Skip Matheny— currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle and former bartender in a retirement community — recently caught up with Marcus and Winston from Mumford & Sons in… Read More →

Mac: Do you know Kurt Wagner [of Lambchop]? He lives in Nashville. At one point he gave himself this project where he had to write a song everyday for a… Read More →

James: “We will leave the studio go into the apartment get an acoustic guitar and play the song from beginning to end, like you would at a campfire. And if the song doesn’t work that way, then there is something wrong with the song itself you know? You should never have to hear a 4 bar filter sweep for the song to work.”

(From left to right: Jon Philpot, Joe Stickney, and Adam Wills of Bear In Heaven) Skip caught up with Bear in Heaven before their recent show at the End in Nashville.… Read More →

Julian:”It’s tough to write. I feel like I suck at writing like ‘pop’ because I get too greedy, meaning wise. Because I want it to work on two or three different levels, its really hard for me to just, you know, “I went to the door and I looked you in the eye and … that’s why I’m a happy man!” (laughs) You know what I mean?”

Deck: “We like everything that alters or filters your original idea. That’s why we work with very cheap equipment. We also work with cheap recorders when we compose. [Even though] it’s not supposed to sound like this on the record, it kind of fantasizes everything. So when you listen back to it, it gives you a very new vision of what you did.”

Skip Matheny—former bartender in a retirement community and currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle—caught up with Sara of twin-sister act Tegan and Sara before their show at the… Read More →

Skip Matheny— currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle and former bartender in a retirement community — caught up with the wonderful Pegi Young in Austin TX recently. Though… Read More →

I feel like writing lyrics is sort of different for each case, it seems. Sometimes, I’ll really have an idea for a tune, like a story or a format. Like with that song “Cornerstone,” I had this idea that I wanted each verse to be the same format and then you sort of know exactly where it is going, and the humor can get in there and it does that more narrative thing.

Skip Matheny –former bartender in a retirement community and currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle — interviewed Brendan Benson and Ashley Monroe earlier this month for Lake Fever… Read More →

Skip’s note: This is “drinks with” interview with Tom T. Hall and his wife & songwriting partner Miss Dixie.  For anyone who doesn’t know Tom T. Hall, I urge you… Read More →

Skip Matheny –former bartender in a retirement community and currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle — interviewed Alejandro Escovedo last month, when Roman Candle was touring with the… Read More →

Skip Matheny –former bartender in a retirement community and currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle — caught up with Jason Isbell, frontman for the band the 400 Unit, before… Read More →

  Skip Matheny –former bartender in a retirement community and currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle — caught up with Fran Healy, frontman and main songwriter from the… Read More →

On writing and recording an album:

Hayden: You’ve got to let yourself go mad in a way. You’ve got to get dangerously obsessed to get [an album] out. You have to give yourself the right space and environment to allow that, and not to, sort of, “break the spell.” It doesn’t take a lot to pop the bubble, and then you’ve got to work hard to build it back up again.