Journey of a Song

"Thick skin, now healed."

Midway through this episode of Journey of a Song, Cari Smith of Late to the Station leaned back on her stool and said, "The price I was paying internally [not to make music] became too high. I am here for a reason, and if I think this is it, to not do it would be an absolute waste."

Emmeline invites you to scribble that down on a Post-It and tape it to your bathroom mirror to remind yourself that the only life worth living is one about which you're deeply passionate--which...

"I love how it feels to be wild."

Can you really package a deep, meaningful message about the perils of conforming to social convention in a slick, spooky Halloween jam? Genre-bending, independent, Denton-based musical artist Brian Lambert says yes.

Back for his second appearance on Journey of a Song, Brian chats with Emmeline about how an exploration of major chords turned into a well-crafted werewolf song with a message about creative empowerment. He also shares some of the lessons from his previous project--in which he wrote and produced one song each week for an entire...

"Eyes of burgundy..."

This line was in Dorian Marsh's head from the inception of his collaboration with guitarist Ian Ross Cohen. He liked something about the turn of phrase, something about the concept of elusive, alluring eyes that forced him to proclaim, "I love her so."

Dorian didn't choose to sleep on the idea, though; he leaned into the unknown and went with it.

In this episode, Emmeline sits down with singer-songwriter Dorian Marsh and guitarist Ian Ross Cohen to talk about the collaborative process, the joy of finding like-minded creatives on the...

"If all I have is you, I'd be the richest girl in the room..."

Sometimes, a song starts as a single idea with a slew of metaphors, laid neatly into a note on an iPhone. You don't need more ideas, or better words; you just need a friend to help you pare it down.

For Americana artist Sarah Johnson, that's how her latest single--a love song, just in time for Valentine's Day--began. In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Sarah  to chat about her brand new song, "Lovinaires®." They talk about the different kinds of lo...

"Is there any love after death?" 

How can we move through grief? How can we honor our lost loved ones without allowing ourselves to be consumed by the past? How can we hold space for the memory of those we've lost and allow ourselves to live full, joyful, and meaningful lives?

For indie rock artist Chloe Clemente, the struggle to answer these questions manifested in the powerful "Love Letters to the Dead." In this episode, Emmeline sits down with Chloe and her guitarist Joseph Lacy to talk about how Chloe turned a few chords and t...

"We're running fast on streets with cracks in 'em."

How do you grow older gracefully? Can you preserve a bit of childhood as adulthood looms? Can you ever run with childlike abandon as an adult? Does progress always come at a cost?

In "Ms. Clavel," the thoughtful waltz from her new album, Wake, singer-songwriter Katherine Paterson poses these questions and more through the lens of a friendly childhood figure. Using literary allusions to Madeline, a scalar piano line that skips like water over stones, and the repetition of a familiar line--"That's all there is...

"What a beautiful day out here in the park."

Inspiration for a song can come from anywhere around us is we stay open and curious. There's also a lot to be said for allowing oneself to surrender to a vibe.

In this episode, innovative songwriter and producer Daniel Candiotta sits down with Emmeline to talk about how the gift of breadsticks one fateful day led him to compose an entire EP. He also discusses his goal of releasing one EP a week--a surefire exercise in home recording, music production, and accountability. Daniel shares how he...

"Where does the wind take you?"

Have you ever wanted something so badly, needed something so badly, that despite your best attempts, the need overtook you?  In the atmospheric, immersive "Ikarus," ¿Dónde está Alicia? explores Icarus's narrative from Greek mythology from this perspective of deep yearning.

In this episode, Journey of a Song goes bilingual! Emmeline sits down with Javier Nunez of ¿Dónde está Alicia? to talk about functioning in two languages as a musician, the journey of therapy, and the difficult but rewarding path of self-knowledge. Javier also shares a bit about writing...

"Deep in the woods, things aren’t always what they seem..." 

Songs might usually have some sort of emotional impetus, some big feeling that catapults them into being--but not all songs start with a feeling. Not all songs are initially borne from that place deep down inside of us that says, "See me. Hear me. Know me."

Some songs start, quite simply, with a prompt.

In this episode, folk and Americana artist Baylist Laramore shares how his eerie, contemplative track, "Flashing Lights," came from the combined influences of a prompt from a writers' gro...

"You were the spark that set my world on fire."

The best thing about songwriting is that it's honest. When we dig deep down to write from an authentic emotional place, songwriting always tells us the truth. Sometimes, it helps us find elusive truths.

In Episode #36 of Journey of an Artist, Tony Mendoza shared the beautiful story of the magical love he shared with his wife, Angela. In this episode of Journey of a Song, Tony shares the song he wrote for Angela to commemorate their love story. He talks with Emmeline about how, when...