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I love the ambient sounds (cars, birds, trees and wind) that gets picked up in many of these interviews, but I think the best episodes still take place literally around my kitchen table. There’s something about talking around a table with a guitar in hand that just seems like a natural fit. (Plus, the acoustics are nice.)
In this “Songs and Stories” two-parter, we meet John Batdorf, a southern California songwriter who started with a recording contract in the ’70s as half of the duo Batdorf and Rodney. John spent the ’80s as a staff writer for other artists (including America and Kim Carnes), and in the ’90s began composing for commercials and television (“Promised Land”, “Touched By An Angel”.) Everything comes full circle, though. After an XM DJ copied John’s records onto MP3 and started playing them on the air, the “Batdorf and Rodney” fans took notice. And they wanted to hear more. These days John is back in singer/songwriter mode and playing live again.
In episode #71, John explains the path he took from recording artist to working behind the scenes for other artists, to writing and recording for himself again.
Click to hear “Songs and Stories” #71 (time = 30:38, size = 28.2 mb)
In episode #72, John plays and tells the stories behind “What D’Ya Got” and “That Don’t Seem Right To Me” off Old Man Dreamin’.
Click to hear “Songs and Stories” #72 (time = 24:16, size = 22.3 mb)
