The Commercial Suicide Songwriting Podcast

It's our MILESTONE 18th EPISODE (which really means very little, but is a great excuse to drink nonetheless!) and we're at your service as always. We're exited to add a NEW SEGMENT (yes, another one), A NEW CONTRIBUTOR, and to bring you (almost) all your favorite segments and features. Why? Because WE LOVE YOU ALL!!! Stay tuned as: Steve busts out his big 10 string (!) and gets moody in NOTES AND BOLTS while discussing chords Marie takes The LEGENDARY SONGWRITING SALUTE to new heights (in terms of $) and lows (in terms of musical quality) in discussing the career of MAX MARTIN Steve gets twice BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (not light beer!) in "You THINK You Know" Marie hits on both UNDER THE MICROSCOPE and WHAT THE @#$%!? in one fell swoop with The Backstreet Boys Steve gives a heartfelt "Thank You" to our listeners (and then some) in THE MAILBAG (and NEWS!) Marie somehow brings Nashville and Norrköping together in her ACADEMIC MOMENT Our "in the field" musical consultant MUSO MATT (aka Matt Demakos: pronounced "Dih - MOK - Kos") debuts in his NEW SEGMENT!: MATT'S MUSO MOMENT (yeah, we know...) We have an awesome LISTENER SUBMISSION (entitled "Robots") from Allyse Huey Marie recommends some cool new attractions in THE NASHVILLE SCENE Report And mucho beverages de alcoholique are consumed (and it shows... sorry!)

You may well have heard Ezra's work in episodes of television shows like CELEBRITY REHAB, SOBER HOUSE and SKINS (UK). Ezra has had a Hollywood-worthy journey in music, from touring and performing with his family's gospel group as a child, to a seemingly "sure thing" high-level management deal and recording contract with a band in the early 90's (complete with all the drama and excess you'd expect), to recent unexpected success in songwriting and publishing. His is a story that will have you on the edge of your seat, and is likely to leave you inspired as well.

We've had interviews with some great pro songwriters and even a legendary character or two (and all were interesting, entertaining and informative); but never has one been as fun and fascinating as our recent Skype session with Dallas, Texas-based COMMERCIAL SUICIDE SONGWRITING PODCAST fan and listener, EZRA VANCIL. You may well have heard Ezra's work in episodes of television shows like CELEBRITY REHAB, SOBER HOUSE and SKINS (UK). Ezra has had a Hollywood-worthy journey in music, from touring and performing with his family's gospel group as a child, to a seemingly "sure thing" high-level management deal and recording contract with a band in the early 90's (complete with all the drama and excess you'd expect), to recent unexpected success in songwriting and publishing. His is a story that will have you on the edge of your seat, and is likely to leave you inspired as well. {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE17.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Ezra Vancil at SOUNDCLOUD Ezra Vancil at KOMPOZ.COM Be sure to check back soon for an additional article featuring an exhaustive list of songwriting and publishing resources compiled and recommended by Ezra. Love the podcast and find yourself feeling strangely altruistic? Click on the DONATE button to the left to make a contribution to the new "TIP JAR" and help us keep up the show running smoothly and sounding great! Can't afford to donate? Share the CSSP with a friend! Steve at Marie's desk: note the soon-to-be-retired 13-year-old (!) BOSS BR-8 recording deck we've been producing all the podcast episodes with!

For the first time ever, this episode is going straight from the disk to the world: no corrective editing. This means you'll hear all the "ums", "uhs", coughs (or worse) and verbal missteps made by the both of us. There simply wasn't time for editing this week, so for better or for worse; this is the episode exactly as it "went down" in Marie's den. Enjoy at your own risk! In NOTES AND BOLTS Marie discusses pro "demo" recordings for songwriters Steve explores the unbelievably successful career of JIMMY WEBB in the LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Marie puts on her best "POKER FACE" in the WHAT THE @#$%?! segment Steve finds he's "UP THE JUNCTION" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Marie talks about the "NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM" of music notation in her ACADEMIC MOMENT Steve debuts a BRAND NEW SEGMENT, entitled "You THINK You Know" and gets FOXY! We have a great LISTENER SUBMISSION from TIM DAVIS And (as always) we'll check THE MAILBAG and share THE NASHVILLE SCENE Report

