Post GRAMMY Musings
It was a long week. There were more pre-GRAMMY parties than ever before. I pace myself these days. That said, I had a better time than I used to. I no longer feel like I have anything to prove. I don’t ask colleagues what they have coming out but rather ‘what’s been keeping them busy.’ Because, let’s face it…a lot of people don’t have anything coming out. It’s not like it’s the 90s when songwriters had 2 dozen cuts a year.
Catching Up With Kasim
My friend Kasim Sulton (bass player with with Todd Rundgren for the past 45 years) was one of the many touring musicians whose livelihood was disrupted due of the paralyzing forces of the pandemic. That didn’t stop him from releasing an album, launching a radio show and starting a podcast. But now that Covid protocol seems to be in retreat, he’s back to his happiest place — on stage with Kasim Sulton’s Utopia. He and I took a moment to talk about where he’s at. Literally and figuratively. Oh and…here’s to musicians getting back to work!!
🥳🎊🎉🍾🥂
Eurovision
I was never a huge fan of TV Talent competitions. Maybe I know too much about what goes on behind the scenes — unfavorable contracts, song ownership grabs — or maybe it just feels like ‘how did we get here from there’? Would Dylan or Carole King have gotten a Golden Ticket? I doubt it. Not enough melisma. That said, I’m pleased about this win.
Love Is War
It was 2010. Britney Spears was making a new album. I felt like I had some momentum because she recorded another song I wrote “Out From Under” for her previous album Circus. Songwriters all over town were partnering up and trying to come up with something undeniably Britney. One night I sat down at the piano with a glass of wine. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what the girl had been through. How might she feel if she were STILL trying to get over Justin? I didn’t know for sure that’s where her head (and heart) was at. But you have to start somewhere.
