EDITOR Nick KrewenMANAGING EDITOR Beverly HardyLAYOUT Lori Veljkovic

Canadian Publications Mail AgreementNo. 40014605Canada Post Account No. 02600951ISSN 1481-3661 ©2002Songwriters Association of CanadaSubscriptions: Canada $16/year plusGST; USA/Foreign $22

Songwriters Magazine is a publication of theSongwriters Association of Canada (S.A.C.)and is published four times a year. Membersof S.A.C. receive Songwriters Magazine aspart of their membership. SongwritersMagazine welcomes editorial comment.Opinions expressed in Songwriters Magazinedo not necessarily represent the opinions ofthe S.A.C. Address submissions, inquiriesand changes of address to:

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STAFFExecutive Director Don QuarlesManager of Operations Beverly Hardy

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPresident Haydain NealeFirst Vice-President Shari UlrichSecond Vice-President Eddie SchwartzSecretary Christopher WardTreasurer Sean HoseinPast President Stan MeissnerDirectors Erin Benjamin, John Capek,Lisa Dalbello, Lennie Gallant, Bill Henderson, Marc Jordan, Dan Kershaw

ADVISORY BOARD Jann Arden, RandyBachman, Tommy Banks, Liona Boyd,Tom Cochrane, Richard Dodson, RikEmmett, Micky Erbe, Roy Forbes, DavidFoster, Alan Frew, Dan Hill, PaulHoffert, Paul Janz, Ron Hynes, RonIrving, Arnold Lanni, Geddy Lee, MikeLevine, Colin Linden, Rita MacNeil,Sarah McLachlan, Murray McLauchlan,Dean McTaggart, Frank Mills, BenMink, Adam Mitchell, Gerald O’Brien,Gary O’Connor, Declan O’Doherty, BlairPackham, Dave Pickell, Raffi, CyrilRawson, Sam Reid, Tyler J. Smith, IanThomas, David Tyson, Sylvia Tyson,Valdy, Jim Vallance, Nancy White

President’s Message

Six years ago, when I firstaddressed the S.A.C. annual gen-eral meeting as President, I

began by mentioning the ancientChinese curse, "May you live in inter-esting times."

Well curse or not, things have cer-tainly been interesting. Perhaps thelast six years have seen the most musicindustry upheaval since the advent ofradio when the industry, then thriv-ing on the sales of piano rolls and 78s,cried "The sky is falling!" becausemusic was being played free for any-one who owned a radio. Of courselicense fees and public performanceroyalties were created and a vibrantsongwriting industry was born.

In our current world, I’m surethere will also be solutionsto the problems we face;it’s just a matter of whatand when.

Lately, we seem to bethe target of everyonewho has an interest in ourmusic. Fans want to get itfor free; record compa-nies want to hold us todeals at the same or worsemechanical rates for paiddownloads compared withCDs that no longer need to bepressed; radio wants to play it and payless money for the right; satelliteradio gets to play less Canadian con-tent than broadcast radio and broad-cast radio wants to play less CanConthan they do now. Interesting timesfor sure.

Recently I was in Ottawa speakingat the CRTC radio hearings of the onbehalf of the S.A.C. We had severalpoints to make clear, most notably,increasing levels of CanCon on radio.Our position at the S.A.C. is thatCanCon should be increased to 50%,giving Canadians a level playing fieldon our own airwaves. We feel thatboth songwriters and radio broadcast-ers have and will continue to prosper,given fair legislation of the appropri-ate amount of mandated Canadianmusic.

We should hear sometime this fallwhat the results of this radio reviewwill yield. We’re keeping our fingerscrossed that the news will be good.

Last summer’s satellite radio deci-

sion to allow two American satelliteservices into Canada and letting themget away with playing as little as 15%CanCon was devastating. We hopethat the CRTC may have sharpenedtheir focus this time out.

Looking forward, there are manychanges afoot here at the S.A.C.. Firstof all, I am very pleased to announcethe appointment of our newExecutive Director, Don Quarles.Don comes to us with vast experienceas a coordinator and planner ofentertainment events, working bothindependently and through his manyyears at the Hummingbird Centre. Aswell, Don is the mentor co-ordinatorof a great songwriters-in-the-schoolsprogram that allows students from

grade school to highschool the opportunity tolearn and grow as song-writers. Don’s passion forsongwriting is evident tous on our board andwe’re sure that it will be asexciting to our membersas it is for us. WelcomeDon.

Also looking ahead, Ihave decided that afterdevoting six years of

blood, sweat and tears into the S.A.C.as President, I will be stepping aside.During our recent S.A.C. Board meet-ing, we elected Haydain Neale to bethe next S.A.C. president. We’re surethat Haydain will bring his uniqueenergy to the position and we lookforward to the fine work that will bedone during his tenure. For my part,I’m sure I won’t be bored in my newlife as Past-President as I have recent-ly been elected to be the President ofthe SOCAN Foundation Board, whichwill offer me great new challengesand certainly be keeping me busy.

All in all, great things ahead.Stan Meissner

The 50% Solution

2 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

Features

THE WAY ROXANNE FEELSImpresses Messrs. Hiatt, Cockburn and Lanois By Nick Krewen

7

FURTADO FEVERTeaming Up With Timbaland For Nelly’s Hot Summer Sounds By Nick Krewen

8

FACTORING IN CHANGESRecording Industry Funding Program GetsStreamlined By Nick Krewen

11

HEY TONY: WHAT MAKES MUSICALS TICKCreators Of The Drowsy Chaperone, Hair and TheHunchback of Notre Dame Reveal All By Nick Krewen

12

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS16

URBAN MYTHSaukrates Addresses The State of Rap, R&B andCanadian Publishing By Haydain Neale

17

BLUEBIRD NORTH19

MEET THE NEW (S.A.C.) TEAMExecutive Director Don Quarles and President Haydain Neale

4

5 SINGING CSHF PRAISESNew President Eddie Schwartz Takes Hall Of Fame Into The Future By Nick Krewen

6 HOME ADVANTAGE: MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONWhen Should You Let Go of Your Publishing? By Paul Sanderson

17

PHOTO: ANDREW MACNAUGHTON

7

COVER PHOTO: ANTHONY MANDLERPHOTO: MUCHMUSIC

8

PHOTO: JOAN MARCUS GREG MORRISON LISA LAMBERT

12 Cast of Drowsy Chaperone

Contents SUMMER 2006 Volume 9 Number 2

4 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

The Don Of A New Era:Meet Our New Executive Director

ere I sit at theExecutive Director’sperch at the nationalhead office on SohoStreet in Toronto,

excited about what the future holds forthe Songwriters Association Of Canada(S.A.C.) and the Canadian music indus-try in general. If the next few years areas exciting as the last several, we are infor some interesting times.

Although I saw some of you at theJuly 4th annual general meeting inToronto, I wanted to say hello andintroduce myself to those of you I havenot met. As a fellow songwriter, I havean expectation that the S.A.C. will con-tinue to play a key role in advocatingsongwriter rights as well as strengthen-ing our community as creators andallowing opportunities to further devel-op our craft through educational work-shops.

As one who comes from a career ofplanning and producing events of allshapes and sizes, I hope to use thatexperience to help develop andimprove on current S.A.C. programsand ensure that we continue to offereverything from workshops on the craftand business of songwriting, specialshowcases of S.A.C. members and othergreat Canadian and international song-

writing talents, as well as allowing formore networking opportunities for allmembers from beginner writers topros.

Having had the satisfaction ofattending, hosting and facilitatingmany songwriting workshops over theyears (some of which I have seen manyof you at) and having also had thepleasure of attending numerous S.A.C.events, I hope to bring programs andservices to you that are both meaning-ful and beneficial.

With the guidance of our newPresident Haydain Neale and newBoard members and armed with theexperience of Operations Manager BevHardy and Past President StanMeissner, I am excited about the futuredirection of the S.A.C. I encourage youto take a look at the S.A.C.’s new websiteand suggest after you check out its newfeatures and visit the new board, youbookmark the page for regular visits.We plan to have some great surprisesfor you in the near future.

Also, tell your friends aboutwww.songwriters.ca… before you knowthey’ll tell two friends – and so on. Youcan let them know that with our newonline registration feature, they are justa few clicks away from reaping the ben-efits of a great membership opportunity.

In the meantime, I welcome you tocontact me if you would like to shareyour ideas and thoughts on what youhave enjoyed and benefited from withpast S.A.C. programs as well as anyareas you feel the S.A.C. could serveyou better as a member. Better yet, feelfree to come by the Toronto officewhen you’re in town and we can meetface to face.

