Songwriter, Composer

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: (Amanda S) That its easy to come up with something ready to roll out. You don't just write a song and have a few chords and its perfect. There's a lot more steps than you think, but it does start with lyrics. At least for me. (Jess M) I agree with Amanda. Sometimes you hear stories about music and lyrics coming together at 2 am perfectly with almost no effort. To those people, I salute you! While serendipity strikes occasionally and we come up with something fantastic in a fairly short time, most of it takes a great deal of effort and a lot of time. It's worth it. But it's not always easy.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: (Amanda S) Lyrics, definitely. We're new to the composition side. (Jess M) editing. I can always find a better word or phrase, a stronger melody, a more appropriate tempo. Whatever is given to me to work with, I can strengthen while keeping the original ideas and feelings of the lyrics.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Kelly Clarkson. I feel like a lot of our lyrics would be perfect for her range and versatility. (-Amanda S) (Jess M) How do I pick one? I'm fascinated with musicians and their processes. I am delighted to work with anybody who loves what they do. Although two men in country music stand out to me... Luke Combs, because everything he does has an incredible depth of feeling to it. His music always seems to speak to my emotions. And Billy Currington... he's one of the artists I listen to when I'm sketching out ideas. His voice has inspired some of my favorite creations.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: (Amanda S) It never hurts to ask. Keep asking until someone says yes. That's how we had a song in final mixing and mastering. (Jess M) Don't look at any of this as a competition. Look at the other professionals around you as colleagues. Like-minded individuals. Pick a team that will get you the results you desire but remember that picking certain people isn't a slight to others. We are all on different paths. This isn't a race. It is a journey.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Pen, paper, my samson headphones, my drums, my laptop. (Amanda S) A pen, a notebook, a voice recorder, batteries and... you know...a boat. I'm all for a vacation on the island and I do love unplugging... but one always needs an exit strategy. (Jess M)

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: (Amanda S) I've been writing since I was a kid. My mama would say I've loved words since 3 or so. My best friend (Jess M) and I started writing together at 12 or 13 and despite losing touch when she moved we became writing partners who just never stopped. I've always wanted to be a songwriter.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: (Amanda S) Pop-ish and country I suppose. With a heavy amount of depth. (Jess M) Eclectic. Because we enjoy such a wide variety of music, our writing genres are every bit as varied. In fact, the one thing our songs have in common is they tend to be a bit less repetitive than some music out there. No offense to the writers and artists who work this way... we all have a place. But our goal is to paint a picture with our words.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: (Amanda S) Anything, we just kind of do it all. Except rap. We aren't really rap writers. I'd say our lyrics always have soul. (Jess M) Our strongest genre is definitely country, but some of our work is pop, alternative, R&B... I believe there's even a bluesy tune or two in our repertoire.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: (Amanda S) A unique mindset, in my opinion we both do. And the ability to question each other without reproach, if something sounds off we'll call it as it is and work until we fix it. (Jess M) I always try to draw from a place of feeling... any feeling will do. Joy, sorrow, love, hope, spite. It is always my goal to express a feeling alongside my ideas. When words fail, music speaks.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: The easier question is who doesn't. We love music, all music. I (Amanda S) grew up on Reba, and country music in general but I've gotten my own style over the years and I guess I can sum it up one way. If the lyrics move me or the beat has a certain sound that catches my attention it often becomes a favorite for a while. (Jess M) Musicians or music professionals that inspire me... My mother, for starters... while not a professional, she always sang in church and she taught me to love music and to seek inspiration in all things. All of life has meaning and beauty and is worth putting into words. As far as professionals go... I have a great deal of respect for strong women with strong opinions who don't play by anybody's rules but their own. So many amazing artists, I cannot begin to name them all. But in truth, if you are brave enough to pursue a dream, I will love and support you for it. All of life's experiences are worth celebrating, right?

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: We write lyrics, and can do a rough composition in a digital format.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: (Amanda S) Wake Me. It's the song in the profile. We wrote and composed the entire thing ourselves and have only had 2 other people working on it. The woman who did the vocals and the man doing the mixing. (Jess M) I recently did a translation of a song written and recorded in a language I know nothing about. Armed with nothing more than a literal word for word translation and a lovely demo, I was asked to translate the MEANING of the song into English. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me as a writer in a way I have never been challenged before. The result was something I was proud of both artistically and personally. I was honored by the opportunity and empowered by it's successful completion. It is an experience I would definitely recommend to others. Not only did this lovely piece of music become part of my soul, but I genuinely enjoyed the cultural insights I gained from it's completion.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: We have 17 more partial lyrics that we're slowly plugging away at. Its been a lot of composition and writing for about 6 months now that we've really buckled down to finalize and edit what we already had into something good.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: (Amanda S) We've had 1 job so far and it was a translation from Japanese to English that kept the meaning intact. Jess did AMAZING at it. Generally any customer inquiries I will always say we'll give it a shot and do our best. (Jess M) awww shucks. You'll make me blush. My most commonly asked question from people who know what I do is "Are you crazy? Is that even a real job?" My answer? Maybe. But they say if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Jenny G, Kimera Morrell. They're singers and amazing. Ariel Chobaz who did the mixing and mastering on our first song because who doesn't want Ariel Chobaz to work on their music. Thats a life goal.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, we're not good at analog.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: You'll get 2 people working on your vision, and we won't rest until we give it to you.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The freedom to express what we feel and see and make other people feel it with our words.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: (Amanda S) What song do you hear in your head when you think of what you want? What story are you wanting to tell? Why is it important to you? (Jess M) How do you want others to feel hearing this piece? What are your hopes for this piece of music?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: (Amanda S)Keep going. Seek help if you have to but plug away at it until it sounds like it was meant to. You'll know when its right. And find someone who will call you out if something is off. (Jess M) Keep your "bad ideas"! Always. Even if they make you cringe. At some point down the road, you'll look at something you've written and realize it has a perfect place in another piece, even if the original wasn't your best effort. If nothing else, those rough compositions will help you see how far you've come... and keep you humble!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: (Amanda S) One of us will think of a line, send it to the other, then just build from there. Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes it takes a week, sometimes it stays as is until we can pick it up again. Mostly it depends on inspiration. (Jess M) I keep a notebook with me at all times. If an idea comes, I jot it down. Sometimes it's an entire song, sometimes a melody, occasionally just a few words. We tend to take rough ideas and throw them at each other until something magical happens or we laugh and shelve it for a rainy day.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A pen, a piece of paper, and Mixcraft 9 or Pro Tools so far. Occasionally we'll have an idea and send it back and forth through text and come up with a complete set of lyrics.