And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

Today's guest is Brittany Howard — four-time Grammy winner, the voice of Alabama Shakes, and one of the most singular artists of her generation. But her real story isn't the accolades or the sold-out rooms. It's a single-wide trailer, a junkyard full of animals, and a garbage truck — and a woman who never once chased any of it.

From a Cotton Patch trailer park to Paisley Park, Brittany built a career by refusing to do it the way you're supposed to. She carries three things simultaneously that most artists never figure out how to hold at once: an obsessive craftsman's ear (she'll stab an amp with a screwdriver to find a tone), an unbudging authenticity (she showed up to the deal that changed her life hungover, in her pajamas, in a mail truck), and a total indifference to the machine (0% involvement in her own charts, streams, and licensing).

This is one of the more honest conversations we've had about staying true to yourself in music.

And The Writer Is... Alabama Shakes!

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A special thank you to our sponsor, NMPA — the National Music Publishers Association. Your support means the world to us.

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:09 Is hunting for tone a fool's errand?
4:02 "Happy accidents" — taste vs. preference
6:22 Stabbing an amp with a screwdriver for the perfect tone
9:02 Born in a single-wide in Cotton Patch trailer park
10:53 "Are we rich now?" — a junkyard, 96 cats, 26 dogs
12:53 Picking up guitar out of necessity (she wanted to play bass)
17:00 Recording songs at 12 on Audacity, alone in the woods
18:45 The At the Drive-In shirt — meeting Zach
19:33 Mom: "I didn't know you could sing" / "Me either"
20:46 Her first song ever
28:59 The label meeting: hungover, in pajamas, in a mail truck
32:22 Writing "Hold On" in a garbage truck
33:27 Making up the whole song live on stage at The Brick
37:06 How a record deal did (and didn't) change how she lived
44:01 "Do I have any money?" — buying her first house
46:07 Meeting Shawn Everett & Blake Mills for Sound & Color
52:51 Talking to Prince on the phone — and his list of rules
54:17 Playing "Gimme All Your Love" with Prince — "did he change his mind?"
56:49 How Alabama Shakes came back together
59:15 Rapid fire + "Leave music to the people who love music"

Credits
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is one of the most recognizable faces of her generation — an actor whose voice you'd know in a single frame. But her real story isn't the one you've watched. It's the one she kept secret: for 20 years she's been a songwriter, and barely anyone — even people who know her — knew it.
This is one of the more honest conversations we've had about being underestimated — as an actor who "couldn't" really be a musician, and as a woman the industry assumed didn't write her own songs — and about what it costs to keep making things purely because you love them.
And The Writer Is... Zooey Deschanel of She & Him!

In this episode of And The Writer Is, we go deep on:

Why she erased social media off her own devices
The "industry plant" myth — why the industry "can't make anything happen" anymore
Being told "you'll never make a record, no one will take you seriously" as an actor
Her "secret agent" identity
The misogyny she goes to bat against
Her North Star she chases
And much more...

Hit subscribe and turn on notifications. Every week, we go deep with the most interesting creatives in music.

Join our Patreon for special access, bonus conversations, demo playing opportunities, and guest hangs!
patreon.com/andthewriteris

Follow us on socials: @andthewriteris

A special thank you to our lead sponsor NMPA for making these conversations possible.
NMPA is the National Music Publishers' Association. They fight for songwriters and they fight for this podcast, too.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:00 Meet Zooey Deschanel
1:51 Writing alone — and erasing social media to do it
4:49 Why the "industry plant" is a myth
6:37 "You'll never be taken seriously as a musician"
7:25 Her secret identity as a songwriter
11:15 How She & Him released with no name attached
13:01 "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today" — never a single, now #1 on TikTok
15:35 The story behind writing "I Thought I Saw Your Face Today"
17:24 Her dad, the records, and growing up musical
22:44 Brian Wilson, Gershwin, and the Great American Songbook
26:13 Five desert island albums
28:21 Why "A Hard Day's Night" beats the White Album
30:16 Teaching herself piano at six
32:46 Writing her first song at ten
38:42 "I identify as a songwriter, not an actor"
42:15 Dropping out of Northwestern
45:59 A word from our lead sponsor, NMPA
49:23 Finding her voice in the studio — the mic chain
51:56 Recording with Brian Wilson & the gifted mic
55:57 Why she never sold out — turning in finished records
67:03 The lonely sets where her first two records were written
69:35 Almost Famous & Cameron Crowe
72:50 "I'm allergic to selling myself"
76:19 Nobody believes a woman writes her own songs
79:00 Writing for other artists & how publishing splits really work
82:07 Why she loves writing Christmas songs
84:24 500 Days of Summer & music in film
88:36 The songwriting trick: "What if I am her?"
93:21 Dyslexia, reading scripts & why melody sticks
94:56 Why she doesn't do more theater
98:38 Staying clean through party-era Hollywood
100:50 M. Ward — 20 years, never one fight
109:57 Writing alone when everyone's afraid to
111:43 The biggest misconception about her
114:18 Finding your North Star

Credits:
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Edited by Jad Saad

Watch on Spotify. If you're subscribed to Spotify Premium, you don't get any Spotify ads on our show.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And The Update Is…a weekly beat on the industry . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.