In a profession (or pastime) that canbe often “solitary,” it’s nice to know wehave a community of like-minded folksto count on for support and advocatefor our rights as creators!

Thanks for making me feel welcomein the S.A.C neighbourhood.

Don QuarlesExecutive Director

HH

Hello, my friends. Welcome to anew year for the SongwritersAssociation of Canada. The next

12 months will see some exciting initia-tives underway in terms of advocacy, edu-cation and even community for S.A.C.members.

Over the years the S.A.C. has evolvedalong with the needs and goals of the song-writers that created it. This upcoming year

will see the fulfillment of many of thosegoals, including an updated website atwww.songwriters.ca to build a strongercommunity of S.A.C. members from coastto coast; a national outreach program tohigh schools to encourage creativity and apassion for creating, and the establishmentof the S.A.C. Pro Members Committee tospecifically facilitate the particular goals ofthe full-time songwriters among us.

In short, what songwriters have beenasking for, your S.A.C Board of Directorshas been methodically, steadily, working todeliver -- and on behalf of that same hard-working Board, I'd like to thank you foryour continued inquiries, suggestions, sup-port and enthusiasm as we move forward.

Now, as far as our Songwriters Magazine,S.A.C. will continue to keep you updated

on all the community events and industrynews that you've come to expect.

We will also be including more genrespecific articles than ever before so that wecan tell many more sides of the song-writer's story, from pop tales to hip-hopdiaries, from country confessions to musi-cal theatre musings.

After all, we may sing in various voicesand keep folks grooving with differentbeats, but in the end, we're all songwriterstrying to grow creatively and professional-ly one tune at a time.

Take care, be well and keep on doingyour thing.Haydain NealePresident, Songwriters Association of CanadaBoard Member, Canadian Songwriter's Hall of FameSinger/Songwriter, jacksoul

NEALE APPEAL:NEALE APPEAL:Meet Our New President

HAY

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Presenting your 2006/2007 S.A.C. BoardL-R: Dan Kershaw, Beverly Hardy, Haydain Neale, Shari Ulrich, Don Quarles, Sean Hosein, Lennie Gallant, Christopher Ward, John

Capek. Front Row: Stan Meissner, Marc Jordan, Bill Henderson, Eddie Schwartz (Missing: Lisa Dalbello and Erin Benjamin)

The Canadian Songwriters HallOf Fame (CSHF) has hit youwith their best shot: Eddie

Schwartz is their new president.The Toronto songwriter, producer and

recording artist known for such interna-tional hits as Pat Benatar's "Hit Me WithYour Best Shot," Paul Carrack's "Don'tShed A Tear," and hundreds of othersthat have factored in the sales of some 30million albums, has plenty of executiveexperience, serving as a vice-president ofThe Songwriters Association Of Canada(S.A.C.) and sitting on the boards of TheSociety Of Canadian Authors, Composersand Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN),the Canadian Academy Of Recording ArtsAnd Sciences (CARAS), as well as the CSHF.

Schwartz, a graduate of Nashville'sprestigious Leadership Music programand recipient of SOCAN's esteemedWilliam Harold Moon Award, said heattended last year's CSHF gala inductingLeonard Cohen and Gilles Vigneaultamong others and experienced anepiphany.

"It was a religious experience for me,"declares Schwartz, who will serve concur-rently as S.A.C. second vice-president.

"I didn't know some of those earlycomposers. I didn't know how muchinternationally famous music Canadianshave written over the last century.

"It was a revelation."Schwartz says the annual CSHF gala is

an amazing opportunity to honournational Canadian pride and accom-plishment -- and he views his role as rais-ing the profile of both the show andorganization.

"I think my first task is to helpsecure the future of the organiza-tion," says Schwartz. "It's not inex-pensive to put on a show like thatonce a year. Sponsorships are hugeand the support of the music indus-try and of businesses large and smalloutside the music industry is also veryimportant.

"We don't have a secure financialfuture at this point, so I think that'smy first task.

"The other thing is we still don'thave the exposure -- particularly inFrancophone Quebec -- that we need tohave. That's something that we're workingon so it becomes a truly national event.

"Those are the two immediate goals."Schwartz says both the CSHF and the

gala present significant opportunities tounite Canada through the universal lan-guages of music and song.

"Because of its bilingual and biculturalcharacter, there's a leadership role thatthe Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Famehas taken in terms of the Pan-Canadianexperience and in terms of educationaland cultural opportunities, and reachingout across our two solitudes," Schwartzexplains.

"There are so many places we can gowith that -- schools, musical institutions -- and we can also develop a multi-mediaresource out of this in the future. We'rebuilding up libraries of interviews andcomments and musical performances, soI think we'll look at ways of getting thosethings out to people in the future."

Not surprisingly, Schwartz also feelsfuture editions of the CSHF Gala will

"bolster the music scene" and benefitCSHF partners The S.A.C. and TheCanadian Music Publishers Association(CMPA) as well as the Société profes-sionnelle des auteurs et des composi-teurs du Québec (SPACQ).

"In terms of getting a real sense ofwhat we've achieved culturally, it's atremendous confidence boost to the cre-ative community."

In the meantime, the CSHF hasannounced January 28, 2007, as the dateof its 4th Annual Gala. Tickets for theshow, which will be held at the TorontoConvention Centre, will go on sale inearly November, with prices, inducteesand performers still to be determined.

Founded in 1998 by noted publisherFrank Davies, the CSHF is a national,bilingual and apolitical non-profit organ-ization dedicated to preserving Canada'srich songwriting heritage.

The CSHF held its first annual gala in2003, and to date has inducted 53 songs,17 songwriters and eight Legacy Awardrecipients.

CSHF NAMES SCHWARTZ PRESIDENTANNOUNCES JANUARY 28AS THE 2007 GALA DATE

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 5

Should I Keep My Publishing?

Should you keep your own publishing? It depends on thefacts of each situation. While you do retain a larger per-centage of the revenue generated from your music when

you hold on to all or a portion of your publishing, you will nothave a publisher's expertise in placing your material or devel-oping your music and your talent and therefore not necessari-ly actually receive more revenue without a publisher.

For some songwriters, there is a time and a place that a pub-lishing agreement may be advantageous. A publishing agree-ment may be entered into for example, for the purpose ofobtaining a publishing advance which may allow you to com-plete a record. Without such an advance, someSongwriter/Artists never find a record deal and therefore gen-erate no revenue from their music. There are many other rea-sons why you might want to give up all or a portion of your pub-lishing, that is, enter in to a publishing or co-publishing con-tract with a publisher, the above noted reason is not the onlyreason, nor it is necessarily the most definitive. You may alsochoose, for example, to enter into an agreement with a pub-lishing company, with or without a nominal advance againstroyalties, with the expectation of getting a cover version of yoursong. If the cover version does not happen within a reasonableperiod of time from entering into the agreement, withintwelve, eighteen or twenty-four months, for example, you couldthen contract to have the publishing rights revert to you.

Clearly, one should not “give up” one’s publishing for no com-pensation or consideration. Generally, you want to be reason-ably compensated for your publishing rights and/or have somemeans of getting them back after a period of time. It is impor-tant to note that a writer customarily never receives less thanthe writers' share, that is 50% of net income, in any publishingagreement.

What are the terms of some standard publishing agreements?A publishing agreement might be structured on a 50/50 netbasis, which means that the writer would be entitled to thewriter’s share, that is 50% of the revenue and the publisherwould be entitled to the publisher’s share, that is 50% of therevenue. This type of agreement is still referred to as a standardsongwriter- publisher agreement and under such an agreementthe copyright is owned by the publisher. In a typical co-pub-lishing agreement, which is the more common agreementthese days, the writer/co-publisher retains half of the copy-rights and half of the publisher’s share, that is 25% of the pub-lisher’s share of revenue, plus the writer’s share, that is 50% ofthe revenue, for a total of 75% of the revenue. The other co-publisher is entitled to 25 % of the revenue and obtains half ofthe copyrights.

The timing of the decision whether to enter into a publishingagreement is also important and is subject to the facts of eachcase. A songwriter may enter into a publishing agreement aftertheir music has gained some value. For example, the songwritermay have achieved critical acclaim or released records whichhave achieved gold or platinum sales status and thereby thevalue of their publishing catalogue has increased. This certain-ly places the songwriter in a more favourable negotiating posi-tion. The decision to enter into a publishing agreement willdepend upon the specific set of circumstances and in everycase, skilled legal advice should be obtained prior to makingsuch decision and prior entering into any publishing agree-ment.

6 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

By PAUL SANDERSON

So you're a relativelyunknown but prom-ising young blues

belter from Gatineau,Quebec.

