Author: SiS Administrator

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/

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.

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 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 has been your songwriting journey?

Girls, unrequited love, heartbreak, and misery put me where I am today, lol! Same as many songwriters, I think. Seriously though, I got into music when I was around 10 and I always paid attention to the lyrics, even when I had no idea what they meant. I still do, and still often have no idea what they mean. Sometimes words just have a good flow or sound good together. It’s the same with my own songwriting sometimes.

I first just started writing my feelings about girls when I was around 14 or so. For me, it was pretty much always unrequited so it made for good songwriting fodder. My writing my feelings always took the form of verses. I started on guitar around the same time also, so I tried to put chords to lyrics and vice versa. For me, songs always started with lyrics, because I knew how to speak. Guitar was still pretty hard for me. It still can be. I wrote two or three hundred songs in my teens. I still have all of them. They are awful.

Years later, I realized that writing all those horrible songs was just me learning how to write songs. Once I caught a good one, I knew the difference. Then the good ones started coming more frequently. Then, I was off and running. I still had trouble sometimes figuring out if a song was good or bad (still do now, sometimes), but as the years have gone by, I have built up a body of work of good songs. I have over 100 in my “Good Songs” folder in my computer, and that is probably a little generous. Some of them might not be that great, but I have a lot of good ones. Well over 50.

I’ve written a few different ways, but it almost always starts with a phrase or an idea just popping into my head. I’ve tried a couple of songwriting workshops with prompts and games, and so far I’m completely unsuccessful in that realm. I find some of the SiS song circle critiques helpful and woodshedding with one close friend, Tom Humphreys, who just joined SiS.

I once read an interview with Tom Petty who said he’d be listening to the radio in the car or something and start singing his own words to the song’s melody. Then when he has a guitar he’ll try and figure it out and invariably get it wrong. Then he has his own song. I’ve done that a lot. Keith Richards talks about just having his antenna up to receive them; that they are just floating around in the air and it’s up to us to be open to receive them, like a gift. That makes a lot of sense to me.

I still go long streaks without writing any songs. I can’t really force myself to write a song, but when I start one, I almost always have to finish it in the first sitting. I can go back and edit or revise or rewrite later, but I have this idea that I’ll lose it if I don’t take it when it comes, or that I’ll lose interest in it, so I just sit down and write it. That’s not always a good thing. You have to write lines that you know aren’t very good and you’ll have to go back and change later. I have lines in songs over 20 years old that still irk me. Now, I’m better at going back and finding better lines.

Sometimes I write to the rhyme. I don’t like getting stuck in that because it’s the easy way out and doesn’t always suit the song. I also try to show not tell, but sometimes I end up doing the opposite and have to go back and fix it later. I have a problem with mixed metaphors sometimes too. My friend, Tom, always points those out! I basically want to write an expressive 2.5 – 4 minutes worth of a song that sounds good and makes sense. I use very basic chords and structures. I write bridges, but not often. When I challenge myself to use a funky chord, it usually ends up feeling like I’m forcing it and then my brain just takes me back to 1,4,5 (chords in relation to the key) because it always sounds so good. That’s why it’s so common. I throw in a minor to mix things up when it suits the song. I also have a very limited singing voice and one that’s not the most pleasing to everyone, so that often influences my melodies, keys, and chords.

Most of my songs are about me or people (usually women) that I know. Occasionally, I’ve written fiction, or a factual song about someone else (like Captain Cooke). I’d like to get better at fiction and true story songs about people other than me, but every human life is an endless wealth of song ideas. We’re so multi-faceted and always growing and changing. I still pride myself on not writing too many love or relationship songs. I do write them and have written good ones, but there’s so much to write songs about. I really listen for that also when I listen to other songwriters. I like to hear songs about lots of different subjects.

I have lots of my songs, and another 20 on the way, at www.braintwang.bandcamp.com. All except the ones from Armadillo Borealis (my first band) are home recorded, and all but three of those were recorded by me.

What led you to become a host of an open mic?

This is an easy one. I just started thinking about all the SiS showcases around town. There isn’t one in Ballard and I thought “I could do that!” I knew the venue. Grumpy’s has hosted all my guitar student recitals so I figured they’d be open to hosting the showcases. I started thinking about a time and day that would not conflict with all the other SiS showcases. Also, Grumpy’s schedules shows on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 – 9, so I knew it couldn’t be on one of those nights regardless of clashing with other showcases. I figured this is a good way to get at least one small show in a month and also give songwriters another venue to play in a different part of town (spread ‘em out all over town, ya know) at a very different time and on a different day when people sometimes don’t have much going on.

