November 2007
Guild Tidings
The official publication of
The International Songwriters Guild
Volume 12, No. 11
NEXT MEETING: 5:00pm Sunday, November 4th, 2007
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
Special Event
Daytona Beach NSAI is sponsoring a songwriting seminar featuring Grammy-winning songwriter Lathan Hudson! The cost is $20 per person.
When: Saturday, Nov. 24 from 1 PM to 5 PM
Where: 252 Riverbend Rd , Ormond Beach , FL
Bring your instruments (no grand pianos please!), lots of surprises in store. Please respond by November 17th as there is limited seating. RSVP by phone (386-677-4866) or by mail to the address below. First 5 people to respond by phone will get ½ off of the price!
Donna Fant / NSAI
252 Riverbend Rd.
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
President's Letter
Dear Members,
Happy Turkey ! Yes this is in order; my how time flies! This also means Christmas shopping time. How well I remember all of those busy, happy days. Take note, go for it. Enjoy it. Forgive me if I’m sounding a bit wistful, but I’m just enjoying my memories. This newsletter is supposed to be joyful and happy, so I’ll just take a few deep breaths and fall in with you.
I do enjoy our Christmas party every year. I get to see all of you, and love it when you come with great Christmas songs. Wouldn’t it be nice to have all of this televised? Matt and I have discussed having the Christmas party as part of our December meeting, just like we did last year. So after a brief meeting, it will be party time! We can discuss details at the meeting this Sunday.
Goodness, it looks like I’m writing a month ahead. This should all be in the December issue of our newsletter rather than the November one! Hey, I wrote a seasons song last year. It has the same tune but it can be about either Thanksgiving or Christmas. If I can find it, I’ll play it for you at the meeting.
By the way, I want you to feel free to call me if you need piano accompaniment for your songs. I’ll be glad to invite you into my home, and if you’d like me to play piano on your tape.
I’m looking forward to seeing all of you this Sunday, November 4th. Best ever!
Russ
When Opportunity Knocks…
By Matt Griffin
You all know the old saw…when opportunity knocks, will you answer?
If you think about it, dozens of opportunities large and small are available to us every day. Crank around the TV and you’ll pass up (or not!) numerous opportunities to purchase things you didn’t even know you needed. Yes, merchants want to make sure you have plenty of opportunities to spend your money. The same thing is true of charities; plus the more you give, the more charitable opportunities you’ll receive (in the form of phone calls, direct mail, emails, etc.). If you attend church or have kids in school, you’ll have many chances to volunteer your time and efforts. Each day brings frequent opportunities to compliment, chastise, flirt, interrupt, show off, and so on.
Consider the number of such opportunities that present themselves every day, and you’ll realize that most of us decline the bulk of them. If we didn’t, we’d all be pretty much insane and probably broke. You can think of life as an almost continuous string of opportunities, and one of the things that defines us is which opportunities we accept and which we turn down.
I’m bothered by one I turned down a number of days ago. I was at a social gathering with mostly strangers, and struck up a conversation with a woman who turned out to be a painter of murals. I told her I was a songwriter, and she seemed quite interested. Out of the blue, after a three-minute conversation, she asked me to write for her. Her idea was that I would write verse to accompany pictures of her paintings on her advertising flyers. I quietly let the idea drop and then changed the subject.
So, to recap: a total stranger asked me to write something for her. It was clear to me that I wasn’t going to be paid for my efforts, and in fact I had nothing obvious to gain at all. So why is it still bugging me?
Many of our opportunities are no-brainers; it’s usually easy to decide to accept a compliment or decline a chance to invest in junk bonds. But some of our choices come with shades of grey. Should I apply for this job? Should I accept the suggestion of a stranger? It can be difficult to decide, and often we have only a brief moment or two before the opportunity slips away.
Of course opportunities can be created too, and each song we create is an opportunity in itself. I think each song is a new opportunity to express yourself, and hopefully a new opportunity for someone to hear what you can do. Your individual creativity will be on display, and may affect people in ways no one could have anticipated. That’s true, I think, for any kind of artistic or creative endeavor, even for lines of simple verse on a mural advertisement.
So should I have said “yes”? Honestly, I’m still trying to work that one out. 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!
October Top Songs—Results of monthly critique session
(1) Tryin’ Hard to Understand by William Hammond
(2) I Hear His Voice by Matt Griffin
(3) A Touch of Trash by Ester Starling and Mike Kondol
(4) My Little Lucky Charm by Cindy Sadler
© 2007 ISG