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This week marks the first of our 14-week session in which we will write, record, mix, and post a new song each week. All of the tracks you hear are recorded by a network of musicians who have professional recording studios and are a part of www.SOSstudio.co.
Our first song comes from a friend and frequent collaborator, Shannon Fayth.
Here’s a short Q&A regarding her latest track, Homesick Devil.
SOS: What were your main influences for writing this song?
SF: The letters from my grandfather to my grandmother really inspired the writing. It was such an intense time In history. My grandfather was a part of an elite squad of three who were parachuted in the night to a specific location in Germany. They were then responsible for finding the main railroad hub that was feeding Germany lay bombs and then had to get the hell out. He told stories of having to lie on his back under the train station house not moving for days at a time waiting for the German soldiers to leave. If he was outside he would focus on one star that he imagined my grandma was looking at, too. He had not met my grandma in person yet. These letters were their courtship, and when he came home he married her. Every lyric in the song is a quote or expanded idea from a letter.
SOS: Can you describe the process of making music with people who are not even in the same room as you?
SF: The idea really came from writing a series of songs based upon the 100’s of letters I have. I envisioned a very jazzy approach. I used verbiage and melody that I could hear Billy Holiday singing. The music in my head never matches to what the collaborative group creates, but that is also the beauty of it. I have to be open to other artists’ influences and ideas. This can create an amazing collaboration. The real job is with the mixing, in my opinion.