Songwriters in Seattle

Welcome

Songwriters in Seattle is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization which supports the community of Pacific Northwest independent artists through events that foster creative development, collaboration, music education, and performance.

Songwriters and those who wish to be more involved with songwriting are invited to join us for free at meetup.com/songwritersinseattle where all events and communication are managed.

  • SiS Featured Artist: Laura Berman

    “Do one thing each day that scares you” – Eleanor Roosevelt For Pacific Northwest songwriter Laura Berman, this quote embodies her approach to her music and her life. While she acknowledges that there are scary things that should be avoided, many of our scary things are self-created. “Your instincts are smart and generally on-point, so…

  • Important Message From Chris Klimecky & SiS Board of Directors

    Important Message From Chris Klimecky & SiS Board of Directors

    Dear Songwriter Community,

    As we come to the end of another year of growth and creativity for Songwriters in Seattle, I am writing to share that I plan to step down from serving as Executive Director of the organization in early 2024. January will mark my 14th anniversary as Executive Director of SiS, and it feels like the right time for new leadership and new energy to help SiS continue to build and support the songwriting community in our region and beyond. To be sure, though I helped guide SiS over the years, it was never “my” organization – it is and always has been yours. This community is what makes us strong and without your help and involvement, we wouldn’t have accomplished near what we have over the years. That is what gives me confidence there are still many great things yet to come and I couldn’t be more excited to see what happens next for Songwriters in Seattle!

    I’m proud of all we have accomplished together since I took the helm in 2010. At that point, our organization was only a few years old with a few hundred members—just getting established and gaining visibility. We are now over 4,000 members strong, have held over 1,500 events, and are still striving to provide the best possible support that independent artists like yourself deserve.

    In particular, I am glad we were able to be there for songwriters during the early days of the pandemic, all learning Zoom together (remember that struggle?), and in fact expanding our outreach around the world as artists looked for like-minded and safe communities online. I’m also proud of the incredible range of events that our incredible hosts have provided over the years, from educating us on the many facets of the music business to honing our creative skills to memorable performances to simply being a friendly, listening ear. I’m so grateful for our many hosts who have volunteered over the years to lead, guide, and inspire us.

    I am confident in our current event hosts and our board of directors to carry on our work in the future, with participation from all of you. Please take this moment to consider what your role might be in sustaining a strong SiS community. Is this Executive Director position something that speaks to you? Might you step up to volunteer as a board member, event host, or partner to help behind the scenes in the year ahead? Will you check the event calendar and encourage colleagues to join? SiS is a network made up of a supportive community of musicians, and I encourage you to find a way to engage and contribute to our collective impact.

    Thank you for this opportunity to serve and be a part of our vibrant creative community. I have found a lot of joy in meeting many of you and hearing your heartfelt, powerful music. I am grateful for the ways in which you have inspired and motivated me. You will likely still see me around, as I don’t plan on leaving the area or stop attending SiS events. I will also be helping with the transition, making sure whoever leads the way forward gets the time and support they will need to be successful.

    I hope we continue to cross paths and that I get to hear whatever beautiful creations you bring into this world in the future.

    Creatively Yours,
    Chris

    Chris Klimecky
    Executive Director, Songwriters in Seattle

    A Message From The Board

    The SiS Board of Directors recognizes our responsibility to ensure a good leadership transition as Chris moves away from his leadership position. We have had many good discussions and have developed a plan. With your help, we will be seeking out a new leader both within Songwriters in Seattle as well as beyond our membership. We are choosing to involve the community as you have always been the best resource for connections and information that points us in the right direction. 

    We will launch the search for our next permanent Executive Director in January, and we will share more details with you then. In fact, we invite our members and partners to provide input regarding the qualities most needed in our next leader via the annual open Board of Directors meeting at Razzi’s in Greenwood. We hope that we will have many candidates from within our membership, so please consider the opportunity yourself or share it with leaders that you admire within the music community.

    We are thankful to Chris for his years of leadership and willingness to help with a long, smooth transition. We also look forward to new leadership and continuing success for Songwriters in Seattle.

