Sodajerker

Our interview with Ben Folds Five featured in Songwriting Magazine

Sodajerker — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:23:29 +0000

Our interview with Ben Folds Five has recently been featured in Songwriting Magazine, a fantastic website dedicated to the art and craft of making original music. Thanks to everyone at Songwriting for for their excellent transcription and for the nice mention of our show.

We’re currently on a production hiatus with the podcast but we’ll be back soon for the run up to episode 50. In the meantime, head over to Songwriting to read the piece in full.

Richard Sherman podcast featured on Boing Boing

Sodajerker — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:48:10 +0000

Having had two great podcast interviews postponed in the space of a fortnight, we were more than a little pleased to see some love for our Sherman Brothers episode in the form of this blog post by the great Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing.

This single blog post has meant that, overnight, our interview with Richard M. Sherman has become our most downloaded episode ever, with thousands upon thousands of new listeners grabbing the file and many of you sharing the link on Twitter too. Thanks to Cory for pointing the traffic hose at us and cheers to all of the other blogs that ran with the story. You can follow Cory Doctorow on Twitter, here.

If you haven’t yet heard the episode in question, it’s here.

Episode 38 – Richard M. Sherman

Sodajerker — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:34:01 +0000

As one half of The Sherman Brothers, along with his late brother Robert, Richard M. Sherman is responsible for co-writing the most memorable Disney songs of all time. From the Academy Award winning compositions for Mary Poppins such as ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, ‘Feed the Birds’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘I Love to Laugh’ and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’, to other landmark works such as The Parent Trap, ‘It’s a Small World (After All)’, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ (The Jungle Book), The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Winnie the Pooh and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (non-Disney), the Sherman Brothers have enchanted people of all ages for half a century. In this hour of conversation, Richard M. Sherman joins Simon and Brian to talk through the writing of many of these classics in his own inimitable style.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 37 – Heaven 17: Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory

Sodajerker — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:39:44 +0000

Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 chat with Simon and Brian about the creative processes behind songs like ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, ‘Let’s All Make a Bomb’ (Penthouse and Pavement) as well as hits like ‘Temptation’, ‘Crushed by the Wheels of Industry’ and lesser known gems from The Luxury Gap such as ‘Let Me Go’ and ‘The Best Kept Secret’. Martyn and Glenn also talk in detail about their early lives in Sheffield, their approach to synthesisers and multi-track recording technology, and early songs for The Human League such as ‘Almost Medieval’ and ‘Being Boiled’.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Paul Williams episode featured in iTunes

Sodajerker — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:59:20 +0000

Just a quick update from us on what’s happening with the On Songwriting podcast. You might be pleased to know that we are currently being featured by Apple on the front of the iTunes podcasts homepage in the UK and Europe for our interview with Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter Paul Williams (The Carpenters, Bugsy Malone, The Muppets).

Thanks to Paul for such a fun conversation. We hope you’ll take a listen. You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, or just listen to it on our website.

Other recent guests on the show have included Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, The Simpsons), Don Black (‘Born Free’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’), Carole Bayer Sager (‘Nobody Does it Better’, ‘That’s What Friends Are For’) and Mike Stock (Stock, Aitken & Waterman). There’s lots more planned, starting tomorrow, when we release episode 37, a chat with Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17.

Well, that’s enough of the hard sell. The rest is up to you.

Have a great week!
Simon and Brian

Sodajerker among Best of Liverpool

Sodajerker — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:56:33 +0000

Just wanted to alert our podcast listeners to this nice mention for the show in the Best of Liverpool section of the Liverpool Echo, March 7, 2013. Thanks to Merseyside’s foremost newspaper for the hat tip, it’s great to be named ‘Ones to Watch’ – or ‘Ones to Listen To’ if you will…

Lots of great guests coming up. Subscribe for free in iTunes so that you don’t miss them!

