My name is Steve Violetti, aka “VO” and I’m one of thousands of you who love to play and write original songs.
All of us songwriting hopefuls have dreamed the same dream and have a story to tell similar to the one I’m writing here for Vision 4 Music. I was asked to document it anyway as a favor, so don’t hesitate to send V4M your experience as a musician or songwriter trying to get your song heard and hopefully published.
Vision 4 Music's New Partner, Producer Eddie Gore
Eddie Gore, a Nashville native, is one of the few producers in the record business possessing the great ears of a player/arranger with the ability to engineer the most demanding recording in any musical style.
Steve Cropper, Hall of Famer, Legendary Memphis guitarist, and songwriter has been making music and making choices that have improved music and American popular culture for nearly half a century. After moving to Nashville in 1993, one of those perfect choices was hiring Eddie.
When Steve Cropper decided to step away from the day-to-day madness and magic of Music Row, he entrusted Eddie to design and construct a studio in a building Cropper owned on the “Row” adjacent from the ASCAP Building.
Like Steve Cropper, Kyle Lehning recognized Eddie’s amazing gifts and hired him. Lehning, the quiet master producer who was responsible for England Dan & John Ford Coley’s Pop hits in the 70s, later teamed with Randy Travis to create many of Country’s finest records. Among the recordings he and Eddie worked on were those by the late, great lyricist and children’s book author Shel Silverstein.
Eddie spent four years directing and arranging live performances for WYHY, one of Nashville’s most successful radio stations. These events included artists like Steve Winwood and Felix Cavaliere.
For the past twenty-five years, Eddie has developed a keen ear for Radio. He knows what makes a hit on different radio formats. Best of all, Eddie’s studio is really a production house, where clients and artists can go, get their full spectrum of musical requirements taken care of in an A-plus way. Eddie will help with song selection – essentially A+R your project if that’s what the job requires – and he takes special pride in his ability to arrange music specifically around the artist.
“There are so many unbelievable musicians in this town,” Eddie Gore says, during a conversation in his and Cropper’s state-of-the-art studio. “It really comes down to matching personalities with the artist and their songs.”
Many studios on the Row specialize in doing demo recordings. As in everything else, Eddie’s different about this. “I don’t do demos,” he says simply, “I just do RECORDS. I’ve never cut a demo in my life. I’m playing for keeps.”
“Arrangements support melody and lyric.” He emphasizes.
That’s a perfect statement from an experienced producer and arranger, who’s been a vital part of the support system for many of the Row’s greatest artists.
