March 2011
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 16, No. 3
NEXT MEETING 5:00pm Sunday, March 6th, 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,
Matt here. Russ still isn’t feeling very well; maybe next month?
For those of you unable to attend, our February meeting was quite enjoyable. We started an hour early, for those folks (well, me) who wanted to see the Super Bowl. It was totally worth it, a good meeting followed by a good game. Our next meeting will of course be back at 5 PM as usual.
Being the VP of this organization has been something of a burden at times, but this isn’t one of those times; I have more help now than I’ve ever had. Jeff Mason has been writing an interesting article for the newsletter every month, as you know. It’s great to read his fresh perspective. Matthew Campbell has also been helping with the newsletter, by keeping up our ISG Bulletin Board and scoring the monthly critique sessions. And Susie Cool helps me keep up with membership and related details. Her suggestion to “mark us down” for the month of January resulted in a rush of membership dues payments, so we’re in fine shape moneywise for the coming year. Please join me in thanking these folks for all of their able assistance.
I want to offer a second helping of thanks to Matthew Campbell, who will be leading the March meeting while I am out of town. Matthew can handle it. J I’ll see you all in April, with bells on (I never understood that expression).
Matt (for Russ)
Not So Friendly Competition
By Jeff Mason
Last month I wrote about the creative process of Lennon and McCartney. This month, I watched a documentary about two writers who had an unfriendly partnership. The movie is a Disney Production titled ‘The Boys: The Sherman Brother’s Story,’ Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman were the only songwriters ever to be put under contract by Walt Disney Studios. Their father, Al Sherman, was a renowned songwriter. The two brothers have an extensive catalog of songs and are still writing today. They wrote the songs for ‘Mary Poppins’ which includes “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” the latter of which garnered them an Academy Award for best song. They wrote “I Wanna Be Like You” for ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘It’s a Small World’ for the Theme Parks. One song was a hit twice. “You’re Sixteen” was a hit for Johnny Burnette in 1960, and again for Ringo Starr fourteen years later.
The movie is a fascinating look at their creative process. They created an incredible musical legacy which made them successful but destroyed their personal relationship. The crucible of their creativity was conflict, and the friction between them made it possible to write these beautiful songs. That’s a loose quote from the film. The two brothers didn’t know each other, never socialized, and their respective families were strangers. The movie was made by two of their sons, Jeff and Gregory Sherman. The two cousins had never met until later in adult life and hoped that the film would bring the estranged brothers together.
The best part of the film shows Richard Sherman pounding out a tune on a piano and shouting out anything that came into his head. Meanwhile older brother Robert is sitting at his desk taking notes. Occasionally, Robert would raise his hand and make a suggestion. Richard would take the idea and sing the corrected lyrics. It seems there was no sibling rivalry when they wrote songs.
Another good songwriting movie was the 1996 “Grace Of My Heart,” starring Illeana Douglas. It has its roots in The Brill Building legend, which I wrote about last month. Several former Brill songwriters contributed songs to the movie including Gerry Goffin and Burt Bacharach. John Turturro is also in the film, playing a character based on Phil Spector, the record producer.
Sadly, I must mention the passing of Don Kirshner. He was a huge creative force at The Brill Building. We also saw the passing of John Barry, who wrote for the James Bond franchise, and Gerry Rafferty of Stealer’s Wheel, who wrote “Stuck In The Middle With You” and “ Baker Street ,” a great song. Their music will live on.
See you next month, Jeff.
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.
- Thirdsday Acoustic Open Mic, 3rd Thurs each month 8:30pm-11:30pm, hosted by Matthew “Sax” Campbell, City Centre, 14 E. Dakin Ave, Kissimmee . All ages w/parental supervision, no drum sets plz, all musical styles welcome, no bad language plz, full PA and 6 string acoustic provided, weather permitting. If it looks like rain, we’ll be inside 3 Sisters having “Open Acoustic Guitar Night” with no mics or amps.
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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!
February’s Top Songs—Results of monthly critique session
(1) I Finally Found It by Melanie Fisher
(2) She Means Everything by Matthew Campbell
(3) Love May Change Your Mind by Matt Griffin
© 2011 ISG