by Mike Errico | Nov 16, 2021 | Music Lyrics and Life, Teaching
ASCAP songwriter Mike Errico is an accomplished recording artist, writer and professor of songwriting. He’s got a brand new book out on November 15, called Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter (Backbeat Books), which every songwriter should read pronto. Here’s an excerpt from it. When you’re done reading, check out Mike’s “What the Brain Likes” playlist, featuring brainy songs from his former songwriting students. Full article: LINK ******** Our audience is the human brain. Apologies to those who feel I’m giving the heart the short end of the stick here, but what can I tell you? Hearts can be transplanted. You know who figured out how to do that? Brains. I’m not a neurologist, but as a songwriter, I’ve done some tinkering and a little market research, and here’s what I’ve noticed: The Brain Likes to Be Right When the brain figures something out, it orders the arm to give a victorious little fist pump. We might emit a Yesss or look for some- one to high-five. These gestures are the brain throwing itself a victory parade because that’s how much it likes to be right. Also at the victory parade: dopamine, a neurotransmitter that opens the doors of the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. The victory parade runs right through those doors, and it’s a pretty kick-ass after-party. Having gotten a taste of delicious dopamine, the brain becomes restless to repeat the process. Why? Maybe it’s curious about the process, maybe it’s hooked on dopamine—and maybe that’s what curiosity is, which is a little depressing. Entrepreneurs identify the cycle (problem/solution/victory parade/search for more problems)...
by Mike Errico | Sep 1, 2021 | Music Lyrics and Life, Press, So Good, Teaching
PRE-ORDER HERE: AMAZON | BOOKSHOP | BARNES & NOBLE | TARGET | BOOKS ARE MAGIC Advance copies going out now (FYI: if you write reviews/ features/ podcasts, please hit us up for a review copy), and here’s what we’re hearing back: “Mike Errico opened my eyes to what songwriting could be. His methods took any fear I had of writing and turned it to fun and joy. He is the perfect guide to finding your voice.”—Blu DeTiger, recording artist “This is a manual for better living through creativity, and vice versa: playful, rigorous, challenging, inviting, weird, practical, mind-expanding, focused, and truly kind. It’s a genuinely loving book that overflows with soul and wisdom from a wonderful teacher and artist. I’m really blown away.”—Paul Giamatti, actor “A page-turning guide for creative problem entrepreneurs in any field, no matter the stage of their journey.”—Jake Schwartz, co-founder, General Assembly “Mike Errico possesses a keen understanding of how to teach something that simply cannot be taught. This is the book we’re all in need of.”—Madison Cunningham, recording artist “Mike Errico changed my life. His unwavering belief and support made it possible for me to take leaps of faith that otherwise felt impossible.”—Hana Elion, Overcoats “Mike Errico can inspire the most timid songwriter and invigorate the most tired. Using curiosity and practicality as tools of equal weight, he challenges readers to create without self-judgment. It was through his class that I started to think of songwriting as a practice.”—Mia Berrin, Pom Pom Squad “What a glorious life raft of a book. Songwriters, artists, anyone working in any creative arena will be inspired and lovingly stripped of their own art-killing excuses.”—Emily Flake, New Yorker cartoonist, author, essayist “Others may...
by Mike Errico | Jul 20, 2021 | live shows, Music, Music Lyrics and Life, Teaching
NOW LIVE ON ALL STREAMING SERVICES Someday (Live) Recorded at the 2019 Mike Errico Holiday Show Rockwood Music Hall, NYC You good? I hope so. Here’s a very special live version of “Someday,” with Gabriella De La Cruz on background vocals and Matt Beck on electric guitar. This song seems to get more relevant every year, and I feel grateful to be able to play it for you. Can I ask a favor? Small favor, not “Could you drive me to the airport?”-level favor. Simply this: Tell a friend about the song. Sounds like not a big deal, but it’s the single greatest thing you can do to bring others on board. Speaking of: READ AN EXCERPT FROM “MUSIC, LYRICS, AND LIFE” Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter Release Date: November 1, 2021 Publisher: Backbeat Books You’ve already pushed pre-sales to #1 on Amazon in both the Songwriting and Music Composition charts. THANK YOU. Another favor? I know, I know. But it’s the same favor: Tell a friend. They can read the excerpt, and pre-order there, or at the links below. (I buy from Books Are Magic, personally, but they all work.) PREORDER LINKS AMAZON | BOOKSHOP | BARNES & NOBLE | TARGET | BOOKS ARE MAGIC ADVANCE PRAISE FOR “MUSIC, LYRICS, AND LIFE”: “Others may have written Bibles on songwriting. This is the Talmud.” — Eric Bazilian, writer, “One of Us” (Joan Osborne); founding member of the Hooters; collaborator, Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, LeeAnn Rimes “Mike Errico changed my life. He has an unwavering belief in his students’ ability to succeed in whatever they set their minds to. This belief...
