Home and Thanks!

I'm back in Seattle, Washington...which means the tour is over for the time-being! It's been fun. There were several locations I wasn't able to get to due to schedule conflicts and time constraints. I hope to get around to those folks in a future trip!

I'd like to thank each songwriter that participated in this project by donating their time and extending me their hospitality! Each of you is a unique talent and I appreciate your time.

There are some additional people I'd like to thank, each of whom contributed in their own way to help make this tour a success - Barry Markey, Brent Magstadt, Sherri Thal, Shannon Donnally Spasova, the folks at NSAI, Marc-Alan Barnette, Tonya Hood, Chuck Shute, Mom, Dad - THANK YOU!

Suzanne Reed - San Diego, California

I visited with Suzanne Reed in a San Diego suburb during an abnormally cold and windy patch of weather, but my host was full of warmth! We had a great time and I also enjoyed meeting her talented sons Matt and Mike.

Suzanne works at Taylor guitars and has been a performing artist since the early 70's, primarily playing cover songs. In recent years she started writing her own material and it has developed into a passion. She talks about the transition to performing her own songs in her interview below - check it out!

And see Suzanne performing her original song "Big Picture" --

Shawn Nelson - Austin, Texas

I met Austin-based performing songwriter Shawn Nelson at the Continental Club on Thursday night, just before he got on stage to play a set with his band. He invited me over to his home in west Austin and I had a great time hanging out. Check out his performance of his new tune "Let It Go" below.

In the interview, Shawn discusses songwriting, the journey of an artist and his brief stint at a publisher as a song plugger in Nashville, TN.

Kathy Jernigan - Atlanta, Georgia

Kathy Jernigan is a songwriter and NSAI coordinator for the North Metro Atlanta chapter. She has a professional background in journalism and law-enforcement, but she has always had an interest in writing. In 2007 she put out a children's book titled "The Know It All Kitty and the Peanut Butter Factory."

At the same time, she also took a more active interest in songwriting. Atlanta is just a four-hour drive from Nashville, and Kathy has taken full-advantage of her proximity to a major music center. Take a listen and hear her story:

Jeff Silver - Atlanta, Georgia

Jeff Silver is a performing songwriter and NSAI coordinator in Atlanta, Georgia. He's been all over the country doing music-related work over the course of several years, including Los Angeles and New York.

He has a background in composition that comes across in his flowing guitar arrangements. You can see an example of that in his performance of "Better Off Not Knowing" - be sure to check that out and take a listen to his story!

Chris Platel - Fernandina Beach, Florida

I visited with Chris Platel in Fernandina Beach, Florida - located on Amelia Island, "Isle of 8 Flags." Chris is a life and relationship coach, a practitioner of Voice Movement Therapy, and coordinator for the Fernandina Beach chapter of the NSAI.

Although Chris comes from a musical family (her brother is vocalist Lenny Zakatek from the Alan Parsons Project), she did not fully commit herself to songwriting until 2006. She talks about her journey in this interview!

Sheryl Paige - Cocoa, Florida

Sheryl Paige is a performing songwriter in Cocoa, Florida; she's also a coordinator for the Orlando chapter of the NSAI. With her husband Leon, they also do work in artist development. She had a lot to share in her interview below!

She also has a great song called "The Fine Art of Doing Nothing" - check it out:

Woody Garrison - Athens, GA

I got to hang out with Woody Garrison in Athens, Georgia on Thursday and Friday on my first official non-NSAI stop. Woody is a performing songwriter and works vocationally as a production assistant.

We've crossed paths a few times in Kauai as attendees of the annual Kauai Music Festival, which is always a great time! Woody is moving to Oahu at the end of the year. It's a very exciting time for him and we wrote a theme song for his move; I look forward to it being a hit in the islands.

For his video performance, Woody played a new tune called "Falling Fast" - check it out and take a listen to his interview.

Allen Shervelle - Charlotte, NC

Allen Shervelle is a songwriter in Charlotte, North Carolina; originally from New Jersey, he started out playing drums in bands before finding his path writing songs. He makes regular trips to Nashville and has plans to relocate there with his wife in the near future.