Episode 36 – Paul Williams

Sodajerker — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:31:06 +0000

Paul Williams, the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter of hits like ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ and ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ (The Carpenters); ‘An Old Fashioned Love Song’, ‘The Family of Man’ and ‘Out in the Country’ (Three Dog Night); ‘You and Me Against the World’ (Helen Reddy), and songs for films such as ’The Rainbow Connection’ (The Muppet Movie), ’Evergreen’ (A Star is Born) and the scores for Phantom of the Paradise, Ishtar, and Bugsy Malone, sits down with Sodajerker to talk about his approach to the art and craft of songwriting. Paul also talks in detail about the documentary Paul Williams Still Alive, which chronicles his extraordinary life.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 35 – Harry Shearer

Sodajerker — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:01:31 +0000

Harry Shearer, the actor, writer and musician known for his work on Spinal Tap and The Simpsons, talks with Simon and Brian about writing the songs for his latest album Can’t Take A Hint. In addition to describing his process on songs like ‘Celebrity Booze Endorser’, ‘Deaf Boys’ and ‘Autumn in New Orleans’, Harry talks in detail about his work with Michael McKean and Christopher Guest on Spinal Tap classics like ‘Big Bottom’, and songs from A Mighty Wind, such as ‘Old Joe’s Place’ and ‘The Good Book Song’.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 34 – Don Black

Sodajerker — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:58:10 +0000

Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black talks with Sodajerker about his many collaborations on songs for films, musicals and pop artists alike. Don’s credits include ‘Born Free’ (Matt Monro), ‘Thunderball’ (Tom Jones), ‘To Sir, With Love’ (Lulu), ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (Shirley Bassey), ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’ (Lulu), ‘Ben’ (Michael Jackson) and ‘The World is Not Enough’ (Garbage). He also talks in detail about his long and hugely successful relationships with composers John Barry and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Sodajerker talk Odessey & Oracle on Love That Album

Sodajerker — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:25:53 +0000

Brian and Simon appeared on the Love That Album podcast to talk about Odessey & Oracle, the classic album by The Zombies. You can hear it on iTunes and here at this direct link.

Odessey & Oracle is a truly amazing record and one that we hold very dear. Hope you’ll check out this conversation. Many thanks to the very affable and knowledgeable host Maurice Bursztynski for having us on.

Episode 33 – Carole Bayer Sager

Sodajerker — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 07:52:10 +0000

Celebrated songwriter and artist Carole Bayer Sager is the guest for this episode in which Simon and Brian quiz her about the writing processes behind some of her best-known songs, such as ‘Nobody Does it Better’ (Carly Simon), ‘It’s the Falling in Love’ (Michael Jackson), ‘Arthur’s Theme’ (Christopher Cross), ‘On My Own’ (Patti LaBelle/Michael McDonald), ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ (Dionne Warwick/Elton John/Gladys Knight/Stevie Wonder), ‘A Groovy Kind of Love’ (Phil Collins) and her solo hit ‘You’re Moving Out Today’.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Songwriting podcast now on Stitcher Smart Radio

Sodajerker — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:29:49 +0000

Happy New Year to you all! Just a quick blog post to let you know that our podcast ‘Sodajerker on Songwriting’ is now available on Stitcher Radio On Demand. They have a free app for iOS and Android that allows you to listen wherever you are without Wi-Fi or a cellular connection (no downloading or syncing). It’s even available on some car dashboards! What will they think of next?

We don’t have any advertisers or sponsors on the podcast, so we won’t harp on too much about Stitcher, lest you think we’ve sold out to The Man. Nonetheless, some of the biggest podcasts in the world are part of Stitcher, and so we are proud to also have our episodes featured on their network. Check out their app and get your fix of our interviews with some of the world’s most successful songwriters.

Episode 32 – Mike Stock

Sodajerker — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:06:05 +0000

Mike Stock of Stock, Aitken and Waterman joins Sodajerker to talk about the writing of songs like ‘Say I’m Your Number One’ (Princess); ‘Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)’, ‘Respectable’ (Mel and Kim); ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (Rick Astley); ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, ‘Better the Devil You Know’ (Kylie Minogue); ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real’ (Donna Summer), and other ‘Hit Factory’ smashes for artists like Cliff Richard, Jason Donovan and Bananarama.

