Meet Spencer Wood | Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Spencer Wood and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Spencer, why did you pursue a creative career?
It wasn’t my first choice, actually. I graduated college in the Spring of 2020 when COVID-19 was shutting the entire world down. The job I had lined up post-grad went up in smoke so I left Lubbock and headed home to Fort Worth where I stayed with my parents during the entire pandemic. It was the first time in my life where I had nothing going on for days at a time and I found myself playing more guitar than I ever had. I had always loved good songwriting, especially in the Texas tradition. I had always wanted to write songs but I really hadn’t sat down and put pen to paper and focused on finishing anything. Before the pandemic I’d written two, maybe three songs in the three years I’d been playing guitar. But with all of this time on my hands I started writing more and more and as I wrote more the songs got better and I finally got to a point after a few months where I’d written two or three songs that I thought were good enough to play for folks. I kept up a pretty furious writing pace through 2020 and got to a point where I was dying to show people these songs and for lack of anything else to do I started playing any place that would have me. It was in these places where I got to test these songs and hear feedback from listeners that encouraged me to pursue music full time and really hone in on what I was hoping to accomplish creatively with my songwriting beyond it just being something fun to do. I’ve always had strong ideas and opinions and this was an outlet for that. I want to write songs that people hear and feel represented by. I want them to say, “Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel about that.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Something that I think sets me apart from a lot of writers today is that try to come at songwriting through a literary perspective. Really great literature stands the test of time. I think the best written songs do to. All of my songwriting heroes like Guy Clark, John Prine, and Robert Earl Keen were master word smiths and so incredible at describing the landscapes, weather, and characters in their songs with such an excellent economy of words that most people can’t do in a form as restrictive as songwriting. Their songs will be good 100 years from now. They inspire me to write descriptively and to use words and rhyme schemes that aren’t always super obvious and to push back against the part of my brain that wants to go for the super obvious line or rhyme melody. My process involves a heavy amount of editing and the songs change a lot from inception to their finished form. I think it’s easy for a lot of people to throw out the names of the guys above but it’s hard as hell to actually do the work like they did and to overcome the short-term reward of writing something likeable but forgettable. I’m always fighting for representation in my songs. Whether it’s about the changing country (something I write a lot about), love, loss, or any of the other myriad emotions and struggles people feel I want to write something people can identify with in a way that is smart, unique, and hopefully melodically interesting.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I spend a lot of time at Magnolia Motor Lounge and Lola’s Saloon near downtown Fort Worth. When I just started writing I hung around there most nights because that’s where all of the other musicians hung out and I just wanted to be on the scene. There was live music most nights of the week and it was just an incredible opportunity to meet other artists that were doing exactly what I wanted to do someday. There are other really great spots in town like Nickel City, Showdown Saloon, and The Twilight Lounge that have a cool atmosphere and you don’t need to break the bank or where your sunday best for. I don’t frequent a lot of the hotter spots or clubs.

For Food I always suggest people go to Heim on The River, Hatsayuki on West 7th, and Montgomery Cafe across from Dickies Arena.

Two of my favorite stores people need to check out when they’re in Fort Worth are Chiefalo Americana on Camp Bowie and Morris Boot Company on Montgomery. Both are small, family owned businesses, that offer really fantastic products.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to small venues in Texas like The Bluelight Live in Lubbock, Magnolia Motor Lounge in Fort Worth, The Golden Light Cantina in Fort Worth, Blane’s in San Angelo, and other small bars that communities have been built around. Without small venues like this that have cultivated an audience interested in original songwriting guys like me wouldn’t have a shot at doing what we’re trying to do. It’s so important that places like this are able to stay in business.

Website: https://www.spencerwoodmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerwoodmusic/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7GgRX_Lc58FnNgnP2QeFDw

Image Credits
Tim Castleman, Kira Wilson, Matt Henry.