In a follow-up to 2019’s “Stresslove EP”, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Gregory Ackerman is ready to share with the world Still Waiting Still (out Sept. 17th, 2021), his first full-length album since his 2018 debut.
In that time, Ackerman has realised a few things, most importantly, that “…both life and music get better the more people you share them with.” For this new album, he called upon Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley to produce the album. The accompanying press notes that Reeder also adds “touches of hypnotic mysticism on top of the California summer sunset melodies, which beautifully combine with Ackerman’s plainspoken philosophical lyrics and twisty, dexterous guitar to create what is now Ackerman’s signature sound.” He also called on a number of Los Angeles-area talents as well as his brother Eric, to create “a lively collection of brand-new material mixed with songs that I’d written years ago.”
Tomorrow sees the release of the ironically titled ‘Good Song’, an infectious laid-back hazy number, lyrically sincere and couched in more than a little ray of that west coast sunshine. He was more than happy to talk more about how the song came about, highlighting some of the battles songwriters face as well as some of the joys they get from sharing those songs – As do we from hearing them, this one is no exception.
“I wrote ‘Good Song’ out of this feeling of desperation that I just wanted my music to be heard, and I felt like the only way to break through to the world of critics was by writing a ‘good’ song. I thought about that notion for a while.
“What does it mean for a song to be considered ‘good?’ I liked all of my music and the songs I had written. To me, all my songs were good, all my songs should be heard by the world, all my songs deserved a listen. But there is always someone out there who is judging your music, someone who is ultimately deciding if the song is ‘good’ or ‘worthy’ to be considered for Spotify playlists, magazine features, blog write-ups, or radio play, etc.
“I began to think about how one creates a ‘good’ song, and the lyrics just started to come together about the notion of pouring yourself into a song in hopes to even get considered as a ‘good’ songwriter. I was tired of trying to write a hit song to get recognized, so I just wanted to write about the process of writing a song objectively, and scrutinize the notion of creating a ‘good’ song in general.
“The writing process can be so painful sometimes (‘dredging up feelings of the past’), and no matter how much heart and soul you put into a song, there’s always the chance that it can be ultimately overlooked. It can be such a sad and lonely feeling to make music that goes by the wayside. But it can also be such a joyous and communal one too when a song you write is understood or gets recognized as meaningful to others.
“I guess that’s similar to life in general, and music truly echoes life in all its ups and downs, joys and sorrows. I was down when I wrote ‘Good Song,’ down about the music industry, down about the pressure to make something that others would deem as ‘worthy,’ and down about songwriting in general. But the process of taking a step back from songwriting and looking at the notion of writing a ‘good’ song and what that means to the individual writer really helped me through the crisis of self-worth that I had found myself in.
“Now, I’ve got plenty of good songs because I know that they are good songs, and I could truly care less about what others have to say about them. For me, these days, I find comfort in continuing to make music that makes me happy. Music makes me feel connected to this world and the people within it, and at the end of the day, that’s really all I ever want.”
More here: https://www.gregoryackermanmusic.com/
Photo Credit: Nell T Sherman