For the first time ever, this episode is going stright from the disk to the world: no corrective editing. This means you'll hear all the "ums", "uhs", coughs (or worse) and verbal missteps made by the both of us. There simply wasn't time for editing this week, so for better or for worse; this is the episode exactly as it "went down" in Marie's den. Enjoy at your own risk! In NOTES AND BOLTS marie discusses pro "demo" recordings for songwriters Steve explores the unbelievably successful career of JIMMY WEBB in the LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Marie puts on her best "POKER FACE" in the WHAT THE @#$%?! segment Steve finds he's "UP THE JUNCTION" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Marie talks about the "NASHVILLE NUMBER SYSTEM" of music notation in her ACADEMIC MOMENT Steve debuts a BRAND NEW SEGEMENT, entitled "You THINK You Know" and gets FOXY! We have a great LISTENER SUBMISSION from TIM DAVIS And (as always) we'll check THE MAILBAG and share THE NASHVILLE SCENE Report {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE16.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Just Plain Folks (JPF) Song Charting Made Easy: A Play-Along Guide to the Nashville Number System (Play-Along Guides)- Jim Riley Tim Davis Ezra Vancil Steve Rempis Steve Rempis Soundcloud Marie Perry

After a brief hiatus (approximately one episode), our beloved co-host MARIE PERRY is back, and ready to rock (sort of). In NOTES and BOLTS, Steve will be addressing the dreaded affliction known as WRITER'S BLOCK Marie will discuss the tragic life and fascinating career of Townes Van Zant in her LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Steve gets TOO SEXY for this podcast in the WHAT THE !@#$%? segment Marie takes a close look at the touching "Sissy's Song" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE We listen to a "rough" of a great song by listener Dan Sullivan, in our LISTENER SUBMISSION segment In MARIE'S ACADEMIC MOMENT she makes an in-depth study of the rhyme laden FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG by Townes Van Zant And as usual, we'll peer into the MAILBAG and take a quick peek at the LOCAL SCENE

After a brief hiatus (approximately one episode), our beloved co-host MARIE PERRY is back, and ready to rock (sort of). In NOTES and BOLTS, Steve will be addressing the dreaded affliction known as WRITER'S BLOCK Marie will discuss the tragic life and fascinating career of Townes Van Zant in her LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Steve gets TOO SEXY for this podcast in the WHAT THE !@#$%? segment Marie takes a close look at the touching "Sissy's Song" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE We listen to a "rough" of a great song by listener Dan Sullivan, in our LISTENER SUBMISSION segment In MARIE'S ACADEMIC MOMENT she makes an in-depth study of the rhyme laden FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG by Townes Van Zant And as usual, we'll peer into the MAILBAG and take a quick peek at the LOCAL SCENE {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE15.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Be sure to be back in 2 weeks when we may well have a SPECIAL NEW SEGMENT for y'all...

That's right; our first ever LISTENER SUBMISSION SPECIAL EPISODE featuring the music of our listeners, including: 1. Daniel Davis Ghost Case Study 0017/ Molly the Maid danieldavismusic.bandcamp.com 2. Steve Thompson Your Point Of View © 2011 Susan Butler Steve Thompson soundcloud.com/sthompson 3. Jimmy Anderson Lower Broadway www.jimmyandersonmusic.com jimmylogan.blogspot.com 4. Trey Hunter A Hero In You www.treyhunter.com 5. Jason Pyles The Best of You and Me Written by Jason and Phyllis Pyles moviepodcastweekly.com 6. Life Is Hard Like No Other www.lifeishardmusic.com 7. Nevet Hamish C'Mon and Love Me No info given 8. Bid Sparks aka Peter Pedrazzi with Say No More With a Kiss Goodnight www.bidsparks.com Marie will be back for Episode 15, so FEAR NOT! {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE14.mp3{/saudioplayer} download

That's right; our first ever LISTENER SUBMISSION SPECIAL EPISODE featuring the music of our listeners, including: 1. Daniel Davis Ghost Case Study 0017/ Molly the Maid danieldavismusic.bandcamp.com 2. Steve Thompson Your Point Of View © 2011 Susan Butler Steve Thompson soundcloud.com/sthompson 3. Jimmy Anderson Lower Broadway www.jimmyandersonmusic.com jimmylogan.blogspot.com 4. Trey Hunter A Hero In You www.treyhunter.com 5. Jason Pyles The Best of You and Me Written by Jason and Phyllis Pyles moviepodcastweekly.com 6. Life Is Hard Like No Other www.lifeishardmusic.com 7. Nevet Hamish C'Mon and Love Me No info given 8. Bid Sparks aka Peter Pedrazzi with Say No More With a Kiss Goodnight www.bidsparks.com Marie will be back for Episode 15, so FEAR NOT!

