. I gotta find it.

00:19:48:42 - 00:20:26:15
Unknown
Where was it? Where it was, I went, was that as a birthday gift? I said, I'm going to finish that song. Oh, cool. And it took me a month. Yeah, to grind it and work it. And it became a great song because I let it simmer. And I didn't just, like, blow it all on inspiration and then take it to the band or, or studio it out to give it some legs so I could learn what I needed to learn about the song to breathe and how it wants to exist, which is a whole different aspect of songwriting, which then sometimes you got to go back and edit it.

00:20:26:15 - 00:20:44:05
Unknown
You got to go back and make changes. What are those lyrics mean? What is that about? Like, yeah, well, I'm the the Barrett of a year ago. So different from the Barrett, you know, years later coming up and saying, hey, you know, Barrett of a year ago, you had a good idea. What was it about that particular song?

00:20:44:05 - 00:21:00:34
Unknown
You're like, you know what? This would make a great birthday gift for myself. I think that's really I love it. Well, part of it was a deadline, okay? Was like. And I thought about it. My birthday's in May. I it was like. It was like early April. I was like, I'm gonna give myself gift of a song this year.

00:21:00:43 - 00:21:26:20
Unknown
And, I want to make sure it's a good one. Not. I mean, I'll write bad songs. It's so important to write bad songs. Write bad songs, write thousands of bad songs. Because then when you just start one that's better than bad, you know, it. Hey, what? Do you get? Great advice. I'll take it. No, I'm telling you that I'm gonna try to get this guy to become a professor at Columbia.

00:21:26:22 - 00:21:45:44
Unknown
Because you should be. You should be teaching this stuff. You and Ted Camp. I don't know, like you guys. Maybe guys are going to have to. You guys got a business? Ted, if you're listening and watching, let's do a man. Do it. Yeah. Get you guys together. I think, you know, the idea of giving yourself a deadline.

00:21:45:51 - 00:22:09:00
Unknown
I'm so glad you brought that up, because I think that that is kind of the magical, you know, taught me that. Paul McCartney. Oh, okay. He would write a song. He would purposely go to pick up his kid early, sit in the car with a ukulele, and be like, I have 20 minutes to write a song before the kid gets in the car.

00:22:09:04 - 00:22:33:11
Unknown
Well, see, that's great stuff you like, even if you didn't finish the song. We all know once you get a song far enough, I call it. The song will write itself. You just have to do the work, so you got to follow it through. Sometimes that's where you need a second opinion. You need a collaborator. Sometimes you just need a year away from the idea.

00:22:33:16 - 00:22:58:12
Unknown
But whatever it is, you get a song to a certain point and it's snowballs. To me, that's that's what I have found. And if you listen to the song, it will tell you, I think the time capsule kind of aspect of that, you know, is really cool. Just, you know, a year later coming back to something.

00:22:58:19 - 00:23:20:51
Unknown
And I guess we do give ourselves time capsules just because life gets in the way. But having that discipline, I think, is the most important thing of, you know, the sacred deadline. Yeah. Whatever it is. I mean, it's it's artificial for the most part, unless you're going to go and give a show and, you know, present all those six new songs you told them you were going to write.

00:23:20:51 - 00:24:08:17
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. Are you the kind of guy that, you know, you'll be, all of a sudden you'll have the the music and no lyrics? Are you the first for sure? Yeah. Talk about that. Because so many people, you have two camps, right? You have those people that are like, hey, you know, music first and, you know, so, I mean, with my hyper aware classical jazz roots skewing through psychedelia, jam band, world music, rolling into Americana, Appalachian, Irish reels that,

00:24:08:21 - 00:24:35:00
Unknown
I've always been you're kind of caught based, and I've always been fascinated how the same chords can be used with so many different melodies, so many different songs. And I used to be chord based. Let's write something interesting. Let's make a chorus that is diminished chords. Right? Let's find a way to make that work. Let's be smart about it.

00:24:35:13 - 00:25:05:19
Unknown
Some math, but let's not lose sight of the emotional attachment. And I feel like the chords were the backdrop, the wallpaper, the mood, the scene that was being painted. When you put the chords through different instruments, through different tones, different settings, then it really refines it. And then I would paint the picture lyrically or melodically. Now I have a whole separate project called Basement Wanderings.

00:25:05:23 - 00:25:29:35
Unknown
I go down to the studio with no preconceived notion, and I play whatever instrument calls me. I hit record and I start playing, and I will record 3 to 10 minutes, and then I sit down with producer years and I'll edit that together into something, into it, a musical statement, and then I start to back it up.