by Mike Errico | Jul 6, 2021 | Music Lyrics and Life, Press, So Good, Teaching
I’m so grateful to hear back from mentors and heroes on their reactions to the book. Here are the first to get back to me: “Others may have written Bibles on songwriting. This is the Talmud.” — Eric Bazilian, writer, “One of Us” (Joan Osborne); founding member of the Hooters; collaborator, Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, LeeAnn Rimes, Jonatha Brooke “Songwriting is a mystical art, and Mike Errico joins all the dots, helping us visualize the process as well as igniting our passion for the ultimate freedom of creativity.” — Martin Page, cowriter, “We Built This City” (Starship); “King of Wishful Thinking” (Go West); writer, “In the House of Stone and Light”; collaborator, Chaka Khan, Heart, Earth, Wind & Fire, Robbie Williams, Josh Groban “Mike Errico’s book on songwriting (and more) is an inspirational tool and a wonderful reference for artists and musicians involved in a creative effort. Highly recommended.” — Patricia Barber, composer, songwriter; Guggenheim Fellow, Composition; American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019) Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter “The songwriting class you always wish you’d taken, taught by the professor you always wish you’d had.” Coming November 1, 2021 on Backbeat Books PRE-ORDER HERE: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Books Are Magic...
by Mike Errico | Jun 29, 2021 | live shows, Music, Music Lyrics and Life, Teaching
Someday (Live) Recorded at the 2019 Mike Errico Holiday Show Rockwood Music Hall, NYC Release Date for streaming: July 20, 2021 I’ve always loved playing “Someday” live, and this version is special. Former student Gabriella DeLa Cruz sang backgrounds, and I asked guitarist Matt Beck to go noir, “like it’s in a David Lynch film or something.” It was a highlight of a beautiful night, and as we open back up, it’s a reminder of the return of live music. PRESAVE NOW so that you, and the algorithms, know when it’s released. (Or download it on Bandcamp) Mixed and mastered: Jamie Siegel Cover design: Kristen Schleifer Photo: Jeanette Moses ALSO: “THE SONGWRITING CLASS YOU ALWAYS WISH YOU’D TAKEN, TAUGHT BY THE PROFESSOR YOU ALWAYS WISH YOU’D HAD.” Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter Release Date: November 1, 2021 Publisher: Backbeat Books PREORDER: AMAZON | BOOKSHOP | BARNES & NOBLE | TARGET | BOOKS ARE...
by Mike Errico | May 18, 2021 | and Life, Books, Music Lyrics and Life, Teaching
Holy… Last week was the kind of start I could not have imagined. To be bouncing around in this company is unreal. And this came directly from you, because it’s not even out yet. My goal was to create the class I always wish I’d taken (I even teach it at the place I wish offered it), and I’ve tried to capture not just the ideas, but the spirit in the room. I’m humbled, and super-nervous, too. This is a whole new world. There’s more to come, but for now…thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter Release Date: November 1, 2021 Publisher: Backbeat Books PRE-ORDER HERE: Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads | Books Are Magic WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Music, Lyrics, and Life is the songwriting class you always wish you’d taken, taught by the professor you always wish you’d had. It’s a deep dive into the heart of questions asked by songwriters of all levels, from how to begin journaling to when you know that a song is finished. With humor and empathy, acclaimed singer-songwriter Mike Errico unravels both the mystery of songwriting, and the logistics of life as a songwriter. For years, this set of tools, prompts, and ideas has inspired students on campuses including Yale, Wesleyan, Berklee, Oberlin, and NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Alongside his own lessons, Errico interviews the writers, producers, and A&R executives behind today’s biggest hits, and investigates the larger questions of creativity through lively conversations with a wide range of innovative thinkers: astrophysicist Janna Levin explains the importance of repetition, both in choruses and in...
