Andy Gullahorn

One of the brightest players and songwriters behind the scenes of Music City, U.S.A. can be found working Andrew Peterson, Cason Cooley, Jill Phillips among others. Of course, when the latter is your wife, that helps things out a bit. Still, Andy Gullahorn’s disarming songwriting ability to take the deeper truths or vulnerable places of the Christian journey and place them into memorable pop/folk structures merit closer attention than what he’s received thus far. We recently had the chance to hear what Andy has been up to in the last year and discuss what it’s like to raise a family with two songwriters.

Soul-Audio: Looking back at 2008, what have you been up to? Can you give us an update?

Andy Gullahorn: Since my last record came out around the beginning of last year [2008], I have been busy doing all sorts of things. I travel with Jill whenever she has shows and travel with Andrew Peterson for his shows as well. I have also had a good bit of solo shows. I really enjoy backing up Andrew and Jill and would be happy doing that forever, but the opportunity to travel on my own has been a lot of fun. I end up doing a lot of house concerts mainly because I love them but also because it is the rare occasion that I would have more than 50 people come to one of my shows – so why not shove them all into a living room?

Aside from traveling for shows, I spent most of this year producing Jill’s new record with Cason Cooley. We started back in May, it comes out in December and I have pretty much been working on some aspect of the record the whole time. So add three kids to the mix of traveling and recording and there is pretty much not time for anything else. Unfortunately that includes writing. There have been seasons in my life when I was writing 60 or so songs a year but these days the songs are few and far between. In the months coming up I hope to carve out some time to write and to eventually record a new CD of songs I wrote that were recorded by other folks (mainly Jill). It also looks like we will be fairly busy with shows next year as well.

SA: I wanted to ask about the family life and what it’s like to have two songwriters married to the other. Specifically, when it comes to writing, are there times when you’re penning a song and it’s clear this is a “Jill” track and then others are for your own albums?

Andy: Jill and I generally like the same kind of music. I guess that is kind of how we became friends in the first place. So when it comes to songwriting in the context of our relationship – it is a really great fit. We seem to write together more for her records because of the craziness of having young children. One of us will have an idea and then hand it off to the other one kind of like the baton in a relay race – because sometimes we don’t have the energy, time or brain-power to finish that race ourselves.

At the same time, there will be songs that we know we need to finish ourselves. As far as those songs are concerned, I don’t ever think that I write songs by myself with the intent of having Jill sing them. I just write it and then usually play it for Jill to get feedback. Sometimes she feels like she can take the song as one of her own and record it. I am always happy when she does that. But a bunch of the songs I write totally wouldn’t work for her because of personal references or because the song is talking about being a stupid guy. I don’t think she will sing one of those.

I wrote a song earlier this year called “Resurrection” that had pretty specific personal references in it – like a story about a friend of mine in the fourth grade who was killed in an auto accident. I was pretty emotionally connected to the song and played it for Jill minutes after I finished it. She immediately said she wanted to put it on her record – which totally surprised me. Not because I didn’t know she would do a great job with it – but because I am never sure if it is something she feels comfortable owning herself. I think “Steel Bars” was kind of the same way. It even had a line about “the man I am” in it. She totally believed in it, sang the “man” line and it really worked.

I think it works because Jill has always been great at interpreting a song – and because we just so happen to be married, so my experiences are hers as well. She wouldn’t sing it if she didn’t feel personally connected to it. It really is an honor to have such a marvelous singer record my songs and make them sound so much better.

SA: Obviously you love your family, but is there an artistic side that misses the days where you were free to write?

Andy: There is definitely part of me that misses those days that were more productive. I think every writing slump comes with the thought that maybe I will never be able to write another song again. When the inspiration just isn’t coming – or doesn’t have the time to get out – that fear always comes back up to the surface. When I picture my “career” in the long-term there is a heavy emphasis on songwriting because I can’t be traveling like this forever. So there is a part of me that knows that I will need to get back into the routine of writing more often.

I also know that the stage I am in is just a season. We have little kids. In a few years they will all be in school and the time for being creative will open up a bit. So my goal is just to enjoy this season and not be disappointed by what I am not getting done. I just look at it as investing my time in other things for a while – things, by the way, that are way more important and fulfilling than writing songs. So although I miss those days of writing 60 songs a year, I don’t miss them too much because I have to believe that they will come back one day.

SA: I wanted to dive a bit further into this fear that you won’t be able to write a song again. I’ve heard a couple other songwriters mention such a thing and I wonder ‘Really?’ Could you elaborate a bit more on that? Where does that come from? And how do you fight through that?

Andy: I think that for writers who are in a dry spell, the fear of not ever being able to write again is a real one. That is not to say that I believe I will never write another song again. I believe I will. I think the real question is will I be able to write another song that will really mean something to me and that I will really like. I think this somewhat universal question is born from the fact that no matter how much we hone our “craft” there is an undeniable portion of the song that is not of the writer. Whether it is the original idea or theme of the song, or where the writer takes that idea, or how he marries it with the right music – there is a foundational understanding (whether the songwriter is aware of it or not) that some part of it came from outside themselves. At least it is that way for me.

I can write a song and then sit back to listen to it and be struck by what it says. Not because it is some great piece of literature, but because there is something about the way the words and music were put together that was designed to impact me in a way I never would have expected or planned – to teach me something. And when I am learning things from my own songs it is quickly clear that I have little to claim in its creation. Then there are songs that feel like they are totally out of my own head. They are exercises in writing – like putting the puzzle pieces of a good song together. These songs can tell a story well, and can even connect with other people on a heart level, but I might not have a heart connection with them. They are more like doing math problems. I call these songs “Country Songs”. Just kidding. I could sit down right now and write a song about radiators – explaining what they do and what they look like. It would be a boring song and I would never want to sing it, but it would still be a song.

So I guess that question is not if I ever write a song again – but if I will ever be inspired again. And since that kind of inspiration seems to be completely out of my hands and control, it is a real fear for me. I feel like that kind of inspiration can’t be forced. The best I can do is try even harder to walk around with my eyes open – looking for inspiration in the world around me. But that is easier said than done, especially when there isn’t much downtime to ponder anything. History would suggest that this season will pass and inspiration will come someday. So I am just hoping that I will eventually come out of this time like I have done before. But it sure seems like this time is taking forever.

• www.andygullahorn.com
• www.myspace.com/andygullahorn

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