00:25:29:40 - 00:25:59:08
Unknown
Okay. Bass or keys or horns or guitars or drums or percussion or vocal pads or whatever. Synthy stuff or, you know, fake sounding, you know, 808 stuff. Whatever scene starts to be painted with that. Okay? And I get to go, so many I get to explore so many. The hard rock, world music, psychedelic jazz, free jazz, classical sounding etude stuff.

00:25:59:13 - 00:26:28:09
Unknown
I get to play with everything from the way a classical guitar sounds with the Rhodes, to the way three fuzzed out guitars layer like, you know, Brian May does, like, I get to be the producer and the musician with no conceived preconceived notion of why it's just scratched the edge of playing, okay. And like, oh yeah, and wind up with, an instrumental track.

00:26:28:14 - 00:26:52:45
Unknown
I'm releasing one. Oh, by the time this comes out, it'll be out. And I've got a, I don't know, a lot of them that I'm gonna slowly be doling out and, like, they're just music scenes. Many of them become strong enough that I then put in headphones and sit down at the kitchen table at the computer and type out lyrics, sitting with a notepad.

00:26:52:50 - 00:27:14:23
Unknown
But that's a that's a really intense process of getting the music. You know, at that point the music is basically gone. Yeah. And there's no melody. I mean, that's, it's, it's for so many people. It's a backwards way of thinking instead of, fed up a burp. Oh. That's fun to sing. Yeah, that is the next line.

00:27:14:23 - 00:27:42:51
Unknown
Go right. That's about it. But, like, yeah, I think it's important that we're talking about this because there's a lot of people out there that, you know, they're they're nervous about writing. They're nervous about putting their, emotions or thoughts on paper. And so the natural thing to gravitate toward is the idea of, well, let me let me at least get the, you know, the structure in.

00:27:42:56 - 00:27:59:56
Unknown
Right? I can do that, you know, which can be good because like with the deadline, it gives you the frame, right? You have to write to this. And so many times when I'm writing, I'll get lost in the progression and start soloing and playing, and I have to stop myself being like, oh yeah, the music's the easy part.

00:27:59:56 - 00:28:20:24
Unknown
What's this song actually going to say? Pick up the pen again? Well, I want, I want you to think of the next song you want to play. And, while you're thinking of that, what I'm hearing from you, and it sounds like this is, something that might be good for our listeners, our viewers, to think about is sometimes you have to put on the different hats.

00:28:20:24 - 00:28:41:25
Unknown
You have to compartmentalize for sure yourself. Yeah. Which takes a certain amount of discipline. Right? I mean, you have to step away from being at the song writer and say, okay, Barrett, you know, enough of that. I've got to bring in, you know, I'm I'm now working with Barrett, the the arranger. Right. You know, and it's weird to think about that.

00:28:41:25 - 00:29:28:37
Unknown
And, and even as you're writing with that, like, like you said, it is hard to give yourself permission. Yeah. To be vulnerable and to document it and to share it with the world. Right. And tell yourself it's okay if it's bad and it's okay if nobody likes it right. And to me, and it took years of this process to relish in that when that is the outcome to be like, dude, I was so brave with this song and it turns out and people don't like it, I don't even know if I like it.

00:29:28:51 - 00:29:50:00
Unknown
And that's fine because it's the process, but also not to get lost in the process. That's where the deadline, that's where, you know, having the onus of, hey, I booked a show, I need to play three new songs. And do you find yourself, giving yourself a deadline that propels you forward? Right? I mean, that idea of, like, booking yourself a show.

00:29:50:04 - 00:30:27:33
Unknown
I love the fact that you brought up the word brave, because being an independent musician is all about courage. But it's it's encourages stupidity. Yes. It's just stupidity. I, I I that is it. That should be, carved into stone somewhere. They are the musicians Hall of Fame, courage or stupidity. But it is in some ways, right. I mean, it's kind of in the sense that, it's not stupidity, like you're you're a moron, but the idea of, the way I, I hear what you're saying is you kind of boldly go, you know, you they say you rush in where angels fear to tread.

00:30:27:38 - 00:30:51:29
Unknown
That's kind of, you know, being, an independent musician, right? I mean, you're every time. But in order to do that, that person, that part of your personality. Yeah, has to be the one that's there. Also saying you can do this part. Right? So it's complex, right? So you, you know, we're, you know, multiple personalities. We're not saying that.

