December 2005
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 10, No. 12
NEXT MEETING Xmas Party! 5:00pm Sunday, December 4th, 2005
ISG Christmas Party!
When: Sunday, December 4th at 5:00 PM (in place of our regular meeting)
Where: at the Union Hall, 3020 E. Robinson St.
Who: ISG members and their friends and family
What to bring: food and drink! Bring a covered dish, dessert, etc. Remember to bring an amount proportional to the size of your party.
What else to bring: music! Bring tapes or CDs of original songs, especially Xmas music. You can also perform your song(s) against a tape/CD or an instrument, if you wish. Got other ideas? It’s your party, and you can cry if you want to. ♫ J
Pass the word, folks, and join us for a fun and musical evening!
Songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, and the curious are encouraged to join us. Non-members are invited to attend a meeting or two to get a feel for our group and what we do. For more information, visit our website at www.isgorlando.org .
Officers:
President/Treasurer
Russ Robinson (407) 851-5328
Vice President/Member Reception/Newsletter
Matthew Griffin (407) 903-1212
Secretary
Jacquelyn Fain, crosstyes1@yahoo.com
Membership
Susan Foster-Trewick (407) 760-2153
Website
Carlos Colon (352) 326-4295
Archives
Barbara Ross (407) 862-2795
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Wow, I can’t believe Christmas is already at our door. What happened? Did I sleep the past month and just wake up? Somehow it doesn’t seem like it’s time for the holidays. We’ve had summer weather all of October and November, and it just doesn’t seem like winter will start anytime soon. It’s been great, but I kind of hope it gets colder so it will seem more like Christmas.
Now on the subject of Christmas, Matt and I came up with some plans for our usual Christmas party. What do you think of the idea of having our monthly meeting and Xmas party all at the same time, on Sunday December 4th, at the Musician’s Union building? This will be a great time for us to hear your original songs, especially Christmas songs. If you don’t have a holiday song, get busy and write one by then!
It will be a nice time for all of us to get together and celebrate the occasion. The Union always has a tree, and hopefully there will be one this year. I’ll call and see; if they don’t have one, maybe some of us can put one up earlier in the day. If you’d like to help set up, call me and we can go down there that afternoon. It sounds like it could be fun. Do read the block elsewhere in the newsletter about the party, and especially notice what it says about food. We’ve run out of food at a couple of previous parties, so be sure to bring enough for the size of your group.
I hope everyone will be there, and bring family and friends if you wish.
Merry Christmas!
Russ
Songs for the Holidays
By Matt Griffin
Hard to believe it’s almost Christmas again, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but 2005 just flew by for me. Time has a way of running past you when you’re not paying attention!
It’s mid-November as I’m writing this, and I’ve already been listening to Christmas carols. No, they’re not playing holiday music in the malls yet, thankfully! My daughter is taking piano lessons, and she’s practicing out of a book of holiday music. So I’ve been treated to several pretty good renditions of old favorites. The version of “O Christmas Tree” she’s playing has some really rich chords.
Which brings up the question: what makes a good carol? It’s not so easy to answer. Many writers just think their song has to have the word “Christmas” in it. I dearly love Paul McCartney, but his Xmas song “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time” is not really a carol in my opinion; it’s a simple McCartney pop song about Christmas. I’m not knocking the song, I’m just saying it’s not a real carol. Can you imagine a group of carolers singing his song on Christmas Eve in the falling snow? And it’s not just because the song is recent. I’ve heard recent material that did capture the Christmas spirit, some even at our guild!
The operative word is “spirit”, I think. The concept is easy to say but hard to describe: a good carol is simply a song that captures the Christmas spirit somehow. What exactly does that mean? I’m not sure I can put it into words, but “I know it when I hear it”. A good carol makes you “feel” Christmas. And yet, there’s lots of room for variation, isn’t there? “Jingle Bells” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” are both terrific carols, but the first is cheery and the second is heartbreaking. Each song captures a part of the spirit of Christmas, albeit different parts.
Russ tells us every year that December is way too late to market your holiday song; you probably need to start in July or August. But I think December is the perfect time to write the song! Write a song while opening presents with your family is fresh in your mind. Or while you’re missing someone close who used to spend the holidays with you. Or when you recall spotting a former lover at a Christmas party, camped out under the mistletoe. Or when you’re so broke that you don’t have enough to buy your spouse a proper gift. Like most artistic works, the best songs come from real joys and real heartbreaks.
Here’s hoping you and yours have a great, joyful holiday. J
Matt
ISG Bulletin Board
Lead Sheet preparation by Carlos Colon. A simple lead sheet contains the melody, lyrics and chord symbols. For more information, visit my website at www.cecoriginals.com and click on “Services” at the top of the page. Website design also available. Use your website address in advertising. Newspapers, business cards, fliers, to name a few and let’s not forget the use of email. Send your link to potential clients. For more information, visit a few of my clients sites at http://www.websandresumes.com/clients.htm.
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.
We’re always looking for material for the newsletter. If you have any information that you would like to see added to the newsletter, please see Matt Griffin at the meetings or email him at isgorl@cfl.rr.com . Please keep your articles brief and to the point. Print deadline for the newsletter is approximately two weeks prior to the monthly meeting.
Classified advertising may be placed free of charge to members in good standing with the ISG. For more information on display advertising and/or classified advertising for non-members, please call Russ or Matt or email: isgorl@cfl.rr.com .
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Place your classified ad or gig announcement here! Free to ISG members as always! Just get your text to Matt by the print deadline (usually the Friday 16 days prior to the monthly meeting); email is best ( isgorl@cfl.rr.com ).
New members always welcome!
November Top Two—Results of monthly critique session
(1) Isn’t It a Shame? by Jeff Mason
(2) I Slipped Off the Satin Sheets by Estee Starling and Rick Librizzee
© 2005 ISG