The Bros. Landreth are looking forward to collaborating with fans.
Hot Winnipeg band The Bros. Landreth, currently on tour across North America, will lead the next Hook(ist) songwriting collaboration.
Over the next two weeks, fans, music lovers and aspiring artists get the unprecedented opportunity to write an original song with the band, who are being touted for their soulful lyrics and masterful songwriting chops.
During the process, the band will establish a theme for the song and post videos from the road, announcing winning lyric submissions each day and offering fans feedback and kudos on their work.
The winning lyrics will be used either verbatim or as inspiration, and will be incorporated, line by line, into an original song the band will record.
“Hook(ist) is a social songwriting platform that allows established artists and fans to engage with each other in an authentic and meaningful way, offering fans an intimate, creative experience and exclusive insight into the individual creative processes of music’s most respected artists,” explains Lisa Munjack, president of Munjack Marketing.
“Members receive Road Stories, an industry insider/thought leader blog, where Grammy winners, top session players, engineers and techs share personal stories from the road and studio, and offer advice on navigating the music industry,” she adds.
Members also build profile pages where they share their personal music projects, ask for feedback and build a fan base. They also promote themselves using the kudos they receive from artists and others in the community.
Every few weeks, Hook(ist) launches a new songwriting event, helmed by a different artist. The site launched over the summer, with three-time Grammy-nominee Brad Roberts, lead singer of Crash Test Dummies, writing two songs with fans because he enjoyed the process so much.
Crash Test Dummies performing in 2010
Master guitarist and Grammy-nominated songwriter, Gary Lucas, followed with “Dance of Destiny”, music he wrote with his former collaborator and iconic singer-songwriter, Jeff Buckley, in mind. The community also wrote a song on their own using the Hook(ist) voting and collaboration system. All four songs will be released on an EP under the Hook(ist) banner and will be available on iTunes in November.
When asked about their partnership with Hook(ist), The Bros. Landreth responded, “We’re really excited about having an opportunity to share our song writing process intimately with such a great community of talented writers. Can’t wait to explore our collective muse with all the folks on Hookist!”
Dave Landreth
“The public’s response to the site has been off the charts,” says Munjack. “In the first 30 days, Hookist.com received almost 1,500 well-crafted and often beautiful lyric submissions, almost 3,000 comments and thousands of votes.”
A participant in Hook(ist) recently posted on Facebook that the “process is cool and on so many levels! Writing lyrics for Brad was like a bucket list item that never occurred to me until it happened! Thanks again for making this collaboration possible for all the dreamers out here.”
Hook(ist) was founded by Meredith Collins and Terry Derkach, two artists committed to the creative process. Derkach is a producer, life-long musician and owner of a recording studio in New York City, and Collins is a producer and actress. When a beloved rock legend tweeted a photo of his lunch, the two recognized the need for a more authentic and relevant way for established artists to utilize social media and connect with their fans. At the same time, they saw an opportunity to support aspiring artists with a forum to showcase their talents and gain exposure.
Hook(ist) will also use the platform to raise money and awareness for partner charitable organizations like Musicians on Call, which brings the healing power of music to hospital patients across the country, and Salute Military Golf Association, which uses rehabilitative golf experiences to empower seriously injured war veterans.
