Keller Williams on songwriting, 2008

"I’ve always tried to put myself in the place of an audience member, mainly because I was an audience member for so long. I can totally relate to the songwriters who’ve had pain and are going through hard times, and I can totally relate to how that comes out in their music. But as an audience member, I didn’t want to hear about people’s problems. When I went out I wanted to be entertained, I wanted to be taken away from my problems. So I always try to stay on the lighter side of things.

"I’ve been extremely lucky in my life and my career. A lot of good things have happened to me and have made me extremely happy. So I haven’t really 'lived the blues.' I’ve definitely lived in a bunch of cars and rest areas and truck stops and campgrounds and cheap hotels, but I’ve enjoyed that. What I planned on doing was playing music no matter what the cost. I guess the lightheartedness of my lyrics is just a representation of me and my life."

From a cover story in Acoustic Guitar, June 2008. I met up with Keller in Nashville this winter for the interview. Read the story, and see my video footage of him playing excerpts from songs, at the AG site.

New York Times songwriting blog

Some interesting thoughts here on the music life from Rosanne Cash, Suzanne Vega, Andrew Bird, and Darrell Brown...

http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/

Humming CD review on GoodSound

From David Cantor's review of the new CD, Humming My Way Back Home, on GoodSound (SoundStage Network)...

"Humming's 14 songs, all by Rodgers, are original, varied, and engaging. Rodgers' singing and guitar playing are both up to speed, and he uses his well-honed songwriting skills to comment on many experiences. The title song is at once substantive and catchy; 'My Life Doesn’t Rhyme,' about writing songs, is interesting enough to avoid the pitfall of triteness; and 'American Dream' goes beyond mere atmosphere in capturing the late-night ambiance of a highway truck stop."