The guys in the Cadillac Three write tons of songs all the time, so in a world where so many people are being taken to court for copyright infringement, how do they guard against accidentally copying someone else’s song or melody, or even repeating a song that they themselves have written? According to Jaren Johnston, “I mean, you gotta be careful with it. Obviously you watch it.”
Neil Mason adds, “And you’ve gotta do it with your own songs, much less everybody else’s songs. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I don’t listen to as much, especially Nashville country music, unless it’s already out in the world because at that point I oughta be smart enough to not rip that off.”
Even when they write with outside writers, The Cadillac Three has to be conscious that what they’re creating is original. “You’ll catch yourself, though,” says Jaren. “You’ll be like, ‘Man, that melody’s right on top of ‘Body Like A Back Road’ or whatever. (yeah) You can’t do that.”
And Neil Mason says sometimes it’s actually easier when you’re writing with other people. “It’s a tough thing. That’s one of the, I guess, beauties, outside of all the other beauties of co-writing, is at least there’s three people in the room that can kind of check each other and be like, ‘Hey, isn’t that on top of this that or the other’”
Fortunately, The Cadillac Three are some great writers, so even with the millions and millions of songs already out there, they’re still able to come up with great originals, like their latest song, “Crackin’ Cold Ones with the Boys.”
The Cadillac Three – not copying other songs :36
Jaren Johnston – “I mean, you gotta be careful with it. Obviously you watch it.”
Neil Mason – “And you’ve gotta do it with your own songs, much less everybody else’s songs. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I don’t listen to as much, especially Nashville country music, unless it’s already out in the world because at that point I oughta be smart enough to not rip that off.”
Jaren – “You’ll catch yourself, though. You’ll be like, ‘Man, that melody’s right on top of (right) ‘Body Like A Back Road’ or whatever. (Yeah) You can’t do that.”
Neil – “It’s a tough thing. That’s one of the, I guess, beauties, outside of all the other beauties of co-writing, is at least there’s three people in the room that can kind of check each other and be like, ‘Hey, isn’t that on top of this that or the other’”
Kelby – “Yeah, sometimes you have to be the buzz killer.”