44: Creativity through Music. A conversation with Justin Stewart.

A week or so before recording this episode I asked Justin if he would lead a poetry workshop during the conversation. In a few words, what came out was raw and real. Justin is one of the better songwriters I know, not only because of his gift with language, but also because he approaches the craft with reverence and respect. He seeks to deepen his practice with each pass and he has a gift of a sharp wit that I find myself enjoying through each of our exchanges. “What better person to speak to the craft of creativity?” was my thought, and I was right. This episode explores the craft of poetry, songwriting and performing. The conversation invites welcomed interruptions in the form of Justin’s songs. In fact, in preparation for this episode, Justin wrote the first part of a song that he work shopped throughout the conversation – the episode finishes with the complete song that Justin shared with me a few weeks after the recording. Justin shares personal stories with a degree of vulnerability that, no doubt, infuses his whole process. Bio: Texas born, and Austin-based, Justin Stewart tends to write about the places he inhabits. He grew up splitting his time between Houston and Galveston Island. Family vacations were not to Colorado like many Texans, but to the more "modest" Austin, which his mother liked best because “the air and water were cleaner.” From an early age, Justin knew he would never leave Texas and likely land in Austin. Stewart's first solo record, Flagship (2013) was produced by Kevin Russell (Shinyribs/Gourds). A bit of intimidating praise came Stewart's way when Russell called the record "remarkable or extraordinary," Stewart's response: "That kinda scared me because I did not have my process down to maintain such vulnerability." Stewart's sophomore album, City Fox (2015) was produced by George Reiff (Joe Walsh, Jacob Dylan, Chris Robinson), and is the gem that came from a 2014 west Texas residency. Stewart lived and wrote in the dusty border town of Presidio. Stewart's third record, Renaissance was produced by Stephen Belans (Radney Foster, Billy Cassis). Players include Bukka Allen on keys (Ryan Bingham, Jack Ingram), Chris Searles on drums (Alejandro Escovedo, Shawn Colvin), Geoff Queen on guitars and pedal steel (Kelly Willis, Randy Rodgers), and John Mike on bass (Hayes Carll, Ray Wylie Hubbard). The February 2017 session was held at Ronjo Studio. Jim Vollentine was on engineering. The record was released in the spring of 2018. Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Band of the week: Justin Stewart Music Page: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/justin-stewart/1464710413 Website: https://www.justinstewartmusic.com Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/