Name: Bruce Sudano
Nationality: American
Occupation: Songwriter, singer
Recent release: Bruce Sudano's new single, “Make The World Go Away” is out now via his very own Purple Heart Recording Co. The song was co-produced by mixer/producer Ken Lewis (Taylor Swift, Drake, Kanye, BTS). Bruce will also tour n the US for the On The Blue Cruise and opening for Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Zombies in the UK in Spring of 2023.

[Read our Colin Blunstone of The Zombies interview]

If you enjoyed this interview with Bruce Sudano and would like to find out more about his work, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I often say, I tend to be in an assimulator by nature. So, just in the process of living and listening and feeling, seeds of inspiration are born that I’m not even aware of and then sometimes they just show up. And yes, it’s true, I do draw inspiration from poetry and books and movies, music and women. It seems I frequently write songs from a female point of view.

Example of that would be my song, “When Cinderella Dies”.



Also my next single, “Two Bleeding Hearts” which is a duet with the legendary Valerie Simpson, would also be a good example of that.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I like to start with a seed of inspiration. Something I just pull out of nothing that I feel can be developed into a song that has purpose and meaning.

It’s usually after that, the hard work of craft comes into play with the emotional digging and soul-searching to get to the bottom and core of what it is I’m trying to say. The balance between the two I would have to say is 50-50 because they both are equally important to the quality of the creation.

I’m never satisfied when I take shortcuts. With a song like the current single, “Make the world go Away” it’s simply a cry from the heart. It’s personal, but it was an emotion that I recognized was being felt by all of us.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I generally write on a guitar or at a piano. It’s usually not until I’ve finished the writing of the song  that I proceed to the recording process. Then I will pick a tempo, create an idea of how I’d like the production to proceed. Maybe add some harmonies, a keyboard part, possibly a baseline, and then I hand it off to one of my producers, who help me re-create it into something that’s a professional recording.

On the lyrical side of things, it’s an ongoing conversation in my mind. I kind of have a clear internal sense of where I need to go and what lines could be better and what I’m trying to say.

It just keeps rummaging around internally until I feel some sense of peace about it, that’s when I know it’s finished.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I really don’t have any particular rituals, but I do like to be alone, just so I don’t get distracted or become self-conscious.

I like to have my phone ready and on record when I start. I like to have a glass of water with some lemon in it, a tuner, a capo and then just a little bit of time to sing and play.

If I stumble on a vibe, I’ll start working on it.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

The degree of difficulty is all or nothing. When you find that one kernel of this can be a song, when that happens, it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Conversely, when it doesn’t happen, it becomes nearly impossible.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Lyrics to me are of the utmost importance. Especially because I feel that’s the center of where my gifting lies.

Yes, of course the music is important, just as important. You need to have a lyric that fits with a melody. It’s the melody along with the words that create the emotion that connects the message of your song to the heart of the listener.

Lyrics most certainly can emerge from a place of their own, and I’ve written lyrics to music, and I’ve written music to lyrics. But most frequently for me these days, I write the lyric and the music at the same time.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

I like lyrics to be engaging, to paint a picture, to ring an emotional bell. I like when lyrics work in a way that the listener recognizes himself or someone he knows.

I find it a constant challenge to become more descriptive and less wordy.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

When I get an idea that I decide to begin working on, I generally like to have about a week to fully flush out all the nuance, emotionally and structurally.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I don’t generally like surprises, but when it comes to songwriting, I do. There are times you think you know what the story is and the emotional arc of where you’re trying to go. But sometimes there’s this lightbulb moment of revelation, that what I’m really trying to say is this and what really needs to be said is that.

And when this happens, it’s like discovering gold.
 
Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I generally like to stay on the road of the initial inspiration, unless of course I get to a place where I’m not satisfied and that’s usually when I begin to explore other options, other directions both lyrically and musically.

I always like it when I get a song to the place where feels like it always existed.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

The creative state can be like an out of body experience. The phenomena of something coming through you.

At the same time the creative state carries with it a sense of diligence, hard work, being thorough, being inventive. There’s a good bit of actual craft that is involved.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I work until I get to the point of, “it’s time to let go”,. Where if I keep going forward I’m not making it better and it starts going in the wrong direction.

So you want to stop before you get there.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Well, it would be nice to have things sit for a minute and evaluate later, but that’s a luxury you can’t always afford. I understand that things are never perfect and in many cases imperfection can be a good thing.

So I’ve learned to accept that and take the experience and apply it to the next thing I’m working on.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Every step in the process is exceedingly important. I consider myself lucky because I get to work with some of the best engineers, producers and mixers in the business.

Of course, I have my own opinions and ideas but at the end of the day I trust them for their expertise.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I certainly can relate to that feeling of emptiness.

You’ve worked so hard, put your heart and soul into a song or a project and then it gets out there in the world and you wonder if anybody really notices or cares. I sometimes lament how a picture of your dinner can get more reaction, likes and looks, than the project you’ve spent a year working on. But that’s just the nature of the world that we live in.

Generally, I’m always in process of working on what’s next so that doesn’t leave me much room to worry about what’s just been released. Of course, I try to always make myself available to walk through whatever doors of opportunity may open up as a result of the release.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Well songwriting for me is my passion. Of course I enjoy a good cup of coffee but generally while I’m making that cup of coffee in my mind, I’m working on a lyric so you really can’t compare the two.

Where your passion lies is what rules you, as it should.