    Sincerely,
    SiS Board of Directors

  • Surrendering My Music

    I have written a couple hundred songs over the years.  And it’s important to me that they find a way out into the world.  At my age, I know I won’t have a career as a performing songwriter, but I want the songs to have a life outside my computer.  It would be lovely if they were covered by established recording artists or bought for synchronization in TV and/or films.  I think that is probably unlikely.  But, it is not without possibility.

    I don’t have the money to go into a studio to pay musicians, arrangers, engineers and producers to record my songs the way I hear them.  I don’t have the money to then have them mixed and mastered.  And I don’t have the money to print hundreds of CD’s or vinyl records for distribution.

    Nevertheless, right now I have fourteen 6-song EP’s that can be found on all the major online music stores and streaming services, like Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, iTunes, Tidal and the like.  I have four more in the works.  You can audition my music on Bandcamp (https://davidguilbault.bandcamp.com/). 

    So, how did I get my music recorded, distributed and (somewhat) heard?  I surrendered the process to multi-talented musicians I know who are arrangers, producers, engineers and multi-instrumentalists, all wrapped up in one.  I have relied on the talents of folks like Chris Klimecky, Paul Beaudry, Colin J Nelson, Jeremy Serwer, Matthew Emerson Brown, Karl Benitez, Griffin James, Eric Padget, Jason Goessl, and now, JD Cotton.

    This is how it works.  I find six of my songs that I believe hold together in some lyrical theme.  Then I think of one of these folks who might have a particular ear for the essence of that music.  Maybe they would bring a country feel, or a pop sensitivity or a dark tenor to the music.  Living on a fixed income, I negotiate a flat fee for them to arrange, produce, record and mix the six songs.  In most cases, they play all the instruments.

    I give them scratch guitar and vocal tracks recorded to a click track.  I either do that at home on my computer or, preferably, I come to their project studio to lay down the scratch tracks.  Then I essentially wash my hands of the project.

    Because I am not paying them what they should rightly earn playing the multiple roles of musician, arranger, producer and engineer, I give up creative control of the final arrangements.  They are free to produce the songs any way they hear them.  I don’t meddle in the process.  And there is no deadline for them completing the project.  I have had some EP’s take up to two years to complete.

    When these masterful musicians have laid down all the instrumental tracks, I come back and do a final vocal on a good mic, trying my best to capture the feel of the music they have created with my singing.  Many times I am surprised by arrangements that I would not have expected or would not have created if I were doing the songs myself.  In only one case (with none of the folks mentioned above) have I been disappointed.

    I still have to pay to get the final mixes mastered, but there are now algorithms online that can do that for very little money.

    Like I said, the crux of these deals is that I surrender the music to the producer.  Since I am not paying them market rates, I am not going to waste their time asking for revisions.  What I get is my song matched with their musical talent.

    What that means is that each collaboration has a unique sound, reflecting the tastes and talents of the individual producers.  The downside of that is that I haven’t established my personal performance style across these recordings.  But, this process is about getting the songs recorded professionally and out onto the Internet, and not about developing and promoting a profile as a recording artist.

    I use DistroKid as my distributor.  You upload your music to them digitally and they get the albums in all the major stores.  Getting folks to find the songs, however, listen to the songs and buy the songs is another ball of wax altogether.  For the most part, my music is still unheard.  Which is another reason not to spend ten thousand dollars on a studio produced CD that few radio stations are going to play and few people are going to buy.

    So, I am grateful to the lovely and talented collaborators who have been generous and kind with their time and talent in taking on my cut-rate projects and producing them with such feeling and expertise.  For better or for worse, I have at least a third of my repertoire out there in the ether.  And, if my music should ever catch fire and actually make money, I have every intention of sharing the proceeds 50/50 with these wonderful musicians.

    I hope you find a way to get your music out into the world.  In the meantime, please be safe and well, and keep on writing and performing.  Music is indeed a labor of love.  Getting paid for that labor would be sweet.

  • Mystery Matchup #2

    This set of lyrics is seeking music. Please submit a recording or a written account of the chords and melody to collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com and indicate that it is for Mystery Matchup #2.

