Songwriter Safari

[Vicki]

I keep looking for "obscure" singer-songwriters for my weekly Substack series "Songwriter Safari"--because I'm on safari, hunting for new singer-songwriters. (formerly known as "Obscure Singer-Songwriters" which bothered me every time I typed it because it sounded insulting so I changed it). One of my favorites so far is this one: "Costa Rica" by Mary Strand (I can only find it on Spotify right now). And then there's Fort Vine (my distant cousin and her husband) singing their original song: "Summertime". And I don't want to forget Doyle Turner with "Paper Maps"! There are so many unsung singer-songwriters.

The world is full of a LOT of skilled, and yet relatively unknown, artists! If you're interested in being featured, let me know. You can tell, by the stories already there, more or less what I'm looking for in terms of information. Of course, subscribers are more than welcome, too, as the artists I am featuring deserve to be heard by a wider audience. If you do sign up, choose the "No pledge" option, because my newsletter is free.

[icystorm]

@Vicki — This is a very cool idea, as I mentioned before in your earlier thread. It all depends on the definition of obscure as you intend it, such as "really cool, but maybe not well known and unheralded". I would include:

Emily Linge -- https://www.youtube.com/@EmilyLinge/videos

...but is she really "obscure" with nearly 600K YouTube subscribers? I suppose it depends on one's perspective.

Chiara Kilchling -- https://www.youtube.com/@ChiaraKilchling/videos

...she has just over 71K YouTube subscribers.

Both are very talented, and they write and perform their own original songs, in addition to performing covers.

An online acquaintance, Donna Dior, posts to SoundCloud and YouTube. Some here may know her. She is a very talented singer/songwriter -- https://soundcloud.com/user-321467328

Maybe one or all will fit the scope of your cool Songwriter Safari series. Keep us posted as it evolves!

Kind regards,
Joseph

[Vicki]

Thank you @icystorm . I can ask them and see what they think. I've added them to my list of artists to contact.

[Vicki]

I looked up these artists. I can only find contact information for Emily and it specifies business enquiries only, so I don't have a way to talk to any of them. I do like their music, though.

@Vicki — This is a very cool idea, as I mentioned before in your earlier thread. It all depends on the definition of obscure as you intend it, such as "really cool, by maybe not well known and unheralded". I would include:

Emily Linge -- https://www.youtube.com/@EmilyLinge/videos

...but is she really "obscure" with nearly 600K YouTube subscribers? I suppose it depends on one's perspective.

Chiara Kilchling -- https://www.youtube.com/@ChiaraKilchling/videos

...she has just over 71K YouTube subscribers.

Both are very talented, and they write and perform their own original songs, in addition to performing covers.

An online acquaintance, Donna Dior, posts to SoundCloud and YouTube. Some here may know her. She is a very talented singer/songwriter -- https://soundcloud.com/user-321467328

Maybe one or all will fit the scope of your cool Songwriter Safari series. Keep us posted as it evolves!

Kind regards,
Joseph

[icystorm]

I looked up these artists. I can only find contact information for Emily and it specifies business enquiries only, so I don't have a way to talk to any of them. I do like their music, though.

@Vicki — That's unfortunate. Perhaps you could review her Q&As (links below), and write sort of a brief biography of her original work.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEpr1JQ9I30
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCFQZXGrBSg

...and it looks like someone already created an 'eCelebrityFacts' video about her, which I just noticed:

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MntFN6VO20M

So, she has rapidly become something more than 'obscure', and is probably beyond the scope of your 'Songwriter Safari' idea.

The same probably applies to Chiara Kilchling, with over 72K subscribers. She's not 'obscure'.

Your best bet is probably to reach out to cool artists on SoundCloud whom you like and admire. I mentioned Donna Dior, who is a very nice person and a very talented singer/songwriter — https://soundcloud.com/user-321467328 and there are quite a few others, too.

I hope you have success, Vicki! Good luck with your 'Songwriter Safari' project on Substack.

Cheers,
Joseph

[icystorm]

@Vicki — To help get your Songwriter Safari project off the ground, allow me to interview you. You're welcome to post the results to your Substack if you'd like. Feel free to edit any questions you don't like.