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© 2013 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 31 – Ben Folds Five

Sodajerker — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:01:06 +0000

Ben Folds, Darren Jessee and Robert Sledge, known collectively as Ben Folds Five, sit down in person with Simon and Brian for a special edition of Sodajerker on Songwriting. In this video podcast, the band talk about the writing of songs like ‘Brick’, ‘Battle of Who Could Care Less’, ‘Philosophy’, ‘Steven’s Last Night in Town’ and songs from their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind, such as ‘Do it Anyway’, ‘Sky High’ and ‘Michael Praytor, Five Years Later’.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 31 – Audio Version

This is the audio version of the Ben Folds Five interview seen above including the usual intro/outro from Simon and Brian plus extra music cues missing from the video version. Think of this as the deluxe edition with the bonus features, ideal for the Ben Folds Five fan on the move.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 30 – Graham Gouldman

Sodajerker — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:02:41 +0000

10cc’s own Graham Gouldman joins Simon and Brian for episode 30 to talk about the writing of songs like ‘For Your Love’ (The Yardbirds), ‘Bus Stop’ (The Hollies), ‘No Milk Today’ (Herman’s Hermits), ‘Johnny Don’t Do It’, ‘Wall Street Shuffle’, ‘I’m Not in Love’, ‘Iceberg’ (10cc) and ‘Bridge To Your Heart’ (Wax). Graham talks in depth about his work with 10cc, the late Andrew Gold, and his latest solo album Love and Work.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 29 – Stephen Bishop

Sodajerker — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:42:38 +0000

Veteran singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop talks about the writing of songs like ‘On and On’, ‘Save it for a Rainy Day’, ‘Looking for the Right One’ (Art Garfunkel), ‘Losing Myself in You’, ‘Red Cab to Manhattan’ and his Academy Award-nominated song ‘Separate Lives’ (Phil Collins). Stephen also speaks about his work on a number of movie soundtracks, such as National Lampoon’s Animal House, Tootsie and The Money Pit.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Ben Folds Five to appear on Sodajerker Xmas podcast

Sodajerker — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:55:47 +0000

We’ll be seeing out 2012 in style with a podcast every week in December culminating in a special episode with one of the finest piano-fuelled beat combos ever to walk the earth – Ben Folds Five! Simon and Brian caught up with the band in Manchester on their current UK tour to talk songwriting and their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind. Look out for that in the week prior to Xmas. Until then, we’ll be filling up your feed faster than a generous farmer. Enjoy!

Episode 28 – Valerie Simpson

Sodajerker — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:07:12 +0000

Valerie Simpson, one half of legendary songwriting team Ashford & Simpson, joins Sodajerker to talk about the writing of a range of songs, from Motown classics like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’ and ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’ (for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell) to ‘Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand’ (Diana Ross), ‘I’m Every Woman’ (Chaka Khan) and ‘Bourgie Bourgie’ (Gladys Knight & The Pips). Valerie also speaks about Ashford & Simpson’s own hits including the seminal ‘Solid (As A Rock)’ and her new solo album Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Our podcast featured in the Telegraph

Sodajerker — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 23:18:15 +0000

We were humbled to be included in a short collection of the week’s best podcasts in the Telegraph recently alongside The Bugle and The Economist. Many thanks to Pete Naughton for such a great review! We are celebrating our first year of podcasting this month, so this comes as a very welcome surprise.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us in our work thus far and for all of your emails and comments. We are thrilled to be connecting with songwriting fans around the world and your support means a lot to us.

If you haven’t yet checked out the show, you can get all of the episodes for free on our site, or in iTunes. Hope you enjoy the episodes. We have some very exciting stuff on the way too, so stay tuned!

Episode 27 – Brendan Benson

Sodajerker — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:21:14 +0000

Singer-songwriter and producer Brendan Benson provides Sodajerker with insights into his songwriting process and creative life by discussing songs like ‘Spit it Out’, ‘What I’m Looking For’, ‘Broken Boy Soldier’, ‘Bad for Me’ and ‘Keep Me’. Brendan also speaks about his many collaborations with artists like Ashley Monroe and Jack White of The White Stripes in their band The Raconteurs.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 26 – Patrice Rushen

