“Caffeine & Gasoline”
By Scott Voelkerding
Interview by American Songwriter
Scott Voelkerding is the American Songwriter Highway Hits Song Contest Promotion winner for his song “Caffeine & Gasoline.” American Songwriter caught up with Scott to get the story behind his road trip hit.
How long have you been songwriting?
I have been writing country songs for approximately 12 years. I grew up playing piano and was improvising melodies on piano many more years ago, but I attended my first NSAI “Song Camp” in the Summer of 2012 and that’s when my songwriting journey really began.
Why did you enter American Songwriter’s Highway Hits Promotion?
I wrote this song back in 2017 with Kelly McKay and Steve Smentek. We demoed the song, pitched it for a while, and then, like so many songs, let it sit on a hard drive until the right moment. Sometimes that’s the hardest part about being an independent songwriter: waiting for the right moment to come along to pitch a song you love. When I read about the “Highway Hits” promotion, I thought about Caffeine & Gasoline immediately. It seemed to be the right moment for the song.
What was the inspiration behind your song, “Caffeine & Gasoline”?
Kelly McKay, Steve Smentek, and I wrote this song in the backyard of an Airbnb in East Nashville, just a few months before I moved to Nashville. Kelly still has pictures of the two dogs at the Airbnb who were present for the writing of the song, the uncredited co-writers in name only. (After all, we were in their backyard!) I had been working on a melody earlier that afternoon that would end up being the chorus of the song. When Steve and Kelly arrived, I played through the melody idea on acoustic guitar, sitting on the edge of a lounge chair that I shared with one of the dogs, and Steve mapped it to one of the titles in his “hook book”: Caffeine & Gasoline. Kelly started talking about pit stops at Dunkin’ Donuts during long road trips and we were off to writing the first verse. A few hours later, we had a summer roadtrip song (and the sunburns to go with it)!
Who are your all-time favorite songwriters and why?
Tom Douglas (House That Built Me, Little Rock) and Shane McAnally (Somewhere With You, Drinkin’ Problem). Aside from penning some of my favorite hits, the stories of their songwriting journeys are inspiring to me as a maturing songwriter. As rewarding as being a Nashville songwriter can be, there are days when it’s hard to justify swimming against the currents of self-doubt and the countless “noes” of the industry amongst all that is sacrificed. On the good days, Tom and Shane are inspirations for writing a great song; on the more challenging days, their stories are reminders to keep showing up against all odds and to be unapologetically true to self, both as a human and a songwriter.
Are you planning to release any new music this year?
I might record a songwriter album of my favorite songs somewhere down the road, but for now, my focus is writing and pitching songs to the recording artists and their “camps” and writing songs with the artists so that the songs, and the artists who record them, can have their moments. I started this year with a cut by independent Nashville and New England recording artist Kevin Herchen (Betcha) and, this fall, I have three more cuts scheduled for release by independent artists, including two on Irish recording artist James McGrath’s debut album “Can’t Get Out” (If I Were Me, Easier Done Than Said) and one by Nashville recording artist Allison Asarch (Big Apple Red). It’s been a good year!
What would you tell other songwriters who are considering entering the contest?
The songs on your hard drives want to be heard. When an opportunity comes along for a song to have a moment, consider giving the song a chance to have a moment.
Listen to the winning song below:
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