00:30:51:29 - 00:31:13:51
Unknown
But what we're saying is different hats. So yeah it is. And it as a songwriter that's healthy because it's so important to write from different perspectives and be different people when writing. Right. Because it's going to give you that vantage point for sure. You can you folks can do this. So let's for sure. What, what's your next song?

00:31:13:56 - 00:31:35:31
Unknown
I'm going to play that, that that song that took me a year to write. Perfect. In all fairness, I did take like ten months away from the song. It's not like I worked on it every day for for a year. But it's still cool. It's the time capsule, like part of it that I like. I the fact that I'm going to get myself a gift of a song, I think that's that's fantastic, man.

00:31:35:36 - 00:31:58:07
Unknown
And I like I truly, I, I try to churn out a song a week. And so it wasn't like it was like this huge thing, but while I was working on this, I was still working on other songs kind of. Yeah. Which is actually my favorite songwriting track. We'll just talk about that because that is a great I've got you bring up.

00:31:58:10 - 00:32:09:18
Unknown
This is a good trick. Yeah, it's a good trick. I will tell you. Fantastic song. Yeah. Fantastic. Trick. Yeah. All right. This, this song is called Heart Wants.

00:32:13:44 - 00:32:41:39
Unknown
Love. Heart wants what the heart wants. And you got all the love. Even though you lost in the fight. With time things can be fine. And you're fine with time. Things are fine.

00:32:41:44 - 00:33:05:45
Unknown
Baby sister. She was a dream with you. Her heart was yours. Yeah. Pure and true. Even when you hid it somewhere else. You find yourself dreaming of who deep inside find. It's true.

00:33:05:50 - 00:33:26:27
Unknown
And what you built up started tumbling down. And when the sea hurt your feet never touch the ground. She is the person you are. The piece that you found. You always wanna ride.

00:33:26:32 - 00:33:47:20
Unknown
I want to be I don't want to go. All the love. Even though you lost in you find. With time things can be fine and fine with time. Things are fine.

00:33:47:24 - 00:33:54:59
Unknown
But.

00:33:55:04 - 00:34:26:27
Unknown
When you see it. There's no denying the beauty. When you see it. There's no denying the, When you feel it. There's no going back to the star. When you feel it. There's no denying the heart. The heart wants what the heart wants. And you got all the love. Even though you lost in the fight. With time things can be fine.

00:34:26:32 - 00:35:00:36
Unknown
Find the time. Things are fine I want what I want. You got all the love. Even though you lost in your fight. With time things can be fine. The fine time. Things are fine. Nothing is life like the deepest connection. Flowing freely between you and the hardest. Your best friend and those as you become who you are willing.

00:35:00:40 - 00:35:37:33
Unknown
Wanting to drink again. Drinking. Want the, You got all the love. Even though you lost in you find. With time. Things can be found in the find time. Things are find I want to do not want to thank God I'm in love. Even though you've lost. You find the time things can you find you, you find the time.

00:35:37:38 - 00:35:50:40
Unknown
Things are fine.

00:35:50:49 - 00:36:14:56
Unknown
Wow. Another good, powerful message. And, just another positive song. We're going to take a little break, and we're going to come back and get some more wisdom from Bert Teskey and advice. It's that part of the podcast where, all the free advice is just so you're on strung out, strung out.

00:36:14:56 - 00:36:33:26
Unknown
Spotify. Pandora. Apple music. Alexa, did you know that you can listen to Marti's music on all these stations? All you have to do is enter Martin Lawrence McCormack in the search. Subscribe, like and listen.

00:36:33:26 - 00:36:58:04
Unknown
We're back. And, what a cool gift to give yourself. First of all, it's one of those songs in which you're kind of saying, keep it in the fight, man. Yeah, keep in the fight you're doing. You're doing everything right. And I want to tie that in with the notion of, of, of bravery and the notion of living this life.

00:36:58:04 - 00:37:28:20
Unknown
And then you are living a life that, a lot of people would love to live but are afraid to do so. For a lot of reasons. Right? Yeah. Well, I mean, in all fairness and all clarity, this is not the only thing I do. When I got out of the production life, the experience building and chased after music.

00:37:28:29 - 00:37:50:49
Unknown
And as a muse, I would always have a backup job. So I was still doing sound at venues. I was still doing studio sessions. I was producing records, I teach music, I worked for years in advertising. I worked at a high school teaching guitar. I worked at school rock for years. Whenever I needed to. I could always go back to the family business to pick up hours to make ends meet.

