February 2013
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 18, No. 2
NEXT MEETING - 5:00pm Sunday, February 3rd, 2013
Officers:
Newsletter/Articles
Jeff Mason, jeffrey_mason@me.com
Meeting Coordinator/Critique scoring/CFMA Liason
Matthew Campbell, matthew_sax77@yahoo.com
Membership/Certificates/Contact
Susan Foster-Trewick, susiecool2001@yahoo.com
407-760-2153
E-mail Contact, isgorlando@gmail.com
Website
Carlos Colon, videosaysitall.fl@gmail.com
352-267-5911
Treasurer
Asli Goncer, asli@cfl.rr.com
Secretary
Jacquelyn Gould, songsuite@gmail.com
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
The meetings will be structured as follows: 5:00 to 5:30, business and introductions. 5:30 to 6:00,
presentation by a guest speaker (when scheduled), 5:30 or 6:00 to 8:00, song critiques. Please bring a CD or
mp3 player or perform your song live, and bring 10 or more lyric sheets.
If we have at least 5 songs by members who wish to be scored, and 6 members scoring, then we will have them
entered in the Monthly competition. Everyone is encouraged to write constructive comments on the lyric sheets.
A Solitary Life
By Jeff Mason
The musician’s life can be a lonely journey. People like to talk about peaks and valleys. I
think for most musicians there are very few peaks and it seems to be one long, barren wilderness. Then you
look around and realize that people from other occupations are struggling too. This can be a source of
inspiration for songwriters.
English songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson has mined the darker vein of the human
condition, in his songwriting. His dark, bleak subjects can be found in the roots of British traditional folk
music. He says that he’s more attracted to tragic stories, and that he finds pop music trivial. This explains
why he is not a household name. He does, however, have a cult-like following and is highly respected by his
peers. His songs have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Patty Loveless, Del McCoury, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie
Raitt, Robert Plant, David Byrne, Alison Kraus & Union Station, Tim Finn, and many others. He has been named
by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top Twenty Guitarists of All Time. He is a master of a picking
technique which combines flat-picking and fingerpicking. Richard has been the recipient of an Ivor Novello
Award for his songwriting and has recently been awarded a A Lifetime Achievement Songwriting Award from The
Americana Music Awards.
In 1967 he was a teenage guitar prodigy and a founding member of the English folk rock band
Fairport Convention. Signed by Island Records and produced by American Joe Boyd they became successful with
their unique blend of British traditional folk music and rock. Other members of the group included fiddle
virtuoso Dave Swarbrick and female singer Sandy Denny. After completing their third album Unhalfbricking, four
of the bands members were returning from a gig in Birmingham when their driver fell asleep at the wheel. The
van fell forty feet down an embankment. Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn and drummer, Martin Lambie were
killed. Thompson suffered cracked ribs and cuts, guitarist Simon Nicol was concussed, and bassist Ashley
Hutchings was hospitalized for weeks.
After this traumatic event the band somehow reformed. Their next album Liege and Lief marked an
even deeper involvement with British folk music. The album was voted the Most Influential Folk Album of all
Time at the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk awards. Thompson’s most requested song from his Fairport days is Meet On The
Ledge and is about a confrontation with death. Strangely it was written before the crash.
After leaving the band he released his first solo album Henry The Human Fly in 1972. It was not
well received by the critics and it damaged his career. During the recording of that album he met his future
wife, singer Linda Peters, and after marrying she became his lead singer and front person. This was the next
phase of his career, but it was not until their 1982 album Shoot Out The Lights that he was able to garner
critical success. Ironically success came as his marriage to Linda Thompson began to implode. After a tense
tour of the US they separated. Again the songs t had been written before the breakup seemed to predict the
future. The title song, Walking On A Wire and Just The Motion seemed to evoke the emotion of a rocky
relationship.
Since 1982 Richard Thompson has remarried and now lives in LA. He has pursued a successful solo
career. He was a shy sideman until his solo career, but he’s now emerged as a witty frontman. His dark humor
serves him well both on stage and as a songwriter. There is a fine BBC documentary Solitary Life which traces
his career and it can be found on YouTube in several installments.
I found an interesting Songwriter Session filmed last year at The Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s an hour
long and is a valuable insight into his songwriting. It’s a question and answer session in which he provides
insight into his creative process and inspiration. He demonstrates his famed guitar technique and is very
humorous during this session. It also can be found on You Tube.
I would also recommend listening to Bonnie Raitt’s cover of Dimming Of The Day and Thompson’s own
virtuoso performance of 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Take a listen to Del McCoury’s bluegrass version of the
same song by way of contrast. Two other projects merit further study. The first is Thompson’s 1000 Years of
Popular Music which clearly demonstrates his knowledge of songs, both old and new. The other project is his
soundttrack for Warner Herzog’s 2005 movie Grizzly Man.
Next week Richard Thompson will be performing at the at the David A. Straz,Jr. Center for the
Performing Arts in Tampa. His next album Electric is due for release on Feb 5.
See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Videography and website management services at a price you CAN AFFORD. Capturing your wedding or event on
video may not be in your budget but you’re hoping that you may have something left over to hire a
videographer. I will fit your budget. My goal is to offer my services to those who otherwise would have to
pass because of funds. This is your special day and you most definitely want to capture those moments. Visit
my website at http://www.videosaysitall.com . Thanks and call me anytime (352-267-5911)…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 Jeff Mason at the meetings or email him at jeffrey_mason@me.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 contact Jeff by the
print deadline (usually the Friday 16 days prior to the monthly meeting); email is best ( jeffrey_mason@me.com ).
Why isn't your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
Open Mic Night hosted by Matthew "Sax" Campbell
Thursdays, 7-10pm, sign-up starts at 6:45
Quokka Coffee
131 Broadway Ave. (corner of Broadway & Monument)
Kissimmee, FL 34741
free music
Organic fair trade coffee, beer, wine, sandwiches, salads, and pastries with specials
Full P.A. and 6 string acoustic guitar provided
family-friendly atmosphere
Matthew
Jeff Mason's Music schedule
Tijuana Flats
444 S. Hunt Club Blvd,
Apopka, Fl, 32703
407 774 0402
Tuesdays from 6 pm
Weather Permitting
Current members please send us your website info if you would like your site to be listed in the ISG members
page. Also if you have any songs that have placed first in the monthly critiques, please send the mp3's to
isgorlando@gmail.com if you would like to have them featured in the ISG MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/internationalsongwritersguildorlando
Past Certificate winners can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/isgsusiecool/home/resultslist-2
January 2013 Critique Results
Here are the top 5
1. Drinking Things Over Will Campbell
2. Big Ol' House Will Campbell
3. Survival Jeff Mason
4. I Can't Face You With a Lie Susan Foster-Trewick
5. I Would Surely be Blind Susan Foster-Trewick
New members always welcome!
© 2013 ISG