July 2011
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 16, No. 7
NEXT MEETING 5:00pm Sunday, July 3rd, 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 .
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Hello, my friends. How are your writing efforts going? I hope your creative juices are flowing. Don’t forget to take some time off this summer; a well-timed vacation can help you recharge. There’s an interesting question: do you write during your time off, or do you take a vacation from writing too? I’m interested in your take; I imagine it to be different for everyone.
For those of you who missed last month’s meeting, we suspended the scoring piece of our critique sessions, at least for now. Many of our members have expressed dislike of or indifference to the practice, so let’s go without it for a few months and see if we miss it. We will of course continue our monthly critique sessions, which I’ve always found stimulating and helpful; we just won’t be putting a number to our opinions. Please let me know how you feel about this over the next several months, so we can decide whether we should make this a permanent change.
No real change in Russ’s status, folks. He’s still hanging in there. I’m hoping to get over there to visit him prior to the July meeting,
And yes, we will meet on July 3rd. Some of our best meetings have been on holiday weekends, so we’ll get together and have a critique session with whoever can come; see you then. If you’re traveling or otherwise indisposed, I hope to see you in August. J
Matt (for Russ)
Another Cab Ride
By Jeff Mason
When I was sixteen my ‘bible' was a British music trade magazine called The New Music Express. I never failed to get a copy, and I combed through every article. I knew what were the top songs on both sides of the Atlantic . During the 1980s I began to lose touch with that side of the music business. While researching these articles about TAXI, I realized how much a composer needs to be aware of the latest trends if one is to succeed. When I looked over the TAXI tip sheets, I hadn’t heard of the bands that producers and publishers wanted my songs to emulate. I think it would take a year to get up to par; it’s another good reason not to dive in and join TAXI.
I’ve begun to think about how I listen to music. When I was younger, I listened to singles; I hardly ever listen to singles now. When The Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album form became more important to me. The CD I listen to most of the time now is Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s an album and it’s over thirty years old. The young people I know listen to play lists on their IPods and those play lists consist of singles. I think I need to refine my approach to songwriting. I’d advise a songwriter to research TAXI thoroughly before shelling out the money to join it. The research has helped me focus on what I’m trying to achieve.
The following quote from Brian Austin Whitney is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard on songwriting:
“The only way to find success is to write MANY great songs and keep writing them and keep getting better. Many folks write a few decent songs and then spend the rest of their life trying to get those songs recorded by someone. Successful writers just keep cranking out new songs, trying new things, putting it out there and chipping away until they finally have the right song at the right time for the right opportunity and get it in the right place for something to happen. TAXI is one cool way to do that when your material is strong enough. They can give you feedback to keep writing better and better.”
Let’s face it: there’s lot of hard work involved in this songwriting game. Don’t forget about luck because being in the right place at the right time with the right song is all about making your own luck.
Some people say that the tips from TAXI aren’t legitimate. Some must be valid otherwise they wouldn’t have any success stories to brag about. That means there is some money behind those tips.
RECORDING magazine has a monthly column titled TAXI A&R Insider. It contains interviews with guest panelists from the TAXI Road Rally; that’s their annual convention in L.A. This month’s edition was about composing for television. That’s an area I’ve dreamed about trying my hand at. One of the panelists, Kevin Kiner, said that you need to know your gear and that he knew Logic inside out (Logic is Apple’s answer to Pro Tools). That’s quite a statement. Mr Kiner has 8 B.M.I. awards and a couple of Emmy nominations for his work on television. That tells me a lot about the high quality of the work that I’d be competing against.
In last month’s article I wrote about Brian Hazard, who wrote an article about TAXI. Mr. Hazard had been a member for twelve years and had never consummated a deal by way of TAXI. He had sold some material by way of another place; I have since become a subscriber to that site and it can be found at “thesixtyone.com.” It’s a place where it’s possible to sell original songs and listen to some fresh, young talent.
In conclusion, I knew when I wrote last month’s article that I’d be returning to the subject of TAXI. I can’t say that I won’t touch upon the subject again, sometime in the future. I don’t think that I’m ready to join TAXI but I may do one day. See you next month.
ISG Bulletin Board
Matthew “Sax” Campbell open mics and gigs:
- Acoustic Open Mic Night, 1st Thurs each month 9pm-12am, hosted by Matthew “Sax” Campbell, House of Beer, 13526 Village Park Dr, Suites 208&210, Hunter’s Creek (Orlando), www.hobflorida.com. All ages with parental supervision until 10pm, 21 and up after 10pm; no drum sets plz, small 1-spkr amps OK, all musical styles welcome, clean language till 10pm (no exceptions), non-smoking inside, full PA and 6 string acoustic and bass amp provided.
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
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.
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