The Songwriter's Podcast with Anne Sibley Anne Sibley

We are back with a special episode featuring songwriter Johnsmith and more new episodes coming shortly so please "Follow" or Subscribe to the show!
John's beautiful albums that span his forty year career are special soundtracks from his life that have become the accompaniment for so many of his fans lives. One of ten children, John has been singing and making up songs from a young age.
One of my favorite quotes from today's conversation, "Remember that your songs are a gift". 
Thank you, John, your songs are gifts to us, an inspiration. We are so fortunate that John tours the country performing, leads trips in Ireland as well as River Trips in the West. He is part of the Kerrville Folk Scene and he has won the hearts of fans and songwriters all over the globe. 
Check out John's music, touring and trips on his website: https://johnsmithmusic.com/

In today's mini-episode I share "Three Ways to Become a Conduit for Effortless Songwriting."
Get your Free Songwriting Guide Here: https://www.annesibley.com/events
Want to feel inspired again? Write those songs that are on your heart?
Hint: It’s all about your energy. 
Connecting with inspiration, becoming power charged and letting the music pour through you.
Memorize what it feels like to be in a flow state.
Three ways to have more inspiration:
1) Listen to music that juices you up &  touches your emotions2) Connect with your soul family3) Write your morning pages
Key Takeaways:
Inspiration is your battery pack for songwriting
Be there for yourself by writing your Morning Pages: show up willing to hear your own truth
when you are in the flow and feeling connected, inspired, grounded
Synchronicities abound when you are the conduit
Let your boat go somewhere !!! Put the wind back in your sails
Give yourself the permission to receive inspiration
Ready to receive support for your songwriting? Experience love for the songs you are writing? Want to write more with less self-criticism? Applications are now available for our Songwriting Membership Group.
Head to my website for songwriting coaching and a free consultation call: www.annesibley.com

Laurie Lewis, in my opinion, is the queen of bluegrass. She is a masterful storyteller, performer, and a special human being. It was an honor and an incredibly lovely experience to be with her; to talk with her, laugh with her, and celebrate her songwriting and musicianship.  

In this episode, she sings about the town of “Barstow” while she delves into the background of how she came to write it.  Then from her new album, “Trees”, she treats us to a song she wrote during the pandemic when she found out that her friend John Prine, the great songwriter, had passed away. 

My own duet with my husband in our earliest years was so inspired by songs like “The Oak and The Laurel”, a song Laurie wrote with her music partner, now suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, who also painted the cover art for her newest album, Trees. 

She has sung and played with her influences and some of the greatest musicians of our time.  I think you can hear the people and the miles in her songs and in her voice. She is a special soul with whom it was a great pleasure to have the company of this special conversation, thanks for following and listening to the podcast!

Visit the amazing Laurie Lewis on her website:https://laurielewis.com/
Join Laurie on a River Trip: https://www.nwrafting.com/bluegrass
Check out her Tour Dates (scroll down): https://laurielewis.com/
Her New Album Trees: 
Her impressive Discography
Follow Laurie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurielewismusic/
Or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurielewismusic/
A Few of the Takeaways:
Receive your songs like gifts from the cosmosMusic helps us get through hard thingsBe an observer when you’re traveling around for your next songWhen you write your own songs you have something unique to singGreat songs can get away if you don’t write them downIf you don’t write the song, who will?Don’t live life by your fears (always wise when we can remember!)

Laura Wortman and Kagey Parish are The Honey Dewdrops. They seamlessly weave a thoughtfulness into every note, harmony, chord that they play and sing in their soulful duet. They first captured my heart in 2008 with their winning performance on “A Prairie Home Companion” and they have spent decades touring the country and sharing their music with audiences far and wide.
On today's episode, you'll hear the gorgeous studio versions of two of their songs.  They sing “Garden” a song inspired by Kagey’s walk by a zen garden with yoga platforms where he found this sanctuary that inspired this song plus a powerful song of theirs with incredible harmonies called “More Than You Should Say”.
The Honey Dewdrops music has been part of the soundtrack of my life as we have been friends since I heard them win on “A Prairie Home Companion”. I was so moved by their singing and their song that I had to pull off the road to listen!

