The Joys Of Songwriting, Dating & Axe-Throwing: Hanging Out With Melody Federer

Melody Federer is a songwriter who has a star-studded track record of working with awesome artists to reach the world with hits, like her recent team up with Burt Bacharach on "Bridges". She's also performed her own work from time to time in recent years, but taken a bigger plunge into solo work coinciding with this pandemic period, releasing singles "This Town" and "The Wonder Years". Federer's biggest live shows have actually been drive-in concerts that she played over this summer in New Jersey and Chicago, which also introduced her to the joys of axe-throwing. Watch out, she's discovered she's got a calling in that field! If you follow Federer on social media, you know that she likes to post snippets of songs and hints of lyrics with evocative photos, bringing the outside world into her creative process. But she also has a lot more to say about her reactions to inspiration and how songwriting for herself differs from songwriting with specific musicians in mind in this interview below with Tower's PULSE! Hannah Means-Shannon: I’ve been kind of going down the rabbit hole and reading music biographies during the pandemic. Melody Federer: Have you read Jimi Hendrix’s book? They put together one of his journal entries. HMS: I have not! I just got given a new Hendrix biography by Philip Norman. MF: Hendrix is so deep and poetic. I don’t know why I didn’t expect that. HMS: Did that speak to you because the way his journal entries read sounded like his lyrics? Did it sound like him? MF: It sounded so different. He seemed much more introverted, shy, and thoughtful. You always think of him as being high on acid and tripping out spontaneously, but he actually seemed way more thoughtful. He seemed like he really did formulate a plan about how he could stand out during his time. And he smoked a lot of cigarettes because of anxiety. HMS: That is totally understandable. MF: Yes, I just did that today! Then I hated myself for it. HMS: Oh, don’t do that. Especially right now. I used to smoke a lot, really a lot, so I understand. Over the past few months, I keep thinking about smoking, so I know I’m stressed out. MF: Yes, I’m so fucking stressed out, and I don’t even know why. But I only have one cigarette, so it’s not that bad. HMS: I’m so jealous. You do that. Anything to de-stress. MF: I’ve also been watching The Bachelorette, that just started. I don’t know if you’re a fan. HMS: I haven’t been able to watch any reality TV since everything with the pandemic kicked off. I can’t watch anything that feels too real right now. I need other times, other places, period settings, other centuries. MF: What, like Downtown Abbey? HMS: Yes, but anything British, even if it’s modern. Detective stuff. MF: I feel like Netflix is keeping us all alive. All these things we were so hard on before now get a pass, like kids watching TV or day drinking. It’s “Give ourselves a break.” HMS: I meant to ask, what it was like getting out to New Jersey and Chicago for your drive-in shows, and also, what was the sound set-up like? MF: It was different for me, because it was the biggest show I’ve ever gotten to play. I feel like this whole pandemic, my career has somehow been born in the midst of it. I’ve played shows, and a couple of festivals in Europe years ago, but they were little Jazz festivals. So this was pretty epic for me. HMS: I saw some pictures and it did look pretty epic in New Jersey. There were giant screens, sunsets, an end of summer feel. MF: That one in New Jersey was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. My manager and agent and I were able to get out and do something that not many people are able to do right now. We had to get Covid tests. I was so nervous about the test, since if you don’t pass, you can’t play. When I went in, the whole band had been tested and looked kind of freaked out. Then, I was the last one. My agent always jokes that the power of my mind is a little too much, since things will break if I’m too nervous. So then they did the really uncomfortable test, and they stuck it up my nose, and I’m waiting 15 minutes. There was one minute left, then the machine broke. So we had to do it again. But I passed, and I was ecstatic. Then, at the sound check, I tried to use this pedal for the first time, and broke the whole generator! HMS: What?? MF: Yes, so then I couldn’t use the pedal. It was just me and the guitar, and nothing else. But there were people sitting on top of the cars, and I got to connect with them in that way. I made up a little song for the cars to get them to honk. I like to make up little songs on the fly, it’s kind of my thing. I do something on Instagram called “A Thousand Songs For a Thousand Strangers”. I make up songs about strangers that I meet. So I just kind of did that with the car lot, making up songs about the cars, and getting them to honk. It was fun. HMS: So you could see islands of people on the tops of the cars? Or were they mostly in the cars? MF: They were mostly on top. HMS: