Instead of a page description I thought I’d share this.
Mary Gauthier wrote an article on why she is a songwriter. This is NOT the full article but only a few excerpts:
“I am a songwriter. I spend every day thinking about songs. I put all my energy into writing songs, and trying to write songs.
The satisfaction I feel when I complete a song is tremendous. Writing is difficult. I am always challenged to do my best.
There is a mystery to songwriting I do not understand. This part of songwriting, the magical part, is impossible to map out. The most I can do with the magical part is to render it holy and stand in awe of it.
There is another part of songwriting that involves craft that can be discussed, understood, and learned.
Arlo Guthrie used a fishing analogy. He said, “You kinda stand there waiting for a song to bite, and everyone has a chance to catch their share, but you can’t be watching T.V, or hanging out at the bar, you gotta have your pole in the water to get your quota.” He also said, “Of course if you fish downstream from Bob Dylan there’s slim pickings cause Bob is a great angler.”
So what is a song? A song is words or poetry with a melody, accompanied by a single instrument. Everything else is window dressing. If you strip down a lot of what you hear on the radio today, it doesn’t stand up. There are plenty of average songs out there, wrapped in amazing production, sung by incredible singers. Now I don’t have anything against these things, but I am a SONGWRITER. I am looking for a good song when I listen to music. I want to moved by ideas, emotions, honest situations.
I get frustrated by the amount of BAD writing that makes it to the top of the music heap. But that is capitalism. It can conflict with art in the worst way.
In the end, none of this matters to me. I am hungry for great songs. Songs that will live for years. I know a great song when I hear one, and so do you. A good song conveys a universal human emotion or tells a good story in an interesting way. A good song gently guides the listener to feel emotion, rather that TELLING the listener to feel the emotion. This gentle guiding is done through imagery, and the most powerful imagery is imagery in action. (“there’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes” “tangled up in blue”, “because you’re mine, I walk the line.”
If it sounds simple, it is. If it sounds easy, you have not tried writing songs.”
About Brian Mosher
He has opened shows for veteran performers like Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, folk legend Livingston Taylor and Ernie & The Automatics. He has played in front of audiences from 800 to 7000 people.
Brian Mosher is a singer/songwriter with a style all his own. A mix of folk, rock and country, Brian’s music will make you dance and stop you in your tracks. His original songs center around love and family. In addition, Brian is a gifted interpreter of great artists from the sixties to today.
Brian is also a member of the burgeoning pop/rock group Common Crossing, and the retro, Motown-infused Star City Syndicate.
His true passion is connecting with the listener and using his gift to make people happy to be alive.