About That Song: Justin Roth
About That Song #9
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For this installment, I sat down to talk (virtually) with Justin Roth, a Colorado-based singer-songwriter known for his intricate fingerstyle guitar arrangements.
Justin Roth. Photo credit: Darren Mahuron.
Sarah: Hi Justin! Thank you so much for being here. We have a few friends in common and I’ve heard such wonderful things about you! I’m really looking forward to meeting you and hearing your songs in person at Storyhill Fest (so soon!). I’m wondering—do you remember the song that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Justin: When I was a freshman or sophomore in college at University of Minnesota-Duluth, I began attending on-campus coffeehouse concerts that featured touring solo artists. The first one I heard that made me think, “People can do this for a career even without a major label or being on the radio?!” was Minnesota’s own Peter Mayer.
It was more the idea of witnessing someone actually being a songwriter on an independent level than any one song that opened my eyes to the possibility. This experience led me down the path of hearing dozens of other touring acts that, before long, led me to Storyhill, Willy Porter, Billy McLaughlin, David Wilcox and more. From there, my course was set.
However, it was David Wilcox’s album Big Horizon that opened my eyes to just how much could be said in just one song. I began booking the coffeehouse concert series on campus for the next couple of years, and that album was sent to me by his agent. I remembered feeling that this was a whole new world of songwriting. It was laced with subtlety and nuance in both lyrics and guitar playing, as well as how to banter and introduce a song. He set the bar for the kind of songwriter I initially sought to be with songs like “That’s What The Lonely Is For” and “Hold It Up To The Light.”
Sarah: I love that you’re able to draw the map of one artist to another, and another…and it must have been invaluable to see music from both the booking angle and the artistic side so early in your career. Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Justin: Absolutely NOT! Ugh…it was hard. Still is. It took quite a while to feel like I had any clue at all what I was doing (even that is an illusion), but it took longer to find my own songwriter voice and style and to separate myself from my influences. I wore them on my sleeve, and I didn’t trust my own voice to write from my own place and stop emulating what I thought songs were supposed to be.
Writing songs is like following someone through a labyrinth, but they keep rounding another corner just as soon as you spot them. There it is! Now it’s gone! That is the mysterious, fleeting essence of all art and inspiration. The process of writing keeps me in search of what I have to say in song form. However, my favorite songs that I’ve written have been ones that happen in a matter of minutes, where I don’t even realize what the song is about until it’s over. An example of this is “Now You Know.”
Preconceived notions of what I “think” a song is about as I’m writing usually become a stumbling block or dead end. When writing, I love the process and craft of holding up my end of the bargain by using my songwriting experience and intuition, but I learn the most when I follow where the song leads instead of forcing my intent upon it.
Sarah: I’ve had that experience—not the song in a matter of minutes; I’d say I’m rarely THAT fast—but the experience of once I let the thinking in, stumbling blocks appear. I’m having the most fun writing when I am being in the writing. I’m looking forward to hearing your songs this weekend at Storyhill Fest! Thank you, Justin, for sharing your time and your stories with us.
Storyhill Fest is coming up August 25-27 in Central Minnesota! Get tickets to the in-person Fest or the Livestream option.
Listen to “Now You Know”
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
