Meet Song of the Year Nominee Seth Swirsky and his Musical Family

His 16-year-old son travels from Los Angeles to New York to work with the latest pop bands. His wife, Jody Gerson is the president of Sony Music Publishing and his 8-year-old and 6-year-old love to play the drums.

Singer, songwriter, author, artist and avid baseball fan Seth Swirsky’s Benedict Canyon, California, home is a true musical mecca.

Just last summer, at Swirsky’s 50^th birthday party, ledgendary Monkees singer Davy Jones showed up at Swirsky’s house.  He popped in an accompaniment CD and began singing “Cheer Up Sleepy Jean” which led to a sing-along with 150 people singing all kinds of favorites.

Swirsky is the one by the window playing the guitar and his son is next to him. Here’s a video:

The best part of the story is that Luke, Swirsky’s 8-year-old son, thought nothing of these musical masters jamming in his living room because music is a part of his life every day. “He thinks Davy Jones just came over to sing,” Swirsky tells Family First.

Swirsky is no stranger to the music industry giants. He is a prolific songwriter having worked with Celine Dion, Michael McDonald, Rufus Wainwright, Al Green, the iconic 80s soft-rock band Air Supply, along with many others. He also co-wrote the 80s pop hit “Tell It To My Heart” with Ernie Gold that was made famous by Taylor Dayne.

His own song, “Watercolor Day” has been nominated for Song of the Year in the Pop Category at the Hollywood Music and Media Awards that are being held tomorrow, November 18^th. This song appears on the album with the same name released earlier this year.  Hear samples of Seth’s songs here.

Held at The Highlands at the world-famous Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California, the HMMAs recognize and honor the music of visual mediums, the talented individuals responsible for it, and the music of both mainstream and independent artists from around the world.

This album is his second solo album following his 2004 “Instant Pleasure” whose title song was sung by Wainwright on the soundtrack for the Adam Sandler movie “Big Daddy.” It’s a mélange of sounds – some say similar to the sound of The Beatles, Beach Boys or even Elliott Smith, the late singer/songwriter who performed much of the “Good Will Hunting” soundtrack. Mostly, it’s Swirsky’s sound. Unique to anyone you’ve heard – full of many different instruments but mostly great melodies, which is his specialty.

“Melody is my main kind of thing. My strength is in melodies,” Swirsky says.  “My goal is for someone to hum my melody. That gives me more joy than selling 10,000 records.”

He says he gets his inspiration for songs from all over and from any part of life. Recently, he bought a new swivel chair from a salesperson named Genevieve. Swirsky thought that was a pretty name and now there is a track on his next album called “Genevieve.”

“I’m very open. I keep my ears open and my mind open,” says Swirsky about the music writing process.

He is also a musical purist, recording all the music from acoustic instruments, not synthesizers. In addition, all the music is recorded reel to reel for a richer, more authentic sound.  He’s old school – this process takes longer to cut tracks but it’s worth it for Swirsky.

Music has been a part of Swirsky’s life since he was a boy. His parents had him at a young age in 1960 so he went to bed at night to the sounds of his mom playing Beatles songs over and over downstairs.  This instilled in him a love of The Beatles’ sound.

He has even shot a documentary tentatively titled “A Year in the Life” which is a collection of interviews from people about their encounters with The Beatles.  

“That’s their number one story for everyone who met The Beatles. It’s bigger than riding on Air Force One or meeting the president,” he says. He interviewed their engineers and their ex-girlfriends, among others.  The film will be released in February 2011 – expect to hear about it at indie film festivals.

For a songwriter who sold his first tune to Thomas’ English Muffins while still in college and who has gone on to cutting tracks with some of the music industry’s most elite members, Swirsky lives his music and passes it on to his kids.

Pretty soon, we’ll be writing about his 6-year-old daughter Daisy Claire’s compositions too! Learn more about Swirsky’s music, films, books and life at www.seth.com.