Did you have an earpiece or could you hear yourself playing? MF: I didn’t have an earpiece. I did have a monitor. They did have speakers set up, about mid-way through the parking lot. Then, they could also tune in through their radios in the car, so that was cool. HMS: Nice! MF: Andrew [McMahon] was so nice to me, and I was so nervous to meet him. We actually went axe-throwing the night before, in New Jersey. HMS: I’ve heard about this! I have so many questions. Okay, how do you keep the axe from going out to the side and injuring yourself or others when you throw? MF: You don’t really! There was a lady giving us instructions, and ironically, she told me that she used to be a pageant girl. I gotta say, I kind of got the hang of it pretty fast and kept getting the bull’s eye. HMS: You have some inner axe-throwing mojo going on. MF: Some pent-up warrior-princess ancestry or something. HMS: You should know that there are axe-throwing places in the Pacific Northwest, where you are. You could always get some practice in. I lived in Portland for a while. MF: Yes, I live in Washington now. I never expected to end up here, but I love it. Is it just me or does coffee taste better in Portland? I feel like their mochas are just out of this world. HMS: I think both the coffee and the donuts are off the charts in Portland. MF: Voodoo Donuts! Blue Star! HMS: Blue Star is unbelievable, too. I loved the weird herbal flavors they mix into sugary things. But mainly the dough is so flaky. Of course, I had the bacon and maple ones, too. MF: I love the double bubble, bubble gum donut at Voodoo Donuts. It literally tastes like you’re eating bubble gum but it’s a donut. One day I drove all the way to Portland to get Voodoo donuts and then drove back. It was worth it. HMS: It’s always worth it. One time I drove all the way out through the Columbia River Gorge for two hours to get to this one donut place near Mount Hood. There was this one little place that was like a gas station, but the donuts were so good. It was a beautiful drive. MF: Isn’t the Columbia River cool? It is so very wild looking. It makes you feel very small and intimidated. And there are no gates or fences to keep you from falling into the Gorge. HMS: It’s like the Grand Canyon, but more water. You mentioned testing out songs on people. I noticed that on Instagram you have been putting up little video clips of playing songs. Are those little seeds of songs that you share, or is that just an exercise? MF: I haven’t been doing the “Songs for Strangers” lately, with Covid, because I just chicken out. But those are usually a way for me to get out of my shell a little and connect with strangers. It could be anybody. It could be the ladies at the park walking or an awkward couple on their first date who I just make more uncomfortable. [Laughs] But the ones where I’m alone in my room are where I just pick up my guitar, and I feel that creative rush pulsing through me, and I just want to get something out. Sometimes, something great will come out, stream of consciousness style. And if there’s a really large reaction, I’ll think, “Maybe I should work on these.” Often, I’ve noticed, though, that if I let a little glimpse out, I won’t finish it. I’m kind of superstitious about talking about a song until it’s totally done. Sometimes the videos are just a way of engaging with fans or catching a feeling. I went through a breakup, then I went on a rebound, then I wrote a little song. And I pissed both the guys off at once! HMS: That’s impressive. MF: Yes, the guy I thought I’d broken up with was really offended that I went on a date and kissed someone in the parking lot. Then, the guy I had gone on the date with was really offended that I was texting another guy from the bathroom, so I pretty much just screwed it all up in one Instagram song! [Laughs] HMS: That deserves some kind of recognition. MF: I archived it. HMS: And yet you still keep doing these posts, and it didn’t put you off. MF: Yes, because at the end of the day, I have to remember that I’m a creative, and I’m an artist, and I have to do what I feel even if it’s going to annoy some guys. I can get so wrapped up thinking, “This person is everything in my life!” But at the end of the day, guys come and go, and what stays is my songwriting. It’s my craft, and I’m supporting myself. So screw them. I’m going to post whatever, you know? HMS: Yes, I do know. Thank you for saying that. I think that was very well said. I know that it can come off a little harsh depending on someone’s mindset, but I personally think that is a good thing for people to hear, generally, and especially for women to hear. So, thanks. MF: I’m sure I’ll get some flak for saying that as well! But, whatever. HMS: Well, I’m endorsing you, so they can come after me, too. MF: [Laughs] One thing the guy did say on the date, the guy who will probably never talk to me again, that was really cool is that sometimes his little niece can be very stubborn. He said he liked stubbornness in girls. Often with little girls, they get called bratty