Steve Gillette is a singer/songwriter in the folk music tradition of Judy Collins and Tom Paxton. His songs have been recorded by Garth Brooks, Waylon Jennings, LInda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray and John Denver. He has also written songs for the movies and for the Disney characters Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo and Winnie-the-Pooh. He wrote, "Songwriting and the Creative Process" published by "Sing Out" in 1995. Steve tours with his wife, singer/songwriter Cindy Mangsen.

Next month we will review Steve's book and include more of his insights into the art of songwriting.

Tell me about your career. Have you been able to write songs all along, or have you had fertile and barren times?

I've always felt that writing was something I could do, and I've had some very encouraging things happen with some people I admire recording my songs, but, yes, I would say there have been times when I have been blocked. Even when you feel that you have been fortunate over-all, when you are involved in the music business you tend to try to justify yourself in terms of this week's charts, or the exciting newest thing, and it can make it harder to draw from the place from where the best writing comes. Writing should be a loving, playful activity that affirms your sense of joy about the world. Even if you are taking on a darker, more difficult subject in the song, it should come from trust and optimism. The competitiveness of the industry can turn the activity of writing into something that's no fun at all. For me, the antidote to ambition and stress has been to spend some time around the campfire, or performing for folk audiences who listen more deeply and offer more satisfaction that the more dollar-oriented, more cynical professionals. I've always said the music business can be a marketplace, but not a hometown. I think every writer has to find someone to listen who honors the best work he can do. For some this may be a trusted friend, or life partner, for Cindy and me, it is the folk music community.

Do you still teach songwriting and where can people take the class/workshop?

I do teach songwriting workshops in our travels and at a number of regular events during the year. Usually at Folk Festivals where we are booked there will be some sort of songwriter session or critique. Often these are listed on our web site. I teach a workshop at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas every Spring. The Festival is eighteen days long and I do an hour and a half workshop everyday at 5:00 PM. Cindy and I also teach at Summersongs, a retreat at Ashokan in the Catskill Mountains of eastern New York which takes place for a week in June. I'm also teaching a three week course at the Putney School in Eastern Vermont this summer. There will be information about all of these workshops and others on our web site. http://www.sover.net/~gillette

Are you going to do another book?

Yes, I am interested in getting another book out. I've been saving pieces and doing sketches for it for a couple of years. It will be a book about doing just what Cindy and I do. That is, surviving and thriving as an independent artist. We hope to share all our experience and insights to help others make their way in the world by making a noble trade of the thing they most love to do. Songwriting is only one part of what we do. We perform and travel and sell CDs and cassettes of our work. The combination of all these activities provides for us without our being beholden to any corporate entity. We have no agent, manager or publicist, no endorsement deals of any kind. As artists, we seek to be as free of advocacy as we can of anything that is not the purest expression of our own values. If our songs can be recorded by other artists, perhaps some who sell a lot more records than we do, that is wonderful, but we don't go hat in hand to any music moguls or publishers or producers. If someone thinks enough to want to record a song, we make it as easy for them as we can, but we currently own our copyrights, and by providing for ourselves we don't need to give up any of our rights or ask for any advances or make other concessions we may have agreed to in the past. In any worthwhile pursuit you find that as you get a better sense of direction and accomplish more, you get to do more of what you want to do and less of what you just have to do. One aspect of mid life is that if confronts you with choices, and you have to chose the one thing that you most want to do, and let go of some of the dreams. This turns out to be a good thing, and if you stay with it, you can accomplish anything that is truly important to you.

What advice to you have for the touring songwriter?

I'd like to see every serious songwriter come to Kerrville. It's a place where you will meet many talented people who share your passion for songs. Many of them are touring professionals and all of them are supportive listeners. Other such gatherings exist, but most don't offer the quality of listening or sustained (eighteen day) experience. The Folk Alliance is a very worthwhile organization. Sort of a trade group for folk musicians and acoustic performers of every ilk. The yearly convention of the Folk Alliance (next February in Vancouver) is a great place to meet people and to pass out your cards and CDs and do some serious networking. Of course, many people complain that they found themselves in a sea of self promoting wannabe's but that may be the best place to seriously begin to do the work of making your way.

The NSAI which, I'm sure is familiar to most of your readers, is also a good organization and has chapters all over the country. Taxi has been helpful to many as a way to get constructive feedback on songs and as a place to get some help in getting the songs in front of artists and producers. This is something I believe you have to take on yourself, but for many who don't have any access to the music marketplace it has been a good thing.

There are also many good publications and video and audio instructional materials available now. I'm on a series that Homespun Tapes puts out with five other songwriters. And there are lots of good things in similar catalogs. The Internet is helpful too.

On our site we have links to dozens of venues and organizations and other resources. A search of the Internet should provide lots of leads on any aspect of songwriting and performing. If any reader comes across anything interesting let me know and I'll add it to our links pages.

How hard is it to get jobs? Do you use booking agents?

It is a little difficult to get started getting paid to do the thing you most want to do. You have to look at it from the standpoint of the presenter. Try to find a way to take what you want to do and match it with the potential audience. Some venues are ready made. Certainly the open mics and the showcases can help a newcomer to grow into a solid performer with a following.

Many of the people you meet in this environment might turn out to be major artists who can go on to have hits with your songs. I've seen this happen for many people who got started when I did in the little folk clubs and open mics around Southern California. Examples are Linda Ronstadt, John Denver, Michael Nesmith, David Crosby, Steve Stills and Jackson Browne. Many of them recorded each others' songs and some of them recorded my songs.

In addition to the small folk clubs, I did high school concerts, college concerts and noon hour gigs in the student union. I know friends who work on cruise ships, hospitals and nursing homes and there are always plenty of jobs singing other peoples' hits in dinner houses and bars. I would caution the reader to strive for the best audience he or she can find. You can develop a lot of bad habits singing for people aren't really listening. Be sure to try to work at least part of the time for people who are really open and appreciative of what you want to sing about, even if you don't get a big paycheck.

Cindy does the booking for us now, and it's good that only one person has all the details and alternate possibilities for the calendar in a card file or on the computer or both. We worked on the Kerrville Directory, a pretty complete listing of venues all over the country which was published by the Kerrville Folk Festival office for about eight years. That list is available now from the Folk Alliance. You can also get a good list of venues from the Folk Alliance on disc in a data base form.

Steve will be in the Chicago area doing a songwriter's workshop on Tuesday, April 11 7:00 to 10:00 PM in the city at the home of Nancy Walker. Nancy has a very active organization which has presented songwriters in concert and conducted workshops. She can be reached at 773-561-4269, and her e-mail address is nwalker@chalem.com. Steve's is Steve@compassrosemusic.com.

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen's upcoming schedule is on their Web site:

http://www.sover.net/~gillette/