One Bad Day - The Creative Diary of Icelandic Singer-Songwriter Eyvindur Karlsson

Being depressed does NOT make you a better artist. In this episode I share my story and give you my advice to be happy and also a productive and creative songwriter or artist. Do artists need to suffer to be creative? Is depression making you a better songwriter or artist in general? Spoiler alert: It’s not. In this episode I get a little serious and a little personal, and talk about my struggles with depression and anxiety, and how dangerous and damaging the myth of the suffering artist can be. I give you my advice on how to be happy AND creative. If you are struggling with mental issues, please know that you’re not alone. Seek help, and get better. You’re worth it. If you like this episode, please consider subscribing, sharing, reviewing and all that good stuff. I really appreciate you. Folk on, my friends. And be happy. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

Random chords and random words can help you if you’re stuck for ideas in your songwriting. Sometimes when you’re stuck for ideas in your songwriting, a bit of randomness can spark real magic. In this weeks nugget of inspiration, I suggest using random generators to get you going when you’re trying to write music but can’t come up with anything. Click here for the ChordChord random chord genenerator. Click here for the Watchout 4 Snakes random word generator. I hope you find this stuff useful. If you like the podcast, please subscribe and leave a comment. I’ll be very happy. And of course you can help me out by using the Amazon links on this page when you go Amazon shopping, which gives me a small commission. Folk on, my friends! (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

Svavar Knútur is one of my best friends and one of my favorite songwriters. In this episodes we chat about some common pitfalls you should avoid as a songwriter. Don’t make the songwriting process any harder than it has to be. I’m joined by my great friend and fantastic singer-songwriter Svavar Knútur to discuss some common mistakes that songwriters make. If you make sure to avoid these pitfalls, you will make your life as a songwriter much easier. Make sure you click here to check out Svavar Knútur. If you enjoy the podcast, I would of course be extremely thankful if you subscribe, wherever you like to listen to podcasts, and if you leave a review and share this with your friends, that would mean the world. If you want to throw some further support my way, consider using the links below when you need books or stuff, and I will be extremely happy. Folk on, my friends. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

Force yourself outside the box by using a songwriting prompt you hate This is the first in a series of small nuggets of inspiration that I plan on posting once per week. These will not replace the long form version of the podcast, but rather be a second, shorter episode each week, talking about a single little thing you can use to spark your creativity when writing music. This week, when working on my songwriting challenge, I forced myself to write a song based on a line that I didn’t really like at all. It took me out of my comfort zone and I really had to give a good thought as to what I could do with the line, but I got it done. So this week I recommend you try using something you don’t think will work when you sit down to write. It can be anything – a line of text that’s not really that great, a guitar riff you had previously written off as not working, a line of melody or beat or sample that you would normally never use, or whatever. Just sit down and force yourself to write around whatever it is. You’ll have to think outside the box, and it might spark something you never would have thought of. I know it did in my case, as I discuss in the episode. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you’ll subscribe and leave a review, and as always, I’d love to hear from you. And of course, you can support the podcast by visiting the Amazon links on this page, and I greatly appreciate your support. Folk on. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

John Oszajca is a veteran Americana singer songwriter who has been around the block, and really knows his stuff. I was honored to have him on the show to discuss the use of imagery in music. Imagery is one of the keys to really make your lyrics spark. It’s an elusive topic, but an important one, so I got a very special guest to help me digest it a little bit. My guest on this episode of the podcast is singer-songwriter John Oszajca, a fantastic Americana artist who writes great lyrics with great imagery, and we sat down for a little chat about imagery (and a lot of other fun stuff). We had a great talk and I’m sure you’ll love it. And hopefully it’ll give you a few new things to think about when it comes to songwriting. EDIT – There was a problem with the audio file for this episode, so John couldn’t be heard! I’ve fixed it and re-uploaded it. If you had already downloaded the broken version, please fetch it again. Click here to find out more about John and check out some of his music. As always, you can support this podcast by sharing it, subscribing on whatever platform you use for podcasts and of course by leaving a review. And of course I would love to hear from you in the comments or via email, so don’t be a stranger. Also, there are of course the Amazon links below, which support this podcast a bit financially, so if you like what you hear, I would be very happy if you keep me in mind the next time you go Amazon shopping. See you next time. Folk on. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

The new year is almost here! And I want us all to become better songwriters in 2019, so I’m issuing 5 challenges for myself and you guys. You can do some or all of these, and I am absolutely certain it will make you a better songwriter. I know it will make me better. If you like the episode, please consider subscribing to the podcast. It helps me a lot. Thank you guys for following me and my stuff in 2018. I can’t wait to make 2019 my best year ever, and have you along for the ride. Here are my favorites from 2018: * Best TV show: The Haunting of Hill House* Best movie: Bohemian Rhapsody* Best book (of 2017): A Book of American Martyrs* Best albums:* A Bottle Full of Dreams (well – it was the biggest deal for me)* God’s Favorite Customer (Father John Misty)* The Deconstruction (Eels)* Favorite live show: Iron and Wine in Reykjavík If you want to support me and this podcast, you can use my Amazon links to sign up for free trials, or the next time you plan on doing some Amazon shopping. It won’t cost you any extra, but I get a little cut, and your support means the world to me. See you next time! Folk on. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

How to Record a Demo – Podcast Episode #3 One of the key skills you’ll need as a songwriter is to know how to record a demo. I have a very methodical way of making demos for my songs, and in this episode I will share that method with you.  Making music has never been easier. You can get a decent microphone, audio interface and all that stuff very cheap, and you can even get great recording software for free. Now, I use Reason to record all my music, and I highly recommend that, even though it’s not free. It’s just my favorite one. But there are great free ones as well. In fact, this podcast is recorded on Reason. And on that note, please enjoy this episode, and I certainly hope you subscribe and leave a FANTASTIC review, because that’s how these things grow! As usual, you can support this podcast through the offers below. I hope you enjoy this episode. I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Folk on! (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

Have you struggled with writing lyrics to your songs? Do you get stuck or feel like you tend to repeat yourself? Well, I have some tips for you. Lyrics are my bread and butter. I’m a very lyric-centric guy, and these are my top tips for improving your lyrics and writing faster and better. I connect it all to one of my songs and play that for you at the end of the episode. I hope you enjoy the episode. If you do, hey, why not subscribe? Reviews also go a long way to get the word out there. If you want to support this podcast, you can do so through any of the links below. I get a commission if you use any of these offers, or shop through Amazon, and it helps me create more of these. It won’t cost you any extra, but it helps me out a lot. I really appreciate you.  (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));

So, I decided to try something different! I’m starting a podcast about songwriting. This is the first episode! In this episode I go over six little tricks that I use when I feel I’m in a songwriting rut. I use these tricks to make sure my songs always feel fresh and new, and I don’t get bored. I go over these tips and link them to one of my own songs. I also discuss some books and TV shows I’ve been enjoying lately: The Fireman: A Novel Strange Weather: Four Short Novels Mr. Mercedes – Season 01 Mr. Mercedes: A Novel (The Bill Hodges Trilogy) I hope you like my first podcast episode. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. If you enjoy the podcast and find it useful it would mean the world to me if you subscribe and leave a review. It helps the podcast reach more people and is super helpful. I really appreciate you! (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/46/221836446.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-utvx04o0o"));