Wednesday, December 2, 2009

DSA E-News #102 December 2009

Hello Songwriter,

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Weekend holiday. I found many things to be thankful for in my family, friends, Collin College students and associates, the retirement, assisted living and memory loss community and the associates at Lone Star Sound where I spend many blessed hours of music therapy and YOU, my songwriting buddies. Thank you!

Can you believe it's December already??

Next Monday is the SongSwap Workshop at White Rock Coffee and the the following night on Tuesday is our Christmas Party, 2nd Tuesday Meeting with food fun and co-writing! Then the 3rd Thursday Open Mic at Dunn Brothers, and 3rd Monday SongSwap at Tino's in Plano.

Make plans to attend the Folk Alliance in Memphis this coming February. For more details go to events. http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.
http://calendar.yahoo.com/dallassongwriters

I hope to see you at the Christmas Party. If I don't see you, then I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
Editor, Songwriters Notes
----------

1. 2009 SONG CONTEST - OPENING FOR SUBMISSIONS

Http://www.dsasongcontest.blogspot.com

Submissions accepted November 15th - Feb 15th. You can upload your songs online via Sonicbids.com and Broadjam.com or mail in your entries.

Wanna help the song contest committee? Reply to this email.

2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS

Compare your songs against our winners last year.
http://www.dallassongwriters.com/songcontest/2008/2008winners.htm

Here is winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:
http://www.dallassongwriters.podomatic.com
2008 SEMIFINALISTS
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/semifinalists.htm

**********************
2. SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE
http://www.songssoulservice.org

The Cd of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 & 2 are available online at:http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

If you missed the concert, you can catch the Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:

You Know Me Tribute to Fallen
URL: http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00

Read the latest story about this years winners
http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

*******************************
3. DSA MEETINGS

MONTHLY MEETING - http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

2nd Tuesday - December 8

CHRISTMAS PARTY - DSA provides deli & vegie trays. Bring a sweet to share.

Sign in & Netowrking begins at 6:30
Announcements at 7PM
Co-writing roundtables - bring title list, ideas list, partially written songs, instruments. This will be lots of fun.
NO Critiques

Have any suggestions? What kind of programs would you like?

----------------------------

DSA T-SHIRTS $10 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $15

----------------------------

Songwriting, Song Swap Workshops

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/2009/10/song-swap-workshops.html


White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/ We had a great meeting with Bob Paterno & Jame Pappas coordinating. We're scheduled at this venue through the end of the year.

PLANO - Tino's at Collin Creek Mall on the 3rd Monday- Anna Terry will be coordinating this one.
Tinos Mexican Restaurant Collin Creek Mall, Plano, Tx 972 2572

WAXAHACHIE - Starting in January, Sharon Pisor will host a SongSwap on the 2nd Monday.

Are you interested in meeting in the Midcities? Let us know. Coordinator, Karon High would like to meet in Euless.

The Directors feel that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please reply to the group and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.
Please email DSA or talk to a board member if you'd like to start one in your neighborhood.
-----------------------

4. SHOWCASES & OPEN MICS -
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/showcasesblog.htm

OPEN MICS

DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Our 5th Anniversary Celebration took place on November 19th. We partied until they ran us out. Thanks to Craig St. Clair for being a great range tender.

Craig St Clair is presented a certificate of appreciation by Barbe McMillen on behalf of the Directors and DSA members.
Don Ashley, Buck Morgan, Anna Terry and other DSA members look on as performers offer their original songs. Thanks to Allen Larson for providing this edited video of some of the performers.



Let them eat cake! Happy 5th Anniversary DSA and Dunn Brothers & Host Craig St Clair.


TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Hilltop Cafe, Castell, Tx 76831
Texas Songwriters in the Round is beginning its 10th year of songwriters series.
We are currently meeting at the Hill Top Cafe on Hwy 87 9 miles north of Fredericksburg, Tx.

The Showcase is every 3rd Wednesday with our Star.
The group also meets every wednesday on the patio for songwriters support, performance and sharing.
512-217-4596

-----------------------------------------------

5. LYRIC CONTEST - SUMMER WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FINALISTS

You Would Love Me So Right by Andre Kerek
Cinderella Not At All by Paul Zander
Everything And You by Andre Kerek

VIEW WINNERS, LYRICS & COMMENTS AT WEBLINK BELOW

LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION

Next Lyric Contest Deadline is Dec 31, 2009 for Fall Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/lyriccontestblog.htm

October 2009 Hardcopy issue of Songwriters Notes has the last two Lyric contest winning songs listed:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1520070&da=y
-------------------------------------------------------

6. MEMBER NEWS -


If you are not a DSA Member, you missed these tips sent out through our yahoo group:

* Publisher looking for Childrens songs

* Artists/Producers looking for original material for recording artists

* Major Brand X (To be disclosed at a later time) Seeks Independent artist for music campaign.

* Where to get your cd reviewed

* Music related job listing

* Cheap and free tickets

Wanna get involved? Become a committee member. It's fun!
To view a list of the 2009 Officer & Directors and Committees go to this link:
http://dsadirectors.blogspot.com/

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING ELECTION RESULTS

DSA had their annual membership meeting on Nov, 10, 7PM at 2900 Live Oak, Dallas, Tx. to elect a board of directors. Members received a written notice of this meeting by email. Ballots were handed out at the meeting to voting members only. There are 15 seats on the board, there were 15 spaces on the ballot. Members were permitted to cumulate their votes by giving one candidate as many votes as the number of directors to be elected or by distributing the same number of votes among any number of candidates.


Having a quorum the following directors were elected.


Steve Morgan, Steve Sullivan, Barbe McMillen, Jack Hackworth, James Foster, Bob Paterno, Steven Blackwell, Anna Terry, Don Ashley, Rod Ballou, Roger Russell, Justin Marlar, Lisa Simmions, James Pappas


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: George Ross, Rod Ballou, Stephen Blackwell, Michael Brandenberger, Cheryl Anderson, Jose Cantu, Jennifer and Justin Marler, Donna Scoggins, & Krystal Pinkins.

THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP: Ken Golden, James Foster, James Pappas, Morri Hartgraves.

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:



THESE FOLKS WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER GROUP THIS MONTH
SEPT: Hank Woji, Mark Crisp, Jenna Colston, Marquel Dionne

YOU HAVE A TWO MONTH GRACE PERIOD TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
OCT: Jerry Dobson, Kipp Brennan, Chris Albert, Paul Penrod, Jesse Green, Reagan Redfern, Shawn Millar, William LLoyd, Tania Cordobes, Frankie Cleary, Zach Johnson, Michael Del Palazzo, Pam Barragan, Adrian Taylor, James Cumberlain, Greg Pitchford, Robert Charles, Morgan Greene, Paul Cataldi, Taylor Houdek, Mardi Garcia
NOV: Ian Dickson, Joni Ringo, Don Townsley, Steve Ritter, Michael Roth, Arek Religa, Blake Milton, Jeremy Ellis, Roger Russell, Tommy Byrd, Adrian Hall, John Hannun, RX Bertoldi, Randy Heavin, & John Tracy Wilson

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
Or paste this link in your browser: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&&
-------------------------------------------------------

7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday and 2nd Tuesday.)
Performance and Music Education.
No workshops in Dallas for December.

Details here: http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/

If you'd like for me to add you comment, just send me an email.

SECOND TUESDAY GUEST SPEAKER & SONG CRITIQUES - see Monthly Meeting above

http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm


MONDAY SONG SWAPS for peer critique
Song Swap Workshops
Monthly 7-10 PM
Free, Visitors Welcome


Where songwriters perform their songs for peer review. Bring your guitar and a few lyric sheets. This is like an old fashioned guitar pull with comments between songs.