Sodajerker — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:39:38 +0000

Pianist, songwriter, musical director and vocalist Patrice Rushen sits down with Sodajerker to chat about the writing of songs like ‘Hang it Up’, ‘Haven’t You Heard’, ‘The Funk Won’t Let You Down’, ‘This is All I Really Know’, ‘Remind Me’ and her seminal dance floor hit ‘Forget Me Nots’. Patrice talks about her early jazz-fusion work, the Elektra albums and her eclectic approach to sustaining a career in music.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 25 – Neil Sedaka

Sodajerker — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:36:14 +0000

Veteran singer-songwriter and pianist Neil Sedaka joins Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of songs like ‘Oh! Carol’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Calendar Girl’, ‘Breaking Up is Hard To Do’, ‘Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen’, ‘Where the Boys Are’, ‘Amarillo’, ‘Solitaire’ and ‘Laughter in the Rain’. Neil also talks in detail about songs from his new acoustic solo piano record, The Real Neil.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 24 – Mark King

Sodajerker — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 07:14:50 +0000

Level 42 bassist, vocalist and songwriter Mark King is our guest for this episode of the podcast in which he talk about the writing of songs like ‘Lessons in Love’, ‘Running in the Family’, ‘Something About You’, ‘The Chinese Way’, ‘Mr Pink’, ‘The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)’ and ‘Dune Tune’.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Strippers vs Werewolves soundtrack

Sodajerker — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 05:52:20 +0000

Grammy nominated Swedish soundtrack label MovieScore Media have released the soundtrack for the cult British horror comedy Strippers vs Werewolves featuring the instrumental score by Neil Chaney and songs by Sodajerker.

It is available now on iTunes, catalogue no. SWD0003.

Check it out at the MovieScore Media website, or on the iTunes store.

Episode 23 – Nik Kershaw

Sodajerker — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:53:28 +0000

Singer-songwriter Nik Kershaw talks with Sodajerker about the writing of songs like ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’, ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, ‘The Riddle’, ‘Dancing Girls’, ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Human Racing’ and ‘Wide Boy’. Nik also talks about penning hit songs like ‘The One and Only’ (Chesney Hawkes), ‘The Woman I Love’ (The Hollies) and ‘Seventeen’ (Let Loose) as well as his approach to writing his new solo album, Ei8ht.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 22 – “Weird Al” Yankovic

Sodajerker — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:56:42 +0000

Internationally renowned parodist, singer-songwriter, actor and accordionist “Weird Al” Yankovic takes some time out to chat with Simon and Brian about his approach to writing comedy songs and style parodies. Al discusses the processes behind songs like ‘Trapped in the Drive-Thru’, ‘Hardware Store’, ‘The Night Santa Went Crazy’, ‘Pancreas’ and ‘Skipper Dan’.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 21 – Deaf School: Clive Langer and Steve Allen

Sodajerker — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 11:07:40 +0000

Clive Langer and Steve Allen of cult Liverpool band Deaf School join Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of songs like ‘What a Way to End it All’, ‘Taxi’, ‘Hi Jo Hi’, ’2nd Honeymoon’, ‘Knock Knock Knocking’, ‘Working Girls’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Boy’ and ‘Golden Showers’. Clive also talks about his work as a producer and the classic Robert Wyatt song ‘Shipbuilding’, which he wrote with Elvis Costello.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 20 – Mike Viola

Sodajerker — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:47:50 +0000

Prolific singer-songwriter and producer Mike Viola, also known as the man behind Candy Butchers, sits down with Sodajerker to talk about the writing of songs like ‘Girly Worm’, ‘Falling into Place’, ‘Good Ideas Grow on Trees’, ‘Kiss Alive II’, ‘Soundtrack of My Summer’, ‘Field of Guns N’ Roses’ and ‘Closet Cutter’. Mike also talks about his work with singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore on the Amanda Leigh album and his work on songs for movies like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Get Him to the Greek and Tom Hanks’ directorial debut That Thing You Do.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 19 – Albert Hammond

