Songs about a friend named Ben, a rain poncho and fellow classmates were just some of the highlights of the 2011 Songwriters Showcase presented Friday by the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project.
“These songwriters have come in with so many rich stories, voices and willingness to open up their hearts and souls to become the best writers they can be,” said Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Lari White, who worked as a master teacher on the project.
The showcase featured 16 songwriters and singers who came to Northwestern for a week of intensive songwriting workshops taught by a trio of music professionals. Craig Carnelia, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his work, said he was impressed by the way students and teachers influenced each other throughout the week.
“It didn’t just happen with them listening to us,” Carnelia said. “It happened directly and indirectly, such as a theater writer becoming more influenced by pop or vice versa.”
One of the first songs was performed by Matt Siffert, a former music and psychology student from Carnegie-Mellon University. His song “Ben” was about a friend who was student in the project last year.
“(Ben) has been an important mentor for me as a musician since I graduated college,” Siffert said. “I am reminded of Ben everyday this week by my wonderfully supportive peers, so thank you guys.”
The showcase continued with a performance by Alina Smith, a Russian native who recently completed her self-produced debut EP. She said her song “Kiss Me Like You Mean It” was inspired by particular people she met during the project.
“I think I can probably speak for all of us and say that it hasn’t just been about writing songs,” Smith said. “It’s been about opening yourself up to emotion.”
One of the last songs in the showcase was performed by Smith and Morgan Karr, a former Northwestern student. His song, titled “Waterproof (The Duck Song),” was written about an interaction he had with his mother when he was five years old.
“My mom told me it was raining really hard one day, and I had a duck rain poncho,” Karr said. “I looked up at her, dead serious, and was like, ‘Well, it’s a good thing I’m a duck!'”
The show concluded with a performance by 16-year-old Ben Higginbotham, who was allowed to participate in the project despite his young age.
“The participants were chosen blind, so we decided to call (Ben’s parents) and say we’ll give him an invitation to come back when he’s 18,” Carnelia said. “They called back and said they’d sign an agreement that they’d be responsible for him. I made part of the agreement that he be given all the same rights while participating.”
Higginbotham’s song “I Thought You Were Cool” featured him on the piano accompanied by all of his classmates from the week on backup vocals.
“He was up until 2 a.m. writing this song,” Carnelia said. “Ben needed to not be taken care of as if he were a child, and his mom has given him autonomy that was an absolute necessity.”
White said the teacher’s secret mission for the week was to dissuade students from pursuing “this incredibly unlikely, impractical, terrifying and economically questionable practice of songwriting.”
“To their credit, I don’t think there’s a doggone one of them we’ve been able to convince,” White said.
