Before Your Very Ears

Jul 23 2024 9 ep. 52 mins 35
Before Your Very Ears Podcast artwork

Join Sean Watkins and Pete Harper as they meet up with their favorite songwriters, set up some mics, and write a song. There's only one rule: They need to finish a song.

  Music  Education
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Take This Hammer: Writing a Song With Ed Helms

Jul 23 2024 54 mins  
You probably know Ed Helms from his unforgettable turns in The Hangover movies, The Office, and a laundry list of era-defining comedies, but what you might not know is that he shreds bluegrass music, too. (Actually, if you’ve seen The Office, you’ll know about his impressive musicianship.) Helms has played in bluegrass bands since his college days, so he kno

Nick Thune Writes a Different Kind of Love Song

Jul 09 2024 60 mins  
This time on Before Your Very Ears, hosts Sean Watkins and Peter Harper give love a chance. Helping them learn the ways of love is Nick Thune, comedian and musician, who spearheads the songwriting session—but not before sharing some of the best bird-related jokes you’ll ever hear.The trio settles on a Steve Jobs-ish strategy of starting with the finished product, and worki

From Song to Cinema: How Cary Brothers Writes With His Eyes and Ears

Jun 24 2024 53 mins  
Ever wondered how songwriters capture scenery and stories so vivid that they seem to jump out of the song and into real life? Cary Brothers can offer some insight. In addition to releasing three full-length solo albums, the Los Angeles-based musician’s songs have been featured in dozens of film and TV productions, including Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Scrubs, One Tr

Garrison Starr on Taking Back Your Narrative

Jun 10 2024 65 mins  
Mississippi-born, Los Angeles-based musician and songwriter Garrison Starr has been recording and releasing music since the early ’90s. The veteran rocker is an expert on creative expression—but also on navigating the “ballsack of an industry” that is the professional music world.That includes the alienating experience of having to engage in a narrative—whether in song or

Dan Wilson

May 27 2024 41 mins  
If you’ve been in any bar past last call, you’ve heard Dan Wilson’s work. “Closing Time” launched his band Semisonic into the international pop-culture stratosphere in 1998, and since then, he’s become an A-list cowriter with some of music’s biggest names—including, perhaps, the biggest: Taylor Swift. The 62-year-old Minnesota native cowrote the Chicks’ Grammy-win

Nebraska, Bacharach, and Adam Sandler: How Milk Carton Kids Write a Song

May 14 2024 74 mins  
Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, the songwriters and musicians behind indie-folk favorites Milk Carton Kids, don’t cut corners when it comes to songwriting. Everything gets held under the microscope; everything is subject to change. There’s no ego in the room, just pure service of the song.Ryan and Pattengale join hosts Sean Watkins and Peter Harper to talk influences—what g

Madison Cunningham

Apr 29 2024 65 mins  
On the second episode of Before Your Very Ears, west coast folk musician and songwriting powerhouse Madison Cunningham engages in some anger management.Along with hosts Sean Watkins and Peter Harper, Cunningham, whose 2022 record Revealer won the Grammy for Best Folk Album, digs into the nature of artistry and truth-telling: What are the social and professional costs

Theo Katzman

Apr 15 2024 58 mins  
While plenty of songwriters are happy to give a post-mortem review of how they write a song, the actual process happens behind closed doors. What goes through their heads while they decide on a specific word choice? Who hasn’t wished to be a fly on the wall while professional musicians hack together the pieces that make our favorite songs?That’s the experience of Before Yo

Before Your Very Ears

Apr 03 2024 2 mins  
There's only one rule: Finish the song. Join Sean Watkins and Pete Harper as they meet up with their favorite songwriters, set up some mics, and write a song—in real time. Head over to our Patreon at http://patreon.com/beforeyourveryears for TONS of bonus content, early access to episodes, and much more.