Paul Kelly – HuffPost 9.16.11

[Note: This is a combination of advice for new artists and also insight into Paul Kelly’s creative process.]

Mike Ragogna: Yeah. So, what goes into your creative process when writing a song?

Paul Kelly: It’s like I’m doodling, really. I’ll come up with something and play it on my guitar, then I’ll add some sounds to that. From there, I’ll just go on and add some words to the sounds. It’s sort of like a kid playing with paints, you know? Just playing with things until it all comes together.

MR: Do you ever find yourself getting randomly inspired and drop what you’re doing to write?

PK: Well, sometimes, you hear or say something that you realize could be good in a song and if I get a chance, I usually write it down. I try to carry a pen and paper with me, but I don’t always have it. (laughs) But as far as writing songs, I think you just have to make time for it. When you’ve got some days free, you don’t answer the phone or the doorbell, and just stick to it. Maybe nothing will happen for a few days, but if you’re lucky, you’ll create a song. But, you do find those little scraps along the way that you can sort of look at later on.

MR: Do you have any advice for newer artists?

PK: Well, I would say never sign a contract without a lawyer.

MR: Very good advice. Was this advice that you had to learn the hard way?

PK: No, nothing really happened in particular. I think it should just be common sense to know that you should have lawyer present when you sign something. I think things are a bit harder these days because of technology. People are able to make their own records without worrying about the cost of a studio, you can get your music out there without having to go through a major record company, you can find like-minded people around the world who are interested in what you do — I think that’s all great. The problem with it being so easy to make records is that everyone is making records. There’s a whole lot of noise out there, so if you want to get noticed, it’s quite a bit harder. I think for the most part things are better now than they were, but they’re still hard.

MR: Indeed. Any last words of wisdom from a great songwriter?

PK: (laughs) Not really. If I knew how to write a song, I’d write one every day. Songwriting is likeplaying an instrument, you’ve got to tune up every day. And you don’t always catch the fish. (laughs)