    The deadline for this activity is Tuesday, April 21st, 2020 at 7:00 PM

     

    It Didn’t Turn Out

    It hasn’t been hard to get what I’ve needed,
    as long as the price didn’t turn out too high.
    I stick to the basics, and sometimes I’ve cheated.
    You do what you know you must do to get by.

    Despite all the answers I’ve sought, it didn’t turn out like I thought.
    Despite all the breaks that I’ve caught, it didn’t turn out like I thought.

    Well, I never argue and I never fight,
    If people don’t like what I say.
    I’ve never been silenced, and never back down.
    I just do my best to get out of the way.

    Despite all the times I’ve been right, it didn’t turn out like it might.
    Despite all my prayers every night, it didn’t turn out like it might.

    Maybe you’re smarter, or maybe you’re lucky,
    or maybe it’s just that you know how to lie.
    Or maybe you know something I’ve never heard of.
    Maybe you know something I’d never try.

    Despite all the times I’ve been good, it didn’t turn out like it should.
    Despite all the times I’ve knocked wood, it didn’t turn out like it should.

    So please understand that it’s never been easy,
    You know that it hasn’t been easy at all.
    You try to be patient, and do unto others,
    But mostly you do what you can not to fall.

    Despite all the things that I am, it didn’t turn out like I planned.
    Despite that I did what I can, it didn’t turn out like I planned.

     

    Submissions

    Send your submission via email to collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com

     

    Results

    This post received several collaboration submissions. The final chosen submission was from Brent Fletcher. I’m guessing that the female voice in the recording does not belong to Brent.

    The original lyrics were posted by Carmen Ficarro.

    Here is the final piece:

    Thanks to everybody who participated. If your version was not selected, try again on our next round. If you would like to have your piece shown here for all to see, just let me know via email and I will post it in an honorable mentions section.

     

     

  • Mystery Matchup

    The Mystery Matchup is an online collaboration where an anonymous donor posts a piece of music or set of lyrics, and others are invited to complete the song by adding the missing portion.

    This activity is designed to inspire creativity and foster community. As such, the posted content should be respected, but modified as necessary to fit your contribution. After you submit your version of the completed song, the original poster will review all submissions and choose one or more to share for all to hear.

    How it works

    At the beginning of the event, the poster will be anonymous. All submissions will be forwarded in as anonymous fashion as possible. After the poster chooses a favorite response, the end result will be published along with the identities of all who were involved.

    Because the identities are not revealed until after the collaboration process is complete, the contributing authors will not be limited by preconceived notions based upon identity, such as anticipated style or content limitations. It is our hope that people will be pleasantly surprised by the identities of collaborators. 

    Do you want to collaborate?

    In order to keep this going, we need others who wish to post their ideas for collaboration. If you have a set of lyrics or piece of music that is looking for collaborative content, please email us at collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com

     

    Event Schedule

    Event Date Type Status
    Mystery Matchup #1:  4/5/20 – 4/19/20    Music seeking Lyrics    Open for submissions
    Mystery Matchup #2:  4/7/20 – 4/21/20    Lyrics seeking Music    Open for submissions

     

    To be clear, there is no need to RSVP for these events, just submit your collaboration at collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com anytime within the two week period that it is open for submissions.

     

    Submissions

    Send all submissions to collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com

     

     

  • Mystery Matchup #1

    This piece of music has been submitted as a chart with accompanying audio.

    The deadline for this activity is Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 7:00 PM

    Chart: Mystery_Matchup_1
    (If you right click, you can open in another window or tab so that you can see the chart while listening to the music on this page)

    Audio: (Click three dots to the right to download, or play in this page)

    Please submit possible lyrics that may work with it. They can be submitted as text and/or as a recording. Please make it clear which lyrics align with which section.

    Sections can (and should) be repeated or modified as necessary. This is a collaboration and is merely meant to be a starting point.

