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.

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!

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.