We had a good time writing songs; we finished two and had time to ride the light rail into the downtown area and grab a burger.

Check out a song he co-wrote with Gary Denis called "The F-word" and then take a listen to his story!

Bruce Smith - Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland was the most devoted football town I've hit so far on the tour; watching the Ravens game was a prerequisite to getting down to "official tour business"!

Bruce Smith is a songwriter who recently started an NSAI chapter in his area; his goal is to find others to co-write with. In the 70's Bruce was a successful bass player and ended up in Nashville, where he was signed to a staff writing deal. Check out his interview to get the rest of the story!

Debra Lee & Rick Denzien - Ambler, PA

Debra Lee and Rick Denzien were my hosts in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Debra Lee is a performing songwriter and a coordinator for the Eastern PA chapter of the NSAI. Rick Denzien is an artist, songwriter and producer at Slot One.

We went on a real songwriting binge during the visit - 2 songs in 24 hours, along with a show in Ambler. There are some recorded performances, but they are not available yet - I will update the blog when I have them.

Meanwhile, check out my first three-way interview; it was a lot of fun and they both have some great perspectives to share.

Mike McLaughlin - Eastern Pennsylvania

Mike McLaughlin is a songwriter and co-coordinator for the geographically large Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the NSAI. He was an entertaining guy and I had fun hanging out and co-writing with him.

He has had some successes with niche marketing; he shares his perspectives on this topic and songwriting in our interview below - and don't forget to check out his song "No Yesterday"!

Ron "Hookstown" Brown - Pittsburgh, PA

I've been hangin' out with Ron "Hookstown" Brown in Pittsburgh and we've had a great time. We hung out, along with Nancy Deckant, and co-wrote a pretty promising tune.

Also, I've had some great timing on my trip thus far - it seems everyone I visit has some fresh great news around their songwriting.

This stop happily continued that trend. Take a listen to the interview and find out why! And check out Ron's great tune "You're Still Here"...

Martin Koop - Tiffin, Ohio

Tiffin, Ohio is a small community about an hour southeast of Toledo; it is host to Tiffin University and the historic Ritz Theatre.

Martin Koop is a talented performing songwriter and an active member of the community in Tiffin - he shared with me his determination to nurture and grow the town as a music destination.

Check him out performing his song "I Know You By Now" and take a listen to his interview!

Rene Longoria - Indianapolis, Indiana

Rene Longoria is a songwriter based in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a member of the Nashville Songwriter's Association. He has a devotion to the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, along with a deep spirituality that shows in his writing; his slogan is also a song - "Dream Responsibly"

He also has a lighter side and he shares that on this timely performance of "Swine Flu" - check it out along with a great, inspiring interview! (apologies for the audio quality on this one - may have to turn it up)

James Leo Oliver - Marshall, Michigan

James Leo Oliver is the NSAI coordinator for the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan chapter. I had a chance to meet several members of his chapter during the course of the visit and I was impressed by the level of cross-collaborations going on.

We had a productive co-writing session and managed to finish a song called "The Heart Part is the Hard Part" - and we were able to go to a studio the next day and knock out a full demo mix, working with an amazing guy by name of Greg Brayton.

Jim shared a touching song called "God Has His Hand In It" - written for his son Ian. He also had a lot of great thoughts to share in his interview.

Lisa Medill - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Lisa Medill is a songwriter and coordinator of the Milwaukee chapter of the NSAI -- and was a super host! We had a really fun time together and a big thanks to her husband Barry for the meals.

Lisa's got a lot of good things going on for her as a songwriter and she shares her perspectives with me in this interview.

Eric Edstrom - Milwaukee, WI

Eric Edstrom is a co-coordinator of the Milwaukee chapter of NSAI. He's primarily a songwriter, although he has the vocal and guitar chops to be an artist, he decided the artist lifestyle is not for him.