FIRST MONDAY - NE DALLAS
James Pappas & James Foster are coordinators.
(Look for Foster's face at start and Pappas will wrap it up)

White Rock Coffee in East Dallas
10105 E. Northwest Highway
Dallas, TX 75238
214-341-4774



THIRD MONDAY - PLANO
Anna Terry is coordinator.

Tino's Mexican Restaurant in Plano
1013 Collin Creek Mall, 75 & Plano Parkway
Plano, TX 75075
972 424-2572



The Directors believe that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please email to the yahoo member group to state your interest and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.


http://www.dallassongwriters.org/2009/10/song-swap-workshops.html


OTHER WORKSHOPS

From time to time will let you know about other workshops.

DEC
Workshops in Dec. on the east and west coasts - see blog NYC Musical Workshop & West Coast Making Your Song Better workshop.

JAN

http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/
----------------------------------------

8. Events -

Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, & showcases. Click on the link #8 to the right or copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/


DEC
7-12 5th Annual Texas Songwriing Cruise

JAN 2010
10-17 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat California Sequoias
14-17 NAMM Show, LA
23-27 MIDEM & MIDEM+ http://www.midem.com

FEB
2 Rod Kennedy's 80th Birthday Celebration, Austin, Tx
17-21 Folk Alliance, Memphis -

MARCH
12-21 SXSWeek 2010
12-16 Interactive
12-20 Film
17-21 Music

APRIL
14 Grammy Advocacy Day in Washington DC

MAY
9-16 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat

For more details visit the events page.
Also, hear the song contest winners podcast from this page.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/


TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://www.dirtylinen.com/special/dl-states/TEXAS.html

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins
http://www.unclecalvins.org/OtherVenues.aspx

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://mojam.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/city?city=Dallas,TX

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
http://listings.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97314&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
---------------

9. Featured Articles:

Ten Tips that Every Musician Should Apply to Their Career
I wanted to put out a quick rant (speaking of Good Will) that I'll call Ten Tips that Every Musician Should Apply to Their Career. These apply to both the music and business sides of he equation.

I had to laugh when I read this!

EMMY Award-winning Composer RICHARD BELLIS on "The Creative Process"
Put your mind between the project and the computer.

[Ah, the memory of 'sock hops.']
Scranton Native Credited with Writing Famed "Hokey Pokey" Dies at 104
By Roger Dupuis II --A Scranton native credited with having his right hand in -- penning the famed "Hokey Pokey" -- died this week at the age of 104.

MUSIC BUSINESS

Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money
http://www.makingmusicmakemoney.blogspot.com

Bob Paterno interviews former CEO of the mega-successful Gaylord Entertainment company, Terry London.

Music Business Royalties In The Digital Age by Don Passman
By Don Passman -- Question: Assuming an independent musician has no record label, is the sole songwriter and owns their copyright and has digital distribution for a flat annual fee - How would they earn royalties from the sources below? Who collects and pays the royalties for each?


CRAFT OF SONGWRITING
Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting
http://craftofsongwriting.blogspot.com/

Ever wondered how we critique the songs at our second Tuesday meeting? Here is the ultimate Song Evaluation Check List that was handed and discussed at the last meeting. I hope this is helpful for evaluating your own songs.


Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com/

********************************************

10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

DALLAS SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION SONG CONTEST: Deadline Feb. 15th
more ....on song contest blog


----------------

11. Songwriting Resources

Links to websites about songwriting, performance, music industry.
http://songwritingresources.blogspot.com/

DSA Book Store - reviews, links, lists of recommended reading, and what's in the DSA Library.

http://dsabookstore.blogspot.com/

-------

12. Best Songs of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

SEPT
Things I Don't Mind by Bob Paterno (The Stitts brothers proclaimed this one a hit)
Futile Attraction by Vern Dailey

OCT
Good and Faithful by Stephen Blackwell
He Was A Soldier by Justin and Jennifer Marler

NOV
I Can't by Justin Marler
Kissed You Goodbye by Vern Dailey and Sheryl Caddick

September on My Mind by Ray Phillips is Song of the Year for 2008
Ray Phillips is Songwriter of the Year 2008
see Best Songs blog for score details and judges.

Download a pdf hard copy of the Oct 2009 Songwriters Notes with 2008 best songs of the meeting winners announced.
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1520070&da=y

To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our myspace page.

Did you know that A&R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

-----

Thanks for reading this far. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter @barbemcmillen. Give me a tweet.



Songcerely,
Barbara McMillen, Editor
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA

Thursday, November 5, 2009

DSA E-News #101 November 2009

Hello Songwriter,

Guess it's time for smashing pumpkins. I hope everyone had a great Fall Festival, October Fest, or Halloween.

Here's what's happening in a nutshell:

The SongSwap Workshops are evolving into small neighborhood workshops as a grass roots movement. Since our membership is so logistically vast, we hope to bring these educational workshops close to you to give you more opportunities to participate. Please take advantage of these small groups. The most recent addition at Tino's in Plano was well attended. Our staple at White Rock is still active. A new one is starting in Waxahachie in January. Please email DSA or talk to a board member if you'd like to start one in your neighborhood.

Our annual membership meeting is at the November 2nd Tuesday meeting. Also, I will present the Ultimate Songwriting Checklist as a short program. We'll also, have the drawing at the meeting this coming Tuesday of our Arlington Guitar Show visitors sign in sheet for a free membership.

Third Thursday in November we are celebrating our big FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION at the Dunn Brothers Open Mic. Thanks to Craig St. Clair for being a great range tender. DON'T MISS THIS CELEBRATION.

Deadline for submissions to showcase at the Folk Alliance is coming up November 19th. For more details go to events. http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

Last issue's feature article was about our 2008 Best Songs of The Meeting Winner, Ray Phillips. Those of you who are still attached to paper can download a pdf hard copy of the Oct 2009 Songwriters Notes with 2008 best songs of the meeting winners announced. Also, it has the last two Lyric contest winning songs listed:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1520070&da=y

QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.

http://calendar.yahoo.com/dallassongwriters

I hope to see you at the meeting Tuesday or our big 5th anniversary event at Dunn Brothers.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
Editor, Songwriters Notes
----------
ATTENTION ARTISTS AND COMPOSERS !!
NOW YOUR MUSIC CAN BE HEARD WORLDWIDE !!


DIAMOND BACK compilations are distributed to country radio worldwide every two months. Diamond Back came into existance in January 2006 and is highly accepted by radio stations. Many of the songs appearing on our compilations have made both U.S. and international charts, giving deserved recognition. If you have songsyou feel are air-worthy, we welcome your material for review. For only $100 per song, you will receive a million dollars worth of exposure on our Diamond Back Compilations.
WE WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING FOR REVIEW: Your name, mailing address and email adderess. Titles of your songs, name of writer and, if published, name of the publisher. We need to know if you are affiliated with BMI or ASCAP. All songs must be submitted on CD format. Genre of music may be country, gospel or middle of the road. The singer may be you or another artist. Dust off your material and mail it to us. Lets get your songs to radio stations for the world to hear.
B. Jeff Stone, CEO

Diamond Back Records Of Texas
725 SE County Road 3122
Corsicana, Tx. 75109
EMAIL: bjeffstone@att.net
_________________________________________



1. 2009 SONG CONTEST - OPENING FOR SUBMISSIONS

Http://www.dsasongcontest.blogspot.com

Submissions begin on November 15th by mail, You will be able to upload your songs online via Sonicbids.com and Broadjam.com

We are still looking for committee members to help with the 2009 song contest. Reply to this email.

