Song Submissions
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James Rechs, Moorhead, Minn.
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I am in the band Jailhouse Payback. This is the same way our band has written eight songs -- Jon writes the lyrics, e-mails them to me, and then I write the music. I really enjoy writing this way, because I'm terrible at writing lyrics.
On the recording I'm playing acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar, electric lap steel guitar, harmonica, shaker, two different tambourines and I'm tapping on a toy ukulele to simulate the conga sounds.
I read the first couple of lines on Friday and got excited about it. I let the excitement marinate for about 24 hours. Then on Saturday, I closed myself in a room with all of my musical instruments, knowing that in a few hours, I would emerge with a good song.
The first thing I did with the guitar was figure out the feel/tempo I wanted for the song. Then I played a three-chord progression that I thought I liked, and imagined in my mind a lap steel part for it. Then I tried singing a melody for the first verse. I knew there were a lot of words and a few different sections, so I wanted to keep it fairly simple and have some sort of geometry to it, or the song would get carried away and lose the listener.
Nick Reid, Minneapolis
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This was something I was excited about when I heard about the Songs from Scratch program on MPR. I've been writing and performing music for several years now, both on my own and with local band Public Static.
I took a very different approach to this song than I normally would, because the lyrics were already written. I typically write the music first and allow that to provide inspiration for the words. This was totally backwards. I thought that Stephen Burt's poem "Afternoon Song" evoked something playful, sunny and lighthearted that reminded me of summer in a nostalgic way, and I crafted the song accordingly.
It's something of an atypical song type for me to write. While I was recording, I had a thought to pull my brother in to tickle the song with a banjo part, to add to the playfulness. I think it succeeded. I had a blast! Thanks.
Jon Sailer, Rochester, Minn.
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Dave Lehnen from Army Defense is playing drums. Took a drum track, wrote music over that and then tried to match the lyrics.
Jerry Salter, Burnsville, Minn.
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It's just me and my piano. As for style, I latched on to the phrase about the moon being blue and tried to give the song a blues feel. Once I decided on the style the first verse came together. The second verse was a challenge to get all the syllables to fit. The bridge took the longest but I just kept singing it and it finally worked itself out. I hope you like it and I hope it does justice to the words. Thanks for the opportunity to give it a try!
Steve Sanders, Saint Paul, Minn.
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I was the only one involved in the recording process. I thought the lyrics were very free-flowing, so I chose to do a jazzy/funk-rap version. I built the beats with Garage Band in my living room, recorded the vocals in my bedroom closet and added the guitar in a hotel room in Wausau, Wisc.
Chris Sieling, Hanley Falls, Minn.
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When recording a demo like this, I find a simple guitar and voice to be the best. Reading the lyrics, I just closed my eyes, imagined a scene and tried to come up with music that would match that scene.
Jack Spencer, Minneapolis
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This is as raw a recording as you can get. Think of say, like when John Lennon laid down the first tracks of "Stawberry Fields." When writing the melody to these lyrics, I just seemed to hear a rolling, moving-on kinda feeling to the chorus. I didn't try to really sing in this take, but as to get that feeling conveyed through the guitar. This is just me, in front of my old iMac. It was a challenging experience.
Song Submissions
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