Eric is an MBA and it's interesting to hear and see how habits from the executive life carry over into his songwriting. Check it out!

Jill Miller - Sioux City, Iowa

I met with Jill Miller in Iowa and we had a great visit - had a productive start to a song and got to hang out. Jill is an artist/writer with focuses in contemporary christian, country and pop music; she is active in music ministry.

As a side-note, I developed a case of Driver's Dementia by this point. When I arrived, I called her Jill. By Day 2 I think I was calling her Julie. And then I recovered and she was Jill again...! :)

Check out her performance of "Menopause Blues" and her interview - she did great!

Lauren Brombert - Longmont, CO

While in Colorado, I also got to meet with a talented artist/writer by the name of Lauren Brombert. She's had some successes as an artist over the years - originally in the Chicago area, including a write-up of her first CD in Performing Songwriter magazine.

Take a listen to her song "State of the Union" and hear her insights on songwriting from an artist's perspective.

Donna Valentine - Longmont, CO

Donna was a gracious host and is also an excellent songwriter. I had a chance to chat with her about songwriting and record her performing a song called "Crimes against Ohio" - check it out!

Banking on it...

Well this is a bad start; I haven't even left yet. This is a lesson is giving out post-dated checks. Don't!

Someone deposited one and it cleared - the check's date hasn't even occurred yet, not even close. I've got $7 in checking.

If anyone wants to help out with gas money, thanks much!

Hitting the road Friday morning!

Time's running out and it's almost time to hit the road! Trying to wrap up loose ends and avoid the flu going around; wouldn't be very fun to be on the road for 8-9 hour drives with those symptoms...

I won't be making my first "official" songwriting stop until this Sunday, 9/13, where I'll be meeting with Donna Valentine and her chapter in Longmont, Colorado. Donna has been great and I'm looking forward to meeting her.

Meanwhile, I'll be making overnight stops in Missoula, Montana and Salt Lake City, Utah. Friday night I'll be playing a show north of Missoula with a really cool band called Sleep Waves. They have a great set of influences and I dig their sound, will be cool to meet them and jam onstage.

The US Songwriting Tour - coming soon!

I am a Seattle songwriter.

Over the past three years, I've gotten increasingly serious about the study of songwriting and meeting others who share an obsession for creating and crafting songs. Many of these people are performing artists as well, but a large number are not. I've found that songwriters come from all walks of life and represent all walks of life.

Starting in just over two weeks, I'll be embarking upon a trip around the United States for purposes of documenting the American songwriter; I hope to find the things that unite all songwriters as well as those things that make each unique.

On each "official" tour stop, I will be meeting with one or more songwriters and doing the following:

• Chat about our songwriting experiences and the craft, I'll post some transcripts here.
• I'll record audio/video of the songwriter performing one of their songs, to be posted on YouTube and here.
• We'll co-write a song together. There is the possibility of making an album full of songs from these co-writes...

I've consulted with a grant-writer on the viability of getting a grant to go to Nashville and cutting the best of the co-written songs in one of Nashville's renowned studios with A-list players. That would be an exciting follow-up to the trip!

In some locations, there will be other activities as well, including live performances and workshops.

The trip was coordinated "primarily" via my Nashville Songwriters Association contacts. There are many gracious regional volunteer NSAI Chapter coordinators across the country who shared my excitement at the possibilities of this trip.

I'll be traveling light and on a tight budget. I'll be driving in my 2000 Dodge Neon, which I hope will hold up! There won't be any hotel stays - I'll be primarily couch surfing. I have hosts in most of my planned destinations - it's humbling how open and kind people can be; without these hosts my trip wouldn't be possible!

As I write this, I am finalizing dates with my hosts. So far I have my itinerary planned out thru Ohio, with many more stops left to be finalized!

Fund raising is not a goal for this trip, but if this is the type of arts project you're interested in supporting and seeing more of, I do accept donations.

It's going to be an exciting trip and if anyone would like to be a part of it, please feel free to drop me a line; I still have some flexibility in adding dates/stops along the way.