You've built a significant buzz with yourfirst album and your producer suggests ask-ing a few high profile guests to lend a handwith your second effort.

To your great surprise, they say all yes.Their names: John Hiatt, Daniel Lanois andBruce Cockburn.

No wonder Roxanne Potvin is still pinch-ing herself whenever she listens to the play-back of The Way It Feels, the Colin Linden-produced album that boasts Hiatt singingbackground on the buoyant chorus of "ALove That's Simple;" Lanois adding his ownvoice to the folksy Francophone charm of"La Merveille" and Cockburn's tasteful, jazzyguitar solo weaving its way through "While IWait For You."

"It's more than a compliment," proclaimsPotvin, an intoxicating summer presence in apink-and-white summer dress and stylishlycropped hair.

"I was just blown away that those guyswould agree to work with me on some of mysongs. I have a hard time talking about itbecause I can barely believe it myself.

"Those are obviously musicians who knowtheir craft so well and have been around solong and they are admired -- worshiped -- by somany people, including myself, that it's kindof hard to believe. At the same time I feel it'salmost too good to be true. Like, why me?"

Why not her? As Potvin amply provesthroughout The Way It Feels, she possesses thepipes to launch small sailing vessels across abay by sheer lung power alone. And whileshe's not yet a master of her Telecaster, hermusical chops are earnest, dedicated anddefinitely heading towards ascertaining anidentifiable sound of her own.

The Regina-born daughter of a CBC jour-nalist is the first to admit she's still on theprowl for a definitive sound, even to thepoint of worrying that some of the directionsshe's explored on The Way It Feels are movingaway from the solid blues credentials sheestablished on her 2003 independent albumCareless Loving.

"That was a really scary thing for me," saysPotvin candidly between sips of soup at adowntown Toronto cafe.

"When I started thinking about this albumI knew that I wanted to stretch out beyondblues. I had to take myself out of the box andgo, 'Okay, so what are people going to think?'

"I was entering unknown territory. I hadnever done anything other than blues. But Itrusted my gut feeling."

On The Way It Feels -- which offers eightPotvin originals and four covers -- theapprentice submits her muse to the slightcountry feel of the ballad "Hurting Child;"the aforementioned folk texture of "LaMerveille;" the nostalgic ragtime throwbackof "Sweet Thoughts Of You" and the ballsyrock 'n roll shuffle "Caught Up."

Each is soulful, and although the blues isoften and ably anchored by the potent "A

Love That's Simple" and the solo piano sere-nade of "Don't Pay Attention," Potvin saysshe's been castigated in some circles for herchoices.

"I've been criticized for not really having'my sound,'" she says nonchalantly. "But youknow what? This is my process. This is howI'm finding out what my sound is.

"This album is where I was at the time andthat's okay with me, because I couldn't havedone anything else. The next one will be dif-ferent."

While the anchor of this project may bemodern day blues, there is also an old-timefeel that reveals the singer and songwriter'sDinah Washington and Freddie King influ-ences.

"It's more like an obsession," she chuckles."Ninety-five percent of the music I listen towas recorded prior to 1965. It's been like thatfor over 10 years now -- I just can't help it!

"That influence always creeps up becausethat's so much of what I listen to: old blues,jazz, rock 'n roll, country, bluegrass, Latinmusic -- just give me anything old. I'm ajunkie that way.

"At the same time though, I need toexpress myself musically and not just copywhatever was done before. So I'm trying toexpress myself in a contemporary setting."

However. it wasn't Washington or Kingthat set Potvin on her career path: It wassomeone much younger...and hunkier.

"Jonny Lang opened the door," revealsPotvin, almost timidly.

"There was a guy who was making musicthat was completely different from whateverybody else my age was doing at the time,so that drew me in. He was also really cuteand he sang really well. I was 15, so he was myGod!"

While Jonny made Roxanne Potvin excelon the guitar, The Beatles awakened thesongwriter within.

"I was obsessed with the Beatles," Potvinadmits. "I got my very first guitar when I was14, a classical acoustic guitar to noodlearound on. I wanted to learn how to playBeatles songs and sing them."

Surprisingly, Potvin's songwriting method-ology rarely begins with melody.

"What I do almost every time is write thelyrics first," explains Potvin, who sometimesrelies on a portable MP3 recorder to captureher ideas.

"Usually I'll read off a section or a verse.With the words there's a rhythm and themelody will flow. I'll look at it and just sing it,then figure it out on guitar and build itaround that.

"I always feel that when the words are writ-ten, the song is basically written, you justhave to wrench it out of the words."

Speaking of words, "La Merveille" is thefirst French language song that Potvin haswritten and she's hoping to do many more inthe future.

"When I write in French, I tend to be a lit-tle more poetic, probably because my vocab-ulary is a little better," she admits. "I haven'twritten as many French songs as I would like,mainly because I was so influenced byEnglish music that it just felt more natural towrite.

"But I consider being bilingual a blessing."Currently Potvin is attempting to create

songs about topics outside her personalexperience.

"At first it was just easier to write aboutme, because me is what I knew best," shelaughs. "Now I'm trying to go further andplay with words a little more: Not so straight-ahead like a diary but make it a little morepoetic.

"I just want to get to the core of what I'mexpressing musically and write great songseventually that really mean something andtouch people."

If that's the way Roxanne Potvin feels, youknow she'll get there.

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 7

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Roxanne Rolls! BEATING THE SOPHOMORE SLUMPBy NICK KREWEN

I s there anything more exhilarat-ing than throwing caution tothe wind?

Not in Nelly Furtado's world. Driven by big, booming Timbaland

beats that thunder in your temples and shake youdown to your socks, Loose is Furtado uninhibited: an albumdesigned to let the body lead while the mind follows.

Bold, brash and sexy, Furtado's third effort flaunts its senseof freedom through insidious, irresistible urban R&B anddance grooves that coalesce the carnal with the carnivale andparties the night away with its festive celebration of inde-pendence.

"It's a definite change," acknowledges Furtado, interruptingup a morning of mothering her two-year-old daughter Nevisto squeeze in an interview. "It's me just making a consciousdecision to really let go of over-thinking and just do whateverwas fun, spew it out and make a bunch of tracks that werereally reflective of some of my earlier influences."

It was a destination, however, that the Victoria, B.C.-bornsongwriter admits took a while to reach.

"I had already recorded in Los Angeles (The Chill Building),Toronto (The Orange Lounge) and London, England (HomeRecording) with different producers: Nellee Hooper, TrackAnd Field (the Toronto tandem of Gerald Eaton and BrianWest), Lester Mendez (the Juanes duet "Te Busque") and RickNowels (the pop ballad "In God's Hands").

"In Miami I'd worked with Pharrell (Williams) and ScottStorch, although that didn't make the album. From all these

producers, I learned alot about writing andproduction, as well asabout feel and atti-tude towards life."

Ultimately, hersearch led back to a

collaborator who hadpreviously paired her

with rapper Missy Elliottfor a remix of "Get Ur

Freak On" and onewho offered hisown spin on a

scintillating Whoa,Nelly! remix of "Turn

Off The Light:" influen-tial Norfolk, Virginia

producer Tim "Timbaland"Mosley (Busta Rhymes,

Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z)."Tim and I hooked up and

we were just going to dofour songs," Furtado

reveals. "We ended updoing ten songs because

we had so much funand we were on

the same page. Ihad already

recorded

about 20 or 30 tracks before I hooked up withTim. Then when I started with Tim, it felt so magical

and so unique that I just kept with it."Furtado says their destiny to complete Loose together

was sealed by an unusual incident at the Miami Hit Factorystudio where they were in the midst of recording the singer'srecent U.K. chart-topper, "Maneater."

"The first day westarted jamming witha bunch of people inthe room, the musicwas real loud -- plus-11 I call it -- and wewere burning thisintense vibe, almostlike a voodoo energy.

"Then we smelledsmoke and a flameshot out of the speak-er because the volumewas so loud it hadburnt the rubber!" shelaughs. "We'd neverseen anything like it. Itfelt significant."

No wonder Furtadofelt so enthusiastic:The ten tracks producedand programmed byTimbaland and hisright-hand man, Nate"Danga" Hills, are intri-cate, exceptional andsonically innovative.

"Timbaland is allabout interwovenmelodies," Furtadoconcurs. " His beats are really three-dimensional -- likeSurroundsound -- because he has one beat going while he's gota counter beat going and a bunch of melodies in the back-ground. That's the thing that's making your body move whenyou listen to a Timbaland beat: It's really rich. It's really lush. He'slike a sound archeologist -- he digs into CDs and he finds soundsand he tweaks them -- he's always searching for the next sonicinterest and to put your ear in a place it's never been before.

