“I don’t know,” Brindley says.
“Wasn’t it something that Daniel [Brindley] came up with?” Hines ponders.
“I think it was something I was talking about with Daniel,” Fiacco says. “I always thought this area had some really talented rock and roll songwriters … and I suppose selfishly I just wanted an outlet to play my stuff.”
Hines continues the joke, mimicking Fiacco’s inspirational moment. “Yeah, we can have me and … and … I dunno, three other guys do it.”
The humor is not uncommon to the monthly rock and roll songwriters circles. The levity adds another level of entertainment to the session that allows Hines (of Shane Hines & the Trance), Brindley (Brindley Brothers), Fiacco (The Blackjacks) and Todd Wright (The Getaway Car) to give fans and fellow musicians some insight into their writing processes. The four sit on stage with acoustic guitars, explaining and then performing their works in a process akin to VH1’s “Storytellers.” Thus far, the formula has been a successful one for both the fans, whom Hines describes as “very in tune with everything,” as well as the performers.
“[What I get out of it is] a really fun night of music,” says Hines, who recently won the Texas Songwriters Cruise contest with tune “Joy Said.” “It’s something different. You get so caught up in doing your own shows that it’s nice to be up there with three guys you don’t tour with. And I really am a fan of everyone I’m playing with.”
“I just like the informality of it,” Brindley adds. “If you’re leading a band, you feel pressure to put on a good show. This is really about music at its most elemental form.”
“It’s cool to present songs without a band — it makes you think about the potential in the songwriters circle,” Fiacco says. “It takes you back to the original concept, which sometimes requires more subtlety, which is sometimes more challenging.”
Over the course of the next hour, Hines, Brindley and Fiacco, toss out names of artists they’d love to see participate in a songwriters circle (Bruce Springsteen, Robby Robertson), and those that have recently broken through the static to infatuate them (The Shins, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie / The Postal Service, Joe Purdy, The Mars Volta, Wolfmother), but they also pause to answer some more philosophical queries, such as, what makes a good song?
“The songs that I write that I feel are the best are the ones I communicate whatever I’m intending to,” Hines says. “Good tunes name something and put words to something that you’re feeling.”
Brindley echoes those sentiments, stating “The best songs are those that make you feel something and it could be anything. Like, what are they called, Chakras … Michael Hedges was talking about how different songs affect you in different places. It could affect your brain, your heart … ”
“Your balls,” Fiacco chimes in.
So are these songwriters finding those elements today, in a music world that has exposed thousands of previously unheralded songsmiths with the advent of iTunes and MySpace.com?
“I think it’s all about the ratio,” Fiacco says. “If you go back to any era there’s all kinds of different stuff. Now it’s just magnified and we’re exposed to the whole gamut. I’m not sure if the songwriting today is worse or better. It seems that there’s not as much thoughtfulness in lyrics, not as many intricate rhythms. Subtlety isn’t quite as highly regarded.”
“For me, I don’t go searching for new music, I get it from word of mouth,” Hines says. “I just get someone whose opinion I trust.”
“I still haven’t gotten over most of the music that’s already been made,” Fiacco quips. “I’m still tripping on the [Rolling] Stones.”
Those who are interested in finding some new songwriters and learning their intricacies can stop by for the songwriters circle this Sunday night at 8 p.m.