Episode 212- Songwriters Daw & Edmondson

There are all sorts of reasons why you might hurry to get home before sunset. The first — and most obvious — is that you are running and hiding from vampires or other supernatural beings that love the nightlife and have got to boogie (on the disco ‘round, oh yeah). You need to give yourself enough time to stop at the store for garlic, silver, what have you, and get home in time to barricade yourself in until daylight. We suppose this could also hold true for people who turn into werewolves during the full moon and want to hide it from the neighbors. It’s none of your next-door neighbor’s business what you do in your personal life, on your own time. So be yourself! Unless that means you terrorize your neighborhood in wolf form, Thriller-style. In that case, lock yourself in your basement for a few hours.

When we’re in Northern Michigan, we hurry home before sunset because the porch at the house where we stay has a glorious sunset view. (And “we” means everyone but Luke. He’s been invited but for some reason has yet to take us up on it. We’re delightful company!) We’re talking about the kind of view where you sit in an Adirondack chair and stare at the unobstructed scene of the horizon on Lake Michigan. And no, the neighbors don’t judge this behavior either, because they’re doing the same thing. No matter the colors in the sky, they’re bound to help our heart rates drop to reasonable levels. Of course, as soon as the sun disappears, it’s time to run inside — the bugs have been waiting for the sunset, too, and our arms and legs are their favorite snack. (There’s no hiding from those vampires!)

The only thing that could enhance the sunset viewing party is just the right soundtrack. But let’s be honest — the right soundtrack can enhance any experience. The guests for this week’s episode know a lot about writing and performing music for all sorts of scenarios. We had the pleasure of speaking with songwriters Charity Daw and Josh Edmondson. First and foremost, they’d be a pleasure to talk with even without an impressive list of accomplishments attached to their names. Once you listen to the episode, you’ll see exactly what we mean. But we’re happy to report that they’re killing it in the songwriting sphere. This married duo produces chart-topping songs and have over a billion streams so far. They create custom music for TV, film, and toy brands. They’ve worked with recording artists such as Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Ringo Starr, and Dove Cameron. You name it, they’ve probably dipped their collective toes in that musical pond!

We spoke with Charity and Josh about their respective songwriting journeys and what took them from Los Angeles to Nashville. We also asked what it’s like to be a part of the juggernaut that is the Disney Descendants franchise. (Charity and Josh wrote songs for it, so your kids are very familiar with their work — which means you are, too.) How did they know this Descendants thing was going to be big? Let’s just say when children and parents come trick-or-treating to your door on Halloween dressed as the characters you wrote songs for, it’s a thing!

While we could have chatted with this songwriting duo about Kenny Ortega all day, they have a lot more going on. Charity filled us in on her current music projects, Josh told us about what it was like to spend the weekend at Mike Love’s house (omelets made to order and lots of hats in the garage), and they both explained there were certain projects they couldn’t talk about yet because of NDAs. (Spill it! We promise we won’t tell anyone …) They also shared what it’s like to write songs for children and how a kiddo’s innate BS meter can help make a song a success or failure. So, keep your ears open. If you hear a great song in a Netflix series, in a video game, or in your kid’s favorite playlist, chances are the credit goes to Charity and Josh!

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