Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 27, No. 08
Live meetings are Cancelled due to CoronaVirus.
However, we will be having on-line Zoom meetings.
We will send details under a separate e-mail,
and an announcement on the Facebook group page.
We expect it to be scheduled for
Sunday August 7th 2022 at 5pm. If you want the
zoom meeting details, please e-mail us
at isgorlando@gmail.com
Hopefully we will soon be meeting in person again.
Please stay tuned for more info.
Any Details not in this newsletter are at:
If you wish to join our Facebook group, please check us out at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/831814850193553/
WebChatter
by CyberToad
We are asking members to renew their dues for 2022. It costs only $5 per year,
and it helps us to defray costs for the zoom meetings.
We have 2 methods of payment. Either paypal to our treasurer Asli Goncer's
paypal account. The paypal access is at aslivision@gmail.com
or you can mail a $5 check to
Asli Goncer
2849 Babylon Court
Oviedo, FL 32765
Either way, we appreciate your continued support.
Looking For Inspiration
by Jackie Mason
I finished my twelfth week of writing morning pages for The Artist’s Way. It’s a good week to finish as I have a lot of things to do this week. I am having cataract surgery on my left eye this Wednesday. If all goes well, I’ll be having surgery on the other eye soon. That will be good for me as I’ve felt frustrated by the condition. I’ve not been able to drive at night this year. The ongoing Covid situation has exaggerated my frustration. The morning pages have given me an outlet to rant at the world.
Sometimes, in search of inspiration, I will step away from the world of music. I’ll read books or watch a movie. It could be anything but music. Take a walk or ride my bicycle. Movement, physical movement can jog the brain. It’s a good way to fight depression. If life is getting you down, go and exercise. I’m tuned in to the background music used in movies and television. So sometimes a movie is not an escape. It’s not an escape for me as I’ve self trained my brain in that direction.
I like to go to YouTube and find interviews with authors that I like. I want to find out what their process is like. How they approach a story and what their working day is like. Elmore Leonard was a successful author. He started writing Westerns and later switched to crime novels. Almost all his books became movies. His two most famous Westerns were “Hombre” and “3 10 To Yuma.” His crime novels became “Get Shorty,” “Out of Sight” and the television series “Justified”. He had a great ear for dialogue. He worked all day from 8am to 6pm. Writing songs is a different game to writing novels yet they are connected. Here are Leonard’s “10 Rules for Writing.” I hope they help you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_JadLzTHTM Elmore never used a computer to write and the initial draft was always in longhand. He felt it flowed better. This is a 1996 interview with Charlie Rose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f2z0OCTvug
Songwriter Magazine UK has a regular feature called “Songwriter Survival Kit.” I find it a useful peek into how other writers go about coming up with new songs. It’s good, in another way, because most of the artists who are featured are fresh faces. I liked learning about singer songwriter Bess Atwell and how she wrote songs for her new album “Already, Always.” She used a new Spanish guitar that helps her guitar playing. It’s nothing fancy or expensive but it’s right for her. Indispensable tools are the voice memo app on her phone and a drum machine. The voice app is great for capturing new ideas. She’ll use a random beat on the drum machine and “try to play along.” She uses her laptop as a demoing device and as an instrument. She says she knows ahead of time if there’s a song waiting to be written and doesn’t push through writer’s block. Avoiding other music is important as she has a tendency to compare. That’s a “killer for creativity.” A self described “autobiographical writer,” I find her songs to be deep and thoughtful.
https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/gear/bess-atwell-survival-kit
This is the video for “Time Comes In Roses” from her new album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLqM0fCH0Pk
When I’m writing my journal in longhand there are certain kinds of music that I like to have on as background. I don’t want anything with too much punch. One artist is Agnes Obel, she’s easy to write with and she has a classical vibe about her music. “Atmospheric” is one way to descibe it. This 2020 interview talks about her album “Citizen of Glass.”
While it’s easy to write against, there are disturbing moments in her soundscapes. Although she’s not well known in the USA, this Danish, Berlin based songwriter has been building a career for over a decade. Her music is well suited for film and television and it comes as no surprise that she wrote the theme music for the Canadian series Cardinal. Here’s a little taste of her music “Stretch Your Eyes.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0mV1raPQ3o&list=RDN0mV1raPQ3o&start_radio=1
That’s all I have this month. It’s another communique from The Tower of Song. Stay safe everyone.
ISG Bulletin Board
Meeting space graciously provided by Central Florida Musicians Association,
Local 389. You are invited to join the largest union in the world, representing the
interests of the professional musician. Visit their website at afm389.org for more
information. You may reach them by phone at: 407-894-8666.
Why isn't your gig or live stream announced here? Members in good standing call SusieCool
with your appearance schedule! 407-760-2153 or e-mail her the details at isgorlando@gmail.com
If you are interested in open mics in the Central Florida area, SusieCool has compiled a list.
Steve Hodak hosts several newly listed open mics on the East coast.
https://sites.google.com/site/susiecoolsongs/Home/open-mic-directory-central-florida
SusieCool is the admin for a Facebook group called "Orlando Creative Music Network"
where we give out info on songwriter meetings, playing circles, open mics, workshops and concerts.
We have a Facebook page for this group if you want to join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/274152179716552/
No Critique scores for July, since no live meeting.
New members and guests are always welcome!
© 2022 ISG
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International Songwriter's Guild
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