Drew Yowell
Born into a musical lineage that touches legends, Drew’s father Gers Yowell, played with Charlie Parker, Zoot Sims and Jerry Mulligan and his oldest brother Don Paul Yowell co-wrote “There’s A Star For Everyone” for Aretha Franklin. Drew was invited to sit in with Les Paul himself at the tender age of 14 and worked with other legends like Phoebe Snow, Dae Bennett, and Herb Alpert. He has performed onstage alongside Sophie B. Hawkins, James Maddock, Will Lee, among many others. Drew and his twin brother Doug Yowell (drummer for Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and many others) both appear in the MTV music video for Sophie B Hawkins’ “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover”. Drew also co-wrote 2 songs with the late Phoebe Snow including the title track to her final release “Natural Wonder”. Phoebe described the songs that she co-wrote with Drew as “two of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever written with anyone”.
The best advice I can give to emerging artists is to find your voice. That means find your voice in your writing. The more authentic and genuine you are, the more it comes across to your audience. Be vulnerable. Be bold. Be willing to take artistic risks. As a songwriter, I started writing songs at the age of 12. I always have a general rule for myself… open a blank page and let the pen write what it wants. We all have an inner voice that wants to come out in our writing, so it’s important to stay open and listen for that voice. Trust it because it’s your inner muse and it will guide you to great songs! I have been fortunate enough to meet and be around some legends in my career and I’m always eager to learn. Both Bernie Taupin and Bruce Springsteen gave me the same advice: start with a title.
I’ve always had an amazing relationship to songwriting. Especially when I let go of any preconceived ideas. My process is always a little different with each song. I don’t always get a title right away. Sometimes the title comes later… sometimes the third verse comes to me first. Sometimes the “hook” or chorus of the song comes first. Generally speaking, it all starts with a melody in my head and some gibberish words I’m hearing in the distant background of the melody. I listen in my head with an open mind and try to sound out what those words are phonetically. I write down what I think I’m hearing and 99.9% of the time, it’s exactly what was meant to be there. I place a lot
of trust in the song as it develops. It will tell me what it needs and wants. There is no formula and that’s important to remember, because it leaves open the possibility that anything can work. There are no fences holding you in to a certain way of doing it. The canvas is blank and you can paint whatever you want on it.
The style of music I write is more adult contemporary/pop/rock. What excites me most about music is originality. My favorite songs are the ones that remain timeless. A great song is a great song. I love live performances but I also love being in the studio creating. Live performances are amazing because you get to see and the songs come to life in their performance…musicians interacting with each other to create (or recreate) the magic of your favorite songs live. Whereas, in the studio, you have some many possible directions you can go in with your songs as you watch take shape in the recording process.
A great songwriter once taught me something I’ll never forget… there are 2 sides of songwriting: The art and the craft. The art is what comes through you as your initial inspiration comes about. The craft is honing in on it to shape and mold it into something truly special. For me… songs are like satellites… they’re always orbiting around me, waiting to be pulled out down out of their orbit so I can turn them into something that will remain forever indelible.