January 2008
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 13, No. 1
NEXT MEETING: 5:00pm Sunday, January 6th, 2008
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,
Happy New Year, y’all! I hope all of you ended up happy with the closing of 2007. And I also hope you have (or had) the best Christmas you’ve ever had. I always enjoy opening up Christmas cards. It does take time to send out cards, but it’s so very nice to receive them; I like it when people put in personal notes.
About the Christmas party, I was so pleased with the large number of you that attended. It was the very best Xmas party we’ve ever had. The entertainment was so very good; we have a lot of talent among us. We got to hear some of your Christmas originals. It would’ve been great if we could have had someone film the entire evening.
I’m really glad we held this year’s party at the Musician’s Union building. We usually spend a lot of time trying to find a place for the party, but we just used our regular meeting place. And wouldn’t you know, it worked out great. You can just bet we’ll do the same thing next year.
I think it’s in order to say thank you for being helpful at the end of the evening. Everyone seemed to pick up after themselves, and within a few minutes the room was back in order. Hey, you guys, you’re great party folks! I loved your songs and getting to see everyone.
Happy New Year, y’all! And see you at Sunday’s meeting.
Russ
A Look Backward and Forward
By Matt Griffin
It’s traditional in this country to be reflective in different ways depending on the time of year of all things. We Americans are calendar-watchers. Spring is associated with romance, June with weddings and vacations. In December, we always seem to want to think about the year gone by. What did we accomplish? What major events affected our lives and the lives of those close to us? I think it’s healthy, and perhaps instructive, to spend a little time in this reflective mode.
In my mind at least, our songwriter’s group had a pretty good year. We had some very interesting meetings, and of course heard some really outstanding songs. Our February meeting was a Super Bowl party at my house; that was seriously fun, even though my team lost. L May through September, we were focused on the state song contest. Some of you wrote very nice songs, but unfortunately no one from the ISG finished in the recently-announced top three. By the way, you can listen to the songs and vote for your favorite at www.justsingflorida.org, and I encourage you to do so; we have to support our fellow songwriters!
And we finished our year with a truly outstanding Christmas party. About 30 cheerful participants turned out for some terrific food and a whole lot of music. We heard versions of both standards and some of our members’ best originals. A special thanks goes out to Jeri Simpson, who without prompting led us through an end-of-party Xmas carol sing-a-long. Russ thinks it’s the best ISG party we’ve ever had.
Now January is a time for looking forward. What will the New Year bring to us? It’s fun to make resolutions and to talk to our family and friends about what we’d like to see happen in the coming year. What kind of plans can we make to get the family together? Where should we go on vacation? How can we help out in the community? What could I do to become a better spouse / friend / parent / employee / person?
As songwriters, I hope at least some of your plans involve writing and getting your songs heard. It’d be great if we all could make more time to write, wouldn’t it? Maybe this is the year that you start sending your songs to publishers, or entering national songwriting contests, or playing original material at open mikes. Or perhaps this is the year you first try your hand at a collaboration, or shell out the necessary cash for a first-rate studio demo. Or this could be the year that you finally take guitar or piano lessons, or give them to someone else. So what is the first step, or the next step, you need to take toward your goal?
Maybe this is your year. Now that’s something to look forward to. J
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!
December Top Songs—Results of monthly critique session
No songs this month due to Christmas party; check back again next month!
© 2008 ISG