"We mixed the album as we went along so the energy ofthe song would retain the energy of the jam. We kept a lot ofthat warmth and I'm really happy, because I really think thealbum sonically sounds different and that's important to me."

Also undoubtedly helping to seal the deal was Timbaland'sknack for cutting to the chase musically.

"Timbaland has such a low attention span that if he's notfeeling it, he just walks out of the room," laughs Furtado, 28."So if you don't come up with something that's catchy andsounds good to him right away, he's already moved on to thenext beat.

"I love that because I have a low attention span, too, sowe're a perfect match. I have so many thoughts coming intomy brain at lightning speed that it's like ping-pong. I love tobe challenged in the studio, and I felt that I had to impress

By NICK KREWEN

8 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006 PHOTOS COURTESY: MUCHMUSIC

Tim, step up my game and show everybody what I got."Furtado felt she had something to prove. After the mega-

million-selling Whoa, Nelly! had introduced the multilingualGrammy-and-Juno-winning West Coast warbler to the globalmasses through the soaring "I'm Like A Bird" and the crossoverappeal of "Turn Off The Light," her second album Folklore --packed with such gripping sing-a-longs as "Powerless (SayWhat You Want)," the forceful "Explode" and the rousing soc-cer anthem "Força" -- faltered at retail.

But the album was no less important to its creator. Recordedwhile she was five months pregnant, Folklore -- which still

racked up an impres-sive million-plus units inNorth America alone --was, in Furtado'swords, "real intimateand really from theheart."

"I was feeling reallyvulnerable," she admits."It was a special time inmy life."

The arrival of Nevisand Furtado's adjust-ment to motherhoodultimately laid thegroundwork for Loose.

"Having a child wasbig-time, because all ofa sudden, it's not reallyabout you anymore,you know," she con-cedes. "You have achild and all of a sud-den you feel this over-whelming, universallove that leaves youreally vulnerable. Andvulnerability -- ka-ching!-- wins you the song-writing lottery.

"After I had Nevis, I felt more sensitive."There were other changes that fueled Furtado creatively,

including self-honesty, self-forgiveness and a startling candourthat parenting unearthed from within.

"When you're a Mom, there's no time for indecision andsometimes no room for politeness," says Furtado. "Your child isthrowing soup at you in the restaurant and you need to cleanit up with a napkin. You need that napkin now, you know?"

She laughs. "There's not as much time for niceties. I think the new truth

I have with people is more like the honest me. As a personyou've got to really stay true to yourself and do what youwant. From trying to please yourself and being more assertive,the music is that more assertive. I think that's what the majorchange might be.

"It's also only been in the past two years that I've startedreally being open to making mistakes. Before I was reallyobsessed with being perfect. And now, as part of letting myfans into the other side of my life with this album, there's con-tent I didn't have before: I talk about sex. I talk about rela-tionships and love in a more candid way. I think it shows thatI'm real."

"Afraid," the leadoff song on Loose, is one such admission.

Behind the jutting hip-shaking rhythms and floating synthe-sizers is a message about insecurity, wrapped in the rap-and-chorus refrain of "So afraid of what people might say" thatbuilds to an exciting acapella crescendo.

"I wrote the chorus to 'Afraid' in my hotel room and theverses in the studio," says Furtado. "It's about that inner thingwhere we always want to be the person receiving the stand-ing ovation from the crowd, but our inner fear prevents usfrom going for it.

"'Afraid' reminds me of that 14-year-old teenager in the hall-way of my high school by my locker. I was always concernedabout what people thought about me, being self-conscious,something that every young person goes through."

Furtado discovered her newfound confidence in partthrough her daughter.

"Nevis is so spontaneous that she doesn't think twice aboutwhat people are going to think, so I got more into that placein my mind," Furtado explains.

"I decided I was going to make an R&B and club album justbecause I felt like it."

Early indications conclude that the effervescent Furtadomade the smart choice, as receptive mainstream pop andcrossover audiences have readily embraced her sassy and siz-zling Timbaland duet "Promiscuous" by placing it at No. 1 onBillboard's Hot 100, concurrent with the album's release, forsix straight weeks.

The sentiment is echoed in the U.K., where that territory'ssingle -- the relentless romp "Maneater" -- sat atop their retailcharts upon its debut. For those keeping count, that's twochart-topping singles making an impressive splash as Loosecannon-balled to the top of the Billboard 200 retail albumchart its first week out, sparking sales of 250,000 units.

Furtado began writing songs half her lifetime ago, initiallyinfluenced by pioneering female rappers,crossover artists likeSalt-N-Pepa, TLC, Yo-Yo, MC Lyte andQueen Latifah — andrepresenting the men— innovators Ice-T.,KRS-One, L.L. Cool J.,The Pharcyde and DelTha Funkee Homosapien.

"For awhile I even wroterhymes, a 14-year-oldgirl in my bed-room," she says.

That apprecia-tion also extend-ed itself to the soul-ful harmonies ofBoyzIIMen, New Editionand Hi-Five. By the timeMariah Carey had enteredthe picture, Furtado hadadded melody to theequation.

"When I first startedwriting songs, I wrotelyrics and melodiesthat were veryMariah Carey-esque," sheexplains.

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 9

"It was very R&B-oriented and that's all I would do day andnight."

Mastering the art of reading and writing music allowed herto channel spontaneity.

"A lyric and melody would always come to me at the sametime," she admits. "So I would write it all down on a couple ofsheets of paper from start to finish -- including the bridge, pre-chorus, chorus -- and I would always make my parents buywhatever gadget was out, like a Casio keyboard with a built-in scratch effect -- and I'd produce it in my room."

Driven by her love of urban music, Furtado says she beganher career in hip-hop and graduated to trip-hop.

"I would spend late nights hanging out with my trance DJfriend in Victoria," she recalls. "We would get out all the key-boards and drum machines and have a live techno-jam for acouple of hours with three or four friends.

"It was part of my musical hard drive, you know? I alwaysloved singing over beats. Beats always inspired me."

Meeting Track And Field's Gerald Eaton and Brian Westbrought forth her R&B chops, and by the time she'd recordedWhoa, Nelly! Furtado had also absorbed the music ofRadiohead, The Verve and other "serious songwriter" rock 'nroll philosophers.

The multilingual aspect of her writing -- something that sheflexes in Loose with her Spanish renditions of the joyful reg-gaeton-influenced "No Hay Igual" and the tender Juanes duet"Te Busque" -- is second nature.

"The first language I ever sang in was Portuguese," Furtadoasserts. "When I was four years old, I did a duet with my Momabout her and her people and it was Portuguese, so Latin lan-guages are close to my heart.

"I speak really straight Mexican Spanish that I learned inschool as a teenager, but I didn't realize I could also sing inSpanish until Juanes invited me to record the song 'Fotografia'with him (on Juanes' 2001 album Un Día Normal.)

"Singing in Spanish, again, I don't have to think about it -- inparticular my Spanish rap on the album. When I perform that,it doesn't get any better for me, cause I'm rapping -- and I'mrapping in a Latin language, which just feels liberating andreally easy.

"A lot of this album's like that: All the best things come out

of not thinking," she laughs.The impulsiveness suits her even to the point of distraction."(Coldplay's) Chris Martin had come in and written part of

the chorus and another little B-section of 'All Good Things(Come To An End’)," recalls Furtado of the Loose sessions.

"It was up to me to write the verses a couple days laterbecause he had already left. Some Cuban musicians had comein to play on this other song, and while I listened to one playguitar I wrote the lyrics to 'All Good Things.'

"I just have to be in a nice flow and state of mind to writelyrics and feel inspired.

"A lot of times I write lyrics off the top of my head and theycome attached to a melody, like 'Say It Right:' The melody justkind of came to me as I was grabbing the microphone, free-styling and jamming in the tracking room instead of the vocalbooth.

"We would just put everything on the speakers, and wewould write in the tracking room. We'd use vocal effects andrecord after midnight, so you'd get like a spooky mood going,and a lot of the lyrics would come from that place."

Listening to songs like the electronic jungle rhythms of"Afraid;" the pounding rock of "Maneater;" the chock blockbeats of "Promiscuous" and the molten, cutting grooves of"Glow," it's evident that there's another stimulus playing a cen-tral role in the realization of Loose: the tanned torso haven ofMiami, Florida.

"I just love the vibe in Miami," Furtado agrees. "Everybody'sso happy in the sunshine. People are barely wearing anyclothes. I love speaking Spanish there and I love turning onthe radio and hearing reggaeton.