00:37:50:54 - 00:38:14:08
Unknown
So there is a safety net that's needed for some people. They do better without the safety net and you just need to go for it. When we got married and decided we were going to buy a house and have a kid, she made it clear she was not marrying Willie Nelson. I'm not. I'm not going to tour the country and go play 200 shows a year, which I could have.

00:38:14:08 - 00:38:41:39
Unknown
And those opportunities were there, and I toured with some pretty amazing musicians, you know, for some time. And they're still out there doing it, and they're still out there living that life, and they love it and thrive it. And there's a part of me that still is envious, admire it and look up to it. And at some point, my dad retired, he sold the business, and years passed.

00:38:41:39 - 00:39:00:21
Unknown
And the guy who bought the business asked me if I wanted to buy it. He was like, you're already doing everything freelance. Do you want this as a backup? So, a few years ago, I bought the business back for the family. So I still have, like, a day to day job. But I've designed the role and the whole purpose.

00:39:00:21 - 00:39:30:44
Unknown
Like, when I was growing up, it could always give me the work and the funding and the purpose that I need when the music's not there. And I think that's perfectly legitimate. You know, the, the notion of, you guys listening that in order to be, successful musician, you have to be starving? No, no, no. In order to be a successful musician, you need to define what your success is exactly and right.

00:39:30:57 - 00:39:56:23
Unknown
Mine. My definition was freedom. And I think that's why I never worked with a label. I never signed a contract. I turned down, Go figure. Want the. The beard is back. But let's just say I could look a lot like Frank Zappa and play him as well. And have. This is a little low. Yeah, as you get older, Willie.

00:39:56:24 - 00:40:18:20
Unknown
Really? Which is, for sure it's awesome. But, the the freedom, the freedom to choose. What gives? I want what music I want to play, who I want to work with. Under what settings, what music I want to play. The freedom to say no and that's what being my own boss at the shop has allowed me to do.

00:40:18:25 - 00:40:34:34
Unknown
If I want to take a week off of music. Okay. I have work to do at the shop. My day to day doesn't necessarily require me to be there every day. There are some days I need to be there. So a functioning business. But then it's an artistic business. I mean, oh, for sure. That's that's the other thing.

00:40:34:34 - 00:41:00:54
Unknown
I mean, it's it's again, the music involved. Yeah. I just think that it's really, really important. What you're saying is you have to define your success and then you have to believe in it. You have to hold yourself accountable to the fact that and remind yourself, you know, well, this is this is my, course that I'm charting, and this is why I'm doing it this way.

00:41:00:58 - 00:41:21:25
Unknown
Because I think we kind of get lost in that sea of, you know, but that's part of what that song is about. The heart. What? What the heart wants. That's not up to you, right? That's not a logical thing. That's like the soul being filtered through an organ and becoming the gravity, pushing you in a direction that is not up to you.

00:41:21:25 - 00:41:48:04
Unknown
And you can fight it all. You freaking want. That's among the worst decisions you can make for yourself in your own health. And in your state of being. Whereas, if you follow your heart and like I said, if you define what is success to you and chart, you know, or you can find out what it's going to take for you to get to that point, then it's undeniable.

00:41:48:09 - 00:42:25:37
Unknown
All you have to do is do the work. And what does the work look like? Not sitting on the couch and watching TV, not scrolling endlessly at the medias, not being distracted by. You're putting up boundaries with work, putting up boundaries with relationships. Yeah. I mean, there is no doubt like music has affected friendships, family, lovers, even my my wife, who is a musician and a songwriter and in bands, I'm not going to say it hasn't affected our relationship in good and bad ways, and that's going to make for a great individual.

00:42:25:42 - 00:42:53:42
Unknown
I always love I love these couples, other musicians and, you know, because the complexities. Yeah. And a lot of good advice because I know some some folks you're entering that relationship or already are in that relationship where you're like, okay, now, now what do we do? You know, so and communicating. And that's what we are as songwriters. We're communicating our experience, our interpretation of a experience of someone else's experience.

00:42:53:47 - 00:43:28:24
Unknown
And we're trying to, give someone a feeling they lack or a feeling they need or are familiar with something you've never felt before, or something you want to feel, or both at once. You want it accessible in a way that it's familiar, but you also want it fresh and new, and it can't help but be new if it's you because you're not X, Y, or Z who you might be influenced by, who you might aspire to think you become like, who you maybe you even sound like and spent your time wanting to sound like that before, or in developing your own voice.

