THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITER QUESTIONNAIRE: Kevin Welch

Kevin Welch is the legendary Americana singer-songwriter whose work has spanned decades and been covered by Waylon Jennings, Linda Ronstadt, Garth Brooks, Patty Loveless, Solomon Burke and more recently Chris Stapleton, all legends in their own right who hardly needed to go beyond their own catalogue for material.

But Welch's songs, right from his first albums in the early Nineties, have drawn admirers. His recordings with Kieran Kane were highpoints in Americana country-folk and comparisons with Bob Dylan and Randy Newman have never been contested: Welch is a storyteller and observer who crafts a lyric like few others.

He made his name in Nashville as a writer and regular performer in the Eighties, co-founded the Dead Reckoning label in the early Nineties, teamed up with the Australian band the Flood in the 2000s and these days – at 68 – lives in southern New South Wales.

He is coming to New Zealand for a short tour in March (see dates below) and he made time to answer some questions . . .

The first song which made you think, 'Now that's a well crafted piece of work' was . . .

Funny, I was just writing to my grandson to answer the question, was there a song from my youth that made such an impression that I can still remember hearing for the first time.  Actually, there are several, but the one I was telling him about was seeing Buffalo Springfield on the Smothers Brothers show doing For What It’s Worth.  I looked it up, it was 1967, I was 12.  The lyric, the music, the groove, the guitar harmonic with a little tremolo.  Tore me up.  At that stage I was more interested in guitars than the songs themselves, but that one got my attention.  It was probably the first thing I had heard that I wished I had written.

Complete this sentence: The first song I wrote was . . .

for my high school girlfriend.  It was called Peaches, because that’s what her dad called her.  It actually wasn’t too bad, but I was such a terrible singer that it was still hard to listen to.

The one songwriter you will always listen to, even if they disappointed you previously, is?

I will always listen to Randy Newman. There are others, but if I only had one choice, it’s Randy Newman. 

As songwriters: Lennon-McCartney or Jagger-Richards; Dolly Parton or Joan Baez; Johnny Cash or Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams or Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt or Tom Russell?

This question specifies As songwriters;  Lennon-McCartney, Dolly, Kris, Lucinda/Emmy, Townes.  Lucinda and Emmy are tied, because Lu has written a ton of great songs, and Emmy only a few, but when she writes, she’s great.  Boulder to Birmingham for instance.

Melody first? Words or phrase first? Simultaneous?

Sometimes a phrase will sing itself in my head, usually with a few words attached.

Once I have that little piece I’ll set the melody aside and concentrate on the words, and the structure, the patterns, the rhythm and the rhyme scheme.  It has been to my detriment I’m sure, but I’m usually only interested in the melody as a way to put wheels under the words.

One line (or couplet) from a song -- yours or someone else's -- which you think is just a stone cold winner is . . .

One good couplet: Well, there a billion.  But one I heard recently that knocked me on my ass was from a Heath Cullen song called The Prettiest Horses: The line says, you can take her faith, hold it up to the light, it’s empty as a church on Saturday night.

Songwriting: what's the ratio of inspiration/perspiration?

Depends on the deadline

Ever had a song come to you fully-formed like it dropped into your lap?

I have had the rare pleasure of having a song simply show up, and impatiently wait while I copied it down as fast as I could.  I wish it would happen more often.  Townes got a lot of songs that way, the rascal.

And finally, finish this couplet in any way you like: “Standing at the airport with an empty suitcase at my feet . . .” (You are NOT allowed to rhyme that with “meet” however!)

'Standing at the airport, empty suitcase at my feet.  /. Waiting for a stranger by the stairs /  We’ll trade our bags real quiet, casual and discrete / And I’ll be our cities newest millionaire’

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