See Night On the Making Of “Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy”
Credeit: Drew Danburry
What inspired you to write the lyrics/music for "Being Good Is Supposed To Be Easy?"
It’s a song in response to the sudden death of someone in my family, and it reflects the subsequent feelings of loss, love, and regrets I felt as both a family member and caretaker. This song was written—like most of my songs—for pure catharsis.
Can you walk me through your songwriting process?
It’s a cliche, but the songs that I consider keepers or worth recording tend to come from some place of unplanned catharsis, like they’re streaming out without thought. I sit with my guitar and fingerpick or strum, then vocal melodies usually announce themselves with lyrics somehow.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for this song to life?
That’s a really good question for this particular song because this was an anomalous case where the song was originally quite a slow, soft ballad but I knew that I wanted to somehow evolve it into an energized indie-rock song with more sonic power and heavier guitars. I’m grateful for talented producer (and bassist) Tres Sasser and drummer Cory Aboud for spontaneously workshopping it with me in a living room the day before we went into the studio to record it at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville with engineer Jack Tellman. We quickly transformed it into the version it is today, with faster down-strumming rhythm guitars, Cory’s powerful drums, Tres’s production and catchy bass lines, and Chris Tench’s additional guitar lines. Then Joe Costa, who has mixed every See Night release, did his final mixing magic, with Brian Lucey mastering. It grew into an energizing song that I decided at the last minute to make the opening track of the upcoming album, Just Another Life—due to both its private importance and public sound.
How did you get started in music, and what inspired you to become a singer-songwriter?
I studied classical piano as a kid and then in college picked up a guitar. I sang quietly to myself and would bring my big acoustic dreadnought guitar with me on my solo travels—and that’s when people overheard me strumming and singing to myself. Travel friends convinced me to do an open mic when I was around 21, and it just grew from there. The feeling of connection from performing live was pretty profound. Then I was solo acoustic for a long time before picking up an electric guitar. I was always a writer who wrote poetry and such since I was a kid, so the lyrics and songwriting came naturally once I learned guitar.
How do you channel your emotions and connect with your audience during live performances?
Performing live can, ironically, be much more of an introverted experience than people usually assume. I actually go inward—especially when touring solo. I think the more an artist authentically connects with their song regardless of who or what is around them, the audience feels what you feel, or feels something in relation to the song, and inherently connects with you.