     

     

    Submissions

    Send your submission via email to collaboration@songwritersinseattle.com

     

     

  • Roger Fisher – Special Guest Instructor for 2020 Songwriting Retreat

    Songwriters in Seattle is thrilled to welcome founding guitarist for Heart and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roger Fisher as the final guest instructor for our 2020 Spring Songwriting Retreat, April 24th-26th at Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard. Roger brings an incredible depth of musical connection that is sure to elevate the experience of all who attend.

    Workshop Description
    Title: Songwriting With Emotional Connection
    Description: How do you express your deepest feelings through your songwriting to make a meaningful connection with your audience? In this masterclass-style workshop, Roger brings his long history of musical expression to help you tap into your personal emotional self for improved songwriting and performance.

    In his own words:
    “Since 1965 I’ve dedicated most of my time and energy to a deep involvement with music. Early prerequisites to my involvement were: it needs to be real, based on honesty and existing emotions, and it needs to be fun. So, after all this time, I still adhere to those ideals, and it’s working.

    An internationally successful run with the rock group Heart gave invaluable experiences, and pointed the way to a direction that would dictate a long-term dance with my most cherished partner…music.

    Having amassed knowledge, experience, depth of involvement, and a daily regimen, I love uplifting others to the joys of a real relationship with music. Beyond Guitar is a series of blogs and videos that encourage the striving artist to dig deeper, try harder, and sustain the love of their craft.”

    For registration info, schedule and session details, instructor bios, and more, please visit
    https://songwritersinseattle.com/2020springretreat/

  • Patrice Haan – Special Guest Instructor for 2020 Songwriting Retreat

    Songwriters in Seattle is excited to welcome Patrice Haan as a special guest instructor for our 2020 Spring Songwriting Retreat at Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard, WA!

    Patrice will be kicking off the retreat Friday evening with an interactive workshop on “Deep Listening” which will prepare us well for a reflective weekend of hearing ourselves and our fellow songwriters.

    Description:  We have two ears. They are perhaps our most innate and profound musical equipment. Imagine enhancing your musical skills at the same time as learning to listen more deeply as a daily practice. Think about how you’d most like someone to receive your words, your music. My heart opens when someone really listens to me. Can you be that attentive and open to someone else? Via a series of activities and games, we can use our ears, bodies, heads and voices – and our curiosity – to learn about listening by listening.

    Bio: An intuitive songwriter, Patrice Haan’s commitment to the healing presence of listening comes from 16 years of playing harp in hospitals and cancer care facilities.

    Her life in songwriting really began at 40 on a dare. The song that emerged opened a door she hadn’t known was there. Now, twenty years later, she continues to build songs and community via monthly participation in two songwriting collectives, one of which meets by Skype. Patrice is excited to be a songwriting facilitator at such gatherings as the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, California Coast Music Camp, and Beyond Trad.

  • Jeff Lee – Special Guest Instructor for 2020 Songwriting Retreat

    Songwriters in Seattle is delighted to Welcome Jeff Lee as a special guest instructor for our 2020 Spring Songwriting Retreat at Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard, WA!

    Jeff Lee

    Jeff will be leading a workshop entitled “A Storyteller’s Toolbox for Writing Songs”

    Description: Though different from other writing, lyrics are still made of words, and we can piece them together using techniques borrowed from other written forms. As songwriters, we often use the tools of the poet–imagery, meter and rhyme–but there are other ways to tell stories with words. In this class, we’ll explore some of the tools that all writers and storytellers use, like conflict, misdirection, mystery, epiphany, and point of view. We’ll see how great songwriters used those tools to pry open our emotions, and dissect how some of our favorite songs were put together. Then we’ll pick up those tools and take a swing or two ourselves. By the end of the workshop, we’ll have some shiny new toys we can pull out when we need them.


    Bio: Jeff Lee is a writer of songs, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and personal essays. He is an instructor at the Northwest Writer’s Retreat and at the Caz Northwest Family Performing Arts Camp. His album of original songs, “Over That River Wide,” was released in 2019. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.

