- How would you describe your writing style
- Where do you draw your inspiration from
- What is the typical writing session like for dean dillon
- Do you ever write with a particular artist in mind?
- What is your take on the art vs. commerce debate; how can a songwriter feed both sides?
- Who is your all time favorite songwriter, and how has his or her writing infulenced your own writing?
- Out of all the songs you've had cut, what is the one song that best sums up who you are as a songwriter?
- What advice would you give to someone who wants to make songwriting a career
- What are some of the biggest mistakes new songwriters make?
- How would you define success?
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How would you describe your writing styleGrowing up i was huge fan of merle haggard and james taylor...taylor for his beautiful melodies and hag for his awesome story songs...so as one might guess, it's a cross between those two...
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Where do you draw your inspiration fromLife...alot of my early songs came from listening to peoples stories...the old adage, people say the darndest things, is very true...i've come across some great "hooks" during conversation...
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What is the typical writing session like for dean dillonI like to write in the mornings so typically i head to Sony about 10 and from then untill 2 in the afternoon it's a brainstorming session with whoever shows up for the day...
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Do you ever write with a particular artist in mind?yes and no...no, in the sense that when i'm writing with another writer we usually just write the song with noone in particular in mind...yes in the sense that when i'm writing with an artist i like to pick their brain and find out what they as an artist want to say...it's much more enjoyable for them and me when we know that answer...
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What is your take on the art vs. commerce debate; how can a songwriter feed both sides?This is a very tough question for me...i think you've got to find a happy medium...It is the music BUSINESS afterall...it's not like it's impossible to write a song that takes someones breath away and make a living doing it...i'm VERY content trying to do that day in and day out
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Who is your all time favorite songwriter, and how has his or her writing infulenced your own writing?There are so many it's hard to pick a favorite...haggard of course but i would have to say i learned more firsthand about songwriting from HANK COCHRAN...What a truly brilliant mind he possesses...i also love and i mean absolutely love the style of TOM T. HALL...
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Out of all the songs you've had cut, what is the one song that best sums up who you are as a songwriter?Hard question...i don't think any one defines me...but the sum of the whole is a good description...
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What advice would you give to someone who wants to make songwriting a careerWrite, write, write...your 500th song will be a heck of a lot better than your first...
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What are some of the biggest mistakes new songwriters make?Staying focused on the idea...weak hooks and the refusal to rewrite...so often a mediocre song just needs tweaking here and there to make it great...repetition in this area reaps huge rewards...
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How would you define success?Being happy with yourself...