They tell the stories behind their songs on this podcast episode and whether you've heard them before or not, I think you'll be hooked not only to their music but to the genuinely kind and talented human beings that they are. You can check out their tour schedule to see if you can see them perform live near you (go see them!).

Check out their beautiful website: https://www.thehoneydewdrops.com/
Listen to their many great albums on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/42FAfgZpAliDGkyucfGnWM
And on Bandcamp: https://thehoneydewdrops.bandcamp.com/track/more-than-you-should-say

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehoneydewdrops
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehoneydewdrops

Takeaways:
Don’t push or edit too hard, just let it be. Let it be something without needing to control it too much. Having an instrument in hand while songwriting yields something that feels and sounds more naturalEmbracing our creative parts instead of our thinking brainTry a lot of things! Follow your gut reactionsSkills are important but permission is so super important for songwriting

“If we look around, there is always something to be grateful for and some kindness we can give.” - Katy Oberle
Stars and algorithms aligned to connect me with Katy Oberle, a singer-songwriter friend who I like to call a creativity goddess! She uses her love and talents both for mindfulness and music to share her gifts and practices for healing. 

Following a career as a therapist, she now runs Katy Oberle Creative where she coaches individuals and businesses in mindfulness practices while deeply nourishing the creative lives of others.

On today’s episode we get grounded with Katy and hear her sweet songs, “Walden” and “Shine” with her beautiful soprano vocals and peace filled lyrics from two of her recent albums. We talk about the meaningfulness of playing music in hospital settings and how music provides connection, kindness and more love in the world. So grateful to Katy for sharing her music and wisdom with us on the podcast.

Katy has a great newsletter, visit Katy and sign up for her newsletter here:
https://www.katyoberlecreative.com/

Follow Katy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katyoberle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katyoberlecreative
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBd4njDkswQK_CQDQF4kh6w

A few Takeaways:
-Music saves us and helps us makes sense of our lives 
-Creativity buffers our hearts against the hard stuff
-So many people need to write songs 
-Capture chapters of your life through songwriting
-Songwriting is like scrapbooking, an audio collage of your life!
-The songwriting process can be intuitive and unpredictable
-Just like mindfulness practices, the more you can show up in your songwriting consistently the more like you’ll catch the muse

Meet my friend, the peaceful pianist Michael Martinez.  He is a composer who channels music from deep within the heart.  He performs the title track from one of his new albums called “The Stillness Within” as well as a misplaced and forgotten song he revived called “Goodbye“.\

This podcast is special because he joins my songwriting membership group via Zoom as our guest songwriter so you will hear their questions and comments in the end, as well!

Michael has been on a deep spiritual journey that I believe you will not only hear but feel through his music.  He is a natural teacher that will no doubt bring you a bit deeper into your own music just from listening to this conversation.

Michael mentions Kenny Warner, author of Effortless Mastery and shares an exercise designed to strengthen your creativity muscle and reprogram your mind away from judging: Start playing anything on your instrument, completely relax your body and when your MIND kicks in, take your hands off your instrument. When judgment arises, take your hands off and stop.

We talk about negative musical identity programming from our developmental years and how few people come out of youth without scars.

Michael has a vibrant YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-SVyGwS22rnzhXxf1_nwwg

Visit Michael’s Website: https://www.michaelmartinezmusic.com/

Enjoy Michael’s music here on Spotify and in many other places https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xU9fGVJjEudolpIPCqg4w
Michael and Anne recorded a single in 2022, a cover of Sarah MacLachlan's Angel:https://open.spotify.com/album/585AJ1nB9hfEoVTNb0atoc
Takeaways:
When you let go inside something magical happensThere is a constant river of creativity available to usThe mind gets in the way of our songwritingDon’t mentally grasp at everything Setting goals for yourself and having a deadline can give you a surge of creativityLet go inside instead of getting overwhelmed and stressedAllow a letting go at a deep level instead of ”this has to be good” and “has to sound like this” because that will be too mechanicalThe need to sound good kicks in a “trying”Bring back a playfulness into your music and see what comes throughLengthen the stretches of time in between judgements, create spaciousnessMindfulness practices will help you catch the undertone of quick, negative emotionsAttune your body with your instrumentThanks and don't forget to "FOLLOW" the podcast for weekly new episodes!