Sodajerker — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:37:05 +0000

Veteran writer Albert Hammond joins Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of his incredible catalogue of hit songs, such as ‘The Air that I Breathe’ (The Hollies), ‘One Moment in Time’ (Whitney Houston), ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ (Starship), ‘When I Need You’ (Leo Sayer), ‘I Don’t Wanna Lose You’ (Tina Turner) and ‘Don’t Turn Around’ (Aswad). Albert also talks in depth about the collaborative process and his work with songwriters and artists like Hal David, Diane Warren, Carole Bayer Sager, The Carpenters and Duffy.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 18 – Thomas Dolby

Sodajerker — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:31:50 +0000

Musician and producer Thomas Dolby is the guest for episode 18 during which he talks about his illustrious career and the writing of songs like ‘She Blinded Me With Science’, ‘Europa and the Pirate Twins’, ‘Hyperactive!’, ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’, ‘Evil Twin Brother’ and ‘The Toad Lickers’. Thomas also discusses his work as producer on the classic Prefab Sprout album Steve McQueen (aka Two Wheels Good).

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

iTunes episode of the week!

Sodajerker — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:08:06 +0000

We are very proud to announce that our podcast featuring songwriter, producer and drummer Narada Michael Walden has been selected by Apple as Podcast Episode of the Week! Thanks to the kind folks at Apple and everyone who downloaded and listened to this episode of Sodajerker on Songwriting. Feel free to check out our other episodes.

Episode 17 – Nellie McKay

Sodajerker — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:04:13 +0000

Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay spends some time with Sodajerker talking about her life, her work, and the writing processes behind songs like ‘David’, ‘Sari’, ‘Ding Dong’, ‘I Wanna Get Married’, ‘Mother of Pearl’, ‘Columbia is Bleeding’, ‘Identity Theft’ and ‘Caribbean Time’.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

iTunes Podcasting – Episode of the Day

Sodajerker — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:27:24 +0000

We are very pleased that our interview with Guy Chambers was chosen by Apple as the episode of the day on their official @iTunesPodcasts Twitter account, June 19th, 2012. Guy spoke with us a couple of weeks ago about his work with Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Jamie Cullum and others. Thanks to the boys and girls back in Cupertino, not to mention Mr Guy Chambers for taking the time to talk with us, and all of you for subscribing to the show in iTunes and listening in regularly.

Simon & Brian
Sodajerker

Episode 16 – Guy Chambers

Sodajerker — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:33:48 +0000

Guy Chambers talks to Sodajerker about his work with artists like Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Beverley Knight, Cathy Dennis and Jamie Cullum, and the writing of hits like ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Millennium’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Angels’. Guy also discusses his time in World Party and the intimate musical explorations of the Isis Project and Songs for a Boy.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Talk of the Town (demo)

Sodajerker — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:59:48 +0000

Here’s a recent demo of a song called ‘Talk of the Town’. We’ve since started to rework and re-record this song but we thought we’d post our demo here because we liked its rough vibe (we played and sang everything). This song came from Brian’s desire to write a synth pop tune that had the flavour of a 1970′s glam rock shuffle. We were thinking of Mike Chapman’s rough demos for songs like ‘Devil Gate Drive’ and ‘Ballroom Blitz’ when we started it.

Of course, songs rarely end up resembling their initial inspiration once they are done, but perhaps you’ll enjoy this raw idea taking shape.

Episode 15 – Jackie DeShannon

Sodajerker — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:34:12 +0000

Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon joins Simon and Brian to talk about the writing of songs like ‘Put a Little Love in Your Heart’, ‘When You Walk in the Room’, ‘Splendor in the Grass’ and ‘Bette Davis Eyes’. Jackie also discusses her work with Bacharach and David on ‘What the World Needs Now is Love’ and touring America with the Beatles in 1964.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 14 – Narada Michael Walden

Sodajerker — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:35:58 +0000

Songwriter, producer, drummer Narada Michael Walden sits down with Simon and Brian to talk about his work on pop hits like ‘How Will I Know’ (Whitney Houston); ‘We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off’ (Jermaine Stewart); ‘All American Girls’ (Sister Sledge); ‘Freeway of Love’ and ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who?’ (Aretha Franklin); ‘Jump to the Beat’ (Stacy Lattisaw); ‘I Love Your Smile’ (Shanice); ‘Sweetness’ (Michelle Gayle); ‘You’re a Friend of Mine’ (Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne) and his solo work on songs like ‘I Shoulda Loved Ya’ and ‘Divine Emotions’.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 13 – Al Jarreau