Here's a set of eight questions for you as a singer-songwriter:

1. Vicki, what inspired you to start writing your own songs?

2. In early 2020, you released a very beautiful ballad titled One More Time. Your lovely voice in the song is reminiscent of the late Karen Carpenter. How did the track come together creatively?

3. How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard you sing or perform before?

4. You also released another great track, The Mark of the Chains, produced by @Boydie, and featuring your very cool vocals. Can you share how the song came to be, the meaning behind it, and what it was like to work with Boydie?

5. Which artists or experiences have influenced your music the most?

6. You once set lyrics by Alison Croggon to music and created The Ballad of the Maid of Innail, again with excellent vocals. Please tell us about this project.

7. What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

8. What's next for you musically? Any upcoming projects or performances?

I look forward to your responses!

Cheers,
Joseph

[Vicki]

@Vicki — To help get your Songwriter Safari project off the ground, allow me to interview you. You're welcome to post the results to your Substack if you'd like. Feel free to edit any questions you don't like.

Here's a set of eight questions for you as a singer-songwriter:

1. Vicki, what inspired you to start writing your own songs?

I loved singing as far back as I can remember. I had always assumed the ability to write songs was something a person was born with. If they weren't born with it, they didn't have it. Period. When I was in college, I "accidentally" wrote a song--in retrospect, not a very good one, but I impressed myself! I figured it was a fluke. And about that time I set a poem (by someone else) to music. Another fluke, of course. That was about 1973 maybe? Then, in about 1976 or 1977, I wrote another one or two. One was a memorial to a friend who had been killed in a car accident. Another was setting words to a quote from the Bahá'í Faith to music.There may have been one or two other insignificant songs in the 1970s, but each time I considered it a one-off and that I really didn't know how to write songs, that I wasn't born with that ability.

"The Mark of the Chains" was written in 1993. I think "Awakening" and maybe a few others were written in the 1990s, as well.

Basically, I really wanted to be a songwriter, but I didn't believe I was born with the talent (there's a difference between talent--what you're born with--and skill--what you deliberately develop). I believed songwriters were born, not made. I expected my dream of being a songwriter would always be out of reach. That changed in about 2013/2014 when I took a free online class offered by the Berklee School of Music. It isn't available anymore, unfortunately, so I caught it at the right time. In that class I learned there are tools a person can use for writing songs. That set me off and I've become much more prolific--and deliberate--since then.

2. In early 2020, you released a very beautiful ballad titled One More Time. Your lovely voice in the song is reminiscent of the late Karen Carpenter. How did the track come together creatively?

Thank you for the compliments! Being compared to Karen Carpenter is an honor. This song was triggered by death. My first college roommate died in March of 2019. Then one of my dearest boyfriends died in June the same year. In both cases, I strongly believed I would see them one more time. I had been encouraging my old roommate to come to a reunion each time one came around and I was sure she would eventually show up. The boyfriend lived in an area where I knew he would sometimes be shopping in the same town I did, so I figured for sure I would eventually run into him. Neither one ever happened. The song originally came together fairly quickly and I recorded it (Boydie did the production) for an album. Later, I had it critiqued by a professional songwriter and I made changes to it as a result. So there are two versions of that one.

3. How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard you sing or perform before?

When asked this question I usually say I sing mostly folk and/or sixties style of music. Which is also the style I write. I've tried to break out of that mold, but even when I am careful about trying a new genre, by the time it's finished, it ends up the same old same old.

4. You also released another great track, The Mark of the Chains, produced by @Boydie, and featuring your very cool vocals. Can you share how the song came to be, the meaning behind it, and what it was like to work with Boydie?

As I mentioned earlier, I actually wrote that one in the 1990s, before I really got going with writing. I just sat down one day determined to write something rooted in my Bahá'í Faith...and in a minor key. The Prophet/Founder of the Bahá'í Faith is Bahá'u'lláh, Who was imprisoned for years in a terrible prison and He was made to wear heavy chains that left dents in his shoulders that never totally went away. So I envisioned that reality and the song grew out of it.