What have been some of the unexpected benefits of taking on this role?

Meeting and hearing new songwriters, and connecting with them, and making new friends that could always lead to more, like a musical collaboration. It just feels good to be a part of something, a part of the community, part of a group of songwriters. I’ve also become more open minded about other people’s songs and about other music genres. As a guitar teacher, you have to like everything, even though I have historically been pretty narrow minded musically. As I train myself to appreciate more and more music, that appreciation becomes more and more sincere. When hosting songwriters, I want to like everyone’s material, so my appreciation for them and their songs becomes more and more sincere as I “fake it till I make it.” It may not be something I’d put on the stereo at home, but I can really see and appreciate lots more aspects of people’s songs now. It’s the same at a song circle critique. I try to find something positive (and still sincere) to say about every song.

What skills does someone need to become a host?

I think you need to be really welcoming. You need to be able to put people at ease. You can do that by being friendly and organized. I always send out a welcome email a week or so before the show telling them what to expect, when to show up, what equipment Grumpy’s supplies and asking what they need and how many people are performing with them, if any. I try not to talk at all during their set. I sit front and center and listen with eye contact and smiles to let them know they have support in the audience. In my email to them, I ask them to be prepared to stay through the whole show to support all the songwriters. Finally, I’m always early and prepared.

Why might you encourage someone else to give this a try?

It’s fun and you never know what you might get out of it or who you might meet or what connections or friendships you’ll make. We can always use more, good, supportive, and listening venues for songwriters. There are way more songwriters than venues and showcases. The more, the merrier!

Saral Navlakha is launching a new recurring event on our calendar, so we decided to interview him and share with you why he is taking this on.

To begin, Saral, tell us a little about your music.

“My name is Saral and I am primarily a singer these days. I joined Songwriters in Seattle several years ago and was impressed by the caliber of musicians and the sense of community engendered by the group. However, after being in a few traditional rock bands, I took a multi-year hiatus from SiS to explore new genres and find a fresh musical direction that allows me to express myself in more dynamic ways. For the last two years, I have been taking voice lessons and playing with different sounds. A few months ago, I finally found a style that felt right: experimental electronic music! I like this space because it allows me to incorporate operatic, contemporary, and avant garde vocal approaches. Artists that currently inspire me include Zola Jesus, Nostalghia, ANOHNI, Chelsea Wolfe, Sigur Rós, and Björk.”

And now you are back to Songwriters in Seattle?

“Yes, that is exactly right. Though I have studied and played many different genres, I want to dive deeper into electronic music. Consequently, I decided to reengage with SiS a few weeks ago with the goals of meeting, learning from, and collaborating with artists with similar interests. After talking to a few active SiS members, I realized I could meet these goals by creating my own event.”

“Inspired by the existing SiS feedback events, Electronic Song Share will bring together artists working in any electronic genre for the purpose of sharing original songs and receiving feedback. The idea is to go around the room and spend approximately 15 minutes listening to and constructively discussing each song. Each individual may request feedback on specific song elements such as mix/production, song structure, instrumentation, vocals, et cetera. The beauty of this event is that everyone learns from everyone’s songs!

You mentioned that this was inspired by an existing SiS feedback event. Do you plan to remain involved in these other events as well as hosting your own?

“Absolutely! I see Electronic Song Share as a complement to existing SiS events. Given the genre I am working in, one of my core challenges is writing songs that are experimental while remaining accessible. Receiving feedback from diverse groups is a great way to overcome this challenge. Not to mention that both giving and receiving feedback is fun, exciting, and educational!”

Well said, Saral, is there anything else you’d like to say to prospective attendees?

“I hope to see you at the event!”

Check out the official event page and RSVP now before all the slots are full.

Todd Christoffel has been involved with Songwriters in Seattle nearly from the start, and joined the Songwriters in Seattle online membership on meetup.com in 2008. As a board member, Todd hosted board meetings at his home for several years. He has been an event host, a supportive member providing invaluable help behind the scenes, and has performed solo or with his band, Don’t Ask, at many functions and events.

