December 2011
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 16, No. 12
NEXT MEETING (Christmas party!) 5:00pm Sunday, December 4th, 2011
Officers:
President/Treasurer
Russ Robinson (407) 382-9942
Vice President/Newsletter
Matthew Griffin (407) 903-1212
Secretary
Jacquelyn Gould, campkittycat@gmail.com
Membership
Susan Foster-Trewick, susiecool2001@yahoo.com
Newsletter
Jeff Mason, jeffrey_mason@me.com
Matthew Campbell, matthew_sax77@yahoo.com
Website
Carlos Colon (352) 326-4295
The International Songwriter’s Guild meets at 5 PM on the first Sunday of every month at the Central Florida Musician’s Union building, 3020 East Robinson (at the extreme east end of Robinson, near Orlando Executive Airport ) in Orlando .
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 or myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando .
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; standards are OK too. Even better, you can perform your song(s) against a tape or CD, or bring a guitar or instrument of your choice. Matthew Campbell is running the show!
What not to bring: no alcohol in the Union Hall. Also Matt will be providing meat and some drinks out of the ISG treasury.
It should be tasty and fun. Join us!
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Bon journo! I just got back from a 10-day bus tour of Italy . It’s something my wife and I have always wanted to do, and the timing was finally right. We saw many, many great works of art as you might imagine, lots of Renaissance (and older) paintings and sculptures. Not much of it was music-related, but I found it hugely inspiring anyway.
Many thanks to Matthew Campbell, who ran the November meeting in my absence. Matthew tells me it was a small but interesting meeting.
I recently received an email from Jenny. She and her family and Russ are now living in a house in Casselberry , and she suggested we arrange a group visit to see him. Sounds like a great idea to me! Do you think we can set something up in December, or will it have to wait till January? I’m soliciting opinions on the matter, call or email me if you care to.
I hope you’re looking forward to our Christmas party as much as I am! Food and music and more food and more music; that’s my idea of a good time. Remember that I’ll be supplying meat and some drinks too, using ISG funds for the purpose. Please bring a side or dessert, and original music or an instrument. You’ll find more detail elsewhere in this newsletter.
Hope to see you all there. Till then…
Matt (for Russ)
All Things Must Pass
By Jeff Mason
George Harrison passed away 10 years ago this month. I can’t believe how fast time flashes by. Martin Scorsese has directed a fine three-hour documentary about Harrison for HBO. It covers Harrison ’s career as lead guitarist with The Beatles, his solo career, and his time with The Traveling Wilburys. There are interviews with Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the sitar player, Ravi Shankar. Harrison was labeled “the quiet Beatle” and was initially overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney. George, however, wrote what Frank Sinatra called the greatest love song of the past 50 years. That song was Something and has been covered by more than 150 artists including Sinatra. Harrison was a film producer and with his company HandMade Films released such classics as Time Bandits and Life of Bryan . He was a quiet spiritual man who loved the tranquility of gardening at his home Friar Park . The name of Scorsese’s documentary is Living in the Material World which was the title of one of George’s albums.
June 2011 also marked the tenth anniversary of the passing of John Lee Hooker. He always seemed immortal to me. John was born around 1917 and began recording in 1948. There is a line from Bob Seger’s song Rock ‘n’ Roll Never Forgets which goes like this: “All of Chuck’s children are out there playing his licks.” It’s a reference to the influence of Chuck Berry on other artists. Hooker had many children too. Some of the many artists who are influenced by John’s dark, brooding, hypnotic boogies are ZZ Top, The Animals, George Thorogood, Canned Heat, and Van Morrison. The blues shuffle Boom Boom is an awesome example of what can be done with one or two chords. My favorites are I Cover the Waterfront and I’m in the Mood recorded with Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. The marketing company Rendez Vous Digital has released a 44-song tribute album titled Ten Years Already which includes many of Hook’s best recordings.
Last month I told you that I’ve been reading The Craft of Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis. When I was reading the complex chapter on rhyme I thought it would be helpful to do some exercises to further understand it. This month I bought the companion workbook Successful Lyric Writing by Sheila Davis. It has exercises and assignments and it is very helpful.
I was watching one of TAXI’s live video streams. The subject was Writing for TV and Film and the guest was Robin Frederick. She is TAXI’s head screener and has written two books: Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting and Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV. Both books are available on Amazon or at her website RobinFrederick.com. There is a difference between writing hit songs and film or television songs. The good news for me is that the producers are more likely to pick material which could be considered album filler. The producers don’t want well known songs as they tend to distract from the script. There are 48 television shows using original songs this season. That is compared to 35 last year. The producers usually use unknown and unsigned artists. Ms Frederick has one interesting exercise which she calls ghostwriting. She uses the outline of an established song to create a new one. She calls one of her pages The Songwriter’s Sandbox. It seems so simple but when we play we create! See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Kitty Camp Pet Boarding—A loving, lakeside resort in Fruitland Park . Daily activities include: playtime, bird-watching, brushing, petting, purring, sunbathing, catnapping, and kitty’s favorite…mealtime! Daily/Weekly/Long Term, private rooms and suites available. 25% off weekly stay, FREE first night. Please call for details at 352-205-4284. Posted by ISG member Jackie Gould.
Matthew “Sax” Campbell gigs and announcements:
- Having a Christmas Party or Holiday Party and want awesome entertainment? You can book Matthew to sing and play saxophone in the holiday style, or book Sly to DJ the greatest hits of the season... or... both at a discounted rate! For a free rate quote, email matthew_sax77@yahoo.com today!
Delivering high-quality FLASH streaming video! No matter what product or service you may be offering, the power of video can be impressive! In fact, flash video is the most effective way to deliver rich media on your website. Video grabs your visitor's interest more so than simply text and images, or even audio. Video keeps visitors on your site longer and often triggers a purchase! Video not only will enhance your marketing message, but it's also entertaining. Video is useful for demonstrating your product or service, as well as teaching, inspiring, and motivating your visitors to become a customer! So if you're holding out with a website that may look outdated or obsolete, you may be losing business. It's time to make a change. Visit my website at http://www.videosaysitall.com. Thanks and call me anytime (352-326-4295)…Carlos Colon
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 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!
© 2011 ISG