The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast · The Fretboard Journal

Anna Vogelzang

·51 min·4 clips

Anna wrote 144 songs from random prompts, shaping her reflective new album about parenting and past.

This episode features singer-songwriter Anna Vogelzang discussing her new album *Afterglow*, her creative process, and life as a musician and parent. Host Jason Verlinde interviews Vogelzang, whom he met at the Fretboard Summit, about her songwriting workshops and recent move to Chicago. Vogelzang explains her "Songwriting for Moms" class at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, which originated from a conversation at a Fretboard event. She details the influential "Northeast LA Song Salon" she co-founded with musician Adam Levy, which met weekly in her 800-square-foot home. That salon involved up to 13 people, including artists like Sophia Wolf and Madison Cunningham, and provided feedback for songs on her 2019 album *Beacon*. Vogelzang later curated a "Song Club" residency at LA's Bootleg Theater and a similar series at Chicago's Schubas Tavern, focusing on creative process over critique. The majority of songs on *Afterglow* originated from prompts in a songwriter game run by Matt the Electrician, which she joined in March 2020. Vogelzang wrote 144 songs over three years through that game, with prompts like "Hometown" directly inspiring tracks on the new record. She describes songwriting as a craft she approaches with a timer, often writing a complete song in under 20 minutes. The album was co-produced with Anthony da Costa and recorded in two sessions in Nashville, delayed by an eight-month vocal injury caused by a virus damaging a laryngeal nerve. Her recovery involved waiting for the nerve to regrow at two millimeters per day while doing vocal therapy. A surprising insight is that Vogelzang considers accountability to others as the key to her creative practice, not just personal inspiration. She notes that living in Los Angeles with a young child made the city feel "magical" and ideal for collaboration. The episode reveals that several songs on the new album reflect on her teenage years in Lexington, Massachusetts, viewed through the lens of now being a parent in the suburbs. Vogelzang and da Costa selected the final album tracks from a batch of about 20 songs, with the injury ultimately strengthening her vocal performance. The tone is casual and conversational, with a focus on the practicalities and community aspects of a musician's life. This episode would appeal to songwriters interested in creative discipline, collaboration, and balancing artistry with parenthood. Listeners seeking highly technical gear talk or music theory might find it less relevant.

As heard by us

A patient, craft-first chat that turns small prompts into a fuller record story.

Anna Vogelzang's visit makes for a careful, craft-focused look at how a record comes together when songwriting and motherhood sit alongside life in Chicago.

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Why you'd press play

You want a songwriter chat that follows a record back to its prompts and games.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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