by Danny M. Cohen of They Won’t Win
My name is Danny M. Cohen, and I’m one half of the Chicago-based gay folk-rock duo They Won’t Win. My “music husband” is Greg Lanier and we wrote and co-produced our debut album over a few years of life’s ups and downs. For me, parts of ‘Lost At Sea’ reflect what it was like to witness a dear friend fall into a dark, frightening place, but, ultimately, our album is about finding your way out.
by Maylin Lei
Credits to ilyaimy.com for providing the cover picture
My EP, When Pigs Fly, is the first body of music I’ve ever released. I purchased my first guitar little over a year and a half ago and only began writing songs after a year of learning to play guitar. However, when I found out how enjoyable it was to write songs, I knew that I was onto something.
I’m a musician. I used to just make and teach music, but lately I have been consumed by climate activism because I love people and nature. I can’t continue living without doing something to prevent it all from disappearing.
E. E. Cummings wrote:
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. That makes it very hard to plan the day.”
This describes pretty much every day of my life now.
by Fair Heart
What parts of yourself do you hide away? Out of guilt, fear, uncertainty, or anything else, there are always tiny dreams and memories we hide from others. Yet, these secrets show us who we are if we dare bring them to light. Through music I created and discovered things hidden in me. I’ve been working on finding the courage to accept those things and make them real again. This has inspired my songwriting work so far.
by Didi Fever
In the wake of trauma, and especially abuse, there is often a bottoming out of the self: it can feel like everything you were has been hollowed out and replaced by this terrible event. When I started to heal, I began writing songs.
We are sisters, we write songs, we tell stories.
……We offered our first album on Bandcamp for free – (fans could pay if they wanted.) Someone paid 50 cents for one of our songs and we couldn’t believe it.
That was all the encouragement we needed……
by River Westin
It took a while to figure out what about music effects me the way it does. I knew melody was the first thing that hooked me into a great song and has always been my starting point when writing, but one day it just hit me.
by _Mike Birch
When asked what type of music he produces, Mike Birch tells people “electric acoustic folk rock” – a span of styles as broad as his music. From simple folky acoustic guitar songs to all-out rock and roll and piano ballads, there is something for almost every music lover.
by Guavo
Guavo originally formed as a group project at Massey University’s: Bachelor of Commercial Music. They were tasked with writing, producing, and releasing two tracks. Together they wrote ‘Run Rosie’ and ‘Gate 23’, which are now available as singles on their Bandcamp page. Guavo intend to continue working on their folk-pop sound over the coming months.
At first, it was all about expanding my limits. Likewise many artists, I had always seen them as a barrier, before understanding, they were my best friend.