Sue Brewer Scholarship Recipient Talks About Blair and Songwriting

Molly Jewell is a sophomore at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music in Nashville where she was recently the recipient of the Songwriters Guild of America Foundation “Sue Brewer Scholarship.” The scholarship fund was started in memory of Sue Brewer, who was known for her generosity and assistance to songwriters in Nashville during the 60s and 70s.

I caught up with Molly after the awards ceremony in April to ask her a few questions about being a music student at Blair, her songwriting and what her future plans are…

Kimberly: Let’s start out with the very basic question like the typical, “where are you originally from?”

Molly: South of Boston—a town called Duxbury, no one’s ever really heard of it. (laughs)

Kimberly: How’d you decide to go to Blair over some of the prestigious schools in Boston?

Molly: I was interested in Berkley and took a lot of summer classes there, but I had a close friend at Vanderbilt who suggested I apply. I didn’t know what I thought about that as it was far away, but I knew Nashville was great place for being a songwriter, so I looked into it. I found out that the composition program is great here (at Blair). I met with a composition professor here, Michael Kurek, who I’m studying with now. He’s great.

Kimberly: So meeting with him helped form your decision to come to Blair?

Molly: Yes. We are personally matched very well and he made me feel very comfortable at the school—which helped since I lived so far away.

Kimberly: What are you studying at Blair?

Molly: Composition. I’m really interested in film scoring and being an arranger. My main goal is to be a songwriter, but I want the classical composition background and I started as a classical pianist. I want to incorporate as much as I can into my songs.

Kimberly: So when did you start playing piano?

Molly: I started playing piano in first grade. My family is musical except for my dad. My mother sang for the Tulsa Opera Company when we lived in Oklahoma. I remember that from when I was younger. I took piano and ballet, but I chose the path of music instead. Mom started teaching me to sing with her in church around 8th grade. I was painfully shy, and didn’t really talk, but after I started singing I opened up. We still sing together, which is one of my favorite things, although we have very different voices. Mine is a poppy voice and she has a very operatic voice, so it’s cool to combine them. I’ve also studied classical voice and it’s important to know that to protect your voice, but I don’t have a big voice. It’s still cool, just different.

Kimberly: But right now your focus is on your composition and piano, or are you also doing a lot of singing at Blair?

Molly: I’ve made a combination. My main passion is songwriting. But, we’re not technically studying popular music at Blair. I made this hybrid-genre for myself. I’ve written songs for string quartets. I can notate and do things on my own. I’m trying to play out a lot, but it’s hard to handle it sometimes with school.

Kimberly: Where do you like to play? Do you play as a solo act?

Molly: I play and sing piano and I have a guitarist who plays with me. He’s a friend from MTSU named Scott Hundley. Our voices match very well. We play at a lot of coffee houses. Venues like that are really comfortable for us. Songwriting is such a conversational performance—talking and connecting with the people around you is important, too.

Kimberly: Tell me some more about your songwriting. You said you’re bringing in some of your classical training. What is your style or approach to writing? Does it vary with what you’re writing? Do you approach it technically?

Molly: I don’t think about anything when I’m writing—it just has to come. I have to be in an emotional state of mind. It all just comes out. I can’t write a song in stages. It all comes in the same session. I can’t leave and come back. I don’t think it’s as good. It used to just come at once and I would keep it, but now that I am learning more about theory and writing, I’ll go back and try to make things more interesting in the piano or add other things. I’m actually using this stuff I’m learning in my theory classes that I thought I’d never use! (laughs)

Kimberly: Do you think you should tell your professor that?

Molly: (laughs)

Kimberly: How would you classify your music that you are writing?

Molly: Sometimes I think it is folkie. Or it’s in the area of Sarah McLachlan, Jewel--it’s not exactly that, but in that area.

Kimberly: You mentioned film scoring and songwriting, but do you have a pinnacle you’d like to reach?

Molly: My dream is to be a performing singer/songwriter—but realistically I would like to write for someone or another artist and still perform myself.

Kimberly: Have you done any recordings?

Molly: I have recorded a CD. I did an apprenticeship program with a recording studio back home last summer and learned a lot and recorded it there. It’s a great place! They are great people and I learned so much. I’m going home in May and will be working there again this summer.

Kimberly: Is it available anywhere? Do you have a web site?

Molly: Yes. You can get the CD on iTunes. It’s called “Send Help.” I also have a myspace page, which is www.myspace.com/mollyjewell. Of course, I need to work on it more.

Kimberly: It sounds like you have a lot of influences and you seem to be taking steps that keep propelling you forward. Who are some other artists or songwriters that have influenced you?

Molly: Joni Mitchell—her etherealness and depth in writing is amazing. I hear new things each time I listen to her stuff. Also, Jewel and Sarah McLachlan. I’m also listening a lot to Regina Spektor and Feist. I also think John Mayer is great. You can’t not like some of his songs. His lyrics are some of the best I’ve heard. Classically I’ve always liked Brahms. My composition teacher said it would be interesting if I would make a chord chart of a couple measures of a Brahms piece. I realized there are chords that would be used in a pop song—not the arrangement, but it’s interesting. It’s cool how I can learn from one of the greatest classical composers to make my own songs deeper in the voicing. It helped me relate my music more to his. I would’ve never thought of doing it, but it was a neat exercise.

Kimberly: Do you cover any songs in your performances?

Molly: I cover The Beatles “Golden Slumbers” and a slower-version of “Help.” I also do “Helpless” by Neil Young.

Kimberly: Do you like Nashville?

Molly: Yes. And I like the South. I think Nashville is a great city. So many people interested in music and lots of different things.

Kimberly: Well, thank you, Molly for taking the time to share about your music and your songwriting. Best of luck to you in the future and keep in touch!

Molly: Thank you, too!