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October 21, 2025 26 mins
Check out my new interview tonight with Thomas Cunningham on The Songwriter Show at:
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you a songwriter? Are you looking to turn your
songwriting passion into a full time gigig? Whether you are
just at the start of your songwriting journey or a
seasoned industry professional, this show is made for you.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You will welcome to the Songwriter Show.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Bringing together songwriting, news, interviews and communicating. Now welcome your
host Sarantos.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Hello, and thank you for tuning in to The Songwriter Show.
I'm Sirautos. You're a humble host and a fellow songwriter
with a passion for crafting stories through music. As someone
who's been writing lyrics for as long as I can remember,
I know how every single song holds its own unique story.
That's what brings us here together every Tuesday on Reality
Radio one oh one to celebrate the voices behind the

(00:47):
music we all love. Tonight, I'm so excited to have
on the show. Thomas Cunningham. He did not grow up
at the piano. Born in Indianapolis, he was surrounded by
music from an early age, thanks largely to his mother's voice.
That's his fondest memories, and he did begin playing the
piano at the age of nineteen. Period of personal upheaval
when music became both a refuge and an outlet.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
And now welcome this week's special guest. Guest.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Welcome to show, Thomas.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
How are you, hi, Sarantos? Thank you for having me on.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
You're welcome. Tell us about the piano. Is that your
main instrument?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Uh? Yes? I started to play when I was older,
like nineteen or twenty. My little sister had just gotten
a piano, you know, for the family, and she was playing,
and I took it up as well. As I went
on and got more into it. In my mid twenties,
I picked up guitar also, and could play some things

(01:44):
on the guitar, and I composed some things as well,
But piano's always been my primary interest.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Tell us a little bit about any famous musicians you
might admire, respect, or try to emulate.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Oh my goodness, in the contemporary seen even though I
don't really rock is not my genre. I love rock
and actually really admire performers who are good, natural, spontaneous performers.
And one of I think the best is Jimmy Page.

(02:20):
When he's playing, it's like it's like he's not even there.
He's engrossed, but he's very how should you say? He's
very detached but not he's like tied into you, but
he's very serene. He has this look of serenity on
his face no matter what he's doing with the guitar,

(02:41):
and to hear and play, it just flows and it's
just so un self conscious. It's just beauty to watch.
But other than that, as far as pianists, I've always
or just musicians. A lot of the classical composers admire,
like Tchaikowsky, Mozar, Beethoven, Chopin. I learned to play some

(03:05):
of those pieces early on from each of those actually.
But I'd love to hear stories of musicians because you
know you might have this feeling also Sorranto. Sometimes you
feel like you're kind of alone. I mean, there are
certain people you can communicate, you know, what you have
in your mind that goes along with the music, But

(03:27):
a lot of people really don't quite understand. But when
you read some of these biographies, you get to know
their personalities and realize that you know you're not alone.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Two points. One is it's wonderful, like you said, when
it's just effortless, they're up there and they're just whatever
instrumentalists is. The second is, unfortunately it's a very competitive market,
and I think we all have this problem where we're
trying to differentiate each other, and that's probably the hardest
part that really sometimes prevents us from being authentic solves

(04:01):
because you're trying to chase an ideal. What do people
want to hear what's on the radio as opposed to
just being yourself.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that that is you know, that
can be a problem. I suppose I hear other musicians
talking about it. That's one of a few problems I
don't have, though, because whenever I try to sound like
other people, I always feel like I fall short. They
do it better than I do. Why am I trying
to sound like them and other people can imitate them

(04:30):
better than I do. But on the other hand, no
one really composes things away I do, so I have
to just focus on my strong points, what I'm good at,
and move forward from there. I mean, a certain percentage
of people are going to like it, a certain percentage
you're not going to like it, hopefully more like it
than not. But at the end of the day, if

(04:51):
you get accepted or rejected based on what you have done,
it means more. It hurts more if you get rejected,
But it means a lot more, or if you get
praise for it.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
Tell us about your songwriting process. How does that work
for you generally?