2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS

Compare your songs against our winners last year.
http://www.dallassongwriters.com/songcontest/2008/2008winners.htm

Here is winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:
http://www.dallassongwriters.podomatic.com
2008 SEMIFINALISTS
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/semifinalists.htm

**********************
2. SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE
http://www.songssoulservice.org


The Cd of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 & 2 are available online at: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

If you missed the concert, you can catch the Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:

You Know Me Tribute to Fallen

URL: http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00


Read the latest story about this years winners
http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

*******************************
3. DSA MEETINGS

MONTHLY MEETING - http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

2nd Tuesday - NOVEMBER 10

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING & ELECTIONS


Barbara McMillen will present THE ULTIMATE POP SONGWRITING CHECKLIST

BARBARA MCMILLEN Associate Professor of Songwriting at Collin College's Commercial Music Department is also the founder of the Dallas Songwriters Association. More about Barbara on myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/barbaramcmillen


Sign in & Netowrking begins at 6:30
Announcements & Membership Meeting at 7PM
Guest Speaker 7:45
Critiques will follow:


Have any suggestions? What kind of programs would you like?

----------------------------

DSA T-SHIRTS $10 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $15

----------------------------

Songwriting, Song Swap Workshops

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/2009/10/song-swap-workshops.html


White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/ We had a great meeting with Bob Paterno & Jame Pappas coordinating. We're scheduled at this venue through the end of the year.

PLANO - Tino's at Collin Creek Mall on the 3rd Monday- Anna Terry will be coordinating this one.
Tinos Mexican Restaurant Collin Creek Mall, Plano, Tx 972 2572

WAXAHACHIE - Starting in January, Sharon Pisor will host a SongSwap on the 2nd Monday.

Are you interested in meeting in the Midcities? Let us know. Coordinator, Karon High would like to meet in Euless.

The Directors feel that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please reply to the group and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.

-----------------------

4. SHOWCASES & OPEN MICS -
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/showcasesblog.htm

OPEN MICS

5th Anniversary Celebration on November 19th.
DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm


TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Hilltop Cafe, Castell, Tx 76831
Texas Songwriters in the Round is beginning its 10th year of songwriters series.
We are currently meeting at the Hill Top Cafe on Hwy 87 9 miles north of Fredericksburg, Tx.

The Showcase is every 3rd Wednesday with our Star.
The group also meets every wednesday on the patio for songwriters support, performance and sharing.
512-217-4596

-----------------------------------------------

5. LYRIC CONTEST - SPRING WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FINALISTS

The Rider by David McElhinney
Just For One Day by Amy Ralmuto
We Are The Banksters by Eddie Becker

VIEW WINNERS, LYRICS & COMMENTS AT WEBLINK BELOW

SUMMER ENTRIES ARE CURRENTLY BEING JUDGED

LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION

Next Lyric Contest Deadline is Sept 8th, 2009 for Summer Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/lyriccontestblog.htm
-------------------------------------------------------

6. MEMBER NEWS -

Dear DSA member,

Your attendance is requested at our annual membership meeting coming up this November (11/10/09). We will be electing the DSA Board of Directors for 2010 at this meeting. See details below!


DSA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Date: Tuesday November 10, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Center For Community Cooperation
Street: 2900 Live Oak @ Liberty
City State Zip: Dallas, TX 75204
Phone: 214 762-1613 Barbe's cell
Notes: Nominations and Elections for 2010 Board of Directors.
Please RSVP, since food will be provided.

We are always looking for dedicated members to serve on our Board of Directors or as a committee member. Our committees include: Membership, Song Contest, Lyric Contest, Workshops, Critiques, Meetings, Marketing, Finance, fund raising, sponsorship, public relations. You can join this list of committee members by volunteering.

Best regards,
Bob Paterno


If you are not a DSA Member, you missed these tips sent out through our yahoo group:

* Publisher looking for Childrens songs

* Artists/Producers looking for original material for recording artists

* Major Brand X (To be disclosed at a later time) Seeks Independent artist for music campaign.

* Where to get your cd reviewed

* Music related job listing

* Cheap and free tickets

There are three committee seats open.
Vacant - Coordinator Song Swap Workshops
* Coordinators may open neighborhood workshops
Vacant - Librarian, workshops
Vacant - Monthly Meeting Critiques- runs the A&R at the meetings.

Please contact Steve Sullivan, sullarch at verizon dot net, to express your interest in serving.


To view a list of the 2009 Officer & Directors and Committees go to this link:
http://dsadirectors.blogspot.com/


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Geoffrey Kern, Don Wall, & Scott Fant , Dave Sanchez, Brook Malouf, John Nitzinger, Jay Mince, Janie Stephens, Mike & Mark Stitts, Geoff Kern, George Ross, Rod Ballou, Stephen Blackwell
THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:Bill Honker, Dave Dalton, Buck Morgan, Mary Guthrie, Annie Cornelius, Steve Sullivan, Craig St. Clair, Will Brown

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:


THESE FOLKS HAVE BEEN DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER YAHOO GOUP AND PLACED IN THE NETWORK GROUP
OCT: Judith de los Santos, Tony Burroughs, Michael Hart, Adam Donmoyer, Rich Ellis, Danny Everitt, Mathew Marsh, Brad Price
NOV: Robert Couch, Donna Aylor, Jenna Drey, Mike Hyden, Richard Kirwin, Elizabeth Kirchgatter, Al Scroggins, Ian Dickson, Will Livingston, Clif Munroe, Jan Seides, Steve Smith, Alisha Jackson, Sharon Pisors, David Carter, Tim Dawson, Terry Fann, Jason Heald, Brad Henske, Forrest Lawson, Phillip Marcus, Linda Moroziuk, Paul Reaney, Walter Sargent, Andy Taylor,
DEC: Jeff Sharp, Lisa Mickelson, Bil Basinski, Steve Hill
JAN: Jeff Moxcey, Beverly Houston, Kathy Davidson, Drew Harakal, Sidney Miller, Ann Abercrombie, Kay Seamayer
FEB: Carol Shaw, Jennifer Carson, Jason Winford & Bill Amos
MARCH: Helene Cronin, Mark Hughey, Barbara Seiler, Michael Franceus, Neal Fletcher, Troll Mallow, Rory Moore
APRIL: Mike Parrish, Stephen Boone, Ed Williams, Akin Akintola
MAY: James Cornelius, Kathy Dunn, Mark Evans, David Lott, Michael Shane Russell, Aaron Rodriquez, Jeff Odon, Alicia Smither, Grady Yates, Beth Scivally, Rick Yentsch, & Richard Pickett.

THESE FOLKS WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER GROUP THIS MONTH
JUNE: Anna Terry, Jerome Douglas, Karen High, Mark Dittenber, Bobby McBride, Michael Hollingsworth
AUG: Phillip Cooner, Edd Haynes, Tom Carder

YOU HAVE A TWO MONTH GRACE PERIOD TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
SEPT:Ken Golden, Hank Woji, Mark Crisp, James Foster, Jenna Colston, Marquel Dionne
OCT: Jerry Dobson, Kipp Brennan, Chris Albert, Paul Penrod, Morri Hartgraves, Jesse Green, Reagan Redfern, Shawn Millar, William LLoyd, Tania Cordobes, Frankie Cleary, Zach Johnson, Michael Del Palazzo, Pam Barragan, Adrian Taylor, James Cumberlain, Greg Pitchford, Robert Charles, Morgan Greene, Paul Cataldi, Taylor Houdek, Mardi Garcia

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
Or paste this link in your browser: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&&
-------------------------------------------------------

7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday and 2nd Tuesday.)
Performance and Music Education.

Details here: http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/

If you'd like for me to add you comment, just send me an email.

SECOND TUESDAY GUEST SPEAKER & SONG CRITIQUES - see Monthly Meeting above

http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm


MONDAY SONG SWAPS for peer critiqueSong Swap Workshops
Monthly 7-10 PM
Free, Visitors Welcome


Where songwriters perform their songs for peer review. Bring your guitar and a few lyric sheets. This is like an old fashioned guitar pull with comments between songs.