00:43:28:29 - 00:44:08:03
Unknown
I think the the, the next generation is really kind of heading into a world that artisans are going to be not only more needed, but probably on some level will be more independent. I think that the, the, nuts and bolts industry is all but collapsed to some degree. Right. And here you are dispensing this great advice because this is this is the way I think it's going to have to be, you know, because we don't have, when I say, like, get rid of the safety net, the safety net is going into, you know, indentured servitude.

00:44:08:12 - 00:44:31:43
Unknown
Right, right. Some regard in some regard. Right, right. With label. And there are magic balances out here, you know, and exceptions to that, we don't have to just get in bed with someone. You could just, like, cuddle on the couch. You can just go for a drink with a label or a distribution, you know, deal or whatever. There are, there are ways around it, but that would be worth the price of going to your, your songwriting camp, just coming on the couch.

00:44:31:52 - 00:44:59:34
Unknown
Speaking of songwriting, I did want to go back to, my trick. Yes, yes. Thank you. And this was something I discovered by accident. And I don't know if I invented it, and it's not by any means the only way, but it is for me personally, I have found it to be the best is to be writing 2 or 3 songs at the same time.

00:44:59:39 - 00:45:33:40
Unknown
And in a perfect world, one of them is almost done. One of them is on that like precipice of where it's almost writing itself, and the other one is a nugget of an idea that's looking for development, and you're going to find they're either going to be the same song or similar in ideas or musical scenery, in which case are you going to be able to extract them and make them into one really strong idea, or the way I tend to do it, they're completely different from each other ones.

00:45:33:40 - 00:46:00:34
Unknown
Is six eight, drinking song one's, dirge down and out depressing song, and one is a love and a happiness song, you know, and and it starts to become almost like a production line that when you hit a block of wall on one song, instead of zooming out and changing what you're doing, go and read a book, go and watch a show or make dinner or whatever it is.

00:46:00:39 - 00:46:23:36
Unknown
Just switch to the next song and it's a a whole different perspective. You're now painting a different scene, right? You now have different lyric idioms that you're toying with, different rhythm themes, different rhyming schemes, different, just yin and yang. And like one of them might be your red period and one of them is your blue period.

00:46:23:49 - 00:46:51:16
Unknown
So to get to bounce between them keeps you in the creative frame. Well, keeping you moving forward in both avenues. And the beauty of that is, as you, I always call it, like you're advancing an army. Yeah. So you move like that, all the different little forces, but it's an army. So at the end of the day, you have that opportunity to say, this could be an album.

00:46:51:16 - 00:47:16:40
Unknown
I'm still a big believer in albums and doesn't my age and, but I like that idea that, you know, the by, you know, well, this is bogged down. So I'm going to move these forces, lean forward. But you do come up with something that kind of coalesces into, as complete as, a scene, a scene where you're at in your life and, yeah.

00:47:16:49 - 00:47:36:31
Unknown
And sometimes it's the opposite. This one is really jagged and edgy, and this one is all soft and rounded, but sometimes they still might complement each other. Yeah. Others of them, like, oh, this was, I don't know what's going to sit on the shelf for a while and the rest move on. And for me, and I think some of it I haven't thought about it in a long time.

00:47:36:31 - 00:48:02:31
Unknown
Like refinishing a dining table. You can't really do today. No, it ain't really what you're doing. Yeah, with your even with 20,000 hours, I would have to dedicate the entire day and I might be able to do it and have a good output. Right. So if I woke up in the morning and wrote a song by the end of the day, could I have the entire thing recorded, mixed, and mastered?

00:48:02:36 - 00:48:21:27
Unknown
Well, I've got 20,000 hours. I probably could within reason. It depends on the song. Write some songs. I need other players. Some songs I have to sit and practice the sax parts for hours so I can actually perform it in a way that as a producer, I can still fix it. Yeah, you know, and make it sound good.

00:48:21:32 - 00:48:49:14
Unknown
Can you do it? Yes, if you're going to. And limitations can be good. But to see the production line of like, here's a musical idea or lyrical idea and then it grows into this is more of a song idea. Okay. This is a song kind of forming. This is a song formed. Now we're going to demo it or bring it into the studio, and now we're going to really identify it with its uniqueness.

00:48:49:19 - 00:49:15:07
Unknown
You know, that song I just played was just basically cheese FS and CS, but the scene changed from open chords to different rhythmic ideas that ideally make that song unique, and it's the only song that will ever have that in it, certainly, that I will consciously create, because any time I come close, I'd be like, no, I use that track already, and that's where the joy comes from.