Here is a little more about him, in his own words:

When I was a kid, it was the heyday of the coffee house scene in the Chicago area; stuff like Steve Goodman at the Earl of Old town. I started writing songs in high school with a beatup old guitar that my brother left sitting around, and he invited me to go to his college coffee shop to play some of my original music. Well, just one time and I was hooked. I think I just sang a song called “I Wish I was a Toad”.

When I was in college in Illinois, I didn’t really know what the heck I wanted to do, so I quit after a couple of years, packed up my Honda Civic, and drove down to Nashville. But I was pretty young and naïve and after meeting with a few people who generally showed interest I was told by one guy, “If you stick around a few years you probably could really go somewhere.” I was so young that a few years sounded like an eternity to me. I didn’t have a job, and I really didn’t have a good place to stay, so I hightailed it back home to get a “real job”. (Birth of the song “There was a Murder in Nashville”).

I happened to be in love with my high school sweetheart, so I got married, got a real job, and decided that I would forget about music. Getting married was great, but the new job in Seattle wasn’t all that interesting and the “forgetting about music” part didn’t really work out. Seattle was a great place though, so we decided to stay. All the while though, I still kept writing and enjoying it and playing out at open mics, etc.

I took a couple of courses in microbiology at the local community college, and I really enjoyed that, so I decided I would get a med tech degree at the UW and look for a job in hospitals. When I was interviewing, I talked to a rather famous blood researcher at the local blood bank, and we sort of hit it off. She offered me a job in research, which was just fine because working in a hospitals after my Internships in the med tech program was not all that appealing to me. So I now have a nice career in medical research… a career that I feel helps people and one that can pay the bills.

At the blood bank, one of the techs in another department said, “Hey there’s another guy in the Crossmatch Lab who plays guitar. Maybe you two guys should get together.” So Cris Faget and I met up and started a partnership in music. We have played together now for over 25 years. We first had a group called String Theory, and after adding some members, we decided to call it Don’t Ask because we were tired of people asking us what kind of music we did. We recorded a couple of CDs, had a bit of limited success in Seattle, and then had members come and go and then come back again. We have really enjoyed playing music together. Playing in a band has really evolved the way I write to include rhythmic and melodic diversity. It just has changed the way I write, period.

During the inception of Songwriters in Seattle, I was just surfing the web looking for songwriter stuff when I happened upon their meetup group. They were at the Pike Place market just doing their monthly meetings, and I really enjoyed the comraderie and the other writers’ music. There was a wonderfully committed core of folks that helped Songwriters in Seattle get started.

One thing led to another, and it seemed like a really good fit for me. I felt as if I could help myself become a better writer and help other writers become better, so I’ve stuck with it all this time. It never ceases to amaze me the diversity of talent that walks through the doors during one of those monthly meetings. Meeting and playing and seeing all these amazing people is what I think keeps me coming back year after year. Also, we have some wonderful people who are involved and who are ever inspiring.

Who knows what the future holds for Songwriters in Seattle? Maybe house concerts or “meet and greet” social events. There have been ambitious ideas that have been floated. For instance, maybe Songwriters in Seattle could run their own coffee house and use the funds to promote concerts and to further the songwriting community.

Whatever lies ahead, being on the board has been good because it’s nice to feel like part of a larger community of like-minded individuals. It’s also nice to make new friends and hear new ideas, and being on the board allows you to shape the vision of what Songwriters in Seattle can become.

Chris Klimecky, Executive Director of Songwriters in Seattle, describes his own musical development as, “a long, slow evolution – even after 30 years, it is an inspiring and surprising process!”

Here’s his story in his own words:

Songwriting started for me when I was around 12 years old as a family collaboration activity where I grew up in northern Michigan: My older brother, Pete, wrote lyrics and I wrote the music. He also played bass and my cousin played drums while I did guitar and vocals in our band. During holidays when we could get together we’d set up a 4-track tape machine and record as much as we could – this went on through high school and the only shift in college was that we went into nicer studios. Once in a while I’d write a song all on my own, but for the great majority it was a collaboration, often with a keyboardist as well contributing on the musical side.

Even when that “team” finally dissolved in the late 90’s after releasing two albums, I had enough lyrics from my brother stashed away that upon first moving to Seattle, my first solo album, Marooned, consisted of similar collaborations – I simply considered myself to be a music writer, not a lyric writer. I took about five years off after that release to start a family and dig into my career as a videogame producer.