FIRST MONDAY - NE DALLAS
James Pappas & James Foster are coordinators.
(Look for Foster's face at start and Pappas will wrap it up)

White Rock Coffee in East Dallas
10105 E. Northwest Highway
Dallas, TX 75238
214-341-4774



THIRD MONDAY - PLANO
Anna Terry is coordinator.

Tino's Mexican Restaurant in Plano
1013 Collin Creek Mall, 75 & Plano Parkway
Plano, TX 75075
972 424-2572



The Directors believe that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please email to the yahoo member group to state your interest and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.


http://www.dallassongwriters.org/2009/10/song-swap-workshops.html


OTHER WORKSHOPS

From time to time will let you know about other workshops.

http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/
----------------------------------------

8. Events -

Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, & showcases. Click on the link #8 to the right or copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

NOV
15 5th Anniversary Celebration at Dunn Brothers Coffee Open Mic
19th Deadline for Submissions to showcase at Folk Alliance

DEC
7-12 5th Annual Texas Songwriing Cruise

JAN 2010
10-17 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat California Sequoias
23-27 MIDEM & MIDEM+ http://www.midem.com

FEB
17-21 Folk Alliance, Memphis

MARCH
12-21 SXSWeek 2010
12-16 Interactive
12-20 Film
17-21 Music

APRIL
14 Grammy Advocacy Day in Washington DC

MAY
9-16 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat

For more details visit the events page.
Also, hear the song contest winners podcast from this page.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

PERFORMERS NEEDED FOR SMALL-VENUE CONCERT SERIES - please see events blog for details

TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://www.dirtylinen.com/special/dl-states/TEXAS.html

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins
http://www.unclecalvins.org/OtherVenues.aspx

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://mojam.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/city?city=Dallas,TX

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
http://listings.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97314&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
---------------

9. Featured Articles:

The Sound of Money: That's Right, They're Playing Our Song
By Michael R. Morris --
Favorable tax law changes originally made in 2006 continue to offer significant tax planning opportunities for both songwriters and music publishers. The tax breaks for songwriters were especially groundbreaking, permitting self-created musical compositions or copyrights in self-created musical works to be electively treated as capital assets. Why does this matter?

MUSIC BUSINESS

Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money
http://www.makingmusicmakemoney.blogspot.com

Bob Paterno interviews former CEO of the mega-successful Gaylord Entertainment company, Terry London.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING
Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting
http://craftofsongwriting.blogspot.com/

Ever wondered what makes a song stand out? Barbe explores the concept of contrast.


Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com/

********************************************

10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

DALLAS SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION SONG CONTEST: Deadline Feb. 15th
SONG DOOR: Deadline Nov. 15th
more ....on song contest blog


----------------

11. Songwriting Resources

Links to websites about songwriting, performance, music industry.
http://songwritingresources.blogspot.com/

DSA Book Store - reviews, links, lists of recommended reading, and what's in the DSA Library.

http://dsabookstore.blogspot.com/

-------

12. Best Songs of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

SEPT
Things I Don't Mind by Bob Paterno (The Stitts brothers proclaimed this one a hit)
Futile Attraction by Vern Dailey

OCT
Good and Faithful by Stephen Blackwell
He Was A Soldier by Justin and Jennifer Marler

September on My Mind by Ray Phillips is Song of the Year for 2008
Ray Phillips is Songwriter of the Year 2008
see Best Songs blog for score details and judges.

To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our myspace page.

Did you know that A&R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

-----

Thanks for reading this far. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter @barbemcmillen. Give me a tweet.



Songcerely,
Barbara McMillen, Editor
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

DSA E-News #100 October 2009

Hello Songwriter,

Last month zoooooooomed by!! Lot's of things happening!

We are starting a number of SongSwap Workshops in the nieghborhoods as a grass roots movement. Our membership is so spread out. Hopefully, bringing these educational workshops close to you will give you more opportunities to participate. I hope you will take advantage of these small groups. The new one at Tino's in Plano was well attended. Our staple at White is still active. Please email DSA or talk to a board member if you'd like to start one in your neighborhood.

Mark your calendar for the Guitar Show in Arlington, TX Convention Center on the 17 & 18, The World's Largest Consumer Guitar Event , http://www.texasguitarshows.com/NewArl.htm

The world's largest consumer guitar event of its kind, the annual Arlington Guitar Show (GUITARLINGTON) returns to the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday October 18. Saturday's hours are 10-6 and Sunday's are 10-5. The 4 Amigos, organizers of this twenty-fourth consecutive show in Arlington, say that this year's extravaganza will be the most exciting to date. This international buy, sell and trade show for new, used, old and rare guitars and other musical merchandise, is considered to be a must for dealers and collectors from all over the world to attend each year. Public attendees are encouraged to bring all the guitars and related gear they can carry to sell, trade or have appraised. This year's feature attraction is the attempt by show attendees and exhibitors to shatter the world's record of the most guitarists playing the same song in the same venue at the same time. Bring your guitar and participate in the playing of "Louie Louie". The attempt will occur at 2 p.m. sharp on Saturday. Admission to the show is $15 daily for adults and children eleven and under free if accompanied by an adult. The public is also invited to attend the live guitar jams and performances by surprise guests at the nearby Sheraton Arlington Hotel pavilion Friday at 9 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. Visit our web site at www.txshows.com. The convention center is located just off I-30 near Texas Ranger Stadium.

Third Thursday in November we are celebrating our big 5 year anniversary celebration in November at the Dunn Brothers Open Mic.

Hit Nashville songwriter Robert Jason is now taking reservations for his first Dallas workshop on Saturday, Oct. 24. See details below under workshops.

We have a great program scheduled for next Tuesday with radio personality David Shenault and Music Director Cindy Owen from KMOO. Find out if they will play your songs.


QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.

http://calendar.yahoo.com/dallassongwriters

I hope to see you at one of the events soon.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
Editor, Songwriters Notes
----------
ATTENTION ARTISTS AND COMPOSERS !!
NOW YOUR MUSIC CAN BE HEARD WORLDWIDE !!


DIAMOND BACK compilations are distributed to country radio worldwide every two months. Diamond Back came into existance in January 2006 and is highly accepted by radio stations. Many of the songs appearing on our compilations have made both U.S. and international charts, giving deserved recognition. If you have songsyou feel are air-worthy, we welcome your material for review. For only $100 per song, you will receive a million dollars worth of exposure on our Diamond Back Compilations.
WE WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING FOR REVIEW: Your name, mailing address and email adderess. Titles of your songs, name of writer and, if published, name of the publisher. We need to know if you are affiliated with BMI or ASCAP. All songs must be submitted on CD format. Genre of music may be country, gospel or middle of the road. The singer may be you or another artist. Dust off your material and mail it to us. Lets get your songs to radio stations for the world to hear.
B. Jeff Stone, CEO

Diamond Back Records Of Texas
725 SE County Road 3122
Corsicana, Tx. 75109
EMAIL: bjeffstone@att.net
_________________________________________
1. 2009 SONG CONTEST - OPENING FOR SUBMISSIONS

We will open the contest for submissions on November 15th by mail, You will be able to upload your songs online via Sonicbids.com and Broadjam.com

We are still looking for committee members to help with the 2009 song contest. Reply to this email.

1. 2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS

Compare your songs against our winners last year.
http://www.dallassongwriters.com/songcontest/2008/2008winners.htm

Here is winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:

http://www.dallassongwriters.podomatic.com

Drawing for the IPod. Number 66 was drawn by our guest speaker at the meeting. Congratulations to Gaylon Embrey for his entry, Little Angel Faces, being the 66th song contest entry.

SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/scontest.htm

or direct link:


http://www.dallassongwriters.org/semifinalists.htm


**********************
2. SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE
http://www.songssoulservice.org


The Cd of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 & 2 are available online at: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

If you missed the concert, you can catch the Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:

You Know Me Tribute to Fallen

URL: http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00


Read the latest story about this years winners
http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

*******************************
3. DSA MEETINGS

MONTHLY MEETING - http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

2nd Tuesday - OCTOBER 13

KMOO Radio Personality Steered to DSA Meeting


SECONDARY RADIO: WILL THEY PLAY YOUR MUSIC?

DAVID SHENAULT, DJ AND CINDY OWEN, MUSIC DIRECTOR from radio station KMOO in Mineola, TX will lead a panel discussion about how to get those precious paying gigs.

Sign in & Netowrking begins at 6:30
Announcements at 7PM
Guest Speaker 7:15
Critiques will follow:


Have any suggestions? What kind of programs would you like?

----------------------------

DSA T-SHIRTS $10 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $15

----------------------------

Songwriting, Song Swap Workshops
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm">http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm">http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm
FIRST MONDAY

White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/ We had a great meeting with Bob Paterno & Jame Pappas coordinating. We're scheduled at this venue through the end of the year.

PLANO - Tino's at Collin Creek Mall on the 3rd Monday- Anna Terry will be coordinating this one.
Tinos Mexican Restaurant Collin Creek Mall, Plano, Tx 972 2572

At the last board meeting, we decided to encourage other SongSwap Workshops in various neighborhoods. Look for one starting soon in Euless, coordinated by Karon High.

The Directors feel that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please reply to the group and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.

-----------------------

4. SHOWCASES & OPEN MICS -
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/showcasesblog.htm

OPEN MICS
DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

5th Anniversary Celebration on November 19th.

TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND at Hilltop Cafe, Castell, Tx 76831
Texas Songwriters in the Round is beginning its 10th year of songwriters series.
We are currently meeting at the Hill Top Cafe on Hwy 87 9 miles north of Fredericksburg, Tx.

The Showcase is every 3rd Wednesday with our Star.
The group also meets every wednesday on the patio for songwriters support, performance and sharing.
512-217-4596

-----------------------------------------------

5. LYRIC CONTEST - SPRING WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FINALISTS

The Rider by David McElhinney
Just For One Day by Amy Ralmuto
We Are The Banksters by Eddie Becker

VIEW WINNERS, LYRICS & COMMENTS AT WEBLINK BELOW

SUMMER ENTRIES ARE CURRENTLY BEING JUDGED

LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION

Next Lyric Contest Deadline is Sept 8th, 2009 for Summer Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/lyriccontestblog.htm
-------------------------------------------------------

6. MEMBER NEWS -

Dear DSA member,

Your attendance is requested at our annual membership meeting coming up this November (11/10/09). We will be electing the DSA Board of Directors for 2010 at this meeting. See details below!


DSA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Date: Tuesday November 10, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Center For Community Cooperation
Street: 2900 Live Oak @ Liberty
City State Zip: Dallas, TX 75204
Phone: 214 762-1613 Barbe's cell
Notes: Nominations and Elections for 2010 Board of Directors.
Please RSVP, since food will be provided.

We are always looking for dedicated members to serve on our Board of Directors or as a committee member. Our committees include: Membership, Song Contest, Lyric Contest, Workshops, Critiques, Meetings, Marketing, Finance, fund raising, sponsorship, public relations. You can join this list of committee members by volunteering.

Best regards,
Bob Paterno


If you are not a DSA Member, you missed these tips sent out through our yahoo group:

* Publisher looking for Childrens songs

* Artists/Producers looking for original material for recording artists

* Major Brand X (To be disclosed at a later time) Seeks Independent artist for music campaign.

* Where to get your cd reviewed

* Music related job listing

* Cheap and free tickets

There are three committee seats open.
Vacant - Coordinator Song Swap Workshops
* Coordinators may open neighborhood workshops
Vacant - Librarian, workshops
Vacant - Monthly Meeting Critiques- runs the A&R at the meetings.

Please contact Steve Sullivan, sullarch at verizon dot net, to express your interest in serving.


To view a list of the 2009 Officer & Directors and Committees go to this link:
http://dsadirectors.blogspot.com/


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Geoffrey Kern, Don Wall, & Scott Fant , Dave Sanchez, Brook Malouf, John Nitzinger, Jay Mince, Janie Stephens, Mike & Mark Stitts, Geoff Kern, George Ross, Rod Ballou, Stephen Blackwell
THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:Bill Honker, Dave Dalton, Buck Morgan, Mary Guthrie, Annie Cornelius, Steve Sullivan

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:


THESE FOLKS HAVE BEEN DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER YAHOO GOUP AND PLACED IN THE NETWORK GROUP
OCT: Judith de los Santos, Tony Burroughs, Michael Hart, Adam Donmoyer, Rich Ellis, Danny Everitt, Mathew Marsh, Brad Price
NOV: Robert Couch, Joni Ringo, Donna Aylor, Jenna Drey, Mike Hyden, Richard Kirwin, Will Brown, Elizabeth Kirchgatter, Al Scroggins, Ian Dickson, Will Livingston, Clif Munroe, Jan Seides, Steve Smith, Alisha Jackson, Sharon Pisors, David Carter, Tim Dawson, Terry Fann, Jason Heald, Brad Henske, Forrest Lawson, Phillip Marcus, Linda Moroziuk, Paul Reaney, Walter Sargent, Andy Taylor,
DEC: Jeff Sharp, Lisa Mickelson, Bil Basinski, Steve Hill
JAN: Jeff Moxcey, Beverly Houston, Kathy Davidson, Drew Harakal, Sidney Miller, Ann Abercrombie, Kay Seamayer
FEB: Carol Shaw, Jennifer Carson, Jason Winford & Bill Amos
MARCH: Helene Cronin, Mark Hughey, Barbara Seiler, Michael Franceus, Neal Fletcher, Troll Mallow, Rory Moore
APRIL: Mike Parrish, Stephen Boone, Ed Williams, Akin Akintola
MAY: James Cornelius, Kathy Dunn, Mark Evans, David Lott, Michael Shane Russell, Aaron Rodriquez, Jeff Odon, Alicia Smither, Grady Yates, Beth Scivally, Rick Yentsch, & Richard Pickett.

THESE FOLKS WILL BE DROPPED FROM THE MEMBER GROUP THIS MONTH
JUNE: Anna Terry, Jerome Douglas, Karen High, Mark Dittenber, Bobby McBride, Michael Hollingsworth
AUG: Phillip Cooner, Edd Haynes, Tom Carder

YOU HAVE A TWO MONTH GRACE PERIOD TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP
SEPT:Ken Golden, Hank Woji, Mark Crisp, James Foster, Jenna Colston, Marquel Dionne

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
Or paste this link in your browser: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&&
-------------------------------------------------------

7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday and 2nd Tuesday.)

ROBERT JASON'S SONGWRITER'S WORKSHOP - OCT 24TH, PLANO, TX
http://www.robertjason.com

Robert Jason is a multi-talented Songwriter, Producer, Composer, and Studio Vocalist, whose songs have been recorded by Alabama, Reba McEntire, Barry White, and The Fox Brothers.

Robert's music career began in Miami, with stops in Dallas, Los Angeles and finally, Nashville, TN

His membership affiliations include Screen Actors Guild, American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists, Local 47 Musicians Union, BMI (writer/publisher), ASCAP (publisher), NSAI, CMA, and the CCMA.

Robert is an honors graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.), holding dual degrees in Piano Performance and Music Education.

Robert's Artist/Producer endorsements include AKG, SE Electronics, Antares Audio, Universal Audio, and GML (George Massenburg Labs).

Details here: http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/

If you'd like for me to add you comment, just send me an email.

