January 2002
Guild Tidings
The official Publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 7, No. 1
NEXT MEETING 5:00 PM Sunday, January 6th, 2001
The International Songwriter's Guild meets the first
Sunday of every month at the Central Florida
Musician's Union building at 3020 East Robinson (at
the extreme east end of Robinson less than a block
from Herndon Airport).
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.
Officers:
President/Treasurer
Russ Robinson (407) 851-5328
Vice President/Member Reception
Matthew Griffin (407) 903-1212
Secretary
Evelyn Nelson (863) 644-8699
Membership
Susan Foster-Trewick (407) 679-4017
Web Consultant
Asli Walker (407) 359-0506
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Hey, Happy New Year all of you! I hope Santa
brought all the goodies you were wishing for. If not, you�re in luck, January sales are on and everything is half-price.
Those of you who appeared or came to see the show we did at Beardall seemed to enjoy it. However, I did have people in the audience ask why we didn�t do more Christmas music. We were listed in the paper doing our annual Christmas show. All those I accompanied and rehearsed with did do Xmas. Nevertheless, I think we had a good show. It�s too bad we couldn�t have had Bill Frank and Steve Bussey over from the coast. They have lots of good original Christmas songs. I�m sure they had gigs or they would have come.
The kids I opened the show with, Hanna and Kyle, had Xmas songs and the new singer with the great voice (Jason Jarrell) did �I�ll be Home for Christmas�. Those and an Xmas bit Ray Hock did with dummy singing �Jingle Bells� were the only seasonal songs until the end of the show when Samantha Eaddy set the place on fire with �Oh Holy Night� and �God Bless America�.
I felt badly for Jordan Michiels, Patricia Locke, and a couple of others who missed their chance at the mike. I think Carl Berl felt left out but unfortunately accidentally took with him the dishes, cups, Coke, and coffee; he didn�t come to the party afterwards. Some of us ate with our fingers using folded paper towels for dishes! The music was great and it turned out to be a funful night after all.
See you Sunday,
Best ever,
Russ Robinson
The Beatles Anthology�a Fan�s Perspective
By Matt Griffin
Those of you looking for my usual exposition on songwriting had better overlook this article; tune in next month!
The recent passing of George Harrison gives me a good excuse to talk about one of my favorite subjects, the Beatles. I always thought that George was underrated, if it�s possible for a Beatle to be underrated. The quiet one was a fine musician and a first-rate songwriter, and an integral a part of the greatest rock-and-roll band of all time. The Beatles are so far above whomever is second, there�s virtually no room for debate on the subject.
Last year my wife gave me The Beatles Anthology as a Christmas present. The book is the only one to provide the Beatles� story in their own words; it�s fortunate for us that it was finished while George was around to contribute. Reading it was almost a religious experience for me.
There were two big surprises in the book, for me anyway. The first one was that John Lennon is as well represented as the other three Beatles. Quotes from John were culled from dozens of interviews he gave over the years, most of them dated for perspective. It gives the book a feel of completeness. Others who worked with the Beatles, like their longtime producer George Martin, are also quoted.
The second surprise was a bigger one: there seems to be no lingering bitterness. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Beatles knows about their acrimonious split. The feud between the group�s members was a very public and unhappy one. Paul and George were barely talking to each other at the time, and John wasn�t talking to anyone except Yoko Ono. Yet the book contains not so much as a hint of residual unhappiness. The bitterness has been replaced with something I can only call awe. Yes, the Beatles themselves seem to be in awe of the group and it�s surreal success.
Even John, he of the acid tongue, speaks of the subject in reverent tones. Many of the passages attributed to the troubled Beatle were taken from interviews he gave in 1980, the last year of his life. He was enjoying great personal and professional success at the time, and seemed to finally have come to grips with the Beatles and with himself.
I was left with this: the individual Beatles feel pretty much like I do about the group. They can offer no real explanation for what happened to them. They don�t know what happened when they wrote, recorded, and played together. They only know that it was magic, and that it probably will never be duplicated.
And we have all of this wonderful music, and now a great book, to assure us that the Beatles will never be forgotten.
ISG Bulletin Board
Printing services for Guild Tidings are graciously provided by Printing USA, 4732 South Orange Blossom Trail (just south of Holden), Orlando. Phone: (407) 857-7468.
Susan Foster-Trewick (aka SusieCool) will be playing at the Grower�s Market on Edgewater Drive (Albert Park Pavillion) Thursday, January 8th from 6:30 to 8:30; it�s free. She will also be performing at the South Florida Folk Festival in Fort Lauderdale on the 19th and 20th of January. Please check these websites for details: www.southfloridafolkfest.com and www.geocities.com/susiecool2000
Just wanted to let you know that the certificates are ready for distribution. Please see Russ at the next meeting to pick them up if you placed in any of the monthly evaluations. Also we would like to put the first place winners on another compilation album, so please see Susan if your song placed first in the year 2001.
Why isn�t your gig announced here? Call us with your appearance schedule!
TEAC 3340S Professional tape recorder, �� reel to
reel, 4 tracks with simulsync, 7-1/2 inch and 15 inch
reels, $200. 321-452-2910 or email geosync@pan.com.
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 you can email him at
griffinmc@netzero.net.
Please keep your articles brief and to the point.
Classified advertising may be placed free of charge to
members in good standing in the ISG. For more
information on display advertising and/or
classified advertising for non-members, please call
Russ or Matt or email:
griffinmc@netzero.net
Welcome new members Ron Rich and Patricia Locke
December TOP FIVE
Winners of last month�s evaluation session
(members only)
(1) As Long As You�re Away Ron Rich
(2) For The Day Bob Neace
(3) I Cry When Movies are Sad Bill Resimont
(4) Only Time Will Tell Michael MacMillan
(5) Great Physician Samantha Eaddy
� 2002 ISG