Episode Details

On this episode of The Bandwich Tapes, I sit down with James Woods for a conversation centered on a part of his creative life that may surprise people who primarily know him as an actor: songwriting.

James talks about the remarkable burst of creativity that has produced more than 75 songs and a series of concept albums created alongside Shooter Jennings and Bob Wayne. We dig into his upcoming album, The Killer’s Wife, the single “The Hearts of Men,” and the real-life experience that became the starting point for the album’s fictional story.

What interested me most was the difference James sees between acting and songwriting. As an actor, he spent decades interpreting someone else’s words and vision. Songwriting has given him the opportunity to begin with a blank page and say exactly what he wants to say. We talk about writing quickly, trusting instinct, revising individual words until they feel right, and what happens when a song seems to arrive almost fully formed.

James also takes us inside the collaborative process with Shooter Jennings, Bob Wayne, and the musicians who bring these records to life. He describes watching players hear a song, make a chart, and begin shaping the music almost immediately — and how their individual choices can transform the emotional meaning of something he originally wrote alone.

Ultimately, this is a conversation about creative second acts. James reflects on finding a new artistic path later in life, writing from personal experience, creating his own record label, and why he believes artists should look for ways to retain control of their work. For someone who spent much of his career bringing other people’s stories to life, songwriting has become an opportunity to finally tell his own.

Key Takeaways

• James Woods has written more than 75 songs and describes songwriting as an unexpected creative outpouring that emerged later in his life.

• He sees a fundamental difference between acting and songwriting: acting is interpretive, while songwriting allows him to originate the words, ideas, and perspective himself.

• His collaboration with Shooter Jennings began during the COVID era and eventually expanded to include Bob Wayne, with whom Woods developed an unusually fast and productive writing partnership.

• Concept albums have become central to Woods’ approach. Rather than treating songs as isolated pieces, he likes creating records connected by characters, ideas, imagery, and narrative themes.

• The Killer’s Wife grew from an experience Woods had as a young man, but he transformed that memory into a fictional narrative rather than attempting to document the actual people involved.

• Woods places enormous value on the contributions of musicians in the studio, describing how players such as Aubrey Richmond, Jamie Douglass, John Schreffler Jr., and Ted Russell Kamp can dramatically reshape a song through instinctive musical choices.

• Woods views this period as a creative second act and hopes his independent approach to making and releasing music can encourage other artists to find ways to maintain greater control of their work.

Music from the Episode

• Song - Artist

About the Podcast

The Bandwich Tapes is a podcast about music, the people who make it, and the experiences that shape a creative life. Hosted by musician Brad Williams, the show features conversations with artists, songwriters, producers, composers, and other music professionals about their careers, creative processes, collaborations, influences, and the craft behind their work.

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