I have no scientific data to support this claim, but if one were to create a pie chart representing the topics singer/songwriters choose to write songs about, 96% of those songs would be about break-ups.
Like rappers and money, it’s a well-traveled path.
Chattanooga songwriter Christian Newport is comfortable in a different lane. “I usually write love songs,” he said. “That’s something that’s very comfortable for me to write” Love songs aren’t all he does, but it was artists like John Mayer and Adam Melcher that inspired him to write songs of his own.
There are plenty of love songs in the world too, but Christian Newport manages to find some unique stories and takes of his own. For instance, his new song Sick Days. “It was about this experience I had with a girl trying to convince me to stay home from work,” he laughs. “It’s about staying in the bedroom all day, and the good stuff we could do… no fifteen-minute breaks or small talk at the water fountain.”
Christian grew up in Spring City, a small town in Rhea county. After a couple of uninspired years studying marketing at ETSU he decided to move down to Chattanooga.
He made friends with Jaron Utt from the terrific local band Walter Slide, and together they produced an EP of Christian’s original songs entitled ‘Sunny.’ Since then, he’s been playing shows whenever possible and finding his place in the local music scene.
That means putting together a band to back him up. His band includes Erik Fine on electric guitar, Adam Newport on drums, and Justin Ywanauskas on bass. “We play under my name, but I introduce them and the Back Seats.”
They’ve got a new single which will debut on streaming platforms in the coming weeks. And they’ve got two upcoming shows at the Woodshop Listening Room in St. Elmo.
Christian Newport will perform this Thursday May 2nd at 8pm as part of the Woodshop Variety show along with Alex the Band and The Ego Museum. On June 8th, he’ll perform at the Woodshop along with The Explorer’s Club.