When I returned, I sought out new teammates for collaboration and discovered a nascent Songwriters in Seattle group. What I found there were people who opened my mind to new directions, new genres, and new ways of collaborating I never would have considered in my previous songwriting time. I also discovered I had learned over the years what makes good lyrics, and had something to say myself, which led not only to my editing those lyrics that were given to me to work with, but writing more and more myself. Over a three-year period I put together my most diverse group of songs in my catalog for my second solo record, Bankrupt Generation.

This period of exploration actually resulted in intense focus afterward. I had confidence and vision for what I wanted to do musically and was driven to put together a new set of songs and recordings that reflected that vision with high quality. While there have been fewer songwriting collaborations since, they still play an important part of my most recent album and my current work. As I now do it all for charity, my “why” for writing, recording, and performing has become more meaningful, emotional, and personal. I continue to find joy and fulfillment in songwriting and collaborating.

I was growing up in the music scene just as the industry/business side was falling apart due to the shift from people buying records/CDs to getting music cheap/free online. By the time I had something to offer there was no longer investment in young artists and artist development because there was no longer money to be made selling records. Though I spent many years in frustration over this situation, it resulted in experience that I could use to help others to perhaps have a better opportunity.

Having always been a part of music and arts organizations (both private and larger public orgs/schools), I began to see that there was a possibility that community could play some of the role of support system that record labels previously handled. As Songwriters in Seattle grew and developed, it became more and more apparent that we were onto something with that line of thinking. Songwriters have the tendency these days to hole up in their homes or apartments with their instruments and computers, and just “DIY.” I know, I did it myself for a number of years. What Songwriters in Seattle offers is unlike anything else I know of in the area for encouraging and supporting creativity, the creation of art, and the support of independent artists. I think it’s really important work and I am proud to play a part in making it function and helping it grow.

Some unexpected benefits of taking on this role (as board president) are discovering what a huge, wide range of independent talent we have in the area. It feels almost infinite! With so many great surprises and great people I’ve met through the years, it has really been fun and inspiring. It has definitely motivated me to think about how we can be a force for elevating these talented artists and allowing them to do more of what they are capable of doing. It’s so hard, so time consuming, and so expensive to be an independent artist – they need all the support they can get in order to keep developing.

To help Songwriters in Seattle become even more effective, the two most important words for members are: SHOW UP! If everyone even picked one event per month to attend, we would have an elevated presence in the community. It would be more likely that each person could connect with someone who could help them personally. Share your knowledge, share your talent… this is not a competition. There is no one golden trophy to fight for – everyone’s on their own journey and we all do better when we help each other out.

Logistically, if someone wanted to be more involved, we can always use more volunteers to host events, manage our online presence (which helps foster participation), contribute to the newsletter, coordinate instructors, festival communication, etc. There is far more to do than myself and the current board members can handle.

Songwriters in Seattle is still a young organization (nine years total, six as a 501(c)3 non-profit), so there is still a lot to do in order to reach the potential of the impact we can have. One aspect of our long term vision is for us to have our own central location (in addition to events around the city, of course). There are multiple purposes for this – teaching space, collaboration space, recording space, “artist hangout” space, performance space… a true multi-purpose community location that represents and supports the needs of the organization and the artists we work to elevate.

Whether you’re a hobbyist or professional (or seeking to be professional) artist looking to develop your full potential as a songwriter, we at Songwriters in Seattle believe we are creating the stepping stones to help inspire, motivate, and elevate you to a more fulfilling musical life. If you think that’s as important as I do, we could use your help in continuing to move toward that vision. We simply need volunteers who share this vision and would be willing to put the time in. Thank you!

Chris Klimecky
Musician & Producer

In an effort to build a more friendly and welcoming community through our volunteer activities, Songwriters in Seattle would like you to get to know our volunteer leaders. This month we’d like to introduce active Board Member, and host of the monthly Songwriter Support Group, Audrey Goodman, in her own words:

As a small child, music creation wasn’t anything I aspired to. But I sure loved to sing – songs in school, songs on radio, and most particularly, songs I heard over and over from the Broadway shows my father had on the turntable. I fancied myself an Ethel Merman type, a famous Broadway star from 50’s – 60’s musicals such as “Annie Get your Gun” and “Gypsy” – no doubt identifying with the powerful, volatile nature of the characters she portrayed. Momma Rose, Annie Oakley, Auntie Mame – they all sang about life’s events at the top of their lungs. As a super shy kid who had trouble even conversing with anyone, blasting out that kind of song on a stage was for me! So I went around singing these songs to whoever would listen and got myself recruited into a children’s choir as, of course, the ‘belter singer’ kid at the age of seven.