00:49:15:07 - 00:49:39:00
Unknown
Kind of, you know, those little discoveries are surprises. Yeah. When you're writing and crafting a song, I bet you you're like, oh, if I do this on, you know, like and then, well, you know, like I said, the thumbprint idea, no other song will be the same. And, and that's something to take a lot of, as you know, joy, joy is probably, at the end of the day, the word you want to attain, right?

00:49:39:00 - 00:50:02:27
Unknown
And state of joy from doing our craft. I want to thank you. I want to thank you for your honesty. I want to thank you for your optimism. And I want to thank you for your inspiration, because I think anybody that's sitting and watching, or listening to this, especially those of you who I think are out there, they're thinking, should I do this?

00:50:02:32 - 00:50:25:53
Unknown
Yes. You're going to come away saying, I can do it. You know I can do it. It's it's it's, you know, and give yourself the permission to do it. Is, one of the things that, the reoccurring, underlying thing on both podcasts is you can do it. Give yourself permission. Be brave enough for yourself. You know, the heart wants what the heart wants, right?

00:50:25:58 - 00:50:51:54
Unknown
So that's, that's exactly it. And I look forward, or we're going to have a podcast with his better half. Coming down the pike. Yes. And, I'm looking forward to that. And, again, thank you so much. And thank you, man. Place up, brother. All right. What do you got? Well, this was written years ago, and it pairs well with the last one.

00:50:51:59 - 00:51:15:51
Unknown
I was asked by a advertising person today, as a musician, what's your what's your artist statement? And I was like, whoa, those are not concepts I've ever put together. And he was like, well, here's a shot in the beer. I'm gonna go to the bathroom when I get back, I want to hear, oh, interesting. And I was like, what?

00:51:15:52 - 00:51:43:36
Unknown
And like, in advertising, it's all about boom, boom, boom, like three words. Just do it. Your elevator pitch. Exactly, exactly. And he's like, what's the answer? And I said, Shane. I was like, that's great. I was like, that's what it is. I want to shine at every opportunity that I have a listener's ear that someone gives me the grace of their time and attention.

00:51:43:41 - 00:52:02:03
Unknown
I want to shine. Awesome. When someone asks me to play with them, I want to shine in my own right. But more importantly, help them to elevate as a leader if need be or as a team player if need be. So this song is called Harp Shine.

00:52:21:04 - 00:52:29:57
Unknown
There are days when the sun shines too bright.

00:52:30:02 - 00:52:39:09
Unknown
There are days when moon is dark.

00:52:39:14 - 00:52:49:03
Unknown
It's when you gotta reach inside.

00:52:49:07 - 00:52:57:21
Unknown
Let your heart shine.

00:52:57:26 - 00:53:05:50
Unknown
God, let your shine.

00:53:05:54 - 00:53:14:44
Unknown
Let it shine all the time.

00:53:14:48 - 00:53:46:01
Unknown
God, let your heart shine in the. There is shine on there. Turn.

00:53:46:06 - 00:53:55:15
Unknown
There are days when it hurts to day.

00:53:55:20 - 00:54:04:18
Unknown
When the way cannot be seen.

00:54:04:23 - 00:54:39:43
Unknown
It's when you gotta push so much. To reach for your heart to shine. If you know what it means. God, let your light shine. There is shine all the time.

00:54:39:48 - 00:55:29:06
Unknown
God, let your heart shine. Let it shine all the time.

00:55:29:10 - 00:55:38:13
Unknown
You. There are days when your song will not be sung.

00:55:38:18 - 00:55:48:41
Unknown
To when your words will go unheard.

00:55:48:46 - 00:56:06:17
Unknown
It's when your rhythm and melody is what we all need. It's about time we hear your heart sing.

00:56:06:21 - 00:56:23:34
Unknown
God, let your heart shine and let it shine. Over time.

00:56:23:39 - 00:56:43:35
Unknown
God, let your heart shine. Pay attention all the time.

00:56:43:40 - 00:57:12:09
Unknown
Sure, everyone let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine all the time. Let your heart shine. Finish.

00:57:12:14 - 00:57:16:30
Unknown
It.

00:57:16:30 - 00:57:34:13
Unknown
Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit Martin mccormack.com while there. Sign up for our newsletter. See you next time on Strung Out.

00:57:34:18 - 00:57:47:05
Unknown
It's so strong. Spain, we feel, makes no sense at all. The swan song wasn't part of the deal, was no good. All giving no choice. Giving us a.