  • Cyd Smith – Special Guest Instructor for 2020 Songwriting Retreat

    Songwriters in Seattle is delighted to Welcome Cyd Smith as a special guest instructor for our 2020 Spring Songwriting Retreat at Pilgrim Firs in Port Orchard, WA!

    Cyd Smith

    Cyd will be leading a workshop entitled “Chords, Grooves, and Hooks”

    Description: Do your songs all sound the same? Do you have a lyric or a melody that you like but  isn’t quite working when you perform it? If you usually start your songs with a lyric, you might find that the musical part comes as an afterthought. In this class we’ll focus on some other elements that help a song stand out: its harmonic structure, groove, and distinctive instrumental riffs or accompaniment that engage a listener and help get your song across. 


    We’ll start by identifying these elements in songs we admire, and then explore how we can incorporate them as we generate and craft our own songs.  


    Bio: Over the years, Cyd has performed with many luminaries of the national acoustic music scene, including Mary Flower, Laurie Lewis,  Russ Barenberg, and Rebecca Kilgore. She has been a cornerstone of many Northwest bands in a wide range of styles from Swing to Americana to Classic Rock.

    As a songwriter, Cyd is an explorer of  the unexpected–lyrically, harmonically, and melodically. Northwest music critic Paul de Barros writes, “A sort of Sheila Jordan of the folk/jazz beat, Cyd weds her flutey voice and alluring turns of phrase to a run of crisp rhythms, all propelled by indomitable guitar and lyrics that look sideways at life with a sharp, smart edge.”

    A passion for swing and zeal for passing on the swing torch has made Cyd a favorite teacher at music camps throughout the US. The long list of camps she has taught at include Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, California Coast Music Camp, SummerSongs West, Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp,, and Augusta Blues & Swing Week.

  • “What comes first, the lyrics or the music?”

    If I had a nickel for every time somebody asked me this question, I’d be able to afford studio time to record all my songs! I think it’s the kind of a question that people think you’re supposed to ask a songwriter.

    Recently, at a house concert in Philadelphia, when a guest asked me the same thing, I started to answer the way I usually do:

    “EVERYBODY always asks that question!” I said. “It’s a difficult question to answer.” Then I stopped. I made a decision. “Do you want to know what I really think?” I asked. Because I’d met him a couple of days before (he was a neighbor of the guy hosting the concert), I knew this guy could handle the truth.

    The guy said, “Yes!”

    I smiled. “I think it’s a stupid question.”

    He guffawed and the rest of the 25 or so attendees broke out in laughter.

    “It’s not a stupid question per se,” I backpedaled a bit. “It’s just that you’re always going to get a different answer. So the question really is more about why you’re asking it. If you are a budding songwriter [I knew this guy wasn’t], the answer shouldn’t really make a difference. It won’t affect your process or make you change the way you approach your writing. And if you’re just curious about MY process, I guess that’s legitimate. But I always imagine that people that ask this question are collecting answers to the question. Are you doing that, Frank?”

    He shook his head. Then he added, “But maybe I will from now on!”

    We all laughed again. “Well, okay, then,” I responded. “I’ll indulge your curiosity. But I can’t promise it will be enlightening.” And then I answered the question.

    My point to you all, as fellow songwriters, is that the answer to the question really doesn’t matter! How you write is how you write. How you compose is how you compose. How you eat your peas with a knife is how you eat your peas. But I digress.

    Whatever your process — and I imagine that it didn’t spring fully developed from your head like Athena from Zeus’ skull, but that you came to it over the course of days, weeks, months, even years — honor it, trust it. And, this is most important, let it be what it is, and that may include its continued evolution — it may still change or adapt over time.

    In the immortal words of Iris DeMent, “Let the mystery be.”

    Now go write some songs!

    P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, I know some people who only write one way (“It’s always the music first.” “They come at the same time for me.”). Good for them! I myself vary the diet. Sometimes it’s the words; sometimes it’s the lyrics; sometimes they come together. Sometimes it depends on whether I’ve been commissioned to write something, so it’s even more contextual — What do the lyrics have to be about? What sentiment are we expressing? How do we want the listener to feel regarding the tempo? But that’s a topic for another time.