Working with Boydie is so easy. I gave him a track that I had done of the song (it had guitar and cymbals for backup) and he came up with a beautiful setting for it. Then I put his setting in my DAW and sang along with it. Singing with a great setting like that improves my singing! Then I sent him my vocal tracks (I did the lead and the harmonies) and he mixed it all together. You might enjoy this part: it turns out I was playing the wrong chords in one or two places. For years. Until Boydie did the production. I argued with him at first, and he said what I wanted him to do didn't make sense and wouldn't fit. So I listened again and, sure enough, he was right.

5. Which artists or experiences have influenced your music the most?

Artists: Well, Karen Carpenter, of course. Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy, Everly Brothers, Peter, Paul & Mary, Juice Newton, Barbara Streisand, Beach Boys, Gene Pitney, Billy Joe Royal, Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Lou Christie, Kingston Trio, John Denver, Neil Sedaka, Mary Hopkin, Roberta Flack, Petula Clark, Skeeter Davis, The Youngbloods...I'm sure there are many more. Experiences: Upward Bound in Bemidji, Minnesota, in 1966 was probably the major key. I had just started learning to strum guitar to accompany myself singing. I took the guitar with me to the seven-week summer project (Upward Bound). During those seven weeks I managed to play the F major chord for the first time with no dead strings (using only four strings, though). Early on in the project, some of us kids--all 16-year-olds--were in one of the lounges. One of the boys played bass, so he took the guitar and started playing the bass line for "Summer Time". I sang while he played. He started saying, "Wow! Listen to that!" over and over. I was used to being the nerd, being teased in school, not being accepted. So this was a very new experience for me and did wonders for my ego. I got into the habit and playing and singing that summer.

6. You once set lyrics by Alison Croggon to music and created The Ballad of the Maid of Innail, again with excellent vocals. Please tell us about this project.

You are also good for my ego!    I like to read fantasy and science fiction. Alison Croggon wrote a series (The Books of Pellinor) that appealed to me. I read them more than once. If I remember correctly, each chapter was preceded by a short piece of poetry. Some of them were, for sure. I was taken by one called "The Ballad of the Maid of Innail" and did some research to see if anyone had set it to music. I found several of the other poems from the book set to music, but not that one. So I tracked her down and asked if it was okay if I tried it. She said to go ahead. When I was done, I sent her a link to the recording. She said she loved it and she shared the link with others. Incidentally, this is the first song Boydie produced for me, and you should have seen my grin when I heard it!

7. What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

My goal is to use music to make the world better. One of the current projects of the Bahá'ís worldwide is often called "the betterment of the world". My hope is my music will contribute positively to that effort.

8. What's next for you musically? Any upcoming projects or performances?

My mantra is "It's never too late!" Too late to do something you've always wanted to do, to change course and try something new, to realize a dream you've always had. I've always wanted to be a musician, and now, fairly late in life, I am finally doing that. Current projects include writing a musical called "My Grandfather's Clock", a work with a lot of songs in it, some original, some not, based on the old song, "Grandfather's Clock". I am also currently working on an album (or maybe an EP) with a moon theme. All the songs will have something to do with the moon, or will at least mention the moon. I have five original songs that fit the criteria, so I can make an EP for sure. I am thinking of adding in some other songs (like "Moon River") and making it a full album.

I've gone out and performed twice in the past year for "songwriters in the round" type of events. I've been asked to do a one-person show of my original music sometime in the next year. I need to get that ready.

Another project involves a different kind of writing. I have at least two books in progress. I'm not sure if they will ever be finished. One has almost a full first draft, so maybe that one. It is a fantasy. The other one (which could end up being a short series, if I get that far) is science fiction, so it takes some research. And I have written a short children's book that needs to be illustrated. I like art, but I'm not proficient in that kind of art, so I need to find an illustrator. I've asked one of my granddaughters, but she hasn't replied yet. I do enjoy making pour paintings, though. And splatter paintings.

I look forward to your responses!

Cheers,
Joseph

[icystorm]

@Vicki — Those are cool responses! I will respond more tomorrow, because I'm swamped with work right now—I'd rather be writing songs! . But great responses!

Cheers,
Joseph

[icystorm]

@Vicki — I read through your responses again. Your answers portray an excellent and colorful journey over decades of songwriting. It's a nice read. I hope you post that to your substack. Keep us posted!

Incidentally, I like many of the influential artists you mentioned. One song that comes to mind among those artists is the sad and somber ballad Should've Never Let You Go by Neil and Dara Sedaka from around 1983.

