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.