SECOND TUESDAY GUEST SPEAKER & SONG CRITIQUES - see Monthly Meeting above

http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm


MONDAY SONG SWAPS for peer critiques
FIRST MONDAY SONG SWAP at White Rock Coffee
THIRD MONDAY SONG SWAP at Tino's in Plano, located in Collin Creek Mall

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm

OTHER WORKSHOPS


----------------------------------------

8. Events -

Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, & showcases. Click on the link #8 to the right or copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

OCT
2-4 SongWritersFestival.com, Loretta Lynn's Ranch
8-10 Colorado Springs Expo, Marriott Colorado Springs
17-18 World's Largest Consumer Guitar Event, Arlington, TX Convention Ctr/
17-18 Texas Independent Music Expo, Sons of Hermann Hall, Dallas, Tx
22-24 Barbara Cloyd's Play For Publishers, Nashville, Tn
29-30 Billboard Film & TV Conference, Hollywood, CA
25- Nov 1 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat Ireland

NOV
15 5th Anniversary Celebration at Dunn Brothers Coffee Open Mic

DEC
7-12 5th Annual Texas Songwriing Cruise

JAN 2010
10-17 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat California Sequoias

FEB
17-21 Folk Alliance, Memphis

MARCH
12-21 SXSWeek 2010
12-16 Interactive
12-20 Film
17-21 Music

APRIL
14 Grammy Advocacy Day in Washington DC

MAY
9-16 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat

For more details visit the events page.
Also, hear the song contest winners podcast from this page.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

PERFORMERS NEEDED FOR SMALL-VENUE CONCERT SERIES - please see events blog for details

TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://www.dirtylinen.com/special/dl-states/TEXAS.html

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins
http://www.unclecalvins.org/OtherVenues.aspx

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://mojam.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/city?city=Dallas,TX

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
http://listings.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97314&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
---------------

9. Featured Articles:

Ray Phillips- 2008 Songwriter of the Year
by Buck Morgan

September on My Mind
is winning song of 2008 DSA monthly song critiques



With a hand in writing half of the 16 winning songs in the DSA monthly song contest, Ray Phillips, excuse me, the amazingly talented Ray Phillips is the runaway DSA Songwriter of the Year for 2008.
In addition, independent judges have recently chosen Ray’s song, “September in My Mind,” as DSA Song of the Year.
Clearly a favorite among DSA members, Ray faced stiff competition with the judges. You see, his songs had to beat out his songs in independent judging for Song of the Year. Ultimately the judges chose Ray and writing partner Richard Davis’ “September in My Mind,” beating out another Phillips/Davis tune, “She Loves to Infinity”.
Other songs among the judges’ favorites were “We Don’t Eat Together Anymore” by Bob Paterno and, yes, Ray Phillips, “A Man’s Gotta Do” by 2007 songwriter of the year Ed Williams, and “Dancing Feet and Honkytonk Hearts” by Vern Dailey, who’s won songwriter of the year numerous times.
“Finding great songs by DSA members is never a problem, but it’s always a challenge to find good judges,” said Steve Sullivan, DSA president. “That’s one reason we’re a little late in making this announcement. However, we’re very pleased to have found three music industry professionals to listen to and rate our songs.
Judges were:   Mark Mason, a writer’s representative for BMI in Nashville. Mark listens to hundreds of songs every month and is a well-respected member of the Nashville writers’ community.
Steve Leslie is a professional songwriter with multiple Darryl Worley cuts, including two on his current album. George Strait has also covered one of Steve’s songs.  In addition to songwriting, Steve runs a publishing company in Nashville and enjoys teaching songwriting.
Louis Lofredo is a long-time industry insider, producer and publisher and a good friend of DSA.
Those of you who regularly attend monthly meetings know that on most months DSA members submit songs for panel critiquing and membership scoring. The two highest scoring songs each month become nominees for Song of the Year. On months with fewer than six song submissions, only one song is nominated. 
The DSA is proud of Ray and all the monthly winners and submitters.  To hear some of Ray’s songs, please visit http://www.myspace.com/rayphillipssongwriter From there you can leap to Ed and Bob’s pages. If you want to know more about Vern Dailey, just Google him. He’s a Texas treasure.


MUSIC BUSINESS

Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money
http://www.makingmusicmakemoney.blogspot.com

Bob Paterno interviews former CEO of the mega-successful Gaylord Entertainment company, Terry London.

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING
Barbe McMillen's blog, The Craft of Songwriting
http://craftofsongwriting.blogspot.com/

There was a lot of comments floating around in the member yahoo group this month about the bridge section of a song form. Barbe weighs in on when and how to use a bridge.


Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com/

********************************************

10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

GREAT AMERICAN SONG CONTEST Deadline Oct 30
SONG DOOR: Deadline Nov. 15th
more ....on song contest blog


----------------

11. Songwriting Resources

http://songwritingresources.blogspot.com/


-------

12. Best Songs of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

JANUARY 2009
Cross My Heart by Vern Dailey

FEBRUARY
Easy For You by Ray Philips & Richard Davis

MARCH
1st. Shined On Me by Ray Phillips & Richard Davis
2nd Look Beyond by Jerry Dobson

APRIL
Our Heaven On Earth by Vern Dailey
Always A Day Behind by Roger Russell & Bill Amos

MAY - no critiques

JUNE
First Place...Cross My Heart by Vern Dailey and Leslie Brooks
Tie for Second Place...Wishing In One Hand by Jerry Dobson and Daughter of Texas Wind by Morri Hartgraves

JULY
Which Side of My Heart by Vern Dailey

SEPT
Things I Don't Mind by Bob Paterno (The Stitts brothers proclaimed this one a hit)
Futile Attraction by Vern Dailey

September on My Mind judged by Ray Phillips as Song of the Year for 2008
Ray Phillips is Songwriter of the Year 2008
see Best Songs blog for score details and judges.

To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our myspace page.

Did you know that A&R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

-----


Thanks for reading this far. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter @barbemcmillen. Give me a tweet.



Songcerely,
Barbara McMillen, Editor
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA

Friday, August 28, 2009

DSA E-News #99 September 2009

Hello Songwriter,

The heat is beginning to break in Dallas, school has started back and my house is no longer a construction zone, yeah!

In August, I was lucky to meet a great Texas band, Blue October, backstage at the House of Blues.




They are really nice guys and very talented songwriters. Switchfoot also played the show. Tickets and passes were complimentary from the Recording Academy. We had a blast.

I was interviewed for a recent article in the business section of the Star Telegram. Read the article about online sites to host your EPK. http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/1553531.html

We are starting a number of SongSwap Workshops in the nieghborhoods as a grass roots movement. Our membership is so spread out. Hopefully, bringing these educational workshops close to you will give you more opportunities to participate. I hope you will take advantage of these small groups.

Southwest Folk Alliance is coming to Austin this month. The Buzz is that there may be a Southwest Folk Alliance event in DFW next spring.

Mark your calendar in October for the Guitar Show in Arlington, TX Convention Center on the 17 & 18, The World's Largest Consumer Guitar Event , http://www.texasguitarshows.com/NewArl.htm
and in November for a big 5 year anniversary celebration in November at the Dunn Brothers Open Mic.

Hit Nashville songwriter Robert Jason is now taking reservations for his first Dallas workshop on Saturday, Oct. 24. See details below under workshops.

We have a great program scheduled for next Tuesday with Christian producers Mark & Mike Stitts. They have worked with major label artists, so bring you best songs for critique.

Don't forget to get your lyrics in for the Summer Lyric Contest Deadline.

Mary Guthrie is looking for performers for a new live performance series at the Heritage Village, Old City Park. See Events below for a link to the details.

QUICK LOOK CALENDAR OF DSA MONTHLY EVENTS - put this in your bookmark.

http://calendar.yahoo.com/dallassongwriters

I hope to see you at one of the events soon.

Songcerely,
Barbe McMillen
Founding President Emeritus
Editor, Songwriters Notes
----------
ATTENTION ARTISTS AND COMPOSERS !!
NOW YOUR MUSIC CAN BE HEARD WORLDWIDE !!


