Notes From A Songwriting Papa

How being a Dad (or Papa) has changed my creative process...mmm...well it's quite easy. My daughter Elle was born and nothing could or would ever be the same. Artists are at the mercy of their emotions. Suddenly| the birth of my daughter broke open the flood gates. I stopped analyzing things. Fatherhood lights a fire| there is a greater urgency to life when one becomes a parent| a feeling to move forward| fearlessly. I used to call my music| compositions and songs - my children. How wrong| how wrong| how wrong..... selfish and ignorant more than anything. Children require more love| more energy| more detail - period. Everything about a child is so raw| organic| natural and unpredictable.

We want the world for our little people| we don't want to miss a thing - a new word| a chance to dance| to sing.... this is why I trimmed the fat off everything| including my music. It's so easy to lose ourselves in this crazy world driven by computers and technology and forget we have heartbeats| forget that blood runs through our veins. I personally needed to return to sensual and organic elements. Feeling my hand touch the piano| the wood| the way I was taught as a young boy. All this to say I understood creation when Elle was born.

Artistically| something wasn't right| life was too complicated... music sounded the same| music wasn't exciting me the way it used to. I returned to the instrument I know best| the piano. I borrowed the purity| the innocence which I found in my daughter and breathed it back into my art. Before her birth| I found myself killing things to death| by over-thinking the creative process.....I discovered a beautiful ebb in simply letting go| cliché as it is| I learned not to over analyze things. We obsess when we worry.

I've had the privilege of being involved with colossal songs and productions| at times 50-75 piece orchestras behind my music. Suddenly I went from 75 musicians to one| the piano.

Elle taught me you can be heard even more when you whisper at times.