Writers in the Line

Usually when songwriters do a "writer's in the round" there are enough songwriters to make at least a semi-circle. On August 16, 2005, I played an "in the round" show at Lewisville, NC's Music in the Park outdoor concert series with Mark Aaron James, a songwriter from New York. There were only two of us, so it was "in a line." Giving credit where credit is due, that was Mark's idea. As I found with is songs, he was full of very clever ideas.

I met Mark Aaron James about an hour before we were to share the stage. A year ago, I would have shunned the idea of improving over someone else's music. Now, I'm all about it.

Mark and I showed each other a portion of a song back stage before the set, just to make sure we were both on the same page. I found quite a few similar chords and voicings in his music as with mine, so I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to follow along.

We traded songs back and forth. I don't remember many of his song titles, except two: "Kleptomaniac Girlfriend" and "Invisible Man." Man, those were fun songs to play. Mark comes from a steep songwriting tradition. He lived in Nashville for years and, as far as I could tell, is a sharp songwriter. He had several turns of phrase that were both original and poignant. I found myself saying, "Man, I wish I had thought of that," at least five times during the set.

As Mark played his songs, I attempted to improvise over his song structure. I muted my expressions during his melodies; I just let his melodies inform my phrases. When I solo, my focus is finding the right notes, not necessarily the most notes of the fastest phrases. On one song, I played three notes over and over, but they were the right three and it provided a cool counter melody.

As for my songs, I played mostly stuff from my forthcoming live album. Not a lot of "new" material. That stuff is coming...once I finish it.

And then, after 75 minutes or so, we were done. If you were there, I hope you enjoyed it. I most certainly did.