by Cari Cole As an artist who wrote most of my own songs during my solo career, co-writing always seemed like a cop out. I was a child of the days of the great solo songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen. I was more than hesitant to … Continue
by Cari Cole Music reflects life. And at certain times in our world’s history, music comes to the fore expressing opinions and bringing to light important social topics as we move through them. As social movements for peace and justice rise up, once again, music is bringing the messages of the people to the fore. … Continue
by Cari Cole One of the most successful albums of our time sold 30 million worldwide, and did so without touring. That album hit us square in the solar plexus and resonated like a divining rod straight into our hearts. It spoke so intimately, as if the writer/s knew us personally. Some say it’s her … Continue
by Cari Cole To follow up on a recent well received blog last week: The Worst Music Advice I Was Ever Given, this week I thought it fun to contrast that with The Best Music Advice I Was Ever Given. A few days ago I spoke to a fledgling artist trying to make it, like … Continue
by Cari Cole As a songwriter, musician or artist, it’s often difficult to know which songs to present. Should you show your best song first even if that means the more artistic deeper song that might not show commerciality or the uptempo commercial song that might not showcase your deeper artistry as a writer? … Continue
by Cari Cole I cut my teeth in this business first by being a musician and artist, and second by being one of the top vocal coaches in the world for almost 3 decades now in New York City. There’s one thing I know for sure. You can market ‘til you are blue in the face – … Continue
by Cari Cole The relationship between you, the artist, and your music is not necessarily an easy one. Just because you can write your own songs doesn’t mean you love how they turn out. Sounds weird huh? But it’s true. It takes a while of writing songs before they start coming out … Continue
Writing fresh, original lyrics is a challenge for every songwriter. You must say something very specific to be universal, but sometimes all the words coming out just sound like things you’ve heard before. And even more, an artist needs a signature song to cut through and stand out above the noise. What’s a signature song? … Continue
Tom Waits, Nas, Martina McBride, McCoy Tyner, Jeff Beck, Bernie Taupin, Janelle Monae, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, And Many More Join ISC’s Judging Panel The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has again assembled a diverse panel of judges that consists of some of the most iconic artists in the world coupled with influential music … Continue
by Cari Cole What happened to the days when a song burned through you like a fire so deep you couldn’t sleep? It isn’t often that’s for sure. And then came Adele… and Someone Like You. Blew us all away. This kind of songwriting is what I live for. Thanks to Adele for baring … Continue
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