Journey of a Song

Send us Fan Mail "If all I have is you, I'd be the richest girl in the room..." Sometimes, a song starts as a single idea with a slew of metaphors, laid neatly into a note on an iPhone. You don't need more ideas, or better words; you just need a friend to help you pare it down. For Americana artist Sarah Johnson, that's how her latest single--a love song, just in time for...

Send us Fan Mail "Is there any love after death?"  How can we move through grief? How can we honor our lost loved ones without allowing ourselves to be consumed by the past? How can we hold space for the memory of those we've lost and allow ourselves to live full, joyful, and meaningful lives? For indie rock artist Chloe Clemente, the struggle to answer these questions manifested in...

Send us Fan Mail "We're running fast on streets with cracks in 'em." How do you grow older gracefully? Can you preserve a bit of childhood as adulthood looms? Can you ever run with childlike abandon as an adult? Does progress always come at a cost? In "Ms. Clavel," the thoughtful waltz from her new album, Wake , singer-songwriter Katherine Paterson poses these questio...

Send us Fan Mail "What a beautiful day out here in the park." Inspiration for a song can come from anywhere around us is we stay open and curious. There's also a lot to be said for allowing oneself to surrender to a vibe. In this episode, innovative songwriter and producer Daniel Candiotta sits down with Emmeline to talk about how the gift of breadsticks one fateful day led him to c...

Send us Fan Mail "Where does the wind take you?" Have you ever wanted something so badly, needed something so badly, that despite your best attempts, the need overtook you?  In the atmospheric, immersive "Ikarus," ¿Dónde está Alicia? explores Icarus's narrative from Greek mythology from this perspective of deep yearning. In this episode, Journey of a Song goes bilingual! E...

Send us Fan Mail "Deep in the woods, things aren’t always what they seem..."  Songs might usually have some sort of emotional impetus, some big feeling that catapults them into being--but not all songs start with a feeling. Not all songs are initially borne from that place deep down inside of us that says, "See me. Hear me. Know me." Some songs start, quite simply, with a promp...

Send us Fan Mail "You were the spark that set my world on fire." The best thing about songwriting is that it's honest. When we dig deep down to write from an authentic emotional place, songwriting always tells us the truth. Sometimes, it helps us find elusive truths. In Episode #36 of Journey of an Artist , Tony Mendoza shared the beautiful story of the magical love he shared with h...

Send us Fan Mail "I think I'll cancel my plans today, so I can drive and see your face." Sometimes, a song starts with a line. Sometimes, it starts with a melody. For Dallas-based singer-songwriter Remy Reilly, "What Do Ya Know" started with a vibe. She knew the sound she wanted, and she knew the collaborator she wanted: Jonathan Tyler of Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Li...

Send us Fan Mail "I'm gonna thrive, just because I'll fight." Maybe you need some encouragement. Maybe you need someone to remind you that you're not defined by your insecurities. Maybe you need to take a deep breath, screw up your courage, and invest in yourself. In her moments of doubt, Chloe Clemente wrote "Angels Cry"--and she wants her new single to be your...

Send us Fan Mail "Somehow I don't think you'll ever love anyone but you." How can you combine caustic wit and heartfelt honesty in a song? What do you do when you've got a story without a chorus? Can you write an authentic and meaningful song to a prompt? Douglas Allen has these answers and more. In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Douglas Allen to discuss his post-re...

Send us Fan Mail "I keep finding pieces below the surface, working their way out." We're all searching for purpose. We're all desperate for meaning. In "Hattertown Road," Austin-based songwriter Kris Schultz articulates that yearning and shares how beautiful it can be to be given the space to search. In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Kris to talk about how some...

Send us Fan Mail "What is it like to know it’s okay if you go slow?" What does anxiety feel like? What does it sound like? When is it over? In "Until Home," Alyssa Gillen tackles these questions and more, writing in a very personal way about the effort we make to be put together, socially acceptable, and productive. In this episode, Emmeline and Alyssa talk about persistent mel...

