A Brief Story About a Song

Keri and I like to try different processes and writing exercises in our attempts at making music. There’s no one way to do it. I used to think that suffering had an element in the creation of good songs. I lived by this for years never realizing that suffering is only one process. There’s creative writing exercises that do not “hurt.” Since I have discovered this, I have wanted to try them all. Suffering for art’s sake is a thing of the past.

One exercise I stumbled upon was about grief. We ended up writing lots of notes about what grief means and how different people might experience it on the inside. I am always anxious to hear what folks have to say about what they’re feeling. I have to imagine it, sometimes. People aren’t always willing to talk about how they feel, especially about loss. That’s where these exercises come in.

Once we had the song written and a demo made, I had a problem. I kept hearing my friend and songwriter in London, Dan Cross, singing the song in my imagination. Once I finally worked up the nerve to ask him, he not only said he’d love to do it, he got his friend to help. Donald Ross Skinner and Dan made this tune, then even got more friends to help make the video. When I saw and heard the video, I was blown away. Could not believe it. Some songwriters talk about a career highlight reel, this video is certainly on mine.

We also were fortunate enough to get to do a song Dan wrote. Keri sings it. It is called “Apart From You.” After all was said and done, we ended up making our own versions of the songs as well. You can hear Keri and me doing “Like a River.” Dan also has a version of “Apart From You.”

Working with artists like Dan and Donald is one of the greatest things about being a songwriter. I appreciate the artist’s perspective. I got Dan’s on this one. He’s one of my favorite artists. Big win.