For his prize, Vincent Robert Trocchia, winner of Round 3 of The 2009 Lyric Writer Awards, joined forces with We Are Listening’s songwriting duo, Pat and Pete Luboff to polish his lyric, set it to music, and produce an outstanding demo.
Hearing Things
Kristin took the music scene by storm in 1999 with the release of her debut album, Silver Bowl, to critical acclaim, earning her a Boston Music Award Nomination. Her second release, So Long My Love, brought her increased notoriety, with a Nomination for Best Album and a win for Best Song (“Show Them”) in the Independent Music Awards in 2006. Early in 2002, Kristin contributed her song, “Martyr”, on the Sony/Heavy Rotation Records compilation, Shekinah 13 Artists, which celebrates the diverse female alumni of Berklee College of Music. The compilation is being distributed by Sony/Epic Records, with part of the proceeds going to help young artists at Berklee College of Music. Upon the release of Shekinah 13 Artists, Kristin was featured on the Oxygen Network’s Daily Remix, VH1’s Jump Start, Billboard Magazine, Boston Globe and the Associated Press.
Songwriting duo, Peter and Pat Luboff, have joined forces with We Are Listening once again to co-write and produce the winning lyric from the latest round of the Lyric Writer Awards. Dean Caputo, a multi-finalist in previous rounds of the contest struck gold in Round 2 of the 2009 Lyric Writer Awards when the contest judges selected his lyric as the winner.
After a few weeks of the Luboff treatment, including modifying the lyric, setting words to melody and producing an awesome sound recording, “Southern Style” is now complete.
This is the original lyric by Dean Caputo, followed by the revised lyric and final demo by Dean Caputo, Peter and Pat Luboff:
VERSE
I was born red-necked and raised blue collar
She was born with a silver spoon
She ate at 5-star restaurants
I drank at cheap saloons
I was a slow, winding river
She was the blue lagoon
She leased a little loft in the city for a while
before she lived SOUTHERN STYLE
CHORUS
SOUTHERN STYLE is what was missing
She was caught up in the city grind
She made a smooth transition
so we tied the knot in fishin’ line
She went from city glow to harvest moon,
from champagne to sweet, red wine
Now she’s barefoot walking a country mile
Since she’s learned to live SOUTHERN STYLE
VERSE
She had a fluffy cat named “Crystal”
I had a huntin’ dog named “Blue”
She drove a turbo Beamer with the alloy wheels
I had a pickup built for two
She was missin’ out on the good life
So I taught her all I knew
And after luxury living in the country for a while
She decided on SOUTHERN STYLE
[CHORUS]
BRIDGE
There’s no guarantees on these transferees
So I’m her maitre d’ in dungarees
Got her southbound to slow down for the hoedown
And smell the freedom in the country breeze
[CHORUS]
Revised Lyric:
Southern Style by Dean Caputo, Peter Luboff, Pat Luboff
VERSE 1
I was born red-neck and raised blue collar
She was fed with a silver spoon
She sipped champagne at 5-star restaurants
I drank beer at honky tonk saloons
I was a slow, winding river
She was a deep blue lagoon
It was a doggone pity how she cried in the city
till I, my oh my, how I taught her how to smile
CHORUS
Southern style slow and easy like a lazy summer breeze
Barefoot walking ‘neath magnolia trees
Sweet tea talking front porch swinging crickets singing in the moonlight
Southern style
VERSE 2
Now her fluffy cat named princess Julie
Goes a-huntin’ with my blue tick hound
And she traded in her turbo Beemer
For a ride in my pickup to my two horse town
When she tasted the good life
It turned her whole world upside down
She said I”m deep down happy as a matter of factly
We’re hot, so why not, tie the knot I got some fishing line
[CHORUS]
BRIDGE
She loves me like a sunflower loves the bees
Life is sweet for my honey and me and we like it
2009 marked the beginning of a 360-degree lyric writing contest from We Are Listening, opening our doors to writers who don’t necessarily have the experience or resources to set their words to music and produce a viable demo. With that in mind, we committed the Lyric Writer Awards to become the only independent lyric writing initiative to produce a professional demo by the end of its cycle, with the promise to provide equal opportunity to every single one of our contest participants, regardless of their musical maturity and songwriting chops.
For the first time in the history of the Lyric Writer Awards, a young fledgling writer with no musical background whatsoever was selected by the judges as a winner. Allyson Weiland, an English Major at the University of Texas and member of its varsity rowing team, submitted the lyric “Tag, You’re It” and won the 2009 Lyric Writer Awards (Round 1). This is what the lyric looked like at the time of her submission:
VERSE
See that woman pushing that stroller there?