DIAMOND BACK compilations are distributed to country radio worldwide every two months. Diamond Back came into existance in January 2006 and is highly accepted by radio stations. Many of the songs appearing on our compilations have made both U.S. and international charts, giving deserved recognition. If you have songsyou feel are air-worthy, we welcome your material for review. For only $100 per song, you will receive a million dollars worth of exposure on our Diamond Back Compilations.
WE WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING FOR REVIEW: Your name, mailing address and email adderess. Titles of your songs, name of writer and, if published, name of the publisher. We need to know if you are affiliated with BMI or ASCAP. All songs must be submitted on CD format. Genre of music may be country, gospel or middle of the road. The singer may be you or another artist. Dust off your material and mail it to us. Lets get your songs to radio stations for the world to hear.
B. Jeff Stone, CEO

Diamond Back Records Of Texas
725 SE County Road 3122
Corsicana, Tx. 75109
EMAIL: bjeffstone@att.net
_________________________________________
1. 2008 SONG CONTEST - WINNERS ANNOUNCED

We will open the contest for submissions on September 15th by mail, We'll let you know when you will be able to upload your songs online.

We are still looking for committee members to help with the 2009 song contest. Reply to this email.

http://www.dallassongwriters.com/songcontest/2008/2008winners.htm

Here is winning songs in a series of three podcasts at:

http://www.dallassongwriters.podomatic.com

Drawing for the IPod. Number 66 was drawn by our guest speaker at the meeting. Congratulations to Gaylon Embrey for his entry, Little Angel Faces, being the 66th song contest entry.

SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/scontest.htm

or direct link:


http://www.dallassongwriters.org/semifinalists.htm


**********************
2. SONGS FROM THE SOUL OF SERVICE
http://www.songssoulservice.org


The Cd of the winning songs, Songs From the Soul of Service Vols. 1 & 2 are available online at: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&page=SSS4

If you missed the concert, you can catch the Tribute to our fallen soldiers from DFW at our Podomatic site:

You Know Me Tribute to Fallen

URL: http://dallassongwriters.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-05-21T21_14_44-07_00


Read the latest story about this years winners
http://songssoulservice.blogspot.com/

*******************************
3. DSA MEETINGS

MONTHLY MEETING - http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm

2nd Tuesday - SEPTEMBER 8

CHRISTIAN PRODUCERS MARK & MIKE STITTS


Producers Mark & Mike Stitts will speak at the Meeting



Aerial Digital Media, owned by brothers Mark and Mike Stitts, is an artist production, development, and management company. For over 20 years the team at Aerial Digital Media have been involved in nearly every aspect of the music industry. Having worked with and developed everything from major label artist to smaller independent projects in all styles and genre’s, the Aerial Digital Media team focuses on products that promote values of faith, family, and integrity.

Sign in & Netowrking begins at 6:30
Announcements at 7PM
Guest Speaker 7:15
Critiques will follow:


Have any suggestions? What kind of programs would you like?

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DSA T-SHIRTS $10 at the meeting (you must ask me for the special) or online by mail $15

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Songwriting, Song Swap Workshops
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm
FIRST MONDAY

White Rock Coffee in East Dallas. http://www.wrcoffee.com/ We had a great meeting with James Pappas coordinating. We're scheduled at this venue through the end of the year.

Yes, there will be workshops on Labor Day.
I will be at the White Rock Coffee. I don't have class that night.

PLANO - Tino's at Collin Creek Mall - Steve Sullivan and Anna Terry will be coordinating this one.

At the last board meeting, we decided to encourage other SongSwap Workshops in various neighborhoods. Look for one starting soon in Euless, coordinated by Karon High.

The Directors feel that DSA can support a number of these small area Song Swaps which are beneficial to attaining crucial feedback for developing your works in progress and as Annie Benjamin pointed out, works best in small groups of 10 or less. If you live in a suburb and would like to host one in your area, please reply to the group and ask for interested attendees in your area. Three people make a group for peer review or interested co-writers. I know several people who have attended the Song Swap in the past have developed beneficial co-writing relationships.

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4. SHOWCASES & OPEN MICS -
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/showcasesblog.htm

OPEN MICS
DUNN BROTHERS COFFEE HOUSE -
EVERY 3RD THURSDAY - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

5th Anniversary Celebration on November 19th.

TEXAS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND Sept 16th at Hilltop Cafe, Castell, Tx 76831
There will be 3 of us in the rounds- we will have food!
Sound check at 5:30. We play from 6-7 and 8-9 with Graham Warwick our star @ 7PM! Open mic follows 8-9PM!!

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5. LYRIC CONTEST - SPRING WINNERS ANNOUNCED

FINALISTS

The Rider by David McElhinney
Just For One Day by Amy Ralmuto
We Are The Banksters by Eddie Becker

VIEW WINNERS, LYRICS & COMMENTS AT WEBLINK BELOW

LYRICISTS GAIN RECOGNITION THROUGH COMPETITION

Next Lyric Contest Deadline is Sept 8th, 2009 for Summer Lyric Contest
Entry fee is $10
Please see lyric contest webpage for details.
http://www.dallassongwriters.org/lyriccontestblog.htm
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6. MEMBER NEWS -

If you are not a DSA Member, you missed these tips sent out through our yahoo group:

* Artists/Producers looking for original material for recording artists

* Major Brand X (To be disclosed at a later time) Seeks Independent artist for music campaign.

* Where to get your cd reviewed

* Music related job listing

* Cheap and free tickets

There are three committee seats open.
Vacant - Coordinator Song Swap Workshops
* Coordinators may open neighborhood workshops
Vacant - Librarian, workshops
Vacant - Monthly Meeting Critiques- runs the A&R at the meetings.

Please contact Steve Sullivan, sullarch at verizon dot net, to express your interest in serving.


To view a list of the 2009 Officer & Directors and Committees go to this link:
http://dsadirectors.blogspot.com/


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Don Wall, & Scott Fant
THANK YOU FOR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP:Bill Honker, Dave Dalton, Buck Morgan & Mary Guthrie

TIME TO RENEW: The following members owe dues:



OCT: Judith de los Santos, Tony Burroughs, Michael Hart, Adam Donmoyer, Rich Ellis, Danny Everitt, Mathew Marsh, Brad Price
NOV: Robert Couch, Joni Ringo, Donna Aylor, Jenna Drey, Mike Hyden, Richard Kirwin, Will Brown, Elizabeth Kirchgatter, Al Scroggins, Ian Dickson, Will Livingston, Clif Munroe, Jan Seides, Steve Smith, Alisha Jackson, Sharon Pisors, David Carter, Tim Dawson, Terry Fann, Jason Heald, Brad Henske, Forrest Lawson, Phillip Marcus, Linda Moroziuk, Paul Reaney, Walter Sargent, Andy Taylor,
DEC: Jeff Sharp, Lisa Mickelson, Bil Basinski, Steve Hill
JAN: Jeff Moxcey, Beverly Houston, Kathy Davidson, Drew Harakal, Sidney Miller, Ann Abercrombie, Kay Seamayer
FEB: Carol Shaw, Jennifer Carson, Jason Winford & Bill Amos
MARCH: Helene Cronin, Mark Hughey, Barbara Seiler, Michael Franceus, Neal Fletcher, Troll Mallow, Rory Moore
APRIL: Mike Parrish, Stephen Boone, Ed Williams, Akin Akintola
MAY: Annie Cornelius, James Cornelius, Kathy Dunn, Mark Evans, David Lott, Michael Shane Russell, Aaron Rodriquez, Jeff Odon, Alicia Smither, Grady Yates, Beth Scivally, Rick Yentsch, & Richard Pickett.
JUNE: Rod Phelps, Anna Terry, Jerome Douglas, Karen High, Mark Dittenber, Bobby McBride, Michael Hollingsworth
AUG: Phillip Cooner, Edd Haynes, Tom Carder

Renew your membership online,
You'll find the link to the store on the panel to the right
Or paste this link in your browser: http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=7TE_LIVE&&
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7. WORKSHOPS - DSA WORKSHOPS ARE SPONSORED BY BMI
(Each month we have a workshop at our monthly meeting on the 1st Monday and 2nd Tuesday.)