Sodajerker — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:06:24 +0000

Seven time Grammy award winning jazz/pop artist Al Jarreau spends an hour with Simon and Brian talking about the writing of songs like ‘Boogie Down’, ‘Breakin’ Away’, ‘Mornin”, ‘Roof Garden’ and the theme from TV’s ‘Moonlighting’ among others. The trio are also joined by Al’s musical director, Joe Turano, who offers further insights into Al’s songwriting process.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 12 – Mike Stoller

Sodajerker — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:54:51 +0000

Mike Stoller of legendary songwriting team Leiber and Stoller joins Simon and Brian for a conversation about the writing of timeless songs like ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Yakety Yak’, ‘Love Potion No.9′ and ‘Stand By Me’ among others.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Episode 11 – Neil Innes

Sodajerker — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:12:20 +0000

Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Monty Python and The Rutles joins Simon and Brian for a conversation about songwriting, comedy, children’s television, and the writing of unforgettable songs like ‘Death Cab for Cutie’, ‘How Sweet to be an Idiot’, ‘I’m the Urban Spaceman’ and ‘Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik’ among others.

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© 2012 Sodajerker. Some rights reserved.

Fangs for the sync!

Sodajerker — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:29:00 +0000

Forthcoming grindhouse-style British horror comedy Strippers Vs. Werewolves starring Steven Berkoff, Robert Englund, Lysette Anthony and Sarah Douglas among others, prominently features several songs by Sodajerker on its soundtrack.

When werewolf chief Jack Ferris is accidentally killed in a strip club, the girls who work there have until the next full moon before his bloodthirsty wolfpack seek murderous retribution.

The movie is released theatrically in the UK on April 27, 2012, and in America shortly thereafter.

Competition celebrating first 10 shows

Sodajerker — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 07:22:00 +0000

To celebrate the first ten episodes of Sodajerker on Songwriting, we’re giving away some amazing books that feature our talented guests. You may have noticed that at the very end of each episode of Sodajerker on Songwriting, we throw in a quote from a movie. To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is follow these instructions.

How to enter

1. Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Feel free to do both. It’s on these sites that we will announce the prizes that you can win.

2. We’ll announce a prize which relates to a particular guest. You have to try to identify the movie that we quote from at the end of the podcast episode featuring that guest. The podcast can be heard on our website or you can subscribe for free in iTunes.

3. Tweet us with your answer or leave your comment on the Facebook thread for that prize. We’ll pick a winner from the right answers. Simple.

Here’s to the next ten shows,

Simon & Brian

Episode 10 – Allee Willis

Sodajerker — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:30:41 +0000

Allee Willis, the Grammy award winning songwriter and multimedia artist behind such classic songs as ‘Boogie Wonderland’, ‘September’, ‘In The Stone’, ‘Can’t Let Go’ and ‘Let Your Feelings Show’ (Earth, Wind & Fire); ‘I’ll Be There for You’ (the theme from Friends); ‘I Shoulda Loved Ya’ (Narada Michael Walden); ‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’ (Pet Shop Boys); ‘Stir It Up’ (Patti LaBelle) and ‘Neutron Dance’ (The Pointer Sisters), joins Simon and Brian for a conversation about the art and craft of songwriting and her fascinating career.

Stop press: Sodajerker make the papers

Sodajerker — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:09:00 +0000

More than 10,000 people have now downloaded episodes of Sodajerker on Songwriting since the podcast launched on iTunes. As a result, we’ve started getting some press, especially in Liverpool. This story in the attached image ran Tuesday March 20th 2012 in a local Liverpool paper. It talks about the success of the show and gives some info about us.

If you haven’t yet heard the show, Sodajerker On Songwriting features interviews with some of the world’s most successful songwriters, including Billy Steinberg (Like A Virgin, Eternal Flame, True Colors), Jimmy Webb (Wichita Lineman, MacArthur Park), Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, On Broadway), writer/producer Todd Rundgren and Andy Partridge of XTC among many others.