"In South Beach alone there's a nice and warm vibe."Furtado said that the good vibes filtered into the studio."In The Hit Factory in Miami, because there is so much going

on, it's all about all the rappers coming by looking for beats,sometimes with briefcases full of cash," she laughs.

"It's very, very different for a girl from Victoria. It was a lotof fun."

Feeling rightfully victorious with Loose, Nelly Furtadofeels that motherhood has allowed her to reclaim someartistic license while Miami and Timbaland have openednew horizons.

"There's something aboutbeing around my daughterthat has brought me backto writing songs from aninnocent, naive place,"Furtado explains. "Ithink that's a pre-cious gift because it'shard to get thatback once you'vebeen in this busi-ness for a little bitand get kind ofjaded.

"Now I've openedup as an artist, Icould write songs allday. You always wantto write a song betterthan your last one."

That's all Nelly needs --another excuse to cut loose.

10 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

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PHOTO COURTESY: MUCHMUSIC

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 11

The newly renamed FoundationAssisting Canadian Talent OnRecordings (FACTOR), which has

granted over $112 million in funding toassist developing homegrown talent and thedomestic independent music industry sinceits inception 24 years ago, has undergonesome changes.

As of July 1, the number of programsavailable for funding has been reducedfrom 22 to 12. However, according toHeather Ostertag, FACTOR president andCEO, that doesn't mean her organization isoffering any fewer subsidies: they're justmodifying the process.

"We're offering the same support, butwhat we've done is streamlined and stoppedthe insanity," Ostertag explains. "We've hadfar too many programs which has resultedin confusion. So now we have one soundrecording program and you apply depend-ing on the criteria you need: either you'regetting an independent recording loan or aFACTOR recording loan."

Ostertag says while the newly simplifiedprocess means applicants will fill out fewerforms, there are some other significantchanges to the program.

"Our approach to distribution is probablythe biggest change that we've made," notesOstertag, a member of the Order Of Canadawho was promoted by the FACTOR Board inJune to add the CEO designation to her title.

"We're always tweaking our programs, butdistribution has been an anchor for deter-mining what funding you could get.

"On the distribution side, we're now rec-ognizing a number of options for havingFACTOR-recognized distribution. You'vegot your bricks-and-mortar-type distributionagreement with a distribution company or amajor label; you can have sold 2000 units

offstage or through downloads and anycombination of those will qualify you havingFACTOR-recognized distribution."

In terms of digital sales, Ostertag says

FACTOR will treat "three downloadedtracks as the equivalent of an album sale."

"We have really opened it up to embracetechnology," she declares.

FACTOR has also increased the flexibilityand range of its marketing and promotionprograms.

"In the past, you could use funding forvery traditional marketing: putting yourpress kit together, getting it distributed toradio and possibly hiring a radio tracker,"says Ostertag. "Now it's going to expand toinclude showcasing, a tour or you could beputting a video together."

Fund allocation is still subject to eligibility:for example, you must sell 2000 copies ofyour album in order to qualify for a mini-mum video funding of $12,000.

"You can use that basic marketing moneyfor whatever approach you want to try to getyour project launched."

Another big change: Although certainprogram floors and ceilings have been read-justed to reflect realistic economics, in mostprograms FACTOR will fund up to 75 percent of your proposed budget, an increasefrom the previous 50 per cent maximum.

"Our new agreement with CanadianHeritage is allowing us to afford that level ofsupport," says Ostertag. "We've been lobby-ing for this probably since 1990. It's been along time coming."

In the meantime, the payback terms fromthe loans remain extremely reasonable.

"It's $.50 per unit or $.05 per downloadto the point where we would be 100 percent recouped," says Ostertag. "Or for twoyears following the domestic release we getrepaid on all units sold worldwide. At theend of the two years we close the file andwalk away from any outstanding money."Aside from financial career assistance,there's an additional incentive to stop in atFACTOR's Toronto headquarters in duringregular business hours: the FACTORResource Centre.

Visitors will have access to a computer as wellas numerous trade magazines such as Billboardand other industry-related directories.

"FACTOR staff came up with the con-cept," says Ostertag. "It's a place for peopleto come in and find out where to go next."

Since its 1982 inception, FACTOR sup-ported recordings have sold over 30.2 mil-lion copies worldwide with a retail value ofmore than $680 million.

For more program info, including down-loadable application forms, deadlines andcontact information, visit the FACTORwebsite at www.factor.ca.

By NICK KREWEN

By LEAH ERBE

FACTOR OPENSRESOURCE CENTRERESTRUCTURES FUNDING PROGRAMS

HUMBER SONGWRITING WORKSHOPCOOLER THAN BASEBALL FANTASY CAMP

United in our desire to write bet-ter songs, approximately 60songwriters with wildly varying

musical styles and backgrounds gath-ered this past June at the HumberSongwriting Workshop.

It’s an incredibly intense and support-ive environment that fosters creativity,collaboration, and confidence. The fac-

ulty members, all awesome songwriters,were approachable, caring and devotedteachers whose extraordinary rapporthelped put everyone else at ease andgave the workshop a casual, friendly andvery amusing feel.

The Humber Songwriting Workshop isway cooler than baseball fantasy campand there are no itchy uniforms or dan-

gerous high-speed projectiles: Instead,we put aside our day-to-day lives for oneweek and became full-time songwriters.

Students spent half the day in smallworkshops led by a faculty member andthe other half attending panels with spe-cial guests from all corners of the musicbusiness. After a full day’s activities, stu-dents retreated to the lounge -- for what

Heat

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cont’d on page 15

By Nick Krewen

DeYoung, presented by The S.A.C. earlier this year atCanada Music Week, decided to try his hand at composing amusical after recording a Broadway album for AtlanticRecords called 10 On Broadway and playing Pontius Pilatein a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musicalJesus Christ Superstar.

"I played Pontius Pilate for six months, sitting there cru-cifying every night of the week, and I started to think,'I'd like to write one of these rather than schlep out onthe stage," he explains. "So I sat down and wrote TheHunchback."

So far, a full production of The Hunchback OfNotre Dame has only been staged once -- back in1997 for a limited run at the Tennessee PerformingArts Center -- and shortly before DeYoung becameinflicted with a rare disease that made him light-sensitive and forced him to take a two-year hiatus.

But he says The Hunchback could be return-ing to the public eye in the next few years.

"In the last six months I have had fouroffers to do it," reveals DeYoung. "But Ihaven't decided what the next best step is.You can't mistakes over and over againwith this. You have to make sure youhave all the right people in place, andI've sat on it, rather than trying to justdo it."

DeYoung isn't the only successfulpop figure to tackle this intriguingart form. Elton John teamed upwith frequent Andrew LloydWebber lyricist Tim Rice andknocked a home run out of thepark with The Lion King andlater did decent business withAida; ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeusand Benny Andersson alsojoined Rice for a triumphantrun with Chess and mostrecently Duncan Sheikjoined playwright StevenSater for the originaloff-Broadway musicalSpring Awakening.

H o w e v e r ,DeYoung notes thatwriting for musicaltheatre involves alarge adjustmentfor songwriters orself-containedartists used tohaving fewrestrictions.

"The musi-cal theatre isa collabora-tive effort,as people‘collabo-r a t e ’e a c h

otherwith stones

and bats and pitch-forks," he says, half-jokingly.

"This is why people in pop musicoften have a harder time when they come like

a Paul Simon or myself or Barry Manilow or Elton

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH:

HOW TO WRITE A MUSICAL

In June there was an occasion almost as rare as the passing of Halley's Comet: A

Canadian musical -- already the toast of Broadway -- ca

ptured a handful of Tony

Awards, including Best Original Score (Music And/Or Lyrics) Writte

n For The

Theatre and Best Book Of A Musical.

The sleeper success of The Drowsy Chaperone on The Great White Way -- it's

grossed more than $14.5 million U.S. since previewing in April and opening in May

-- may be the ultimate feather in the cap of score composers Lisa Lambert and Greg

Morrison, but the journey it to

ok to get there was long and arduous.

If you think writing a three-minute song is tough -- or even an

album's worth -- just tr

y writing a musical.

"It was tre

mendous labour," says Morriso

n, reached

with his collaborator Lambert in

New York City

just 48 hours after their inspiring victory.

As Lambert explains, what begins sim

ply soon

evolves into a complicated process.

"There are all sorts of different stages," adds

Lambert. "When you first

start working on it, t

here's

your pure creative part and the broad strokes before

you start assembling people, which is quite fun. Once

you actually get to the point where your show is about

to be produced, there's the tinkering and changing

things - it's a whole different process."

