Two-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Jamie Floyd has written music for both the stage and the screen. She’s also penned songs for Miranda Lambert, Sturgill Simpson, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Beyond Floyd’s success with sharing her songwriting talent, she also has a hoard of her own music that has summited some of the music industry’s highest peaks.
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Floyd continues to write and release music. Her most recent single is the surprisingly upbeat “Sad Summer.” Despite the radiant positivity that is woven into the music, the lyrics and their sentiment strongly juxtapose the vibe of the music. Floyd bolsters this notion in an Instagram post. “I’ve never had so much fun writing a sad song,” Floyd stated.
Floyd is a musical Swiss Army knife that is able to magnificently adapt to any musical genre or setting when need be. Though, as Floyd divulges in an interview with American Songwriter, her God-given lyrical talent wouldn’t have come to fruition if it weren’t for the trials and tribulations of her musical career.
American Songwriter: How did you get started in songwriting?
Jamie Floyd: I signed a record deal out of New York at 11 years old and along with that came a publishing deal. At the time my parents and I didn’t even know what that was! I was set up on my very first co-write at 13 years old with the brilliant Greg Barnhill and Jim Daddario in Nashville. I brought a notebook full of very rough ideas and we wrote five songs in two days. Greg came out of the writing room on our first day and told my mom (who was waiting outside), that I was actually a songwriter. My mom and I didn’t expect that since I’d never written songs before that first co-write! I remember it felt natural to open up and share pretty intense/emotional ideas even in that very first co-write and that has never changed.
AS: What inspires you? How do you find ideas for a song?
JF: For years I’ve always said I’m a non-fiction writer and so I’m mostly inspired by what’s really happening …or not happening in my life. I don’t always have to be in the middle of it either, sometimes for me a memory ends up being way more devastating and interesting the older it gets. I’m a pretty sensitive person so I tend to take on and absorb what’s happening to people around me too, which can end up mostly unedited and true to life in my songs. I’m inspired by rich, conversational intense language and storytelling in all forms— reading books, poems or seeing a play will trigger a line or unleash things for me. I am also so inspired and influenced by some of the great writers of sad songs. People like Dean Dillon and Lori McKenna, for example. Their work always encourages me to never shy away from intensity in commercial songwriting.
AS: Have you ever experienced writer’s block and how do you get past it?
JF: I haven’t experienced a block where I couldn’t write for days or months. I do hit some walls in writing for sync and/or musical theater where I’m oftentimes writing by myself for projects. When I’ve written something for a scene, it’s usually inspired by the first emotional impulse that hits me and I run in that direction. If asked of me, I find it challenging to change gears and write a completely different song to replace the first one that came to me. … I tend to get past it by doing something else while trying to rewrite. So instead of sitting down with a guitar in a room to work on it, I’ll take a drive and sing ideas or lyrics into my phone as they come. The distraction of driving makes things flow a lot easier for me as opposed to just sitting still and thinking.
AS: Can you feel when a song is going to be a hit during a writing session or does it constantly surprise you which songs take off?
JF: I can’t say I’m able to predict a hit in the writing room with accuracy—of course, you hope your songs reach the most people possible, ultimately, but for me that’s something I’ve learned to loosen my grip on while in process. I’ve found if I’m not holding on tight to expectations of what a hit has to be, going in, then my hands are open for whatever’s meant to come that day in that creative space. There seem to be so many industry-fueled rules tied to what a “hit” is. In my experience, some of my songs have broken those rules and they ended up being the cuts I’m most proud of.
AS: Are you someone who has a very concerted writing process? Or are you constantly jotting down ideas and creating more sporadically?
JF: I do jot down ideas and do better when ideas hit me. I try not to let the pressure of writing something earth-shattering come into play if I can help it. I’m learning to be gentle with myself if I’m having a day where not much is bubbling up. So for me, I’d say it’s more sporadic. If I’m given a specific assignment or script or song title/subject to focus on, I tend to get inspired to create from what immediately surfaces for me after hearing the title or reading the scene. Often when they do come in, ideas and lyrics feel like downloads that come on fast especially when there’s a deadline involved. I do better when I’m not forcing anything and I put a lot of trust into what my first impulses are whether I’m in a co-write and we’re tossing ideas around or if I’m writing a solo song on a deadline for a project.
AS: Tell me about writing “Sad Summer.” Is there one lyric that you’re especially proud of or feel best describes you?
JF: I really feel like if I have one, sad has to be my superpower! It’s where I gravitate in my writing most of the time, but “Sad Summer” was a completely different approach than I normally take when writing heartbreak. I’ve been challenging myself to disguise my sad songs with danceable melodies and production, crying on the dance floor vibes. I don’t think anyone expected this song (or the dance remix) from me! I had been sitting on the line, Eyes like a riptide pulling me in, after doing a writing exercise in a journal around the time we (my husband Jimmy Thow and our co-writer Richard Tichelman) wrote this. It’s the first line of the song and it’s my favorite because I love how it goes straight in, comparing such a violent, deadly thing as a riptide with the eyes of someone you want on you so badly. It’s the best of both worlds for me.
AS: Why was it important to team up with G Star in South Florida for the music video creation?
JF: G-Star is an incredible charter school in my hometown of West Palm Beach, Florida, where students who have a passion for the arts can begin to get a head start by working on a pro level in film or music etc. while still in high school. My former arts teacher Larry Decarmine, who teaches at G-Star now, paired me with the students and made all of this a reality. I never forgot him or the lifelong impact he made on me and it was so full circle to join forces with him to give these students an opportunity to make a music video.
Instead of writing a letter to my younger self, I got to go back, in person, and visit the dreamer I was in high school through their eyes. As we hung out and got to know each other little by little, I saw my teenage self in their excitement, fearlessness and anticipation for the future—I made sure to offer things to them I wish I had heard, or encourage them in the ways I didn’t know I needed back when I was where they are. I saw myself in them.
AS: What advice would you give songwriters just starting out?
JF: You don’t have to do it the way it’s always been done. Do your best to stay away from constant comparison or getting down on yourself because your path doesn’t look like someone else’s. What is for you will be yours. Keep discovering your voice and your unique language, keep developing it and making it the best it can be and stay true to that always, regardless of the trends. Don’t give anyone the power to make you give up. When the rejection comes don’t let it stop you, make sure it starts you over and over again.
AS: What do you love most about songwriting?
JF: I love that it’s never over. There’s always another song waiting. I love the magic of saying what you really want to say exactly how you want to say it.
Photo by Jeremy Ryan
