10 BUDDY JUNE 2013

Making the best in two music worldsLongtime Professor D frontman making a name for himself as a songwriter

by Mary Jane Farmer

A M E R I C A N A

IT’S TEMPTING TO START THIS INSIGHTFULIlook at a prolific Metroplex songwriter by say-Iing, “T for Texas — T for Tennessee,” but thatmight be a bit cheesy, too easy. For Scott SeanWhite, the aforementioned songwriter, it’s a tru-ism, a fact of the life he lives, and a pleasantexpansion for his songwriting talents.

He won the 2012 B.W. Stevenson Songwriting contest at Poor David’s Pub: Scott White

“Being in a cover band all theseyears, though, has had apositive effect on my writing. Alot of the ‘rules’ of songwritingbecame natural to me becauseI’ve been ‘playing the hits’ forso long, it was just ingrained inme. Melodically, too.Apparently, vocally, too, fromwhat my Nashville friendsalways say, which makes melaugh because I’m always like‘You should hear the singers inmy band sing! They cansaaaaaang!.”

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—SCOTT SEAN WHITE

Scott has been going backand forth to Nashville to writefor about eight and a half years.He signed a staff-writer deal withEncore Entertainment in 2007,and then they closed up shoponly months later, in January2008.

“It was kind of one of the firstof many ‘mom and pop’ size pub-lishers to go out of business as allthis (computer/iTunes/etc.)downloading really started to killthe publishing business in Nash-ville,” White said. “After theyclosed, I just kept writing withthe folks I had been writing with,plus some of the ones they hadhooked me up with.”

White, who also leads theten-piece party band known asProfessor D, writes locally as well.

SongwriterNO NEWCOMER TO SONG-writing, White said, “I’ve beenimmersed in writing (and stilllearning how to write) countrymusic really for the last nineyears. Before that, I wrote andproduced R&B and hip-hop forthe most part of about 20 years.”As time passed, “My childhoodcaught up with me more andmore and I had more and morestories to tell.” The transition tohis heartfelt style of music —country— came with that growthand those experience —“Beingas story-telling isn’t really a partof R&B and hip-hop, and beingas a lot of the stories I have to tellare from growing up in the sticksoutside of Kerrville (Texas),country was where I gravitated.

My heart and soul, what reallymoves me, is country music.”

And it’s not that White isexclusively country now. “I loveR&B and hip-hop, but for differ-ent reasons. In a perfect world,somewhere down the road, I’dlove to be able to do all thosegenres, but I would have to be

writing songs for a full-time living for that to befeasible, time-wise.”

About Professor D,he said that band is asfar away from countryas one can get, exceptfor things like “reallygood, cool, down-to-earth people in theband. It’s really like asecond family to me,”said the father of twoblue-eyed daughters,the husband of anequally blue-eyed wife,and the best friend tohis brother.

W h i t e ,unashamedly, said herealizes and values thatthe most influential per-son in his life is Jesus.His daily life, his familylife, his songwriting andperforming talent are alldrenched with his dailyChristian walk.

His personality is sogenuine, so friendly;one might not even re-alize just where Whitegets his strength. Itreaches, it reflects, it re-veals without preach-ing.

The variety inWhite’s music haschanged over the years.Professor D is primarilya cover band, focusingon ’70s and ’80s discoand some ’80s rock,peppered with Top 40hits from the 1990suntil nowadays. That in-cludes some hip-hop,

jazz, and Motown sets, depend-ing on the special event for whichthey are playing.

Professor D“BEING IN A COVER BAND ALLthese years, though, has had apositive effect on my writing. Alot of the ‘rules’ of songwritingbecame natural to me becauseI’ve been ‘playing the hits’ for solong, it was just ingrained in me.Melodically, too. Apparently, vo-cally, too, from what my Nash-ville friends always say, whichmakes me laugh because I’m al-ways like ‘You should hear thesingers in my band sing! Theycan saaaaaang!’”

Some of the Professor Dsongs, and some of White’s othersongs, have been on televisionshows and movies, regular mov-ies, and video games. “Shake ItBaby” and “Pussycat’s In ThaHouse” are Professor D songsWhite produced and placed.“Shake It Baby” was featured inthe Al Pacino and MatthewMcConaghey movie, “Two ForThe Money,” and then, “The HotChick” with Rob Schneider.

Two other of White’s songshave had “cool placements aswell, this past season on the se-ries ‘Legit’ on FX network.” Thosewere “How Ya Like Me Now,”which White emphasized wasnot the Toby Keith version, and“Drop it Like This.”

It was that songwriting skillthat earned White the B.W.Stevenson songwriting contestwin in 2012, after which heopened for Rodney Crowell atPoor David’s Pub in Dallas.

When White goes toNashville, he spends his days inwriting appointments on MusicRow and his nights at songwritershows or showcases, often per-forming. One of his regular ven-ues is the world-famous Blue-bird Cafe, where he’ll be playingJune 19, and “that’s always awe-some,” he added. “I love, love,

love it. The Bluebird is likesongwriter church and collegeall wrapped into one, withtherapy added.”

About Nashville, White is justas enthusiastic. “I love it! I wishall the Texas folks that ‘hate’Nashville could go and be a partof that songwriting communityfor a little while. There are somany great songs on the street inNashville that aren’t getting re-corded, and that’s not thesongwriters’ fault. And thesongwriters themselves aremostly just like the ones here —down to earth, real, honestpeople.

“Even though it’s so competi-tive (in Nashville), everyone isrooting for everyone. It’s a great

scene up there and I feel blessedto get to be a part of it on aregular basis.”

Since his publishing companybit the dust and left him an inde-pendent, White has retained thepublishing rights to all his songs.Most of his co-writers are signedto publishers, and “their pub-lishers are pitching the songs. Soit’s a pretty good set-up for meright now. I mean, I’m hopingthat we can get a cut while I ownmy publishing. The expense oftraveling back and forth all thetime, that’s out of my pocket.But, I’m blessed to have friendswho let me crash at their house,and that’s huge in my ability toafford to go there all the time.Plus, I drive 99 percent of thetime, and that’s way cheaper thanflying.”

White writes regularly with asmall group in Nashville, but it’sa group that it just “works with,”he said. “And yes, I meet newpossible co-writers all the time,but because of my limited timethere, I don’t get to write withmany of them.” White plays key-boards and guitar, mostly, whilesinging. Last month, he, KyleLevel, and Erica Perry teamed uptogether for a rare performanceat the Cadillac Pizza Pub inMcKinney. ■

See Professor D at Z Grill June7 and 28, Glass Cactus on June 12,Dallas Arboretum on June 27Winstar on June 29, Mansfield 4thof July Fest July 3 and MemphisJuly 15

It has been one of Dallas’s top cover bands for 20 years: Professor D

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