Songwriters circle brings folk artists together

Folk music remains alive and well as songwriters gather in Pittsburgh to compose and share their… Folk music remains alive and well as songwriters gather in Pittsburgh to compose and share their craft. The Pittsburgh Songwriters Circle is a group of local folk songwriters that meet at least once a month at The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern to share their music and appreciate the art of songwriting. The group of local artists performs for one another and receives critiques and input from other musicians within the circle. The circle is a program of Calliope: the Pittsburgh Folk Music Society, which has promoted local folk music in Pittsburgh for over 30 years. The level of dedication from the members of the Songwriting Circle varies depending on what they can spare and how important the music is. ‘The group tries to provide a home base for songwriters of all stripes and ambitions,’ said songwriter Bruce Hoffman in an e-mail interview with the Pitt News. ‘There are some members who work very hard to break their way into national exposure and/or commercial success,’ said Hoffman . ‘There are others who are perfectly content to play their songs for the birds in the backyard. Most of us are somewhere in between.’ Bobbie Townsend is one member looking for more than the ability to charm a backyard bird. ‘My goal is to continue to write songs,’ she said, ‘improving both my songwriting and recording skills and to continue pursuing publishing deals for TV, film and bands and recording artists.’ The Songwriters Circle also opens its doors to musicians who can’t afford fancy music lessons. ‘Membership is wide open,’ wrote Hoffman. ‘There are no dues or membership cards or initiation rites. If you show up for a meeting, write a song and/or sign up for the mailing list, you’re a member.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Of course, every group has its challenges, as Townsend readily admits and describes. ‘It’s sometimes difficult to find common ground when there are great differences in musical style, musical ability, craft, self-expression, ego and goals among the members,’ wrote Hoffman. ‘Even the critiquing process itself underwent quite an examination recently. But songwriters are a unique lot. It seems that, in the end, the desire to write songs comes out on top, and that’s what keeps the group alive,’ said Townsend. Another challenge is songwriters who are unable to set aside time for music or who want to try their luck in larger fields. Luckily, for every member that eventually leaves, another appears to fill his seat, keeping the group from drying out. The Songwriters Circle also experiences the same difficulty many local bands do when it comes to getting its name into the public’s knowledge. Songwriter Sam Flesher wrote in his e-mail interview, ‘I think the real challenge is to get the community aware of how much really good music is produced locally.’ And Jeff DeSantis couldn’t agree more. ‘Getting heard is tough,’ he wrote. ‘There are a lot of people across the world with this dream. Getting your music noticed is an uphill battle, and it has a lot more to do with luck than talent.’ Unlike other bands and organizations, the Internet is used to a minimum amount in helping the group along. As part of the local organization Calliope, the Songwriters Circle is listed on the large group’s Web site. But Calliope’s Web site hardly mentions most of its programs outside of one sentence, contributing to the lack of the Songwriters Circle’s publication. Flesher was one of the members who went ahead to fully engage the Web. ‘I wrote an article years ago for the Calliope Web page, and for years that article would come up every time someone Googled me,’ he said. ‘There was a time we put a couple of songs up on the Internet.’ Still, the group refuses to let anything quell its songs, and the members continue to allow themselves to find inspirations for their music. DeSantis described his inspiration as coming from, well, ‘all over the place. I tend to think about songs as snapshots that capture frozen moments, sort of like if in the middle of your day, you suddenly hit the pause button and really dug down inside yourself to describe how you or someone else was feeling at that moment.’ Once a songwriter finds inspiration, he has to write the song. Hoffman described the Songwriters Circle’s workshop method to improve his songs. ‘One thing that we do is have a voluntary monthly assignment,’ he said, ‘usually to write a song about a certain topic or in a certain style … Some people do the assignment and some don’t, and those that do have been know to interpret the subject very loosely … but I’ve heard some great songs come out of it.’ What the members do with their various songs depends on the comfort level of the player. Not all of their songs make it to public ears. DeSantis described it as a balance between dreams and reality. ‘I think that inside all of us, we have that dream of getting out there and getting heard by the world,’ he said. ‘Obviously that’s easier said than done.’ ‘[Twenty] years ago, I wanted to be a rock star. Now, I wouldn’t mind selling some songs to someone else who can get them out there to the world.’ As a final thought, he added: ‘I wouldn’t turn down the rock star thing.’