Send us Fan Mail "What am I supposed to do when you look at me like that, like you know my whole life and you still want to hear it?" Have you ever had feelings that you weren't sure were requited? Have you ever been reluctantly drawn to a relationship that broke you wide open? In "American Denim," songwriter Sam Cormier seeks to navigate those feelings with innovative, op...

Send us Fan Mail "Now that the peas have grown tall, and they don't reach the land of giants..." Disappointment. Gratitude. Loss. Grief. Joy. Pride. Hope. We humans are complex, messy creatures, and all of these feelings can co-exist in us. In "Bloom," the mandolin-driven title track from her debut EP, singer-songwriter Katherine Paterson seeks to give voice to all of thes...

Send us Fan Mail "Freedom is ours to be found." What makes a home? A sense of peace and security? The presence of people we love? Delicious solitude? How can we find our own home? Better yet, how can we build our home? Along with her talented band, The Morning Dew, Austin-based singer-songwriter Melissa Gail Klein explores these questions in "Home," the title track from her upc...

Send us Fan Mail "Could never be a bad time for a good cry."  How often do we tell ourselves to keep it together, to keep a stiff upper lip, or to hide our true feelings? How often do we shame ourselves rather than allow ourselves to get vulnerable and seek connection? In this episode, Emmeline sits down with singer-songwriter Jeffrey Michael Widman to talk about the raw, honest space fr...

Send us Fan Mail "I guess I know why we romanticize Bonnie & Clyde." Music heals. How many times has a song helped you through something difficult? How many times has a song made you feel a bit more understood and a little bit less alone? How many times has a song been the voice for an emotion you didn't even know you were feeling? With rich harmonies, a driving guitar, and  a d...

Send us Fan Mail "You don't know what it took from me to break down my walls."    What does real love look like? How do the people we love treat us as we evolve? What can their support afford us? What can it cost? In her new single, "Pretend Love," Glitter seeks to answer some of these questions--and to challenge the audience to evaluate and reflect on its own love stories...

Send us Fan Mail "I sure hope my life has meaning." Do we have to grow colder as we grow older?  How can we continue to evolve instead of letting adulthood cause us to devolve? When do we start letting life live us instead of living our lives? In "Restart," Xavier Bernazard seeks to tackle these questions with slick steel drums and passionate vocals. In this episode, Xavier--an...

Send us Fan Mail "The dark won't show its face an hour too soon." Maintaining our mental health is a journey, filled with ups and downs. Sometimes, we find a supportive and encouraging environment in which to grow. Sometimes, our choices are criticized and mocked, and we begin a downward spiral of self-doubt. If you struggle with mental health--or if you're just navigating the...

Send us Fan Mail "I've opened my heart; I'm standing here." Did COVID derail your journey as an artist? Did you struggle with depression? Were you anxious about how your career or your passion might change shape? In this episode, Brian Lambert talks about "We Are Okay," the song that details his journey from depression to triumph.  He gets candid about how he turned h...

Send us Fan Mail "You're the only one who can turn this around." Do you need some encouragement? Does self-doubt  ever keep you from chasing your dreams? Brianna Ruelas's new song, "Thieves," is exactly the anthem you need. In this episode, Brianna shares how the song she wrote to encourage herself became a song she could send to encourage others.  Brianna and Emmelin...

Send us Fan Mail "I stayed up all night to make this mixtape right." Do you remember the days of perfecting the perfect playlist?  Are there songs that take you back to high school, or middle school, or college?  Did you ever make the perfect mixtape for a crush? In "Midnight Radio," Nicholas Altobelli harnesses the nostalgia of what the playlist used to be, recalling the harro...

Send us Fan Mail "If I could only help out somebody other than myself, I'd probably be more inclined to sleep at night." This crazy year has us all asking a very important, very pervasive question: What is normal? In this episode, songwriter Quincy Forte (formerly of Ducado Vega and Chasing February) talks about his search for connection and his quest to find his own sense of normal...

Send us Fan Mail "I'm thinking about not living without you in my life." Do you ever wonder how to breathe life into an old song?  How to find success in a tumultuous music industry?  How to maintain your grip on positivity? This episode is for you! Dave Wilson (formerly of the late 90s band Marnie's Little  Brother) stops by to talk about "I Try," the song that lande...