or stubborn or obnoxious, but in a way, good for them. You’ve got to be a little stubborn. HMS: This reminds me of the quote that I’ve seen a lot recently, “Never pick a fight with a woman older than 40. They are full of rage and sick of dealing with your shit.” MF: I like it! I’m not over 40 yet, but I can totally see that by 40, I’m going to be so done. HMS: My question is, “Why does it take being over 40 to get there?” And then I realize, “Oh, it’s because girls and young women are taught to be pleasing and accommodating.” Only when they hit a certain maturity do they realize that they can drop that. You see that in very young girls, even, who are intuitive and can pick up on expectations, that they are expected to be charming and pleasing. MF: You’re so right. And to be this little girl your whole life, almost. My Dad is very peaceful, and my Mom is very strong and dominant, and my Dad adores her. So I grew up thinking that all women run the show. But I’ve come to realize, in relationships, that guys don’t always like you to speak your mind. I feel like I do the charming thing when I’m dating, but once someone is in love with me, the dominant, strong woman that was there all along comes out. Some can handle it, some can’t. It’s tricky. HMS: It’s hard to negotiate that. Part of that is social expectations. I grew up in a matriarchal family, too, and I’m really glad that I did. But I do realize now how lucky I was, since that’s not the norm. When you write a song, do you know when you’re writing it that it’s going to be for you, or it’s going to be for other people to perform? Or is it all the same for you, and then later you determine that? MF: Usually when I’m writing for others, it starts off that I’m writing for others, and then I write with them in mind. When songs are for me, it’s like trying to catch a tiger by the tail. I’ll have this feeling. I’ll get an idea. I’ll be spurred by some emotions I’m feeling, based on an event that just happened. I’ll feel it coming and then I have to grab my guitar, turn on my voice memo, and catch it. Often it’ll be from start to finish when it’s like that. It just comes. I guess it’s more like a subconscious thing. Probably the closest thing to the divine that I’ve experienced in my life is creative inspiration. I don’t know when it comes, I don’t know when it’s going to happen. I don’t know when it’s going to be good. But when I feel it, I try to catch it. HMS: That’s so cool. Does that ever happen at times that are not convenient? MF: Yes! This morning, I was driving my four-year-old to Pre-K. I write with Burt Bacharach and he was saying that he would love to write a song about the way the world is right now. I had this idea come into my head, but she had my phone, and there was music playing, so I kept having to repeat the words in my head over and over so I wouldn’t forget them. But I hadn’t had my coffee yet, and she said something, and I missed a turn. And suddenly they were gone. HMS: Oh no. MF: I was so grumpy about it. Those lyrics were gone. That rarely happens to me. I’m used to having my songs. I thought to myself, “They probably weren’t good enough, then.” And I started from scratch. View this post on Instagram Two Week Notice. #newsongidea #twoweeknotice A post shared by Melody Federer (@melodyfederer) on Jul 19, 2020 at 12:45pm PDT HMS: You might find that the mood of the original sticks with you or comes back later. It’s like how hard it is to remember dreams. You just have this sense of what they were. MF: Dreams are so weird! I dreamt I was a school teacher last night and my classroom was full of really unruly boys, and I was having to reprimand them. [Laughs] HMS: This is your dating life, clearly. If you know that you’re writing for someone, what do you do to prepare for that? Do you look around at a bunch of their music, do you go online and research them? Or do you want to sit down with them as people first? MF: Oh, all of that. Of course, the dream is to be in the room with them, but that’s very difficult. Starting off as a songwriter, it’s so competitive. You’re just trying to get that first bite from anyone established who likes your song. At the beginning of my first publishing deal, at my first session, we had a brief for Kelly Clarkson. But she gets inundated with songs, but the truth is that she is probably going to go for someone she already knows, who is in her circle, who writes hits. But it was funny, because I was in Nashville once, and I walked into this café, and I saw this woman, and said, “Wow, you look a lot like Kelly Clarkson!” And she said, “I am Kelly Clarkson!” She said that she liked my dress, and of course, being the hustler that I am, I said, “I’ve written some songs that I think you’d be amazing on.” HMS: Wow, that was so brave! MF: She was nice, but I could tell I was not supposed to do that. I was so young and hungry that I did it. HMS: You definitely get points for trying.

The Joys Of Songwriting, Dating & Axe-Throwing: Hanging Out With Melody Federer

Leave a comment

OUR POLICIES

Get in touch