Songwriter Drew Kennedy on What Makes a Good Song

Drew Kennedy of New Braunfels isn’t a stranger to San Angelo. He’s made almost monthly treks here in a Prius for a number of years. His fan base is sizable and appreciative. Between live performances, usually all over Texas, Kennedy works as a songwriter in Nashville.

Kennedy, a singer and guitarist as well, explained his style of music and performing as “knowing what you have to say and how to say it.” Armed with only a small P.A. system and usually an acoustic guitar, he said his not-loud, more intellectually stimulating shows are engaging.

“It’s just you up there by yourself,” he said. “It’s disarming. I like to tell stories about the songs I’m about to play, and the stories themselves give the listener the idea behind the song.” He said that good gigs, even in bars, should follow a musical arc, and a logical arc. “I carry on a conversation with the listeners from beginning to end,” he said of his words and songs.

To Kennedy the songwriter, what makes a good song is a great melody and lyrics that tell a story in an intelligent way. “I don’t write about beer and floating down the river,” he said. But that’s okay if that’s your thing, he added. “I enjoy telling the stories of everyday people in a unique way,” he said. “I find interesting things in people and places that portray them.”

Kennedy uses Little Big Town’s latest single “Girl Crush” to expand upon his point. The singer of the song is female, so it’s already interesting considering the song’s title. Why is a girl singing about a “girl crush” on a country song? It turns out that the song is about the envy a girlfriend has for the other girlfriend of her man. She sees fine attributes the other girl has that she doesn’t have (including her perfume), and wants them. Hence, the “Girl Crush”. Kennedy said, “It starts out about one thing and turns into something completely different.”

 “Girl Crush” was written and composed by acclaimed songwriter Lori McKenna (read this Rolling Stone article on “Girl Crush”). Kennedy works with McKenna in Nashville and she co-wrote two songs on Kennedy’s most recent record, Wide Listener. McKenna also recorded one of the songs he co-wrote with her on her own record, and Kennedy said it is an honor.

Kennedy is hopeful that Nashville returns to favoring the songwriter rather than the performer. Right now, he said, the entire record industry is still sorting out the business model of streaming. The way to make it big right now is to record a smash hit and tour heavily behind it, he said. There just isn’t as much money in selling songs on CDs, or even on iTunes. “Everything is cyclical in the music business, and maybe things will go the way of the songwriter soon,” he said.

The key to Kennedy's chances of scoring a hit or moving up to the next level of his profession, he said is “No matter how good you are at your craft, you have to place yourself in the position to take advantage of a lucky break.”

While Kennedy is awaiting his wave, he is content winning fans one, two or several dozen at a time performing up-close-and-personal shows at places like Blaine’s Pub in San Angelo.

Drew Kennedy performs his acoustic show at Blaine’s Pub, 10 W. Harris St., Thursday night (April 16), kicking off the pub’s summer music series called “Thursday Night LIVE!” The show starts with food served early at approximately 5:30 p.m. and Kennedy takes the stage at 8 p.m.

Thursday Night LIVE! is designed for the busy professional to enjoy an evening of live Texas music with friends and business associates. The shows are meant to end at approximately 10 p.m.

You can download a free MP3 of one of Kennedy’s favorite originals. According to Kennedy, “This song is called Hello Goodbye— in short, it’s an ode to the fact that saying goodbye to someone that you know and love is far more difficult than the first hello you manage when you first meet that person. We might say hello and goodbye in equal proportion, but it’s the goodbyes that end up stinging the most.” Download it here.

Is there a twist?