Songwriters on Process

Running and poetry are all Denison Witmer needs as a songwriter. "When I"m being physically active, my brain opens up," he says. Running is a big part of Witmer"s life and plays a big role in his creative process. The other major source of Witmer"s inspiration is poetry, and we talk about its impact on his songwriting.

I"m a much better songwriter when I"m reading," Annie DiRusso says. Truer words have never been spoken; a clear through line connects quality songwriting and reading. And the fact that DiRusso loves poetry makes me even more of a fan.  DiRusso does most of her songwriting in her "giant mess" of a bed. "It"s covered in

Running and poetry are all Denison Witmer needs as a songwriter. "When I"m being physically active, my brain opens up," he says. Running is a big part of Witmer"s life and plays a big role in his creative process. The other major source of Witmer"s inspiration is poetry, and we talk about its impact on his songwriting.

Benmont Tench is the keyboardist and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. That’s reason enough to listen to this podcast. I’ve interviewed other icons—Duff McKagan, Johnny Marr, and Jerry Harrison, to name a few—and they all have one common thread: a voracious appetite for art in all its forms. They co

"I have no rituals when it comes to writing. I don"t want to think something can go wrong if things aren"t set up the right way," says James McGovern of The Murder Capital. Indeed, that"s the downside of a ritual: a fixed routine can limit your productivity when that routine isn"t available. But McGovern does have one

“My biggest hurdle as a writer is trying to hack my brain to become less critical,” Christian Lee Hutson says. In other words, Hutson wants to get the hell out of his own way when he writes. I"ve heard this before from other songwriters: Matt Nathanson has a name for that annoyingly critical voice in his head that he"s