BEST SHOW EVER??? (probably not...) We have no particular theme this time around, but we DO have a few surprises up our collective sleeves. In NOTES AND BOLTS: Marie talks about lyrical imagery and how to turn even the most mundane lines into "mental cinema" for your listeners. Steve shares a (former) guilty pleasure in LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE, discussing the career of BREAD singer/songwriter DAVID GATES. Marie gets "trucking mad" in WHAT THE !@#$%? Bread's "DIARY" goes UNDER THE MICROSCOPE In a CSSP EXCLUSIVE "FIRST", we'll be playing a demo of Marie's song "LIQUOR STORE" as well as Steve's brief (iphone memo) take. We get knee-deep in "constructive (and not-so constructive) criticism" whilst exploring the MAILBAG A legendary "Music Row" songwriter hangout get a makeover and Marie is there to give her review for our LOCAL SCENE REPORT And last (but certainly not least!), our "SUPERFAN" Jimmy Anderson shares his song "HOMETOWN PROUD" with us all. This episode (having been recorded at Marie's home) once again features the aroma of OLE SMOKEY MOONSHINE... and lots of FLYING INSECTS!

BEST SHOW EVER??? (probably not...) We have no particular theme this time around, but we DO have a few surprises up our collective sleeves. In NOTES AND BOLTS: Marie talks about lyrical imagery and how to turn even the most mundane lines into "mental cinema" for your listeners. Steve shares a (former) guilty pleasure in LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE, discussing the career of BREAD singer/songwriter DAVID GATES. Marie gets "trucking mad" in WHAT THE !@#$%? Bread's "DIARY" goes UNDER THE MICROSCOPE In a CSSP EXCLUSIVE "FIRST", we'll be playing a demo of Marie's song "LIQUOR STORE" as well as Steve's brief (iphone memo) take. We get knee-deep in "constructive (and not-so constructive) criticism" whilst exploring the MAILBAG A legendary "Music Row" songwriter hangout get a makeover and Marie is there to give her review for our LOCAL SCENE REPORT And last (but certainly not least!), our "SUPERFAN" Jimmy Anderson shares his song "HOMETOWN PROUD" with us all. This episode (having been recorded at Marie's home) once again features the aroma of OLE SMOKEY MOONSHINE... and lots of FLYING INSECTS! {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE13.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Steve Rempis Steve Rempis Soundcloud Marie Perry Jimmy Anderson

If you listened to EPISODE 3 (and SHAME ON YOU if you didn't), you heard Marie talk about today's guest interviewee; KRIS BERGSNES. Kris' writing credits include: All of That Love from Here- Wynonna Judd A Ring Where a Ring Used to Be- Billy Joe Royal Brand New Me- John Michael Montgomery Somebody Must Be Prayin' for Me- Tim McGraw You Didn't Have A Good Time- Randy Travis Cross Against the Moon- Mindy McCready Borderline Crazy- Neal McCoy/Kevin Fowler/Branan Logan Redneck Side- Justin Moore Fast Enough- Adam Gregory Plain Ol' Pain- Sonny Burgess/ Jason Matthews Everytime I Close My Eyes- Tom Wurth My Precious Waltz/I Hate How Happy She Is- Cadillac Sky Sweet Sun Angel- Matt Stillwell Cold, Burn It Down -Halfway To Hazard What Do You Want from Me- Natalie Howard Cross Against the Moon, That Kind of Love- Nicole Frechette Dallas Days and Fort Worth Nights- Chris LeDoux Man Like Me, Ford Fairlane, Shadows of the Heartland,      Time Well Spent - Bobby Pinson The Honky Tonk Kid - Aaron Watson with Willie Nelson No Mississippi- Andy Griggs Come Back to the Way It Was- Daniel Lee Martin Didn't I - Rachel Proctor The Wings of Mama's Prayers - Jeff Bates Light Of Day, I See Heaven- Emerson Drive Doing Her Right (Where I Done Wrong)- Rich McCready Give Me a Ring Sometime- Lisa Brokop And a whole lot more besides. He isn't finished writing yet either! We had the pleasure of interviewing Kris at the offices of SB21 Publishing (Kris' Publisher) on "Music Row" in Nashville, and what a great time we had!We're sure you're going to enjoy this too." {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE12.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Kris on Twitter SB21 Music Publishing Steve Rempis Marie Perry

