The Singer/Songwriter Circle attracts OU students and locals — from as far away as Belpre — alike.
Don Baker, a resident of Belpre, drives 40 miles every week to attend the Singer/Songwriter Circle.
The Circle gathers songwriters in the 1804 Lounge every Tuesday at 7 p.m. People timidly sit in the cozy seats around cookies and a book filled with interviews from famous songwriters. The group, Baker said, provides him with the opportunity to write every week and to share music with a receptive audience.
Bruce Dalzell, the leader of the Circle, strolls in, slips off his shoes for comfort and the night begins to get “quick and dirty” rather quickly.
“We do this thing called the ‘quick and dirty’ — it’s not what it sounds like though,” said Mitch Toler, a senior studying audio production and a member of the Circle for several years. “Over the week, you have an hour to write a song. Someone picks a word (the prior week) and you have to use the word in the song.”
It’s a way to “break the ice” and remind songwriters that every song does not have to be taken so seriously, Dalzell said. But if someone does not feel inclined to share, that person is never forced to.
The group does different exercises in order to give songwriting a different perspective and to the give the writers a bit of a challenge.
Commonly, the group does a one-hour co-write, Dalzell said. Each person comes to the group with an opening line in mind. Once the group has voted on the best line, the lyrics start to develop into something rather strange.
“We had one song about Abraham Lincoln’s great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter, who only liked to have sex with people who had presidents’ names,” Dalzell said.
It is an interesting experience to have a song go in a completely different direction than originally planned, Toler said. Similar exercises challenge the writers, such as moving out of a comfort zone and writing music from a random genre or writing the first line of a song and allowing someone else to finish the song.
“I think any songwriter you talk to is probably going to tell you songwriting is a bit of a mystery,” Baker said. “I don’t think anyone knows the answer to how to do it.”
The Circle is the first step of sharing original work, which can tend to be a vulnerable situation, Dalzell said.
“The Circle is really nice because you know they’re listening and that they care,” Toler said. “They’re going to be supportive and constructive, but (performing) live, people could not care at all or they could get up and leave or just give you the stink-eye.”
Playing a song live is the next step to insight and can lead to a complete letdown, Baker said. Not receiving a reaction from a crowd after playing a carefully crafted original song is tough, but it’s part of the process.
As more songs are tossed in a box under the bed and others are added to the list of Top 40 Hits, people continue to write. Getting started is simple, but writers must remember not to agonize over every note and expect the perfect song with “life-altering” lyrics every time, Toller said.
“Nobody should feel like they’re not good enough to come, ever,” Dalzell said. “We have people come who don’t play at all, but they still feel like this is the way they want to go. They want to express themselves.”
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