Yeah that’s the one with the wild brown hair
You may think housewife when you see her now
But in her crazier days, we all tried to chase her down
She used to yell
CHORUS
Just Try and catch me Romeo,
I’m flyin fast and you’re movin too slow
Time’s racing by and this moment’s gonna pass
Tag, you’re it, now step on the gas
VERSE
At 16 her parents gave her her dream
The keys to a beautiful racing machine
Friday night, she pulled up next to me
Revved up her engine, and flew off with a wink
And she screamed
[REPEAT CHORUS]
BRIDGE
She had two hands on the wheel and one foot to the floor
Laughing sayin’ come on baby show me what that engine’s for
VERSE
The last time we saw her my senior year
A black mustang passed her on the road out of here
She took it as a challenge caught up to him quick
Brown eyes sparkling, that cloud of dust was thick
She must’ve told him
[REPEAT CHORUS]
VERSE
She came back few years ago all settled down
Riding shotgun in that mustang without her racing crown
That guy she married managed to win that race
Man, that must’ve been one hell of a chase
With her yellin’
[REPEAT CHORUS]
After several edits by Allyson, our staff sent the lyric to our songwriting team, Pat & Pete Luboff, who ironed out some of the creases and set the words to melody and composed a suitable chord progression. Pete sent We Are Listening a rough demo (and I mean rough!) of the composition for our review. Listen to it here and notice the changes in the Lyric:
Tag, You’re It by Allyson Weiland, Peter Luboff, Pat Luboff
VERSE 1
See the woman pushin that stroller there?
Yeah, that’s the one with the wild brown hair
She may look like a housewife when you see her now
But in her crazier days we all tried to chase her down
She used to yell
CHORUS
Just try and catch me Romeo
I’m flyin fast and you’re moving way too slow
Time’s racin by and this moment’s gonna pass
so step on the gas if you want another kiss,
Tag, you’re it
VERSE 2
At 16 she was given her wildest dream
The keys to a beautiful racing machine
Next couple years she held on to first place
Til’ a boy in a mustang made it a race
She told him
[REPEAT CHORUS]
BRIDGE
They tore outta here like the wild things they were
Didn’t think they’d be back for a while
But two years later when they traded rings
We all watched her running down the aisle
And Laughing
We Are Listening have teamed up with StudioPros.com for the Lyric Writer Awards, a lyric writing contest with a 360-degree approach to turning the winners’ lyrics into publishable, radio-ready soundtracks. Learn more…
StudioPros.com brings the studio recording experience, production value, and LA’s finest session musicians and audio professionals to your home at a price you can afford. From quick songwriter demos to radio-ready masters, the entire tracking, mixing, and mastering schedule is managed by you, online and in real-time, from the comfort of your desktop. The StudioPros.com team comprises of session players who have performed with Seal, Jessica Simpson, Miley Cyrus, Jesse McCartney, among others, and Grammy nominated mixing engineers credited by Wyclef Jean, Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, OneRepublic, Beyonce, and more.
As songwriters, how are we ensuring that we get better at what we do? Do we wait for a lightning bolt of inspiration to hit us in the middle of the night, only to discover that we forgot to set aside a pen and paper on the bedside table? Or, are we jamming with our band until we find a riff we all agree on and then charge the vocalist with the arduous task of writing the lyrics before next band practice?
I have spoken with many songwriters in my time. Some have declared that their songs come from hours of writing and rewriting, whilst others confessed to a twenty minute muck-around and, voila, a song is born! Even songwriters that consistently produce hits can get better. No matter how successful or reputed your music is, there is always room for improvement. If music is your life, then music is your life’s work. And work it is!
Songwriting is a series of disciplined decisions. You begin with a certain set of rules that you intend to stick to. Rules? Okay, guidelines. For example, you choose a language, a key, a metre, a feeling you want to express etc. Of course, these can change but one must begin somewhere… In my case, I always write in English, on a guitar or piano and choose a key to work in. I think of the story I want to tell and build from there. As part of my songwriting exercise regimen, I force myself to start differently. For instance, I mix things up by changing instruments or working off a song title from a newspaper headline. Sometimes, I will try to write in odd metres or keys outside of my comfort zone. It keeps me on my feet.
Here are a couple of tips to sharpen your songwriting chops:
- Set aside some time for yourself to write (not high, drunk or tired!)
- Listen to music you wouldn’t usually listen to
- Try to write in an unfamiliar musical style/genre
- Try writing a happy song – surprisingly hard!
- Write on a different instrument
- Collaborate with other writers
- Use a rhyming dictionary
- Analyse music you wish you wrote
- Try different song forms ( AABA, AAA, Vs Ch, Vs pre-Ch Ch etc.)
- Make a handy list of metaphors, alliterations, powerful rhymes and hooks
- Try to write a soundtrack or underscore to a visual excerpt, home video or film
- Try writing a radio jingle for a specific product or service
- Read poetry
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