Concrete interview. Nashville Hype interviews hit country songwriter Rob Crosby.

“But whether there’s alot of lyrical depth or not, craft plays a part, making use of alliteration, double entendres, opposing words like up/down, give/take, stuff like that. But those things just come naturally after 20 years in Nashville and I spend most of my energy with cowriters trying to say something fresh that we haven’t heard a million times, and above all, looking for themes that move us emotionally.” (Link)

Howdy Merle. MerleFest Puts On Songwriting Contest

MerleFest, which honors the memory of the late Merle Watson, has announced that Jim Lauderdale will serve as Honorary Chairperson of the Chris Austin Songwriting contest; entries for the contest must be received by March 4, 2007.

Lauderdale will be accompanied by a group of Nashville music industry figures to evaluate the entries; the panel will then choose three finalists for the categories of country, bluegrass, gospel and general. The finals will be at MerleFest 2007 on April 27 on the Christ Austin Stage.

For more information, click here.

Gert up and go. A member of the band Gert wrote a very impressive and detailed article about how they collaborate across the continent (via Rob Cosh):

“The 6 of us have played in bands for years, but most of our past experience isn’t relevant to creating music virtually. Collaborating with 3000 miles between band mates has little in common with traditional jamming. Though that’s not always a bad thing, as we’ve discovered in the last year. On one hand, music - especially for performers - is interactive. With some limited exceptions, the Internet does not facilitate real-time musical interaction, so musicians who rely on visual or audible cues are at a disadvantage. But on the other hand, creativity is usually a personal and private experience. Many people feel liberated with no band mates or groupies in the room, which in turn opens up creative avenues not possible with the traditional approach.” (Link)

Music theory podcast. Pandora launched the first episode of their music theory podcast (via Garage Spin):

“In the first installment of our podcast, Pandora music analyst Kevin Seal (of Griddle) works with Greg and Kelly from the San Francisco band 20 Minute Loop to lead you through the basics of vocal harmony: tutti harmony, unison singing, parallel and contrary motion, call and response and more. Take a peek under the hood with us and listen to The Basics of Vocal Harmony (9 mins.)” (Link)