"And it continually evolves," interjects Morrison, who

met Lambert through a Toronto Second City production.

"It depends on the scenario - w

hat cast you have, what

theatre you're doing it for - it's this ongoing process that

never ends."

Dennis DeYoung, formerly of Chicago rock band Styx,

knows of what they speak: compared to writing a hit so

ng, the

musical is a whole other animal.

"I make the comparison that if you're assembling

songs for an album, it's like fillin

g in a nice three-

bedroom tri-level," sa

ys DeYoung, author of some

of Styx's biggest hits ("Lady," "Babe," "Come Sail

Away," and "Mr. Roboto" among others), and creator

of the 17-song musical The Hunchback Of Notre

Dame.

"If you're doing it fo

r a musical, it's like building The

Grand Hotel: You have to worry about so many different

things.

"The only criterion you usually have for writin

g a song is

the way it relates to itse

lf and others within a three-or-four

minute period. In writing a musical, th

ere are so many dif-

ferent considerations, in terms of, 'Does this song propel

action forward?' 'Does it tell the character's th

oughts?' 'Is it a

song between two characters, or three or four characters?'

"It really is a

completely different way of writing music a

nd

more challenging."

12 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006 PHOTOS: JOAN MARCUS

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 13

John. You have been spoiled by the fact that you are a law onto yourself: What you create is yours and nobody can damn well tell youwhat to do.

"But in theatre, you maybe have to work with the book writer anddefinitely work with a director, a producer, a choreographer, and awriting guy and they all have input. Everyone has their own fiefdom, asI like to put it. When you work in a musical, there will be a lot of opin-ions. As a writer of the music you have to learn patience. You have tolearn to listen to find out what you don't know."

THE IDEASo where do you start? For the creators of The Drowsy

Chaperone, a tale about a coddled Broadway starlet who wants to

give up her career for marriage, it began before Bob Martin -- whoplays The Man In Chair -- walked down the aisle with fellow SecondCity comedian Janet Van De Graaff (who, incidentally, is also thename of a character in the musical.)

"Initially there was no Man In Chair," recalls Chaperone's Lambert."We were premiering a mini-musical - a first draft. The theme of the

musical we were doing was a wedding theme, because we had alwayswanted to do something that was a 1920s-style thing, but the showitself was a musical that got premiered at a bachelor party and theproceeds that we made from that helped with the wedding.

"It was just 40 minutes of a 1920s pastiche musical with no expla-nation, except that everybody in the audience knew who had writtenthe musical so they kind of knew where we were coming from."

Inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films and the 1932Maurice Chevalier/Jeannette MacDonald musical romance Love MeTonight, Lambert says she and Morrison had a number of archetypesin mind for Chaperone development.

"We had all these archetypes that we knew and we began select-ing, 'We need this character and this character and this character andso on,' and then we started giving them each songs and working outthe plot," Lambert explains. "This all happens kind of around the sametime: little snippets of plot, little snippets of dialogue and workingaround each of the characters and what they'd sing, then filling in theblanks.

"It almost feels like you're working on a puzzle backwards. But a lotof it had to do with our performers that we wanted to work with andwhat we knew they'd be playing."

When it comes to individual songs, Greg Morrison says it all comesdown to careful planning.

"You picture the concept of the song first," he says. "You sort out afunction and work from a concept of how the song's going to work,

what the song needs to be and who is going to be singing it. It's verystructural. We work from often a title."

They also work from a book, or libretto, which in the case of TheDrowsy Chaperone, billed as "A Musical Within A Comedy," was even-tually co-written by Bob Martin with Don McKellar.

THE BOOK"For those people who don't understand what a book is, it's a the-

atrical term, a screenplay, like in a movie — what the actors are sayingand how it changes," explains Hunchback's Dennis DeYoung.

Usually constructed to include two acts separated by an intermis-sion, DeYoung adds one other undeniable fact about musicals.

"The book will change," he promises. "And when the book changesas it inevitably will, a songthat made sense will some-times no longer make sense.Then the song must bescrapped or the lyrical contentchanged, because the charac-ters will change and theirmotivations will change.

"Even a simple thing likechanging time and place inone moment of the show canchange the syntax of lyricslater on."

THE WORKSHOPThe next step is the work-

shop, the litmus test for theperformance of both thebook and the music and inte-gral for snagging potentialproducer and investor inter-est.

"What you do in a work-shop, where people imagineeverything, is perform the

14 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

story, sing 'em a song, and allow people to envision the rest," saysDeYoung. "It is a living, moving thing. Sets have to move. People haveto move. Lights have to change."

But the workshop fulfils another function that is much more criticalfor the composers.

"It isn't until you see these things in action, no matter how you visualizethem, that you understand what it is that you need and what you don'tneed," DeYoung explains. "Musical theatre is the most difficult artform inentertainment, because it has story, dancing, fighting, acting -- all in realtime.

"There is nothing more difficult than the musical theatre: that's whythere are so few good ones. It's really very difficult to pull thesethings off."

THE PRODUCTIONThe most important thing about staging a production is finding

people who share your vision, says Chaperone's Morrison."You build a community," he explains. "You connect with other peo-

ple by producing the show, you find other like-minded people: singersand writers and musicians and people who are really interested in thesame thing so you have that at least to share with, because that's sucha huge part of it."

Ideally, producers and backers with big wallets and grand ambitionwill covet your musical. But Lisa Lambert says economics need not bea restriction -- reminding us that before The Drowsy Chaperone hitBroadway, it evolved through runs at Toronto's Fringe Theatre,Theatre Passe Muraille and Mirvish Productions' WintergardenTheatre.

"We used to work at the Rivoli and Big City Improv (small clubs inToronto) and at the smaller room at the Tim Sims Playhouse andSecond City," Lambert recalls. "You can literally produce something forvery little, work scenes, call the press and get them out and get allyour people to come out and see it."

1) THINK SMALL

"When we were working on this show, a Broadway production wasnot an issue off the top," remembers Lambert. "We worked incre-mentally. Whatever production we were working on was usuallysomething that was attainable."

2) FOCUS AND DEFINE YOUR CONCEPT

"It's all about focusing," says Lambert. "Focus the concept until youhave a title that you can just zero in on it. Because the song is this spe-cific thing -- You have to be that focused with your concept."

3) BE PATIENT

On average, a musical takes seven years from gestation to comple-tion -- and that's before it consistently sees the stage.

"Be prepared for the long haul," says DeYoung. "It took The ColorPurple, which was a pretty big motion picture, 17 years to become amusical. I think the gestation on these things is minimally seven years- it's more like 10 to 12 years.

"I started to write a second one, and then I started thinking, 'Okay,I'll be 104 when..."

4) FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY

"Be prepared to change your work to suit the needs of others, someof whom you'll think are certifiably insane," advises DeYoung. "But youhave to understand what it is that you are doing: you are getting intoan artistic process that relies on the kindness of strangers.

"People are always reworking and reinventing and changing thingswith Broadway musicals. This is my firm belief: If you had the mostperfect book and musical score finished, whoever comes in to direct isgoing to change it. I guarantee it.

"Because how else is he going to earn any money? They want toput their stamp on the work. They're going to come in and say, 'I thinkQuasimodo should have a pink Mohawk.'

"Yes, somebody told me that."For the record, DeYoung cut two numbers from The Hunchback Of

Notre Dame and since the initial workshop, has added five more.Lambert says eight songs "have come and gone" leading to TheDrowsy Chaperone's current 13-song score.

5) GET IT SEEN

Lambert and Morrison insist that previewing your work-in-progressto an audience is crucial.

"When you get it out in front of people, it informs you so much,"note Morrison. "And working in comedy, the most essential elementis the audience and how it's landing. You really do need that, oftenwhen you're doing your own writing."

Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison and Dennis DeYoung: three peoplewho really know the score when it comes to writing musicals.

OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS

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OAN

MAR

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SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 15

The Drowsy Chaperone may be the greatest purely Canadian suc-cess story to hit Broadway, but it wasn't the first. In 1967, the radical musical Hair put Montreal's Galt

MacDermot on the global musical theatre map. Written froma book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado with thescore provided by MacDermot, the musical about the hippiemovement in the '60s was a smash success, logging over 3900performances in New York and London before closing in1973.

Hair won MacDermot a Grammy in 1968 for BestScore For An Original Cast Album and yielded fourhuge hits (Three Dog Night's "Easy To Be Hard;"Oliver's "Good Morning Starshine;" The Cowsills'gold "Hair;" and the million-selling Grammy-winning 1969 Record Of The Year,"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" by The 5thDimension, which spent six weeks at No. 1 atopthe Billboard Hot 100.)