I also like your concept for an EP featuring a moon theme. Do have 10 to 12 tracks for a full CD? If so, please share the titles.

Cheers,
Joseph

[Vicki]

@icystorm -- I don't have a full album of songs (yet) on my "moon" theme. The songs I have chosen so far are (the ones for which I have demos are just that--demos. They are not the final versions):

Moon Time
Winter Moon
Mississippi Moon (The song on the album is the same song, but the words have been reworked)
Midnight Moon
Your Moon's Salty Tears
Now You Are Here

I wrote all of those, except the lyrics for "Salty Tears", which were written by Michael Koppelman, who has given me permission to use them. Also, the last song on the list was inspired by an old moon-themed song in the public domain. My song contains the line "the moon was just a moon", which validates its inclusion in the album.

Other songs I've considered are:
Peekaboo Moon (public domain--link to sheet music)
Pearly White Moon (which I thought was already a song, but I can no longer find it anywhere)
Will I Ever Touch the Moon (another one I'm sure I found somewhere but can't find it now)

And I am open to suggestion for other possibilities.

BTW, I have loved Neil Sedaka since I was in high school. And I never heard of Dara! What a beautiful father/daughter duet! Thanks for showing me! Back in the "old days" I wrote Neil fan letters three times and got a handwritten postcard back each time. <<sigh>> I was in love.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Moon River, which is also on my list.

[icystorm]

@Vicki — Those are some very cool titles. I listened to your tracks Mississippi Moon, Midnight Moon, and Now You Are Here and I enjoyed each. All three are very good. You should definitely include those.

Another moon-theme title that I have on my list of potential song titles is Daytime Moon. I intend it to be a love song about falling in love under a daytime moon. I became fascinated with daytime moons when I was about four. My mom was driving us somewhere and I was astonished to see a huge full moon in a clear blue sky in the middle of the day. At that age, it never occurred to me that the moon could be seen in the daytime. My mom explained it to me. LOL!

That's a cool story about Neil Sedaka sending you postcards in response to your letters. BTW, he released another duet with Dara in 1984, which was a cover version of Your Precious Love. It reached No. 16 on the Billboard AC charts. Later, in 1991, they released a duet cover of his 1974 No. 1 hit, Laughter in the Rain.

So, yes, keep growing your list of moon songs and make a full album of them! I hope you record them soon. Keep us posted!

Cheers,
Joseph

[Vicki]

@icystorm
I love your story about your song in development: "Daytime Moon". Maybe I could do a spotlight on you and your music, and that could be the featured song when it's done. Are you interested?

I have made two drafts of "the interview" and am thinking of posting them as bonus posts in my Substack series. So thank you for that!

Vicki

[icystorm]

I love your story about your song in development: "Daytime Moon".

@Vicki — Thank you! 😃

Maybe I could do a spotlight on you and your music, and that could be the featured song when it's done. Are you interested?

I would be happy to participate. Thank you! 🎵 😃

I have made two drafts of "the interview" and am thinking of posting them as bonus posts in my Substack series. So thank you for that!

You're welcome! When you do post it, please share the link. I hope your Songwriter Safari series goes well. I'm sure it will be well-received by readers/listeners. 😃

I can envision the interview with a polished narrator's voice asking the questions, and you responding by naturally speaking your written responses. The interview would include interwoven clips of your songs that are referenced and described in the interview. However you choose to do it, I'm sure it will be great! 😃

Cheers,
Joseph

[Vicki]

Maybe I could do a spotlight on you and your music, and that could be the featured song when it's done. Are you interested?

I would be happy to participate. Thank you! 🎵 😃

Great! Let me know when the song is ready. Or you could feature a different song, if you like, in which case, let me know whenever you're ready.

I am planning to share the interview in "print". You can see the drafts here: Part I and Part II

[icystorm]

I am planning to share the interview in "print". You can see the drafts here: Part I and Part II

@Vicki — I read both parts. Excellent! It looks like your Songwriter Safari substack is off to a nice start. You have quite a collection of spotlight artists! I'll read through some of your other spotlights soon, as time permits. Nice work! 🎵 😃

Cheers,
Joseph