Thanks to all of our listeners and to those who have reported this story. We have some exciting guests in store for future episodes. You might also be interested to see that the story is running on the Liverpool Echo website as well.

Episode 9 – Kenny Loggins and Blue Sky Riders

Sodajerker — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:50:08 +0000

Kenny Loggins and Nashville greats Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr aka Blue Sky Riders join Simon and Brian for a conversation about their exciting new band and distinguished songwriting careers. Kenny also tells the stories behind some of his most celebrated songs including ‘I’m Alright’, ‘Footloose’, ‘This is It’ and ‘What a Fool Believes’.

iTunes podcast homepage feature

Sodajerker — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:38:00 +0000

We just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has been supporting our songwriting podcast. We’re delighted to be very visible in the iTunes store at the moment with a nice promo from the folks at Apple UK and Europe. Our show Sodajerker on Songwriting has gone from strength to strength since launch, serving thousands of downloads of each episode to listeners all over the world.

If you haven’t checked it out recently, we’ve had conversations with songwriters like Billy Steinberg, Todd Rundgren, Sacha Skarbek, Jimmy Webb, Mike Batt, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Shawn Smith and Andy Partridge of XTC.

We’ve got some amazing guests lined up for future episodes, so please subscribe to the show in iTunes or listen to episodes on our website. If you’d like to leave us a nice review in the iTunes store, we’d appreciate the support. If you’d like to give us feedback, make a comment or suggest guests for future episodes, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Don’t forget, you can hear our songs at our website at sodajerker.com and we’ve recently begun posting a series of demos on our blog. We’ll also be sharing some news in the near future about where you can hear our songs synced in a forthcoming movie.

To celebrate our fast approaching 10th episode, we’ll be running a competition exclusively on Twitter and Facebook to win some nice songwriting-related goodies, so be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook so that you can keep up-to-date.

Anyway, enough from us, go hear what Andy Partridge has to say about songwriting.

Cheers,
Simon & Brian

Episode 8 – Andy Partridge

Sodajerker — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:02:08 +0000

Andy Partridge of XTC and The Dukes of Stratosphear joins Simon and Brian for a conversation about the writing of some of his greatest songs, including ‘Senses Working Overtime’, ‘Love on a Farmboy’s Wages’, ‘Ballet for a Rainy Day’, ‘Scarecrow People’ and ‘Brainiac’s Daughter’ among many others. With his guitar at hand, Andy talks Sodajerker through his writing process in a way only he can!

A World Within You (demo)

Sodajerker — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:18:00 +0000

Here’s a demo from the vault that was captured one afternoon before we were working together under the name Sodajerker. It was 2008 and there was a great deal of discussion taking place about our hometown of Liverpool which had just begun its year long reign as European Capital of Culture. Brian and I gave ourselves the task of writing a song with the word Liverpool in it.

The phrase ‘The World in One City’ is often used in association with Liverpool because of its diversity and culture. We imagined a song called ‘A World Within You’ about someone needing to return to the city to find themselves and reconnect with their roots. The song is written as if the person is talking to the city itself.

This is a rough writing demo, so it features Brian and I playing all of the instruments. We’ve always loved the harmonised guitar riff, the chorus, and the rather ‘Supertrampy’ verse, but we’ve never used the song for anything – yet. So we thought we’d share it with you instead.

Episode 7 – Shawn Smith

Sodajerker — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:20:28 +0000

Simon and Brian welcome Seattle based singer-songwriter Shawn Smith (Brad, Satchel, Pigeonhed) to the show to talk about the writing of some of his most enduring songs, including ‘Screen’, ’20th Century’, ‘Land of Gold’ and ‘Wrapped in My Memory’. In this interview, Shawn speaks about his solo career, his numerous band projects, and his collaborations with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam.

Coma Kid (demo)

Sodajerker — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:47:00 +0000

We thought we’d make a habit of digging out old demos and posting them here on the blog. This one is an unreleased song from the critically acclaimed (but wholly under-appreciated) Liverpool art-rock band Santa Carla, of which Brian and I were founding members.

On this track, Simon is singing and playing guitar, whilst Brian is playing bass and providing BVs. We both did the handclaps. The song used the idea of a comatose champion boxer to examine the lives of people who never try to achieve their goals. Yeah, we were young, but still providing more hooks than a fisherman’s convention.