Speaker 2 (05:07):
You know, sometimes I'll just be looking for a feeling
and I'll just be messing around with various chords and
melodies and try different harmonic combinations with melodies, trying to
capture what I'm feeling. A lot of times I'll just
be literally just noodling around doing different things, or go, boy,

(05:29):
you know, I kind of like the way that you
know transition to this, and and I'll just play with
it more and then I'll let that evoke a feeling
in me to develop it more. It's all, you know,
based on you know, how I feel. And a lot
of times there will be segments that I really don't develop,

(05:50):
that they're kind of floating around the back of my mind,
and I'll be working on something else and go, boy,
you know, I like it to this point that you know,
this bridge, I don't have a good bridge. And then
I'll remember something I've done. I go, yeah, you know
that works here. I think everyone doesn't.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
Tell us about the song that we're going to hear.
What inspired this one when you created it?

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Well, this one is called Nandette. It was named for
my first wife, and it's kind of erotic. I mean,
you know that i'd be playing it now, but I
think it's it's I think it's really good for, you know,
the format of your program, because it's not a lot

(06:34):
of the new agey kind of slow stuff some of
which I do. This is more almost a traditional kind
of love song. And to me, when I was writing it,
I had the idea of making it sound a little
Gershwin esque, and I think you'll know what I mean

(06:55):
about halfway through it, you'll see these kind of transitions
that might remind you that. But it's, you know, it's
just a kind of classic love song.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
You know.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
It was written a year or two after we were
initially married.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
All Right, tell you what. Let's take a list set
and then we'll come back and talk tomorrow. Okay, great, Thanks,
all right, everybody check this out. Here we go.

Speaker 4 (08:02):
S S.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
S time FA.

Speaker 3 (11:13):
So, so thank you for sharing that song with us.

(12:24):
Do you always do instrumentals? Do you ever do things
with lyrics? How do you figure that out?

Speaker 5 (12:31):
Well?

Speaker 2 (12:31):
I have written probably fifteen songs with lyrics, some around
that I've actually recorded a few back when I was
in college, I did a couple of recordings with a
singer on the side, and at the time, there really
wasn't much of an avenue, so I would just do

(12:53):
the recordings. I'd mail them into a record company and
I'd always get really nice letters back. But you know,
no one picked it up. But I didn't know anyone.
I had no ends or anything, and I did that
on the side. I think some of the lyrics I write,
I'm very proud of it. I'm not as much a

(13:14):
lyric writer as I am a music composer, but I
do like it. And sometimes, you know, if lyrics are
done properly, they enhance the music and vice versa. And
if I can't do that, then I leave it alone
in a particular piece.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
Yeah, fair enough. Do you perform in public very often?

Speaker 2 (13:36):
I haven't in a while since I moved to Houston
a couple of decades ago. I'm really involved in the
medical field and the pediatric cardiology profession, and I spend
a lot of time doing that now. I've also played,
you know, publicly here at nightclubs now and then, or

(13:56):
you know, restaurants. Before I moved here from Indianapolis, I
used to play in a restaurant when I was I
was also working full time, and and it was a
wonderful experience because it got me over stage fright. I
did it for over a year, three or four nights
a week. I ended up having to quit because I

(14:18):
was getting so exhausted. I got mononucleosis.

Speaker 3 (14:23):
Oh wow, I.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
Had to lay back. But I was just wearing myself out.
But you know, at first, you know, I just the
guy who hired me, you know, is a is an
absolute saint, because I couldn't have sounded and I was like,
wouldn't you know, and he didn't fire me. And as
the weeks went by, I got better and better. After
about six months, I felt, you know, I was I

(14:47):
felt like I could kind of tap into the the
audience and give them something, you know. Yeah, you know yeah,
And after a year, I felt, you know, like I
had become an actual performer.

Speaker 3 (15:01):
Yeah. It does take time. That's the one thing that
no one wants to talk about. Everybody wants to be
an overnight sensation, But it just takes time to get
better man at performing, at making it, all of it.
It really does.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yeah, in the stage fright boy, that's that's hard to overcome.
But you know, if you tell yourself you don't have
any choice, you're going to do this, or you know
you're just going to do it, you will. Like you said,
it takes time.

Speaker 3 (15:27):
Tell us a little bit about what exciting thing you
got coming for the fans this year, anything you want
to share with us.

