Chaz Langley began honing his craft in singing, dancing and acting under the direction of Chip Gallagher. Since then he has begun his journey into the world of live stage, background vocals, demos, jingles, voice overs and eventually performing all over the world. Now, Langley bringing his experiences personally and professionally to his long awaited EP, due out this spring.
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I’ve learned the invaluable craft of songwriting from the songwriting capital of the world… Nashville! I do not discriminate to any particular genre, which allows me to write freely without borders. I simply write music I want to hear. I’ve had the pleasure early on in my songwriting career to write with some amazing writers. To mention, Grammy nominated and winning writers like Ryan Tedder of One Republic, Tina Shafer (best known for her work with Celine Dion and Billy Porter), not to mention a select few of other talented writers with whom I’ve shared a writing room or a Nashville or New York apartment to create a great song!
My process can sometimes be a bit unorthodox given the way that a song comes to me. For example, my latest song “Devilish Eyes” came to me in a dream in the form of a James Bond-ish infused guitar riff woven throughout the song. I’ve never written what I would perceive as “sexy,” but this song wrote itself. The melody came so easily that all that was left to write were the lyrics which paired as well as a fine wine to its culinary counterpart. This song is about the subconscious “Devilish Eyes” that comes over a gentleman when his object of affection is near. The guitar, played by my co-writing partner Giancarlo Castillo, tells this story with savvy and sensual riffs and chords bringing it to life … not to mention a climaxing solo to finish this naughty little ditty!
My current single “Song of Sorrow” came to me as I was looking out an apartment window in Brooklyn. I imagined a sad bird was singing a Song of Sorrow on a window ledge. This “bird” quickly became the old -fashioned word for a woman. I was inspired by the timeless classic, “Killing Me Softly” to give the “bird” her song. “This is a song about a girl who fell in love … Hopeless romantic was the title she was most thought of …”, which leads to heartbreak that leaves her closed and cold to a potential Mr. Right! Sounds familiar, right? I’ve been that guy before which is also the narrative of this song! This acoustic guitar-laced R&B song is now available on iTunes.
Another way I’ve written is with word and phrase challenges. I challenged myself to use the phrase “Gay Paris” (Gay Par-ee … because it rhymed …) in a song and wrote “Here With You.” This song is a “Spoonin’ and Croonin'” tune that takes me on a trip around the world. The thought was to capture the feeling of missing that special someone and thinking of the details you miss about them during travel. This one became a cheeky “Bublé-esque” flavored tune that’s available on iTunes and most streaming music sites.
I’m passionate about songwriting because of how diverse the process is and how I’ve grown to make my music more relatable and accessible for my listeners.
A mentor of mine years ago taught me this …”A message prepared in the mind, reaches minds … A message prepared from the heart reaches hearts … and a message prepared from a life reaches lives.” I use these words to live by in every song I write.
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