Episode 6 – Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Sodajerker — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:34:28 +0000

Simon and Brian talk to legendary songwriting team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil about their incredible career from the Brill Building era to the present day, and the writing of songs like ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin”, ‘On Broadway’, ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’, ‘Don’t Know Much’, ‘Just Once’, ‘Here You Come Again’ and ‘Somewhere Out There’.

Episode 5 – Mike Batt

Sodajerker — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:59:07 +0000

Simon and Brian talk to five-time Ivor Novello winning songwriter, composer, conductor, arranger and producer Mike Batt about his diverse career including projects like The Wombles, The Hunting of the Snark and the writing of hit songs like ‘Bright Eyes’ (from Watership Down) and ‘The Closest Thing to Crazy’ (Katie Melua).

Episode 4 – Jimmy Webb

Sodajerker — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:24:33 +0000

Simon and Brian talk to legendary American songwriter Jimmy Webb about the writing of classic songs like ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’, ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘MacArthur Park’.

Episode 3 – Sacha Skarbek

Sodajerker — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:03:52 +0000

In the third episode of Sodajerker on Songwriting, Simon and Brian talk to Grammy nominated and two-time Ivor Novello winning songwriter Sacha Skarbek (James Blunt, Adele, Duffy, Jason Mraz) about his work as co-writer of a range of recent pop hits including James Blunt’s worldwide no. 1 ‘You’re Beautiful’.

Lovers Undercover (demo)

Sodajerker — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Brian and I are in the studio together today and whilst rummaging through the hard drives we came across this demo of a song called ‘Lovers Undercover’. We wrote and recorded this one afternoon earlier in the year for a pitch to an artist, but we’ve never shared the demo.

Hope you enjoy it.

‘New & Noteworthy’ on iTunes

Sodajerker — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Thanks to all of you that have checked out the first two episodes of our new podcast Sodajerker on Songwriting featuring guests Billy Steinberg (episode 1) and Todd Rundgren (episode 2) and have left reviews and ratings for us in iTunes. We are happy to discover that our fledgling show has been featured among ‘new & noteworthy’ podcasts in the iTunes store!

If you haven’t yet checked out the show, you can listen to it on our website, or subscribe in iTunes.

Thanks for the support,
Simon and Brian.

Episode 2 – Todd Rundgren

Sodajerker — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:40:15 +0000

In the second episode of Sodajerker on Songwriting, Simon and Brian talk with writer/artist/producer Todd Rundgren (Nazz, Utopia, Meat Loaf, XTC) about his approach to the art form and the writing of hit songs like ‘Hello it’s Me’, ‘I Saw the Light’ and ‘It Wouldn’t Have Made any Difference’.

We’ve launched a songwriting podcast

Sodajerker — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:44:00 +0000

In addition to our writing and recording activities, we’ve launched a podcast called Sodajerker on Songwriting. It’s a programme devoted to the art and craft of songwriting and features interviews with some of the most successful songwriters and musicians in the world.

In our first show, we chat with Grammy winning songwriter Billy Steinberg about the many pop classics he has written including Like A Virgin (Madonna), True Colors (Cyndi Lauper), Eternal Flame (The Bangles) and I Drove All Night (Roy Orbison).

We hope you will subscribe in iTunes, or listen to episodes on our website. When listening at our website, you can also get extra features such as Spotify playlists featuring the hit songs written by our guests. We have lots of great episodes planned. If you like the show, please leave a comment in iTunes, or get in touch with us directly.

Enjoy,
Simon and Brian

Episode 1 – Billy Steinberg

Sodajerker — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:41:05 +0000

In the first episode of Sodajerker on Songwriting, co-hosts Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor introduce the podcast and talk to Grammy winning songwriter Billy Steinberg about the many pop classics he has written, including ‘Like A Virgin’ (Madonna), ‘True Colors’ (Cyndi Lauper), ‘Eternal Flame’ (The Bangles) and ‘I Drove All Night’ (Roy Orbison).

Sodajerker — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:50:12 +0000

Demos by Sodajerker