IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers STILL FRIENDS—Singer-songwriters and former Royal High School sweethearts Paul Kenny, 31, and Mandy Gale, 33, strum along to a song they wrote together, called "As Far Away." The song's lyrics, which won the top spot in the September round of the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest, tell of the duo's broken relationship. Not everyone can stay friends with an ex. Fewer can work with them. But Simi musicians Mandy Gale and Paul Kenny found a way to turn their tumultuous sevenyear relationship into a reason to sing.

The pair's romance began in 1993 when they met at Royal High School. From then on the two were inseparable, Gale said, though the relationship was not without its highs and lows. In 1999, Gale and Kenny ran off to Vegas for an impromptu wedding, which was annulled just six months later.

But the heartache of young love was not for nothing. The former high school sweethearts have stayed good friends and now, eight years after the breakup of their marriage, have penned an awardwinning song about their emotionally wrenching experience.

The duo's collaborative effort, titled "As Far Away," won the September round of the Song of the Year Songwriting Contest, placing first in the Lyric Category.

Song of the Year is an international contest that encourages the art and discipline of songwriting while also supporting VH-1's Save the Music Foundation. Industry professionals judge the monthly entries, and at the end of the year the top songs are narrowed down by a secondary panel of judges to "Song of the Year."

The grand prize winner takes home more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.

After placing as a finalist three times in 2007—with her songs "One More Day," "I Learned It From A Fool" and "At Home With Alone"—Gale was thrilled to finally win a category. But she wasn't surprised by the news.

"I knew it was going to be this song," said Gale, 33. "All the things that we've gone through, for us to still be friends and release any animosity between us— it was a profound experience."

Kenny, 31, agreed, adding that writing the song together was an "amends process."

"There's a good thing behind it," he said of the song, "that such drama could create something positive."

Since he was 18, Kenny has been on the music scene, and his band "Wooden Circus" secured a record deal in 1997 with Little Dog Records.

The following year, the group put out its debut album, "Lemon Drop," but the band broke up before recording another album.

Though Gale had always wanted to write a song with Kenny, she did not take up singing and songwriting until after graduating from CSUN with her bachelor's in journalism—around the same time her marriage ended.

The songstress describes her music as a mixture of rock, folk and blues, and she said the duet "As Far Away" is similarly crossgenre.

"The guitar sounds like James Taylor, and the piano could be adult contemporary, but then the lead guitar is country," she said. "But our voices aren't country."

While Gale doesn't consider herself a "naturalborn performer," singing and writing lyrics has become something that she has to do for her soul.

"I'm not Martina McBride. I haven't had any vocal training," Gale said. "It comes from the heart."

She explained that writing is her form of meditation, adding that it helps her express her emotions. But, as with "As Far Away," she can't write about something when it is still fresh.

"Writing about something right away usually comes out angry, bitter or nonemotional," she said. "I always try to come from a place of retrospection."

Such is the case with her and Kenny's duet. The pair each wrote a complete song, which they then fused into one. When performed, Gale sings Kenny's verse and he sings hers.

But the heart of the song is in the chorus: "'Cause we've broken every bond that was sacred/ Severed every vow that we'd taken/ So if you're wondering where I am/ I'm about as far away as I can be from you."

Kenny said he enjoys the process of creating something completely original.

"I feel like you give birth to something," Kenny said. "That's why I like to write, because every once in a while you stumble upon something that was never written before."

Looking into the future, Kenny and Gale both plan to continue chasing their musical ambitions.

Kenny is currently working with Dwight Yoakam's bass player, Taras Prodaniuk, and hopes to release an EP as a solo artist early next year. Though he now works for the movie studios building and driving sets, he has bigger dreams of writing scores for music and television some day.

Just this year, Gale released her debut CD, "Highway Blues," on an independent label. To pay the bills, Gale works part time as a personal trainer, and she is also the manager of a cosmetics counter at Macy's. But her true passion is songwriting, even if that means other people will sing her songs.

"But I'm going to continue pursuing them with my voice because that's the only way to get them out," she said.

For more information on Gale and to hear her music, visit mandygale.com or myspace.com/ mandygale66. Her CD, "Highway Blues," can also be purchased for $10 on cdbaby.com.