A Break in the Action

Larry the Cat

Christmas in Gettysburg

It's almost Christmas and things have been a bit quiet this month, gig-wise. That's a good thing! You see, that's Larry, my youngest cat, sleeping in my guitar case. That means I have my guitar out and I'm writing songs and practicing. I've written three new songs this month and finished up a couple of old ones I've stalled on. 

Songwriting isn't a linear process. For me, it usually starts with a concept or phrase that rings in my brain. Somehow, a melody or way of singing the phrase is suggested in the writing of it, then I build a chorus that works with it. In my song, "TropiGal," for instance, I was trying to decide who TropiGal is. "She's TropiGal." So, what kind of things define someone who calls herself "TropiGal?" It seemed to me that she's a free spirit who's "heart belongs to the open seas" and that "She's gonna soar on the ocean breeze." She lives and breathes life on the shore. "Salty air and the sun is all she needs." 

 The next step is harder: come up with verses that support the chorus. Just like writing a short story, a song is a story put to music. It has to go somewhere. My next step was to come up with vignettes of women who are in the world and what brings out their inner "TropiGal," the "every woman working hard all around the world." The song finally calls out to the free spirit in all TropiGals to find their expression, find their beach. "Swimming free in the clear blue water. Living life as one of Neptune's daughters." 

While I was growing up, we spent at least a week at the shore every summer, usually in Wildwood, NJ. My mother in particular always felt drawn to the ocean. I feel the same way. I have to have that time by the ocean, by the water, to feel complete each year. With 2013 on the way I'm looking forward to letting "TropiGal" out as much as possible.

See you somewhere down the End of the Road,

Dani