rockstar in training: punk writing radio

I was recently asked to participate in a cool radio show discussion about punk rock music, lyrics and songwriting. Crescent Hill Radio has a weekly show called From The Inkwell which is about all things related to writing. The host wanted to talk about how punk gets a bad rap as far as an art form, and is ignored as a legitimate form of writing. When I heard this I thought, “Hey, good idea!” I was honored that the folks at Crescent Hill Radio wanted to get me involved and have me read lyrics on air. So I printed out some lyrics to some of my songs and headed on over to the studio.

Words by Pam Newman

At the recording space, there were lots of animals (no pictures because my cell phone battery died before I got there, so use your imagination), including a cat and two snakes. Sheri, the host of From The Inkwell, let me pet her snake. It was a corn snake, I think. They’re kinda cute, and their skin is so soft! If you’re looking for one in the woods, it’ll be the long red thing with a pulse.

Zoological adventures got put to the side after we got started. I was there along with Erin Fitzgerald who is a member of a local punk group. It was pretty awesome to talk about creating music and writing lyrics, but what I found even cooler was that we were two women talking about our personal experiences with punk rock music. That’s totally something that you don’t get to hear everyday.

Although the conversation was super comfortable, it was really weird to read my lyrics rather than sing them out. I could see some of the stuff I’ve written as poetry if you were to stick it in a book. Realistically though, I write lyrics to be set to music. They have choruses and bridges and all those fun music elements which would make most of them kind of weird to read as a poem in a book.

Oh and for the record? I totally shouted out Afro-Punk a few times and even mentioned AP OG’s Cipher!

In other news… I’m planning on making the trek to Brooklyn and attending the Afro Punk fest next month! I really hope that I’ll be able to meet some of you awesome folks who’ve been keeping up with my Rockstar In Training adventures. I’m working on a recording of a badass single which I’ll have with me at the event, and I’ll give it to you for free if you come say hi! I’m really friendly. I totally promise I won’t bite unless you’re made out of nachos or something.

If you’d like to listen to the radio show, it will premiere July 30th at 1pm Eastern Standard Time on Crescent Hill Radio. You can stream Crescent Hill Radio from crescenthillradio.com

Keeping it Awesome Every Day,
Your rockstar in training,
Pam Newman

You can find Pam Newman online on twitter at @pamsbutt, she has a Facebook page for her music http://facebook.com/PamNewmanMusic