Song and a Chat

Episode# 77:  Anticipation and Longing    (Song starts at 7:00)  Welcome to another episode, packed with humour, chat & music. This week I interview my old mate, and co songwriter, Mr Paul Dredge. I also videoed proceedings. So you have the option to watch and listen this week, if you’d like to: https://youtu.be/0cc4r1SVz80 Paul and I ended up talking about all sorts…from All Blacks, to...

Episode #76:  Molly Brown    (Song starts at 5:28) This week’s song is a brand new one, so it’s very fresh in my mind, as to how it came together.  I wrote the lyrics and recorded the demo recording 2 nights ago.  Tonight I’ve been a bit busy. I’ve just done online live concert for 90minutes, where I premiered this song. Then I videoed myself recording piano and vocals in my studio, pl...

Episode #75: Harbour Lights   (Song starts at 7.35) Hi there. If this is your first time here, what can you expect from having a listen? You’ll find a show packed with music, humour, anecdotes..even the odd bird call. (!)  I’m here to entertain you by providing a relaxed 30 minutes of conversation. Sure it’s a pretty one sided conversation, but thanks so much for those of you tun...

Episode #74: I Can’t Call You   (Song starts at 12.58) Hi there. Come along with me for another ‘wander’ and a chat. I’m looking to entertain and relax the listener (you). I’m also looking to shed some light on the mystery of a creative process: Songwriting. As I write these show notes, ‘I Can’t Call You’ is the most recent song I’ve written. The version o...

Episode #73: Long, Long Road      ( Song at 5.34) Talk about a long, long road…it’s currently lockdown here in Melbourne – Again! That’s 6 times! Happy to do my bit, stay home and do what’s right.  One of the things I’ve enjoyed over the last 15 months has been recording podcast episodes. It’s been my one of my ‘islands of certainty’ each week, in these un...

Episode #72: Gratitude   (Song at 4.22) An interesting one this week. I stumbled across this old demo when I was going through some files on the computer.  I’ve already presented this one to the band (myself and the Patient Hum) – would’ve been handy to have had this demo around on the evening I sang it through with the guys.  Or maybe not…sometimes it’s fun to see what oth...

  Episode #71 The Man In Blue   (Song at 11.02) Hi there and welcome to another 30 minutes of relaxed chat – and some music. If you’re back here for another dose, thank you! If it’s your 1st time here, welcome.   As you listen, I hope you’re feeling like you’re almost ‘in conversation’ with me, as an audience when I’m talking away.  Recording the episodes about s...

Episode #70: Help Me  (Song starts at 7:24 ) Hi there, from Melbourne. Once again, here I am behind the mic, at the piano, looking at another song from a while ago – or that was what I thought.  But…I pushed a button without realising it. An 80s synth sound came through loud and clear, when I was expecting a piano sound. I let this take me somewhere and I leapt in and started composing an &#...

Episode #69: Where The Days All Went    (Song starts at 5.50) Hi and welcome to another episode. As usual,   we are travelling back in time to the day I wrote this one – song #446. If you’re thinking ‘that’s a while ago’! That’s what I’m thinking too. But the strange thing is, it doesn’t feel so long ago, to me… And now I’m thinking ‘where did all th...

Episode #68: Time Wheels    (Song starts at 4:26) Welcome to another episode. I like the way this podcast is developing. Casting my mind back, it’s hard to believe more than a year has gone by since I recorded my 1st episode. Those time wheels keep on turning. Written in 1991 ( yes, that is some time ago, and it’s a surprise to me that so many years have passed since I wrote this one)....

Episode #67: Huckleberry Man     (Song starts at 7.54) Hi there & welcome! This week’s episode features a song that came out of thin air – a collaboration between myself and my friend Jo Kinniburgh. The evening it happened, we didn’t set out to write a song – it was completely unexpected. It was at the time I composed my very mellow 1st solo piano ‘River Music’ al...

Episode #66: King Edward’s Park  ( Song starts at: 6.44 ) This song (# 380 ) reminds me of how it felt to be sitting in King Edwards Park all those years ago, back in New Plymouth, NZ.  I can recall the mood, the sounds of ‘ the ducks chattering in love’, the sights … just a few people strolling by, a monarch ( butterfly) floating by on the breeze… the most peaceful k...