But according to MacDermot, who had wontwo Grammies in 1961 for his "African Waltz,"it was only because he was interested in rock 'nroll that he took on the assignment.

"I had been involved with the theatre a littlebit in Canada. I did a show called My Fur Ladyback in my McGill days," recalls MacDermot, 77,from his Staten Island home.

"I played in a few operas when I was in theorchestra, but when I came to New York I was totallyinvolved in doing rock 'n roll demo records for pub-lishers. Rock 'n roll was all that I was interested in at thetime. So probably if it hadn't been Hair, I wouldn't have doneit."

Rado and Ragni provided the lyrics, and MacDermot esti-mates it took him three weeks to complete the music.

"I've always written shows in about three weeks," he states."You may add some stuff later, but you get the basic thing pretty quick."

MacDermot says he has to be inspired by the lyric tomake it work.

"You have to hear something," MacDermot explains."Writing songs is not hard: Either you do it or you don't. If Ihadn't liked the lyrics and hadn't heard anything right away, I would have said, 'I can't do it.' But the lyrics were very nice –I thought they were clever – and also hip.

"What I do is I read the lyric and usually a tune gets into myhead. But with Hair, I specifically wanted a certain style,

but that was more or less the style I was interested inanyway at the time. We use the word 'rock 'n roll,'

but it's really a rhythm and blues idiom -- flat 7thsand flat 3rds -- the bluesy type of thing. So Ipushed for that a little bit more than I mighthave with something else."

Hair also required minimal revision."The only change was when they brought

me 'Aquarius,' which they had sort of discov-ered in the New York Times, the news about'The Age of Aquarius," MacDermot recalls.

"I thought they wanted a spacey, far-outthing, so I tried that but I didn't really like it asa song, nor did they. I thought I could do bet-

ter, so I rewrote that tune."In 1979, Milos Forman adapted Hair into a

movie and in the '90s, the musical was revived tothe point where it's still being performed all

around the world today.Hair wasn't MacDermot's last foray into musicals: In

1972 he followed it up with the Tony-winning TwoGentlemen Of Verona, which ran for 18 months and garneredMacDermot a 1972 Drama Desk Award for OutstandingMusic...and he's still writing them.

"Lately I've been writing a thing called The Tinderbox which isan old Hans Christian Andersen folk tale, or nursery rhyme,that's set in Iraq," says MacDermot.

"That could be controversial."

By N

ick

KrewenHAIR REVISITED: MAGIC FROM MONTREAL'S MUSICAL MAESTRO

HUMBER SONGWRITING WORKSHOP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

else – more music. Jams, performances and recording ses-sions often lasted well until the early hours.

Seminars and panels gave us clear information and straightanswers about the business of music. Also covered were dif-ferent ways to get our music out to the world and some alter-natives to “the big record deal;" from Molly Johnson’s experi-ences coordinating huge charity benefit concerts to musicsupervisor Chris Robinson’s guide to the business of placingsongs in TV shows or ads.

In addition, guest singer/songwriters Ron Sexsmith,Danny Michel and Bob Snider came by to discuss their expe-riences and perform several of their songs, giving us a fasci-nating look at their career paths and writing processes.

One of the major lessons of the week was that we each need-ed to develop our own unique voice and self-understanding,so that our songs could make a clear point honestly and with-out resorting to clichés. From there we tackled the constant

challenge of making our point quickly and memorably. Here are a few words of wisdom as heard in workshops,

panels and in the hallways:“You know the term ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus?’ I think that’s

appropriate here.”“You have to re-examine every word in every line to be sure that

it’s supporting and furthering your message.”“That chorus needs to be bigger!”“Get rid of those 'just' words – those words that are just there just

to fill up space. They’re just weakening your point.”“Cut that intro in half, and get to your chorus sooner.”At the end of that week everyone left with a renewed sense of

purpose and faith in their abilities. I can’t wait for next year tosee how the returning students have used this new knowledge.

Meanwhile, I’ll be hard at work on my own songs, cuttingthe slack, strengthening the message and making my chorusso big it’s visible from space.

16 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

AB Lloyd BeauleAB Wayne ChurchillAB John CzerniakAB Robert DonaldsonAB Nathaniel HarperAB Steve KolarAB Douglas LeeceAB Ellen MablyAB Becki O’HernAB Norman RileyAB Kristilyn RobertsonAB Gail SartoriusAB Darlene SutleyAB Terrence WeatherbeAB Peter WillisBC Garry AgerBC Gail BaumanBC Ridley BentBC Dustin BentallBC Michael Booth PalmerBC Ivan BoudreauBC Joy ChapmanBC Jesse CornesBC Richard GrantBC Francoise JompheBC Rodante JovillarBC Marion LindsayBC Shayne McGrealBC Aleksandar MilojkovicBC Kevin NakanishiBC Mark PerryBC Michael ReeveBC Kate ReidBC Crystal SackettBC Ian Savage

BC Joanne ShawMB Russell StruttNB Devin CookeNB Angela CurranNB Richard CyrNB April HolderNF Sean PantingNF Kirk PenneyNS Renee BabineauNS Susan BrownieNS Cheryl CanningNS Monette ComeauNS Alexander DoyleNS Christopher GodwinNS Stacie Lynn HattNS Randy MatthewsNS Bruce MillsNS Emily SaundersNS Percy KinneyON Bunmi AdeoyeON Didier BampiliON James BattistonON Ryan Mitchell BochON Michael BonterON Victor BortolonON Corinne BraniganON Neville BryanON Sarah CalvertON Ron CameronON Colvin ChambersON John ChristensenON Kim ColeON William CottrellON Lee CoulterON Patrick Couture

ON Andy CreegganON Jim CreegganON Marco D’AmicoON Enrico De MatteoON Joseph DeBenedictisON Chrystal Donbrath-ZingaON Germaine DwyerON Roberto EspositoON Mike EvinON Barry FochukON Emilio FuentesON Paolo GerardiON Emm GrynerON Tetyron HourtovenkoON Steve HydeON Ryan JohnstonON Richard JonesON Eric KingON Rivka KletskiON Pankaj KohliON Hillary KourkoutisON Wayne KrawchukON Andrew LangON Kelly LaughtonON Stephen LitvackON Dick LochanON Jason ManaraON Matthew MarrenON Dave MartinON Brian McCauslandON Samuel McDermottON Sheri McLaughlinON Ambre McLeanON Mario PanacciON Melissa Paxton

ON Steve PayneON Rose PerryON Marcus PiscaerON Braedon QuarlesON Robert ReidON FeliciaRichardsON Zameer RizviON Daniel RobichaudON Danny RobichaudON Jim RobinsonON Bianca RolloON Mark RosenbauerON Andrew Ross GeladarisON Peter RuptashON Ray ScottON Sam SignerON Erin SouthwellON Gersan SozaON Harry SteinON Fred SteuartON John ThomasON Mike TrebilcockON Richard VellaON Ellen WeiserON Ronald WeissON Lianne ZitzelsbergerPE Catherine Ann DicksonQC Thorn CurtainQC Timothy SmithQC Eric StamQC Yves St-LaurentQC Peter WheelerSK Kent BaileySK Robert King

Welcome New Members!The S.A.C. welcomes the following new members who have joined since April, 2006

ClassifiedsEach S.A.C. member is entitled to one free classified per year.Additional ads may be purchased for $25 per 25 words. Contactus at 1-866-456-7664 or sac@songwriters.ca

Songwriter with over 85 songs, excellent commercialvalue, needs to sell the lyrics. If you have a theme I canprepare a song for you as well.pankajkohli5@rediffmail.com – 647-271-8685.

www.countrysongcrafters.comFull band demos as low as $35.00 US

Leanne Hynd – soulfully crafted album, ultiMATEPARAdox (Rockin’ Rod Records) – available Sept. 29th –release concerts: Fri. Nov. 3, The Odeon, Saskatoon & Sat.Nov. 4, The Exchange, Regina – www.leannehynd.com

Female songwriter seeks professionally minded M/F co-writers in Vancouver. Goal: To hone songwriting skills invarious genres – pop, soft rock, country, etc. Email:mwackerca@yahoo.ca

SONGWRITING & PIANO LESSONSEclectic, fun, engaging non-classical lessonswith Toronto singer/songwriter MichaelJohnston, a vibrant performer with 12 yearsteaching experience and Honours B.A. in pianoperformance. All ages / levels welcome.www.michaeljohnston.ca

“Jay And The Canadians” is expanding its ros-ter. Jay Aymar: singer/songwriter/guitar. Alreadyaccompanied by Mandolin/Lap Steel, LeadGuitar/Keyboard: seeking BASS and PERCUS-SION for pub/theatre gigs. Country-Folk-Grass!www.jayandthecanadians.comjayandthecanadians@hotmail.com(416) 519-1687.