If you listened to EPISODE 3 (and SHAME ON YOU if you didn't), you heard Marie talk about today's guest interviewee; KRIS BERGSNES. Kris' writing credits include: All of That Love from Here- Wynonna Judd A Ring Where a Ring Used to Be- Billy Joe Royal Brand New Me- John Michael Montgomery Somebody Must Be Prayin' for Me- Tim McGraw You Didn't Have A Good Time- Randy Travis Cross Against the Moon- Mindy McCready Borderline Crazy- Neal McCoy/Kevin Fowler/Branan Logan Redneck Side- Justin Moore Fast Enough- Adam Gregory Plain Ol' Pain- Sonny Burgess/ Jason Matthews Everytime I Close My Eyes- Tom Wurth My Precious Waltz/I Hate How Happy She Is- Cadillac Sky Sweet Sun Angel- Matt Stillwell Cold, Burn It Down -Halfway To Hazard What Do You Want from Me- Natalie Howard Cross Against the Moon, That Kind of Love- Nicole Frechette Dallas Days and Fort Worth Nights- Chris LeDoux Man Like Me, Ford Fairlane, Shadows of the Heartland, Time Well Spent - Bobby Pinson The Honky Tonk Kid - Aaron Watson with Willie Nelson No Mississippi- Andy Griggs Come Back to the Way It Was- Daniel Lee Martin Didn't I - Rachel Proctor The Wings of Mama's Prayers - Jeff Bates Light Of Day, I See Heaven- Emerson Drive Doing Her Right (Where I Done Wrong)- Rich McCready Give Me a Ring Sometime- Lisa Brokop And a whole lot more besides. He isn't finished writing yet either! We had the pleasure of interviewing Kris at the offices of SB21 Publishing (Kris' Publisher) on "Music Row" in Nashville, and what a great time we had!We're sure you're going to enjoy this too."

In this, our 11th Episode, we'll be giving you some ideas to kick-start your creativity and generate new songs (or at least the "seeds" thereof) more quickly than ever before. In NOTES AND BOLTS, Steve will be talking all about the so-called "IMMERSION SONGWRITING" technique Marie will discuss the life and career of CRAIG WISEMAN in her LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Steve will have you dancing (or at least standing upright and making stupid-looking arm gestures) in the WHAT THE !@#$%? segment Marie waxes poetic about the recent classic "Live Like You're Dyin" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Something "comes over" Steve in STEVE'S PHONE MARIE'S ACADEMIC MOMENT shares valuable in formation on Performing Rights Organizations We'll peer into the MAILBAG and take a quick peek at the LOCAL SCENE And we'll finish up by giving a listen to "SHE AIN'T COOL" a submission by listener JASON RUMLEY This episode may or may not have been recorded under the influence of OLE SMOKEY MOONSHINE (it was!), our new unofficial sponsor {saudioplayer}CSSPEPISODE11.mp3{/saudioplayer} download Related Links: IMMERSION SONGWRITING CRAIG WISEMAN SHE AIN'T COOL by JASON RUMLEY PAT PATINSON JIMBEAU HINSON WRINKLED RECORDS STEVE REMPIS MARIE PERRY OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE

In this, our 11th Episode, we'll be giving you some ideas to kick-start your creativity and generate new songs (or at least the "seeds" thereof) more quickly than ever before. In NOTES AND BOLTS, Steve will be talking all about the so-called "IMMERSION SONGWRITING" technique Marie will discuss the life and career of CRAIG WISEMAN in her LEGENDARY SONGWRITER SALUTE Steve will have you dancing (or at least standing upright and making stupid-looking arm gestures) in the WHAT THE !@#$%? segment Marie waxes poetic about the recent classic "Live Like You're Dyin" in UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Something "comes over" Steve in STEVE'S PHONE MARIE'S ACADEMIC MOMENT shares valuable in formation on Performing Rights Organizations We'll peer into the MAILBAG and take a quick peek at the LOCAL SCENE And we'll finish up by giving a listen to "SHE AIN'T COOL" a submission by listener JASON RUMLEY This episode may or may not have been recorded under the influence of OLE SMOKEY MOONSHINE (it was!), our new unofficial sponsor