Brandy Clark, a ten time Grammy nominated country singer, talks with me about the Art of the Story Song. We start (abruptly) with her answer to my question if writing that style of song is more satisfying and comes to her more naturally. Our topics include how autobiographical her songs tend to be or how fictional. Brandy Clark talks about her songwriting process and what techniques she uses to inspire her writing if she’s hit a block. She also shares a songwriting prompt which gets her in the right frame of mind; she imagines the “furniture in the room” which for her, is often a kitchen. Once she can set the scene and imagery that way, the characters walk in and out of that “room” in her song.

I asked Brandy Clark about the experience of “songwriting for others on the clock” for ten years before she began performing her own songs. This disciplined approach has helped her in establishing a routine and a structure to encourage her writing instead of “waiting for inspiration.” We finish the segment with Brandy’s commentary on Pride Month and the impact of being “out” for many years in the music business. She also talks about her mentoring in this area with others in the music scene.

We finish the segment with two songs one from her newest release, “Your Life is a Record”, which is a duet with Brandi Carlile called “Same Devil” and finish from her debut album “12 Stories” with a beautiful song called “Hold My Hand”.

Catch Brandy Clark, along with Valley duo High Tea, at Holyoke’s Race Street Live this coming Saturday 6/18!!