Often on Song Talk Radio, this question arises.  Sometimes, it’s fun for the hosts to try and guess.  “Your song sounds very cerebral,” or “Your song sounds very intuitive.”  The guests themselves tell us how well considered every decision in their songwriting process is, or tell us “It just came to me.”  This question of [...]

I'm a regular contributor to Song Talk Radio's blog and newsletter, with writing original content on topics of interest to our songwriter audience. Check out my articles at the Song Talk Radio website.

On Song Talk Radio we have a wonderful variety of guests and songwriters, and one way to group them is whether they are professional or amateur songwriters. Often, when we refer to amateur, there’s a negative connotation that implies a less polished, unsophisticated, or otherwise lesser craft. When we talk about being professional, it implies [...]

Sometimes, the hardest part of the songwriting process is getting started. Once I’ve got an idea, I can hash out lyrics and music fairly easily. Getting past songwriter’s block usually involves coming up with a title and a hook to the song (Thank you, Nashville). More often than not, I’ll get blocked by wanting to [...]

One year ago, a van mounted the sidewalk in North York on a sunny spring day and plowed through over 25 people, killing 10. The driver was quickly arrested, and the community came together in solidarity to express our collective grief over the incident. During the van attack, I was working from home with a [...]

As part of the indie rock band Beige Shelter, I collaborated with our lead singer Adi Aman on a song encouraging men to be more open about their feeling and issues. The song was inspired by Movember’s tagline for their 2018 campaign. The movement asked all men to be “A Man of More Words.” Their [...]

For the first time in over two years, my wife and I headed up to Algonquin Provincial Park for camping. Now when I say camping, I mean, with the car about ten feet away, a large cooler, a tent made for six people that I can actually stand up in, an air mattress, and all my [...]

My wife and I missed camping in the summer, since we hadn't gone since 2013. To get back into the swing of it, we opted for a park close to Toronto, and one where an urban centre was close by, since we were sure we'd have to stock up on something or other. We chose [...]

Every spring in Algonquin Provincial Park, the moose emerge. They like to drink the water on the side of the highway, as the snow melts and salt from the road puddles in the ditches. Of course, this provides photographers with a great opportunity for some up close portraits of Canada's wanna-be national animal.