Episode #65: Visions Of Sleep  (Song starts at 5.48) Hi and welcome to another episode of fun, exploration and …intrigue. Where did this song (song # 406) come from?  It came from a dream. There you go. It was early (ish) in the morning, after all, I’m a musician. It would’ve been sometime before 11am. Probably. Anyhow, I woke from this dream as if someone lightly shook me. So I...

Episode #64: Memory Of The Day    (Song starts at 7:28) This episode’s song was fully inspired by some words that came to me out of thin air. Actually, it was like it was whispered to me somehow…in my mind. That’s quite an admission to make publicly, but, as a creative, these things seem to happen. Maybe it comes through your DNA, something from your past or ancestors….or maybe there’s...

Episode #63:  A Tincture of Time   (Song at 26.58) ( Song plays at 26.58 – you can scroll easily. Each episode is approx 30mins long) . Hi there and welcome! This episode, we have a have a different sort of a format: I’m looking closely at how this song came together, rather than what inspired it. On that note I can you tell exactly what inspired this song… I’ve been receiving so...

Episode #62: Close To Me    (Song at 4.43) It was a bit chilly in the studio tonight.. Winter seems to have arrived. Don’t you love the change in seasons? I took a walk today down the road. Where I live, I’m close to nature and for that, I’m very thankful. It’s great to get out and get a breath of fresh air. Today’s song, Close To Me, talks about the beginning of a re...

Episdoe #61: With the Flow     (Song at 5.22) Welcome along to another episode. This week we are looking at a song I wrote back in 2016. The day I wrote this one, I was teaching piano. In fact, I was teaching 17 students on a Monday – followed by another 15 on Tuesday! I’ve ‘reeled it in a bit’ now to 26 students. Either way, that’s a lot of private lessons in one day.  As I teac...

Episode #60: I’d Do It Again   (Song at 6.44sec) As usual, this week I examine a song I’ve written, I endeavour to put you in the shoes of a songwriter. I’m looking to entertain and inform on this podcast (6.44 is the time where the songs kicks in). I can’t believe I’m up to episode number 60.  Here’s a shout out to Brent Vaarstra   https://www.brentvaartstra.co...

Episode #59: Ghosts and Lamp Posts    (Song at 5.45) Welcome to another episode packed with information, humour and mystery!  I actually said something like that as I introduced this week’s podcast episode and as I said those words, the lamp I picked up from the side of the road ( someone was throwing it out) recently went out. It’s one of those ones you tap 3 times to get different le...

Episode #58: These Bills  (Song at 5.35) This is the podcast where each week I’ll put you on the shoes of being a songwriter as I attempt to figure out where/ how a song came to be…so Let’s find out what the   inspiration for this week’s song These Bills (written in 1991) was… It’s a great idea to study other songwriters. So, although I’d already written 190 songs, I...

Episode #57: Post The Picture     (Song at 6.58) Where does a song come from? It’s a bit like how long is a piece of string… For me, my songwriting (and my painting) comes from a combination of what is happening in the moment around me – and within – and memories. My lyrics lead me across time, like a time traveller. How does that feel? It makes me feel free – free to expre...

Episode #56:  A Little Light   (Song at 4.56) Hi there, welcome to another episode packed with anecdotes, songwriting insights & humour. Even if you’re not overly into songwriting, you might enjoy this – the focus is on information and entertainment!  So sit back and have a listen as I chat, touch briefly on concepts, before moving on to the next thought. I record these episodes wi...

Episode #55: Don’t Miss The Bus   (Song at 7.22) Written in 2013, this one came to me in a series of verses… ‘on the ether’, as it were. It really felt like I was just sitting, taking notes. Words – lots of words – kept on coming through. When I thought it was finished, more words kept on coming through.  The mystery of where these songs come from is something that comes up...

Episode #54: Falling (Out The Back Of My Mind)   (Song at 5:50 and 28:28) Last week I touched on the idea that the most important thing about songwriting is that you want to convey feeling. I do think it’s actually more important than the message.  ‘Falling’ is a song that fits that description to a ‘t’.  A friend of mine listened to the song the other week. She got b...

Episode #53: Everlasting  (Song at 5.48) Hi there,  Welcome to another episode. If it’s your first time here, thanks for stopping by. My plan is to try and put you in the shoes of a songwriter – both in general terms and also what I was thinking and feeling when I wrote the song featured in each episode.  I’m having a fun week. I inherited a very nice old writing desk. Being a wr...