What are some of the most common mistakes that you think amateur or up and coming songwriters make?
Good question! I stayed up late to write that one (laughs)! I often find myself commenting that a lot of material sounds dated. I know a lot of people want to write what they feel or whatever their muse is, but you really do have to figure out what’s going on out there in the world of music and what is being played on the radio. That’s what we’re looking for. If you come to me with something that sounds like it could have been good for an old Bette Midler album or something, that’s just not going to cut it. My other feeling is that a lot of times people get lyrically trite–my favorite word to use! Lyrics are a big thing for me. Not that it has to be intellectually off the scale, but a lot of lyrics written by writers who are just starting out tend to be very clich.
