Aaron Lee Tasjan joins Rhett for a conversation about joy as armor, the craft of songwriting, and the long game of staying creatively alive.

Tasjan talks about why he does his best work from a higher, more positive frequency — and what that actually means for writing songs. He unpacks why creativity gets harder with age, the books that shaped his process, and why the most powerful thing a young artist can do is realize they have more time than they think.

Follow Aaron Lee Tasjan @aaronleetassjan

Follow Rhett @rhettmiller

Aaron will be joining Rhett at his Songwriting Is Magic retreat in September. Learn more here.

Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer is Kirsten Cluthe, Studio Kairos. Music by Old 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. Watch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Stewart Copeland, Jennifer Egan, Nick Hornby, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review.

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