Speaker 2 (15:33):
Lately, I've been making music videos, but you know, I've
have two albums previously there. You know, I've got a
playlist on Spotify, and instead of going into the studio
and recording another album, which I haven't had time for,
making video recordings at home of some new material. I've
got four of them up on I think you pour

(15:56):
them up on YouTube and and on my website. I've
got a personal website, and I've got a couple more
I'll be recording there. You know. Some of it is
of me playing, some of it is of other things
that go along with what I'm playing, the theme and
the continuity. So that's what I've got going right now.

(16:19):
Eventually I will record another album, but it's the video
recordings that I'm working on right now.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
You talk a little bit about this, but how do
you balance music with your other obligations, you know, your
significant other, any kids, your job. How does that work
for you?

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Well, I have a son, he's twenty four now, and
he has a wife and kids, and we're very close.
So I don't have kids that you know, take up
my time. But I am still a full time employed
in the medical field, and doing both is very difficult.
I've also got three dogs, and that's like having a kid, right.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
Yeah, Well, are they cute? Though? If the dogs are cute,
then it's worth it.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Oh, they are. But they're kind of large dogs, so
they require a lot more attention than a small dog.
And you know, I get plenty of exercise walking them,
that's for sure, and playing with them. But they're but
they're worth it. But balancing, Oh yeah, it's it's really rough.
I mean you have to, uh have to be as

(17:24):
disciplined as you can, you know, take care of yourself
dietarily and yeah, and I meditate a fair amount and
I think that's extremely helpful. Plus plus I've got a
pretty good analyst.

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Tell us about what you like the most about writing
a song.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
To me, it's really the visual imagery. I don't know,
I'll bet anything you can relate, but there's when you're
composing something, the music has a space in your mind
that is somewhere between visual and audio. It's not either one,
but it's both, and it's something different it. I mean,

(18:07):
it sounds like a riddle, but you know, when you
feel it in your mind and when you're creating something,
it conjures that. And when you have that sensation that feeling,
you get certain images and memories and soundscapes. That, to me,
is a marvelous feeling. And if it can make you

(18:29):
feel a certain way that you're trying to express, then
it's successful.

Speaker 3 (18:36):
What do you think is the biggest mistake people make.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
With you mean in the music business or just.

Speaker 3 (18:41):
Compe in the music business.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yeah, well, I don't know. I've probably made all of them.
I have to be, I guess, to be to not
be as involved as you need to be to promote
things and expect greater results to really get anywhere. But
I think you have to be, you know, heavily involved.
I'm more more involved now than I've actually ever been,

(19:08):
but still again, working full time. I don't know if
it's ever going to be enough, but I think that's
a lot of it. It's just putting the time and
the effort into making a success out of it.

Speaker 3 (19:20):
Tell us a little bit about where fans can find you,
stream you buy your music. Where can they find everything?

Speaker 2 (19:27):
Well, on Spotify and I think Instagram. I've got a playlist.
It's it's under Thomas cunning Him. And there is another
Thomas cunning Him. He plays guitar in a very different genre.
But if you look up spirit Rain Music, Thomas Cunningham,

(19:49):
spirit Ray Music, you can find me, you know online
or you know Spotify, and I have a website spirit
raymusic dot Net on YouTube.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Also, thank you so much for being on the show tonight.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
Yes, yeah, Santos, It's very nice for you to ask me.
I've had a good time. Hopefully I'll talk to you
another time.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah, awesome, all right, And thank you to all the
listeners out there tonight. We both hope this episode has
inspired you to explore your own unique story through music.
My name is Sarantos. It's been a pleasure having you
with us tonight. Please join us every single Tuesday evening.
Have a great night. I love you all.

Speaker 5 (21:18):
Understand its assistant consists consistences.

Speaker 4 (22:55):
Thank you for listening to The Songwriter Show to keep

(23:36):
the momentum.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Going head over to www. Dot songwriter Show dot com
and join our free music community of artists, songwriters, and producers.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
That's www.

Speaker 4 (23:47):
Dot songwriter show dot com.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
Any anything, any N, no

Speaker 4 (25:44):
Name, singling, hanging, and
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