In most cases, the songs we write begin with the lyrics. Charles is typically the one who puts the first words on paper. After multiple drafts, rewrites, and plenty of polishing, he arrives at a set of lyrics he feels are ready for Jamey. Jamey is the music man. As he reads the lyrics—or perhaps more accurately, as he feels them—he is usually drawn in one emotional direction or another. Sometimes the complete lyric "sings to him," as he likes to say, and he can put together a

If you've ever experienced the nagging pull of a job left unfinished, you may understand what drew us back to songwriting. Thirty years ago, we left a big part of our hearts on the table when we took a fork in the road and pursued careers as restaurateurs. As rewarding as that journey was, it never erased what we had created through music—or what we knew we still had left to create. That became especially clear once we were both out of the restaurant business. Jamey was the f