Life, family, and music.
Finding your unique songwriting voice is really just a continuation of the stuff you’re already doing, but simply editing it down and changing its form. If you’re having trouble finding your unique songwriting voice, imagine your brain as being a giant rain barrel. The top is open. Everything you take in—experiences, reading, watching TV, whatever—is […]
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This question comes from Phaedra (age 6) whose dad relayed her question. “Did you really do the things you sing about doing as a kid in ‘Amazing Incredible Things’? And who is Samson?” Phaedra Hi Phaedra – Those are great questions. I sing about doing a lot of unbelievable stuff in “Amazing Incredible Things,” don’t
(From Aaron’s book On Songwriting: Practical Tips and Insights from a Decade in Music City) Whenever I’m stuck on a song, I imagine my dad and me in the Beltrami Island State forest in northern Minnesota. Growing up, that’s where we’d go on the weekends to hunt partridge. My dad didn’t own a pickup truck, but
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We celebrate Pizza Friday every week (here’ why) and Heidi makes these breadsticks. It’s her own take on the Olive Garden’s copycat recipe. Try it out and let us know how it goes! Ingredients For the dough: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons
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What inspires you to write songs? Louise Hi Louise – I’m inspired to write songs by many things and it changes as I get older. I think I began writing songs (age 16) to express stuff going on inside of me that I couldn’t put into words. I wasn’t a very good communicator. Plus the
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My Two Favorite Definitions of Success There’s been so much love from “Back to the Beginning” being on the Netflix series After Life. Thank you all for the kind words. Let me show you a funny graph. It’s the number of plays “Back to the Beginning” had on Thursday (spoiler alert: it was 4 plays…possibly
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Here’s how to play my song “Back to the Beginning.” Remember, this is just how I play it. I hope you can take whatever I’m doing and make it your own. I used to love (still do) trying to figure out the guitar parts to my favorite songs. It was always such an education about the instrument–learning
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This Time of the Year by Aaron Espe “Back to the Beginning” by Aaron Espe – Official Lyrics Snow lightly falling on the collar of my coatSilence lies heavy on the pinesFollowing our footsteps back before it gets too coldReaching out, I warm your hand in mine Can I go back there, back to the
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(That title was sponsored by direction-y words.) You can hear “Back to the Beginning” in season 3, episode 1. I’m conflicted because I never watch when my songs are in commercials or TV shows. It’s too uncomfortable. I’ve got issues, I know! But I love After Life and have watched every episode. I learned about
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We thought she would live forever. At ninety-nine, she was just one year younger than my grandpa Neil (who I’m convinced will bury us all). I used to watch the Golden Girls with my grandma Myrtle. And while I never expected to cover the theme song, last year I did on the 7 Covers project.
RIP Betty White, “Thank You for Being a Friend” Read More »