Songversations Episode 04 – Eric Hansen – Bouncing Back To Songwriting From a Forced Hiatus and Relearning How To Do The Work

Songversations Episode 08 – Eric Schaffer: The subtractive process of adding the final 5% to a song to really make it shine

300x300thumbnail [https://i0.wp.com/thelongwait.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/300x300thumbnail.jpg?resize=300%2C300]In this episode of Songversations we talk to a great friend and collaborator, Eric Schaffer. We owe a lot to Eric as he helped us out when we started playing out live again, letting us play in the breaks of their monthly gig at Monterey Court with Eric Schaffer and the Other Troublemakers. In the interview we talk about how you sometimes make a song better by taking stuff out, how some of the biggest songs in history have been just a simple I-V-IV progression and the paralyzing self doubt of knowing whether your song is shit or not (and the 7 Step Process to Not Feeling Like a Shit Songwriter)! Check out Eric Schaffer and the Other Troublemakers on their Reverbnation page. [https://www.reverbnation.com/ericschaffertheothertroublemakers] Enjoy! Björgvin

Songversations Episode 07 – Celeste Amade – Transitioning From a Folky Singer/Songwriter to an Electronic Popstar

This month’s interview is a special one. When we recorded it way back in the fall of 2015 Celeste was in the process of transitioning from her folky roots to collaborating and creating more electronic pop productions with Steven Tracy of Saint Cecilia Studios. I’m glad we waited to publish this episode because now we have a chance to give you an example of the direction she is taking. Take a listen to the episode and hear about her approaches to writing songs, finding inspiration and creating a work ethic that allows her to write. Oh…and we also talk a bunch about Taylor Swift…so there’s that! Enjoy! If you like the podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave us a review and rating. Thanks! [http://www.thelongwait.com/songversations]

Songversations Episode 6 – STEFF KOEPPEN

In this month’s episode of Songversations we sit down with Steff Koeppen. Steff is a very busy songwriter and musician. She’s been very active with her group Steff and the Articles in the last years but she recently came out with her solo album Game We Playthat showcases her pop sensibilities in a completely different light. We talk about her methods with songwriting, how she comes up with ideas and develops songs. We also talk about the importance of collaborators and how having a second set of ears can really improve songs from a production process. We play the song “Celebrate” at the end of the interview but you can also watch the music video here below: Take a listen to the interview and be sure to subscribe to iTunes [http://www.thelongwait.com/songversations] and leave a review. Have a great weekend.

Songversations Episode 04 – Eric Hansen – Bouncing Back To Songwriting From a Forced Hiatus and Relearning How To Do The Work

300x300thumbnail [https://i0.wp.com/thelongwait.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/300x300thumbnail.jpg?resize=300%2C300] [https://i0.wp.com/thelongwait.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/300x300thumbnail.jpg]In this episode of Songversations we talk to Eric Hansen, a veteran of the music industry for many decades. We discuss his past successes as well as his re-entry into songwriting and music making after recovering from a double lung transplant. Eric brings some exciting thoughts about songwriting and the necessity of doing the work in order to achieve success as a songwriter. Please subscribe to Songversations on iTunes and leave us a rating and a review. [http://www.thelongwait.com/songversations] His bio can be found here below and more of his information can be found atwww.erichansen.net [http://www.erichansen.net] “Eric was born October 6, 1956 in Highland, Indiana. By the time he was 12, his family had moved to Chicago, where he studied classical guitar. After high school, he attended Chicago Musical College, where he studied voice, classical guitar and then stumbled upon the theatre dept. He left the conservatory two years later and joined Chicago’s Free Street Theater, a traveling performing arts outreach program. After four years with Free Street, performing, writing songs, and working in schools, hospitals, and communities, he won a major role in “I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road.” The show took him to New York City. There, he pursued a career onstage, worked in touring musicals, did bit parts in soaps: The Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow, One Life to Live – and did Theatre by the Sea in Portsmouth. He toured Europe with “Annie Get Your Gun” and landed the title role in “Volodya/Russian Hero” at the eclectic, world-renown LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Company. By 1995, he had decided on a career as a solo singer-songwriter and found his music was well accepted. He won two Back Stage Bistro Awards from New York critics. In addition, Eric worked as a visiting musician for Hospital Audiences Inc. and soon made it to the top of HAI’s roster as a most-requested performer. In spite of his success as a solo artist, Eric found he was performing sick all the time. In June 1997, he was diagnosed with Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, which destroys lung function.  Enough of that…. See News Flash. The condition, however, meant a lifestyle change – pacing himself, no more smoky bars. His next “gig” would reveal another side of his talent, nurtured by the children of New York’s Hudson Guild. There, he wrote and taught the music curriculum for 140 pre-kindergarten children in the poor and working-class neighborhood of Chelsea. “It was one of those life-changing experiences,” he said. He discovered he had another gift – a talent for working with children. However, in 1999, after a bout with pneumonia, he decided to move to Arizona in search of better air quality, but not before recording “I Am I” with the Hudson Guild children for his CD Real Slow. The title song reflects a turning point in his life. “I was thinking about death because I was feeling so bad. I had gone through such sickness and pain. I remember the moment that I read the article about the Indian Ocean, (to which he refers in the lyrics), and that’s the moment that I chose to fight.  I stood up and said, “I want to swim in the Indian Ocean.” Eric now happily lives in Tucson, AZ. Part of his song “True Friends” is in the family film “First Dog.” Two of his songs are featured Coalition to Unchain Dogs videos. Eric has written songs for theLearning A-Z educational website where his music has a been a total hit! He has produced six CDs of his own music as well as CDs for other artists in the Tucson area. He is Musical Director of the Sonoran Desert Center For Spiritual Living. In the past twelve years he has successfully brought his music to New Thought churches around the country. His music has been featured at spirutual retreats such as: Asilomar, The Big Sky Retreat and ANTN.  His song The Holy Man won 1st place in the 2006 Unisong International Songwriting Competition. He won a Music to Life award, presented by Noel Paul and Elizabeth Stookey. He was also named a Kerrville Festival New Folk finalist 1999 and 2007, and he was a finalist in the Plowshares Songwriting Competition. To date, Eric has recorded six CDs on his own label, Half Moon Full Star Records and he has published songs from his family CD in The Nobody Knows Songbook. At home, Eric teaches voice and coaches singers as well as musical director at church. “I’ve always had this fantasy of someday being a famous teacher that works with folk singers.” He has a vision of himself in his later years: long, flowing gray hair, flip flops and tank top. Maybe sporting a goatee… “And people would come from all over to Tucson to study with me.””

Songversations Episode 03 – Ian McFeron: The Inspiring Life of a Perpetually Touring Musician

In this episode of Songversations we have a very interesting guest on. His name is Ian McFeron and we’ve known each other since he played Plush back in 2009 on 4th Avenue in Tucson. We got to talking in the break that time and became acquaintances through Facebook and email where I’ve been following his musical journey for the last 6 years. Everything Ian says about music and life in general is incredibly inspiring and possibly the #1 reason why I started this podcast. In the episode we talk about: * Songs being the gasoline of what we do that reflects our unique human experiences * Why songs are connectors between us and other human beings we meet through our lifetime * Why it’s important to never stop learning and growing in order to create new art