December 2007
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 12, No. 12
NEXT MEETING CHRISTMAS PARTY! 5:00pm Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
ISG Christmas Party!
When: Sunday, December 2nd 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, or some other food item. 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; standards are OK too. You can also perform your song(s) against a tape or CD, if you wish. Or bring a guitar or instrument of your choice. It’s your party, you can cry if you want to!
Spread the word, 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
Website
Carlos Colon (352) 326-4295
Archives
Barbara Ross (407) 862-2795
Membership
Gilda Corrales (407) 327-5494
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Wow, as I’m starting to write, I get that familiar feeling I always get with the holidays approaching. Do you think of the holidays and start making plans like I do? I guess it’s hard not to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas in November, with all of the wonderful old traditions we’ve been brought up with. We hear the words like “turkey” and “Santa Claus” almost daily this time of year. I guess most of us have celebrated these two holidays since childhood.
I can’t remember having ever heard a song about Thanksgiving. Is there one? I bet if there was one, we’d sure be hearing it every November. Christmas songs are always so popular for the entire month of December, and sometimes earlier. I think someone could make a small fortune with a good new Christmas song; do any of you have one we could hear at the party?
Although it’s a bit early to be celebrating Christmas, at least it gives us a chance to hear original holiday songs. Hey, you’ve got a few days before the party. See if you can come up with a song if you don’t already have one!
I’d like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, and I hope to see each one of you at Sunday’s party.
Russ
Time to Write
By Matt Griffin
So, have big plans for your holidays? I think most of us have some kind of plan, even if that plan is to stay home and relax! The holidays are a great time to catch up on sleep, spend extra time with family and friends, and of course write.
Yes, if you’re like me, one of the reasons you look forward to the holidays is to have a little extra time to write. For me it’s mostly lyrics. I can write melody in the car when I’m driving back and forth to work (using a little tape recorder), but I don’t feel comfortable wordsmithing unless I’m sitting in front of my laptop computer. Extra time off means time to catch up on those writing projects that always seem to be bouncing around in the back of my mind.
It’s hard to find time to write, isn’t it? Like anything you spend time on, people like to say it’s a “simple” matter of making writing a priority. But of course there’s nothing simple about it! Work and family take up so much of our precious time—where does it all go? And whether we like to admit it or not, most of us really waste a lot of time. The TV tends to dominate the evenings at my house, even some nights when there really isn’t a lot on. And we throw away many hours fretting over details that really don’t matter all that much.
A book I’m reading makes an interesting point about addictions. It’s easy to say that addictions of all kinds are bad, and certainly they are. But one thing recovering addicts come to realize is how much time they’ve wasted on those empty pursuits. Hours and hours are spent not just on the addictive activity itself, but also planning, obsessing, etc.
When I look back on my life at the grand old age of 48, I too can think of countless hours lost to things that don’t matter to me now. But time writing, while it might seem like wasted time to a non-writer, never seems like a waste to me. And it’s not that easy to articulate why, but of course I’ll give it a shot. J
I think I can sum it up with this: I’m happier when I’m writing. I basically just love to write. Though writing is largely a solitary activity (well, when not collaborating), somehow it doesn’t feel like a selfish activity. Somehow the act of writing gives me more energy, and then I have more to give to others. Sharing what I’ve written with friends and family, and you folks at the ISG, makes it even better.
So I’m making time to write this holiday season. How about you?
ISG Bulletin Board
Jeff Mason’s gig schedule:
Appearing At O'Keefe's Irish Pub, Fridays & Saturdays from 5pm, musicians welcome!
115 S. Rockingham Tavares, FL, 352-343-2157
Appearing at Tijuana Flats on the Patio (weather permitting), Thursdays at 6pm
444 S. Hunt Club Blvd , Apopka , FL 407 774 0402
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 “Lead Sheets” 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.ticopeach.net/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 Songs—Results of monthly critique session
(1) Show Me Something by Bob Witmer
(2) Four Years by Kristen Bruno
(3) Why Can’t You Ever Live in Peace? by Jeff Mason
(scores of all 3 songs were very close this month!)
© 2007 ISG