Photos (2,7,8)

by Bob Grestinger

Photos

by Mary O'Brien

Carmen's Songwriting Process/New Songs Sneak Peek

I write most of my songs in the shower and honestly by the time I get out of the shower they are singing themselves. Everyone's A Critic is an example of that. I got the melody, chords and lyrics all at once. Getting all three like that doesn't happen for me that often. I am very driven by sound and music. Like This Before was recorded at home in my creative space. I am freestyle writing the song as I go along and you can hear the musical ideas yet there are no finished lyrics. The whole thing is ad lib and that is when I usually feel the most creative. I almost always come up with the melody and chords and then later have to go back and write the lyrics. My Radio is a good example of that. I am going to rewrite those lyrics but the temporary lyrics I wrote do capture the sound and feeling of what I wanted. This clip was taken from a handheld recorder during a rehearsal. Sometimes I will have a sense of what the lyrics should be. Watching You Dance is one of my favorites songs at the moment. It is very groove and texture oriented. This version was produced by me as a rough demo for the purpose of demonstrating the direction I want to go in with this song."

- Carmen, Dec. 2004

...Other amazing performances from June Bender, Janalee and The Balkan Babes