PROGRESSIVE/HARD ROCK/METAL BANDSEEKS DRUMS.Original band needs drummer: Megadeth,Zeppelin, Dream Theater, Pantera, Opeth,AC/DC, GN’R, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest andmore. Original material; shows booked.Rehearse often, looking to do this as career.Demos available. 416-725-0129info@apeband.com

Todd Butler’s Idle Canadian wins threeVancouver Island Music Awards! Album of theYear, Song of the Year – “Home” MaleSongwriter of the Year. Check it out atwww.toddbutler.com

Do you want lyrics? I have some or can co-write! Contact: K. Millette, 26 Neelands St.,Barrie, ON L4N 7A1 – kkm330@hotmail.com

NEW CD RELEASE December 2006Artist/Writer LiANACD Title: I See No RainIndependent Release: www.liana.bizwww.cdbaby.com/liana

Sheri McLaughlin’s dream of being an entertainer since the age of 3 always resulted in failure...until she met her Saviour. “Every Girl Needs A Saviour” is amessage of healing and hope for the broken hearted. www.brokenheartpromises.com for information and purchasing.

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 17

SAUKRATES: GIVING THE RAP ONPUBLISHING

Multi-faceted Scarborough rap pioneerAmani "Saukrates" Wailoo knows therole of survivor only too well. A char-

ter member of The Circle, the Toronto hip-hop collective that also introducedChoclair, Kardinal Offishall and Jully Blackto the masses back in the mid-90s,Saukrates has taken his innovative T-Dotsounds from "Father Time" to internationalears, recording such influential albums asThe Underground Tapes and producingtracks for worldwide faves Nelly Furtadoand Wu-Tang Clansmen Method Man andRedman.

Nor has he ignored the home front, co-founding Capitol Hill Music with ChaseParsons and building a three-act label ros-ter that includes his solo artistry, AndreenaMills, and the super collective known as BigBlack Lincoln that includes Ro-Dolla,Brassmunk's Ajile, IRS' T.R.A.C.K.S. andBig Sox himself.

In celebration of the recent Sony BMG-dis-tributed Capitol Hill Music release of BigBlack Lincoln's Heaven's Caught On Fire,S.A.C. president Haydain Neale caught upwith Saukrates to get the 4-1-1 on theCanadian urban music publishing scene.

HAYDAIN NEALE: Can you talk a bit aboutghost writing -- writing rhymes for otherrap artists with no official credit -- in hip-hop?SAUKRATES: You know, ghost writing wasfrowned upon in the rap game. It'salways been happening in the R&Bworld, but in the rap game as an MC,everyone figures what you're rapping isyours. That's just the culture of hip-hop. HN: Is the hip-hop lyricist writer becom-ing more legitimate as a co-writer or atotal writer for another artist?SAUKRATES: Big time! Will Smith's rap suc-cess and his return is owed to a couple ofgreat writers -- Nas and Sauce Money --combined with his marketability and hisself-marketing, which is a great thingthat he's done. Of course, in rap, dudesare gonna call you out if you're not spit-ting your own rhymes and you're onmore of that street feel. HN: Like the pop, R&B and countryworlds, you can now be become a suc-cessful writer without having to exclu-sively record your own material. Is themethod of pitching publishers for cutssimilar in hip-hop?SAUKRATES: I was actually surprised to get alot of e-mail lists of groups coming out,especially out of the U.S. who have been

rapping for eight years successfully, andthey're looking for full songs. On this listthat you get, if you're privileged to it,your publisher will send you a five-pagelist of artists around the world who arelooking for tracks. Some of these peopleyou would figure were doing their shit allby themselves and they're looking for fullsongs with "with hooks and verses" men-tioned in brackets.HN: Are you currently signed to a pub-lisher?SAUKRATES: Yeah, I've been with WarnerChappell since 1998.HN: Now what are the instances ofCanadian publishers ingeneral picking up hip-hop writers, urban writerssince then? Is that grow-ing or is that the excep-tion and not the rule?SAUKRATES: No, no. It's notgrowing at all. I thinkwhen we got in there,there was definitely some-thing going on in Torontothat had a lot of NorthAmerica starting to payattention. We had a strongconnection with Anne-Marie Smith who wasworking with WarnerChappell at the time.Four of us got picked upover at Warner Chappellat the same time... myself,Jully Black, KardinalOffishall and GlennLewis. Since then Ihaven't seen too manypeople come throughthem Warner Chappellwalls from the same angle.HN: Do you think it's com-ing around again? Or isthe pool of talent notwhat it was?SAUKRATES: What we had when we got ouropportunities was somewhat of an infra-structure, an older energy, a more expe-rienced energy around us. We wereartists, but around us, folks had assumedtheir positions as management or public-ity, so we could respond to what wasbeing asked of us by the labels and pub-lishers. And now our experience hasbeen able to help some of the youngercats. In the next year or two year, it'llhappen. It won't be just because of thetalent and experience, but because

they're connected. These boys will gettheir publishing deals if they want 'em.These songwriters are 19 and 20 yearsold... their attitude is incredible, they'renot in a rush, they're eager to learn andable to take some leadership.

Some kids approach me and they wantleadership but their attitude is in thewrong place. Or they have to work a littleharder to get their writing and produc-tion skills up to be creative, cause it is acreative job. It's not just "I can be thereon time"... You have to shine. But canyou shine on cue? Five, four, three, two,one... SHINE TIME! [laughs]

HN: You have committed to educatingyouth about the industry through yourwork with the S.A.C. this year throughvarious workshops and seminars. What'syour vision for impacting these kids?

SAUKRATES: Out of 100, two or three ofthem will have their head in the stars,but 20 to 30 of them you can touch in adifferent way. They would want to fill inother gaps in the industry, which is hugelyneeded to build an infrastructure here inCanada.

PHOTO: STEVE CARTY

METALWORKS HOSTS SASSSONGWRITING ADVENTURE

Justin Gray, Damnhait Doyle,Stan Meissner and HaydainNeale were the mentors for

one dozen talented student song-writers at the premiere SchoolAlliance Of Student Songwriters(SASS)/ Metalworks SongwritingAdventure held for four days inApril.

Sponsored in part by the S.A.C.,the RBC Foundation, MelodymanProductions, SOCAN, SongU.comand Masterwriter software andspearheaded by Don Quarles andThe Mississauga-based MetalworksInstitute's Craig Titus, the eventenabled the students to co-write andrecord 12 songs with their mentors.

Co-founded by songwriter andschoolteacher Artemis Chartier andex-Guess Who member, producerand songwriter Dale Russell, SASS isa Durham Region-based not-for-profit organization designed tobring songwriting into Canadian ele-mentary and secondary schools.

So far 50 schools in Durham

Region, Guelph, Peterborough andVancouver -- the latter thanks to theefforts of British Columbia SASSrepresentative Don McLeod -- haveenrolled in the program, includingone post-secondary participant,Trent University.

The 12 students who attended thissession -- Sarah Nadeau, A.J.Ottaway, Laila Darwish, JoeyMacDonald, Lindsay Broughton,Tony Ranalli, Samara Van Leeuwen,Ian Lennox, Lindsay Regan, TafariDavis (Durham Region); BraedonQuarles (York Region) and SonnyParmish (New Westminster. B.C.) --were selected from a field of 1500 inrecognition of their excellent song-writing skills, and each received anS.A.C. membership at the conclu-sion of the event.

Not only was the “SongwritingAdventure” event a grand success,but organizers have already beendiscussing plans for multiple sequelsfor 2006-2007!

18 Songwriters Magazine SUMMER 2006

SSPPOOTTLLIIGGHHTTDustin Bentall Colleen Ecclestone

Ron Hynes - Shari Ulrich

Ron Hynes

RowlandSalley

Veda Hille

BobbyCameron

DavidGillis

GarryJackson

Greg Hobbs

LoriCullen

Andy Stochansky

Nelly Shin

PHOTOS BY DALE LEUNG

BBN No. 101 , May 6, HUGH’S ROOM, TORONTO PHOTOS: PIERRE MILLETTE

L-R: Andy Stochansky, Greg Hobbs, Nelly Shin, LoriCullen, David Gillis, Garry Jackson, Bobby Cameron

Ida Nilsen

BBN No. 49 , APRIL 24, GRACEMEMORIAL CHURCH, VANCOUVER

SUMMER 2006 Songwriters Magazine 19