The choir was part of a small, newly created Reform synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts of which my parents were founding members. Another founding member was an East Coast concert pianist who was also on faculty at the New England Conservatory in downtown Boston. She saw me perform in the choir and, incredibly, asked my mother if she could teach me piano. She saw how much I loved the complicated melodies and rhythms of the Yom Kippur repertoire and the emotional nature of my childish interpretations, and she felt certain that music instruction would provide an important channel for me. Was she ever right!

So the next seven years were filled with Conservatory level piano lessons and hours of weekly practice and recitals. My experiences with all of this were wonderful enough to know I adored the music, but grueling enough to know I would never want to do this as a grown up! And then, right at this particular juncture of adoration and frustration, came the most magical music I’d yet to hear, aside from Beethoven. Joni Mitchell… Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young… Jackson Browne; their melodies crept up and entirely took over my fantasies about music (and everything else for that matter). I was given a guitar for my 14^th birthday and didn’t touch the piano again until well into my 20’s. It was now ALL about learning the songs of these artists on guitar – these sages of our ages who ‘got me’ from tip of brow down to the bottom of my soles (and soul).

I taught myself the chords, memorized the lyrics, went to all the shows and concerts, befriended and played with all the people my age I came into contact with who were as obsessed with it all as I was. It was mostly all I did at Bard College in my late teens. And, it was the continuing pursuit of all of this which brought me to the Left Coast at 20. I had been composing things for years, and had recently started writing songs. I knew I would never have the golden pipes of Joni, Judi, or Linda, but I wanted to see if others would pick up my songs, as I had a couple friends who had relocated to ‘So Cal’ who weren’t great performers, but were placing songs with publishers, and subsequently getting covers with well-known performers.

In Hollywood (circa 1980’s), music publishing companies used to host songwriter events where you could get your cassette demo-tape on a rolling wheel (like the Wheel of Music Fortune), or heard in various other ways, and I wanted in on that. So, long story short, I met another songwriter and connected big time. We wrote and got some covers on several creations over a 10 year marriage (as well as co-creating two wonderful kids). I also created my own small ASCAP publishing company, Mother Mode Music. Unfortunately, as far as music creation went, the raising of the kids became a death knell for my own music. As well, out of financial necessity, I focused on making money teaching music. When my marriage ended, I made a promise to myself that I’d relocate, ostensibly to reacquaint myself with myself as musician, after 20+ years of feeling a bit lost in the culture of Los Angeles. In 2013 my kids were launched on their own pursuits, and I re-launched, landing in the marvelous city of Seattle.

Once settled, I went onto good ol’ Meetup, in search of the local songwriters and music making peeps. I found bluegrass, and I also found Songwriters in Seattle. After joining and attending a few get togethers with other writers, song circles, learning events, songwriter showcases, I was SO darned inspired. I wrote more music my first year in Seattle than in the previous 20 years in LA! I felt that SiS was giving so much to my personal growth as writer; I had to do something to contribute back. So I started the monthly Songwriter Support Group event at my home. This hasn’t just been successful within the group, but also has given me tremendous fodder for growth in my own songwriting. The next logical step was to join the board, to help to further enthusiasm and activity within the organization, and to support my talented and delightful network of songwriting friends.

One of the things I love most about Songwriters in Seattle, which was never present in LA music circles, is the welcoming nature of it, as envisioned by its founder and board. Whether you’re a novice, or a polished performer, there is growth to give and growth to get. There are seasoned players who are quite generous of their time and experience to newer writers, there are those who are just starting to get ‘out there’ -generating audience and reputation, and there are those who aren’t sure what their goals are but know they’ve got something to say, something to sing, and are grateful for the encouragement and knowledge that SiS events and members provide as they hone their craft.

I will always feel like I have miles to go before I’ll claim to be at the peak of whatever talent I may have. Possibly you all can identify with this statement, wherever you’re at with your abilities. And possibly, it’s just this internal pressure which compels us to keep writing, improving, editing, and reworking our melodies and lyrics. The very best place I’ve found in this city to complement, train, and enhance this drive we all feel, is through the people and activities within Songwriters in Seattle. Thank you Chris Klimecky for starting this wonderful group. If we have no other remedy for the ills of the moment, we at least have each other, our shared community, and our music.