ROBERT JASON'S SONGWRITER'S WORKSHOP - OCT 24TH, PLANO, TX
http://www.robertjason.com

Robert Jason is a multi-talented Songwriter, Producer, Composer, and Studio Vocalist, whose songs have been recorded by Alabama, Reba McEntire, Barry White, and The Fox Brothers.

Robert's music career began in Miami, with stops in Dallas, Los Angeles and finally, Nashville, TN

His membership affiliations include Screen Actors Guild, American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists, Local 47 Musicians Union, BMI (writer/publisher), ASCAP (publisher), NSAI, CMA, and the CCMA.

Robert is an honors graduate of the University of Miami (Fla.), holding dual degrees in Piano Performance and Music Education.

Robert's Artist/Producer endorsements include AKG, SE Electronics, Antares Audio, Universal Audio, and GML (George Massenburg Labs).

Details here: http://dallassongwritersworkshops.blogspot.com/

If you'd like for me to add you comment, just send me an email.

SECOND TUESDAY GUEST SPEAKER & SONG CRITIQUES - see Monthly Meeting above

http://www.dallassongwriters.com/meetingblog.htm


FIRST MONDAY SONG SWAP at White Rock Coffee for peer critiques

http://www.dallassongwriters.org/workshops/workshopframe.htm

OTHER WORKSHOPS


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8. Events -

Featuring local and worldwide events of the songwriting community including, seminars, conferences, & showcases. Click on the link #8 to the right or copy and paste this link in your browser.
http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

SEPT
4-6 Kerrville Wine & Music Festival, Kerrville, Tx
14 North Texas music meeting at Dallas Public Library
22-25 NSAI Songposium, Nashville, TN
23- 27 Southwest Regional Folk Alliance Conference, Austin Texas
27- Oct 4 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat Samso, Denmark

OCT
2-4 SongWritersFestival.com, Loretta Lynn's Ranch
8-10 Colorado Springs Expo, Marriott Colorado Springs
17-18 World's Largest Consumer Guitar Event, Arlington, TX Convention Ctr/
17-18 Texas Independent Music Expo, Sons of Hermann Hall, Dallas, Tx
22-24 Barbara Cloyd's Play For Publishers, Nashville, Tn
29-30 Billboard Film & TV Conference, Hollywood, CA
25- Nov 1 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat Ireland

NOV
15 5th Anniversary Celebration at Dunn Brothers Coffee Open Mic

DEC
7-12 5th Annual Texas Songwriing Cruise

JAN 2010
10-17 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat California Sequoias

FEB
17-21 Folk Alliance, Memphis

MARCH
12-21 SXSWeek 2010
12-16 Interactive
12-20 Film
17-21 Music

APRIL
14 Grammy Advocacy Day in Washington DC

MAY
9-16 Listening Room International Songwriter Retreat

For more details visit the events page.
Also, hear the song contest winners podcast from this page.

http://songwriterevents.blogspot.com/

PERFORMERS NEEDED FOR SMALL-VENUE CONCERT SERIES - please see events blog for details

TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://www.dirtylinen.com/special/dl-states/TEXAS.html

Comprehensive VENUE LIST - compliments of Uncle Calvins
http://www.unclecalvins.org/OtherVenues.aspx

DALLAS TEXAS CONCERT LISTINGS
http://mojam.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/city?city=Dallas,TX

Dallas Morning News Guide Live Music Listing ( hit search after opening the page)
http://listings.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97314&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
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9. Featured Articles:

FORMER DSA SONG CONTEST WINNER & MEMBER RACHAEL SAGE ON NEW "FAME" FILM SOUNDTRACK

MPress Records is pleased to announce that Rachael Sage's song "Too Many Women" will be featured in the new "Fame" film hitting theatres on September 25, 2009. The soundtrack album will be available for digital and physical purchase nationally on August 25, 2009. "Too Many Women", which also appears on Sage's critically acclaimed album "Public Record", was hand-picked by director Kevin Tancharoen, and remixed by Damon Elliot specifically for the movie.
http://www.mpressrecords.com

Grammys Will Put Americana on the Map
By Jerry Shriver -- The building blocks of American popular music are moving into their own home. When the Recording Academy announces nominees for the 52nd Grammy Awards in late fall, a spotlight will shine on the new Americana album category, designed to recognize works that combine folk, rock, bluegrass, R&B, blues, pop and "outlaw" country.
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/134738892
MUSIC BUSINESS


100 FREE & AFFORDABLE HIGH & LOW TECH MUSIC PROMOTION TIPS? By Hypebot.comll
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/100-free-affordable-high-.html

Bob Paterno's blog Making Music Making Money
http://www.makingmusicmakemoney.blogspot.com

CRAFT OF SONGWRITING

Practical Advice on Composing for the Screen An Interview with Jeff Rona
Jeff Rona's impressive composer credits include Ridley Scott's White Squall, contributions to Traffic, Black Hawk Down, Mission: Impossible 2, and Gladiator as well as Chicago Hope and Profiler and even music for the 2008 Olympics. In the newly expanded edition of his book The Reel World, Rona details the technical, business, and creative aspects of becoming a successful film scorer. Jeff Rona recently spoke to ASCAP with some great advice and inspiration for aspiring composers and songwriters and film lovers.

For those who don't know… briefly explain the process a composer goes through when composing film music?
Step one is to actual get a job! That comes from either submitting a demo of music similar to whatever the film is looking for, or through some kind of word of mouth from someone involved. Agents are helpful but by no means the only way to find projects.

Once you've been hired, and the business is settled (contracts, fees, budgets, deals and the such) a composer will meet with the director and others to 'spot' the film. That's a meeting to discuss the placement of music in the film, and to articulate as best as possible what each piece of music is to achieve. Music might be in a scene to add tension, make one character more sympathetic (or less), or help convey to the audience any of a wide range of emotions. From the spotting session comes the master list of cues to be written for the film.
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2009/08/RADAR/Jeff_Rona.aspx

Online Thesaurus & Rhyming Dictionary

http://www.rhymezone.com/

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10. Song Contests

http://songcontests.blogspot.com/

GREAT AMERICAN SONG CONTEST Deadline Oct 30
SONG DOOR: Deadline Nov. 15th
more ....on song contest blog


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11. Songwriting Resources

http://songwritingresources.blogspot.com/


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12. Best Songs of the 2nd Tuesday Meeting

JANUARY 2009
Cross My Heart by Vern Dailey

FEBRUARY
Easy For You by Ray Philips & Richard Davis

MARCH
1st. Shined On Me by Ray Phillips & Richard Davis
2nd Look Beyond by Jerry Dobson

APRIL
Our Heaven On Earth by Vern Dailey
Always A Day Behind by Roger Russell & Bill Amos

MAY - no critiques

JUNE
First Place...Cross My Heart by Vern Dailey and Leslie Brooks
Tie for Second Place...Wishing In One Hand by Jerry Dobson and Daughter of Texas Wind by Morri Hartgraves

JULY
Which Side of My Heart by Vern Dailey



To view past winners go to the Best Songs blog. http://bestsongsofthemeeting.blogspot.com/
To hear the winners go to our myspace page.

Did you know that A&R reps from labels and music publishers are listening to our Myspace page each month?

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Thanks for reading this far. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter @barbemcmillen. Give me a tweet.



Songcerely,
Barbara McMillen, Editor
Songwriter Notes
Founding President Emeritus, DSA